Merry Christmas From The Obamas

December Baby?

It took me a few days to figure that out, but I think I just might have celebrated my birthday for the first time ever. I am pretty sure I am a December Baby. My official birthday says October 11, but that is Amitabh Bachchan's birthday. When it was time for me to go to attend this fancy school in the capital city in Nepal, my father put October 11 down on the papers.

Beware of white people. They will mix beef into your food, and you will have lost your religion. I heard some people say that while I was growing up. My freashman year Naqib and I ordered a pizza, half beef, half pork. Afterwards we realized he had eaten the pork, I had eaten the beef. I became a Buddhist not long after.

Decades back English was talked of as "the beef-eating language" in Nepal. When it was time for me to fly to the US for college, one of my aunts said to me, "Beware of white women, they wear clothes that exposes their legs!" At the time she was wearing a sari that exposed her navel.

I am not saying Pollak tricked me into celebrating my birthday. I have long felt Pollak and I might have something in common. Now I know. We are both December Babies. And the communal birthday bash had listed more than a dozen December Babies. So, I guess, they do it every year.

I have long been defensive about birthday celebrations. Why can't you just accept it as a cultural difference? Some cultures don't celebrate birthdays. But I think I can live with a communal birthday celebration.




Amitabh Bachchan - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Michelle Obama, Everyday Woman No More

A few weeks back Michelle said with some pride at an Iowa event how she still goes to Target, she still pumps her own gas. I am alarmed. This everyday woman thing can not last beyond January 3.

I don't know if the secret service protection is only for the candidate, but if it is, then Obama 2008 needs to hire some bodyguards for Michelle. It needs to be a campaign expense. It is about time she moved only in a caravan of cars, three vehicles, one in the front, one in the back.

When she got into that minor accident in Iowa a few months back, my first reaction was, this looks so very bad on Obama 2008. This is called not running a good campaign.

You still get to go to Target and to the gas station, but accompanied.

In The News

Hillary disappearing in Bill's shadow The Australian Many pundits say Hillary's convictions seem manufactured for the occasion. ....... Is it experience in a democracy to plot behind the curtain? ....... Like Obama, Winfrey does not put race first. She also told her vast audiences not to put a candidate's sex first. Winfrey does not "lean on a mountain" ....... As Bill tried to fight Hillary's battles in Iowa, Obama rasped what may become a classic quote of the 2008 race: "My understanding is president Clinton's not on the ballot." ...... Mao said to his doctor in reference to his wife, "Only Jiang Qing supports me." ....... her present airport-to-airport existence ...... Don't vote for Hillary just because she's a woman, the formidably famous Winfrey cries. This self-made, independent-minded woman, merely by appearing at Obama's side, casts Hillary's fake feminism in a poor light. ........ Winfrey's entry has magnified the burden of Bill Clinton's shadow.
Poll: Obama Inches by Clinton The Associated Press On the Democratic side, Barack Obama also has made gains on Hillary Rodham Clinton. A month ago, Clinton held the lead with 35 percent of likely Democratic primary voters saying they favored her, compared to 21 percent for Obama.
Obama, Clinton spar on foreign policy Boston Globe "When the door closes, and when you're having to make those difficult decisions that presidents confront every day, ultimately there is no adviser."
How Clinton Lost Her Invincibility TIME The endorsements, the money, and the cream-of-the-crop strategists combined with the former First Lady's incumbent image to make her the clear-cut choice of the Democratic Party establishment. ...... a dwindling lead in the polls in New Hampshire and South Carolina. ...... a victim of the media hype it helped create ...... A month away from the caucuses, Clinton had spent 52 days in state, visiting just 38 counties ...... different hats: angry Hillary; warm-and-fuzzy mommy Hillary; commander-in-chief Hillary; insurgent change-candidate Hillary. ....... "She's both the candidate of change and the candidate of experience, the candidate with a hard side and a soft side, and the candidate of the establishment past and the progressive future. ....... the idea of insider experience as an effective force for change
What Hillary Stands For
In NH poll, Obama inches ahead of Clinton Boston Globe
'Law professor' Obama embraces nuance on trail Boston Globe, United States the candidate of change, the "hope peddler" unintimidated by partisanship or cynicism, the Democrat who has transcended the battles of the Baby Boom generation. ....... running as an intellectual, making a case that wisdom - not bluster, belligerence, or bravado ....... a parallel with John F. Kennedy, whose melding of Harvard-caliber intellect with Irish Catholic street credibility ..... government's oversimplified policy debates, misguided priorities, and incurious leaders ....... He has struggled in debates to encapsulate his thoughts in digestible nuggets. ..... "the life of the mind." ...... Obama has drawn more support from academics than any candidate in the race. ....... "He's an activist." ...... Obama is a once-in-a-generation candidate who combines charisma, inspirational power, and celebrity.
Obama on 'Face the Nation' Baltimore Sun you are now leading in South Carolina
Paul Won't Rule Out Run as Independent Washington Post
Krugman Versus Obama, Cont. Atlantic Online
Obama 30, Clinton 28 in NH, Globe poll shows Baltimore Sun
Interest Groups Plan Barrage Of Attack Ads, Mailings in Iowa Washington Post
The rise of Obama Washington Times, DC has cornered the market on Ethnic Electricity. ..... white Americans are simply more interested in blacks than in Latinos ..... Many whites assume that the mixed-race and Hawaiian-born Mr. Obama is, in Mr. Steele's words, "indifferent to the whole business of race and identity." According to Mr. Steele, the author of 1990s acclaimed "The Content of Our Character," they see voting for Mr. Obama as proving that they personally aren't guilty of racism. ...... many whites hope electing Mr. Obama president will show blacks that white racism isn't what's holding them back anymore. ..... Numerous white Democrats, I would add, view backing Mr. Obama as confirming their moral and cultural superiority over other whites (those redneck racists). Whites strive for status mostly against other whites, and conceive of minorities primarily as handy props in these intra-racial struggles. ....... While some whites envisage Mr. Obama as the Cure for White Guilt, blacks are in no hurry to grant the white race absolution for slavery and Jim Crow ........ the candidate's ethnicity-obsessed first memoir ...... "a man nothing less than driven by a determination to be black." ...... "Obama routinely describes himself feeling the deepest, most painful emotions imaginable . . . but these feelings seem to be all out of proportion to the actual events of his life, which are generally pretty pedestrian." Mr. Steele observes, "Obama's racial quest springs from a personal angst, not from an oppression in society." .......... Mr. Obama's spiritual mentor for the last two decades has been the Afrocentric and politically radical Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. The night before Mr. Obama's nationally televised campaign kickoff rally in February, the candidate disinvited his pastor from giving the invocation. The New York Times got an explanation from the loose-cannon minister: " 'When [Mr. Obama's] enemies find out that in 1984 I went to Tripoli to visit Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, Mr. Wright recalled, 'with Farrakhan, a lot of his Jewish support will dry up quicker than a snowball in hell.' "
Dallas Morning News endorses Huckabee, Obama Reuters
Obama Continues Criticizing 527s CBS News, NY
Illinois Sen. Obama's presidential bid voted top story of 2007 WTHI, IN
Clinton tied with Obama heading into Iowa MSNBC
Michelle Obama says they ‘couldn't just wait' Fort Madison Daily Democrat, IA One year ago Michelle Obama said she wasn't planning on being on the campaign trail for her husband ..... “Everything looks better in Hawaii,” she said. ...... she and her husband want a world they can turn over to their daughters ..... throughout her whole married life she and Barack have been told it wasn't their time.
We Recommend: Barack Obama Dallas Morning News, TX his consistently solid judgment, poise under pressure and ability to campaign effectively without resorting to the divisive politics of the past. ....... His message isn't about anger and retribution. It's about moving forward. ..... Obama's experience in elective office matches that of Abraham Lincoln before he became president. And he has served more time on Capitol Hill than four of the past five White House occupants. ...... When Mr. Obama's support recently surged in early primary states, her campaign tried to smear him over drug use in his youth. ...... Mr. Obama drew criticism for saying he would pursue terrorists, if necessary, by sending troops into Pakistan. The fact is, U.S. troops have been going into Pakistan for years in pursuit of terrorists. All Mr. Obama did, in effect, was to keep that option open for the future. To say otherwise is to declare Pakistan a sanctuary for America's enemies. ...... Americans are tired of divisive, hard-edged politics.
Obama’s Not-So-Sudden Moves New California Media, CA Is white America’s collective guilt about the state of African Americans strong enough to brush aside the fear of the black man and support the feel-good candidacy of Barack Obama to its logical end? ........ a black man who is educated, ambitious, amiable and married to someone named Michelle rather than Shaneque. ...... Chris Matthews is right when he says supporting Obama “makes us feel good.” ....... the man with a Muslim middle name has become a redemptive symbol of white Christian America’s collective guilt about the state of African Americans ...... “No sudden moves” is apparently his mantra to deal with white America’s fear about the black man, something that Obama learned while dealing with his white mother. ...... a majority of Americans are supportive of the idea of a black president as much as they are of a woman president. But are they ready to make race a dispassionate subject of political discourse
Obama Ain’t No Angry Black Man PoliGazette, Netherlands some black activists such as Rev. Al Sharpton, Rev. Jesse Jackson and Rev. Andrew Young aren’t too happy with Obama. In short: African-Americans are now looking at him, and not at them anymore. ...... When Jackson holds a speech somewhere, only a dozen people show up. ...... “Even if one doesn’t like his policies, he deserves at least some accolades for marginalizing Jackson and Sharpton.”
'Telegraph' endorses Obama Concord Monitor, NH
Obama contrasts his experience with Bill Clinton Baltimore Sun, United States
Obama strives to overtake Clinton in Democratic race Canada.com, Canada
Why conservatives love Barack Obama Salon In the weeks since Karl Rove offered his unsolicited advice on how to defeat Hillary Clinton in the pages of the Financial Times, right-wing expressions of support for Barack Obama have become increasingly conspicuous and voluble. ........ Exactly why the American right hates the Clintons so fervidly remains a subject of debate among both political scientists and psychiatrists ........ So powerful is their fury that they will not hesitate to promote the career of a liberal black politician whose background and religious affiliation they regard with suspicion. ...... There are no questions that catch him off guard, no issues he hasn't considered. .... radio hooligan Rush Limbaugh ...... the bigoted crudeness of Limbaugh than the manufactured erudition of Will. .... He will need the same kind of armor that she has worn proudly for years. What the right likes best about him is that he doesn't seem to own any.
Only Obama Defeats all 2008 Republicans, Per New Zogby Poll About - News & Issues, NY
AP Interview: Obama Pans Campaign Tone The Associated Press
Is Obama a Shrewd Progressive or a Sellout? Yahoo! News Some people think Obama, through the sheer force of his empathy and skills as a communicator, would broaden the political landscape and convince moderate Republicans and Independents to back progressive policies they ordinarily wouldn't go for.
Barack Obama praises Arnold Schwarzenegger Telegraph.co.uk, United Kingdom the California governor would still be welcome in Barack Obama's cabinet. ..... the former actor had shown excellent leadership, particularly on the environment. ..... he's taken leadership on a very difficult issue ..... he would include Republicans in his cabinet
Poll: Huckabee leads; Clinton, Obama tie in Ga. Atlanta Journal Constitution, USA

I Want To Join The DL21C Steering Committee

Hello DL21C/Elizabeth.

I think at some high rise DL21C event at the swankiest venue of all DL21C events I ever been to you said I was already a member of DL21C. I sure have paid the money in many small sums. Long before that at the event after the Charlie Rangel event I think you suggested I join the DL21C Steering Committee. I might be mistaken, or the offer might no longer hold.

But if I am not a member, I would like to be a member. If I am a member, I would like to continue being a member. If the offer to join the Steering Committee still holds, I would like to take it. If it no longer holds, I would like to make a case for myself.

I have found you and the DL21C founder Dave Pollak to be mesmerizing personalities politically and personally from the very outset. I look at someone like you and end up wondering what you might do in the future. You hold promises. I grew up in a very sexist part of the world. It makes me very happy to see that a woman is the dynamo of the top political organization in the city.

This city is magic to me. It was custom made for me. That is how I feel. Before this city, I did not have a hometown, I never had a sense of belonging. I don't think you have any idea what this city means to me.

And I am a very political person. It is in my blood, it is my brain.

At first, it did not occur to me to join. I did not think I would go to as many events to offset the membership fee. But I have gone to more. And also, the first two years of my NYC life were a zombie existence of intense online work for Nepal: days, nights, weekends. I just did not have the space, the bandwidth. When that was no longer the case, I was too busy trying to steer my very young startup. And also, I think I was just happy consuming the DL21C end product: its events. I remember thinking, do I just want to come to the DL21C events, or do I also want to get into the logistics of event planning? I remember thinking rather strongly I have no interest in the logistics of event planning. I want to make it clear from the outset I still don't have much if any interest in the logistics of event planning.

My primary interest would be to help take DL21C into a Web 2.0 environment. DL21C right now is like this wonderful, wonderful house. But it lacks electricity. I want to add electricity to it.

I don't know a whole lot about the history of DL21C but the name sounds awfully like DLC, the organization that Bill Clinton rode all the way to the presidency. But I believe DL21C is one better. DLC was/is primarily a think tank. But DL21C has the template of a think tank and much more. It has this huge social and political capital of amazingly talented large group of members. It features the top political guests in the city. You have no idea how I have cashed just Dave Pollak's name in the Nepali circles a few times to my advantage. I think even he might be amused to know.

So that would be my primary thrust, the electricity of Web 2.0.

(1) DL21C needs a new website. Something that feels 2008 and not 1993.
(2) DL21C needs to videoblog all its major events and get itself a national audience.
(3) DL21C needs to become an organization where 2.0 and 5.0 are seamless. 2.0 as in Web 2.0, and 5.0 is face time.

I don't want you to feel like I am trying to turn DL21C into some kind of a dot com company. That is not the idea at all. The action later as now will still be in 5.0. Face time is still where all the action is.

DL21C has the template of a think tank, and it offers a very casual setting for young professionals and whoever to drop by and get engaged in some cutting edge political action. It is an organization that makes political work seem like one big party. That is no small achievement. And it provides the top venue for the top politicians in the city and the country to show up to speak. Before I started attending DL21C events, US Senators were abstract concepts to me.

The 2.0 idea would be to build a great, robust template of an organization locally, and then, thanks to 2.0, have it replicated all over the country.

Other than 2.0, my interest is in policy. I keep thinking in terms of an online think tank.

But DL21C is not my very young company where I can just go ahead and decide. It is a democratic organization. And changes have to be made by following the democratic process. I understand that. You don't demand change from the outside as a precondition for getting in.

You might wonder why it took me so long to get to this point. Two intense years spent online took its toll: atrophied social muscles. I'd participate in little social action, and even most of that little social action would feel like a movie. But I am beginning to feel bursts of social energy here and there. I am working to reclaim my once hyperkinetic 5.0 self. And suddenly DL21C makes so much more sense as something to be part of. I hope you will understand.

I am not gunning for a political career, I don't think so. For me it is my company. But I am very political. Quite a lot of my socializing in the city has been political.

I'd be honored to sit on the DL21C Steering Committee. If I have to make a case, here goes.

I might be the only person in this city who is a contender for the Nobel Peace Prize. If Condi creates Palestine next year, she will deserve it more. Other than that, I intend to make a case for me. This is to do with the work into the democracy movement in Nepal. Nepal's April Revolution of 2006 is the template to spread democracy into all the other nondemocratic countries in the world. My claim is I have invented nonviolent militancy.

Also, Barack takes advice from me once in a while. It feels to me like we were in telepathic sync. And this has been the case of what you know, not who you know. The connection was made the Web 2.0 way.

I am very invested in my young startup. So I don't think I could end up giving too much time to DL21C, but I am sure I will have a say in how much time I end up giving and what exactly my role will be.

I look forward to building a great local template, and then having it replicated all over this country. I think DL21C deserves to see that kind of growth. And I look forward to your continued great leadership of this organization. I think you are simply put amazing.

And also, to make my case, I would like to add I know Indiana like the back of my hand.

I hope I am on the same page as you with this request. And I hope you will bring me into this wonderful organization.

I look forward to a confirmation email.

Paramendra Bhagat