In this interview, Anne Tyler talks about how she came up with the idea for the book, what she wanted to convey with the title and what the 'immigration tango' is all about. You can read it here.
The elections are over, yet, the president hasn't been officially elected yet. As you all know, it is up to the Electoral College to formally elect the president. This election will take place on Dec. 15th. We've discussed the pros and cons of this institution at quite some length. Here is what the New York times editorial board has to say about it: I found this editorial interesting, as I didnÄt know how closely it is tied to a slave owner society.
will.i.am of the Black-Eyed Peas published another Obama song on you tube: It's a new day. There is also a Kenyan musician funny musician who is doing a funky kind of Obama song, I couldnÄt find a link. If anybody knows, go ahead and post it!
Barack Obama won the election with an overwhelming majority. This is of course his own big victory but I am sure it was
strongly anvantaged - advantage , but you can't use it as a verb. So ..it was definitely helped along - the failure of ...helped...by the failure of the Republican Bush administration. Now, Obama has to show that he is truly able to deal with the big troubles of the USA:
1. economic crisis, 2.Iraq/Afghanistan, 3. energy/environment
These are problems nobody, no Democrat and no Republican, can solve in the next few months or years. I am confinced - convinced
Obama will lead the US into the right direction, but I am not sure about whether - just whether is enough (the construction to be sure about exists, too: i'm not sure about Obama
the American people are patient enough to stand behind Obama e.g. is example given, I think you want especially here
after four years! Maybe it isn't possible to inspire the voters because all American troubles can not be solved in such a short period.
I am anxious to - about is the right preposition here. Do you maybe want to say "excited about"-
the term in office of Obama and to the following election!
B. Obama' s victory
by - in is the right prep herethe presedential presidential
election is a new sign for the world and especially for America that problems like the credit crisis, market crashes and the two wars in Afghanistan and Iraq can be solved from Obama. But the American people must be patient, because
the solving of these problems - solving these problems
will take a lot of time.
The people in America were so excited about the win - to win - victory of Obama
that they forgot that O. is only a human. For O. and the gouverment wait a lot of work and they need the support of the nation to get through. - wordorder _ there is a lot of work waiting for... spelling: government
But I'm sure it will become better as comparison: than
it was under the bush gouverment.
Here is an interesting statistic on who voted for Obama and McCain resp.
Have a close look at it!
Here is an e-mail from a friend in California who read your postings. If you want to write to her, let me know!
Your students "got it.' great command of the language as well.
America has been a world leader that in the past years has sunk low inprosperity, respect, self confidence.
Obama is the anti-Bush, the opposite of Bush. Obama is a learned man, a young man, raised in modest family with great hope.
Where Ms Koch used to live about 80% prefer him. He is well educated, he is worldy, he has traveled. On that way he is similar to many of the Coastal Californians. Is it not so important the color of his skin. In fact, like many of us who have one parent from one race or religion and the other parent different, he is a mix, "brown" not black.
Days before the election, hundreds of people were on their cell phones, in groups and at the campaign headquarters for Palo Alto near a donut shop. In the rain, people sat under trees and umbrellas calling stranger in other states to ask: "will you vote?, do you need help getting to the polling place?"
My writer friend in New York said people were screaming in the street at the victory. Let's stay in touch.
write back?
Good luck with your English and good work.
Here is what Emily Dickinson, American poet 1830 - 1886, has to add to today's events:
Hope
Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune--without the words,
And never stops at all,
And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.
I've heard it in the chillest land,
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me.
You can read a great short interpretation of this poem here.
You've watched the American Dream come true. That someone who isn't rich, isn't well connected, and belongs to what the Canadians call "visible minorities" can make it to the top because he is smart and hard-working, that is exactly what America is all about. That is the dream it has inspired in immigrants for the last 200 years, even earlier, from the Pilgrims who founded Jamestown in Virginia in 1620 to the Mexicans that keep crossing the long border under more and more difficult circumstances to mow the lawns in American suburbia, the Indian software engineers that come on H1B1 visas to write the code for google and facebook in Silicon Valley. They all come for 'the pursuit of happiness' , for the promise that 'all men are created equal', for the promise of democracy and progress. He starts and ends his speech on that note, an affirmation of the American dream:
If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.
This is our time, to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth, that, out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope. And where we are met with cynicism and doubts and those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes, we can.
Today is a day we can all share this dream. If dreams come true, it's not always in the way we expect it, and, of course, not all dreams come true. But without dreams, the present looks grey and the future empty.
Let's celebrate today and get to work again tomorrow. Obama and his team will have to do the same!
OBAMA is the 44th US PRESIDENT
NOW it is time that he proves his PROMISSES !
i´m looking forward to see his solutions for the most important issues of the USA.
- economy
- irak
- afghanistan
IM VERY ENTHUSIASTIC THAT OBAMA CAN CHANGE THE USA BACK TO THE ROLEMODELL OF WESTERN DEMOCRACY.
The first thing i saw on tv this morning were people celebrating. I was really surprised when i heard that Obama won over 300 of the electoral votes. This is a clear message to the United States and i believe that it's really great that so many people went to cast their vote. People who have never before voted or not in a long time. Obama really made every citizen in the US feel special and understood enough to vote for him. The behaviour of McCain was also very democratic because by offering his help he showed great respect for Barack Obama and the Democratic party.
I believe it's a good thing for the United States and i hope everything the new president promised was really meant the way he said it and that he'll really do everything in his power to bring the change he always talked about!
The speech we watched in class was really touching and i hope Obama will not let his nation down.
I'm looking forward to a better cooperation with Europe and i'm glad he really made it.
We did it :P
In my opinion Obama's victory speech was really impressive and you could see that he deserves his winning. The audience was very touched, overwhelmed by his eloquence and the words he said fitted very well. He spoke for the Americans giving them hope for a better future and thanked his supporters. He addressed all the Americans: Blacks and Whites, disabled and not disabled etc. and told them that they're not divided in red or blue states but they are the United States.
To conclude I hope that Obama will make his promises come true and that he will bring change.
After his historical win, Obama shows his charisma one more time. He inspires the over 150.00o people who gathered in Chicago, again "Yes we can" cries came up as Obama came onto the stage, again he showed his great rethoric skills.
The whole speech appears like a praise of american life: he affirmed that the truly genius of America is change and this year election showed the mentioned genius better than few before.
Also he showed his will to work together with his defeated opponents John McCain and Sarah Palin.
To sum it up the aim of this speech was to the give a short view into the future, showing the american people how hard it will be to put Obama´s plans into practice and also to give examples for great persons
Yesterday was a historical day, not only for the Americans but for the whole world. Many people didn't expect it, some even had doubts that such a glorious day could happen in the United States but it did.
In my opinion, Obama´s victory speech showed once more that he is the richly deserved winner. He addressed all Americans: White and Black, Asians, Latinos, disabled and nondisabled people, gays and straight... He emphasised that the United States are one country, not a "collection of Red and Blue states" which is extremely important, ecpecially in times of recession, national debt and so forth. America faces a big challenge and it can only succeed united. Obama expressed his gratitude to his family and all the people that supported him in such a moving touching way!
I´m happy with the result!
When I woke up this morning the first thing my mother told me was that Barack Obama is the new American president. I was suprised but also very glad.
It´s a big step for America. I always thought the USA was still too conservative for a black president. But I´m really glad that the USA dared to vote for Barack Obama and bring change to America. The campain of both Obama and McCain was long and hard and they both did their best. But Obama gave the USA power to have new hope. Now I hope the change Obama promised will come true and some of the problems America has will be solved.
I'm very happy about the electoral result in the USA because I think Barack Obama is the right men for this position. During the whole campaign I hoped that Obama would win the election and now I hope that his issues were not only promises and that a change will happen in the USA. I was very surprised that in the end his victory was so clear. First I thought that Obama would win by a close vote. This election is a historical step for the US administration because Obama is the first Afro-American president and I hope he won't have any problems in terms of his skin color. In my opinion the most important thing is that Obama will not disappoint the expectations of his country and the rest of the world.
I`m very happy about the result from the eletction..
I was pro Obama from the beginning on, but in the last week I wasn`t quite sure if the people in America really have the courage to vote for him. I thought that many people wantet Obama to be the next president, but I thought that many people who said that they will vote for Obama won`t do that,because it`s a big step in the american history, and this step brings a lot of risk along I think.
Alone the fact that Obama is black,which means that he`s the first afro-american-president is a small change,which shows that the American people aren`t still so prejudices against coloured people,like they were a few years ago.
Well now,Obama is president and the next step now will be that he keep his promises,that he implement them.
I hope that he will do his thing well. The armerican people trust him so much,and I hope that they will get the change they expect to get.
Yes, we did!
We (Laura&Laura) have the opinion that this day is a historical day: The USA has its first black president! He has 68 electoral votes more than he needed to win, McCain has 115 electoral votes less than he needed to be President Bush's successor.
We didn't really think that Obama would become president, but now he is and the hole world has big expectations.
We personally hope that he will live up to the expectations and that he will lead America to peace.
We hope that with Obama the divide between black and white will be overridden, that there will be less racial discrimination.
We count on Obama's pledges, to end the war in Iraq and to lead people from welfare to work.
I think the fact that Barrack Obama was elected to be the President of the United states will affect how the world sees America.
Especially Europe wanted Obama to win and it's a historical day for all Americans and citizens of the world because he is the first African-American president.
He might develop more racial tolerance in the world.
Also the voter turnout was higher than in the last years.
You can see that this years campaign reached many more people than the campaigns in the last years.
Even if I hoped Obama would win I wasn't sure that the Americans felt the same way.
I did not think that he would win with a majority this big of electoral votes.
I thought that the conservative Americans would not want to vote for a black candidate but either they did vote for him or the campaign convinced the young and the African-American voters which are also a big amount of voters.
I hope that Obama will bring change to America,I feel like the last 8 years were like a nightmare and I hope he can lead his country out of wars and that we then can look up again to the United States of America.
The victory speech of Obama in Chicago was again very good. His speak was perfectly arranged, his expressions were very touching and the words he used fitted very well. The topics he spoke of were for the people of America, for example when he said that it is not his victory but the one of his voters. He also addressed his speech to singular persons for example his wife, an very old lady (106 years) or his Family. That was again very good, because he told how much of the last history the old Lady actually has experienced and Obama felt with her.
To sum it up, his speech was very good and for a victory speech properly done and I hope he will keep his promises.
In my opinion it was a very good, emotional, personal but also very serious speech.
Obama spoke with the dignity of a president. He not only addressed the ones who voted him, but also to the voters of Senator McCain, he spoke to the people as one nation.
He advocated for hope, change and unity, which made the speech very positive.
When he told about the woman, who has experienced a whole century of American elections, he showed a versatile overview over a great period of time, where many things have changed.
"America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there is so much more to do."
I really liked, that he didn't just talk for the moment, about his victory, but also about the important things that are to be done right now and in the near future.
You could also see that the people were overwhelmed, excited and touched, e.g. when they joined the speech with "Yes, we can.", and when the camera showed the happy faces, some with tears of joy in their eyes.
For me personally it was also very touching and I really hope Obama can stick to his promises and does his best to be the first Afro-American president of the United states of America.
McCain Talking Points
1) International affairs:
Iraq:
· pro Iraq war
· wants long-term peace
· stabilizing the Iraq government ( to be able to govern itself and safeguarding)
· democratic state in Iraq
· ensuring Iraqi citizens
· however: wants to withdraw the US troops as soon as possible
Iran:
· more sanctions instead of diplomatic efforts, real pressure instead of unconditional dialogues
· if Iran gets nuclear weapons it will be a threat for Israel, the region and the whole world
· if the US worked together with the EU they could really influence Iran’s actions
· Iran has been supporting extremists with training and weapons that killed US troops
Afghanistan:
· The US do not only need more troops in Afghanistan but also a new strategy
· They need the support of the citizens to fight against terrorism
· “I have been to Afghanistan and I know the situation.”
Russia/ Georgia:
· Russia is acting aggressively
· KGB- state
· He believes that Russia is sometimes encroaching upon the pipelines coming from the Caspian Sea
· The US want to work together with Russia but only if Russia behaves correctly
· The US don’t want to go back to the Cold War
· Russia has violated the ceasefire contract (concerning Georgia)
· The US will support Georgia joining the NATO
2) Domestic Issues
Economy:
· We have to bring our economy back on track.
· Our strategy is to help American families and economy with near-term actions as well as taking longer-term steps to secure America’s leadership in the world.
Energy:
· Nuclear energy is our way to become independent from the countries we depend on at the moment because of oil.
· Energy independence is an important aim I want to achieve.
Health Care:
· The fundamental problems are the rapidly rising cost of US health care.
· We have to bring costs under control to make health care affordable for everyone.
Homeland Security
· The highest priority for any President is protecting the lives of American citizens, defending their freedom and securing our land and resources.
Education:
· We want to create equal opportunities for all children to get an excellent education.
-> Our children – our future
· American education must be worthy of the promises we make to our children and to ourselves.
Climate Change:
· I want to establish a system to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mobilize innovative technologies in close cooperation with our international partners to ensure a better future for our children.
· We need a lot more nuclear power plants; other renewable energy sources are not fully developed.
Fighting Crime:
· We have to support the state and local law enforcement agencies to keep communities safe all across America.
3) Economy
John McCain has a comprehensive economic plan that will create millions of good American jobs, ensure the nation's energy security, put the government's budget and spending in order, and bring relief to American consumers.
The economic plan will help restore prosperity and peace to America.
The economic plan includes the following topics:
Workplace flexibility:
· I will make health more portable so that workers don't lose their benefits when they switch jobs
· I will ensure that workers can choose retirement plans that best suit their needs.
Relief for families:
· I will help Americans suffering from high gasoline and food costs.
· I will reduce the pain caused by high gas prices.
· I believe there is nothing more important than keeping the American Dream of owning a home alive.
Simpler and fairer taxes:
· I will lower the corporate tax rate from 35 % to 25% because currently the US have the second highest corporate tax rate in the world.
Property crises:
· I want to “tidy up” Wall Street.
· I want to interrupt my campaign and help solve the prosperity crises:
->Country first!
4) Values
Abortion:
· I am pro-life, that means I am against abortion because the unborn life has also a right to live.
· I think respecting the rights of unborn life is something I’ve always fought for.
· In my opinion our attitude towards abortion has a lot to do with our national security because it shows what kind of country we really are and which role the respect for human life plays.
· This is a tough issue but I can accept abortion in case of rape, incest or if the life of the mother is in danger.
Death penalty:
· I support the death penalty.
· I disagree with the Supreme Court`s decision to outlaw the executions of people who rape children.
· I support the legislation to allow the death penalty for fatal acts of terrorism abroad.
· I voted to ban the death penalty for minors.
· I voted to prohibit the use of racial statistics in death penalty appeals.
Sarah Palin
· Born on 11th of February 1964 (age 44)
· She has a Bachelor of Science in communications& journalism
· Governor of Alaska since 2006
· On 29th of August 2008 she got McCain’s running mate and on September 3, she held a 40-minutes acceptance speech
Politics
· social conservative
· believes in the right to bear arms
· against abortion and gay marriage
· “pro-life”
· she believes that global warming isn’t human-caused
Personal Life
· married Todd Palin in 1988
· She has 5 children: Track 19, Trig 0, Bristol 17, Willow 13, Piper 7
· Track: he is in the US Army and since September 2008 he is in Iraq and will stay there for 12 months
· Trig: has Down-Syndrome, diagnosed prenatally
· Bristol: she’s pregnant and will marry Levi Johnston who is the father of the baby
I'm still missing 8 out of 24 e-mail addresses! If you didn't get an invitation by e-mail to co-author this blog, please write me an e-mail with English 12 in the subject line and your real name in the message. ...- Who is Bad Bear, by the way?
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