A summer of fun awaits

Posted by James Rickman | 05.05.2008 / 1:04 AM EDT

Mercifully it seems as though presidential campaign coverage has slogged beyond the somniferous miasma of petty back-and-forth bickering between the Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama campaigns and the true meaning of Rev. Jeremiah Wright, and into new rhetorical territory.
With last week’s news that the first Americans would begin receiving their political bribes Economic Stimulus checks […]

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Ketchup

Posted by Kevin Holsapple | 05.04.2008 / 8:10 AM EDT

I “mined” my email a bit this morning and found several questions I received that I’ve neglected to try to answer directly, although I think my posts over the past weeks have touched on these topics.  Here is a catch-up to be sure I’ve addressed these: 
Q.  What are you hearing and sensing about the Obama/Hillary dynamic?
I […]

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Couldn’t There Be a Better Way?

Posted by Kevin Holsapple | 05.04.2008 / 7:31 AM EDT

There is room for improvement in how we go about choosing our political leaders.  The selection of Presidential candidates provides what is, to me, an obvious case in point.  IT IS DRAGGING ON!  Substantive discussion of the issues that matter seems to have been set aside long ago in favor of trivia and gotchas.  The candidates […]

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Many “Elite” Bitter Too

Posted by Kevin Holsapple | 04.27.2008 / 12:22 PM EDT

Sen. Clinton has been criticizing Sen. Obama for referring to some small-town Pennsylvanians as “bitter” people who “cling to guns and religion.” Clinton called the comments “elitist, out of touch and frankly, patronizing,”
I don’t know about all that, and I don’t think that any of this controversy was all that meaningful to people in our community.  However, I […]

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Campaigns heat up the wrong way

Posted by James Rickman | 04.25.2008 / 8:10 AM EDT

Most of the pundits and press outlets were fixated on what barbs were being traded by Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama during the run up to Pennsylvania—missing an opportunity to get the candidates’ views on what will eventually become the single biggest issue facing our nation and humanity at large.
Few in the political world […]

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Tax Time Commeth

Posted by Kevin Holsapple | 04.13.2008 / 6:56 PM EDT

I sat down this morning and slogged my way through our tax return this morning.  I thought about there being people all over the country doing the same.  It didn’t occur to me as I put myself to it to connect what I was doing to the presidential election, but then I got distracted and […]

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Lull

Posted by Kevin Holsapple | 04.06.2008 / 7:58 PM EDT

I have to say I didn’t perceive much interest or discussion around here this week about presidential politics.  If there was anything new being talked about, or anything that is all that important to be talking about at this juncture, it isn’t capturing much attention.  Maybe it’s because it is Spring break from school here […]

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Desperate measures

Posted by James Rickman | 04.02.2008 / 11:27 PM EDT

Apparently even the “Monied ‘Burbs” aren’t insulated from the sweeping economic woes that have Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke bracing for possible recession. That probably means The Economy is going to be on a lot of people’s minds come the November presidential election.
Los Alamos is an affluent community that was hailed last year as having […]

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What’s a young person to make of it?

Posted by Kevin Holsapple | 03.30.2008 / 10:26 AM EDT

This week, I have a son who turns eighteen.  One of the things that means is that he now becomes part of the electorate.  Having a son of that age means that I know a bunch of young people of about that same age and from time to time there is an opportunity to get […]

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You don’t need a poll to tell which way the wind blows

Posted by James Rickman | 03.27.2008 / 11:14 PM EDT

As a politics junkie I never thought I’d find myself getting weary of a campaign season, but this one has gone on way too long. The race for president this time around will span nearly three years by the time all is said and done. Stick a fork it; it’s done—as far as I’m concerned […]

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Much Ado About Politics As Ususal

Posted by Kevin Holsapple | 03.23.2008 / 12:10 PM EDT

The tendency to concentrate on what might or would be bad about a particular candidate becoming president brings people down, I think.  The best that can be said about it is that it does provide opportunity for a candidate to try to re-seize the initiative to talk about what is important to them and what […]

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Spring color

Posted by James Rickman | 03.22.2008 / 11:17 AM EDT

I was able to see and hear Sen. Barak Obama’s response to the controversy over pastor Jeremiah Wright in its entirety live on television as I convalesced at home with the flu.
I was impressed by the candor of the Senator’s speech. More than that, I was heartened to hear what was, at least in my […]

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A trip to the Beltway

Posted by Kevin Holsapple | 03.15.2008 / 6:43 PM EDT

I spent the past several days in D.C. and I have to say that this blog project influenced my interests and curiosities as I went about my business.  I traveled to Washington to attend a symposium at the National Academies of Science on best practices in research, science, and technology parks.  Most attendees came from […]

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A town treading gingerly

Posted by James Rickman | 03.09.2008 / 11:51 PM EDT

Just three days after President George W. Bush said “It’s clear our economy has slowed”—a rare and unexpected moment of truth from an administration built on mendacity—Los Alamos, NM, begins its first real steps down a road of economic uncertainty.
Birthplace of the Atomic Bomb, Los Alamos has survived for 60 years off of federal […]

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Things to care about

Posted by Kevin Holsapple | 03.09.2008 / 9:59 AM EDT

What do I hear people talking about when the Presidential election is discussed?

Concern over the decreasing regard in which U.S. government policies and influence are held in other countries.
Strong support for our troops in Iraq, while at the same time, disillusion over how we came to be there. 
Can the way things work in the beltway be changed […]

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