The Reaction in Review (September 11, 2009)

By Carol Gee

A week's Reactions that deserve a second look:

Friday

By J. Thomas Duffy: "Rebecca Solnit: How 9/11 Should Be Remembered" -- Duffy posts one of the fine pieces that should be center stage on the Anniversary of 9/11/01.

By Carl: "Eight Years on" -- Carl's beautiful post spot lights much that is at the psychological center of the meaning of 9/11, and reminds us that it is our opportunity for participation in the National Day of Service.

By Capt. Fogg: "Limbaugh's Lament" -- Rush Limbaugh gets lambasted for his hate-filled lies about President Obama, and the issue of illegal immigrants and the proposed health care reform legislation (with interesting comment debate).


Thursday

By Carol Gee: "Obama speech reactions -- a roundup" -- This post summarizes a number of well known pundits and others for their takes on the President's great speech to a joint session of Congress.

By Frankie Sturm: "Energy policy and national security clearly linked" -- A guest post with great links is by one of the good folks at the Truman Project; it concludes, ". . . climate change is a threat to our national security. . . we need to keep [that] in mind. . . we need a new energy policy this year."


Wednesday

By Michael J.W. Stickings "The Speech: Obama defends health-care reform before joint session of Congress" -- Michael's analysis is insightful and his conclusion is spot-on: "Indeed, what Obama and the Democrats need to understand -- and I realize this is hard for Democrats -- is that they actually have the upper hand here, and that they need to take advantage of the historic opportunity that has been presented to them."

By Carl: "Baby, you're a rich man" -- this piece should be required reading for Beatles fans who loved the boys and their music just as it was, and for all others just because Carl is such a great writer.

By Michael J.W. Stickings: "Sarah Palin, mostly loathsome" -- Michael's analysis of Palin's (?) op-ed in the WSJ exposes why most of the piece is "the sort of drivel you'd expect. . . still the same old right-wing claptrap."


Tuesday

By Carl: "Knee jerks" -- Focused on the UK trial and conviction of three British would-be bombers, Carl reports on the frustration felt by the British at ex-Veep Cheney's nervousness that prematurely blew the cover of the Brit's original plot investigation.

By Mustang Bobby: "Reaganites vs. the GOP" -- With a hat tip to Andrew Sullivan, Bobby's wonderfully written rant is just great: "There's a part of me that chortles with maniacal glee when I see the once-mighty-and-bound-for-permanent-majority GOP circling the drain; it's just desserts for their disastrous and vengeful leadership during their stint in the Congress after the 1994 elections which led to the impeachment of Bill Clinton and the election of George W. Bush."

By Michael J.W. Stickings: "Quote of the Day: Andrew Sullivan on Obama and health-care reform" -- Michael's fine post explores the evolution of his own thinking, saying that "there is nonetheless the possibility that Obama retains 'a strategic cunning,' in Sullivan's words, that will actually lead to more substantial change over the long haul."

By Michael J.W. Stickings: "Education indoctrination: Obama speaks to the children" -- This very thorough and good analysis concludes that Republicans, ". . . in situating themselves against a profound statement of American values like this address, all they've done is exposed their own partisan priorities, not to mention their personal and ideological insanity."


Monday

By J. Thomas Duffy: "Happy Labor Day!" -- Duffy's ebullient post is a full-to-the-brim toolkit of items that helped us have a good holiday: fun illustrations, a video, links to lots of great music and Wikipedia's history of the holiday. Yeah!

By Michael J.W. Stickings: "Why 60?" -- Michael wonders aloud why Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) continues to pine for bipartisanship to pass health-care reform legislation.


Creature featured on health care: Quote on Baucus; The big speech; The morning after; A heckle too far.

(Cross-posted at Behind the Links.)