Link Me Up, Scotty - The Power of Books Edition

Thursday, January 19, 2017

President Obama on the power of the written word, and how it has shaped his life and his Presidency. I cannot tell you how much I'm going to miss this President. Can you imagine our next president lamenting about how his duties has kept him from literature during his tenure? I cannot.

H/T Sistah Stacey

(NYT: Mainstream Media source with minimal partisan bias)
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The irrepressible Helen of Margaret and Helen on elitism and the upcoming inauguration of Donald Trump. I wonder if I will be so irrepressible when I am her age.

(Margaret and Helen: The personal blog of Helen Philpot and Margaret Schmechtman)
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Remembering the Selma march, and our own obligations to speak in the current era.

Popehat: A group blog about whatever its authors want. Often its authors want to talk about free speech, liberty, criminal justice, the legal system and its foibles, and related issues. But Popehat isn't a law blog, and what is published there isn't legal advice. They also like to talk about games and what you might call geek culture.
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An opinion piece by Richard Cohen of the Washington Post about the similarities between LBJ and the President Elect. Food for thought, because while Johnson was eventually considered one of the best domestic Presidents of the last century (while simultaneously being one of the worst foreign policy Presidents of that century), he accomplished what he did with his undeniable political skills and savvy. The President Elect has no such skills.

(WaPo: Mainstream media source with minimal partisan bias)
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Author John Scalzi on the end of the Obama years. This is largely how I feel about it myself, especially the part about President Obama being incredibly dignified, thoughtful, intelligent, serious, and a good and honorable man. When I was a younger person, I assumed that anyone who was voted into the Oval Office would naturally have these qualities. Time and disappointment has largely beaten that out of me, which is why I'm so very wistful to see him go.

Whatever: The personal blog of author John Scalzi
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Kroger, the largest U.S. supermarket chain, has decided to offer its transgender workers full healthcare benefits. I've been shopping there almost exclusively since I returned to Colorado in 1996, and this makes me happy and proud to have done so.

Forbes: A right-leaning business magazine with a high degree of accuracy.
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An interesting comparison of the President Elect to the past president he most resembles - Andrew Jackson.

Dallas News: A right-leaning Mainstream Media news source with a high degree of accuracy. 
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Shippie Jim Wright on the President's decision to give clemency to Chelsea Manning. Um, yes. Just so. The issue is not her status as a transwoman. The issue is her decision in choosing to forsake her oath. 

Stonekettle Station: The personal blog of author Jim Wright 

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