Source: ABC News online
Call me a cynic, but I hope nothing goes wrong with the polls.
November 4th, 2008
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11pm EST. Whew!
November 4, 2008 by Gail
Category Politics + Economy | Tags: | 5 Comments
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USA Today: McCain and Obama On Travel Issues
November 4, 2008 by Gail
Via a link from The Window Seat, a comprehensive USA Today article that would be interesting for any other travelmongers out there who are concerned with the future of travel and how the two U.S. presidential candidates differ on the issues:
USA TODAY online, October 28, 2008: Evaluating McCain and Obama on travel issues
The intro:
The pollsters say there are still quite a few undecided voters out there, so if two wars and an economic crisis aren’t enough to sway your opinion, maybe it’s time to evaluate both candidates’ views on travel and aviation.
It’s easy to argue that how a president addresses the nation’s economic woes directly affects the travel industry. As do a host of other campaign topics—national security, energy, global warming, employment, taxation and dozens more. But what follows is a rundown of specific travel and aviation issues, with the stated positions and track records of both Sen. John McCain and Sen. Barack Obama.
Being a bit of a rail fan, it’s interesting to note that VP candidate Joe Biden (who was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania) is an outspoken supporter of Amtrak. I’d love to see train travel become a more viable transportation option in all of North America, the way it is in Europe. Canada doesn’t have the population density across the country to compete with air travel for the same routes, but the U.S. does.
Category Linkage, Politics + Economy, Travel | Tags: | No Comments
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This American Life
November 4, 2008 by Gail
I think this was David’s kindergarten or Grade 1 photo, taken sometime in the early ’70s.
Apart from the obvious reasons, I really really wish David were alive to see today. He was a patriotic American who was frustrated with the policies of the Bush Administration. I accompanied David during the last federal election when he went to the polls on November 2, 2004. Of course, I couldn’t legally vote, but I was interested in seeing how it’s done in the States.
David was deeply disappointed with the outcome of the 2004 election, and wanted to move with me to Vancouver when Bush was elected for a second term. But David’s mother refused to leave Pennsylvania, so we decided we would live in PA as long as his mother was alive and move to Vancouver later. That later never happened.
David’s maternal grandmother, who died of cancer when he was 16*, was a political campaigner for the Democratic Party and was a major influence on David when he was growing up. (It’s his grandmother’s diamonds in our wedding rings.) He often told me stories about how his Orthodox Jewish grandmother bucked tradition by sitting with the men in temple to talk politics instead of sitting with the women, and how they couldn’t walk 20 paces in town because Rachel Schneider knew everyone and would stop and greet one and all. It was because of her that David was a proud Democrat.
In late 2005, David was impressed by Senator Obama from Illinois, and was of the opinion that Obama had the intellect and ability to lead the Democratic Party.
David, how I wish you were alive today to see how much American life has already changed in the nearly three years since you left us and how far Obama has come…
* I couldn’t help but feel sadness when I heard that Obama’s grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, who helped raise him, died of cancer over the weekend — only a few days before this historic occasion. (His mother, Ann Dunham, also died of cancer, in 1995.) Madelyn Dunham voted early, and it was made official in the state of Hawaii that her vote for her grandson counted.
Category David, Linkage, Politics + Economy | Tags: | 3 Comments