Looking forward with hope

President-elect Barack Obama’s inauguration next Tuesday has taken on extraordinary meaning for many in our nation. For some, it’s the very welcome end of the eight years  of the Bush administration, during which they believe the failures outweighed the successes by a wide margin. For others, it marks the point in time when Americans can really start to put the last 300 years of racial inequality behind us. It will be the day Americans confirm that a black man can be our leader and not only a neighbor, friend or colleague. This aspect of such a significant turning point in our history has galvanized Democrats, Republicans and independents alike, creating a shared awareness of history.

Of course, the unfortunate thing about this historical moment is that our new president is inheriting an unprecedented array of monumental problems. The loss of jobs, decline in housing values, high rate of foreclosure, state governments experiencing extreme fiscal crises, spiraling cost of health care, the burgeoning worldwide economic crisis, the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, the continued conflict in Gaza between Hamas and Israel, Russia’s friction with Ukraine, India’s friction with Pakistan: The list goes on and on.

Fortunately, Obama is maintaining a balanced view of the many problems he’ll be taking on. And he’s chosen his support in his administration carefully and diplomatically, yet keeping his own counsel, to build a strong team, be they colleagues, rivals or both as time goes on. He has a plan to create jobs which he has expanded as the economy has continued to weaken, now including more than four million employment opportunities, many designed to improve the nation’s infrastructure. It would seem that the country could be headed in a new, necessary and positive direction.

There could also, however, be good reason to fear for the success of the new administration’s planning. While it would seem obvious that with majorities in Congress and a historical administration coming into power, the Democrats should be cooperating toward a common goal. But already, there’s friction on Capitol Hill. When it comes to money and power, the tactics of long-time politicians are often indistinguishable between the parties.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has publicly opposed Obama on the issue of seating the proposed senator from Illinois, Roland Burris, who was nominated by the disgraced, and now impeached, but non-convicted Illinois Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich. Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California took public exception to Obama’s nomination of Leon E. Panetta as the CIA director, seemingly most disgruntled because she was not consulted on the decision. Feinstein has now come out in support of Panetta, but not before joining Reid in creating a public perception of discord within their party.

     Wouldn’t it be better if as Americans we could believe that our representatives in Washington, D.C., have the capacity to step up with true leadership when a crisis strikes the country and that they are able to act in the best interests of their constituents? This is a time that is a real test for our Republic. Our elected officials in the Senate and House need to undergo a paradigm shift in their world views if the Obama administration is going to find any measure of success in the next four years. Rather than jockeying for position on the Hill, they could actually step back and think about what it will take to pull their employer, the United States of America, back on track.

    Inauguration Day will be historic, whether or not the U.S. Congress, after the day has passed, decides to pull together and agree on a path that will improve the lot of our nation. But if they can find a way to move toward meaningful cooperation and action, it is just possible that the country can now look forward to real, focused, organized progress during the Obama administration.

 

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Club baseball at Fuessenich Park

Travel league baseball came to Torrington Thursday, June 26, when the Berkshire Bears Select Team played the Connecticut Moose 18U squad. The Moose won 6-4 in a back-and-forth game. Two players on the Bears play varsity ball at Housatonic Valley Regional High School: shortstop Anthony Foley and first baseman Wes Allyn. Foley went 1-for-3 at bat with an RBI in the game at Fuessenich Park.

 

  Anthony Foley, rising senior at Housatonic Valley Regional High School, went 1-for-3 at bat for the Bears June 26.Photo by Riley Klein 

 
Siglio Press: Uncommon books at the intersection of art and literature

Uncommon books at the intersection of art and literature.

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Siglio Press is a small, independent publishing house based in Egremont, Massachusetts, known for producing “uncommon books at the intersection of art and literature.” Founded and run by editor and publisher Lisa Pearson, Siglio has, since 2008, designed books that challenge conventions of both form and content.

A visit to Pearson’s airy studio suggests uncommon work, to be sure. Each of four very large tables were covered with what looked to be thousands of miniature squares of inkjet-printed, kaleidoscopically colored pieces of paper. Another table was covered with dozens of book/illustration-size, abstracted images of deer, made up of colored dots. For the enchanted and the mystified, Pearson kindly explained that these pieces were to be collaged together as artworks by the artist Richard Kraft (a frequent contributor to the Siglio Press and Pearson’s husband). The works would be accompanied by writings by two poets, Elizabeth Zuba and Monica Torre, in an as-yet-to-be-named book, inspired by a found copy of a worn French children’s book from the 1930s called “Robin de Bois” (Robin Hood).

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Cyclists head south on the rail trail from Copake Falls.

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For those lucky enough to already possess their own bike, perhaps the routes described will inspire a new way to spend a Sunday afternoon. For more, visit lakevillejournal.com/tag/bike-route to check out two ride-guides from local cyclists that will appeal to enthusiasts of many levels looking for a varied trip through the region’s stunning summer scenery.

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