It was an amazing experience. Tons and tons of pictures, tons and tons of silence. I sort of fell like I’ve been on a three week retreat. Could have stayed out a bit longer…
…I sure am glad to see my wife and kids again, though.
That’s where I’ll be for the next 3 weeks. (I think we might actually be going to that very spot…although the Wind River Range is a big place, I know.) Should be fun. Just me, my camera, God’s Country…and about a dozen other guys. Wait, who’s idea was this, anyway?
Pray for me.
So the novelistic tension of the 2008 race is this: Can Obama overcome his pride and Hyde Park hauteur and win America over?
Can America overcome its prejudice to elect the first black president? And can it move past its biases to figure out if Obama’s supposed conceit is really just the protective shield and defense mechanism of someone who grew up half white and half black, a perpetual outsider whose father deserted him and whose mother, while loving, sometimes did so as well?
Can Miss Bennet teach Mr. Darcy to let down his guard, be more sportive, and laugh at himself?
A quick thought for Ms. Dowd: what if America has moved past its supposed prejudices? What if The Country Known As Miss Bennett has actually seen past its “biases,” and figured out that Mr. Obama is nothing like Mr. Darcy? What if Obama’s conceits are real, and ones that refuse to respond to the letting down of one’s guard, or sportiveness, or laughter?
What if he’s actually Edward Casaubon?
1. I will be away from my bookshelf (and pretty much everything else) for three weeks.
2. I can bring a single paperback book with me.
What should it be?
Sort of a “desert island” question.
Oh, and fine. It’s not philosophical.
Mohegan Sun officials said the casino’s net income in the third quarter dropped 89 percent compared with the same period last year, and they’re placing some of the blame on gamblers’ extraordinary luck.
The Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority reported net income of $5 million Thursday for the three months ending June 30.
Mitchell Etess, Mohegan Sun’s president and chief executive officer, said the casino had an extremely long streak of bad luck.
In the political realm, this seems like a good parallel:
If folks like Dana Milbank start thinking YOU’RE being arrogant, you may have overplayed the “America’s Savior” card just a bit.
