I am sitting here stunned. I have just found out that the climate is changing much faster than scientists used to think. The extraordinary process of sudden climate change is not somewhere down the road. It is staring us right in the face. What is worse, we are absolutely unprepared. A large minority of the public actually believes the loopy idea that nothing is wrong with the climate. This silliness goes on, despite the warnings of science and the very visible–and violent– deterioration of the weather. Last summer was one of the warmest on record. This winter, the northern hemisphere– especially Siberia and Mongolia–have experienced terrifying cold, almost record-breaking cold.
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Today we inaugurate the forty-third President of the United States. It is an interesting experience for me, because, living here in Texas, I share many mutual friends with George and Laura Bush. There are many familiar faces flashing past on the podium. I remember when my father began to speak of George Bush Sr. as a newcomer, when he first began to make a name for himself in the oil business. Later on, I wondered how it must have felt to lead America into war, and how difficult the decision must have been not to pursue Saddam Hussein to Baghdad. I wonder, as we move daily closer to war in the Mideast, how our new president must feel, knowing that he, also, may have to command the nation in a war there.
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Thirty seven years ago today, as of the moment I just put pen to paper, John F. Kennedy was shot dead in Dallas, Texas by unknown assassins, for unknown reasons. From that moment to this, the American Presidency has been an institution in decline.

The decline actually started in November of 1960, when Mayor Richard Daley of Chicago stole the election for Kennedy. Richard Nixon, who, despite all his faults and failings, was at least a statesman, declined to contest the election, instead conceding and then quietly attempting to prove voter fraud or get recounts in various constituencies.
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Two weak candidates, a hung election. Who could have expected otherwise? Not only that, they begin making spectacles of themselves almost immediately. First, Al Gore, foolishly relying on television news as his source, concedes. Then, a few minutes later, he retracts his concession. Does George Bush react in a statesmanlike manner? Perhaps, if it’s statesmanlike to be snippy.

Then there follows the grotesque, contradictory and foolish battle of the ballots in Florida, as each candidate frantically seeks to get the roulette wheel to stop on his color. The actual truth is that balloting this close has a random outcome. So the electorate hasn’t spoken at all. The roulette wheel has spoken.
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