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DeepModem Mom's Keyboard
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WELCOME!
 Welcome to DeepModem Mom's Keyboard! You'll find here a mixture of the important and the trivial, the profound and the silly -- whatever particularly piques my interest at the moment, usually from media sources. You'll also find quite a few entries about the media itself. As a "news junkie" since the age of ten, I have sadly watched much of our media, through the Bush years, fail to fulfill its role as the essential fourth branch of our democratic system of government, informing the people and protecting our right to know. (A NOTE: My webpage comes through the courtesy of the website www.democraticunderground.com . The site is a community of progressives, many of them news and political junkies like myself, and a source for an astounding amount of information. While the site is moderated, those who post there are unrestricted re. profanity and good taste. Welcome to the wild new frontier of the Internet. As you would expect from a Mom, there will be no profanity on this page, and the Keyboard will strive to remain well within the bounds of good taste.)  "Deep Throat" Mark Felt was at the centre of one of the longest-running mysteries in journalism. (BBC)  David Straithairn as Edward R. Murrow in "Good Night, and Good Luck" * "If a nation expects to be ignorant and free...it expects what never was and never will be." Thomas Jefferson MOM'S DID-YOU-KNOW-THIS LIST
 A LEAVE OF ABSENCE, or a possible farewell to the Keyboard, 1/21/09:My purpose for the Keyboard was to inform. It was to make clear my view that the leadership of our country, since January, 2001, was not legitimate, and to shine a light on the consequences of that illegitimacy. I felt the democratic system the Founders left us was endangered not only by the illegitimacy itself, but by the lack of respect those in power had for that system and for our Constitution. With the inauguration of Barack Obama, legitimate government is restored to the U.S. The system the Founders gave us corrected itself. Not only is legitimacy restored, but a great majority of the American people now understand the consequences of illegitimate government. They have seen the damage inflicted by government – not of, by and for the people – but of Dick Cheney, by Karl Rove, and for George W. Bush. They can look around them and see where that kind of government has brought us. I have no interest in criticism of President Obama as he tries to pick up the pieces, make us whole again, and take us forward together. He faces odds that seem insurmountable. But we have faced those odds before. And leaders of greatness -- leaders able to lead with the power of words – have appeared to lead us: the Founders, Lincoln, FDR. It may take adding Barack Obama to that list for us to endure, and I believe he may possess the greatness we need. The final words on every page of the Keyboard have been words I did not believe when, in the darkest days, I first posted them. But I was wrong. "I know you are asking today, 'How long will it take?' I come to say to you this afternoon however difficult the moment, however frustrating the hour, it will not be long, because truth pressed to earth will rise again. How long? Not long, because no lie can live forever. How long? Not long, because you still reap what you sow. How long? Not long. Because the arc of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice." -- Martin Luther King, Jr.; 25 March 1965 *** *** ***   CNN: PRESIDENT OBAMA CALLS FOR HALT TO GITMO PROSECUTIONShttp://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/01/21/gua... *** *** WP/AP: PRESIDENT OBAMA HALTS ALL REGULATIONS PENDING REVIEWhttp://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte... "One of President Barack Obama's first acts is to order federal agencies to halt all pending regulations until his administration can review them. The order went out Tuesday afternoon, shortly after Obama was inaugurated president, in a memorandum signed by new White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel....The waning days of former President Bush's administration featured much debate over what rules and regulations he would seek to enact before he left office." *** *** *** * CNN ON-AIR: OBAMAS DANCE THEIR WAY THROUGH NIGHT OF INAUGURAL BALLS  President Obama with First Lady Michelle Obama; her Inaugural gown is by Jason Wu * VIDEO: THE OBAMAS' "FIRST DANCE," AT THE NEIGHBORHOOD BALL, AS BEYONCE SINGS "AT LAST" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RRBYxZ7uxA  *** *** CNN ON-AIR: INAUGURAL PARADE MARCHES UP PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE *** *** CNN ON-AIR: PRESIDENT AND FIRST LADY ATTEND LUNCH AT THE CAPITOL AFTER INAUGURAL CEREMONY  President and Mrs. Obama *** *** CNN ON-AIR: OBAMAS, BIDENS ESCORT BUSHES TO HELICOPTER; IT TAKES OFF, BOUND FOR ANDREWS AIR FORCE BASE, FROM WHICH THE BUSHES DEPART FOR TEXASMY FRIENDS AND FELLOW AMERICANS, THIS DAY DID COME -- HE IS GONE!!! *** *** CNN ON-AIR: PRESIDENT OBAMA DELIVERS INAUGURAL ADDRESS FROM THE WEST FRONT OF THE CAPITOL President Obama Link to text of Inaugural Address: http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/01/20/oba... Link to CNN video of Inaugural Address: http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/politics/... *** *** CNN ON-AIR: BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA IS SWORN IN AS 44TH PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES*** *** CNN: THE OBAMAS ATTEND PRE-INAUGURAL PRAYER SERVICE AT ST. JOHN'S EPISCOPAL CHURCH http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2009/... /  The Obamas arrive at St. John's Church *** *** *** AP: CHIEF JUSTICE ROBERTS STUMBLES WITH WORDS OF PRESIDENTIAL OATH OF OFFICEhttp://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci... "At one point, Obama paused abruptly after Roberts reversed several words in the oath. The oath includes the phrase 'that I will faithfully execute the office of president of the United States' but Roberts didn't say 'faithfully' until after saying 'president of the United States.' Obama apparently realized that something was out of order. With Obama not reciting, Roberts then repeated the phrase correctly, the brief awkward moment ended and Obama was back on track." *** *** LAT: WRITERS PRAISE OBAMA'S INAUGURAL ADDRESS http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/inaug... "More novel than short story; more ballad than poem -- most writers agree that restraint and plain speaking were the qualities that distinguished President Obama's inaugural address. Long on plot (and it will thicken), it did what literature does best: the backward glance, the standing on shoulders, the salute to ancestors and other sources of wisdom. 'He is our first (in the best sense of the word) aristocratic president,' said author and journalist Malcolm Gladwell. 'Bush was a buddy. Clinton was the kindly uncle. Obama is a prince.' And yet, Obama is also a writer, and writers were not at a loss for words. Author Ron Carlson was watching the president's syntax. 'What courage,' he said, 'to use a complex sentence talking to a million people! By expecting the best of us, he just might get it.' Nonfiction writer Mark Kurlansky said the speech 'was the most sophisticated view of the world and our role in it of any inaugural address in history.' Others felt the call to action. 'With an Obama speech, listening is sometimes enough,' said Pulitzer Prize-winner Thomas Powers, 'but not this time. The inauguration speech is one we ought to read. It strikes me as clear and determined and grounded in confidence that of course we are still in the middle of the American story, not nearing the end.'" *** CBS NEWS: COLIN POWELL: "THE AMERICA WE REMEMBER IS BACK AGAIN" http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2009/01/20/po... *** CNN: FEDERAL SECURITY OFFICIALS INVESTIGATE INAUGURATION DAY THREAT http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2009/... / *** NYT, PAGE ONE: HINTS OF AGENDA AND TONE FOR NEW FIRST LADY http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/20/us/polit... *** * AP: MICHELLE OBAMA CHOOSES ISABEL TOLEDO DESIGN FOR INAUGURATION DAY http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/articl... "First lady Michelle Obama wore a sparkling yellow-gold sheath dress with matching coat by Cuban-born American designer Isabel Toledo for the inauguration of her husband, a choice many applauded as a cheerful message of hope and a vote for the American fashion industry. She paired the embellished ensemble with green gloves from J. Crew and green shoes.... Their daughters were style icons in their own right, with 10-year-old Malia in a double-breasted periwinkle-blue coat with a blue-ribbon bow at the waist, and Sasha, 7, in a pink coat with orange scarf and satin belt, a coral-colored dress peeking out at the hem."  * LAT: MICHELLE WEARS JIMMY CHOO'S GREEN "GLACIER" PUMP http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/alltherage... *** * WP/AP: NEW YORK TIMES COMPANY GETS $250 MILLION FROM CARLOS SLIM http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte... * EDITOR&PUBLISHER: DEBT-RIDDEN NEW YORK TIMES IN TALKS WITH MEXICAN BILLIONAIRE CARLOS SLIM FOR BIG INVESTMENT http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/ne... *** *** MOM'S FEATURED VIDEO  BARACK OBAMA TAKES OATH OF OFFICE AS PRESIDENT, AND THE BAND STRIKES UP "HAIL TO THE CHIEF"! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1Yff-_9MZs *** *** CAPITOL HILL  LAT: SENATE CONFIRMS SIX OBAMA CABINET CHOICES; CLINTON, DASCHLE, GEITHNER, SOLIS DELAYEDhttp://www.latimes.com/news/politics/inaug... *** *** CNN ON-AIR: SENATOR KERRY REPORTS SENATOR KENNEDY IMPROVED; WILL BE HOSPITALIZED OVERNIGHT CNN ON-AIR: SENATOR KENNEDY COLLAPSES AT INAUGURAL LUNCHEON, IS TAKEN AWAY IN AMBULANCE CNN: SENATOR KENNEDY ATTENDS INAUGURATION CEREMONYhttp://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2009/... /  Sen. Ted Kennedy arrives on the Inaugural stage. *** *** POLITICS  WP/AP: NEW YORK GOVERNOR PATERSON ACKNOWLEDGES HE IS CONSIDERING ATTORNEY GENERAL ANDREW CUOMO FOR APPOINTMENT TO HILLARY CLINTON'S SENATE SEAT http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte... *** ***  TO REPORT THREATS TO THE PRESIDENT: CONTACT NUMBERS FOR U.S. SECRET SERVICE FIELD OFFICEShttp://www.secretservice.gov/field_offices... *** CORRECT THE GULLIBLE! RESPOND TO SLIME IN FORWARDED E-MAILS! Link to rumor-busting Snopes.com Barack Obama page: http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/obama... MOM'S NOTE OF APPRECIATION FOR THIS WEEK GOES TO:
 BARACK OBAMA, 44TH PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES *** *** MOM'S YOU-SHOULD-BE-ASHAMED-OF-YOURSELF PRIZES FOR THIS WEEK GO TO: * BUSH, CHENEY AND ROVE * THE SUPREME COURT MAJORITY, BUSH V. GORE * THE OHIO ELECTION THIEVES, 2004 MOM'S MISCELLANY
NYT: VISITING THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS: THE GREAT LIBRARY JEFFERSON BEGAN, AND HOW IT GREW http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/16/arts/des... "What is remarkable about Jefferson’s library, which he organized according to a Baconian scheme of memory, reason and imagination, is its eclecticism. There are books of poetry and political philosophy but also texts on anatomy, beekeeping, stenography and the proper management of children. When some members of Congress objected that they didn’t need quite so much technical information, Jefferson said of his library, 'I do not know that it contains any branch of science which Congress would wish to exclude from their collection; there is, in fact, no subject to which a member of Congress may not have occasion to refer.'"  (Richard Perry/NYT) In the Great Hall a bronze statue holds a light aloft. *** NYT: 36 HOURS IN WASHINGTON, D.C.: "WASHINGTON IS SUDDENLY HIP AGAIN"! http://travel.nytimes.com/2009/01/18/trave... *** NYT: SAM MENDES PRODUCES "THE CHERRY ORCHARD," ADAPTED BY TOM STOPPARD, AT THE HARVEY THEATER, BROOKLYN ACADEMY OF MUSIC http://theater2.nytimes.com/2009/01/16/the...  (Sara Krulwich/NYT) Ethan Hawke as the political idealist Trofimov and Sinead Cusack as Ranevskaya in the new production of "The Cherry Orchard." *** NYT: AT THE NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART, A JEWEL OF A PAINTING COLLECTION http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/16/arts/des...  (National Gallery of Art) Vermeer’s dewy “Girl With the Red Hat” (1665-66) MOM'S RECOMMENDED DEMOCRATIC UNDERGROUND POSTS
FROM PRESIDENT OBAMA'S INAUGURAL ADDRESS: "WE REJECT AS FALSE THE CHOICE BETWEEN OUR SAFETY AND OUR IDEALS" posted by G_j http://www.democraticunderground.com/discu... "As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience’s sake. And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more." *** "THANK YOU FOR STANDING UP" posted by babylonsister http://www.democraticunderground.com/discu... "Charles Swift, for daring to take on his government over the illegal military tribunal system and then, unfortunately, being passed over for promotion. Richard Clarke, for speaking out about Bush’s pre-9/11 neglect of terrorism and post-9/11 attempt to link Iraq and al Qaeda....The Dixie Chicks, for being rightfully 'ashamed' of Bush in the lead-up to the Iraq war and then facing the blowback....Joseph Wilson and Valerie Plame Wilson, for speaking out about Bush’s false case for war in Iraq and then suffering the retribution....New York Times and James Risen, for revealing Bush’s illegal warrantless wiretapping and aggravating Dick Cheney. Judge Anna Taylor Diggs, for striking down Bush’s illegal warrantless wiretapping program as an unconstitutional infringement on the right to privacy and free speech. John Podesta, for building and orchestrating the 'vast left-wing conspiracy.'...Cp. Pat Tillman and his family, for service to the nation both in defending it and demanding accountability from it....The retired generals who called on Rumsfeld to resign....Col. Morris Davis, for resigning his position as Chief Prosecutor at Gitmo after revealing the political interference from the Pentagon. Matthew Alexander, for revealing the torture that was carried out against prisoners in Iraq. James Hansen, for revealing the Bush administration’s attempts to censor science....Jack Goldsmith and James Comey, for standing up against their President’s attempts to manipulate the law....Helen Thomas, for daring to ask what most reporters are not willing to.Knight-Ridder’s Warren Strobel and Jonthan Landay, who were among the minority of reporters who looked critically at the Bush administration’s case for war in Iraq." *** THE AUSPICIOUS PORTENT AND SYMBOLISM OF FLIGHT 1549 posted by soupkitchen http://www.democraticunderground.com/discu... "Face it. The country's been flying with damaged engines for some time now. The GOP birdbrains managed to get themselves sucked into the turbines of government, flame out predictably ensued, with total disaster imminent. And then on the eve of a new administration, an administration which, if it is going to succeed in avoiding that disaster, must immediately restore America's belief in and respect for competence -- so thoroughly decimated by the other guys -- along comes Capt Sully Sullenberger to remind us what competency is all about." *** I WENT TO DEEP THROAT'S MEMORIAL posted by Downtown Hound http://www.democraticunderground.com/discu... "Happy journey, Mr. Felt. This nation owes you a great debt." *** YOU DO REALIZE THAT IN A MATTER OF A FEW HOURS THEY WILL BE GONE posted by givemebackmycountry http://www.democraticunderground.com/discu... "Today, tens of thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands of Americans, are gathered in freezing temperatures close to railroad tracks to see the man WE elected. Not the Supreme Court and fat Tony. Not the thieves in Ohio and Florida. US. You and I. WE did it. Yes we can, has turned into yes we DID." *** PHOTO OF THE DAY: NEW ARRIVAL IN D.C. -- HOPE (IT'S BEEN A LONG EIGHT YEARS) posted by Pirate Smile http://www.democraticunderground.com/discu... *** LOOKING BACK, DID WE EVER THINK WE'D GET HERE? posted by FitzmasAgain http://www.democraticunderground.com/discu... "It's here, we can move on, now... God, please bless Barack Obama, President of The United States! Please, watch over him, us, the planet. It's here! And we're here to witness it! The moment's here at last!!!" *** SOME FOLKS NEVER GOT OVER THE STOLEN ELECTION OF 2000 posted by kentuck http://www.democraticunderground.com/discu... "They saw the danger signs even then. (Bush) and his friends would do anything to gain power, including stopping people from counting the votes. What did they have to fear? That they might lose? In the end, we all lost. Now, eight years later, he exits the stage. Every way we turn, we face a disaster....May we never again surrender to such...people in their pursuit of power and greed." (NOTE: ASK ANYONE WHO KNOWS MOM -- SHE WAS ONE OF THOSE FOLKS WHO NEVER FORGOT THE OUTRAGE OF AN AMERICAN ELECTION STOLEN, IN FULL VIEW OF PRESS AND PUBLIC, WITH IMPUNITY. MAY NONE OF US, AFTER THESE EIGHT YEARS, EVER FORGET!) *** "NA NA NA NA, NA NA NA NA, HEY HEY HEY, GOOOOODBYE!!!" I CAN'T GET THAT SONG OUT OF MY HEAD! posted by sparosnare (after Bush's Farewell Speech) http://www.democraticunderground.com/discu... *** BEN & JERRY CREATED "YES PECAN" ICE CREAM FOR OBAMA; FOR GEORGE W. THEY CREATED.... posted by Are_grits_groceries http://www.democraticunderground.com/discu... "Grape Depression Abu Grape Cluster Fudge Nut'n Accomplished Iraqi Road Chock 'n Awe WireTapioca.... Heck of a Job, Brownie!" *** *** JFK: "I'M PROUD TO SAY I'M A LIBERAL" posted by DeeDeeNY http://www.democraticunderground.com/discu... "...if by a 'Liberal' they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people -- their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, and their civil liberties -- someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and suspicions that grip us in our policies abroad, if that is what they mean by a 'Liberal,' then I'm proud to say I'm a 'Liberal.'" *** *** A REMINDER, POSTED BY H20 MAN "I know you are asking today, 'How long will it take?' I come to say to you this afternoon however difficult the moment, however frustrating the hour, it will not be long, because truth pressed to earth will rise again. How long? Not long, because no lie can live forever. How long? Not long, because you still reap what you sow. How long? Not long. Because the arc of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice." -- Martin Luther King, Jr; 25 March 1965 *** *** ***  Visitor Tools
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