Reaction in France

France is reacting overwhelmingly positively to the American election, but the French political class is also doing some introspection.  The youth, children of immigrants, are saying things like "I'm going to put my picture on my CV now" [In France, one attaches a portrait to a CV].  Not all are optimistic, but, still they see the elections as a positive step.

Recent French elections have some strong parallels with Nixonian and post-Nixonian identity politics.  Sarkozy, for one, managed to send out clearly racist messages while sounding the alarm about "personal responsibility," "delinquance," etc.  It is/was classic dog-whistle politics.  Like some American administrations, though, he as been innovative in not always promoting the elite-school technocrats but rather universitaires and minorities.  His actions, like George Bush appointing Powell or Rice, show the cognitive dissonance of his public policies and personal ones.

The Enemies List: Operation Leper

At Red State (I can't believe I'm even typing the name of that hate-filled site), they're gettin' their Palin on and starting an enemies list:

RedState is pleased to announce it is engaging in a special project: Operation Leper.
We're tracking down all the people from the McCain campaign now whispering smears against Governor Palin to Carl Cameron and others. Michelle Malkin has the details.
We intend to constantly remind the base about these people, monitor who they are working for, and, when 2012 rolls around, see which candidates hire them. Naturally then, you'll see us go to war against those candidates.
It is our expressed intention to make these few people political lepers.
They'll just have to be stuck at CBS with Katie's failed ratings.
Initial list:

1. Nichole Wallace
2. Steve Schmidt
3. Mark McKinnon

Who other than Fox commentator Michelle "Let's Intern the Japanese!" Malkin would be heading this up.  Really, folks, this seems awfully angry and spiteful.

In other news, textbook watchdogs say that most school texts still discriminate against non-Europeans and people of color.  I wonder what MM would say about that.

In Paris this morning

New Photoset: Voting Portraits

Wow.

Wow.  Cool.  Happy.  Great.  Scary.  Fun.  Enthralling.  Exciting.  New.  Radical.  Same.  Different. 

I voted

I voted in Whittier this morning.  There was hardly a crowd.  I wonder if people decided to vote later because of the rain we'd had.  (Rain tends to make people afraid in L.A. because of traffic issues.)

More later... I'm happy.  Really happy.  Picture project in the works.

Fred Barnes: Early Voting Was Crowded With

Those "poor old people" would be "better off voting when they should."

The garden

grevillea
Originally uploaded by andrethegiant

With the election, school, hosting a conference... I've had a hard time getting out to the garden recently other than do grunt work. This weekend brought me some time to shoot a couple of pictures.