I'm saving it for my trip to Australia. I'm going to SPEND IT IN ANOTHER COUNTRY!!

Hmm, how far is Madison WI from the Canadian border?

Is there video of Obama's speech somewhere?

We might just put all of ours toward one of our debts, but if I spend any of mine, it'll go toward the main writers conference I want to attend this year...

...which happens to be in Canada!

I loved Obama's speech, and y'all know I'm a supporter, but I have to admit that lines like this in anyone's campaign speech make me roll my eyes a little:

Farmers and scholars; statesmen and patriots who had traveled across an ocean to escape tyranny and persecution finally made real their declaration of independence at a Philadelphia convention that lasted through the spring of 1787.

Because while it's true that some of the early colonists came over for religious freedom (or, in the case of the Puritans, to build a society where THEY were the dominant creed), 18th century Britain was really not so much with the tyranny and persecution, especially by the standards of the time! I mean, I doubt the Revolution would've worked and resulted in a stable republic if the founders hadn't come out of an existing tradition of devolved power and partially representative government. And I'm sure Obama knows that, and it's not like he should revise his speeches into history lectures just to please one hopelessly pedantic supporter. It's just that I've focused so much of my energies on 18th and early 19th-century Britain in the past seven years that I have divided loyalties for that time period. The War of 1812 really messes with my head, given how much writing and research time and energy I've devoted to the Napoleonic-era British army--I can't root against them.

any refund I get is going to either credit card payments or into savings. no unplanned spending is (one of) my mantra(s) of the moment.

I may clean my desk off today. That would be awesome.

I will read the Obama speech, but the McCartney/Mills divorce decree is here: [link]

Is there video of Obama's speech somewhere?

nytimes.com has it.

I think paying down debt is the perfect way to spend my "stimulus" package.

I am so stoked that the next president of the US (you know, I think he'll win) actually has a command of the English language. I can't tell you how embarassed I am by POTUS every single time he opens his mouth. It's total watch-from-the-hall embarassment.

Seriously, all partisianship aside, have we ever had a president with such a complete lack of understanding of the English language? It's humiliating. I'm not even asking for the eloquence of Obama, here. That's just pretty icing. Just you know, subject/verb agreement. Are republicans/conservatives embarassed by it? I'm not talking about the 30% wingnutters, just regular conservatives. I wonder if they're as embarassed about POTUS as I am about Michael Moore in the "please stop speaking for me" category.

does the times have the whole thing? I could only find the 1st 10 minutes on youtube.

Dude. So now the guy that replaced Spitzer has to give a news conference to say that he had several affairs and slept with at least one state employee while cheating on his wife? Jesus. I mean, the statement isn't so bad, but just the....I can't decide whether I'm more annoyed that no one seems to have a faithful marriage, or that the newsmedia and the public seem to care....