SOTU 2007

For those of you into the State of the Union, you have to check out the Campaign for America's Future's "State of the Union - By the Numbers" resource. For example, my college-student-friends:

Bush's Rhetoric
• 2005 State of the Union: We'll make it easier for Americans to afford a college education, by increasing the size of Pell Grants.
• 2004 State of the Union: I propose larger Pell grants for students who prepare for college with demanding courses in high school.

The Reality


• Average cost of a public four-year college in 2000, annual: $9,958
  
• Average cost of a public four-year college in 2006, annual: $12,796
  
• Maximum Pell grant in 2001 school year: $3,750
  
• Maximum Pell grant in 2006 school year (inflation adjusted): $3,558



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• "State of the Union - By the Numbers" (24 Jan 2007, Campaign for America's Future)

WashU's Betty Wynn passes

A WashU staple has passed :(

For years, they have attended lectures, recitals and other events at which food is served. They were once banned from the university — they had been living in a car on a university parking lot — but sympathetic faculty intervened and pointed out that both Betty and Sam were Wash U. graduates. They were strange, yes, but they were part of the fabric of the university, their sympathizers argued. The administration relented, and the ban was lifted...

She was, by the way, a great conversationalist. Maybe it had something to do with the lectures she had attended over the years, but she was able to talk about almost anything, and she did so with great enthusiasm. The breadth of her knowledge seemed almost shocking because of her appearance. She wore old and mismatched clothes, and she carried things in shopping bags.

• "Woman who lived, died a recluse will be mourned." (7 Jan 2007, STLToday.com)

Choose Generosity, Not Exclusion

I must be on a Keith Ellison kick:

Somewhere in Minneapolis or Jackson or Baltimore, somewhere in America today, there is a young couple that is feeling vulnerable. Maybe one has been laid off due to outsourcing, and maybe, the other is working for something close to a minimum wage. They probably have no medical benefits. Today real income is lower for the typical family than in 2000, while the incomes of the wealthiest families have grown significantly. Things are tough for working people, but in America, we often turn to our faith in tough times...

• "Choose Generosity, Not Exclusion" (7 Jan 2007, WashingtonPost.com)

But it's Thomas Jefferson's Koran!

Rep.-elect Keith Ellison, the first Muslim elected to Congress, found himself under attack last month when he announced he'd take his oath of office on the Koran -- especially from Virginia Rep. Virgil Goode, who called it a threat to American values.

Yet the holy book at tomorrow's ceremony has an unassailably all-American provenance. We've learned that the new congressman -- in a savvy bit of political symbolism -- will hold the personal copy once owned by Thomas Jefferson.

• "But it's Thomas Jefferson's Koran!" (3 Jan 2007, WashingtonPost.com)

2006 in Review - English Words and Phrases

I can't resist sharing this gem:

"Get up One’s Nose – Irritates, as in ‘He gets up my nose!’ (UK)."

• "The Top Words of 2006: ‘Sustainable’ is Top Word, ‘Stay the Course’ is Top Catchphrase, ‘Darfur’ is Top Name, and 'Yoof Speak' is Top Youth Speak Atop Annual List" (31 Dec 2006, The Global Language Monitor)