As a fan of many things sci-fi, I think it's worthwhile to sometimes take a step back and ponder the future. For instance, in 1908 cars and telephones were just beginning to make their presence felt. The US was just starting to experiment with imperialism in Central America and the Philippines. Things were very different.
It makes me re-realize that the ginormous problems we face as a species are going to be managed, if at all, through similar deltas of change. For instance, as we learn to stop digging things out of the ground and burning them to power our civilizations, things like harvesting energy from the friction of walking will be employed along with now-familiar wind and solar power. Or maybe, on the dark side, we'll be sending the space equivalent of oil supertankers to <a href="http://www.esa.int/esaSC/SEMCSUUHJCF_index_0.html>the moon of Titan to suck up it's hydrocarbon-rich atmosphere to be brought back here to burn.
Who knows. My gut sense is that investing outside the status quo is probably smart.
I've been skeptical and critical of the Obama campaign, but I must admit I'm pleased to see the movement they've germinated really taking root and driving them ahead. With another three primary wins under their belt tonight, and the upcoming state of Wisconsin -- once though to be a "showdown" -- now trending towards another decisive victory:
Clinton's campaign is going to be up against a March 4th last-stand having won nothing in a month. Ohio and Texas are still favorable, but will they really buck the big O'mo for three more weeks?
And this is undeniably cool:
410,000 individual donors. A lot of those are $5 from people at a rally or online, but the breadth of the buy-in is pretty spectacular. This is what political junkies have talked about for a long time. The fact that they candidate to pull it off is an political cypher beloved by a decrepit establishment is a little bit of a surprise, but it does seem that Obama and his team have manages to pull off the big task: building a grassroots movement while simultaniously charming the pants off the national media.
And, in case you haven't seen it, the original, which is a pretty amazing little bit of campaign juice:
Things look good for Obama. He swept the weekend primaries, and looks set to sweep Maryland, DC and Virginia. This should build momentum. The big showdowns will be in Wisconsin (February 19), and Texas and Ohio on March 4th. If Obama rolls through there, he will clinch it.
An Obama/McCain showdown would be pretty exciting. Literally the future vs the past. That's a hot matchup, and one that massively favors Democrats as far as I can tell.
It's almost enough to make me want to give money and/or reach out to people in Ohio or Texas.
