Presidential Library versus The Boston Globe

I was going through my Google Reader today and noticed that a friend of mine had shared two articles that individually caught my interest. But seeing the headlines of the two articles together was what inspired this post:

- N.Y. Times to File Notice It Will Close Boston Globe
- Bush Library Raises $100 Million in 100 days

Sunday mornings, I would sit on the carpet in my living room with the various sections of the Boston Globe strewn around me. Granted, I was quite young and gravitated towards the front page and the comics. But I learned how to read newspapers on Sunday mornings. My love for the news can be traced back to the Boston Globe.

And these libraries. I appreciate what these libraries represent and the role they play in preserving history. But who goes to these libraries? Not enough to warrant one for each president - especially when they come at more than $100 million a pop.

Now, far be it for me to suggest where people should donate their money. It just struck me that there is $100 million that people are willing to give for a library - enough to cover the Boston Globe's expected losses this year. Or a better way to think of it: which institution touches more people?

On civic responsibility and paying taxes

I know I haven't written in a long time and I would like to write about my move to Washington, DC (surprise! to anyone who didn't know). But I'm going to push that to another day.

Instead, I would like to write about an event I attended yesterday at a very interesting cafe. The speaker was Howard Zinn - a man I have deeply admired since I first heard him speak at Johns Hopkins a couple years ago. The focus of his talk was the new Obama administration and how it is still our civic responsibility to put pressure on our new president. His point, which is valid, is that we've placed so much hope on Obama. But we forget - he too is a politician. What I appreciated was, rather than bashing politics, Zinn was sending the message of civic responsibility. A message we often forget. But that's why I voted for Obama - he campaigned on that message. A little more in my next post (yes the one in which I discuss my new DC life) about whether or not he's selling out. But first...

Of course civic responsibility seems a lot to ask for these days. With the controversies surrounding Daschle, Geithner and Kellifer, personal responsibility seems to be the new target. I'm so torn. I'm confident that Daschle, at least, would have been a good HHS Secretary. I still don't know enough about Geithner and Kellifer, but they were nominated for a reason, right?

But what kind of world do we live in if our leaders owe $150,000 in taxes? I mean, at least they've been put under pressure because of it; which is more than I can say for a country like India. But what about all those people - poor, middle class, wealthy - who DO pay their taxes? Who don't make mistakes on their taxes? Who fix mistakes as soon as they receive a notice from the IRS? What can you say to them?

Backtracking a little bit - Howard Zinn is quite a humorous man. I picked up a copy of A People's History (which he signed! eek!) Going to re-read that after I finish Three Cups of Tea.