Lina Chung: August 2008 Archives

To be quite honest, Hillary's speech was goosebump-worthy. Powerful, assertive and compelling--but was it convincing? Most of the speech was a highlight of Hillary's campaign-trail tales and a re-cap of her own personal political achievements. It seemed as though the Barack Obama endorsements were awkwardly placed throughout her speech, just for good measure. I'm scared for Obama--is he strong enough to carry this election toward a presidential victory? Throwing in the visual support of a Clinton or Kennedy might have surface results (i.e. goosebumps, tears of joy, liberal hey-day nostalgia, etc.) but is it enough? At this point, it doesn't seem so. Obama's support is flailing, so we'll have to see if the past few weeks' Biden-Kennedy-Clinton formula will bring election glory, come November.

The ideal VP would complement the Presidential candidate - be the butter to his bread.

In the Obama camp, rumors are currently flying that Senator Joe Biden of Delaware is Obama's top choice (though Biden denies this). It makes sense: Biden, as the Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman, could provide the strength and muscle to Obama's foreign-policy Achilles' heel. That's achieving one goal when picking a VP (as Earl noted): making up for what you lack, a.k.a. do what'll reap the greatest benefits at the polls.

On the other hand, McCain is stuck in a controversial situation: he named pro-choice Tom Ridge (former governor of Pennsylvania and ex-head of the Department of Homeland Security) as a strong VP possibility. This leaves McCain in a political pickle - alienate the ultra-conservatives or attract those who are more in the center?

When I originally saw this article I thought it was about L.A. wasting money on freeway renovation.

But no, it's literally a story about a man (code named "Mr. Yee") whose backpack flew open and out poured $2,000 worth of cash.

Incredible. The one time I actually wish I were on the 10.

Jack Johnson is set to perform at UCLA in order to raise awareness for the L.A. River. And while I'm not a particular fan of Johnson's, I think this summer's an opportune time to bring back the River into the L.A. spotlight. LA Weekly ran a feature this week on a group of performance artists called the Mud People who kayak down the river's modern-day flood channels in order to disprove the common notion that the River is not navigable. The Daily News ran a similar article on the L.A. River Expedition 2008 Kayak Team last month.

There will always be debate regarding whether or not the River can be salvaged. Historically transformed into a concrete flood channel following a devastating flood in the 1930s, the River has since undergone constant efforts for revitalization and eco-restoration. Los Angeles City Councilman Ed Reyes has championed the River's natural defense.

If the River were to be saved, that'd be a huge relief for L.A. both aesthetically and and economically - currently, L.A. spends about $1 billion a year importing water from outside sources like the Colorado River. But it will take more than idealism to revitalize the River from its current state into a key resource for our city's standard of living.

Perhaps Johnson can provide some relief.