"We cannot make this journey unless we all move forward together."

Just wanted to throw out a quick response to President Obama's speech to the U.N. General Assembly this morning. News links and more feedback to follow.

*spoiler alert!* It's speeches like this that remind me why I voted for Obama in the first place. If I tried to put down all the worthwhile quotes I would basically have transcribed the speech. What the President offered was a true departure from the often contentious relationship between previous administrations and the U.N., which we've been guilty of treating like the red-headed stepchild of international relations rather than a forum for true global governance.

In his speech, President Obama took responsibility for our past shortcomings but also reminded other states of theirs. He advocated for a forward-looking attitude when overcoming the huge issues that we face today. And he underscored the importance of engagement and cooperation between states and within the international organizations that we've helped to establish: "We cannot make this journey unless we all move forward together."

News links and further commentary to follow.

**UPDATE**

As promised...first up, coverage from Reuters:
Israel's Netanyahu welcomes Obama UN call for talks

First, PM Netanyahu, were we listening to the same speech? I'm pretty sure that President Obama's call for a two-state solution and his comments on the ongoing Israel-Palestine dispute weren't exactly pinpointing Palestinian authorities as the problem... Not to mention, my daily Torah emails yesterday included a censure of the President for his seemingly anti-Israel stance. All of that aside, however, the two-state solution is the only viable one, and once you all put aside your prejudices and (let's face it) greed you can actually begin working toward a sustainable peace for your people.

President Obama was right: the people who pay for these conflicts aren't the politicians or the military, but the innocent civilians who fear for their lives day after day, and who are separated from their loved ones by arbitrary boundaries.


Next up: The New York Times counts the visit a success, highlighting not only the President's speech to the General Assembly, but gains made through talks with foreign leaders throughout the day. Most notably, Russian President Dmitri Medvedev verbally committed to standing with the United States on pursuing tougher sanctions for Iran should they not make further progress in next month's talks.

I don't believe I have ever seen a piece in the NYT that was openly critical of the President, but in this case I have to agree with them wholeheartedly. The speech was an important first step in amending our approach to international relations, but it was not a complete departure from our past foreign policy. Rather, it demonstrated a pragmatic approach to the issues facing the world, and established our position on those issues as well as a commitment to work with the international community rather than against it.

For more coverage of the speech and the rest of President Obama's first day at the U.N., check out these stories from The Boston Globe, the BBC, and (for "balance") some interesting commentary from Sean Hannity.

Rants and Raves home

Promise Rings

I was driving back from a lunch date and Ryan Seacrest was on the radio (don't judge) talking about promise rings. The guy he had on with him (I think his name was Brad...) was going on about how he cares about his girlfriend and wants to get her a ring to show her, blah blah blah, but he doesn't want to propose because, well, they've only been dating for six months.

First, six months is a reasonable period of time to date before proposing marriage -- if you're ready.

Second, and the point of this little rant, if you aren't ready to propose then screw the promise ring. What is a promise ring anyway but a leash and collar? (Thanks to Ellen for that) It's one more consumer-driven and pathetic excuse to go rack up another bill for hundreds of dollars in the hopes of placating your girlfriend for a few more months while you decide what to do with her.

I like rings. I think they're pretty, and I always wear one or two. That being said, what I don't like is having to explain to someone that the ring I got for Christmas or my birthday from a sweet significant other is not -- let me say that again, not -- a precursor to The Ring. This happened to me two Christmases ago, when my then-boyfriend's parents began the wedding speculation because he made the decision to buy me a pretty ring instead of a necklace or bracelet or hell, a good book about botany or something. Talk about your awkward situations.

In our society it is no longer enough in a relationship to quietly date, then decide to marry. There has to be a milestone for everything: "Oh my GOD, we've been together for two whole months!" "Happy six month anniversary!" And on, and on. There is a commemoration for each step in a process that really has but a few -- you date, with or without a declaration of exclusivity; you get engaged; you marry.

Now, it looks something like this:
-Talking (flirting, meeting for drinks, maybe hooking up)
-Dating (you see each other a few times a week, but you're open to dating others)
-Relationship (yay, you're a couple. Gag me.)
-"Getting serious" (at this ambiguous point you may begin discussing marriage, but more likely you decide to move into a house or apartment together. You may have a kid. This stage has no set time limit, and is the first appearance of the dreaded "promise ring".)
-Engagement (if you've managed to not drown in the complexity of the preceding four stages, you may just decide that it's worth it to commit to this person -- for a few years if not for life. This is not happily ever after, though, but a stopping point before the vows. This is where you should be getting a ring.)
-Marriage (I'm not even getting into it here)
-The rest of your life (including but not limited to children, separation, divorce, mid-life crises, job changes, medical scares and the occasional week-long vacation)

All I'm saying is, what's the point?