What I'm Reading Sunday, October 16, 2011

Dan Wheldon

I’m something of a auto racing fan and I like to watch in particular F-1 and Indy Car racing so I was watching the last race of the season this afternoon to see how the Franchitti-Powers feud that has been going on most of the season would play out so I saw the shocking 15 car wreck on Lap 11 that ultimately took the life of Dan Wheldon. That was the worst wreck I can recall seeing in my adult life and while it is tragic for anyone to lose their life racing in losing Dan Wheldon we’ve lost one of the good guys. As I waited for two hours I had a hunch the news would not be good since the announcers and the IndyCar officials were so quiet and cautious about what they would say.

Marty Reid, one of the television announcers covering the race put it best in his closing saying…”Many people ask me why I always sign off ‘Till we meet again.’ Because goodbye is always so final… Goodbye, Dan Wheldon.”

I think I am going to make a conscious effort to never say goodbye again and instead always say ‘Till we meet again’ or something similarly apropos. Goodbye is always so final.

• The deadly realities of racecar driving – CBS News

Politics

• Robert Reich The Rise of the Regressive Right and the Reawakening of America.
• Obama MLK Memorial Dedication Speech Cites Jobs, Economy: ‘I Know We Will Overcome’
• Occupy Wall Street Humor: Great Cartoon Plus The Onion | ThinkProgress
• Daily Kos: Who is waging class warfare?
• Little Green Footballs – Herman Cain on His Electrified Fence: “That’s a Joke”
• David Brooks And The Ding An Sich | ThinkProgress
• Michael Hiltzik: A debit of gratitude to Bank of America – latimes.com