Piece Of Art

Don't tell me that the powers that be aren't aware, moment to moment, of the significance of dates and places. Rumors circulated all morning that President Barack Obama was in Afghanistan, was missing, and/or was in locations unknown. The official White House schedule for May 1, 2012, was as follows: Finally, in the afternoon, the White House Press Office released the correct news: President Barack Obama made an unannounced visit to Afghanistan on Tuesday, May 1, 2012, the first anniversary of the U.S. raid that killed Osama bin Laden in neighboring Pakistan. Obama's plane left Andrews Air Force Base just after midnight Monday and arrived at Bagram Tuesday evening Afghanistan time. The countries have been negotiating a strategic agreement that would outline the basis for U.S.-Afghan cooperation after most U.S. and allied troops withdraw in 2014. Obama and Afghanistan President Karzai signed the agreement on Tuesday, according to the senior administration officials who brief...

Why is President Barack Obama going to Cushing, Oklahoma? What makes Cushing a pinpoint location for a discussion of the energy issues of our day? What twilight language is being served by this visit? The answer rests squarely within the history of the site, and with a name very familiar to my research: Tom Slick. On Wednesday, March 21, 2012, President Obama will fly into Cushing. The next morning, on Thursday, as part of an extended trip for his energy strategy, President Obama is scheduled to officially visit Cushing, Oklahoma, home to the world’s biggest oil storage complex. There he will tour a yard where TransCanada is storing pipes to be used in building the southern leg of the Keystone XL pipeline. The line will stretch from Cushing down to refineries on the Texas gulf coast. What makes Cushing so special? Cushing is a city in Payne County, Oklahoma, United States. The area that would become Cushing was part of the Sac and Fox Reservation. With the Land Run of 1891, governm...