Tonight President Obama addresses the nation in front of Congress.  This will look a lot like a State of the Union speech, but with his Inaugural Address just little over a month ago, he gets technically gets a bye this year, if only in name.  Mr. Obama has performed well in his first month in office or so the American public believes, as evidenced by recent polling.  Certainly the most important achievement of his new administration is the passage last week of the stimulus package.

Tonight we should get a clearer indication of Obama’s plans.  It is expected that he will outline his planned legislative initiatives in health care, energy and of course the economy.  It will be interesting to see how he balances his campaign’s message of hope with his post election message of caution and concern.  So tune in tonight at nine PM eastern and watch one of the great spectacles of American political theater.

Both today’s header and the picture with today’s post are from my 2007 business trip to Washington D.C.  In particular they are from our half hour visit to the Native American Museum.  The picture with today’s post looks up into the dome of the Native American Museum.  The ring of spot lights illuminating the exhibits in the central hall looks like a constellation in the sky.  Centered in the dome within the ring of stars is a circular window that fills the sky like a full moon.

Today’s header shows a small portion of a complete American flag made entirely of beadwork.  The fifteen stripes, both red and white, are embroidered in beads with the names of the Native American nations.  The fifty stars on a blue field are replaced by each state’s two-character postal code.  Bracketing each state’s postal star and determining its position in this map of our nation’s constellation is that state’s four digit year of entry into the union.  The space in-between the lines of stars are filled with words, starting with, I pledge allegiance to the flag …, above the star of Delaware and ending with the author’s signature, Ann Chapoose Ute 9-11-2001, below the star of Hawaii.  How fitting for tonight.