Beginning To Wonder

First up, from the sterling minds on the editorial board of the San Antonio Express-News:

Terrorism is a clear and present danger. You know, I hate to admit it, but I am a sucker for those Tom Clancy-based movies like "Clear and Present Danger". Perhaps the author of this editorial should have watched it before assigning this title to his/her piece and thus invoking memories of this plot which, you know, is all about a President (who bears a striking resemblance in both appearance and character to Bush Sr.) who reacts emotionally and turns loose a rogue faction of his administration, resulting in lost American lives and all sorts of other bad things.

Then there's hilzoy:

Terrorism's Perverse Success?

And who could add to that?

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Safe and sound, had a great time. Friends, food and copious amounts of alcohol make a pretty swell combination I say. Here's a little something to tide you over until I feel up to writing something:

Sorry to have been absent lately. Life tends to get in the way of blogging duties sometimes, as I am finding out. Anyway, I'm still happy with our new President - so far, so good I say even if he isn't the pinko commie Hitleresque leftist that I thought he was when I voted for him. Hah!

I'm going out of town for a few days, probably be back on Saturday. My job for this year's Thanksgiving is to bring "sides" and I threw in a pumpkin flan also. The side dishes I'm bringing are: Orange Roasted Sweet Potatoes Con Poblanos, Spinach Artichoke Casserole, Corn Pudding, and Garlic Green Beans. Any of you out there cooking? I'd love to hear some of your favorite dishes and/or recipes in the comments.

Will also be watching to see if our Dallas Cowboys can hang on to their sliver of a hope of getting into the playoffs this year. Maybe go see "Milk", play some croquet, drink liberally - try to forget the crash for just a little while. How 'bout you?

Regarding all the buzz about the possiblity of a 60-seat filibuster-proof majority in the Senate, I heard this mentioned on some show last night (might have been Countdown, not sure) and it was something that had also occurred to me: There is, of course, no assurance that even if we have 60 Democrats in the Senate they would all vote with the Democratic caucus - they probably won't on every issue. Furthermore, on some issues, it should not be difficult to find moderate Republicans who are willing to vote with Democrats. Thus, a filibuster-proof majority is going to depend more on the strength of Obama's/Democrats' agenda and their political skills than on the actual number of Democrats in the Senate. Seems that way to me, anyway. That said, the more Democrats the better, no doubt, but I'm still more concerned about the quality rather than the quantity of Senate Democrats - and that of course is what requires our vigilance and participation.

It's fun watching this new administration begin to take shape. I really don't know what to make of the brouhaha over Hillary for Scty/State, except that the press just seems to get the vapors about anything Clinton-related. I think she'd be fine, and I don't believe there would be any problems with either her OR Bill attempting to "upstage" Obama. That scenario seems like press drama dreamed up entirely for their own amusement. I liked John Kerry for the job, too, though frankly I'd be sorry to lose either of them in the Senate, and not because of that 60-vote majority thing but because they're both good Senators.

By all accounts, Daschle is a great pick for HHS. I like Howard Dean, and I think he deserves to be rewarded for the job he did with the DNC, so I hope that happens. Greenwald, whose authority on this subject I respect, has what seems to be to be a thorough and ultimately positive assessment of the Eric Holder pick. I think that most of us who feel strongly that there should be some serious investigations and prosecutions for the criminal abuses of the Bush administration know that we are going to be disappointed(this little comedy notwithstanding), but for now, are willing to give Obama the benefit of the doubt that he will move a progressive agenda significantly forward. And that, added to the pleasure of seeing the back end of George W. Bush as he fades into history, is reason enough to relax and say an extra prayer of Thanksgiving as we head into this holiday week.

Glenn Greenwald has rightfully excoriated the particularly pernicious example of rightwing wordplay (given legs, of course, by helpful Democrats and pundits) of calling the President "our" Commander-in-Chief. Our Decider Chimp just loved to strap on his codpiece, dress up in a flightsuit and prance around on an aircraft carrier calling himself "Commander-in-Chief." It's not that hard to see how this wordplay has contributed to the encroaching misperception that our President, and those whom he deems worthy, are above the law. Our founders went to great lengths to ensure that we do not live under a monarchy; that we answer to a concept, not a person, and that concept is The Rule of Law. I believe that Barack Obama understands this, but I hope that he also understands how corrosive the Bush administration has been to that concept and what steps are going to be necessary to restore its validity.

UPDATE: This is not a good first step. Yeah, I know that what Joe Lieberman did was not against the law, but what I'm talking about here is accountablility, which is what standing for the rule of law is all about - and this does not bode well for Obama's and Senate Democrats' commitment to accountability - or, for that matter, to that "Change" thing that Obama campaigned on. As Jane Hamsher says:

Who the hell sets up twin bathtubs outside and WHY? Wouldn't lawn chairs be a lot easier?