The weather continues to tease us with temps in the high 40's and low 50's (that's 7C to 10C everywhere other than the US). If this is a head-fake and we end up buried up to our necks in snow a couple weeks from now, there are going to be a great number of very angry people, including yours truly.
So anyway, I'm up at 3 o'clock this morning with nothing better to do than read about the Democratic party shooting itself in the foot. Obama has chosen to surround himself with Chicago thugs that are about as subtle as a brick through a window. The November elections will be interesting; even more interesting will be Hope-n-Change's response to losing the majority in one or both houses. Will he do a Bill Clinton, or will he double down with his juvenile "Guess what? We won." attitude? As much as I'd like to see the Democrats implode, it would be a disaster for the country. I never thought I would say this, but I'm becoming nostalgic for the Clinton years when the worst we had to worry about was Waco and Ruby Ridge. We can hope that The One learns the right lessons from the November elections.
And as always, the British press has an interesting perspective on US politics:
Mr Obama benefited in his campaign from an idiotic level of idolatry, in which most of the media participated with an astonishing suspension of cynicism....
The root of the problem seems to be the management of expectations. The magnificent campaign created the notion that Mr Obama could walk on water. Oddly enough, he can't....
There are lessons from the stumbling of Mr Obama for our own country as we approach a general election. Vacuous promises of change are hostages to fortune if they cannot be delivered upon to improve the living conditions of a people. The slickness of campaigning that comes from a combination of heavy funding and public relations expertise does not inevitably translate into an ability to govern. There is no point a nation's having the audacity of hope unless it also has the sophistication and the will to turn it into action. As things stand, Barack Obama and America under his leadership do not.
Campaigning is not governing. Obama needs to learn this. The question is, will he?
The national ID card is back on the table. I'm of two minds about this. As a libertarian, a national ID card would be yet-another nail in the coffin of federalism and another push down the road to making Washington DC into the Imperial City. But another part of me understands that federalism is dead and buried, the sod grown over the unmarked grave, and its location forgotten. Not even Bones could find it now. Will whatever federal agency put in charge of this make a hash of it? Will innocent people have their lives destroyed through bureaucratic incompetence? Will it fail to fully address it's primary selling point (in this iteration, illegal immigrants)? Certainly. The No-Fly-List is exhibit A in any discussion of just how badly a move to a national ID card could go. The thing is, I'm no longer convinced that given the current political reality, the alternative is any better. I know despair is a sin and all, but.... (shrug)
Gas prices around here are edging back up to the $3/gallon mark as oil pushes higher. The article argues whether the price is up due to expectations of a resumption of the climb in global demand, or "technical factors." I suppose that's an important point to some people, but I can't see myself smiling as I pump $4/gallon gas because it's only due to "technical factors."
Fred Phelps is an ass. Advancing the political cause of your "church" by disrupting the funerals of soldiers is morally bankrupt in every way. I'm sure a psychiatrist could put a label on whatever is wrong with him and his little inbred band of followers.
But.
The Supreme's are now weighing in on the case. Boundary cases involving free speech are a minefield and have been for several generations, but they are important none the less. It is unfortunate that this one will center around such an unprincipled ass.
Well, time to get ready for another fun, fun day.
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