Saturday, February 10, 2007

Outrage Overload, Again

By the end of the day, I'm just weary-- tired of the constant beat of news, the sense that the world is going to hell while the powers that be do nothing. Heck, the Senate won't even debate the issues, much less do anything about them.

Global warming, Iraq, Iran, for Pete's sake; Afghanistan, Pakistan, China, and on and on.

Healthcare, taxes, the economy, income disparity, jobs (or lack thereof), energy policy, environmental policy, et cetera, et cetera.

I am reducing the list of blogs to my right to better represent a good list of what I keep up with; for example Froomkin's White House Watch is a good daily summary.

I guess the most immediate thing to worry about, and work to prevent, is an attack on Iran. Via Froomkin, among others, here's a snippet from James Fallows:
"Deciding what to do next about Iraq is hard -- on the merits, and in the politics. It's hard on the merits because whatever comes next, from 'surge' to 'get out now' and everything in between, will involve suffering, misery, and dishonor. It's just a question of by whom and for how long. On a balance-of-misery basis, my own view changed last year from 'we can't afford to leave' to ' we can't afford to stay.' And the whole issue is hard in its politics because even Democrats too young to remember Vietnam know that future Karl Roves will dog them for decades with accusations of 'cut-and-run' and 'betraying' troops unless they can get Republicans to stand with them on limiting funding and forcing the policy to change.

"By comparison, Iran is easy: on the merits, in the politics. War with Iran would be a catastrophe that would make us look back fondly on the minor inconvenience of being bogged down in Iraq. While the Congress flounders about what, exactly, it can do about Iraq, it can do something useful, while it still matters, in making clear that it will authorize no money and provide no endorsement for military action against Iran."

Sunday, February 04, 2007

Super Bowl

Today is the Super Bowl, and I am rooting for the Colts in a half-hearted way. I am a Patriots fan, and was sorry to see them lose, but at least now we'll see if Peyton Manning can overcome his past. He has been winning Big Games lately to get this far, and I suspect he will be able to pick apart the Bears defense with little trouble.

On the menu is my famous chili, to which I will add a bit of leftover sausage: chili is a work of art, with no set recipe. The downside to "flavoring to taste" is that as the process continues, I get inured to the spiciness, and the end result is a little hotter than others care for: I always have to make it a bit less hot than I think is proper.  Not that anyone will be with us: the problem with a football party is that I want to watch the game, and with a bunch of people around it's hard to concentrate.

I just thought: maybe I'd want some beer: but now it is Sunday, and this is Connecticut: package (liquor) stores are closed.  Ah, well, no big deal.

From the gathering yesterday we brought home some pastry and such, plus I have my creampuffs. We have some cheddar cheese, but will have to pick up some more crackers. Tomorrow it's back to eating properly.

Get-Together in New Jersey

Yesterday I went to a get-together in New Jersey; a bunch of school friends we met again at the class reunion in November. It was a very pleasant gathering; we were able to talk now as we weren't able in the party noise, and the food was good. I had made the Stella D'oro Anginetti Creampuffs, but left them in the fridge, and so I am eating them myself.

I am starting up a group blog that I am hopeful the others will want to join, and maybe we can keep in touch better that way.