LEAVWORLD: GRAFFITI POLITTI

I am deeply disturbed by the terrorist attacks in India, and feel the deepest sympathy for the victims. I rode the Long Island RailRoad, and the "D" train on the NYC subway system on Thanksgiving, along with Anna. She saw the armed soldiers at Woodside, on Wednesday, and was very worried about a terrorist attack here in NYC on Thanksgiving, especially after the India attacks. I tried to ease her mind about the threat to the MTA system, but she knew more about it than I did. I told her I wanted to write this post before we went to Brooklyn, so it would get a "gazillion" hits here if we were blown up on Thanksgiving. That didn't go over well with Anna, and we ended up arguing about how her daughter could claim my Gather points if we both died together. Talk about yer "bad jokes gone wrong!" Seriously, the "threat level" has been upped, though I didn't see a single cop or soldier on our trip from Lynbrook to Brooklyn on Thanksgiving day. In ...

I hope everybody had as great a Thanksgiving day as Anna and I had! God bless America!

James Taranto wrote the following, in Tuesday's "Best of the Web" column, regarding efforts to overturn California's Prop. 8, which amended the state constitution to define marriage as between a man and woman ( link ): You may be wonder how the state Supreme Court could overturn a constitutional amendment. As Dale Carpenter , a Minnesota law professor who favors same-sex marriage, explains, the question is whether this amendment is actually a "revision" to the constitution. Although California voters can "amend" the constitution through a ballot measure alone, a "revision" must receive a two-thirds vote of the Legislature before being put before the voters. Without taking a side on the issue, I'll say that it's apparent that banning same-sex marriage is not "revising" the state constitution. Actually, the court's interpretation of the constitution that allowed same-sex marriage was "revisionist." Let's ...

I want to wish warm congratulations to President-elect Obama. I am now officially among those feeling "hope" and "faith" regarding him (I knew that "change" was coming, either way). Though I supported "the other one," I am proud that America has elected it's first Black president. The historic aspect of his election must not occlude the historic nature of the problems he faces, upon entering office. To be blunt: Sen. Obama, the first Black president, will be challenged with problems larger than either Reagan or Kennedy had to deal with, and may end up facing another worldwide depression, as Roosevelt did. I'm hoping that Pres. Obama is the right leader for our times, and have faith that he is. In a changing world, the USA has "risen up" to the challenge of "change." I can't predict whether things will get better or worse, but if I were a betting man, I'd bet on the latter. Pres. Obama's job is going to be v...