Random Commentary From Pittsburgh

We're in the 'burgh, it's early, I'm still half asleep, and there's a lot to do yet today. In the absence of any coherent and rational thought, here are a few disjointed observations from a look at the news as reported from various sites I visited this morning...

A headline link on the CNN website: "Democrats Clueless; GOP Panders." Well, that pretty well sums up American politics in November, 2010, dontcha think?

USA Today is reporting that the infamous "Mission Accomplished" banner - the one that formed the backdrop aboard the aircraft carrier USS Lincoln during President Bush's May 1, 2003 speech in which he proclaimed the end of "major combat" in Iraq - will be part of the permanent collection at the George W. Bush presidential library. Yep, mission well and truly accomplished: Iraq destroyed, Iran empowered, the economy in the toilet, and our standing in the world at a low point. I'd certainly build a library to that.

Slate Magazine has an interesting article about Republican anger at the Transportation Security Administration and its latest effort to improve airline security - a choice between a "full-body scan" in a science fiction-quality device or an "invasive" pat-down search. With the GOP in the ascendancy at the moment, secure in it's mistaken belief that the American public actually trusts it, I believe I can safely predict the new Republican approach to improved airline security: no passenger will be allowed to board an aircraft unless he or she is packing heat. The new, improved, Tea-Party-sanctioned no-fly list will contain not the names of suspected terrorists, but the names of unarmed people who are an obvious threat to others because they won't be able to shoot bad guys when necessary. Clearly, at least according to the philosophy of the NRA and the hardshell conservatives, if ensuring that everyone is allowed to be armed at all times will ensure that we are safer from street crime, it stands to reason that we will be perfectly safe on board aircraft if we know that we are all armed to the teeth. I feel safer already. Not.

Okay, that's enough for now. Time to visit the lobby for some coffee, and get ready to face the rest of the day.

Somehow, though, I think it's going to take more than coffee...

Have a good day. More thoughts later.

Bilbo