So, the first post in a long, long time is merely to announce an intention...if everything goes right, I'll be in Glasgow on the evening of November 16th to hear the Decemberists, the best r&r band in the whole wide world, live

I am slightly happier.

This is also a promise...more substantive posts will follow - but I don't know where to begin in my disappointment with the Bush (mal)Administration, or even whether any remedy is possible considering that January 20, 2009 seems far, far away.

n.b the above sentence might lead credence to the impression I believe my objection to the B (M)A's policies - foreign and domestic - to be in some aspects, revelatory, or even important. Such is not the case. I just can't believe that such a collection of experienced, knowledgeable individuals could prove so maladroit, inept, bumbling, etc. Appointing your personal lawyer to be a jurist on the highest court in the land? That's simply brazen. But it's the things like the refusal to see the strategic importance of something as obvious as the scourge of malaria - never mind AIDS - in sub-Saharan Africa that is tragic...this coming from someone who believes passionately in the ideals of the United States and wants it to succeed.

More of this later - to all, a pleasant Sunday afternoon.