Late

Looks as though John Bolton is screwed too thanks to newly-lamed duck Lincoln Chafee. I've been thinking it's too bad the Dems couldn't have done a straight-up trade of Joe Lieberman for Chafee. Maybe political parties ought to be run more like baseball teams.

Spent way too much time putzing around loking at newsy Internets stuff tonight. The sun will soon be up, and I ought to have been asleep an hour ago. Still, if I'm going to be up too late this is the best time of year to do it. These hazy autumn days, there's a brief period before dawn when every horizon is tinged with pale mauve. It's a nice sight to recall when going to sleep.

Nice

One of the consequences of the power shift in Washington is that not only is the Speaker of the House probably going to be Nancy Pelosi, but a number of powerful committees are going to be chaired by women. California's Senators Diane Feinstein and Barbara Boxer will probably be heading the Senate Rules Committee and the Environment and Public Works Committee, respectively. Meanwhile, the House Committee on Rules is slated to be chaired by 20 year Congressional veteran Louise Slaughter of New York. The Senate Rules Committee has the power to investigate anything untoward in any Federal election, and its House counterpart has the power to investigate charges of ethical misconduct by Representatives. Both Feinstein and Slaughter have indicated an intention to use their respective investigative powers. This could get interesting.


Still (obviously) spending lots of time reading newsy stuff, but not completely ignoring local reality. Though there was merely a bit of haze in the air when I went to sleep this morning, by the time I woke the day had become delightfully gray. I thought about raking the leaves, but they lent the lawns such a seasonally appropriate and pleasantly rustic look that I decided against it. Heh. Aesthetic sensibility as an excuse for sloth. It doesn't get any better than this, until you add a cup of spicy flavored tea. Love autumn.