• Senator Arlen Spector (D-PA)

    I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw the news this afternoon around lunch time. I was kind of frustrated too. No one else in court was either surprised or interested.

    It’s not like the balance of power just shifted in the legislative branch of government.

    Ah, but you see: it might have. When Al Franken is seated (the likely senator from Minnesota), the Democrats will have 60 seats… a filibuster proof majority. But I probably don’t have to tell you that. No, it doesn’t mean all of the Democrats will hold hands, sing campfire songs, and vote as one to pass Obama’s progressive agenda. And for my conservative friends… no, it doesn’t mean the Senate just turned into the Soviet Politburo.

    But it does open up a whole lot of opportunity… and responsibility. The Democrats will own the next year and a half, for better or worse. I just hope they won’t govern to retain power; that they’ll do something with this opportunity. Oh, and please, please Mr Spector, don’t reprise the role of Zell Miller.

    The biggest individual beneficiary may be Mr Coleman, the former senator from Minnesota. I bet he won’t have to worry about paying any of his legal bills (if there was any question before).

  • Hearing voices

    I think maybe you can judge a book by its cover – a little anyway. There are aspects of covers that mislead, but I wonder if there are also aspects of my cover that tell more about me than I knew.

    Take my voice. My mouth is capable of producing a range of sounds, but my default leaves something to be desired. It’s wimpy. It lacks conviction. It’s hollow. But with a little bit of effort I can fill it out a little. It’ll never be confused with the great voices of our time – genetics does have something to do with it – but it could be more.

    I wonder if my voice reflects something deeper. I wonder if it (like the rest of me) underachieves a little?

  • Failing to prove a point

    I’d planned this post as a bit of self-parody, after my “two thousand and something” entry last night. I was going to do one of those “a year ago on this date” posts, then admit I hadn’t posted anything a year ago.

    Trouble is, I did. Damn. So I checked two years ago. Double damn. Not only did I find a post, I found a pretty significant one… the kind of thing you’d actually use in a “two years ago on this date” kind of post.

    I can’t even pick on myself and get it right.