And we're off....

Good morning! Everyone have a good weekend? I got a lot done but the AC went out in my car which, believe me, takes a lot of the fun out of driving around down here in South Texas in July. So, that needs taking care of.

Meanwhile, there's lots of buzz around Blogtopia 'bout lots of things, so let's take a look at some of it, starting with something to just, you know, set the right tone:



And since I can't get this additionally tone-setting video from MSNBC to embed, you'll have to go over to Maha's place to see it. It's worth the trip. Best viewed, perhaps, after reading this reminder from Glenzilla about why the rule of law is supposed to matter.

So, now that tones are appropriately set, here are a few other things to take note of:

I have been meaning to link to this thoughtful post by Sara over at Ornicus for a few days - just hadn't gotten around to it. She makes some really good points about what will possibly be the impact of Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign on post-Boomer feminism.

Lots of folks are talking about that New Yorker cover. I tend to agree with Steve Benen and Atrios in generally finding it missing its mark, humor-wise. Interestingly, I also had the thought that Atrios expressed that SadlyNo! probably could have pulled it off better, yet here is Brad himself telling everyone to just chill.

And Juan Cole examines Obama's NYT piece on Iraq and Afghanistan.

Finally, an anecdote about the political education of my son: I am an early riser but generally quite low-functioning (I mean, more than usual) until noonish, preferring to spend my morning hours drinking coffee, reading the paper, web browsing, etc. However, with the AC out in my car, I had to get out early to do shopping before the afternoon heat set in, so Sandy and I set out to get groceries bright and early on Sunday morning which is how we found ourselves in the checkout line before noon and THANKS TO TEXAS BLUE LAWS unable to buy cooking sherry! Whoops! sez I, but Sandy was dumbfounded. That's ridiculous! sez he, and I had to point out that that is one of the things that happens when you have a state legislature dominated for years by rightwing cretins. I think he gets it. Which is good, because as our gal Ruth over at cab drollery points out in this post, his public school education is lacking in some pretty fundamental (pardon the phrase) ways, and it is up to us parents to see that he is equipped with the tools he needs to fight the Ways of the Wingnut here in Texas.