The absence of new content here for the past few days has not been the result of any tragedy or work implosion. I have been thinking seriously about multiple commitments and where in my life I can make the most difference. Two years ago I started this blog on something of a lark, primarily to see what would happen, and to inject some of my own ideas into that whirlwind we all call the blogosphere. Several thousand posts later, I came to the realization that ... I'm done. Not that it hasn't been fun, intellectually challenging, or even may have changed the minds of a few people on a few select issues... it has. But as a whole, I've recently discovered, it's a never-ending personal commitment to an enterprise that neither pays the bills nor makes a significant enough change [as compared to other venues in which I work] to be worth continuing. I only have a certain amount of time and energy available, and here's where it will be going in the near future: 1. To my fa...

So--not surprisingly-- the US Senate cancels scheduled hearings on repealing DADT : WASHINGTON (AFP) – A planned November hearing by the US Senate Armed Services Committee to consider ending a ban on gays serving openly in the US military will be postponed, a spokeswoman indicated Friday. "We do not have a date" for the hearing, said the aide, Tara Andringa. Note to America's LGBQT community: like free lunch, there will be equality tomorrow.

No details on the maneuverings, but I have it confirmed that current Provost and Academic VP of DSU, Dr Harry Williams, has been announced as DSU's next President. In my (always humble) opinion, the best choice available to them. Good luck, Dr Williams. I look forward to working with you in your new role.

... which he cast as if given in a speech by President Obama : 1. We have no partner in Afghanistan. The control of the government of Afghan President Hamid Karzai hardly extends beyond the embattled capital of Kabul. He himself has just been returned to office in a presidential election in which voting fraud on an almost unimaginably large scale was the order of the day. His administration is believed to have lost all credibility with the Afghan people. 2. Afghanistan floats in a culture of corruption. This includes President Karzai’s administration up to its highest levels and also the warlords who control various areas and, like the Taliban insurgency, are to some degree dependent for their financing on opium, which the country produces in staggering quantities. Afghanistan, in fact, is not only a narco-state, but the leading narco-state on the planet. 3. Despite billions of dollars of American money poured into training the Afghan security forces, the army is notoriously understren...

... because I think that I might actually have a shot there . The incumbent has been so ineffective as to be virtually invisible on the issues that matter to Delaware. He (or she, I could never tell) needs to go. My platform is simple: 1) I promise to triple the number of jobs created or saved in the district under the current stimulus programs. 2) I promise to double the number of people in the district receiving Medicaid benefits, even if that means providing completely free health insurance to some people now paying for it, just to hit my targets. 3) I am calling for the dsitrict to receive three times as much beach replenishment funding as it received last year. 4) I am not Mike Protack. 5) I am a firm believer in term limits, so I will pledge not to serve any more terms in the House of Representatives that necessary for me to supplement my State retirement with a Federal plan of equal or greater value. 6) Oh, and I'm not Colin Bonini, either. and, finally: 7) I have a bumper s...

OK, it's tacky, and not really funny (neither were those T-shirts proclaiming that GHW Bush had wished that his wife had had an abortion before the nationa had an abortion for president), but is it really a reason to throw out the Old Testament? Delawaredem thinks so , first noting that the significance of the Psalm is in Psalm 109:9--the next verse: “Religious” conservatives have a new slogan that they are putting on bumper stickers and t-shirts. “Pray for Obama: Psalm 109:8″ What does Psalm 109:8 say? “Let his days be few; and let another take his office.” Well, that’s not bad. They are just praying for Obama to be replaced as President. Hey, I wanted Bush gone as President too, through his impeachment for war crimes. But let’s read the next verse that follows Psalm 109:8 which “religious” conservatives all so cleverly leave off the t-shirts and bumper stickers. “Let his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow.” So, it is pretty obvious that anyone repeating, wearing, or usi...

Nose-spur warning: put down the coffee. [h/t Kids Prefer Cheese ]