Current Affairs

There's a ton of stuff being written about the historic election in Iraq. I like this article because it looks ahead and asks, "What next?" The administration has, unfortunately, let the opposition set the terms of the debate, so we're all focused on "when the troops come home," as if that's the end of the story instead of the beginning.

I'd like to thank Newsweek magazine for not making me search for its weekly Bush hit piece in the current issue. They put it right on the cover: "Bush's World -- The Isolated President: Can He Change?" No need to explain or provide a link. You can write it in your head. But the issue was somewhat redeemed, as it is every other week, with George Will's column on the last page. I especially liked this:

The discussions a lot of us have been having about the future of newspapers were kicked into overdrive by the pressure to sell being felt by Knight Ridder (parent company of my newspaper). Jeff Jarvis has been blogging up a storm about the subject.

Wow! An incredible 70 percent of the people feel good about their own lives. How can that be, when everybody thinks the economy sucks even though its roaring, when a majority of the populace thinks going to war was a big mistake, when we all know the country is headed in the wrong direction? Oh, wait. I misread. It's in Iraq where people feel that way.

Just in time for the holiday season -- the five worst Christmas songs of all time. My list would begin with that awful Simon & Garfunkel version of "Silent Night," the one that has the background sounds of TV news reports of violence and war that gradually get louder and louder, eventually drowning out the song.

So, if you're down to a choice of one or two restaurants or hotels or attractions to visit, and you've compared everything you can think of and still can't make up your mind, well, just check out their restroom ratings. Honest.

Well, the Los Angeles Times is probably in real trouble now after losing Barbra Streisand as a reader. I love this part of her letter:

The assault on Christmas continues: Happy goat, sheep and cow day.

Another myth exploded: Those who are trying to fashion federal immigration policy based on the belief that illegals from Mexico are flooding the country just for employment need to rethink the issue:

"There's one very clear finding and that's that unemployment per se is not a very large factor in determining whether people migrate or not," Suro said. "This is not a flow of people without jobs. Unemployment is not pushing people out. . . . "

The only thing we have to fear is fear itself? That's saying a lot these days:

The truth is, fear