Political capital

Bush is already saying that he has a clear mandate.

Hello? Two percent is not a mandate. And that's just people who voted. Turnout was indeed high this year, but not everybody who could vote did, nor did all the citizens vote. I know he's not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but Laura should put down the Valium, take him aside, and explain percentages again.

We also have political capital. Write your congressional representatives and put them on notice that they have to work harder to represent our interests.

Patton Oswalt pointed me to G.K. Chesterton's "Ballade of an Anti-Puritan." Well worth considering.

I know where Men can still be found,
Anger and clamorous accord,
And virtues growing from the ground,
And fellowship of beer and board,
And song, that is a sturdy cord,
And hope, that is a hardy shrub,
And goodness, that is God's last word--
Will someone take me to a pub?

I'll be heading to the small town of Verboort to drink beer and eat sausages. The kitten that followed us home is doing well, and I think that is a sign of hope. In these dark times, beer is not a bad thing to have.