A return to notes: Sanford, Jackson, Fawcett, Politics

I realized as I was looking for my position paper on Global Warming today that I hadn't written a note in a long time. so here are some thoughts to get out of the way before I start posting about Mexico and how awesome it is to be a kidless couple for just a week to recharge.

Sanford: I know what Sanford is going through in many ways. It's obviously a tragic situation and a whole host of poor decisions belong solely to him. I have definitely noticed a different tone with him than I did with Spitzer or Clinton, though. In both cases of Dems, Republicans screamed for their resignations. The same standard does not apply to Sanford for some reason, even though it is clear by now that he used taxpayer funds to partially finance his dalliance. Definite double standard here, frustrating that there are so few self-aware Republicans to cast Sanford's sin in the same light as Clinton's or spitzer's.

Jackson: Jackson had a bunch of hits - the first song I ever remember hearing on a boom box was "Thriller" on the bus in 2nd grade. Those big 4th graders sure listened to weird music. Otherwise, like so many others, I feel for his personal life and respect his ability to take the pop music world by storm.

Fawcett: I'm a little too young to have been very involved with her. I'm very glad she took her battle with cancer public. It seems that she's done it with class, though I haven't read or seen anything she's done.

Obama: overall, he's been working very hard to fulfill his mandate. He campaigned on healthcare reform, energy, environmental stewardship, transparency, and being bold. Nothing is perfect of course, but given this imperfect political world, he's done really well. My biggest disappointment: he has not moved nearly aggressively enough to restore lawful treatment of terror suspects. No more torture is good, closing Gitmo is good. Retaining the "right" to detain people for indefinite periods of time without putting them on trial is very bad. Keeping the pictures secret that the Federal courts has ordered released is also bad. He promised transparency, let's get some.

Life: life is good. Had a fabulous vacation with just Katrina, and the kids had a blast with their grandparents. work continues apace. Way more on the vacation in the next few days as I blog (with pictures!) about it.