Morning After Musings...

T. and I hope that everyone had a great day yesterday and that you all ate far too much. That way, we'll feel less guilty ourselves! We had a house full of college students; besides eating and drinking, we played games, watched the Seahawks get trounced, watched the Longhorns trounce the Aggies (ha ha!), and debated the merits of...

Quantum Of Solace. Chase scenes by foot, motorcycle, car, boat, and plane. Incredible amounts of mayhem. Two maybe three jokes. Stereotypical charming-sociopath villain. Thirty-seven minutes shorter and still too long. But...Daniel Craig makes a fine Bond, a killing machine instead of a charming rogue. Very nice turn by Italian star Giancarlo Giannini as a retired operative. Great global location work. Compelling climax that manages to outdo the previous action scenes and that features a nicely ironic bit of vengeance on Bond's part. And...

...I am not a Bond aficionado (an ethically and critically neutral position), and two who are pointed out a few things to me. First of all, better no jokes than the tired wit that had seeped into the franchise. That Craig's Bond relies on wit, athleticism, and skills -- no gadgets that had become progressively laughable. (In fact, other than a super turbo turbo turbo turbo charged Aston Martin, no gadgets at all.) That the Bond women, while as attractive as always, serve a plot function other than him getting laid. In fact, amazingly enough, he doesn't get the girl in the end. He's left alone, having helped some people and hurt others while, of course, saving the world. And the movie offers a pointed reminder that the most precious resource in the world is not oil. It's...well, you'll have to watch Quantum Of Solace to find out...

Molly the Dog tells of a sad yet engrossing encounter with a schizophrenic woman who wants to keep her baby:

I was contacted by CPS after her visit with me and told them although her behavior was erratic, and I don't trust her, there is nothing "reportable". They told me she'd already had 2 children taken from her and had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and was refusing her medication. She had also been violent in the past, including to a police officer. My goal was to get her to trust me and then I could keep an eye on her and the baby.

The situation is laden with troubling implications and hard questions...

The Nation On-line features an essay/interview by Sean Penn with the reclusive Raul Castro, as well as an account of a group interview (himself, historian Douglas Brinkley, and writer Christopher Hitchens) with Hugo Chavez...

Three Joan Baez CDs I like:

• In Concert, Part 2. Not only did my mother own this one, the consensus of user reviews on iTunes and Amazon is that this is the early Baez album to have. Beautifully remastered by Vanguard, In Concert, Part 2 one includes her mighty version of "We Shall Overcome."
• Ring Them Bells. 1995 live album now available in a 2CD set, Bells shimmers with gorgeous harmonies between Joan and guests the McGarrigle Sisters, Mimi Farina, Janis Ian, Mary Black, Dar Williams, Tish Hinojosa, the Indigo Girls, and Mary Chapin Carpenter.
• Day After Tomorrow. Her newest, produced by Steve Earle. She ably handles 10 songs by contemporary songwriters (including three by Earle) and benefits greatly from Earle's rootsy production. Reviewed here. 

Friday's Choice: A 1963 duet by Baez and Bob Dylan of "With God On Our Side," Dylan's great polemic exposing American Exceptionalism. Baez has said that this is the first Dylan song she learned.

Socialist Orator Draws Over 100,000 Denver Dupes

I wonder how many of them are plumbers. According to Rachel Maddow on Air America, a John McCain rally the day before -- also in Denver -- attracted 4,000 true believers.

John McCain has become unhinged. Watch:

Now, why would anyone cheer -- make that cheer wildly -- a remark like this? How many of them would be o.k. with a nuclear reactor in their town? That's the big flaw in his plan for 45 new nuclear reactors: Who would take them? Who would take the waste?

Similarly, I heard a radio clip of a McCain crowd booing a McCain accusation of Obama's desire to "spread the wealth." Johnny, that's just not a winning theme, especially when Republican tax policies have been spreading the wealth up for the last eight years. As Hendrik Hertzberg points out here, McCain's point is pretty silly:

The Republican argument of the moment seems to be that the difference between capitalism and socialism corresponds to the difference between a top marginal income-tax rate of 35 per cent and a top marginal income-tax rate of 39.6 per cent.

Deliciously, Hertzberg has uncovered a quote of McCain arguing that the wealthy should pay higher taxes and of Sarah Palin bragging that in Alaska, "we share in the wealth." It's great reading; don't miss it...

I loved 'em, my kids loved 'em, and it's nice to know that my grandsons probably will, too. Thanks to Hot Wheels, Mattel has a higher market valuation than General Motors. More here, and great pix of vintage models here...

Change Your World has taken the time to collect transcripts of nine McCain robocalls and exposing the lies and half truths. Great work...

Molly the Dog of the blog Caterpillars and Butterflies is a nurse at an inner city clinic. Here, she writes of her encounter with an aging construction worker who can't afford his meds for high blood pressure and diabetes...

Joe the Rat prepares to desert the sinking ship...

Here's the worst idea since John McCain picked Sarah Palin: Led Zeppelin considers touring without Robert Plant. Think of The Who touring without Roger Daltry. Or Pearl Jam touring without Eddie Vedder. Or George Bush being interviewed without Dick Cheney. Or Santa delivering presents without Rudolph. Or the Army Corps of Engineers without an excuse for every gallon of water that broke through the New Orleans levees. Don't do it, guys...