I'm always worried when people take "sides" in a conflict that is too multi-faceted to fit on a Fox "News" sound-bite. Let me make a few very brief points:

1) There is no "Palestine". The refugees in the West Bank/Gaza have had multiple opportunities to create a legal state and have rejected every overture. From 1947 to refusing to continue the ceasefire two weeks ago, they preferred war to peace.

2) It is not a "Israel-Palestinian conflict". Egypt has the same problem with the same range of people, and are handling the situation even worse. Sudan is currently fighting the same range of people over the same issues. The same conflict has infected the entire area, from Jordan and Lebanon to Morocco and Algeria.

3) Supporting a democracy over a gang who rejects legal oversight is hardly "taking sides". We are a world of law, and in this conflict, only Israel is answerable to the world court. When the West Bank/Gaza has a free press, a democratically elected government and allows international observers, we can begin to talk about it as a "side".

I don't support the current military action by Israel, but I understand it. I certainly don't support Hamas and their terrorist missile attacks. Given a choice, I back the democracy, even as I try to influence their anger. Most people don't even want the choice, they just want to ignore the whole thing. I don't respect that.

Okay, it's been a loooong time since I read it, but I recall Xaviera Hollander in The Happy Hooker saying something to the effect that one child coming out was "like ten men coming in". Perhaps I have the wrong reference, but it was someone around that time.

As a male, that made perfect sense in the physical realm and the evolutionary: After being regaled with all sorts of war stories about multi-hour labor, I was pleased that (some) women found bearing children pleasurable.

Too often, those who Truly Believe can not -- will not -- be dissuaded by mere facts. As you point out, Alex, denying the story just makes it more true. This is Robert Anton Wilson's Chapel Perilous: When you encounter a conspiracy (or supposed conspiracy) of vast proportions, you better stay away. If you enter the Chapel Perilous you either a) reject it completely or b) embrace it wholeheartedly.

When I encounter one of these types, going on about this conspiracy or that vast cover-up, I look them straight in the eye and intone darkly, "That's just what they want you to think."

The series struck my main button: Unpleasant people doing unpleasant things. Yeah, I watched all the episodes, though I felt dirty afterward. The Strike Team's occasional commitment to actual police work didn't forgive their crimes.

At the end, I was half expecting Vic to pull another deal to get his way at the expense of everyone else. We didn't see all his dealings on camera. Perhaps, I thought, perhaps he's made a deal with the Lupertazzi family. In the last scene, he's headed off to New Jersey to a certain restaurant, reluctantly fulfilling a contract to whack the Sopranos.

Fade to black.

The Nixonian rule for the GOP is: Run to the right to get the nomination, run to the center in the general election.

Obama, very much to his credit, made no such shifts and ran in the general election as a continuation of his primary campaign. Which, as you say, was pretty centrist.

In some ways, I'm disappointed: We don't need bipartisanship, we need to completely erase eight years of Bush/Cheney. In other ways, I'm enormously pleased: Post-partisan politics may be here.

Still, I hope everyone remembers that McCain/Palin continually "accused" Obama of being "the most liberal senator" and threw words like "socialist" at him. Obama won convincingly, not in spite of these charges, but because of the compliment.

I flipped from channel to channel, as time and commercials permitted. I saw little bits of several channels, including both C-SPANs and Fox "News". Fox was easily the worst, pandering to "McCain advisors" (or whatever). They complained about Fox calling Ohio for Obama... and this was a big story for almost an hour: Not that Obama won Ohio, but that McCain's people whined. No other network mentioned this, nor should they have.

Of the people I saw, David Gergen (on CNN) was the best. Calm and articulate and (pay attention now) correct. On a night that went more-or-less how it has been playing out since the Biden/Palin debate, Gergen offered useful commentary on what was actually happening.

CNN was more mediocre than usual. For all the fun toys, John King was more of a distraction than an illuminator. He kept saying "well, IF this happens, let's put this state in the red column...". But I digress.

Now, we have to worry about Bush stealing the US in the next 2 1/2 months. I predict Obama's first term will be spent cleaning up the mess of the conservatives.

I predict Obama will get about 10% more votes than McCain, though the counted number will be less due to GOP cheating.

I remain cautiously optimistic about coattails, but it does feel as if close races are going the Democrats way. Traditionally, the goppies have done well at the last minute, but some of that is shenanigans at the ballot box, and that's being watched very closely.

When Obama wins, look for W to start panicking and dismantle as many regulations as he can get away with. The devil on my shoulder still worries about an excuse to call an emergency to keep him in power. Fortunately, our military leaders are more honorable the Cheney or Bush.

My one sure prediction: Lawsuits, lawsuits, lawsuits!