My father has always voted republican, my mother democrat. My sisters and I - all three of whom grew up to become unapologetic liberals - got both sides of every issue fed to us at the dinner table. Of course I can't seem to keep my yap shut and on one memorable occasion in 2003 I left my parents' condo before dinner was served after my (otherwise sweet, loving and model) dad screamed at me to vacate the premises.

Then a miracle happened. After the 2004 election my dad sent an e-mail to all of us telling us that he had voted for Kerry after all and why.

I still would not describe my dad as a liberal in any sense of the word, but something finally broke through to him. If my dad can change at age 74, maybe yours can too, Wil.

And how can anyone who has so obviously benefitted from the very same social changes she attacks not realize how ridiculous she appears?

Almostt makes me want to kill my New Yorker subscription.

I chuckled over this video a couple days back while I was in a Houston hotel. Got home last night to discover that this same guy was suspected of being holed up somewhere on South Padre Island - where I live! The cops set up a checkpoint last night on the sole bridge connecting us to the mainland after learning that his mother had received mail with an SPI postmark. We are a small town and we are at this moment being blanketed with flyers about this guy.

I participated in the caucus here on beautiful South Padre Island, TX. We were lucky in that we have a local who had done it all before and managed to get it all done in almost exactly two hours. I don't know why Texas democrats have such a complicated procedure, but I am sure that has a lot to do with the tardiness of the final tally.

Just today I saw "loose" used for "lose" in the NY Times (online edition) for cryin' out loud.

The end is near, I fear.