"It's A New Dawn"

The above words were spoken by the immortal Gracie Slick as the Jefferson Airplane launched into their song Volunteers on the 3rd day of the Woodstock festival in August, 1969. They seem to me as fitting as any I could utter as our nation truly begins a "new dawn."

Today, President Obama issued executive orders to close the Guantanamo detention center, and to stop the use of torture as an interrogation technique - not conveniently and legally spun as in the previous administration (who were those masked men, kemo sabe?).

"The message that we are sending the world is that the United States intends to prosecute the ongoing struggle against violence and terrorism and we are going to do so vigilantly and we are going to do so effectively and we are going to do so in a manner that is consistent with our values and our ideals," the president said.

End the torture now, Mr. President, and investigate those who conducted it during the past 7 years, wherever it may lead.


Avie and I spent the morning snapping pictures off the television and wishing we were in DC for the inauguration, but enjoying it nearly as much. A big plus - it was quite a bit warmer in Palm Springs.

Last Thoughts on George W. Bush

I've been thinking hard about how to put at least some kind of a personal exclamation point to the end of this awful, calamitous, inept, and disgracing Bush presidency. Keith Olbermann's great piece above sums it up neatly and does most of the work for me. But we must never forget, and never let it happen again. Iraq, Katrina, Torture, Shredding of Civil Liberties, Tax Cuts and No-Bid Contracts for the Rich and Powerful....and let's not forget the shady manor in which the 2000 election was rigged and that Al Gore received half a million more votes.

Ok, less than 24 hours to go and I'm feeling a bit more optimistic.....let's close with a song from yesterday's celebration on the National Mall, a song that Mr. Bush probably has never heard.