I don’t expect anyone in most of the country to feel any sympathy, but the nightly temperatures here on the Central Coast since I returned have been in the 30s, which is very unusual, and actually much worse than it sounds thanks to high humidity and wind. Since using the heat here for even part of the day costs a medium-sized fortune, I’m blogging in a room with a southern exposure, heavily cloaked but nose still running. If I’m going to be this cold, I wouldn’t mind seeing some snow.
Anyone, here are some remains of the day:
* TAP republishes excerpt from Stan Greenberg’s fine book Dispatches From the War Room, with Stan’s reminiscences about campaigning with Nelson Mandela.
* At TNR Damon Linker provides a long and knowledgeable assessment of the obstacles to any papal-initiated Vatican renaissance.
* At Salon Michael Lind assaults Right’s “voucher-mania.”
* At Ten Miles Square, Sam Knight interviews Daily Caller columnist Patrick Howley about his published defense of the inalienable right of men to leer at women.
* At College Guide, Daniel Luzer reports another big jump in student indebtedness in 2013.
And in sorta non-political news:
* You’d think the budget deal would have produced at least a day’s worth of a rousing rally on Wall Street. Didn’t happen.
Before I wrap up, I’d like to point out that our Ten Miles Square and College Guide blogs, from which I always take a brief sample in the Day’s End post here at PA, are an underutilized treasure always available to readers. TMS combines the best from some of our favorite blogs, but also quite a bit of original content, such as today’s piece from Sam Knight. And College Guide, under Daniel Luzer’s direction, provides the best ongoing discussion of higher ed issues for a general audience you can find at any one place.
These blogs supply two more reasons you should try to make a tax-deductible donation to Washington Monthly today. There’s really a lot under the hood.
Let’s close with one more Kinks song from Arthur: the decidedly non-jingoistic “Yes Sir, No Sir.”
Selah.
