Why have I been so angry/upset at the US Government for the last 8 years?

This NY Times Op-Ed piece states it very well. Here is the best expression of my feelings I have seen:

That is why I am thankful above all that the next U.S. commander in chief is a constitutional lawyer. Nothing has been more damaging to the United States than the violation of the legal principles at the heart of the American idea.

Thanks Roger Cohen!

Belated Thanksgiving post

Yes I know yesterday was Thanksgiving, but obviously it is not a holiday over here so I was working.  Still, I did take some time to be thankful. I got some emails/Facebook messages/other electronic communiqués from friends and family; I am thankful for the great people in my life even if we are physically many miles apart. 

I spoke with all (yes all) members of my immediate family yesterday; in spite of differences, I am thankful I am still able to be in contact with them.

I went out with a bunch of people last night and I reconnected with the guy who was my office mate at the Uni when I was here last. We had a few drinks and a whole lot of laughs; I am thankful for friends like him; it feels like we just picked up where we left off a few years back. I am really thankful for the amount of laughter in my life.

In spite of frustrations, I am thankful for my job; I work with some amazingly great people, am doing something I love (and am pretty good at) and am able to live in a another country and explore different aspects of my life.

From the Most Surprising Thing to Happen This Year Department, I am thankful for J who makes my heart flutter.

Finally, as a person who is very visual, I am thankful that I get to see views like this in a regular basis:

No, this is not a sign gone awry...It's in Welsh (Cardiff Rail Station)

Larger view:

Once again Keith Olbermann speaks Truth to Power

Here he comments of the passage of Prop 8 in California. This part really got to me:

You are asked now, by your country, and perhaps by your creator, to stand on one side or another. You are asked now to stand, not on a question of politics, not on a question of religion, not on a question of gay or straight. You are asked now to stand, on a question of love. All you need do is stand, and let the tiny ember of love meet its own fate.

The fact that Olbermann says in the beginning that he has no real personal investment in this issue makes it all the more powerful.

Thanks, Keith! 

Comment on the Prop 8 Result in California

A picture is worth a thousand words:

Communications back on...

Seems the interwebs must have been crowded last night. I slept rather uneasily last night, still afraid of what might happen. When I was here 4 years ago, I stayed up to the wee hours watching the results, getting more and more depressed as state by state turned red.

I woke up about 7:15 am here and turned on Radio 4. The first sentence I heard contained the phrase, 'President-elect Obama'. I have to admit, I got quite teary eyed.

He has a lot of work ahead of him, but I think, for the first time in a long time, there is truly hope for my country of birth!

On a sour note, Prop 8 in California (to ban same-sex marriage) is at the moment looking like it might pass (52.5% in favour vs. 47.5% against). However, there are only 49% of precincts reporting, so there is HOPE!!

Blackout from outside the US??

So this is odd. I can not access a whole bunch of sites from my computer (I can get them on my iPhone though...)

I can not go to:

boston.com

nytimes.com

cnn.com

sfgate.com

latimes.com

facebook.com (intermittently)

My 'Net diagnostics say everything is OK. I also checked my broadband speed...very fast. But getting 'unknown' host (or 'can't find server') when trying cnn.com, et al, is rather disconcerting.

BTW Google is fine.

Curious....