Law: Slate's "Today's Papers" cited a WSJ piece on certain areas that appreciate prison labor. As I discuss here, this is really not too atypical, and the cited books are good reads as well. Tidbits that make our day alert: "Edward Floyd Fink, a jailhouse informant."
Lewd: (Ad In Local Paper)"Men: Size Matters on Vday. Send a 8-Feet Tall Teddy Bear and a 6-Feet-Tall Rose. Make Her scream." Yeah. It's like those Vermont Teddy bears, the price of which can be often replaced with a dinner for two at a reasonable restaurant. Or, the movie on last night in which a guy (unsuccessfully in the long run) tried to say he was sorry via a necklace worth thousands of dollars. Hey, honey, here's a month's salary! Isn't prostitution horrible? Much better to spend comparable money for just the hope of sex.
Library: Bit of local business suggests the importance of the government keeping local concerns in mind, especially since it is often how the public most directly experience its power. The value of government was shown in its absence with a local library closed, with little in way of information, because of lack of heat since Thursday. A call to the local council person suggested his office was not even aware of the issue. Overall, the library does well, but who remembers when one's child actually does listen to you?
Local Politics: Kirsten Gillibrand is due to be sworn in tomorrow, so let's get in some more complaints on the selection's dubious coverage (but see comments), which putting aside those who do get it (a primary challenge, perhaps from a gun opponent in fact more conservative than she, is not exactly a bad thing). As at least one comment to this piece notes, dubious coverage, not just his own rocky (with some mitigating factors) accidental governorship, makes lower poll numbers a self-fulfilling prophecy.
This includes suggesting Caroline Kennedy is in no way to blame because she was just (admittedly ill advisedly) wanting to serve the public. By running a vanity campaign that helped to make a mess and embarrass Paterson, who in effect had to deal with the Kennedy Clan and a likely 2010 primary opponent, Andrew Cuomo, and a bunch of also rans. As comments to the above cited bad post suggest, accepting these two as dubious, his options were not grand.
Leaders deal, but we lack a lot of them, so when the usual sorts muddle through okay, we should at least understand they aren't losers. I have gone on about this for two reasons. One, she's to be my senator. Two, when people I respect and major local press (and beyond) provide such shoddy coverage, it is a problem. One that will not be limited to faux latter day Sarah Palins.*
Lunch: I gave a link to Quantum Leap last time ... the website is clearly not quite there yet!
---
* The hunting and inexperience thing. And, maybe the baby thing. We can ignore, I guess, her law school experience, working in the Andrew Cuomo office in the Clinton years, service in a top law firm, an ability to be moderate and show some real political skills even with national eyes on her, and so forth. Yes, the blond is the smart one here.