and today's theme is: obama

Occasionally themes spring to mind when I sit down in front of the keyboard. Today as we recover from too much turkey, booze, football, and family, I think the theme is a calming, soothing one: Obama.

Joe Biden didn't mean that foreigners would do things explicitly to challenge Obama, but that things would arise that would be a challenge to the new President, just as the US spy plane collision with the Chinese military aircraft did even before September 11. Pakistan and India will be a challenge, witness the terror attacks in Mumbai, formerly known as Bombay.

Kathleen Parker has a surprisingly cogent article about how the personal style of Barack Obama - being a "weapon of mass attraction" - is a good one for the country and the world. It certainly stands in blessed contrast to the exaggerated uber-macho swagger of current de facto president George W. "Why Wait Till January 20 to Quit?" Bush.

Meanwhile, others are cashing in on the good Obama name. Don't you wish you'd gone long on Obama memorabilia about 12 months ago?

And a reporter with the terribly appropriate name for an article like this ("Hendrix", but not Jimi) writes an amusing article about how various Obamas in the DC area have become minor league celebrities. None of them are related to Barack Obama, apparently. In fact, they are mostly from the godforsaken African nation of Equatorial Guinea, home to most of the world's Obamas apparently, except for a few from Kenya and Japan. As one woman said, at least know when people hear her name they don't think "Osama." Despite Repubican political advertising.

three comments on the key legal issue of the moment

By "key legal issue" I do of course refer to the re-incarceration of one Paris Hilton. Perhaps you've heard of her.

Comment the first: The headline from the AP was "Screaming Paris Hilton Sent Back to Jail." Screaming Paris Hilton would be an excellent name for a rock band. Maybe a thrash metal outfit. Could even be a revival of hair metal, since the band members could all go for long blond hair a la Ms Hilton. All the better for head banging.

Comment the second: What was that sheriff thinking when he released her for some ill-defined medical reason in an apparently (physically) health 26-year-old woman? Because surely failure to cope well with imprisonment isn't a good enough reason if you are just some shmoe doing time (even for a short time like Paris) who also doesn't cope well with being kept behind bars. Maybe the sheriff was bedazzled by the glamor of the situation. Or maybe he thought a much better paid job doing security for the Hilton hotel chain could be obtained thru an act of clemency towards young Ms Hilton.

Comment the third: So remember, all you rich boys and girls - don't drink and drive, and don't drive without a license. Even your good looks and riches and celebrity won't guarantee you impunity. And I'd suggest to Ms Hilton that she consider hiring a chauffeur when she's sprung from the joint.