Of course, how trite of me to have a New Year’s Resolutions list, eh? But then, the start of a new year, like any mathematically or biologically significant milestone in the wheel of life, is a good time to reflect on what has been and what you hope should be. I’ve never ascribed to the concept of “resolutions,” in the sense of those silly promises you know you can’t keep. Rather, I prefer to take the opportunity to look out on the new cycle and set some long-term goals which have at least the appearance of achievability, and those whose aim it is to make me just a little bit better off than I was before.

And so, for the sake of both reflection and anticipation, I commit my most relevant political resolutions for the coming year:

1. I resolve to remind myself that “sovereignty” is not a word important only to the United States.

All too often in the discussion of the War on Terror, our entire dialogue happens in the absence of this very basic fact. I thought about this again while watching Pumpkin Head in the last Sunday morning of the Old Year, questioning politicians about the situation in Pakistan. I regret to say that Mike Huckabee did better with his answer than did Barack Obama. But both politicians and Tim Russert all seemed to forget that Pakistan, for all the aid we might have provided them, is still a sovereign nation. When Barack Obama says we need to “be sure” that elections in Pakistan are fair, well, the fact is that we don’t have the right to make that call. We tend to forget that while we get all wrapped up in our own problems.

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“On Demand” my frickin’ ass.

Is anyone else out there in Rochester-land having the problems we’re having with Time Warner’s service, lately?  We’ve been through three DVR’s in the last few months, all while never solving one particular problem: “Error 1103,” a service unavailable error message when ordering movies.  Our Internet connection has been up and down over the last few weeks, which I’ve confirmed has been an issue for more than just us, wondering if this service problem extends to the On Demand thing, as well.

It cannot possibly be the box, since we’ve had three of them: one to replace what we thought was a damaged box, then a final one because we have an HDTV now.  I don’t see how it could be the lines, and thus I suspect it has to be a service problem they’re not telling us about.  Bear in mind: you pay to have the OD channels on your TV.

Anyone with any information can contact me via the contact form at the top of this page.  Thanks.

Let a man’s supporters tell you what he stands for.  Even if he’s dead wrong, guilt by association means oh, so much more for politicians than it does for the rest of us:

As you can see, supporters of Rudy are very concerned, because it turns out that Mooslums are very shmart, . . . in their way.  Don’t miss the whole gory event, replete with white people unafraid to show their fear of brown folk who have left their “caves,” at The Guardian.

It turns out that the Concord Monitor in N.H. has some issues with the Mitt Romney campaign.  Go figure.

From Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, of which I am watching the 1999 faithful reproduction starring Jean Luc Picard himself, Patrick Stewart:

“Spirit,” said Scrooge, with an interest he had never felt before,”tell me if Tiny Tim will live.”

“I see a vacant seat,” replied the Ghost, “in the poor chimney-corner, and a crutch without an owner, carefully preserved. If these shadows remain unaltered by the Future, the child will die.”

“No, no,” said Scrooge. “Oh, no, kind Spirit. Say he will be spared.”

“If these shadows remain unaltered by the Future, none other of my race,” returned the Ghost, “will find him here. What then? If he be like to die, he had better do it, and decrease the surplus population.”

Scrooge hung his head to hear his own words quoted by the Spirit, and was overcome with penitence and grief.

“Man,” said the Ghost, “if man you be in heart, not adamant, forbear that wicked cant until you have discovered What the surplus is, and Where it is. Will you decide what men shall live, what men shall die? It may be, that in the sight of Heaven, you are more worthless and less fit to live than millions like this poor man’s child. Oh God! To hear the Insect on the leaf pronouncing on the too much life among his hungry brothers in the dust.”