Our torture culture

This piece by Dahlia Lithwick is a great chronicle of the way the US moved from a nation that used torture surreptitiously to a nation that uses it proudly.

Well, at least we no longer have to outsource our torture to nations like Syria or Pakistan; we can employ good old American torturers! Now I'm wondering if the CIA will begin training torturers, or if universities can begin offering graduate programs in waterboarding.

My favorite guardian angel

This is terribly dated, I know, but I have always had a soft spot for Frankie Avalon in "Grease." It's not that he's attractive (although he is), but he's just the kind of guardian angel I'd like. If you remember, Frenchy wishes she had a guardian angel who could tell her if dropping out of high school to be a beautician was the right choice. Then, hey presto! Frankie Avalon appears with a heavenly choir and says, "Go back to high school." And he does it in song.

See, I'm not a big fan of dream interpretation or slow realization. I just want a guardian angel to pop in and say, "Hey, dumbass, here's what you should do." And he'd sing it.

The time has come...

...to talk about bad candy. Here goes:

Circus Peanuts: Great gods, but these things are not only disgusting but disturbing. What are they made from? Why do they squeak slightly when one bites into them? How does anyone stomach them? I'll never know.

Mary Janes: They supposedly taste like molasses and peanut butter, and I guess there's a certain charm to the old-fashioned Mary Jane girl on the wrapper. As far as I am concerned, however, molasses and peanut butter have no business getting in bed together.

Peeps: Yeah, yeah, I know they are cute and are holiday-customized, but that doesn't qualify them as tasty. You know what might qualify them as tasty? Ingredients other than stale marshmallow and gritty cheap-ass sugar.

Indian Brand Pumpkin Seeds: Yawn. Not even a candy.

Orange Slices: Three things wrong with this candy: 1) It's jelly; 2) it's orange; 3) it tastes like orange.

Satellite Wafers: They should rename this, "Tasteless Styrofoam Discs around Balls of Grit." That's truth in advertising.

Now I'm angry and can't post any more. Comment your own gross candies, if you like.

It was worth it

Obviously, November 2 was painful for we libbies, and there's been much discussion about whether or not it was the ACA that cost House Democrats their majority. My answer: So what if it did? Crafting good policy (and that's what the ACA is) is why we send these people to Washington in the first place, not to keep their damned majority. Obviously, you can't govern if you don't win, but there are some achievements that are worth risking your majority, and the Affordable Care Act was one of them. Bill Saletan at Slate has more to say on this. Give him a read.