Astoria

We spent a short week in Astoria, Oregon. Oregon, where there's no sales tax, and lattes in every shop!

It was a fabulous vacation.

End the Anarchy

There is anarchy in the White House, and it is being led by the president.

Apparently our president hasn't read the constitution, or he doesn't think it applies to him. Whatever the case, right now he is doing what he pleases, with no regard for the law.

It is bad enough that the war he started in Iraq was ill-advised and has been poorly managed for the past four years. But the latest really comes close to being the last straw. Indeed, it is the last straw for many Americans.

In an effort to find out about what exactly led to the firing of seven well-performing U.S. attorneys by the Justice Department, especially whether or not it was politically motivated, the Senate has been holding hearings. The Attorney General has already appeared, and now seems to have lied under oath.

In addition, two people have announced that the president has directed them not to answer any questions regarding the matter, and he has invoked executive privilege. The problem? They are both former employees of the White House. The president has no legal jurisdiction over either of them. I wonder, is it even appropriate for the president to be discussing it with them? If it is not illegal, it surely smacks of impropriety.

And this from the man who ran on a pledge to restore dignity and honor to the presidency.

John Glenn , a man who oozes integrity, says that Bush is the worst president in his lifetime. That's saying a lot.

I know that President Bush sleeps comfortably at night, and probably tells himself that history will show he was a great president, misunderstood by the people. Unfortunately, when he took the oath of office, he pledged to uphold the current constitution, not circumvent it, and to serve the people, not himself.

Maybe we should all chip in and buy him the Cliff Notes of the Constitution so he can read it some time.

"Graduating" 5th grade

My first born is finished with elementary school tomorrow, and heads to (the dreaded) middle school in the fall. I know all parents whine the same old wheeze, but it's really true: It seems like just yesterday that I was holding my first born as a newborn in my arms, and now I'm getting ready to deal with teenage angst.

Although the elementary school doesn't hold graduation ceremonies, as some do, for 5th graders, tonight the class had their own celebration, with a potluck dinner and speeches giving advice to their fellow students by each member of the class. They also sang two songs they had practiced and prepared especially for the parents.

While all the speeches were thoughtful, I thought my offspring's was superior to the rest. With the exception of two other girls, who also always give fine speeches, the majority of them sounded like 5th grade speeches. I think my child was superior in structure, language, and every respect. But judge how good it is for yourself:

"My fellow classmates. I have great pleasure in telling you that this year has been incredible. This year was the best.

One piece of advice I have for you is: Follow your passion. This is VERY important advice. If you stick with a REALLY strong passion, you'll do better in life. Another piece of advice I want to share is: Treat others the way YOU want to be treated. Kindness (and bullying) is like a boomerang; it always comes back. If you want to be successful in life, do exactly this! One last piece I have is: Don't risk breaking a rule. If ou break a rule (on purpose!) you can get in trouble! Don't risk getting in serious trouble, and you will be happier!

I'd like to thank my mom and dad for supporting me, Finn for being able to work with me, and everyone else for being GREAT classmates."

Rosie's off the View

It seems like I was just writing about Rosie O'Donnell's return to daytime television, and now she's gone again, and the confetti with her, like a flower floating on the river that just meets your fingertips, but floats away before you can grasp it. (I think someone else came up with this metaphor, and was roundly chastised for it. I like it.)

It was regrettable that Rosie's inevitable departure from "The View" came suddenly and with great volition. I was gearing up to say goodbye, and anticipating a happy sendoff with a Broadway production number, confetti, and kind public words of affection from her cohosts. Now, as a fan, I feel confused and saddened, and robbed of the closure I was selfishly hoping would come.

But bravo to Rosie for walking away when things became ridiculous. I can only speculate, but it just doesn't seem like a coincidence that it happened on a day Barbara Walters was absent. In fact, it seemed almost engineered, with a repeat guest host who had dealt with the panel's contention before, Joy pulling out a laundry list of Bush's sins that set off neo-con Elisabeth Hasselbeck and pushing Rosie to the point where she had to force the truth.

Interesting, too, that Elisabeth Hasselbeck never answered Rosie's questions, but chose to launch into a tirade that might be excused as pregnancy hormones, but sounded more like a desperate push back from someone watching the cracks form in their ideology but afraid to accept what's breaking it.

I do feel some sympathy for Hasselbeck. One of the most difficult things is to accept the flaw in our ideology. People on the far edge of the spectrum, either side, always have the most difficult time accepting that the truths they hold aren't always truth, but point of view.

It has been an interesting year of growth for Hasselbeck. We have watched her go from appearing to be a mouthpiece for FOX News to questioning and challenging. And just when it appeared that she would become a thinking woman's conservative, her star on the rise (thanks in large part to Rosie O'Donnell, who allowed Elisabeth to have her say), she was pulled back into the neocon fold and petted and praised like a puppy. What an insult to an intelligent woman. And she almost gratefully fell back into it, appearing to prefer the comfortable, safe, familiar neocon role, instead of the harder, lonelier, independent thinker.

It was clear, before "Nuclear Wednesday," as Rosie calls it, that she was already moving on to new things.

Ultimately, the damage will not be done to Rosie, it will be done to The View, and the women who remain. The show will not regain the audience it had with Rosie, who, love her or hate her, always made things interesting and fun on the show. She elevated it from an innocuous daytime talk show to a meaningful place where people could go listen to intelligent, thoughtful women carry on the dialogues being carried out in many friendships across this country.

Rosie and Elisabeth were, for a while, proof that some civility remains in the sharp divide that dominates politics in our country. Their falling out only serves to remind us what a sharp divide it is.

Still, it would have been nice to have some closure. I'll miss Rosie on "The View."