12/14/00

A-Rod's off to Texas, to play for the Rangers. I thought I'd be more upset about this. But by now we're used to our superstars leaving town.

The irony is that the Mariners keep getting better. Last year, the first year post-Griffey, we almost made the World Series. And this year, with the signings of Ichiro Suzuki and Jeff Nelson and with the return of Lou Piniella, we may go all the way.

Sure, I'll miss A-Rod. But I'm not concerned about the team itself. If the Mariners stay healthy and play up to their potential, they could win it all.

George W. Bush is my president.

That's not my choice -- but that's okay.

I'm proud of my country today. Our processes may seem odd to non-Americans (or even to Americans), but what we're doing is trying to attain fairness. (Sheila called Americans fairness junkies.) One of our methods is the adversarial method -- two groups battle, and at the end we expect fairness.

I'm a fierce partisan Democrat. Do I feel like the process was fair? Yes. Had it ended sooner, I might not have. It's hard to tell.

Now I'm very interested in the future. All the talk is of Bush bringing the country together, reaching across party lines.

I don't know what this would be like.

There are lots of issues where the Republicans are on one side and Democrats on another, and there is no compromise. School vouchers, for instance, or a flag burning amendment. Where's the bi-partisan ground?

I don't see it. So all this talk about working together seems right now like just talk. I haven't heard any specifics. I'm having a hard time imagining specifics.

If Bush (and the rest of the U.S., including me and you) can find the places where we can come together, and do good things for the country, I'll be amazed and pleased. It's a hard job.

More than anything, I want what's right and fair for the country and her people. This goes way deeper than partisan politics.

For my part, I'll start by working to keep an open mind.

All I have right now are questions. That's good, I think, that's the way to begin.

Only a Mariners fan would point out that George W. Bush is the former owner of the Texas Rangers, our AL West rivals, new home of that shortstop guy.

Texas Texas Texas. I was recently there, for the first time in my life. I caught connecting flights in Houston on my way to and from New Orleans for the EDevCon conference. But being in the Houston airport isn't quite the same as being in Texas. So, I've been there, but only technically.

Oh, sorry, did you want me to link to something? Oops, I forgot. Here, check out Mixman.