Quick rants on real news

Stay up late - or get up early - for spectacular lunar eclipse

Don't miss this, it'll be cool.  (I just hope the fog gives me a break tonight.)

US Attorney General Gonzales Resigns

Don't pop the champagne yet.  They're just going to find someone worse to replace him.  I said the same thing when Ashcroft resigned.  What have we actually gained by Gonzales' resignation?  Let's consider:

• More embarrassment for the Bush administration?  Why does that matter any more?  He's on his way out and his party is already screwed.  At this point we should be hoping he doesn't screw up anything else because we're the ones who are suffering.
• Getting rid of a corrupt, conservative official who ignores the Bill of Rights and has inappropriately politicized his position?  Like they can't find another one of those.
• Speaking of his replacement, what qualified candidate would agree to step in for the last year of a lame duck presidency?  Anyone worth truly qualified candidate will find a better position.  (Why do you think Rove bailed?  He's upgrading.)  So we're really just trading corrupt for incompetent (and maybe also corrupt).
• What about minorities in politics?  The first Latino attorney general, possibly the highest-ranked Latino in American politics, was a flaming disaster.  What is this going to do to the Latino community as they grow in power and attempt to assert themselves in American politics?  As Latinos replace Blacks as the dominant minority, will their political image be as good?  Will they be as effective in representing the minority agenda?

We won't really have a reason to celebrate until January 2009, when Bush and his buddies finally leave office.

J