ALWAYS do the right thing.

I should, even though I don't always, praise politicians with whom I don't agree when they do something good. So, gold stars to Gov. Palin and the State of Alaska for filing an amicus curiae brief on behalf of the plaintiffs in the case involving punitive damages in the Exxon Valdez spill, to be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court sometime in the next few months. Sure, the state couldn't very well file a brief on behalf of Exxon-Mobil without looking really bad, but it's nice to see the State doing something that helps so many citizens. I'll never forget the spill--I was all of 13 when it happened, and it really brought home for me how fragile our ecosystem really is.

Less encouraging is that the Senate appears to be satisfied with Michael Mukasey's promise to enforce a law banning waterboarding, should Congress pass one. I've never been a big natural law proponent--I'd like to regulate the hell out of things--but I don't think the Attorney General needs an act of Congress to know that our government shouldn't engage in something that is torture by any reasonable definition of the word. There has to be a moral basis for our legal system someplace . . .

It's mid-30s and the snow appears to be here to stay. What a difference the end of daylight savings makes in the North. At least the weather is nice!