Foodless in Oakland

Doesn't have the same ring to it.

It turns out that the two Indian restaurants in our neighborhood that deliver (1) stop delivery at 9 or (2) require a minimum purchase of $25. BUSH!

I thought I'd weigh in while the Greatest Neighbor on The Planet runs out to pick up my food at restaurant (1). 

Sonia Sotomayor: If you want the best thinking about this, I recommend SCOTUSblog
on this. I agree, it's over. The conservatives were so off-message on day 1, and just had nothing to complain about. And then when Newt Touretted: "She's a Latina racist!", it was like, "Really? That's the best you can do with this?" On the other hand, I am not completely teary about this pick. I agree that its awesome to finally have a Hispanic justice, and another woman on the Court. But the best part of this was how many female and/or minority candidates that Obama could have chosen from. It's like the good guys have such a deep bench now, we could staff the whole place without a pasty white dude from the DC Circuit. (Not to say there aren't some decent white guys out there, but you know....)

Prop 8: Here's another issue where it's all over but the shouting. I subscribe to the view that the Cal Supremes were essentially ruling about how messed up our state constitution is. Putting aside the immediate disappointment of not having gay marriage legalized already, the fact that the Court kept 18,000 marriages intact is just a huge fail for the Right. With marriage legalized in several other states, including two by legislation, the fact that 18,000 gay marriages didn't turn every public school child in California gay is just a huge problem for conservatives. All their arguments have failed. I was emailing with an old college friend, who said that his fraternity brothers are 85/15 in favor of gay marriage. We were marvelling at how much public opinion has changed on this issue just since we were in college, which wasn't really that long ago. 

If gay marriage is almost here, and Sotomayor will be seated by the time the fall session, what else will see in our lifetime? I don't mean stupid shit like time travel, I mean, what historic firsts will be commonplace in 25 years? What's left? Here are a few that I can think of:

1. First woman president: I think this is going to feel anticlimactic when it happens. Hillary shattered the ceiling, acting like a typical candidate in a year that had an atypical, and superior, candidate in the race. She made it look like its been done. I give her credit; I don't think its going to feel the same next time out. Like Sotomayor, we have so many women qualified for this job, it makes it seem unexceptional. I know feminists older than me may despair of my attitude, but it just feels, again, like its already done. 

2. Universal healthcare? After the day I had listening to the problems in healthcare in my region, I have a hard time getting my mind around this.

3. True energy independence and global climate change reversal? This, to me, is the new movement. Its both a social movement and a capital movement. Its gonna happen, or we're gonna die trying. It's also hard to imagine.

What do you think?