Line of Demarcation

Pokhara, Nepal

Tami observed that tomorrow will mark the first anniversary since we left our jobs. It seems especially auspicious (her observation, as well) that we depart on one of the epic hiking routes, the Annapurna Ciruit. (Note, I did say 'hike', not 'climb'.

What a year it's been. At the end of it I can only bow my head in thanks.

So, we'll be out of touch for anywhere between two to three weeks. Don't fret if we don't get back to you right away. We'll certainly be thinking about you.




Meanwhile, in the 'what will our legacy be?' department, this from yesterday's Washington Post...

Dan Froomkin - Bush Rules - washingtonpost.com:

Washington Post Link

"Today's Senate vote on President Bush's detainee legislation, after House approval yesterday, marks a defining moment for this nation. How far from our historic and Constitutional values are we willing to stray? How mercilessly are we willing to treat those we suspect to be our enemies? How much raw, unchecked power are we willing to hand over to the executive?

The legislation before the Senate today would ban torture, but let Bush define it; would allow the president to imprison indefinitely anyone he decides falls under a wide-ranging new definition of unlawful combatant; would suspend the Great Writ of habeas corpus; would immunize retroactively those who may have engaged in torture. And that's just for starters.... The people have lost confidence in their president.... Bush remains deeply unpopular... mistrusted... out of touch....

But he's still got Congress wrapped around his little finger. Today's vote will show more clearly than ever before that... the Republicans who control Congress are in lock step behind the president, and the Democrats -- who could block him, if they chose to do so -- are too afraid to put up a real fight. The kind of emotionless, he-said-she-said news coverage, lacking analysis and obsessed with incremental developments and political posturing -- in short, much of modern political journalism -- just doesn't do this story justice...."

One of their readers observed:

"This is bad. Very bad. I can't underscore how bad this is. This is our Fugitive Slave Act, our Sedition Act, our Korematsu. This is a danger to our domestic liberties and a terrifying threat to our national security--for its impact on our international standing and on our alliances may be terrible indeed."