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I’m thankful for the things I have. Enough money to live comfortably, for now. A good city in which to live. One surviving parent in good health, plus a step-parent still on his legs. A brother who should be out of jail in just a few weeks.

I’m thankful for the astonishing revival in Cyclone football fortunes which has made football season fun.

I’m thankful for everyone who worked to defeat Issue 2 and check reactionary ambitions in Ohio, up to a point, for now. I’m thankful for the protesters who have braved cold, rain, pepper spray, etc., to nudge the issue of widening inequality closer to mainstream notice.

I’m thankful for the entertaining shows posted online for free by History and others, so I can unwind with some decent TV now and then without being a cable subscriber.

I’m thankful for the people who make and maintain WordPress and other great free software which makes my life better.

I’m thankful for the perfect weather and, generally, overall perfect post-arrival experience during my visit to France in April.

I’m thankful for the small number of things which have continued to just work, for going on twenty years in some cases; thank you, good old alarm clock, CD player, 8-bit NES, et al.

I’m thankful for what some of us call the F-All F U Contractor Attitude (FAFUCA). Which allows one to (just) keep a measure of perspective and sanity, even when working in the middle of the marketing/ecommerce blitz of a major retailer in the month of November.

I’m thankful (especially when the above is not quite enough) for the wondrous selection of fine fermented and distilled beverages available even in ordinary working-class communities in middle America, in the 21st century.

And finally, not to be too cloying, but I’m thankful for the few people who occasionally read some of this drivel and make it seem so much more worthwhile as a result.

So, where are all those voices which were pontificating on the virtues of divided government, about a year ago? What’s happened to all of you?

Don’t any of you want to tell us again how divided government is not only preferred by Americans but, in fact, genuinely for the best as it enforces compromise?

Anyone…?

Hm. I wonder what can have happened to all of those people.

I’m guessing that the dispatch of US forces to Australia, announced this week during President Obama’s Pacific tour, is not going to be a major topic on any of the so-called “Sunday shows.” I also acknowledge that I wouldn’t really know, since I don’t watch these shows or even get the significance they are assigned; all seems rather archaic to me. Still, I feel safe in guessing that Newt Gingrich or the “Supercommittee” will be much more-discussed topics, with “Marines to Oz” given minimal attention if any.

So I’ll fix this oversight, because I think it is an oversight and that it deserves a lot more discussion, along with all the related issues it touches.

As the BBC reports, essentially

Australia has agreed to host a full US Marine task force in the coming years, Prime Minister Julia Gillard has announced at a news conference with US President Barack Obama in Canberra.

She said about 250 US Marines would arrive next year, eventually being built up to 2,500 personnel.

The deployment is being seen as a move to counter China’s growing influence.

And, boy, is this just confounding, disappointing, dismal news for a bunch of reasons. (more…)