Look, a crack!

Random stuff for right now. It's so . . . freeing, to be done with the election. But now I don't even know what to do with myself. I've spent so much time reading about election stuff, Democratic antics, and John Kerry's multitude of positions on one topic that now that it's done, I can't figure out what I should do!

Well, in part, I started playing Prince of Persia: Sands of Time again. It's a fun game with some pretty difficult puzzles (although, let's face it: jumping puzzles get old after a while). The sequel is coming, and it looks like it will be cool. But playing this game just makes me wonder.

Why? Well, you, as the prince, accidentally unlock the Sands of Time on the palace of Azad and turn everyone in it except for you and two other people into mindless zombies bent on killing you. When you're not killing zombies, you're running amongst the ruins of the palace (the Sands of Time apparently invite structural failure . . . go figure). But it's not only the crumbling platforms and broken columns that you have to watch out for; no, you also have to avoid the palace "defenses." You know, radial saws that run back and forth on the walls, pressure activated spikes that rise out of the floor, spinning columns covered with blades, those sorts of things. And they're everywhere. This is apparently the kind of place that you don't want to walk to the bathroom in the middle of the night without a light. "Where's my servant?" "Well, he was bringing you your breakfast, but he wasn't looking and accidentally walked down the hall with the pit of spikes in it. Terribly sorry."

Just one question: Are we to actually believe that someone would build that death trap of a home?

Okay, on to other issues.

Politics, thy name is Specter

So, during the campaign, Bush went out to Pennsylvania to help out Arlen Specter, a man most are loathe to call a Republican. Despite his title as a Republican, he is rabidly pro-choice and incredibly resilient to all pro-life agendas. All of Bush's advisors told him not to go out and stump for Specter. After all, it does tend to tick off your conservative base when you support politicians who go against one of their most deeply held values. Nevertheless, Bush campaigned for Specter. And the thanks the man gets after being re-elected? He's already declared that, should Bush nominate any judicial nominees that are even slightly pro-life, he'd do everything in his power to block them.

What a schmuck.

And this seriously is a problem. The consensus seems to be that, with another term under his belt and a bigger majority in the Congress, the first thing Bush should do is get his judicial nominess to work. This hold-up spells bad news, especially for those of us who want to see changes to abortion law in America. Let's face it: Rehnquist's recent hospitilization makes it ever more important to remember that the highest court in the land is old. I've seen people estimate that Bush could appoint up to three or four justices in this term. Wishful thinking, perhaps, but not beyond the realm of possibility. I find it more likely that some of them would hold off on retirement until they were certain a Democrat was in office and would appoint like-minded justices, but perhaps I'm just being jaded. The issue still remains: Bush could likely appoint one or two in his time in office. We can't be held back by these shenanigans anymore.

It's about time

So, Arafat is in a hospital in France. None of the doctors are saying that he's dying, but everyone else is whispering that his time is short. I hate to say it, but it's about time.

Look, I'm not a monster. I'm sure his family will miss him, and I know that no one is beyond redemption. God could still reach this person and I pray that it will happen. But let's not tip-toe around the facts because we want to play nice: This man was a monster. He was the leader of the longest standing terrorist organization(s) that I can think of. His life quest has been to wipe the nation of Israel off the map, to see the death of every Jew in Israel. This is not a man to miss. The people who will mourn his death cry out for the death of the Jews as well. I'll say it: It's about time he went.

And, perhaps there is something else good to find in this. The story is that, with rumors flying that he won't make it, the leadership within his ranks are asking who will take control. We want to see a power struggle there. If these people fight amongst themselves, all the fewer to strap bombs to their chests and run into an Israeli cafe or bus. This could severely weaken the organizations Arafat controlled, and that is good for everyone.

Yes, I'm a bad, bad man. Eh.