Where To Begin?

First of all, here's the reason I haven't been blogging lately.

Careful. He's a little Wobbly!

This is Gabriel. He is two and a half weeks old, fat, happy, alert, and now sleeping somewhat through the night.

Wow. These past few weeks have been a sleep-deprived blur. But it looks like I picked a good time to tune out of politics for a little while. Because when I did periodically log in for a news update, I saw a glimpses of what looked like a freak show:

-- President Obama and the Democrats allowed Republicans to redefine a routine legislative formality (raising the "debt ceiling") as an epic struggle all about cutting spending on government services. Any talk of, you know, ending the historically low tax rates for the wealthy to help pay the nation's bills was quickly shut down, reminding us once again who really rules our politics. And any talk of, you know, stimulating the economy and creating jobs was quickly shut down, because the GOP needs a stagnant economy to beat Obama in 2012. Democrats let Republicans pick a fight on ground of their choosing, setting the tone of the national debate for weeks and weeks just as 2012 election fever was beginning. Then, Democrats rolled over on their key demands while acting like Republican demands were sacred and could not be touched.

-- A more extremist version of George W. Bush rose to near front-runner status for the Republican nomination.

-- Another extremist looked like a lock to win the Iowa caucus.

-- The 16th largest company in America, though enjoying billions of dollars in profits, demanded sweeping pay and benefit cuts for its union employees, causing 45,000 workers to strike.

That's what I can pull out of my foggy memory right now. There was also something about crying and wailing in the night and urine flying through the air, but that might have been Gabriel. What else did I miss?