President Elect Barack Obama's support for Israel grew during the course of the campaign. This weekend he received briefings from Bush's Secretary of State, Condoleeza Rice. In three weeks, he will be President and shortly thereafter, Hillary Clinton will be Secretary of State.

David Axlerod, on Face the Nation today, was asked what Obama's response to the crisis would be. He waffled a bit, noting that it would inappropriate for Obama to take a strong position while Bush was still President, but repeated what Obama had said when visiting Israel this summer:

“If somebody was sending rockets into my house, where my two daughters sleep at night, I’m going to do everything in my power to stop that,” he told reporters in Sderot, a small city on the edge of Gaza that has been hit repeatedly by rocket fire. “And I would expect Israelis to do the same thing.”

So, what will Obama do once he is President? The New York Times lays out two options: [More...]

I've been an advocate of gay marriage for 20 years but the behavior and uproar of the gay community has turned me against them and their causes the way no right-winger or religious nutjob could ever do. How dare they make this inauguration all about them! . . . Gays have only themselves to blame for the passage of Prop 8. They did ZERO outreach to the black and latino communities. They were so arrogant that they did not mount a proper opposition to Prop 8. When it passed they started looking for people to blame--stalking donors to Prop 8 and castigating blacks.

The more the gay community rants and attacks their allies, the more they will harm their cause. Calling Obama a bigot, homophobe and traitor (as many have) doesn't make me want to storm the barricades against Prop 8. It might also make Obama drag his feet in getting around to those issues.

(Emphasis supplied.) More . . .

What's going on in your world today? Here's an open thread to discuss whatever's on your mind.

From what I gather in the news about Israel's air strikes against Hamas in the Gaza Strip:

• There was a cease fire but it ended earlier this month.
• Most of the 225 killed were militant Hamas policemen, since a principal target was Hamas police headquarters, although hundreds were injured and there were some civilians and children who died. Most of the strikes were on security compounds and militant bases.
• Israel had been planning the attacks for some time due to Hamas's refusal to stop sending rockets into Israel
• The Bush Administration blames Hamas. Condoleeza Rice blames Hamas because it kept sending rockets into Israel

  "We strongly condemn the repeated rocket and mortar attacks against Israel and hold Hamas responsible for breaking the ceasefire and for the renewal of violence there. The ceasefire must be restored immediately and fully respected."

• This can't be good news for Obama, who will take office with Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan already on the front burners. And neither he, nor any American president, may have much control over what goes on between Israel and Hamas.

Daniel Levy at Huffpo adds his perspective. Your Thoughts?

We've had another great music loss today. Delaney Bramlett, age 69, died today of complications following gall bladder surgery.

As Susie Madrak says, he sang like an angel. Crooks and Liars has more.

You can sign his guestbook here.

In a generally good Frank Rich column, this bit of Bill Clinton hate from a gay supporter of Barack Obama struck me:

[Gay Obama supporter] McCarthy added that it’s also time “for President-elect Obama to start acting on the promises he made to the LGBT community during his campaign so that he doesn’t go down in history as another Bill Clinton, a sweet-talking swindler who would throw us under the bus for the sake of political expediency.” And “for LGBT folks to choose their battles wisely, to judge Obama on the content of his policy-making, not on the character of his ministers.”

A free pass for Obama on Warren and a nasty swipe at Bill Clinton for good measure. Par for the course from some these days. If and when Obama does nothing about DOMA, you think Rich and McCarthy will have a damn word to say about it? Me neither.

Speaking for me only

Recent wrongful conviction items of interest:

• An interview with Steven Barnes, who served almost 20 years for crimes he didn't commit.

"The investigation only focused on me. That's not right. You should investigate everything," Barnes said. "If they had DNA (testing) back in '85, I would have never been arrested."

• Craig Watkins has been named the 2008 Dallas Morning News Texan of the Year.

Former Gov. Don Siegelman describes how a common practice of federal prosecutors was used against him:

In an effort to get me, the prosecution went to [co-defendant Richard] Scrushy before they indicted him and said, "Just tell us Siegelman extorted the money; just tell us he twisted your arm." He said, "I can't do that because that's not what happened." They went to him after he was indicted and said, "Okay, we will give you another chance. Tell us Siegelman twisted your arm and tried to extort money." He said, "I can't say that because that's not what happened." During the trial, he was sitting at the defense table, and they came and got him again and gave him a third chance to throw me under the bus by lying for the prosecution and he wouldn't do it. This is not the way the justice system in this country is supposed to work.

Maybe not, but welcome to the real world, where in many respects the criminal justice system doesn't work as it should.

In his ode to the television series Cops, Ken Tucker asks:

I do like it when some bad guy makes a violent move and a billyclub must be applied with quick force. Does this make me a bad person?

Maybe not, but the guilty pleasure of seeing the bad guy get smacked depends on the belief that the smackee deserves it. The footage shot for the Cops series is heavily edited to make the police look good (police departments wouldn't cooperate with the filming if that were not the case), depriving viewers of a realistic basis for deciding whether the violence was necessary or contrived for the camera. A better question would have been:

Has television, with hundreds of thousands of highly dramatic pictures in reports celebrating the use of force by police officers, helped create a mindset among police officers and others that excessive force is okay?

Glamorizing police violence might make for good ratings, but how many viewers understand that the worst scenes of unnecessary or excessive violence rarely make it to their TV screens?

I'm sure there is news today, I've just not been following too closely.

Here's an open thread for those with things besides shopping to discuss. All topics welcome.

While retailers are drowning in their sorrows over disappointing Christmas sales numbers, Amazon is cheering. It had its best season ever.

I've been touting Amazon as having the best prices since November. It's now the first place I go online when looking to buy anything.

TalkLeft readers must be doing the same. This is the first month I've taken in more than $50 in affiliate sales from Amazon. Please keep them coming, and thanks to all of you who bought from Amazon through our links.

I think the best buys are in DVD's, electronics and books.

Where have you found great deals? (Update below)

Aspen's peak ten days of the year are Christmas to New Year's. Shopping is a a key past-time and stores selling luxury goods abound. "Sale" is not a word you frequently see in store windows this time of year.

But, this year, shopping has been all about sales. Even the wealthy are looking for bargains and if they don't see them, taking a pass.

Wealthy Americans are re-evaluating their priorities and are slashing their spending at a rate unseen in decades — a move that could have dire consequences for the economy, luxury stores and high-end brands.

In response to the increasingly subdued shopping mood that began late last year, luxury brands are cutting their inventory, changing the assortment of products they offer and tweaking their advertising message.

The article describes three "classes" of luxury shoppers, all of whom are cutting back: [More....]