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I watched the address in full, not live as I am overseas, but I really like the address. Something needs to be done and I think this is a great start and will at least get the conversation rolling. I hope Obama issues other orders in other areas. I found it odd that no major network carried this live. Is that a slap in the face? I thought so. But, as well all know, Americans are more interested in Honey Boo Boo than they are in politics.

Bravo! Of course this also guarantees immigration will be a front-burner issue in the 2016 elections. Hillary just issued a statement lauding Obama's action. And the point that it depends on the next administration not reversing it, and ultimately on Congress doing something permanent. Meanwhile the Republican response continues...

Totally agree! It was an amazing address. I could not disagree with a single thing he said. And yet, tomorrow, the anti-Obamans will spin it as an impeachable offense and some will threaten to shut down the government. The statistics he gave are irrefutable: illegal immigration is down under his watch, deportation of criminals is up, illegal immigrants do pick our produce, and it would be impractical to deport all those who are in the country illegally. Yet these facts won't be addressed directly by the Grand Greedy Old Party. If I hear even one factual rebuttal tomorrow, or a workable alternative, I'll be amazed. The other thing I like about Obama's speeches is that he never fails to acknowledge our shared humanity. He focuses on how we can be an inclusive society, and not on how we can make life miserable for those around us. Our local CBS affiliate broadcast the speech live, even delaying their coverage of Thursday Night Football for a half hour.

I guess I was picturing a farewell quickie in the elevator. But you're right. Tomcal would have come prepared.

Pay attention, lookin. Besides, Tomcal is far too much the gentleman to get cum stains on his friend's tie.

Am I just dreaming, or is that a cum stain on his tie?

She is so great. Her novel The Dispossessed blew my mind in high school. (Maybe not a hard thing to do, but still. ) http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dispossessed "we will need writers who can remember freedom": ursula k le guin at the national book awards posted on 19 november, 2014 Ursula K. Le Guin was honored at the National Book Awards tonight and gave a fantastic speech about the dangers to literature and how they can be stopped. As far as I know its not available online yet, so Ive transcribed it from the livestream below. The parts in parentheses were ad-libbed directly to the audience, and the Neil thanked is Neil Gaiman, who presented her with the award. Thank you Neil, and to the givers of this beautiful reward, my thanks from the heart. My family, my agent, editors, know that my being here is their doing as well as mine, and that the beautiful reward is theirs as much as mine. And I rejoice at accepting it for, and sharing it with, all the writers who were excluded from literature for so long, my fellow authors of fantasy and science fictionwriters of the imagination, who for the last 50 years watched the beautiful rewards go to the so-called realists. I think hard times are coming when we will be wanting the voices of writers who can see alternatives to how we live now and can see through our fear-stricken society and its obsessive technologies to other ways of being, and even imagine some real grounds for hope. We will need writers who can remember freedom. Poets, visionariesthe realists of a larger reality. Right now, I think we need writers who know the difference between the production of a market commodity and the practice of an art. Developing written material to suit sales strategies in order to maximize corporate profit and advertising revenue is not quite the same thing as responsible book publishing or authorship. (Thank you, brave applauders.) Yet I see sales departments given control over editorial; I see my own publishers in a silly panic of ignorance and greed, charging public libraries for an ebook six or seven times more than they charge customers. We just saw a profiteer try to punish a publisher for disobedience and writers threatened by corporate fatwa, and I see a lot of us, the producers who write the books, and make the books, accepting this. Letting commodity profiteers sell us like deodorant, and tell us what to publish and what to write. (Well, I love you too, darling.) Books, you know, theyre not just commodities. The profit motive often is in conflict with the aims of art. We live in capitalism. Its power seems inescapable. So did the divine right of kings. Any human power can be resisted and changed by human beings. Resistance and change often begin in art, and very often in our artthe art of words. I have had a long career and a good one. In good company. Now here, at the end of it, I really dont want to watch American literature get sold down the river. We who live by writing and publishing wantand should demandour fair share of the proceeds. But the name of our beautiful reward is not profit. Its name is freedom. Thank you. http://parkerhiggins.net/2014/11/will-need-writers-can-remember-freedom-ursula-k-le-guin-national-book-awards/

"It would be impossible" to defund President Obama's executive actions on immigration through a government spending bill, the House Appropriations Committee said Thursday. In a statement released by Committee Chairman Hal Rogers's (R-Ky.) office hours before Obama's scheduled national address, the committee said the primary agency responsible for implementing Obama's actions is funded entirely by user fees. As a result, the committee said the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) agency would be able to continue to collect fees and carry out its operations even if the government shut down. "This agency is entirely self-funded through the fees it collects on various immigration applications," the committee said in a statement. "Congress does not appropriate funds for any of its operations, including the issuance of immigration status or work permits, with the exception of the E-Verify program. Therefore, the appropriations process cannot be used to 'defund' the agency." http://thehill.com/policy/finance/224837-appropriations-panel-defunding-immigration-order-impossible

Boehner: 'We will not stand idle' on immigration - Friday, November 21, 2014 'Well, there's nothing we can do,'" said Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, who was among a small group of conservatives arguing impeachment should be on the table as a last resort. Conservative lawmakers are pushing to insert language in upcoming must-pass spending bills to block Obama's order. Party leaders warn that could lead to a government shutdown. House Speaker John Boehner said Friday that President Barack Obama was "damaging the presidency" with his unilateral action on immigration. He said the Republican-run House will not stand by, but gave no hint of what the response would be. The "new" legal workforce is identical to the "old" illegal workforce. Same jobs, same workers. The only thing that's changed is that they won't be under threat of deportation. Of course, as it always has, the ag industry still has the option to hire U. S. citizens to pick our produce and pay them what it takes to make the jobs attractive. Just as we still have the option to pay the resulting higher prices. Those options were open to us yesterday, and they are open to us today. The President said nothing to change that. They won't get any additional benefits, they'll just pay taxes. So, I believe the answer is "Yes". As I understand it, these immigrants will be able to buy health insurance under Obamacare, but they will not be eligible for the subsidies that U. S. citizens are. Those immigrants who choose to enter the system under the President's program will have health insurance that they pay for and will not have to utilize emergency rooms that they don't pay for. So, as far as I can tell, the balance between taxes, payments, and benefits should improve. Will the GOP come forward with better legislation? The betting window is open.

BUT if you ever do need a favorite tie dry-cleaned, DON'T send it to your local acetone dunk shop, who will give you back what looks like a snake with a bowel blockage. Rather to the great Movieland Tie Service in LA... http://books.google.com/books?id=0ej2aaabZW4C&pg=PT116&lpg=PT116&dq=movieland+tie+service&source=bl&ots=_7FxSKK3Jl&sig=NRXXPaBEtiw6MjwceMxh5NnkpL0&hl=en&sa=X&ei=_8VuVPvpEYadNobOgrgB&ved=0CCsQ6AEwBA ...where they will untack the tie, remove the interfacing, hand-clean the silk, then carefully reassemble and press it. All for $25 a tie! A godsend back when people used to wear ties for business and my second favorite expenditure after paying for cock & ass was spensive neckwear. (Alas can't tell from the Internets whether they are still in business.)

My country 'tis of thee Sweet land of felony Of thee I sing! Land where my fathers fried Young witches and applied Whips to the Quaker's hide And made him spring! ... Mencken

One more, an overview of her work: https://review.oysterbooks.com/x6Maq5Nesqo5Dg8ZExqSaM/ursula-k-le-guin

Growing up in the deep South, I also grew up listening to Country music. I loved it as a kid, although I longed for something more. I still find solace in listening to some of the older songs. The music industry is full of gay men and women but in Counrty Music, it has not been that way. I was happy to read that Ty Herndon came out as gay and says he is an open and proud gay man. Here is one of the songs I really enjoy from him:

Really good article, AdamSmith! Thanks.

Kathy Griffin will be the NEW host of Fashion Police, replacing Joan Rivers. It's official. Kathy Griffin has been selected as Joan Rivers' replacement on Fashion Police! According to sources, the deal has been made, and Kathy will be joining the ranks of Melissa Rivers, Kelly Osbourne and Giuliana Rancic. (What about George ??) According to sources, the program will no longer be weekly, but will be reserved only for award shows and other special occasions as event programming

Great choice.

HOORAH!!!!!!!!!!!

Tom, Your descriptions are great as ever. Any new picture from law student ?