Very funny, Omar.

I know people here in Vermont who don't like the snow--poor souls iving in the wrong state. I love like this climate with four distinct seasons: winter with real snow, spring with cheerful baby green and flowers poking out of the ground, a very green and beautiful summer that is not too hot, and a spectacular autumn full of red, yellow and orange.

Lucia, once again, well said.

I do take some issue with a sentence in your comment right before this one. You wrote Chavez is "failing spectacularly." In terms of consolidating power (what Chavez really cares about, regardless of what he says) he's actually doing quite well. It reminds me of Mugabe: he ran to the ground a once very promising country, but more than likely Mugabe's main criterion is power and in that regard he surely considers himself a success since he managed to stay in power for so long.

For what is worth, this is from a review by Herbert Gintis of a Cass Sunstein book.

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Going to Extremes is based on evidence that when like-minded people interact, their views become even more extreme. For instance, subjects in one experiment were asked their opinions on such controversial issues as global warming, abortion, and gay marriage. Those who self-identified as `liberal' were then asked to form one group to discuss these issues, while those who self-identified as `conservative' formed a second group. After fifteen minutes of discussion, virtually all the liberals became more liberal and the conservatives became more conservative. Sunstein concludes from this and a mass of other evidence that people tend to seek others with similar ideas, and the process of interaction with the like-minded gives rise to "group polarization."
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Yep, a common problem. And somehow the Internet has not been able to deal with this effectively. At least, not yet.

Very interesting comment, Quico. To be frank, though, I'm afraid the reality of things is that in most well-established democracies the political discourse falls short of "discursive democracy" as you described it. This, of course, does not imply that we should not strive for it.

Well said, Lucia. I agree with you 100 percent.

I'm embarrassed to say that I don't remember exactly. I think that at some point I was turned off by the perception that Bill was too involved and influential in Hilary's campaign. Before that I always criticized those who said that they are against Hilary because electing her would be tantamount to reelecting Bill Clinton once again (that Bill is the one really calling the shots), but at some point during the campaign I got the impression that perhaps those malicious critics had a point.

Incidentally, I'm by no means a Hilary Clinton hater. As a matter of fact, I always like her more than her husband.

I hope you and Quico and JC are correct about this. I think it's much too early to jump into conclusions.

I do wonder what kind of president Hilary would have been. Initially I was for her (I thought Obama was too much of a light-weight), but then the actions of her husband (Bill) made me switch sides and I became an Obama supporter. Bill Clinton was a good president, but I'm not sure whether he could have been a good "First Gentleman," and that's why in my opinion he became a liability to Hilary.

Quico and Kanako: congrats once again!

I know I'm jumping the gun here, since there are no kids yet: As to languages, my advise is to take advantage of the opportunities, be consistent in the use of those languages AND be natural. If your language family rules seem rather forced, it would be hard to follow them in the long run.

My wife speaks English, French and Russian and I speak Russian, Spanish and English. We thought that it would be rather natural for my wife to speak to our daughter in English and for me to speak to her in Russian. At the end it didn't really worked out for us because I speak English with my wife and we live in the US. So the default language took over: English. Luckily my parents lived nearby, they saw my daughter every day, and they only spoke in Russian to her. And the times we all got together with my parents it was only Russian. So my daughter, who is now 17, speaks English, Russian (rather narrow vocabulary) and very basic Spanish (which she learned because of a great High School teacher--an enthusiastic woman from Peru.) Under different circumstances it would have been different. Now, to solidify that knowledge, the key is that during the next few years she should spend some time in both Russia AND Spain or Latin America.

Quico, my congratulation to you and Kanako!

As to my advice, as one married man to one who soon will be, Quico keep in mind the meaning of these nine words that women use (they probably do not apply during the first year of marriage, but after that they do):

9 WORDS WOMEN USE:

1. Fine: This is the word women use to end an argument when they are right and you need to shut up.

2. Five Minutes: If she is getting dressed, this means a half an hour. Five minutes is only five minutes if you have just been given five more minutes to watch the game before helping around the house.

3. Nothing: This is the calm before the storm. This means something, and you should be on your toes. Arguments that begin with nothing usually end in fine.

4. Go Ahead: This is a dare, not permission. Don’t Do It!

5. Loud Sigh: This is actually a word, but is a non-verbal statement often misunderstood by men. A loud sigh means she thinks you are an idiot and wonders why she is wasting her time standing here and arguing with you about nothing. Refer back to #3 for the meaning of nothing.

6. That’s Okay: This is one of the most dangerous statements a women can make to a man. That’s okay means she wants to think long and hard before deciding how and when you will pay for your mistake.

7. Thanks: A woman is thanking you, do not question, or Faint. Just say you’re welcome.

8. Whatever: Is a women’s way of saying F@!K YOU!

9. Don’t worry about it, I got it: Another dangerous statement, meaning this is something that a woman has told a man to do several times, but is now doing it herself. This will later result in a man asking “What’s wrong?” For the woman’s response refer to #3.

Thank you, Mike Nelson. Once again, I think it's very uncool (and, actually, rather pathetic) for a person to use more than one persona in a blog. I simply wanted to know how you know. You may well be right. I don't know those personas as well as you do--although a while ago I did recognize Tosh from OW (I forgot which moniker he was using) and it was amusing in a sad sort of way.