Transition

These days we're all undergoing some sort of transition. It might be political or economic or both.

Political

As we are constantly reminded, the Federal government is (thankfully) transitioning from the ineptitude of George W. Bush & Co. to at least a hopeful alternative. Barack Obama has appeared very presidential and conciliatory--witness his meetings with John McCain and Hillary Clinton, both of whom called him some nasty names, but that's politics. There are so many lies spoken during a campaign that it's a wonder everyone's pants aren't on fire. Hillary might even be Secretary of State with the big question being--will Bill disclose enough of his finances to ensure that she's on the road (way out of town) most of the time? Speaking of hypocritical liars, the President- elect even magnanimously forgave Joe (the traitor) Lieberman. Certainly this wasn't pandering for the Jewish vote, which ignored Joe anyway. Although we're still 2 months from inauguration, some Republicans are already positioning themselves for 2012, such as Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee and yes, Sarah Palin, whose much ballyhooed $40 billion gas pipeline is on indefinite delay. Her pants would be on fire if they hadn't been returned to the GOP National Committee.

Economic

With only a few exceptions (e.g., overpaid professional athletes) the current economic crisis is affecting, more or less, just about everyone. Even reasonably affluent people who no longer have college tuition, etc. to worry about are tightening their belts due to the shrinkage in investments and thus are effectively transitioning their lifestyles--downward. Worse, job prospects for many are non-existent. Most upsetting to TNB is the likelihood that many students in a country already behind some others in educating future scientists and the like will have their college plans seriously curtailed. A possible cause of high college tuitions (which regularly have risen far more rapidly than the cost of living) is the astronomical amount, upwards of $1 million in some cases, paid to certain college presidents. Of course, they don't get stock options (remember them?) like much maligned corporate CEO's but to suggest that maybe they're not worth their inflated compensation is almost as heretical as saying that football coaches aren't worth their pay either.

Perhaps the biggest transition has been for people to seek another form of daily entertainment outside of election and campaign coverage, which we've been watching now for almost 2 years. TNB's advice, which he is having trouble following is--get a life!