Good news about my dad

Mom tells us that they performed an ablation on Dad yesterday. I thought it was going to be done on Thursday, so how oblivious am I? In an ablation, they send a catheter up through the artery in your thigh and up into your heart, and they dissolve/cauterize damaged nerve or scar tissue on the heart muscle that causes atrial fibrillation. Mom says they found a spot and cauterized it, and Dad reported that the surgical staff cheered when his heart went into sinus rhythm. The cardiologist is saying there's a 97% chance that his heart will remain in sinus rhythm now.

So that's pretty much all I need for Xmas this year. Hallelujah! Bring on the solstice!

Fighting the good fight

Meanwhile, I've donated 25 bucks to Sen. Chris Dodd for yesterday's success in his unfortunately lonely attempt to prevent retroactive immunity for the telephone companies that have abetted our government in breaking the law. (I'll give my senator, Maria Cantwell, a nod for voting against cloture in this case, too, but Dodd deserves more for actually taking the lead on this.) Glenn Greenwald has made a compelling argument that Dodd is being encouraged in this battle by grassroots advocacy and support. (This is at Salon, which requires you to watch an ad.)