More recent tweets, expanded. You can only say so much in 140 characters, but it forces you to edit your thoughts down to their barest essence. It also encourages glibness, which doesn't come easily to me. I tend to meander when I write (much more than when I talk). So Twitter has been a good way to make sure I really know what I'm trying to say. And sometimes, frankly, I don't, but I tweet anyway, just to see if I get a reaction.

Obama doesn't know what he got himself into. Now we're going to expect him to step up on the other issues, too. This was written after the president expressed the radical view that people of the same sex should be allowed to marry. Yes, I wish he'd gone further, and that's part of what I was implying in the tweet. But I'm not going to criticize him for what he didn't do or say, after he said something that was actually quite brave for a national politician at the start of his reelection campaign. Those of us who consider ourselves progressives are encouraged that he's been pushed a little to the left (where we always thought he belonged).

Your fear is justified! You can vote for it to be 1950, but the future will overwhelm your bigotry. Better hide! This was an attempt to tweak the conscience of the 61% in North Carolina who voted to "defend" marriage by preventing a significant part of the population from enjoying its benefits (such as they are). It's vague enough, of course, that the people to whom it is directed (none of whom follow me on Twitter anyway) won't get it, or won't think it's about them. The implication that they're voting out of fear is something I feel deeply. If they want to go back a century or so, they can try, but the tide of history is not in their favor. I know, because they've tried it before and failed.

Romney is in danger of losing the bully vote if he sticks with the "hijinks and pranks" defense. Ripped from the headlines! Romney says he wasn't bullying that kid in prep school when he chased him down with scissors and cut off his hair while his buddies held him down. It was just a joke, so lighten up. When he was called on the incident, he didn't remember if he thought the kid was gay, he said, but if he hurt anyone's feelings he was sorry. Not, you'll note, sorry that he did it in the first place. I'm saying if he's not going to apologize, why bother backtracking? Owning his bullying will play well in places where he's seen as soft on social issues.

My favorite part of The Vow was the preview of Salmon Fishing in the Yemen. I'm a sucker for a romantic comedy, even a bad one. This was my way of saying that The Vow is so bad it didn't even make me get misty, much less well up with tears like every single movie made from a Nicholas Sparks book (even Nights in Rodanthe). I didn't buy the premise, even though it's supposedly based on real people. I can believe that Rachel McAdams comes out of a coma not remembering that she's married to Channing Tatum. I can't believe that she was a free-spirited artist before the accident and an uptight snob afterward. Or maybe I can believe it, but I hated watching it. I had read that it gets better at the end and that turned out to be true, in the sense that it was over.

Well, okay, now that I've gone on and on about comments, it occurs to me that the current commenting system will disappear in October, so I'm trying out something new (and free). I don't know how well it will work, but I'd appreciate it if anyone so inclined would try leaving a comment in the new box below this entry. I've already spent way too much time tinkering with it, trying to make it as easy and accessible as possible, but I have no clue how it will work over time. I guess the only way to see is to try it out.