Yes. No. What?

+YES+
+Closing CIA "black sites" where U.S. agents and contractors tortured our opponents. Hard to have any moral high ground on torture, when you also do it. Kudos to CIA Director Leon Panetta for closing them. Plus, we still have many other lovely and covert ways to screw up the world without torture.

+Getting in touch via FaceBook with Alison McManus, who went with me to Nicaragua in 1996. She literally went with me on a whim, boarding the plane on the same day in which I asked her jokingly if she wanted to fill a space and go to Nicaragua. She went on to grad school in sociology and did work on women in social movements in Nicaragua. Now teaches sociology in Great Britain. For a kid about whom I once said, "I hope you don't turn to a life of crime," it is amazing that she now teaches sociology. It either speaks to the life-changing nature of travel, OR to how closely related crime and sociology are!

-NO-
-The unending election battle between Coleman and Franken. Wow, let the people speak, indeed. It doesn't matter which side you are on, it needs to end.

-I first saw this on FaceBook, posted by a Linfield sociology alumna (and professor of sociology at UC-Santa Clara now) about Texas legislator Betty Brown calling for Asian-Americans to simplify their names on Matthew Yglesias Blog. No, it's her brain that has been oversimplified already. Wow.

?What?
?The head of Great Britain's top anti-terrorism unit, Bob Quick, having to resign after arriving at 10 Downing Street with top secret document in full view. Probably only slightly more embarrassing than former CIA Director Stansfield Turner's appearance on Da Ali G. show, where he seemed to not know that the show was a put-on, given that they had to run out and then arrest people before the picture got out for this blooper.

?Did Levi move in with the Palins? Did the practice safe sex "most of the time?" Is Levi trying to make money off of poor Bristol and Sarah? Who cares?!?!?!?!? Can they just go away?