Various

As President Obama and the Congress, not to mention Governor Schwarzenegger and the California Legislature, fuss and arm wrestle over philosophical differences in this difficult time, this quote by Henry Kissinger seems to grow in significance: "The absence of alternatives clears the mind marvelously."

On this date in 1964, the Beatles performed on the Ed Sullivan show. I don't remember seeing it when it happened (my folks were more Lawerence Welk and Bob Hope people), but I do remember the impact.

On this date the very next year, U.S. troops were sent to South Vietnam, and we all know how that turned out.

"An expert is a person who has made all the mistakes that can be made in a very narrow field." - Niels Bohr

... and finally...

"Though you can give without loving, you can’t love without giving." - Tom Drout