The grandchildren of Vice President-Elect Joe Biden are also in attendance at Sidwell.

Tuition this year for the middle school, which Malia will be attending, is $29,442. Sasha will be attending the elementary school where tuition this year is only $28,442. (Not meaning to date myself here, but $57,884 is more than I paid for my entire undergraduate college education.)

This is the school that Chelsea Clinton attended (and from which she graduated) while her father was in the White House.
 

As always, our thanks go to the talented and observant cartoonists who, each week, help us smile through the pain.
 

First, there is all the speculation from the left and the complaining and whining from the right about President-Elect Obama’s Cabinet appointments. Folks, here are the Cabinet appointments that have been officially announced by the president-elect:

None.

That’s right. None. The media and a bunch of bloggers have been going to town with all their guesses and supposed leaks, but no official announcements have been made. When some are, I’ll probably talk about them.

Meanwhile, think about this: The man was elected President of the United States by a fairly large margin (latest popular vote count 67,066,015 to 58,421,377; electoral 365 to 173). He gets to pick whomever he wants to be in his Cabinet (subject to Senate confirmation). It comes with the territory.

Then there’s the economy. That’s been a lot fun, has it not? The stock market is bottoming out, folks are losing their jobs right and left, the CEOs of the big three auto makers flew to D.C. in their private luxury jets looking for bailout money (the Democrats told them to come back with some sort of restructuring plan in a couple of weeks) and so on and so forth. It ain’t over yet, my friends. Things are going to get a lot worse before they even begin to get better and you can take that to the bank. (It may be the only thing you can take to the bank… though why you would want to take anything to the bank these days is beyond me.)

Interior of Gulfstream IV luxury jet

Oh, and it’s kind of a toss up right now between California burning to a crisp or falling into the Pacific Ocean due to “The Big One.” I like California. I even lived there for a couple of years in my youth. Nice people. I wish them the best. (Even if they did pass Proposition Hate Eight, which their Supreme Court has agreed to take under review.)

I promise to try to pull myself out of this funk in which I am now mired and post here a bit more frequently. I may even get back into the three or four post a day habit for which I’m infamous (at least in my own mind). I’m looking for something positive and uplifting on which to expound. Any ideas? I’m kind of tired of all the gloom and doom.

Hey… we have Friday Night Cartoons to which to look forward on the morrow. That’s something!

P.S. I added a little countdown timer to the Inauguration to the top of the left column. I think it’s kind of cool. Closer by the second!
 

Schwarzenegger opens climate summit with Obama

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger opened his international climate change summit on Tuesday by upstaging himself with an even bigger political star - President-elect Barack Obama.

Schwarzenegger, a Republican whose efforts to combat global warming in California have generated worldwide acclaim, wants to show that governments can balance environmental protection and economic growth. He hopes his summit will influence negotiations over a new climate treaty during a U.N. gathering in Poland next month.

In a taped message to attendees, Obama said his administration is committed to a cause that has all but languished at the federal level during the term of President George W. Bush.

“Once I take office, you can be sure that the United States will once again engage vigorously in these negotiations and help lead the world toward a new era of global cooperation on climate change,” Obama said.

(watch in normal quality)

Change you can believe in!
 

Stevens loses Alaska Senate race

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens has lost his bid for a seventh term.

The longest-serving Republican in the history of the Senate trailed Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich by 3,724 votes after Tuesday’s count.

That’s an insurmountable lead with only about 2,500 overseas ballots left to be counted.

Stevens, who turned 85 Tuesday, also revealed that he will not ask President George W. Bush to give him a pardon for his seven felony convictions.

Good news indeed. Congratulations, Senator-Elect Begich.

Mark Begich

The Democrats now hold a 58 to 40 majority (if you count Joe Lieberman, which most people seem to) in the U.S. Senate. Two additional races in Georgia and Minnesota are yet to be decided. (Another consideration may be that successors for Barack Obama, Joe Biden and any other Senators who may be tapped for service in the Obama/Biden administration have yet to be determined.)

In other good news, this is a blow to Sarah Barracuda Palin’s political future. She had visions of appointing herself to fulfill Sen. Stevens’ term when he either retired “for health reasons” or was kicked out of the Senate by his fellow Republicans “for ethical reasons.” (Sorry, Sarah. Not gonna happen.)
 

McCain backer Lieberman keeps committee chair

The Republicans have been licking their wounds and feeling pretty sorry for themselves since the election, but they can take heart today. Today’s action by the Senate Democrats is a pretty good sign that the Republicans are going to get pretty much whatever they want for the next two years or so… until the Democrats hand them the majority in 2010. (At which point Lieberman will undoubtedly be jumping over to the Republican caucus.)

Bunch of whiny bastards. (I’ll leave it for you to decide whether I am, with that statement, referring to the Democrats or the Republicans in Congress. Or both.)
 

As we were watching the GM video, one of his employees (a young fellow I would guess is probably in his mid twenties) walked by the open door. He stopped, looked into the office and asked “Are you guys watching porn in there?”

My friend, somewhat taken aback by this, inquired “Why would you ask such a thing?”

The young man replied “That sounds like porn music.”

I, of course, have no earthly clue what porn music sounds like (wipe that smirk off your face!) so I’ll ask you: Does the soundtrack to this General Motors video sound like porn music?

(watch in normal quality)

That was a sneaky, underhanded way to get you to watch the video, wasn’t it? But I’ll admit to being a bit perplexed by this question of whether or not the government should bail out the big three American auto manufacturers as they are the big banks and insurance companies. You see, I am a Democrat who believes in the free market. Businesses, like people, should stand or fall on their own merits. However, I think you have to concede that a bankruptcy on the part of any one (or more) of these three companies would be a big punch in the gut to an economy that probably cannot withstand many more punches.

I just don’t know which side of the fence to stand on here. Do you?
 

Senator John McCain and President-Elect Barack Obama

Just a couple of weeks ago these two men were engaged in a very nasty and bitter campaign for the presidency of the United States of America. Though Republicans will argue, I believe most astute observers will agree that most of the nastiness and bitterness came from the McCain/Palin side.

If I were President-Elect Barack Obama, neither John McCain nor Sarah Palin would get within ten miles of me without first issuing a very public and very sincere apology. I mean, come on, they literally called our new president a traitor and a pedophile (among other things). They didn’t hint around at it, either. They came right out and said it.

Yet, there were Barack Obama and John McCain sitting there side by side today and smiling and talking as if nothing had happened.

I have mentioned more than once on this blog that I am capable of holding a grudge for a long, long time. I guess John McCain can be thankful that Barack Obama does not share that trait. He’s even talking about putting a Republican or two in his Cabinet, for heavens’ sake. Our new president is a bigger and better man than I. Perhaps that is one reason he is our new president and I am not.

You think?

For a suggested donation of only $81.85 (shipping included), the American Family Association will send you your very own Christmas Cross. It is five and half feet tall and has “210 individual ultra bright lights.” Assembly requires only a screwdriver.

Tell me… would you want this cross burning brightly on your front porch or lawn during this holiday season (or at any other time)?

In the event the AFA removes the webpage offering this “cross” (and who could blame them if they did?), a screen capture of it is here.

Merry Christmas!

Related: “Post-Racial USA? Not So Fast.”

(h/t Balloon Juice)