ANNUIT COEPTIS - NOVUS ORDO SECLORUM

word on the street is that the fort hood attack and the christmas day aeroplane attack are each stand-alone terror attacks, that they're not related and that neither is a part of some larger terror plot. i posit that this is naive and potentially dangerous viewpoint. when it comes to trained terrorists, it would behoove us to err on the side of conspiracy theories. working alone would be an analomy -- these guys have a proven track record of conspiring.

the obama family is in hawai'i celebrating christmas and vacationing. i find this to be highly appropriate, as i did all the times the bushes spent in texas. when bush was president, the press would beat him up over spending so much time away from washington, and i always thought this was wrong because the connectedness of the world today - online, mobile phones, et cetera - allows one to travel without losing touch at all. the president can really be just as effective on the majority of fronts he faces, whether he's in the white house or elsewhere. the only thing you cannot do over distance is meet face-to-face. [durr.] pres obama has travelled a lot in his short tenure, and i don't think his leadership has suffered. i mean, his approval rating is down, but i don't think that's due to his travelling. whether we disapprove of the president's travel can largly be credited to whether the media disapprove. we do tend to believe what we're told, whether we like to admit it or not. i am glad they're not giving pres obama down the road about being away from dee-cee, but i don't appreciate their hypocrisy.

but, like i was saying, i don't begrudge the obamas their time away from washington, but i don't think the presidency is the sort of job that you can take a vacation from. i don't think MY job is the sort of job that you can take a vacation from, totally. i shuffle through my email every day and keep various projects moving along in my absence. checking email for 30 focused minutes and then off & on throughout the day doesn't detract from my vacation. and, i know it would be okay if i did not check email at all. it's not an expectation that i check it -- but checking in while i'm on vacation sure makes things easier when i get back. there's not all that re-entry time.

however - i don't think the president of the united states can step that far back from his job. i would say that while not on vacation, he probably works 10-12 hours per day, and so when he's on vacation i think he should work 4-6 hours per day. i don't think that's unreasonable. in fact, it's probably not enough. this is an incredibly demanding position and cannot be put on hold. plus, if it's too much work, then he can quit in 4 years. it's not like it's a lifetime thing.