Here are the topics for this week's blog: Thanksgiving; the huge paper; Christmas preparations; Tom Harken; business as usual; jobs or Obamacare; Gardner vs. Udall; SCOTUS and Facebook

Thanksgiving Day. I hope all of you enjoyed a pleasant day.

Advance warning. There had been the appropriate advance notice (warning??): Thursday's Denver Post would be the "biggest ever." Indeed, the morning paper was monumental, another testament to American excess! This was one day to be especially thankful for my electronic edition, a convenient way to find just the news without having to struggle through all the unwanted flyers.

Tis the season. The early evening hours in the neighborhood has begun to brighten as holiday decorations go up all along our gently curved street. Some we have seen before, but there are always some new additions. The trees along the nearby Denver Tech Center Blvd are now sporting their usual white trunk and branch decorations. Gated and near-gated enclaves are also decorated. Enjoyable seasonal sights.

US Senator Tom Harken (D, IA). Harken, who has served in both the House (1975-1985) and Senate (1986-2015), is retiring at the end of the 113th Congress. As a House aide in 1970, he photographed and then safeguarded the film which disclosed the existence of the South Vietnamese government's infamous "tiger cages." Harken was fired for his actions, but went on to be elected to Congress and became an unabashed champion of human rights. His efforts in this regard will be sorely missed.

Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D, CA), minority leader. It is often the less publicized, back-door maneuverings that reveal the true inner workings of any bureaucracy. Hence, the current brouhaha over a proxy vote for a House member unable to attend her opening caucus meeting. This is not just another low ranking representative; rather, the current controversy concerns Rep. Tammy Duckworth (D, IL),  double amputee, Iran war veteran, and first disabled woman to be elected to the House. Complications with Rep. Duckworth's current pregnancy make her unable to travel. Rep. Pelosi refuses to change the caucus rules to allow Ms. Duckworth to cast an absentee vote on the question of who will be the ranking member of the Energy and Commerce committee. The real problem is that in all probability, Duckworth would NOT vote for Pelosi's preferred choice. Remember Kris Kristofferson's lyrics, "...rules are rules and any fool can see..." Many House Democrats are upset, but, bureaucracies being notoriously hide-bound, the Democratic caucus rules probably forbid using Skype.

Senator Charles Schummer (D, NY). The #3 ranking senate Democrat certainly made an alternative pitch when he opined that the party's number one goal (what the people wanted) -- should have been jobs for the struggling middle class, not health care. Interesting, especially with 2016 looming just off stage.

Cory Gardner (R-CO) and Mark Udall (D-CO). Chalk two up for Ski Country USA! Long time election-watcher, Stu Rothenberg, rated Senator-elect Garner (now Rep) as the "best candidate" of the [Nov] cycle; alas, Stu also rated the campaign of Gardner's opponent, the soon-to-be-retired Sen. Mark Udall, as the "worst run." You can't win them all!

"Fire in a crowded theater" Forget past dictums, this is the 21st century. Justice Holmes's famous phrase was uttered in 1919, the veritable media-dark ages in Schenck v. U.S. Mr. Schenck's public anti-war statements were about US involvement in WW I. Today's equivalent problem well be yelling "Ebola" in the theater.
     But what happens today when someone uses Facebook to issue seemingly very public threats that emanate far, far beyond Justice Holmes's small theater? Is the "theater" now so much larger that the old rule no longer applies?
     The Supreme Court heard arguments on December 1st, but will likely not hand down its decision until the end of the current term in June 2015. The case title is Elonis v. U.S. for those who want to follow the story.

Thank you for reading and have a good week.