I like this look at the state of the health care debate right now:

But notice the quality of the debate. Note that Howard Dean, Markos Moulitsas, much of the FireDogLake team and others are raising important questions and pointing to real flaws. At the same time, note that Ezra Klein, Jonathan Cohn, Nate Silver and others are offering meaningful defenses of the Democratic plan, based on substantive evaluations.

Progressive activists and progressive wonks are at each other's throats this week, but they want largely the same goals. Their differences are sincere and significant, but the intensity of their dispute is matched by the potency of their arguments.

And then turn your attention to the other side of the divide, and notice the quality of the arguments conservatives and Republicans have offered -- and continue to offer -- in this debate. Death panels. Socialism. Hitler. Government takeover. Socialized medicine. Incomprehensible charts. Incessant whining about the number of pages in a proposal.

The United States could have had a great debate this year about one of the most important domestic policies of them all. But Americans were denied that debate, because the right didn't have an A game to bring. Intellectual bankruptcy left conservatives with empty rhetorical quivers.

But as it turns out, it's not too late for the debate, we were just looking in the wrong place. We expected the fight of the generation to occur between the right and left, when the more relevant and interesting dispute was between left and left.

Where did the baby go?

I loved that book when I was little: [link]

Oh, I forgot to mention that my oldest son Max is playing the French horn in school. He picked it without knowing his dad played the French horn. (He said he picked it because it's "easiest", even though it's actually the hardest brass instrument to play.)

I wonder if there's a gene for liking the French horn....

I loved that book when I was little:

SO DID I!!! When my grandmother died, I snatched it right out of my sister's hands when she tried to claim it!

Aw, this makes me sad.

Me, too.

But their conclusions - that we make decisions based on factors we aren't consciously considering - makes a lot of sense to me. I chose my college because I felt more at home during that campus visit than others, though I rationalized the choice with a lot of things I was supposed to be basing my decision on.

When my grandmother died, I snatched it right out of my sister's hands when she tried to claim it!

Ha! This is possibly too sad to admit, but my parents and I still say it semi-regularly, related to old pictures of me.

He picked it without knowing his dad played the French horn.

Very cool.

A "24" Christmas: Jack Bauer Tortures Santa Claus (VIDEO)

Let's face facts: He's a long-bearded immigrant with no passport. He spends the entire year planning a one night operation where he can fly in and deliver "packages." If you put that in the context of "24," Santa sure sounds like a threat to our nation. And the only man to take him down is Jack Bauer.

FCM:

Ed Norton
Enver Gjokaj
Eric Dane

(and yes, I am really bored)

F: Jeffrey Dean Morgan M: Robert Downey Jr. C: Javier Bardem

Mostly because I don't really know from JB. Still, in between relapses and rehab, RDJ seems like he'd be pretty interesting.

when the more relevant and interesting dispute was between left and left.

Welcome to any UU congregation, Steve Benen.

F: Daniel Radcliffe
C: Daniel Craig
M: Daniel Dae Kim

F: Robert Downey Jr.
C: Javier Bardem
M: Jeffrey Dean Morgan

F: Ed Norton
C: Eric Dane
M: Enver Gjokaj

Welcome to any UU congregation, Steve Benen.

Or our town(s), Calli.