Maya teaches me an important lesson having nothing to do with Congressional filibusters

New parenthood is full of hurdles - some high, some unseen, some that move at the last minute, some that require only the slightest hitch in your giddyup. Yesterday through this morning was one of those slight hitch hurdles for our new famn damily as Sarah worked her first overnight call shift at the hospital leaving Maya without her favorite boobs to fall back on. Aside from her Dad. In short, Maya did great even as she proved yet again that I often know bupkis about her needs. Like last night as we prepped for bedtime - I assumed that she needed to be filled to the gills with milk to ensure a long stretch of slumber. Going on the prior assumption that her extended periods of breastfeeding around that time meant she needed such extended filling. Well, after a walk around the 'hood in between bottles and a frustrated attempt to pour another handful of ounces down her gullet, Maya's protests caused me to harrumph "Fine, Little Missy - so then it's straight to bed for you!" At which point she zonked out as soon as she was laid down and slept for 8 hours. Then when she awoke after 4am, I gave her a bottle in what seemed like 12 seconds and she crashed again for 3 hours. And now after a morning bottle and "Washington Journal" (Maya sure does love her C-SPAN - very nap inducing) she's now sleeping in her bouncy-chair looking as happy as a clam cradled right near an illegal sewage pipe. I suppose the point is that all of us new parents eventually learn to accept our children for what they are - a busload smarter than us when it comes to what they really need.

After a day and a half of listening to all the post-filibuster-busting-deal hooey, I'm still left feeling as though almost everyone lost in the effort. The country will be saddled with 3 lifetime-appointed judges with whom most of us wouldn't even want to share an evening meal. Conservatives fear having left the barndoor open a MILE WIDE for future struggles to rope in a Supreme Court appointment to their liking. Dubya and Cheney must worry that the moderates in their Party still have some limited sway. Harry Reid and his leadership must make letting through the 3 most offensive judges in the Dems opinion look like a victory for an Institution where the inmates are not only running amok but running the show. But the truest, reddest loser in this mess as far as I can see is "please call me Doctor-Senator" Frist. His petulance in losing out to a so-called cabal of moderates was only surpassed in irony by his belief that he somehow could now change his toxic plan's name to "the Constitutional option" on the day that plan went up in smoke. Say buh-bye to your Presidential ambitions, Billy. McCain just kicked your ass in the first Primary. Speaking of which, read the "New Yorker" piece on McCain in '08 - the best political thinkpiece of the week if not this pre-election year.

The second season of "Deadwood" ended on Sunday and I must say that I'm conflicted with regard to how I feel about where the series has gone. For those of you that haven't seen it, you have my condolences because it's the most enigmatic show on TV and entirely worth seeking out even if only on DVD. But the point is that I've seen the storylines get crazily convoluted and main characters that have been the strength of the show wedged into the sidelines. Ian McShane's character Al Swearingen is still the finest work seen on TV in years (his appearance on "Real Time With Bill Maher" a handful of weeks back also convinced me that he's an astonishingly smart man outside of his work on this series). But some of the other stuff used to put lipstick on this season's pig didn't really keep me guessing or hoping what might come next. I read a few months back that the creator, David Milch, may use a 5-season timeline for this series which tracks well with what the actual history and character-arcs of Deadwood, SD experienced in the period that the series is based upon. If that is the case, I'm happy. But if this puppy turns into a "M*A*S*H" count me out as a proponent in the very near future.

Keep an eye on and the Family Buick in the near future for info on my plans to run the San Francisco Marathon and raise cash in doing so for 826 Valencia. I appreciate every one of your visits and you have my word that we'll keep things interesting enough to draw you back. Or at least that's my intention. Rock on.