Thanksgiving in Kaaawa started with a rather spectacular sunrise, and ended (for us at least) mid-evening with a turkey echo served up as sandwiches with a side of fresh carrots and olives, washed down by a couple of glasses of wine. In between was the main feast with my sister and parents, who came out to enjoy Kaaawa for a few hours.

The cats initially did their normal disappearing act, but slowly came back to check things out. Ms. Wally was the first to reenter. She didn’t climb onto the table where we were eating, but did sit in my lap and observe. Romeo was next, if I recall correctly, and before the afternoon was over we had at least caught glimpses of Silverman, Annie, and Toby. Leo lurked outside, peering into the living room. Of course, all the cats were here and looking for food within minutes of the guests’ departure. It’s always like that.

So how about some post-Thanksgiving bits and pieces…

The Advertiser’s new printing plant reported a problem this morning, and today’s edition isn’t expected to reach downtown Honolulu until later this morning, and Kaaawa probably won’t see it until after noon. [note: the Advertiser was just delivered at 7:55 a.m., way ahead of the predicted schedule.]

I don’t recall reading about Hawaiian Airlines being fined $50,000 recently by the U.S. Department of Transportation for failing to respond to customer’s requests for data on the company’s on-time performance. This factoid showed up as a footnote in stories this week about a similar (but larger) fine imposed on Delta. [note: I should have known. PBN did report this back on October 9. The story didn’t turn up in a Google search, but going directly to PBN’s site quickly turned it up.]

More on the ethics concerns being raised in Oregon by lobbyist-paid travel to Hawaii and elsewhere by legislators, this time from the blog, Blue Oregon.

From the San Francisco Gray Panthers comes a bit more about the “Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act”, including a reprint of a Baltimore Sun story which appeared earlier this week.

Here’s a bit of plainly stated newspaper commentary for the day from Utah, of all places:

Newspapers used to be something. Being a print reporter used to mean something. Nearly every print reporter I know (and I know a lot of reporters in a lot of states) wonders why they even bother anymore. The ones who don’t wonder are most often the ones who miss the point. Only management level “editors” and boardroom bureaucrats wonder why circulation is down. Reporters already know.

Under-staffing, shitty pay, untalented asshats screwing up the copy and calling it editing, political bias (either left or right, they’re both bad) by the owners that trickles down into the “edit,” and this insufferable misnomer called “balance.” Whatever wing-nut invented this walking irony deserves a stay in Git-mo with Mitt Romney.

Balance isn’t truth. Balance is walking a tightrope trying to keep everyone happy and all that does is piss everyone off. The truth is painful in any direction, sometimes in every direction. Balance is rewriting a press release.

Or if you’re more multimedia inclined, click here.

And, finally, it’s Friday and time for a couple of felines, the ones that happened to be out in front when we arrived back home yesterday morning. Toby and Harry were the ones available when I had the camera out and ready, so they make up this Friday’s felines. Just click for more.