1 I saw some crazy thing that Condi was proposing a contiguous Palestinian homeland that splits Israel in 2?? She can propose all she wants, the Israelis will tell her to go f*ck herself

2 Jeez. I'd heard about that, but not that Condi was pushing it. That's nuts.

3 From what I've read (very brief -- yahoo news, or some such), my first thought is that it appears that Condi is laying the groundwork for/encouraging the Palestinians to use diplomacy (as opposed to suicide bombing) as an effective means of political action. I daresay she is pressuring the Israeli's to "go the extra mile" in presenting this carrot to the Pali's. I don't for a minute think Condi, as a rep of the Bush Admin/American policy, is going to ask the Israelis to forego more than is reasonable (hope I won't be proven wrong). I have confidence in this admin, in that they have taken the stance that actions speak louder than words, and they judge a people's actions. I say, give some time for this to play out. Israel may be asked to give some concessions (it always is), but this time, it might just bear some positive fruit -- for both sides.

4 I've read that the two issues closest to her heart are Israel's survival and gun rights (due to the fact that private gun ownership saved the lives of some in her neighborhood during the Jim Crow days).

1 She's something else, isn't she? My mother-in-law, a dyed-in-the-wool Democrat, even gave her her props last Sunday at dinner. I was shocked - in 25 years I've never heard her compliment a Reichpublican...