There’s something about the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade that’s quaint and comforting. Heralding the holidays, the 3-hour annual event showcases a wholesome, diverse side of America that should be more appreciated year-round. Among today’s participants are 400 excited band youths and 200 hula dancers from Hawaii, who are braving non-Hawaii-like cold in the New York parade. Since arriving on the East Coast Saturday, the Hawaii All State Marching Band has been practicing, bonding and acclimating. It’s reported that none of the performers will be allowed to don jackets or non-uniform outerwear — so when watching the parade on NBC/KHNL starting at 9 a.m. today, send along some warm thoughts.

When the majority has no minority

Paraphrasing Shakespeare: What’s in a name? That which we call a majority no longer has any meaning.

A casual reader might not notice anything different in the leadership roster from the state Senate. The titles are the same: majority leader, majority whip and all the rest. Except … there is something different. There is no minority anything, not since Democrat Stanley Chang toppled the lone Republican, Sam Slom. Can you have majority titles when there’s no minority? It seems they could just leave that word off, but then they’d have to make new door plaques.