Would I rather be in the middle?..

Apparently, I live on the edge of both wrath and lust:

http://www.wired.com/culture/education/magazine/17-09/st_sinmaps

Could not being in the middle of the latter explain the former?

Obama Sinking...

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/obama_administration/daily_presidential_tracking_poll

It's because he's black, you know. Count on it! (No way, I mean, could it be because he's exactly the inexperienced, left-wing, near-Socialist cipher that naysayers cautioned about for much of the last two years. Really, c'mon!)

It's a black thing, and it ain't racist!..

If President Obama were Ted Kennedy, of course, he wouldn't be president today. Kennedy was waaayyy too liberal for mainstream Americans, and President Obama is at least his equal, Left-ward-wise.

So, what are we to make of all the charges of racism regarding anti-Obamacare activism: http://www.breitbart.tv/la-rep-obamacare-opponents-want-to-destroy-first-president-who-looks-like-me/

Well, not much. If the charges of racism were true, Obama would never have been elected, just as Kennedy never was elected. In fact, a strong case can be made that Obama is president BECAUSE he is black, and that assuaged Liberal/moderate 'guilt' over past social injustice.

So, where does the divide fall between Obama/racist rhetoric and classical self-interest? Well, predictably, I know a number of otherwise Liberal blacks who don't wish to give up their health benefits to a federal adminstrator.  Are they 'racists' against Obama?

I suspect Rep. Watson will soon learn, to her regret, that personal benefit trumps racial identity. But, that shouldn't surprise a Congressman/woman one bit, since self-interest --and re-election -- is his/her sole concern.

Post-Racialism?

So, apparently, the definition of 'post-racial' in America is allowing Blacks to screw up without consequence?..:

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2009/08/24/2009-08-24_gov_david_paterson_tells_blogger_he_is_victim_of_orchestrated_campaign_because_o.html

Democratic Intelligence

Look, here's the thing that Leftist activists don't want to acknowledge, but must consider before making any progress (not that I'm rooting for that, mind you!): the general public is smarter than either/both Harry Reid or Nancy Pelosi.

I dare say that the atomic weight of the Congressional 'leadership' has never been lower! (Certainly not in my lifetime, which includes Lyndon Johnson, Sam Rayburn,  John McCormack, Howard Baker, Tip O'Neill, Newt Gingrich, and Dick Armey.)

Reid and Pelosi belong on some county commission somewhere, not in the United States Congress! And yet, Democrats have chosen them as 'leaders'! Incredible.

The Bourbon Pantry

Well, a sort of reckoning has arrived, bourbon-wise (or not-so-wise): I can no longer afford to 'chase' the burgeoning prices of collectible and sought-after bottlings, many of which I've already sampled, luckily, and maybe even have an example or two still on the shelf.

Don't cry for me, though, Jack Daniel's! I've been profligate enough in past spending that -- even after a couple of years of selling and drinking down the 'stock' -- I still have some quite decent bottles left. Hence, the reckoning. I've long advised others to drink up and not hoard hard-to-find or defunct bottlings of whisk(e)y as collectibles, no different than a 1916d "Mercury" dime or '21 Chateau d'Yquem Sauternes. Whiskey's for drinkin', I'd say! Well, the time has come for me to put up or shut up (not that I've ever stinted when opening bottles, but usually that was for an 'audience' of appreciative fellow-tipplers). Am I really going to open that $150 bottle of Rittenhouse 21yo rye just to make Manhattans for myself?

Maybe. My hope is that I may still attend or host enough whiskey gatherings that such special bottles might yet be enjoyed by attentive aficianados. But, if not, then know that I shall open the best I have for the least of these palates.

So, when the time comes for me to open my last bottle of Evan Williams 7yo Black-label, don't expect me to make a trip to the liquor store in order to avoid it!

"Easy for him to say..."

Standard Mark Steyn bull's-eye hilarity here:

http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=OTAxYzFjODdiN2E3OWUyNzY1MDU1ODM1ZjZjYmY3YjM=

As Steyn hints, Americans' overall life-expentancy is hindered by the number of surviving premature babies which later die, creating a misleadingly high infant-mortality rate in the U.S. But, once out of infancy, Americans live longer than just about everybody.

This is why we think we have a failing health-care system that commands overhaul?