Lot of folks out there trying to explain away the continued popularity of former Alaska governor Sarah Palin:

http://hotair.com/greenroom/archives/2009/10/04/rogue-warriors/

It's really pretty easy to figure out, it's just hard to accommodate it into their "it's about me and my philosophy" meme.  You see, the Obama coalition was made up of about 25% of the political populace which is truly left-wing/Liberal (like he is!); about 15% that were just plain fed up with the GOP and Bush's lack of adherence either to fiscal discipline or neo-isolationism, and wanted to punish them/him; and the remainder folks who were enamored by the fact of electing a black president. Almost ALL of the 47%-48% of the voting populace who voted McCain truly ARE believers in limited government and personal freedom, and didn't have anyone else for whom to vote.

In that light, Palin has a base of about 48% of the American voting public, while the Obamans can claim maybe 25% solidly. (The rest are available for conversion.) The fact that the media is monolithically pro-Obama is the only reason anyone even wonders why Palin is popular. She speaks to and for the largest number of us.

This is what you lose...

 ...when you cut defense spending to the bone:

http://www.blackfive.net/main/2009/09/seal-rescue.html

Good to keep in mind the U.S. military does many things besides fight, and does all of them (including fighting!) better than almost anyone else in the world.

If anyone knows President Obama, pass the word, would ya? He doesn't seem to know...

The Ubiquity of Ignorance Posing as Wisdom

See Harold Meyerson today in the WaPo:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/29/AR2009092903001.html

This is not even serious argument! Hell, I'm no economist, but I AM sympathetic to free-market thinking -- and even I knew the current economic disaster was inevitable!

I mean, what exactly did Meyerson and his Keynesians THINK was going to happen after Bill Clinton inflated the currency prior to 1996 to get re-elected, did it again in 2000 to (unsuccessfully) get Al Gore elected (under the cover of 'Y2K' pseudo-silliness), and GWB repeated the money growth through 8 years of national crises and re-election campaigns? Eventually, the house of cards topples, especially when Congressional 'leaders' (read here: Frank, Dodd, Pelosi/Reid) take steps to legislatively deny reality by mandating fiscal laxity they then fail to oversee!

Please note I didn't mention any (small-c) conservatives here (no, GWB is NOT a conservative!). And, yet, Meyerson, et al, universally blame conservative economists for the liberals' economic failures! The MSM today isn't the Fourth Estate anymore, it's the Fifth Dimension -- where a liberal Utopia heals all imagined wounds without ever coming in contact with reality!

The Diminution of America

Things that will not end well:

• Either Israel will attack the Iranian nuclear sites, or Iran will threaten and/or use nuclear weapons against Israel;
• Democrats WILL pass some sort of health-care 'reform' which will NOT benefit folks who already have health insurance (it won't save any money, either!);
• Import tariffs and protectionism will undermine the World Trade Organization, and cause higher consumer prices for Americans, while their own government is stealthily increasing their own taxes via carbon- and value-added levies.
• Federal spending mandates will virtually guarantee that local and state governments pare back taxes and services to a point that basic necessities go begging locally, or increase local/state taxes so that household budgets go unbalanced;
• The coming 'revolution' by citizens over local vs. central/federal government will determine whether or not the U.S.A. is a nation in decline. It's a toss-up, at this point.

A long life to all...

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20327241.300-secrets-of-the-centenarians-life-begins-at-100.html?full=true
It's worth noting here, I think, that absent the U.S.'s inflated -- because of the care given pre-mature deliveries, et al -- infant mortality rate, our average life span is significantly diminished statistically.
Suffice it to say, however, that if you've reached your first birthday, you stand to live longer than anyone else on Earth if you're an American citizen. (At least until ObamaCare becomes law!)

Mozel tov!

A Random (though long-standing) thought...

...how about instead of nationalizing health care, we abolish health insurance? That way everyone, you know, just pays for the services he/she uses.

Yeah, silly -- I know. Too much like the rest of life. And no opportunity for graft.

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?