Almost all my close friends and family members are liberal. This is probably because I was myself quite a liberal for many years and nowadays I tend to move in so-called “creative” circles. There aren’t a lot of impassioned conservatives in the creative writing community or the advertising community.
What this means is that, at any [...]

After traveling to Afghanistan and Iraq with Barack Obama, Republican Senator Chuck Hagel had this to say:
“Each candidate has strengths and weaknesses, and experience does matter. But what matters more in my opinion is character and judgment. And judgment meaning who is it that you bring around, who is it that you listen to? Can [...]

After Tony Snow’s death today, Pete Abel penned the following…
I’m 43. When Tony was my age, if he’d known he had 10 years left, would he have done anything differently? If I could look in to the future and know the date of my death, would I do anything differently? Would I work less, spend [...]

Senator John Warner of Virginia has asked the Energy Department to look into setting a national speed limit that would best optimize the nation’s gasoline use. A 55 mph limit could save 167,000 barrels of oil each day.
In 1974, Congress mandated a 55 mph speed limit in part to combat the Arab oil embargo, so [...]

I stole the pic and line from Ezra, but what about Bill?
After all, he’s got the swing state, gubernatorial experience, a demonstratable post-partisan track record and his foreign policy credentials are literally second to none in this or nearly any VP crop I can remember.
Plus, his endorsement of Obama came at a time [...]

Four dollar a gallon gasoline has hit Alaska and Connecticut and the rest of us are not far behind. The national average is $3.787 and prices have gone up for ten consecutive days.
So, I’m curious, have you made any changes in your life to account for the rise in gas prices? If not, how high [...]

To be fair, I haven’t read My Beautiful Mommy, but still…that title is pretty bad.
If this is just a book about the idea that “mommy” is going to have some work done and how to explain it to a kid, that’s one thing. But if it’s more of a story about “transformation” from normal [...]

Yesterday I went to a Mitt Romney rally at the University of South Carolina. At the very beginning, the former Massachusetts governor/ champion of family values displayed his unbelievably cute baby grandson to the crowd.

Sorry for the sarcasm, its just my nature. Anyway, what do you think…was Governor Romney using the child as a [...]

Writing for Roll Call, Mort Kondracke suggests that the Bloomberg-led, Centrist confab in Oklahoma should develop a list of the top 10 most pressing issues along with post-partisan solutions. Kondracke has suggestions. These are paraphrases, so be sure to read the whole article if any particular point interests you:
1. Strengthen the No Child Left Behind [...]

Particularly in the United States? Could it work? John Edwards seems to think so.
Could we create a class of soldiers who merely serve within our borders, but would never be called upon to go overseas to prosecute wars? Could there be a volunteer aspect inside of a mandatory military class?
What are your thoughts?

There’s a good conversation going on in our “God Or No God?” post about just that.
Check it out and add your thoughts.

This feels a bit time-warpish, but Congress may try to re-pass (and then urge the states to ratify) the Equal Rights Amendment.
Oh, joy. I always get excited at the prospect of more Phyllis Schlafly (pictured) on my television.
On the one hand, why not? On the other hand, it’s arguable whether such an amendment is even [...]

For all you gay/bi/etc. Republicans out there, Dennis Sanders reprints in full why some of you stick to the principles you believe in.
From NeoMugwump…
We are Republican because we believe in limited government, free markets, a strong national defense, and personal responsibility;
We strive for Unity without the tyranny of uniformity, because the greatness of the Republican [...]

Pretty interesting, no? I bet we can trace these numbers directly back to our failed, prejudiced “war” on drugs.
And maybe you’re saying right now, “Prejudiced? Prove it!” Well, you need look no further than the vast disparity between the prisons sentences for people who do crack and people who do cocaine…
Pharmacologically the same drug, crack [...]

Three stories that explore the boundary between what’s reasonable and what’s not, what’s criminal and what’s not, and what’s ethical and what’s not.
What’s reasonable?
A California school district has taken to billing parents who take their kids out of school for nonmedical reasons — like a family ski trip. The price? $36.13 for each day missed. [...]

I’m in the midst of writing another book now, called The Broken American Male. It’s about how the family rut is primarily due to the fragmented nature of today’s manâ€â€?just how messed up men are today and how we can heal them.

~ Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, in Publishers Weekly.
Discuss.

With negotiations — and protests — underway over Bush’s presidential library, and analysts trying to predict what his legacy will be, I’ve been musing about a not-so-far-off time. Specifically, what will Bush do once he waves goodbye for the last time and leaves office in 2008?
I figure it’s pretty certain he won’t be sent on [...]

Which will win, the tiger or the meat?
You know what to do…

There’s a lot of talk about whether Joe Lieberman or Bernie Sanders will switch from independent to one of the other parties. Sanders could turn Democrat; Lieberman could go either way, though he has repeatedly said he’ll caucus with the Democrats.
But what about moderate Republicans? They were massacred on election night because of their association [...]

I’ve come up with a couple of out-there ideas — one on the minimum wage, the other on campaign contributions. I don’t pretend they’re realistic; mostly, they’re thought exercises. But I can’t really tell.
I’d appreciate people’s thoughts, but I find I’m actually too embarassed to post them here. So they’re up over at Midtopia.
Be gentle….