Yeah, you guessed it. (h/t Geoff) ****

Well hello, boys and girls! I just wanted to check in and see how you all were doing in this age of political and economic suckivity. I suppose it could be worse after all … For instance … did you hear how I almost died or ended up as a vegetable? No? Well, then, come right this way and enter the Vortex of Wack-A-Doodle … I woke up 0400 on

WSJ: lately, current and prospective retirees have been hit on many fronts at once: They have less money, they earn less on what they have, their houses aren’t rising in value and the prospect of working longer to make up the shortfall has dimmed significantly in a lousy job market. “We will have to learn to make do with a lot less in material things,” says Gary Snodgrass, a 63-year-old

Oops! The self-important tut-tutting of the Beinarts and the Simons and their legion of hamfisted parrots aside, most Americans simply do not believe that their opposition to the Ground Zero mosque has anything at all to do with religious intolerance. That is, they understand the difference between what you are legally permitted to do and what you should do — and they find lectures on tolerance from those who refuse

Evidently, to oppose the construction of a triumphalist symbol of terrorism Most Excellent Sufi Fun Park! on the site of that terrorism’s permanent scar makes one, well, a terrorist. Up is down. Black is white. Chico is the Man. It’s come to this: if we don’t let the terrorists win, the terrorists will have won. And those who refuse to let the terrorists win are themselves therefore terrorists. Q.E.D. Which,

Bernard Weinstein: […]it is quite startling that a president who declared that his number one priority this year would be job creation, has proposed and supported policies that will increase uncertainty in energy markets, reduce incentives to invest in energy jobs at home, and drastically raise energy costs for consumers and businesses. The Obama Administration’s 2011 budget includes a policy change regarding the rules governing dual capacity tax payers —

Claudia Cowan, “CA’s Gay Marriage Yo-Yo”: Lawyers fighting for the resumption of gay marriage in California are trying to make the best of the latest legal loss, after a 3-judge panel of the 9th Circuit Court issued an emergency stay on same-sex weddings pending an appeal. They say they’re gratified the higher court has recognized “the importance and pressing nature” of this case, and is moving to get the matter

From Right Scoop: I actually heard Levin say this last night and it struck me as precisely the way we need to respond to any Republican who we see trying to triangulate: either you hold conservative principles or you don’t, and it’s time for you to decide. Because we’re done voting for you simply because you have an R in front of your name. Christie has done some very good

For your consideration: There are two relevant tales of Christian developments near Ground Zero. One involves a Greek Orthodox church, St. Nicholas’, which was crushed by the collapse of WTC Tower Two on 9/11. St. Nicholas’ Church was across the street from the World Trade Center. In 2008, a deal was announced with the New York Port Authority to rebuild the church two blocks from its original site. But civil

Washington Examiner: A bill introduced by Sen. Robert Casey’s (D-PA) is a micro targeted bailout which could have drastic ramifications, resulting in billions of taxpayer dollars being funneled to union pensions. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) gave a boost to a massive taxpayer bailout of union pension funds just before Congress’ August Recess. Durbin, who is Senate Majority Whip, joins notable Democratic Senators such as Roland Burris (D-IL), and Al Franken