Not everything should be measured in dollars and cents. NASA for all its faults represents the American spirit of exploration still alive and well in so many of us. The loss of the shuttle program does not have to be the end of discovery, but I find this Administrations lack of vision in this area very troubling.

sorry that was rather sloppy of me

Amy Chua Tiger Mother... and Gollam the evil one crept up and slipped away with her her

Kristallnacht? ohhh its the old Hitler business

greenile dysfunction?

wait, ummm... this cant be right; I thought universal healthcare was going to be FREEEEEEEE! Remember the Vincent Price laugh at the end of thriller?

The anti gunners will stop at nothing; last year in oregon a group calling themselves Oregon Gun Owners solicited donations from real gun owners in the state and donated that money, over $8000.00 to anti-gun politicians. In Maine some years ago one group sponsored a ballot initiative that would have made it a crime to discharge a firearm within 1000 yards of a structure. Sounds harmless enough but such a ban would have effectively ended hunting/shooting in Central/Southern Maine and along much of the coast.When an outright ban on guns or hunting wont work groups often use protection of resource arguments to deny hunters/shooters access to public lands. Unfortunately other outdoor enthusiasts are denied access as a result.Hunters have become accustomed to being called hunter bums, killer hunters, and my personal favorite vicious hunter killer bums. Really the situation has become quite ridiculous but the antis arent laughing. All modes of deception and political trickery are employed.

Many states already have such laws. Im not sure how effective these laws are but they certainly seem justified IMHO

By autumn 2008 we were told that without massive bailouts the country could slip into depression. The bailouts began. Through winter 08/09 some were saying the bailouts were not working as planned. By spring 09 banks were reporting profits again.To the casual observer its hard to believe that we went from imminent disaster to wealth & prosperity in less than a year.One commentator even claimed recently that the bailouts worked so well that some now question whether they were needed at all. At the same time others say the bailouts should have been bigger.

So my question is were we ever really staring into the abyss or were we simply afraid of uncertainty?

It wasnt so long ago that Krugman was calling Europe "the comeback continent"http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/11/opinion/11krugman.html now he asks "can Europe be saved" oh how times have changed.

I view it this way;

• Loughner murders innocents
• Left wrongly accuses Right generally/Palin specifically
• situation percolates while white house completes cost/benefit analysis/orders t-shirts
• Right/Palin use facts to defend against false accusations
• Obama immediately steps in bearing gifts of clothin & slogan "united we thrive." reclaims title of "Great Uniter"

In the end both sides are seen reciprocally as dishonest/reactionary/offensive/defensive/vitriolic until the President appears and reveals the proper path to all. Obama/Biden 2012

My states seatbelt laws are the perfect example of slippery slope arguments. First children under a certain age had to be buckled up. Next the age was increased to 16 years then 18. Finally everyone needed to wear their seatbelts but not doing so was only a "secondary offense." Today its a primary offense and drivers can be ticketed for each passenger not wearing a seat belt, and our lawmakers congratulate themselves on winning a 30 year struggle with the public

What a disgusting display of hatred and hypocrisy. The Left has managed to create this scandal and scapegoat Sarah Palin. How interesting it was to see in todays WashPo Charles Krauthammer use a Freudian concept to explain how our political rhetoric is a sign of our progress, not evidence of our imperfections. Sadly it seems the hatred demonstrated by those who wish Palin harm may blind them to both the irony of Krauthammers Freudian allusion and the bankrupt nature of their "progressive" past

Agreed Emily, After roadtrips through many states I recognize the technical achievements of our cities and transportation networks. More wondrous though is the sheer vastness of America and the natural beauty revealed with each passing mile.

The more I see of America and learn of her history the more deeply I believe and realize; This is ours, all of it; to use and enjoy and pass along. Its hard to imagine an adequate expression of the gratitude and sense of indebtedness I feel toward the individuals whose ideas, convictions, and labor have made my experience here possible.

Indeed some things are more important than politics, most things it seems.

In my younger years i sold firearms at a sporting goods store and can say its not as easy as some would have us believe for dangerous people to aquire firearms. The first step is for buyers to complete a form 4473. http://www.atf.gov/forms/download/atf-f-4473.pdf 

Each question requires a yes or no answer, if any question is answered incorrectly the sale is denied. If all questions are answered correctly the clerk calls the FBI NICS center http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/nics/general-information/fact-sheet where an FBI employee performs a background check using the customers name, ssn, state of residence info. The FBI also verifies the Fed Firearms license number assigned to the dealer. At this point the FBI gives a responce of proceed, denied, or delayed.

The most common way to get around this is to have a friend or family member buy the gun for you but people doing this should take pause before answering question 11a.

After reading this story several times I kept coming back to this line; "They are capable of squeezing her" how detestable that people are forced to live with such an overwhelming sense of fear.