I liked it better when CNN would run to Dudley Moore for their opinion focus.

Wait: Jan Brewer was the Sith Lord we were looking for all along?

I need to check if blackmarkethealthcare.com is available to register...
Maybe I can go with backalleyhealthcare.com or backalleydocs.com for a backup. 

Happy Birthday Ricochet!!!
I was going to get you a Conservative majority in the US Senate - but they were all out. So, here's a rain-check for 2014. 

My former neighbor in El Dorado County, Sacramento Deputy Sheriff Jeff Mitchell was killed with his own handgun in October 2006 after stopping a suspicious vehicle in the rural part of the county. The crime still is unsolved to this day. But the thing that tears me up, even now, almost 7 years later, is the thought of of his then 6 year old son going forward without his Dad. We filled a baseball stadium at Jeff's memorial, and I couldn't take my eyes off that little boy. While I know other Deputies & neighbors have helped the family in the years that followed, I don't think I've ever witnessed a more humbling scene than what these good men & women from the Phoenix PD did for that young lady.

Bless them all. 

Is there no "play in" scandal in this year's bracket?

Wonderful!

Ricochet just got that much better with it's newest Contributor!

Incidentally, when Ted Cruz sees either Pete Carroll or Jim Harbaugh on TV he jumps up and yells "What's your deal?"

"Didn't have time to see me. Didn't have time to thank me. Suck on the barrel of my hot-shotgun, smile when you say Damn Yankee"

- Ted Nugent.
=========================================
“I was raised to face any challenge.”

“All I want to tell young people is that you're not going to be anything in life unless you learn to commit to a goal. You have to reach deep within yourself to see if you are willing to make the sacrifices.”

- Louis Zamperini

No.

Just, no.

I'd beg for Dave to consider a travelogue or two a week, in addition to his insightful political analysis. A delight, from stem to stern.

Sen John "Scut Farkus" McCain and his toadie Sen Lindsey "Grover Dill" Graham
 http://twitpic.com/c9eni1

Indeed, elections have consequences, and now we're stewing in it. However, European type socialism had the rather convenient backstop of forward deployed American Forces to fall back on. We don't have someone to abdicate our security to.  Makes it even more difficult for us.

I want the finest military we can possibly muster. I want our forces to have the tools that they need to keep them safe, and mitigate against as much exposure to risk that we can manage. That said, the Department of Defense is a bureaucracy like any other government operation. They just don't know how to control costs, and are frequently in league with Defense contractors so that they can get what they need. My friend Alan Bourdius wrote about a unique solution to both the enduring GOP problem of campaigning and the country's problem with spending, and it is a uniquely conservative approach. It makes a lot of sense. I wish more GOP candidates would consider it.

I, myself, am torn between three positions:

1. Stand on principle, regardless of the political cost. No *deal* on tax increases - spending is the problem. Entitlements are where we need to focus, but federal spending insanity goes way beyond that, as my friend Allan Bourdius writes regarding wasteful military spending (Yes - I'm a hawk , but we need to address this). Too many people live at the benefit of income redistribution, and until it collapses, we cannot change the opinion of the electorate.
2. I would like to see *us* get the very best political deal (realizing that politically, we're disadvantaged here). Boehner's attempt to turn the tables on the left might be the way to demonstrate to the electorate how unserious the President & the left are on this issue. They WANT higher taxes, solely for the sake of punishment, it will make NO difference to our spending atrocities.
3. We cannot win. Regardless of compromise or capitulation  - the President has demonstrated that he has merely to say the sky is orange, Republicans are evil - & it will be reported as such. It's how he wins elections

So I go back to #1.

Ahem: Hey Baby, he had me at Wango Tango.