Mr. Koler represents my feelings on the question. Despite the many valid points in your father's post, if he thinks there's no difference between Sotomayor/Kagan and a Romney appointment, then he is letting his frustrations trump the good of the country.

Lots of my favorites already mentioned but also try the 1946 film The Best Years of Our Lives. For something newer, try Goodbye Lenin, Other People's Lives (Cold War themes), and Rain Man (Hoffman & Cruise at their best). Thanks Ottoman Umpire for a checklist to catch up with!

George Orwell exhibited the soft bigotry of prole expectations. 

I like everything Thomas said. Still, the trip to go and see the White House and the president does not imply endorsement. In the end, the net minder needs to be true to his convictions. I would've gone and been respectful. I lead a trip of 8th graders to D.C. each June. It's our city too, no matter who occupies the halls of power.

Peter, perhaps you waited too long to share Young Frankenstein with your kids. I shared it much earlier with my kids and hmmph-hmmphed over the several questionable lines. I relish how they adorn our vernacular with one-liners around the house. My son recently told me as I ascended our stairs that I should "Stay close to ze candles...ze shtaircase...can be twachewous..." As a teacher, I dub every new "Abby" as "Abby Normal" and proceed to explain why. They enjoy that clip! Cheers!

I think Occupy's going soft. That Rose Parade is a little too one-percenty for me. There are people with money there.

The zombies only highlight the most egregious examples of behavior. People wearing signs in front of the local YMCA, street corners, and at the city's annual Christmas downtown event (where we close off the street for carolers, cocoa, live mannequin contests, etc. and no one talks politics) make life more tiresome. These people have their right to do these things but let me exercise my right to say that they are increasingly annoying to more of the passersby that they hope to convince to recall the governor. They also invite attention to the governor's record, which to the average non-union member is more and more promising. Be careful what you wish for.

Dr. Berlinski,

Thank you for directing our attention to this subject. Your topic cuts to salient points in today's events from the Middle East to Iowa to St. Louis. I teach 7th grade geography and sometimes struggle to find interesting points directly relating to students' lives or those like theirs. The Saudi arms deal as seen through the St. Louis Post-Dispatch provides a good example of how this sort of event garners support among locals depending on the Boeing plant for a living. My own area has experienced layoffs like many others and it's something kids can relate to (when I can get their adolescent attention for a few minutes). It's remarkable when one contemplates how a kid in Riyadh and a kid in St. Louis are more connected than one would think. It's the sort of real life that follows in the wake of the points on your continuum. I attach no huzzah or objection to the deal, only observation.

Godspeed and Happy New Year.

Thank you thank you Rob Long for sharing @youthcaptain outside of NR on Dead Tree. I've been trying to relate your ongoing series to non-subscribers. I trust you're working on another installment for a future NR. Happy travels.

Well Mr. Emeritus Speechwriter, this 8th grade civics teacher agrees with you (although I like to think I have convictions). 

Part of feeling the life leaving my marrow when Romney speaks stems from having this endless campaign a year & earlier ahead of the general election. This is the usual time I used to have to see candidates looking to the primaries and at least pretending to cater to my sensibilities. 

A second disappointment is witnessing the colossal screwing up of our governmental affairs. This should have attracted a plethora of antidote conservative candidates. But now we witness a real possibility of Obama II by default. It's simply draining.

I may market flip-flops with a nifty "I'm not Obama" logo at Mitt events. 

I appreciate having Ricochet around to throw out a question like this. This did not change my unqualified support for the strike, but it did increase my knowledge on the topic. And as I tweeted this morning, it's just been reported that Ron Paul, citing Acts 12 verse 23, just accused God of a targeted assassination of Herod. (Now if DoD could figure out the worm effect therein, that'd be very cool.)

The Madison-based MacIver Institute is doing yeoman's work in reporting about Big Labor's strip-mine-sized footprint in the recall races. The "We Are WIsconsin" PAC (actually, "We aren't Wisconsin") is a droid-army-like coalition containing the usual suspects of SEIU/AFL-CIO/AFT/WEAC etc. Their dollars dwarf the individual contributions of supposed grass roots. Full disclosure: I'm a public school teacher in Wisconsin. Check MacIver's work at http://maciverinstitute.com/

Mr. Robinson's comments capture so much in a succinct manner. Let me just add that Truman made his way under much domestic criticism and unpopularity (The famous 1948 newspaper photo exuberance wasn't for nothing!). Through accomplishments great and dubious I admire Truman for sticking to his principles, even though it meant he wouldn't live to see them fully appreciated. Overall, we were fortunate to have him for such a time as that.

Maybe it was Mr. Murphy who penned the St. Louis Post-Dispatch editorial today:

"It's astounding that the economic health of the nation is being held hostage by people least willing or able to comprehend the issues, many of them swept into office last year by people with only the vaguest notions of reality."  (Read the entire thing here.) "Close parentheses," Peter & James.

I like Murphy & his discussions. However, I grow weary of hearing that we must compromise over fuzzily-defined terms and make that shaky territory the baseline of the next go-around. 

Were Ron Johnson's and Reid Ribble's wins meaningless and rube-induced?

James, I laughed out loud while driving across Illinois as you revealed yourself as the author of that Deanscream mix. I used that on my 7th grade social studies students during the '04 primaries as a fun current event diversion. I found the clip on a site called DeanGoesNuts.com that popped up for a few weeks. I'd say I copied at least a dozen CDs of your clip for interested students. It also brought tears of laughter to member NitWitMN & I when we listened to it during a visit in St Paul. Very rich stuff.

At a local Harvard alumni chapter, the former head of the elite Sayeret Matkal commandos meets the former editor of the college law review.  After exchanging pleasantries, the former told a harrowing tale of a hostage rescue operation while the latter boasted of signing up 253 first-time voters on a warm spring day in Chicago.