The cynicism is worse that I thought. Even a US Senator won't let a tragedy go to waste:

"And the damage that your polluters and deniers are doing doesn’t just hit Oklahoma and Alabama and Texas. It hits Rhode Island with floods and storms. It hits Oregon with acidified seas, it hits Montana with dying forests."

Disgusting. When all you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail. When all you know is political opportunism...

If you're in the affected area and trying to let your family know you are safe or are trying to locate family, go to: https://safeandwell.communityos.org/cms/index.php

How about:

"I think when you spread the medals around, it's good for everybody."

They can add leftist pomp and circumstance to the ceremonies (and they always will), but the games are driven by a celebration of fierce competition leading to very unequal results. Until they start handing out gold medals to every athlete, I see the Olympics as a celebration of the classical liberal ideal: rule of law (well-officiated, clean games), and individual achievement.

Even more applicable: some college republicans interviewed folks about applying affirmative action to college sports. Again, the students uniformly said no. Then they were asked "why should we apply it to academics and not athletics?"

Great read from someone neck-deep in this issue.  As with any great conflict, the resolution starts with both sides walking a mile in the other's shoes. Not an easy proposition with the level (understandable) fervor behind each side of this debate.  It's a lot easier to demagogue the other side and feel self-righteous.

It's nice to hear someone trying to lift up both sides.

File this under "What on earth were they thinking?" Do they not worry about the optics? Do they not know that President "Gutsy Call's" critics already see him as a shameless self-promoter?

My money says the website is changed back before the weekend is out. Down the memory hole. Nothing to see here.

That's an interesting distinction. In my more cynical moments I've viewed the two sides as "Do-ers" versus "Talkers,"  but Productives/ Persuasives distinction seems more even-handed. And why not apply it to vocation? Teachers, op-ed writers (pronounced "journalists"), actors, writers, all fit snugly in the "Persuasive" end of the spectrum, all dominated by liberals. Small business owners, arguably "Producers," tend to lean right.

Quite right. You won't hear me defend their actions.

I think this emerges from the fundamental differences between the two sides. The left is the side of protest/activism: They want to change a wicked world. "Interfere!" The right is the side of laissez faire: To each his own (as long as you bring no harm to others).

Honestly, this is a fairly easy entrance for the solo horn. It's in a comfortable part of the range at a soft dynamic. Nothing nail-biting here, just count your rests.

Great recording! It's always interesting to see a composer conduct their own music.

When I hear questions like this, I ask myself: "Is 'our' side guilty of the same bullying?" Usually these these accusations end up devolving into "It's okay when my guy does it." But I think, in this case especially, the left has the market cornered on political bullying. Say what you want about the guy, Bush was never a demagogue like Obama, and the left has has a history of silencing the opposition. When the Executive gives the green light to demagogue on this issue the self-righteous hatred will only get worse. Remember the blacklists after Prop 8 passed? That was when Obama was against gay marriage.

Just to play devil's advocate for a second, these Soviet immigrants are the ones who found a reason to leave the USSR.  I'm sure there are former Soviets who wax romantic about the days of the Soviet Empire. They had no reason to emigrate. As to which of these two groups is wiser, I'll let you decide...   It's the capitalists.

Best headline yet:

Breaking: Noted gay-marriage supporter finally drops cynical charade

This news make the people already voting for Obama just a little more self-righteous.  On the other hand, this will fire up the social-cons, that's for sure...  All those Santorum supporters who saw Romney as squish on social issues? How does  Romney look now?

Of course, his position surprises exactly no one. The news is simply that he's finally being honest about it.  Of course that's not how the media will spin it.  They'll ignore the fact that he's essentially lied about this issue since he campaigned for the 2008 election, purely for political reasons.

Also newsworthy: How will the socially conservative Dems of the latino and black  communities take the news?

Obama: "same-sex couples should be able to get married"

http://abcnews.go.com/Video/video?id=16312904