Daniels/Bolton 2012!  I love Rubio, but he's too young and full of promise to rush into an office 'not worth a warm bucket of p*ss', better imo for him to gain more experience and notoriety for future tappage.  As for Condi, I'm with Kenneth.  If he needs a foreign policy boost and Bolton has been making noises about wanting to run himself anyway, seems like a dream pairing, but then I'm a fan of the mustache. 

Disappointed to learn that Mitch is for ethanol subsidies though, that's not a good sign, and I've read other troubling record blemishes bandied about, although so much else I do know about his record, combined with the appalling present likely field, makes me want to overlook such imperfections and hope he "changes his mind".  Hope the next time he's on the podcast Ricochet can pin him down on some of these harder questions.  Don't think you guys ever did ask him about his handling of and reaction to the IN legislature's flight as compared to Walker's in WI, and his subsequent dropping of the right to work legislation for a "better time"...

Seconding George's praise of Empire of Lies, really enjoyed that one -- and Peter's take that Klavan "combines a page-turner of a thriller with an almost Dostoyevskian concern for good and evil and sin and redemption--and with brilliant insights about the politics and culture of contemporary America" is spot on imo.

As Peter alluded to, there was already a trend towards effectively popularly electing Senators without the amendment. I believe it would have been preferable if states had been left to deal with any indirect election issues on their own - there was no obstacle to state parties establishing a de facto direct election within their states as was done with the “Oregon Plan” for instance - legislative candidates were required to sign one of two statements before running for office, one pledging the candidate to vote for whomever the population voted for in a state-wide primary, the other that the candidate would not so pledge, retaining discretion to vote for whomever he desired. As Robert pointed out, such a set up assisted in keeping people equally plugged into both state and federal politics, in addition to the benefits laid out in Federalist 51 for keeping the two houses "as little connected with each other as the nature of their common functions and their common dependence on the society will admit".  The progressive era was too quick to  shake off some very prudent, if imperfect, guardians to representative balance imo. Recommend Rossum's "Federalism, The Supreme Court, and the 17th Amendment"

That's what I had been thinking, but hearing a perspective from someone in the fish and game warden world convinced me that the Mexican cartels aren't going to pack up their massive grow operations in our state forests over this prop. As Aaron mentions, it will still be illegal in our bordering states, California will continue to be a source for the cartel crops grown unfettered by any serious attempt by the government to rout them out for distribution elsewhere, as well as remaining a destination for meth and their other south of the border exports. This isn't an answer to our cartel problem, but I'll likely vote for it anyway, prohibition and criminalizing stupid behavior just doesn't seem to be achieving any of the desired ends.

definitely Sowell, and I'd add Robert P. George

with all due respect Nathaniel, my experience with tea party-esque folks is that the overwhelming majority wholeheartedly welcome immigrants *who want to be Americans*, who have a hunger for the freedoms that animate those in the movement as a whole. like knows like. forgive if i've read you wrong, it just sticks in my craw to see that great majority as i see it painted with any broad nativist brush...

A reporter I heard often on KFI AM 640 when I was in Los Angeles (can't remember her name now) who covered Campos & Rameon and other south of the border stories, often mentioned that intimidation and threats to local reporters had a lot to do with coverage not getting out - obvious I know, but the problem is much worse than I had ever imagined -- And actually, when searching for some of her reports just now, came across this article from today: "Attacks on Mexican media 'national crisis':

http://www.elpasotimes.com/juarez/ci_16025149

Boring, and, apparently, gay: http://www.theonion.com/video/soccer-officially-announces-it-is-gay,17603/

:)

In the bay area I highly recommend St. Dominic's on Bush Street (http://www.stdominics.org/), no lack of ceremony at their 11:30am high mass w/ choir. It's so beautiful my family and I now just trek all the way from Santa Cruz for feast days rather than twist in the tortuous liturgical winds of the average norcal parish. SO worth it.