The worst thing about this job is that in the abstract you cannot CANNOT measure its success or failure. It is like the global warming line of argument with the left. Evidence of climate change raising temps is evidence of AGW. Evidence of climate change not, means that we have no idea the effects of AGW so we should keep pouring in resources to study it. It encompasses everything that is wrong about government, but within a government job making it double horrible!

Well put. I would add that leveraging "white guilt" is part of a bully tactic the left uses on many so-called "social issues" such as gay marriage, abortion etc. The left calls these social issues, but they may as well call them "emotional issues" that have a moral equivalency associated with them. It is the whole post-modernism argument all over again.

The left's playbook for winning support on these issues for individuals not already part of their clientele groups on these issues (see Jay Cost's fantastic Spoiled Rotten for a great overview of that historical phenomenon) is not to reason with individuals. Who has time to reason in between TMZ and People Magazine? It is to emotionally guilt trip folks and to make it seem like the investment of switching beliefs costs nothing to them but will mean the world to someone else. This is insidious and must be countered with an equally powerful emotional argument that dovetails with our more reasoned ones. Problem is, I haven't heard it yet from our side

http://www.tv.com/shows/webster/episodes/

Let's add some reviews of Webster!

Hold on, hold on. Let me stop you right there...

The Senate just did their annual release of senator financial disclosures: http://www.legistorm.com/financial_disclosure.html  bit.ly/11j13hc

That may provide some light reading but don't expect to find too much of interest in there since all of them have had lawyers' fingerprints all over them.

Steven, if you enjoyed the bit about urban politics and GOP realities in winning back the cities host Tomm Polos in the previous podcast interviewed a moderate Dem Los Angeles mayoral candidate who also discussed the urban politics with him. It was interesting to hear that not all Dems are in lock step with the far-left when problems have gotten so bad under their watch. 

My Ricochet handle comes from a great book about this very practice that Judith describes. Not only are we doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past, but also we cannot "easily" bailout out Fannie and Freddie again. The sad truth is that as long as these institutions can bend to political pressure, the market for housing can never be truly reflective of market realities. Sure the price of housing has come down in many areas worst hit by the recession, but what we really needed was a honest to goodness bottoming out while individuals could go through the bankruptcy process if that is/was the best course for them. Want to know a major reason why growth is so sluggish? No one knows what to do with their underwater homes. The Dude is correct, housing is a path to recovery. However, we don't want it to resemble the 2000s boom recovery that was ultimately leveraged debt financed.

Very well said throughout. I believe Ricochet may be most popular in that bluest of locales, Washington DC, where residents are routinely faced with tough conversations from incredulous opposing minds. Like a whetstone it hones your arguments but makes us want to seek out a community such as Ricochet more than our friends from more conservative locales.

A Capitalism for the People by Luigi zingales. Easily accessible stuff from a mind we should heed.

Historical, but soon to be making a comeback: Arrested Development

If you've never seen it, you will need to hold your nose at the show's politics. However, if you like the combination of laugh out loud zany set ups and clever, slow burn jokes that take entire seasons to set up, this is the show for you. Elaborate, funny and acted darn well.

Current: Modern Family

It is no surprise that one of the show's creative team members, Abraham Higginbotham, is an Arrested Development alum. Modern Family is the best sitcom on TV right now and it is not even close. Parks and Rec and Big Bang both make you laugh with certain characters, yes. But Modern Family does that with snappier dialogue, much more subtle humor/wordplay and storylines that frequently end where you least expect them to. Also acted well and written superbly.

A fantastic bar with great sweet potato fries. Look forward to stopping by!

Nick Papageorgio! From Yuma!

Name your weekend...

Fantastic idea for a podcast. Robert, I've always enjoyed your reporting. Andrew, I look forward to your insights as well. For someone such as me who also gets a daily up-close view of the wheels of government turning, this podcast presents a fantastic means by which to let the broader swath of conservatives know why certain things happen or don't.

on my knees every year

You make salient points here. Our side needs to make fervent, emotional arguments the hallmark of the folks for abortion. Our appeals need to be grounded in a natural law-esque approach that is not attached to any religious beliefs in particular. Certainly religious arguments bolster our side, but they are one of the tactics that turn many people on the fence off when you begin making them. The Lincoln-Douglas debate approach of persuasion on humanist grounds works much better for winning converts. Hadley Arkes in his book First Things lays out these rhetorical lines of reasoning as they bear striking resemblance to the debate over slavery.

I am an Amherst alum. You would be shocked at how little play our sole graduate to occupy the White House receives on campus. There are far more pictures of JFK when he visited campus in the 60s than there are pictures of Coolidge. As for Frost, he is our library's namesake. Many of the entry-level English classes feature his work in their syllabi. Coolidge has a few buildings around campus named after him, including the quietest of what are known as the "Social Dorms" (apt, no?). I do agree though with your new book that the moment is ripe for a rejuvenation of Coolidge on campus. Let me know and I can help you lead the charge with some greatly interested alums!