In other news, the legislature repealed the law of gravity. Henceforth, a fine will be levied any time an object falls to earth.

The "country-club" Republican in question is Tom Ridge. Page 9 of the Grand Jury report indicates that the decision to "lay off" abortion clinics in the Commonwealth originated with health department officials during the changeover from Democrat Bob Casey to Gov. Tom Ridge in 1995. Casey, you will recall, is the pro-life Democrat who was practically run out of the party for his apostasy and was denied a speaking slot at the 1992 Dem. convention. Casey is also the "Casey" in Planned Parenthood v. Casey.

 A good reminder that "intellectuals" are, if not pre-disposed, perfectly capable of peddling pseudo-scientific hokum as accepted fact. Timely in light of the debates over global climate change and genetically-modified foods.

Well, the mask has slipped and revealed that (other than in California) the "high-speed rail" program is actually a boondoggle aimed at shoveling money at Amtrak (a government corporation that has burned through tens of billions since its inception in 1971) and providing giveaways for the freight railroad industry.

1) Yes. At the time, Iraqi regime was seen as the extension of the existential threat that killed 3,000 people on American soil in a matter of minutes. Saddam Hussein gave aid and comfort to these forces, so he was "fair game." Also, there was enthusiastic bipartisan consensus behind the invasion. The last time there has been enthusiastic bipartisan consensus on just about anything. It was endlessly debated, and the evidence for WMD was judged to be overwhelming by the politicians and pundits. Then, those who got cold feet could not bring themselves to admit errors of judgment, so they took the coward's way out and said they were cruelly and intentionally "misled" by the president, Tony Blair and the intelligence apparatus of the western powers. The damage to our politics has been far-reaching.

2) No. The democracy-building project was well intentioned but deeply flawed. Without a credible plan to "win the peace" the war should not have been commenced.

You might see more interest and with that, more PAC, 528 and national party money flowing into state legislative races. In the last cycle, 59 of 100 seats in the Virginia House of Delegates were won by incumbents without opposition. The Virginia state Senate races tend to be competitive because the districts are larger and less homogenous. If a federal senate seat were at stake, that dynamic would change.I think the federal Senate races would still be high profile. Think of the Lincoln-Douglas debates. Lincoln and Douglas actively campaigned, but the election determined the partisan makeup of the Illinois legislature, and with it, the winner of the Senate seat. Legislative races would be senate races by proxy.

You would not necessarily have to get a 2/3 vote in each house of Congress for repeal. Two-thirds of the states could also force a constitutional convention, which I grant is probably an even more remote possibility.

The "Gimli Glider" is another famous unit-conversion (near) disaster. I much prefer these things happen organically, not by government fiat. Gun enthusiasts love both their 9mms and .38's without losing any sleep. 2 liter bottles are a handy size. I'm sure all those "nationalistic" soda drinkers yearn for half-gallon bottles. 750ml liquor bottles are the common standard these days, very close to the old "fifth." Harmonization is happening where it makes sense, and where it doesn't (household, construction and kitchen measures) I wish the pedants would give it a rest.

In the DC area, Big Government calls the shots. When the schools close, it's a cascading effect, because schools are the default child care provider. Public transit and many private businesses and government contractors follow suit. On top of that there is a burgeoning entitlement mentality. People have come to expect "snow days," which begets more of them. Every time offices are closed, meetings canceled, etc., it just lowers the bar for the next weather event. (I work part-time at a Community College. We had the entire system close for two days last summer for the "derecho" power outages.) It doesn't help that for many in the DC area, there is no direct cost (to them) for a "snow day." Much different story if you are an hourly employee and work for tips. I think we should have fewer closures, but more liberal leave. If you want or need to stay home, fine, but it counts against your vacation/sick leave pay. There have to be consequences if you don't show up for work, and being docked for leave seems fair.

My guess is they are military musicians. Enlistment and promotion rules are sometimes radically different. Typically, an enlisted musician coming on board gets bumped up to E-6 after just six months. They have to do this to make the positions desirable for graduates coming out of university music schools with four-year degrees. For the Marine Band, boot camp and some other requirements of typical Marine enlistees are waived.

The sad thing is that you don't have to know what the Central Powers were, or what the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was. All you have to know is which country (more accurately which regime) folded its tent and quit before the conclusion of the War. A really basic fact of 20th century history.

This is why some governors wisely don't drink from the poisoned chalice of federal money. Accepting the federal government's agenda either begets more dependency on the feds, or obligates the states to unsustainable forays into new responsibilities. High-speed rail is a good example. The feds will give you grants to build it, but not operate it. Governors Walker, Kasich and Scott wisely said no. Their wisdom seems to be lacking when it comes to Medicaid expansion.

Maybe Amtrak will follow suit. I've had my eye on those nifty conductor's uniforms.

Who were the Presidents who went for a third term, pre-FDR? I can think of only one: Teddy Roosevelt, running on the Bull Moose Party ticket in 1912. But even he was only elected once to the Presidency, in 1904, having assumed office after the assassination of President McKinley in 1901. Grover Cleveland declined nomination by a faction of the Democrats in 1896, at the conclusion of his second, non-consecutive term.

One thing to remember is the authors of academic journal articles are compensated in other ways, principally greater visibility, greater stature, as well as eventual promotion and tenure for those at the lower rungs at universities. It's not like they're getting nothing out of it--otherwise these articles wouldn't be written.

Then why is it called FICA, the "Federal Insurance Contributions Act"? The genius of FDR's program, and later Lyndon Johnson's Medicare, is that it was sold to the public as "insurance," and you're "getting back what you put in." "Insurance" makes it sounds less radical. It's understandable this misconception is rampant--it's been peddled for 70-plus years. Tends to sink in after a while.