While I enjoy seeing and hearing and reading both Klavan and Lileks whenever I find them, I'm sorry to say that I've never read a novel from either author... yet.

Having said that, the number one author on my Kindle is C.J. Box. All of the Joe Pickett novels are there. And after a couple of weekends of binge reading about Pickett and Romanowski I was convinced to move into his other novels, starting with Back of Beyond and Blue Heaven. I can't tell you exactly what it is, but I can tell you the man has it.

Thanks so much for putting him on the podcast.

This topic is too big for me.

I'll go with just one: the microprocessor. Besides the obvious communications and computers, microprocessors are in everything; washing machines, toasters, dishwashers, televisions, remote controls, automobiles, motorcycles, gps units, alarm clocks, home weather stations, wrist watches, coffee makers, the list goes on and on. And that's just the consumer stuff.

More than anything else, the microprocessor has been an agent of change, allowing us to do things that simply would be impossible without them.

I do industrial automation, and I couldn't begin to say how the micro-p has allowed this industry to develop in the last 30 or so years, and how this has allowed better quality products to be produced at much lower prices.

And this acceleration will continue. It won't always be a good thing. It certainly won't always be comfortable. But it simply will not stop until there's a microprocessor in every single thing that might be able to do it's job just a little better. As they get cheaper and faster, look for them in everything.

We have just this one chance. Whether Romney is a big government guy or not, if he doesn't take an axe to many of the extraneous departments and cut spending by a very large amount, the Republican party will go the way of the Whigs.

We'll be lucky to avoid a viable third party candidate this go-round. If Romney drops the ball, we won't avoid one next time.

I love this place when I can get here. I hate it when I can't.

Yes, I was a little touchy yesterday. Occasionally I find myself completely lacking a sense of humor. On those occasions I would do better not to write, except that my sense of judgment seems to fade on the same schedule. My apologies.

No, I don't think it's likely that anyone would seriously suggest such a benefit. Not right now. Then again, I never would have suspected that someone would see a brand spanking new right to privacy in the emanations of a penumbra.

Why would you hope I'm right? You want to expand yet another entitlement?

I'd add another word to the mix; racialism. Racialism is the art of using accusations of racism for personal or political gain.

Time has a history of racialism, as does the President, the Attorney General, Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, and the Democrat party in general.

So, get to work. We have a lot to do.

But I'm truly thankful that you were here to explain why it's funny.

I think too hard about a lot of things. It's just the way I am.

Make you a deal; I won't tell you to think harder if you don't tell me not to think so hard.

I'm against the Child Tax Credit as it is, much less expanding the entitlement to cover more. But if the obvious point, that this is a stupid attempt to confound social conservatives, is the only thing that can be discussed, this thread would be pretty short.

By the Residence Test, the current Child Tax Credit requires that the child live with you more than half the year. I assume this means the child has to be born between 12:00:01 am on the first of January and midnight June 30 to collect during the first year. If you manage to have one in June, you'll get the credit for up to 6 months of your pregnancy.

If the same rules are applied to pregnancy, how are you going to establish the moment of conception?

One more question: Do you expect to pay more for a minivan than you can get for your Porsche? If you don't, will that count against the credit?

Also, on the Light Skin - Dark Skin IAT:

"Your data suggest little to no automatic preference between Dark Skin and Light Skin."

I don't know what this means especially with respect to my score on the African American - European American IAT.

"Your data suggest a slight automatic preference for African American compared to European American."

So, I suppose if I ever get a job putting printed words that represent good things and photographs of Americans of African descent, and printed words that represent bad things and pictures of Americans of European descent, I'll be able to do it quicker than lots of other people.

Other than that, I have no idea what this means.

My characterization of some of Derb's critics is spot on. I don't have to make room for exceptions since just one person shouting "racist" tends to quell honest discussion.

Except that the purpose of the credit is to help with the expenses of taking care of a child. Those expenses in an unborn child tend to be of the medical sort, and that is taken care of elsewhere.

Just for the record, I'm not arguing for or against what Derb wrote. His ideas on what advice to give his kids regarding race would never have come from my little head. My talk would have been very different.

What I'm arguing against is the knee jerk reaction to shun the politically incorrect that prevents intelligent people from doing any analysis of ideas.

Or, it means that you didn't present the evidence that supports your contention that you were accurate. That's where we sit right now.

We should limit ourselves to one trial at a time.