Can't add anything to the sentiments expressed hear. He was one of the good guys. Great story teller. An inspiring story of learning to deal with dyslexia and becoming a very successful author.

The last interview I heard him do was on Hugh Hewitt's show. They  discussed his latest book, his cancer and treatment. He just didn't seem himself, as if he'd recieved some bad news about how he was reacting to his latest round of treatment.

RIP Vince Flynn.

Jack Stacks. Love the brisket & the beans!

Unfortunately, don't live near there anymore but I get their e-mail promos.

Subjects I've had my mind changed on?

1) SMM - I was initially unopposed to it. Now I'm am against it.

2) Ditching the SoCons - Initially receptive to it, now opposed to it. We must stick together or we will be subdued one by one.(though I still wish they'd ease up on the preaching, I really don't think they change minds with the tone & Biblical/Catechism invocations).

One of the things I enjoy most is seeing the 'common folk' pushing back against some of the beltway insiders/contributors (I'm not sure if they encounter that kind of feedback on a regular basis). I also get the idea that there is a healthy blend of professions & socioeconomic interaction among members that add to the conversation. There is a whole lot of independent thought on the Right - I wouldn't want to have to lead us. I'd be very curious if the GOP really does monitor the discussion here or gain a sense of what the base thinks about the issues.

"El Cid, Vicious"

Dead to me as well, but it's been rather embarassing seeing him spin & lie about this legislation (aside from all the optics & pandering). He got ROLLED by the Dems & Schumer.

I don't think he has the intellectual candle-power to be president.

Glad you guys think so highly of our Governor, I sure do.

He has a real ability to identify and act upon key points/linchpins. He's been effective at building coalitions and is able to appeal to white & blue collar people. There had been talk of Right to Work legislation in the state, similar to Michigan. He passed (wisely in my opinion) and enlisted the private manfacturing unions to back a mining bill that has the promise of bringing development to an area long since passed over (see post today regarding Small Town Viability). He brought these miners & heavy equipment operators out at the State of the State Address - it was terrific conservative political jujitsu.

He's  Top Tier material.

I'd argue that we have the basis of a similar system. We must show our driver's license (or provide a social security card or passport) to employers, some polling places, banks and airports. It seems to me that an e-Verify type system adds some authentication of the documentation to the system.

There hasn't really been an effort to implement components of laws passed years ago (17 years have passed since the 'law' requiring that a Visa tracking system). Much is in place except the commitment. Am I willing to live with a new system? I'd prefer they not consistently reinvent the wheel and enhance & refine what's there without new laws, new departments or agencies or new authority.

Aside from the political parties, we've been taught of the 'separation of powers'. In line with Paules premise, I'd argue the separation really doesn't exist. There's the governing class and the governed. The governing class is the executive, the legislative (GOP & Dems), the judicial and the bureaucratic.

That's one of the most elegant and digestable summaries of our differences. It has the promise of actually promoting a little harmony.

Well said. I'd also argue that the ATF should be folded into the FBI and call the Federal component done.  These other forces seem like departmental militias.

As an aside, and I know the point has been made elsewhere but I'm taken aback by how this Snowden has been diminished (flayed really) by the whole GED thing. He may be misguided, foolish, narcissistic, etc. - but not any more so than many of the elite Ivy Leaguers that recruited, hired, managed/monitored him, and granted him the authority protocols/levels he obtained.

I agree with many of the posters here that are skeptical of the program. From what I've read, this appears to be a change from the original mandate of the Patriot Act (see - Cong. Sensenbrenner). I was under the impression that communications found/intercepted between foreign suspects and their domestic recipients would be the focus of the intercepts. The recent revelations indicate that original mandate/interpretation has been exceeded. There is a mendacity in the arguments & rebuttals of those that feel we're being paranoid or anarchists. Was there a check & balance in this expansion? They claim the authority as an interpretation of the original act

To use the needle in the haystack analogy, instead of focusing on that haystack, the NSA has included the Great Plains and all it's fields in their surveillance along with that haystack.

We are under threat from radical Islamist terrorists so, we all have to be subjected to more invasive searches & travel times at airports, we all surrender the expectation of privacy in our communications & personal affairs? A lot of this smells like PC considerations - if we monitor everyone, we can't be accused of singling people out.

I'd love to see Obama's, Clinton's, Panetta's, and Petraeus' phone records the night and week after the Benghazi Attack : what numbers did they dial, when did they make the phone calls, for how long were they on the phone? See how they like it.

I just looked at your profile. It's blocked to all of us. Now why don't you open that up and use your real name? You really didn't have any expectation that Ricochet should have to keep that private, do you?

I've got nothing - you said it all perfectly. 

Whenever you see or hear the words "comprehensive or omnibus" (or "reform" for that matter) know that you're being set up.