I'm glad to help, and delighted that you like the stuff.  Leaves the alternatives for me!  

You can't be serious.  Of course he'll greet me just as the Father in the Biblical story greeted the prodigal son.  To do otherwise would be to sacrifice principle for expediency, and I can't imagine that happening.  Besides, he can't very well deport all the burglars, can he?  He has to deal with reality, not an incessant search for purity.... at least that the sort of thing he's fond of preaching.  

On a more serious note, I often marvel at people whose personal lives exemplify conservative principles while their public prescriptions go in the opposite direction.   

Trink, thank you.  I've reached the where any post I write is not quite complete until I benefit from your thoughts and comments.  

My decision was made with great reluctance, and I don't view the gentleman in question as an enemy.  But I have limited resources of time and energy and must devote them wisely.  As I'm fond of saying, "Life is short, and I'm not getting any taller."  

I heard a couple of passages from Justice Thomas' dissent today.  I'll have to read the whole thing for myself, but I hope there is a way that we can require at least as much identification to vote as we require to get a library card.  

I remember when Peter and Rob were running through the list of contributors on the phone with me and then invited me to join.  "That's pretty heady company for lil' ol' me, " I said.  Peter immediately responded, "Dave, we're all lil' ol' us'es."  

I expected smart commentary from members and contributors alike, and I've not been disappointed at all.  What I did not expect, and what I could not have known in advance, is the sense of community and the many friendships that have formed here. 

From the many who helped Linda secure a van, to those of us fortunate to bask in the matchless wit and humor of the late Kennedy Smith, we watch as  the intellectual case for conservatism is made, and we see it put into action with smarts and a smile.  

I've been extraordinarily fortunate to attend several meet-ups, and even enjoy the warm friendship of Ricochetti who have taken a wayward trucker into their home.  We have a remarkable community here, and if folks in Washington have any good sense at all, they are tuning in to see what Rush called "The smartest people in the room," are thinking.  

What an adorable little girl! Congratulations, Mom!

Oh I remember, trust me.  I'm headed toward Oakland, but I've no idea which direction from there.  I'll keep you posted.  And thanks!  

I understand that the Romans fed Christians to the lions. We've opted for the IRS, but the analogies are interesting. Wish I could be there, but the schedule won't allow it.

Adam, you mention the possibility that the issue can be re-visited at some point in the future. But won't that visitation be hampered by the much esteemed doctrine of Stare Decisis, which holds that the more onerous a decision is, the less likely it is to be reversed?

Denise, have you ever stopped to wonder how people who had lived such a hard life back then would react if they could see the incredible amenities we have now? How would they respond to the dichotomy that our lives are so much easier in many respects, and yet we've used the spare time purchased with these conveniences to find new ways to enslave ourselves? You know, Paw Paw kept a scrap book, and in one portion was the front page of the newspaper announcing Barack Obama's election in 2008. Up in the top margin, in Paw Paw's handwriting, were the words, "The beginning of the end." Smart man. I miss him.

Once, the three of us were sitting in the den reading the morning's paper and drinking coffee.  I made some comment or other, and Paw Paw told Dad that he couldn't understand a word I had said because my voice was too low and it sounded like an old engine trying to start.  Dad translated my comment thus:  "He said you're an old fart and you have something ugly hanging from your nose."  Paw Paw nodded approvingly, saying, "Oh, okay," ...and we all went back to reading the paper.   It was never dull.  

Of course!  One of the many benefits of Ricochet.  

Fantastic idea!  We have such a great cross section of experiences and writing styles here.  It's a deep well from which to draw.  Got room for a trucker in your class?  Then again, I'd have to do a distance learning thing, from the road of course...

The last people who put their safety and security in the hands of this woman came home in flag-draped coffins. She's a catastrophe in a pantsuit.

Does anyone have a link to a comprehensive view of Paul's foreign policy, because I'm "reluctant," to either condemn or endorse it based on Kyl's rather coy description.  

I, for one, favor an insurmountably strong defense and an ability to reach out and pulverize any who would trifle with us.  But containment, which I define as closing the damned borders please and, yes, being very careful who we let in and from where, has its appeal.  

And while I like a proactive and pre-emptive capability, I wonder if we might learn something from recent years about the ultimate futility of trying to build functioning societies from people who are historically, religiously, and temperamentally predisposed to barbarism?  The idea that we build things for them, after which they blow them up and kill the troops, builders, and each other is one idea I'm in favor of discarding.  

Very timely.  We need an infusion of strong-blooded Americans in all three branches of government.   Unfortunately, the timid in our number only show genuine tenacity when attacking conservatives.