Oh I'm definitely a fraud. I'm in grad school and everyone else is brilliant and knows what they're doing. They all say that they feel like frauds and that everyone else is brilliant, I keep thinking "NO! You're not the fraud, I am! What's wrong with you?" Basically we all work ridiculous hours hoping that no one realizes that they made a mistake in admissions, and so we end up looking like we actually know what we're doing after all, adding to the insecurity of the next batch of "frauds". I think there is a vicious cycle in there somewhere.  

Actually in the book Rue is described as having dark brown skin and eyes, it just never matters for the rest of the series. Her district is also one of the first to riot in the book because they are treated more harshly than in district 12 and because Rue was only 12 years old. All in all I think you're seeing something that's not there.

I read that article expecting to find that it was a storm in a teacup and that it was just overly PC people whining about the truth. Unfortunately the whole thing read read like a screed, a completely unfair, offensive rant. Even if I ignore his advice to avoid places where black people might turn up, the rest of it was worse.

Assume black people are stupider than everyone else in ordinary encounters (Life is an IQ test), some of them are smart, but not too smart obviously. It felt like he just had a trip to the DMV and wanted to get something off his chest.

I don't think NRO is distancing themselves out of hope for mainstream approval, I think they're distancing themselves because it was a horrible piece.

http://www.politico.com/blogs/burns-haberman/2012/01/perry-mitts-company-just-vultures-who-eat-the-carcass-110316.html

This is how Perry's campaign ends, not with a bang but a burp.

What would happen if William Hague tweeted "West Indians love playing "divide & rule". We should not play their game." and then refused to properly apologize? For some background, Diane Abbott is the same horrible woman who goes on and on about how terrible private schools are, then sent her children to one of the most expensive ones.

For me Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Nelson Mandela and Pope Benedict are the most inspirational, but as for the best? Probably someone I never heard of.

Exactly. Also if he said that in the context of sodomy laws in Texas, then that makes it even worse for me. How would the law be executed? The only way to ensure that people do not engage in illegal sexual behavior is to kick down the front door.

I am Catholic as well so I understand where Santorum is coming from (I think he's wrong but I understand), I just think that he is trying to impose his morality on the rest of us using government force.

I would go further, my understanding was that the tea party was formed partly as a rebuke to George W. Bush and the Republican establishment (whatever that is). The complaint was that they grew government almost as badly as the Dems through legislation. Santorum was not only in the senate passing said legislation (voting for Medicare expansion, department of education expansion, etc.) but was in the leadership so he actually was the establishment (not like Romney who just looks the part). The only reason he is no longer in the establishment is that he lost his re-election really, really badly.

In terms of ecomomic policy, he is George W. Bush without the personality, charm or gravitas.

None of the candidates support gay marriage or abortion, so there can't be a litmus test on that. The difference if that ONLY Santorum comes across as a hectoring, morality crusading, zealot.

The logic of that statement does not at all follow, saying that two consenting adults in their own bedroom have the right to privacy to do whatever they want to one another has nothing to do with marriage, much less with bigamy or polygamy. It does follow that they have a right to adultery, but this is not Iran.

For me, homepage: Arts and Letters Daily,

then, NRO, the Corner, the Telegraph, ESPN, ESPN F1, ESPN soccernet, ATP tennis.

Oh the John Batchelor show is brilliant, but I can't get it on stitcher anymore either, but I love it so much I download it on itunes and put it on my ipod every morning before I leave.

Well that sucks. I was lucky enough never to be penalized for it even though I went to Howard University of all places, probably because it's hard to be political when you're in science. The closest was in a class called Black Diaspora where I was the only conservative and I basically wrote every week why I thought the professor was wrong. My essays always involved explaining just why communism is a bad idea. He still gave me an A.

The other was a class that involved going to Capitol Hill for an Woman Ambassador's conference which involved about 5 female members of the black caucus, Dennis Kucinich's wife, and Dominique Strauss Kahn. I still have my report on that meeting - incredibly sarcastic involving a defense of the IMF and Israel. I still got an A.

Looking back, I got away with a lot.

Knowing the difference between its and it's is a mere negative proof: it tells the world you are not a thicko
-Lynne Truss

Down with this sort of thing!

I LOVE this song. I love Ingrid, love the song, and I'm not accustomed to cold so it's bleak enough to make me feel like winter.

To get as far away from serious as I can, there is a fantasy series - The Sword of Truth (it was made into a TV series recently). As we get further into the series the bad guys are reason denying communists.