For the less technically-inclined, feel free to skip this comment.

Being a web designer, I feel the need to chime in here with regards to the website load times that were discussed on the podcast today. In addition to whatever tweaks need to be made to the backend software, suggest that your web guys make use of a Firefox extension called YSlow if they're not already using it. I use it every day to optimize the sites I build. It gives a pretty quick scorecard-style rundown of potential speed traps on a site. I try to get my sites above 95% if at all possible. When I ran the test of Ricochet just now, it scored 55%. Yikes.

Anyway, I'm sure your guys are already aware of it, but it was the first thing that came to my mind when I heard you fellas talking about speed concerns on the podcast today. This is what I can do to help.

EJHill- Ah yes, I remember that radio interview. So nuanced.

I suppose I'm just perturbed that an understanding of constitutional rights is such a fundamental thing in civics yet most of my fellow citizens are blissfully ignorant. All too often, I hear completely non-political people comment on issues like health insurance with the idea that government must provide it or we can't enjoy our right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It's become so ingrained in the accepted wisdom of the day... progressives have really done quite the bang-up job over the last hundred years.

Something occurred to me regarding Obama's comments on Friday that I'm not sure anyone's picked up on. Clarifying his Friday comments on Saturday, natch, he said, "I was commenting very specifically on the right people have that dates back to our founding. That's what our country is about."

Anyone catch that? The most illuminating part of Obama's comments on the mosque is the implication that rights come from government rather than are protected by government. That's a major distinction, and it reveals a mindset pervasive in political circles. The Left thrives on it, and the Right never thinks to correct it. It's a mindset that ultimately determines the role we expect of government.