1 & 50 (but just barely on the 50 side at 46!!!) [dang it]

Tyrannies like this call out for pitchforks and torches. Non-compliance and jury nullification are the modern civic equivalents. This town hall meeting demonstrates how it should be done.

Canuckski: I can't agree with any of your podcast recommendations, and only a few of the others. But a few items do warrant discussion:

- Member feed boring-ness. Let's try downvotes. It works elsewhere, why not here?

- Promote the best Members to Contributors.

Also, is your super-ultra paywall concept really a good idea? It hasn't worked for the NY Times, and a lot of other big media outlets. Seems like there are other ways to monetize.

This is irritating. I'm one of the 1%. And I'm an unhappy customer. I am a second year subscriber, and I hardly visit this site anymore. I will be very sad, but with a little taste of schadenfreude, too,  if Ricochet goes under. Why, you ask?

- I don't have much time, and Ricochet doesn't make it easy to dip in quickly for a peek. Why are comments paged? Why can't I "load all" comments on one page?

- Ricochet won't load on my work computer, so I can't check it out on my breaks. Sure, I'm running IE7, but I can't help that. And besides, my earnest suggestions to add "Chrome Frame" to the site scripting were ignored.

-Comment system is not dynamic. Why no threaded conversations? Why no upvoting/downvoting? The option to view comments by number of likes appears to have gone away, but it was awkward and useless anyway.

-What's the point of paying for the podcasts if I continually get the Ricochet sales pitch?

I'll say "amen" to BlueAnt and Layla: the geography of political thought seems to be an almost unbending natural law. At all times (last 100 years) and everywhere (the developed world, anyway), the city culture engenders a collectivist, government-centered mindset. And the rural/suburban environment lends itself to self-sufficiency and conservative thought.

Sorry, Rob. I think this is a brick wall to either smash the conservative movement against, or to go around and avoid completely.

I really think Romney should "Gingrich" the press on a regular basis. They won't give him a fair shot, so he should have permission to treat all of them as a hostile witness. Newt has the technique down perfectly, he just can't resist saying off the wall stuff. I hope Newt has been providing debate prep services.

Godwinned!!1! Because, Hitler!

Seriously, though - great post. Our department of state has been a flabby bunch of quislings for too long. With the proviso that yes, there are some strong willed, smart diplomats out there. But they are the lonely exceptions.

There's reason to hope that a Romney / Ryan administration will encourage a flowering renaissance in common sense and basic arithmetic.

I joined Ricochet two years ago, and at the time I was reading and thinking a lot about privacy and the benefits of public sharing. I'm a big fan of Jeff Jarvis, whacked-out lefty though he may be. And I've come to believe that it's important that I never do anything on the internet that I wouldn't want my Mom to see. So there I am, open book.

Here's a solution. Back into your driveway. That way you get a clear look at the whole area as you approach, and you're more alert (already in car-driving mode). Added benefit: you always have quick and simple departures, with good visibility.

I was shocked to hear of two friends who admitted a heroin addiction. Both are on the wagon now. But it has always seemed like such an extreme drug - I thought it was the last stop on the train to degredation and death. But apparently some people get on at that stop.

But, geez! Couldn't he have decided to go all RINO-squish on something that doesn't matter quite as much? Seems like a pretty serious lapse.

I have to weigh in here and say this was my least favorite Ricochet Podcast episode. First half great, but Adam Carolla is not my cup of tea. I've tried his podcast and I found it crude, unfocused, and not particularly funny.

Peter's question about Texas was a very good one, and one that we need to continually ask: what makes the Lone Star State different. As a "damn yankee" who attended Texas A&M, I saw the state through outside eyes. It's a delightful culture, but very complex. It's not all self-sufficient oilmen and ranchers. Just as many progressives there as elsewhere, they just can't get hold of the levers of power.

Why doesn't the local zoning / permitting authority have culpability in this? I assume the Sacketts properly secured (paid for!) a permit to build on their lot. Rather than the battle being: EPA vs a private citizen, it should be municipality, town, state of Idaho vs EPA. And the permitting process, followed in good faith, should constitute safe harbor.

I'd like to see more state governors telling federal bureaucracies to take a hike. Assert muscular state sovereignty and refuse to submit to federal courts in matters clearly covered by the 10th amendment.

Back to politics: Why do we have to put up with a plague like Lyme disease? Per the link posted above, the incidence rates seem to be climbing steadily. Environmentalists, NIMBY panty-waists, and anti-hunting hoplophobes have enabled this disaster. DDT and deer eradication would go quite far toward mitigating the disease.

My brother, sister and nephew have all contracted it. Mild cases, but still. Living in Southern California, deer ticks and Lyme are one of the biggest reasons that I haven't moved back to my home town in PA. My in-laws in Texas have to dodge fire ants, but I consider that a much better problem to have.

Here, we're just busy battling an infestation of gophers and liberals.

Very refreshing to see justice done, for once.