Right-on, Katie O. The August 2011 power outage in San Diego was such an unusual event, that it brought everyone outdoors to chat or share melting ice cream.

I'm not the only one who remembers Y2K and the preparations for that non-disaster. I think that the possible scenarios for apocolyse have multiplied ever since the turn of the millenium (even nuclear war isn't off the table with Iran's shenanigans). Mention in conversation Mayan calendar hoodoo, financial collapse, EMP attack, or even the zombie apocolypse, and people will tell you what they are doing to prepare. The preps are usually the same, with minor variations.
So, I don't think it's anything new, but with the economy and the political landscape being as bleak as they are, it's natural to hear these discussions a little more. Wait until 2014 when Mitt and the all-tea party congress have stimulated a healthy recovery/boom, and you will look back on the "12.21.2012" hype as some kind of anomaly.

As a tech-savvy, teleconferencing, remote-collaboration guy, I have no idea what this is all about. Looking forward to learning...and meeting up!

I actually learned about EconTalk right here on Ricochet. It was mentioned in a thread about podcasts and it was a superb recommendation. My problem is that I hesitate to recommend it to "normal" folks due to the ultra-high geek factor.

Cylon - I'm not at all familiar with the Nebraska primary, but I think pledges are a good shorthand to categorize a candidate's position. Essentially, they are the same thing as a party platform, right?

I won't argue with your criticism of nonprofit groups taking perhaps exaggerated credit for electoral wins, but the point stands: Obamacare repeal is a really important issue this cycle.

That's brilliant. Thanks for that nugget, Casey.

We conservatives need to keep making the moral arguments against big government and wealth redistribution.

I see a consensus forming for limiting the franchise somehow to those with "shin in the game." (I love that typo- it also applies to those who still "walk the earth.")

Here's my suggestion: you have to vote in EVERY election, or your voter registration gets put in a dormant file until you pass a citizenship test. So at age 18, all interested applicants take a citizenship test (just use the current one in use by INS) and in turn they receive an active voter registration card. Thereafter, it only requires active participation to maintain an active voter registration.

That's a low bar, but at least it puts some level of interest, effort and knowledge on the table for people who want to vote. And none of this nonsense where people only vote in national elections.

Well said, Douglas. But that's just the start. Healthcare is the most distorted market that I can think of, and it's not entirely government's fault. Billing and insurance reimbursements are rife with fraud and that kind of behavior needs to be brought into the sunlight, if not prosecurted.

I just can't watch these. I certainly couldn't visit the website: I would be a blubbering mess. I took retirement after 24 years because the thought of depriving my children to such an extent any more was no longer acceptable.

This is a good time to say another prayer for all the military kids and spouses who endure the aching pain of separation so frequently.

Really? I'm guessing your pastor woke up with a case of knucklehead this morning. It is inexcusable that the media and the race baiters are turning this into an imaginary race war confrontation. It is worse than inexcusable that a pastor would do so. 

Jot me down for a late arrival. I will definitely be there, so don't break up the party before 7:30!

Ummm. Nukes, anyone? The nuke Navy has not been pushed nearly hard enough to develop cheaper reactor plants while keeping the superb reliability that they're known for. A SECNAV-level effort on that front would have a much better chance of success than trying to develop a commercial bio-fuels infrastructure to support our fleet.

Very good point, Tab. Now that I think of it, I'm starting to like a primary system that is more proportional to the actual votes cast. Means that we won't over-estimate the strength of our canidate, like many did with McCain.

That's astounding. Doesn't the UAW have any competent marketing people? Please let us know how it turns out, Henry. I imagine loud boos will be the likely outcome.

Ursula: I'm mildly resentful that you convinced me to click over and read that drivel. It's a horrible mash of non-sequitors, unsubstantiated assertions, ad hominems, and snotty self-regard.

On the other hand, you did warn us, so I guess it's on me. 

Liberal thinking is perfectly reflected in the arguments that my 3 year old gives me: "I want it!"; "Yucky!"; "I can't do it by myself!"

I'd be willing to let it go if politicians would stop using the royal "We" during interviews: "We have put forward a comprehensive plan for reforming Medicare..."; "we are going door to door, asking for the votes of the Michigan people..."

Drives me completely nuts. It's like some kind of conversational twitch that makes no sense at all.

"Speaker Gingrich" and "Governor Romney" earned their titles. I'm with EJ.