Over the course of the next months, I'm going to pose a high-level political process question to the SC faithful. These questions will be mostly about how the government is fundamentally structured rather than on some sort of issue. My hope is that we can all debate from first principles on an issue that isn't readily discussed in normal political discourse.

Because we generally use single-member districts in the US, I will focus on alternative voting systems that are used in single-member districts.

China to Bush: Stay out of our affairs - no matter what you think about China's state of human rights, I thought it was quite a bit odd and untimely to criticize them right before coming there for the Olympic Opening Ceremony.

Have a wonderful Thursday!

Happy Wednesday everyone! Now making the news:

U.S. convicts Osama bin Laden's driver - nothing major there, wish it was Osama himself.
Appeal denied; Mexican executed in Texas - I am sorry but a murderer who's been in US since he was 3, is not a "mexican". Good for Texas for standing up to the World Court apologists.

How are you all doing?

MIT-educated woman accused of shooting at GI during Afghan questioning - there is a lot more to the story and if all the allegations are true I hope she rots in jail for life. How do these well educated people turn to such murderous pursuits? Well there is one unifying factor.

House GOP leaders vow to keep up protest sessions - why does House Democratic Leadership deny the will of most members of the House, the Senate, and obviously their Nominee who all support the comprehensive bipartisan Senate plan that allows for some more offshore drilling, focus on renewables, and other decent energy policy. Pelosi has hijacked the country and is preventing anything from being done about our Energy crisis.

Welcome back from the weekend everyone! And wake up!
Grenade attack kills 16 police in China - looks like some Chinese Islamists starting trouble (where don't they live?)
Obama leads, but pessimism reigns - if you are pessimistic about Obama's ability to help our economy then you don't have to vote for him ;)

Have a great monday!

Unemployment at 4-year high - which puts it at 5.7%
Gas falls below $3.90 a gallon
Report: Anthrax suspect kills self as FBI closes in
The curious mind of John McCain - curious? Heh :)

It's almost the weekend!

[Thursday] I see our own skymutt is successfully feeding into the alarmist frenzy over at dkos :)

Karl "Turdblossom" Rove was found to be in contempt of Congress by the Judiciary Committee on a party-line vote of 20-14. Rove is wanted for questioning about the AG firing scandal of 2007 as well as the purportedly political prosecution of former Alabama Governor Don Seigelman. And no, I didn't mean to be alliterative.

The Justice Department has concluded that top aides to former AG Alberto Gonzales illegally used partisan affiliation and political concerns to determine the hiring of subordinate attorneys. It is unclear whether any criminal charges will be filed, but since none of the aides implicated in the report still work for the Justice Department, no internal disciplinary measures can be made.

I am back - was supposed to return Sunday, but the flight got canceled and I got in this morning right after midnight... Fun stuff. So I was out of any TV/internet range until this morning. Is Obama about to pick a VP or what? Kaine??

Feel free to add news stories here! Really busy back at work.

Edit by stinerman: The longest serving Republican in the Senate, Ted Stevens has been indicted on seven counts of making false statements in conjunction with an investigation into possible ethics violations.

It's Monday. Back to work, you!

A Knoxville, TN man opened fire on a Unitarian church, killing two. The police found a note in the suspect's car that described the reason for the shooting: the church was part of the "liberal movement".

The Senate is taking up the co-called "Coburn Omnibus " bill this week. Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) has used informal parliamentary procedures called "holds " to delay the voting on quite a few pieces of legislation that have broad majority support. Majority Leader Harry Reid has decided to roll all the legislation currently under hold by Coburn into a single bill and have the Senate consider that.

Foreclosures have doubled since this time last year. Nevada was hardest hit with 1 in 43 home owners receiving a foreclosure notice.

A shooter injured 3 people at a Phoenix-area community college computer lab. The shooter was involved in an altercation with another student, which turned violent.

Sorry, busy busy busy... what's up?

Not too much is newsworthy...

What's going on today?

Discussions between Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and opposition leaders, including former Presidential hopeful Morgan Tsvangirai start today in South Africa. The discussions are designed to give opposition parties a larger seat at the policy-making table. Mugabe has been increasingly pressured by the international community after allegations of an unfair electoral process.

The New York Times refused to publish an editorial by Sen. John McCain that was offered as a counter to Sen. Barack Obama's editorial on the state of Iraq. The newspaper claimed that the rebuff was not politically motivated, but hinged on the fact that, in the opinion of the NYT, McCain's editorial did not concretely define what would constitute victory in Iraq.

June fundraising numbers are in. Sen. Obama raised over $51 million while Sen. McCain over $21 million. Sen. Clinton is reporting campaign debts of over $25 million, but about half that is to herself.

Salim Hamdan of Hamdan v. Rumsfeld fame will face a military tribunal today for providing support to Al Qaeda. Hamdan, an "illegal enemy combatant", will likely not be released even if he is acquitted of these charges.

U.S. lawmakers flock to Iraq - everyone wants to go to the new Middle Eastern paradise!
Fattest U.S. states named - don't get upset if you are in one of them!

Have a great Weekend!

Every picture tells a story, don't it. The following graphs don't tell the whole story of the surge strategy because Iraq is a big and old and complex place, but they do provide some measures of how the strategy is going, and it's going quite well. Civilian casualties are way down, to historic lows.

So are U.S. military casualties.

Whoohooo it's almost Friday! Anyone else excited? :)

Little foreclosure relief seen from housing bill
Soldiers yearn to leave quiet Iraq for 'real war' - the real indicator that Iraq is finally in great shape. Yes, lets start moving brigades to Afghanistan.

Have a great Thursday!

Inflation is at a 26-year high , the fed funds rate is at 2%, and the economy is hitting a serious downturn. Can you say stagflation ?

Congress overrode Bush's veto of HR 6331, the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act. The vote was 383-41-11 in the House and 70-26-4 in the Senate.