Happy Halloween, everyone.

I'm wondering about Afghanistan: why are we there ?  Have the Democrats bought into the brown bogeyman scare tactics, or does the idea of spreading democracy and stability through violence now appeal, all of a sudden?   Is Obama too much of a politician to say "you know, I've changed my mind on Afghanistan . . . . "

Ender asked for suggestions that might facilitate participation here.  In that spirit, some of my links are  from blogs; maybe perusing them will spark some ideas that can be applied to SC.    This is an open thread.

Pournelle has some philosophical musings about the affect of increasing bureaucracy upon a democratic society, quoting this well known writer

Hello everyone. It certainly has been a while and I see that, quite understandably, the site has gone downhill. I have no interest in closing up shop unless you guys want me to because I do not mind hosting the site.

However it is quite clear that there is no future here if nothing changes. Would you all be interested in moving on to a different format / different site name / different ruleset - etc? I don't know if you had that discussion or not. There are certain things that are easy to implement (with not much labor on my part) that I would be willing to consider.

Is it just me, or are people taking things way too seriously when the President cannot make a speech to schoolchildren without it causing an uproar?  

This is an open thread.  What's on your mind?

You know it's bad when Bob (aka cheneyslovechild) tosses in the towel . I guess it's hard to be passionate about something when reality slaps you in the face.

Here's your OT for the week.

For those of you who are looking for a bit more activity, The Forvm is in ship-shape.  We're a little slow at the moment, but they aren't.

Sarah Palin is no longer governor of Alaska.  Palin resigned suddenly a few weeks ago...a move which shocked and confused many pundits.

The "swine flu" has made its way to the middle east -- Israel and Saudi Arabia .

Have a good 1st half of the week...and a good rest of the week.  Let's reuse this one since it only has 6 posts.

Here's your open thread for Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.  I'm away doing some house and dogsitting for a family member, so I don't have too much time to check in this week.  I'll be back on Monday!

Good news, everybody!  Today is semi-annual profit-sharing day at my employer.  I awoke to find some extra cash in the credit union account.  Not the full share, mind you, since I've only been employed for about 50 days or so, but extra money all the same.  Cheers!

His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI broke his wrist during a fall.

The confirmation hearings for Appeals Court Judge Sonia Sotomayor are kaput.  The Senate has already scheduled a committee vote on Tuesday, and the Republicans, true to their word , will not filibuster her floor vote.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Matt Taibbi has a great article about Goldman Sachs. 

Weekend stories:

Obama believes the stimulus will start making a difference Real Soon Now.

Roland Burris will not seek election to his Senate seat.

Monday's stories:

Judge Sotomayor's confirmation hearings start today.

A South Korean TV station is reporting the North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il is suffering from cancer .

Wednesday's stories:

The House has their health care bill ready to be reported out of committee.  The Senate is still working on a compromise bill that will get 60 votes.

President Obama also has a plan for funding community colleges .  His plan is to spend $12 billion over 10 years.  How to pay for it?  The plan is to "end the role of private banks in the federal education lending system."

And a special announcement from your friendly moderator...

Hope everyone had an enjoyable Independence Day Weekend. Today we celebrate the wild fig, or we would if we were ancient Romans.

In these modern times, we've got Obama in Russia , the Climate Bill getting a workover by the Senate, and unrest in China .

This is an Open Thread. Write about whatever the fig you'd like.

Happy July 1! In the Cycle Today: California Schemin,' Sanford has more for ya, drug bans, climate bills, and Wal-Mart's back!

Down Goes California!  California is down! seriously, is there any big state out there who can get together and make state government work?

New York Can! Well, not really . The children in the Senate are still throwing tantrums.

Legal stories of the day: Bernie Madoff faces sentencing, and SCOTUS decides on the Ricci case .

In international news, there was an apparent military coup in Honduras on Sunday, and Iran begins a "re-" count of some ballots in the presidential election.

Finally, Obama advisor David Axelrod refused to rule out the taxing of health care benefits to help pay for the heath care reform bill making its way through congress.  This is a stark contrast to Obama's campaign promise not to raise taxes on middle class families.  Sen. McCain's health care plan did rely on taxing health care benefits, which President Obama called "the biggest middle class tax increase in history ". [edit by stinerman; SL and I posted OTs at the same time]

And now for something really important: Transformers 2 may be the worst-reviewed $400million hit.

The Iranian mullahs are calling for executions .   Such a lovely country.   Methinks the Iranians have a choice to make.  

Not satisfied with the economic situation or the healthcare debate, the President makes some remarks about immigration .   Can we print money fast enough for all his plans?  I guess we're going to try.

The House health care bill has been released.  It creates an opt-in government health insurance plan, individual mandates to have coverage, and subsidies for poorer Americans who cannot afford coverage.

Sorry about the lack of links; I gotta get to work!

The Iranian situation continues to dominate the news.    

". . . Be men, be free men, that your children may bless their father's name."

General Sam Houston, before the battle of San Jacinto

Happy Father's Day to all, and don't forget to call your dad today.

(Yes.  Blatant theft of SL's stinerman's creativity.  But then, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.)

The Iranian situation continues.  This dKos diary is very interesting even if anecdotal, and Iran's attempts to pull the US into this mess have begun.   I'd love to be hopeful.  But I remember watching Tiananmen Square and being hopeful then, too.

And some new gloom to worry about.   Wheat rust.  Who knew.

What's on your mind?

Analog TV is no more; I wonder if we'll live to regret that one.  I know I will, during hurricanes.  The new digital TVs don't receive well on short antennas nor do they last long on battery backups.

The Iranian "election" is going on.  This should be interesting.

It's a pandemic!  Oh boy.  Now, be honest.  Have you asked your primary care doctor for an Rx for Tamiflu, just in case?

I posted a diary about the GOP if anyone is interested in a little navel- or crystal ball-gazing.

Across the pond, British PM Gordon Brown is looking at passing a bill allowing voters the ability to recall their MP in situations of gross financial misconduct.  Brown's Labour Party had a very poor showing in the EU Parliament elections, finishing third behind the Conservatives and the UK Independence Party.

Our favorite Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is in danger of losing his post to moderate Mir Hossein Musavi.  The Iranians vote on Friday to determine if Ahmadinejad will be retained.