There will be a hearing this morning for Amy Volciak, the Media mother-of-five who lost her unemployment earlier this summer over what appears to be a bureaucratic snafu.

I wrote about Amy a couple of weeks ago. (That column can be found here.) Not only was she told by the state that she was being dropped from its unemployment roles, she was also told that she had to pay back the $4,600 in compensation she'd received since December.

Over the last two months she has spent hours on phone and written everyone she can think of to help her rectify the situation. Efforts by State Rep. Tom Killion's office were only slightly productive.

While it had been suggested to her that she take a lawyer with her to the hearing, she couldn't find one on such short notice or who would represent her without getting paid upfront.

Instead, she will have me, a sorry substitute but the price is right. I'll report back how it went this afternoon.

CORRECTION: Alert readers will see that Amy's first name is oddly misspelled in my column. That's how it came in on the original email she sent me (her way of making it distinctive) and, of course, it stuck. My bad.

UPDATE: Filed my column for tomorrow about this. I sat through an hour hearing in front of state unemployment referee Tiffany McMaster. She explained to Amy - in fairly blunt terms - that she was not empowered to overturn any decision by the Unemployment Compensation Board of Review, though she also explained that Amy probably wouldn't have to pay back any of the money she was given because the board ruled that she didn't do anything fraudulent to get it.

McMaster, a graduate of Academy Park High School and Manhattanville College in New York, has been a referee in the state system since 2007. She made it clear she didn't want to hear a lot from Amy about her case. Her hands, she indicated, were tied by law. But her explanation of things was pendantic, officious and borderline obnoxious until late in the hearing when she at least voiced a little understating and sympathy to Amy's plight.

"If I were sitting in your shoes I wouldn't like it either," McMaster said.

For her part, Amy was unfailingly polite and grateful for any chance to explain what happened in her case and why she thought it was wrong and unfair. She didn't get much of one. And in the end it was clear there was basically nothing McMaster could do for her.

After the hearing, Amy had to go to her part-time job. She said PECO had sent her a shut-off notice and her payment for her van was overdue.

I called Media employment attorney Ron Surkin and told him about Amy's case. Based on what I told him, he wasn't optimistic about a positive outcome. He said she didn't have a "chance in hell" of getting the board to overturn its decision without being help from a competent attorney. But they cost money and Amy doesn't have any. So there.

UPDATE II: My print column is up.

Except for knocking out the power for almost 24 hour at Casa Spencerblog, Hurricane Irene was a bit of a disappointment in the drama department.

There was the obligatory flooding and a few toppled trees but it fell far short of the Storm of the Century that it was promoted as.

I'm not complaining but Mrs. Spencerblog is. When a natural disaster is predicted, she prepares like a Navy Seal. Water, food, patio furniture brought inside and plenty of beer on hand in case friends find themselves homeless and needing a place to stay. (Okay, maybe not like a Navy Seal. More like a Navy Seal's mother.)

She lived through Mount St. Helen's in Washington State and ever since has been preparing for the worst when it comes earth quakes, hurricanes and blizzards. She likes the drama.

To be safe, she slept downstairs Saturday night with the cat and dogs, so as to avoid being crushed by a tree coming through our bedroom window. I risked it upstairs. And lived to tell the tale.

It didn't take a long time to move my daughter into her first college dorm room. Just 18 years. My print column is up.

Don't worry, other than a broken collar bone and abrasions on her face, neck, chest, ear and nose, she was fine.

By the way, saw the well-reviewed Crazy Stupid Love with Mrs. Spencerblog. She called it Crazy Stupid Movie. She got no argument from me.

State Rep Mike Sturla is worried about badly-behaving gas workers spreading STDs among the "womenfolk" of Northeastern Pa. However, when it comes to the sorry sexual decisions of his own constituents he is less judgmental.

My print column is up.

Elmhurst College asks perspective students if they're gay. The right answer can win you a scholarship.

"We're offering an incentive to a group of students who are looking for a home and may not find that in a lot of other places, we consider that a good thing. It's very consistent with our mission," said (Dean of Students) Gary Rold.

Well, if their mission is to make their college a laughing stock, mission accomplished.

Not very nice of Michael Ramirez to suggest our president hits from the red tees.

Michele Malkin calls out Janeane Garafolo for her patronizing and racist views concerning the presidential candidacy of Herm Cain.

Is there anything more condescending than a porcelain-skinned Hollywood liberal who attempts to show her presumed solidarity with minorities by referring to them as “people of color”?

Yes, there is: Two porcelain-skinned liberals attempting to show their allegiance to “diversity” by attacking “people of color” who happen to disagree with their radical politics.

Read it all.

Richard Epstein explains what the Pope and Warren Buffett have in common. Hint: It has nothing to do with wearing a funny hat.

Only 57 plus million people have watched this. Let's make it 60 million.

H/t Toni

This is my first link to the comments section of a letter to the editor. I was going to say something about Dr. Tsou's wingnuttery but I see I have beaten to the punch.

I will offer this: Dr. Tsou says that new EPA regulations would be a "boom" to the economy. Inadvertantly, he has that right.

[Posted By Jake]

As worries about the nation's economy mount and the threat of a double dip recession grows, President Obama remains steadfastly committed to the good life. Last Thursday, our fearless leader and his family headed to Martha's Vineyard for 10 days of fun in the sun at Blue Heron Farm, the $20 million estate where they spent their last two summer vacations.

Moving forward into the 2012 Presidential campaign, one of the mantras of the Democrat spin machine will be their singular concern for the common man. For context, let's review the Obama family's numerous extraordinary vacations, contrasted with a time of historic economic distress for millions of Americans:

**June 2009** Destination Paris
After one of his many trips on his world apology tour, the President rendezvoused with his daughters in Paris, touring the Notre Dame cathedral, the Pompideau Center and of course, the Eiffel Tower.

**July 2009** Destination Moscow
The first daughters accompanied their parents to the Soviet Union. The President even blew off Prime Minister Putin for a family night.

**August 2009** Destination Grand Canyon and Yellowstone Park
Sightseeing included Old Faithful and the spectacular view from Hopi Point.

**August 2009** Destination Martha's Vineyard
The first family rode bikes, played miniature golf and enjoyed beach time in their first visit to Blue Heron Farm.

**December 2009** Destination Hawaii
As is the Obama family custom, Christmas is spent in Hawaii, generally a week or so.

**July 2010** Destination Maine
A long weekend touring the nature trails of Acadia National Park was the vacation plan this time. Of special note was that first dog Bo accompanied the family on this trip and was even rumored to have his own separate airplane.

**August 2010** Destination Spain
Just mother and daughter Sasha took this controversial trip, along with a group of the first lady's best gal pals. This foreign boondoggle, where shopping, lavish meals and the shutdown of a public beach were high points, was estimated to have cost the American taxpayers $100 million, and the President wasn't even there.

**August 2010** Destination Florida
Sensitive to the criticism that the President appeared hypocritical by touting the cleanup of the Gulf of Mexico, but vacationing elsewhere, a quick weekend trip with Michelle and Sasha was arranged. Comically, Barack went swimming in what he thought was the Gulf, but really wasn't. So much for the public relations effort to reassure the American public.

**August 2010** Destination Martha's Vineyard
Big sister Malia rejoined the family for their annual 10-day beach vacation. There was another comical public relations hit when the President was photographed bike riding with his oversized helmet. Memories of Michael Dukakis in the tank and Pee Wee Herman riding his bike were famously recalled.

**December 2010 Destination Hawaii
Another Christmas in paradise, this time at a luxury beachfront property in Oahu. Lots of golf, snorkeling and fine dining marked this winter escape.


Whew... that's most of them. Don't have the record-breaking rounds of golf, the campaign trips to Chicago or the supposed diplomatic trips by the First Lady. But the ten vacations detailed here convey the Obama entitlement mindset pretty well.
If you think your family deserves this kind of extravagance while your fellow citizens are suffering, then it's hardly surprising that you oppose government spending cuts and dismiss calls for financial responsibility and austerity.

When the President and his re-election campaign start ratcheting up the class warfare, talking about shared sacrifice and disparity of incomes, it's going to be hard not to think of these ten vacations, the likes of which most of us would have been glad to have experienced just once.

Here's the video from the Darby Borough meeting that got a little outta' hand. Here's the story. I think it's much ado about nothing. But it is kind of entertaining.

Comedian Kathy Griffin proudly yammers about running into Rep. Michele Bachmann in a Washington elevator and asking her "Were you born a bigot or did you, like, grow into it?"

According to Griffin, Bachmann replied, "That's a good question. I'm going to have to get back to ya'."

Griffin apparently didn't catch the sarcasm and was shocked that someone would be so pleasant after being insulted.

Of course, Bachmann could have replied, "I don't know. What about you? Have you always been a rude liberal idiot or is it just something you do to make money?"

But then why would she want to lower herself to mud wrestling with a B-lister?

I watched this documentary the other night. It's a few years old but still timely. It tells the story of two men, career criminals and drug addicts, who are released from prison and try to make it on the outside.

One does. One doesn't.

The film captures the daily struggle that such men face and makes fairly clear why one succeeds and the other fails; personal courage and a deep and unflinching self-awareness.

It also shows a prison rehabilitation system that gives these men second and third chances and every opportunity to change their lives.

Click here to watch the trailer.

The alleged target of the Facebook murder conspiracy case has been shot dead. It appears this baby daddy had at least one more enemy than the mother of his child.

But how this get London Eley off the hook for solicitating his murder on Facebook is beyond me. That's assuming that Eley's offer of a "stack" to anyone who would do the job wasn't the motive in this particular shooting.

Chester Mayor Wendell Butler has taken a lot of heat for his handling of the police shooting of Daniel Simms. He has earned every bit of it. My print column is up.

UPDATE: The DAs office is investigating shooting. Spokesperson Erica Parham declined to provide any time frame about when the probe would be completed.

"This will be a thorough investigation can't give a time line," she told me. "We are not going to sacrifice the integrity of the investigation for swiftness.

She said the state police CARS unit has been enlisted to recreate the scene of the shooting and a 3D video is being made showing where everyone involved was as events unfolded. She said community members are being questioned and asked to come forward with any information they have about anything they witnessed.

There are plenty of questions that need to answered concerning this event. And the mayor should be in possession of information that the general public doesn't know. Whatever the outcome of the investigation, one thing is clear. The mayor jumped the gun in moving to punish the officer involved before the probe has been completed.

We still don't know what "injury" the officer is supposed to have sustained during the incident that has allowed him to go on IOD status. Whether it was truly serious enough to warrant being off the job or not.

Of the few sketchy facts that have been made available by authorities, the one that is most troubling is that Simms was shot in the back. But then this in and of itself doesn't mean the shooting was unjustified.

I spoke with John Linder, who is running against Butler for the mayor's job this November. He was thoughtful and circumspect and said nothing that suggested a willingness to politicize the tragedy.

He did say that he called the mayor to find out how he was going to handle the matter and Butler told him after meeting with the Simms family he was going to suspend the officer.

Butler would have been smarter to have reached out to Linder, instead of the other way around, and consulted with him, if only so the two could provide a unified front. As it is Butler decided what to do on his own and it has led to a political and public relations debacle. He has alienated the police force he used to work for and he has looked weak and vacillating, allowing a bereaved family and a protesting mob to dictate his actions.

He should have met with the family, convinced them that he would personally make sure that the investigation was thorough and fair. He should have made it clear that he would keep them informed of its progress and that there would be no whitewash. Whether the family would buy that or not would be up to them. But caving to the demands of the family and a protest mob that was included chants to lynch a city police officer is appalling. Not matter what the investigation finally reveals, Butler has proven he is no longer up to the job of being mayor.

UPDATE II: Parham also said this:

We are aware the community, the family, the police officer and his family would like a speedy resolution. Having said that we're looking for thoroughness. Once the investiagtion is done we will invite the family in to tell them what the results are. And that is how it will be.

Sounds quite reasonable and responsible. Why Butler decided not to go the same route is beyond me.

Delco DA secretary sentenced for perjury conviction.

NORRISTOWN – Emotions exploded in court as a secretary in the Delaware County District Attorney’s Office was sentenced to jail for lying to a state grand jury about leaking confidential information to obstruct a robbery investigation involving her grandson.

"That's some bull----, how they gonna lock my mother up?," the son of Vera Ellen Carroll shouted in a Montgomery County courtroom Tuesday upon learning his mother was sentenced to two-to-23 months in jail. "Racists, you're all (expletive) racist crackers. Racism."

That's got to be like excellent grounds for an appeal, right?

Gil,

I am a 2003 graduate of Widener University School of Law and had the pleasure of studying under Professor Connell during my time there. I have been following the mess that is currently Widener Law and trying to remain silent until all the facts were presented. Last month when the faculty board cleared Professor Connell, I believed this was over. Apparently it isn't.

In your column, you mention many documents, pleadings and statements as well as a press conference. If these are available on the web, would you mind sharing them so I can be sure to have as much information as possible. I am preparing a letter to President Harris, Dean Ammons and Widener Alumni asking for immediate action to remove Dean Ammons before my Alma Mater is destroyed.

Also, I noted you mentioned Professor Connell trying to keep his benefits intact for his institutionalized daughter. Sad to say, his daughter died earlier this year.

Professor Connell is an excellent law professor. To take his hypothetical teaching method and stretch it to the point of claiming it is racist or sexist is the same as calling all those who oppose President Obama racist. I guess it was OK for Professor Connell to use similar hypotheticals when Dean Ray was in charge because he is a white male. But when the Dean is a black woman, it is now racist and sexist? Any student who twists Professor Connell's methods to this extent does not have the common sense or tolerance to be attorneys. And Dean Ammons, to ignore the findings of two faculty boards and continue her unfounded quest to destroy an educator she should be proud to have on her staff shows she does not have the ability to lead the school.

Sincerely,
Robert J. Castaldi, Sr., J.D.

As I wrote Castaldi, all the documentation can be found on the web just by googling "connell, ammons, widener" and following the links.

... but Larry Connell isn't laughing. My print column is up.

Blogger Jack Marshall provides some more background and concludes:

Needless to say, this Orwell/Stalin/ Bizarro World solution is utterly bats, unfair, unjust and worse. Connell isn’t going to do any of it, nor should he. Nonetheless, the harm is done. Prof. Connell is the central figure in an ethics train wreck that is on the way to destroying Widener Law School, but he has absolutely no accountability for it.

The villains:

First and foremost, Dean Ammons. Her initial conduct in not dismissing the complaint was incompetent and dumb. Her continuing a vendetta against Connell after he has been cleared shows her to be malicious and deranged as well.

The complaining students. This is what political correctness will do to the mind: cause its victims to regard open communication and debate as offensive and worthy of censorship and to treat anyone with varying views as an enemy to be destroyed. The students abused the school’s policies. Of course, if they had done this in a law school run by rational adults, little harm would have been done. Unfortunately, Widener is run by Linda Ammons, a race-obsessed bully whose brain has also been liquefied by political correctness.

The faculty, which hasn’t had the integrity to stand up for one of its own while he is being abused, insulted, and ostracized for nothing more than being a good teacher and not caving to the demands of political correctness thugs.

Widener’s governing board. They hired an incompetent Dean, and they are standing by as she embarrasses and destroys the law school. Good work!

Widener Law School Professor Lawrence Connell, who is white and conservative, has been acused of racism and sexism by Widener Law School Dean Linda Ammons, who is black and liberal, based on complaints from a couple of highly sensitive and none-to-bright students.

Connell won the first round when the case against him was heard by panel of his peers. But the university (Ammons) continued the effort to persecute Connell and has now ordered him to apologize and undergo a psychiatric evaluation.

Connell has hired a lawyer and has filed suit against Ammons and the school for defamation.

The case has received the much attention in the world of legal blogging, most of it very negative. Widener is becoming both a laughingstock and pariah among those knowledgable about the case.

At the well-regarded Volokh Conspiracy David Bernstein writes:

The saga of Dean Ammons vendetta against Professor Lawrence Connell, revolving around trumped up charges of harassment and discrimination, gets more and more absurd. Having been almost entirely vindicated by a faculty committee, with the only remaining “charge” that he dared to rebut false accusations against himself publicly, Dean Ammons has recommended that Connell be suspended for a year without pay and be forced to undergo a psychiatric evaluation. Widener’s administration, apparently oblivious to the long-term damage this is doing to the law school’s and university’s reputation, agreed. I hope Connell sues, and I hope he wins his lawsuit, and wins big. Meanwhile, if any of our readers are considering attending Widener, I recommend looking elsewhere–anywhere else. If Connell can be abused in this way, so can you.

UPDATE: I had agreed to participate in a Widener-sponsored project after the committee report was released, which I thought would be the end of the matter. I’ve now sent an email to my contact at Widener, withdrawing. I can’t in good conscience have my reputation associated in any way with Widener Law School.

More on the case here and here with plenty of links.

Our news story is here.

Sued for sexual harassment almost 10 years ago by a part-time bartender for his catering company, William Kay, who also owns the Drexelbrook apartments, declined to renew a lease with said former bartender. So she filed a complaint with the state Human Relations Commission.

The PHRC ordered Kay, who is now 84, to pay $13,300 to 49-year-old Ingrid Dotson Luderman, who is also an Upper Darby High School teacher, for her troubles. Will he pay it?

My print column is up.

UPDATE: U.S. kills Taliban responsible for Copter attack. Taliban sues for retailiation. Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission to hear case.

[Posted By Jake]

Sometimes events occur where the timing provides rare insight. A sequence offering that special clarity took place these past several days.

On Thursday evening, President Barack Obama enjoyed his 50th birthday with a dance party and barbecue featuring celebrities from sports, music, television and film. Some of the celebrants were Jay Z, Charles Barkley, Ellen DeGeneres, Chris Rock, and others. This party followed a birthday-themed fundraiser Wednesday night in Chicago, featuring Jennifer Hudson and Herbie Hancock, and characterized by AP as a well-deserved celebration "with the arduous debt talks behind him". The Obama birthday celebration continued over the weekend at the Presidential retreat in Camp David.

On Friday, the stock market completed a week where it plunged over 700 points, the worst weekly loss since 2008. It is estimated that 2.5 trillion dollars in investors' savings were lost. After the final bell, Standard & Poor's took the unprecedented step of downgrading the creditworthiness of the United States. This is the first time in our nation's history such a downgrade has taken place.

On Saturday, Texas Governor Rick Perry led 30,000 worshipers in a day of prayer and fasting. There were no reports of celebrities in attendance at this spiritual "party". Perry's role in the actual event was relatively modest, though he offered this humble prayer,
"Father, our heart breaks for America. We see discord at home. We see fear in the marketplace. We see anger in the halls of government and, as a nation, we have forgotten who made us, who protects us, who blesses us, and for that we cry out for your forgiveness. Father, we pray for our president, that you would impart your wisdom upon him, that you would guard his family. You call on us to repent, Lord, and this day is our response."

On Monday, the market reacted to Friday's downgrade with another 635 point loss. The President and his administration responded by criticizing the rating agency and the Republican Congress. Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner, the last remaining member of Obama's initial economic team, led the criticism and has indicated he will stay on, despite calls for his resignation over the embarrassment of the downgrade.

Robert Samuelson sez the budget deal was a victory for liberals:

But the budget deal does reflect national priorities, for good or ill. It's mostly a triumph of the welfare state over the Pentagon. Even before the deal, the Obama administration projected that -- assuming continued withdrawals from Iraq and Afghanistan -- defense spending would shrink to 15 percent of the budget by 2016. This would be the lowest share since before World War II. The deal's added cuts, potentially as much as $950 billion over a decade, would reduce that further. In the 1950s and '60s, defense often was half of the budget.

Read it all. Sounds about right.

More:

Although Obama said he was willing to trim "entitlements" -- presumably, Social Security and Medicare -- he never laid out specific proposals or sought public support for them. There was more talk than action. Even if Obama had been more aggressive, he probably wouldn't have carried most liberals, who adamantly oppose cuts. They regard Social Security and Medicare as sacrosanct. Not a penny is to be trimmed from benefits.

This is an extreme, even fanatical stance. Social Security and Medicare do create a safety net for many millions of poor and near-poor retirees. But for millions of wealthier retirees, they are handouts. Liberals' unwillingness to admit and act on this distinction has long stifled meaningful budget debate. This would have doomed a bigger agreement.

Nancy Munroe, the Bucks County teacher who trashed her students on her personal blog last year, will be back in the classroom this fall, thanks to her lawyer and her union.

Her principal is not happy about it. And Munroe and her lawyer are not happy that he has publicly expressed his unhappiness.

Tough.

My print column is up.

At the Huffington Post, Larry Flynt explains why he offered Casey Anthony money to pose for Hustler Magazine:

A lot of people are upset about my offer to Casey Anthony to pose in Hustler Magazine. I can understand being upset by the verdict but it doesn't give anyone the right to dismantle the whole justice system. I've said publicly that I agree with the verdict, but she may very well be complicit in the death her daughter. I know that there is a two-year-old child gone and if any of us could bring her back we would. But we can't.

So why not give the person most likely responsible for her death money to show off her gentalia. But just who does he think wants to dismantle the whole justice system?

Oh wait, there's more:

The whole Casey Anthony affair is a morbid phenomenon. The only thing I can equate it to is the interest of others who marry people in prison with no chance of conjugal visits or freedom. Richard Ramirez, the famed Night Stalker, received more marriage proposals than any other prisoner in history.

How interesting. And we believe Mr. Flynt and Ms. Anthony would make a lovely couple, conjugality or no conjugality.

Thanks Huffington Post for providing Mr. Flynt a forum to explain his reasons for making his gracious offer. I thought it was about just selling magazines.

Dave Burge (aka Iowahawk) on what would have happened if the debt limit hadn't been raised.

A sample:

Beltway policy experts begin living by own wits; after 45 minutes there are no survivors.

Breadlines teeming with jobless Outreach Coordinators, Diversity Liaisons, and Sustainability Facilitators.

Cowboy poetry utterly lacking in metre.

General Motors unfairly forced to build cars that people want, for a profit.

Chaos reigns at Goldman Sachs, who no longer knows who to bribe with political donations.

No longer protected by government warning labels, massive wave of amputations from people sticking limbs into lawn mowers

At-risk Mexican drug lords forced to buy own machine guns.

Potential 5-year old terrorists head to boarding gates ungroped.

Defenseless mortgage holders forced to live in houses they can actually afford.

Without college loan program, America loses an entire generation of Marxist Dance Theorists.

Record producer, Songwriter, Musician, Actor, and Huffington Post Contributor Steven Van Zandt knows who's to blame for the debt ceiling crisis:

When people are looking for a place to point the finger after this disaster or near disaster they should look no further than the Media.

When did their job become spewing out contradictory information 24/7, serving no one except for their aggravatingly plentiful and endlessly annoying advertisers?

All they had to do was have an objective, truly knowledgeable expert available to explain the facts to the general public to help them understand that even though the Tea Party people are saying things that make sense emotionally, the real facts are these -- If the debt ceiling isn't raised, obligations will not be met because this money we're talking about, which we don't have and need to borrow, has already been spent.

Quick question: Where did Stevie find out, if not through the media, the "real facts"?

As for our aggravatingly plentiful and endlessly annoying advertisers, we'd love to have more please. Business owners who buy time and ad space in on our tv stations and newspapers in hopes of getting consumers to buy their stuff. In the meantime, we provide news and commentary of interest to our readers/viewers/listeners around which our advertisers can advertise. But Mr. Van Zandt seems to think the "media" can be summed up by two people:

And all the Mary Matalins and Rush Limbaughs of the world that are telling us Aug. 2 is a meaningless date, made up by a Left Wing conspiracy, are wrong. You know, wrong. As in let's separate the educated facts from the mindless opinions. As in enough with the so-called balanced reporting already.

Yes! Let's get rid of "mindless opinions" and "balanced reporting." Just who should we put in charge of that? A new government czar in charge of providing a more mindful and unbalanced media? But Stevie is on a roll:

As most of the population suffers through life, barely surviving, disappointed and confused day after day, hopeless, wondering what happened to their strong and beautiful country, it is in the Media's power to restore, if not some of our quality of life, at least a bit of our peace of mind.

I fear Stevie is confusing the media with Prozac.

Since we can't have real democracy, or jobs, or a decent wage, or money that has any value, or affordable education, or real health care, or more importantly real health, at least let us have the emotional satisfaction of hating the right people for the right reasons!

Stevie makes it sound like we're all living in Botswana. Well, compared to him, a record producer, songwriter, musician, actor, Huffington Post Contributor, maybe we are. But this "emotional satisfaction" that he is looking for, has he tried Scientology, yet?

The Media has become just another meaningless bureaucratic institution that exists solely for the purpose of keeping the population distracted and diverted by the use of a constant barrage of bad news, intentionally or unintentionally designed to keep us from thinking, acting, and organizing, but mostly to remind us about those starving children in Africa, keeping us grateful that our miserable lives aren't any worse.

Hey, I haven't seen (or written) a story about those starving children in Africa for weeks. I've been distracted by all this media coverage of the debt ceiling "crisis." But if it is my job to get my fellow Americans to hate the right people, may I suggest we all agree to hate mindlessly arrogant, know-nothing musicians who pose as wise and thoughtful critics of our pathetically ignorant and misinformed society.

Megan McCardle on the debt-ceiling deal and the coming civil wars within the parties.

Within the Democratic caucus they will have to choose between old people and poor people. Republicans will have to choose between tax increases and a strong military.

Me, I'd like a single entitlement system that takes care of people who are actually destitute and unable to work, not this mad scheme whereby America's middle class is supposed to get rich by picking its own pockets. You, dear reader, probably have other ideas. But whatever your ideas, you cannot assume the voters away. They are going to get in the way of your quest for the ideal world. So parties are going to have to start thinking about which constituencies they want to sell out in order to preserve the important core.

A Delaware County woman has paid a $200 fine for allegedly squirting sheriffs deputies with breast milk after they were called to investigate a domestic disturbance.

Oh, Delaware County, Ohio? Nevermind.