McCain? I have a few major disagreements with him, but far more major disagreements with the Dems. When it comes to the folks, like Rush and some bloggers, who are mad at McCain: don't blame McCain - blame the Repubs who seem to have selected him. Are they stupid? Also, VDH has some thoughts.
If I had had a slave, maybe I could feel badly
Feelings of fraudulence. Not necessarily neurotic: often justified. NYT
What's with Scientology? David Thompson
Another example of how light rail makes no economic sense. Coyote
Putting out public feelers. Clinton-Obama? Speaking of which, I guess politics and religion do go together after all - if it's Dem politics.
Obama's appeal. via Drezner. He does smoke cigarettes, which is in his favor.
Thomas Sowell's new book. Interview via Betsy
Inequities in medical insurance. From a piece in the WSJ:
The core problem is that people who get insurance through their employers pay no income or payroll taxes on the value of the benefit. The Treasury defines this as a "tax expenditure," meaning it's revenue the government forgoes to encourage certain behavior. If these losses were converted to the equivalent of direct spending, the tax exemption would have cost more than $208 billion in 2006. The only federal programs that cost more are Social Security, Medicare and national defense. But all that money props up only employer-provided insurance. Individuals who buy policies don't get any tax breaks and pay with after-tax dollars.
