Get ready for the most productive and decent political condition known to man: sweet gridlock. You get nothing. And, after what you've been through these past few years, you deserve it.
[. . .]
There is no greater check on power in Washington than two strong political parties.
So, 18 percent of Americans think Barack Obama is a Muslim, according to a Pew Research Center poll, 34 percent believe he's Christian, and 43 percent say they don't know what his religion is. On the other hand:
An Associated Press story notes that "in 1987, Congress enacted the Nursing Home Reform Law to address evidence of widespread abuse of nursing home patients. The states followed suit . . ." Those observations are followed by this curious passage:
But the emphasis on patient rights led some nursing homes to think they outweighed everything else.
You can say the Iraq War was wrong. You can say it was expensive. You can say the money spent on it could have been better spent elsewhere or not at all. But you can't say the war helped ruin our economy:
A lot of people in Indianapolis seem to have trouble believing that colleagues of police officer David Bisard -- experienced DUI investigators -- would "botch" the case so badly that the most serious acolohol-related charges had to be dropped against him in the crash that killed one motorcyclist and critically injured two others. But they did, letting the blood be drawn by a technician not certified for criminal cases. So:
Rod Blagojevich looks like a political huckser, and prosecutors kept saying they had an overwhelming case, so it was "a surprise to many," as the Times says, when jurors only agreed on one measly count. But maybe it shouldn't have been:
Those lovable goofballs of the Westboro Baptist Church, who have graced Indiana with their presence a few times, have been set free to again roam the land in search of military families to counsel. A federal judge has ruled that church members have a First Amendment right to picket military funerals with signs and chants railing against homosexuals.
The latest figures from the nonpartisan agency portray a dreary picture of the U.S. economy, predicting U.S gross domestic product would only grow by 2% between the fourth quarter of 2010 and the same period next year.
[. ..]
We can resume all our usual arguments about the wisdom or folly of Iraq tomorrow, but today let's just note the milestone:
The last combat troops are out and now 50,000, er, “advisors” remain. It's not the end of the war, in other words, but as a not-so-grim milestone for a lot of guys who are no longer in harm's way, it's a moment worth celebrating.
