Current events

If we were to pick the one person most likely to push nanny statism absolutely as far as it can go, I'd probably nominate the mayor of New York:

Learning from Richard Lugar's mistakes -- who says politicians aren't educable?

Bob Kerrey has purchased a home in Nebraska.

The Democratic U.S. Senate candidate who registered to vote in Nebraska a day before he filed for office said Wednesday that he purchased a home in central Omaha at 415 N. 61st St. It's not far from the Dundee-Memorial Park-area home he had when last he lived in Nebraska.

Inch by inch, we reach the point of no return:

 According to U.S. Census Bureau data, 49.1% of the US population lives in a household where at least one member is receiving government benefits:

The 49.1% of the population in a household that gets benefits is up from 30% in the early 1980s and 44.4% as recently as the third quarter of 2008.

New York Times exclusive -- Obama personally overseeing U.S. Intel's al Qaida "kill list"  -- and the story wasnn't even the result of a leak:

Damn. Doc Watson, one of my favorite musicians, has died. Some have called his music "folk" or "roots" or "Americana." I'd probably call it "mountain music," but the labels don't matter. His virtuoso guitar playing and honest, authentic singing combined to make him a unique grand master of American music. I've worn out and replaced a couple of his albums (you remember the limited life of beloved vinyl).

WOWO News Director Dave Wheaton had his cell phone confiscated when he took it into Judge Fran Gull's Allen Superior Courtroom and now faces a contempt citation. News-Sentinel columnist Kevin Leininger thinks the solution is to grant a new-technology exemption for "legitimate" journalists -- a word that's used more than once -- that is not enjoyed by the general public:

MSNBC host Chris Hayes created an instant, angry buzz among verterans groups and the blogosphere ( see here, for example, and here) for saying on air that he was "uncomfortable" calling fallen soldiers "heroes" ):

You may have heard of economist Gordon Tullock's theory -- much discussed in conservative circles a few years ago -- that mechanical innovations meant to improve automobile safety might actually have the opposite effect. The safer car travel is made with things such as seat belts, airbags and anti-lock brakes, the more secure people feel so the riskier their behavior, actually increasing their chances of injury.

Probably hard to get it right when your heart just isn't in it:

Today's candidate for the "well, duh" research file:

Ask a straight man, “How do you like your women?” and it’s unlikely he’ll answer, “Dumb and sleepy.” But according to new findings, these characteristics—and any other traits suggesting that the lady isn’t particularly alert—are precisely what the human male has evolved to look for in a one-night-stand.

[. . .]