I am free to pursue my dreams today because countless American soldiers gave their time, efforts, sweat, tears, blood, and lives to provide for my defense.  Thank you to every American soldier who lives now and who has ever lived, and to their families, who do and have done so much that I may live comfortably in freedom.
In honor of Memorial Day, here is a letter written by Abraham Lincoln to Lydia Bixby, who lost five sons in the Civil War:
Executive Mansion,
Washington, Nov. 21, 1864.
Dear Madam,
I have been shown in …

Regular readers of this blog know that one of the few government programs I support is NASA. Why? I view it essentially as military research and development, but also one of the most worthy investments the government can make. While we spend hundreds of billions domestically to keep people unemployed and stupid, at least some of our money is going into making space ships and exploring our solar neighborhood.
With that in mind, I’d like to remind you that NASA also lends us some practical usefulness. Here …

Let’s see if I understand this whole AIG bonus situation.

The government legislates that more people should own houses, forcing banks to make loans to people who can’t afford to pay the loans back.  House prices soar and burst, beginning the financial crisis.  The government pays big money to huge banks like AIG.
Rahm Emmanuel says you shouldn’t waste a crisis.
Liberal Senator Chris Dodd puts in bonus protection into legislation to protect his chums at AIG.
The public finds out about hundreds of million dollars in AIG bonuses.
Now liberal congressman are all over …

The justification for redistributing wealth all over the place in areas like education, healthcare, and other “entitlements” is that new money in the system will get people spending again.  Keynesian economists like Paul Krugman are fond of saying that this spending is “needed.”
If the simple injection of money into the system works, why is the military being left out?
While Obama’s 2010 budget calls for a government the size of $3.6 trillion, but military spending, of course, isn’t on the menu.  While the military spending is increasing by a small amount …

I think Milwaukee’s going to miss Archibishop Dolan, who after serving Milwaukee since 2002 will be heading to New York to lead the archdiocese there.
Though this isn’t a “promotion,” it’s definitely a bigger job.  Milwaukee will miss him.  The archdiocese really grew with Archbishop Dolan.
James T. Harris, who I don’t think is Catholic, had this to say:
I’m sad today. Milwaukee is losing a humble servant, not just of the church but of all people. He was exactly what the city needed. He restored confidence and credibility to a discredited Church …

Note: For those of you unfamiliar with Keynesian economics, it is essentially the theory that government intervention should be used to help economies grow.
Hey, remember Argentina? It once seemed destined to become a great Western Hemisphere power, kind of like Brazil has become a top-10 economy, but throughout the 20th Century fizzled out. Says the American Conservative:
A century ago, Argentina was one of the world’s emerging powers, seemingly destined to outpace all but the greatest imperial states. Today it is … Argentina. A national decline on that …

Well, of course Washington’s definition of “compromise” is to shoot yourself in the foot instead of the ankle.  Senators Arlen Specter, Susan Collins, and Olympia Snowe were enough to turn the Senate vote in favor of the Democrats, and as far as I can tell, there’s really no “compromise” toward fiscal conservatism in exchange.
Of course, the original goal of the Democrats was probably something in the range of what they’re going to get anyway.  That’s how moderate Republicans define bipartisanship and compromise.
Or, I can let Ron Paul explain it:

Harry Reid is pushing for a vote on the stimulus package today, suggesting that he thinks it could go through.  How would it go through?  Don’t Republicans have enough voting power (40 against the Dems’ 58) to shoot this down if they want to?
Oh, wait.  That would require Republicans to vote like conservatives, instead of pansies.
According to the Wall Street Journal, a team of moderates from both sides are working on a “compromise” that would punch fiscal conservatism squarely in the nuts:
A group of nearly 20 moderates from both parties …

It’s a distinct possibility that Roger Ebert can keep his lights on and, in fact, might actually want to keep them burning overnight.
Why?  Some are currently predicting that instead of MMGW, we’re actually headed to what they thought we were headed to in the 1970’s, another ice age.
Says Phil Brennan:
Now comes Gregory F. Fegel writing in Pravda Ru that we are on the brink of a new ice age, a revelation that has shocked many Americans but one that I explained 12 years ago in my series The Icemen Cometh.
According …

On Wednesday, I wrote this:
This election was never about John McCain. The entire time it was about Barack Obama. About his pastor, his terrorist friends, his past, his votes, his “spread the wealth” themes.
In 2004, more people voted “against” Bush than they voted “for” Kerry. In 2008, more people were “against” Obama than they were “for” McCain.
Check out 4-Block World’s graph:

(H/t Patty McIlehran.)
Energy flows where attention goes.