Starting on a positive note, please take a few minutes to get to know America's future.  She's already got my vote!!!
Sara Womack 2032!

You know ... I gotta admit, I've been a little crabby ... call it Blogger Derangement Syndrome if you need a name ... too many topics to cover, too many code mysteries ... and of course, that damn Vast Left-Wing Conspiracy (we'll get into that another time).

Thank you Sara Womack! By putting a smile back on my face, you just made my day!

Alright ... on with more of the stuff I've found.

Really, nothing to add here.  Rush Limbaugh spells it out perfectly.

Why Rush is no longer a Republican, reasons #247 and 248 (emphasis added):
Here is reason 247 why I am not a Republican: "Republican governors, battling climate change in their states and fed up with the GOP's inability to organize in Washington, are urging their congressional colleagues to start the new Congress with unprecedented dedication to addressing global warming." Ladies and gentlemen, have you seen the headlines out there today? ... Chicago is the coldest it's been in a decade. Flint, Michigan, breaks its 95-year-old record for cold ... If you're planning on flying today, the whole air traffic control system from the Midwest to the east is going to be backed up because of these delays in New York City. GOP governors urge action on global warming in the midst of a deep freeze! It's just a huge disconnect. In fact, what do they want to do? They want to make it colder? That's what the objective of global warming is, is to make it colder, is it not? If we had a genuine ice age descend upon us, would they then tell us to increase our carbon emissions?

Today will be spent trying to recover from the loss of data experienced here at theCL. You'd think I'd learn ... back-up, back-up, BACK-UP!

So before I head into the abyss of coding, attempting to rebuild the categories and other various lost stuff, I'd like to bring to your attention, 4 good reads from across the fruited internet.

1. With the federal budget deficit at $1.2 trillion (crazy, isn't it?), President-elect Barack Obama has promised:
"We are committed to changing the way our government in Washington does business so that we're no longer squandering billions of tax dollars on programs that have outlived their usefulness or exist solely because of the power of a lobbyist or an interest group... Even in good times, Washington can't afford to continue these bad practices. In bad times, it's absolutely imperative that Washington stop them and restore confidence that our government is on the side of taxpayers and everyday Americans."

Speech is either free from restraint, or it isn't.  There is no middle ground.  We (you, I) either defend free speech, or we don't.  Again, there is no middle ground.  And sometimes defending free speech, means defending those with whom we disagree.

Personally, I do not believe in bi-partisanship.  You either believe in something or you don't.  In fact, I believe the "bi-partisanship myth" that Washington and its politicians spew is mere propaganda, designed to allow politicians to get away with legislating against the will of their constituents.

The reason I bring this up, is because defending the free speech of those we oppose, is NOT bi-partisanship, and shouldn't be confused as such.  Free speech is about liberty. And when a little bit of speech gets muted, all of us (even if we disagree with said speech), lose a little more liberty.

After spending way too much time reading throughout the blogosphere this weekend, I thought I'd share with you a few posts that might peak your interest.

The Puritans:

"Political correctness" has gone way to far on both sides of the aisle and everywhere in between.  I mean, everyone is offended by everything!

In her recent column, Mona Charen complains about the "pornification of society," using an ad for PajamaGrams that claims to be "the only gift guaranteed to get your wife or girlfriend to take her clothes off."

Hat-tip to Bob Parks and his great blog Black & Right, for staying on top of this serious controversy!

With many lawsuits being filed regarding President-elect Obama's birth certificate, one has to wonder why he had the State of Hawaii lock his birth certificate up in a vault.  For that reason alone, his legitimacy to be President of the United States must come under extreme scrutiny.  After all, if he has nothing to hide, there would have been no reason not to release his original birth certificate in the first place.

Obama And The Three D's
Barack Obama has successfully merged Chicago with Clinton-era politics. With that, we now have the Three D's rearing their ugly heads again. For those of you who were in elementary school when Bill Clinton was president, the three D's stood for "deny, delay, destroy".
In this case, with regards to the whole Barack Obama birth certificate stall, the "destroy" part is in regards to the U.S. Constitution, and it takes time (deny and delay) to do this.
With that, meet Sarah P. Herlihy....

Oh boy ... yes indeed! The politicians are going to come to the rescue!

The Washington Elite promise ...

This is Part 2 of my response to Terry Michael's "The Libertarian Case for Obama".  You can read Part 1 here.
"Obama is the best hope for keeping government out of your bedroom and away from your body ... the senator from Illinois represents the pro-choice, pro-gay rights side of the cultural divide. And he has at least made interesting soundings about reducing America's status as the world's number one jailer, much of which is tied to ... crimes without victims."

Terry opens with a good sales tactic - using of very broad language that  allows the reader to interpret it as they wish it to be when he states, "Obama is the best hope for keeping government out of your bedroom ...".

Let's face it ... this statement could mean almost anything!  Seriously, who wants a paramilitary police raid on your bedroom during that rare night you and your spouse are alone without the kids?

Former Clinton Chief Strategist Mark Penn discusses the sharp decline Obama's campaign is experiencing, and the swing voters ...