What's more egregious, the government giving away $20,000 of taxpayer funds to a private party in an essay contest or restricting that contest such that not all taxpayers are eligible to enter? If you ask me, it's a tough call.

Montgomery County, MD seems to disagree with me,as they are doing both for what looks like the ninth consecutive year:

The "Break the Barrier to Home Ownership Contest" provides a $15,000 grant to help with closing costs and a down payment.

To qualify for the reward you must write a 200 word essay titled "What Home Ownership Means To Me."

The contest is in its 9th year. To date, some $72,000 has been awarded.

Along with the essay, contestants must fill out an entry form and live in Montgomery County.

(Editor's Note: the official contest rules say that the total prize is $20,000, not $15,000 as this article states.)

I'm the first to admit that promotion of home ownership is arguably a valid government objective, but I can't for the life of me see how this reasonably works to attain that objective. After all, this plan can help, at most, ONE FAMILY. I can think of thousands of better ways to spend the money than this.

Putting aside the fact that it seems fundamentally wrong for the government to be running giveaway contests like this with taxpayer funds, consider this: this isn't even a random drawing - it's an essay contest, which means that it effectively excludes the very people that it's supposed to be helping, namely uneducated, low-income people.

And then there is this, from the official rules:

To be eligible, applicants must be first- time home buyers who live in Montgomery County, Maryland. The following maximum income limits apply:

Household Size Maximum Income*
1 $59,360
2$84,800
3 or more $97,520

So the very people that are paying for this egrigious contest are themselves ineligible to enter - I know that my liberal friends will disagree, but I think that this is also fundamentally unjust. It's not quite the same thing as taxing X to pay Y, which is done all of the time - this is taxing X to run a contest that only a certain subset of people can enter.

Ignoring, for the moment, all other issues and causes of action, I'd point out that
this seems unconstitutional to me in at least one key way: the people intended to benefit, namely low-income first-time home buyers, aren't all equally qualified to win. Many don't have the proper education to write an essay, many are non-native english speakers, which puts them at an inherent disadvantage. It can't be the case that the government can dole out benefits selectively in a such way that disenfranchises members of the targeted group, especially where that targeted group will be disproportionally composed of members of a protected class, otherwise that would be a violation of Equal Protection. (I think i have a Due Process argument along the same lines as well)

Hmmm, as a matter of fact, it just occured to me that the Court might hold this to be a violation of the recently resurrected privileges and immunities clause, ala Roe v. Saenz, 526 U.S. 489 (1999). I'll have to review the case. Anyone with more knowledge of Con Law than me have an opinion on that?

So, last week I said that "a lot of the tension of the Race is philiminated when you dislike all three of the lagging teams". Well, this week was the complete opposite. Let me tell ya, my heart was pounding when my darling brothers and the evil Ray & Deanna were in a footrace to the Amazing Bathmat. And THANK GOD Brian & Greg won. I adore these two. They're funny and sweet, even if they're not great drivers.

For Ray & Deanna, I hope this wasn't just the end of the Race for them, but also the end of their on-again, off-again relationship. Deanna had it exactly right when she said that Ray needs to learn that relationships aren't just about him. You'd think a man his age would get over some of his selfishness. Wasn't it especially sweet that these were Philiminated before the oldsters Meredith & Gretchen. I'm sure that still pisses Ray off.

I like the addition to the non-elimination penalty. After the first leg of this two-leg episode, not only did Meredith & Gretchen lose all their money and not get money for the second leg, they also lost all of their posessions except for the clothes on their back and their passports. I think that's great. Teams should be harshly penalized for finishing last, even in non-elims.

I should say, that as much fun as I've made of Gretchen, I really admired her tonight. She cut herself pretty badly in the caves and showed a lot of pluck in continuing. Some of the women in this Race and past Races would've cried and whined their way out of the competition. Of course, her injuries prevent me from pointing out her dirty words of the week. Ah well, maybe next time.

Rob & Amber were clearly cast as the villains. Unlike every other team, they didn't stop for Brian & Greg's car accident. Now, I understand it's a race, but all they needed to do was slow down, roll down the windows and make sure that everyone was okay. Plus, you could see that someone was hurt on the ground. You all may not know this, but the camera crews rotate among all the teams, so it's likely that Rob & Amber had traveled with the cameraman who was injured. It's not like this was some stranger. I think they showed a lack of common decency. I'm not throwing in the towel on them, but I do like them much less than last week.

Also, I think this week showed that there are some big chinks in their relationship. You could sense Rob's frustration when he was practically begging Amber to make some decisions. At some point, I want her to at least be an equal partner in the team, but I don't know if that's going to happen. She's seems happiest when she's just coasting along.

Lynn & Alex were a little more tolerable this week, while Ron & Kelly were just as invisible. Those two are good competitors, but there's nothing about them that interests me.

I'm glad that the trip to the orphanage made Uchenna and Joyce think about adoption again. They are so supportive of each other and they seem like they'd be wonderful with children. They could make some kids so happy.

A couple of other notes:

• I was really disappointed with the flight situation. In the past, trips from South America to Africa really required the teams to work the airport hard. This was too easy. I want to see teams scrambling for flights. Heck, I want to see teams on different flights for once.
• There were a couple of great editing moments with the kids in the orphanage. First, Brian & Greg dancing around like dorks and admonishing the kids with "don't do drugs". Later, Meredith & Gretchen told the kids to "be good". Hilariously, while they were saying this we see one kid bonk another kid on the head with a ball. Good stuff.
• I liked the running joke throughout the episode of teams calling Meredith "she". He's the boy named Sue.
• The brothers are still my favorite team. Without Ray & Deanna, I think Ron & Kelly are my least favorites. I don't dislike them, I just wouldn't miss them if they were Philiminated next week.

Previous Recaps:
Episode 4: Mendoza, Argentina to Buenos Aires, Argentina
Episode 3: Santiago, Chile to Mendoza, Argentina
Episode 2: Cuzco, Peru to Santiago, Chile
Episode 1: Long Beach, CA to Cuzco, Peru

Be sure to check out Viking Pundit's recap too!

I know Reuters has its biases, but the latest article I read has literally left me gaping in disbelief.

The gist of the peace is that "liberal" Arab "reformers" are worried that America is putting "freedom" (hey, if Reuters insists on putting scare quotes around freedom, why expect me to do any less) ahead of stability in the Middle East.

A liberal Arab diplomat, who asked not to be named, said: "They seem to be supporting chaos and instability as a pretext for bringing democracy. But people would rather live under undemocratic rule than in the chaotic atmosphere of Iraq, for example, which the Americans tout as a model."

How does this "liberal" Arab diplomat know? Did the people vote on it or something? These "liberals" also worry that unfettered democracy will result in extremist regimes. Of course, I'd ask, compared to what? I'd also point them to opinion polls in Iraq, which show the exact opposite of their theory.

But that's not what left me gaping. It's what these "liberal" Arabs claim is the reason America is standing up for freedom. It's not, as Condi Rice has suggested, that:

the United States was willing to take a gamble on "democratic institutions" having a "moderating influence" in the region.

"Can we be certain of that? No. But do I think there's a strong certainty that the Middle East was not going to stay stable anyway? Yes. And when you know that the status quo is no longer defensible, then you have to be willing to move in another direction," she said.

Nope. America doesn't believe in freedom. Instead, Reuters would have us believe, it's all an Israeli scheme to destroy Arab regimes:

Mohamed el-Sayed Said said Rice's approach appeared to have links with a trend in right-wing Israeli thinking that favors destabilising Arab governments and societies.

"We see an emphasis on destruction and we see that Israel is willing to push Arab societies to the abyss without caring for stability. We suspect these ideas came from Israel," he added.

Reuters prints this propaganda, this crap, spewed from "liberal" Arabs with no backup, no balance, no nothing. Their reporter could have written an insightful article about the real challenges of bringing democracy to the Middle East. But instead they choose to spread more of the same old anti-American, anti-Israel propaganda.

Fox News reporting Johnnie Cochran died at age 67 due to a brain disorder/tumor.

More info as it becomes available. Our condolences to the Cochran family.

Update: The family has issued the following statement:

Family Statement on Cochran

The family of Attorney Johnnie L. Cochran, Jr. and members of The Cochran Firm are deeply saddened by the passing of Johnnie L. Cochran, Jr. The world has lost not only a legendary attorney, but an outstanding humanitarian. He passed away at his home today at 12:30pst of a brain tumor.

Certainly, Johnnie's career will be noted as one marked by 'celebrity' cases and clientele. But he and his family were most proud of the work he did on behalf of those in the community. As Johnnie always said, 'an injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.' It was his rallying cry as he worked to right many wrongs, and as he provided a voice to those who needed to be heard. He was deeply committed to helping and inspiring others- especially young people. His extraordinary law career will undoubtedly stand the test of time. But it was his devotion to his fellow human beings that will remain as his true legacy.

While listening to the Cam Edwards show yesterday, I caught a story about an Australian school that had concerns about what their students were bringing in their lunches. So the school instituted a policy...teachers would be handed a list of acceptable foods, and if the lunches did not have those foods the offending items would be taken away from the student. The parents would then be called to a meeting with the school principal.

A few thoughts....

First, have you ever HAD a school-provided lunch? I can only imagine what a Commonwealth lunch would taste like. It ain't Outback, folks.

Second, do teachers really have nothing better to do with their time than audit a kid's lunch? Is that really the opinion of the administrators?

Third, I, the Parent, claim the right and responsibility to feed my kid. If I want to give him the new Burger King Omelette Sandwich then that's my decision. I know the motives of the school are likely pure, but still...

Fourth, if you take away my kid's lunch then I will come down to the school and eat yours. The message here is it's better to starve than to eat a Ding-Dong (and dammit, what IS the deal with starving these days?!? Is this the new liberal cause celebre?!?). Well I want to pack a lunch for my kid to eat, and the standard will be his willingness to eat it, not your willingness to let him.

Fifth, what are you going to do on evenings and weekends? Send the teacher over to my house?

I should point out that after looking into this, it doesn't appear to be an official policy of all Aussie schools. To me the most objectionable thing here is the taking away of the items not on the school's approved list. The Aussies already distribute recommended food lists to parents, and I'm thinking that's about reasonable. Anything more than that, and there are boundary issues.

Black Panther co-founder Bobby Seale will be in Madison Friday night for a speech on the UW-Madison campus. Now, I'm fine with Seale speaking on campus. But, other than the fact that it's what Jimmy Zoole named his cat in P.S. Your Cat is Dead, I don't know a thing about him.

Seale served time for conspiracy and inciting to riot, in the wake of the 1968 Chicago Democratic National Convention. Since 2002, he's worked on youth education programs with an organization called Reach!

On one hand, good for him. But, on the other, what exactly is he teaching these kids? Read these paragraphs from his website and tell me what the heck he's saying. I have no idea, although "Bush sucks" is probably in there somewhere:

"All Power To All The People!" Righteous down home peoples power is what I advocated in the sixties, and what I say today. That is, "...toward a future world of cooperational humanism!" Beyond the myopic notions and strict doctrinaire ideologies of past "politburo" state control command economy socialism. More important let's get beyond the present extremist practices of avaricious racist corporate monopoly globalizing capitalism having evolved a system which concentrates 90% of all the political-economic power in to the hands of the one percent cooperate money-rich around this OUR earth.

Democracy? HOW ABOUT Greater constitutional "direct" democracy? i.e. greater peoples' decision making participatory Community Control democracy? This form has a greater three dimensional democratic character. A true peoples' democratic synthesis are ideas to begin to get creative with. "All power to all the people," was my BPP sixties creative protest demand.

I need a lefty to English translator.

With the Terri Schiavo case on everyone's minds, now is an opportune time to think about making your own Living Will and deciding who will have your Power of Attorney for Health Care.

The State of Wisconsin has these documents available online, and I would imagine most other states do as well. You don't need an attorney to use them. You just need to fill them out and have two witnesses. You should keep a copy and also give one to your physician.

With a Living Will, you are essentially declaring what kind of life-sustaining measures you want if you are in various conditions. The Power of Attorney for Health Care makes it possible for adults to authorize other individuals to make health care decisons on their behalf if they are incapacitated.

My sister (known here as KV Big Sis) has done many Living Wills for clients, and her office provides an ADDENDUM TO THE POWER OF ATTORNEY FOR HEALTH CARE form that gets into more specific detail about what you may want done in specific situations. Some of the types of statements you can agree or disagree to are things like this:

• Do not use feeding tubes, including stomach tubes, nasogastric tubes, which are placed down the nose, or intravenous feedings, except to increase my comfort or reduce my pain.
• Err on the side of over-medication rather than under-medication for pain, even if taking such may result in my death. For me, the goal of pain management is total relief of pain regardless of the risks.
• Remember that I want to be an organ and tissue donor. If the requirements for organ donation conflict with my wishes above, I direct that such actions be taken so as to preserve organ function and permit organ donation to occur.
• Be an active advocate as my Power of Attorney for Health Care. Do not simply give in to decisions that physicians make. Ask questions and understand proposals, challenge assumptions and be prepared to say no to care which I would not want and to demand care that I would want

Their form also goes on to give you the opportunity to describe levels of disability you're willing to accept and declare any other thoughts you may have. Like I said above, you don't need an attorney to do this, but I'd imagine that most attorneys would have forms like this that will help you better communicate your wishes to both your physician and the family member(s) that may have to make decisions for you.

Obviously, this isn't fun stuff to deal with, but better to think and talk about it now than go through what the Schiavos and Schindlers are dealing with.

Tonight the Illinois basketball team snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. They defeated Arizona in overtime after trailing by 15 points with 4 minutes remaining. Wow. Hopefully Wisconsin and Michigan State will win tomorrow and join them in the Final Four.

After the game, we decided to read the game thread on Illini Nation. It's a classic study in defeatism, faith and, finally, joy. Here's a sample.

8:04 pm

Sorry guys..the fat lady; she be warming up...

8:05 pm

It's been a good season.

It's a shame this game had to end this way.

8:06 pm

I think I'm going to vomit. This is making me sick to my stomach. I hate Arizona.

8:07 pm

I just can't believe that it's over. I simply can't believe it.

8:08 pm

the fat beotch has been called off stage

8:10 pm

I don't mean to sound like a cynic (I'm not), but I have had a lifetime of disappointments when it comes to my sports teams. I am not surprised.

8:12 pm

I'm not watching, but I have seen this before. This is where your heart gets torn out and shown to you before you die!

8:16 pm

Holy crap. Please...

8:18 pm

THIS IS UNBELIEVABLE!!!!

I LOVE THIS TEAM!!!!!

8:21 pm

HAPPIEST OVERTIME EVER!!!!!!!!

8:21 pm

OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!!!!! OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!!!!! OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!

Five minutes for the rest of your life and a game NOBODY can EVER take away from you....LET'S GO ILLINI!!!!

8:23 pm

Oooohhh! Overtime.

Please don't stomp on my heart Illini.

8:28 pm

I'm literally peeing my pants right now.

I can't believe Adams shot just went in.

8:31 pm

I think I would have given up my first born for Deron's last shot to go down. (Just kidding).

8:32 pm

We're screwed now.

8:32 pm

Oh crap, one last shot...we know who its going to.

8:33 pm

i'm so nervous. i can't feel my knees

8:34 pm

WE'RE GOING TO THE FINAL FOUR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

8:36 pm

Simply put, the greatest game I have ever seen in my life. Told you there was a run left....

8:38 pm

Not to trivialize God but what an EASTER RESURRECTION!!!!

8:43 pm

THERE IS A GOD!!!!!! I LOVE LIFE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If you want to be a Badger, just come along with me,
By the light, by the light, by the light of the moon.
If you want to be a Badger, just come along with me,
By the bright shining light of the moon.
By the light of the moon, by the light of the moon,
By the bright shining light, by the light of the moon.
If you want to be a Badger, just come along with me,
By the bright shining light of the moon.

Our beloved Wisconsin Badgers are in basketball's Elite Eight. Tomorrow afternoon they'll face #1 seed North Carolina with a trip to the Final Four on the line. Most national pundits won't give the Badgers a chance. And, in truth, Bucky does face a daunting task. But before you decide the Badgers are hopeless or that they don't belong here or that they got lucky in who they've faced so far, think about this: Wisconsin is now 25-8. Of those 8 losses, half are to teams still in the tournament. The Badgers lost three times to Illinois and once to Michigan State (they also beat Sparty once). And while the Badgers haven't been able to beat Illinois, they've given them a good run in every game. In particular, if they had been able to hit free throws, they would have handed Illinois a loss back in January in Madison.

Wisconsin is not a bad team. In fact, they're a very, very good team, and have been for years now. Just how good, we'll find out Sunday.

I found this over at e-Claire:

If someone can really request "an overdose of a pleasure-causing chemical should he be in a terminal condition and unable to communicate", I don't see why you couldn't specify this.

I've been predicting the coming split in the Republican Party for nearly a year now. I'm not the only one. Today alone, Sharp As A Marble said:

I've been battling with something for a while now. I really, really, really want to remove the R from my voter's registration card. I'm not a Republican, at least not in the sense of how the GOP sees themselves. To me, the only difference between Democrats and Republicans these days are basically defense issues. Neither party stands for smaller government, neither respects your right of liberty.

While Glenn Reynolds quoted a Ryan Sager article which said:

In coming years, political historians might look back and try to pinpoint the day or week or month that the Republican Party shed the last vestiges of its small-government philosophy. If and when they do, the week just past should make the short list. For it was in this last week that the Republican-controlled Congress made it clear that it sees no area of American life -- none too trivial and none too intimate -- that the federal government should not permeate with its power.

My whole life, I've thought of Republicans as the party of liberty, both at home and abroad. Now I'm afraid many of them are nothing but Democrats in hawk's clothing. It's a depressing thought, but luckily it was easy to find some inspiration. To right the Right's course, one need look no further than Barry Goldwater. I just read his classic 1964 nomination speech again. I've never read a finer articulation of conservative ideals. I want to quote nearly everything in it, but I've chosen three passages that should resonate with those of seeking a return to a liberty-loving small government.

I think this one is particularly interesting in light of this week of, as Sager said, "steroids and Schiavo":

Security from domestic violence, no less than from foreign aggression, is the most elementary and fundamental purpose of any government, and a government that cannot fulfill that purpose is one that cannot long command the loyalty of its citizens. History shows us - demonstrates that nothing - nothing prepares the way for tyranny more than the failure of public officials to keep the streets from bullies and marauders.

Now, we Republicans see all this as more, much more, than the rest: of mere political differences or mere political mistakes. We see this as the result of a fundamentally and absolutely wrong view of man, his nature and his destiny. Those who seek to live your lives for you, to take your liberties in return for relieving you of yours, those who elevate the state and downgrade the citizen must see ultimately a world in which earthly power can be substituted for divine will, and this Nation was founded upon the rejection of that notion and upon the acceptance of God as the author of freedom.

Those who seek absolute power, even though they seek it to do what they regard as good, are simply demanding the right to enforce their own version of heaven on earth. And let me remind you, they are the very ones who always create the most hellish tyrannies. Absolute power does corrupt, and those who seek it must be suspect and must be opposed. Their mistaken course stems from false notions of equality, ladies and gentlemen. Equality, rightly understood, as our founding fathers understood it, leads to liberty and to the emancipation of creative differences. Wrongly understood, as it has been so tragically in our time, it leads first to conformity and then to despotism.

Even though he was speaking of communism, Goldwater's words still make a hell of a lot of sense when applied to our current War on Terror:

It is further the cause of Republicanism to restore a clear understanding of the tyranny of man over man in the world at large. It is our cause to dispel the foggy thinking which avoids hard decisions in the illusion that a world of conflict will somehow mysteriously resolve itself into a world of harmony, if we just don't rock the boat or irritate the forces of aggression - and this is hogwash.

Finally, I love this quote. Goldwater used the word "diversity" over and over again in this speech and it's interesting to see how, over the last 40 years, diversity has gone from being a natural result of small government to something that must be foisted on us by a far more powerful government:

We see, in private property and in economy based upon and fostering private property, the one way to make government a durable ally of the whole man, rather than his determined enemy. We see in the sanctity of private property the only durable foundation for constitutional government in a free society. And beyond that, we see, in cherished diversity of ways, diversity of thoughts, of motives and accomplishments. We do not seek to lead anyone's life for him - we seek only to secure his rights and to guarantee him opportunity to strive, with government performing only those needed and constitutionally sanctioned tasks which cannot otherwise be performed.

It's long past time that our Grand Party return to some of these Old ideas. Let's put the "O" back in the GOP.

The NCAA basketball tourney starts up again tomorrow night. I don't know about you, but my bracket is in shambles. You can watch all the games and read everything you can get your hands on, and still not win your pool. Maybe a new approach is needed. Maybe, just maybe, there's an easy way to figure out who is going to win the National Championship.

In that spirit, I'm proud to present my mascot based brackets. The idea here is simple. Rather than worrying about three-point shooting and defense, all you have to worry about is determining which mascot wins a mythical matchup. Here's how I think it would shake out.

Illinois Fighting Illini v. Wisconsin-Milwaukee Panthers: While panthers are undoubtably fierce cats, we're talking about fighting Illini. That means they have weapons. I think some angry, armed Illini hunters can take down a panther.

Arizona Wildcats v. Oklahoma State Cowboys: Since the cowboys are sure to have guns and horses, I think they can easily take the Wildcats. Pistol Pete rides again!

This sets up the classic matchup of cowboys v. indians. And folks, we know who won that one. So, I look for Oklahoma State to come out of the Chicago regional.

Louisville Cardinals v. Washington Huskies: This is a tough one. Huskies are clearly tougher, but cardinals can fly. So, the cardinal might be able to get away from a husky, but could it really defeat the husky? I think all it could do is poop on its head. The winner, in a TKO, is the husky.

West Virginia Mountaineers v. Texas Tech Red Raiders: What well-matched opponents. To me, this game is decided by the terrain it's fought on. Mountaineers would win in the mountains, while Red Raiders would take the game in the plains. Even then it's tough as Albuquerque is on a plateau. Since both plateaus and plains are nice and flat, I'm going with a Red Raider win.

This leads us to a husky v. Red Raider matchup. I think the huskies will suffer outside of their cold climate and succumb to the Red Raiders' weaponry. In a shocker, Texas Tech comes out of Albuquerque.

North Carolina State Wolfpack v. Wisconsin Badgers: I know badgers are ornery little creatures, but there's no way they can hold their own against an entire wolfpack. One on one, they'd have a shot, but they'll be done in by the plurals of NC State.

Villanova Wildcats v. North Carolina Tarheels: This one required a little research on my part. Apparently the term tarheel is derived from the nickname given to North Carolina troops in the Civil War. Once again we have a battle between armed humans and wild animals. I'm taking the humans.

Ah, but here's the rub. Can a tarheel defeat an entire wolfpack? I don't think so. I think the soldier could take one or two of them, but the rest of the pack would take him down. Therefore, expect North Carolina State to come out of Syracuse.

Michigan State Spartans v. Duke Blue Devils: Spartans were known throughout the ancient world as great fighters, but the devil's the devil. It takes a lot more than that to beat the devil, particularly a super hot blue devil.

Utah Utes v. Kentucky Wildcats: Again with wildcats. Seeing as the Utes probably hunt animals like wildcats all the time, I'm giving them the edge. Some of these schools need to learn that wildcats aren't world beaters.

The Utes match up against the Blue Devils, and, let's face it, all their mystical powers are no match for Satan. Satan, err, Duke wins the Austin regional.

Oklahoma State Cowboys v. Texas Tech Red Raiders: If cowboys could defeat fighting Illini, they'll have no problem dispatching with red raiders. After all, cowboys deal with bandits all the time.

North Carolina State Wolfpack v. Duke Blue Devils: I think blue devils don't just defeat a wolfpack, they control the pack. The pack is powerless against them. Duke should win this one easily.

Our final match up is the Cowboys v. the Blue Devils. This should be a slam dunk for the Blue Devils, right? Not so fast, my blog-reading friend. One thing can defeat the devil and that's the power of good. And, as every red-blooded American knows, the classic symbol of good is the white-hatted cowboy. That means that our next national champion is none other than the Oklahoma State Cowboys. Remember, you read it here first.

66% of the Dummocrats staff are into The Amazing Race. Sadly, I've not seen it. I'm an American Idol viewer, which in the pantheon of reality shows tends to put me on a par with the average Wheel of Fortune contestant. Whatever.

I guess I like it because in a former life, I was tangentially connected to the music world, although it was classical and not pop. But still, it's kind of interesting to see the public presentation of the "artiste" on shows like this and know what's likely going on behind the scenes. Suffice it to say it's a crappy world, obsessed with labels and niches (it's no accident that "niche" is Paula Abdul's favorite word...she's probably heard it all her professional life.).

Anyway, after watching last night (and inspired by a Daily Page thread), I thought I'd write up some general thoughts.

It's a wide field, and unusually so in my opinion. I think there are two people who are way out in the Red Zone, and everyone else is wandering on their own 10 yard line. Those two are Carrie Underwood and Bo Bice.

Carrie undoubtedly has the look of the pop singer. She's the young, cute, blonde, non-saggy pop tart. She's non-threatening. Safe. And yes, she has talent in no small amount. My main complaint with her is that she's largely untrained or self-taught. That's fine if you're limited to singing ballads at the Bumbletweed County Fair, but when it comes to the big leagues those limitations become more apparent. With that said, it's certainly reasonable to point out that the majority of the pop audience doesn't even care...I give you Madonna's early career.

Bo Bice is almost the antithesis of Carrie. He's not what you think of when you think pop music. He's older and doesn't seem as approachable. And if you were to badger me incessantly about it, I might admit he doesn't have as much raw talent as others in the show. But what he does have in spades is professionalism and experience. He knows what he's capable of and he excels at it. During the inane parts of the earlier shows (like when they were talking about their astrological signs) you could sense this undercurrent of disgust from him at having to put up with it. That isn't his thing. He's the kind of musician who shows up on time, ready to play, does so very well, and then leaves with no fanfare or diva attitude. He takes his craft seriously. And I respect the hell out of that.

As for the others, I view them as largely unremarkable. Your mileage may vary.

update: Looks like there was a problem with the voting, and we're going to have a do-over:

According to an "Idol" statement released early Wednesday morning, "due to an error with the graphics shown on-screen, incorrect voting numbers were displayed during the performance recap at the end of [Tuesday's show] a live, one-hour show will air Wednesday, 9:00-10:00 p.m. to enable a re-vote. This new show will combine new live elements with encores of Tuesday's performances from the remaining 11 contestants."

Let me start off by saying that a lot of the tension of the Race is philiminated when you dislike all three of the lagging teams. Let's review:

Ray & Deanna: are hateful. Ray hates Deanna, old people, skinny people and even horses. Deanna probably should hate Ray, but apparently doesn't. At least today (hence the "dating on and off" tag). They have this incredible sense of entitlement about where they should be in the race but have done nothing other than follow Rob's coattails in a leg to earn it. You've got to earn it, baby. Although, to balance this all out with something nice, I did giggle when Ray assured Deanna that her horse wasn't broken. Any reference to Colin's classic "My ox is BROKEN!" exclamation from Season 5 is a good thing.

Meredith & Gretchen: seem like a perfectly nice couple, but they're so damn inept. Tonight they had to be told to catch a cab at the taxi stand. The taxi stand? Who would have thought of THAT? Once you hit a certain age, you must also clearly lose any sense of what the word "hurry" means. Of course, perhaps that just means that Meredith has a "slow hand" if you know what I mean. And believe me, Gretchen does. She's something of a dirty old woman, isn't she? Last week it was asking Meredith if he wanted mouth to mouth, not to mention her sly insinuation of the ways she makes it up to him for being so annoying. This week she referred to the three trailing teams as a "menage a trois". I shudder to think of what she'll come up with next.

Susan & Patrick: are whiners. Well, I shouldn't say that about Susan, but Patrick certainly is. If he "whatever"ed one more time tonight I was ready to leap through the TV screen to give him a piece of my mind. But, to his credit, in his post-Philimination comments, he did seem to gain a little self-awareness. I laughed out loud when he said that maybe he needed to lighten up a little bit. Maybe? You think?

Now on to the teams with a real chance of winning.

Rob & Amber: were simply awesome again. Sure they lucked out in finding the roadblock so easily, but Rob did it quickly enough for them to catch up to the top four teams. I loved the moment where they boarded the plane. The other teams can bitch (and to a certain extent, rightly so) about Rob giving up on the meat roadblock, but the simple fact is that when the teams start at the same point, Rob & Amber inevitably find their way to the lead.

Brian & Greg: have regained their spot as my favorite team. I don't think they're anywhere near the racers that Rob & Amber are, but they're not bad and I'm a sucker for their dorkiness. However, it seems like they're not very careful sometimes. I worry that they'll be the team that misreads a clue and totally blows a detour one of these times.

Uchenna & Joyce: are continuing to charm me. I thought she showed admirable spunk when she got bucked off her wild horse again and again, but got right back on and kept trying to complete the roadblock. I suspect that Deanna would have completely fallen apart in that situation. Of course, Uchenna is a much better partner than Ray too. These two just have an engaging quality about them that I enjoy watching.

Ray & Kelly: are still non-entities to me. In fact, I nearly posted this recap before I realized I had forgotten about them. They're this year's Team Who.

Lynn & Alex: Ugh. These two bug the hell out of me. Their boat is sinking and all they can think about is how happy they are that Rob & Amber aren't near them. Newsflash fellas: the name of the show isn't "The Amazing Race To Beat Rob & Amber". They've got to get over this fixation they have with those two. It's annoying to watch and I think teams have enough to do worrying about themselves, without having to constantly keep an eye out for another team.

Overall, I thought tonight's episode was the worst of the season, although it's still much better than last year. The tasks weren't that interesting and the teams didn't really have any interaction with the locals. Even the animal-related task was a little disappointing.

Next week, on the other hand, looks well, amazing. The teams head to Africa and, in the 30 second preview we saw: Meredith falling and bleeding badly, Uchenna and Joyce (who haven't been able to conceive) on an emotional visit to an orphanage and Brian & Greg in a terrible car crash (oh no!). It looks fantastic and I can't wait.

Previous Recaps:

Episode 1
Episode 2
Episode 3

Another take on the episode from the Viking Pundit.

The good folks at Madison's Capital Times have come up with another beauty of an idea today. They want Madison to join San Francisco and some communities in Vermont in holding a referendum on the Iraq War.

Local lefty John Nichols says:

Unfortunately, when Madison voters go to the polls two weeks from today, they will not have an opportunity to register their sentiments. And, because this is a so-called "off year" for elections, Madisonians won't have another regularly scheduled local election until next February.

That does not mean, however, that Madisonians have to wait almost a year to send a message to the president.

The Madison Metropolitan School District is planning to hold a special referendum in May. Polling stations will be staffed, ballots will be printed and citizens will be expected to cast their ballots anyway. Why not place an advisory referendum regarding the war on the May ballot?

Didn't Madisonians and the rest of America have a chance to "send a message to the President" back in November? Is Nichols' problem that Madisonians can't send a message now, or is that he didn't like the "keep up the good work" message that Americans did send the President?

It's especially interesting that Nichols suggests that this vote be coupled with the school district's referendum. The school district has already been widely criticized because many think they've purposely scheduled their vote to make sure the turnout's low. They're afraid that if the referendum was held at a regular election time, they'd lose the fight for more funding. In other words, like Nichols, they're doing all they can to find an election they can finally win.

The recent school shooting in Red Lake, MN were committed by a teenager named Jeff Weise. The AP reports that Weise had been active in some neo-Nazi chat rooms and message boards.

Weise may have posted messages on a neo-Nazi Web site expressing admiration for Adolf Hitler, going by the nickname "Todesengel," which is German for Angel of Death. In the first posting under that name, the writer identified himself as Jeff Weise of the Red Lake Reservation

While the original message board pages have now been taken down, Wes Roth has a link to the Google cache of one of those pages.

An example excerpt:

Title: Re: Native American Nationalists?
Post by Todesengel on Apr 19th, 2004, 11:41pm
Hmn, after a recent discussion with some misinformed people I had to ask you guys, why are people so close minded?

By the way, I'm being blamed for a threat on the school I attend because someone said they were going to shoot up the school on 4/20, Hitlers birthday, and just because I claim being a National Socialist, guess whom they've pinned?

Chilling stuff.

CBS Sportsline hits the nail on the head with this piece that lists the top 10 heroic moments of the tourney so far. Fittingly, the honor of being #1 goes to a little known coach for actions that took place off the court:

The first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament saw a handful of heroic performances, but only one hero.

...

1. Kevin Kuwik, Ohio: The Ohio assistant coach left early Tuesday for Iraq, where he will complete the second half of his 18-month tour of duty with the U.S. Army. Kuwik, a captain in the Army reserves, used his 15-day leave to be with the Bobcats in the NCAA Tournament. He's the biggest hero on this list. The only hero, frankly.

I couldn't agree more - - it's the actions of heroes like Kevin Kuwik that afford us the luxury of enjoying March Madness to its fullest. If you see a serviceman over the next few weeks, be sure take a few minutes from your heated discussion about which #1 seed is "really" the best to thank him for making certain that's the most pressing controversy in your life.

I really don't want to discuss Terri Schiavo. I feel like a) the facts of the case are in dispute and you can read conflicting things all over the Internet about it and b) people far smarter than me have tackled some of the legal aspects of it.

Then, I read Rachel Lucas' take on the whole thing:

Let's see. I have a dog named Sunny, as many of you know. I signed a contract at the pound taking responsibility for her and I clearly am her legal "next of kin." Now, it's very likely that some day, Sunny will have arthritis in her hips and legs, and she might eventually be unable to move around on her own.

So! Who knows Sunny better than me? No one! So you must take my word for it when I say that I "know" Sunny would not want to suffer from arthritis to the point that she couldn't even walk around. Really, she wouldn't. I am telling you.

So here's my idea to (1) save time and money, (2) to fulfill Sunny's "wishes", and (3) to enforce her "rights": when she gets to the point where the arthritis in her hips and legs is so severe that she can't even stand up and/or walk over to the food and water bowls....WE JUST LET HER LAY THERE AND DIE!!

That's what gets to me about this case. Why does she have to be starved to death? That's what's so horrific to me. We don't really know how much she's aware of, but I do know that her family and the people who have taken care of her for all of these years are aware of it. Even if Terri Schiavo doesn't know and can't feel what's going on, these people can. Imagine how hard it would be to lose a loved one to a vegetative state and then imagine how hard it would be to watch them starve to death. Just imagine, for a moment, that everyone agreed that Schiavo was beyond hope and had expressed a wish to not be kept alive. Why in the world couldn't she receive a lethal injection instead? For Badini's sake, when Go For Wand broke her leg in the 1990 Breeder's Cup, they didn't just leave her hobbling on the track, they put her out of her misery. Why don't people get the same consideration?

I know that some of our readers have drafted living wills and here's my question. Could I write a living will that says that if I'm in a vegetative state and there's no hope, that I want to die, but that I don't want to be starved to death? Could I legally state that I wanted to be killed with a lethal injection?

I'd guess that this falls under the same laws as physician-assisted suicide (an aside-I support physician-assisted suicide, but I have to say that Dr. Kevorkian did his cause no good by being such a creepy lover of death), but it's not quite the same thing. I'd like to know specifically what would stop me from demanding how my life be ended.

The Schiavo case is really horrible, but maybe some good can come out of it. Maybe more people will get living wills and maybe we'll change some laws (if necessary) so that we'll be as humane to our fellow men and women as we are to our pets.

The usual suspects marched in Madison and throughout the world this weekend to protest the Iraq war. And, while it's fun to reflect on the irony of the "Not In My Name" folks in the aftermath of the Iraqi elections and the Arab spring, I'm really struck by this quote in a Capital Times article about the protests:

Carol Hannah, an organizer with the group Peace North, said Americans aren't paying enough attention to the ongoing loss of life and millions of dollars being spent in Iraq.

"This is a silent war, and people are ignoring it. They're not hearing what's going on, they're not listening to it," Hannah said, adding that soldiers overseas are aware of the lack of interest at home. "We wanted to send a real strong message that says you are not forgotten. We support you, and we want you home."

Iraq is a "silent war"? Is she kidding? Her problem isn't that people are ignoring Iraq, it's that they're ignoring her.

Driving around Madison, I've often seen cars with bumper stickers saying "If You're Not Outraged, You're Not Paying Attention". That seems to be the current message of the Left. There's no room for legitimate differences of opinion. If you don't fall into line with the conventional wisdom of the Left, you're "brain dead" or "evil" or you're a victim of biased alternative media outlets.

What I'm afraid of it that sooner or later the Left is going to have a Glenn Close moment. They "will be not be ignored!". What's the political equivalent of boiling a bunny?

Yahoo! is pretty slow to update the overall scores in our pool, so I took a look and ran the numbers and here's where we all stand.

Countertop has led throughout, but with his championship pick of Wake Forest out, can he maintain that position? And, check out boomshakalakah with 7 of her elite eight picks still in the mix!

Personally, since I was one of the few people in our pool to not have North Carolina in the Final Four, I hope that Wisconsin disposes of both North Carolina and NC State next weekend and goes on to meet Illinois for the fourth time this season, this time for all the marbles. Yeah, I know it's not going to happen, but a girl can dream.

On a negative note for fellow Badger fans, the basketball team will play the early game Friday night in Syracuse, while the puck drops for the hockey team in their first round NCAA game at nearly the same time in Grand Rapids, MI. It really sucks that we can't watch both.

Now that I have my iPod, I've been spending a lot of time going through my CD collection to put songs on it. It's like rediscovering old friends. One such old friend is the wonderful Split Enz's song "Six Months in a Leaky Boat". For those of you who aren't familiar with the early 1980s New Zealand pop scene, Split Enz is most famous for hits like "I Got You" and "One Step Ahead". The band also later spawned Crowded House, who hit it big with "Don't Dream It's Over".

Anyway, with the release of "Six Months in a Leaky Boat", Split Enz were poised to make it big internationally. Unfortunately for them, the BBC banned the song because, at a time when England was fighting the Falklands War, the title was considered "too provocative". Here are the lyrics to this scathing, anti-war song:

When I was a young boy
I wanted to sail around the world
That's the life for me, living on the sea
Spirit of a sailor, circumnavigates the globe
The lust of a pioneer, will acknowledge
No frontier
I remember you by, thunderclap in the sky
Lightning flash, tempers flare,
'round the horn if you dare
I just spent six months in a leaky boat
Lucky just to keep afloat

Aotearoa, rugged individual
Glisten like a pearl
At the bottom of the world
The tyranny of distance
Didn't stop the cavalier
So why should it stop me
I'll conquer and stay free
Ah c'mon all you lads
Let's forget and forgive
There's a world to explore
Tales to tell back on shore
I just spent six months in a leaky boat
Six months in a leaky boat

Ship-wrecked love can be cruel
Don't be fooled by her kind
There's a wind in my sails
Will protect and prevail
I just spent six months in a leaky boat
Nothing to it leaky boat.

Yep, that's it. While they were at it, I hope the BBC also banned pretty much everything by Jimmy Buffet. Not to mention "Brandy".

Hollywood liberals and singers from Linda Ronstadt to the Dixie Chicks have spent parts of the past couple of years whining about the "chilling of dissent" in "John Ashcroft's America" (I guess now it's "Alberto Gonzalez's America"). It's worth noting that those who opposed the likes of Michael Moore, Natalie Maines and Sean Penn were individual Americans exercising their own First Amendment rights. There's a huge difference between that and the restrictions on free speech made by the governments of other countries.

In America, both conservative wingnuts and liberal moonbats enjoy freedom of speech. Contrast that with the restrictions on speech in such "enlightened" countries as Canada, the Netherlands and yes, the UK.

Of course, we have to be ever-vigilant against those who would restrict our rights. We need to pay more attention to actual attempts to restrict speech and less to the whining of those whose real complaint is that too many people disagree with them.

While the NCAA Tournament has most of the nation's bettor's attention, some of us are already dreaming of the first Saturday in May.

This weekend features four big prep races around the country. Here's a quick look:

Tampa Bay Derby: Nick Zito (yum), who seems to have about 300 good Derby prospects this year, runs Sun King here against an overmatched field. In fact, anything but a runaway victory by Sun King would be something of a disappointment. My pick: Sun King (I'm no fool).

Result: Sun King wins it!

Gothom Stakes: The nicely named Galloping Grocer was supposed to be the big horse in New York this spring. He hasn't quite panned out, but he gets another shot here. Galloping Grocer likes to run on the lead and he's very vulnerable if he gets caught up in a speed duel early in the race. Naughty New Yorker was able to take advantage of that last time and beat Galloping Grocer. In the Gothom, however, they'll both have to contend with Survivalist. Survivalist hasn't accomplished that much yet, but he has a great trainer and is bred to be a champion. My pick: Survivalist. I don't really think he's that good, but I'm not sold on his competition in here either.

Result: I'm right again as Survivalist wins and pays a healthy $8.90.

Rebel Stakes: This prep for the Arkansas Derby has a small field with three outstanding runners. The folks who brought you last year's Kentucky Derby winner, Smarty Jones, are back this year with the undefeated Rockport Harbor. This is his first race of the year, however, and I'm willing to bet he won't be at 100%. Afleet Alex has only finished worse than 2nd once in his career. But, the further they run, the less I like him. So, that leaves Greater Good. Rockport Harbor will probably turn out to be the better horse, but for today, my pick is Greater Good.

Result: Wow, today is just tragic. I have no money on any of these races, but all my picks are winning. Greater Good takes this one and pays a cool $11.20.

San Felipe Stakes: This final prep for the Santa Anita Derby is the biggest race of the weekend. Most of the good California horses will line up in the starting gate. Roman Ruler is one of my favorite three-year olds and I think he's incredibly talented. However, I don't expect him to run well in the wet conditions. Wayne Lukas will have Consolidator ready for a good effort and the stretch-running Breeders Cup Juvenile winner Wilko should be a factor too. But, I think the race comes down to two other closers: Giacomo and Don't Get Mad. This week, my pick is Don't Get Mad, but later in the season I think that Roman Ruler will get even.

Results: And my streak comes to an end as Consolidator, who I dismissed, wins it. The lesson? Never count out Mr. D. Wayne Lukas.

I have been giving the Terri Schiavo situation quite a bit of thought as of late.

Ace has done a series of posts which I think are largely on the mark and make some pretty compelling and reasonable arguments. His main theme seems to be that Terri's "husband" (whom I call a HINO: Husband In Name Only) has a conflict of interest which is impairing his ability to be considered a reasonable guardian, and I have to agree. How else to explain the appalling lack of care for Terri? After reading about the neglect she has suffered, can anyone seriously doubt that this story would be reported much differently if Terri were, say, a ward of the State of Florida? If she were in a nursing home, the operator would be incarcerated, and rightfully so. Yet there seems to be little or no outrage over this.

And how to explain the Persian Bazaar-type diagnosis given by Dr. Cranford? This is a guy who seems to see PVS everywhere he turns, even in patients who can move around on their own. If Cranford is such an expert, why the resistance over having his conclusions evaluated and his defensiveness over his diagnosis?

Bottom line (and as Ace pointed out), this does not fit into the relatively neat cookie-cutter right-to-die concept (a concept I generally support, incidentally). It has to do with the scads and scads of reasonable doubt that permeates this case. Until there's a definite, non-slapdash diagnosis of PVS, I say we give the lady the benefit of the doubt and refrain from starving her to death.

Update Ace with yet more.

Earlier today, I was mulling writing a post about who I'd rather see inaugurated in 2009: John McCain or Hillary Clinton. I was inspired by an "anybody but Hillary" ad over on Ace. It got me to thinking, that actually, there are a lot of people I'd vote for Hillary Clinton over.

Then, I read a good post on Population 665 about some Republican self-examination of their criticism of Clinton. I've been saying this all along. If the "Hillary is the Devil" folks keep it up, in 2008, the Republicans will be in serious danger of sounding just like all the Bushhitler moonbats we make fun of today.

Finally, I took a peek at our Site Meter. Lo and behold, look at what I saw:

For those of you that don't remember, Rose Law Firm was Hillary's employer in Little Rock.

I wonder what it all means.

With the recent rash of violence in the upper Midwest, some of you might be wondering what's going on with the supposedly mild mannered folks of the region. I have a theory. I believe some of these acts of violence, as well as thousands of unreported incidents are caused by Winter Induced Rage (or WIR).

Here's a quick look at how Winter Induced Rage develops in Wisconsin:

November: "Oooh, it's snowing! How new and exciting!"

December: "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!"

January: "30 below? Oh, that's nothing. We're tough!"

February: "It's snowing again, but hey, at least winter's almost over."

March: "#%&*!@!!!"

Unfortunately, WIR is now a raging epidemic in Wisconsin and the only known cure is a good dose of Spring. Keep us in your thoughts, good readers.

Happy St. Patrick's day, everyone! In honor of the day, how about some Irish Braised Beef? Beats boiled leg of lamb....

3 pounds stew meat, the cheaper the better
All purpose flour
2 carrots, roughly chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 tblsp fresh parsley, chopped
1/4 tblsp tomato paste
1 cup beef stock
1 can or bottle of Guinness (Any beer will work, really)
Salt and pepper to taste

Dust the stew meat with the flour and working in batches, brown at high heat in a heavy, lightly oiled skillet. Remove meat from skillet and place in a dutch oven.

Add Guinness to the skillet and deglaze, scraping up all the brown bits with a wooden spatula. Add the liquid to the dutch oven along with the rest of the ingredients. Bring it up to a boil, give it all a stir, lid up your dutch oven and place in a 300 degree oven for 2-3 hours. It's done when the meat is fork tender.

Tant's Express Method:

Instead of using a dutch oven, get your grandmother's pressure cooker. Prepare the ingredients as above and toss it all in the pressure cooker, bring it to a boil, clamp on the lid and place it on high heat until you're at full pressure. Back off the heat and maintain your pressure for about 25 minutes. Remove from the heat, carefully release the pressure, and serve.

March Madness begins tomorrow! Join in on the fun in our Dummocrats NCAA pool.

Here's the scoop: Create a team on Yahoo! Then join our group. Here's the info you'll need:

Group ID: 35443
Password: dummocrats

It's free to play and we will be giving away a fabulous cash prize of $25 to the winner! But, that's not all. Other prizes may include:

• A play-doh bust of James (Bust of what, you ask? You've gotta play to find out!)
• Texas-shaped homemade sugar cookies
• An autographed copy of our upcoming sitcom script
• Dinner with an exclusive cadre of fabulous female bloggers
• An all-expense paid trip to Dummocratsia

So for Badini's sake, what are you waiting for? Get your team now!

In his post about the recent case in which a federal district court held that a high school student couldn't be stopped from wearing a t-shirt bearing the Marine creed, Eugene Volokh had (yet another) highly quotable passage:

And they got it wrong because they made a basic error that's unfortunately far too common: They confused violence with wrongful violence.

Using guns to kill innocent classmates is obviously a heinous crime. Using a gun to defend yourself is perfectly proper. An American marine's using guns to kill the enemy is a necessary (though sometimes regrettable) duty. And while we should generally want to create a culture of law-abidingness, a culture of pacifism -- or a culture in which the Marine Creed is treated as the equivalent of gangsta rap -- is a recipe for national disaster.

Here, here.

Robert Blake was just found not guilty of the murder of Bonnie Blakeley.

Was justice done, or is this another O.J.?

DC Mayor Anthony William is pushing for medical malpractice reform in the District, blaming skyrocketing insurance costs for driving doctors away from the city:

The company that insures most doctors in D.C. says annual premiums for obstetricians and gynecologists have shot up from about $75,000 in 2000 to nearly $140,000 this year. It's projected to hit more than $235,000 by 2010.

The Medical Society of D.C. says 88 percent of OBGYN's it surveyed last year have moved, or plan to move their practice out of the District. ...

Williams says he'll reintroduce a bill he put forth last year, which would cap non-economic damages at $250,000, provide litigation immunity for health care workers at free clinics, and develop a system for reporting medical errors in hospitals.

I'm not sure how I feel about this legislation - I recognize that the rising cost of medical malpractice insurance is a problem, however, I'm not sure that capping lawsuit recovery amounts is the best way to deal with that problem. Rather, I think that the real problem lies in the fact that the whole sector doesn't operate on free-market principles, but that's the subject of another post.

I'm more interested in the immediate short-term effects of this legislation on the DC area medical community. Assuming that the law is passed, Maryland and Virginia physicians should be sufficiently incented to move their offices to the District, thus leaving a physician-vacuum in those states. This would lead to DC becoming a physician-rich area, which in turn would benefit the local economy and supplement the tax base.

The increase in the supply of services would bring with it an increase in demand as well, so at least initially the supply/demand curve may be unchanged. But it probably wouldn't stay that way for long - given the disparity in the laws between jurisdictions, and the ease of travel, the rational patient should prefer to see a doctor in Maryland or Virginia, while a rational insurance company should prefer that the patients travel to the District for his medical care. Due to the unequal bargaining power between the parties, the insurance companies would likely win, leading to a shortage of availability of medical services in DC. (i.e. 10 times more docs, but 30 times more patients.)

In addition, this disparity could also lead to a tiered system of medical care in the DC region - - those able to afford more expensive insurance would be treated in Bethesda and Arlington, while those least able to afford medical care would be stuck with a newly created and overburdened system plagued by long wait times and possible substandard care.

Are my concerns in this area warranted? If so, then it seems to me that Virginia and Maryland residents have a huge stake in the outcome of the upcoming council hearings.

Congratulations to the Iraqi Parliament, sworn in today and holding their first meeting as Iraq's first freely elected government in 50 years. And kudos for your courage to do so in the face of terrorists who would prefer you didn't.

Also, thanks to the Washington Post Foreign Service for taking a break from looking for things President Bush is hiding and deigning to write about this. Further thanks for the extra drama you injected into your story.

Update: Hugh Hewitt reports that Phil Bennett's interview wit