Good God. First a cougar, then an earthquake, then this. Is the end of the world (or, at least Chicago) imminent? Glenn says:

"CHICAGO SOUNDS LIKE MOSUL:" That's an email from . . . Michael Yon, who knows his Mosul. Here's the story on last weekend's violence. Still, they're different: One has crooked officials, violent gangs with their hooks into government and law enforcement, and a culture of corruption that has resisted the central government's effects to clean it up, and the other is a city in Iraq.
...
[a reader] emails:

It really should be no surprise, since Chicago and Illinois itself have been failing to reach their political benchmarks for years now.

It is too bad there is not some powerful politician who might have served the Chicago area and brought them Change and Hope. If there was, we could blame him for the "complete failure" to achieve those political benchmarks and reduce sectarian strife.

TigerHawk: "Even the New York Times, which has done its level best to promote the myth of Iraqi incompetence, acknowledges that the government has won the battle of Basra." So they just move the goalposts.

The Anchoress: "I pray for all victims and also for the good priests who have been treated to suspicion because of their sinful priest brothers. As the bad soldiers at Abu Ghraib managed to dishonor hundreds of thousands of good men and women, so have these bad clerics hurt tens of thousands of sincere and dedicated priests."

The more I read and think and pray about this, the more I appreciate Rich, a good man and good father, and his dad, who never ever would have done any of these bad things to his girls.

Cat Lover.

Proud to be Catholic.

PEOPLE STARVING IS ONE THING, E.U. POLITICS IS ANOTHER. Makes me sick. If the gummint would just stand back and keep out of our business, things would be so much better.

And, speaking of gummint, Jerry Pournelle:

I discovered to my horror just how much the Feds tax retirement including Social Security! Having collected taxes for my lifetime -- including to this day -- on self-employment to pay into the Social Security account, they hand me a miserable pittance compared to what I would have got had I simply put the money into a money market account; then they tax part of it away.

An Idea Whose Time Has Come:

Congressman John J. Duncan, Jr. (R-TN) voiced his continued support for middle class Americans by signing onto legislation earlier this week giving the wealthiest taxpayers the option of returning more of their incomes to the federal government.

The legislation, H.R. 5783, the “Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is” Act, amends the U.S. Tax Code to allow citizens to make voluntary donations above their normal tax liability to pay for federal government programs. The legislation was introduced on April 10 by Congressman John Campbell of California. . . . Wealthy liberals like Barbra Streisand and Warren Buffet have frequently complained that taxes are too low. This bill gives them the opportunity to voluntarily pay more taxes.

This because Ted Kennedy and Warren Buffett and their ilk think YOU aren't paying enough taxes. Glenn suggests the chance of passage is poor but the chance of amusement is great.

Hahahaha!

Surber:

Question: Is Frank Rich right when he writes: “But viewers of all political persuasions were affronted by the moderators’ failure to ask about the mortgage crisis, health care, the environment, torture, education, China policy, the pending G.I. bill to aid veterans, or the war we’re losing in Afghanistan”?

Answer: Absolutely not. There is not one scintilla of difference between Obama and Clinton when it comes to these issues. Their answers are the same: More government intervention, even if government interference may have exacerbated every one of those problems. Debating this would waste time and show no insights into who they are as persons.
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Question: Besides the Democratic Party’s trainwreck, what really delights you in this race?

Answer: Watching McCain try to sidestep the McCain-Feingold Act. Conservatives accept McCain as their candidate and respect his military service. But we would be lying if we didn’t enjoy watching his own petard hoist him every once in a while.

Monica mentioned hitting whatever on top of her minivan at a parking garage, but it was nothing like this.

Congress investigates CEO pay:

When Congress decides to get involved in the private sector, be prepared for unexpected consequences. They mean well, of course, but invariably something goes wrong. Guess who ends up paying for the mistake? Hint: not Congress.

The Corner tackles the Washington Post hit piece on McCain's temper (I think they're tryin to rattle him to give their chosen one a chance): "this is one of the more shoddy examples of journalism I've ever encountered. But for the infamous NYT story, I'd say it was the worst smear job on McCain I'd ever seen."

Me, I don't remember him ever shaking his finger or turning red.