Following up on post I made last week on the new Census Bureau Stats on income, poverty and health insurance, I read this WaPo Op-ed by Robert Samuelson.

Firstly, my quibbles:

Some writing on Gustav that inserts another perspective on the ordeal.

A few days ago, Paul Krugman, in typically rabid partisan form had another NYT Op-Ed on Gustav and FEMA.

The standard fare: the wonders of government bureaucracy cannot work without proper leadership (Dems who care) and the GOP simply produced a self-fulfilled prophecy with the Katrina debacle....nothing more. IOW, good and effective government needs people who believe in it and it will work great.

In my spectator role of this upcoming election, I've been becoming and increasingly and quietly intrigued about what could happen and what it could mean....in much the same way that I watch the analysts discuss the prospects of the upcoming NFL season. Former pros turned "analysts" and journalists are caressing their collective chin while scanning a multitude of factors to make the bold claim...namely that Team XYZ, in spite of current perceptions, is the "team to watch" or the "team to beat". See below for video.

Check out this video .

It shows two Democrats, including former DNC Chairman Don Fowler, laughing at the prospects of Hurrican Gustav hitting New Orleans during the GOP Convention.

God must favor the Democrats, says one of the slime balls.

Like I always say, It's all about the politics. It's all about the power. Nothing is sacred and all is fair game in the name of partisanship.

Pathetic. Video and more below the fold.

Steve Chapman of Reason looks at Obama and the prospects of Big Government. His premise is to look at Obama objectively and ask if libertarians should "fear" an Obama Presidency. Whether libertarians view the matter as Chapman does is another matter. But he does, nonetheless, make a case in favor of Obama...as many libertarian thinkers have.

Personally, I've been little warmer to Obama than McCain from the get-go for a variety of reasons, some of which Chapman cites.

Hat tip to Megan McArdle .

Microsoft is unveiling IE8, Internet Explorer 8, which has privacy feature for browsing than will hurt Google's main business: targeted search ads.

From the Financial Times :

Microsoft has unveiled its Internet Explorer 8 browser equipped with a privacy feature that could threaten the advertising model of web search rivals such as Google.

And when I say "Socialism", I'm not talking about the loose and overly applied generic version of the term that gets used...incorrectly I might add...to refer to any redistributive government action in the name of social welfare or justice. No, I'm talking about the economic system definition of the term which refers to centrally planned or administered market action in which the state and not individual and independent market participants dictate prices and, hence, the allocation of resources.

In the continuing a discussion about energy , I turn to a new Cato article on the future of energy.

I found this passage worth a mention to further buttress the point about uncertainty in energy (or anything for that matter) and the futility of trying to centrally plan based on the limitations of current knowledge:

Says Jerry Taylor of Cato:

Superb commentary at Cato by Patrick Basham on US relations with Russia at this crucial time.

Says Basham:

Washington's desire to lash out economically and diplomatically at Russian misbehaviour in the Caucasus is trumping rational thinking on the future of a vital strategic relationship.

I am currently hosting my so-called "French Sister". She is the youngest daughter in a family with whom I lived in France during my junior year of undergrad. It wasn't a pre-determined arrangement by some agency...just chance. I was studying and living in Avignon in my own apartment when I met a young man (through a mutual friend) at school who would become one of my best friends to this day.

The cost of energy is a big concern on people's minds and naturally figures heavily in the electoral rhetoric heading into November and it will only get heavier. But, of course, that's about all it will do. The blunt reality of it all is that nothing either McCain or Obama have in mind will lower energy costs in the short term....and pretty much for the longer term. This is of course is not really a shocking revelation to many but it does put on damper on the hopeful and uplifting feeling many will get when listening to their preferred candidate speak on the matter.

While Democrats of all kinds are humming along in upbeat fashion toward what they hope will be a triumphant return to the White House this fall, there's a very underdiscussed facet of it:

WHO exactly is on board in this wave toward hopeful victory and what exactly are they expecting?

I'm not enthused in any way about the fall election and for many, many, many reasons. The ham and jelly vs. peanut butter and cheese sandwich choices (from my POV anyway) when all I want is a damned "ham and cheese sandwich" leave me opting to skip lunch...so to speak. But, I guess all I can do is favor ham or cheese and tolerate the rest.

So, whether you want to label foreign policy "ham" or "cheese" is kind of irrelevant in the analogy but whichever it is is the one that matters more right now.

Hat tip to Arnold Kling who cites a great thought experiment from unqualified reservations . This experiment is right up my alley because it forms part of the bedrock of my perspective on society, progress and governance. I've touched on this general area of thinking in the past in various conversations and in many forms.

Hat tip to Mark Thoma .

subtitle:

"How Republicans Can Win the Working Class and Save the American Dream"

That's the new book by Ross Douthat and Reihan Salam.

Hat tip to Arnold Kling for pointing out this interesting article about a promising innovation that may help address our "peaky" oil problem.

The article's headline:

Scientists find bugs that eat waste and excrete petrol
Silicon Valley is experimenting with bacteria that have been genetically altered to provide 'renewable petroleum'

Stupid, stupid, stupid.

That about sums it up. In the last 24 hours, I have have had the unpleasant experience of being in a room listening to ignorant blather about gas prices and reading a dumb quote by McCain on food prices.

In one sense those terms can mean the same thing. It's common in water-cooler speak to imagine a scene where our gigantic military is scrutinized, defended and discussed.

High gas prices are undoubtedly and not surprisingly shooting to the top of the list of concerns for most people. Indeed, if you recall the NPR Poll cited in my previous blog entry, a look on pages 12-14 shows the polling data to back up what we all sense.