FU - FairAndUNbalanced.com

The Heathen Republican offers clear and reasonable arguments as to why conservatives should steer clear of right wing alternative parties when they cast their votes for President. I think most voters cast their ballots strategically, going for the major party candidate closest to their own views. Those who see no difference between the two are in a brotherhood of sorts, sharing two great characteristics. They carry great enough numbers in a close election to throw it to a candidate who might not otherwise win. And, in not seeing a dimes worth of difference, they are typically delusional.

Manifesto Joe of Texas Blues makes yet another walk into shear repetitive drudgery into a delight as he deconstructs the ghastly zombie arguments of birtherism, the never say die foil-hat belief that Barack Obama is an illegal alien born outside the United States. The whole point of the show-me-your-papers movement is that the President is the other, alien to real America, hostile to the core of American values. Clint Eastwood debating the chair, bless his heart, represented the hard core of contemporary American conservatism as he berated an imaginary Obama visible only to Republicans.

Infidel 753 notes that this has been a jaw dropping time in Republican news, and summarizes the strange week in ConservoLand, beginning with a visual that illustrates pretty much everything and ending with a video worth reading through to watch.

Nancy Hanks at The Hankster is irritated at President Obama's calls for bipartisanship. He is ignoring non-partisans.

S.W. Anderson at Oh!pinion wishes President Obama's convention speech had included the case for more Democrats in Congress. Like more votes can mean less obstruction. Like more votes can mean more jobs.

T. Paine, at Saving Common Sense, carries a touching remembrance of the 9/11 attacks, with a focus on the healing that followed and still continues.

Tommy Christopher of Mediaite fame, often points out the cynical balance of false equivalency in today's journalism. All criticism must be carefully proportioned, based on equal division rather than truth. But this time, he finds a rare instance of a dishonest politician who gets called on it during an interview.

Big Bad Bald Bastard (wow) at Rumproast pushes back at eleven years of partisan conservative abuse of 9/11. I understand, but my target is a little broader, I think.

Dave Dubya looks at the evidence that has come forth about the same tragic event and amplifies based on what we know now that was not so clear 11 years ago.

Mitt Romney is not the only one using falsehoods to politicize the assassination of an ambassador and the deaths of members of his staff. At News Corpse Mark documents a parallel disrespectful effort by Fox News. Blatant and shameful.

Erin Nanasi at Mad Mike's America joins in, beginning with an actual, unbelievable FOX headline that attempts to take political advantage of deadly tragedy.

It isn't just Fox. James Wigderson, without mentioning Mitt Romney, repeats the Romney allegations of 9/11. "Rather than be outraged by this behavior" (SIC) The assassination of the ambassador had not yet occurred. "...the American embassy in Egypt issued a statement apologizing" (SIC) "to offended Muslims..." There was no apology for American free speech, merely a distaste for the abuse of freedom, offered in an attempt to calm the situation before it could escalate into violence. "Such is the mentality of President Obama’s (SIC) foreign policy." Let's see. When James criticizes the President for apologizing in response to the violence and violation of the embassy walls there is some inexactitude. There was no apology, the statement was made before the protests became violent, and it didn't come from Obama. Other than that, James is right to attack the President for what he didn't do or say in response to what hadn't yet happened.

President Obama not only did not apologize, he implicitly threatened Egyptian leaders (not an ally, but not an enemy... which one they become depends on how they respond to this and their attitude toward Israel) in public, during a television interview, and apparently was quite explicit in a long telephone conversation. Egyptian authorities immediately developed a spine regarding violation of embassy walls. Libya had already apologized and began cooperating with American authorities in a manhunt for the perpetrators. It is sad when partisans react reflexively at tragedy, seeing only the political opportunity that can come from falsehoods.

The possibility wouldn't have occurred to me, but Chuck Thinks Right has found a new way for conservative partisans to score political points from the deaths in the Middle East. He ponders whether the President was right to have gotten any sleep during the days and nights of protests and subsequent violence. I guess the new theory is that better decisions are made by those who have been sleepless for a long time. Don't laugh. It could explain the Romney reaction.

Julian Sanchez documents some of the objections to government intrusion that resulted in the fourth amendment were a bit less noble than is generally recognized. Social snobbery was more than a fringe factor. He wishes a touch less respect for authority was possible in today's debates. I dunno. I'd just as soon confine references to "jack booted thugs", as the NRA refers to some federal officers, to those calm discussions of the second amendment to which we have become accustomed.

Gwendolyn Barry is finally back (Yay-y-y-y) with New Global Myth and a new, very impressive, blog design, She brings with her the Rolling Stones set to a door gunner's view of war from a Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk in a Rock and Roll and Combat video.

The two most troublesome facts of life for thoughtful people of faith are evil in the world and evil in ourselves. I regard as a failure of character that my faith has been less troubled than others by the horrors outside my window. My challenge has been the sometime evils and occasional emptiness in my own heart. Atheist PZ Myers, writing for Pharyngula, introduces us to Ruthy, who articulates as well as anyone the crushing of faith by pain and death of natural disaster. No easy answer occurs to me.

At Why do we have to do this, Sir? our favorite intrepid spiritual leader develops a learning concept called silent reading, and has a class more devoted to not so silent discussion of the silent idea.