FU - FairAndUNbalanced.com

• Jack Jodell, at THE SATURDAY AFTERNOON POST, uses graphs, stats. and history to show why you really ARE paying too much in taxes.

• T. Paine's Saving Common Sense makes the point that problems can't all be solved by soaking the rich. Sadly, he obscures a legitimate point by wildly exaggerating the view of those with whom he disagrees. Building up a straw man, then triumphantly knocking him down.

• Chuck Thinks Right notices an archeological find. An ancient man buried as a woman would be buried in that culture. Speculation is divided on whether the 5,000 year old man was gay, was transgendered, or that the whole thing means nothing at all. Chuck, being Chuck, concludes that archeology is a waste.

• Vincent of A wayfarer's notes presents a pictorial essay including nature, housing, roads, in a summary of what it is to be human.

• Why do we have to do this, Sir? debates with students their proposition that the root of war is religion. Quran burning fanatics are presented by the teens as exhibit A.

• Extreme conservative FUNGAZI.COM considers the likelihood of Iran with nuclear weapons.

• Slant Right's John Houk tells us of the discovery of oil in Israel. Wow. Sadly, he quotes a former comic performer and current anti-environment activist as proof. What? Nobody else in Israel noticed?

• Nancy Hanks at The Hankster notes the rantings of a potential progressive third party candidate. Unlike 2000, it isn't Nader. But the siren song is the same. Last time it gave us the eight year long enlightened rule of Bush/Cheney/Rove. But, if at first you don't succeed, keep trying until everyone's life is miserable.

• Tommy Christopher of Mediaite is at his best when he skewers some media-sponsored falsehood or covers someone else who does. This time he takes on a bald-faced Foxer. Well done, Tommy.

• Ned Williams at Wisdom Is Vindicated is for defunding the controversial Planned Parenthood. I suppose, for some, cancer screening and contraceptives are a controversy.

• Holte Ender, who lives delightfully in Mad Mike's America discovers another reason for John Boehner's tears and untrustworthy negotiating. Seems he's a frightened victim of constant bullying.

• Tim McGaha at Tim's Thoughtful Spot applies space flight ad absurdum to GOP government shutdown.

• James Wigderson waxes sarcastic on the latest electoral screw up in Wisconsin. They lost, but found, an entire city?.

This weekend, we must contemplate how the Republican campaign against women's health and Planned Parenthood connects to the promised laser-like focus on jobs. Give up? So do we all.

• Holte Ender, at Mad Mike's America, finds a reprise of Hitchcock with a vicious butterfly attack. Hilarious.

• Extreme conservative FUNGAZI.COM is funnier than a butterfly attack as he uses Earth Hour for a launching point on political symbolism. After laughing myself silly, I thought about the deeper truth, as expressed by analyst Steven Wright: If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate.

• James Wigderson finds something to congratulate Wisconsin's Governor about. He'll make you pay three dollars extra in taxes if you want to publicly fund campaigns.

• Why do we have to do this, Sir? manages to survive another teenage field trip with sanity (nearly) intact.

• Max's Dad brings an important, voiceless message from an 8th grade girl about words Eloquent.

• Tommy Christopher of Mediaite knows his French. We know this because, when he's heard it all before, he gets a sense of déjà écouté, which is extreme enough to actually become Proustian (no kidding!). He recounts a running feud among bedfellows. Keith Olbermann and Bill O'Reilly !?! square off against Ted Koppel. Political filmmaker Robert Greenwald and Fox spokespersonage Rich White somehow get into the mix, which Tommy summarizes as a la carte cable, which is also French and much funnier in context. This is not Tommy's best, but he is generally more entertaining on his worst day than ... well ... me. Read him here. By the way, I like Tommy's French sampler. It gives me a sense of Chevrolet é Coupé.

• Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) says something silly. Ned Williams at Wisdom Is Vindicated decides it just isn't silly enough, so he falsely quotes her. Ned has had several very good moments. This isn't one of them.

• Tim McGaha at Tim's Thoughtful Spot is host to a new sport. Chessboxing. Documented by video, which Andrew Breitbart teaches us can always be trusted.

• Manifesto Joe of Texas Blues looks at the anti-Labor PAC called the GOP and finds a solution. Voters should - how to put it ? - VOTE.

• Nancy Hanks at The Hankster just got her Art History Degree. She celebrates with a few political cartoons (amusing) and then tacks on skyline views of New York at dusk. Beautiful. Oh Come on and click. Like two compelling posts in one.

• Jack Jodell, at THE SATURDAY AFTERNOON POST, looks into the history books and finds breathtaking stories of courage.

• Chuck Thinks Right doesn't care for AARP but is has absolutely, positively nothing to to with their politics. Honest it doesn't.

• T. Paine's Saving Common Sense put's Obama's excursion in Libya on trial and finds it unconstitutional.

• Chuck Thinks Right thinks it's wrong that a safety drill portrayed a fictional conservative shooter. Chuck Thinks Right is ... well ... right.

• Tim McGaha at Tim's Thoughtful Spot tells us of the interactions of Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis in a dramatic narrative of exactly 150 years ago.

• Jack Jodell, friend of the working blogger, has an angry but funny piece at THE SATURDAY AFTERNOON POST. Jack is getting a little, okay a lot, fed up with television advertising. Now for a word from our spons-aggrgg.

• Vincent of A wayfarer's notes has fallen in love with the Kindle Reader. This is more than an endorsement. Beautifully written, joyful ode to a product.

• The Mind of Bryan Lee Peterson narrates a fun time at a Chicago comics convention. The kind you buy off news racks.

• Nancy Hanks at The Hankster has questions about the Coffee Party.

• Extreme conservative FUNGAZI.COM opposes the Obama action in Libya. "What the heck are we doing in Libya when we already have a war going on in Iraq and another in Afghanistan?" Sounds like a reason to get out of Iraq and Afghanistan.

• Slant Right's John Houk, on behalf of himself and all other "Biblically Moral" folks promotes the never ending fight against gay people. I dunno. I wonder if John might be confusing morality with moralism. It is possible that the occasional Biblically Moral individual, the one who gazes in the mirror and sees a saint, may have a reflection looking back at a prig.

• Remember Susan Boyle, the sudden talent show and YouTube star? Mad Mike's America has a provocative piece challenging the reasons she is adored. It's written by ... oh my.

• James Wigderson doesn't like the fact that a candidate for Supreme Court Judge (they're elected?) in Wisconsin is campaigning on a platform of union rights. In Wisconsin? How shocking.

• Tommy Christopher Mediaite has strong opinions after an Oklahoma Republican attacks state Firefighters for briefly flashing the Oklahoma City bombing in a television ad. Tommy comes down on the side of ... well read it to see.

• Manifesto Joe of Texas Blues catches Texas Young Republicans in a demonstration of the famous three levels of disinformation: lies, damn lies, and epic Götterdämmerung level lies. This set concerns school personnel.

• At Why do we have to do this, Sir? our favorite erstwhile spiritual leader is driven berserk by classroom of teens on a field trip.

• T. Paine's Saving Common Sense pays homage to a mythical speech by a mythical principal written by conservative Dennis Prager. Many of us know Prager as an anti-Muslim conservative activist who also denigrates equality as an unAmerican European value. The fictional principal is pretty strict until the last paragraph, where he okays smoking, coffee, and sexual harassment. Oh. He's against sex education. Okay, school's out.

• SJ at RANDOM THOUGHTS has developed a low opinion of credit reporting agencies after all too common encounters of the third kind.

• Holte Ender, living in Mad Mike's America, takes note of a blog writer who transcends all blogs, Jack Jodell. Holte likes Jack's idea of fighting for change through Democratic primaries with a sort of subset political party.

• Extreme conservative FUNGAZI.COM starts with a reasonable observation that public servants should not expect to retire in fabulous wealth. He then proceeds on the assumption that this, in fact, typically happens.

• ...which assumption Manifesto Joe of Texas Blues completely deconstructs by way of Jon Stewart.

• Our favorite John Myste at Mysterious Things offers a critical review of the creation of existence by God. His conclusion: a set of design flaws was caused by a lack of quality control. Reminds me of the late Carl Sagan's comment: "In order to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first create the universe."

• Vincent of A wayfarer's notes has found an influential 20th century philosopher most non-philosophers haven't heard about and gives credit where due. No claim is made about apple pie.

• Problem child Tommy Christopher, writing for Mediaite fawns over the wit and wisdom of Andrew Breitbart of misleading video fame. Poor Shirley Sherrod is gone and forgotten by the middling mind of Tommy. Breitbart is "nothing if not quotable" he giggles appreciatively.

• Chuck Thinks Right gets a bit ticked at Hillary Clinton for comments about Tunisia until Tommy's pretty, witty, and wise smear artist, Andrew Breitbart, pats Chuck on the head and tells him it's okay. Then he sees her point.

• James Wigderson celebrated St. Patrick's Day with an excerpt from the short story that inspired one of the best John Wayne movies ever.

• Jack Jodell, friend of the working blogger, has angry research at THE SATURDAY AFTERNOON POST documenting that income disparity is married to power disparity.

• Why do we have to do this, Sir? notes a note from the school librarian with an unexpected conclusion.

• Gwendolyn Barry with New Global Myth discovers, by way of very effective and entertaining video, an invitation to go against the tide, and a celebration of those in history who have done just that.

• Nancy Hanks at The Hankster tells of a districting plan in NYC designed to erase independence from political parties. She seems to be somewhat opposed. Apparently she is not alone.

• Conservative T. Paine's Saving Common Sense rolls up everything he doesn't like, calls it Moral Relativism, and casts it as Satan's plot to justify the euthanasia of grandmothers everywhere. Even T. Paine's mushiest thinking makes for entertaining reading. Yeah, he's that good. Reminds me of a piece I once saw somewhere (Okay, it was here and I wrote it) that included a comment by the 19th century French poet, Charles Pierre Baudelaire: The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he doesn’t exist.

• Ned Williams at Wisdom Is Vindicated slaps around Jalen Rose for referring to a groundbreaking basketball team of two decades ago as Uncle Toms. Ned makes a good point, then muddies it a little with a concluding comment: "America's in trouble race-relations-wise and in general as long as 'being black' means what Jalen Rose seemingly thinks it does." Actually, America has been in trouble race-relations-wise and in general, and white racism has more to do with it than Ned seems to acknowledge.

• Tim McGaha at Tim's Thoughtful Spot notices a great leap in human knowledge as a spacecraft begins it's orbit around Mercury. Amazing video included.

• Slant Right's John Houk makes the case that an anti-Muslim law against Sharia is desperately needed because the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States is not enough. His evidence is a ruling by a local judge in New Jersey a couple of years ago which was overturned because of ... wait for it ... the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. Anyone who discovers a flaw in John's reasoning gets to leave class early.

• Extreme conservative FUNGAZI reveals why he is regarded as an extremely able writer, in an in depth exploration of public sector unions. He begins sympathetically, then gradually takes the reader to his anti-union conclusion. Worth reading, if only for technique.

• James Wigderson considers the stripping of public sector unions of their ability to negotiate benefits. Republicans insist the measure was completely legal because it because it had nothing to do with anything budgetary. James agrees it was completely legal. Besides, it was necessary for budgetary reasons. I sense some sort of flaw in his reasoning.

• Ned Williams at Wisdom Is Vindicated defends against the charge that conservatives embrace Jesus, but go against his teachings. He goes on to blast us lefties for our willingness to "expand government at the expense of liberty." An interesting argument, made even more interesting as Ned abandons it completely when it comes to government banning marriage equality.

• Jack Jodell at THE SATURDAY AFTERNOON POST explores the meaning of Ash Wednesday, focusing on individual actions in the spirit of Lent. Would Ned Williams approve?

• Slant Right's John Houk is enthused about Congressional Committees putting Muslims on trial for being Muslims. After all, we should protect ourselves from these terrorists, right?

• Nancy Hanks at The Hankster is a bit put off by a South Carolina lawsuit to keep independents from voting in party primaries.

• Gwendolyn Barry with New Global Myth paused during Mardi Gras to consider the slow but sure recovery of New Orleans.

• Even before Fox News viewers began skewing surveys on education by statistical displays of ignorance of basic facts, public perception of foreign aid has been way off the mark. Ordinary folks rank foreign aid as about 24 percent of the US budget on average. In reality the figure is a little under one percent. In recent years the US has slipped to 12th in the world in foreign aid as a percentage of GDP. But T. Paine of Saving Common Sense will set things straight, right? Well, Not so much.

• Manifesto Joe of Texas Blues takes a look at Texas Republicans' unusual approach to education. Deny that mass layoffs of teachers have anything to do with lack of funding.

• Tim McGaha at Tim's Thoughtful Spot tells us who is the best bet to be President after the next election, by looking at how bettors are betting.

• At Why do we have to do this, Sir? our favorite future spiritual leader finds that young students have unusual approaches to the classic theological First Cause Argument.

• Oso, in Mad Mike's America, tells us about a Mexican police chief who flees the forces of drug evil, seeking refuge in the united States.

• Chuck Thinks Right ponders teachers struggling to reach kids, and finds a question in his heart.

• At Mediaite, Tommy Christopher raises the racially charged history of one conservative activist James O’Keefe, while looking for something, anything, nice to say about another, smear artist Andrew Breitbart. He finally settles on Breitbart deserving credit "for being willing to surround himself with liberals".

• At RANDOM THOUGHTS MyCue23 takes aim at some administration critics as absolutists.

• Our favorite John Myste at Mysterious Things criticizes me for being too gentlemanly. He's not even sarcastic. He also names me as one of his favorite bloggers, while neglecting to provide a link. Guy can't get a break these days. Fortunately, he does stop by here to unleash his biting wit.

• Gwendolyn Barry with New Global Myth protests a bill against protest in Israel, if the protest involves a boycott.

• Why do we have to do this, Sir? rejects one subliminal message.

• At Mediaite, Tommy Christopher manages to get us past sadness and well into actual anger on behalf of Charlie Sheen. Good piece of thoughtful writing. Tempts me to change my opinion of Tommy.

• Stimpson, who dwells in Mad Mike's America, proves that celebrities who do more than dabble can provoke real change.

• Manifesto Joe of Texas Blues regards claims that Michele Bachmann is Sarah Palin with a brain and just can't shake his skepticism.

• James Wigderson sees a bomb threat against union busting Governor Walker as typical of us violence prone lefties.

• Max's Dad, on the other hand, finds as his examples elected officials ranting to a screaming crowd against a group of Muslims, as the Muslims raise money for America's homeless.

• Jack Jodell, friend of the working blogger, at THE SATURDAY AFTERNOON POST mourns the passing of a boyhood idol.

• Sounds of New Orleans takes note that a lot of us don't sleep well these days.

• Nancy Hanks at The Hankster gives a thumbs down to Massachusetts as Democrats strike a blow for partisan gerrymandering.

• Tim McGaha at Tim's Thoughtful Spot proves with videos that rocket science really IS rocket science.

• Extreme conservative FUNGAZI.COM hates, hates, hates a free speech decision that he reluctantly concludes is right, right, right.

• Chuck Thinks Right considers the effects of social media and finds at least some to be destructive and dangerous.

• At Saving Common Sense, conservative T. Paine rages at the Obama administration for not defending the Defense of Marriage Act in court. One extremely well informed comment is published in dissent. Oh gosh, it was by me. Also entertaining is a civil on-line dialogue between T. Paine and JMyste which, sadly, does not descend into the dreamed for food fight.

• Ned Williams at Wisdom Is Vindicated points out that a Georgia bill, that would throw a woman into prison for experiencing a miscarriage, might be wrongheaded. He also anticipates that lefties might seize on it to "prove" the absurdities of current positions of right-to-life. Actually, that ship has sailed.

• Slant Right's John Houk, who has been screaming opposition to the overthrow of governments in the middle east as a leftist plot, is now angry about the hypocrisy about main stream media's failure to report atrocities by authorities resisting revolution. It's the Qadafi effect possibly combined with the all too human reluctance to admit when we are wrong. We all partake of that vice, don't we?

• Chuck Thinks Right takes an Obama quote out of context, "I won. So I think on that one, I trump you." and thinks he's scored a huge point. In fact, within days after taking office, Obama had just expressed openness to an Eric Cantor presentation, "Eric, I don't see anything crazy here." He did point out that there would be differences in ideological approaches, and added (Here's Chuck's big score) "I won. So I think on that one, I trump you." Republicans told reporters they were impressed with Obama's bipartisan approach. Here's the context that, for some strange reason, escaped Chuck's notice. How odd.

• Nancy Hanks at The Hankster presents a credible study showing open primaries reduce polarization.

• At Slant Right, poor John Houk embraces a false dichotomy, equating anything other than unregulated capitalism with Marxism. Since Marxism killed millions, this proves unions should be driven to extinction. Oh my.

• Ned Williams at Wisdom Is Vindicated, offers his take on union-busting. He proposes rank majoritarianism, arguing that, whenever conservatives gain even a momentary majority, they should be able to deprive others of rights without these bothersome obstructions. The same case might be made for depriving gays of basic rights. Of course Ned would never do that, right?

• James Wigderson decries bogus comparisons of opponents to Hitler, but echoes the call for legislative majority rule when it comes to dismantling unions in Wisconsin. He argues that it is a necessary step to solving budget shortfalls. James neglects to mention that unions had agreed to all the governor's budget demands, leaving only the dismantling of the unions themselves as an issue. Now why would James not mention this? Lack of space, perhaps.

• Max's Dad explains why conservative scapegoating of unions tries his patience.

• Manifesto Joe of Texas Blues does not much care for historical revisionism concerning President Reagan, or when it comes to much of anything else.

• Tim McGaha at Tim's Thoughtful Spot takes a close look at the earliest decisions of the seceding states and explodes one or two enduring myths about history along the way.

• Michael Scott at Mad Mike's America examines the widespread scandal of exposing children to violent, hate filled literature. One book he has in mind is The Holy Bible.

• Jack Jodell, at THE SATURDAY AFTERNOON POST, reads the scriptures and discovers the prototypical liberal.

• At Why do we have to do this, Sir? our favorite erstwhile spiritual leader discovers why he must never again tweet without his glasses.

• The Mind of Bryan Lee Peterson relates yet another instance of his fictional writing becoming true. This fellow Bryan is turning out to be one scary guy.

In 1998 an email alert went around the world. Alabama had passed a law redefining pi, the mathematical relationship between the diameter and circumference of a circle. It's used in everything from construction to aerospace. Problem is it's an irrational number. You can never write it out exactly in decimal, binary, or any other numbering system. If you ever try to write it out, you'd better pack a lunch cause it'll take you forever. It has an infinite number of digits. It's so inconvenient, there oughta be a law.

Besides, the Bible defines pi in the First Book of Kings. Solomon commanded the construction of a huge vessel where priests could clean their hands. "Then he made the molten sea (that'd be the vessel); it was round, ten cubits from brim to brim, and five cubits high, and a line of thirty cubits measured its circumference." So ten cubits across and thirty around, and there's your ratio. Pi is defined by the Bible as 3.0, right? And since everyone in Alabama knows the Bible was written directly by God, it can't be wrong. So let the law be passed, pi is now declared to be 3.0. If buildings crumble and planes fall from the sky, let God's will be done.

Problem with the story is it never happened. Alabama never considered, let alone passed, such a law. The story was originally written as an April Fool's parody and was published by NMSR Reports. It went viral, emailed and re-mailed as an authentic story. The arguments were so similar to those actually used by creationists that it seemed believable.

The story did contain some element of truth in another context, though.

There was a similar bill that really was passed in 1897 by the legislature of Indiana. A legislator handed a copy of the bill to a visiting professor and asked if he would like to meet the sponsor. The professor "replied that he was already acquainted with as many crazy people as he cared to know." He did hold overnight sessions educating enough politicians so that the house bill never got through the Indiana state Senate. It was laughed off the agenda. Indiana owes a lasting debt of gratitude to Professor Clarence Abiathar Waldo of Purdue University.

You would have thought the war on science would have been over when cigarettes were determined to cause cancer. A lot of industry CEOs perjured themselves before Congress, insisting they could see no causal connection between smoking and the Big C. What a bunch of wusses.

If they had shown the creativity of today's Montana state government, they would have added that cancer is really beneficial to a smoker's health. House Bill 549 got its first reading in the Montana state legislature on Friday. It finally acknowledges that global warming is a fact. There is simply too much evidence to deny that without looking too silly, even for science deniers. The proposed law declares global warming to be a good thing, "beneficial to the welfare and business climate of Montana." Reaction from scientists ranges from laughter to outrage. Imagine passing a state law to repeal the effects of climate catastrophe.

It would never be considered in Alabama, except in an April Fool's joke.

• Manifesto Joe of Texas Blues highlights the highlights of the Presidency of Ronald Reagan.

• James Wigderson is proud, real proud, of President Reagan.

• Health site Sounds of New Orleans reports the number of strokes is increasing while the age of victims is dropping.

• David Everitt-Carlson of The Wild Wild East Dailies in Vietnam says the road to something better than Hell may be made of good intentions. He's found an experimental site.

• Slant Right's John Houk is suspicious of Egyption democracy because of how anti-Muslim activist Pamela Geller instructs her band of avid followers which, sadly, includes John.

• Conservative Ned Williams at Wisdom Is Vindicated doesn't care for President Obama, but says he did well against a rude self-important Bill O'Reilly. Huh?

• An unknown author is posted at MadMike's America. The writer doesn't try to promote atheism, specifically with his own children, because atheism just comes naturally to thinking people.

• Nancy Hanks at The Hankster posts personal stories from individual citizens about their travels to political independence.

• The Mind of Bryan Lee Peterson finds yet again that what he writes today becomes tomorrow's headline. I've asked him to write about a Missouri political blogger who wins the Lotto, but he has yet to grant this one small favor.

• Our favorite John Myste at Mysterious Things relates a heartwarming story about wisdom learned from his fraudulent grandfather about coins and conservatism. I'm a sucker for wisdom from tricky sages about conservative theory. Besides, Myste is a remarkably entertaining writer.

• Gwendolyn Barry with New Global Myth is down, down, DOWN on Arianna Huffington for selling ... well ... out, out, OUT.

• Legend Mag, the Independent Life site, likes a promotional gimmick by Amazon that will feed the hungry.

• Jack Jodell, friend of the working blogger, at THE SATURDAY AFTERNOON POST, shares his travel photos. No, wait, they're actually quite interesting, snapshots of everyday people of Cuba.

• At Why do we have to do this, Sir? our favorite future spiritual leader serves as unintentional straight man to a classroom of 13 year olds.

• Max's Dad loved this year's Super Bowl and was less than impressed with a few of the artfully attired fans.

• Chuck Thinks Right asks readers to sort out the idea of the husband of Congressional Representative Gabrielle Giffords returning to space while the victim of attempted assassination is still recovering.

• Max's Dad has found a good indicator of who lost Egypt.

• Nancy Hanks at The Hankster brings us William J. Kelleher to present the case that political parties are Un-American.

• Jack Jodell, at THE SATURDAY AFTERNOON POST, waxes huge on his visit to Cuba.

• Ned Williams at WisdomIsVindicated goes Breitbart with a video exposing Planned Parenthood. His busy schedule keeps him from clicking any of several sites exposing the exposé as fraudulent, relying on heavily doctored videos. Poor Ned was duped.

• Why do we have to do this, Sir? examines the meaning of salt, today and when Jesus walked the earth.

• Slant Right's John Houk insists that Islam must not be tolerated in the West because ... well ... Muslims are so intolerant. Innocent John suspects no irony in his position.

• MadMike's Michael John Scott regards Christianity as a danger to the world and documents his feeling with a fascinating video. Regarding dangerous Christians, Michael couldn't be referring to ME . . . uh . . . could he?

• James Wigderson is irritated that the Democratic Party is in the Super Bowl. Wow.

• David Everitt-Carlson of The Wild Wild East Dailies in Vietnam remembers the music, politics, and war of 1972. Especially the music.

• Manifesto Joe of Texas Blues watches the painful melting away of the Tea Party.

• RANDOM THOUGHTS examines the travails of Teacherhood.

• Extreme conservative FUNGAZI.COM rants about US foreign aid to Arab nations.

• a at Tim's Thoughtful Spot gets past Palin and examines why Sputnik was actually important.

• Chuck Thinks Right asks why the misleading peddler of a gold souvenir isn't facing jail time. There oughtta be a law (but there isn't).

• A liberal blogger gets mad, then refuses to be baited by me. Rats.

They ANIMATED this?
Next season: Secrets of mowing your lawn and then getting your mail

• At RANDOM THOUGHTS, SJ remembers the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King.

• Sounds of New Orleans brings us a hopeful development after the Tucson murders.

• Manifesto Joe of Texas Blues tells us about the results of the state legislature's mistrust of simple arithmetic.

• James Wigderson didn't like President Obama's SOTU. Too long, not conservative enough.

• Dusty Taylor at Mad Mike's America doesn't much care for the new GOP definition of rape. Seems little girls molested and impregnated by adults don't count. Republicans argue the children consent to it. Has to do with preventing abused kids from getting abortions.

• David Everitt-Carlson of The Wild Wild East Dailies in Vietnam explains why advertisers have a problem with Facebook.

• Why do we have to do this, Sir? examines the goofy way most churches treat staff.

• Chuck Thinks Right rightly objects to claims by Representative Jim Moran (D-VA) that racism is the reason Democrats lost last November. All this time I thought it had something to do with the economy.

• Legend Mag, the Independent Life site promotes an event in February: a national conference of independent voters. Organized Independents? I dunno. Sounds like jumbo shrimp, or Michele Bachmann on the Intelligence Committee.

• Nancy Hanks at The Hankster notices that voters like Independents, and politicians don't. She wonders why.

• Tim McGaha at Tim's Thoughtful Spot remembers in poetry those who died in exploration of space.

• Max's Dad laments the tossing of Olbermann. My take here.

• Ned Williams at WisdomIsVindicated doesn't care for an independent judiciary.

• Gwendolyn Barry with New Global Myth sees revolution brewing in the Arab world and credits the hopey changey thing to internet technology. You know she could well be right.

• Slant Right's John Houk laments Obama's refusal to support police beating of protesters in Egypt.

• Our favorite John Myste at Mysterious Things finds empathy for economic hardship.

• Jack Jodell, at THE SATURDAY AFTERNOON POST, journeys to Havana to see Cuba for himself.

Have a safe weekend. Pray for someone in pain. A lot of them out there this week, despite an economy sputtering back to life.

• Max's Dad presents what I take to be a dispassionate analysis of the current image of the Republican Party, by way of video.

• Nancy Hanks at The Hankster wonders if the White House is avoiding independent voters.

• Slant Right's John Houk defends Sarah Palin's use of "Blood Libel". He has a point, blunted a bit by using the wit and wisdom of Ann Coulter to make it.

• Tim McGaha at Tim's Thoughtful Spot weighs in, obliquely, on the historical controversy of whether President Buchanan was guilty of provoking the Civil War through inaction or rash preemptiveness in supplying Fort Sumter. He looks at a last second abortive attempt at compromise and why it failed.

• Jack Jodell, friend of the working blogger, at THE SATURDAY AFTERNOON POST considers age old reactions to an ancient tactic that has become entrenched as contemporary Republican strategy.

• Why do we have to do this, Sir? contemplates the reaction of the church to an independent spirit.

• Ned Williams at WisdomIsVindicated looks to a kid's game to prove what he believes the Tea Party actually stands for: that life is a zero sum game. Time to make people lose at life.

• Gwendolyn Barry with New Global Myth examines the nonviable linguistic structure of PalinSpeak. Interesting analysis.

• At Chuck Thinks Right, Chuck is shocked, just shocked, at welfare costs generated by illegal aliens. He's so shocked he lacks the strength to click over to snopes to find it's a hoary old myth. False. Untrue.

• David Everitt-Carlson of The Wild Wild East Dailies in Vietnam discovers that, while Obama may not be JFK, Michelle is Jackie.

• At RANDOM THOUGHTS, MyCue notes that Obama is also no MLK and explains why that has to be.

• James Wigderson is annoyed at bloggers who are quick to write but don't bother to ask questions. Is he right? I certainly don't question it.

• At Mad Mike's America, friend John Myste visits trial by court.