What’s good for the goose ?

It’s a story so painful I can’t write about it. Josh Powell, husband of two-years-missing Utah woman Susan, not only blew up the house with him and his two sons. Details coming out are even more horrific — if that’s possible. And the photo of him with his two trusting young sons sparks a heartbreak that will last my lifetime. Details here.

Officials of the Los Angeles School District have announced that they will replace the entire staff of a troubled school where two teachers were arrested on charges of lewd conduct. It is not yet clear if this move will be permanent or temporary. I do understand the need to protect children from potential predators as well as those who ignore the conduct. At the same time there are likely many innocent staffers...

Word just issued this morning that the 9th Circuit US Court Of Appeals will issue their ruling on Proposition 8 at 10am on Tuesday February 7th. This ruling will cover the issues of the Constitutionality of Proposition 8 as well as review the lower court opinion, the issues of standing and alleged bias on the part of Judge Walker. Whatever the ruling is it will be appealed and so the battle is far from over....

Have you ever wondered why economists get it wrong so often when it comes to predicting the direction of the economy, the stock market, and so many other matters economic and financial? Here’s the reason… The Problem With Economists An economist is a brilliant chap Who studies the markets hard and long, Which raises this question in many minds: Why is he much of the time so wrong? After giving this...

As I was pondering the elections this weekend I could not help but reflect that the Presidential race alone is expected to spend upwards of a one or two billion dollars. Add in the Congressional races and you get to perhaps three billion or more. And what will the result of all that spending be ? The most likely outcome is pretty much status quo. President Obama is very likely to be re-elected and the GOP is...

Daryl Cagle, MSNBC.com This copyrighted cartoon is licensed to run on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

For those starting to follow the campaign beyond the race for the White House, this is a nice guide to the current state of affairs.

Despite overwhelming evidence that the Syrian government has been brutalizing the people on the orders of President Assad, the Russian and Chinese ambasadors to the UN exercised their veto on a resolution calling for Assad to leave power. One wonders why a brutal dictatorship and a quasi dictatorship would oppose such a resolution….

According to a friend who lives in Nevada some relatively representative caucui went as follows Romney in first at around 50-55% Paul a distant second Gingrich a close third behind Paul Santorum in fourth with single digits. Will this be how the results pan out ? We shall see later tonight

Every four years we hear pundits proclaim that this could be one of the most significant elections in recent U.S. history. Usually it isn’t. The reason is that most of these elections pit two middle-of-the-road national parties with much the same views of government, give or take a few nuances, against one another, and the big decision for voters tends to involve one specific contemporary issue — not...

It’s been quite a week. It began with Mitt Romney declaring, “I’m not concerned about the very poor. We have a safety net there.” It ended with Caterpillar shutting down its locomotive plant in London, Ontario and moving operations to Indiana — two days after Governor Mitch Daniels signed legislation making Indiana a right to work state. It’s not that Caterpillar is in trouble....

Susan G. Komen Sadness By Doug Bursch I have a right to be sad. . . Pressure from the right, Pressure from the left. Nothing left unsaid. Everyone vilified, marginalized, and suspect. I suspect it will not get better, Until we all get our pound of flesh. Tearing the world apart, With our grand vision of a perfect nation. So much malignancy as we seek the cure. Doug blogs and tweets fairlyspiritual

Buddy Roemer, former governor of Louisiana and a former Congressman, received $100,000 in matching funds from the Federal Election Commission today. He was the first presidential candidate this year to apply for funds and be declared eligible, having raised over $340,000 so far. This compares to Mitt Romney’s bonanza of $56 million. Roemer has restricted donations to $100 or less, unlike other candidates....

Just breaking this morning that they have changed their minds.

This article was first published for U.S. News & World Report, under the title “Time for a Tea Party of the Left”. WASHINGTON – Here we are at the beginning of Pres. Obama’s reelection and what do we find? The Bush tax cuts that, back in 2008, candidate Obama pledged he’d fight to repeal, but which as president he extended. Considering not extending them began as his base...

With the increasing role Super PACs are playing in the 2012 Republican primaries, and will play in the general election, isn’t there some entity to police the donation of unlimited funds to these groups and make these donations more transparent? Theoretically, for awhile, there was; the Federal Election Commission (F.E.C.). Congress established the F.E.C. in 1974 as an independent regulatory agency. Its mission...

Changing the Republican party from within. That’s what he’s up to. Paul’s political ambitions become clearer on the ground in Nevada where his supporters have managed to work among the leaders of the state’s Republican party establishment. Four years ago, an angry and dispirited educational database expert named Carl Bunce walked out of Nevada’s state Republican convention after...

During an interview with CNN’s Soledad O’Brien, Mitt Romny offered this observation: “I’m not concerned about the very poor. We have a safety net there. If it needs repair, I’ll fix it. It was not the first part of this shabby comment that I found so odd. Why, after all, would a Republican candidate for president be concerned about the very poor? It was the part about fixing the...

Nate Beeler, The Washington Examiner One day after his massive — and massively purchased – victory over chief rival for the 2012 Republican nomination former House Speaker Newt Gingrich in Florida, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney cut short the positive news spin on his victory by making a gaffe that is a Chistmas, Hanuka, Kwanza, Easter, Birthday gift to Democrats: a gaffe fitting right into...

WASHINGTON – While the right was laying ground for what just happened, the left was giving ground. This Komen–Planned Parenthood relationship has long been a target of pro-life activists and, media bias aside, this appears to be a remarkable turning point. – Kathryn Lopez Kathryn Lopez is correct and the abortion rights opponents earned it. Democrats and progressives have no one to blame but themselves. Nothing...

Our political Quote of the Day comes from The Daily Beast’s John Avlon, who explains why the 2012 race for the Republican nomination is not over despite the blowout victory of mega-funded former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney over his chief rival, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich. Avlon begins his post with this: Yes, Mitt Romney had a big win in Florida last night. He’s won two of the first four...

Randall Enos, Cagle Cartoon This copyrighted cartoon is licensed to run on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. EDITOR’S NOTE: This cartoon refers to a recurring catch phrase in the hit 1950s TV sketch and later TV show “The Honeymooners,” the late Jackie Gleason’s masterpiece of comedy that is always at the top on lists of the best television comedy of all time. In it, blustery...

John King of CNN is reporting tonight that Mitt Romney will get a Secret Service detail within the next few days. It is unclear as to whether the protection was requested or not but the impression I got was that this is a decision by the Secret Service that he has reached the point that it is a proper decision.

small plus or minus. Sometimes, you wish you could sort of grind them all up like sausage taking the best of each and come out with one more diverse and solid person. And, it does not surprise that a proven family man overtakes a man who has family and many wives. How ironic that Mormons used to enact polygamy mainstream, and no longer except for the likes of felon Warren Jeffs, master child molester in his...