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- Sen. John Thune (R-SD) is mighty confused about deficit reduction, suggesting that we should reduce the deficit by 10 percent every year. Perhaps if Thune had majored in philosophy instead of earning an MBA, he would be aware of Zeno's Dichotomy Paradox, whereby reducing the distance between yourself and a goal by a fixed percent leads to infinite steps, never fully reaching the goal.
- Matt Yglesias writes, "I think it’s genuinely too bad that so much of the right-wing’s energy is dedicated to idiotic made-up stuff" and lists several examples. My question is why the right-wing is so obsessed with nonexistent conspiracies. Let's set aside "paranoid style" explanations and ask what the actors have to gain by advocating fringe beliefs. For some conservative media personalities, there's every incentive to milk the wingnuts for personal gain. There's also base mobilization in an election year, but the side effect is that it could actually help Democrats.
- Evan McMorris-Santoro interviews mosque protester Diane Serafin, and the result is a fascinating peek into a delusional mind. For example: "They [local government officials] feel there's religious freedom. And I know it's there in the Constitution and everything, but everything I read says Islam is a political movement." This would-be "political movement" Serafin believes is making headway in instituting Sharia law "in every Christian city." Well, at least we know Serafin's ideas haven't penetrated the broader conservative movement ... oh wait.
- Remainders: Introducing the Pennometer; never underestimate the ability of Congress to come up with creative ways to trivially increase revenues; Obama, like all presidents, pretends to "not care" what the polls say, spends lavishly on them; and they're called "glibertarians" because there's a silver lining to everything.
-- Mori Dinauer
