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- At first, I didn't want to read too much into the political beliefs of the gentleman in New Hampshire who felt the need to bring a concealed weapon to Barack Obama's town hall event, but after seeing his interview on the Chris Matthews show, it seems relevant to ask, why do these people believe civilians need to be armed at all times? Do they not trust the police to enforce the law? Are they preparing for the imminent government takeover of our private lives? Are they merely equipping themselves for the daily street duels which are a regular feature of our modern lives? A little help, please.
- I don't expect much from The Wall Street Journal, but the notion that Barack Obama is a "micromanager" who pays too much attention to detail is incredibly insulting. After our experience with George Bush, how can anyone argue that it's not refreshing to have someone in the Oval Office who actually cares about the details of public policy and makes decisions after getting input from his advisers? Please, disagree with the president's decisions on the merits, but spare me whines about him being too smart to be president.
- I try to ignore talk about who's going to be running in the 2012 presidential race because what will be salient in the election year is not likely to be salient now. That being said, I cannot remain silent about speculation that Rick Santorum is gearing up for a run in three years' time. This would be the same Rick Santorum who compared the war in Iraq to the battle for Middle Earth. The same Rick Santorum who believes birth control is "harmful to women and society." The same Rick Santorum who believes consenting adults do not have a constitutional right to private sexual acts. Make my day, Ricky. Throw your hat in the ring.
- I've often said that an article of faith amongst conservatives is their belief that radicalism is solely the province of the left wing. Well, handbooks for radicals aside, it's telling that one writer at The Weekly Standard thought it necessary to distinguish "real" hate crimes -- e.g. lefties desecrating crosses -- from "fake" hate crimes: "It's possible that a neo-Nazi actually vandalized Rep. Scott's offices. But given the fact that the Nazi imagery so neatly dovetails with the left's smearing of health-care protesters as fascists, isn't it more likely that this act of vandalism was committed by one of Scott's supporters?" Good lord, haven't these people ever heard of Occam's Razor?
- Town Hall Wingnut Roundup: The inevitable "Death to Obama" sign shows up; a Republican congressman thinks Democrats are going to declare "martial law"; the guv'mint's secret plan to inject us with syphilis; why bother deporting illegal immigrants when you can just murder them; and the birthers are becoming indistinguishable from the health care protesters;
- Remainders: I never realized how insane Orly Taitz was until I read this; a Social Security overhaul is a first-term priority; state legislatures are increasingly dominated by Democrats; never trust op-eds that begin by quoting Margaret Thatcher; and Niall Ferguson needs to develop a thicker skin.
--Mori Dinauer
