Odds and Ends

She's got the odds in the end

Ever niggardly with the leniency, President Bush pardons only two of the millions of eligible American turkeys. By contrast, liberal President Bill Clinton pardoned dozens, making Bush look like a piker.

Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning drops out of the race for Senator Chuck Hagel's awful Senate seat. I guess it won't be too difficult to rally behind a mild-mannered, well-behaved Republican like Mike Johanns. Mike's platform: Coming Soon. Look for more on Leavenworth Street.

Barack Hussein Obama admits being 'wasted' on drugs, but only when he was Barry Obama, a young white man. If Barry's dope fiend and alcoholic days were the mud that Hillary Clinton hasn't been threatening to sling, then she will have to come up with something else. Its getting harder for pols to take the high road these days. Except for Barry, who now admits to more time spent on the high road than even Hillary's Bill, who "never inhaled".
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Medical insurance isn't the same thing as a medical plan. Insurance is a hedge against perils. Your homeowner's insurance specifically excludes ordinary maintenance and repairs. Health insurance shouldn't pay for similar medical expenses; growing old and suffering from the consequences of ill-advised lifestyle choices should be excluded.

A medical plan is a system of financing some projected health expenses. Think of a dental plan; these schemes are cost-smoothing, like even-pay gas and electric billing. I don't think most cats grasp the distinction. There isn't anything wrong with such plans, but they aren't insurance against unforeseen perils. Without being able to distinguish the two, Americans are in peril of adopting some wretched National Health Scheme thinking they are going to get an insurance policy.

I wouldn't put anything past the sophists and power mongers that yearn to run our lives for us.
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The Supreme Court is threatening to take up a Second Amendment case arising from Washington DC's total ban on handguns. Look for the court to find any imaginable way to resolve this case without having to set forth a bright-line Constitutional rule. Joe's Crabby Shack notes the occasion, provides links, and locates a fine analysis of Shelly Parker, et al. v. District of Columbia and Adrian M. Fenty (pending appeal as District of Columbia v. Heller and Shelly Parker, et al. v. District of Columbia and Adrian M Fenty), 478 F.3d 370 (D.C. Cir. 2007). SCOTUS docket as District of Columbia, et al. v. Dick Anthony Heller.
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There is a manhunt in Arizona for a man suspected of raping a Jack Russell terrier. Shoot on sight?