hang in there, manchester. two more days.

love the kit, and i did read db's blog after kb posted the link the other day.

re: kangaroo fart article
awesome.

ok, back to work. have spent way too much these past few days reading the news.

Take a look at today's Doonesbury.

http://doonesbury.com/strip/dailydose/index.html

OK.. so Dave Barry has put me in the mood... Too bad Kim Orifici lives in New Hampshire and not in Mianus. That would just be too perfect.

It sounds like you guys are having far too much fun up there. Let's hope the ace photographers keep an eye on things.

Hey, maybe I'll make up my mind and support Obama.

I believe in change.
In fact, I'm all *for* change, just like he is.

In fact, I keep some in my pocket all the time, and put what I don't use in a jar every night.

One of these days, I'll cash all that change in and do something useful with it.

Maybe I'll run for President at some point.
Or give it to someone who is.

bc

Hey bc... that Wednesday BPH field trip to Georgetown sounds great. I can be there.

And two very nice pics. Extremely well cropped too.

Reposted from previous Boodling:

"I liked Obama's speech, but I'm holding out for him to commit the country to send Americans to Mars before 2020. And he'll gurantee my vote if those Americans are the Bush Administration, current and former, lock, stock, and barrel.

bc

Posted by: bc | January 4, 2008 09:05 AM"

OK, I didn't *exactly* call that shot, but won't someone let me have it as a "gimme" putt?

bc

Wilbrod writes from the previous Kit.

In general, you sounded annoyed with Joel for saying Clinton is probably going to pull third and splutter out of gas. As as consequence, you decided to then attack Joel for his daughters' picture-taking. That wasn't kind.

Wilbrod, this is baloney. Joel can write whatever he pleases. I think the polls have shown that people over 50 support Clinton; those under 50 support Obama. I fit the first demographic--being over 50. Statistically, New Hampshire is a dead heat between Clinton and Obama. I'm not so vested in this far notheast election that I really care what the outcome of the N.H. primary is. I am simply trying to be realistic-rather than base my opinions on feeling. There are many qualities I like about Obama--but I think he is shy of management and executive experience--as is Hillary. George Bush had the M.B.A. and look how tht turned out.

Look, you can groom Paris and her friend for mediocrity or for excellence as a photographer. Take your pick.

I followed the link to Dave Barry's blog and not to put too fine a point on it, he could use the photo talents of Ms. Achenbach and Ms. Nooter.

what, you don't like the crapcam?

Thanks to Dave for the deathless prose(or was that undead prose?) bc, Ivansdad just decided that he's not for change. He supports paper money, and he'll hold out for the candidate who gives him some. Personally, in hand.

I like Loomis's point that the Obama/Hilary divide has some real generational features -- as she says, all 21-year-olds SHOULD be for Obama. I find it interesting that he's getting some of us cynical older types in whom he regenerates youthful idealism. At the moment this is fun to watch. Of course, the Republican machine will do its best to chew up and spit out whomever gets the Dem nod. Won't matter how nice they are or whether they want to play that game.

I like these photos. Of course, I am in awe of anyone who remembers to take pictures with the camera they carry, much less pictures other people might look at. I've carried cameras for days without remembering to use them.

I'm just saying it's aptly named LAl

And I thought the person who seemed to exhibit the most "experience" on the Dem side in the debate last night was...Bill Richardson. Would Obama pick him for veep, should Obama continue his momentum?

I think Super Tuesday will be telling, so it'll be interesting to see who stays in and who opts out, all the way up to the conventions. (Edwards claiming he'll be in, no matter what and no matter his finances--or lack of them, until the convention.)

I still am amazed by the frequency of the Kits, plus their interesting and amusing content. This weekend, keeping up with the Boodle has turned me into the Red Queen. I am running as fast as I can just to stay in one place.

ScienceTim, two questions:
What's with your m-i-l and bass players? and are mammals the only creatures that fart? I have parrots, they don't fart. I don't think fish fart, but I could be wrong. Gassy lizards, anyone?

lilith-SciTim's m-i-l is a famous and influential bass player.

Good question. I was wondering if all mammals fart. Dogs certainly do, but the frostcats either don't, or are able to hide it well. (Which I find doubtful, two are male) I'm not sure guinea pigs do either.

Let's please keep this boodle extra-classy like. Dave Barry might be reading it.

Thank you, Frosty, I didn't know what to think! You're right about cats. Don't know any guinea pigs.

lilith, I was putting in my annual plug for my m-i-l early this year. I'm done for the rest of 2008. Here is her web site: http://www.carolkaye.com/

I am fairly certain that all animals fart, or burp. Based on the aroma in my home office right now, I can assure you that snake digestion involves noxious fumes. Wilbrod can address this more fully, assuming I get it wrong or am insufficiently complete, but all us multicellular creatures have some form of helpful bacteria in the gut that actually do the digesting of food, resulting in smaller molecules (sugars and so on) that pass through the intestinal membrane into the blood. Digesting stuff results in waste gases and solids. The partitioning into gas vs. solids could be different depending on the bacteria adapted to live in the critter's particular gut. This is the territory for Wilbrod and jack. Herbivores tend to produce a lot more gas and solid waste than carnivores, but carnivore poo tends to be stinkier (based on what I learned at the San Diego zoo).

Joel,

Nice redactions on your Dave Barry cites. If this gig with The Post doesn't work out, you might have a good career editing FOIA requests with the FBI.

In the debate, Hillary kept saying she had been "making change" for many years - I was picturing a store checkout situation. Sorry...I'm well over 50 and like Obama. I like Edwards too - even contributed (small change) to him. And you know, Hillary's only on her 2nd term in elected office - the rest of the experience she claims was being married to Bill when he was governor and president, and working on "causes", which I give her credit for - but not necessarily a lot more than the experiences of Edwards or Obama.

Would love to go to the Madeleine Albright BPH - have a great time and ask some questions for me (not sure what, I'm sure you can come up with some).

pj, you sound like you have experience in dealing with edited FOIA documents from the FBI.

*Bowing before Tim's MIL*
I'm not worthy

Tim, we need Zappa stories.

The Sixties are revived!

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/06/education/edlife/sds.html?_r=1&ref=edlife&oref=slogin

Tim's MIL played 12 string on Freak Out.

*drops to knees*
O Carol, I'm not worthy!

These kits make me wish I could be in NH....even in the snow.

I remember reading some scientific speculation that certain herbivorous dinosaurs would have produced large quantities of gas.

Hmmm. The bot wot controls this blot told me it couldn't display my 8:20 and then did anywho.
Bloody flip flopper.

It seemed to me that Hillary had more command of the foreign policy issues (especially Pakistan) than Obama or Edwards; or, that is, she tried to make it seem that way last night during the debate. I thought that Gibson deliberately provoked the spat b/t Hillary and Obama on their healthcare plans, which I guess is his job, but didn't really do her any favors; she came across (to me) as way too combative.
I was struck too by the hostility during the Republican section of last night's debate; those [white, upper class] men really hate each other. I have to admit (cringe) that Huckabee seemed the most appealing of the 6 of them. And then I remember that he's an evangelical former governor of a southern state, and I get a horrible case of deja-vu.

Not only do fish fart the orca-strate 'em.
"...the primary visual cue that a captain uses to determine whether or not a herring school has "sounded" is when an enormous cloud of bubbles appears at the surface. It means that, somehow, acting as a single school, the herring, in unison, send up a giant, bubbly (noisy?), silver "fart" which confuses the predator, in this case human fishermen, and the school survives another day! I do not know whether or not anyone has seen herring use this "farting"escape mechanism against natural predators but I suspect it occurs normally since many other similar diversionary tactics are used in the sea, e.g., squid ink."
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/001110.html

Dayum, SciTim! And this lady's your m-i-l? Dayum!

I for one am grateful for Joel's hyperactive blogging. My blatant link-[SEX WORKER METAPHOR] on his Trail post this morning has resulted in over one hundred page views to my blog. It's not as good a traffic generator as picking a fight with Glenn Reynolds, but it's not bad.

And having a professional humorist guest edit your column is a good publicity move. When Stephen Colbert guest wrote Maureen Dowd's column, it became one of the ten most viewed NYT articles of the year. Make sure the Barryheads link to it on their fansites.

And in case you missed it, Maureen Dowd absolutely [DELETED DUE TO WILD MISCHARACTERIZATION OF REPORTER'S ATTITUDE] Obama as well.

http://dowdreport.blogspot.com/2008/01/l-o-v-e.html

I hope Joel and Maureen don't have an ugly fight over him the next time they cross paths. Joel would totally get his [BODY PART FREQUENTLY MENTIONED IN THE WORKS OF BARRY AND WEINGARTEN] kicked.

Nope, Slyness. I work for the government, but not that part of it. Just making a Dave Barry/Joel Achenbach joke and thinking of the agency that would redact the most.

I think my problem with an evangelical leader is that someone who believes that someone (or something) else controls his life or destiny is going to ask me to do the same thing. Or in the case of our current evangelical president, tell me to do the same thing.

I want a leader who makes up his or her own mind and expects me to do the same. And doesn't expect me to roll over just because I'm told to (apologies to Wilbrodog).

BTW... "Barack Obama and Dave Barry" was a Googlenope.

Loomis, I will only quote Robert Burns's "To a Louse"

O wad some Power the giftie gie us
To see oursels as ithers see us!

http://www.bartleby.com/6/99.html

A curse rather than a giftie, I would say.

Let me mention that you did not say that these girls should crop the pictures to improve their photographs.

You said JOEL should be cropping their photographs; not only he is a reporter and a blogger, he's now expected to be a photographic editor at one of the busiest times in his career?

Think about this, and you will see why people see you as being meanspirited in that comment. It's a blog, not the front page of the Post.

If their pictures are deemed good enough for the dead tree edition, the pictures will then go through a photographic or layout editor first, not through Joel.

Now here's how to critique a photograph.

"The first photograph in this kit is lovely, but would be vastly improved by slicing the bottom 1/4 off it.
Such a crop increases the panoramic look of the sky, gives nearly 50-50 balance (golden rule would be 55-45 balance) between sky and ground, which would be more harmonious, while still capturing part of the stream's bend and showing depth."

But you need to let a teenager learn art on their own. They're are fond of asymmetry and playing around with conventional forms, breaking rules of beauty and so on.

In the process they may develop the ability to develop more complex compositions and forms of symmetry and beauty than if they had just stuck with easy and "pretty".

My best art teacher I ever had would never have sounded like you did, but always point out issues gently and allow the student to think out how to improve their work.

This is why she was paid to teach art students for 30 years and had students who adored her and respected her deeply. It was never her personality; in fact, she was a bit of an icicle.

But she knew her stuff, even if I didn't agree with her 100% when I was 16 or 17... well, years later I looked at my old artwork with her criticism and found that I agreed with her and then some on what needed improving in my artwork.

In fact, I thought she was excessively kind on me at some points. That's how it should be; a true artist is always his/her toughest critic.

Boko,
The Wirty Dird Filter might have mistaken "mil*" as some sort of variation of the popular American Pie inspired acronym. And Carol is really a M-I-LIL to ask more about Zappa after reading "I'm With The Band" last month.

I never roll over because I'm told to, TBG. Heh heh. I do it all the time because I love chest scratches and scratching my back on the carpet.

If I roll over on command, that ruins the bliss for me. I am rather a pushover, though.

Tim,

I've expressed admiration for your mother-in-law several times on this blog (I'm listening to her bass playing on the Beach Boys record "Pet Sounds" right now), but I do hope by the time November rolls around that she finds another reason to vote for someone. On the other hand, the female bass player vote is probably a limited demographic. So it may not be that big of a deal.

Anyone who thinks that cats don't fart has never had a kitten sleeping on her chest.

TBG - the voice of experience!

LOL.

pj, I told my wife about plugging Carol, along with mentioning the sighs and eye-rolling (okay, I implied the eye-rolling) regarding the basis of the political choice. As you say, the female bass player demographic is unlikely to be decisive in the California vote.

If you want to make her happy, just leave some kind words on her web site. Since I was kinda making a little fun of her political choice, I'd appreciate it if you didn't send her back her here to find out what inspired the comment.

--------------------------------------------------

Wilbrod, considering that we were childishly making fun of Amanda's name before we realized it's the name of a teenager undeserving of ridicule, I think we can cut Loomis some slack for the tone of her critique on the photo cropping. She made a broad suggestion, in a pretty neutral tone, and directed it to the owner/writer of the blog on which it is posted. Let's not be over-ready to take umbrage.

What ScienceTim said.

And just let me report, in tones of glee, that SCHOOL STARTS AGAIN TOMORROW!!!

Sorry for the shouting. Just an expression of untrammeled joy.

Also, the Boy got cast in a local professional theater production (not Shakespeare) going up later this spring. We're all very pleased.

Ivansmom, I will join your glee once I have survived waking the kids tomorrow morning and the regular school day morning chaos.

Congrats to the Boy!

According to this blogger, the fourth hit if you google "animal farts," kittens fart but full grown cats do not. I'm not saying he has scientific evidence, but it was worth reading to the end.

The link I forgot in my 10:01
http://flog.phooeyhoo.com/archives/2004/12/animal_farts.html

Oh, wouldn't it be great if we could all attend The Boy's play?

We could file in together and arrange ourselves in a couple of rows and clap politely for the other players but cheer embarrassingly loudly for The Boy when he enters the stage.

And after, we'd all mill around the lobby for a while chatting with each other and the other playgoers and then go out to dinner and when The Boy entered the restaurant after changing and taking off his stage make-up, we'd all cheer enthusiastically once again.

Wouldn't that be great?

That would be great TBG.

We could have used some of that support today when older daughter was playing goal for her hockey team. Not her natural position but she tried, god love her, thankfully there was a very kind linesman who kept giving her tips after each goal she let in. Many tears afters - sometimes life lessons are hard - me I am an easy audience though I just beamed with pride the whole time.

Frosti... great link on animal farts. Barking Spiders would make a great boodle handle.

Slyness? You there? All I can say is "whew."

Tim,

I tried to register on her Web site but it wouldn't let me. It said I typed the anti-bot code incorrectly. I tried at least half a dozen times. It doesn't look like you can even read posts without registering, much less post something. Oh well, maybe I'll try again later.

Love the subtitle of the fart-link, "Witty and shiftless beats shifty and witless." We had a much-loved cat who, in her twilight years, took to sleeping on my head every night and using my face for a launch pad occasionally. Yikes. But no gas... I would have noticed.

In other words, it won't change anything anyway, ScienceTim. That's true enough.

I actually agreed with Loomis on the cropping point, but thought it could have been couched in a better manner.

Right now, if I was those teenage girls, I would swear never to crop a picture for the A-blog, just because.

pj, thanks for the info. I'll let Carol know that there's a problem.

Before bidding the boodle fondue I'd like to recommend this from the NY Times on the state of air travel.

http://jetlagged.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/01/03/a-users-manual-to-seat-21c/?em&ex=1199768400&en=9b0f12f112f955f5&ei=5087%0A

Barack Obama, great guy. For change in Washington.

So was Jimmy Carter. Ms. Clinton can send me my check by registered mail.

I'm undergoing an internal debate... Would the debates be better or worse on HDTV? :-)

As it is, I'm trying to work the cramps out of my back after not having moved from in front of the TV all afternoon... *L*

And I'm fairly sure the first pic in the last kit is from the heart of the Dartmouth campus... Joel, you are a BRAVE man to risk your pocketbook by exposing Paris to such an early campus visit. :-)

*jealous-of-all-the-NH-snow-Joel's-seeing Grover waves*

Good morning, friends. Love the conversation about cats and their bodily functions. I've had cats, and I believe they let loose one or two.

Have a slight headache this morning, but prayers have been said and blessings sought, so it's all good, baby.

As for the pictures, the one at the top of this blog is simply beautiful. I'm partial to sunrises anyway, and I can almost feel the cold crisp air, and the wet snow. Keep up the good work,ladies.

I have a test this morning at the hospital. Hope to do that and get the g-girl off to school this morning. It's still chilly here, but not as cold.

I know I probably should be all over the political feast we have here, but just can't seem to get into it. For me, it just doesn't seem real. And it is the beginning to some extent, still miles to go. I guess it just might be too nice. I see it getting down and dirty,with lots of mud being slung, and not so neat and pretty. Just hope they don't start talking about their moms. It would be really refreshing if it continued to stay nice.

I wish I knew the candidates' take on religion.

Morning, Mudge(and where are you?)Slyness, Scotty, and all *waving*.

Ivansmom, tell the Boy to break a leg. I'm with TBG, we all need to be there so we can cheer him on. The Boy really gets to do some interesting stuff. He should be a well-rounded young man, and he is blessed much to have loving parents.

God loves us so much more than we can imagine through Him that died for all, Jesus Christ.

Actually, given the Exeter reference that pic might be from Philips Exeter Academy, but the effect's the same... :-)

My fingers are crossed for a favorable test, Cassandra. :-)

'Mornin', everyone.

I just read Madeleine Albright's piece on the WaPo opinion page about the politics of fear, thought it was good, I agree with a lot of what she said but then I made the mistake of reading the comments - WHOA! There are some nasty, nasty people who responded - one guy thinks we should just forget about bin Laden and just kill all the democrats as we are apparently responsible for all the death and destruction in the world!

These people truly scare me. Makes me glad my SO fiercely defends his 2nd amendment rights - I may have to barricade the door and defend myself against hordes of "patriotic" thugs. Fortunately, SO, redneck repub that he may be, will defend to the death my right to be a bleeding heart hippie liberal dem. Maybe we can arm the zoo also - dog and one cat are dems but even the repub cat will defend his mama against all who would do her harm! OK (taking a deep breath) - I feel better already.

TBG, Whew indeed! I went and hid in the bed. Mr. T whooped at the last field goal, that's the only reason I knew the Tar Heels won. What a disappointment for Clemson.

Morning all. Cassandra, take care of yourself! I hope you have positive results from your test.

TLF, we have learned not to read comments. The reason this place is so pleasant is that we rigorously patrol and eject the trolls. JA is kind enough to obliterate objectionable posts when we ask, so trolls don't get anywhere with us. Of course, we do have the bunker to hide in, when necessary. Our fights over its decoration are simply disagreements among friends. Right, Mudge?

TLF - I like the idea that two people do not have to be political clones of each other to get along. It's refreshing.

Sometimes when people get into political arguments it is good to step back and realize that the world really isn't waiting around to hear who wins.

This is why my wife and I have a rule that we never argue over anything that will not result in a concrete action. So whether to allow my son to drop Spanish, yes. Whether or not NAFTA has helped or hurt American consumers. Not so much.

Speaking of the Bunker. Mudge, have you seen the instruction manual for the 150 inch Plasma HDTV?

Psssst, TLF...

If you think the Albright comments were bad, check out the 1,800-plus rantings on the McGovern "Impeach Bush/Cheney" piece...

:-O

Slyness, you're right - must stop reading those comments before I over-react and build perimeter wall.

BTW, what's the current decoration of the bunker? I myself prefer cozy country-shabby chic much to the dismay of "deer camp modernaire" desires of SO.

Joel's The Trail got another half page on A5 today. And the Dave Barry bit got printed verbatim. Way to go on getting that fence painted Tom Sawyer. The only disappointment is that they went with an AP photo instead of one of Paris's shots.

Cassandra, we do know Huckabee's stance on religion -- he's for it, and plenty more, as long as it's the right flavor. His flavor.

Regarding the others, I think that some have made a statement or two, but mostly they have been commendably silent. Or, maybe I just haven't been paying attention. Probably the latter is more likely.

McCain has stated that he would not be comfortable with anyone as POTUS who was not a Christian. Guess that let's Lieberman off the hook. Lucky for us that Jefferson guy snuck in there before Johnny Mac came on the scene.

Lessee, best I recall, we left the bunker in macho mode. The ladies are being nice during hunting season, IIRC. The guys didn't care for English country, with flowered chintz and crocheted doilies. I think it was the Thomas Kinkade art that really set them off...But they really do like that ginormous 150 inch TV.

Conservative Billy Kristol makes his debut on the op-ed pages of the NYT today (two opening grafs below). Oh, how I wish it were Billy Crystal writing instead!:

Thank you, Senator Obama. You've defeated Senator Clinton in Iowa. It looks as if you're about to beat her in New Hampshire. There will be no Clinton Restoration. A nation turns its grateful eyes to you.

But gratitude for sparing us a third Clinton term only goes so far. Who, inquiring minds want to know, is going to spare us a first Obama term? After all, for all his ability and charm, Barack Obama is still a liberal Democrat. Some of us would much prefer a non-liberal and non-Democratic administration. We don't want to increase the scope of the nanny state, we don't want to undo the good done by the appointments of John Roberts and Samuel Alito to the Supreme

Paul Krugman's ending grafs in today's NYT:

And what I'm not sure about is whether the Democrats are ready for the fight they're about to face.

Not to put too fine a point on it, Barack Obama won his impressive victory in Iowa with a sunny, upbeat message of change.

But there's a powerful political faction in this country that understands very well that any real change will create losers as well as winners. In particular, any serious progressive reform of health care, let alone a broader attempt to reduce middle-class insecurity and inequality, will have to mean higher taxes on the affluent. And members of that faction will do whatever it takes to scare people into believing that change means disaster for the economy.

I don't think they'll succeed. But it would be a big mistake to assume that they won't.

Thanks for all the nice comments on the pix. I put the girls on a plane yesterday and now am running around NH with Von Drehle. The girls went from not knowing much about politics to -- well, I think it was Nancy Gibbs of Time who said that when kids are exposed to the campaign trail, "they suddenly turn into the McLaughlin Group."

I'll be posting more to the trail today and cross-posting here. Lots of candidates running around. Am in Nashua now at a Mom and Pop cafe with the mayor in the corner.

I have some opinions on Bill Kristol and I put them under my own "name", not one of my sock puppets.

http://livebythefoma.blogspot.com/2008/01/kristol-klear.html

He's a hack and a shill. And the Times missed a golden opportunity not grabbing a true nation enterprise reporter like Joel.

Just wait until your daughter starts offering constructive criticism around the dinner table.

Joel, I for one would be interested in reading what the girls thought of their experience.

I think Krugman is absolutely correct. This won't be a cakewalk for the Democrats.

So I guess the question for the day is: Is Bill Kristol a fatuous hack or a flatulent flack?

k-guy,
Can't it be both?

Probably a distinction without a difference, or possibly a difference in nothing but de stinkin'. Whatever, it's all a function of his unction.

But Kristol is right. There *are* people who worry about things like a "nanny state." So the question is, do the Democrats just write these people off as hopelessly stupid, or do they try to engage them, alleviate their fears, and convince them that there are larger issues at work? True leadership would involve the latter.

dmd - I would love to hear the thoughts of these young ladies as well. But I can certainly understand if Joel thinks it is wisest, for many reasons, to keep them behind the scenes.

It is just pure envy on my part RD, when I was those girls age I would have been over the moon to witness what they did. My early interest in politics tended to be seen as quite strange amongst my peers :-).

Good morning! And what a happy morning it is, with everyone back at work and at school, busily learning. Or at least keeping up the pretense of learning.

Ivansdad used to be much more of a Republican to counter my liberal leanings. However, over the years he's abandoned that party. As the Republicans (at their worst) now seem to be the party which wants to interfere with your sex life and your kids' education, run up debt, and starve government to the point it can't provide basic services, he doesn't see the attraction.

TBG, it would be great to have a BPH connected with the Boy's play. It is Peter Pan (he's a Lost Boy) and will run through April and into May. Y'all come on down.

Good luck on your test, Cassandra.

Yes, there are people who worry about things like a "nanny state." These are people who deal in code words and catch phrases rather than ideas. This is so when they say things like "Democrat Party" "moonbat" "nanny state" "gun nut" "Repuglican" "bleeding heart" "law and order" "states rights" "death tax" "activist judges", etc., they can express their contempt for other people's ideas and opinions without actually advancing a conterargument. Good luck persuading such folk to change, or even listen.

dmd-what you said X2. I remember the '72 campaign vividly, perhaps because outside of my own household in Petersburg, VA a McGovern supporter was hard to find. Ma Frostbitten just gave me "the look" when I asked for a ride to the nearest McGovern campaign office to volunteer. She was probably quite right in thinking that an 11 year old would have just received a few pats on the head and some platitudes before being sent on her way. But I didn't see it that way then and it provided a good early springboard for the teen resentment 'tude.

Morning boodle! Buried in work. How can a city that always sleeps need so much attention after just two weeks away? Anyone want to come sell pizza and pop at the dogsled race this weekend?

k - guy - but there is a continuum. Not all people who worry about a "nanny state" automatically fall into the "code word" camp.

My point is if one insists on automatically dismissing anyone who expresses the least bit of worry about government authority as being a nut, you are going to be alienating many reasonable people unnecessarily.

In my opinion, this is neither wise for the Democrats nor good for the country.

RD- But once someone uses the phrase "nanny state" he is usually not in the least-moderate worry category, and is a code word nut. From there it's a small jump to denigrate reasonable health care reform as steps toward "Hilary care" or (gasp) "socialized medicine." YMMV but that's my experience anyway.

Oops, sorry. I left out "Feminazi."

Well, perhaps I am wrong. Perhaps for the country as a whole the phrase "nanny state" *is* a sure fire indicator of a right-wing nut job. But that really hasn't been my experience, and that's about all I can speak to.

New kit. The boss is on fire.