RIP Mr. Vonnegut

The original Bokononist - and the man who coined the phrase.

Paragraph of the Day

From Massachusetts v. EPA, CJ. Roberts in dissent (objecting to the majority's finding of standing):

Apparently dissatisfied with the pace of progress on this issue in the elected branches, petitioners have come to the courts claim broad-ranging injury, and attempting to tie that injury to the Government's alleged failure to comply with a rather narrow statutory provision. I would reject these challenged as nonjusticiable. Such a conclusion involves no judgment on whether global warming exists, what causes it, or the extent of the problem. Nor does it render petitioners without recourse. This Court's standing jurisprudence simply recognizes that redress of grievances of the sort at issue here 'is the function of Congress and the Chief Executive,' no the federal courts.

And, not to be outdone, Justice Scalia, at issue with majority's assertion that CO2 constitutes a "pollutant" under the CAA, drops in this little doozie in Footnote 2:

It follows that everything airborne, from Frisbees to flatulence qualifies as an "air pollutant." This reading of the statute defies common sense.

Billboard King

Harry Reid - anti-war advocate, blue-collar populist, protector of the billboard. Heh.

The Race is On

Roundup on the Dem contenders:

Obama's disconnect:

Obama's early support is following a pattern familiar from the campaigns of other brainy liberals with cool, detached personas and messages of political reform, from Eugene McCarthy in 1968 to Gary Hart in 1984 to Bill Bradley in 2000. Like those predecessors, Obama is running strong with well-educated voters but demonstrating much less support among those without college degrees.

Edwards' delirium:

He constantly says he’s the “son of a mill worker,” and to hear him tell it, he pulled himself up from poverty so crushing it evokes images of shoeless Li’l Abner. His “Two Americas” rally-pleaser gets much of its power from this poor-boy autobiography, but in making this tale his central campaign theme, Edwards gave his family history a cosmetic make-over, like the one he gave his name.

Hillary's Village:

Clinton implicitly recognizes that when she insists that there will be times when "the village itself [she means the federal government] must act in place of parents" and accept "those responsibilities in all our names through the authority we vest in government." She fundamentally rejects the American tradition of liberty. She says that government must make the decisions about how we raise our children.