Gore's role going forward

Excellent piece by David Shribman on where Al Gore fits into the current presidential race. While Shribman does not go as far as others in saying that Gore could emerge as a compromise candidate (perhaps on a ticket with Obama), he does analyze Gore's political history, and suggest that Gore really could go either way on actively ending the Democratic race.

Science education at Yale

Excellent piece in today's Yale Daily News encouraging science and math study at Yale. The author makes the point that many Yalies have the mathematical and scientific background from high school to study those subjects in college, yet take a defeatist attitude and shy away from those classes.

The article avoids the even more important point: that a strong background in science and math can immensely help graduating seniors in the job markets, in a wide variety of scientific and business fields.

Bob Casey Jr. endorses Obama

This is especially fascinating given the close ties between the Casey family and old Clinton loyalists James Carville and Paul Begala who helped Casey's father get elected governor and have been strong supports of his efforts.

Brooks on McCain

David's Brooks column almost makes one want to vote for John McCain on foreign policy. Unless one prefers Obama's foreign policy approach. Or has listened to McCain's economic policy. Or is terrified how far he'll gay-bash and pander to get conservative Evangelicals to turn out to vote in November.

Stuff consultants like

This website is hillarious. Personal favorites:

"Action items"
"Points"
"Bandwidth"
"Low hanging fruit"
"Taking it offline"
"Herding at the gate"
"Two tone dress shirts"

End the dealth penalty

Spectacular piece in today's L.A. Times by a wrongfully convicted felon, who spent nearly 20 years in prisons. He is thankful today that he was not sentenced to execution, since he very well could have been executed before the DNA test that proved his innocence.

Gun control and Pennsylvania

According to the National Journal, gun control will be a major issue in the upcoming Pennsylvania primary and in the general election this fall.

Two laws in particular failed to pass the PA legislature this past year: one "to limit handgun purchases to one gun a week" and one to "require handgun owners to report lost or stolen weapons."

How could this be so difficult? Who needs to buy more than one handgun a week? And how does it impinge on a lawful gun owner's rights to tell the state that he or she has lost a firearm that could now be the hands of a criminal?

It is amazing the lengths that Americans will go to avoid any method of curbing gun violence in this country.