If your comment is held for moderation, the most likely reason is that it has multiple links in it. I generally publish them as soon as I notice. It’s not because I’m censoring people, or moderating comments in general.
Won Over
Bill Whittle is now sold on John McCain:
I had heard before that John McCain had been beaten in prison, and I admired him for it. But when he said he had been broken . . . I gasped. When this sometimes cocky, arrogant old man told me he had once been a cocky, arrogant young man until he was “blessed by hardship,” until he had been broken and remade — and in that remaking discovered a love of country so fierce and pure that even as a patriot myself I will never approach it — well, in that moment John McCain won my heart, to add to the respect and admiration he had already had.
When John McCain told me what I and untold millions of Americans have always believed, what others tell me to be ashamed of and mock me for — that I live in the greatest country in the world, a force of goodness and justice in dark places, a land of heroism and sacrifice and opportunity and joy — to me that went right to the mystic chords of memory that ultimately binds this country together. Some people don’t know what it is, but there is such a thing as patriotism — pure, unrefined, unapologetic, unconditional, non-nuanced, non-cosmopolitan, white-hot-burning patriotism. John McCain loves this country. I love it too. Not what it might be made into someday — not its promise, always and only its promise — but what it was and what it is, a nation and an idea worth fighting and dying for.
He also points out that Sarah has stolen Barack’s mojo. Read the whole thing.
Just How Stupid
…do all the people who were predicting that Sarah Palin would drop out within a couple days look now?
[Update a few minutes later]
More thoughts from Ann Althouse, on foolish Eagleton comparisons.
News You Can Use
You (or at least they) can tell a woman’s v@ginal org@smic potential by watching the way she walks.
Can’t Wait
I just love Florida.
I’m in LA right now, but going home to Boca on Saturday. And right now, the models have a Cat 4 hurricane directly hitting my current home town on Tuesday night.
Patricia put up the shutters on the windows earlier this week in anticipation of Hannah, which is now a tropical storm and missing Florida. But at least we’ll be mostly ready for Ike. But I’ll still have to put up plywood on the patio doors, and a hurricane that strong could have a flooding surge. We may decide to head up to Orlando, but this weekend will give us a much better sense of where it’s really heading early next week.
An Interesting Interview
…with Mike Griffin.
Not a lot new here for people who have been following it. And I would have a lot bolder vision for a “perfect world” than simply enough money to fly Shuttle while developing the Paintshaker. And he seems to be ignoring the issue that they share facilities and that mods have to occur (unless he was asking for enough money for new facilities for the new launcher).
And this is a useful point:
Q: When I tell non space people about the gap, the response is almost universally “you’re kidding.” Why is that?
Griffin: The ‘you’re kidding’ part and the lack of notice, for several years it was something fairly far off in the future. The actual circumstance doesn’t even occur in the next president’s administration unless that president gets two terms. It certainly wasn’t occurring in this president’s administration and it doesn’t occur in any of the next couple of Congresses, right? Nobody around today was certain to be on scene when the actual consequence occurs. Moreover, I don’t think anybody reading about it in the papers … thought really that it was going to be allowed to come to pass.
A lot of people argue that we need governments to fund things like this because private industry is too short sighted.
Give me a break.
Tied?
This is just one poll, but it indicates that either Obama didn’t get a convention bounce, or it was negated by events since (and the Republican convention didn’t really get going until last night). If it’s valid, it’s hard to see anything other than the Palin selection as the cause. And note the difference between this poll and the one on the weekend (eight points). As I noted previously, weekend polls are notorious for favoring Democrats.
Also, if valid, it’s bad news for Obama. If McCain gets a convention bounce, he’ll be well in the lead.
A Roundup Of Palin Reax
From Iowahawk.
How We Know Some People Have Too Much Money
Testicular implants for pets.
Worth Its Weight In Gold
A list of items that have a higher value density than gold. This is a characteristic of any viable product of space manufacturing, at least one that will have a market on earth, because transportation costs are so high.