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Walking Dead Spoiler Bomb: The Gov Has a Pair of Bracelets Ready...but for Whom? Ready for the big zombieland war? Just in case you've been living in the woods, surrounded by pet zombies on chains, an update: A fight is a-brewin' between the folks in Woodbury and Rick's group in a nearby prison. The Governor is out for blood—a lot of blood—but the question is, will he get it? Here are some hints about what's coming up on Sunday:

The Walking Dead Spoiler Bomb: Odd Pairings and Rising Tensions Are On the Way! The return of The Walking Dead hasn't been a disappointment for fans: The show has (wisely) dialed down on the pointless yelling, and replaced it with masterful twists, subtle character development, and, of course, lots of zombies. Will we get an all-out war between the prison group and Woodbury? Too soon to tell. But in the meantime, the tension is building, and this next episode ratchets it up significantly. Here's what to expect:

What we're about to say, we say with no bias or agenda whatsoever: The next episode of The Walking Dead just might be one of the best of the season. And by "best," we mean deftly written, subtly played and, in the end, emotionally complex. You know, best. Just what can you expect? Here's a taste. [mild spoilers below]

The Walking Dead Spoiler Bomb: Here Comes a Showdown—And Another Death! The Walking Dead returned from hiatus last week, and we saw a couple of zombies and a whole lot of angry and half-crazy humans. This week, well, let's just say that when you tune in on Sunday, you're gonna see a much different dead/undead ratio. And some major bloodshed. What else can you look forward to? Here are some spoilers to tide you over until Sunday:

In just 14 months, Americans will be required to prove that they have federally "qualified" health insurance or face an Obamacare tax of $695 to $2,085. That is unless you are in prison, below the poverty line, or are an undocumented immigrant, according to the anti-tax group Americans for Tax Reform. When added together, those three groups total up to one-sixth of the nation's population of 314 million: 218,929 are in federal prisons, 12 million are illegals and 42 million are below the poverty line and eligible for welfare, though some fit into all three categories, according to federal reports....

The housing market may indeed be recovering, as many experts suggest, but investors are still struggling to understand what, if any, taxes they'll owe upon selling their homes. At issue is how the new "Medicare tax" will apply to real-estate transactions. Passed in 2010 to help fund the health-care overhaul, this 3.8% surtax kicks in next year on many forms of investment income—including some interest, dividends, rents and capital gains. While its effect on home sales won't be as far-reaching as many fear, the Medicare tax could pack a punch for certain investors. It is not a sales tax. And...

WE need death panels. Well, maybe not death panels, exactly, but unless we start allocating health care resources more prudently — rationing, by its proper name — the exploding cost of Medicare will swamp the federal budget. But in the pantheon of toxic issues — the famous “third rails” of American politics — none stands taller than overtly acknowledging that elderly Americans are not entitled to every conceivable medical procedure or pharmaceutical. Most notably, President Obama’s estimable Affordable Care Act regrettably includes severe restrictions on any reduction in Medicare services or increase in fees to beneficiaries. In 2009, Sarah Palin’s...

UPDATE: 8:20 AM PST These emails have not been verified yet, and this story was posted by one of my moderating staff while I was asleep. Until such time they are verified, tread lightly because without knowing what is behind the rest of the zip file, for all we know it’s a bunch of recipes and collection of ipsem lorem text files. I’m working to authenticate these now and will report when I know more – Anthony Watts UPDATE2: 8:45AM PST The Guardian has a story up be Leo Hickman, and this excerpt suggests they may be the real deal:...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Pentagon has decided that military chaplains may perform same-sex unions, whether on or off a military installation. The ruling announced Friday by the Pentagon's personnel chief follows the Sept. 20 repeal of a law that had prohibited gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- A federal appeals court refused Thursday to decide the constitutionality of the military's now-repealed "don't ask, don't tell" policy banning openly gay troops, saying the issue has been resolved since Americans can enlist and serve in the armed forces without regard to sexual orientation. A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco tossed out a lawsuit that had challenged the military policy as a violation of gay service members' civil rights. In doing so, the appeals court also dismissed a Southern California trial judge's year-old ruling that the policy was...

When President Obama provides his roadmap for saving the economy, he needs to explain why it is bad to privatize Social Security but good to privatize military retirement, changing it from a government pension plan to a 401(k) investment program. And if this really is the key to economic solvency in the retirement system, then why not privatize Social Security as well? When things aren't broken, don't fix them. The all-volunteer military system still attracts some of our finest young people even though we have been at war for ten years. If a change to 401(k)s is a good idea,...

When Wisconsin’s Department of Health Services, which manages health programs within the state, wanted to get a better sense of how last year’s health care overhaul would affect insurance coverage within the state, they turned to Jonathan Gruber, a health policy expert at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who served as a consultant on both Mitt Romney’s Massachusetts health care overhaul and (somewhat controversially) President Obama’s nationwide successor program. Gruber is a frequent defender of ObamaCare as well as one of its architects. And the report was ordered under Wisconsin’s departed Democratic Governor Jim Doyle, who, after leaving the governor's...

Kody Brown is a proud polygamist, and a relatively famous one. Now Mr. Brown, his four wives and 16 children and stepchildren are going to court to keep from being punished for it. The family is the focus of a reality TV show, “Sister Wives,” that first appeared in 2010. Law enforcement officials in the Browns’ home state, Utah, announced soon after the show began that the family was under investigation for violating the state law prohibiting polygamy. On Wednesday, the Browns are expected to file a lawsuit to challenge the polygamy law. The lawsuit is not demanding that states...

Kind of long, so I'm just going to post a link to a blog which publishes what claims to be an e-mail exchange between a Navy officer and an official in charge of the repeal training. I have no way to verify the e-mails, but looks pretty plausible to me based on what I've read about the DADT repeal training: http://minorityrightsadvocate.wordpress.com/2011/05/23/the-military-is-not-ready-for-the-dadt-repeal-no-matter-what-the-spin-they-cannot-address-the-questions-from-the-front-line-leaders-or-front-line-members/

Link only due to copyright restrictions: http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2011/05/10/national-emergency-alert-system-set-to-launch-in-nyc/

HONOLULU – Until this week, Hawaii officials said they wouldn't release original birth records for anyone, under any circumstances. Even if it was President Barack Obama. Then they heard from the president himself. "I am writing to request two certified copies of my original certificate of live birth," the president wrote on White House letterhead, dated April 22. State officials then decided to make an exception to a 2001 policy that prohibited anyone from getting a photocopy of an original birth certificate. They usually hand out computer-generated versions. Obama's waiver was the first since 2001. Officials said it would be...

So much for support from the common man. The Indiana Democratic Party’s first quarter campaign finance report was filed last Friday and confirms what everyone already suspected but Democrats denied: their “We Are Indiana” walkout was bought and paid for national unions. Read the report here: Dem Finance Report During the period of the walkout that began on February 22 and ended on March 28, Democrat-backed unions contributed nearly $140,000 to the Indiana Democratic Party. Their goal: stop the legislative session in its tracks, kill anti-union bills, and pay whatever it took to keep Democrats holed up in an Illinois...

Looks like we're moving to Washington this summer. What are the public schools like there (elementary schools, in particular)? Do they have a lot of social engineering? We're trying to decide if we should look into private schools or homeschooling instead. Thanks in advance!