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One of the great tragedies in the history of science fiction was the premature death of the writer Stanley Weinbaum. His death in 1935 at the age of just thirty-three cut short his writing career which had barely lasted for a year and a half. Even sadder still is that he is nearly forgotten today when in a just world he would continue to be remembered as one of its great authors. Although his first story, “A Martian Odyssey”, remains an oft-anthologized classic, the rest of his oeuvre remains largely inaccessible to contemporary readers. This is almost criminal, for while...

Plan B for Obama's speech?Posted by Steve Lyttle at 11:58 AM Friday, August 31, 2012 **SNIP** From what I've read, the plan isn't to move the event. It basically calls for using the same protocol used by the Panthers. In other words, if it rains, suck it up. If there's lightning, head for cover. The guess is that the program would be resumed when the storm passes. Hmm ... I hope the Weather Guy didn't scare them. Originally, forecasters were talking about a high likelihood of showers and thunderstorms throughout next week, with left-over moisture from the remnants of Hurricane...

The publisher of the much-awaited book "No Easy Day," which gives a firsthand account of the Navy SEALs raid that killed Osama bin Laden, announced the book will be released a week early, The New York Times reports. Responding to the media attention and "consumers clamoring to buy the book," Dutton, a subsidiary of Penguin, said the book will go on sale Sept. 4, rather than Sept 11. “The publisher now feels it is important to put ‘No Easy Day’ on sale and let the book speak for itself,” Dutton said in a statement. Demand for the book has been...

Vice President Joe Biden was so pleased with one woman’s anti-Clint Eastwood joke today at a campaign stop in Ohio, he actually kissed her on the lips, according to a pool report. Biden rolled into Antone’s Italian Grill at around 2:30 p.m. today, “a slightly swankier-than-average food booth,” the report said. “I just ate lunch,” Biden said, before looking at the menu options and taking recommendation from restaurant staff. For the vice president of the United States, they chose $6 balls of fried cheese with tomato sauce and pasta. “This is a meal,” Biden said, after getting his plate. “Holy...

I think it's likely over, but as Glenn would advise- don't get cocky. Coming off a terrific Republican National Convention Mitt Romney decided to visit New Orleans, which is suffering the aftereffects of Hurricane Isaac. LAKELAND, Fla. — In a last-minute change of plans, Mitt Romney will head to visit storm-affected areas in New Orleans today, skipping a previously scheduled joint rally with running mate Paul Ryan in the battleground state of Virginia this afternoon. A Romney aide told ABC News that Romney will “join Gov. Jindal and will meet with first responders, thank them for their work and see...

When it comes to the race card game, you can’t win with a liberal. If you’re conservative, you’re racist no matter how you play it. As the 2012 GOP Convention progresses, this liberal con game is once again in play. You’d think Republicans would have learned by now. When it comes to issues on race, you may as well be playing Three Card Monty with a downtown street hustler. No matter how you play it, you will lose. During the convention, the Dems and their compliant media toadies have used a ruse that everyone should be well aware of by...

excerpt: Tim Russert understood instinctively the power of dreams because he was a dreamer himself. He understood in his gut that the strength of America was not in Washington but in the dreams of Buffalo and all the Buffalo's around America. In that very real sense, this is what made him a genuine American in Washington. He was decidedly incapable of becoming one of the media or political pooh-bahs who have long since surrendered their dreams for invitations to cocktail parties in the salons of Georgetown. He was that rare creature in Washington who understood the real meaning of his...

The day after Paul Ryan's RNC speech I posted a series of graphics based on his speech (here). This was probably the best line of them all, and I wanted to make sure I could come up with something that would do it justice... 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxE-lGK_OZU

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke spoke at Jackson Hole, Wyoming this morning and … repeated his mantra that The Fed is ready to step in with more easing. “The costs of nontraditional policies, when considered carefully, appear manageable, implying that we should not rule out the further use of such policies if economic conditions warrant.” The word “appear” stuck out like a sore thumb. The stock market reacted negatively to his announcement. There is little The Fed can do about unemployment when the employment to population ratio is stuck in a hole. So, why do it? And housing has been...

""Throw Rocks" highlights Harvard Professor Elizabeth Warren's divisive, anti-business and class-warfare rhetoric."

"The Uniontown election exceeded the number of people in the town who are old enough to vote. The News also found that the number of registered voters there — 2,587 — was higher than the town’s overall population, which was 1,775, according to the census. Also, absentee voting was high, accounting for nearly 40 percent of the ballots cast. State records show that the average for absentee voting is 3 to 5 percent. Uniontown had 1,140 people of the minimum voting age of 18 or older, according to the census. On Tuesday, 1,431 votes were cast for mayor and almost...

Follow up to this post... 

An increasing number of couples in the United States are choosing to cohabit as a prequel to or replacement for marriage. This can have some dire consequences for the romantic couple or any children involved, argued Mike McManus at a recent Family Research Council event. McManus is the Co-Chair of Marriage Savers. He and his wife of over forty years recently co-authored Living Together: Myths, Risks and Answers. “So, as I see it the central issue of America actually is the disintegration of marriage,” argued McManus. “Divorces have tripled, the marriage rate’s down 54%, cohabitation is up seventeen-fold, and so...

Cushman was one of the few manufacturers of motorized vehicles permitted to continue civilian production during World War II, as its products were considered "energy savers" for those needing transportation to and from work. During this time, and on into the postwar years, many a motorcycle enthusiast cut their riding teeth on a Cushman. Model 765 Barrel Spring Eagle made from 1950 to 1954

If we win this election, it will be because of what you did in moments like this to help close the spending gap. Because this is real: Just last week alone, Mitt Romney's campaign and his allies outspent our side by at least three to one in North Carolina, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Colorado, and Pennsylvania, all states we need to win. That could swing the election -- but it doesn't have to. Tomorrow is our biggest fundraising deadline so far. Will you make a donation of $5 or more today and help this campaign hang in there for the final...

New Mexico's Governor Susana Martinez delivered a WOW of a speech at the RNC. Republican women are awesome, and Martinez showed just how awesome. Republican women ROCK! Begin Transcript: "Thank you and good evening. On behalf of the great state of New Mexico, let me express my gratitude for being invited to speak tonight. Growing up, I never imagined a girl from a border town could one day become a governor. But this is America Y, en America todo es posible. My parents taught me to never give up and to always believe that my future could be whatever I...

The claims of Mitt Romney being unapproachable, stiff, doesn't care about people, a murderer, a job-snatcher, ridiculous. As hubby says, "if you have an emotional connection to Barack Obama, something's wrong with you," or as Clint Eastwood said while he was winding-up to the "Eastwooding" of Obama: "it's just that the conservative people, by the nature of the word itself, play it a little close to the vest...they don't go around hotdogging it.... (no Greek Temple, no smoke, no memories of Indonesia). I love his son saying "we felt like we were the most important thing in our Dad's life,"...

30) “Self esteem comes from achievements. Not from lax standards and false praise.” — Condi Rice 29) “(My father) stood behind a bar in the back of the room all those years, so one day I could stand behind a podium in the front of a room. That journey, from behind that bar to behind this podium, goes to the essence of the American miracle — that we’re exceptional not because we have more rich people here. We’re special because dreams that are impossible anywhere else, come true here.” — Marco Rubio 28) “Fifty-five years ago, when my dad was...

Reflections on Mitt Romney’s acceptance speech; I watched Romney’s entire speech and while listening, took some mental notations. To just set the tone for my personal perspective, let me preface my thoughts with the following. First, I think the GOP nomination process served up to us a very weak and poorly qualified cast of participants. Each had some strengths, but all had more deficits than they had surpluses. With the exception of Ron Paul, every nominee, to one degree or another, had a track record that involved support of the GOP party establishment. They all had votes and positions that...