Another tidbit:

PlanetOut (parent company of Liberty Publications, Advocate, Men, Freshmen, Out, etc.) may be going belly-up.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/05/12/PLANETOUT.TMP

Military Intelligence:

Supporters of the Strykers say all that proves is that the lethality of bombs in Iraq — not the Strykers themselves — is the problem

I was going to make a joke about belly-up but I'm too tired.

Another item. For those of you who think socialized medicine is the answer, a study says that you have a better chance of surviving cancer if you live in the good ol' USA compared to western Europe.

And how about Romney saying he "can't imagine anything more awful than polygamy"?
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070514/ap_on_el_pr/romney2008;_ylt=AkWEJZyfd9aGSyJ4Mbcv.yDMWM0F

Maybe he should take a trip to Iraq.

raindrop: Another item. For those of you who think socialized medicine is the answer, a study says that you have a better chance of surviving cancer if you live in the good ol' USA compared to western Europe.

Thanks, raindrop, for speaking the truth. And even if this were not true, I would rather develop cancer in a free country like America than live completely cancer-free in a Marxist dystopia like Western Europe.

Interesting quote from the article: The proportion of colorectal cancer patients with access to the drug Avastin was 10 times higher in the US than it was in Europe, with the UK having a lower uptake than the European average.

The Marxist sympathizers out there don't like to admit the truth: we Americans owe our excellent health and longevity to our pharmaceutical manufacturers. Thank you, pharmaceutical manufacturers, for helping to make America the greatest country in the history of the world!

To be fair Levislade, that's a non sequitur. Iraq was not the subject. How many time have you said "I can't imagine anything more awful than " - Bashing R's is OK, but it should make sense.

Levislade: And how about Romney saying he "can't imagine anything more awful than polygamy"?

The moment I heard him say that on 60 Minutes, I thought, "Wow, this guy is an idiot!"

Actually, I could imagine something worse than polygamy, a Romney presidency. Maybe not as bad as a Bush II presidency, although, really, I'm sure it wouldn't be for lack of trying.

Cressona: Your facetiousness and sarcasm are delightfully written. I enjoy it immensely. But be careful. It’s also ironic, or, should I say ‘Me thinks the Lady doth protest too much?”

@4,

The study showed that the UK has a crappy health care system, not all of Western Europe.

I've got to go on about that Romney interview on 60 Minutes. I mean, it was frightening. I had been assuming that Romney wanted to dispel the fears that he was a cynical flip-flopper, but I came away feeling like there's even something sinister about the flip-flopping. And what's really scary is, maybe the guy didn't even want to dispel those fears, like it almost doesn't matter that his candidacy is an elaborate façade. Two words: "Manchurian candidate."

And here's what's really frightening:
Mitt Romney Now Leading in the Latest Michigan Polls

In fact, I am so frightened at the prospect of a Romney presidency or even just a Romney Republican nomination, that I'm seriously considering changing my voter registration from Democrat to Republican just so I can vote for someone other than Romney. That someone would be Giuliani. I'm even thinking of donating money to Rudy 2008.

Isn't Sam Brownback scarier? After all, Romney was the governor of a liberal state and would be more conducive to moderation than Brownback who has flatly stated that homosexual acts are immoral. Isn’t Romney OK with civil unions? But he may have hardened on that. Sigh.

For some reason, I repeatedly misread that item about the mock gun attack as the students perpetrating the fake attack on their teachers. Going by the pattern of recent arrests and charges against children, I was sure the teachers were going to have all the kids prosecuted for felonies. But no, the people in charge did it so they'll all get off scott-free.

Yes, raindrop, but Brownback doesn't stand a chance. If he did, by some bizarre series of events, get the R nomination, he would be trounced in the general election. He's too much of a loon even for this kooky nation of ours. Romney is just slick enough to pull it off.

@ 4 and @ 6 -

Fancy that - you calling the healthcare systems of other developed countries 'Marxist' - did I land on SoundPolitics by accident? Or do you work for one of the Blues? Big Pharma, perhaps?

Perhaps the UK is not the best place to get cancer, but for other illnesses and health needs, the UK and other developed countries have us beat. Our system is very good for those who have insurance, but for the 45 million (one other study notes 63 million) uninsured - and the countless underinsured in our country, we are in shitty shape.

(I wanted to post links with the following but my post got spam-filtered. Google these headlines if you wish.)

For instance, the Brits are overall healthier and for way less money:

"England beats US in health stakes"

Cuba and China have better infant mortality rates than we do:

"U.S. has second worst newborn death rate in modern world, report says"

How many people do you think die in other developed countries die because of their "Marxist" healthcare systems?

"18,000 deaths blamed on lack of insurance"

We COULD have the best healthcare in the world, but let's not delude ourselves!

Romney is slick, but if he wins the nomination he'll likely pander to the center and take more moderate positions.

@4 and @6 - bull.