Let McConnell and Boehner (heck, even Reid an Pelosi when they get squirrely) deal with a woman in the last trimester of her pregnancy. Congress would get its act together in a hurry.

John Cornyn should have to deal with a woman in the last trimester of a twin pregnancy, just because he's being such a dipstick.

It only counts if you're sworn in on a copy of Detective Comics, so you'd be out of luck and all your acts illegal. Glenn Beck told me so.

The president you're thinking of is Calvin Coolidge. Upon receiving news of President Harding's death while visiting his family in Vermont, Coolidge's father, a JP, administered the oath of office to his son.

If memory serves, LBJ took the oath before leaving Dallas after Kennedy's assassination, and I'm certain it wasn't Earl Warren who administered it.

Echoing One Guy above, this should have been given tomorrow, with the whole world really watching.

Having served on my Episcopal church's Vestry when the controversy over Robinson's ordination and election was at its height, he is a personal hero of mine, because I know the controversy he faced even within a pretty moderate, forward thinking Christian denomination and I know the unflinching courage with which he faced it.

The Rt. Rev. Eugene Robinson is an American citizen we should all be proud of. If he didn't get the platform which I personally feel he deserved, he set the bar awfully high for Rick Warren tomorrow.

I just booked a flight on US Airways; rationally, I know the accident today was freakish, but the article puts my mind at ease nonetheless.

As does the fact that none of my route from Austin to Burlington goes through LaGuardia and its geese.

Hutchison seems like she's been interested in being governor for a long time, so I won't be surprised if she doesn't change her mind. Especially given the fact that I really can't think of a Democrat who'd have a chance against her and Perry, should he choose to run again, is not particularly popular even among Republicans down here.

Besides, given the retirements that have already happened, Texas may well not make the difference when it comes to keeping the Democrats from 60 in the Senate...but we'll see. 2010 is a long way away.

for what they're worth, is that there is nothing wrong with a college seeking to diversify its student body geographically, culturally, socioeconomically, etc. I think it is even desirable. I'm an alumnus of Middlebury College (class of '94) and I benefitted from their mission to have a diverse student body, and in more ways than in being from Indiana and having what the admissions board was looking for. I got to know people from all places and backgrounds, from my roommate who grew up working poor in northeastern Vermont to a friend whose father was a member of the British House of Lords. I am better for that, above and beyond the education I received.

The question I would pose, then, to these elite white northeasterners failing to get in to the New England college of their choice...why not expand your horizons? Why not apply to universities like Northwestern or Notre Dame; or, say, Purdue or Texas A&M if you're interested in engineering or veterinary studies? And these are just a few of the possibilities where being from the northeast might be a help not a hindrance.

Harvard, Yale and Williams ain't the be-all/end-all, fine as they are.

If Kathleen Sebelius, term-limited from running for governor again, decides to run for Brownback's seat she'd have a good shot.

Anyone else, probably not so much.

Reid needs to stop talking smack he can't back up. He painted himself and the Senate Democratic caucus into a corner when he didn't have to on this issue.

As jebldmm points out, Warren forgets pretty conveniently about a big chunk of Old Testament history--which I have to believe he takes literally in the case of the biblical patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob). And let's not forget the Israelite kings (who lived in the past 5000) who had pretty big harems. Again, assuming Rev. Warren takes the Bible literally, King Solomon had hundreds of wives and concubines.

In fact, the concept of monogamous Christian marriage as practiced in the West is a relatively recent invention. The pre-Christian Romans often didn't bother sanctifying the marriage relationship. You were married if you said you were and Roman men were considered less than manly if they were actually faithful to their wives. Among the royalty of ancient Egypt (the most successful civilization in history if one judges by length of time) marriages between siblings and half-siblings was the norm.

So, Rev. Warren either needs to read up on his history--and his Old Testament for that matter--or just admit he's making an intellectually dishonest argument.

But encourage your friend as gently but insistently as you can to at least get her son tested. Sam is at an age where early intervention can make all the difference.

My 3 year-old nephew was recently diagnosed at the very mild end of the spectrum; I have made a point of telling my brother-in-law and his wife that they are doing the right thing and whatever other encouragement I can offer. If you feel it is appropriate, you may even offer to do research or help out in some other way.