So we’re chatting with the Male Parental Unit last night — well, listening, you know how that goes — and after the monologue drifts from the Ducks to Madonna to the Ducks, he mentions that he found a hundred-dollar savings bond in a drawer last year, and promptly cashed it.

Following which he received a Form 1099 for the taxes on it.

“Everybody pays taxes but the rich,” we tell him.

And he replies—

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Our guest columnist is not Clint Eastwood.

If General Motors, Ford and Chrysler get the bailout that their chief executives asked for yesterday, you can kiss the American automotive industry goodbye. It won’t go overnight, but its demise will be virtually guaranteed.

Without that bailout, Detroit will need to drastically restructure itself. With it, the automakers will stay the course — the suicidal course of declining market shares, insurmountable labor and retiree burdens, technology atrophy, product inferiority and never-ending job losses. Detroit needs a turnaround, not a check.

Let Detroit Go Bankrupt [Mitt Romney, NYT, 11/18/2008]

Our guest columnist is Karen Handel, who until this morning was the senior vice president for public policy for Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

February 7, 2012

The Honorable Nancy Brinker
CEO, Susan G. Komen for the Cure
5005 LBJ Freeway, Suite 250
Dallas, Texas 75244

Dear Ambassador Brinker:

Susan G. Komen for the Cure has been the recognized leader for more 30 years in the fight against breast cancer here in the US – and increasingly around the world.

As you know, I have always kept Komen’s mission and the women we serve as my highest priority – as they have been for the entire organization, the Komen Affiliates, our many supporters and donors, and the entire community of breast cancer survivors. I have carried out my responsibilities faithfully and in line with the Board’s objectives and the direction provided by you and Liz.

We can all agree that this is a challenging and deeply unsettling situation for all involved in the fight against breast cancer. However, Komen’s decision to change its granting strategy and exit the controversy surrounding Planned Parenthood and its grants was fully vetted by every appropriate level within the organization. At the November Board meeting, the Board received a detailed review of the new model and related criteria. As you will recall, the Board specifically discussed various issues, including the need to protect our mission by ensuring we were not distracted or negatively affected by any other organization’s real or perceived challenges. No objections were made to moving forward.

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Our guest columnist is His Excellency, the Most Reverend Timothy P. Broglio, J.C.D., Archbishop for the Military Services, who issued the following “pastoral letter” on January 26, to be read at military Sunday Masses. After the Army chief of chaplains refused to allow the letter to be read from the pulpit, the Archbishop complained to Army Secretary John McHugh, who consented to the letter but suggested that the “unjust law” line be removed.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:

It is imperative that I call to your attention an alarming and serious matter that negatively impacts the Church in the United States directly, and that strikes at the fundamental right to religious liberty for all citizens of any faith. The federal government, which claims to be “of, by, and for the people,” has just dealt a heavy blow to almost a quarter of those people — the Catholic population — and to the millions more who are served by the Catholic faithful. It is a blow to a freedom that you have fought to defend and for which you have seen your buddies fall in battle.

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[Twitter]

We may not have the Stanford band to entertain us, but the Series of Tubes are busy today, first off with this Romney Family photo making the rounds.

Okay, okay, it’s a fake:

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxw4uZAezaI

Pete Hoekstra, last seen generating His Own Private Meme a few years back, is now running for Senate in Michigan, and spent $75,000 yesterday on a Very Special Local Super Bowl Ad:

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