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To illustrate the fundamental, and most important difference between the right and the left, I'll quote from "Whom Do You Trust?" from the conservative American Thinker:

The challenge to conservatives after the ObamaCare cram-down is simple. If we want to succeed in our quest of restoring limited government, we must persuade the American people of the truth: It is much better trust a businessman than a politician. If you want decent health care, then you don't want the government involved -- not if you don't want a $30-trillion unfunded deficit. If you want decent education for your children, then you don't want the government in the loop -- your kid will need remedial classes when he gets to college. If you want to give the poor a hand up and not a handout, then you need to keep the government out of it; otherwise, the government will end up smashing the low-income family.

Of course, if your idea of justice is to force the American people to pay for your education and your health care, then go ahead. Grow government.

This makes a lot of sense, that is if you're willing to ignore reality and go with ideology.

1. If you want decent health care, you can find it any country where the government runs the whole kit and caboodle. Take Great Britain, where healthcare is a lot cheaper per capita, "outcomes aren't noticeably worse" and you don't have to worry about the fact that you can't get chemotherapy in an emergency room.

2. If you want decent education for your chlidren, you'll do fine in public schools, even when compared to kids in private schools. (pdf)

3. If you want to help the poor, you need to realize that the "Great Society" programs cut poverty in half (from 1964 to 1974) in the U.S. I don't know of one corporation with that purpose in mind.

Government is often wholly inappropriate to address problems you might have. If you want to buy a tie, want a nice car or find a good glass cleaner, involving the government doesn't make sense.

But where government is an appropriate solution, it's better to put your eggs in the government basket. Politicians are elected and therefore directly responsible to the people, rather than profit. The profit motive often works against a clean environment, worker's rights, or truth in advertising. Yet it is also naive to trust the politician. Government can work, but only when it is composed of responsible and responsive leaders in government, elected by a vigilant and well-informed populace.

"Is RNC Chairman Michael Steele's Job in Jeopardy?"

I was not going to link to this, nobody reading this blog is unaware that Steele is a buffoon, so there's nothing to be learned on that matter. There is also the possibility that he will stay in place as RNC chairman, and I wouldn't want to dash that hope. But this quote changed my mind:

"This is a really bad distraction at a time when we have the Obama administration on the ropes and we are making great gains out. Among the rank and file, we now have attention diverted to this fiscal irregularity and this controversy," said Ken Blackwell, a former candidate for RNC chairman (he's currently vice chairman of the RNC's platform committee).

Please define having your opponents "on the ropes." Does it include occupying the White House? A majority in the House? How about the Senate? How about losing your obstructionist battle to stop health care reform?

"Drill, Baby, Drill."

"Fox News cuts away from an Obama speech for ... pretty much anything."

I'd just like to point out that FOX News realizes how dangerous it is to let people actually hear Obama speak. Since taking Democrats out of context is their stock in trade, nothing scares them more than their listeners getting to hear their victims unfiltered outside their narrative.

C.R.E.W.: What Open Government and Breakdancing have in common

Washington Post: "FDA reviewing whether to ban menthol cigarettes" Bad news for those who love the stank o' nicotine!

Autodidacts rejoice!.

"Beck guest host Doc Thompson: Tanning salon tax makes health care reform a ‘racist law.’."

The retired editor emeritus of The Washington Times, Wesley Pruden writes in "Shunning the party of whiners":

We're not yet a nation wholly of whiners, but some of our congresspersons are working on it. Democrats who should have been taking a victory lap spent a week cowering in fear of the contents of a tea cup. No wonder real men — mostly but, by no means all, white — are shunning the Democrats.

The polling gurus are finding that millions of the white men who helped put Barack Obama in the White House are leaving the Democrats in great numbers, and this could lead to really bad news in November. Gallup finds that white male support for a Democratic Congress has fallen 8 percentage points since last summer, while the support of women has remained remarkably steady. White women who voted for Mr. Obama continue to support him, but only 38 percent of white men support him now. Unless the president and his party find a way to reverse this trend they must prepare for an epic bath nine months hence.

This may seem kind of innocuous at first, but keep in mind Pruden is a repeat offender when it comes to race.

Pruden is letting us know that real men are "mostly" white, and black and Latino voters don't matter as much. White men are where the action is! Doom and gloom are on the horizon if you don't get white men to vote for you! Unless of course, you know what you're talking about . . .

"RNC expense report renews criticism about Steele's spending."

"The war on WikiLeaks and why it matters."

"Jackson's fair complexion no more remains a mystery."

The article tries to equivocate, but we know the deal.

I watched V this weekend.

I actually kind of liked it, Mostly because they appear to have jettisoned the weak parts of the original 80s series, which was most of the mad repetitive plots. The only things they've kept so far are term "visitor", the human skins and the motherships.

That being said, I was more impressed by how they avoided going wrong (excepting the annoyingly dumb/horny Tyler) than by what they got right. I suspect it could go south any minute.

"Hollywood thinks the '80s are totally rad."

I got about 5 minutes into Transformers 2 and hit stop. I'm officially through with this fad.

Exploding breast implants are crazy, even for World Net Daily.

"Maddow takes full-page ad in Boston to say she's still not running."

Previously:

"Beyoncé and Jay-Z Not Expecting a Baby."

This is a headline? What's next? "Tom Hanks still not dead."? "No cure yet for the common cold."? "The world did not end today."?

GritTV talks to FAIR's Jim Naureckas about ACORN closing up shop:

"Conservative David Frum loses think-tank job after criticizing GOP."

Come to think of it, is it noteworthy that we haven't heard anything like this happening elsewhere in conservative punditry? Especially from anyone at FOX News . . .

There's some hope in this for us liberals, in that this indicates that conservatives are going to stick with the ineffective whole hog obstructionist routine for quite a bit longer. They should have listened to Frum.

"Latest high-fructose corn syrup study generates buzz, debate."

I have to wonder why there's no more studies about this on humans. It's not like removing one type of sweetener from somebody's diet is unethical right? Is there no research here because there's no interest group to fund it? Or is High Fructose Corn Syrup to ubiquitous it's just too hard to conduct such studies?

American Thinker: "The Progressives' Perfect Trojan Horse." Moonbat of the day, for sure.

CNN: "'Vicious cycle': Jobless and black in America."

eReleases: "New Survey of Corporate Hiring: Black and Latino Executives Falling Further Behind."

Media Matters: "Right-wing blogs trivialize threats against Democrats." I think they spelled "instigate" wrong.

NBC Chicago: "Long-Lost Celebrity Twins." A lot of these are oh so wrong.

ThinkProgress: Bush wipes his hand on Clinton’s shirt after shaking hands with Haitian residents." That's beyond weird.

TPM: The 10 Most Ridiculous GOP-Proposed Health Care Amendments