Two very recent polls, Rasmussen and DK/R2K have the identical result that Specter leads Sestak by 15 points--a different perspective than this posting.

Remember that PA has closed primaries, that's why Specter is a D.  He's out there facing hostiles in town halls on national TV, while Sestak has no such visible free publicity.  Plus, Specter is a tough SOB with only Sestak in his competitive sights now.  Just sayin' how things are right now.

That said, it's a long time until the primary in PA, and Sestak has plenty of time.  As of 7/13, Nate at fivethirtyeight.com had the final election as the 13th most likely to change party, with good words for Sestak and bad ones for Toomey:
"Most of the action here is on the Democratic primary side, where Joe Sestak is slowly but steadily closing his gap with Arlen Specter. Pat Toomey remains nominally within striking distance of the Democrats in the general election, but I think his numbers will plateau as Pennsylvanians realize how conservative he is."

The concept of a combustion engine making electricity to make a vehicle move has been in use for decades in diesel-electric locomotives.  Applying it to passenger cars is a good idea, especially if the combustion engine can be swapped for whatever is most efficient to run.

The Volt has been very publicly in development for some years.  The only news item is that the EPA published an estimate of CITY mileage, where the Volt will use NO gas (for the first 40 miles).  If your commute is less than this, and you plug the Volt in every evening, you might get a 230MPG equivalent.  EPA used a formula to equate a unit of electricity usage to a unit if gas consumption.  That said, overall mileage might be around 100MPG.  

The car is not projected to be inexpensive.

Gov. Crist needs to appoint a senator who will not give him trouble as he runs for the seat himself.  Who could that be?

Since Alan Keyes, as a carpetbagger, was able to run in IL for the Senate against Obama in 1994, we can expand our options nationwide.

Alan Keyes - not busy now, but a born trouble-maker
Sarah Palin - available, FL has better weather than AK.
Roland Burris - has appointed senator experience, could make himself available for another item on his mausoleum.

Surely you can think of other "excellent" candidates.

Interesting how fast-moving events obsolesce many of the above comments.  Bill was just right:  senior enough to stroke NK ego, with no actual responsibility to the administration.  Plus, it appears that a message from the President got delivered, and future doors might be opened.

Quite a coincidence.  When invited in Fall, 2008 to give a college commencement address in December, I thought about what short-term and long-term things that the graduates might take away.  For the long term, empathy was my focus (before it became a controversial word, and I did not need to defend it then).  In part, I said:

"I want to speak of the single most important practice to help you to be responsible personally and professionally, and as a national and world citizen:  EMPATHY.

Empathy is the ability to understand another person's positions, assumptions and points of view.  It might be thought of as the intellectual counterpart of emotional sympathy (a good thing in itself, but do not confuse the two).  It is not about agreement, but it is the mechanism to help yourself by finding common ground with others to solve problems, by making many more interesting and lifelong friends, and by contributing to the balance of your life.  Here are some examples to explain this idea:

Lack of empathy:
*    He doesn't agree with me, so he's an idiot.
*    This is important to me, so everyone else must care too.

Empathy in practice:
*    I can see where she's coming from.
*    That's a useful article, so I have to rethink a little.

In the US, and in much of the world, we are obviously running a huge deficit in empathy.  You have the education to change that, and you can enjoy the advantages of empathy just by practicing it."

I went on to talk about various applications of empathy.

Scott Roeder is a tax protestor, served jail time for parole violations after a conviction of possessing bomb components.  He has posted at the Operation Rescue website, but no further connection has been established.

www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/05/31/scott- roeder-held-as-pers_n_209551.html

http://donklephant.com/2009/05/31/tiller -murder-suspect-is-scott-roeder-connecte d-with-operation-rescue/

UNLESS THERE ARE ISSUES UNKNOWN TODAY, the administration has buffaloed the Rs, politically.  If they go after Judge S. aggressively, they will lose the growing Hispanic vote for a generation, regardless of the language they use.  This is a big deal in TX, currently Red, and FL, swing state--4 senators, many representatives, lots of electoral votes.  If they do not, Ds win quickly and easily, and still score points in the Hispanic community.

It does not matter what talking heads on the left and right say, or how much money the extremes contribute to an advertising fight, only the senators' votes count, and all 100 of them (including Franken) know the political situation.  At the moment, R senators (and aspiring candidates) are avoiding spouting off, waiting for an official party line and mulling the damage a confrontation will cause for their party and themselves.

WV has been to this precipice before with their 91-year old senior senator.  Can anyone illuminate us about possible appointees by Democratic Governor Joe Manchin?  Or, does WV do senate replacements differently?

I feel your pain, if our new DW gave me that pain at 5 years, I would be indignant too.

But our situation was different.  Our 15-yr-old Bosch deteriorated enough (door leak, increasing noise, broken racks) to shop for another (repairing would be the wrong choice).  Since CR had a Bosch model co-top-rated (they are USA-made now), we went for a little lesser model.  Bought from Internet (HomeEverything.com, vetted by their customers at ResellerRatings.com), delivered flawlessly by UPS Freight, expertly installed locally.  As quiet as our new refrigerator.

The gift that keeps on giving.  LOL

That would be "bated breath", as in held breath.  The alternative might have to do with halitosis from eating sushi.  ;;;--->>>>>

In my experience, my DOE security clearance was based on my need-to-know about information relevant to my position.  I had a general Q clearance, so that I could attend classified meetings at that level.  But there were additional levels of clearance that I did not need, so I was never granted them.

In fact, nothing I ever did in that job ever required a clearance of any kind, but it made people who called meetings together more convenient for them, in case stuff inadvertently came up.  All-in-all, a clearance was more of a burden than an advantage for most people in positions like mine.

Now, what is the basis for former VP Cheney's need-to-know to justify having a clearance of any kind?

The optimum scenario for the Ds is for Toomey to take out Specter in the R primary, and the Ds to put up their best possible candidate.  Considering the 2008 election details, I cannot imagine PA statewide moving any further right.  

But, if Specter goes the Independent route and makes it a three-way race, the waters are truly muddied.

Another possible problem might be the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment--what do more learned than I think?

Amazingly, I am in agreement with John Hinderaker on this one:
www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2009/03/0 23114.php
Assuming his statements are factual, that is.  Well, at least the first part of that posting, up to where he starts on the "larger picture."  

Nate at fivethirtyeight.com has a great article about how AIG got itself into the position to have to pay these "bonuses."  He explains that these payments are salaries paid in lieu of success-based bonuses that don't exist because there is no success.  All the DC hounds are baying for the wrong reasons.

It is also correct for the administration to request the removal of the retroactive provision in the stimulus bill to keep it from being unconstitutional.