Photo Contest Finalists...

From the Sony World Photography Awards. See them all here.

Quote of the Day (II)...

This is a soothing balm for a citizen feeling much abraded by the shenanigans of most of the politicians on the national stage:

We are not requesting funds intended to just grow government. We are not requesting more money for normal day-to-day operations of government as part of this economic stimulus package. In essence we say no to operating funds for more positions in government.

Who said that?

Sarah Palin, yesterday, as she rejected over $400M of bailout money targeted for her state of Alaska.

Make all the fun of her you'd like to. In her actions, she continues to make more sense than nearly everyone else, including (most especially) that collection of buffoons and bozos in Washington who are so busy stealing your money to spend it on their favorite porky projects. And she's not at all afraid to take an unpopular position to do the right thing.

You go, girl. If you run again, you'll get my vote...

Quote of the Day (Extended Edition)...

First, the one-liner:

Why do we never hear calls for Hamas leaders to be charged with war crimes?

This is from a most interesting speech by Rupert Murdoch. Here's his conclusion:

My friends, I do not pretend to have all the answers to Gaza this evening. But I do know this: The free world makes a terrible mistake if we deceive ourselves into thinking this is not our fight.

In the end, the Israeli people are fighting the same enemy we are: cold-blooded killers who reject peace, who reject freedom and who rule by the suicide vest, the car bomb and the human shield.

Against such an enemy, I will not second-guess the decisions of a free Israel defending her citizens. And I would ask all those who support peace and freedom to do the same.

And you can (and should!) read the whole thing.