Step Up the Security, Please
I don't know whether to be more impressed by their audacity or their stupidity, but I got give credit to this couple that managed to get past the Secret Service and crash the White House state dinner last night. I guess they must have slipped out after a few cocktails because they didn't have assigned seats for the meal.

Thoughts on the Filibuster
I really like Ezra Klein's piece on the history of the filibuster. He uses the example of the passage of Medicare. An internal document from the LBJ administration shows that the administration went into the battle to pass Medicare thinking that they had 55 potential votes in favor. At the time, it required 67 votes to overcome a filibuster, but this document doesn't mention filibusters at all. It assumes that, with 55 votes, passage of the bill is assured. In the end, the bill won the support of 68 senators, but that not a parliamentary requirement; it was merely a result of momentum for reform. The Senate lowered the cloture threshold to 60 votes in the 1970's, but that seems to

Glenn Beck is a Mob Boss
Rule of Law? I guess it's another of those quaint ideas we don't really need anymore.

Wednesday News Bucket and Recipe Swap
Think of all the beauty still left around you and be happy.  - Anne Frank And for anyone who needs a recipe for something at the last minute, here are the links to the Thanksgiving Recipe Swap we did in the cafe in 2005: Turkey and Stuffing Recipes Dessert Recipes Side Dishes and Breads Hope everyone has a great day tomorrrow! If you want to visit old friends, you can read the 2006 thread.

Serious Question
Who's the craziest elected official in the country? I don't mean someone who pretends to be crazy. I mean the most delusional.