Luther Allison
“A Change Must Come”

I wanted to highlight Jon Swift’s epic post, “Best Blog Posts of 2007 (Chosen by the Bloggers Themselves).” Jon Swift contacted everyone on his prodigious blogroll, and then posted their submissions with a brief description for each. I’m still working my way through it all, but it represents a great deal of work by the Honourable Mister Swift. There are too many good blogs and too little time, and it’s far too easy to miss worthy stuff ya don’t know about. So thanks to him, and the other folks who make a habit of reading, linking and promoting others’ work.

This also gives me an opportunity to link Jon Swift’s superb satirical post, “Journalism 101,” summing up many of the faults with our current media. You may have already read it before, since it justly received a fair amount of links. But it’s one of those touchstone posts that I expect to be linked for some time to come.

I’d also recommend his follow-up post, “Swift Reactions 7.” If you can bear to read Ann Althouse, follow Swift’s link. Some of the back and forth in the comment thread is hilarious.

(Cross-posted at Vagabond Scholar)

Andy Olmsted, who blogged as G’Kar at one of my favorite sites, Obsidian Wings, was killed yesterday while on active duty in Iraq.

Hilzoy’s posted the piece Andy wrote to be published in the event of his death. It’s very moving.

Several commenters have asked if there’s any way to do something for his family, and I’ll post an update if there is. If you comment in the Obsidian Wings thread, please read the comment guidelines within the post itself, to respect Andy’s wishes not to politicize his death. I don’t think it’s political, though, to say it’s a tragic loss, it was a jolt to hear, and my thoughts are with his family and friends. Condolences.

Update: A follow post is here.

(Cross-posted at Vagabond Scholar)

You can guess who said this…….in regard to his ending up in the dumper in Iowa last night. He just can’t seem to get a sentence out without adding 9/11 somewhere in it. What a jerk.

“None of this worries me - Sept. 11, there were times I was worried,”

God we can’t get rid of this guy fast enough.

In addition, federal officials challenged Louisiana to explain why it did not want to enforce the one-year waiting period for children who had lost private health insurance because of a parent’s death or the failure of a business where a parent was employed. In such cases, the state replied, the loss of coverage is involuntary, and the waiting period would “penalize children and families for circumstances beyond their control.”

The Bush administration is imposing restrictions on the ability of states to expand eligibility for Medicaid, in an effort to prevent them from offering coverage to families of modest incomes who, the administration argues, may have access to private health insurance.

The restrictions mirror those the administration placed on the State Children’s Health Insurance Program in August after states tried to broaden eligibility for it as well.

Until now, states had generally been free to set their own Medicaid eligibility criteria, and the Bush administration had not openly declared that it would apply the August directive to Medicaid. State officials in Louisiana, Ohio and Oklahoma said they had discovered the administration’s intent in negotiations with the federal government over the last few weeks.

More at the New York Times

John Edwards speech at the Iowa Caucus

Democratic Caucus

Senator Barack Obama : 37.58%
Senator John Edwards : 29.75%
Senator Hillary Clinton : 29.47%
Governor Bill Richardson : 2.11%
Senator Joe Biden : 0.93%
Uncommitted : 0.14%
Senator Chris Dodd : 0.02%
Precincts Reporting: 1781 of 1781

(Percentages are State Delegate Equivalents.)

Republican Caucus

Huckabee 39,814 34% 95%reporting
Romney 29,405 25%
Thompson 15,521 13%
McCain 15,248 13%
Paul 11,598 10%
Giuliani 4,013 4%
Hunter 515 1%

Good news of the night…..Hillary #3. Dogs didn’t give a care one way or another……..