An atticWhat happens when you have too little time and too much to blog about?  Ideas and news stories start to pile up.  So, here for your browsing pleasure are a handful of links and blurbs about the new Soviet Union, Social Security reform, Sarah Palin and more.

Medvedev Raises Spectre of New Cold War

Russia put the West on alert for a new Cold War that the Kremlin is ready to fight, its President said yesterday.  President Medvedev set tensions soaring when he recognised the independence of two breakaway republics inside Georgia. “We are not afraid of anything, including the prospect of a Cold War,” he said. Hours earlier he had ordered his Foreign Ministry to start establishing diplomatic ties with the secessionist regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.  (Commentary:  Obama & McCain can claim there will be no new Cold War all they want, that doesn’t make it true.  Their denials down the road will only be to the Soviet’s advantage.)

Top 7 Myths, Lies and Untruths about Sarah Palin

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has been subjected to an intense amount of media and public scrutiny since she was named as John McCain’s vice presidential pick one week ago. Many of the attacks have come in the form of unconfirmed reports on the Internet. Among them:  (Commentary: An excellent primer for those who want to be ready to defend Sarah Palin)

Fresh Blood for the Vampire (Feminst article about Sarah Palin - a good read)

Rip tide! Is the Obama campaign shooting out to sea like a paper boat?  It’s heavy weather for Obama fans, as momentum has suddenly shifted to John McCain — that hoary, barnacle-encrusted tub that many Democrats like me had thought was full of holes and swirling to its doom in the inky depths of Republican incoherence and fratricide. Gee whilikers, the McCain vampire just won’t die! Hit him with a hammer, and he explodes like a jellyfish into a hundred hungry pieces.

EU Wants to Ban Sexist TV Commercials

MEPs want TV regulators in the EU to set guidelines which would see the end of anything deemed to portray women as sex objects or reinforce gender stereotypes. This could potentially mean an end to attractive women advertising perfume, housewives in the kitchen or men doing DIY.  Such classic adverts as the Diet Coke commercial featuring the bare-chested builder, or Wonderbra’s “Hello Boys” featuring model Eva Herzigova would have been banned.  The new rules come in a report by the EU’s women’s rights committee.  (Commentary: Politicians & commentators too frequently rely upon “slippery slope” arguments, but when it comes to preserving the First Amendment the slippery slope is often legitimate.  We really do have something special in American when it comes to free speech.  Sadly, too many colleges and universities have bought into the PC mentality.)

The Only Way to Fix Social Security

John McCain and Barack Obama both talk about how they would put Social Security on sound financial footing. The program will face the first signs of a financial crunch within a decade and have to rely on Uncle Sam - who’s in hock already - to make up for the shortfall. But no matter the next president’s preferred fixes, he’ll have to do a lot of compromising with Congress.  (Commentary: the article doesn’t actually recommend a solution, just the same mix of increased taxes & reduced benefits we’ve tried for 20 plus years.)

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