The GOP Is Nearly Dead In California “Nature abhors a vacuum and something will rise up to seriously challenge Democratic dominance in the state at some point, most likely a California Republican Party that goes its own route rather than following the lead of the national party.”

Hedonist, Disciple or Bourgeois? “Sex is recreation and marriage is work, and eventually every grasshopper is required to grow up into an ant. That’s an extraordinarily difficult psychological transformation and one for which we provide virtually no guidance”

Japan and blood types “According to popular belief in Japan, type As are sensitive perfectionists and good team players, but over-anxious. Type Os are curious and generous but stubborn. ABs are arty but mysterious and unpredictable, and type Bs are cheerful but eccentric, individualistic and selfish.”

Fishing under ice (ORIGINAL) juusdo

The GOP Must Choose: Rush Limbaugh or Minority Voters “Stop letting prominent voices of movement conservatism get away with saying things that are a) actually just racist; b) demagogic race-baiting; or c) so obviously tone-deaf that anyone with common sense can see how terrible it would sound. Why is that so hard?!”

From Sudan to cyber, secret war with Iran heats up | Reuters “Obama administration and Israel have also ploughed resources into covert operations – a campaign that now appears to have prompted an increasingly sophisticated Iranian reaction.”

The problem with federalism “State legislative elections are not referendums on state legislators’ own performance but are instead dominated by national politics.”

Why Partisans Can’t Read Polls Andrew Sullivan, The Daily Dish | By Andrew Sullivan

Speech Recognition Breakthrough for the Spoken, Translated Word MicrosoftResearch

Just when you thought the euro crisis was subsiding Brad Plumer, Ezra Klein