THE AUDACITY OF TAUPE: Mary Claire Kendall on Obama’s Political Tin Ear.

THEY TOLD ME IF I VOTED FOR JOHN MCCAIN, BLUENOSES WOULD BE TALKING ABOUT REINSTATING SUNDAY CLOSING LAWS: And They Were Right!

UPDATE: At least they’re not talking about rationing groceries like Hugo Chavez. But that would free us from more of those bothersome choices. . . .

PROGRESS: Development of Tiny Thorium Reactors Could Wean the World Off Oil In Just Five Years. Faster, please.

Steven Den Beste was warning the other day that this might promote nuclear proliferation in a big way, but some commenters suggested that’s not really a risk. This article also says that thorium reactors don’t produce significant amounts of bomb-grade isotopes.

UPDATE: Reader Michael Costello writes: “The biggest problem with thorium reactors is that there are no thorium mines in Iowa.”

ANOTHER UPDATE: Reader Tom Brosz writes: “Maybe there aren’t any thorium mines in Iowa, but it sure looks like there could be.”

UP TO 40% OFF, at the Amazon Labor Day kitchen sale.

FROM STEPHEN GREEN, it’s The Week In Blogs.

NICK GILLESPIE REFLECTS: Glenn Beck’s “Restoring Honor” Rally, a Week Later. Interesting discussion in the comments, too. I like the “Easy Rider” remake . . . .

Plus this: “Obama is making Bush look like Pericles in comparison, but a lot of movement people get that Bush put the coup de grace on the Reagan Coalition.”

HEADLINE OF THE WEEK: Sheriff Fires Deputies Caught Naked In The Forest. As part of a threesome, which led to this memorable line: “No one has been able to say how long U.S. Forest Service Officer Scott Cairnes and Deputy Derek Hamm stood watching the trio.”

JIM “ANGLOSPHERE” BENNETT AND LEXINGTON GREEN ARE working on a book together.

It will be about the American way of life, where it came from, where it’s going and what we should be doing. So far it looks like we will have everything in there: The Magna Carta, the Singularity, Resilient Communities, the Haymarket Riot, the Anglosphere, the Constitution, Libertarians and Conservatives having a group hug, the inevitable doom of our would-be overlords, pretty much everything including the kitchen sink. We are still working on the book proposal. But we are moving along.

They’re looking for reader involvement over at ChicagoBoyz.

SINGLES GETTING TOGETHER via GPS dating.

DO BLOGGING LAW PROFESSORS wield too much power?

WILL THE MARKETS CRASH because of college costs?

IN THE MAIL: Conduct Unbecoming: How Barack Obama is Destroying The Military and Endangering Our Security.

DER SPIEGEL: Obama’s Misguided Approach: America Has Become Too European. “The nation would be better off embracing traditional American values like self-reliance and small government.” Yep. That’s what they’re writing in Der Spiegel.

PROFESSOR BAINBRIDGE: So what if Mike Castle is a RINO?

UPDATE: Dan Riehl responds.

PROPOSALS FOR an educational renaissance.

NO LOVE FOR Newt Gingrich. He hasn’t aged well.

MORE “DON’T GET COCKY” ADVICE FOR THE GOP:

In 1994, nobody — and I mean nobody — saw the landslide coming. I remember political pundits and newscasters stunned with disbelief as the results drifted in from across the country that Tuesday night. Given the widespread expectations of a Democratic drubbing, this November differs greatly from its 1994 counterpart.

Another difference is that the GOP in 1994 were offering voters a clear alternative to the ruling party. Their 10-part “Contract with America” offered a palpable idea of exactly how the party planned to rule differently from the Democrats. I’ve yet to see any clear, coherent message that details how the Republicans plan to lead if they do take control of Congress in November. The GOP still appear rudderless — despite perfect conditions for a cogent message of austerity and limited government to emerge.

Indeed.

PATRICK RICHARDSON: Media Bias Gets Dangerous: Minimizing the Ecoterror Threat. “They are over and done with the topic of James J. Lee, despite the mounting number of attacks committed in the name of environmentalism.”

YOU CAN’T HANDLE the truth.

BACK TO SCHOOL videos for kids.

DETROIT NEWS: The irony of Jesse Jackson’s stripped SUV.

FATWA: Australian Imam Urges Muslims to Behead Geert Wilders. Barbarians.

MICHIGAN: Democrats’ Fake “Tea Party” Off Ballot.

SENDING AN INVOICE CAKE TO PEOPLE.COM. “Today I sent an invoice on a cake to People.com. I’m demanding $500 from them after my Cake of Resignation photo was used without permission and without payment.” For all the complaints about bloggers infringing intellectual property, I note that Big Media folks often lift stuff from blogs without a second thought.

HEH: I’m retiring and becoming a lobbyist.