Iraq and oil

I do not believe that an endless military, economic and political commitment to Iraq makes sense. It only makes sense if we are determined to occupy the Middle East indefinitely to secure oil supplies. But the rational response to oil dependence is not to entrench it, but to try and move away from it.

Andrew Sullivan in his endorsement of Ron Paul for President.

Gain without pain

Republican presidential rivals called Wednesday for deep cuts in federal spending, and said the reductions need not require painful sacrifice by the millions of Americans who receive government services. (AP)

Oh brother.

barnesandnoble.com

A big fan of Amazon, I strayed to Barnes & Noble this morning because the former did not have a book in stock. I discovered two things I didn't know before:

• Barnes & Noble's free shipping kicks in at the same $25 level, but your purchases are "expedited" with a three-day delivery instead of Amazon's 5-9 days. And your purchases may actually be shipped within 24 hours (as opposed to Amazon waiting 5 or 6 days to send "free shipped" items).
• Barnes & Noble lets you pay through Paypal.

Cool.