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I am planning to write a post later this weekend outlining some of the thoughts I've had about Scotland, Scottish heritage and Scottishness, post-return, but for now, given the lack of writing and fresh content I've been publishing here, I give you these images, together with some commentary. There is much more below the fold, I should mention...
Around Loch Lomond

Loch Lomond is a short drive out of Glasgow (where we started our trip, and the general area around which...

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Those who read this blog and who follow me on Twitter may know I have been out of the country recently, having traveled back to Scotland for a much-needed holiday on May 22.
That same day, Michael Calderone at Politico penned this piece, which kindly mentions and quotes me. So, this is belated thanks... and shameless self-promotion. Here's the relevant excerpt:
While The Huffington Post and GOP leadership make strange bedfellows, it’s not the first time Republicans have...

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Health care is an area of policy that is of almost outsized importance to me, even though I don't write about it all that much these days. So, naturally, I found this interesting-- it summarizes a McKinsey article about how to fix the US health care system (or perhaps more accurately, what to focus on in attempting to fix it). I was pleased to see that much of what is detailed here corresponds to things I've been saying for quite awhile, and even a lot of what I was saying last year in my...

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Check out this, from Politico's front page:

Note the caption: "Democratic leaders warn supporters that they won't be able to accomplish everything they set out to do this year."
As Politico correctly notes, if Franken is seated as a Senator, Harry and his friends will have a bulletproof, 60 vote majority.
That means the GOP won't be able to filibuster.
But even with that major obstacle to Democrats passing bills eliminated, it seems Harry & Co still won't be...

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That is essentially the message sent by Chris Van Hollen, Chair of the DCCC and assistant to Nancy Pelosi, and House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, to Democratic House members earlier this week:
As the House prepared to vote this week on Republican Rep. Jeff Flake’s push for an ethics investigation involving Rep. John Murtha and other senior appropriators, Democratic leaders sent an unmistakable message to their members:
“Don’t be a Flake.”
That was the...

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President Obama campaigned hard on the theme of change last year, but the longer he occupies the White House, the more evident it is that there's not quite as much of that prized commodity on offer as a lot of Americans would like, myself inlcuded.
Exhibit number one for today: This item, from Huffington Post, which underlines that Obama is about to fire his first gay Arabic linguist. Yes, indeed, Obama has the option of suspending gay discharges with a "stroke-of-the-pen":
Dan...

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Apparently, it's Jon Huntsman. Via US News & World Report's Political Bulletin:
US News Weekly, in its Washington Whispers column, reports, "When it comes to 2012, there's no potential Republican opponent who makes" former Barack Obama campaign manager David Plouffe "shake in his shoes," though Utah Gov. Jon huntsman (R) makes him a "wee bit queasy." Plouffe says, "I think he's really out there and speaking a lot of truth about the direction of the party."
This is, in my...

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Readers will know that in addition to posting on politics, I occasionally post on sports, too. Usually, I'll focus on Premiership football (and specifically Arsenal-- go Gunners!) when sportsblogging. But today, I've got another sport I'd like to focus on ever so briefly: Women's ski jumping.
This is not a sport I watch like a hawk or am overly familiar with. Nor is it a sport I currently participate in, or ever intend to participate in. It's way too scary for my tastes. I remember...

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Just a joke? You decide:
Mitt Romney, left off Time's list of the 100 most influential people, takes a jab at the list and, by extension, the Republicans on it.
Romney jokingly suggesting in an interview with CNN's John King that they'd been included for looks, not influence:
KING: As you launch this effort, anyone who picks up "Time" magazine this week and sees the 100 most influential people, will see two Republicans in that magazine. They'll see Sarah Palin and Rush...

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When news broke last week that Supreme Court Justice David Souter was set to retire, much media attention seemed to focus immediately on two questions: a) who would Obama nominate to replace him and b) what would be the political consequences of any given selection (otherwise known as “will Obama get his man, or woman, through, and if so, how cleanly”). The first question will be answered in due course by Obama himself (or maybe a clever reporter capable of prying it out of Rahm...

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