Perry Bacon Jr. writing for the Washington Post tells us that Obama, McCain Are Both Proposing Dramatic Changes.

Well, “dramatic changes” are needed in a lot of areas in the US government after more than seven years of the Hedgemony. Unfortunately these two whiz kids are talking about changing one of the few government programs that the Shrubbery didn’t manage to break: Social Security.

The forecasts all say there is no problem with the program even on the horizon until 2041, and depending on the economy, there may not be a problem then or ever.

If you look at Medicare on the other hand, that program is in meltdown. Medicare and the deficit are the two biggest financial problems that the next President needs to deal with, and they keep dancing around those topics.

McCain is on a fool’s errand if he thinks anyone wants to put money in a bear market. I know too many people who aren’t retiring as planned because of what the market has been doing lately.

Balance the budget, and a lot of problems go away.

Go to the Weather Underground and the page features a map. One of the tabs above the map says “Wundermap”.

If you click on it you get a Google map with a lot of possible overlays for all kinds of information. You can zoom in to the area you want and get weather information about the area, and now you can get fire locations and smoke coverage.

Try it out.

Showing the true lack of perception of reality that has characterized the Presidential campaign orchestrated by the media this year, CNN reports McCain, Obama slam Iran’s missile test

(CNN) — Sen. John McCain said Wednesday that Iran’s missile test shows the need for an effective missile defense system, while rival Sen. Barack Obama believes it shows aggressive diplomacy, combined with sanctions, is necessary.

“Ballistic missile testing coupled with Iran’s continued refusal to cease its nuclear activities should unite the international community in efforts to counter Iran’s dangerous ambitions,” McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential candidate, said in a statement.

“Iran’s missile tests also demonstrate the need for effective missile defense now and in the future, and this includes missile defense in Europe as is planned with the Czech Republic and Poland,” the statement said.

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… like a poodle and a pant leg [sorry, heraldry joke].

The BBC reports that some say the Iran missile test ‘provocative’

The US and Israel have condemned Iran after it test-fired a long range missile capable of reaching Israel.

Iran state media said nine missiles were tested in total, including a new Shahab-3, with a range of 2,000km (1,240 miles).

Iran has tested the missile before, but the latest launch comes amid rising tensions with the US and Israel over the country’s nuclear programme.

US Under-secretary of State William Burns said the test was “provocative”.

The BBC reported earlier Israelis ‘rehearse Iran attack’

Israel has carried out an exercise that appears to have been a rehearsal for an attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities, US officials have told the New York Times.

More than 100 Israeli fighter jets took part in manoeuvres over the eastern Mediterranean and over Greece in the first week of June, US officials said.

I don’t remember Mr. Burns calling that “provocative”.

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Here’s a list of the real Americans and patriots in the Senate. These are the people who believe in the Constitution and the rule of law. These are the people who don’t believe the government should have an unfettered right to spy on you.

These people voted no on the FISA bill:

There are no Presidential candidates on this list.

Position: 25.5 N 58.9 W. [10 PM CDT] Updated
Movement: Northwest [315°] near 12 mph.
Maximum sustained winds: 105 mph.
Wind Gusts: 125 mph.
Hurricane Wind Radius: 30 miles.
Tropical Storm Wind Radius: 140 miles.
Minimum central pressure: 970 mb.

After weakening yesterday, Bertha is again over warmer water and reduced wind shear, so strengthening is occurring. The steering is still not certain, so Bermuda will still be on alert.

At 4 PM CDT Bertha is back to Category 2 status, but higher wind shear and cooler water is ahead on the current track.

At 10 PM they are projecting a return to Category 3 tomorrow and the turn more to the North continues.