Gov. Paul LePage of Maine happened to be waiting for his flight at Augusta State Airport on a recent Saturday when the weekend crush began.

A turboprop Pilatus PC-12 carrying Melissa Thomas, her daughter, her daughter’s friend and a pile of lacrosse equipment took off for their home in Connecticut, following the girls’ three-week stay at Camp All-Star in nearby Kents Hill, Me. Shortly after, a Cessna Citation Excel arrived, and a mother, a father and their 13-year-old daughter emerged carrying a pink sleeping bag and two large duffel bags, all headed to Camp Vega in Fayette.

“Love it, love it, love it,” Mr. LePage said of the private-plane traffic generated by summer camps. “I wish they’d stay a week while they’re here. This is a big business.”

For decades, parents in the Northeast who sent their children to summer camp faced the same arduous logistics of traveling long distances to remote towns in Maine, New Hampshire and upstate New York to pick up their children or to attend parents’ visiting day.

Awww, but fear not. Now those same parents can send little Janie and Johnny off to camp on a private plane, while nattering with each other about how bourgeois those who drive are.

But some parents have already tired of this private-plane status infiltrating the simpler world of summer camp. Nancy Chemtob, a divorce lawyer, made several summer trips to Maine in the past decade, where her children attended camp. She once managed to get on a charter plane from the airport in East Hampton, N.Y., for $750 (her husband had hung a sign in the airport seeking a ride). After listening to enough banter among parents about “who is flying, who is flying private, who they can get a lift home with,” she decided she “was done with Maine and the planes and all of the people.”

“It’s a crazy world out there,” she added. She now sends her children to camp in Europe.

Welcome to the lives of the anonymous, nouveau riche living in banal-land. God forbid they'd have to fork over any more taxes. What would happen to little Janie and Johnny?

Infrastructurist: The Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill, Shown in Graph

The Pump Handle: The general public has become slightly more aware of the fact that going to work – especially in the energy industry – can be dangerous, but how long will that awareness last?

TheZoo: The Blow-Out Preventer

Eunomia: Love of Liberty

FAIR Blog: WaPo or The Onion?

Brilliant at Breakfast: Classless Warfare

A heads-up to Republicans: You guys need some serious therapy. Remember now, this is the anti-abortion, love-the-children, wave-the-flag and raise-'em-Republican party. Duncan Hunter, one of our lovely Congressman from down south where the politics get distinctly weird, actually stood in front of a group of people and said that American citizens should be deported, too.

Okay, what he actually said was that the debate wasn't about immigration; it was a national security issue. A "real, serious national security issue." When pressed to expand and provide some specifics, especially about those children of immigrants born in the United States. Those children are, of course, United States citizens.

“Would you support deportation of natural born American citizens that are the children of illegal aliens?” a man in the audience asked.

“I would have to, yes,” Hunter said.

“You can look and say, ‘You’re a mean guy. That’s a mean thing to do. That’s not a humanitarian thing to do.’ We simply cannot afford what we’re doing right now.

Hunter then blames immigrants for California's budget crisis. I'd argue that tax-dodging rich folks have more to do with the budget crisis than immigrants.

Is there a problem and costs associated with illegal immigration? Sure, but most of them have been created by the xenophobes who hate government regulation until it is used to exclude or otherwise discriminate against immigrants.

Yes, there's a problem with immigration. But to listen to the Duncan Hunters of the world, it's all the fault of Mexico, the only bad immigrants are Mexican immigrants, and the only real US citizens are those American children born to parents who aren't brown.

As to national security, just give me a break. The 911 crew was in the US legally, not illegally. The guy who flew into the Austin IRS building? A genuine white US citizen. There's more of a national security threat from citizens who descend from Mayflower families than there is from Mexican immigrants.

(h/t Alan Colmes)

I admit that I was never a really devoted Catholic during the time that I identified myself as a Catholic. But I did learn the tenets of the faith and found a place in my heart for Jesus's teachings, which were about love and acceptance and taking care of one another (I had a seriously hippy priest, can you tell?). Maybe because my mind tends not to go into the gutter when contemplating the sacrifice of Jesus's crucifixion--and the symbolic weighty acceptance of the blame for all our sins--I just saw this as "mighty Jesus with six pack abs" rather than "Jesus with an enormous and exposed member". I, apparently, am in the minority:

Churchgoers are outraged over a crucifix in a Catholic church they say shows Jesus with exposed genitalia.

Janet Jaime is the artist who designed the crucifix hanging in St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church. She was unavailable for comment, but her husband said critics are misinterpreting a common religious icon.

"This isn't just a subjective drawing. This is a historical icon of the church,” said Reggie Jaime, husband of Janet Jaime, an Oklahoma City iconographer commissioned by the church to design the crucifix. “I can't help what you see in things, or she sees in things, or anyone.”

The church's pastor, Father Phillip Seeton, referred questions Wednesday to the Oklahoma City Archdiocese.

Monsignor Edward Weisenburger said he has no problems with the crucifix and referred specific questions back to Seeton.

Critics of the crucifix take issue with what appears to be a large penis covering the abdominal area.

The crucifix is about 10 feet tall and hangs above the church's altar. It is unclear how long it has been there.

Molly Jenkins said she attended a funeral at the church recently and immediately noticed the crucifix.

“I was appalled at the sexualization of Christ,” said Jenkins, who is not Catholic.

Actually, I find it more than a little appalling that in an age where the church points fingers at everyone other than themselves over inappropriate sexual behavior towards children, adults are working themselves into a tizzy over a work of art that reflects where their brains are more than the work itself.

Angry Bear: Trade-offs and revealed preferences: Republican leadership edition

The Reaction: CPAC love for Ron Paul

WesternWaterBlog: Democrats vs Democrat in California's water wars

The Reality-Based Community: Instapundit Glenn Reynolds gets a beat down from a sane conservative Republican

Liberal Values: A lot of people oppose health care plans until they learn what's actually in the bill.

Words of Power: I sing the Body (Politic) Electric: 7 Hard Truths to Set Minds Free

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Excuse me?

You know I was trying to think about who he was tonight and it's interesting... he is post-racial by all appearances. You know I forgot he was black tonight for an hour. You know he's gone a long way to become a leader in this country and passed so much history in just a year or two. I mean it's something we don't even think about. But I was watching him and said "Wait a minute, he's an African American guy in front of a bunch of white people and there he is President of the United States and we've completely forgotten that tonight". Completely forgotten it.

I think it was in the scope of his discussion; it was so broad ranging, so in tune with so many problems and aspects, and aspects of American life that you don't think in terms of the old tribalism, the old ethnicity. It was astounding in that regard and very subtle fact -- it's so hard to even talk about it -- maybe I shouldn't talk about it, but I am. I thought it was profound in that way and I think in terms of the seduction tonight -- I don't think he did anything tonight out of love for Republicans or deep understanding of people who disagree with him. He's probably incredibly frustrated by the failure of a single Republican Senator to step up and say "We've got to do something about health care. I'm challenging my caucus on this one. I'm with you buddy. I'm a profile in courage." Not a single Republican. That has got to frustrate a guy who has tried to reach out.

If only Tweety's brain was post-racial. I'm gonna go out on a limb and guess that MSNBC is going to do some apologizing tomorrow.

I love Google, don't you? It's so handy. Why, if I were a Republican presidential nominee and I didn't know who to select as my running mate, I too might use teh Google to determine my pick.

John McCain did that very thing when he selected Sarah Palin. On the Today Show, when Matt Lauer questioned him on his pick, he said that he "wouldn't know." Jesus. McCain tried to bring up the war to divert Lauer from pushing him, and to Lauer's credit he didn't back down.

John McCain refused to comment on it. That is insane.

Lauer asked, that the vetting of Sarah Palin was so woefully inadequate that no one from the campaign traveled to Alaska to interview her husband or any of her political opponents?

"I wouldn't know," McCain said. "The fact is that I'm proud of Sarah Palin, I'm proud of the campaign we waged, she energized our party, she will be a major factor in American politics in the future, and I'm proud of our campaign."

Somewhat taken aback, Lauer told McCain that he found it "somewhat surprising" that he didn't know anything about the vetting process, adding "You were the presidential candidate."

McCain testily shot back by saying that he had no intention of "looking back over what happened over a year ago," adding, "I'm sorry, you'll have to get others to comment on it."

Really? That's all Mr. Straight talk had in him? And it's embarrassing that they were so desperate for a female candidate that they actually had to Google Chick-Repubs to see who was available.

Among their revelations is how McCain's campaign manager, Rick Davis, spotted Sarah Palin while searching the Internet for possible female vice presidential candidates.

"Rick Davis saw one interview she did with Charlie Rose where she was very much the Sarah Palin that people find appealing. She was lively, she was engaging, she popped off the screen. And he said, 'Wow, she jumps out,'" Halperin said.

"McCain boxed himself in. He needed a game-changing pick for vice president. And that left them with a last-minute pick of someone who was, to McCain, a virtual stranger, and was, to his senior staffers, an absolute stranger," he added.

Gawker writes:

McCain knew Bristol Palin was pregnant, Republicans insisted. But suddenly stories were all-but-implying that McCain's campaign—the campaign of serious grown-ups—basically Googled Palin a couple weeks ago and decided she looked clean enough for the job. As John Dickerson puts it, Republicans are not being complimentary when they quietly call McCain "reckless."

Why didn't Davis just go to Hannidate or Match.com to find a running mate for McCain? I'm sure Laura Ingraham would have jumped at the chance too.

HBO's Big Love returns tonight and if you haven't seen it, the show is a blast. It's the show that the Mormon church never wanted hitting the airwaves. It takes place in Utah and focuses on Bill Paxon's independent polygamist family structure as well as their ties to the polygamist cult called UEB in Juniper Creek. He's a successful businessman with three wives and eight kids and they live in fear that the LDS will catch them violating the ban on polygamy. One of his wives is the daughter of the "prophet" from the fundamentalist cult that he was once part of but had been kicked out of because the leader feared him as a possible future "leader' of the cult.

In a NY Times article about the show back in 2006:

"The pro-polygamists think it's too dark," Mr. Olsen said. "The anti-polygamists don't think it's dark enough. I think we've split the baby down the middle." The men said they spent almost three years researching the show, talking to experts and reading everything from sociological tracts to official Mormon records.

Mr. Scheffer said future episodes would explore some of the darker aspects of polygamy, like the abuses of patriarchy. There are already hints in the early episodes: Roman has at least one teenage bride.

The show also exposes teachings and history of the Mormon church that the church would rather not see put on public display and was especially not happy that a "Temple" scene was included in last years finale.

Here's a wrap up of season 3.

The acting is off the charts great with very good story lines that keep you engaged week to week. I'm not trying to analyze it for you from the point of view that it either makes polygamy seem more normal or less normal or that the Mormon religion is bizarre or typical of religion in general, but that the writers have plenty of material to work with to produce a very entertaining series. The rest is up to you.

Please go over to Amazon and "recommend as helpful" Jesus General's priceless review of Going Rogue:

The book also fails to expose Mrs. Palin's intellectual brilliance and keen grasp of foreign policy issues. Why wasn't the text of her recent speech in Hong Kong included? Although it remains secret, it's rumored that she viciously rebuked the Vietcong king for his assault on the Empire State Building. That's a speech we've been waiting for nearly 75 years to hear. It's big news and should have been included.

...a few bad reviews won't stop her. She's seen much worse from her kitchen window. It can't be pleasant to gaze upon Antichristograd every morning as you brew your coffee.

We all love Jesus General. You might also enjoy/recommend his review of Carrie Prejean's book. Priceless.

I love the Billionaires for Wealthcare:

Republican pollster Bill McInturff was the keynote speaker on the final day of the America's Health Insurance Plans's state issues conference on Friday morning.

But his speech on how the health care reform debate was playing among the public was interrupted before it even began. A group of protesters began aggressively cheering McInturff for the work he has done for AHIP (he's a hired pollster for the private insurance lobby and, most infamously, was the force behind the 'Harry and Louise' ads in 1994).

McInturff, initially thinking that the cheering was legitimate, thanked the "AHIP officials" in the back of the room for giving him mental encouragement for his speech. He was not being paid for his appearance, he noted.

And then, the protesters -- dressed in business attire to fit into the crowd -- began singing. A relatively lengthy and harmonious rendition of "Tomorrow" from the musical Annie ensued, only with the chorus focused on government-run insurance. "The option, the option, we must have, the option... " went the rendition, in reference to the public plan.