Hatteras Island is one of those places dramatic without the influence of man. This afternoon we parked our car near the historic and lovely spiral-striped lighthouse and walked a few miles up the beach to a narrow finger of land protruding into a violet ocean. Made only of sand, the point is there only at the will of the sea. Here the Gulf Stream pushes hard by the point and the returning Newfoundland Current (or eddy) meet. Waves break on both sides of the peninsula and along a line extending another quarter mile out to sea.

The morning after our lovely but somewhat strenuous journey to Amsterdam we tried to relax but had a somewhat difficult morning doing the laundry. Chuck’s sister had only just moved into the hotel apartment and had been told that there was a laundromat not far away on its street. It should have been a breeze, but we made a few mistakes. We forgot our phrasebook and map. We didn’t look up the word for laundromat. We did ask in the lobby, but the clerk did not know of one. She asked someone else and told us to go to the next street.

Some five years ago the Amsterdam Van Gogh Museum was being renovated and expanded, and about a third of its collection went on tour. We drove to Washington very early on a Saturday morning and arrived at the ticket line in front of the National Gallery at 6:00 a.m. There in the cold and dark, we joined a party, chatted, drank coffee, and read the Washington Post until the door opened and we could enter and get a pair of the limited tickets. We enjoyed the exhibit immensely and have talked since then of some day following the paintings to Amsterdam and seeing the entire collection.

We have returned from our Parisian experience and can report that the City is lovely even in January. The weather moderated upon our arrival and, while not balmy, was at least not frigid. Most days were cloudy and some rain dampened our visit, but a little adjustment of our plans allowed us to mostly avoid the rain drops. The rain scarcely dampens a day in the Louvre.

in 1995 McCorvey changed her mind on abortion and became a pro-life activist. Yesterday in an official press release she endorsed Presidential candidate Ron Paul. http://reason.com/blog/show/124542.html

http://www.jayparkinsonmd.com/index.html He focuses on preventive medicine and therefore can do most of his advising and treatment via video chats over the internet.

Libertarians in the Mainstream Media: Reply to Michael Kinsley by Walter Block DIGG THIS Part A. I. Introduction

When I was young we had a recording of actors doing excerpts from "Alice in Wonderland'. I can still hear this poem, recited by Alice, in my head. Once I became a lawyer, I always liked the sixth parapraph. I found this on-line--its amusing. From Chapter 5: Alice thought she might as well wait, as she had nothing else to do, and perhaps after all it might tell her something worth hearing. For some minutes it puffed away without speaking, but at last it unfolded its arms, took the hookah out of its mouth again, and said, 'So you think you're changed, do you?'

The Ron Paul I Know by Carol Paul DIGG THIS The story of our family would have to start with the man Ron Paul, who saw the American Dream and decided that it could be his – and now he wants it to be yours if you so choose.

Two Great Stories--Truly Great [Michael Ledeen] Another inspirational email going around. Fabulous. STORY NUMBER ONE Many years ago, Al Capone virtually owned Chicago .. Capone wasn't famous for anything heroic. He was notorious for enmeshing the windy city in everything from bootlegged booze and prostitution to murder. Capone had a lawyer nicknamed "Easy Eddie." He was Capone's lawyer for a good reason. Eddie was very good! In fact, Eddie's skill at legal maneuvering kept Big Al out of jail for a long time.