So many folks here in Washington are taking it for granted that Bill Clinton's wife has the Dem nomination sewed up that they've gone on to handicapping who her running mate will be.

Her ridiculous performance in the Dem debate this week (10/30) may have given them a moment of doubt, but just a moment, for she has, they will tell you, no serious opposition.

Hillary supporters can't take bat-eared neophytes like Obambi or the Breck Boy seriously.  The rest of the Gang of Eight up on the debating stage with her are just there for the media spotlight.

Except for one fellow who's really not running for president, but running for running-mate.  That's New Mexico's Governor Bill Richardson, and he's everyone's odds-on favorite to be Hillary's pick.  He's dumb as a stump (which he confirmed this week when he said the government should "come clean" over what it knows about aliens crashing their spacecraft in Roswell 60 years ago - just about nine months before Hillary was born, by the way.)  Nonetheless, word is he's her #2.

More interesting is who will run with Rudy. 

Chapter Three: SLAVE

After Teteotcingo’s funeral, Queen Cimatl asked to see her daughter. “Malinali, there is something you must know,” the Queen said. “A kingdom requires a king - and now Paynala no longer has one. So I have decided to marry the brother of my sister’s husband, Cohuixin. I must, you realize, always put the interests of Paynala and its people first.”

Malinali was so stunned she lost her composure and blurted, “The Lizard-Man? You are going to marry the Lizard-Man!? (Cohuixin meant “lizard” - obviously Malinali was not very fond of him.) Mother - how can you insult our people, insult me - insult yourself! - and insult the memory of King Teteotcingo this way?”

Queen Cimatl insouciantly responded. “It will soon be King Cohuixin - and he will be your king, and your father. The decision is done.”

Malinali exploded. “You are only fooling yourself, Mother, if you think I will ever regard the Lizard-Man as my King - much less my Father!” Suddenly, though, the young Princess saw the image of her father in her mind, and thought, “My father would not lose his temper in such a situation - calm down and think clearly, Malinali - right now!”

Before we start tearing our hair out by the roots over House Rino perfidy, let's take a look at some good news this week.  Yes, there is some.

The New York Times finally began - just began - catching up to To The Point on Sunday (11/30) with Russian Money Suspected Behind Fracking Protests.  TTPers have known about this since April 2012 in Is Obama on Putin's Payroll? 

Yet that was just the prelude, for the next day, Monday (12/01) is when, as one headline put it: Putin's Luck Runs Out.  Here's how rapid the Putin Collapse has been...

There will be marvelous news in Louisiana tomorrow (12/06).  Scary Mary Landrieu is going to get crushed by Dr. Bill Cassidy - he's ahead by 24 points (!).

I grew up in the days of the Solid South completely run by Yellow Dog Democrats.  With Landrieu gone tomorrow, Democrats will be left without a single Governor, Senator, white Congressman, or state legislative chamber from the Carolinas to Texas.  Think about that...

Okay, time to wallow in the mire with a clothespin blocking the stench from our noses.  Thomas Sowell noted yesterday that it will take a psychiatrist to explain why Boehner & Co want millions of illegal foreign workers to compete with Americans for jobs...

There are other things we could get upset about this week, but instead, I need to tell you a story.  It's about how I met an extraordinary man and became friends with 45 years ago.  On Wednesday (12/03) at age 84 he passed away.  His name was Nathaniel Branden.

What is the maximum income-tax rate that anyone should be expected to pay?

Some questions are never settled, in part because people often ignore the theoretical and empirical evidence, and history that can help answer the question. The question of what an optimum income-tax rate would look like is one of those questions.

Rather than attempt to answer it, political demagogues merely shout: "It is only fair that the rich pay more."

Back in 1971, a Scottish economist by the name of James A. Mirrlees wrote a groundbreaking paper, in which he attempted to answer the question of what an optimum income-tax regime would look like if one desired to reduce inequalities while at the same time not discouraging work and economic growth.

Up to the time of Dr. Mirrlees' work, no one had been able to figure out the optimum trade-off between equality and efficiency. Dr. Mirrlees was awarded the Nobel Prize in economics in 1996 for his work, and was knighted in 1998.  Here is what he won his Nobel and knighthood for.

One of the nicest and sharpest guys in the Senate is John Ensign of Nevada.  As the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, he's in a good position to handicap the Senate races for 2008.

He did just that at a small briefing on Capitol Hill this week, promising to do so without any Pollyannic varnish.  Judge for yourself. 

Currently, of 100 Senate seats, 51 are Democrat (counting Bernie Sanders and Joe Lieberman), 49 are Republican.  The odds seem slim that the GOP could gain the majority, but less slim that the Dems will expand theirs.  Thirteen months is an eternity on an election clock.  There will be surprises on both sides, count on it.

There are 22 Republican seats up, including five retirements, while the Dems have only 12.  Many GOP seats are vulnerable, but the Dems' main targets are: