I had a most excellent lunch yesterday with Kirkland blogger Jim Miller. Our conversation ranged over political science; the geology of Eastern Washington; Patty Murray's [double-digit] IQ; the difference between conservationists [people who believe in using natural resources wisely] and preservationists [people who refuse to accept that the laws of economics also apply to natural resources]; and the observed phenomenon that the more ramshackle the hovel, the bolder will be the hovel dweller's statement that the guy who lives in the White House is a moron. [photographic evidence coming soon].

We also agreed that Joanne Jacobs is the world's greatest practitioner of economical prose.