USA TODAY: Obama's claim of independence questioned.

SEAN HACKBARTH: The Spirit of Fred Thompson Lives On in John McCain: "Last fall, Fred Thompson issued a tax plan that included an optional flat tax with two tax rates and a generous standard deduction. Another element of the Thompson plan was reducing corporate tax rates. I don’t know if Thompson and McCain have spent any time together since McCain became the GOP nominee. Like I wrote above McCain for some time has been talking about cutting the corporate tax rate. The optional alternative tax came out of the blue. I wonder how much influence Thompson had?"

LEFTY BLOGGERS pile on Hillary.

DAVE BARRY: How your taxes turn into manure.

DUI ENFORCEMENT IN OUR TIME: "Police arrested, cuffed, and hauled her away in front of her kid–all because a man in a restaurant mistook the glasses of water she was drinking for wine, then called the police. . . . The reporter finds another case in which a woman was charged with DUI after blowing .03 on a breath test, because the cops were convinced she was on drugs. When lab tests proved them wrong, prosecutors pushed ahead with the charges anyway." In my area, the prosecutors seem to be under considerable pressure to generate court costs, even when they don't have a strong case. Those who criticize the city or county government also seem to face DUI charges at a statistically questionable rate.

RECIPEGATE!

See, she should have stuck with the Insta-Chicken and the Lamb and Guinness Stew.

UPDATE: Here's my leg of lamb recipe. And here's one for Pasta with Tomato, Basil and Chevre sauce.

TAKING THE FIGHT TO APPLE with a new lineup of Microsoft Stores? The Ned Flanders angle is genius . . . .

MICHAEL YON'S BOOK is now up to #29 #17 #15 #13 #12 #11 #10 #8 on Amazon. And if you missed it last night, be sure to check out our podcast interview with him. (Bumped). (And bumped again!)

UPDATE: Michael Yon emails: "That's just wild. Folks really did want that book after all. I was wondering how many people even cared. It's great to know that people want to really know what's going on."

ANOTHER UPDATE: Robert Mayer: "I don't know if this has been said, but given Michael Yon's volcanic rise through the book rankings, I think it is significant that such a bold book is being published when it is. As the Democratic politicians have already been ignoring Iraq for months, Michael's book -- hopefully becoming as widely read as possible -- could be the last nail in the coffin of this dead mantra that we are losing in Iraq. Let's hope so. Whoever the Democratic nominee is, s/he'll have a hard time pushing for immediate withdrawal not only as victory comes within this nation's clutches, but also as people come to understand this fact."

If you listen to the podcast, you'll see that Michael Yon doesn't think the war in Iraq is over. But he does think we're winning, and have a good prospect at winning big if we don't drop the ball.

MORE: Breaking the top 10 on Amazon is pretty cool, but now they're out of stock for the moment. You can still buy through his site, though.

THE CONSEQUENCES OF A TOO-RAPID WITHDRAWAL FROM IRAQ: A must-watch video from Austin Bay.

OUCH: "Canada may no longer believe in old-fashioned human rights like free speech and the presumption of innocence, but it's discovering exciting new 'human rights' every day. Hard on the heels of the human right to a labiaplasty comes the human right of restaurant employees not to wash their hands."

MY DEEPEST SECRETS, revealed.

ROSS DOUTHAT: "Voting on issues like 'God, guns and gays' is an artifact of (relative) prosperity, not immiseration."