How to Win the Argument -- Thatcher Sytle

We know we're not happy with our current government. A Rasmussen poll released last week noted that 40 percent of voters are very angry, and 25 percent are somewhat angry "at the current policies of the federal government." Combined, this means two out of every three likely voters are not happy with their government.

So the people who are likely to vote for the politicians, and who pay the politicians, are angry. The result: This fall, politicians will be falling fast.

If it were possible to short elected officials, now would be the time.

We know that we don't like what President Barack Obama is doing to our country. And yes, I meant doing TO our country, not doing FOR our country. This dislike registers as disapproval. His disapproval rating (54 percent) is currently higher than his approval rating (45 percent).

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Emily Attacks Sarah

There are few things sadder than girls being mean to girls. Boys seem to be able to slough off slights and events, pick up the ball and play again. Girls tend to hold grudges longer, become more self-conscious and end up creating divisions between each other.

This developmental phase is expected to occur at times in elementary school. During middle school and high school, the expectation is that girls will begin to become more self assured, more supportive and less judgmental. But unfortunately, not all girls grow up.

Emily's List, a national political action committee "dedicated to electing pro-choice Democratic women to office," according to the group's Website, launched a campaign this week against Sarah Palin titled, "Sarah doesn't speak for me." It's a response to Palin's SarahPAC "Mama Grizzly" video in which she talks about the emergence of "common-sense conservative women."

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A Bold Spirit of Adventure

I'm a planner. When I worked in finance, I loved planning the budget process -- how would it unfold, who would be involved, how we would ensure we met our target. I was most satisfied when we had made all the plans and were ready to begin.

Now, as a wife and mother of two children, my plans are routinely thwarted by the realities of life. My plans -- which allow me to feel as though I am control even when I am not -- are often overrun by a husband who loves impromptu events and children who continually interrupt plans.

I find myself interrupted by life, while others are interrupted by death. A longtime friend told me two weeks ago a story about his father who had recently died. His point: that life was what happened after everything else was planned, and deciding whether to be happy was a conscious decision. His story reminded me of John Lennon's quote "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans."

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News or Noise

Maybe it's the high 90-degree temperatures in Atlanta, maybe it's the fact that I am neck-deep in biographies and research for my upcoming book, "The Essential American: Documents & Speeches Every American Should Read," (Regnery, 2010), but I am hot and have had enough of the noise that too often passes for news.

Chelsea Clinton's wedding. I hope she and her husband have a wonderful life together, but do we really need to know what she wore, who attended or what they ate or drank at the event?

Bristol Palin's off-and-on-again engagement with Levi Johnston. She needs the continued love and support of family and friends, not media scrutiny.

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