Marriage Advice Column

One of my favorite bloggers, Dr. Helen, has a new advice column up at PJM. This one's on advice about whether or not men should get married, and plenty of readers have their own advice to offer. I've been married for almost six years--perhaps not very long but very happily--so for whatever its worth, here's my advice for anyone getting married:

If you have any question in your mind about marrying the person--any at all--DON'T do it. Marriage is the sort of thing a person should be absolutely, without-a-whisper-of-a-doubt sure of.

ADDED: I almost hesitate to post this lest one of the several newly married or soon-to-be married couples I know think I'm aiming my advice at them. Rest assured, that is not the case. This has been a long running topic over at Dr. Helen's blog, and I only comment on the occasion of her officially doing a column on the subject. You are all quite lovely, and when a match is right, a marriage is one of life's greatest joys.

Portrait (Landscape?) By the Artist Who's a Very Young Man

"He destroyed the conservative movement in Arkansas, and left the Republican Party a shambles."

A very nice man, yes. A very fiscally conservative man, no. This is a must read story and pretty much sums up my feelings about Huckabee.

Betsy Hagan, Arkansas director of the conservative Eagle Forum and a key backer of his early runs for office, was once "his No. 1 fan." She was bitterly disappointed with his record. "He was pro-life and pro-gun, but otherwise a liberal," she says. "Just like Bill Clinton he will charm you, but don't be surprised if he takes a completely different turn in office." ...

"He has zero intellectual underpinnings in the conservative movement," says Blant Hurt, a former part owner of, and columnist for, Arkansas Business magazine. "He's hostile to free trade, hiked sales and grocery taxes, backed sales taxes on Internet purchases, and presided over state spending going up more than twice the inflation rate."

There are many similar assessments. Read the rest of it.

UPDATE 12/15/07: Welcome, Instapundit readers. For further information about Huckabee's lack of economic conservatism, don't miss the updated Club for Growth whitepaper on Huckabee:

“Huckabee is proud of his tax hikes, his spending increases, and his regulatory expansions as governor, and he has not indicated that he would govern any differently as president. Nominating Mike Huckabee for president or vice-president would constitute an abject rejection of the free-market, limited-government, economic conservatism that has been the unifying theme of the Republican Party for decades.”

Details at the link.

And, of course, there's the Cato Institute's 2006 Governor's Fiscal Policy Report Card table. From the report:

This report presents the findings of the Cato Institute's eighth biennial fiscal policy report card on the nation's governors. The report card's grading is based on 23 objective measures of fiscal performance. Governors who have cut taxes and spending the most receive the highest grades. Those who have increased spending and taxes the most receive the lowest grades.

You'll have to scroll to the bottom of the table to find Huckabee as he was one of only nine governors to receive an F.

Huckabee's problem is that he wants to be the man at the door who says, "I'm from the government, and I'm here to help."* Basic economics tells what road those good intentions will pave.

ANOTHER UPDATE: A big Huckabee roundup.

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*The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: 'I'm from the government and I'm here to help.' - Ronald Reagan

Freeman Goes Blonde

But that's not the great thing, though I'm pleased with the color. The great thing is that I got to do it while cruising Instapundit, Dr. Helen, Althouse, Drudge, and National Review.

Blonde highlights $(you don't want to know)
Palm TX with built-in wifi: $262
Surfing the Internet while stuck in the salon for two hours: priceless