A big thank you to John for inviting me to post. Without further adieu, here goes:

Love Thy Neighbor, the Farmer
Finally! Someone is connecting the dots on how to please both lovers of the free market and lovers of the market. This Motley Fool piece is a great look at Wal-Mart and others who are embracing local produce.

Produce in the U.S. travels an average of 1,500 miles to get to consumers' kitchens, and the company says that through "better logistics planning, better packing of trucks, and local sourcing, Wal-Mart expects to save millions of food miles each year" with its commitment to local fruits and veggies.

Read: Wal-Mart saves money getting the goods and that savings trickles down to the customer. And for those who don't care about Wal-Mart saving any dough:

Buying local produce reduces carbon footprints. It means eating food that's fresh and in season for one's own region. It's a very natural way of doing things. And, of course, there's a sense of accountability and community

Plus, many believe that eating fruits and vegetables that occur naturally in your region has incredible health benefits. Everyone wins!

Why More Jews Won't Be Voting Democrat This Year
Jennifer Rubin's column in the Jerusalem Post does a great job of presenting a complicated, rich history in a succinct and approachable way. Sadly still, far too few Jews in America will look at this and think: John McCain is the better man for the job.

Vast Majority of Iraq Benchmarks Satisfactory
There's a new Iraq report out with very good news, but leave it to the AP to spin undeniable progress into a negative story. The lede for this piece outright ignores the very facts which make the issue newsworthy.

Holy Conundrum Batman!
Partially because it has an incredible headline and partially because I'm obsessed with and utterly freaked out by The Dark Knight, this piece struck me. I hadn't the James Dean comparison laid out quite like this before, and it's interesting to compare the situations. It's a few pages to get all the way through, but it's worth digging through for some of the dirt:

"This is a true psychopath, a remorseless, incredibly evil character. But when he's on screen, you cannot take your eyes off him. And when he's off screen, you can't wait till he reappears on screen."

Read it. You know you want to. Also, click here to view a few minutes of the movie that have been leaked online.

That's all for now. Thanks again, John, for letting me help out.

This post has been cross-posted at Elocutio, my blog on Townhall.com that I swear I haven't forgotten.