As West Virginians go to the polls, reader (and former resident) Akbar Jenkins looks at some of the state's demographic and cultural history, as well as its probable effect on voting patterns.

Robert Feinman argues that the military might just as well be considered the fourth branch of the government at this point, which I think is a fair assessment of a not necessarily novel phenomenon. The military's ever-increasing, and increasingly political, role in the country's affairs dates back to the transition from the WWII to the Cold War framework.

Reader AmericanDreamer reviews Drew Westen's book, The Political Brain. I haven't read it, but Westen's study has sparked a lot of conversation in the past year, notably in the upper echelons of the Democratic party.

Reader crumbrye calls Obama out on his snake-oil peddling on the issue of "clean coal."

The Zaftig Redhead calls for someone to put the kibosh on Joe Lieberman (at least as far as his committee chairmanship goes).

Finally, reader ItsNeverOver interviews a "formerly deployed soldier" about the outrages perpetrated against our own troops by private contractor KBR.