"Very few politicians have moderate views. It is either stop all drilling or drill with abandon and consequences be damned." 
 
That's not true.  Obama says NO Drilling, period.  But there are many Republicans who are sensitive to the environment, and who know that drilling and fracking can be and have been done responsibly.
 
The complaint that many American voters have is that once legislators get to Washington, they moderate their views in light of pragmatism and reality.  They end up with SOME  drilling, eg, with attention to the environment, which is right where you are.  They say things like "Read My Lips; No New Taxes"  but end up having having SOME new taxes, either in the sppirit of bipartisanism or out of necessity. That kind of compromise has been used against him ever since, but if most Americans are somewhere in the middle, it sshoul be fine that they compromise with the other party once in awhile.  
 
Presidents and legislators moderate their positions after pandering to their left and right constituencies. It assures that extremism from either end of the spectrum doesn't prevail.  That infuriates the purists, which I understand, but it has its positives. Nothing radical gets accomplished, but slow change is often best.  That seems to be where you are.  In what you consider the the reasonable middle.  That's how we usually end up. 
 
While trying to secure the Republican nomination, a candidate is required to say, "No in-state tuition for illegals!  No amnesty."  The Democrats must say, "Si, se puede! " yes we can (get you a drivers license)   But NO beefing up border patrols, no fences, no electronic checks for SS cards, no deportations of any illegals except convicted felons. So that's why nothing is being done at all.  Newt comes in to say, give the 8 mil or so illegals who have been here for years working and paying taxes work visas, but no citizenship ever, (no voting) because they broke the law.  Now the Republicans are furious with him.  Democrats hate him because they want these poeple on the Democrat voter rolls.   
 
If you can see both sides of every issue, and therefore want moderation in politics, you have three Republican moderates:  Newt Gingrich , Romney, and Huntsman.  No moderate on the Democrat side.  So it should be an easy choice. 

If you remain an outlier and a maverick with no coherent and/or consistent political philosophy, you will have no effect on elections and policy. Loathe as you are to be "traditional," joining a party and working to influence its platform and choose its nominee, are more empowering than putting yourself above the fray---waiting for the process to be over, ridiculing it, and then thumbing your nose at the chosen nominees. During every election, the mavericks call the candidates "Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum." They are predictable and irrelevant.

"It was a hurried process. We do not yet know all the facts." Ready, fire, aim.

The new coach has urged the Penn State players to seek counseling. Why? Were they sexually assaulted by Sandusky, who resigned in 1999? If not, I think 18 to 21 year old men can absorb the seriousness of the allegations, realize that they are not involved, and carry on. Counseling for any of Sandusky's child victims, yes.

Thoughtful post. In the swirl of a media feeding frenzy replete with misstatements, gossip, incomplete details, absence of knowledge of the PA law and confusion, people have made assumptions about the presumed culture of perversion at Penn State and the guilt of Penn State officials. I notice that Maureen Dowd uses phrases and descriptions of Penn State and Paterno indicating that she harboured resentment and animosity toward the coach and the institution before this scandal, which is the case in more than a few opinion pieces.

Paterno is an icon for good reason. He has had a sterling reputation for 46 years, inspiring his players, stressing academics, spearheading the buiding the library, enhancing the reputation of Penn State . That gives him at least the suspension of vicious character assassination until the facts are known. There is absolutely nothing to indicate that perverts, plural, were allowed to roam free in the athletic department. Most people there are shocked at Sandusky's pedophelia, including his wife, who was involved in the charity and is not a child abuser. Let the facts come out. It could be even worse than we now know, but there could be exculpatory facts as well.

Patricia Kay Apologist: To what lengths would you not go in defense of women who murder or fail to protect their infants from torture and abuse? At best, this woman is a drug-addled narcissist , wholly detached and disinterested in her baby's welfare--a sane and competent lawyer who failed to nurture her helpless infant and protect him, even after a history of broken bones and abuse.

At some point, you need to recognize that women who choose to marry drug-abusing men with violent dispositions and then join in the drug abuse, and then have babies with such males are no more victims than the men who were attracted to them.

Women are equally accountable in these terrible cases. Everyone, especially a lawyer, can report abuse.

well put.

LOL. A natural, organic solution to an over-populated rodent population.

"coverting from cattle to bison." A bit conspiritorial, but perhaps precient.

They don't stay within the imaginary boundaries of Yellowstone Park, where there is food and water, after having been "re-introduced," so they are shot when they stray. They are not meant to be fenced, no matter how intriguiging they might be to tourists driving to a Buffs game.