Today is August 27th. • On this date in 1883, Krakatoa erupted in what was the most powerful volcanic blast in recorded history. The blast was heard up to 3,000 miles away, blew five cubic miles of debris over 50 miles high into the atmosphere, and was generally considered to be a very rude thing for an island to do. The veil of dust in the atmosphere lowered global temperatures by several degrees, thereby releasing Al Gore’s chakra. • On this date in 1776, the Howe brothers defeated George Washington in the Battle of Brooklyn Heights. Sorry about that. • On this date in 1770, philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel was born. His work was a precursor to Marxism, focusing on theology, psychology, contradiction, and of course, the importance of having lots of names. • And finally, today is National Just Because day, when people do things without any particular reason for doing them. This is also known as being a democrat. Consider this an Open Thread.

Will debt hit $16 trillion as Romney delivers his acceptance speech? | Hot Air
“CNS News does a little calculating, and reports that the next milestone of $16 trillion may arrive Thursday evening — not too long before Romney takes the stage:”

RNC Protester Arrested Carrying Machete | Free Beacon
“A protester was arrested Sunday afternoon carrying a full-sized machete, strapped to his leg, WTSP in Tampa reports.”

Elizabeth Warren Aide Knocks Around Republican Cameraman | Weekly Standard
“An aide to Massachusetts Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat, appears to have knocked the video camera of a Republican tracker after an event this weekend in Martha’s Vineyard.”

Chris Matthews says Romney playing race card, yells at Priebus | Right Scoop
“Chris Matthews, angry about Romney’s joke about Obama’s birth certificate, decided to ‘call out’ the RNC Chair on it this morning and it basically degraded into a one-sided shouting match”

Republican Women For Obama? [Updated: Another Fake “Republican” Exposed] | Powerline
“So obviously, neither Maria Ciano nor her mother Delia is a “Republican woman” who is crossing over or changing her mind to vote for Obama.”

sansculotte (sanz-koo-LAHT): noun 1. an extreme radical republican in France at the time of the Revolution 2. a radical or violent extremist in politics