Links and Minifeatures 10 26 Wednesday

Captain's Quarters notes that Iran's new president gives a speech still off on the same hard line Islamist tack. Not a welcome thing for all that it is the same old thing for them. On the other hand, Iran has managed to alienate a lot of less radical Islamic nations.



Armies of Liberation debunks the notion that Yemen is really cooperativeng against Al-Qaeda. The more I read about Saleh, the more he seems like a Yemeni version of Bill Clinton. Those poor people have been through 27 years of this.

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Volokh Conspiracy has an excellent article debunking the whole idea that the second (and the fourteenth) amendments applying strictly to the national guard. Not that I think it'll make any difference to the gun grabbers, of course, but Professor Volokh correctly reduces the arguments against constitutional protection of gun ownership to the level of "Think Happy Thoughts and you can fly!"



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Asymmetrical Information has an article on core inflation and how some inflation can be good. Very worth reading. I wish certain fed governors took it more to heart.



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Jawa Report has an excellent post about blogging versus professional life, particularly in academia, but with applicability elsewhere.



Even with my profession related posts, of which there are many, I'm not looking to bring anybody up to a professional level of competence or cover all cases. I'm looking to give rule of thumb level of education to those outside my profession, so they are aware of the most common issues and problems, and have a strategy or two for defeating them. I'm looking to make you a better informed consumer, not make you into a loan officer, real estate agent or financial planner. For that, go get your own training. Some of it is fairly easy, some less so. There are exceptions and limitations on nearly everything I write in a professional vein, and while I do try and cover limitations with broad applicability, you still need to consult a professional in person on your specific situation. And I can be wrong.



For everything else, it is especially incumbent upon me to convince you, from first principles if necessary. Appeal to credentials doesn't cut it, especially when my credentials are in personal finance and I'm talking about foreign policy.



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Forward Biased has an article on the Legacy Media sliming a couple who are probably candidates for sainthood, then completely ignoring their exoneration.



My own experiences with the media getting it wrong go back further than this, but it's the oldest thing I can find on the net. The media managed to get the part about two planes coming together correct, but muffed just about everything else about the story. Ditto every other newsworthy story that I've witnessed or talked to those who were directly involved.



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Protein Wisdom highlights another case of multicultural idiocy. If it's no excuse for rednecks, it's no excuse for muslims, either.



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Recovering Democrat has more debunking of racism, for it is racism that expects one person to behave any less well than another, or holds one person to a lower standard, becuase of skin color.



Uncommon Insanity has a similar article.



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State of Flux has a post about removing marriage from government purview altogether that is worth reading.



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By the way, I have a policy for "the duration": in my clicking around the 'sphere, I will read one article per site on the Harriet Miers nomination. If it conveys no new information, I click away from the site. I hate tail-chasing. 'nuff said.