Links and Minifeatures 01 25 Wednesday

Looks like Alito isn't getting rejected. The most the Donkeys can hope for is sustain a filibuster. Majority of Senators Vow to Vote for Alito



Looks like the Lesser California Moonbat has to get her licks in:

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (news, bio, voting record), D-Calif., said things are different from when the Senate considered Breyer and Ginsburg, who were confirmed 87-9 and 96-3 respectively. "There was not the polarization within America that is there today, and not the defined move to take this court in a singular direction," she said.

You mean where it was before Breyer and Ginsberg were added, Senator?



(I don't know about anybody else, but it scares me that our other senator makes Feinstein look normal).



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Carnival of The Vanities Recommended: Coyote Blog



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Yield Curve Inverts. What this means is that the effective rate on short term bonds is higher than on longer term bonds. Since people normally want a higher interest rate to tie thier money up (theoretically) for a longer period of time, this has traditionally been a harbinger of likely recession, as short term capital becomes more expensive than long. On the other hand, given how liquid the current bond market has become (where there is a ready secondary market for most government and corporate bonds) I'm not so certain anymore. When you can trade it away for cash (less a commission, of course) at any time, your money really isn't tied up, is it?



Don't get me wrong. There are huge problems waiting to bite the economy. But I'm not certain this is one of them.



What it does mean, for now, is that long term fixed rate loans are incredibly cheap as opposed to shorter term loans.



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Wizbang has an excellent article on the ethics of using civilians as shields for military operations, who does it, and who might get away with it and who definitely won't. As I said here, Gandhi and Martin Luther King succeeded in nonviolence because their opponents were civilized. Against less civilized opponents, they would have been slaughtered without hesitation, without repercussions, without remorse.



To intentionally use civilians as shields is first, to accept responsibility for the safety of those civilians, second, to the extent that those civilains are willing to assume said risk, a declaration of combatant status on their part.



A combatant is a target. Period. It is unacceptable collateral damage to blow up the entire block they go home to on leave, but there are plenty of opportunities to take them out when they're on duty, and anytime they are on duty, they are fair game. Them's the rules - the only rules that make sense. If you're unclear as to why, go over to Bill Whittle's place and re-read his two part piece Sanctuary. And if you haven't been there before, you're in for a treat.



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This is sad: The Celtic canary in the UK's coal mine. The larger part of my ancestors were Scottish, and it's a shame to see what was once such a vibrant area enter a demographic death spiral. Mind you, the population of the highlands has been declining for centuries. If Bonnie Prince Charlie planted his banner at Glenfinnan today, he'd be lucky to recruit a reinforced platoon, as the young folks have been leaving for where jobs and opportunities are (when they weren't forced out by the clearances). But the lowlands and cities were doing well until comparatively recently.



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Stop the ACLU documents people sheltering behind a slogan that amounts to a misquotation of Benjamin Franklin.



Conservative Cat hits the nail on the head:

Ben Franklin once said "They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." Dr. Franklin turned many a clever phrase in his day, but that doesn't mean he has the last word in discussion of the Patriot Act.



Before we go too far, it's worth noting that Franklin was talking about liberty, not privacy. There is a relationship between the two, but I find it strange that no one bothers to quote Franklin when we're talking about the liberty to choose how your children are taught or smoke cigarettes in public. Instead, he's used to protect us from the government trying to find out whether or not we're terrorists.

Michelle Malkin has much more, including a round-up.





While we're talking about letting slogans do your thinking for you, Asymmetrical Information gives us some reasons why it's counter-productive. My position on abortion is fairly similar to hers, also.



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John Leo notes an interesting fact in regards to the judge who gave a teacher convicted of raping one of his 15 year old students a suspended sentence (no jail time - and even the suspension is only 30 months!)



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A very good sign: Hoder, an Iranian blogger with 20k daily readers, has gone to Israel.



HT Jeff Jarvis, who also has great advice to give the Washington Post.



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Jawa Report covers Google and the Chinese dictatorship trying to stop water with a sieve. A doomed, futile effort, about as effective as blocking pr0n search terms without blocking pr0n sites, for about the same reasons. Actually, it's harder to censor or avoid political information than it is to avoid pr0n. The internet is about connections, and politics connects to everything, whereas pr0n mostly connects to pr0n.



Dean's World has more worthy thoughts on this subject.



"I'm Feering Rucky"Scrappleface nails the necessary mindset.



Volokh Conspiracy, on the other hand, notes a large corporation that is passing on an opportunity to make a profit on misery.



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In yesterday's Link's and Minifeatures, I expressed doubt about the claims of an investigation into whether the CIA outsourced torture to eastern europe.



Today, Captain's Quarters has a more authoritative debunking.