Links and Minifeatures 03 13 Monday

Carnivals



RINO Sightings



Carnival of Personal Finance



Carnival of Capitalists



Carnival of Investing. Recommended: Dividend Guy



Carnival of Debt Reduction

**********



Dr. Sanity has a worthwhile read on the status of Iran's nuclear weapons and the implications if they are actually used. The civilized nations could easily destroy all of the Islamic ones, radicalized or not, and the first time such weapons are used on the west, the only rationally defensible solution will be massive retaliation. Yet there are still those in this country so convinced that we are the evil ones for attempting to confront evil.



There is an old proverb about "Run from a man with a knife, for his reach is limited. Charge a man with a gun, for he does not have to reach you to kill you."



Nuclear weapons are a gun with a very long reach indeed, and we're all out in the open.



**********



I've been wondering how long it would be until this was challenged: DUI defense lawyers challenge breath test. Actually, they're challenging the machine. In no other case that I can think of is the critical witness for the prosecution immune to challenge as far as credibility. Turns out, the code isn't copywrited, either - it's a trade secret like the formula for Coca Cola. That's all well and good, but the testimony of Coca Cola isn't putting people behind bars, and until the code and the range of possible inputs is analyzed, we're taking the machine's testimony on faith. If DNA analysis, ballistics, and any number of other forensic techniques are subject to analysis and scientific review, so should this be.



I don't want to encourage drunk drivers (I don't drink myself), but this violates a basic constitutional protection, the ability to examine the evidence against a defendant.



Transparency is good. Accountability is better. The former enforces the latter. Secrecy does neither.



**********



Leave it to the FAA bureaucrats to screw things up: Judge Unexpectedly Halts Moussaoui Trial.



**********



Q and O reports that the Dutch have figured out that even tolerance has its limits.



**********



neo-neocon has a lengthy profile of Dr. Wafa Sultan, who confronted the Arabic Muslim world's prejudices on Al-Jazeera, and has now received death threats and as Atlas Shrugs reports, is in hiding and in need of protection.



**********



Dr. Sanity notes the religious fervor on the part of the leftists of the world, and why they are so hostile to religion. It is because they have their own god of exclusive worship, who tolerates to straying from the one true religion. They are also hostile to reason, for their faith excludes it.



I had some small thoughts here, but Dr. Sanity does a better job.



**********



Captain's Quarters has some worthwhile thoughts on changing the primaries. I like the idea of primaries as close together as possible. The current schedule has the nominees determined before California - the largest state - even gets to vote. Out of the seven presidential primaries since I've been able to vote, not once have the eventual nominees for both parties not had the nomination locked up before polls opened in California.



I want to see those who want the job to be forced to campaign nationwide. It forces them to organize nationwide, and allows less gaming of the system, using all of the resources early in the hopes that you'll be a contender and attract more donors.



The last time we had a convention fight between two or more candidates in the same party was 1952 (and Eisenhower won the general election). Looking at the candidates fielded since then as opposed to before, I cannot make a serious case that the more recent actual nominees are superior. In actuality, except for Gerald Ford and Bush pere, they have all been the candidate of the party separatists, rather than the candidate most able to appeal to most of the electorate. The ability to appeal to primary voters of one party has become distinct from the ability to win general elections - and the sooner we realize this and take steps to reverse it, the better off we will be.



**********



I just noticed, but Strata-Sphere has been on a tear lately with vital updates about FISA, Plamegate, and the Dubai Ports Deal not being dead.



This guy needs the reward of as much recognition as possible for his hard work. I really suggest reading his entire front page (the first link in this category)



**********



I'm kind of tired, so I'm not going to promise to adhere to my four new specialty articles per week schedule for a while. I usually let a carnival day go without a new article, so that's no different today. I have one waiting to go tomorrow morning, but after that I may need some recharge time, and so be less prolific for a while.



I have forty-plus article ideas posted and at least partially fleshed, but there's a lot going on outside of this URL right now.



I'm always open and enthusiastic about new ideas and questions, so don't hesitate to ask, but I think I may need some recharge time, so don't be surprised if the morning article is a repeat more often than you're used to for a couple weeks, and these Links and Minifeatures are shorter and come less often.