Links and Minifeatures 04 01 Saturday (No Fooling!)

Bullet dodged, for now. Mellon was doing okay for a few days, then lost the use of her back legs again. Vet gave her a shot, and me some medicine for her for later. Less than $100, and she's feeling good enough to walk, and she's not in pain. As long as this continues, I'm happy to keep my sweet little dog.

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I ran across the idea of the infinite monkeys on infinite typewriters evenutally producing the works of Shakespeare again the other day. Actually, since there are only a finite number of possibilities, an infinite number of monkeys would produce the works of Shakespeare practically instantaneously.



On the other hand, some finite number of monkeys (say 100) at a finite number of coding consoles would take some real time - eons - on the universal scale in order to come out with a perfect product.



Methinks Windows is the result of such a product being rushed to market.



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Dean's World has posted Rudy Rummel's Democratic Peace. If you haven't done so in the past, I suggest you go check it out. As far as I can tell, this theory is completely compatible with observed outcomes from observed situations - in other words, as close to experimental verification as we're likely to get.



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Looks like Right Wing News has the FAQs on illegal immigrants.



Glenn Reynolds has more thoughts worth reading. "The debate stinks." Indeed.



Q and O has more. I've long been aware of the racists of MEChA. At one point I tried getting them banned from a campus by simply changing the names of the races involved in their constitution and informing people that this organization was already accredited on campus. Alas, 'twas the late seventies, and everyone knew that only white people could be racists.



Victor Davis Hanson has an essay worth reading.



Some of my thoughts are here, but I must always observe that it is by your actions that your intentions are truly known. The actions of the protest organizers and protestors this week has done them more damage in the court of public opinon than all of the above people could in a hundred years.





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For those who have complete faith in the power of confessions of guilt, read aTypical Joe's Innocent people confess to crimes they did not do



This is part of what we call the need for transparency. If everyone is scrutinized in everything they do, then the wrongdoers will be found. The more authority, the more potential for abuse, and therefore the more detailed the scrutiny.



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Willisms has a regular feature on Social Security Reform. Every week the counter gets larger as to what saying no to social security reform has cost. This week, he's talking about the socialist who dreamed up social security. Ya know, I don't give a rat's @$$ about that. It guilt by association. What I do care about is fixing a system that cannot endure through the lifetimes of today's workers.



Here's a clue to the Donkeys who think "Just say no!" to reform is a rational strategy: What happens when it becomes obvious to ninety percent of the voters that you were not only wrong, but knew you were wrong for decades and still obstructed reform, thereby making the damage orders of magnitude worse?



The base you've been living on will disappear faster than pancakes in an IHOP on Sunday morning, and unlike the IHOP, they won't make any more. Overnight you're going to go from "the Party of Compassion" to "The Party of False Promises."



The day of reckoning is coming before my younger daughter gets to college. When that happens, there won't be a Donkey (or former Donkey, or Donkey apologist) elected to office ever again. I've been seeing actuarial workups since the late 1970s that told us how bad this problem was going to get, and all along the entire federal government has been playing Peter Pan, as if a failure to believe in the problem would solve it. Now we have one nationally elected politician who's willing to do something about it, and instead of gratefully taking cover behind his shield, the Donkeys have joined in the crowd slinging darts, trying to derail a movement that makes social security sustainable. Without that, everyone is going to get hurt - especially those who need it the most.



Those Donkeys derailing Social Security reform must have retainers to shave them - because I don't know how they can look themselves in the mirror.



On a related note, HT to enrevanche for the link to this OpinionJournal piece called A Plan to Replace the Welfare State. Not sure I agree, but it's worth reading for the way it challenges assumptions.



Here's another piece you should take note of from Social Security Choice. Seems the Donkeys don't take the lockbox very seriously.



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Target Centermass has a long sad article about the amalgamation of the Highland Regiments in the British Army. It's been a long time coming; the population of the Highlands has been decreasing for centuries and with the British fielding a smaller army overall, it was inevitable. Still a sad day when there is no more Black Watch, no more Argyll and Sutherland (themselves the merger of two former regiments), no more of any of the storied regiments of Highland Troops, just battalions of one amalgamated regiment.



On the other hand, HT to Mudville Gazette for this story of an Islamic nation moving further into the modern era: First women earn wings in an Islamic air force



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Via Roger Simon comes this gem of a tale of statist creep.



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via Respectful Insolence comes a link to the Pigasus Awards. No, that's not a typo.



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Shocks Seen in New Math for Pensions. It's About Time!



Now how about doing the same thing for governmental obligations?



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Big Lizards has the kind of post on the real government that makes you go "Hmmm." It makes a lot of sense. Do I endorse it completely? No. Is it a useful model for experimental predictions? Yes.



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Looks like Captain's Quarters has seen the light of transparency, at least as it relates to campaign finance. Even if you grant the benefits (which I do not) trying to keep the money out of campaign finance is futile. Instead focus on keeping it transparent enough to see who is supporting who (or what) and you have solved the problem.



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No good ideas for an April Fools Joke, and it's dangerous at a site like this, anyway. Could well undermine any credibility I may have. But Eidelblog and La Shawn Barber have good oes.