Zee Links and Minifeatures: July 2005 Archives
Utterly cool but I had forgotten about it while the shuttle fleet was grounded: A Real Time Track of the shuttle and a few other major satellites.
Libertarian politics: Bach Talk, yet another libertarian who gets it.
HT to Dean's World for finding a link to
NASA-Funded Scientists Discover Tenth Planet. I always expected a tenth planet to be named Charon, and I hope they keep the Roman theme, but that's kind of up to the discoverers and IAU. For all the control I have, they could name it Instapundit.
Armies of Liberation has more on the kleptocracy and the control that the Saleh government has on pretty much every sector, even the NGOs.
On the other side of the Air America scandal:
Atypical Joe found a very worthwhile potential debunking of the whole scandal at The American Street. I should make it clear. This whole set of allegations is something that needs to be investigated. If, like Karl Rove and Valerie Plame, there's nothing there, let it lie.
On the other hand, Michelle Malkin sends us to Macho Nachos, who notes that the Boys and Girls Club that gave the money to Air America went under. Perhaps there is an innocent explanation, but it sure doesn't pass the smell test from here.
When I actually went to Hugh Hewitt's site, he referenced relevant lines and the information derived from them on form 990 that American Street admitted he had up. He reminded me of things I learned studying Accounting. I still want to see a competent auditor go through this, but it smells worse and worse. The IRS prosecutes on inurement every time they find it.
John Roberts Supreme Court
Beldar debunks Senator Leahy's claim about no attorney-client privilege for Roberts.
Catscape
had an article back on the 25th that I didn't get to until now about Barbara Boxer's reaction. I can't be the only one in the whole country completely fed up with hidden agendas, can I? Some of them aren't really even hidden, we just pretend we don't notice the forty ton Donkey in the room.
The Buck Stops Here has a worthwhile article on the Supreme Court, precedent, and heaps of sand.
The Moderate Voice has a great article on John Roberts talking about things wrong with the Supreme Court.
Belmont Club has a worthwhile article on the failed states, and how the debate has become whether we should do anything.
Big Cat Chronicles went numbers diving and found out that, predictably, the oil companies are making more, although inspecting his numbers, it appears that margins (profit as a percentage of total sales) are down. I'm not saying the oil companies should be singing "Poor Poor Pitiful Me", but although their profits are up, they appear to be a lower percentage of revenue, so they're not gouging us as much as some people say.
Liberty and Regulation
Catallarchy has a wonderful article on the effectiveness - or lack thereof - of car seats. Seeing as California has a law requiring kids to be in these seats until age 6 or 60 pounds, I read it with interest. I wonder how many children have been killed by car-seat regulations?
HT to Classical Values for pointing me at a great quote from Samizdata
Freedom has no natural place in a "hierarchy of rights". Freedom used to be what was left over when other people's rights to their choices were taken into account. But the priesthood seems keen to ensure that there are "rights" everywhere, with no space for anything else, and that "rights" are not options, they are compulsions. Lenin would be proud.
As I Please has a nice post on the limits of the fourth amendment. I'm a civil liberties type myself. But I think that as long as we have cameras watching the watchers, surveillance in public places is a good thing.
Coyote Blog has another great post on environmentalists doing things right! They didn't want the rancher's cattle eating and trampling all the native plants. So instead of trying to get him regulated out of business, they bought his grazing rights.
Iraq and War on Terror
Counterterrorism Blog tells us about a vulnerability that has now become obvious in the wake of London. British, Canadian, and residents of many other countries have no visa requirement to visit the United States.
Done With Mirrors has a good post on day to day operations in Iraq.
Villainous Company executes another excellent takedown of that
Captain's Quarters has the best explanation of why we're losing our Uzbak base that I've seen. When the US helps you against Islamist crazies, you like them. When they encourage actual democracy, you get rid of them.
HT to Dr. Sanity for pointing me at this article on how poorly history is taught in our schools. Read the part about degrees in education rather than history. Remember it. Seems I was talking about it just yesterday
Dr. Sanity has a post in which she analyses a compare and contrast between our our Exempt Media and the chinese government.
HT to Incite for pointing me to China stocks nukes as anti-U.S. tactic
This is cool. Pave-zyme
Illegal Immigration
Drink This has an article on Anchor Babies. I already knew about this, as do most San Diegans, I suspect. But if you don't know what an anchor baby is, please read this. HT: Anti Idiotarian Rottweiler
links John Roberts Supreme Court terrorism politics iraq space shuttle Yemen economics immigration
Sorry about no Daily Links yesterday. I ended up helping my brother get ready to move to Washington state.
There is an actual RPG Carnival starting up! They are accepting submissions now, the first one will appear Monday. Go here for details. I really need to game more often.
John Roberts Supreme Court stuff:
William Kristol has a good column worth reading in The Weekly Standard on the creation of a Constitutionalist Court.
Terry Eastland has another column on Robert's application of judicial restraint. I keep learning more about this guy, and I like what I keep learning. He seems to be a moderate conservative.
Scrappleface certainly has the correct answer to those senators requesting private documents on Roberts.
Powerline reports on a press conference that may put Hillary on the horns of a dilemma. Captain's Quarters has more depth on the subject.
Eugene Volokh debunks a hit piece.
Tim Blair has a suggestion for the Democratic Senators.
SCT Nomination Blog has more on Robert's writings.
I keep doing search engine stuff for more China/Taiwan news and not getting anything new and significant. At least two possibilities exist. The 'nuclear weapons' theme was a bluff, or it was deadly serious, is now flying under he radar, and we'll get a rude surprise when the Chinese government is ready.
Here is one article. Consider the source is Taiwanese, of course. It's still a few lines worth reading. Taiwan has had transfers of power due to democratic elections.
Here's something of a basic background to those not familiar, and here's a pdf summary of the strategic situation in terms that are about as neutral as I can find. I don't agree with everything there, but I'm forced to concede the author probably has a better understanding than I do. And here's something of political interest.
This guy seems to be a real-life counterpart to Tommy, except that fictional Tommy had more clues to go by. Wow.
Iraq and War on Terror
Little Green Footballs tells us the American Islamic Leaders fatwa against terrorism is bogus, and those promoting this pravda have been linked to terrorist organizations themselves. (heavy sigh) And I was so happy to see it, too (see my article here.) HT to LGF also for The Muslim mind is on fire, which shows that some Muslims "get it".
Victor Davis Hanson has more.
Mohammed at Iraq the Model has his own take worth reading.
Indepundit has one heck of a round-up of stuff. Go read it. I'll wait.
Dean's World pokes holes in Juan Cole. Not that that's difficult, or anything, but Dean does a good job.
Powerline also takes us to President Bush's improvement on Kyoto, which Clinton didn't submit to the senate but somehow the blame ended up with George Bush who didn't take office until almost four years later, the Asia Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate (use Bug Me Not to log in).
Let me get this straight. So the environmentalists blame Bush for Clinton failing ratify Kyoto, then Bush goes out and negotiates something better. To quote Powerline, however, I don't suppose President Bush is holding his breath, waiting for the crowd to start applauding.
Captain's Quarters has more on Bush's second term successes.
Chrenkoff has more.
Michelle Malkin has wonderful roundup of the Air America financial scandal. The level of hypocrisy is amazing. Can you imagine the fallout if any other corporation took money tagged for Boys and Girls clubs, they'd be under indictment and out of business because no one would do business with them. "But we're liberals, not like that awful Halliburton. Don't blame us." Give me a break. Go rent a clue. The fact is that your organization got the money. When you purchased it, you should either have 1) paid the money out of sale proceeds, 2) required it be paid back as a condition of the transaction, or 3) paid it back yourself. See the Eeevil McDonalds Corporation you so despise for an example of how to do it right.
Captain's Quarters has more.
For all I publish against uncontrolled or illegal immigration, I want to draw a sharp line between that and legal, controlled immigration. Indepundit directs me to a Michael Yon article on some very welcome new citizens. Welcome aboard - you've more than earned it!
Mike's Noise has a worthwhile article on the shuttle foam which has caused so much difficulty. If it were corporations making a profit, this would be grounds for a wrongful death suit on behalf of the Columbia's crew families. Seven people are dead, but the ozone layer is a couple of litres bigger!
Yemen Stuff:
Politburo Diktat has a link to an Amnesty International petition. I think the possibility of it helping is worth two minutes of your time. A 14 year old boy in prison being denied a doctor?
While I was thinking of it, I went over to Armies of Liberation and more stuff on the unrest there.
aTypical Joe makes a point that cannot be made too often. Watchful Investor makes a slightly different one.
Fearless Philosophy has a worthwhile series of posts, What Rights Do Children Have?of which Part III pertains to education. I want to highlight one section:
While I would say the most important skills for an individual to learn is literacy and mathematics and would agree that schools are not doing a very good job teaching these vital subjects, education must not end with literacy and mathematics. Education must adapt to the new challenges of the 21st Century world in which we live. Behind literacy and mathematics, every student should learn how to reason and think for themselves (critical thinking). Once a child has a basis for these three very basic skills, he or she can then learn about health, science, history, technology, etc.
I have to say that there is a fallacy here. Mathematics and Literature, properly taught, do teach reasoning skills far better than anything else. I'm not necessarily talking about x+y=z, x-y=2z type of problems here. I'm talking about word problems, which teach one more about real world reasoning than all the arithmetic problems in all the textbooks of the world. They're the litmus test of whether you "get it". Speaking as someone with a fair amount of mathematical background, the number of times I saw mathematics taught right, from kindergarten to dozens of college level courses, I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of times I had a teacher who consistently taught mathematics well. These skills extend the sciences where you learn how to design experiments for what you need to know based upon what you can measure, and I can only name two teachers (both in high school - one physics, one electronics. None of the undergrad physics courses I took, which included an honors level starting sequence) who made a habit of teaching in this manner. Furthermore, it extends to literacy as well. If you make a habit of requiring essays on the issues, and grade upon how rationally and globally you deal with the issues, whether you address evidence for the other side, use examples, avoid logical fallacies, and so on, and not whether the conclusion you reach agrees with your instructor, you have further extended this into the real world. Despite Honors level courses in high school and several more in college, I cannot remember one instructor who came anywhere close to this ideal, or even pretended to. I'm probably lucky I had those few in mathematics and the sciences, but that's how all the teachers should be. I had one teacher in high school who was named National Teacher of The Year for designing a "politically correct" US History of Minorities course that didn't pretend to be balanced. Political Indoctrination has become so much a part of the game that the teachers expect to be able to do it, now even more so then was the case in the 70's when I went to high school. They expect to be praised, paid, and promoted because of it. The heresy, of course, is for someone else to be able to do it, or for people who get degrees in "education" not to be able to.
(Is it just me, or does it seem like every university education department in the country exists to politically indoctrinate young people while they've still got an effective threat "Parrot my line or you'll never get a job teaching!")
Louisiana Libertarian has a wonderful article on the Senate locking the barn door while the horse runs out the back. Seems people want to ban pseudoephedrine, which can be and is used to make methamphetamine in street labs. But "Under pressure from law enforcement agencies and state governments, drug companies have begun reformulating popular cold medicines to prevent criminals from converting them into methamphetamine." This may happen as early as next year! But you know our Senate - instead of encouraging or even requiring the reformulation, they're going to pass a law requiring all purchasers to admit to their purchases of cold medicines.
links blogging John Roberts Supreme Court China Taiwan iraq terrrorism environment Kyoto Air America immigration shuttle space Yemen real estate education politics
Carnival of the Vanities is up! Especially good Open Challenge to the Detractors of Rep. Tom Tancredo (I disagree, but it's a good article), Top Secret Democrat Party Strategy Meeting - Exposed! (I think it was intended as satire), Physics, Wealth Creation, and Zero Sum Economics, and History and Fantasy
John Roberts Supreme Court news
Alberto Gonzalez needs to shut up. He's not the nominee. He doesn't speak for the nominee. Don't give the wing-nuts bait. Okay, he didn't really speak for the nominee. But statements like "A Supreme Court Justice is not bound by precedent if he considers it wrong," while by definition correct (otherwise, for instance, Roe vs. Wade would never have been granted cert), is nonetheless fanning the political flames in this contest. This is not really in anybody's best interest. Captain's Quarters has more.
Captain's Quarters has more on requests for confidential documents. Exactly how many of Ginsberg's confidential documents did they request?
A Legal Affairs Debate Club on legitimate questions to ask. (HT: Instapundit)
Powerline has more on precedents set by the last set of hearings.
Volokh Conspiracy debunks a lower federal judge disputing Robert's Appeals decisions on Hedgepeth. They also cite an Amusing coincidence.
The Elephant in the Room: Notice how there's nothing on the causes of the violence in the article. Two words twice. Illegal Drugs. Illegal aliens. Both go away if we actually control our border. Being a civil libertarian, I think there would be less damage done if the drugs were legal than with the greatest degree of practical law enforcement, but if we're going to control this, let's control it.
The Immigration Blog has more on costs of illegal immigration, and advances fines on employers as the best way to solve the problem for the 500 millionth time. Question: If all Republicans are tools of corporate interests, why are Republicans the ones advocating this? Question: If (mostly) Republican rank and file and centrist voters are overwhelmingly advocating this, why the heck aren't the Republican leaders doing it? The first question is rhetorical, but the obvious answer to the second is that Republican politicians are afraid it will create single issue voters out of our largest minority. Why aren't the Democrats going after the issue and all the centrist voters? Because they're giving the Republicans rope to hang themselves, and they need hispanics and illegal hispanics to stay competitive. Ladies and gentlemen, I married into a hispanic family that's been here since 1916, and if you pin them down, they are opposed to illegal immigration also, and they're still registered Democrats. Keep it focused on the illegal aspect and disassociate yourself quickly from any racists remarks, and the issue is a winner. Pete Wilson figured this out ten years ago. Why can't anybody else?
Iraq and War on Terror:
Gateway Pundit has a round up on unrest in Iran. HT: Instapundit
Iraq the Model has some great comments on the most recent draft of the Iraqi constitution. Since clerics are the only power structure that remain, independent of the Baathist party, from the old regime, I strongly suspect a quid pro quo for their support thus far.
Interesting bit from CQ. About time somebody called the Syrians on their support of the insurgency, but I wonder how much of it is "act tough because the americans are here"?
A Redleg's Perspective tells us of "The 1 weapon necessary for victory" (HT: Mudville Gazette)
Michelle Malkin notes that Air America seems to be siphoning public funds out of New York City. Not that anyone's ever accused the left of having ethics or anything, but this is disgusting.
HT to Austin Bay for some extra development off this Interesting report on the Chinese Economy
Reason Online has a nice balanced post on the Violence Against Women Act. (HT: Dean's World)
Arguing with Signposts has an article about consumer slowdown ahead. I've been saying, "When it hits, hold on to your hats!" for some time now. The average consumer is overleveraged, including with mortgage debt. When home values are no longer there to rescue the economy, watch out! This is one reason why I've been critical of recent raises to the overnight funds rate.
Nailed! Why Hillary Will Never be President
links John Roberts Supreme Court iraq politics illegal immigration China terrorism economics
This isn't what I'd call a hopeful sign yet. But it is the first step towards a helpful sign when the people who have been giving Mugabe a pass all this time are no longer willing to write a blank check.
I can't believe this is any way, shape or form worthy of printing in a newspaper. The writer is the lawyer that is representing Wilson and Plame. They're not even accused of anything criminal, just stupidity and dishonesty. So obviously USA Today is going to give everyone else's lawyer an equal amount of column space? (crickets chirping). Didn't think so.
Yay! Shuttle Discovery Blasts Into Orbit
HT to Justus for all for pointing to The Failed States Index. A heck of a good page. I'm sorry for Columbia, whose modern politicians seem to be trying to dig themselves out of a hole that was dug quite some time ago, and other states on the list as well.
Angry in the Great White North has a post on realpolitik and Canada's frontiers. I'd like to see them return to some of the ideals of Red Ensign days. Doesn't look likely to happen.
"(Americans) don't want to rule the world -- we want to be able to ignore it. Hilarious and true! I don't know how often I've thought that rational foreign policy sounds like mom telling her squabbling children, "Don't make me come up there!"
I am sorry that this is so late and so minimal for the second day in a row. I hate it when real life interferes with my internet use. On the plus side, I've got my consumer pieces done through Thursday. Tomorrow will be a re-edited piece on "The Good Faith Estimate (part I)", and Thursday will be a real life look at "For Sale By Owner".
links politics current events Canada Americans
Carnival of the Capitalists is up! Especially worthwhile: When Does The War Stop?, Wanting Our Cake and Eating It Too, How Many People Should Be Working In America?
Carnival of Liberty is up as well. Favorites: Natural Rights Doctrine, The Politics of Liberty, Quotational Therapy, and On Nuance and the Constitution
RINO Sightings is also up! I especially recommend: Protecting the World from Poor Journalism, The Death of Unions,
Jackson's Junction has a wonderful post on identity theft, the 21st century tragedy of the commons. (HT: Instapundit)
Publius Pundit has an excellent column on Amnesty International bending over way too far in its attempts to be evenhanded, and also its institutional amnesia. I don't remember any of this sort of equivocation or tracing of US constraints on their infamous Guantanamo Bay declaration, nor could I find any on a quick skim (HT: LGF)
Hugh Hewitt covers the Democratic senators on the Judiciary committee.
Powerline gets a tip of the hat for pointing me to a CBS news editorial that either doesn't want us to steal judge's legitimate power (their opinion) or wants judges to continue to abrogate more power to themselves (my opinion). When any number of decisions are made, X declared a constitutional right or Y being declared an unconstitutional law, based upon no wording actually found in the Constitution, something is wrong. I certainly don't want to go back to "John Marshall has made his decision, now let him enforce it," but preventing the judges from arrogating to themselves the powers that properly belong to the Legislative, or even occasionally the Executive branch, needs to become more of a national project. Either judges need to face regular elections, or they have to stop doing the Congress' (and parts of the Executive's) job. I'd rather it be the latter, but I'm open to the former. Alas, the only scenario I see for constraining the judiciary is a House of Representatives committee that actually does its job and impeaches some activist judges on both ends of the spectrum (although it may be hard to find conservative candidates), as opposed to twiddling it's thumbs.
Sorry, but I was busy today!
links politics Supreme Court blogging
Looks like they've identified something to fight one component of Alzheimer's Cool!
Common Sense and Wonder notes the real reason we can't post the Ten Commandments in courthouses: harrassment regulations. "TEN COMMANDMENTS The real reason that we can't have the Ten
Commandments in a Courthouse? You cannot post "Thou
Shalt Not Steal," "Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery" and
"Thou Shall Not Lie" in a building full of lawyers,
judges and politicians! It creates a hostile work
environment!"
Bad news for those who want to pull California off a straight into the toilet course: Redistricting Initiative removed from ballot.
Old Pot, New Kettle: Partisan Politics In Kentucky
For those still following Kelo, Mr. Completely directs us to Eminent Domain Watch. I'm sorry to say that I have given up on instituting rational, realpolitik ways to stop eminent domain abuse. All of the interest is in stopping it cold, so it theoretically can't happen. Ladies and Gentlemen, not only are there times when it needs to happen, when it should happen, when society needs it to happen, trying to flatly prohibit it won't work. The powerful will figure out a way, no matter what is enacted in that wise. I can easily poke holes you can push entire Townships through in every single "stop it completely" proposal I've seen, and they are not repairable holes. Furthermore, it is a long standing problem with eminent domain that people who are victims of it are rarely compensated enough for the property that is taken, let alone legal expenses, time away from gainful work, etcetera. The approach of flat prohibition is obvious, and it certainly feels good, but is fundamentally flawed. Approach instead, from the idea of taking away the incentive for abuses, making abuses unprofitable, and abuses will stop. See this article and the preceding articles in that chain if you want to see an approach that at least has a chance.
INCITE has more on the Texas response. Let's see how well it actually works.
MuD and PHuD has another piece on Kelo. I don't like to see someone get slimed any more than the next person, but if she is claiming it as her primery residence in order to be able to get insurance, get better rates, or whatever, and she is not actually living there, she is committing FRAUD. Serious, felony level FRAUD. Just because she was the victim on some other issue does not entitle her to commit FRAUD. Or should we award Rodney King a free pass for life (even assuming he was a victim, a fact of which I am not sure)?
Libercontrarian has a worthwhile fisking of the traditional libertarian response to illegal immigration.
Rhymes With Right shows us some tentative steps in the right direction.
Poetic Justice Department: Combs Spouts Off has an article about how a feminist newsletter is ceasing publication due to the possibility a child might see it. Combs is upset; I'm sorry he's upset but I'm laughing. I think the pornographers and people who want to buy from them should (mostly) be allowed to go their own way. But the feminists decry the "objectification of women" and "exploitation" and want it banned. A realistic analysis yields the parties that are being exploited are the purchasers. But I digress.
Now the feminists (among others), being able to hire some smart lawyers, know that the first amendment stands in the way of direct banning, so their primary tactic has been to set an impossibly high bar towards proving that nobody less than the age of 18 participates, and nobody less than the age of 18 can possibly view it - as these are worthwhile causes that unless closely examined everybody will sign off on. Everybody wants to protect the children from porn. Problem is, new standards are setting the recordkeeping on willing participants down to the individual copy level, and that's ridiculous. Nobody can comply with that. There will be a legal challenge, of course, and if it's overturned we're going to hear all about how the Supreme Court wants children to view porn. Balderdash. The recordkeeping requirements are odious past all reason, and I'm glad to see this nonsense burning some of the perpetrators. Assuming the regulations are overturned, as I think likely, porn will come right back but these twits are likely to have been really hurt. (Cue Evil Laughter Here).
Antigravitas , among others, doesn't like the Patriot Act extension. I don't find it so objectionable. Unlike the First and Second Amendments, the Fourth Amendment was never written or intended as absolute. The Patriot Act itself actually does comparatively little upon a quick reading. I would like to be educated in precisely what you folks find to be objectionable. Or is it just "No! Not the library clause!"
Oh, that liberal media bias part 153,498,222: Angry in The Great White North has a great article. Look for the quote "When I see Steven Harper, I see the enemy." I am not certain if it is a good sign or a bad sign that he admitted that.
State of Flux has a really worthwhile article on Prime Minister Singh and tangentially on our warming relations with India. Keep on eye on these guys - both Singh and State of Flux, who seems to have something wonderful every time I stop by.
Just when I thought I could finally ignore this topic, a new wrinkle: Politburo Diktat is talking about Rove being under fire for perjury now. I'm not worried because he had no reason to lie, and was cooperating with the probes from the very first in ways that the journalists have not, having got their panties in a bunch about a federal shield law that I doubt they should have. The standard to prove perjury is kind of tough, too. Clinton lied about something that was a fact. What, he's had oral sex given him so many times he doesn't remember one more. If Rove merely inverted the sequence of a couple of events in one testimony, or something similar to that, then it's not likely to be perjury - as a matter of fact it happens all the time with people trying their very best to remember exactly the way everything happened. Bill Clinton was stupid enough to lie on an "it happened or it didn't" question. He deserved to get thrown out of office for gross stupidity on that grounds that among about a trillion other reasons. This is politics, I know, and the media isn't exactly neutral. But still, unless it can be shown that Rove lied and intended to lie, it's not perjury. Kos and the DU and the NY Slimes may howl, but if it isn't intentional, it's not perjury. They may even get Rove fired if they howl enough (I see both sides on whether he should step down just to get it over with). It's still not perjury to do your best recollection, which happens to differ in details from the last time you told the story. If these kinds of differences didn't exist, it would be suspicious. And the reason I'm not interested in defending Rove is it appears that there is no there there, anywhere in this whole circus. I could be wrong and he'll be convicted of something, in which case I wouldn't be interested in defending him anyway (Unlike, say, Ted Kennedy, or any of however many senators voted for Clinton's acquittal. If there is anybody reading this that believes those voting to acquit William Jefferson Clinton voted the law and the facts rather than the party line, please call me. I own a large amount of beachfront property in Florida I'd like to sell cheap).
Now will somebody please find us wooden stake so we can put this topic out of our misery once and for all?
Classical Values has some circumstantial evidence pointing to what I indicated was a partial explanation a while ago: Bush and Negroponte are starting to clean house at the CIA. The entrenched bureaucrats don't like it, and are trying to ensure that the political will, or capital, to do so are lacking.
Armies of Liberation has several updates to the situation in Yemen, which I have arranged here in chronoglogical order here so you can tell the order they were posted in. Phew! I need a shower after all that slime. Here's hoping all the blood goes for something worth having.
I'm a Gryffindor. HT: Respectful Insolence
Pigilito Says has a post on the research reinvestment gap. Me, I'm not happy that Japan reinvests about 25% more than the US.
Classical Values seems to have a more in depth story on the two young men the Iranian Mullahs hung. Think Catholic Priest molestation scandal. Then consider if the priest had the power to have them hung because they complained. And the charge was the sodomy he committed upon them.
I hope Iran comes up on our military "to do" list in the War on Terror sometime soon. Although the Iranians may save us the trouble.
World According to Nick has good reflections and research on the DDT ban.
What she said: La Shawn Barber takes on affirmative action as only she can.
Captain's Quarters finds an article telling us that even when the left gets it right, they get it wrong.
Reading and considering other ideas doesn't cause cancer. The Moderate Voice talks of true moderation. (HT: Indepundit)
Stop the ACLU has an article on Bill Frist getting one right, and introducing a bill to help the Boy Scouts. I just hope the ACLU doesn't have his bill declared unconstitutional.
links politics Kelo PATRIOT Act immigration media bias India
Karl Rove Yemen
technology
Boy Scouts ACLU
Well, I finally got off my rear end and opened a 529 plan for my younger daughter's college. Hilda, the older one, I opened on the day we got her social, but I had a little bit of cash flow difficulty when Ramona, the younger one, was born last September, so I didn't get around to it until yesterday. At least I put two years worth of my normal contributions in, so both daughters are fully funded now for 2005. I've been putting in $2000 per child per year. I don't anticipate it covering 4 years at Harvard, but if they're careful they should be able to get through a state school here in California without loans. And if they do go to Harvard it'll still be a big help. If you've got kids, folks, start that account now. Most people have the option of putting retirement off. If they don't have money for college when it's time, they're probably not going.
I'm looking for some feedback if you've got a minute, either via email or comments. Are these Links and Minifeatures articles something that makes the site more or less attractive to you? Would you stop by more or less often if I altered them? If you have your own website, would you link more often if the articles were split up, or less often?
I want to have at least a certain number of the articles on the front page be consumer education related, and I've been cheating to achieve this by amalgamating my daily miscellany and looking around at other blogs in the alliances I've joined. I feel I should give links to good content whenever I have time, and I want to write on other topics myself, yet do not want to have fewer than about 5 articles on the front page be consumer related. The solution of writing more articles on my focus subjects leads in short order to burnout (some I can do in an hour or so, but most take much longer), and the solution of fewer articles relating to it on the front page seems to be losing my desired focus. Starting next week, I'm going to have to start reposting previous articles anyway, but I would appreciate any constructive ideas you want to share.
(I was also hoping when I started this to have more people sharing cautionary tales of bad experiences than I have received thus far.)
Iraq the Model makes a point I wasn't aware of. The very first constitution for a state that happend to be mostly Islamic evidently did not make Islam the state religion. I gather that he's irritated with the clerics who insist it be the state religion of Iraq and that said constitution discriminate against Israelis. I wonder how many ordinary Iraqis feel the same? There's also a more general article on the Constitution. Use the link on the blogroll if you want to read about Saddam's trial. The Iraqi constitution is important.
Mudville Gazette has the goods on a kinder gentler area denial weapon. Some liberals are going off on it with questions like "How do you ensure that the dose doesn't cross the threshold for permanent damage? Does the weapon cut out to prevent overexposure?" Greyhawk asks if hurling pillows would be acceptable. Having a certain bent of mind, I simply ask these people: If you had a choice of this weapon or a machine gun, which would you rather we use? Because if it's the machine gun, we can save a lot of R&D money, and I'm certain that Eeevvil Halliburton won't be making anything from the sales of this weapon then! Okay, it can likely be improved. The question remains: microwave or machine gun?
He also has a post about a Commemorative Marine Corps dollar that I wonder why they don't just put it in general circulation? It's certainly a lot more attractive than that Sacajawea nonsense or the ugly Susan before it. If the other services want in on the act, hey, so much the better for Proof Sets!
Politechnicalpoints us to the fact that War Criminals are being paid here. I agree with him. Publicise smaller bounties for their heads, attached or not, and watch them turn themselves in. Is there any organizations except the UN bankrupt enough to say, "Mount a massacre, Make a $Million?" (Okay, I can see MoveOn advocating "Conservative Cleansing", but we're the ones with all the guns.)
Carnival of the Vanities #148 is up. Haven't had a chance to go through it for favorites yet. UPDATE: Marshall vs. Marshall and the liberal view of intel, La Cosa Nostra in Washington State, In a battle of Ideas, it's best to have one,
Cutting Edge of Ecstasy has an article on the National Sex Offender Public Registry, making a point that measures for accuracy are likely to be lax. I have a requirement to tell every househunting client I work with to the sex offender registry list here in California, and document it lest I be liable. Truthfully, though, I imagine anybody who can show they were on the list erroneously is looking at instant million$, so I'm not too horriby worried for them. I am concerned for our taxpayers.
Recovering Democrat makes a point that cannot be made too often about Anti-Semitism and the Holocaust. There quite simply is no other group anywhere in the world with anything approaching the history of persecution that Jews have. It wasn't just Germany and Arab lands, but Russia, Poland, Austria-Hungary and the Holy Roman Empire, Spain, France and even England, just in Europe. I'm no expert on the Diaspora, but I imagine they went elsewhere as well as Europe, and despite the difficulties they faced in those places, there aren't a whole lot of jews left outisde of Europe, the United States and Israel. You do the math. They need a place where they can escape to if the need arises. Because it seems to arise on a regular basis. And it's not like the vast majority of the Arab world gave a rats backside about the area, or the Arab inhabitants of the area, at any point prior to the establishment of Israel, and most still don't care about the former inhabitants and are unwilling to grant citizenship in their country to those muslims who stayed, or those muslims who left, or their descendants.
I must again apologize to my fellow RINOs and LLP members. I'm trying to check out everyone's website at least once a week, preferably two or three times, and link to good stuff. My Minifeatures essays have been getting out of hand and becoming full-blown articles of late. I do welcome emails about posts you're proud of.
college blogging Iraq politics Israel
links
China revalues currency. Well, sort of. China is at least forty percent low, and they revalued by about two percent. Malasia pulls the same nonsense. This is the rough equivalent of placing a small bandaid on a severed leg that they are making sure will remain bleeding. This is the economic warfare, on Western society and their own people, that the author was talking about in yesterday's Links and Minifeatures. If they attack Taiwan, I hope that we are ready to respond to overwhelming force. Including some serious bunker busters at Communist Party hide-outs.
Armies of Liberation has an update to yesterday's post. The situation in Yemen is either deteriorating further or improving depending upon one's point of view. Saleh has already agreed not to stand for re-election next year, but it appears that is not enough. (It is to be noted that I'm not certain how much Saleh leaving office means in de facto terms - it could be anything from a public illusion to a true transfer of power.)
Rhymes with Right has a story that the Border Patrol may be considering a civilian auxiliary. The speedy bureaucratic response time of a rock and all the momentum of frozen molasses.
Joe Lieberman (one of the more reasonable Donkeys) says that Roberts isn't an extremist. Yesterday, Harry Reid said he probably wasn't filibuster material, which translates to plain english as "We're trying to find something to derail him on, but haven't been able to." Even Patrick Leahy and Dianne Feinstein seem to be saying they haven't got anything. Barbara 'Blinders' Boxer appears ready to try anyway. (Amazing and disturbing what she said. She's obviously trying to featherbed herself with her Moonbat constituents, because she's not going on to governor or president with that kind of attitude).
Let's see, I've chided both Boxer and Ann Coulter on this, while supporting the candidate. I must be a RINO or something.
Hugh Hewitt has more on Robert's unusual level of qualification, and directs us to a Michael Barone article that seems to confirm my above and prior writings. Since Barone is likely to be the one person with a better overall grasp of U. S. politics than anyone else, it's unlikely I'm too far off base.
Powerline has more illuminating articles on this topic. Volokh Conspiracy notes that "John" is the most common name in Supreme Court history, which I think might be telling us something.
Michelle Malkin has the best and most concise take on the mindset of those opposing the nomination that I've seen.
Great Michael Yon piece on Iraq. (HT: Instapundit)
Normblog has a longer, better version of his Guardian article debunking the approach of most "root cause" apologists. (HT to Instapundit again for the latter).
Referencing my article Monday comparing and contrasting the behavior of Islam and Christianity, here's a tempest in a teapot when someone tried to put an article in Wikipedia about Jizyah, the infidel tax. (HT: LGF)
Jizya
LGF shows us another reason Wikipedia is always of questionable accuracy: Motivations of the contributors may not be purely scientific. Ya think?
Am I the only one disgusted at the ACLU Jihad against Boy Scouts? (HT: LGF again).
Check out Stop the ACLU for more on their activities.
I used to respect the ACLU. Heck, I used to give them money. Sometime in the last twenty years, they've allowed themselves to be hijacked, and to become Useful Idiots. These days, F.I.R.E. is a better place to support.
Commom Sense and Wonder shows us a worthwhile Charles Krauthammer article comparing three major schools of thought. Pay close attention, there will be a test for the rest of your life.
LGF also has articles on Sudanese blatantly ignoring international protocols by assaulting american staff of Secretary Rice. They also ejected any journalists who asked questions about Darfur. Shades of East Germany in the 1960s.
What he said: Captain's Quarters has an entry on the New York Times advocacy of a shield law. A particular shield law. A law meant to give the New York Slimes not only more leverage towards a journalistic monopoly, but unlimited discretion over who they do and do not protect, so they can choose to protect someone who advances the publisher's point of view, and leave another source on the opposite side high and dry. I don't think so. I am unable to find any significant public interest that would be served by a shield law. All it does is make lazy journalists jobs easier. Are journalists in the United States not supposed to be citizens or legal residents, and as such, supposed to be loyal to the interests of society?
The demands of the age mean that society is becoming and needs to become more transparent, not less. The point is to get from the point where everybody thinks they've got something to hide, to where nobody has anything to hide because they can't. We're already a large portion of the way there. We can be spoiled children about our "lost privacy", in which case get ready for more OJ and MJ shenanigans among far worse abuses, or we can be rational adults and deal with the fact that not only are we are all under surveillance but that this is a good thing because it gives us the leverage to commit our own acts of surveillance.
I recommend this book as one worth examining on the subject.
More later if I get the chance.
China supreme court links Yemen John G. Roberts aclu politics media
Now I know I've arrived. Just got spam offering a link exchange for an online pharmacy. No thanks. I'm trying to avoid advertising here, because it would damage the business model I'm trying for.
A sad day for Trekkies like me: James Doohan is gone. I only saw him once from a distance, but have many friends who have told me what a wonderful person he was. The obituary says he was a D-Day veteran, which I did not know. Fare thee well, sir. The world is a poorer place for your absence.
Greenspan suffers inertia. I'm looking at the financial markets and am starting to see the same sorts of signs that pushed the economy down back in 1999 and 2000, except that this time the economic fundamentals are actually good. It was Greenspan's fault then, and it will be Greenspan's fault if it happens again. I loved the refi boom, but could seriously do without everything else that happened. One of those mistakes is all we should permit anybody. Alan's had his. Maybe he doesn't care because he's already said that this will be his last term. But somebody on the Federal Reserve needs to get guts to say that rates have been raised enough.
More on China. Right now this stuff is flying under the public's radar, but the time is coming when we're all going to wonder why we didn't do something sooner.
Vaguely in line with the above topic, Victor Davis Hanson has a column up about Western military advantages. This second half is extrmely persuasive.
LGF Directs us to riots in Yemen
Armies of Liberation has more
Political business as usual in Chicago.
Michelle Malkin has more on why the FBI is watching the left
La Shawn Barber points us to this Business Week Article on chasing the dollars of illegal aliens.
In this case, I cannot blame the businesses. There's only a limited amount they can do by law; indeed, if they failed to provide service I think that at least here in California they would be legally liable. If you've got to serve the market anyway, you might as well serve the market.
The blame, as usual, attaches squarely to the politicians who have failed to deal with the problem for fear of alienating a constituency. How were these people allowed to come here and settle? How were they able to go into business? How were these people allowed to get and keep a business license? More blame attaches to the companies that hire (or contract with) illegal aliens despite clear laws against it. But the only problem I have with the enterpreneurial family given in the example is that they happen to be here illegally - mind you, I still want them deported, but I'd specifically want them moved to the top of any legal immigrant list. Unfortunately, not all - not even most - of the illegal immigrants in this country are so beneficial as these enterpreneurs. Most of them are nothing more than excess cheap labor requiring state subsidies to live here.
links immigration politics Yemen FBI china federal reserve Star Trek
Well, this marks one month since official launch!
I got an email back from Senator Boxer's Office. If you'll remember a couple of days ago, I said I'd emailed my senators and representative on the status (In Limbo) of an Iraqi blogger. I got back a form email today on why we need to set a timetable to get out of Iraq. A) I don't expect a personal reply, but an irrelevant form letter is worse than being ignored. B) Setting a timetable to get out is slitting our own throats, as any number of real experts have pointed out C) I was hoping the senator or her staffer might actually have the courage of her alleged political convictions, rather than just trying to tear down the opposition. No such luck.
All in all, rather a metaphor for the Donkeys.
Speaking of stupid Donkey tricks, I got a call today on my Do-Not-Call cell number. I know that political organizations are exempt from do not call, but an automated call without someone on the line is illegal in California. So State Treasurer Phil Angelides, how does it feel to be committing crimes statewide? Even if I were minded to help small minded twits like you continue to sabotage the state government, this call would not make me any more likely to help.
(I learned the telecom regs a couple years ago when I was considering telemarketing my business. Despite the obvious economic incentive, I decided against it. I don't like people who do it to me - so decided not to do it to anyone else, despite the fact it's far and away more effective, and more quickly effective, than other forms of marketing. If you want to figure out a way to do away with telemarketing or spam, make them cost more than other alternatives).
Dean's World has the newest Carnival of the Liberated up, which includes news about Khalid Jarrar, who was the reason I sent the above referenced email to Senator Boxer.
13 Riskiest real estate markets according to PMI Group. I can think of markets that are at least as precariously balanced.
More PC run amok. The Washington Post on the strains illegal immigration brings to one community. Only they're "immigrants", there is only one reference to the fact that one of them is the country illegally (Pretty much all of them are, but it's not clear from the article).
Volokh Conspiracy has more on the FBI collecting data on the ACLU. So far, it seems to confirm what I wrote yesterday.
Chrenkoff has codeified the UN Alert System. But these guys still want to take over the internet. Maybe so they'll be in a position to replace their Oil For Food Revenues with bribe revenue from a much bigger business: internet porn!
(I used to think the UN was a good idea, really I did. The UN changed my mind)
What has this got to do with being a librarian? Now suppose some largely conservative group, like financial planners, accountants, or bankers, came out with the opposite opinion? They would expect to be crucified in the court of public opinon. Dissenting members would claim coercion and hijacking by Evil Republican Theocratic Forces. It has nothing to do with their reason for existing. Why do similar left wing groups expect and receive a pass on this?
Captain's Quarters has a must read on the assassination of a Sunni delegate to the Iraqi constitutional committee. Two of the 15 Sunni delegates have quit under threats and now a third is dead. Could it be that Zarqawi and his terrorist organization want a large minority to feel disenfranchised by cutting them out of the constitutional process?
Dean's World hits a home run on the erosion of excessive tolerance! Comparing terrorists to pirates is good, but piracy is still far more prevalent than I'm comfortable with. See here and also here and here as well as here
We need to eradicate terrorists. Pirates aren't nearly rare enough. On the other hand, nobody romanticizes them any more. They are murdering, plundering gangster thugs. Which is a start.
Mark Steyn with more.
I signed the Iraqi Freedom Petition. Have you? (HT: Jawa Report)
Ann Althouse demolishes a NY Times Editorial that tried to cut the ground out from under originalism.
Indepundit has an article on San Diego politics I just can't ignore anymore. I wish any one of a number of people was running. But the choice of front runners seems to be between Frye, a Certified Moonbat™ and Saunders, Yet Another Machine Candidate®. The election is one week away and I have yet to find anyone with rational concrete proposals to deal with the problems in America's Finest Banana Republic. Everybody seems to be speaking in generalities as vague as they can make them and really saying nothing. If you don't tell us what you intend to do if elected, how can we believe you'll have the political capital to make it happen? I forsee another short period of business as usual, then municipal bankruptcy so that the courts rather than the politicians will have to do all the dirty work.
(Who, me? Disgusted?)
Finally, Hat tip to Vodkapundit for finding and discussing this: Rove Plame possibly about bureaucratic warfare (at least on the part of the CIA). Much as I find conspiracy theories farcical for the most part, this account does mesh with a) known facts, b) my memory of events and the sequence they happened in c) my experiences with government bureaucracies. I don't think that this one hasn't gotten over the bar into credibility yet, but it's clearly something to bear in mind as a potential hypothesis for later events.
At this point I still think the most likely explanation for the overblown nature of the whole Rove/Plame thing is overzealous partisanry. There is no there there, and there never was. If Karl Rove sucessfully rope-a-doped the Donkeys, they have only their own blindness to blame.
links politics Plame San Diego terrorism iraq united nations FBI illegal immigration real estate
Slight title change today, because these aren't just links.
UPDATE: Pursuant to the China situation, went out hunting on the internet and found:
Asia Times 2006 is year to beware
China Taiwan military balance
Taiwan Security
Some political background for novices
Front Page Magazine
RINO Sightings is up!
Favorites: Armies of Liberation Environmental Republican Pigilito Says
Carnival Of Liberty III is up!
Especially Good:
Angry in the Great White North Stop the ACLU Resistance is futile Willisms
Carnival of Personal Finance is also up today.
Carnival of Capitalists is also up!
Especially worthy: Social Security Choice Different River Wizbang
Remember the car bomb last week that killed one soldier and twenty-odd children? Chrenkoff finds us a story about their funeral. Which the terrorists tried to bomb also.
Politburo Diktat directs us to people who don't want the FBI to read their website. Seems to me that both United for Peace and Justice and the ACLU are unclear on the whole concept of law enforcement.
Volokh Conspiracy has more.
The point is made in comments that historically FBI surveillance has included the desire to criminally charge leftists. My reaction: So what? I see nothing wrong with visiting web sites, which are publicly available information, monitoring comments, etcetera. I see nothing wrong with using far broader powers of surveillance, so long as they do not manufacture wrongdoing or the appearance of wrongdoing in their targets. We pay them to find bad guys, preferably before they do their damage. As long as they do not manufacture bad guys, they are doing their job. If I found complaints that they were manufacturing evidence or something similar, I would worry. But accusations of (gasp!) surfing the web to find information on potential lawbreakers I find worthy of a hearty "Good job!"
Rhymes with Right makes the point very effectively: The left does not support our troops.
Q and O makes a good point about the London Bombers in that Timothy McVeigh makes a much better comparison than 9/11. They were homegrown, like McVeigh.
I think Q and O is right. Unfortunately, there is a class of folks in the west who hate their own civilization, and can be counted upon to stand up and howl at any possible bias in its favor. This includes large sections of the press and Academia, particularly in the soft disciplines. McVeigh was a white supremacist. His crime, in the eyes of these people was in believing that there are positive things to say about white people of european descent. The murder of 144 people was subsidiary to this in their minds. Had a minority chauvinist or feminist been responsible for Oklahoma City, they would have instantly joined the pantheon of saints of this movement. Instead, he was a white male, and therefore deserving of nothing but scorn.
Barcepundit has an article explicitly linking the 3/11 bombings to spanish elections (HT:Instapundit
Speaking of Terrorists, We need an apology from one of our congresscritters. The only time we should consider nuking Mecca is under assault from Saudi Arabia. Period.
Eric's Grumbles has an article urging libertarian and libertarian sympathizers to band together rather than calling one another heretics and trying to ostracize people that may disagree with you on one subject but are much closer in political philosophy than either (for example) Socialist Democrats or Corporate Statist Republicans. If the libertarians in this country were as effective at building a big tent as the Elephants, they would be a serious force rather than a voice in the wilderness. I'm not certain that libertarians would be big party size, but they'd be big enough so that both of the majors would try a lot harder to win their votes. I've long thought that the best possible solution would be to disband the Libertarian party in favor of a national libertarian advocacy organization. When Libertarians are on their own, they're maybe 10% of the population - not a threat to either of the majors. Were they a mixed bag of folks in the middle that can go either way, candidates in the primary will want libertarian backers, and they will run on libertarian platforms.
What she said. Mary at Dean's World on Venezuela's Chavez and Left Wing Death Squads. Although I think the reason you have to specify "Right Wing" Death Squads is because "Left Wing" Death Squads are so much more common that it is the default value.
Common Sense and Wonder has an article making a worthwhile point about the Donkeys. I want to see the Donkeys based somewhere closer to reality and more competitive in national elections. It would be good on all kinds of levels. Until they take this advice from somebody, it's not going to happen, unfortunately.
Speaking of wanting people to be competitive, I can't believe this 'ebonics' sabotage of young children is coming back again. Study after study after study finds that even for foreign language speakers, moving to traditional american english as soon as possible is beneficial in school and in later life. To move english speakers towards separatism is stupid. What's really going on, is that certain leaders and power groups want to control the intereaction between these people and the rest of society. (HT: Michelle Malkin)
More on multicultural fallacies: La Shawn Barber links to a piece in the Prague Monitor (certainly no mass media in this country will say this)
The Immigration Blog has the scoop on the shootout that left a 19 month old girl dead. Illegal alien abducts daughter, abuses step-daughter, fires at police using daughter as shield. Police aid step-daughter in leaving line of fire, and attempt to negotiate out of the situation. One of them is shot. Police shoot perpetrator, unfortunately also hitting daughter. The community is blaming the police for the whole thing. Suppose the police did nothing. In accordance with precedent the Supreme Court then holds them not liable for protecting the other people the twit would have shot? "Sorry about that, folks, but we're not allowed to protect you against members of a special interest group?"
What's it going to take to return sanity to these immigration debate, a Kool Aid embargo?
Speaking of voices of sanity, Radioblogger gives us a transcript of Hugh Hewitt interviewing Victor Davis Hanson. This fits in very well with my own piece on Islam today. (HT: Inoperable Terran)
Mudville Gazatte on military pay and retention rates and bonuses. I agree with him that military pay isn't as bad as many people make it out to be. Heck, the free housing part around here is equal to a $10 to $12 an hour job (tax free!) all by itself. I still think they should make more.
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Notes from here and there, having now read every new entry in the RINO and LLP community, as well as my regular blogreading.
BTW, I have what I think is a good article comparing Christian history to Islamic history going to post here Monday morning, as well as the previously mentioned consumer post on what you need to do at a mortgage closing. You might want to stop back then.
Argghhh! has a very worthwhile essay on force building and the donkey proponents of a build up. They make a point obliquely that needs to be looked at foursquare. Forcebuilding requires the NCOs and officers to lead it. If we build these forces, we need to give those people who become the leaders to have the opportunity for a career - not "force reductions". Their leadership skills and other things around the margins are in demand outside the armed forces, but the military skills they invest the time learning are not. To induce these young folks to invest that time out of their lives learning the skills, and then cut them loose, would be unconscionable.
Politburo Diktat tells us that Egypt is not going to hand over the chemist they arrested in connection with the London attacks.
Pole Dancing In the Dark has an article on the london bombings and the political echo chambers on both sides. I hope ethne comes back soon.
Jihad Watch has more
Tinkerty Tonk has an article telling us about an infiltration of the british media. One wonders why the terrorists bothered.
The LLP's own AnarchAngel has had a real life fatwa issued against him by a terrorist group. Later stuff here. He explains why he did what he did
I don't care why these idiots are doing what they are doing. It is just one copy of a book that has billions more copies available. I can understand firing him if he works for you, although even that is actionable in this country. However, if you are so scared by this that you have to mark him for death, you'd better read my post coming out Monday morning comparing the history of Islam with that of Christianity. If you're threatened by shooting a few rounds at a copy of your holy book, you're going to die of a heart attack when I discuss coldly and rationally what Islam better do to survive as a religion.
Anarchangel: I don't know what, if anything, I can do for you. But you've got the email to ask.
Commissar also tells us of the arithmetic of the Iraqi suicide bombers. "8 bombers kill 22 soldiers and civilians."
If the terrorists had 8 bombers for every 22 soldiers and civilians, they could throw us out of Iraq tomorrow. Since they don't, they're running though their seed corn in the manner of a losing battle. This has been my feeling for some time. But if they stop, they stop getting recruits, and the resistance dries up altogether.
Hurl's Blog (currently serving in Iraq) has personal experiences worth reading.
HT: Dean's World
Checking in with Iraq the Model, they have some thoughts as well. more here on moving backwards.
Belmont Club adds another example of intolerant behavior to the pile-on.
Classical Values tells us about a private enterprise space conference!
It is one of the things that I am bitter about that the space program for my generation was thrown out the airlock before I was even of voting age. I'll support everything I can so my children have at least the conceivable opportunity.
NASA keeps thinking tactically: "How can we get more money for X?" "How can we make our money go further?" It is difficult to argue with the fact that unmanned missions are more efficient, and consume fewer resources. But if they want the public 100 percent behind them, what the public cares about is "humans can do it." Question: How much popular science fiction is about robotic probes of our own solar system? The over-riding goal should to make a trip into space within the reach of middle class tourists. When that happens, you'll be able to do all the space science you want.
In The Agora points me to an old but completely worthwhile Asymmetrical Information post on the distortions of certain consumer groups.
Per request from Dean's World, I'm linking this Armies of Liberation post on the totalitarian instincts of the Yemeni government.
Dean also calls our attention to something we may want to shine more Searchlight on in Iraq: An Iraqi blogger has been arrested, his hard drive stolen, and no charges have yet been forthcoming. As Dean notes, Iraq is not yet the United States, but it's too damned easy to let this stuff get a foothold. I've emailed my representative and both senators. Boxer and Feinstein being democrats and wishing to get mileage from opposition misteps, the senators staffs in particular may be good bets to actually call some attention to this.
Constitution Death Pool has an article about illegal immigration.
Sunday morning, LGFpoints us to an article with more on terrorists crossing our borders as well as CBS won't sell ad time to an anti-terror conference because they're afraid it might emotionally affect us.
Hat tip to De Doc for pointing me to the design work for a LEGO Turing machine
here
New LLP member Forward Biased takes us to the Art of Science Competition.
I am absolutely amazed at how many people weren't aware of all these precedencts. Even among people who obsess on the Second Amendment much stronger than I do. I've known about them for twenty-odd years, but they've been dropped down the memory hole by the legacy media.
Yet another argument for citizen journalists. Question: How far past the "piling on" stage are we?
Althouse adds another body to the pile!
Snugg Harbor has an article correctly addressing another aspect of the China situation.
Resistance is futile has more. Having thought about it for a couple of days now, I think we ought to Officially Ignore the chinese threat to use nukes, doing everything public in all ways exactly the same as we would without said threat (i.e. defend Taiwan per our obligations), while making sure we're ready to respond with overwhelming force if they do carry through. This way we aren't upping the ante and making it more likely that they will use nukes, but we are ready in case they do. As far as I can tell, if the US Official Policy is not Ignore the threat, I can't see an operational difference. And I'm certain that our fine military folks have taken note, and are ready to go if need be. Bless you all.
Target Centermass takes the University of California dropping the National Merit Scholarships and runs with it. This is truly PC affirmative action run amok (Yeah, I know, this is the UC system, which fought Bakke and proposition 187 to the Supreme Court, and is still thinking up dodges such as this to avoid compliance with the spirit of anti-affirmative action programs).
More on multiculturalism in Australia (HT: Tim Blair)
Cool! Ogre directs me to an Electronic Frontier's Foundation Legal Guide for Bloggers. I've known about EFF for quite some time, and they are by and large wonderful people doing yeoman's work. This is one more example.
Dean's World agrees with me on Rove/Plame.
If anyone wants any additional proof the Donkeys are unhinged, here is Paul Begala claiming that the elephants want to kill him so they can keep estate tax gone. Estate tax, as anyone who is familiar with it knows, is a voluntary tax on willful stupidity. And since "trust funders" are a democratic demographic, who benefits from the abolition of estate tax?
Jeff Jarvis has a post on the end of multiculturalism in europe.
Mrs. Greyhawk and Mudville Gazette has more perspective on Pfc. Stephen Tschiderer (the hero who medically treated the Iraqi who ambushed him) and the legacy media treatment thereof.
Roger L. Simon has a great article out of personal experience on Hollywood egos. I must admit, I've always been mystified as to why the endorsement of someone who gets paid to mouth the words other people write in order to pretend they are somebody special for a few minutes at a time should be noteworthy. If one of them can convince us through real world means that they're worth paying attention to on a given subject, fine. But paying attention to movie stars because they're actors is a little like paying attention to the opinions of a high school sophomore because the in crowd think she's pretty.
links politicscurrent events terrorism blogging
Big Topic of The Day:
Watch out! Far as I can determine, Vodkapundit saw this trend first, but this morning there is a new scary article Chinese General threatens US over Taiwan. More here. Similar story with one more detail here.
I really hope that there is no there there. I'm starting to believe I'm going to be disappointed. Now would be an excellent time for China to attack Taiwan, for the same reasons France invaded Mexico during our Civil War (like France, I suspect China's military is less than it appears, and like Mexico, I think Taiwan's a bigger bite than it appears to be. On the other hand, the logistical situation isn't as bad). We'd either have to win quick and big, or we wouldn't win, which means China would be silly to actually use nukes on us. We use them first, it would be surgical, and China wins world support. China uses them first, we respond with overwhelming force, and China ceases to exist.
So do we wait for China or do we use them first? We probably should wait, despite increased upfront toll. We use them first, and despite their threats we are immediately the bad guys, still the one and only country in the world to ever actually Drop The Bomb. We cannot take on the whole world. Much as I hate to say it (especially living in a West Coast Target City!), the costs to the US from using nukes first would be higher than if we waited until after they did.
Politics:
Looks like the big move today in Rove/Plame is endgame. Looks like the Donkeys have bought all the rope they need. The only question remaining is are they going to buy more rope anyway, or decide they've lived up to the terms of the Parallel Idiocy in Political Parties Act regarding Terri Schiavo? Is it just me, or does anybody else hear demonic laughter emanating from Elephant political strategists? "Muwahahaha!".
On a related note, Hugh Hewitt directs us to Dean Barnett at the Weekly Standard for a bit of perspective.
For more National Review lays it out.
London bombings:
All sorts of interesting happenings regarding the London bombings. Egyptian chemist arrested. He studied in North Carolina. He's denying a role, of course. Now the next step is for some useful idiot to publicly step forward and ask "Why is this poor innocent being tormented?"
3 parasites' shared genes yield clues to solving three nasty diseases of the developing world. Cool!
UN wants to
Just what we want: The perpetrators of this in charge of global information.
(HT to Instapundit for the latter)
Attacking the Messenger
Hat tip: Indepundit
TIMEWASTER: 7 per cent idiot. I think we can safely accept that's a lower bound to the range.
While I was there: 10% Hippie
Hat tip: Llama Butchers
Another Timewaster Which Fantasy/SciFi Character Are You?. According to them, I'm Spock.
HT: Powerline
War on Terror stuff:
Victor Davis Hanson in NRO has more on the strategic situation.
HT: LGF
Captain's Quarters has information on a Court of Appeals panel saying that the prisoners at Guantanamo are not prisoners of war Well, duh. But I suppose we had to comply with the Trial Lawyers Full Employment Act.
One of an Army of Heroes (and Marine Corps of Heroes)
HT: Michelle Malkin (P.S. You've got to love her article headline "TSA: TRAINING SUICIDAL ARABS")
Common Sense and Wonder has a great Cuban history post, and another on the Evolution in our Judiciary
links china politics current events internet
How many Evil Infidel Points is insisting that terrorists act like civilized human beings? Oh. Right. I guess I'm a target. Big target for now or little target for later, doesn't really matter. I'm still a target. I can do something about it, or wait to my turn to get hit. If you have to guess which, then you're a new reader.
Hat tip: Tim Blair
Edward Lazarus in the Capital Times has some worthwhile thoughts for those left of center on the Supreme Court vacancies.
Professor Althouse adds her thoughts. Read the comments, also. They're worth it.
Mudville Gazette has more on recent terrorist attacks in Iraq. Is it just me, or does it seem like even the vermin's helpers are starting to have second thoughts? Last week in London they were likely not expecting to be suicide bombers, and in Baghdad the splodeydope human camel tried to walk away.
Blackfive has some picures of ordinary Iraqis marching against terror.
Belmont Club has more.
Misha takes on the Times's editorial in favor of the IFC at the WTC. He does know how to make his point. Harsh language advisory in effect.
Vodkapundit makes a good point about the Chinese economy and military intentions. If the chinese economy has tanked, watch out for military action, almost certainly against Taiwan, for the same reasons Argentina attacked the Falklands.
Vodkapundit also has An Explanation into his position on Rove and Plame. It has to do with protecting our covert intelligence operatives. I see his point, and yet I do not agree. Plame and Wilson came forward and got political on their own. This whole thing is roughly James Bond retires from field service and gets a desk job, gets his anti-government hack spouse a job that said spouse proceeds to botch. Said anti-government hack spouse then goes public with accusations of malfeasance, and it's somehow a crime that the circumstances are disclosed? I don't think so. One right anybody - person, corporation, political group - has in our system is the right to have public illumination shine upon any attack upon them. How else are we to judge the case on its merits? If Plame had been intending to return to covert operations, one cardinal rule of which is "don't get noticed", she shouldn't have gotten her opposition political hack husband the job if he couldn't keep his mouth shut. Here's a conundrum for the other side: Suppose we had had a Republican CIA man's spouse go public about how stupid and poorly thought out Clinton's foreign policy efforts really were? Would you think Billy boy would have been entitled to respond? Suppose Hillary gets elected in '08 and starts moving the War on Terror towards "consultation" with terrorist states, and those who have been fighting it correctly under GWB take public exception? Is she entitled to answer them and illuminate the circumstances? My answer is yes. Is yours? Then why is the Bush administration different?
Q and O has an article dissecting whether Mr. Rove could have committed a crime, examining the relevant law. The short answer: No. The only reason it's even an issue they're moonbats and he's Eeeevil Karl Rove™!
Just One Minute has much more.
Hat tip: Instapundit
Finally, Scrappleface comes up with a way that the left might believe Karl Rove is innocent. Bwahahaha!
UPDATE: Townhall.com has coverage of a total meltdown on the part of the Donkeys, trying to pass an amendment that would remove Mr. Rove's security clearance, among other things. I realize removal of a security clearance isn't prosecution of a crime, but ex post facto procedings have a really bad odor even when it's not criminal, and there is a reason for it (He didn't break the law, so we'll pass a new one and get him with that). Whereas I have to admit that Sen. Frist's amendment is a rather elegant response parliamentarily, it's still ex post facto. The Donkeys have Officially Lost It (Again), and the Elephants fail to convert the fumble.
Hat tip: Wizbang
Jane Galt makes a good point on Aid to Africa
Austin Bay has the best coverage of the Van Gogh murder trial and the overall situation in the Netherlands that I've seen.
I'm saddened to read that La Shawn Barber is taking a break from her blog. On her way out, she says a few things that cannot really be said too often.
Both La Shawn Barber and Michelle Malkin point us to Jihad Watch, where we learn that the same british taxpayers who were killed were funding the center where the bombers were recruited.
Dean's World has more on "Defining "Democracy" and The Democratic Peace Theory"
Eric's Grumbles and Anarchangel both have worthwhile thoughts on the space program.
Politics linkscurrent events
I've evolved! Most likely due to the Carnival of Liberty and I'll drop back down in a few days, but it feels good to be a Large Mammal for a while. On the other hand, I'm hoping that starting to play with Technorati tags will help my traffic (The link is here, for those who may not know about them). And I just spotted one of my articles in the "latest posts" section of the community for the very first time, so TTLB must have done something to cause them to catch! Thank you, NZ Bear!
Also, my consumer education post scheduled for tomorrow will actually NOT be real estate related, but rather a piece on the demise of the estate tax. I'll probably re-run one of my "list" posts on Friday, then Monday I have in mind a piece I just finished about what consumers really need to pay attention to when they are signing final loan documents. Tomorrow's piece and the Monday piece are both worth reading. Please check back.
Done with Mirrors has a great article Pack Of Lies on the Islamic Mindset
This is a switch. Armies of Liberation picked up on the fact that Abbas has asked Arab nations to grant Palestinian refugees citizenship. This is contrary to over 40 years of precedent. The existence of refugees and refugee camps serves a useful public relations purpose for the Palestinians. I wonder how many Arab governments will go along? (Israel has been granting them citizenship since 1948)
Respectful Insolence has a well thought out article on the Catholic Church and Intelligent Design.
Mark Steyn has a revelation for the Europeans: They're being Israelified!
Hat tip: The Owner's Manual
Feces Flinging Monkey makes an effective point and I think he's making sense: The London suicide bombers were tricked, and used like camels to carry the bombs to where they were going, expecting to walk away. However, the bombs were remotely detonated...
Hat tip: Say Uncle
Beautiful Atrocities has a funny story that probably even has elements of truth, although they'll never admit it.
To Fistful of Fortnights: I think you've got the wrong Tom Cruise movie. I think he's been copying Dustin Hoffman from Rain Man. It is and will remain his only brush with Oscar material...
Politburo Diktat catches a CNN report I missed that the bombers were British nationals!
Classical Values has a worthwhile article on the embrionic stem cell debate. I'm inclined to agree. I note that there are worthwhile arguments on both sides of this issue, however.
The Jawa Report has an excellent couple of round up on the London Bombers
Vince, guest blogging, has a worthwhile screed against Islam. May I add a couple more: We'll never know exactly how much your "Religion of Peace" destroyed of the Classical World's knowledge, which even after the disintegration of the Western Empire was still well preserved in most of the Mediterreanean. The amount of knowledge the Caliphate contributed to the world even at its height is negligible. Preserving Greek and Roman knowledge? That's rich, kind of like a library arsonist claiming credit for saving some of the books.
Dean's World talks about the left and Karl Rove and all of the energy they are expending upon it. I think they just observed how well the whole Terri Schiavo thing worked for the right...
Captain's Quarters shows an NEA self parody. Not news, but amusing.
Powerline dispels the New York Times' BS.
TTLB Ecosystem links current events politics
Since this is amalgamation of two days worth of links, may be a bit longer than usual. Some of the stuff linked to may also be a little older than usual
RINO Sightings III is up at Inside Larry's Head
my favorites:
Technography with Price of Freedom
Respectful Insolence with The Hitler Zombie Smells Thimerosol
Speaking of Misha like I did in the most recent post I finished, he gets a hat tip for pointing me to DUmmie FUnnies.
This is a joke, right?
Minh-Duc at State of Flux has a good speculative piece on how the bomber's operation may have gone. The only thing I can add is the likelihood one person placed more than one of the bombs. I'm not familiar with the area, but the fewer people in on an operation, the better.
The Jawa Report notes that Al-Qaeda may be about to sign the death warrant of Islam with Al Qaeda Has Nukes in U.S.. If that happens, the kid gloves will come off worldwide, and I predict a run on Cross-Of-David symbols all over what was the formerly Islamic World. If they thought the global political climate was bad after 9/11...
Dean's World notes that no democracy has ever experienced a famine. One more reason to like democracy. Although it's kind of gotten to the "piling on" stage, it just seems that no matter how much data there is, some people just won't get it. Call them proles, call them slaves, call them useful idiots. Same person, same status, different nomenclature.
Cops Find Abandoned 44-Car Train In San Diego
Hat tip: Mover Mike
Okay, so it can't go 400 mph. But it masses a lot more than an airliner. And it may be limited to the tracks, but if somebody takes it and and runs it along the tracks, well, those tracks go right past some pretty large buildings and densely inhabited areas, and there are some curves with definite speed limits to prevent derailment. Also,what happens if it meets something else massive coming the other way? The railroads have been behind the power curve for more than 50 years, and they're not getting smarter.
Interesting. The tribes of the Pacific Northwest have tales of tsunamis. Of course, this is hardly news. Live near open ocean. check. Earthquakes common in region. check. Not news, but definitely interesting.
Kook Test. I got a 16 which is described as "Well, you've heard the call of the strange out there, roaming the plains of life. You haven't answered, but at least you didn't assume it was indigestion. This level of score indicates a person who is probably more normal. to be fair, than someone who got 0. If you only got 1 or 2, be *very* careful - its all downhill from here!"
On the other hand, perhaps we've just fashioned a sanity shield. "What? Cthulu is rising again? But I just sank R'lyeh yesterday! And for the third time this year I might add! Can't you just get Howard Dean to deal with it? Oh. Right. On my way.
Hat tip: Anarchangel
Vic at Constitution Death Pool has a piece on how McCain is now getting together with Teddy to legalize illegal aliens. Didn't we do this in 1986, and didn't it failed miserably? It is time to take the gloves off, particularly with regards to those who employ illegal aliens. It is time to get control of our border before we lose a city or six.
UPDATE: Forgot about this, which I marked as kernel for an article ten days ago and never got back to.
Cool new ship stuff at Mr. Completely
Q and O with a great article on Intellectual honesty
As I Please takes a Belmont Club post and makes a broken field run for the score!
Environmental Republican with an article about the Israeli Wall. I thought the Israelis were being more reasonable than anyone had a right to expect. Given the war they've been fighting for almost 40 years now, they would be within their rights to just clear the area of enemies.
My elder daughter starts kindergarten in the fall. I'm glad it's not in Kansas.
Strata-Sphere reports that the Iraqi handover is beginning! They may not be ready to be completely on their own, but our baby is taking it's first steps!
Tinkerty Tonk notes that Palestinians prefer linfe in Israel.
Sorry RINOs, could only work my way a third of the way up the list today! I'll try to catch the rest tomorrow!
Come back for the Carnival of Liberty tomorrow! 6 AM Eastern time! In honor of the Carnival of Liberty, I'll be skipping my Daily Links post and also my regular weekday consumer education post tomorrow, but both are planned to resume Tuesday. Later on in the morning there will, however, be an article on Iraq, The War on Terror, and the Lessons of Vietnam inspired by Victor Davis Hanson that many may want to read.
Scrappleface is covering the desecration of another religious icon
USS Neverdock is reporting one hopeful sign for the british: Tony Blair's Approval jumps 17%
Hat tip: Powerline
Tail wags Dog Again or still. Disgusting.
Michelle Malkin has an important article about danger to the first amendment
Superbly Cool! Yahoo launches Advanced Web Search Feature! (useful for blog type searches)
Hat tip: micropersuasion via Jeff Jarvis
Worthy thoughts on Patriotism
Hat tip: Pejmanesque
Daily Kos has a rational thought about Judith Miller
That and I'm told he's banning comment accounts from the conspiracy theorists who are playing a meme of Blair and Bush being responsible for the London bombs. I believe in keeping a watch on dangerous idiots ("keep your friends close, but your enemies closer"), so I probably wouldn't go so far as to ban them, but it's good that he is disavowing them.
Tempus Fugit has an even-handed article: Profiling: It's just Good Police Work.
Hat tip:Wizbang
Dean's World points out some more inconsistencies in the "deserved terrorism" line of thought. He also has other posts up linking to Muslims condemning the terror
I was going to do more, but I'm out of time. See you with more links on Tuesday!
Light blogging for the weekend, as I do some work and also prepare to host for the Carnival of Liberty here Monday morning at 6AM. Also check back later on Monday for some important thougts on Iraq. Just a little bit now while waiting on a prospect who is probably not going to show at this point.
If anyone doesn't read this and think the end of this froth in the housing price market is near, please be certain to let your legal guardian know.
Looks like it's The National Zoo's turn for a baby Panda! We in San Diego are hoping for panda baby number three a little later on in summer. Hey, if even a curmudgeon like me can agree they're cute and interesting, what's your problem?
Hua Mei back in 1999 was kind of our baby, in a way. We had just by coincidence spent the entire day of her birth through about 10 PM at the San Diego Zoo doing our at least once per year pilgrimage to their night time zoo. We had just found out my wife was pregnant, and my dad was with us in what turned out to be his last really enjoyable trip to a place he loved. Some of my fondest and earliest memories are there. Of course they didn't announce it to the visitors (Panda exhibit would have been mobbed), but we found out in the paper next morning and followed her development closely. Hua Mei herself had twins this year!
Birthweight of children tied to parents cardiac risk. I must be one of the exceptions.
Why no one except John Kerry trusts the Boston Globe. I've linked stories here factually contradicting two of their major claims in this editorial belittling the G8 conference and US participation in Kyoto. You'd think someone paid to do it professionally would do better. Would they have the G8 leaders repudiate the aid they agreed to send so The Boston Globe's editorial can be correct? Would they have the US put another empty signature on Kyoto? (those who have already signed have no more intention of compliance than we do).
Repeat visitors may notice a bit of a new look to the site today. I've moved the categories around a bit, and renamed a few, to emphasize some things and de-emphasize others, but everything is still here.
The excellent Wikipedia entry on the London Bombings has gotten better. This is an example of one of the things Wikipedia and Wikinews do so very right.
Saddam Hussein's Chief Lawyer has resigned. Seems he thinks the Americans on the team which include Ramsey Clark (pay close attention to the last paragraph), want to soft peddle the American occupation of Iraq.
Hat tip: LGF
Why I'm in no danger of joining the donkeys, exhibit 50,000,001: A comment thread on Democratic Underground. Pay close attention, especially a couple of screens down. Good thing for some of these people that the first amendment is so strong, while treason and especially sedition are so narrowly defined. I can point to places in the world that these very people think are wonderful, where they'd be in jail, in "internal exile", or in the ground.
Daniel Taranto has a wonderful piece covering London, protest stupidity and vandalism at the G8 conference, and the fact that Congress spent the day trying to keep Terror Investigators from accessing library records.
Make sure you keep reading for the links to Saved by the Cole, Jail for Judy, and Whoops
See also Cox and Forkum for a particularly good drawing commenting upon a sad situation. Somebody (like say, most of us) concerned about these issues could probably work themselves into tears thinking about it without too much trouble. Good thing that it appears that world leaders managed to put the events aside and deal with African Aid anyway. Consider summits of past eras where the agenda would have been totally off. Doesn't quite make me want to break out into the finale of "Les Miserables" but it does illustrate that the world is a better place than it once was. Similar story from AP here.
One more reason to vote for anybody but Boxer
hat tip: Common Sense and Wonder
Good News in Afghanistan from Captain's Quarters
Misha makes a point those who are familiar with the British (and their Gurkha regiments) already know. The Gurkhas have been with the British since about 1720 (even through the Mutiny, they kept faith), and for over 220 of those years, the Gurkhas helped keep peace on India's North West Frontier. Warning for non-family language applies.
Another non family language warning for Ace of Spade's modern James Bond
hat tip: Inoperable Terran
It's linked on Instapundit, but I think that this Thomas L. Friedman column
needs to be read by everyone.
As noted in comment at Instapundit, a Spanish Islamic Group did issue a fatwa, but it's got to become the same sort of unanimous condemnation (and cooperation with authority) that happens with serial killers everywhere else in the world. As long as they expect 72 virgins in the afterlife, they're going to be a problem. When they're treated to scorn, anger, and community condemnation in the life and expect a good long stay with Iblis in the next, then we're on the way to dealing with the problem.
Instapundit also directs us to The Blood Feud, a worthy explanation of a cultural point that predates Islam.
Reasoned Audacity has more than yesterday.
Looking for positive steps to take, La Shawn Barber has a discussion started. This is an example of why she is always worth paying attention to.
This is an example of what I'm trying to encourage here on this site. The reason comment accounts are required is purely anti-spam. It would defeat my purpose here if I shared your information with anybody, so I don't and won't. Right now, all comment accounts are allowed pending review and all comments are approved pending review. I may have to change this later if spam gets bad, but I'm intentionally setting the bar to participate as low as I can.
Michelle Malkin has a great article of G8 protestor antics
She also has an article on Why Bush shouldn't name Gonzales.
The War on Terror is more important than any other issue. We need a strong reliable justice on the court in favor of prosecuting the war, as several members of the court have never met an anti-American, or more precisely, anti-Western Civilization person or cause they didn't like. Gonzalez would be wonderful for this, but he'd have to recuse himself. Kind of defeats the point, doesn't it?
UPDATE: I'm trying to stay quiet on the Supreme Court until Bush actually names a candidate. But no matter how much those further to the right dislike Gonzalez, his work in the War on Terror has made him into a candidate I might support. There's something to be said for any judge the extremists on both sides dislike this much.
Online Sun has a map and accompanying list of terror attacks since 1993
hat tip: Powerline
Lileks Screed isn't as certain as I am about british character, but he may be right and makes a good point:
They did not bomb London because there is insufficient transparency in Congress about the Gitmo detainees; they bombed London because it is part of the Zionist-Crusader Conspiracy run by the sons of monkeys and pigs, who must submit or die
Dean's World has not less than three posts worth reading: A hopeful sign, worthwhile people, and A message from your favorite uncle
One Fine Jay makes a good point on silencing the arab media. Harder to convince the arab and islamic media to fight on the side of civilization, but more effective.
Argghhh! has some important information on one of several casualties
A moment, please, in respect of those who lost their lives or were hurt today in London. A moment in sorrow for their families. A moment to reflect upon life.
Yahoo News AP feed
Every man's death diminishes me, for I am involved in Mankind -John Dunne
Scrappleface, as always, has the correct idea. For anyone who's never been there before, it's satire.
Not that this is really news, but Europe isn't complying with Kyoto either. Nor is Canada. Or anyone else who signed it for that matter. The US was just honest enough to not ratify it in the first place. I don't know about anybody else, but I'd rather hear an honest no than a dishonest yes.
Hat tip: Inoperable Terran
Blackfive has a post dealing with recruiting difficulties
TacJammer has a post further debunking the "Yellow Elephant Meme"
Vince Aut Morire uses non family safe language on on the same subject
Powerline has a great post about John Ashcroft defending Dennis Kucinich. There's another about Misrepresentations of fact in the media in the Plame/Wilson affair.
Powerline also gets a hat tip for directing me to a further debunking of Mao by a former admirer.
Russia is up to Soviet era tricks in the Baltic
hat tip: Instapundit, and another for a pointer to this excellent article on nomination hearings.
UPDATE: DON'T FORGET! Carnival of Liberty #2 deadline is tomorrow night. Send to me here dm (at) Searchlight Crusade (dot) com, or Carnival of Liberty (at) gmail (dot) com, or you can fill out the meta carnival form.
Don't forget to send me your submissions for the next Carnival of Liberty!
Unrepentant Individual has a post on another Kelo problem. This seems punitive to me. Were it a criminal activity to opposed the city through the courts, this might be reasonable. But instead of holing up with their assault rifles, Kelo et al fought the city in a court of law. Whether the taking was legal was the issue under discussion, not whether the city had the armament to make it happen.
Resistance Is Futile has a good piece on who you trust: the naysayers or the Troops who are there.
Hat tip: Target Centermass
Eric's Grumbles has a piece on how individual rights may not be dead.
Angry In The Great White North has a piece on a foolish politician (now there's a phrase out the Department of Redundancy Department) who manages to be surprised that in order to maintain membership in the church he's got to actually act in accordance with the church's beliefs.
Ya Think?
Ladies and Gentlemen: It is a religion. The leaders and other members have the right not to include people who cannot abide the tenets. The religion may be weaker or stronger as a result, but that is their choice. It's not as if you've got to be a Catholic or a Lutheran or a Muslim to succeed in life. Religious affiliation can provide a lot of secular benefits - a politician who is a member of a certain religion finds it easier to garner votes from fellow believers, for example. But it is quite reasonable for the religion to require you to live the life in order to reap the benefits.
This is one of the reasons I've never been a member of an organized religion. It'd be a great place to network, socialize, etcetera. But there's that not so little catch in there that you must actually believe as they do and act in accordance with their tenets, and I cannot in good conscience join a religion where I do not share their beliefs. I have a lot of respect, even admiration, for those that actually practice religion in a way that benefits the world. But all I have for the fakers and takers is contempt.
Jacqueline Mackie Paisley Passey has a short Ode to the Scantron, with which I agree.
Q and O has a worthwhile fisking of the Plame situation.
Ann Althouse has a worthwhile debunking of an affirmative action meme, as well as talking about How to defeat Borking
Roger L. Simon has great commentary on a New York Times piece about problems in Africa.
Chrenkoff chimes in with Insurgents do the darndest things! (aka exercises in creative stupidity)
Dean's World has a piece on The Swedish Situation. I honestly don't see this turning around, partly because few have the will or even publicly recognize it as a problem to be dealt with, and those who do have to the will and ability to recognize facts are shackled.
Dante's Inferno Test puts me in Limbo according to Christian doctrine.
Hat tip: Evolution
Carnival of Vanities is up at Conservative Friends
Especially recommended:
Problems at the Nature Conservancy
O'Connor Retires From Supreme Court
Text of the letter Here
Interesting. I had run across references to her intending to retire at the end of next year's term. Given that her resignation is effective upon the confirmation of her successor, this seems likely to be a tool to give the president all the time needed to get a successor confirmed. There is no vacancy. It could well be that she has told the president she'll serve as long as there is no confirmation. On the flip side, it also gives the opposition strong enough motivation to fight, as O'Connor is not the conservative Rehnquist is, and also room enough to hang themselves in the court of public opinion. My guess is that assuming the Mules delay everything long enough, there's a whole nunc dimittis stunt already lined up. Depending upon how the fight goes, this could be the issue for next year's midterms.
UPDATE: Todd Zywicki at the Volokh Conspiracy says "So if there is going to be a fight (which there undoubtedly will be), they may as well at least make it someone worth fighting for."
I agree.
Common Sense and Wonder has a great post up about parallels with the Revolutionary War
Pennywit at Wizbang has two amusing posts on the confirmation process. I had thought I'd blogrolled Wizbang some time ago, only to see I hadn't. That is now corrected.
UPDATE: Corrected name of poster at Wizbang
Bill Quick at Daily Pundit on the new Irani president and MSM trying to say it's been too long.
Heh.
If we've now set the memory horizon at 25 years, then that means no one on the left gets to mention Viet Nam any more.
Steven Den Beste in Comments. Heh again.
Divinity School at
Richard Lawrence Cohen
Hat Tip: Ann Althouse
The Endgame from 365 and a Wake-up"
Hat tip: Mudville Gazette
All sorts of good stuff over at Dean's World today
How Nerdy Are you?
Hat tip: Libercontrarian
Daffyd Ab Hugh guest blogging on the new Irani President at Captain's Quarters
Hat tip: Politechnical
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