Anthrax Killer?

The feds are claiming that Bruce Ivins (recent suicide) was indeed the anthrax killer who had the nation on pins and needles in the weeks after 9-11. I would have preferred a jury trial conviction, especially in light of the botch job the feds did on Bruce Hatfill. That said, this Ivins fellow seems like a strange bird, and the Justice Department seems pretty convinced of their case. I hope they are right.

My Use of the Washington Post

Had lunch today with a good friend from high school, who also happens to be a frequent visitor to this site. During the course of our conversation, he pointed to my heavy use of the Washington Post, questioning whether I have any other sources of information. Good question.

Here's the deal. I spend a lot of time each day online, hitting about a dozen websites religiously. This blog though, does take some time. In order to mitigate the damage to my domestic life, I promised my dear sweet kitten that I would not increase my online time. To that end, I've got to be incredibly efficient. So, in order to make sure I'm dealing with timely and relevant issues, I read the Washington Post first thing, and pick out those stories worthy of comment. Usually I pick twice as many as I write about, but having the night's news right there in front of you to choose from really makes things efficient. I also take a look at National Review Online, generally finding one or two good things not found in the Post.

I promise that if someday, this blog becomes a full-time job, I will rely on many more sources of info than I do now. But while time is of the essence, I'll lean on my favorite newspaper.

Bush and China

Interesting article on the President and his approach to China in the past 8 years. Lo and behold, the policies this administration has pursued vis-a-vis China have been sophisticated, strategic and nuanced. The cartoonish version of the Bush foreign policy has always left me cold, and this article begins to offer some hints to what will someday be fairly widespread approval for the way this administration has managed the China account.

High Gas Prices vs. Suburban Sprawl

Good article here for my friend on the Eastern Shore of Virginia, who serves as my suburban sprawl expert. It seems that driving into and out of the District of Columbia from South Riding, Virginia (30 or so miles) is becoming a crimp on Guy Saffel. Guy, his wife and son struggle to get by in their 6000 square foot hovel, while he is conveyed hither and yon in his Yukon Denali. "We fell into the trap of our neighbors", says poor Guy.

Bullshit. You fell into the trap of your own greed. Enjoy the ride, Guy.

Modern Education: Summer Homework?

Interesting article in the Post this morning on Summer homework. Apparently it was all the rage once, but it is now declining in popularity. Well, not in my little corner of the world it isn't. My beloved's two kittens (aged 7 and 9) have a considerable summer's load assigned to them, something I simply do not remember being subjected to as a child.

Which brings me to a couple of other points. Isn't it time we went to year-round school? I mean, come on. Less than two percent of our population subsists around the planting and harvesting calendar...why should we continue to be wedded to this anachronism of a schedule. Perhaps if teachers worked a full year there would be less carping about teacher salaries. Nine months work for 12 months pay has always struck me as a good deal.

Next thing...the amount of homework. I'm shocked by how much homework today's little Dauphins and Dauphines come home with, and how early it begins. One wonders just what it is they were doing in school all day. Oh, right. Learning about manatees and global warming and famous Latin scientists and great Jewish sports legends. All that readin', writin' and cipherin's got to wait until they get home!

US Taped Terrorist Interviews? Good for Us!

A story this morning in the WaPost lays out the case that we may have "secretly" recorded interviews between Guantanamo enemy combatants and their representatives of their presumed governments. Putting aside for a second the question of how taping can be secret when the governments signed release agreements specifying that the sessions might be taped, I find myself perplexed at the possibility that anyone would be perplexed at the possibility that we were taping these interviews. We would have been guilty of dereliction of duty had we not been taping and analyzing these interviews for intelligence.

I Wonder Who Killed the Syrian General?

A Syrian General responsible for funneling arms shipments to Hizbollah in Lebanon has been assassinated. Good riddance. I'm quite sure we'll not hear the Israelis taking credit for the hit, but it isn't a stretch to think they did. Still another reason to love the Mosad. If you have a couple of hours, watch Spielberg's Munich to see the dedication with which the State of Israel pursues its enemies. Perhaps we could contract out to them to find Bin Laden.

Ralph Peters on Liberals and Free Speech

Ralph Peters knocks it out of the park with this article. We are coming to a greater understanding of the leftist roots of some forms of totalitarianism, with Jonah Goldberg's recent Liberal Fascism leading the way.

Liberals are all for free speech as long is it is speech they want to hear.

Have You Funded a Terrorist Today?

Great little site here with an entrance video reinforcing the link between importing oil and importing extremism. Hat tip to Billy Bayer...

Latest Stats on the Blog--209 Homies!

Checked "Google Analytics" this morning and we've cracked the 200 separate IP address level. For ease of tracking and for my growing blogger ego, I will consider this to mean that over 200 different people have looked at my blog a total of 1469 times.

The average length of a visit to my site is three minutes and 21 seconds, and visitors have logged in from 35 states.

Nuclear Power in Maryland? No Problem

Great news this morning about plans to build a new nuclear power reactor at Maryland's Calvert Cliff's facility. So far, little negative outcry has occurred. I'm sure there will be some hearty lefties who come out to push this, but I think the anit-nuke crowd may have been pushed to the fringe by rising energy costs and a growing consensus on the threats to the environment of carbon emissions.

One thing to think about as this debate goes forward. Virtually all of the nuclear plants in the US were surveyed for substantially greater numbers of operating reactors than were actually built. This built in expansion capacity serves generally to mitigate some of the ridiculous protests of the 70's about where the plants would be sited. Put new reactors where there are already operating power plants, and I think you'll see far less outcry.

UVA Football...Thoughts on 2008

I am freakishly addicted to UVA Football. I've been a season-ticket holder for some time now (aside my two favorite Dems/best friends) and I spend an inordinate amount of time during the season lurking on the premier UVA Football Sports site "The Sabre.Com".

A few things about my addiction.

1. I can't stand UVA's Coach, Al Groh. He ushered out jackets and ties, and he talks like Bill Parcels. I don't think you get to talk like Bill Parcels until you've WON like Bill Parcels.

2. UVA Football's off-field foibles in the past two years are directly related to the quest to field an ACC champion squad. We have lowered our standards and we are paying the price.

3. I can't stand the fact that Virginia Tech cleans our clock at in-state recruiting. Looks better at this point for 2009, but still not great.

4. No lead is safe with UVA.

5. The team will go no better than 6-6 this year.

Be on the lookout for weekly mentions of my beloved Wahoos.

Wind Energy Moves Forward

Most of you who've read this blog know that energy is a big issue for me. I'm passionate about not putting money in the pockets of Saudi Princes who pay others to blow us up instead of blowing them up.

Good article here about wind energy. Wind is a viable, renewable (we would all hope!), and cheap. It will be very difficult to scale up to being a huge contribution to the electrical grid, but it will be part of the eventual solution.

Great thing is to watch the environmentalists showing their colors. It is hard to fathom these folks...sometimes it feels like they are not at all interested in energy independence; just birds and plants.

A Shocking View of Global Warming

Shocking because it is critical of the new secular religion of Global Warming and because it appeared in the mainstream media. Joel Achenbach isn't generally a serious guy--but this is good work. I am amazed at the number of things I read about in which climate change is implicated.

Favre Saga Continues

Looks like he's back with the Pack. The Packers should allow him back and then not let him take any snaps. Any man stupid enough to walk away from $20M to not play should not be trusted with an offense

Goldberg on Capitalism

Jonah Goldberg of National Review is one of my favorite conservative thinkers, and a recent column of his ranks up there in his best work. Here's a bit worth thinking about...

"People ask, “Why is there poverty in the world?” It’s a silly question. Poverty is the default human condition. It is the factory preset of this mortal coil. As individuals and as a species, we are born naked and penniless, bereft of skills or possessions. Likewise, in his civilizational infancy man was poor, in every sense. He lived in ignorance, filth, hunger, and pain, and he died very young, either by violence or disease. The interesting question isn’t “Why is there poverty?” It’s “Why is there wealth?” Or: “Why is there prosperity here but not there?”

The answer is capitalism....and capitalism is something we should be incredibly proud of.

Federal Aid for Higher Education and Increased Tuition

An excellent paper on the relation of these two variables.

Unemployment at 5.7%; Breadlines Appear....

Breathless reports of rising unemployment reached me yesterday as I dodged growing breadlines in my tiny Maryland community. Everywhere there was talk of a new CCC or WPA, and folks were thinking we might need to exhume FDR to get us through this nightmare.

Not really. The current unemployment rate is low by historical standards, the stock market is high, and inflation is low. Yes, things are not what they were a year ago, but they are clearly not in crisis.

Cost of Higher Education

Ok class, let's talk economics. When consumers have more money to pursue a good, the demand of that good will increase. The shift of the demand curve to the right will result in.....a price increase (in ceteris paribus).

News today of the doubling of Pell Grants, among other goodies dispensed from Washington. If you want to look for one of the culprits in the rise of college costs, look no further than the fact that our government continues to pour money out to subsidize higher education.

Reservations About Reservations

I have reservations about reservations....Indian (or Native American) Reservations, that is. A story in this morning's paper about the potential loss of satellite-based internet service on the Navajo Nation's reservation has me thinking about these anachronisms.

I think the United States needs to figure out a way to move past these enshrinements of socialism. Yes, yes. We took their land (oops, not me, or my people...once again. Maybe another apology is in the offing....). But that is the story of the world...civilizations rise up in places where there previously was a different civilization. People are displaced. Sad, but true.

But it is now 2008. There is no real reason that the US government should spend so much money keeping so many people in what amounts to cantonments of socialism. Life on the reservation is one continuous handout after another from government, or in other cases, handouts from the proceeds of casinos and government. The incentive to leave the reservation, to strike out and join the society that encircles it, is deadened by the incessant drip of government largess into the veins of a population besotted with entitlement.

Reservations may have seemed like a good idea once, but they have outlived their purpose.