THOUGHTS ON PROSECUTORIAL POWER AND INDEPENDENCE.
Archive for 2007
September 23, 2007
THAT’S HSU PREDICTABLE: “Her comments about one of her top campaign fund-raising bundlers, Norman Hsu, a ’90s-era fugitive who now faces new fraud charges, only repeated the talking points that her advisers have offered.”
MORE ON THE JENA 6 CASE, from Jeralyn Merritt at TalkLeft. And more media criticism, here.
FUKUDA wins the race to be Japan’s Prime Minister.
FIGHTING FINANCIAL JIHAD: Rachel Ehrenfeld explains why she’s not backing down.
ROGER KIMBALL HAS THOUGHTS on Bagehot, Columbia, and Ahmadinejad.
GREENSPAN slams credit rating agencies.
ROGER SIMON ADMITS ERROR in his opinion of The New York Times. Plus, an apology.
A 29-MILLION DOLLAR, 15,000 square foot, Eco-Home.
CASS SUNSTEIN AND I will be discussing the future of the information society this coming week, on the University of Chicago Law Faculty Blog.
DISASTER PREPAREDNESS UPDATE: Reader Jim Hogue emails: “Do you have any recommendations for flashlights in a survival kit?”
Well, personally I’m a big fan of the mag-lites. I carry both a mini and a full-size 4-cell in the car, and I keep a few of the big ones around the house. They’re tough, they give great, adjustable light, and they make a pretty good improvised billy club just in case.
On the other hand, you have to keep the batteries up. As it happens, I was just looking at this zombie-attack preparation guide (what is it with the zombies all the time?) and it features this batteryless flashlight. That looks kind of cool; I don’t think it’s as good a flashlight as the maglites, but you don’t need batteries, which also saves on weight. A lot depends on what you think you’ll need it for, and for how long. Or you could always carry this survival tool — pocket knife, magnesium firestarter, and flashlight all in one. BoingBoing liked it! And if you want versatility, here’s a flashlight that uses AA, C, or D batteries, which is pretty versatile. I bought one a while back — it’s not bad, but doesn’t seem especially sturdy.
I have to say that my cheap Timex Ironman watch makes a good emergency flashlight, too. It’s not terribly bright, but it’s enough to find your way around in the dark without bumping into things. I was in the grocery store — in the meat section, about a half-mile from the windows at the front — when the power went out a while back. The place was pitch-dark and it took about 20-30 seconds for the emergency lights to come on. As soon as things went black a woman started screaming — I guess she had claustrophobia issues — and I pushed the light button on my watch. This calmed her immediately, strangely enough. Then a few people opened up cellphones and it was a brief impromptu light show.
The watch is nice, though, because you’ve always got it. (As with cameras, guns, and many other things, the one you’ve got with you is always more important than the one you’ve left in a drawer at home). It’s actually stopped me from buying a more expensive watch, as you can’t get the “indiglo” feature on the fancy watches.
MARK STEYN: “Senator Thompson’s line is a gross sentimentalization. . . . To sell this struggle to the electorate, you have to frame it in terms of the national interest. It has to be a war consistent with American ideals but fought for selfish reasons.”
THOUGHTS ON politicians and the Second Amendment.
MICKEY KAUS on McCain-Feingold: “The Constitution is not a Hsu-icide pact!”
SOME NETWORK TV SHOWS that you can get online for free. I’d be more excited, of course, if there were more shows that I actually enjoyed.
HILLARY ON THE WAR: “Clinton said she couldn’t promise to bring all U.S. troops home in her first term if she is elected president.”
PROTESTING THE JUNTA in Burma.
TEACHING ECONOMICS TO RELIGIOUS LEADERS. If they’re going to pronounce about doings in the secular world, it might help if they knew something.
A LOOK AT the world’s aging population and the problems it poses.
TALES FROM the NRA convention.
JOHN WIXTED LOOKS AT developments in Syria.
WILL CHINA beat the United States back to the Moon?