LEGAL ADVICE FOR THE BLOGOSPHERE, from Ron Coleman.

PROF. KENNETH ANDERSON fact-checks The New York Times’ C.J. Chivers on Georgia. “Look: what you’ve offered us is an argument, masquerading as a narrative news story. I’m very interested in arguments, especially on a policy topic as difficult and fraught with risks as this, and I don’t doubt that you have important things to say. But if you want to offer an argument, then, well, argue it. Make claims and then explain the evidence for your premises. You offer us a narrative story that is, let’s be honest, very Moscow-centric, backed by a couple of unnamed US government sources. . . . Mr. Chivers, I don’t doubt you have important things to say about the Russia-Georgia war. So why don’t you report the facts, unadorned, and if you want to argue your opinions, then do so in a plainly stated, argumentative way?”

UPDATE: Okay, I don’t like the Russian invasion of Georgia, and I very much hope that it turns out badly for Putin and his satraps. But in light of people calling for massive U.S. action, it’s worth noting that there isn’t — and never has been — very much that we can do. Look at Georgia on a map, and you’ll see that there’s no easy way to get troops in except by air even if we wanted to, and we can’t fight a war against the Russian Army with only air supply. At any rate, a shooting war with the world’s second biggest nuclear power seems bad — I don’t think we’d have done it even if Georgia had been admitted to NATO, though it’s possible that would have deterred this. If it hadn’t deterred it, though, it would have left NATO in a pretty pickle: Betray the alliance’s key purpose, or . . . start a shooting war with the world’s second biggest nuclear power, over Georgia.

Some thoughts — which I don’t necessarily agree with, but which are worth mentioning — from Jerry Pournelle:

I continue to thank God that Georgia is not yet yet a part of NATO. NATO is an entangling alliance of the sort that George Washington warned us against, and guarantees our involvement in the territorial disputes of Europe. We have no national interest in the independence of Georgia or any portion of it, and we should have no permanent alliances in Europe to begin with. We have as many good reasons to become friends with the new Russian Republic ( Empire if you like) as we do with most of the continental nations; and none of them need an American alliance. If the balance of power in Europe is out of balance, it is due to the new European nation being built there; and that certainly doesn’t need US blood and treasure to defend it.

Russia remains a major nuclear power, and that should not be forgotten. They no longer are part of a criminal conspiracy to take over the world. Their rivalry with China is great and deep, and they have a number of common interests with the United States. Going to war with Russia would be egregiously stupid.

Over at the CounterTerrorism Blog, Walid Phares says something similar.

Of course, if Russia controls the Georgian pipeline routes, it will have more leverage against Europe. But, let’s face it, Europe hasn’t been showing all that much backbone anyway. But hey, if you want decisive action, there’s always the option of making Poland a nuclear power. We can spare some nukes. It’s kinda risky, though . . . .

MORE: Some thoughts from reader Curt Johnson. Click “read more” to see them.

MATT WELCH: Just think how much stimulation we’ll need if the economy ever stops growing!

COULD WE PLEASE GIVE THE BLOGGERS credit where it’s due?

TIGERHAWK WONDERS why the Euro is dropping against the dollar. There are lots of economic explanations, but I know the real reason: I bought some Euros. Just a few thousand, against a potential trip to Paris later this year, but — on the exact day (and, I think, the precise hour) that I did that — the Euro began a fall that has continued to this day. So, what else should I buy to move the global economy in a more favorable direction? Shares of Gazprom?

UPDATE: Reader Tom Armstrong emails: “Persian rugs, Russian caviar, Chinese food, a copy of Audacity of Hope…” I’m not made of money, you know! But I think my magic only works on investments. I’m thinking of branching out into corporate blackmail: “Nice little stock price you’ve got there. It’d be a shame if I were to buy a few shares . . . .“

The Belmont Club: “The answer to what the Russians plan to do with Georgia has been given. They plan to conquer it. . . . Georgia — under its old borders — has effectively been lost to Russia. Moscow now sits aside the transportation links joining Tbilisi to the Georgia’s Black Sea ports. A Russian column has also reached the Senaki, at the western end of Georgia’s main flatland, the Kolkhida Lowland. The heartland of Georgia is now split in two. But the Georgian army remains apparently intact.”

A RUSSIAN CYBERWAR ON GEORGIA?

UPDATE: Estonia is sending cyber-defense experts to help.

EUGENE VOLOKH ON guns, sex, strict liability, and constitutional rights.

NANOTECHNOLOGY UPDATE: Funding diamond mechanosynthesis viability experiments, at last.

CAR LUST: The Lotus 340R.

BUSH TO RUSSIA: Back off Georgia. We’ll see how much impact this has.

FORGET CORN: 7 Biofuels for the Real World.

UPDATE: Reader Bill Webster emails:

Excellent article on biofuels. What I can’t understand is why haven’t more people been demanding that Congress pass the Open Fuel Standard Act, S.B.3303 and H.R.6559. To make it possible to use any or all of these fuels, vehicles will have to be flex fuel capable. it is imperative to pass the Open Fuel Standard Act so that we will have the infrastructure ready to handle these innovations as they become available. Without an integrated response, covering all aspects of the supply chain we will lurch along in false starts and dumb backtracks like the past 35 years.

I know you are familiar with the Flex Fuel concept having noted Robert Zubrin’s book, “Energy Victory” and done a podcast with him before. I don’t understand what’s not to like about this bill and implementing it as fast as possible. Most of the objections to providing Americans with fuel choice are trivial. I haven’t seen one show stopper yet. Why haven’t people got fired up about this? Seems like now would be a good time to motivate the Congressional herd with a prod of citizen demands to pass these bills. I’d like to see both Obama and McCain co-sponsor, vote for, and pass to the President the Senate bill. At least then both of them could say that whatever happens in the election, they have both done something noble and enduring for their country.

I believe that both Obama and McCain are behind the Zubrin plan, though I don’t know if they’ve taken positions on this bill.

IS TBILISI next?

IS MICKEY KAUS suckering the Obama campaign?

DRIVING THE Cadillac Escalade Hybrid.

THERE ARE NOW 236 CITIES on the worldwide photowalk.

WINE-AND-CHEESE THUGGERY. They told me that if George W. Bush were re-elected, digital brownshirts would roam the country punishing people for their political views. And they were right!

DRILLING: “Nearly two-thirds of Americans (64 percent) support offshore oil drilling, according to a new Rasmussen poll. And 42 percent say offshore oil drilling would have the biggest impact in terms of reducing oil prices. Only 20 percent of Americans now oppose offshore drilling. And in terms of reducing oil prices, building more nuclear plants and developing more fuel-efficient cars rate only 16 percent.” I’d have voted “none of the above” myself. But this explains why Dems don’t want a drilling vote to come to the floor.

THE DEMOGRAPHIC INVERSION of American cities?

LOOKING TO THE SUN for energy savings: “In recent months, chains including Wal-Mart Stores, Kohl’s, Safeway and Whole Foods Market have installed solar panels on roofs of their stores to generate electricity on a large scale. One reason they are racing is to beat a Dec. 31 deadline to gain tax advantages for these projects.” I don’t think this is economical — yet — without the subsidies. That’ll likely change in coming years.

VIDEO: Inside the Chevy Volt.

TOP COLLEGES FOR GETTING RICH: “Starting salaries do not tell you a whole lot, but there is a real divergence in dollar terms as you go over the course of a career.”

ROBERT BIDINOTTO: Russian aggression meets “anticipatory capitulation.”

NEGLECTING INFRASTRUCTURE: “I thought this sort of headline was limited to Iraq, but it turns out that the Iranians are also suffering electrical shortages. You may well ask how a country drowning in oil revenues can have made such a mess of such things, but it turns out that the mullahs have an extraordinary ability to make messes.”

UPDATE: Several readers email that enriching uranium uses a lot of electricity. True! I don’t know if that explains the problems here or not. The CIA should know — but then, they should have seen the trouble in Georgia coming, too!

IN THE MAIL: Christopher Buckley’s new novel, Supreme Courtship. Brannon Denning read it at the beach and liked it.