DID HILLARY LOSE because of sexism? More because of Bill, I’d say.

ALCOHOL REDUCES ARTHRITIS RISK: “People who drink alcohol are less prone to the sometimes crippling disease called rheumatoid arthritis compared with non-drinkers, according to a Scandinavian study published on Wednesday. People who had a moderate alcohol consumption were 40 and 45 percent less likely to develop rheumatoid arthritis compared with people who did not drink or drank only occasionally, it found. Among those who had a high consumption, the risk was reduced by 50 and 55 percent respectively.”

IN THE MAIL: How Would God Vote?: Why the Bible Commands You to Be a Conservative. That’s in Pundits 3:16, right?

WELL, THE MONTH OF MAY CERTAINLY SEEMED CHILLY: But that’s just weather, not climate.

MICKEY KAUS: “Arianna is on Jay Leno saying Sen. Chuck Hagel has ‘consistently and eloquently been a major critic of the war.’ Except, you know, when he voted for it….”

IT’S A QUAGMIRE: U.S. out of D.C. now!

D.C. police will seal off entire neighborhoods, set up checkpoints and kick out strangers under a new program that D.C. officials hope will help them rescue the city from its out-of-control violence.

Under an executive order expected to be announced today, police Chief Cathy L. Lanier will have the authority to designate “Neighborhood Safety Zones.” At least six officers will man cordons around those zones and demand identification from people coming in and out of them. Anyone who doesn’t live there, work there or have “legitimate reason” to be there will be sent away or face arrest, documents obtained by The Examiner show.

Nothing we can do will stop these people from committing senseless acts of violence. It’s in their culture. The best thing we can do is to withdraw and leave them to each other. . . .

UPDATE: Related thoughts here. “Is this a fair application of the Anti-war argument that Iraqis are incapable of peaceful democracy? If not why?”

Plus this: “It’s worth noting that DC has banned handguns and the violence is so bad that the police are going to apply some rather extreme methods to control it.”

LOTS MORE new releases on Blu-Ray. I suppose the end of the format wars will accelerate that.

THE WAR ON PHOTOGRAPHY: Bruce Schneier addresses a subject I’ve covered before — the harassment of people for taking pictures:

Since 9/11, there has been an increasing war on photography. Photographers have been harrassed, questioned, detained, arrested or worse, and declared to be unwelcome. We’ve been repeatedly told to watch out for photographers, especially suspicious ones. Clearly any terrorist is going to first photograph his target, so vigilance is required.

Except that it’s nonsense. The 9/11 terrorists didn’t photograph anything. Nor did the London transport bombers, the Madrid subway bombers, or the liquid bombers arrested in 2006. . . .

Given that real terrorists, and even wannabe terrorists, don’t seem to photograph anything, why is it such pervasive conventional wisdom that terrorists photograph their targets? Why are our fears so great that we have no choice but to be suspicious of any photographer?

Because it’s a movie-plot threat.

Read the whole thing. I’ve got some related thoughts on the subject here. And Schneier is absolutely right about this: “If you’re harassed, it’s almost certainly a law enforcement official, public or private, acting way beyond his authority. There’s nothing in any post-9/11 law that restricts your right to photograph.” Both overreaching security folks and grandstanding civil-liberties activists tend to blame the Patriot Act even when it doesn’t apply, and for the same reasons: It’s complex, poorly understood, and scary.

UPDATE: Check out this amusing video. Via Scott Kelby, who comments: “Fox 5 did a live interview at Union Station with Amtrak’s Chief Spokesman who is talking about how it’s not necessary to have a permit to shoot in Union Station, and while they’re talking, a security guard comes up and makes them stop taping, and says ‘No photographs!’ Priceless!”

Somebody needs to start suing these people. And publishing the names of the security guards. With their photos! I’d say that we also need legislation protecting people’s right to photograph in public places, but it’s not as if the actual law matters here. Maybe something awarding attorneys’ fees so that the trial lawyers will send roaming teams of photographers out to test security guards’ knowledge. . . .

MORE: Bill Hobbs fearlessly fights for freedom by flouting flagrantly foolish photography folderol.

WHEN BEING PROFESSIONAL means being PC.

ANOTHER HADITHA MARINE is vindicated.

THOUGHTS ON VIRGINITY AND MARRIAGE:

The bride said she was a virgin. When her new husband discovered that was a lie, he went to court to annul the marriage — and a French judge agreed.

The ruling ending the Muslim couple’s union has stunned France and raised concerns the country’s much-cherished secular values are losing ground to religious traditions from its fast-growing immigrant communities.

Follow the link for Eugene Volokh’s take. I think that if this is enforceable on an “intent of the parties” principle, then lots of other premarital understandings should have equal footing. On the other hand, if they don’t have an equal footing, then I think this should be void as discriminatory on the basis of sex.

DOES WINE HELP YOU LIVE LONGER? Well, possibly:

A case for wine’s effect on longevity?

California wine makers tend to live very long lives. Here is a look at just a few of them:

Ernest Gallo (EJ Gallo Winery): March 18, 1909 to March 6, 2007

Robert Mondavi (Robert Mondavi Winery): June 18, 1913 to May 16, 2008

Anthony George Diener, Brother Timothy (The Christian Brothers): 1910 to Dec. 2, 2004

Andre Tchelistcheff (Beaulieu Vineyards): Dec. 7, 1901 to April 5, 1994

Louis J. Foppiano (Foppiano Vineyards): Nov. 25, 1911 to present

John Parducci (Parducci, McNab Ridge): January 22, 1918 to present

I don’t think this supports any scientific conclusions. But why take chances?

MORE ON “HUMAN RIGHTS” IN CANADA: The Alice in Wonderland world of the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal. “Bang! You’re guilty simply because a ‘protected’ group, in this case Muslim Canadians, feels offended and is able to produce supposed ‘experts’ to say that the published material is of the sort that might lead to discrimination or hatred.”

Plus, further thoughts from Andrew Coyne.

A MACHINE THAT CAN SELF-REPLICATE?

FAMILY BUSINESS: “U.S. Attorney Jim Letten announced this afternoon that 4th District Assessor Betty Jefferson, an elder sister of U.S. Rep. William Jefferson, has been indicted on a host of fraud-related charges by a federal grand jury. Also indicted were Jefferson’s daughter, Angela Coleman, and her brother, the previously indicted Mose Jefferson.”

PRESTON GRALLA: “If Google really wanted to deliver a knockout punch to Microsoft, it would integrate OpenOffice with Google Docs, and sell support for the combined suite to small businesses, medium-sized business, and large corporations. . . . Imagine if a version of it were available as a Web service from Google, combined with massive amounts of Google storage. Integrated with Google Docs, it would also allow online collaboration.”

I like OpenOffice. And I use Google Docs for everything that doesn’t need footnotes. If Google Docs supported footnotes, I’d use it for law review articles.

MORE ON THE Bakken oil formation.

MEGAN MCARDLE: “Even if you don’t like Barack Obama, I think you should be happy that the country has, with really very little fuss, nominated a black man with a very good shot at the presidency.”

Indeed.

UPDATE: TigerHawk agrees. Bill Quick not so much.

AN END TO POLITICAL DYNASTIES? Not so fast.

MICHELE CATALANO: “A new ‘Wall of Shame’ policy in Long Island makes one ask: are our drunk driving laws so ineffective that we have to resort to humilation as punishment and deterrent?” I suspect that the humiliation is an end, not a means.

MCCAIN CHALLENGES OBAMA TO TEN TOWNHALL DEBATES.

NEW YORK TIMES: Clinton to endorse Obama on Friday.

WELL, DUH: “Who should Obama choose as a running mate? Obviously, Colin Powell. He fixes Obama’s national security deficit, strengthens the Republican/independent appeal, and completes Obama’s narrative about post-partisanship.” Plus, if you won’t vote for an Obama/Powell ticket, you’re twice as racist as if you wouldn’t vote for Obama alone!

A NEW KIND OF ceramic bakeware.