The University of Minnesota Law School’s alumni magazine has a downloadable PDF with an exchange among its law professors about the legality of the NSA wiretapping without a warrant. Then, there’s a discussion about the exchange on the excellent legal blog, The Volokh Conspiracy. One of the professors argues that it’s legal. The other two […]
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Maybe the Tundra Isn’t Really Less Safe?
My friend Charlie writes to say that my recent post about the Toyota Tundra recall misses an important point. I had mention that Toyota plans to take away the switch that disables the passenger-side airbag when an adult isn’t sitting there. This will make the truck less safe for kids, because the airbag is dangerous […]
Be Good. (You’re Being Watched.)
New research suggests that when people are being watched, even by eyes that they know aren’t real (like Honest Abe above), they tend to behave better than otherwise. The main idea seems to be that our evolution has prepared us to act differently when we see eyes on us. On the other hand, human evolution […]
Samuel Johnson.
Lately, I’ve been reading all about Samuel Johnson (a.k.a. Dr. Johnson), one of the most quotable and scholarly men of the 18th Century. He’s gotten some press lately for having said that “patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel.†Which it is. The guy’s breadth of knowledge and endeavor is amazing. [Incidentally, I really […]
Toyota and the Government: Making Cars Less Safe
CNN reported a while back that Toyota was planning a recall of over 150,000 Tundra trucks. Here’s what they’ll do when you take your truck in to be “fixed†for the recall: They’ll disable the safety device that switches off the passenger-side airbag when a child is sitting in it. The device is […]
Abortion is Murder?
A theoretical argument I’ve often posed may actually become a reality. When discussing abortion, I find myself asking whether a doctor and patient of an abortion procedure should be tried for murder, or even be executed. Excepting faceless folk on the Net, I usually get a no. No one has met me face to face […]
Le Pen isn’t Mightier than Le Law
Le Pen (you know, the right-wing nasty over in France) is a horror, of course. But every time someone in France or Germany goes to trial because he says something Nazi-ish, it makes me cringe a bit. More than a bit. I hear from the occasional smug European how Americans wave their flags so hard […]
Steve Jobs Gets Called to Jesus. Jews for Jesus.
Found on Boing Boing, apparently the Jews for Jesus crew is letting Steve Jobs know that he’s not unlike that OTHER guy who was, um, born in a manger. Or, wait a minute. Something like that. See the pamphlet for yourself. [End of Post]
Hao Wu Free!
Finally. Â [End of Post]
Astronomy Pic of the Day
Pretty little ultra-violet image of our sun from NASA. Get the full-size pic and an explanation here.