Not sure why, but I’ve got a lot of links in the queue. Yesterday went pretty well with the boss in town, and I think the work priorities are straightening out, so perhaps that’s freed up part of my brain from worrying. Or maybe just a number of stories I’m interested are breaking at once. But whatever the reason, this clears less than half of the queue.
- Michael Barone tries to make The case for pork pointing out that
it’s unrealistic to think you can have an effective representative democracy without pork
. At least he says he’s not sure about the argument, because the underlying assumption is that “effective government” is desirable. I think the mutual-backscratching (or outright bribery) is too high of a price even if you think an efficient goverment would be good. But what’s the point in arguing when the basic assumptions are so out of whack? [instapundit] - When talking about earmarks in Washington, the important thing to remember is that the pork is not the point. The point is the corruption it brings. And yes, it’s only one percent of the federal budget, but that’s still 27 billion out of 2.6 trillion. And that is the real problem. The one percent is the appetizer. The all-the-politicians-can-eat buffet of DC in general is the real problem. [instapundit]
- Here’s another reason why a huge central government is DC is bad: Police State USA the Wrong Way to Fight Terrorism. Decentralization is more robust and secure. [police state]
- Claire’s got some thoughts now that A TCFer makes the TSA “no-fly” list. She wonders why people don’t realize that things such as “the list” are not signs of strength but signs of desperation. You harass random people when you don’t know who might be a danger. I hope there’s cause for optimism here, and the TSA’s no-fly list is a sign of an end, like Nixon’s enemies list was. I fear that change is not imminent. [claire]
- In the latest in Gilmore v. Gonzalez, Federal Appeals Court Upholds Airport IDs. There’s a small update at Papers Please, in which Gilmore encourages people to fly without ID, since the decision (pdf) against him says that’s legal. No word yet on if he’s going to appeal to the supreme court or not yet. [endwar]
- In Florida, a Jury clears homeowner who took cop for intruder, because, strangely enough, the cop was acting just like a burglar when the homeowner shot him. [claire]
- A Minneapolis city probe took cops to distant strip clubs. Umm. Yeah. The policeman is your friend. If you’re a cute chick and take off your clothes. Our Tax Dollars At Work! [jim]