Mark Steyn talks about social programs and demographics.

Read it. Out of the mouths of cartoons….

Steve Sailer has a gripe. Or maybe two.

Read it. It helps if your last name is “Jetson”.

Read it. I’m sure there’s a PhD dissertation in there somewhere.

Read it. This is seriously cool. It will also encourage all those tedious people who insist on backing into parking spaces.

Read it. Putting the fruitbat under the microscope.

Read it. The problem with health care today (indeed, the same problem as with politics today) is that all the incentives are pointed the wrong way. We need some fresh ideas on how to straighten things out again.

Read it. David Friedman always has an interesting take on any question.

Read it. Oh, I like this one.

Read it. And the hits just keep on coming.

Read it. And the hits just keep on coming.

Read it. Some ethnicities are more equal than others.

“Who are you voting for next year?”

“Ronal Reagan.”

“But Reagan’s dead.”

“Do you have a problem with that? I don’t.”

Read it. There are so many things that I could say that I just can’t choose.

Read it. What’s it like to get paid to think for a living?

Inside Politics.

Read it. Boy, that didn’t last long, did it?

Read it. I still want the system where the chimp comes out of the trunk, clocks the guy on the back of the head, dumps the body in the river, and buttons back up. That would be worth paying for. Not worth buying a GM car to get, of course, but surely somebody else will provide a comparable system soon enough.

Read it. The future of computing. And you saw it happen.

Read it. Of course. It’s the American way.

Read it. On the other hand, I’ve read studies that explained that the reason they sell the nets is because when they give them away for free the recipients conclude that they aren’t worth anything and throw them away without using them, while those that they pay money for are seen as valuable and used.

Still, Rachel Carson will be spending a lot of eternity trying to explain away the people her acolytes have killed.

Arnold Kling has some interesting speculations, but it makes sense. If taxes are high, then people tend to do things that aren’t taxed. If profit is penalized, then people tend to do things that are nominally not-for-profit.

I’ve always thought that the perfect inheritance-tax-avoidance scheme would be to leave all the money to a “charitable” foundation, with self-selecting trustees. Give each of the kids a trusteeship for about $75k a year, the only duties of which are to attend quarterly meetings (expenses paid) and vote on where to put the 5%-a-year the law requires to be distributed. Poof, a self-perpetuating gravy train like one of the ancient estates of Old England. Not a shred of profit or taxable activity to it, and everybody winds up quite comfortable.

Virginia Postrel is always worth reading.

David Friedman keeps turning the conventional wisdom on its head.

What many people don’t realize that almost all of the religion-based moral strictures to which we are accustomed can be justified without recourse to religion, purely on practical (and, in many cases, evolutionary) grounds. I did murder in a seminar paper in law school, but even somewhat minor moral strictures can be analyzed that way. The problem is that religious people aren’t interested in doing so and irreligious people don’t think there’s any point to it.

Steve Sailer has some good things to say, as usual.

Read it. Hey, if we go to war against the Indians again, this could prove pretty useful.

Read it. Maybe part of it could be that with the modern school system people don’t know how to read these days?

Read it. But bear in mind that if you don’t eat potatoes and pasta, you WILL go to hell. Trust me on this.

Read it. Pretty cool.

Read it. That’s it in a nutshell.

Everyone knows that radical Muslims hate Jews; what I’ve never understood is why so many people don’t realize that they hate everyone else, too. If you were to sort the victims of radical Muslims by religious affiliation, fellow Muslims would be in first place. I haven’t tried to do the math, but I’d guess that Hindus are probably second. If you’re an atheist, take no comfort: they may come for the Hindus first, but they’ll get to you before long.

John is being polite here. It’s not just radical Muslims; these are core values for Islam, and have been since day one. Just because a viper isn’t bothering you right now doesn’t mean that it won’t in the future — that’s its nature.

Read it. Encouraging news.

We’ve never denied being members of the vast right-wing conspiracy; we just wish it were a little vaster.

And you can’t say any fairer than that.

I look forward to perhaps one day getting at least an Honorable Mention in one of these conspiracy theories. My family would be very proud.

Read it. Well, really, don’t you want one of these?

Read it. Nothing new here, but it’s fascinating to see it all brought together in one place.

Read it. I have no idea what they’re talking about, but it sounds very erudite.

Read it. Not that anybody in this country does that….

Read it. Let’s listen closely to see whether this is condemned, or even mentioned, by any Muslim anywhere.

No, I thought not.

Read it. If that headline doesn’t wake you up, you’re dead.

Read it. Poor Steve just can’t win for losing.

In case you were wondering. I know I was.

(No, there’s no link. Why not is left as an exercise for the reader.)

Read it. And the hits just keep on coming.

Read it. Quite possibly.

Read it.

Remember: just because a lawyer says so, it doesn’t mean it’s true.

One would think everyone would be aware of that by now.

Read it. Do we need to pay attention to Africa? Steve Sailer has some thoughts on the subject.

Read it. What — the UN in a power grab? That couldn’t happen, could it?

Read it. I tried to connect this to Talk Like A Pirate Day, but creativity is hard to come by on Monday morning.

Read it. Apparently Frank Rich knows everything he needs to know about Clarence Thomas without consulting the real world.

This is “journalism” today, folks. Aren’t you proud?

Read it. Things you won’t learn from the class-warfare media.

Safire on Language.

Read it. Bulletproof pork. Whoda thunit?