Thomas James vivisects his favorite moonbat.

Jacob Sullum, on the absurdity and ongoing misjustice of the War on (Some) Drugs:

“Perhaps the only way for draconian drug laws to change,” says Drug Policy Alliance Executive Director Ethan Nadelmann, “is for people like Limbaugh to join other nonviolent drug offenders behind bars.”

One of those nonviolent drug offenders is Richard Paey, who faced allegations remarkably similar to those against Limbaugh. Both men suffered severe back pain for which they underwent unsuccessful surgery, and both were accused of fraudulently obtaining more narcotics than they really needed. But while Limbaugh remains a free man and will not even face criminal charges if he continues to attend drug treatment for the next 18 months (something he was planning to do anyway), Paey is serving a 25-year sentence in a Florida prison.

Well, OK, not never, but I’m often amazed at which posts resonate with the readership, and which don’t. Why was getting rid of the penny such a hot item, in terms of comments, when other posts that day, of serious, war-related nature went uncommented? I expect this when I get an Instalanche or something, but as far as I know, no one has even linked to it.

Is this a hidden issue in the elections this year? All politicians in tight races, take note–down with Lincoln!

Oh, and yes, for those interested, I’m now safely in California, but remain busy. Keep those cards and letters pouring in!

I’d like to think that this polling result is as significant as Instapundit thinks:

Among all Americans, a 39% plurality say the single most important thing for Congress to accomplish this year is curtailing budgetary “earmarks” benefiting only certain constituents.

Sounds like a political tsunami that will sweep away earmarks, right?

Probably not. First of all, though the number is high, it’s not a majority. And even if it were, there’s a familiar phenomenon, in which large numbers disapprove of Congress, but like their own Congress(wo)man. It’s all those other clowns that are the problem. I suspect that they’ll have the same attitude toward pork. They oppose it in principle, but when it comes to benefitting them, I suspect that most people will take the money and let their Congressman run. One man’s pork is another man’s vital district need.

One more post before I get on the plane. This post over at Hit’n’Run, in which Jesse Walker hits Instapundit, looks more like a Kos post in the comments section than what I used to expect from a magazine called “Reason” (to which we continue to subscribe).

Much has been made of how the war has split the Dems, and the war has split the Republicans, but it’s really splintered the libertarians. I used to consider myself one (and in most ways that I consider important, still do). I suspect that Glenn does as well. But as Ronald Reagan once said about the Democrats, “I didn’t leave the party–the party left me.”

[Update, from LA]

Well, that set off a lively debate, though not as much as yesterday’s post.

[Update on Thursday morning]

In response to it looking Kossian, Jesse Walker emails:

That’s because it got linked by Atrios and a bunch of his readers came over. The comment thread is basically a bunch of visitors from InstaPundit arguing with a bunch of visitors from Eschaton — and complaining that the commenters at Hit & Run are nuts.

Hey, some of the Hit & Run regulars are nuts. But they aren’t that crazy. Most of them sat out that particular debate.

Fair enough. But many of the comments here are about deeper concerns with the direction of the magazine, to which it might behoove both Mssrs. Walker and Gillespie give at least some consideration. The post seems to have struck a chord, both in comments, and in some emails that I’ve gotten.

Anyone still fantasizing that this is a conservative administration should note this particular appointment of a woman who wants to set up quotas for men and women in math and science classes.

At least they put the kibosh on it. For now.

James Carroll has a nutty column today in which he agrees with the psychoanalytical diagnoses of Iranian mullahs:

An Iranian official dismissed the talk of imminent US military action as mere psychological warfare, but then he made a telling observation. Instead of attributing the escalations of threat to strategic impulses, the official labeled them a manifestation of ”Americans’ anger and despair.”

The phrase leapt out of the news report, demanding to be taken seriously.

And amazingly (at least to me), he does just that.

James Carroll has a nutty column today in which he agrees with the psychoanalytical diagnoses of Iranian mullahs:

An Iranian official dismissed the talk of imminent US military action as mere psychological warfare, but then he made a telling observation. Instead of attributing the escalations of threat to strategic impulses, the official labeled them a manifestation of ”Americans’ anger and despair.”

The phrase leapt out of the news report, demanding to be taken seriously.

And amazingly (at least to me), he does just that.

James Carroll has a nutty column today in which he agrees with the psychoanalytical diagnoses of Iranian mullahs:

An Iranian official dismissed the talk of imminent US military action as mere psychological warfare, but then he made a telling observation. Instead of attributing the escalations of threat to strategic impulses, the official labeled them a manifestation of ”Americans’ anger and despair.”

The phrase leapt out of the news report, demanding to be taken seriously.

And amazingly (at least to me), he does just that.

Speaking of the Euston Manifesto, David Weigel has a libertarian take on it, that rapidly and humorously devolves in comments into a debate on tee-shirt icons:

You think Che makes an attractive T-shirt? He looks like something from Planet of the Apes…

…The problem with the right wing T-shirts is that the right is mainly about ideas, while the left is mainly about the ‘cult of personality’, the sound bite and the pretty face.

And one commenter reminds me that I hadn’t checked in on Communists for Kerry since he lost the election. It’s amusingly turned into a “museum of the failed revolution.”