Alan Boyle, on why the Haiti quake was so devastating.
Unspeakable Truths
Thoughts from Victor Davis Hanson:
I am fortunate for a wonderful graduate education in the PhD program at Stanford, but I learned more about the way the world works in two months of farming (which saved a wretch like me) than in four years of concentrated study.
In short, the world does not work on a nine-month schedule. It does not recognize concepts like tenure. It does not care for words without action. And brilliance is not measured by vocabulary or SAT scores. Wowing a dean, or repartee into a seminar, or clever put-downs of rivals in the faculty lounge don’t translate into running a railroad—or running the country. One Harry Truman, or Dwight Eisenhower is worth three Bill Clintons or Barack Obamas. If that sounds reductionist, simplistic, or anti-intellectual, it is not meant to—but so be it nonetheless.
I’ve never been less impressed with Ivy League degrees than I am now.
Walter Russell Meade
An interesting interview, by Instapundit.
That Will Increase Its Popularity
Will union members be exempted from the “Cadillac” health-care tax?
Geoengineering
Apparently there’s a conference in California in a couple months on the subject. It might be interesting to attend, if it’s in LA (or wherever it is, but I’ll be more likely to attend if it’s in southern Cal).
[Update a couple minutes later]
This looks like it. It’s at Asilomar.
Well, March is a beautiful time to drive up the coast highway, though it’s pretty chilly in Pacific Grove that time of year (or any time, really — the wind off Point Joe can be bitter even in the summer).
My concern is that the people discussing space-based solutions will use bad (i.e., overly high) estimates for launch costs, because they won’t understand the economics of space technology.
One-Way, To Stay
It’s not getting to the moon that’s expensive — it’s getting back. Jon Goff has some thoughts on how to kick start a human lunar program on the cheap.
The Reason Health-Care Costs Are High
We don’t pay for it.
Want to reform health care? Fix that.
A Party of Thugs
And a thug enabler running for Senate in Massachusetts.
[Update a few minute later]
Here’s a first-hand report from the thugeeassault victim (who was given similar treatment by Scozzafava’s entourage in New York when they called the cops on him).
[Afternoon update]
Meehan has apologized to McCormack.
An Interview With Christopher Hitchens
By Michael Totten. Parts I and II:
Hitchens: It’s not “the regime” or “the theocracy.” It’s now very clear that the Revolutionary Guards have committed a coup in all but name–well, I name it, but it hasn’t yet been named generally. They didn’t rig an election. They didn’t even hold one.
MJT: They never counted the votes. There’s no “recount” to be done.
Hitchens: The seizure of power by a paramilitary gang that just so happens to be the guardian and the guarantor and the incubator of the internationally illegal weapons program. If that doesn’t concentrate one’s mind, I don’t know what will.
MJT: If the Obama Administration calls you up and says, “Christopher, we need you to come in here, we need your advice.” What would you tell them?
Hitchens: I would say, as I did with Saddam Hussein–albeit belatedly, I tried to avoid this conclusion–that any fight you’re going to have eventually, have now. Don’t wait until they’re more equally matched. It doesn’t make any sense at all.
The existence of theocratic regimes that have illegally acquired weapons of mass destruction, that are war with their own people, that are exporting their violence to neighboring countries, sending death squads as far away as Argentina to kill other people as well as dissident members of their own nationality–the existence of such regimes is incompatible with us. If there is going to be a confrontation, we should pick the time, not them.
We’re saying, “Let’s give them time to get ready. Then we’ll be more justified in hitting them.” That’s honestly what they’re saying. When we have total proof, when we can see them coming for us, we’ll feel okay about resisting.
Read all, and hit Michael’s tip jar.
Davy Jones Locker
…is full of oil?
I’ve never bought the peak oil theory, at least not as having any near-term relevance. If production slows down, it’s only because we’ve quit looking, or haven’t been allowed to by idiot politicians.