I mentioned this briefly last night, but as a follow up, XCOR’s EZ-Rocket has been named one of Time magazine’s Inventions of the Year. I’m going up to Mojave this morning to see the rollout (weather permitting–the first Alaskan rainstorm of the season is heading toward southern California this afternoon), and I’ll provide a report (including a discussion of why this company, and others like it, are important to our future in space) when I get back.

While most the media is half reporting, half ignoring (apparently the network morning shows have barely mentioned it) the story that George Bush actually won the Florida vote and the election (for the…what, fifth, sixth, seventh time?), and that Gore has yet to win a single recount, John Lott and Jim Glassman have teased out some interesting revelations from the statistical data that has gotten totally lost in all the mendacious noise and spin about “black disenfranchisement” in Florida. It turns out that the most likely voters to have spoiled ballots were black Republicans in counties with Democrat voting commissioners. Apparently, to whatever degree there was any hanky panky to keep blacks from voting, it was mostly directed at that roughly one in twenty misguided souls of African descent who had the temerity to not be Democrats. Now one in twenty doesn’t sound like much, but it comes to over twenty thousand, and as Lott and Glassman point out, it’s about twenty times the winning margin…

(Rare) kudos to the LA Times for publishing this.

Interesting article in tomorrow’s Jerusalem Post. Apparently King Abdullah (Jordan, not Saudi) has been coming up with some interesting proposals and mooting them around the region. The Arab states will guarantee Israel’s right to exist in exchange for a Palestinian state. The devil’s in the details, of course, but the very notion that the Arab world would not only recognize Israel’s right to exist, but actually defend it (at least on paper) is a revolutionary one. An interesting quote:

“Abdullah is understood to have canvassed the idea with the Gulf states, including Saudi Arabia, and with several north African states, but major barriers have been encountered in Syria, Iraq, and Iran.”

Hmmmmm….lessee now. Iranian objections may become moot if there is a pro-western popular uprising there, which is looking increasingly likely. Syria and Iraq are predictable in their opposition. Just one more reason to move them to the top of the list after we sort out Afghanistan.

Finally, note that it doesn’t say that the House of Saud is objecting. Maybe they really are getting a little nervous over there…

“‘America can’t get me alive,” bin Laden was quoted as saying. ‘I can be eliminated, but not my mission.”’

He’s probably not up on the latest news, hunkered down in his cave and all, but the President has already expressed our national indifference as to his metabolic state when we get him. If he wants to be taken dead, we will be pleased to accommodate him–it’s actually easier. Maybe he should sign up with the crack suicide squad just to further ease things.

Junaid’s statements and actions could prompt charges which carry the death penalty if he sets foot on U.S. soil again, legal experts said.

“This sounds prosecutable under the Sedition Act,” said former federal prosecutor Sean O’Shea. “It would call for the death penalty.”

No, it’s not what you think. Glenn Reynolds and Dave Kopel have an excellent review of a television program that I consider a “must read.” It better articulates than anything I’ve read in a long time why gun control is ultimately a very, very bad idea…

Thank you for your patience, and continued patronage.