Perhaps Marx was right, socialism is back!

What was blacked out in the 9/11 report? According to TNR, it doesn't look good for the Saudi's.

The War on Terror's encroachment on liberty continues.

Dahlia Lithwick (who has never written a bad article it seems) writes about America's rape law morass and Kobe.

Reason with a nice defense of DARPA's erstwhile market-based plan to ferret out terror plots.

Jane Barbe has died.

Even the Dalai Lama has flaws. He misses sex and shoots at birds.

Looks like Arnold is not running. That's the right decision. The proper candidate is his good friend, Richard Riordan.

A NY Times scandal the Left can feed on.

There are significant signs that it's a good time to be bullish again. Nicely encapsulated by Gates' comments.

Ashcroft once again demonstrates why secular Americans are uneasy with his firebrand faith. DOJ going after porn, again.

Ah yes, California once again showing its contempt for business.

The WaPo on why simpletons sell.

California's love affair with the auto has had some unintended consequences. Few are as troubling as fatal hit-and-run accidents. The San Francisco Chronicle had completed a study that shows the incidence of fatal hit-and-runs is increasing, extending California’s lead over the rest of the country. There is much speculation over the causes:

Law enforcement officers and traffic safety experts point to several possible reasons. An abundance of unlicensed drivers, the proliferation of wide, busy thoroughfares and intersections, California's car culture, fear of strict penalties for drunken driving and the large number of drivers driving without auto insurance all share the blame.

"I don't think it's just one thing," said Sgt. Russell Chew of the Oakland Police Department traffic section. "It's hard to put a finger on it -- hard to figure out what goes into someone's decision to flee."

Hard to understand, and harder still to prevent. What causes someone to flee from the scene of an accident? What can be done to slow this rise? Since one of the reasons given for the increase are the stiffer penalties recently implemented for crimes and infractions, will more stringent laws actually help or hinder?

"It's probably the same thing we see with (police) pursuits," said Steve Kohler, a California Highway Patrol spokesman, "a person who may feel like they have nothing to lose."

King Kaufman wrote an interesting piece about why Americans don't care about the Tour. (Gotta sit through the ad for Salon premium)
He thinks it's the waiting for the other guy after he crashes thing:

I think that down in our bones, most of us can't fathom this business of gentlemanliness and sportsmanship. For better or worse, here's the American way to compete: Try to knock the other guy down, and if you succeed, put your boot on his neck and keep it there until he cries uncle.
And if you see his wallet while he's down there, take it.

Sportsmanship means helping him up after you've cleaned his clock. Before then, it can be summed up in these three words: Don't cheat blatantly.

I don't buy it, most Americans don't even know about that bit of etiquette and they still tune out. Actually, you even have to be somewhat of a fan to know about that tradition (until this Armstrong thing happened) But I think his other points about the team vs. individual glory concept works better.

Robert Cringely with a file-sharing idea that just might work.

As been discussed in this space a few times before, Blair is the man.

The Mullah's blogger blacklist. Shameful.

Good news on the privacy front. A minor victory against the Patriot Act.

When times are tough, people get scared. And they lash out in short-sighted ways. Efforts to ban foreign tech workers is no exception. People, you can't fight the tide of history, you can only ride it.