Potpourri for a Savory Tuesday

Margie’s making some sort of soup or sauce on the stove and it smells wonderful, hence the title …

BAD THINGS

1. Internal DHS Documents Detail Expansion of Power to… – So the DHS note that when you cross the border they can read through all your papers and make copies of whatever they want without any need for probable cause or justification for doing so. This is a shift from policy in the 80s, when obviously we were being overrun by mad terrorists on a daily basis. Freedom is Slavery!
2. The Two Classes of Airport Contraband – There’s contraband that is taken seriously and will get you thrown in jail if caught, and contraband that is not taken seriously, just taken way (like 4 oz. bottles of liquid). The latter, as it rightly noted, is simply an annoyance, not anything that is making us safer. Really.
3. Project Fair Play | Stop Illegal Church Electioneering – No, churches cannot endorse candidates. Yes, they can support policies, social goals, and specific ballot propositions. Actually, while I don’t like being told how to vote, I wouldn’t think that an organization that tried to teach people how to live in an upright and helpful fashion would be much good if they didn’t note how that extends beyond their doors. On the other hand, it’s perfectly legitimate to criticize churches for the positions they take on social matters, and to decide whether you think a particular ballot proposition is a good thing or a bad thing depending on who’s supporting (or dissing) it.
4. Yeah, I can remember going outside to play. – *sigh*
5. M.S. Bellows, Jr.: House To Hold Hearing on Scheme… – I’m glad someone’s paying attention to the vote-challenge-folks-who’ve-received-foreclosure-notices dirty trick.

GOOD THINGS

1. 312 – The Population of China’s Provinces Compared – Very cool — labeling the provinces of China based on the country whose population they match. Gives you a much better idea of population distribution — and just how freaking huge a country it is.
2. Informative Pie Chart – This explains it all.
3. Comcast Unveils Its New Traffic Management Architecture – This is how Comcast will route bandwidth-intensive consumer traffic (P2P) in a way that doesn’t simply turn it off. The EFF, at leastd, thinks its an improvement.
4. Rare MLK speech on civil disobedience – Powerful stuff.
5. How To Make Fred Phelps Disappear – “The devil cannot stand to be mocked.”
6. Light Up Tents — Materials Scientists Develop Light-up… – Ooooh … very spiffy, and with a lot of applications.
7. Holocaust survivor, 79, has bar mitzvah – Mazel tov!

ECONOMICALLY COLLAPSING THINGS

1. No, no, no, a trillion times no! – Do we need to do something? Yes. Do we need to drop everything and grab the first cockeyed scheme that someone throws out there, esp. when it entails $700bn and no oversight? Um … no.
2. 0% Seriously, 0% on an opinion poll. – Wow. I think this is called “bad consumer confidence.”
3. Happy Hour Discurso, Bloomberg.com: Dodd Proposes Giving US Equity Stake…, Daddy doesnt know best – Why the principles of the Dodd recommendations beat the pants off of the Paulson “give me $700bn and close your eyes” approach.
4. Hank Paulson’s bailout 419 letter – I think this is called “gallows humor.”