Paul Johnson has written a very thoughtful article on rubbish, entropy and the Second Law of Thermodynamics in The Spectator. The concept that the entire universe is moving from order to disorder is an aspect of physics that he would apply to society. It is a fact of nature that it is much easier to find ways to convert order into disorder than vice versa. The primary "rubbish" he speaks of in this article is the detritus of our consumerism. He sees a "scientific pantheism", secular in nature, but with a religious zeal in the attempts of the ecologically conscious to control the rubbish-y entropy of the products of man. read more »

If you have been on an air flight in the years since 9/11 you have probably wondered how you would handle that sort of situation. I know I have wondered and see my circular knitting needle as a potential garrote. However, I am old, not all that strong, and have no experience taking down anyone tougher or stronger than an irate teenager. Is adrenaline all that I have heard? Probably it is not enough. Experience would be more valuable.

Yesterday I was idly roaming mil-blogs and came on this story referencing this Boston Globe story from yesterday. A Mr. Bob Hayden, retired police officer, and an unnamed, gray-haired, former Marine restrained a passenger who was shouting threats and terrifying the passengers on a Minneapolis to Boston flight. It shows that experience has value and helps a man keep his head. I note that younger men on the flight averted their eyes. I wonder about that and it is a worry. If it should come down to me and my circular knitting needle on a flight with an obstreperous passenger, well.... read more »

"Under current law, virtually all armed nongovernmental groups are classified as terrorist organizations and the U.S. is prohibited from accepting their members and combatants as refugees."

After 9/11, the US revised immigration rules to bar members of terrorist groups from entering the country. Typically, the rule was written as to bar judgment and discrimination. As written, "virtually all armed nongovernmental groups are classified as terrorist organizations and the U.S. is prohibited from accepting their members and combatants as refugees." Inadvertently, this has blocked the refugee status and entry of those from groups we previously admitted as friends, such as "Burmese rebel groups such as the Karen National Union and Chin National Front; hill tribes in Vietnam and Laos; the now-defunct, anti-Castro Cuban Alzado insurgency; Ethiopia's Oromo Liberation Front; and southern Sudan's ex-rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement." read more »

Is a rally of illegal immigrants planned for a city near you?

The estimate in this article is of 12 million illegal immigrants in the United States. I wonder how anyone can know how many illegals there actually are, given that they are illegal and presumably avoiding detection.

However, according to The Center for Immigration Studies:

"Approximately 1 million people receive permanent residency annually. In addition, the Census Bureau estimates a net increase of 500,000 illegal immigrants annually."

I was going to make a comment to Will’s piece, “Beyond Partisanship,” but it has become long and I decided to make it a blog. It will be easier for everyone to tell me I am wrong if I do it this way.

This is what I see as the lowest common denominator between those on the right and on the left. We are all too regrettably human. It is a flaw easier to see in others than in ourselves, where we develop a god-like sense of self by being the center of our own universes. Taking a stand, being partisan, is merely human. Forgiving one another an opposing position, might require being God-like. That is a lot to ask. read more »

Reading the Wall Street Journal this morning, I came across this: “Democrats Focus On Tax Relief For Middle Class", by Sarah Lueck. That is if you happen to be a subscriber.

“The AMT dates back to the late 1960s when Congress discovered that a small number of upper-income households had managed to avoid federal income taxes entirely by exploiting deductions, credits, loopholes, and shelters. The AMT has been adjusted since. But because it has never been indexed for inflation, rapidly growing numbers of taxpayers are vulnerable to its bite. The Treasury estimates that unless Congress acts, more than 23 million households will be affected by the AMT in the current tax year, many with incomes below $100,000.”

Republicans seemed to have been unable to touch this problem in the tax code. Perhaps, like Nixon making overtures to Communist countries, it takes a politician from the political party traditionally opposed to such things to be able to succeed. Charles Rangel is pushing this. When Republicans pursued this issue, they were accused of pandering to the rich. No one would dare accuse Charley Rangel, now chairman of the Ways and Maens Committee, of so pandering. read more »