More from Steyn

It does seem like the Right spends a lot of time worrying about whether the individual involved in the case is really the right kind of guy, really respectable and really just our sort. The Left doesn't do this, which is probably why they win a lot more of these fights. As Steyn points out, though, it's getting to be common enough that they can't all be bad apples.

These days, pretty much every story is really the same story:

* In Galway, at the National University of Ireland, a speaker who attempts to argue against the BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) programme against Israel is shouted down with cries of ‘Fucking Zionist, fucking pricks… Get the fuck off our campus.’

* In California, Mozilla’s chief executive is forced to resign because he once made a political donation in support of the pre-revisionist definition of marriage.

* At Westminster, the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee declares that the BBC should seek ‘special clearance’ before it interviews climate sceptics, such as fringe wacko extremists like former Chancellor Nigel Lawson.

* In Massachusetts, Brandeis University withdraws its offer of an honorary degree to a black feminist atheist human rights campaigner from Somalia.

* In London, a multitude of liberal journalists and artists responsible for everything from Monty Python to Downton Abbey sign an open letter in favour of the first state restraints on the British press in three and a quarter centuries.

* And in Canberra the government is planning to repeal Section 18C — whoa, don’t worry, not all of it, just three or four adjectives; or maybe only two, or whatever it’s down to by now, after what Gay Alcorn in the Age described as the ongoing debate about ‘where to strike the balance between free speech in a democracy and protection against racial abuse in a multicultural society’.

The question, at some point, ceases to be about the merits of the individual case, or whether we do or do not care for the individual in conflict with the government. The first people to come into conflict with an increasingly oppressive system will be the most pricklish, and often we don't care for the pricklish. What we call the 'merits,' though, are about the law as it stands. If the system is the problem, the law that the system interprets is untrustworthy as a guide.

For now it's the pricklish, or the outlandish, or the self-righteous. Or maybe it's the self-described outlaws. But increasingly, it's all of us. If we're going to have to fight, why wait until there are fewer of us left?

Nice Work, NYT: "Veterans and White Supremacy"

Don't you folks ever worry that if you keep calling people racists and white supremacists often enough, the words will lose their sting? What happens if that happens?

The case for sedition

I'm not often on the fence, but I can't bring much order to my thoughts about Cliven Bundy's Nevada standoff with the feds. He's an unsympathetic victim fighting an appalling machine. His cause fails to inspire me, and yet the following sentiment rings quite a bell:

 

 Kevin Williamson's piece inspires me with the view that "there is a great deal of real estate between complete submission and civil war, and that acts such as Mr. Bundy’s are not only bearable in a free republic but positively salubrious."  What's more, it can't be a good idea for the federal government to own 87% of Nevada.  At the same time, Bundy looks like one of those people who have lived next-door to a vacant lot for so long that they've come to think of it as their private park, and are aggrieved when a Walmart gets built on it—though they'd never dream of forming a consortium to save up money, buy it, and preserve it in its wild glory.  After I go through all that, I come back to a profound contempt for Harry Reid that leads me to cheer for anyone who puts a stick in his eye.

Still, while I'm cheering the sight of the feds backing down (however temporarily), it's hard to disagree with Charles C.W. Cooke:

[T]his is a nation with a “government of laws and not of men”—and not the other way around—and it seems to me that this principle should not be considered null and void because one of those men happens to have an agreeable tale, a photogenic complaint, and a romantic genealogical past. . . .  Are we really to believe that the government’s backing up its rules with force is unique to Obama? And why would we imagine that Bundy would have a chance if he doesn’t have a case? . . .  “Mr. Bundy’s stand should not be construed as a general template for civic action,” Williamson writes, thereby demonstrating the problem rather neatly:  When you change the government, you do not need to worry about setting a precedent; when you merely disobey it, you are setting yourself above a system that remains in force. . . .  When can one refuse to obey the law without expecting to bring the whole thing down?

"Coincidental and unfortunate timing"

The Census Bureau announces that, by sheer coincidence, its household survey questions about health insurance status will be so radically changed this year that it won't be possible to determine how much of the change in status resulted from Obamacare and how much from the new form of question. Sorry about that, guys! I guess they figure they can continue to squeak out votes of over 50% of the population without relying on anyone with a brain.

Signs of Capital Times

I've been in the bleak north for a good part of a week, and made the return crossing of the Mason-Dixon line last night. I will be in the DC area for a few days, if any of you who dwell in those regions are interested.

Inner life of a cell

Terrific animation of the operations of a cell at the individual protein level. There's an ad at the beginning, but you can skip it after the first annoying five seconds.

Friday night STMV

TOS, no less.



Steady. As. She. Goes.

How many episodes do you recognize? Your geek cred depends on it!

On The Road Again

Standards

I see that Mozilla fired its first black CEO this week, because he was against gay marriage six years ago. At least, I assume he was black, since support for Prop 8 was highest among the black community.

What? Oh, not black?

Well, doubtless they'd have handled it the same way if he had been.

Break.

Some say the opposite of love is hate. Others say the opposite of love is indifference. Indifference isn't a bad thing, though. Generally you should beware of the move off indifference that comes from forcing people to care about you. They may not care about you just the way you'd hoped.

I'm inclined to indifference about other people, but I have very certain opinions about being forced to do anything.

Name that poet

I got 14 of these questions wrong (out of 50), and in half of those cases I didn't even get the sex of the poet right.  Wouldn't you think that would be easier to guess?

A Brief Return

I have returned from the Wild. A brief rest, and then I will be gone again -- this time, by motorcycle, as far as Massachusetts. I should have at least periodic internet access, though, so my absence may not be as obvious.

The trip was a qualified success. The food I took did not in any sense need to be heated. It was good and pleasant to eat. I did construct an alcohol stove out of a beer can, which weighs less than an ounce (plus the fuel you carry, of course), and which allows you to cook -- or make coffee.

If you want to make one, here's a quick explanation of an easy method. A much more thorough site on the subject can be found here. I modified mine a little further by turning down and in the edges with a pair of pliers, to eliminate the danger of cuts on the metal. I also added more air intake holes for cleaner burning.

Also of great use to me were these excellent tips on lightweight backpacking. My total pack weight, including five days of food (but only 3 liters of water, expecting to need to find more daily) was right at thirty-five pounds.

The THOR pack functioned adequately during the hike, and was fairly comfortable.

Pros for the pack: Though not a purpose-designed backpacking pack, the THOR is adaptable to a lot of other situations besides backpacking. It would make a pretty good pack for air or train travel, I think. It is designed as a three-day pack, but I was able to carry enough for five days. You could easily use it as a Bug Out Bag, or to strap to the back of a motorcycle. If you need extra space, the overall MOLLE construction allows you to rig extra gear.

Cons: The exterior pockets except for the main compartment are smaller than with many three-day packs. Indeed, internal capacity is much smaller -- 2575 cubic inches instead of 3280 like the model I carried in Iraq. This is compensated for by the extensive MOLLE, which is fine if you are experienced and comfortable rigging gear to MOLLE. Many people would prefer a backpacking pack with a larger internal capacity, so they can stow their gear inside instead of rigging it to the outside. The tradeoff is that such a pack is bulkier, which makes it less flexible.

I think their Reaper pack might be a good middle ground, as it has the capacity to expand its internal storage substantially and has a larger secondary pocket instead of several small external pouches. It also has plenty of MOLLE webbing.

Weather was beautiful, although it suddenly is getting warm about the middle of the day. Seems like it was snowing only yesterday, and suddenly it's hot.

Clever Scots

The Bing cover page picture today is of something called the "Falkirk Wheel," which is a rotating boat-lift lock that connects two sections of canal, with a 40-foot change in elevation, in the Forth Valley in Scotland.  Clicking on the information links took me to a fantastic video explaining how the lift works.  It uses 1.5 kWh per lift, the equivalent of the electricity needed to boil eight teakettles.

The video is on this page, over on the right.

Because We Don't Have Enough Conspiracies to Think About

The US is looking to give up control of the Internet to an international consortium of dubious provenance and more dubious imperatives.

The USPS' first class mail delivery monopoly is under increasing stress from actual competition via the Internet: email, IM, Twitter, etc.

The move to tax commerce that occurs via the Internet is gathering steam.

Are these tied together?

Eric Hines

Off To The Wild

I will be gone for several days, trying out your wonderful suggestions for trail food. I have Boar's Head sausage and hard cheese, walnuts and almonds, dried fruits, and several kinds of bread. Pictured is the Julekage, which turns out to be fantastic. Thank you all.

Friday Night AMV

It's all about the race. Think intergalactic "Cannonball Run".

'Night, Warrior

A better man than me, or than most, passes I trust to his gallant reward.

Snakes on a patio

It's getting so that when I walk into my vet's office, they look up and say, "Another snake bite?"  In a sure sign that spring is here, a water moccasin gave up the ghost at the base of my stairs this morning, but not before hitting the newest little 18-lb. squirt of a dog on the nose.  By the time the NPH got downstairs to see what all three dogs were making such a ruckus about, the snake's body was over here, and the head was over there, still hissing "to the last I grapple with thee; from hell’s heart I stab at thee; for hate’s sake I spit my last breath at thee."

The little dog is not awfully swollen and has already been to the vet for injections of antibiotics and prednisone.  I didn't hear her squeal when the snake struck her, but when she got the shots you could hear her shriek a mile away.  She makes the same noise when I pull a sticker out of her foot, the little faker.  For that matter, if she's caught at the rear of the pack and can't get out the door fast enough, she emits the same ear-piercing scream, so that at first I thought I must have stepped on her and torn off a leg at least.  So she doesn't feel very well, but she seems to be OK.

I'm contending with venomous attacks myself.  Earlier this week some kind of critter stung me here and there on the back and side.  I never saw what it was, but the bites have turned into large angry red places, so I'm breaking down and seeing a doctor later this morning.  It's a hostile world.

She Sounds Vaguely Dissatisfied

I normally ignore the writings of Ms. Coulter, but the title of this piece (which the Jackson Clarion Ledger softened to "Thanks for nothing, Mickey Kaus") got my attention.

If the predictions of leading Obamacare adviser Ezekiel Emanuel's prediction that employer-based health care will be nearly destroyed by the ACA. Ezekiel, which is a very fitting name for a prophet of doom, thinks that about two-thirds of those who currently have employer-backed health care will lose it.

Waivers can drag this out for a while, but eventually people are going to get punched in the mouth.

Etiquette and Protocol

Every medium has them. Right, NBC?

Just In: Air Force fires nine nuclear missile commanders over two-year cheating scandal

— NBC News (@NBCNews) March 27, 2014

I wonder how many people had heart attacks before they got to word nine?

Fire escape

So our little fireball turned out to be no big deal, but here's some nail-biting video from yesterday's five-alarm apartment-building fire in Houston.  (I recommend watching with the sound turned off.)  The construction worker shows real presence of mind.

Update:  Hey, didn't anyone like this?  I thought it was the coolest thing ever.