Two chilling posts on the federal gov't's war on doctors. One here, and the second here. More links thru the links.

Christopher Hitchens applies the first examples I've seen of reasoned response and critical thought to the Cindy Sheehan "situation" - first here, then here.

"Government spending under the GOP's reign has soared to historic highs, any way you want to measure it. And in stark contrast to President Reagan — or even the president's own father—President Bush refuses to rein in spending. He hasn’t used his veto a single time since taking office — the longest such streak in U.S. history."
A tough attack on the Republicans from... foxnews.com - find good critiques where you can.

Radley Balko shares some well reasoned thoughts - and a good link inside to more research - on the anti-obesity lunacy, and why we DON'T need a war on obesity.
The simplest argument against a government war on obesity? The results of the war on drugs and the war on poverty, to name the two biggest "war on ... " failures I can think of.

If the cops mistakenly destroy your property because they thought it was drugs, well, you lose your property.

The name alone would make it worthy of note, but the content is simply mouth-watering: iheartbacon.com.

"One of the defects of democracy is that we usually have quite ordinary persons as our leaders. Sometimes this doesn't matter; their particular defects don't bear upon public affairs, or the times are sufficiently placid that it just doesn't matter that they drink, or play too much poker, or cultivate friends of doubtful character, or whatever.

These are not such times. The President's ignorance of science might have remained a private matter, but he chose to speak on the subject of evolution and "intelligent design." This is a great pity.

Science -- from the loftiest of theorizing (like that of Einstein or, oh, Darwin) through the conducting of painstakingly difficult experiments to the application of new knowledge to the improvement of human life -- science, I say, is the chief engine of our society."

Via The Agitator...
The ACLU sues over a law on alcohol tests of pedestrians. The law says breathalyzers can be required from minors without a warrant - refusal means $100 fine.
Pedestrians. No vehichle, no danger to nobody. Yep. America.

Newsweek (like most news sources) likes the hype rather than the meat of a story, so it goes with their new cover story on methamphetamine. Meanwhile, Slate has some straight dope about the meth "epidemic."
More on why the hype is bad - undercover cops bust immigrant clerks who don't understand that the cops are pretending to be meth makers. Law enforcement going the extra mile to bust the innocent.... (nytimes login: opensewer, password:iswatching)

Wanna help a poor worker in a developing country? Buy some sweatshop-made goods! It's better for them! An excerpt:
The apparel industry, which is often accused of unsafe working conditions and poor wages, actually pays its foreign workers well enough for them to rise above the poverty in their countries. While more than half of the population in most of the countries we studied lived on less than $2 per day, in 90 percent of the countries, working a 10-hour day in the apparel industry would lift a worker above - often far above - that standard. For example, in Honduras, the site of the infamous Kathy Lee Gifford sweatshop scandal, the average apparel worker earns $13.10 per day, yet 44 percent of the country's population lives on less than $2 per day.
Shocking, no? Read more here.