Ground Zero Mosque...

Several readers have written me, wondering why I'm not weighing in on this.  Basically it's because I have little to contribute to the discussion – it seems pretty clear to me.  The WSJ has an editorial today that's very close to my position, which I can sum up like this:

1. The developer (Feisal Abdul Rauf) has every legal right to develop the property that he owns, so long as he obeys all the relevant regulation.  From everything that I've read, Cordoba House would obey all existing regulations.
   
   
2. Developing that mosque right next to 9/11 Ground Zero would be a very insensitive and obnoxious thing to do.  We're still free to do that in America, though in the name of political correctness those rights are eroding every day.  As others have often pointed out, freedom of speech (which placing the mosque at Ground Zero is a form of) implies that you're going to offend someone – otherwise it wouldn't need to be protected at all.

So while I really hate the idea of that mosque going up, even more I hate the idea of the government curtailing our freedoms.

And I think Gret Gutfield has the right idea.  Now that's an American idea for dealing with the issue!

On That Oracle vs. Google Suit...

Lots of information from someone who appears to be unusually well-informed about the subject...

Best Card Trick Evah!

I'm pretty sure it's the best I've ever seen...

If You Can Type, You Can Make a Movie...

That's the promise of this site.  Haven't tried it myself yet...

ClimateGate: New Study on Temperature Proxies...

...and it says, basically, they're BS.  See here and here for analysis; the study itself is here (PDF).

Now if we could only get governments to stop behaving as though the science were settled...

John Cleese on Creativity...

Interesting talk:

Where Does Everybody Live?

This surprised me.  Click to enlarge, and study it for a little while – I'll bet you'll find some surprises too...

Get Paid to Start a Company!

Check it out.

Chaparral Morning...

This morning's dog walk marks the first time this summer that I've been able to see my old friend Orion in the early morning.  Head, shoulders, and belt were all clearly visible above the northeast horizon.

Orion is the first constellation I learned to recognize, and it's still the one I can spot most easily (probably because the belt is so easy to spot).  For the next 4 or 5 months, he will be prominent in our early morning sky...