What a Fool Believes. Roderick, Austro-Athenian Empire (2010-04-23). Arizona Governor Jan Brewer explains why we shouldn't worry that her state's new law (allowing the police to demand identity papers from anyone who looks like they might be an "illegal" immigrant) won't lead to racial profiling or other abuses (as if "the thing itself" were not abuse enough ...):… (Linked Friday 2010-04-23.)

No More Looking Back…Unless You’ve Embarrassed Us. Jesse Walker, Jesse Walker: Reason Magazine articles and blog posts. (2010-04-16). Julian Sanchez has posted some sharp comments about Thomas Drake, the NSA whistleblower facing charges for leaking information to the Baltimore Sun. Sanchez concludes: the contrast between the reaction to Drake and the non-reaction to other forms of lawbreaking makes the standard in effect for Bush-era misdeeds clear: If you… (Linked Saturday 2010-04-24.)

Because They Can. Roderick, Austro-Athenian Empire (2010-04-24). The TSA at work. (Linked Saturday 2010-04-24.)

Ugly Viral vs. Pretty Viral. Mike Sellers, Online Alchemy (2010-04-15). Recently I encountered yet another app on Facebook that required me to "become a fan" and install the app before I could even see what it was, much less whether I liked it enough to become a real fan. Sorry, no. That's not viral except in the meanest, ugliest sense.  Like… (Linked Sunday 2010-04-25.)