1. "The rarity of American political violence" Something worth pointing out.
Representative Sample: There's going to be a rollicking debate about whether political vitriol contributes to political violence. Fine. But let's put things in perspective -- extremist rhetoric or not, this kind of thing is blessedly rare in the American polity.
2. "The Extreme Rhetoric about Extreme Rhetoric (With Bonus Fake Sinclair Lewis Fascism Quote!)" An excellent take-down of the current smears and demagoguery.
Representative Sample: Crawling out from under an avalanche of doltish tragedy blogging and tweeting, there isn’t much more one can say about the shootings in Tucson that hasn’t already been said by the few sensible pundits left in the United States. But it is perhaps worth pointing out that many of those denouncing rhetorical extremism are themselves in danger of drifting into similar territory (I won’t say "extremist" because dumb political rhetoric isn’t always "extreme").
3. "Game Changer?" A balanced assessment of the new Chinese fighter and its possible impact.
Representative Sample: From Beijing's perspective, there is an on-going shift of military power in the Far East, symbolized by the J-20. No wonder the jet's late December roll-out was accompanied by quickly-leaked photos of the aircraft. While the J-20 won't be operational for another 7-8 years, it represents a potential game-changer in the region, since Beijing will (likely) produce scores of the new aircraft--far more than the 187 F-22s in the USAF inventory--and possibly export the new stealth jet as well.
4. "Gun control is going nowhere" Hopefully he's correct.
Representative Sample: All the PSH from the antigunners over the Arizona massacre is not going to amount to anything. There is simply no public or political support for more gun control.
5. "Beware Warmonger Imperialist Space Aliens!?" Interesting reading with many other good links.
Representative Sample: Cthulhu and quite a few of the Dreaded Old Ones weren't so much opposed to humanity, as indifferent. Which was still bad for humanity. It's like when a squirrel wanders into a transformer. The utility company isn't engaged in a pogrom against squirrels: the incinerated critter just made a wrong turn.
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