Voltwagon
Fredrich Hayek’s 1944 classic Road to Serfdom has become a best seller again. He said that governments tend to plan production for political, rather than market, purposes. Government owned GM’s new Volt costs $41,000, runs on a battery, and gets 40 miles per charge.
Zero Sum
NYC’s Landmarks Preservation Commission cleared the way for a new mosque and community center, Cordoba House, to be built two blocks from ground zero. Mayor Bloomberg says this is a fine example of American religious tolerance. 9/11 Mayor Rudy calls it a “desecration”. Even if it’s built with the best of intentions, Dan Senor says in the WSJ, it will be seen by Muslim extremists as victory monument. Atlantic Wire has the pros and cons here.
Border Sam
Here’s a Washington Post story about border paradoxes. One of the unintended consequences of tighter border control in California and Texas is more illegal crossings in Arizona. Another is the idea that with more border security, illegal workers already here stay here.
Arizona
A federal judge has stopped Arizona’s new immigration law. Here’s a good Washington Post story by Roberto Suro that explains where the Arizona law came from and where it may may be headed.
Middle Men
The WikiLeaks document dump confirmed suspected double dealing by Pakistan. (Anne Applebaum uses the NYT’s own year old story to zing the Times for presenting Pakistan support for the Taliban as news.) Afghan president Hamid Karzai has already threatened to join the Taliban. Maybe we should cut out the middle men.
