URLs du Jour

2017-05-14

■ They really should have split these into a separate book, named Insults. Here's Insults 26:16:

A sluggard is wiser in his own eyes than seven people who answer discreetly.

You're not just lazy, dude. You're a delusional know-it-all.

■ I slag on my state's Congressional delegation quite a bit, but I have to give a thumbs up to Senator Jeanne Shaheen for her efforts reported (last month, sorry) in The Hill:

A bipartisan pair of senators is urging Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to meet with Russian opposition activists during his trip to Moscow next week.

In a letter Wednesday, Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) asked Tillerson to meet with people such as Vladimir Kara-Murza, a prominent activist who has twice been poisoned.

Unfortunately, Tillerson wimped out:

Mr. Tillerson’s first visit to Moscow as America’s most important diplomat was also striking in what was conspicuously missing: There were no meetings with political dissidents or opponents of Mr. Putin. The subject of crackdowns or human rights in Russia never came up.

Sad!

■ KDW@NR adds some more confirmatory evidence that the Trump Administration is screwing up foreign policy on matters of Personnel and Policy.

With North Korean nuclear threats escalating into a genuine international crisis, the ordinary thing to do would be to have our ambassadors in Seoul, Beijing, and Tokyo keep in close consultation with the relevant authorities in those countries. A problem: As Evelyn Cheng points out at CNBC, we do not have ambassadors in South Korea, China, or Japan.

There's no excuse, other than the Bible verse above: Trump is a sluggard who is wise in his own eyes.

■ At Reason, Baylen Linnekin warns: Local Officials Are Coming for Your Garden. Well, here and there. Specifically, in Columbiana, Ohio, there's a legislative push to allow backyard gardens. Why is that necessary? It sounds like a parody of libertarian paranoia, but …

"The city had no laws pertaining to residential gardens, which means they were technically not allowed," reports the local Salem News. "According to the city's laws, if something is not permitted it is prohibited."

Here in scenic Rollinsford NH, never mind gardens: I've noticed neighbors with horses, chickens, bees, llamas, goats, and probably other domesticated beasties. If our town tried to regulate gardens, I assume there would be pitchfork-wielding mobs surrounding City Hall.