JOHN LOTT’S WORK MAY HAVE MAJOR PROBLEMS: Posts on one unsettling problem, which casts doubt on Lott’s integrity and therefore on his other work, here, here, and here. Everyone notes that it is still possible for Lott to give a satisfactory explanation–but I have to say, this sounds mucho sketchy. All three posts and comments worth reading even though they are working with the same basic data. Read more

HELP THE AGITATOR FIND AN APARTMENT… Read more

THE BOOK OF ACTS (AND ACTORS!): Got this press release from Barbara Nicolosi, the very cool director of ActOne, a training program for Christians seeking work in the movie industry: 01/10/03 – Hollywood, CA: ACT ONE: WRITING FOR HOLLYWOOD, an interdenominational training program for writers from the Christian community, is now accepting applications for its four-week summer program. The ACT ONE curriculum provides an overview of both film and TV writing, with an emphasis on writing for film. We also... Read more

GUNS IS FUNS. My hands and arms hurt because yesterday I went to the small arms range with the Old Oligarch. It was only the second time I’d been shooting, and the first time was with a rifle; the pistol was much easier and more rewarding. My aim improved rapidly, whereas aiming the rifle was just a crapshoot given my limited upper-body strength and hand-eye coordination. However, I did learn that I have pretty much no strength in my arms... Read more

MORE on the Texas foundry I blogged about yesterday: “Indeed, under federal law, causing the death of a worker by willfully violating safety rules — a misdemeanor with a six-month maximum prison term — is a less serious crime than harassing a wild burro on federal lands, which is punishable by a year in prison.” Read more

REGISTER ON BEING A GOOD GODPARENT. Read more

Lip service is all you’ll ever get from me But if you change your mind, you can send a little blogwatch to me… The Agitator: Globalization, protectionism, and layoffs–good basic explanations, here and then here. Light of Reason: Is back! and apparently will be blogging intermittently. Marriage Movement: Tom Sylvester says something somewhat similar to what I said about connections between fatherlessness and social responses to homosexuality. The Rat: The Rat is on fire. GO THERE NOW! She has a... Read more

THE ENTREPRENEURIAL IMAGINATION: My Jewish World Review column for this week. Its basic argument, and a good chunk of its phrasing, will be familiar to readers of this post; but there are some new things there, I promise! Read more

GINGER STAMPLEY on the race/names/callbacks study. Read more

“AT A TEXAS FOUNDRY, AN INDIFFERENCE TO LIFE.” A horrific story. I can’t bring myself to quote the most gruesome details, but this will give you the flavor; everything that follows is from the NYT: On June 29, 2000, in his second month on the job, Mr. Hoskin descended into a deep pit under a huge molding machine and set to work on an aging, balky conveyor belt that carried sand. Federal rules require safety guards on conveyor belts to... Read more