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ABC News:Iraq's deeply divided Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds voted in large numbers on a new constitution Saturday a referendum mostly free of insurgent violence and aimed at establishing democracy after decades of Saddam Hussein's repressive rule. In the south, Shiite...

I've been using Google Talk for voice chat with my cousin in Connecticut, Jesse in Taiwan, and another of my friends in South Dakota. The concept is simple: make a "phone call" over your computer. Quick, simple, and completely free....

Critics of Professor Schaff and myself have been making a rather amazing argument: that a college professor can be forced to choose between his job and the free expression of his political opinions, should his colleagues or the administration conclude...

Deal 'opens the door' to wind power

DEFINITELY A WIN-WIN-WIN for South Dakota's Economy!

One of the biggest hinderances to the development of more wind power in South Dakota has been a lack of enough transmission line capacity to get the electricity to where it's needed.

There is a positive logic to the addition of a new coal-burning plant also. The US has an abundance of coal, and large deposits of high quality low-sulfur coal are just to the west in Wyoming. There is a synergy that comes into play here with a three-way synergistic development of South Dakota's utility and transportation infrastructure which is catalyzed by the planned construction of a new coal-burning power plant at Big Stone.

The first element of this synergy is the expansion of the DM&E Railroad, which, in spite of the usual opposition from envirowacko activist groups and assorted other NIMBY (Non-In-My-Backyard types pushed through approval of extending it's lines into the Wyoming coal fields, and upgrade of its existing mainlines to handle the greatly increased traffic that results from this. (See note 1 in extended entry) This increases the availability of coal for new plants.

With the abundance of coal, and modern abatement technology, it is possible to burn low-sulfur coal with a minimum amount of air pollution, plus it helps to increase the electric power capacity, which is an essential positive factor for continued economic growth in the area. (See Note 2)

Finally, this proposed coal plant will bring in a significantly serious excess in electrical power transmission capacity, above and beyound the needs of the new plant. This excess capacity is available for the development of large(r) scale wind turbine developments, which (a) provides yet more electricity, (b) is a clean, renewable energy source, and (c) provides yet another boost to the local economic structure.

So, what's the "win-win-win"? More needed electrical power, use of domestic coal instead of imported oil, and the enabled development of even cleaner wind power capacity. Three birds with one "Big Stone". Not too bad.

Mark Steyn notes the troubling confluence of a declining Russia along with a rising population of militant Muslims in the Russian Federation. The Russians couldn't hold on to Eastern Europe. They couldn't hold on to Central Asia. Why would they...

New York Times:Iraqis walked through silent streets on Saturday morning to begin voting on a new constitution that, if passed, would mark a major step toward the formation of the country's first full-term government since the toppling of Saddam Hussein....

The current poll at ESPN's main page asks who's to "blame" for the White Sox scoring the winning run in the bottom of the ninth in last night's "phantom strikeout" game. The poll choices are: Doug Eddings (umpire), Kelvim Escobar...

ssAnne Applebaum, author of Gulag, has a great piece in the Washington Post contrasting the trial of Saddam Hussein with the Nuremburg trials in Germany following World War II. Excerpt:Yet Nuremberg was, in retrospect, a huge success, and as the...

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