CHINA'S QUAKE DISASTER: The numbers.

Plus, high marks for the army. "As a result of the military's preparations, a disaster turned into a showcase for how professional and competent the troops had become. . . . On the down side, with a disaster this large, reporters will have no trouble finding people who have fallen through the cracks and gotten a raw deal."

HOMEOWNER 1, BURGLAR 0:

Monroe County authorities today identified a burglary suspect who was shot to death by a homeowner and arrested a second suspect who fled.

Bristin Self, 19, was killed Wednesday by homeowner Mark Fryer during a 4:30 p.m. break-in, and Self's companion fled, according to the Monroe County Sheriff's Department.

Based on a description given by Fryer, deputies later arrested James Cheek and have charged him with aggravated burglary. Cheek has confessed to being illegally inside the Fryer residence on Old Store Road, according to investigators.

I'm surprised newspapers haven't tried to give this a pro-gun-control spin, with headlines like Homeowner Shoots Self. Maybe I shouldn't give them ideas . . . .

THE ONE WHO'S BLESSED?

MEGAN MCARDLE: "We seem to have a grand national amnesia when it comes to carbon and flying. Cap and trade isn't going to do any good unless we do less of things like drive and fly--and most of the city loving coastal types I know want to do much, much more flying, because international travel is incredibly important to them. Yet a few long haul flights a year are the carbon equivalent of driving an SUV in an exurb." Yes, a ten-cent-per-mile carbon tax would do a lot to reduce emissions. And then there's a ban on private jets, and a requirement that members of Congress fly commercial, not military, transport except when visiting war zones and the like . . . .

OFFICIAL BIGOTRY AT U.C. IRVINE? "The administration at UC Irvine has sent a clear message to the MSU: incitement and harassment against Jews, Israel, and America is acceptable on campus and will not incur consequences."

STEPHEN PINKER says that the President's Council on Bioethics was stacked. Well, yeah. I said the same thing years ago, but in more colorful fashion. And note this bit of history, too.

(Via Ann Althouse ).

OUTDOOR LIFE ON JOHN MCCAIN: "Based on his comments here, at the NRA show and on his voting record it looks like not only is he the most pro-gun candidate in the running for the White House but that he is solidly pro-gun by any yardstick you care to use." (Via SayUncle, who emails: "He's the only candidate who has ever shown he has any idea what the issues are.")

WASHINGTON POST: Skyrocketing Oil Prices Stump Experts.

Hmm. What could be going on? But the best take is probably this one:

If we want low gas prices, we should lower the costs of exploration and refining. If lowering those costs has environmental costs you don't like, stop complaining and get on your bicycle.

Nonsense. Congress has made clear -- we want low prices and no new wells or refineries!

ANN ALTHOUSE on the difference between sociopathy and litigation: "It's litigation. Quite normal. If the rules help you, you insist on the importance of rules. If the rules hurt you, they are mere guidelines that must bend flexibly for the sake of justice." It's a distinction that non-lawyers sometimes miss!

NOT AS BIG A CAMPAIGN ISSUE AS IT PROBABLY SHOULD BE: "What Presidential candidate is most up on fusion and specifically the Bussard Fusion Reactor Program? Interesting question. Which candidate was interested enough to have his staffers look deeper into it in August of 2007? The answer? John McCain."

BRINGING THE NATION TOGETHER. "Democratic Sen. Barack Obama questions Republican Sen. John McCain’s commitment to the troops. CQ Politics has the video. McCain has the son in Iraq."

BOYS TO MEN: The Insta-wife looks at new books by Kathleen Parker ( Save the Males: Why Men Matter, Why Women Should Care ) and Meg Meeker (

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