I spent part of yesterday at the headquarters of Vibration & Sound Solutions Limited (VSSL), located on an unasssuming block in Alexandria, Va. It is, however, one of the foremost facilities for magnetic levitation and vibration technology research. The applications for such technology are boundless. Think mag-lev for ships and subs, safety seats aboard boats that make you feel like you’re floating, even hydraulic knee braces for our troops in the mountains of Afghanistan. In other words, exoskeletons. The Office of Naval Research is funding the R&D for VSSL, though some of the technologies can’t get to our soldiers soon enough.

But what if, in the midst of all the heady research, one of the scientists finds himself dangerously imbued with magnetic powers?

It could happen.

(For more on the fascinating work of VSSL and the manipulation of magnetic fields, stay tuned for my piece in The Daily Standard later next week.)

Mark Steyn on the public execution of Terri Schiavo; William Anderson on how the justice system failed us. Both are stunning rebukes to Reynolds, Hertzberg, Sullivan, et al.

In the Village Voice Nat Hentoff now defends Terri Schiavo and calls the legal charade in Florida for what it is. Noting that Terri swallows her own saliva and might be able to take orally administered fluids, he seconds Wesley Smith’s realization “that the courts are not merely permitting medical treatment to be withheld, they have ordered her to be made dead.”

This is Nat Hentoff we’re talking about. Ralph Nader stands with him. As does Jesse Jackson. And Mary Johnson. And Harriet McBryde Johnson. And a host of other disability rights activists who championed this case long before most people had ever heard Terri Schiavo’s name. (Not to mention other liberal stalwarts such as Mickey Kaus and Marshall Wittmann.)

Still, those who want Terri dead–people like Andrew Sullivan and Glenn Reynolds–dishonestly insist that the debate is between sensible, law-abiding people on one side and “theocons,” the “religious right,” and “Christianists” on the other. (This last term has been donated to the discussion by Rik Hertzberg, who agrees wholeheartedly with Reynolds and Sullivan.)

Eager to reinforce his point, Sullivan (who promised weeks ago to stop blogging) recently posted an email purporting to be from a someone who has one of these Christer-zealots in the family. Describing this nutty sibling, Sullivan’s emailer writes, “My sister-in-law is a devout Catholic, a Republican, and she watches Pat Robertson’s 700 Club almost religiously.” Get it? All the cues are there. “Devout” Catholic. “Republican.” “Pat Robertson.” “700 Club.” Just one question: How many Catholics do you know who watch the 700 Club? Me neither.

Reynolds, in his continuing, if understated, campaign for Terri Schiavo’s death, has tried to distract attention from the facts of the case by pointing to the involvement of self-promoter/hack Randall Terry. “If you don’t want to be confused with a movement led by theocrats,” Reynolds says, “don’t let actual theocrats be seen as your spokesmen.” Thanks for the tip. And how, exactly, is one to supposed to shut Randall Terry up?

Sighing at the burden of it all, Reynolds now tells us that “this is one of those episodes that seems to bring out the worst in people. That’s why I didn’t really want to weigh in to begin with–I knew that I was unlikely to persuade anyone, because very few people seem to care about the facts, or about arguments.”

How droll. Like Sullivan and Hertzberg and the rest of the crew eager to get Terri Schiavo in the ground, it is Reynolds who assiduously avoided the facts at every turn–choosing instead to condemn the poor woman by association because of (some of) the people who have rallied to her cause. As Hugh Hewitt observes, this is demagoguery, pure and simple.

Contemplating Justice Stanley Birch’s ruling, Ed Morrissey writes:

Not only did the Eleventh Circuit openly disregard the law written by Congress, this justice arrogantly tells the other equal branches that the only branch guaranteeing a free people is the one not accountable to the will of the electorate. Bear in mind that none of the courts that reviewed this case after the passage of the emergency legislation found it unconstitutional; that at least would have put the court on record. Instead, the judiciary simply and contemptuously disregarded a law which to this moment remains legal and valid.

If Birch thinks that this law constitutes such a serious threat to the Republic, then the court should have ruled it unconstitutional. However, that would have meant a hearing on its merits, which the 11th Circuit cravenly refused to provide. Birch instead reacted in keeping with the hyperinflated notion of the judiciary in modern times as a superlegislature with veto power over actions taken by the other two branches without any due process whatsoever.

Birch’s comment demonstrates that this out-of-control judiciary constitutes the main threat to the Founding Fathers’ blueprint. They have set themselves up as a star chamber, an unelected group of secular mullahs determining which laws they choose to observe and which they choose to ignore.

From the Michael Bay Blog:

I suspect we’ll do their numbers, peter out around 80, I don’t think we’ll hit a hundred domestic (neither did TCM), but with DVD sales, I’ll be expanding Casa De Bay. We’ll definitely play better to Urban audiences than Ring 2 did, so maybe we’ll hit the nine digits. My films always play well to the Urban audience because I think Urban, and I’m not talking outfitters.

From the Washington Post:

Schiavo’s religion–she is a Roman Catholic–has always been a significant aspect of the seven-year legal battle between her parents and her husband, on such issues as whether her feeding tube should be reinserted and her husband’s plans to have her remains cremated. Her faith was so entwined in the legal fight that a judge issued an order dictating the exact number of times–once–that she could receive Holy Communion after her feeding tube was removed March 18.

But Monsignor Thaddeus Malanowski, who gave Schiavo her last authorized Holy Communion on Easter, announced Tuesday that he had tried to defy the order during an afternoon visit to her hospice room. Bobby Schindler, Schiavo’s brother, said the three police officers in the room warned Malanowski that he would be arrested if he followed through on plans to place a drop of consecrated wine on Schiavo’s lips.

Let’s read that again: a judge issued an order dictating the exact number of times–once–that she could receive Holy Communion after her feeding tube was removed March 18.

But of course this is all about respecting her wishes and freedoms.

No, that is not a reference to Monty Burns of Springfield. Rather, that line comes to you courtesy of Batman villain Egghead (played by Vincent Price, who else?).

But I say this in regard to an eggceptional story in today’s CNN Money about the new Enormous Omelet Sandwich at Burger King. The sandwich, consisting of a mere two eggs, a sausage patty, two cheese slices, and three strips of bacon, packs in 730 calories and 47 grams of fat–more than a Whopper. As you might eggspect, critics are making a beef about this Caligulan feast. The good folks at Burger King, however, have maintained a steady line for some time now: It is all about choice. They aren’t eggsactly saying you should eat three of these a day, but, as one spokesman told CNN Money, “It’s designed for people who like to start the day with a hearty breakfast.”

Recently seen ordering the sandwich were Paul Bunyan, Apache Chief, and Grape Ape.

(Thanks to Galley friend S.L. for sending me this link. Mmmmm… links…)

I have begun my fall down our pool rankings, but Vic Matus should win the whole thing is L’ville beats Illinois. Much more hoops roundup at ACC BasketBlog.