DIPLOMATIC IMMUNITY….Virginia Postrel ? who apparently thinks that permalinks are a part of the future she’d just as soon do without ? has a bunch of good posts up right now, including this one about U.S. diplomatic missions:
In small countries at least, U.S. embassy personnel routinely throw their weight around, getting all sorts of special privileges that have nothing to do with our national interest. Special parking places, special escorts through airport security, a thousand minor irritations that tell the locals our officials (no matter how personally nice and well-intended) aren’t guests and equals but lords and masters come to call. The State Department needs to remind our diplomatic corps that they should not demand, or even request, privileges unavailable to the locals merely for their personal convenience. Only in matters of serious national, as opposed to personal, interest should the U.S. government ask for special treatment.
There are a couple of good followup posts too.
Also worthwhile is her post about Ritalin, Prozac, and behavioral pharmaceuticals in general. I don’t quite understand why conservatives rail against this kind of stuff so much, but, to paraphrase an old saying, I’m willing to bet that a liberal is just a conservative with an ADHD kid.
