Brain patterns, the good marathon, today's articles, and 24
Scientific brain linked to autism This is an interesting finding, but most interesting is that

In a paper published in the journal Archives of Disease of Childhood, Professor Baron-Cohen labels people such as scientists, mathematicians and engineers as 'systemizers'.

They are skilled at analysing systems - whether it be a vehicle, or a maths equation - to figure out how they work.

On January 19 I speculated that the brains of technologically-talented people learn in ways that are not addressed by current school curricula. Maybe I'm right.

The good marathon: the Marathon du Médoc. Six hours to walk twenty-six miles of wine, gourmet snacks, and if you win, your weight in wine. And on time for my birthday, too. Hmm.

Other bloggers emailed
Senate Votes to End Debate on Alito Nomination
Sexy Priest Blesses Using Coke Light - Time For Christian Jihad?

" It is an insult to those who died to tell the American people that the organization posing the greatest threat to their liberty is not al Qaeda but the FBI."
Our Right to Security
The sister of the pilot of AA flight 77 writes

Three weeks before 9/11, an FBI agent with the bin Laden case squad in New York learned that al-Mihdhar and al-Hazmi were in this country. He pleaded with the national security gatekeepers in Washington to launch a nationwide manhunt and was summarily told to stand down. When the FISA Court of Review tore down the wall in 2002, it included in its ruling the agent's Aug. 29, 2001, email to FBI headquarters: "Whatever has happened to this--someday someone will die--and wall or not--the public will not understand why we were not more effective and throwing every resource we had at certain problems. Let's hope the National Security Law Unit will stand behind their decisions then, especially since the biggest threat to us now, [bin Laden], is getting the most 'protection.'"

Read it all.
Dr. Sanity looks at the Blatantly Contradictory Media

Maria's articles
Maria manages to find dozens of articles, and today she sent us,
The WaPo finds a study that says Republicans are racist: Study Ties Political Leanings to Hidden Biases

That study found that supporters of President Bush and other conservatives had stronger self-admitted and implicit biases against blacks than liberals did.

My experience as a Hispanic woman has been that Republicans are a great deal more open-minded to minorities' capabilities and have higher expectations of what minorities can accomplish by their own work, than Democrats. Sigmund, Carl and Alfred ask a few questions.
Update: Michelle Malkin's commenter Charles M. looks at methodology.

Dr. Sowell advices the Republicn party to support Black conservatives: Republicans and blacks

It is not rocket science to see that whatever chances the Republicans have of making inroads into the black vote are likely to be better among more conservative blacks.

Black religious groups opposed to abortion or homosexual marriage are an obvious group to try to reach. So are black business owners or military veterans.

Does anyone think that President Bush's awarding a Medal of Freedom to Muhammad Ali was likely to appeal to such groups? Yet this continues a pattern in which Republicans have tried to approach black voters from the left.

We knew that already, but now it's official: Ted Kennedy Disgraced Himself. The article's author is former chief counsel of the House Judiciary Committee and a lifelong Democrat.

The first Russian film based on a novel by the Soviet-era dissident Alexander Solzhenitsyn has been shown on Russian state television.: Solzhenitsyn in Russia film first

On a lighter vein,
Blogs4Bauer liveblogged and TiVo'd. What Would Jack Bauer Do?
Because it's a hoot to watch a cliff hanger based on the WOT where the basic premise is that the only outside enemies the USA has are those the USA creates.

The writers needed a love note so they have Audrey call Jack in the middle of a national emergency to ask him if he loved her. We all know how that conversation would have gone in real life, don't we?

Update: More on 24 from Dave Barry and his 400 visitors.
Update 2Commenter Jaybear:

Frankly, I was disappointed on a number of fronts last night….the whole thing about setting up a WMD situation, to justify our middle east position, seems to be playing to the viewers who are looking for something to watch now that Commander in Chief and West Wing have been scrapped….you know, hook ‘em with a good BushHitlerCheneyHalliburtonBigOilEnron conspiracy theory….

If this sort of soft shoe leaning to the left continues, I’m renting the 24 first season DVD’s and forgetting about this season.

And this business of the girlfriend calling in the middle of an assignment has to stop.

(technorati tags autism, Medoc, Alito, Politics, Alexander Solzhenitsyn, Jack Bauer, 24)