Osler's Razor

It's good to see that the President of the United States is back in the news, pardoning turkeys. Interestingly, as Doug Berman notes, he hasn't pardoned many other people. While the pardon power has at time been abused (most recently by President Clinton in his last days in office, when he pardoned Marc Rich and others), there are often good reasons to utilize that tool for something other than political favors. For example, it is a very fast way to resolve a case in which DNA or other evidence has undermined a conviction, or for elderly prisoners or those who were convicted under racially-motivated laws.

Meanwhile, today is a very big shopping day at places like "Wal-Mart," which is one reason I won't be there today.

Instead, my Dad and I are going to be tearing down an old rotten pergola behind the house. Ka-boom!