Morning Links: Energy Drinks, The Warrior Mindset, The Riddle Of The Gun

-- The New York Times continues with its weird attempt to start a panic over energy drinks.

-- New Jersey town must pay $38K to compensate two police officers for their recreational helicopter flying lessons.

-- The only chart you'll need to understand why people often read too much into charts.

-- This column by the commander of an Arizona SWAT team is a pretty scary illustration of what police militarization does to the mindset of cops.

-- "Yet their lack of concern for Larry is made up for by their intense interest in how far splashes of his vomit can fly . . . "

-- This is a compelling essay by Sam Harris on guns and gun culture. Like Harris, I wouldn't consider myself part of the gun culture.(And unlike Harris, I don't actually own a gun.) But like him, I'm also very much in favor of gun rights. My position pretty much boils down to this: I think there's reason to be fearful of a government that has both the power and the desire to disarm its citizens. Especially when the same government is arming itself to the teeth.