The demented legacy of the Nixon administration  

1. In light of the whole debate over Social Security privatization, LI takes on the Chilean pension system and Pinochet's economic record.

2. Consummate consumer Will Baude defends bigtime Chicago wine retailer Sam's, both against charges of extorting kickbacks from distributors, and as the best place around Chicago to get wine.

3. Howard Kurtz seems optimistic about Backfence.com's model for hyperlocal content: "Build it and they will post." But hasn't it already been built? I have yet to see a model for the "new media" that really acknowledges and respects the blogosphere's potential on this score. Also, the folks at Metafilter are skeptical.

4. Tom Tomorrow's tale about the rewards of writing for Slate will make you glad you're not a professional. [via Matthew Gross]

5. And Christopher Hitchens (writing in Slate!) has a suprisingly sober assessment of the war on drugs and its relationship with the war on terror and the future of Afghanistan.