  We argue that pulsars may be spin-polarized neutron stars, i.e. cosmic
permanent magnets. This would simply explain several observational facts about
pulsars, including the 'beacon effect' itself i.e. the static/stable
misalignment of rotational and magnetic axes, the extreme temporal stability of
the pulses and the existence of an upper limit for the magnetic field strength
- coinciding with the one observed in "magnetars". Although our model
admittedly is speculative, this latter fact seems to us unlikely to be pure
coincidence.
