The Ranting Rationalist

2004-03-16T22:55:00.000-05:00

Via Instapundit, I found this EXCELLENT PIECE by Victor Davis Hanson concerning the "crisis" status of the medically uninsured in the United States:

"And while none could speak English, two extremely competent young hospital employees not only translated for them, but also went out to the general waiting room and helped patients fill in the forms. I was envious inasmuch as the lengthy questionnaire sometimes confounded me. I doubt very much, should I immigrate to rural Mexico and do so illegally, that my local clinic there would offer me quality health care, treat me in English, provide an English interpreter to fill out my Spanish-language government forms—and do it all at no cost to me, new car, cell phone, and all. And that truth, it seems, makes all the difference in the world to some 12 million who come north rather than go south."

"In any case, if the emergency room in one of the poorest towns in this nation is a litmus test of horrific poverty and neglect, then it is a strange sort of poverty that about 5 billion on the planet outside our borders could only envy."

That's exactly right. America = obviously the most humane country in the history of the world. The Left in this country is so blinded by their love of any dictator they can find that they tend to ignore the plain facts.

2004-03-14T20:40:00.000-05:00

The Irony Knows No Bounds

Matt Yglesias has a PERPLEXING POST up in which he basically openly advocates socialism. Taken by itself, that's basically par for the course. However, we are also treated to this actual nugget of observational insight:

"Infrastructure in this country is all crappy -- if you go outside a gated community or major business district where the private sector is (at least partially) financing basic things like keeping the streets clean and non-broken and trimming the goddamn tree branches, everything is all messed up."

So, in other words, private enterprise is good at keeping things clean and "non-broken" and therefore the answer is for MORE money to be poured into government?

Now I know Matt would argue that the problem is simply that not enough money is being spent by the government to keep infrastructure healthy and vibrant. But isn't that logic belied by his own givens? Is he really asserting that when private business "at least partially" finances basic things, the little bit of extra money they provide is actually the sole reason things are better? Throwing good money after bad will only get you so far. I thought we'd already learned this lesson in the field of education.

2004-03-12T15:58:00.000-05:00

Spanish Bombing: Let's Not Forget About Clinton

Now that we are 3+ years out from the last days of Bill Clinton's presidency, the analysis of his legacy has begun in earnest. I remember being amused by the media reaction to Clinton's repugnant pardon of Marc Rich. Only then, when the object of their affection was safely out of office, did the elites begin to decry Clinton and wonder if maybe he wasn't such a great guy. There was even a fair amount of faux soul-searching amongst the journalists who had so artfully excused their man.

But now, the default position of the intelligentisia seems to be to regard Clinton with a kind of chic humor in which we are supposed to think that it's obvious that the man was merely a ribald rogue who wasn't capable of generating much harm. We're treated to Maureen Dowd-esque sly nods and winks whenever the notion arises that Clinton was a true scumbag who did great damage- in human terms.

Which brings me to yesterday's horrific bombing in Madrid. As I mentally prepared myself for the usual spate of leftists defending the terrorists, I realized that until recently, our country was decidedly unserious about preventing such incidents on our own soil.

For those of you who have forgotten (or never knew), President Clinton pardoned 16 terrorist bombers in 1999. FALN, a Puerto Rican separatist group, bombed over 100 locations on American soil durng the 70's and 80's: Terrorists, by virtually any measure of the term. And yet they were freed as if it were some trivial afterthought.

The reason? Well, it was about the most cynical political ploy one could possibly envision: The Clintons figured such an act would garner Mrs. Clinton the Puerto Rican vote in New York City for her Senate campaign. (Let's forget for a second just how disturbing it is that they were probably right and that somehow releasing terrorists from prison is actually seen as a positive within the Puerto Rican community in New York).

It was Clinton's decided lack of seriousness for 8 years that helped to create the landscape upon which these retrograde murderers now operate. It makes me sick to think that the bombing of innocent civilians in Spain will somehow be blamed on a policy of actually taking the fight to the terrorists. It makes me downright nauseous to think that our former president continues to escape any and all culpability in these affairs.

2004-01-22T16:42:00.000-05:00

The Howard Dean Growl...is one of the funniest soundbytes of all time. I can listen to it endlessly without growing tired of it. I also think it's kind of funny how much of a backslide his numbers in New Hampshire have suffered since he went guttural on us all. I've heard and read plenty of Deaniac hand-wringing about how it wasn't a big deal and "you had to be there" and "won't the media stop playing it up". They DO kind of have a point. I mean, I don't think this one moment proves that he's crazy or anything. He just got carried away in the moment. However, I'm a person that had to sit through many years of the media latching onto each and every gaffe Dan Quayle or George Bush or ANY non-lib ever made. It's kind of gratifying to see it happen on the other side. Also, Dean just strikes me as overly power-hungry. I'll welcome anything that will just make him go away.

2004-01-19T15:33:00.000-05:00

Thoughts on Martin Luther King Day...First off, I should mention my overall bias towards federal holidays. I don't think we should have them- and I certainly don't think we should be adding any more. Beyond my general disdain, I also believe that taking a day off from work is a very symbolically poor way of honoring the labors of (supposedly) great individuals. Further, these holidays eventually become nothing more than 3-day weekends in the minds of most people. Don't believe me? This Memorial Day, ask your co-workers which they are more concerned with: honoring the dead or whether or not the boat launch will be too crowded for them to get out on the lake by noon.

Now, I also believe that we specifically shouldn't have an MLK day. He is a poor representation of the civil rights movement of the 50's and 60's. Explicitly, here is a short list of problems I have with him:

-- he was a Communist. Some might call him a visionary, but he was certainly on the wrong side of history with that one.

-- The "Dr." appellation was not earned- it was stolen. There is myriad documented evidence that he plagiarized his doctoral dissertation at Boston University. And it was stolen from other black scholars, at that!! In other words, the most prominent civil rights figure of all time in this country stood on the shoulders of those in his own community and proceeded to bask in the praise and respect which the title "Dr." brings.

-- The "Reverend" appellation was dubious at best. This "holy man" proceeded to engage in Bill-Clinton levels of extramarital promiscuity.

At the very least, if we are to honor Mr. King, I feel that we should mention him in his totality- particularly his fraudulent doctorate degree. Ironically, some of the actual ideas propagated by King stand exactly opposite of the agenda of the modern-day "civil rights" crowd. Were he alive today, I'd be very curious to see if King still opposed affirmative-action according to the dictates of his famous mantra: "judge a man by the content of his character and not by the color of his skin".

This holiday is nothing more than a feel-good exercise for our esteemed politicians. What person doesn't want to be seen as caring about blacks and black issues? But if we simply MUST have such a holiday, then I wholeheartedly throw my support behind Frederick Douglass Day. Sadly, the majority of the rabble who are roused by cheap racial politics probably have no idea just who that actually great man was.

2004-01-02T13:59:00.000-05:00

While we're talking about peaceful Islam...you should read this Interview with Lord of the Rings actor John Rhys Davies. It's hard to believe an actor actually thinks these things to himself- much less says them outloud. He talks about WWIII being the West vs. Peaceful Islam. He also mentions how Europe's increasingly moslem demographics spell ruin for that continent. Good stuff.

2004-01-02T13:53:00.000-05:00

Radical Islam is Responsible for Thousands of Dead Iranians...Read this PIECE from the Arab news, and see if you come to the same conclusions. Basically, everyone knew that the Bam region is one big fault line. But that didn't stop those hallowed clerics of peaceful Islam from taking money in exchange for issuing fatwahs that overrode the (intelligent) ban on building in the region.

The entire Middle East is poor and backwards for one reason- peaceful Islam.

2003-12-08T11:38:00.000-05:00

It's Official- LSU Headed to the Sugar Bowl!--OK, so I'm a degenerate LSU fan- nothing wrong with that. I really love this BCS controversy. I know the BCS isn't perfect, but it's much better than the previous system. Not to mention the fact that it spit out the exact right answer this year. USC is so clearly the least deserving of the 3 one-loss teams. They have the worst SOS AND the worst loss.

The BCS was designed to account for the stupidity in the human polls as well as to actually match up top teams in bowl games. This year, it did both. The media act as if USC is entitled to play for the title merely because they are #1 in the human polls. Well, the system corrected for such idiocy. By what possible standard should USC be ranked ahead of LSU or Oklahoma? Poll voters still operate under an archaic policy whereby they are reluctant to ever leapfrog any team over another. Not to mention their eternal hard-on for any team that was historically good.

When you look at all the facts in a calm, objective manner, it should be obvious that USC got exactly what it deserved. They played NOBODY. They lost to a crappy team. Period.

2003-12-02T15:51:00.000-05:00

Completely Neutral Journalists Not Pulling for "Diverse" Coach to Do Well...Right.

Mississippi State has hired a "diverse" (read: black) head football coach. All the sportswriters are atwitter about what a great move this is- many times expressly listing his skin color as the reason. Rush Limbaugh got in huge PC trouble just for pointing out that the media pulled a little more for Donovan McNabb because he was black. Anyone who denies that this phenomenon exists is being horribly intellectually dishonest.

Tom Lemming of ESPN goes so far as to say that the recruits will identify with Croom just because they are black! Hmm. Sounds to me like we've got some pretty racist football players out there. They will actually go to Mississippi State just because the coach is black?

Look, I'll stop being cute about it. I don't care at all about who State hires. I just want everyone to be honest about racial issues. These are the facts: Mississippi State felt intense pressure to hire a black coach, so they did. End of story. I think it's extraordinarily unlikely that he was their actual first choice. I also think it's extraordinarily irrelevant how many black coaches there are in football.

Why oh why won't people see the obvious racism inherent in hiring people just because they have the proper skin pigmentation? They carp for a color-blind society, but that is clearly the exact opposite of what they want.

2003-11-23T23:43:00.000-05:00

Global Golf Tournament Predictably Socialist...Did anyone watch the Presidents Cup yesterday? For those of you who don't know, this is the golf event that's been set up to pit the US vs. The World. It's like the Ryder Cup, only more socialist countries get the chance to beat America. Anyway, the US was way behind coming into Sunday. But, as in the 1999 Ryder Cup, they came roaring back via an improbable rally. The teams were all square with only the Woods/Els twosome left. Those guys went into a sudden-death hole-by-hole playoff which lasted 3 holes. Both golfers made long, incredible putts under the axe of letting their entire teams down. It was fantastic to watch.

But then, the team captains (Nicklaus and Player) decided that it was getting too dark to continue, so they conceived the bright idea of calling the tournament a draw. At the last second, Nicklaus casually mentioned that "the US, as defending champions, would retain that title until the next Presidents Cup." Well, the Socialists didn't like the sound of that one bit. Els and Co. said: "Well, we'll just play then, we've got nothing to lose". In other words: "Since we won't be receiving something unearned, as is our custom, we might as well actually continue competing". Eventually, the US (a country that really seems desperate these days to prove to the world that it can be socialist too) conceded that they would be "co-victors".

In a final stroke of collectivist feel-goodism, it was decided that the two teams would "share the trophy" with each getting it for 6 months. Awwwwww.

I think this sends a terrible message. They kept spouting meaningless platitudes such as "No one deserves to lose" and "It would be a shame for one guy to have to putt for his whole team's victory". Please. What is this, Little League? I mean, the US is the defending champion. Not only were they not unseated, but they overcame a severe, last-day deficit to ensure that the loss of the trophy did not happen. And what was the result? Everybody is a winner.

2003-11-20T12:24:00.000-05:00

Send Rush Limbaugh Straight to Prison...I like Rush. I have listened to/read him since I was in high school back in the early 90's. Like most Americans, I started my political life with a fierce anti-drug bent. No words were demeaning enough to describe drug-users and no penalties were harsh enough to punish them, at least in my nascent estimation. This was due, in no small part, to having parents with wildly distorted and hyperbolic views about the destructive nature of drugs. Commentators like Rush made it easy to continue with my stupid outlook. He was a prominent person reinforcing just what I thought (or at least what I THOUGHT I thought).

Well, here we are in 2003, and I still have yet to take a single drug in my life. I am also virulently pro-legalization for every single substance which is currently illegal. And what do you know? Rush has a fall from grace because he's addicted to painkillers (but he admits that he liked the euphoric effects too). He has broken several laws hundreds of times.

I feel bad for Rush. He obviously didn't ask for what happened. But he still did it. I think that the only principled step for him to take is to get his attorney, go to the law, and demand that the book be thrown at him. Any attempt for him to get out of a single day of jailtime is hypocritical and lame.

As a libertarian, I think we need people like Rush on our side. Let him stew in jail for 10 years for non-violent drug offenses which hurt exactly ZERO people that weren't named Rush Limbaugh. And maybe, just maybe, a significant percentage of his army of Dittohead drones will begin to re-think their Draconian ideas on drugs and the law.

2003-11-20T12:13:00.000-05:00

Blogrolled...Make sure to check out Deinonychus antirhopus. Also stop by Slartibartfast.

2003-11-13T19:46:00.000-05:00

Much thanks to VodkaPundit and Sebastian Holsclaw for the welcome-back shout-out.

2003-11-13T11:45:00.000-05:00

To welcome myself back, I couldn't help re-posting my all-time favorite:

From July 2, 2003

"Diverse" Student Sighted on Michigan Campus by WASPy Co-Ed
Special to The Ranting Rationalist

University of Michigan sophomore Nelly Highbottom had her summer semester unexpectedly enriched when she spotted a black person across the quad on Monday. "I originally assumed that it was just a visitor to campus or even a worker from the physical plant", Highbottom told reporters, "but when I asked around, I found out this black person was, in fact, a student just like me. I was shocked. I know I don't even have to tell you how much this black-person sighting has meant to my overall educational experience."

Incidents like the one experienced by Ms. Highbottom underscore the continued need for "diverse" students on our college campuses. All too frequently, a white student will come to campus with only his "white experience" in tow. Often, this can lead to a very narrow college experience. As a remedy to this obvious problem, the Supreme Court recently ruled that sprinkling American campuses with "diverse" students represents a compelling government interest. Liberal activists point out that, particularly in the fields of science and engineering, a "black viewpoint" is vital. "How can a white student feel as though his Thermodynamics class is complete unless he has the opportunity to view it from a 'diverse' perspective?", asks Joe Jumus of leftwing think-tank Actions Divorced From Consequences. "Until we are all able to calculate complicated equations from the position of a human being who contains greater-than-average skin pigmentation, then how can we even call science 'science'?".

When asked for their opinion on being used as curiosities on campus for the enrichment of white students, several black students spoke very highly of the plan. "I think it's great", said high-pigment, diverse student Darius White. "There's nothing I like more than being employed as a patronizing means to an offensive end. I came to Michigan precisely in order to advance the cause of relieving the festering guilt of white academia. In many ways, my own educational enrichment is not even a priority of mine."

Ms. Highbottom, however, has no plans to get to know the black student she spotted. "They tend to congregate in the black dorm and hang out a lot at the Black and Latin Student Union. I figure they have about all the diversity they can handle."

2003-11-13T00:18:00.000-05:00

Newest Pet Peeve- The Whole Canadian Prescription Drugs Deal...First of all, this whole "issue" is basically based on an urban legend. "Drugs" are not cheaper in Canada than in the US. Name-brand drugs are "cheaper" because of Canadian price controls which allow our northern friends to free-ride off of our robustly innovative pharmaceutical industry. But when it comes to generics, Canada is actually more expensive than the US.

Anyway, the entire issue is extremely disheartening and annoying because almost everyone involved is wrong. There is no price that drugs "should" be. Nor does anyone "deserve" any drugs. It's simply one more example of the flogging of capitalism and the seemingly unrelenting belief that socialism will somehow work this time if we do it just right and our intentions are good enough.

2003-11-13T00:03:00.000-05:00

OK, 3 Months Is Long Enough to Have Been Off...The Ranting Rationalist went off and got married to a wonderful girl from Poland. The wedding was a huge success, as the guests were treated to a post-reception cruise around Manhattan and New York Harbor. The honeymoon was in Hawaii (yawn). Thanks for caring.

2003-08-01T11:58:00.000-04:00

Downloaders Don't Think of Copyright Laws...Oh yeah? Why don't we ask 'em what they think about jail?

Full-time students were the least concerned with violating copyright, with 82 percent saying they were not worried.

Well, that's just fantastic. Our (supposedly) most educated bunch doesn't care about intellectual property, or as I like to call it, the underpinning of our entire economy. This downloading (stealing) crap is against the law- period. That in and of itself should be enough to make people not do it. I really do think that the era of downloading marks the beginning of the end for us. Parents are doing an absolutely lousy job of teaching their kids about intellectual property. In fact, many of them happily download (steal) the stuff right alongside their kids.

2003-07-31T11:44:00.000-04:00

I'm Still Unconvinced on These Amber Alerts...I haven't yet nailed down an exact, nationwide cost for this program, but I think it's highly unlikely that the Amber Alert system would survive any sort of rational cost/benefit analysis. This is obviously one of those times where it's easy for people to say "If Amber Alert saves JUST ONE child, then it will all be worth it". Of course, statements like that are almost always false, and the speakers of such statements should never be allowed near any kind of relevant decision making process.

2003-07-31T11:39:00.000-04:00

New York to Have "Gay" High School...The only comment I have on this is that I can't wait for Harvey Milk to be a good high school, and then some straight students will try to get in, and they will be turned away because of their sexual orientation. Do liberals ever stop to take a step back and actually try to see their fantasy forest world for all its magical trees?

(Hat tip: The Fringe)

UPDATE: Johnny Bardine has equally insightful (and perhaps earlier) commentary on this topic.

2003-07-09T11:11:00.000-04:00

Diverse NYTimes Columnist Gets It Mostly Right...Read this piece by black opinion columnist Bob Herbert. He basically says that blacks are self-destructing and that it's inexcusable.

It is now absolutely normal in many circles for young black men and women (and, for that matter, little black boys and girls) to refer to one another as niggaz and bitches and ho's. Doing well in school is frequently disdained as a white thing. Doing time in prison is widely accepted as a black thing, and no cause for shame.

The part that never ceases to shock me is the part about school. I'm sure most of you can remember being hounded and harassed by your parents about homework, tests, not talking in class, etc. But in the black "community", accomplishment is harshly rebuked- many times by the parents or grandparents of the student. THIS IS A CULTURAL PROBLEM. No amount of government money thrown at the situation will ever make it better (in fact, it has made it worse). Until blacks on the whole embrace education and assimilation, they will continue to waste away in their seething cauldron of violence and fanciful antisocial histrionics.

2003-07-07T12:51:00.000-04:00

US Military Team in Liberia...It's hard to know exactly what to think about our plans to send troops there. From a purely humanitarian standpoint, I would saw that it is a worthy cause. Many citizens of Liberia are actually begging for US intervention (which is strange, because why would anybody want a ruthless, imperialistic menace like America to come into their country?).

From a purely political/US self-interest perspective, I don't see it as a good decision. Unlike Iraq, there's just nothing there for us. Us going to Iraq was like hitting the jackpot: we got rid of a murderous dictator who ran his operation on a massive scale, we liberated millions of people, we got a foothold of operations in the Middle East, we scared the piss out of every other Arab country (plus Iran), we reasserted our military and economic dominance, and we issued a wholesale redefining of the World Order.

Contrast all of that with Liberia. These West African countries are so wretched, that they make the retrograde Middle East actually seem as if it is teeming with economic and cultural potential. I feel bad for the Liberians, and I'm glad they realize that the US is the only force that can save them. I'm just not sure it's right for us to do.

Of course, France and the UN are demanding that the US get on board. Their position seems to basically be that if a country has some self-interests to forward in these situations, then they shouldn't go in. How else to explain the extreme opposition to the Iraq War? Now, with no compelling interests, it is somehow incumbent upon the US to put their troops in harm's way.

2003-07-02T16:13:00.000-04:00

"Diverse" Student Sighted on Michigan Campus by WASPy Co-Ed
Special to The Ranting Rationalist

University of Michigan sophomore Nelly Highbottom had her summer semester unexpectedly enriched when she spotted a black person across the quad on Monday. "I originally assumed that it was just a visitor to campus or even a worker from the physical plant", Highbottom told reporters, "but when I asked around, I found out this black person was, in fact, a student just like me. I was shocked. I know I don't even have to tell you how much this black-person sighting has meant to my overall educational experience."

Incidents like the one experienced by Ms. Highbottom underscore the continued need for "diverse" students on our college campuses. All too frequently, a white student will come to campus with only his "white experience" in tow. Often, this can lead to a very narrow college experience. As a remedy to this obvious problem, the Supreme Court recently ruled that sprinkling American campuses with "diverse" students represents a compelling government interest. Liberal activists point out that, particularly in the fields of science and engineering, a "black viewpoint" is vital. "How can a white student feel as though his Thermodynamics class is complete unless he has the opportunity to view it from a 'diverse' perspective?", asks Joe Jumus of leftwing think-tank Actions Divorced From Consequences. "Until we are all able to calculate complicated equations from the position of a human being who contains greater-than-average skin pigmentation, then how can we even call science 'science'?".

When asked for their opinion on being used as curiosities on campus for the enrichment of white students, several black students spoke very highly of the plan. "I think it's great", said high-pigment, diverse student Darius White. "There's nothing I like more than being employed as a patronizing means to an offensive end. I came to Michigan precisely in order to advance the cause of relieving the festering guilt of white academia. In many ways, my own educational enrichment is not even a priority of mine."

Ms. Highbottom, however, has no plans to get to know the black student she spotted. "They tend to congregate in the black dorm and hang out a lot at the Black and Latin Student Union. I figure they have about all the diversity they can handle."

2003-07-02T15:48:00.000-04:00

White Dude Elected SGA President of Black College...This story is a few months old, but I was reminded of it by the recent push by the government to humiliate black students by using them as oddities on campus and causing other students to think poorly of them. Read some of the comments which follow the article. They give a lot of insight into just how interested in "diversity" some black students are.

Here's ANOTHER ARTICLE which contains a (surprise) quote from Jesse Jackson on the topic:

"There are some cities that have a majority White population with a Black mayor," said the Rev. Jesse Jackson during a visit to Baton Rouge. "Let this be a lesson, voting matters. When we don't vote, we have no voice."

Now, I can't be sure exactly what Revvrhunnnd Jackson meant by this, but it sure doesn't strike me as a vote of confidence. If you think you can translate his remark, please do so in the comments.

2003-07-02T12:23:00.000-04:00

Black Students to Be Used as Campus Curiosities for Privileged White Students...is what any fair headline dealing with college affirmative action should say. I mean, it's true, isn't it? Valuable "diversity" must be provided for all those spoiled whities in order to enrich their education. If I was black (and I'm no longer saying I'm Not), that's certainly how I would view affirmative action. I would hate the idea of being used as pawn in some liberal guilt-relief scheme.

2003-07-02T12:13:00.000-04:00

Wanted by France and the UN: US Military Intervention in Liberia...Wow! Isn't THAT convenient? The Cato Institute:

""All those people who were ambivalent about American power now think it's great so long as it is being used for their purposes...For some, especially the European countries, it's fine for the United States to be the world's policeman so long as we only patrol in places where we have no strategic interest," he said. "It is as if our interventions are only legitimate so long as they do nothing to advance American foreign policy goals or increase our own security."

I think that's the exact right analysis. I'd like to know the explicit reason why the French or the UN didn't seem to care about the welfare of the Iraqi people. Is it just because their torture went on in private, away from all the TV cameras? Certainly it isn't because they actually thought the Iraqis were doing just fine under Hussein, is it? I'm thinking maybe it had something to do with the ol' Texas Tea. Oh, wait. Nevermind. It's the selfish US who is motivated by oil interests.

2003-07-01T12:53:00.000-04:00

The Thing I Hate Most About the Media's Portrayal... of states' budget deficits is the term "deep cuts". I hate this term because it is usually followed by how non-liberal lawmakers are threatening to "kick the crutches out from little orphan Johnny's broken leg", or how they are "pushing old ladies in wheelchairs into oncoming traffic". Yet when one wonders how theses states got into their current predicament, barely a word is spoken about the spending binges of years past. If you want to uses the term "deep cuts", then that's fine. But in two years, when the economy has gained steam and state coffers are beginning to fill back up, at least be honest with the reader. Use terms like "massive","monumental" or "back breaking" to describe the new spending proposals winding through the state capitols.

2003-06-26T12:44:00.000-04:00

Boortz On WMD's...

Now we’re waiting for Hans Blix to explain why he didn’t go digging in this man’s backyard when he had his wonderful team of U.N. inspectors in Iraq.

Seriously … this shows why the inspections were virtually useless. It also illustrates why U.S. forces haven’t turned up Saddam’s nasty weapons yet. We’ve all heard of the thousands of gallons of this and that Saddam had. You won’t read this in the New York Times, but the totality of all of the chemical and biological weapons material Saddam admitted to having would fit into one good-sized hotel swimming pool. Now … go out there and find THAT in a country the size of California.

We probably won’t find out what happened to these weapons until the people with direct knowledge of those weapons come forward. As long as Saddam is out there, or as long as they think he may be preparing for his comeback tour, most of these people are going to keep their lips zipped.

2003-06-24T12:11:00.000-04:00

Let Me Give You an Example of What Racist Affirmative Action Has Done...to harm blacks. Back during the Iraq war, I used to watch the CentComm briefings. A few days into the war, Brigadier General Vincent Brooks made his appearance as the CentComm officer giving the briefings. Now, Vince Brooks (BIOGRAPHY HERE) is an extraordinary man. He was born in Alaska, but grew up in California. At West Point, he was both Cadet Brigade Commander (basically the leader of all the cadets) AND the valedictorian of his class. His list of accomplishments is quite real and quite impressive. In other words, he was entirely deserving of the prominent role he was assigned during the war.

And you wanna know the very first thing that crossed my mind the first time I saw him give a briefing? "Oh boy...the military thinks they have to trot out the token black guy just to garner some extra support for the war". Now, as repugnant as that thought was, it was hardly irrational. The stigma which affirmative action has affixed to blacks is very, very real. And I think it's a crying shame that someone like Vincent Brooks- who rose through the ranks entirely of his own merit- had to have millions of people think that about him.

Affirmative action is a cruel and crude brush which has the effect of tarring it's "lucky recipients" with a color that is even more hurtful than their natural skin color purportedly is.

2003-06-24T11:35:00.000-04:00

I'm White, But I Want the Government to Think I'm Black...I've often encouraged my friends who were applying to business school or law school to check "black" next to race on their applications. (I plan on doing this someday, I just haven't had the opportunity yet). My thinking goes like this: One of the following scenarios will happen

A)Nobody will notice, and you will get to reap all the unfair benefits that are heaped upon the annointed minorities (Chinese, Indians and Jews do not qualify as annointed).

B)Somebody WILL notice, and you will get to take your case public, perhaps all the way to the Supreme Court. No doubt, one of the fine organizations who filed the Michigan case will step forward to take up you defense pro bono. You will be in the fun position of telling the government to "prove" that you aren't black.

Either way, you win. I would go so far as to say you should never accurately answer the government on any question dealing with race. Race should be literally no concern of theirs.

2003-06-24T11:27:00.000-04:00

Lowell Ponte Has Some Great Ideas on How to Circumvent the Racist Supreme Court Ruling...He basically argues that President Bush should make enforcing these racial policies so politically embarassing, that they will be rendered dead.

A few of his ideas:

"President Bush could order that “race,” if used as a factor in employment or admissions, must exclusively refer to a person’s “race” as officially designated by the Federal Government. In other words, if Democrats want to use “race” for preferences, then they must vote for a law requiring each citizen to carry an official “Race I.D.” card – as was done in Apartheid South Africa. We cannot authorize racial preferences and then let each person’s “race” be defined by whim or arbitrary guesswork."

or

"President Bush could order the creation of a Department of Racial Classification, with Cabinet rank, to investigate, determine and define each citizen’s official “race” for purposes of issuing government race I.D. cards. This department will establish criteria for defining race and will require citizens to submit evidence of their “race,” including documentation of family history and DNA samples. Every political advocate of racial preferences ought to be asked to co-sponsor the legislation setting up this Apartheid-like department.

Of course, this won't happen, as there is no difference between the Democrats and the Republicans.

2003-06-23T16:38:00.000-04:00

US Supreme Court Opts to Allow Government-Enforced Racism...There's really not much I can say about this. It's terrible. Any type of affirmative-action is terrible. The pro-affirmative action argument basically boils down to: "We like to have stuff. Also, we don't care about the real-world ramifications of our stuff-having". Then again, that's pretty much the liberal argument for everything.

A reader emailed in with the following:

"Justice Thomas, with whom Justice Scalia joins as to Parts I-VII, concurring in part and dissenting in part.

Frederick Douglass, speaking to a group of abolitionists almost 140 years ago, delivered a message lost on today's majority:

"[I]n regard to the colored people, there is always more that is benevolent, I perceive, than just, manifested towards us. What I ask for the negro is not benevolence, not pity, not sympathy, but simply justice. The American people have always been anxious to know what they shall do with us... . I have had but one answer from the beginning. Do nothing with us! Your doing with us has already played the mischief with us. Do nothing with us! If the apples will not remain on the tree of their own strength, if they are worm-eaten at the core, if they are early ripe and disposed to fall, let them fall! ... And if the negro cannot stand on his own legs, let him fall also. All I ask is, give him a chance to stand on his own legs! Let him alone! ... [Y]our interference is doing him positive injury." What the Black Man Wants: An Address Delivered in Boston, Massachusetts, on 26 January 1865, reprinted in 4 The Frederick Douglass Papers 59, 68 (J. Blassingame & J. McKivigan eds. 1991)."

That's goddamned right.

2003-06-21T19:14:00.000-04:00

Liberian Women Beg for US Interference...File this one under "I wonder how liberals who see America as an evil, imperialist entity can reconcile this incident with their warped world view."

A few choice quotes from the female peace protesters outside the US embassy in Liberia:

"America, America, we say come now and intervene, we are tired of being killed, raped and displaced...".

"America, Help Stop The Bloody War In Liberia...We Will Not Relent Until You Intervene, So Please Get Involved Now!!!".

Now, now, now. Girls. You know you are only inviting trouble when you ask the US to help you out. The only thing we'll do is systematically stomp you with our imperial heel. We'll ruthlessly exploit you by giving you low wage jobs that are clearly preferable to no jobs at all. We'll introduce the ugly concepts of Rule of Law and the value of human life. Are you sure you're ready to be dominated, both culturally and economically by the United States, resulting in a sharply increased standard of living for yourselves? Be sure that you are. Living comfortably in the 21st century can get quite ugly- you might, horror of horrors, not even have France on your side!

2003-06-19T11:07:00.000-04:00

What's with the Stock Market?...In the past, the libs have LOVED to correlate every move in the stock market with non-liberal politicians. So, I have to ask: Exactly why has the Dow gone up 500 points since the tax cut was passed on May 31?

2003-06-19T10:32:00.000-04:00

Ranting Rationalist Might Cash in on Unpaid Taxes...Read THIS NEWS STORY about how the House just passed a permanent repeal of the inheritance tax (death tax). Now it's on to the Senate for the inevitable shooting-down. Anyway, I really hope they pass this thing, because I haven't inherited enough wealth to have paid any death taxes. And the way I figure it, that's exactly what qualifies me to "get some money back" from this tax cut. Why should the rich get so much money back "at my expense"?

2003-06-17T19:54:00.000-04:00

Quote of the Day...

Thomas Sowell:

"When politicians talk about bringing down the cost of prescription drugs they are exploiting a widespread confusion between prices and costs. Prices are not costs. Prices are what pay for costs -- and if you don't pay those costs, you are not going to keep on getting what you want."

2003-06-13T11:49:00.000-04:00

Read This Piece From a Young Iranian...It's happening folks.

"We do not need military intervention in Iran. We do not need clandestine operations either. We need nothing but your resolve. Lend us a hand and we will take care of the rest. How, you ask? Simple: Do not deal with our mullahs."

(Hat Tip: On the Third Hand)

2003-06-12T23:54:00.000-04:00

The Only Way to Describe Bush's Effect on the Middle East is "Seismic Shift"...Just try and read this article about the student protests in Iran without getting at least a little excited. After 3 nights of violent protest, the demonstrators are only becoming more emboldened. Here is what one of them had to say:

"We want more freedom. For 25 years we have lived without any freedom. We want social freedom, economic freedom and political freedom" .

Most relevantly: The fall of the governments of Iraq and Afghanistan, although both despised by Tehran, created a certain sense of vulnerability here. The United States now has troops stationed along Iran's east and west flanks... "

That's beautifully right on. Where are all the liberal carpers now? They were at least right about one thing: the war in Iraq has made the world a much more dangerous place--for the retrograde brutalists and theocrats who once ran that part of the globe with impunity. Their days are numbered. I boldly repeat my favorite prediction: Iran WILL FALL to the secular, pro-West student movement in under 5 years. And when Iran goes, the rest will be just historic inevitability.

2003-06-11T11:09:00.000-04:00

The Real Reason for the War in Iraq...OK, I've finally had it with all of the carping about the WMD's. It's an absurd argument, and one built strictly for partisan gain. In short: The simple fact is that NO ONE doubted their existence. I could go to a lot of trouble linking to quotes from President Clinton and other Heads of State as well as many members of Congress and even the UN buffoons themselves. But I won't. It's easy for you to go do the research yourself. Anyway, the absolute burden was on Iraq to prove that they had completely destroyed the clearly existing WMD's that were stockpiled and known about throughout the world for many years. They did not. We moved to swiftly to oust the regime. End of story. Next.

Of course, the REAL reason for the crushing of Iraq was simply for the US to reassert its latent power and sovereignty. The Iraqi and Afghani wars have sent concussive shockwaves to every corner of the globe. You might not like it, but it was necessary. Of course, due to the nature of international diplomacy (which, IMHO, is absurd and infantile), the US could not simply go around knocking on doors and saying, "OK, we're about to stamp our boot down on about 50 necks around the world, but don't worry- it's just a necessary flexing of our military muscle. We know you guys will understand". So, of course we have to offer other "reasons" for war. It's not that these reasons are invalid or fallacious. Rather, they are tertiary to the broader goal.

So, carp about all the "hyped-up justifications" if you must, but at least have the gumption to admit that your only goal is to get a different president elected. Certainly you can see that our actual reasons for war can never be our most overt, stated reasons. That's just the nature of the beast.

UPDATE: Via InstaPundit, I found the following collection of WMD quotes from the most prominent carpers. Make sure to pay special attention to the one from Hillary Clinton.

2003-06-11T10:47:00.000-04:00

I'm Not an "American People"...Would somebody please tell Dick Gephardt and Tom Daschle to quit referring to the "American People"? And while you're at it, tell them to stop making wholesale assumptions about the supposed members of this group. The term is presumptuous and partrician and just outright creepy-sounding.

Sample remark from Tom Daschle regarding, say, gun control:

"We've worked hard today in Congress to limit your gun freedoms even more. The American People support this type of legislation, and it's truly sad that there has been so much obstructionism today. Just truly sad."

Let's see- the "American People" number roughly 300 million. That means that probably 150 million of them are diametrically opposed to what the Senator just said. Perhaps he should say "some American People", or even "many outliers residing on the fringe of society". Seriously, I would like it much better if these guys would start saying "the American public". It just strikes me as a much more general term, and I feel myself left out of its scope much easier.

2003-06-10T11:17:00.000-04:00

Notes on the "Working Class"...One thing that continually sticks in my craw is the use of the term "working class" in the ongoing class wars. As we all know, certain politicians (usually Democrats, but not always) have a vested interest in playing various socio-economic groups off of one another. "Working class" has just become an accepted part of the political lexicon. In fact, the liberals have been so successful in this endeavor, that I'll bet most of you use the term yourselves without even thinking twice about its implications. With that in mind, let's take a closer look...

The term "Working class" is meant to evoke images of soot-covered coal miners diligently going about their daily duties. This hearty class of men doesn't ask much in return for their unenviable labors- just an honest paycheck and a brewski at the end of the day. Or perhaps the image is of a construction worker. This forgotten member of our society builds our grandest structures in virtual anonymity. And for what? He is constantly harassed by a petty foreman hellbent on extracting more from him than the union says he has to give. The point is- this is the working class! They have crappy jobs. They work harder than you. And it's not their fault at all that they occupy this particular socio-economic stratum.

So just which part of our labor force isn't "working" these days? Why, it's all of those horrible white-collar types who do nothing but boss around the "working class". It's the middle-manager who works 55 hours a week and moves up the totem pole, only to find the tax code turn increasingly punitive. And why not? He isn't working. His family of 5 lives quite large on the $35,000 that's left over from his $50,000 salary. Hell, this guy is RICH!

Or what about the cardio-surgeon? This guy is so rich that it's obvious that HE doesn't work. So what if he puts in 16 hour days bent over an unconscious human being whose life rests in his hands? Who cares if he put himself through 10 or 12 extra years of school that the "working class" just couldn't be bothered with? Who cares if he finishes his residency with $200,000+ in student loans? This bastard isn't part of the "working class". He's RICH! And, dammit, he should have his precious income extracted at the point of a gun and redistributed to the "working class". One thing is certain- this guy certainly does not qualify as a "working" American.

You wanna generalize about the working class? OK, how's this sound...Many members of this vaunted "working class" put in the bare minimum effort. They punch in 5 minutes late and they constantly are on the lookout for ways to punch out early. And while they ARE on the clock, they don't go out of their way to do a good job. In fact, they have no pride in their work. They don't seek higher education, regardless of the fact that anybody who tries can manage to get some. They don't save money or spend frugally. No, the "working class" parades around in jewelry and overpriced sportswear. Oh, and I almost forgot. The "working class" has no concept of family planning.

Here's my nominee for the actual "working class". The working class is the subset of Americans who try hard in high school. They find a way to go to college, no matter how hard this might seem. Along the way, they work crappy, minimum-wage jobs. They squirrel away the money from these jobs. They have bank accounts which they keep track of scrupulously. Once out of college, they continue to exert maximum effort. This virtually guarantees them upward mobility. Effort, not raw intelligence, is the primary factor in their degree of success. They wait until their late 20's or early 30's to start having children. Eventually, they pay income taxes at a punitive rate, all while being scorned by liberal politicians as being "greedy" or "rich".

What's in a name? Pretty much nothing and everything all at once.

2003-06-08T18:03:00.000-04:00

The US and Its Beautiful Landmine Technology...Since you're reading Kim du Toit, you might as well check out this little screed he wrote about the follies of enacting a worldwide ban on landmines. The money quote:

..the U.S. has an incredible technological lead over all other countries in the world when it comes to landmine design. To put it bluntly, our landmines are to others as an AK-47 is to a wooden club. Not only do we have the capability, thanks to GPS technology, to locate our mines (thus making their removal simple once the need has passed), but we also have the ability to remotely render them as inert as a lead bar, if we so choose, and to reactivate them later, years later if necessary. To allow our Army to lose this weapon would be foolish, if not traitorous...

2003-06-08T17:51:00.000-04:00

Build a Wall Around Africa and Wait for Them All to Kill Themselves...is the conclusion of an essay by Kim du Toit.Go read the whole thing. He lived in Africa for 30 years, and his take is very interesting.

My father lived in East Africa for 5 years, and a good friend of mine lived in West Africa for 2 years. I would go so far as to say that my studying of maps of Africa along with my questioning-at-length of both of these parties means that I know infinitely more about "The Motherland" than the great majority of "African-Americans" who so proudly parade around in their silly garb, often expressing out loud their profound love of a place to which none of them has ever been.

It sounds dreadful to say it, but if the entire African continent dissolves into a seething maelstrom of disease, famine and brutality, that's just too damn bad. We have better things to do--sometimes, you just have to say, "Can't do anything about it."

The viciousness, the cruelty, the corruption, the duplicity, the savagery, and the incompetence is endemic to the entire continent, and is so much of an anathema to any right-thinking person that the civilized imagination simply stalls when faced with its ubiquity, and with the enormity of trying to fix it. The Western media shouldn't even bother reporting on it. All that does is arouse our feelings of horror, and the instinctive need to do something, anything--but everything has been tried before, and failed. Everything, of course, except self-reliance.

I wholeheartedly agree. Interventionism certainly does not seem to have bred any improvement in conditions.

All we should do is make sure that none of Africa gets transplanted over to the U.S., because the danger to our society is dire if it does.

That's brutally honest, but, man, is it ever true.

Even worse would be to think that the simplicity of Africa holds some kind of answers for Western society: remember "It Takes A Village"? Trust me on this: there is not one thing that Africa can give the West which hasn't been tried before and failed, not one thing that isn't a step backwards, and not one thing which is worse than, or that contradicts, what we have already.

Hear, hear! I think I'll vomit if I hear one more lefty professor try to ascribe all the successes of the Western world as somehow having flowed from the intellectual coffers of Africa.

So here's my solution for the African fiasco: a high wall around the whole continent, all the guns and bombs in the world for everyone inside, and at the end, the last one alive should do us all a favor and kill himself.

(HatTip: Judicious Assininity)

2003-06-08T17:09:00.000-04:00

More Than 13,000 Arabs and Moslems May Face Deportation...Good. I would say that approximately 100% of illegal aliens in this country should be sought out and deported. If you want to go after the most dangerous--Arabs and Moslems--first, then fine. But just make sure you get around to eventually expelling them all.

I'm more pro-immigration than perhaps the most liberal of liberals. However, I insist that it be done legally. The first lesson I want the unwashed masses learning is that the rule of law reigns supreme in their new homeland.

2003-06-08T16:57:00.000-04:00

The Matrix Revisited...In anticipation of seeing the sequel to The Matrix, I re-watched The Matrix itself. I had only seen the movie once back in 1999, and I remember being underwhelmed at the time. After seeing it again last night, I still find myself puzzled as to the movie's hyper-popularity.

Granted, the movie has a good number of innovative moments and visual delights. The main problem is that these nuggets are randomly dispersed throughout the film.

Keanu Reeves is terrible. I'm tired of entertaining the minimalist theories which argue that he is the perfect actor for the role of Neo. He is god-awful. End of story.
Lawrence Fishburne is well cast, although the air of self-importance surrounding the Morpheus character is quite off-putting.
Carrie-Anne Moss is the best-cast actor of the movie. She is sleek and physical yet still feminine.
Hugo Weaving is another good casting decision. He's fantastic to watch.

The action and special-effects are both well done and cataclysmically boring. The sequence in which Neo and Trinity enter the marble lobby and start blasting away caused my eyes to glaze over in a torpor of hyper-boredom. I'm still trying to figure out how exploding marble columns in slow motion ad nauseum could possibly hold anybody's interest. Then factor in Neo's cartwheels which are somehow suppoed to aid him in avoiding bullets, and you have a real laugher.
The reliance on martial arts for the fighting scenes renders the pugilism as also hopelessy boring. Karate sequences should be left exclusively to Jackie Chan, since he is the only director who seems able to understand how inherently funny they are.
The physical capablities for attacking opponents as well as for receiving abuse from opponents is annoyingly unclear and inconsistent.

The pseudo-philosophical questions which the movie purports to raise are shallow and trite. The fact that the "oracle" is a middle-aged black woman living in some anonymous slum is another infantile, pandering bore.

In short, this movie is 2 stars (out of 4). The pros- it's visually alluring and somewhat inventive. The cons- just about everything that happens in the second half of the movie.

2003-06-06T19:14:00.000-04:00

Frog Commander Shows True Colors...I don't think it's hit the print services yet, but I just saw on TV that the French Commander of peacekeeping forces just deployed in the Congo actually HIT a journalist. More to follow on this, no doubt, absurdly entertaining tale of frustrated non-machismo...

2003-06-05T14:11:00.000-04:00

Why Does the Media Give the Libertarian Party Such Short Shrift? Neil Boortz asserts the following facts about the organized Libertarian Party:

--Across this country there are more than 340 Libertarians serving in elected office. That is more than ALL of the third parties …COMBINED.

--On Election Day in 2002 more than 3,424,000 people cast at least one Libertarian vote.

--Libertarian candidates for the House of Representatives have earned over 1 million votes for two congressional elections in a row. The only other political parties to have accomplished this are the Republicans and Democrats.

--A Libertarian candidate for president appeared on the ballot in all 50 states for the last three presidential election. No other third party has done this twice, let alone three times.

--Several election analysts have given Libertarian voters credit for controlling the outcome of several gubernatorial and Senatorial elections in the past two years.

Now, if all of these are true, then what the hell is going on?

2003-06-05T12:07:00.000-04:00

Rush Has an Interesting Point About Bush in the Middle East...

He says this picture bushgolfcart.bmp is symbolic of the President's now-dominance over world affairs. He's in the driver's seat. He's driving these idiots around in a golf cart like he's the camp counselor and they are in 5th grade. (In all honesty, that's probably more substantively true than symbolic!)

2003-05-29T23:15:00.000-04:00

Check Out Your Government Schools in Action...From top to bottom, this has to be one of the worst articles I've read recently. It talks about the words that have been "banned" from textbooks in government schools.

First, let's start by pointing out the usual CNN bias. We find this little nugget: "Ravitch's book is taking people by surprise the same way that Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring" did in the 1960s in exposing the effects of pesticides." The reporter clearly takes for granted that Carson's book was accurate. Of course, it was not. The needless alarmism which it incited over the use of DDT probably resulted in the deaths of literally millions of 3rd world men, women and children at the hands of malaria.

Next, we find out that, "The history texts are reluctant to criticize any dictator unless they are long dead. And even then, there are exceptions like Mao (who) is praised in one text for modernizing China but his totalitarian rule is not mentioned" . Awww. Ain't that grand? And you wonder why we had so many young idiots out in the streets protesting the liberation of Iraq? It's because the true nature of totalitarianism has never even been revealed to them. It's why they carry placards that read "Bush=Hitler". Their worldview on the realities of failed economic and social tyrannies is completely stunted.

Other words not allowed include "polo", "yacht", "blind" and "bookworm"!!!!!! Isn't it amazing how horribly weak these people assume American children to be? They actually think that the kids' skin is so thin, that they can't even view the word "yacht" in one of their textbooks. I have 2 words for you, folks: HOME SCHOOLING!

2003-05-29T19:21:00.000-04:00

Via PoliBlog, I Found Some Promising Economic Data...The AP is reporting that GDP "...increased at an annual rate of 1.9 percent in the January to March quarter, a slightly better showing than the 1.6 percent growth rate estimated a month ago". First of all, I dispute the idea that that is merely "slightly better"; it's almost 20% better! The next time your boss gives you a 19% raise, tell him "it's alright, but it's still 'mediocre' ".

This 1.9% figure really underlines for me just how spoiled we have all become. We now have cause for chagrin when a multi-trillion dollar economy adds just an extra 2% to itself per year. Let's stop and think about what this really means. Stop. Look around you. Realize that right here, right now you are in the midst of the biggest, strongest, deepest and best economy the world has ever known. Literally! No matter how good you think 2000 was, we have even grown since then! And this is cause for more bellyaching? Please.

2003-05-21T12:30:00.000-04:00

I Like USA Today...I guess I'm supposed to feel guilty about that, but I don't. JEREMY LOTT writes a piece about how USA Today really IS the paper of record in this country- not the New York Times.

"The thing holding USA Today ("the nation's newspaper") back is the impression that it's too much of a lightweight to be a contender. The paper's anemic op-ed page, its celebration of television, its banker's hours (with issues only five days a week) and its distribution via McDonald's are all used to argue that, well, sure, it might sell the pants off of the competition, but it's… USA Today. A bellwether newspaper must be more robust."

I agree about the op-ed page. The weekly columnists seem to be Dewayne Wickham plus 4 or 5 black females. Sorry, but Julianne Malveaux just doesn't do much in the way of providing insight into any issue. It would be nice if they would pick up a Thomas Sowell or a David Broder sometimes.
I don't so much mind the celebration of TV, but the lack of a weekend edition is pretty annoying- particularly regarding the Sports Section. As Lott points out, USA Today's sports runs circles around the Times', but that big weekend gap sucks.

I like USA Today's reliance on statistics and figures in general. I guess that's because I've always been something of a "reference material junkie". I don't need my news in novel form, which is how the Times presents it. Every piece is so full of itself and so self-assured about the fact that the reporter is bringing to you a very special story. The implicit message is that you are a moral delinquent, wandering in the ignorant wilderness until the Times is able to tell you what new issue to care about. (This applies in particular to the foreign human interest stories).

Lastly, USA Today does bring some bias to the table, but nothing as offensive as that of the Times. The writers at USA Today seem as if they might actually be idealists, and perhaps that slips into their reporting. Over at the Times, most of the writers are so cynical, that they feel free to forego any idea of objectivity. Dammit- these ignorant masses WILL know the truth...

2003-05-21T11:57:00.000-04:00

Parsing The 2nd Amendment Is Fun AND Instructive...Via Rachel Lucas I was re-introduced to this article I had read a few years back. Basically, the author enlisted a grammar expert to analyze the minutia of the 2nd Amendment. You know- that's the one with the guns. Anyway, the expert (who is self-identified as pro-gun control), pretty much concludes that the 2nd Amendment guarantees the individual right to bear arms- end of story. Further, the Amendment DOES NOT itself establish the right. Rather, it merely presumes it as pre-existing, and then seeks to explicitly keep the government from infringing upon it.

After the basic analysis, the author proposes a similar amendment to the expert:

""A well-schooled electorate, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and read Books, shall not be infringed."

And then goes on to ask:

My questions for the usage analysis of this sentence would be,

(1) Is the grammatical structure and usage of this sentence, and the way the words modify each other, identical to the Second Amendment's sentence?; and

(2) Could this sentence be interpreted to restrict "the right of the people to keep and read Books" only to "a well-educated electorate" - for example, registered voters with a high-school diploma?

For the answers, you'll have to go read the whole thing...

2003-05-20T11:43:00.000-04:00

My Alma Mater Hosted a Racially Exclusive Party...The University of Pennsylvania (Penn, for you Brown students who might not understand) funded a "Black Senior Celebration".

University officials say these racially and ethnically themed ceremonies are a way for minority students to celebrate their cultural connections as well as their ability to overcome the special challenges they face at predominantly white universities.

Right. It's terribly specially challenging to go to college at one of the world's top universities. Don't they understand that the mere fact of their attendance proves the lack of bias against them?

Ajay T. Nair, director of the Pan-Asian American Community House and director of Asian American studies at Penn, called the separate celebrations a way to honor students who might otherwise be overlooked. Earlier this month, the house hosted a 150-guest celebration for the Asian graduates. "We are celebrating the graduation of students who have a specific interest," he said. "It probably is not realistic to expect these students to be recognized in the larger context of the university.

In other words, their scholarship wasn't up to snuff, Mr. Nair? Or are you saying that the scholarship is there, but the University is so blinded by racial hatred that it will refuse to equally recognize the black students? Which is it? I want a specific reason why these students would "otherwise be overlooked".

But some opponents of affirmative action argue that although many of the nation's colleges now have substantial minority populations, those students often operate in parallel worlds that are frequently defined by race or ethnicity. They attend the same classes, these opponents say, but they often are members of separate fraternities, sororities and cultural centers, they study in separate groups, they eat at segregated dining tables and they unwind at separate parties.

Ward Connerly, a member of the University of California Board of Regents and a leading opponent of affirmative action, called separate graduation ceremonies part of a well-intentioned but counterproductive approach to diversity. (note: Connerly is black)

"These celebrations are part of a larger context of cultural centers, black orientations, black studies, black housing," he said. "They are part of an infrastructure of programs aimed at making students feel welcome. The problem is that this whole entourage of efforts has formed to isolate students in cultural ghettos."

I couldn't agree more with Ward's analysis. When I was at Penn, I lived right across from the "black" dorm. I could never understand why or how such a thing would or could exist. The black students were clearly choosing to segregate themselves.

Penn officials say that type of diversity is indispensable to the learning environment at any world-class academic institution.

"Our mission, at its core, is to educate. And we believe that homogeneity stifles learning," said a statement on affirmative action issued by Judith Rodin, president of the University of Pennsylvania.

Um, do you mean the kind of "homogeneity" that living in black dorms and hanging out in black student unions breeds?

And one quick word about diversity: Isn't it clear that a university should seek a diversity of talents, rather than a literal diversity of skin colors? Good God, why can't these people see how blatantly condescending and racist these practices really are?

2003-05-19T10:50:00.000-04:00

Yet More Evidence That Second Hand Smoke Is Safe...Of course, we already knew this from the WHO study that was immediately hidden from public view. Why let a little thing like accurate information get in the way of an anti-business public health crusade?

2003-05-15T11:10:00.000-04:00

Many States Are Claiming a 'Budget Crisis'...One reader emailed me to say:

Increasingly, there has been commentary on the need of the federal government to bailout debt-laden states. My question to the proponents of this idea would be this......If I as a homeowner, have a neighbor that builds a coal-burning smokestack next to my house, and that smokestack produces soot and garbage that lands on my house. (A) should I be the one who pays for the cleanup (B) Should both of us share in the cleanup or (C) Should my neighbor be the one who pays for the cleanup. I think most people would answer C. Now if citizens of a state elect incompetent morons who promise the world and go out and deliver, regardless of the cost, why in hell should I or anybody else not living in that state have to help bail them out? This would be a horrible precedent.

Of course, this is dead-on accurate. But the media is portraying the whole deal as Bush's fault, set to the backdrop of his "huge" tax cut. They point out that "How can we be cutting taxes in times of these huge deficits". My answer is- you shouldn't have spent yourself into oblivion. You should have done at least a little bit of planning. But I, for one, will not accept sky-high tax rates with a smile, just because Gray Davis and his ilk never met a spending bill they didn't love.

2003-05-15T11:00:00.000-04:00

Read ESPN's Jason Whitlock's Take on the Vijay Singh/Annika Sorenstam Controversy...I think this reader email I received says it best:

This moronic black man has this idea that somehow all people of non-white origin are black. He somehow looks at Vijay's complexion and decides he's a man of color, thus forced to adhere to the liberal black doctrine. Just a cursory search would inform whitlock that Fijians are, in fact, not of African descent at all, but of Malay-Polynesian lineage or decendents of laborers indentured from India under British rule. But that doesnt matter to Whitlock. If he looks black, dammit he sure as hell better act black.

I think that's about right. And so far, I've been really happy with Tiger Woods' basic reluctance to include himself in any racial crusade. It's always amusing when guys like Whitlock get worked up into a froth because other "blacks" won't toe the company line. It seems as if Tiger realizes that race hasn't even slightly hindered him in this country. And, if anything, his race has made him more media worthy. I also find it funny that, in America, many of the race baiters want Tiger to assume the position of "blackness". Yet, whenever he plays golf in Thailand, the people there claim him as Thai.

2003-05-15T10:49:00.000-04:00

China to SARS Victims: Don't Think We're Afraid to Execute You Too...Ahhh, good ol' China! You gotta love 'em! When in doubt, execute the bastards. And worthy of hosting the Olympics? You bet! I can't think of a better backdrop for an international athletic competition. They should tell their gymnasts to be really, really careful about falling off the balance beam. That type of "intentional" dishonor could land you buried underground, face-to-face with a former political dissident.

Update: I found, via InstaPundit, this little snippet from a Michael Ledeen article:

I'm not so sure that the authorities were keeping the information from the people. It may well be that the people were keeping it from the authorities. . . .

The Chinese official put it this way: "we are having a terrible time getting people to see doctors, even for routine physical checkups. And this is because of an event that took place back in the late 1940s, following Mao's revolution. At that time, the government promised to eradicate venereal disease in China. And it did. Everyone was forced to undergo an examination by a certified doctor. And anyone with venereal disease was executed. Ever since, most Chinese stayed far away from medical doctors."

2003-05-14T13:10:00.000-04:00

Read This Essay by the Counter-Revolutionary...It's about how pathetic Europe is and how they are headed for extinction.

2003-05-14T12:56:00.000-04:00

Looks Like the Atlas Shrugged Movie Is Finally Being Made... (Hat tip: Vodka Pundit).

2003-05-14T12:49:00.000-04:00

The Illinois Hazing Incident Has Created Some New Lawsuits...Evidently, some of the supsended girls are fighting back and suing because they have been suspended or expelled. All of this seems secondary to me next to the criminal suits which are being brought. I hope that each of the defendants gets the maximum jail time/community service/ostracization that the law allows. I know that if I had a kid who turned up in these videos mercilessly kicking and punching another girl who was on the ground, I would give them a simple choice: 'Either you turn yourself into the police- or I'll do it for you'. And if there was a trial, I would do absolutely nothing to have her sentence lessened. I don't understand why parents continue to operate under the seeming premise that divorcing a kid's actions from the appropriate consequences does anybody any good.

I also saw somewhere on TV that perhaps several of the male students might have gotten in on the action and kicked some of the girls. Let's go ahead a chalk that up to about the most cowardly act one could possibly conceive: A guy literally kicking a defenseless female! I believe the old expression is "They oughta put that son of a bitch UNDER the jail".

2003-05-13T12:52:00.000-04:00

China Issues Tough Rules on Reporting Outbreaks of SARS...Well, great! If there's one thing China knows, it's issuing tough rules. And I'm sure these new tough rules will be followed down to the letter. Unless of course the tough rules break with communist party orthodoxy. Then what we might get is even more cover-up from a retrograde regime. Oh well...at least we have the WHO involved. I'm sure they'll straighten things out over there. Unless of course the bureaucratic red tape of the UN gets in the way. Or maybe a Chinese diplomat doesn't want to be embarassed by the whole thing. Either way. I'm sure it'll work itself out. Communists and internationalists have a virtually impeccable record of medical innovation and protection of human life. In fact, isn't it time that Beijing forgot about this SARS thing? Shouldn't they get back to the business of glossing over the brutal realities of their country so that they might keep liberals from feeling too guilty when the 2008 Olympics rolls around?

2003-05-13T12:43:00.000-04:00

We've Finally Had Another Terrorist Incident...in Saudi Arabia. Now, let's be sure we know the liberal drill in regards to events such as this:

--try hard to contain your glee that you have some new Bush-bashing fodder (glee doesn't play well in matters of death)
--blame Bush and the Iraq War for this incident
--point out that there's no way the US could be fighting a war in Iraq as well as a war on general terrorism simultaneously
--conveniently forget the fact that this is the biggest terrorist event in 6 months, and it happened in the Mid-East rather than here in America
--conveniently forget to point out that Clinton put the US military into 40 different countries during his tenure, but somehow Bush is to blame for the supposed grievances of the terrorists
--last but not least, trumpet the idea that only a Democratic president can repair the situation via a policy of appeasement

2003-05-13T12:34:00.000-04:00

My Thoughts on the Whites-Only Prom in Georgia...Well, first of all, I would have to say the whole thing is legal. Neither the school nor the school district sponsors the prom. However, just because it's legal, doesn't mean it's particularly palatable. That being said, I have never been to Taylor County, and I have no idea how the students actually feel about the whole thing. I graduated from an inner city high school that was at one time the "black" high school in my hometown. When I matriculated there, it was about 50/50. It wasn't really a big deal. Racial incidents seemed the exception rathe than the rule. Looking back, though, I'm absolutely convinced that the blacks in my school would not have cared even slightly if there had been some kind of "whites-only prom". Either they would not have even known about it, or they would have shrugged and said "Why would I care what those stupid white kids do?". The latter, I feel, cuts right to the heart of the matter. It's very foolish for any of us to pretend that most people aren't racist in some way. But instead of being "despicable" or " vile" or "destructive", racism in this country most often takes the form of "apathetic ubiquity"; i.e. most people DO tend to have some blanket beliefs about certain groups. But these beliefs are seldom harmful, and, in many cases, they actually provide common cause between the groups. When I was in high school, I commonly engaged in good-natured ribbing with my black friends about "your black ass does this" and "my white ass doesn't do that". It was no big deal. I knew they were black, and they knew I was white. We all knew that some cultural differences DID exist. The simple acknowledgement of that fact DID NOT turn us into racist hatemongers. Rather, our "racism" was just another cog in our everday routines. If there had been a segregated prom, the overwhelming reaction would have been indifference.

The moral of this rambling story: Racism is just a normal feature of the human condition. By enforcing PC pretend-behaviors, we make the problem seem much worse than it actually is.

UPDATE: A classmate of mine wrote to say that we did, in fact, have some sanctioned segregation at my school. I had forgotten, until he reminded me, that we had a "black court" and a "white court" for both Homecoming and another event called "May Night". Without a doubt, it was black school administrators who were in charge of such shenanigans. I don't think the old-timers liked the idea of the "black" high school becoming half white.

2003-05-08T13:29:00.000-04:00

I Was Just Thinking How I Have a Perverse Pride...in the fact that so many Americans are obese. I mean, sure, it's a health concern and all, but it so beautifully flies in the face of the entire course of human history. Our republic has become so wealthy, that one of our major health concerns is that our people are too fat! If you had predicted that to even the most optimistic pro-American person in the world only 75 years ago, they very likely would have thought you were mad.

2003-05-08T12:00:00.000-04:00

Matthew Yglesias Calls Out Instapundit...on his usual treatment of the so-called "human rights" groups. He thinks that the groups are not anti-American and do not place extra attention on America while ignoring the atrocities in the Congo and such places.

While I'm not prepared to issue an outright blanket statement about the "humans rights "groups, I did follow Amnesty International pretty closely during the recent war. With little exception, they tended to highlight (and dedicate considerably more ink to) imagined transgressions of the US while barely mentioning those of the brutal Iraqi regime. On top of that, they often seemed to take Iraqi pronouncements at face value, while on the other hand treating American statements with great suspicion.

Why does this matter? Because, evidently, a great many people in the world were unable to admit that the Baathist regime was even all that bad. Perhaps opposition to this just war wouldn't have been so vociferous if AI had continued to pound away at Iraq's crimes against humanity. When I went out to 34th and Broadway to watch the "peace protests", it was very obvious to me that the vast majority of the marchers really did not have any kind of graphic idea of the true nature of the Iraqi regime. Of course, the Bush/Blair=Hitler signs abounded. Such lunacy speaks volumes about how these left-leaning "human rights" groups have the power to devalue the term "atrocity". If these protesters have such a poor understanding of Hitler, then certainly they have next to no understanding of Saddam Hussein.

2003-05-08T11:29:00.000-04:00

A 5-Second Viewing of CNN Reaffirmed My Opinion of Their Bias...Normally, I watch either FNC, MSNBC, or a local affiliate of some sort. This morning, however, I thought to myself "Let's see if Ted and the boys (and girls) have turned over a new leaf since I stopped watching them". Well, literally within seconds of my switching over to CNN, the anchor-woman was beginning a "report" on Americans without health insurance:

"The numbers are STAGGERING- 40 million uninsured Americans..."

I immediately changed the channel, realizing that CNN has evidently not gone even one day without spouting the Democrat's talking points memo. First of all, even if the 40 million figure were true, there's clearly no need for "objective journalism" to include colorful commentary such as "staggering" (much less the breathless way in which she intoned it). In fact, the numbers are NOT staggering to me. So why was that part of the report?
Secondly, this "40 million uninsured" figure, which is currently screaming around TV and the internet, is glib at best, and perhaps just patently false. The term "uninsured" is meant to make you think that these people are going without healthcare of any kind. In reality, the majority of them receive treatment about as good as the covered masses do. The "uninsured" also include millions of young Americans who can afford coverage, but choose to forego it (I used to be in this group). It also includes Medicaid recipients who receive major coverage (including catastrophic). It ALSO includes children who are covered, but not with their "own" plans.

I'm not sure if CNN went on to give a de facto advertisement for Dick Gephardt's "plan for the uninsured", but I do know that they showed so much bias and subjectivity in one 5 SECOND stretch, that I simply could not tolerate to watch such garbage.

2003-05-07T13:02:00.000-04:00

Save the Children... has come out with their annual rankings on which countries are best in matters pertaining to women and children. Of course, the US didn't make the "top tier". Read POWERLINE'S TAKE on the whole thing. Basically, the methodology is horribly flawed. Of course, you probably assumed that, given the obvious knowledge that the US is the best country in the world for just about everything you can imagine. Here's an example of the absurd methodology:

Save the Children includes a "political status" column, measured by the percentage of seats in the national legislature held by women. This accounts for most of the difference between the U.S. and European countries like Sweden, Norway and Switzerland, which rank at the top of the index and have more women in their legislatures.

(Hat tip: Outside the Beltway)

2003-05-07T12:56:00.000-04:00

Update on the Museum Looting...

Read this short New York Times piece from April 24. The magic number in this "report" is 170,000 artifacts! Now let's do a little math here. The current report is that 38 articles are missing. I'll be really charitable and double that to 76. Hell, I'll even round it up to 80. That still puts the Times off by a factor of 2125! Now, where would you say an error that glaring deserves to be mentioned? Front page, right? Think again.

2003-05-07T12:51:00.000-04:00

Quote of the Day:

What was really amazing was the speed with which the Americans adapted themselves….They were assisted in this by their tremendous practical and material sense and by their lack of all understanding for tradition and useless theories." - Erwin Rommel, 1943. (Hat tip: Andrew Sullivan)

This quote might as well have been uttered last month, for it describes the US military of today very accurately. Word has it that the Russians were really scared by the alacrity with which the US won the Iraq war. Presumably, they continue to be bogged down by their insistence upon employing outmoded military models of failures past. Isn't it obvious why the US is number one at everything?

2003-05-06T15:33:00.000-04:00

Things Are Much Better in Baghdad Than the Media Would Have You Believe...Jonathan Foreman reports from Baghdad that the media is continually trumping up the stories of looting and general unrest. He asserts that the average Baghdadi is still "euphoric" over the American occupation. Iraqi girls continue to openly flirt with GI's. In fact, basically every doomsday thing you've been hearing about the large anti-American protests and continued "lawlesness" is contrived farce. He even dismisses the persistent rumor about the US "only sending troops to guard the oil ministry" as basically an urban legend which the press has happily passed along.

2003-05-06T15:21:00.000-04:00

This Story Is Almost Too Good to Be True...Evidently, the UN cafeteria was treated to some Iraqi-style looting on Saturday. Please, please read this story and understand why the UN is about the last body that you'd like to have in charge of anything.

2003-05-06T15:16:00.000-04:00

I Like Mansoor Ijaz's Ideas for Rebuilding Iraq...I particularly like his idea to have American "sister" cities sponsor cities and towns in Iraq.

2003-05-06T11:07:00.000-04:00

The Election Is Only 18 Months Away..., and many on the left have already started to trot out their grievances from the 2000 election. In the past few weeks, I've read many times of the "selected-not-elected" president and how the Supreme Court "elected" Bush in a flare-up of pure political partisanship. (Of course, we know this to be false, since the relevant ruling was a 7-2 decision, not 5-4. We also know that EVERY SINGLE RECOUNT that has been commissioned shows Bush to have been the rightful winner.) Anyway, my intention is not to re-invigorate this tired non-issue.

On Friday, the detestable McCain-Feingold Campaign Finance Reform bill was gutted somewhat by a 3-judge panel. Actually, it remains way too intact for my liking, but it looks like the Supreme Court is likely to uphold this particular ruling. Of the 3 judges on the panel, guess which way the Clinton-appointed one voted; She voted to uphold the law. Seems pretty partisan to me. She doesn't like the money-raising disparity between the parties, so she tries to exercise her clout to even it out via the judiciary.

2003-05-06T10:35:00.000-04:00

38 Whole Items Were Stolen from the Iraqi National Museum...Not 150,000, as was widely reported. Or even 10,000. 38 LOUSY ITEMS! This shows why it always helps to be skeptical of the press, particularly in times of war. Sadly, many commentators- among them lots of bloggers- were all too happy to accept this suspicious story at face value. I think all of those people should apologize to the military planners and to President Bush, particularly in light of the fact that the thefts seem to have been the result of an organized, inside job. There was no negligence. The US didn't just "stand by" and allow the "world's treasures" to be carried off. The Left just lost another contrived justification to carp about why the war was a "failure". (Although, I do find it funny that they seem to manifest more concern for inanimate objects than for the people who suffered under the brutal tyranny of Hussein for 30 years).

2003-05-02T12:38:00.000-04:00

File This One Under "What the F--k"?!...It's about Cuba. Go read it and be amazed.

2003-05-02T12:24:00.000-04:00

Read the Full Text of Bush's Carrier Speech...It is one for the ages. It's amazing how a man of such supposed mental deficiency and capitalistic evil can continue to rout his political opponents with one brilliant move after the next. This aircraft-carrier landing sends precisely the right message to the entire world: We DO in fact have a cowboy in office...and he ain't afraid of anything! I can just imagine the entire Middle East quaking in their sandals. As I've said before, the only thing that retrograde cultures understand is cold, hard steel pressed at the back of their necks. Weakness just does not play effectively with people who view violent force against civilians as entirely acceptable. I really shiver to think where we would be today if Al Gore were president.

Check out VODKA PUNDIT'S musings on the same topic. Also JOHN PODHORETZ (hat tip: OTB)

2003-05-02T12:12:00.000-04:00

Can a Policy of US Pre-emptive War Be Creating a Domino Effect of Peace?...Looks like India and Pakistan are coming to the negotiating table, finally. What with Syria acquiescing, North Korea softening, and this STATE DEPARTMENT STUDY showing us at the lowest levels of terrorism in 33 years, one is compelled to wonder outloud if Bush's war-like policies are having a profoundly peaceful effect on the entire world.

2003-05-02T11:42:00.000-04:00

Even More Musings on the Santorum/Homosexuality Issue...In the same piece at FRINGEBLOG, Jeremiah seems to effectively open huge ruptures in the orthodoxy of the homosexual PC movement. Specifically, he calls into question the idea of homosexuality being just as "normal" as heterosexuality:

Advocates for homosexual marriages and the striking down of sodomy laws point out that homosexuals can have just as meaningful and longlasting relationships as heterosexuals. The sad fact is that this is just not so. A Kinsey Institute study found that over 78% of male homosexual relationships (entered with the intention of commitment) ended within three years. Only 12% lasted five years or longer. Heterosexual relationships have a much higher percentage of actual success in staying together, however that was not a study conducted at the same time.

It is no secret that degenerative sex has consequences for the physical body. Venereal diseases, though by no means limited to the homosexual population, are most prevalent in those populations. 70% of those who have contracted AIDS are either homosexual or bisexual. In a survey reported in the official publication of the American Public Health Association, 78% of the gay respondents reported that they had been affected by a sexually transmitted disease at least one time. Anal sex can, over time, render tissues in the rectal area unusable and damaged, causing incontinence, bleeding, and other medical problems. From a medical standpoint, homosexual sexual activity alone is highly destructive.

Claims to the effect that society's harsh condemnation of homosexual lifestyle is responsible for the problems facing the gay community seem out of step with the facts. Places where homosexuality is most accepted (San Francisco, New York, West Hollywood) demonstrate increased disease ratios and health risks, not decreased. San Fransisco had (as of a few years ago) a VD rate 22 times as much as the national average."

Although he doesn't specifically say so, it would seem as if he were setting up the idea that homosexual sodomy laws are aimed at a very real public health problem. If JAMES MILLER can argue to ANDREW SULLIVAN'S approval that "incest creates socially destructive externalities", then certainly it can be argued that communicable disease is one of the worst externalities which any behavior can create.

2003-05-02T11:30:00.000-04:00

More Musings on the Santorum/Homosexuality Issue...For starters, go read Jeremiah's piece on the topic over at FRINGEBLOG. His take is intellectual and decidedly un-PC. He points out that, in Virginia, heterosexual sodomy is illegal to this day. Aren't we outraged? Why should this be? Well, it would seem- especially to those liberals who are such advocates of regulation and intervention- that it should come to them as no surprise that "Marriage, whether heterosexual or not, is still under state regulation when it comes to the kind of intercourse couples can have". This again begs my eternal question of why anyone would EVER want to have the government involved in their own, private, sexual, marital relationships. I mean, a couple pays a literal licensing fee to a state entity, and then wonders why that state would seek to meddle in their affairs.

Let's focus in on the licensing issue. What is a couple actually saying when they seek licensure from the state? To me, it's something like this:

"Well, we've fallen in love and decided to get married and have children together. Of course this means we are mental and emotional soulmates. We intend to share a sexual bed together. Our lives will be each other's. Clearly, the next logical step is for us to seek out the appropriate bureaucratic arm of our local and/or state government so that we might pay them for the privilege of "legally" entering into our marriage. Of course, by doing so, we are knowingly binding ourselves to various archaic laws and concepts of which we have virtually no control. Furthermore, should our bliss ever come to an unhappy end, the state will step in and force us to accept parting terms which might be unpalatable to one or both parties."

And homosexuals are angry that they have been excluded from this wonderful sacrament of government? Furthermore, in Virginia, NO married couple should be upset at the retrograde "missionary only" law of that state. After all, it was they who sought out the marriage license. Don't people who sign such documents exert any effort at finding out exactly what kind of arrangement to which they are agreeing? To me, the clear solution would seem to be never allowing the government into these affairs from the get-go.

2003-05-01T21:04:00.000-04:00

Capitalism Is Humanity’s Most Benign Creation...A brilliant essay by Anatole Kaletsky.

2003-05-01T13:10:00.000-04:00

Gephardt Milks His Father’s Union Job...When you're angling for the union vote, why let a little thing like truth get in your way?

(speaking of his father)...“He was a Teamster,” Gephardt said in a speech last January to kick off his campaign in Iowa. “He told me every time … we were at the dinner table that we had food on the table and clothes on our back because he was represented by a union that could bargain and get him fair wages for his work.”

...but now this juicy little tidbit...

But according to Gephardt’s brother, Don, their father hated driving a milk truck. “My father was in the Teamsters, but that’s because he had to be to get the job,” he told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

“I don’t recall him talking much about the union, how great it was. He prided himself on being a Republican. He hated Harry Truman. He had the feeling you had to make it on your own, that any kind of welfare program would just raise taxes.”

These campaign lies are all just harmless though, right? Gephardt's major campaign platform is socializing medicine. I don't see how THAT could have too detrimental effect on the economy.

2003-05-01T13:04:00.000-04:00

Ohhhh...Kerry Was Just "Quipping"...when he called for a "regime change" in Washington.

Here's my boilerplate for how liberals, both politicians (Kerry) and idiot celebrities (Dixie Chicks), try to squirm out of comments which the public finds outrageous:

1)Make a cowardly and provocative remark in front of a friendly crowd of fellow-travelers.
2)Act simultaneously surprised and defiant over the hubbub that has been created by their "off-the-cuff" remarks.
3)Assert over-and-over again the obvious 1st Amendment right to free speech (which has not even been vaguely threatened)
4)Issue some sort of quasi-apology. (Usually this entails describing how 'perhaps the language was a bit coarse, but the meaning was right')
5)Continue to be publicly amazed that regular Americans aren't buying you backtracking.
6)Issue a stronger apology and start trying to look like you didn't really mean what you said.
7)Do a high profile interview and try to garner cheap support by either crying (Dixie Chicks) or invoking your military service for the umpteenth time (Kerry).
8)Declare that you were "just kidding" and that it's time to get back to the serious issues of the day.

2003-04-30T13:57:00.000-04:00

U.S. Fumes Over Cuba's Seat on U.N. Rights Panel...What else can you say about the UN? It seems absurd to even have to continue to point out such farces. But go read some of the liberal blogs. You will find many spirited defenses of the UN.

Just to sum up for you:

The United States was on the commission from 1947-2001, at which time it was voted out. In other words, the greatest protector of human rights the world has EVER known was voted off the commission by a collection of dictators and rogue states.

LIBYA(!) is the actual chair of the commission.

Although the US is back on for 2003, Fidel Castro's Cuba(!) has been given a seat on the same panel.

CLICK HERE to see a list of member states. I'll make it easy for you and list some of the notables: Algeria, Cuba, Congo, Libya, Sierra Leone and Syria.

It's a real "who's who" of "death-by-machete" states.

2003-04-30T13:47:00.000-04:00

Warmongering Illustrated Is Right On about the ICC...Evidently, a Belgian lawyer wants to sue General Tommy Franks as a war criminal. It's a real wonder that Bush opted to leave the US out of this monkey court.

2003-04-30T13:43:00.000-04:00

Music Industry Sends Warning to Song Swappers...Evidently the RIAA IM'ed around 200,000 intellectual capital-stealers and informed them of the illegality of their actions. Some lawsuits against individual offenders have ALREADY BEGUN. It's about time. I hope they go on to file thousands of other lawsuits. I would like to see huge fines and long prison terms given out to some of these cocky grand-larceners.

"File sharing", as the stealing is often called, is quite possibly the all-time activity which the offenders will seek to justify, no-matter how backwards their logic. All the pro-stealing arguments boil down to this one basic tenet: "...but I LIKE to get music for free".

But the most dangerous argument is the: "...but Metallica/Bill Gates already has more money than they could ever spend. It doesn't hurt them. Therefore, I can do it". That argument asks you to accept the premise that wealthy Americans are no longer entitled to protection under US law. By virtue of their having ascended to the heights of dizzying success, we are now, as citizens, entitled to pillage their property and convert them into 2nd-class underlings. The fact that so many "law-abiding" Americans seem to accept this argument is what scares me the most.

2003-04-30T13:23:00.000-04:00

Rick Santorum and All of His Followers and Most of His Opponents Are Wrong...Santorum is obviously scary because he seeks to codify the laws of the Catholic Church by way of his position in the Senate. He actually actively supports the idea that private sexual acts between consenting adults is criminal and punishable by jail time.

Then there are the gay groups that intend to be gay Republicans. They like to assert that Santorum is wrong because he likened homosexuality to incest (and other sex crimes), even though it is still logically OK to criminalize these "other" sex crimes. James D Miller argues just that. He purports to show that incest bears certain "externalities" which harm society in a way that homosexuality does not:

"...incest creates informational externalities. Family members are often affectionate with each other. It would be horrible if such affection were suppressed for fear that it would be interpreted as incestuous. In a world in which incest is taboo and rare most people won't interpret a hug from a relative as a sign of sexual interest. Consequently, whenever incest occurs it creates an informational externality that makes it more rational for relatives to misinterpret non-sexual affection for amorous advances. Incest between consenting adults therefore harms society and consequently is not just a private affair."

I must confess, I just do not follow his logic here. If one family has several members engaged in incest, then somehow that will negatively extend to all of society? Someone please help me out here. His thought process, to me, seems tortured and wishful. Almost as if he decided ahead of time what his opinion was, and then wrote the article to conform to that value-system.

"Homosexuality can also create informational externalities, but these externalities are unavoidable and so do not provide a justification for criminalizing gay sex. Many straight men fear being thought of as gay. One could argue that these men are harmed by the existence of homosexuality, which makes it possible for others to rationally misinterpret their sexual orientation. Criminalizing gay sex, however, would not reduce the number of homosexuals and would thus not decrease the probability of someone thinking any given heterosexual man was gay. In contrast, criminalizing incest would reduce the amount of incest and so would decrease the probability that someone would misinterpret a friendly kiss from a cousin."

Here, I think I should get one of my extremely un-PC observations out of the way: not ALL homosexuals are genetically so. I'm willing to accept that many of them have been shown to be by research. However, I personally know several people who thought it would be "fun" or "alternative" to experiment with homosexuality and, in fact, live the lifestyle. Just because some religious nuts like to assert that it's all choice, let's not make the same mistake on the other side and give all homosexuals a free "genetic" pass. Thus, there IS the distinct possibility that criminalizing gay sex WOULD reduce the number of homosexuals.

Having said all of that, I just don't see why the government should be involved at all- in ANY relationships. I still cannot understand why a young couple in-love would seek the final authority of the state to make their relationship complete. I have long advocated the position of only getting married "by law" if it enhances your tax status. Otherwise, why would I want a detested bureaucracy to have ANY SAY AT ALL in my affairs of love? All the gays that carp so much for "same-sex" marriages should be actually pushing for government to get out of the marriage business altogether.

2003-04-26T00:44:00.000-04:00

Due to a death in the family, I'll be out of town and not blogging for the next few days. Cheers.

2003-04-25T13:18:00.000-04:00

An Interesting, Firsthand Account of the Invasion and Occupation of Baghdad...(Hat Tip: Josh Marshall)

2003-04-25T13:15:00.000-04:00

I Hope This Plan Works...I had heard various reports of this in the past year. I had assumed it was more-or-less an urban legend until now. It's a bold idea at the very least.

2003-04-25T13:13:00.000-04:00

Ah, Wretched Africa. I Can't Help But Smile at Your Monkeyshines...The Dark Continent: First it gave us Kofi Annan as the "leader" of the world. Now it gives us the wonderful healing glories of self-imbibed urine. All life began here, folks- then it immediately got a one-way ticket the hell out.

2003-04-25T13:06:00.000-04:00

Speaking of the Fox News Channel...I nearly wet myself laughing last night when I saw their new "fair and balanced" ad campaign. The ad goes something like this (I'm doing this from memory- it's EXTREMELY paraphrased; if someone has the text, please post it in the comments):

The Constitution provides for a free press...
We at FNC take that idea very seriously...
We don't think "free" should mean being the LAPDOG for a dictator...
Or being openly against American military success...

We report...you decide.

Lapdog! Priceless.

2003-04-25T13:03:00.000-04:00

Add This to the LIst of Questionable Non-Disclosures...The AP reporter who added the word "gay" to Santorum's still-idiotic remarks, is married to the campaign manager for John Kerry's presidential run. While Santorum is a closet big-government guy with several dangerous ideas, it's very clear that the tie-in with Kerry should have been disclosed in the spirit of exposing possible conflicts-of-interest. Notice how all we hear about is how the evil Republicans are always making back-room deals with their equally evil cronies. It's one big conspiracy of scratched-backs and covered-up conflicts of interest. Further notice how the ACTUAL conflicts of interest are almost always reserved for the Left. (I've already catalogued several of them HERE). As the article notes, none of the major news outlets outside of FNC saw fit to make mention of this.

2003-04-25T12:54:00.000-04:00

Lay Off Chelabi, Says Christopher Hitchens...Chelabi continues to be criticized for having not been "in country" in Iraq since the late 50's. Hitch rightly points out that the Dalai Lama, likewise, hasn't been in Tibet since the 50's. And Arafat was away from Gaza for more than 20 years. Yet you don't hear the "Free Tibet" or pro-Palestinian crowds grousing about this as they do about Chelabi. The Left is simply and utterly determined to find something to criticize no matter what the evidence.

2003-04-25T12:47:00.000-04:00

An Interesting Piece from Michael Kinsley about Traffic Jams...For those of you who don't know, I am fully in favor of privatizing virtually all roads. London seems to be trying something in between with this $8 fee to drive into the city. (Hat Tip: Outside the Beltway)

2003-04-25T00:36:00.000-04:00

My Last Word on the Dixie Chicks...I watched their hour-long self-pity fest tonight on PrimeTime Live. The entire broadcast was largely devoid of substance. (Diane Sawyer has to be about the most pretentious, unctuous interviewer on TV today, but that's another story). I think that people should stop attacking the Dixie Chicks as a group, per se, and only focus their criticism on Maines. And even now, the criticizers should start trying to get on with their lives and realize that celebrities say and do stupid things. Having said that, however, it really seems as if Maines doesn't understand why people got so mad at her. My feeling is that she's either stupid or she is just being intentionally facile.

The overriding point still remains: it is EXTREMELY obvious that she would never have made such a remark to, say, a rowdy crowd of Texans. Thus, her little diatribe can only be seen as pandering, self-serving and childish. All of these celebrities and protesters who constantly invoke the 1st Amendment as if it were all but dead don't seem to understand that there is nothing brave about publicly chastising American leaders. Number one- it's legal. And Number two- not only is it legal, but MY tax dollars will be spent on police protection to bend over backwards to accomodate the speech no matter how outrageous. I urge Maines to go to the Sudan or perhaps China and try speaking against the government.

Maines DOES seem to have found a tricky little device to distort the facts in her favor, though. She continues to say things to the effect of "I won't apologize for being angry before the war and it's my American right to speak my mind. People should not try to silence me..blahblahblah". By doing this, she is trying to take attention away from the fact that it was the CONTENT of her speech to which people objected so. I have yet to hear anyone credible or with any power assert that she had no right to say what she said. In fact, she herself mentioned that the reason for her "unplanned" outburst was because she had just gotten so darned fed up with President Bush's remarks about the protesters and his lack of compassion. Notice how SHE was allowed to be angry at HIS remarks and consequently react publicly to them. God forbid regular Americans would be entitled to do the same.

So, it's time to relegate this little vignette to the ashbin of history. We all learned that celebrities aren't inherently intelligent. We also learned that SOME asinine Americans take things so far as to burn CD's when they hear words with which they disagree. But mainly we learned that the 1st Amendment is fully intact and that incidents such as this will only be bumps in the road for the careers of the rich and famous. It's all good.

2003-04-24T16:18:00.000-04:00

I Would Be Fully On Board with These Human Rights Groups...if they weren't so horribly lacking in credibility.

2003-04-24T12:53:00.000-04:00

A Huge Protest Rally in Iran...is scheduled for July 9th. (Hat tip: Oxblog). Check out the OFFICIAL SITE of the student movement for democracy in Iran.

I've mentioned before that of Iran's population of 70 million, a full 70 percent are age 30 or younger. And many of them are students who are not only pro-West, but explicity pro-America! Another important fact is that Iran is not an Arab state. A revolutionary movement there doesn't feel the (false) heat of Arab nationalism. You should also realize that this base of young Iranians is happy that Bush included them in the Axis of Evil. To them, it meant that the might of the US was beginning to be focussed on bringing peace and democracy to Iran.

My bold predictions:

--The blistering success in the US's Iraq campaign will REALLY embolden the Iranian revolutionaries.
--Bush's "Axis of Evil" remark in his 2002 State of the Union Address will go down in history as the kick-starter of the re-shaping of the Middle East.
--Iran WILL fall to the young secularists by 2008.
--The collapse of the tyrannical, Islamicist regime will be helped along by limited US military involvement (Special Ops and the like).

Instead of getting bogged down wringing your hands about the fact that electricity hasn't been fully restored in Baghdad yet, you should take a step back and look at the historic sea-change taking place in the Middle East. You have a front-row seat. Soak it all in.

2003-04-24T12:21:00.000-04:00

The Onion on Steroids...is how I would describe this piece from The Raving Atheist. (Warning: Not for the faint of heart). I'm glad someone has the guts to call out these religious nuts who like to attach symbolic, yet substantive, meaning to ANYTHING at all. For instance, remember how at Ground Zero they "miraculously" uncovered some I-beams from the wreckage that kind of looked like a cross? Hmm. Let's see. We had 2 ENORMOUS buildings collapse. The basic rule of their construction was one of perpendicularity. Beams were welded together at right angles literally hundreds of thousands of times throughout the structure of the towers! Yet, it still "meant" something that a couple of mangled beams turned up still wed together in blissful right-angularity.

2003-04-23T17:19:00.000-04:00

Husband of Democrat Senator Dianne Feinstein to Profiteer off of Dead American Soldiers...Well, at least the headline would look something like that if the media were biased against liberals instead of in favor of them. Personally, I don't see any problem here. These contracts have to go out to somebody. This firm seems very able- just as Halliburton and Bechtel seem able enough at the tasks for which they were hired. I really had to dig to find this one out, though. Conversely, the Halliburton story seemed to be veritably bursting to be written by our corps of watchdog media elites.

Oh, and let's not forget that Tom Daschle's wife, Linda, is one of the head lobbyists for the airline industry. You might remember them from such federal handout requests as "last-year's bailout" or "this-year's loan guarantees". Hey, Tom- where's your recusal, buddy?

2003-04-23T15:54:00.000-04:00

Want to Know What Would Have Made SARS Less of a Threat?...The answer is: more capitalism in China. Were we not dealing with such an absurd, backwards police state in which public policy tends to be greatly affected by retrograde notions of "honor", then perhaps SARS could have been stopped in it's tracks. Instead, we had a puzzling cover-up of the true data. I'm still trying to figure out what, exactly, the communists thought they were accomplishing by not being truthful. My first theory was that they welcomed SARS as a powerful new agent of population control. Since their current policies are brutal and barbaric, I figured, why not just allow some new disease to kill off half the peasant population? However, I don't think this is the case. The sad fact is, communism subverts and destroys minds to such a degree, that I suspect some of these guys don't even know themselves why they do what they do.

Imagine if SARS had broken out in the US. It would have been immediately public, and our best and brightest minds would have set right to work figuring out what to do. As things stand now, it looks like SARS could really negatively impact the global economy.

Having said all of that, SARS scares me personally about as much as West Nile. Namely, zero. It seems as if healthy adults are almost certain to get over it.

2003-04-22T23:59:00.000-04:00

Kofi Annan Elected to the Enron Board?...If you read this investigative piece from the New York Times, you certainly might come away with the conclusion that he's qualified. I really urge anyone and everyone to think hard about the UN and it's place in the future of our world. Do you really want a circus comprised largely of despots with a strictly and openly anti-American mindset to have ANY say at all in matters of your national security and economic best interests?