Left-wing irrelevance

— The Chomskian Left is fast making itself irrelevant by irrationally opposing the war, which will make the project of hard-core religious conservatives like John Ashcroft so much easier in the future. Sharp self-criticism by Michael Berube, Nation and Narration, in Context. So, faced with an enemy as incomprehensible and as implacable as bin Laden, … Continue reading “Left-wing irrelevance”

— The Chomskian Left is fast making itself irrelevant by irrationally opposing the war, which will make the project of hard-core religious conservatives like John Ashcroft so much easier in the future. Sharp self-criticism by Michael Berube, Nation and Narration, in Context.

So, faced with an enemy as incomprehensible and as implacable as bin Laden, much of the left checked the man’s policy positions on women, homosexuality, secularism, and facial hair, and slowly backed out of the room. They didn’t move right, as so many Chomskian leftists have charged; they simply decided that the September 11 attacks were the work of religious fanatics who had no conceivable point of contact with anything identifiable as a left project save for a human-rights complaint about the sanctions against Iraq. As Marx himself observed, there are a number of social systems more oppressive than that of capitalism. Al Qaeda and the Taliban are good cases in point.

Those leftists who support the war are just a little too gleefully going after their rivals, it seems.

Welfare reform

— Blogger Eve Tushnet (sounds like a porn site, doesn’t it?) writes sagely on welfare reform for her day job: National Catholic Register — Eloise Anderson, director of the Program for the American Family at the Claremont Institute, former food-stamp recipient, and former welfare administrator in Wisconsin and California, noted that many people on welfare … Continue reading “Welfare reform”

— Blogger Eve Tushnet (sounds like a porn site, doesn’t it?) writes sagely on welfare reform for her day job:

National Catholic Register —
Eloise Anderson, director of the Program for the American Family at the Claremont Institute, former food-stamp recipient, and former welfare administrator in Wisconsin and California, noted that many people on welfare have a complex set of problems that existing programs are not equipped to handle. Such people, she said, belong in “child protection or mental health or alcohol and drug programs,” not in a welfare office.


Like many observers, Anderson believes the 1996 reforms focused on mothers but not neglected fathers. “There’s a whole slew of programs that are designed to help the custodial parent go to work,” she said. “Those same programs should go the non-custodial parents.”

The next phase of welfare reform will focus on undoing the damage to family structure the system has done for the past three generations, which means we’re just getting started. Link courtesy Ben the Mug Man.

Big Media maven snaps

— In yet another article on blogging, Brendan Nyhan reports that a WaPo reporter is trying to get her critics fired: But after suffering through increasingly harsh criticism of her coverage of Clinton, Schmidt apparently snapped after receiving the emails, as MWO first reported (the story was then picked up by Jason Cherkis in the … Continue reading “Big Media maven snaps”

— In yet another article on blogging, Brendan Nyhan reports that a WaPo reporter is trying to get her critics fired:

But after suffering through increasingly harsh criticism of her coverage of Clinton, Schmidt apparently snapped after receiving the emails, as MWO first reported (the story was then picked up by Jason Cherkis in the Washington City Paper).
According to both Rentschler and the associate, she researched the domain names the emails were sent from and forwarded their emails to their employers.

You know you’re getting to them when they resort to this kind of behavior, which can be very effective with some employers.

Lessons of Suicide Bombers

— Miranda Devine says female suicide bombers tell the truth about the gentle sex: The ugly truth about women, that was for so long hidden behind a saccharine-sweet facade of Queen Mother-style femininity, is that we have always been aggressive and competitive. It’s just that we used to have subtler outlets. Like each other. Suicide … Continue reading “Lessons of Suicide Bombers”

— Miranda Devine says female suicide bombers tell the truth about the gentle sex:

The ugly truth about women, that was for so long hidden behind a saccharine-sweet facade of Queen Mother-style femininity, is that we have always been aggressive and competitive. It’s just that we used to have subtler outlets. Like each other.

Suicide bomber Ayat al-Akhras’ last words were a cut at the men in the Arab armies who slept while she had to do the dirty work.

Cooler heads must prevail

— Please read PejmanPundit on President Bush’s statement Thursday on the Middle East peace process: Nonetheless, fellow bloggers and gentle readers, with all due respect and in all seriousness, I tell you this: you all have to calm down just a little bit. It’s a tricky thing to ride the Mid-East pony, but Pejman believes … Continue reading “Cooler heads must prevail”

— Please read PejmanPundit on President Bush’s statement Thursday on the Middle East peace process:

Nonetheless, fellow bloggers and gentle readers, with all due respect and in all seriousness, I tell you this: you all have to calm down just a little bit.

It’s a tricky thing to ride the Mid-East pony, but Pejman believes the President has struck the proper balance.

Reparations scam II

— Following-up on yesterday’s item on the reparations shakedown, check Kathryn Jean Lopez on Slavery on National Review: “Once the record is fleshed out and made fully available to the American people, I think companies will feel some obligation” to settle, Randall Robinson has told USA Today. So long as the reparations activists can build … Continue reading “Reparations scam II”

— Following-up on yesterday’s item on the reparations shakedown, check Kathryn Jean Lopez on Slavery on National Review:

“Once the record is fleshed out and made fully available to the American people, I think companies will feel some obligation” to settle, Randall Robinson has told USA Today. So long as the reparations activists can build up enough public pressure, we can expect companies to eventually buckle and reach for their wallets.

and Megan McArdle at Live from the WTC:

Bankrupting companies with class action suits, 100 years later, for something that was legal at the time — yessirree, that’s a recipe for economic success.

The emerging consensus is that this is a meritless legal action aimed at embarassing companies into paying Jesse Jackson-style shakedowns to civil rights groups with no legitimate mandate. The disturbing thing is that most blacks favor cash reparations, according to a poll cited by Lopez. Robinson, et. al., are apparently hoping to slide settlements beneath the radar while the nation is focused on the war and the economy is weak.

The stonger case for reparations is for Jim Crow rather than slavery, since Jim Crow victims are still alive. So the slavery salvo is phase one of the scam that the scam artists hope will gain strength in the second, Jim Crow phase.

Finally catching on

— The Mercury News reports that schools are getting their feet a little damp in mobile computing: Across the nation, schools are taking the radical step of putting portable technology into the hands of children. After years of debate over the use of computers in schools, educators say the new mobility finally will make technology … Continue reading “Finally catching on”

— The Mercury News reports that schools are getting their feet a little damp in mobile computing:

Across the nation, schools are taking the radical step of putting portable technology into the hands of children. After years of debate over the use of computers in schools, educators say the new mobility finally will make technology a classroom tool as ordinary as textbooks and paper.

Right, dudes, schools were the main application areas we had in mind when we invented the wireless MAC protocol for the Photonics IR LAN back in the early 90s. Not that we were all that brilliant, since we stole the idea from Alan Kay’s dynabook.

Friedman Peace Plan II

— Tom Friedman’s latest peace plan for the Middle East, The Hard Truth, strikes me as sensible enough. He correctly observes that the continued Israeli occupation of the West Bank – replete with settlements – is inflammatory, while turning the territories over to a terrorist like Arafat is a recipe for disaster, so a third … Continue reading “Friedman Peace Plan II”

— Tom Friedman’s latest peace plan for the Middle East, The Hard Truth, strikes me as sensible enough. He correctly observes that the continued Israeli occupation of the West Bank – replete with settlements – is inflammatory, while turning the territories over to a terrorist like Arafat is a recipe for disaster, so a third party has to take control while the Israelis make an orderly withdrawal:

Either leaders of good will get together and acknowledge that Israel can’t stay in the territories but can’t just pick up and leave, without a U.S.-NATO force helping Palestinians oversee their state, or Osama wins — and the war of civilizations will be coming to a theater near you.

I don’t see what’s not to agree with here. The current Israeli leadership, Sharon, and Arafat have a long history of animosity toward each other going back at least to the Lebanon incursion, and that doesn’t help things.

For another point of view, see VodkaPundit, who argues that the Israeli presence in the Territories is irrelevant to Arab hostility toward Israeli. While that’s technically true, the occupation (and especially the settlements) help stoke the fires of hatred. I never have understood why Israel doesn’t install a puppet government over the territories composed of pro-Israel Arabs; maybe because there aren’t any.

Vote

— If you agree that Emmanuelle Richard has the Froggiest Blog, you should go to .:: BLOGGUEUR ::. Qui aura le meilleur blog? Vous?, click on [VOTER] in the first category (Meilleur Blog,) and then select “Naughty Bytes“. Voting is a sacred duty, and she’s Matt Welch’s old lady and the world’s most famous Emmanuelle.

— If you agree that Emmanuelle Richard has the Froggiest Blog, you should go to .:: BLOGGUEUR ::. Qui aura le meilleur blog? Vous?, click on [VOTER] in the first category (Meilleur Blog,) and then select “Naughty Bytes“. Voting is a sacred duty, and she’s Matt Welch’s old lady and the world’s most famous Emmanuelle.

Borg Journalism

— Fairly honest assessment of journalistic fear and loathing: Borg Journalism – We are the Blogs. Journalism will be Assimilated: Weblogs scoop you at every turn, breaking “your” stories before you have a chance to rush your article to press. And even if you do manage to break a story, weblogs take it over, dissecting … Continue reading “Borg Journalism”

— Fairly honest assessment of journalistic fear and loathing:

Borg Journalism – We are the Blogs. Journalism will be Assimilated:
Weblogs scoop you at every turn, breaking “your” stories before you have a chance to rush your article to press. And even if you do manage to break a story, weblogs take it over, dissecting every point you made and pushing your logic to every inevitable conclusion. Forget that follow-up you had planned – ‘blogs have already anticipated and published every point you might have made.
Welcome to the world of Borg Journalism. Resistance is futile: journalism is being assimilated.

At least this journalist knows what he’s talking about.