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December 31, 2005

Who's Who of 2005

Here's a comprehensive list from Google of the top searches of 2005:

1. Janet Jackson
   
2. Hurricane Katrina
   
3. tsunami
   
4. xbox 360
   
5. Brad Pitt
   
6. Michael Jackson
   
7. American Idol
   
8. Britney Spears
   
9. Angelina Jolie
   
10. Harry Potter

According to Lycos, which nobody actually uses, these were the top searches of 2005, with their rank from the previous year in parentheses.

Posted by Joshua Claybourn at 12:45 AM | Comments (1)

Gay jail closing

A special pre-trial dormitory for gay and transgender prisoners on Rikers Island, New York, is set to close, according to the Associated Press. Corrections department plans call for a new protective custody system that would be available to prisoners who feel threatened, regardless of their sexual orientation. Some critics of the move say the new housing would likely be more restrictive. Transgender activist Mariah Lopez, who has been imprisoned for prostitution in both the gay unit and regular custody, said, "I can't conceive a Rikers Island without gay housing."

Posted by Joshua Claybourn at 12:35 AM | Comments (5)

Barry's gone for good

According to an Editor & Publisher interview, Dave Barry's hiatus from his Miami Herald humor column has become a permanent retirement.

Posted by Joshua Claybourn at 12:21 AM | Comments (3)

Bush = Nixon?

The ACLU recently purchased a full page ad in the New York Times comparing President Bush to Richard Nixon and calling for a congressional investigation into the NSA wiretap program.

Posted by Joshua Claybourn at 12:17 AM | Comments (4)

December 30, 2005

Nothing Gets Between Me and My Emperor Neros

Jeans with an anti-Christian logo are apparently all the rage in Sweden. Cheap Monday Jeans, which sell for $50 U.S., sport a skull with a cross turned upside down on its forehead. While some may be tempted to laugh this off as another Christian "hissy fit" (like the anti-Abercrombie campaign), the logo's designer is quite forthcoming with his intentions in the Cheap Monday design: "It is an active statement against Christianity," Bjorn Atldax told the Associated Press. "I'm not a Satanist myself, but I have a great dislike for organized religion."

However, most Swedes, including the Swedish Lutheran Church, are shrugging off the controversy as a marketing ploy. There are plans to export Cheap Monday jeans to the rest of Europe and the United States.

Posted by David Darlington at 09:20 PM | Comments (3)

Blast from the Past

This is for every 20- or 30-something guy out there. Playoffs start next week, so get to practicing!

Posted by David Darlington at 08:44 PM | Comments (0)

December 29, 2005

Open Thread

Predictions for 2006....

Posted by Joshua Claybourn at 04:19 PM | Comments (4)

This just in: Men And Women Use Internet For Different Purposes

The BBC provides all the gory details:

A study by the Pew Internet Project found that roughly the same percentage of men and women in the US are serious internet users.

But the research found that men value the net for the freedom it gives them to try new ways of doing things.

By contrast women like the opportunities the net gives them to make and maintain human connections.

....

Men tend to be first to try out new net technologies and 68% of the men questioned are the administrator of a household's computer compared to 45% of women.

The Pew report also found that men are more likely to use the net to get at all kinds of information about sports results, weather, news, job offers and consumer ratings for goods and services.

A woman's use of the net is more likely to involve greater use of e-mail as well as searches for health and medical information, map directions and religious material.

Hat tip to Ace of Spades, which remains skeptical of the survey.

Posted by Joshua Claybourn at 04:11 PM | Comments (0)

December 28, 2005

Bush vacation reading

Reuters reports that President George Bush "is spending part of his Christmas holiday reading about the post-presidential years of Theodore Roosevelt and the lives of U.S. troops in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere."

The two books he's reading: When Trumpets Call: Theodore Roosevelt After the White House by Patricia O'Toole and Imperial Grunts: The American Military on the Ground by Robert Kaplan.

Posted by Joshua Claybourn at 03:09 AM | Comments (2)

December 26, 2005

The Authorial Morals Police

In the legal blogosphere's subculture there's been an interesting discussion revolving around Yale Law Review's publication of a law review article (Control Mechanisms for Quasipublic Executives: The Intersection of Corporate and Constitutional Law) by Kiwi Alejandro Danao Camara. Camara is the youngest person to ever graduate from Harvard Law School (in 2004) and is now an Olin Fellow in Law & Economics at Stanford.

But Camara is also embroiled in a heated racial controversy. While at Harvard he posted a property outline on an on-line outline bank. The outline warned that it might "contain racially offensive shorthand." Here's how blackprof described it:

Here is what he said when referring to Shelley v. Kraemer (a seminal Property case on racially restrictive covenants):

"Nigs buy land with no nig covenant; Q: Enforceable?"

When asked to explain his comment Mr. Camara remarked that it was a "mistake and a miscalculation." Asked if he would use such racial slurs in the future, he commented: "I will make a much more conscious attempt than I have made not to do so. I can't guarantee it."

Since then numerous legal websites - far more than I can list here - have dissected the controversy. But there was one post in particular which caught my eye. Prof. Eugene Volokh considers whether a law review should publish an article by a professor who has committed adultery with a student. He concludes:

Bad behavior? You bet. Does it reveal a character defect? Sure....But this has zilch to do with the important question, which is: Does the law review article advance our understanding of law? They're not giving the author a decency award, they're publishing an article for the benefit of readers and of the profession. The same goes with other forms of misconduct, whether or not race is involved.

In academia's Ivory Tower racism is one of the most horrendous moral flaws. But many people have a long list of equally bad misconduct. Will these beliefs or actions also bar publication into a law review, and what moral standard governs? In the end I think Volokh has the right approach - judge the article on its legal strength and not the moral attributes of the author.

Posted by Joshua Claybourn at 12:58 AM | Comments (22)

December 25, 2005

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all ITA readers. Ever wonder where the basic Christmas traditions come from (candy canes and the like)? MSN has the information.

Also, I'd like to pass along this article, written by an undergraduate professor of mine. It seems to pop up in the blogosphere this time every year. In the article, history professor William Tighe argues that, contra conventional wisdom, the date for Christmas was not borrowed from pagan traditions, but rather December 25th was based on an honest but inaccurate attempt by early Christians to determine the date of Jesus' birth using the Jewish "integral age" tradition, which stated that prophets die on the anniversary of their conception. Early Christians estimated the date of the crucifixion to be March 25th (April 6th in the East), which, nine months later, begat a Christmas holiday on December 25th. Not being an ancient historian, I don't have the grounds to critique Tighe's argument, but I pass it along to show that at least one scholar doesn't buy the "Christmas is a pagan holiday" conventional wisdom.

As if the holiday's "pagan origins" would stop me from celebrating anyway...

Posted by David Darlington at 03:59 PM | Comments (5)

Christmas Meditation

"The really staggering Christian claim is that Jesus of Nazareth was God made man -- that the second person of the Godhead became the 'second man' (I Cor. 15:47), determining human destiny, the second representative head of the race, and that He took humanity without loss of deity, so that Jesus of Nazareth was as truly and fully divine as He was human. Here are two mysteries for the price of one -- the plurality of persons within the unity of God, and the union of Godhead and manhood in the person of Jesus. It is here, in the thing that happened at the first Christmas, that the profoundest and most unfathomable depths of the Christian revelation lie. 'The Word was made flesh' (John 1:14); God became man; the divine Son became a Jew; the Almighty appeared on earth as a helpless human baby, unable to do more than lie and stare and wriggle and make noises, needing to be fed and changed and taught to talk like any other child. And there was no illusion or deception in this: the babyhood of the Son of God was a reality. The more you think about it, the more staggering it gets. Nothing in fiction is so fantastic as is this truth of the incarnation."

-- J.I. Packer, "Knowing God"

Posted by Joshua Claybourn at 12:14 AM | Comments (2)

December 24, 2005

The Christmas tradition

Around this time thousands of years ago, Romans honored Saturn, the ancient god of agriculture, in a festival called Saturnalia. The festival began on December 17, lasted seven days, and eventually grew to include winter solstice, which fell on December 25.

When and how this pagan holiday morphed into a Christian one remains a matter of debate. Some believe that in the fourth century St. John Chrysostom urged Christians to celebrate Christ's birth on December 25 because some communities had been doing it for several years. Others believe it was Emperor Constantine who's responsible for the day as part of an effort to welcome pagans already celebrating winter solstice.

It is no secret that the Christmas tradition is rooted in calendar comprises, but that shouldn't stop us from celebrating what the day symbolizes. Or should it? In anticipation of tomorrow, here are some recent Christmas posts at ITA which I found particularly illuminating.

• Friendly Fire in the War on Christmas by David
• "The Deadweight Loss of Christmas" by Zach
• Wars and Rumors of Wars on Christmas by David

Posted by Joshua Claybourn at 04:49 PM | Comments (5)

December 23, 2005

Can you feel the love tonight?

As even the most passive consumer of the news knows, Elton John and his longtime partner David Furnish have "tied the knot" so to speak. But what's less known are the specifics of the British law authorizing civil partnerships. Ellen Tumposky addresses this in an articles titled, Britain's Gay, Lesbian Couples Soon Can Walk Down the Aisle, USA Today, Nov. 25, 2005, at 9A. According to the article:

Beginning Dec. 5, same-sex couples older than 16 can give legal notice of their intention to form a partnership. Ceremonies can be held after a 15-day waiting period.

Hundreds of couples across Britain are expected to register as soon as the law comes into effect. Among them: singer Elton John, 58, and his longtime partner David Furnish, 43, a Canadian filmmaker. * * *

Britain joins a number of other European countries, including Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, France and Belgium, in recognizing same-sex unions either as civil partnerships or gay marriages. Despite opposition from some Christian groups, the issue is far less contentious here than in the USA * * *

British same-sex couples who enter into civil partnerships will have the same rights as married heterosexual couples, including inheritance and pension rights, bereavement benefits and next-of-kin standing.

Posted by Joshua Claybourn at 09:46 AM | Comments (0)

Rick Santorum on Intelligent Design

• "Therefore, intelligent design is a legitimate scientific theory that should be taught in science classes." - 2002 Washington Times op-ed article

• "I'm not comfortable with intelligent design being taught in the science classroom."
  - Interview in August 2005 on National Public Radio

• "I do not believe it should be required teaching."
  - Interview Dec. 21, 2005 with The Inquirer

• "I thought the Thomas More Law Center made a huge mistake in taking this case and in pushing this case to the extent they did."
  - from Inquirer interview

The above quotes are taken from the Philadelphia Inquirer, which notes that Santorum sits on the advisory board of the Thomas More Law Center, the group that brought the Dover lawsuit. He intends to withdraw his affiliation.

Posted by Joshua Claybourn at 09:45 AM | Comments (3)

Napstérre

Conclusive proof that downloading mp3's is wrong: "France Lawmakers Endorse File-Sharing."

Posted by Zach Wendling at 07:48 AM | Comments (1)

December 22, 2005

Economas

Tim Hartford, whose recent book The Undercover Economist Paul reviewed here, is guest blogging at Marginal Revolutions. He offers a three part series on "Seasonal advice from the dismal science," here, here, and here. And yes, he mentions the deadweight loss of Christmas.

Posted by Zach Wendling at 01:21 PM | Comments (1)

Republican Rift

The Wall Street Journal reports (subscription required):

"President Bush's claim that he has a legal right to eavesdrop on some U.S. citizens without court approval has widened an ideological gap within his party.

"On one side is the national-security camp, made even more numerous by loyalty to a wartime president. On the other are the small-government civil libertarians who have long held a privileged place within the Republican Party but whose ranks have ebbed since the 2001 terrorist attacks.

"The surveillance furor, at least among some conservatives, also has heightened worries that the party is straying from many of its core principles the longer it remains in control of both the White House and Congress."

Posted by Joshua Claybourn at 11:14 AM | Comments (0)

December 21, 2005

Something Silly

This guy has the most boring job in the world. And he has to watch the clock all day.

Posted by Zach Wendling at 12:25 PM | Comments (1)

Treating Vietnam Syndrome

Frederick W. Kagan gives a careful -- if optimistic -- assessment of why "Iraq is Not Vietnam." Somehow, I don't think this article is going to kill the meme.

Posted by Zach Wendling at 12:21 PM | Comments (0)

The Calculus of Civilian Deaths

In absolute terms, every civilian death is a tragedy, and so the roughly 30,000 Iraqi dead are lamentable. But collateral damage must also be examined in relative terms. The question is, relative to what?

Unfortunately, some people will try to compare the 30,000 Iraqi civilians to the 3,000 victims of 9/11 or the 2,000+ military deaths, which tends to show that we are making a mess of things. The more relevant comparison is, what would the fate of the Iraqis have been had we not invaded? This graphic from the New York Times (via Instapundit) shows that it could have been much worse: during the internal violence of 1988-1991, 180,000 Iraqis were killed. Seemingly, the present civilian death rate is avoiding 35,000 deaths every year.

Whether one finds this argument to be persuasive depends on the probability one assigns to the scenario that Saddam would have been killing his people at the same rate as during the violent period. The most optimistic of the doves would probably rate this as pretty low; their preferred foreign policies of containment, arms inspectors, lifting sanctions, etc., could have brought peace and prosperity to Iraq without the 30,000 civilian deaths. The most pessimistic of hawks would probably rate this as pretty high, and the total civilian deaths from 2003-whenever would be higher under Saddam than whatever number we're likely to hit once the insurgency is put down.

But such comparisons fail because wars are not justified purely by body count. Unfortunately, we don't have a common unit of comparison for things like freedom, the march of democracy, regional stability, or defeating global terrorism. It would also be telling whether one considered the expenditure of Iraqi civilians' lives on these ideals to be noble or vile.

Posted by Zach Wendling at 12:17 PM | Comments (5)

MTA Strike

Maybe they need raises to pay for coffee.

More at Instapundit.

Posted by Zach Wendling at 12:07 PM | Comments (0)

Freedom of thought at Dover

In a post titled, "Secularism Our Legal Religion?", the eminent John Mark Reynolds addresses implications of the recent Dover, Penn. intelligent design ruling. He writes, "It is now illegal in yet another district to argue that the facts of Biology point to intelligent design." But this isn't entirely true. Schools can, and will, continue to address intelligent design and the role that a higher power has played in our creation. The result of the ruling simply means that such discussions don't belong in biology classes. That is why, in spite of other merits within the post, I cannot concur with this conclusion he draws:

Even worse is the notion that a religious idea is so dangerous to the health of sensitive secularists that it cannot even be discussed in a neutral manner in science class. Send your kids to private schools or home school them for now so that they can follow the argument wherever it leads. Otherwise, your kids will not be allowed to ask certain questions. Don't, of course, send your kids to a school that will not seriously consider atheism. On the other hand, don't send your kids to a public school that must cut off discussion if it seems to suggest (horrors) that religion might be true or that there is a personal cause that accounts for the cosmos. Find a school that will allow freedom of thought. Right now that will not be a Dover public school.

Dover schools should continue to explore religion and "follow the argument wherever it leads." These arguments and issues will be addressed in other classes, just not biology. Whether this is a good or bad thing remains a topic of debate, but the fact remains that intelligent design may still be examined at Dover and elsewhere.

Posted by Joshua Claybourn at 11:32 AM | Comments (10)

The Money Race

• The DNC raised $5.37 million in November and has about $7.3 million cash on hand.
• The RNC raised $5.95 million in November and has $31.9 million on hand.
• The DCCC raised $2.5 million in November and has roughly $11.2 million in cash on hand.
• The NRCC raised $3.7 million in November and has about $19.5 million in cash on hand.

Posted by Joshua Claybourn at 01:24 AM | Comments (1)

December 20, 2005

So how is the president doing?

Depends on who's doing the asking. CNN tells us that the Iraq elections and the president's recent speech on the matter haven't helped his numbers at all. The Washington Post tells us the president's numbers have jumped over the past month, ending virtually a half-year decline.

I'm still waiting for a poll that shows both. :)

Posted by David Darlington at 10:09 PM | Comments (0)

Free Financial Advice

Stemming from a discussion of what it's like to be downwardly mobile, Jane Galt, graduate of the University of Chicago's Graduate School of Business, offers some free advice on financial planning:

1. [Automatically put money into savings]
2. Avoid credit card balances
3. Use tax advantaged savings vehicles
4. Wait a couple of years to buy a house
5. Use index funds, not actively managed mutual funds
6. Saving is more important than lattes
7. Put yourself on a cash budget
8. Pay down your debt unless the interest rate is ridiculously low
9. Don't take on debt unless you absolutely have to
10. Do not default on your loans
11. Do not take on adjustable rate debt
12. Buy used
13. Buy generic
14. Buy in bulk
15. Don't bet on home equity gains
16. Invest in stocks when you are young, and then transition an increasing portion to bonds in your fifties and sixties

Read the whole thing for complete explanations.

As one of her readers suggests, this kind of advice should be given to all college students, who seem to miss even the most obvious good sense. (I personally would never have been aware of point #5.)

One thing this line of advice emphasizes is abstention from luxury. This would seem to jibe with the millionaire-next-door school. Most people, but especially American youths, are pretty bad at self-denial and realizing the value of future returns (see point #6). Jane offers two more posts on why luxury sometimes does and sometimes does not buy happiness -- at least the kind of happiness equal to the peace of mind financial security brings.

Posted by Zach Wendling at 12:22 PM | Comments (17)

'Intelligent Design' suffers setback

Ed Brayton first reported what the AP is now confirming - a federal judge has ruled that "intelligent design" cannot be taught in biology classes in the Dover, Pennsylvania public school district. US District Judge John E. Jones III's full opinion can be downloaded here (pdf). The language is strong and unequivocal. Here's a taste:

In making this determination, we have addressed the seminal question of whether ID is science. We have concluded that it is not, and moreover that ID cannot uncouple itself from its creationist, and thus religious, antecedents....

It is ironic that several of these individuals, who so staunchly and proudly touted their religious convictions in public, would time and again lie to cover their tracks and disguise the real purpose behind the ID Policy...

Those who disagree with our holding will likely mark it as the product of an activist judge. If so, they will have erred as this is manifestly not an activist Court. Rather, this case came to us as the result of the activism of an ill-informed faction on a school board, aided by a national public interest law firm eager to find a constitutional test case on ID, who in combination drove the Board to adopt an imprudent and ultimately unconstitutional policy. The breathtaking inanity of the Board's decision is evident when considered against the factual backdrop which has now been fully revealed through this trial.

The Dover area school board that brought this case has since been voted out of office, making it highly unlikely that the current board will appeal the decision.

Posted by Joshua Claybourn at 12:05 PM | Comments (10)

Bayh on the move

The Indianapolis Star looks at Sen. Evan Bayhh's (D-IN) 2005 record in an article titled, "Bayh's year by the numbers." Bayh visited 22 states this year, with two visits to both Iowa and New Hampshire. His PAC also raised more money than any other potential Democratic candidate during the first six months of the year.

Posted by Joshua Claybourn at 10:35 AM | Comments (2)

Genius

"Your Call is Important to Us," by Paul Musgrave

Posted by Joshua Claybourn at 10:11 AM | Comments (0)

December 19, 2005

More Clinton Waffling?

In a June 1996 interview in the gay and lesbian magazine The Advocate, Clinton said: "I remain opposed to same-sex marriage. I believe marriage is an institution for the union of a man and a woman. This has been my long-standing position, and it is not being reviewed or reconsidered." He then added, "I am opposed to same-sex marriage. If Congress sends me the Defense of Marriage Act in the form now being considered, I will sign it."

On September 21, 1996, Bill Clinton did just that and signed the Defense of Marriage Act, which allowed states the power to refuse to recognize gay marriages granted in other states, among other things.

Now, in honor of one of Britain's first civil partnerships - that between Sir Elton John and David Furnish - Bill Clinton congratulates the two and says, "If there were more people like Elton, the world would be a better place." Are these actions contradictory? Not necessarily, but Clinton does seem to impliedly endorse a position on gay marriage that he once opposed.

Meanwhile Andrew Sullivan writes, "When I left Britain twenty-one years ago, there was no question that America led the way in equal rights for gays. No longer."

Posted by Joshua Claybourn at 05:06 PM | Comments (7)

Time's Poty

I can't seem to find the will to care about who a shallow mass media publication considers to be the most influential people of the year. But I did find the epigraph selected for this event by one of Michelle Malkin's readers poignant:

. . . I'd rather have people ask why I have no monument than why I have one.
-- Cato the Elder

Posted by Zach Wendling at 12:18 PM | Comments (2)

Media Bias

Bias is by nature a subjective property, which makes the fight over public discourse so fruitless. It is hard to objectively say that the MSM are unduly tilting the unwashed public one way or t'other. So we are left with the anecdotal tidbits and gross generalizations of Bernie Goldbergs and Eric Altermans. Even extensively catalogued instances, such as those by the indefatigable Media Research Center or F.A.I.R., grow tiresome.

Occasionally, one sees some data. Surveys show that reporters and editors more often identify themselves as liberals or Democrats than otherwise, for instance. The Drudge Report links to the latest study finding media bias, this one from UCLA researchers using a clever methodology.

The results are interesting but far from conclusive. First, one could dispute the reliability, accuracy, whatever of the ADA rankings, the normalization, or the revelatory insight of politicians' statements. Second and more importantly, labeling is only one dimension of media bias. This study doesn't appear to tackle many other conservative bugaboos: story selection, selective quoting, unbalanced solicitation and presentation of quotes and analysis, MSM hegemony, or unbalanced interviews. It also doesn't address liberal complaints of unbalanced market share or corporate influence. It will take a lot more data to prove the case that the media are biased.

Posted by Zach Wendling at 12:14 PM | Comments (9)

December 18, 2005

Movies are Charlotte Simmons

This news is over a month old, but I've just learned that Tom Wolfe's underappreciated book I Am Charlotte Simmons will be adapted for a movie by production companies Trilogy Entertainment and Syntax Entertainment.

John Watson, who wrote 1991's Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, will pen the script. The rest of the cast and crew is yet to be announced.

Posted by Joshua Claybourn at 04:10 PM | Comments (3)

Photo of the day

Pictured above is an "e-meter," a device L. Ron Hubbard invented to measure the "spiritual clarity" of his followers. The picture accompanies an article in the LA Times titled, "At Inland Base, Scientologists Trained Top Gun."

Posted by Joshua Claybourn at 10:04 AM | Comments (6)

Who knew?

As the flap over domestic spying escalates, Hotline On Call notes an interesting twist: the law required the White House to notify the leaders of the House and Senate about the program, which was confirmed earlier by President Bush. According to Hotline on Call House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) admited she knew about it. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid's (D-NV) office hasn't responded yet.

Posted by Joshua Claybourn at 09:03 AM | Comments (1)

December 17, 2005

Skinning the cat

Although not nearly as troubling as the infamous National Security Agency spying fiasco, police in Arlington, Va. are also struggling to respect citizen's privacy, but not in the way you might expect.

The area uses BootFinder, a small, hand-held camera that scans license plates of parked cars to identify people with delinquent property-tax bills and unpaid parking tickets. But they also use the highly controversial red light camera to automatically ticket motorists who run a red light.

Why all the technology? When it comes to collecting revenue, Arlington is "always looking for new ways to skin the cat." Those aren't the words of a hysterical critic; they're the words of Arlington County Treasurer Frank O'Leary. Technology like this made him ecstatic: "I rub my hands together in great glee and anticipation," he said in a television interview. But it turns out those cameras might not be all that accurate.

Arlington-based lawyer Daniel M. Wemhoff tried to file a class-action suit against D.C., alleging that as many as 20,000 motorists were victimized by a faulty red light camera at the intersection of H and North Capitol streets.

In a case of reality-beats-fiction, the court dismissed the case because refunding motorists their money would violate their privacy.

Posted by Joshua Claybourn at 09:55 AM | Comments (2)

December 16, 2005

Today's happy news

The Associated Press reports nearly 70% voter turnout in Iraq's elections, mostly peaceful.

Turnout in what was a mostly peaceful election was overwhelming. Election officials estimated up to 11 million of the nation's 15 million registered voters took part in Thursday's vote, which would put overall turnout at more than 70 percent.

In the Shiite province of Najaf province, as many as 80 percent of the voters cast ballots for the four-year parliament.

So many Sunni Arabs voted Thursday that ballots ran out in some places. The strong participation by Sunnis, the backbone of the insurgency, bolstered U.S. hopes that the election could produce a broad-based government capable of ending the daily suicide attacks and other violence that have ravaged the country since the fall of Saddam Hussein.

Sunni Arabs make up about 20 percent of Iraq's 27 million people, compared to about 60 percent for Shiites.

This deserves much more attention than it is receiving.

Posted by Joshua Claybourn at 07:18 PM | Comments (2)

NYC update

From PMDC:

As the strike deadline for New York City's transit workers approached, all of you had the same question on your minds: "How will this affect Paul Musgrave?" The question was even reported by the MSM, usually indifferent to this story-of-stories.

Posted by Joshua Claybourn at 10:11 AM | Comments (2)

December 15, 2005

In Jesus' name we (don't) pray

Should military chaplains be permitted to pray in Jesus' name? Navy Chaplain Gordon Klingenschmitt thinks so and now some lawmakers are asking for the White House to support him. CBN reports, "Dozens of House members have sent a letter to Bush asking him to issue an executive order that would allow all military chaplains to pray in the name of their god."

In its infamous 1989 case of County of Allegheny v. American Civil Liberties Union, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled "government may not demonstrate a preference for one particular sect or creed." Prior to this decision the Court had ruled in Marsh v. Chambers that although prayers opening legislative sessions were "part of the fabric of our society," specific references to Jesus in the Nebraska legislature's prayers must nevertheless be removed.

In spite of those rulings the issues continue to resurface. In Indiana, for instance, the House Speaker is attempting to continue opening legislative sessions with a prayer invoking Jesus' name, just as the Nebraska's legislature was barred from doing.

The line between church and state in these instances and many more is gray, particularly given tradition and precedent. No matter how you may come down on the issue, I think all can agree that Speaker Bosma had at least part of it right when he was asked if he would defy a judge's order barring the practice: "I've taken an oath to uphold the Constitution and laws of this state and the United States 11 times, 10 as an elected official and one as a lawyer. Direct defiance of a federal judge's order I don't think would be a respectful means of an elected official showing that we are a nation of laws and not of men." Amen.

Posted by Joshua Claybourn at 01:40 PM | Comments (20)

McCain gets victory

The Associated Press is reporting that the White House has agreed to accept Sen. John McCain's call for a law specifically banning cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of foreign suspects in the war on terror. The media-savvy McCain has long been besting the White House in the public square over the issue, but strong Congressional support for the law may been been the final straw. The law, known as McCain Amendment, passed the House of Representatives yesterday by a vote of 308-122 and had earlier passed the Senate on a 90-9 vote. The AP explains:

Under the emerging deal, the CIA and other civilian interrogators would be given the same legal rights as currently guaranteed members of the military who are accused of breaking interrogation guidelines, these officials added. Those rules say the accused can defend themselves by arguing it was reasonable for them to believe they were obeying a legal order.

Until now Bush has threatened to veto any law that contained the amendment. An official announcement may come later today from President Bush and McCain.

Posted by Joshua Claybourn at 01:29 PM | Comments (1)

December 14, 2005

Make Room for Mitt?

Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney announced today that he will not be seeking a second term in office. Speculation immediately followed that the 58-year old son of former Michigan Governor George Romney will be making a run at the White House in 2008, but Romney said the decision on running for president was "down the road" and "a lifetime away."

If Romney decides in favor of a White House run, how will his Mormonism play in Peoria (or, more accurately, Birmingham)? Can a Mormon be the standard-bearer for the Christian Right and the conservative movement against the party's moderate wing led by John McCain and Rudy Giuliani? My instinct says yes. The political arm of the evangelical movement is more concerned with its candidates having the "right" positions on abortion, gay marriage, public education, and the separation of church and state than they are on whether a person's personal or theological house is in order. Call me cynical, but I think that explains the movement's loyalty to some of its morally compromised characters over the years.

With Cheney, Rice, and neither Bush brother running in 2008, the position of standard-bearer for the conservative movement stands vacant. One lucky Republican will capture this crown sometime in the next two years. That lucky Republican may in fact be Mitt Romney.

Posted by David Darlington at 10:55 PM | Comments (5)

Christmas Reading

With the end of final exams quickly approaching, I'm looking to prepare a winter reading list. The friends and colleagues of the Claremont Institute have prepared one such list, and I'd appreciate any help ITA readers and contributors could offer as I make mine.

Posted by Joshua Claybourn at 08:22 PM | Comments (4)

Hugh Hewitt v. Mecca

I had initially planned to link to Congressman Tom Tancredo's interview with Hugh Hewitt to point out that he agrees with my assessment of the Chronicles of Narnia. But Radley Balko notes an even more interesting bit that I initially missed from the interview: "the efficacy of threatening Mecca as a potential deterrent"!?! I think it was ITA reader Steve Aquila who once told me that targeting Mecca may be the easiest way to start WWIII.

Posted by Joshua Claybourn at 10:43 AM | Comments (12)

December 13, 2005

You'd be Insane to Vote for That

Attributing political inclinations to mental illness is nothing new. Historian Richard Hofstadter wrote forty years ago about a "paranoid style" that characterized much of American politics (specifically, Hofstadter was writing from the postwar liberal consensus position against the rising conservative movement, but I've always believed paranoia is a trait common to either end of the political spectrum). But is extreme partisanship, or pathological bias, itself a mental illness? Modern psychiatrists are pondering that very question. People can in fact be disabled by extreme racism, homophobia, and other prejudices, so does pathological bias warrant an official psychiatric diagnosis? The question seems silly on its face--I'm inclined to think extreme bias is a secondary manifestation of other mental defects, not to mention how the variability of the definition of "bias" is ripe for abuse--but what of those people who are so afraid of X or have so much hatred for Y that they can't function in a normal capacity? They may not be mentally ill in the traditional sense, but they certainly have demons they need to conquer.

Posted by David Darlington at 06:54 PM | Comments (9)

December 12, 2005

The Stupidest Idea Ever

Maybe Indiana State has taken this whole beating IU thing a little too far. Citing the fact that "some Indiana students want to go to law school, but aren't admitted because there is no room at other schools," The Indianapolis Star reports that Indiana State University in Terre Haute, IN, is considering starting Indiana's fifth law school. Bad idea. Indiana does not need more law graduates flooding a tight market. Indiana does not need another law school, especially one whose early mission appears to be enrolling people who can't get in anywhere else. ISU Law is not the stupidest idea ever, but it's pretty darn close.

Indiana's fine law schools cover such a wide spectrum of courses, academic standards, and market niches that if a prospective law student doesn't get into one of them, he should either forget law school or look to another state's education network. So you have bad grades, no work experience, and a low LSAT score? Maybe instead of lobbying for a law school that will let you in, you ought to try another profession.

The idea that ISU might get a law school also overlooks the fact that Indiana is not California or Florida; we don't have lawyers from other states clamoring to be admitted to practice in our state. We don't have hundreds of law jobs waiting for qualified applicants. Anecdotal evidence suggests the opposite. Indiana's need for lawyers is NOT growing so quickly that we need another 500 people taking the bar exam every year. The fact that more people want to go to law school does not justify creating more law students.

Also consider our frugal governor, "Blade" Daniels. Even if there existed a need for more student slots at Indiana's law schools, Mitch would be much more likely to approve increasing enrollment at either IU law campus instead of building a new law school.

Unlike college, where supply should meet demand, law school is not a prep school for life. It is a professional school whose graduates are prepared to do one type of work (and not always well-prepared). If the market where a professional school is located doesn't have a need for its type of work, then the school serves no purpose to society or to the market. It is an ego-boost for the "look at me" crowd at ISU, and a desperate way to try to funnel more state funds to Terre Haute. As ISU trustee Rick Sagely says, "I think it's a good fit and it fits with what we're trying to do to increase our enrollment." Sagely hits the nail on the head. ISU Law might be good for ISU, but it's the last thing Indiana needs.

Posted by Adam Packer at 11:18 PM | Comments (8)

ITA Hosuekeeping

I'm pleased to announce that Casey M. Holsapple will be blogging at ITA for at least the short term. Casey is an Evansville, Indiana native and a second year student at the Indiana University School of Law in Bloomington. He has worked in both Democratic and Republican campaigns but considers himself a Republican with a "willingness to
admit that my views do not align 100% to the right and also that conservativism isn't the end all be all to political dialogue." On a personal note he is an IU basketball fan and follows the Pacers and Colts closely.

In other ITA housekeeping news, we have two new advertisements on the right. The top one, titled "Welcome to Porn Valley," appears to be an inoccuous link to an MSNBC story that will air December 14, 2005. The story explains how "selling sex to both sexes is making pornography the envy of the entertainment industry." The second sponsor is GoToMeeting, a great place to hold "as many meetings as you want for as long as you want - for one low rate." GoToMeeting is web conferencing made easy.

Posted by Joshua Claybourn at 03:00 PM | Comments (5)

Something Silly

A wizard blog I just found, which means most people have seen it already: "Overheard in New York."

(Warning: foul language, naturally)

Posted by Zach Wendling at 12:20 PM | Comments (1)

Staying the Course in New Orleans

Shortly after Katrina hit, President Bush made a hasty bid for higher approval ratings by announcing he (we) would spend whatever it takes to rebuild New Orleans. Most Americans not enamoured with poverty, corruption, and sleaze considered this to be a bad move. As I asked then, why can't we quit while we're ahead?

Rebuilding seemed like a poor investment, and now we have reason to believe that it is a futile effort. Mike Tidwell offers an op-ed describing how the Bush Administration recently refused to fund a project to restore barrier islands and coastal wetlands, which would buffer the city from further meteorological abuses. I haven't seen the proposal for myself, but the theory is plausible. If properly implemented, ecological restoration could save the city should another hurricane strike -- and likely better than any amount of infrastructure the Army Corps of Engineers could construct.

The winning quote comes from Mark Davis, executive director of the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana, "Either they don't get it or they just don't care." Is there a better way to describe government planning in general?

Posted by Zach Wendling at 12:15 PM | Comments (3)

December 11, 2005

A shocking injustice

Radley Balko reports on the case of Cory Maye, convicted of capital murder in a case so disturbing I don't feel a summary here would do it justice. So just read the whole thing. When you're done reading that initial post, read this interview with the court clerk and then this interview with the prosecutor in the case.

Posted by Joshua Claybourn at 09:07 PM | Comments (3)

Irony

Fark offers this great lead into a recent statement from the Vatican: "Pope denounces materialism from balcony of marble, gold-domed building in midst of jewel-encrusted religious icons while wearing giant gold cross."

Posted by Joshua Claybourn at 07:27 PM | Comments (1)

December 10, 2005

Movie Review: The Chronicles of Narnia

The long awaited and much hyped The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe hit theatres yesterday and I was among the many who stood in line to see it. Based on the popular children's series by C.S. Lewis, the Chronicles tell the tale of four children who discover a hidden land, Narnia, only to find its inhabitants have been waiting 100 years for them. As crucial components in an ancient prophecy, the four children help lead an epic battle between good and evil.

Lewis was a close friend of fellow Oxford professor and Christian apologist J.R.R. Tolkein. Thanks to their friendship, the similarities in their two fictional tales, and the close release of film adaptations, "Narnia" cannot escape comparison to "The Lord of the Rings." An overwhelming marketing blitz, particularly in the Christian "underground," and a dazzling array of special effect ads did nothing to stop the comparisons either.

Perhaps because of this unfair comparison, Narnia failed to impress. Although the talking-animal technology is decent, the Disney production is just that - a Disney movie made for children. The plot is painfully deliberate, rather than freely flowing (as it was written), and the humor and dialogue appears blatantly forced and contrived.

Like rabid disciples of Star Trek, Star Wars, or Harry Potter, C.S. Lewis fans - particularly Christians - are fawning over the recent film adaption of the Chronicles of Narnia. Matthew Anderson and Marvin Olasky provide a couple such examples. It is no secret that Lewis weaved Christian allegory into the tale and one has to wonder if this fuels some of the movie's gushing reviews. Nevertheless, the film adaptation of the Chronicles of Narnia was underwhelming.

Posted by Joshua Claybourn at 04:21 PM | Comments (15)

Winter Wizardry

Clark Griswold, eat your heart out. This is the coolest Christmas lights display known to man. According to Snopes, it's a real house in Mason, Ohio. The song in the clip is Trans-Siberian Orchestra's "Wizard in Winter."

I'm glad I'm not this guy's neighbor.

Posted by David Darlington at 02:12 PM | Comments (3)

December 09, 2005

Friendly Fire in the War on Christmas

This week the Christian blogosphere had a mini coming out party, with Christian bloggers breaking a story in advance of the mainstream media in reporting that some of the nation's most prominent evangelical megachurches will not be holding services on Christmas Day, which falls on a Sunday this year. These churches, whose roll reads like a who's who of evangelical movers, consulted with each other before deciding to take the day off. Among the churches closed on Christmas are Willow Creek Community Church (IL), Mars Hill Bible Church (MI), North Point Community Church (GA), and Fellowship Church (TX). Pastors and spokespersons for these churches say that services on Christmas would not be a good use of staff time because in the past their Christmas services had been sparsely attended. Many of these churches are holding multiple services on December 23rd and Christmas Eve instead. Christmas Day, however, would be better spent with family, they say. Critics call the closings a sell out to mainstream culture which regards Christmas as "Toy Day." David Wells, professor of history and systematic theology at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, said, "This is a consumer mentality at work: 'Let's not impose the church on people. Let's not make church in any way inconvenient.' I think what this does is feed into the individualism that is found throughout American culture, where everyone does their own thing." Prominent Bible scholar Ben Witherington III also has harsh words.

I don't know if more bothered by the fact that these megachurches will be closed on Christmas, or by the fact that the megachurches consulted with each other before closing, like they were setting policy for evangelicalism as a whole. Anyway, the idea of no church on Christmas is quite foreign to Catholics or liturgical Protestants, for in the liturgical tradition Christmas is not just a random holiday at the end of December, but the culmination of the entire season of Advent. The Bible readings for the season of Advent, from both the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament, are intended to build anticipation for the coming Christ child, finally revealed on December 25th. That Advent roughly corresponds with the Christmas shopping season doubles the anticipation. Canceling services on December 25th would therefore by analogous to reading through a great detective novel and throwing the book away the page before the killer is finally revealed.

Perhaps it is no surprise then that Catholic and liturgical Protestant churches, in contrast to the evangelical megas, usually have their biggest crowds of the year on Christmas Day. Indeed, given the large numbers of non- or nominal Christians that only show up on Christmas and Easter, churches closing their doors on those days would be demonstrating the height of seeker insensitivity.

Posted by David Darlington at 07:39 PM | Comments (11)

Internet strikes again

Starting this weekend, NBC News will webcast Meet the Press in its entirety, free of charge and on-demand. The online version will be available at 1:00 pm ET on Sunday afternoons at http://www.mtp.msnbc.com.

And speaking of podcasts, a weekly podcast featuring numerous prominent Hoosiers will be broadcast through the Cynic Center. At least once member of the Indiana Barrister and/or ITA staff will join Hoosier heavyweights such as Brian Howey, Ed Feigenbaum, and others to discuss important issues of the day.

Posted by Joshua Claybourn at 02:47 PM | Comments (1)

The Gitmo Fixation

I noticed an interesting statement in this Reuters article about the Christian peace activists being held hostage in Iraq:

The four peaceworker hostages have been shown in a video wearing orange jump suits with their hands shackled. The jump suits are reminiscent of prison uniforms worn by Muslim detainees at the U.S. camp in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Um... OK. To me, they're also reminiscent of the uniforms worn by the convicts mowing the grass in the median of the highway. This is not the first time I've read this comparison in a report on hostages taken by terrorists. Is there any reason to believe the hostage-takers are making a reference to Gitmo (especially when they're demanding the release of prisoners held in Iraq?), or is this just a popular non-sequitur?

Posted by Eric Seymour at 01:11 PM | Comments (5)

Snow Day

Well, not really. I'm at work today (eating lunch at the moment), but half my colleagues have apparently decided to stay home, effectively thwarted by 6" of snow that fell this morning. To be fair, though, 6" of snow here is a bigger deal than 6" of snow in the Midwest, mostly because of the local governments' lack of capacity (or maybe just will) for effectively clearing the roads.

Ever since I moved to the Philadelphia area, I've been rather perplexed at how they handle snow here. We probably get around 75% of the snow accumulation that Indianapolis gets. But it takes a lot longer for the roads to be cleared. My town's stated policy is not to dispatch snow plows or salt spreaders until 2" of snow has accumulated. The result is that all of the roads (except state highways) get covered in a layer of slippery packed snow.

Anyway, I just wanted to pop in and say hello to everyone. A combination of factors have conspired to keep me from blogging over the past couple weeks, but I hope to be able to participate more from now on. (By the way, if you have a water heater more than 5 years old, a $10 battery-operated water alarm could save you a lot of trouble.)

Posted by Eric Seymour at 01:02 PM | Comments (3)

David Cameron

Our friends across the pond have elected a new conservative leader, 39-year-old David Cameron. During the questioning of Prime Minister Tony Blair in Parliament for the first time, Cameron took the interesting tack of questioning him on education and environmental policy. You can view their two exchanges using RealPlayer here and Windows Media Player here (education at 2:05 and environment at 13:15). Michael Barone has more.

Posted by Joshua Claybourn at 11:55 AM | Comments (0)

Multimedia Mix

This week's special video comes to you via the Germans, offering a great new twist to the Numa Numa Mix. If you can duplicate that guy's shirt, something tells me you might be able to make a little money.

The original which that is parodying can be found here. It features 19-year-old American Gary Brolsma lip-synching the song "Dragostea Din Tei" by O-Zone. It's since become an Internet phenomenon, and the German imitation is the best I've seen yet.

Posted by Joshua Claybourn at 02:16 AM | Comments (0)

December 08, 2005

Not so fast

"Kash" of the Angry Bear carries a post detailing federal spending over time as a percentage of the economy. He concludes:

No, the only category where it seems clear that Bush has deliberately let the money flow freely is in defense.

The usually sharp and libertarian Asymmetrical Information endorses the conclusion, calling it an "excellent" post. But Kash's analysis is short-sighted. It fails to account for the fact that Bush's massive $400 billion increase in Medicare spending has yet to take place; it phases into place over the next 10 years. The devastating effects of Republican spending will be like the slow impaling of a dagger, not a swift jab that we can see in a real time graph.

Finally, Angry Bear appears to assume that because something costs X% of the economy to function properly, it must always cost X%. Why must that always be the case? With efficiencies and economies of scale, some government costs should actually decline as a percentage, not necessarily stay the same.

Either way, looking at government spending as a percentage of the GDP in the status quo tells us very little about the long term budget decisions of a government.

Posted by Joshua Claybourn at 07:53 PM | Comments (3)

We're important to voters

The Digital Future Project believes the Internet "has become an increasingly valuable tool in political campaigns, with a growing number of users saying the technology is empowering their political decisions."

In a survey, nearly 40 percent said they feel the Internet gives them more political clout -- up from 27 percent the year before. Almost 62 percent of respondents said they believe the Internet is important to political campaigns. Study director Jeffrey Cole: "Clearly, the Internet's role in the American political process will continue to grow, and it could have a significant impact during the Congressional elections of 2006."

Posted by Joshua Claybourn at 03:08 PM | Comments (0)

John Lennon

On this day in 1980 John Lennon was shot dead outside of his New York City apartment. Recent reports suggest that he and Paul McCartney had taken steps to reunite with Ringo and George. Oh what might have been.

Posted by Joshua Claybourn at 12:29 AM | Comments (3)

December 07, 2005

IU's Beleaguered Presidents

Paul discovers a couple of gems from the management expert, Peter Drucker:

[Impossible] jobs are common. They usually look exceedingly logical on paper. But they cannot be filled. One man of proven performance capacity after the other is tried--and none does well. Six months or a year later, the job has defeated them . . . The presidency of a large university in the United States is also such an impossible job.

For those of you following along, Indiana University President Adam Herbert has had sufficient time to be defeated two-to-four times.

As if to illustrate Drucker's point, Hoosier Times columnist Mike Leonard reminds us that Herbert isn't the only IU President to underwhelm. (How could we forget Erlich's awful RCM?)

Posted by Zach Wendling at 08:00 PM | Comments (0)

Via Drudge

CBC News reports, "Web journalism now eligible for Pulitzer Prize." Online material will be considered beginning with the 2006 competition (which honours work done in 2005).

Posted by Joshua Claybourn at 03:40 PM | Comments (0)

Buckley on Conservatism

We've covered William Buckley's distaste for the direction of modern conservatism on these pages before, but the American Conservative Union carries a piece today titled "Season of Conservative Sloth" which offers more details on his views of a movement he largely helped create.

Posted by Joshua Claybourn at 02:01 PM | Comments (0)

"Web of Lies"

Over the summer the Indiana University School of Law - Indianapolis, the school I currently attend, made national headlines when a professor accused another professor of opposing his tenure because of conservative views. Prof. William Bradford claimed that his support of the Iraq War and his refusal to sign a letter in defense of Ward Churchill upset Prof. Florence Roisman, who he then alleges oppsed his tenure. Fox News and Front Page magazine, among others, caught wind and turned it into a national discussion. In June of this year Inside Higher Ed published an article titled "Not the Right Kind of Indian" which, in my opinion, best sums up the state of affairs at that time.

Recent developments have returned the issue to the forefront and Inside Higher Ed once again has the best coverage, this time in an article titled "Web of Lies." Because Prof. Roisman had a history of controversial actions in the past, his claims initially raised eyebrows. Some of you may remember that she infamously demanded the removal of a Christmas tree in the law school's atrium because of its Christian connotations, an incident later highlighted in Fox News anchor John Gibson's book, "The War on Christmas." Bradford's own record bolstered his claims as well; he was a self-proclaimed Gulf War veteran and he had previously won a "Best New Professor" award from the student body.

But as the law school blog I founded - IndyLaw Net - covered the charges, serious questions started to arise. Bradford would frequent the comment boxes in a surprisingly "uncollegial" manner, making sweeping charges and threats. The blog's current editor-in-chief, Lucas Sayre, also noticed from Bradford's IP address that he would leave comments supporting his position and attacking others under falsly assumed names.

As Bradford slowly chipped away at his own credibility, readers started to do the same. Retired Army Lt. Col. Keith R. Donnelly contacted Indianapolis Star columnist Ruth Holladay and said that Bradford's claim of having earned a Silver Star in the Gulf War was suprising because very few had been awarded. That wasn't all Bradford professed. He claims to have served in the infantry and military intelligence during Desert Storm and Bosnia conflicts, that he eventually became a major in Special Forces, and was awarded the prestigious Silver Star. He even wore a Silver Star lapel pin around campus and had a major's gold-leaf insignia plate on his vehicle.

After some research it turned out Bradford was actually in the Army Reserve and that he was discharged as a second lieutenant. He had no active duty, was not in the infantry, and received no awards, especially not the Silver Star. Taken altogether, it seems hard to believe a shred of the charges he initially leveled at Roisman and others.

As Prof. Eugene Volokh wrote today, it's unlikely that Bradford will be able to find a job teaching law in the U.S. any time soon, and rightfully so. But more than hurt himself, Professor William Bradford has also tarnished the law school and the image of academic conservatives.

Posted by Joshua Claybourn at 01:12 PM | Comments (6)

Lieberman's future

Rumors are surfacing that Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-CT) will replace Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. On Face the Nation:

Bob Schieffer: "Last night -- over this weekend, I had four different people tell me that the White House is thinking if the secretary of Defense goes over the next year -- and a lot of people think that he will, that the president is thinking of nominating Joe Lieberman to be secretary of Defense."

Democrats have long called for the replacement of Rumsfeld, but what if his replacement were a pro-war Democrat? Lieberman isn't doing anything to quell the rumors. The Hartford Courant reports that Lieberman urged President Bush to form a bi-partisan "war cabinet," consisting of White House officials and congressional leaders, that would "meet weekly and discuss conditions in Iraq, and perhaps recommend policy." The proposal is intended to "take some of the political edge off the war debate," and is "modeled after similar panels during the Vietnam War and World War II." Kos discusses the implications of a Lieberman cabinet post here.

Meanwhile Lieberman has an election quickly approaching. The New York Times reports former Connecticut Gov. Lowell Weicker (I) may run against Lieberman because of his support of the Iraq war. Said Weicker: "When you've become the president's best friend on the war in Iraq, you should not be in office, especially if you're in the opposing party. I'm going to do everything I can to see that Joe Lieberman does not get a free pass."

Posted by Joshua Claybourn at 09:05 AM | Comments (8)

December 06, 2005

The Benefits of Long Wars

Harvard law professor William J. Stuntz presents an argument for staying the course in Iraq on the New Republic's web site that the administration wishes it could make. Stuntz argues that the length of United States' involvement in Iraq actually increases the chances of success and radical reformation in the region. Drawing a historical parallel with the Civil War, Stuntz argues that both wars started with limited aims that perhaps did not warrent the sacrifice of American soldiers, but their longevity allowed those aims to morph into something greater on the human scale (ending slavery in the former, democratizing the Middle East in the latter) that certainly justifies the shedding of blood. "Brief wars rarely produce permanent results," he adds, "but long wars often do." He ends his piece with the following:

Two-and-a-half years ago, our armed forces set out to fight a small war with a small objective. Today we find ourselves in a larger war with a larger and vastly better purpose. It would be one of history's sadder ironies were we to turn away because that better purpose is not the one we set out to achieve. Either we fight the fight our enemies have chosen until they are defeated or (better still) dead, or millions of Muslim men and women may lose their "last, best hope"--and we may face a mushroom cloud over Manhattan, the work of one of the many Mohamed Attas that Middle Eastern autocracies have bred over the last generation. The choice belongs not to the president alone, but to all of us. Here's hoping we choose as wisely as Lincoln's generation did.

What sayest thou?

Posted by David Darlington at 09:12 PM | Comments (14)

Regarding tonight's IU game...

FireMikeDavis.com

Posted by Joshua Claybourn at 08:57 PM | Comments (3)

Western materialism

Paul Cella begins a recent post with this:

Mustafa Akyol's recent essay on Western materialism and Islam certainly raises some intriguing questions, such as: How much of the antipathy that so many Muslims feel toward the West can be explained by reference to our "naked public square"? That is to say, are most Muslims who wish us harm energized in their detestation by the atheistic decadence of our popular and academic cultures?

Here's Paul's full post, and here's the piece that inspired it.

Posted by Joshua Claybourn at 07:22 PM | Comments (0)

A "Christian" response?

The Wichita Eagle reports:

A professor whose planned course on creationism and intelligent design was canceled after he sent e-mails deriding Christian conservatives was hospitalized Monday after what appeared to be a roadside beating.

University of Kansas religious studies professor Paul Mirecki said that the two men who beat him made references to the class that was to be offered for the first time this spring.

Originally called "Special Topics in Religion: Intelligent Design, Creationism and other Religious Mythologies," the course was canceled last week at Mirecki's request.

The class was added after the Kansas State Board of Education decided to include more criticism of evolution in science standards for elementary and secondary students.

"I didn't know them," Mirecki said of his assailants, "but I'm sure they knew me."

One recent e-mail from Mirecki to members of a student organization referred to religious conservatives as "fundies," and said a course describing intelligent design as mythology would be a "nice slap in their big fat face." Mirecki has apologized for those comments.

Update: GetReligion, always a great read, covers this issue with some good insight not often reported in national wire stories.

Posted by Joshua Claybourn at 12:04 PM | Comments (10)

December 05, 2005

Reinventing Higher Education

I finally finished The Closing of the American Mind about a week ago. I regret to say that I shall read it again, but not for a while, not until I'm smarter.

Serendipitously, my previous post on the book coincided with a feature Slate ran on the reinvention of higher education:

What should students be studying in college? No one seems to agree anymore. Harvard University is in the midst of a heated debate about its general education requirements, while the Association of American Colleges and Universities has launched a campaign to promote "a liberal education." Slate has taken the occasion to ask an array of prominent academics to tackle the question at the heart of the debate: What should undergraduates leave college knowing? Stanley N. Katz provides an overview of the liberal arts debate here. And here are the links to the responses of the 11 academics . . .

Reading these, I'm astonished to find how closely they follow the paths traced out by Bloom. The basic problem is that there is so much to be known (or taught), academia struggles with what and how to teach. The learned men and women give some interesting (and telling) answers.

Over at Asymmetrical Information, Winterspeak and Jane Galt examine one supposed purpose of higher education: to impart knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary for the workplace (an end assailed here). Winterspeak attributes increased earnings of college graduates to superior skill sets and not mere "credentialism," "A country that is comfortable outsourcing work to poorer parts of the world clearly cares, at least a little, about what people can do, and not just where they graduated from."

Jane disagrees, rightfully pointing out that aside from engineers and scientists, college graduates are given few transferable skills, "But in general, I'd say that very few of my classmates taking a liberal arts course learned anything useful that couldn't be gotten out of a six week course on business writing." (Bloom even argued that for most students, at least two years of college are a waste of time, the curriculum padded with unnecessary courses, which were too watered-down to provide anything like a true liberal education.) So what accounts for increased earnings of graduates?

In my opinion, it's very much a signalling mechanism: employers do not value what you learned in school, but they do value knowing that you have the middle class background, the willingness to delay gratification, and the intelligence necessary to complete a degree. For many people, college also provides a social network that helps them later in life. And it may allow them to mature enough to make them worth more than minimum wage.

Ideally, college would also signal that the graduate can think critically and write coherently (this is pitifully not the case). At a much deeper level, a liberal education should also teach students to ask the 'Big Questions,' to examine themselves and their society, and such abilities would seem to transcend the economic theme of Winterspeak and Jane's discussion.

Posted by Zach Wendling at 12:41 PM | Comments (3)

Andrew Sullivan's Glasses

Two of ITA's closest benefactors, Andrew Sullivan and Mark Shea, are in a very interesting spat over Sullivan's motives for criticizing President Bush. Shea, who generally agrees with Sullivan's positions, nevertheless thinks he's an unreliable and inconsistent ally. Shea argues that Sullivan's growing opposition to the war (and to "torture") is colored by Bush's stance on the Fedeal Marriage Amendment (FMA). As the net's leading Catholic voice, Shea also charges that Sullivan's view of Pope Benedict has also been colored by the Pope's outspoken opposition to homosexual advancements. Sullivan responds:

Not a word of this with respect to my motives is true; and all of it is deeply offensive. . . . My opposition to the conduct of the war began very early--almost as soon as looting took place and Rumsfeld embraced the chaos his terribly-managed occupation had begun to foster. I'm used to these slurs, and the record shows they are baseless. But the notion that I would be finding excuses for torture if Bush had refused to back the FMA is so vile an attack on my integrity it deserves a response. My position on this question has been the same my whole life.

As much as I love Sullivan's contributions, he has not, in fact, been as consistent as he claims. Sullivan has arguably supported tough tactics (some may argue torture) in the past, but not after Bush's endorsement of the FMA. Sullivan's much-hyped endorsement of John Kerry makes a strong suggestion for the motive (emphasis added):

But am I the only one who is far less enthusiastic about Bush's war leadership now than I was a year ago? I supported the war in Afghanistan and Iraq; I support pre-emption as a policy; I believe in taking the fight to the Jihadists at every possible opportunity. But hasn't the last year changed things somewhat? From the fall of Baghdad on, we have seen little but setbacks. Our goals in Iraq now are limited to making the place less dangerous and oppressive than it was under Saddam. If a Democrat had this record, do you think National Review would let it pass? Look, I am far from being persuaded that Kerry can do any better in the war. But I cannot support this president on the war as enthusiastically as I once did - because the mounting evidence suggests a much more mixed record.

THE MARRIAGE THING: And yes, of course, the president's support for the FMA has colored this. How could it not? If you had spent much of your life arguing a) that gay people deserve civil equality and b) that civil marriage is the fundamental mark of that equality, it would require Herculean masochism to endorse a president who wants to enshrine the denial of marriage to gays in the very Constitution itself. I could live with disagreement on the issue of marriage - but not the amendment. Pace Jonah, I have been quite clear in this blog that, in my judgment, no self-respecting gay person could vote for Bush; and I consider myself a self-respecting gay person.

I am not one that enjoys attacking or examining the motives of one's argument; addressing the argument itself is much more prudent. But when one addresses the issue themself and flies in the face of their own clear words, it seems hard to ignore. I enjoy Andrew Sullivan's punditry and I'm appreciative of what he's done and continues to do for ITA. But I have to agree with Mark Shea's assesment that Sullivan sees the war in Iraq through FMA tinted glasses.

Posted by Joshua Claybourn at 09:33 AM | Comments (12)

December 04, 2005

General Assembly: Repeal This Law!

Indiana's general assembly is preparing for its 2006 session. Legislators have started submitting bills for consideration, and if I were a member, the first bill I would submit would repeal Indiana's protection of people who don't wear seatbelts. The law punishes innocent motorists and rewards irresponsibility.

The offensive passages: Indiana Code Section 9-19-10-7 states that a front-seat passenger's failure to wear a seatbelt does not constitute fault and cannot be used to mitigate damages. Indiana Code Section 9-19-11-8 says that a failure to properly restrain a child under the age of three in a child passenger restraint system "does not constitute contributory negligence."

This means that if I am in an accident with a person who fails to wear a seatbelt and he suffers an injury, I am prohibited, by law, from raising the fact that he didn't wear a seatbelt as a defense to the injured person's claims against me. The same goes for unrestrained children.

I understand personal freedom, but freedom must come with responsibility. In Indiana, however, it doesn't, and innocent motorists pay the price when they can't defend themselves by arguing that their opponents' personal choice should be accompanied by that person's responsibility to absorb any damages suffered because of that choice.

This unfair protection of irresponsible behavior needs to go.

Posted by Adam Packer at 04:46 PM | Comments (9)

Hearing on 'Flawed' BCS

The GOP Congress, which once operated under the banner of "limited government," has "called a hearing on the controversial system used to determine college football's national champion." You might be asking yourself where Congress finds its authority in such matters. House Energy and Commerce subcommittee chairman Joe Barton offers the answer:

"College football is not just an exhilarating sport, but a billion-dollar business that Congress cannot ignore."

You see, we mustn't have businesses running around without Congress sticking its nose in it. AP reporter Jim Vertuno adds to this myth by stating the subcommittee is "charged with regulating America's sports industry."

I'm no fan of the current Bowl Championship Series, but I think it's reasonable to assume that the NCAA and its sports community is in a better position than Congress to hammer out a successful evolution.

In spite of my disgust at Congressional grandstanding and power-grabbing, there is in fact an argument to be made for Congressional intervention. A 1984 Supreme Court ruling held that the colleges, not the NCAA, had the right to regulate their television contracts. This makes it difficult for the NCAA to create and enforce a playoff system. Legislation could be used to overcome certain antitrust laws standing in the way of NCAA reform.

Posted by Joshua Claybourn at 09:26 AM | Comments (2)

December 03, 2005

I've been pegged

The NY Times writes about a "growing" problem of internet addiction:

These specialists estimate that 6 percent to 10 percent of the approximately 189 million Internet users in this country have a dependency that can be as destructive as alcoholism and drug addiction, and they are rushing to treat it. Yet some in the field remain skeptical that heavy use of the Internet qualifies as a legitimate addiction, and one academic expert called it a fad illness....

A growing number of therapists and inpatient rehabilitation centers are often treating Web addicts with the same approaches, including 12-step programs, used to treat chemical addictions.

Because the condition is not recognized in psychiatry as a disorder, insurance companies do not reimburse for treatment. So patients either pay out of pocket, or therapists and treatment centers bill for other afflictions, including the nonspecific impulse control disorder.

There is at least one inpatient program, at Proctor Hospital in Peoria, Ill., which admits patients to recover from obsessive computer use. Experts there said they see similar signs of withdrawal in those patients as in alcoholics or drug addicts, including profuse sweating, severe anxiety and paranoid symptoms.

Posted by Joshua Claybourn at 12:38 PM | Comments (6)

December 02, 2005

Gentlemen, Start Your Listing

The end-of-year lists are popping up, and my favorites are always the rock music lists. Amazon is full of lists, but I believe this one is some kind of composite of their editors' picks. It's a good starting point, even if it mixes genres.

One of my favorite sites, metacritic, did the math on the mainstream media's reviews for the year, and published a very good list despite omitting some key releases (Kings of Leon??). The top two spots are held by midwest-based records. Michigan's skinny folk-rocker, Sufjan Stevens, holds down #1 with his second "state" record, Come on Feel the Illinoise, and Louisville's My Morning Jacket grabbed the #2 average with Z. Not bad for flyover country. Sadly, I've only heard a few songs from these records, and won't offer my opinion on either other than if the rest of Z is like "Off the Record" and whatever song MMJ played on Conan last month, it should be eclectic and memorable.

From the blogosphere, Informationleafblower.com put out its roster of the top 40 American rock and roll artists of the year. It looks like releasing an album in 2005 is the only real criterion; how else could Gwen Stefani and the Black Keys end up on the same list? At any rate, it's entertaining and digs a little deeper into the indie world than the others.

I neither buy nor listen to enough music to be as comprehensive as the mp3 bloggers or the indie rock nerds, but I can put together a Top Ten list as well as anyone, so here goes. Please post your own and debate just how disappointing the new 311 album was, how much you, like, LOVE My Chemical Romance, or whatever else floats your rock & roll boat!

The Top Ten records that Adam has heard that were released in 2005 (I hate qualifiers), followed by glib comments:

1. Kings of Leon - Aha Shake Heartbreak. The Followills rule. They are the Rolling Stones and Lynyrd Skynyrd combined. Listen to this record and DON'T shake your moneymaker. The Black Crowes wish they ever wrote songs this cool. etc.

2. Mars Volta - Frances the Mute. A sonically disturbing record with only about 25 minutes of original, worthwhile rock music, but it's how they weave those 25 minutes in with the rest of the record that's so amazing. There is some paradigm-shifting stuff on here. In fact, Frances is the most original-sounding music of any of the albums on my list, despite its obvious prog-rock influences and occasional plagiarism of John Bonham. Try if you like the idea of Yes cutting their teeth as emo punks in 1990s El Paso.

3. The New Pornographers - Twin Cinema. Smart songs that sound new and familar at the same time. Neko Case sings a beautiful backup, but it's when she steps to the front that this album's stars align. The most sonically interesting Western Hemisphere pop-rock since Matthew Sweet's 100% Fun.

4. Nine Inch Nails - With Teeth. With Teeth, indeed. After losing fans with his layoffs and boring them with The Fragile, Reznor gets back to his rocket-launcher roots. "Only" is my pick for radio song (and video) of the year. Combined with Audioslave, NIN lead the nostalgia movement's hard rock branch (Gwen Stefani chairs the pop side).

5. Ryan Adams - Cold Roses. Of Adams's three releases this year (the third, 29, is not out yet, but streams can be found online), this is the most listenable and focused, which is weird because it's the longest. Ryan's two disc set digs up 30 years of Grateful Dead tapes, heartland, and heartache, and filters them through his comfortably worn voice. "Let it Ride" is indie rock's best song of 2005.

6. Old 97's - Alive and Wired. "Big Brown Eyes" and "Murder or a Heart Attack" are great live songs, and, finally, those who have never been to an Old 97's show can hear for themselves. The whole album sounds authentic and energetic. The 97's are a hot, smoke-filled club's best friend. Buy this album and add your own smoke. The heat will come naturally.

7. Audioslave - Out of Exile. Yeah!! A real red-blooded rock record in the year of the indie soundscape. Chris Cornell's voice sounds a little weak in the studio; the album was recorded before he quit smoking. We hear a lot more of Cornell's songwriting fusing with the rest of the band's skilled playing than on the previous album. A unified effort with many high points.

8. Rob Dickinson - Fresh Wine for the Horses. The UK's Dickinson, formerly of underappreciated 90's amphetamine-poppers Catherine Wheel, puts out a cleanly produced set of introspective, borderline self-indulgent tunes and twisty brit-rockers that should sate the few dozen CW fans left in the states. Also makes Coldplay look one-dimensional with its diverse arrangements.

9. Bloc Party - Silent Alarm. This album reads like a soundtrack, featuring several different artists. That's what you get when a band writes a group of songs over a couple of years, and matures in the process. If you can get past the pocket politics that sneak into several tracks, anyone who likes short, fast, stomping dance- and punk- rock (from the Clash to Franz Ferdinand) will like this record.

10. The Soundtrack of Our Lives - Origin Vol. 1. What sounds like the best Kinks record in decades is actually the latest in a catalogue of albums by a pot-bellied 40-something Swede and his merry misfits. Allegedly, they turned down the drugs on this record. Perhaps as a result, there are fewer songs that make you feel stoned and more that make you feel like screaming "bloody'ell!" Funny how a bunch of Swedes would end up making the most consistent string of brit-pop albums since the genre arrived.

Admissions: I haven't heard enough of 2005 releases by Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, The National, Death Cab for Cutie, Aqueduct, or many other acclaimed bands to weigh in on them. Who knows where I'd end up putting them?

Honorable mentions: Wolf Parade, Doves, Oasis, Margot and the Nuclear So & Sos, Coldplay, Ryan Adams, Robert Plant, Son Volt.

Not considered: Kelly Clarkson (2004), Helio Sequence (2004), Nickelback (no way it's good).

Posted by Adam Packer at 08:12 PM | Comments (6)

A Cup of C-SPAN

In a proposal that has been brewing for a while, the FCC is flirting with the idea of forcing cable providers to offer à la carte pricing for individual cable channels, to replace the current bundled packages. There are a number of objections to this policy, but they are, as always, falling on deaf ears.

So if lawmakers think à la carte pricing for cable is so great, why not extend it to restaurants? Why should consumers be forced to purchase bundles of food? Everything on the menu should be à la carte. It's only fair. We could even make some specious claims about the health benefits to sweeten fortify the deal. How about it, statists?

For an examination of the specious claims about indecency motivating à la carte cable pricing, see Radley Balko here and here.

Posted by Zach Wendling at 06:48 AM | Comments (16)

December 01, 2005

Something Silly

San Francisco in Jell-O.

Posted by Zach Wendling at 07:28 PM | Comments (2)

Strange Medicine

Rita Hayworth gave good face, and she may be joined soon by many others if a radical new surgery catches on. Doctors in France have announced that they've performed the world's first partial "face transplant". The subject was a 38-year old woman who was a victim of a dog attack. Doctors transplanted the nose, lips, and chin of a woman who had been declared brain dead, with the approval of the deceased's family. The resulting appearance, if the surgery is successful, will look like a combination of the deceased and the attack victim. The recipient of the grafted tissue wishes to remain anonymous.

Posted by David Darlington at 05:07 PM | Comments (1)