February 27, 2005

Live Blogging the Oscars

Is being done on other blogs by people who really have wayyyy too much time on their hands.

Update: Anyone who watches the Oscars for any length of time should follow William Shatner's advice.

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Whatever it Takes

Wretchard at Belmont Club gives a good account of why firing Ward Churchill is not only absolutely necessary, but is also only a first step toward cleaning out the Augean Stables that academia has become:

The Rocky
Mountain News depicts the CU administration as practically paralyzed
with fear at the possible retaliation Churchill could visit on them should they
attempt to chastise him.

University of Colorado President Betsy Hoffman had some fairly strong words Tuesday for those who have argued that professor Ward Churchill should be fired. "The more talk there is about the need to fire him, the more difficult it becomes for us to do that, if that's what we decide to do," she told Republican lawmakers, urging them not to join calls for action. "If we approach this issue wrong," she said, "not only will every regent be sued personally, but every administrator will be sued personally and professor Churchill will win his lawsuit with triple damages and be back on the faculty, a very wealthy man at our expense."

This fear, whether real or pretended, is an impressive demonstration of the power of Political Correctness,  a compound of legal menace, the threat of extralegal action and of retaliatory vilification that is not some figure of speech but an actual, material force. Even if Churchill is 'bought out' at $10 million -- should he stoop to accept such a beggarly sum -- he will have unambiguously demonstrated the value of leftist protection. That he could have survived repeated exposure as an ethnic identity thief, academic fraud and art forger; that he could have assaulted a newsman on television and withstood the personal opprobrium of the Colorado Governor, only to receive a fortune in compensation, can only add to his fame.

What has become patently obvious is that the only way to fix this mess is to "go to war" on the University system as it now stands. For a start, defund the ethnic studies department. Then the Colorado legislature should institute a 20% across the board cut in all liberal arts programs(because that is where this rot originates. If a settlement is made with Ward Churchill, the state shouldn't pay for it. All university presidents should be political appointees(or subject to statewide election), and should have final signing authority on tenured posts. Yes, that would open up the post to cronyism and various sundry other nasties, but it would have one very salutary effect--it would put real accountability on an institution that has behaved as if its funds came out of the sky, and not taxpayers, something which Ward Churchill himself believes:

"I do not work for the taxpayers of the state of Colorado. I do not work for Bill Owens. I work for you."

And therein lies the issue. Academics at state institutions like to pretend that they have no accountability to the people who pay their salaries. They think they can turn their campuses into little Stalinist enclaves with speech codes and political indoctrination, with the right to destroy the academic careers of those who do not follow leftist orthodoxy, and promote the careers of those who parrot the right(read: leftist) words. Ward Churchill's promotion and tenure occurred simply because he was a leftist with faux American Indian credentials. His actual academic record was unimportant.

It is time for the elected officeholders in Colorado to disabuse academia of that notion. If that means making pink slips rain like confetti, so be it. If it means putting CU in some form of academic receivership, fine. If it means canceling every contract with every professor at that institution, do it. This is about far more than Ward Churchill. It is about destroying the Stalinist, hate-filled institution that academia has become today. Permitting the continuation of the status quo is simply intolerable.

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February 25, 2005

Tenure protects nothing

Eugene Volokh still thinks that tenure is worthwhile because it protects non-lefty academics on campus.

Finally, if tenure is abolished, and universities cut down academic freedom protections to the minimum that the First Amendment demands (or the Supreme Court reverses its First Amendment protection for government employee speech), do we really think that only extreme anti-Americans will be fired? Or would it be likelier that the overwhelmingly left-wing faculties and administrations will fire lots of professors on the right -- including people who express eminently legitimate views, just on topics that are unpopular with the left?

The problem with this idea is that tenure somehow has protected non-lefty academics. The reality not quite what he makes it out to be. Tenure does not protect non-lefties, it only slows down the rate of attrition. Seeing how the academy has treated Ward Churchill v. Larry Summers, it is patently obvious to me that a young aspiring right of center professor would have to create a body of work that he fundamentally does not agree with simply to attain tenure. What are the odds that any right of center Ethnic studies professor would have received tenure over Ward Churchill?

The only way that we are going to fix our public university system is if we make the entire administrations of the public university system accountable to the electorate. Exactly how many presidents and regents boards will tolerate rampant anti-americanism on campus when they realize that their career survival means avoiding the attack ad with their picture right next to that of a raving lunatic like Churchill? How long will speech codes last when their anti-democratic nature is subject to indirect voter approval every four years or so? Right now, the link between the university and the public at large is very indirect. We need to cut a link or two between academia and the public that funds it.

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Does the Flu Kill?

In the case of Michael Jackson, it kills. Other people, that is:

A woman who had suffered a massive heart attack died after hospital personnel moved her out of a trauma room to accommodate a flu-stricken Michael Jackson, the patient's family said.

Jury selection in Jackson's child molestation child had to be temporarily postponed Feb. 15 when the pop star was taken to Marian Medical Center in Santa Maria, Calif., complaining of flu-like symptoms. Manuela Gomez Ruiz, a 74-year-old grandmother, was moved from the primary trauma room and taken off the machine ventilator, with her breathing instead assisted manually by hand pump, until she was relocated to a smaller room nearby, her family told ABC News.

And exactly how bad was the pedophile's "flu"?

The larger room was kept for Jackson, the family says. Hospital records show Jackson, 46, told emergency room staff he had severe abdominal pain. His body temperature,96.9 degrees, was below normal and he had tears in his eyes. The initial emergency room report said he could go home anytime.

A "flu" with a 97F body temperature, and a recommendation that he could go home anytime. And he shoves someone with severe heart trouble out of her room. True, the woman might have died anyway, but why was a serious trauma patient displaced for a celebrity hypochondriac?

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Midlife Crisis Barbie?

Barbie comes to the 21st Century

8. Mid-life Crisis Barbie. It's time to ditch Ken. Barbie needs a change, and Alonzo (her personal trainer) is just what the doctor ordered, along with Prozac. They're hopping in her new red Miata and heading for the Napa Valley to open a B&B. Includes a real tape of "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do."

I think Claudia's got it backwards. It's first wife Barbie, because Mid-Life Crisis Ken took off to make it with trophy-wife Bratz(the slut).

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Lynn Swann!

Lynn Swan? No. Lynn Swann!

Well, it appears that Lynn Swann was there at the GOP convention for real, and probably to gain some support for a gubernatorial bid. What is more interesting is that should Swann win the Governor's race, he will not be alone as a Black Republican in higher office. Ken Blackwell is currently Secretary of State in Ohio, and will run for Governor in '06. Maryland Lt. Governor Michael Steele is also running for governorship of that state, and of course, Lynn Swann in PA, as evidenced today. This is good news for the GOP, and horrifically bad news for Democrats. If the GOP only goes 1/3 in electing these three people to the statehouse, they will do a better job than the Democrat party will have done in advancing Blacks to higher office. If they go 3/3, they will have 3 governors, two from Blue states, all of whom would instantly be considered contenders in a presidential run.

If such an event should occur, it will simply be devastating to the Democratic party and the current civil rights establishment. Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, and the NAACP have put themselves firmly in the back pocket of the Democrats. And while their game of racebaiting has been good for their pocketbook, it really hasn't done a heck of a lot getting Blacks elected to higher office. Barack Obama is their only success story, and that is only because the Illinois GOP imploded. Meanwhile, the Democrat party has shown over and over again in recent days how much they take the Black vote for granted.

First, the Kerry campaign gave short shrift to the social conservative agenda that is popular with the black vote, but not with rank and file white liberals in the party. Second, Senate Democrats let Barbara Boxer and ex-Klansman Robert Byrd rake Condi Rice over the coals with barely concealed racial epithets. Finally, Howard Dean, in the process of making a joke about republicans, intimates that Blacks today are only capable of being hotel staff.

Columnist Joseph Phillips puts it well:

The problem with Dean’s witticism and the CBC’s accompanying amusement is that it represents a jaundiced view of America as vastly unchanged since 1959. It is a vision that is not only outdated it also happens to be untrue. Far from being a nation where blacks are relegated to being maids and man servants as Dean (and the Democratic Party) are fond of telling us, this is a nation not of second-class citizens in need of benevolence, but first class citizens desirous of respect.

The alternative notion that Blacks are second-class citizens in the Republican Party is also inaccurate.

There are currently four blacks in this country holding statewide elected office. All of them are Republicans. Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell is poised to become the first Black governor of Ohio in 2006 and will be on the Republican ticket as a presidential or vice presidential candidate by 2016. Current lieutenant governor of Maryland, Michael Steele, will become the first Black governor of Maryland and perhaps move to the U.S. Senate or become part of a national ticket. Texas Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams will become the first Black Texas attorney general. Waiting in the wings is football hall of fame receiver Lynn Swann who is running for governor of Pennsylvania and of course Condoleezza Rice who if she chooses will be a formidable challenger for the Republican nomination for president in ’08. Dean and the CBC can yuk it up all they want, but they are hard pressed to produce anything near this level of accomplishment for Black candidates -- at least not yet.

What I think we are looking at is something unprecedented. Sometime in the next 12 years, an African American is going to run for President, and in all likelihood win. And that African American will probably be a Republican.

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February 22, 2005

General Detente speaks

Scowcroft Faults Bush for Russia Policy

As President Bush prepared for talks Thursday with Russian President Vladimir Putin, former U.S. national security adviser Brent Scowcroft faulted Bush for not paying enough attention to relations with Moscow.

"U.S. policy in the last few years has not reflected the importance of the relationship," said Scowcroft, who also was critical of the president's Iraq and Mideast policies.

Here we go again. Brent Scowcroft, AKA General Detente, high commander of "realist" foreign policy, saying Bush should play nice with Putin. After what Putin did in Ukraine, his playing kissy face with the Iranians, etc, you'd think General Detente might want to rethink the wisdom of a "realistic" foreign policy, especially since his "realism" forced us to spend 12 years dealing with Saddam, only to have to do two years ago what we should have done in 1991.

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Yes!

Finally, Google pays me my due.

Update: Even better--paste "Who is the Great Satan?" and click on "I'm feeling lucky." Stuff like this just gives me a warm fuzzy.

Update: Well, that was quick. A grand total of 7 hours on top of the world.

Update: Great. Now I'm back. Damn google for mocking me!

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February 21, 2005

Please for the Love of God

Michelle, if you are going to watch movies with your kid, please, for the love of god, don't let her see Spirit:

“Oh. Daddy, Spirit just tasted something yucky in that man’s canteen.”

“Yes, dear. A bit later, you’ll see that bad men not only drink yucky liquor, they also smoke tobacco.”

“Don’t Indians smoke tobacco too?”

“Not in this movie.”

“What’s that building the men are taking Spirit to?”

“It’s a cavalry fort. The bad men live there.”

“Only men? Where do the ladies and children live?”

“In this movie, ladies and children live in happy Indian camps. White people are all men, and live in forts with their unhappy horses.”

“Daddy, I feel bad that all those horses are unhappy.”

“You’re supposed to feel bad, dear. But don’t worry, after they tie up Spirit for three days with no food or water…”

Gee, after watching that movie, you'd think that Hollywood is trying to indoctrinate your kids. Naaaah.

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Rafik Hariri, the Benigno Aquino of Lebanon

Robin Burk at Winds of Change links to an post by Omar at Iraq the Model who quotes his father:

"This is September 11 of the ME" in reference to the situation in Lebanon.
But it seems that there are other people and bloggers who share my father's point of view; Chrenkoff shares this thought and has an informative update on the investigations.

Meanwhile, public opinion polls in Arab countries show that the majority supports the idea of an international investigation on the attack (69.59% on the BBC Arabic and 58.8% on Alarabiya) but it's also interesting to see that around 99% of the samples in Ramalla/Palestine oppose the international investigation!

While the 9/11 analogy is what comes to mind at first glance, it really doesn't fit. 9/11 was fundamentally an attack on the United States/Western Civilization by outside(read: non-western) forces, an act of war against a nation and the civilization that it represents.

A much closer parallel to the Hariri assassination is the murder of Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino. Like Hariri he was a dissident. Hariri agitated for independence from Syria, Aquino against the corruption of the Marcos regime. Both Hariri and Aquino were assassinated because they represented a threat to the established order in their countries. Both also, after their assassination, became a martyr and symbol for the opposition movements that they headed, and after their death, the movements were strengthened immeasurably. To show how close the parallel is, compare the following passages, with any geographical/biographical references redacted:

• (UPI) -- Chanting "Fight, Fight, Fight," more than 500,000 angry [...] poured through the streets today in an emotional procession behind the casket of slain opposition leader [...]. It was the biggest anti-government protest in [...]'s history. "Free our country," demanded thousands of students.

• [...] Government Protests Hours after the mass funeral of slain opposition leader [..] riot police and demonstrators clashed near [...] in street battles that left one student dead and at least 74 people injured, officials said Thursday. © United Press International

• (UPI) -- More than 15,000 office workers, with banners saying "We have had enough totalitarianism," joined a businessmen's protest Friday sparked by the death of opposition leader [...]. The march was reportedly the first anti-government protest by workers in the swank [...] business district.

• (UPI) -- More than 50,000 people poured into a [...] square today in a "National Day of Sorrow" to mourn slain opposition leader [...] and protest "[...] years of a reign of repression." Opposition leaders urged people who attended [...]'s funeral to turn out for the protests.

• Hundreds of thousands of [...]marched through the streets of the capital [...] to the edge of [...], where [...] was buried in a raucous ceremony that reflected uncharacteristic unity and deep anger toward those they blame for his assassination: the government of [...].

  Carrying banners that read [...] and "Hey [...] Who's Next?" throngs of [...] chanted and sobbed as [...]'s casket was borne [...] through miles of empty streets, then on shoulders into [...]. The banners of political parties that were once fierce rivals bounced along together in the flow of people.

  The signs of [...] unity in a country [...] were evident in almost every aspect of the day's activities. The bells of St. George Cathedral, a [...] church [ ...], tolled for hours. No one could remember such a tribute...

  "[...] made all of this possible," said [...], 71, [...] who joined the gathering outside the mosque to pay his respects. "What was said in low voices for months is now being said at a very high volume."




• The assassination of [...] transformed the opposition movement overnight from a small isolated movement to a mass movement involving people across all classes of society in [...]. The middle class was involved, the lower class was involved, and business leaders whom [...] irked during martial law supported the movement. The assassination showed the increasing incapacity of the [...] regime[...] and outraged [...]'s supporters that he would allow the assassination of a key figure of the opposition to happen. The mass discord caused by the assassination put [...] on the map for the United States. Attention was brought to the [...] Crisis...

All of these quotes refer to either the murder of Ninoy Aquino or to the murder of Rafiq Hariri. What is striking is not just that the language is very similar, but that while they refer either to something that occurred over 21 years ago, or to something that occurred in the past two weeks, but it is nearly impossible to tell which is which..

The upshot of this is that in both cases, the assassination was not a sign of strength, but of weakness. In both cases, a person who was one among many members of the opposition became a martyr, far more powerful in death than they would have been in life, and that means that Syria's days in Lebanon are absolutely numbered.

And, in case you want to know, the first few quotes are from this website containing blurbs of UPI stories about the Phillippines, the second large quote is from this article in WaPo, the last, from the biography of Benigno Aquino.

Update: Added some more articles to the page. It is Pretty hard to tell the differences between what happened twenty years ago, and what happened last week.

Update: A little bit editing to make it more readable.

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Do Carnivals work?

Yep. I wound up surfing to myself on the best of me symphony. And I hadn't even submitted myself either. Thanks, guys.

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The Irony!

Royal Navy to woo homosexuals

And here's the recruiting poster:

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John Fund: Bigshot conservative and laptop thief

Kevin McCullough at Crosswalk finds that John Fund seems to think that all our laptops are belong to him:

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February 17, 2005

Remake Bugs?

There are some things you just don't do. One of them is remake Bugs Bunny:

The Looney Tunes characters — six in all — have been "reimagined" (in studio parlance) for a new series called "Loonatics," which is set to air next fall on WPIX/Channel 11 as part of the Saturday morning Kids' WB program lineup.

[...]

He said the characters' superpowers have not yet been finalized. And neither have their names, although they are expected to have names close to those of their ancestors (think Buzz Bunny).

Great. A "reimagined" Bugs. Here is their blecch! reimagined Bugs:

Of course, it gets worse:

"This is a kids show intended for kids today who are growing up in the Internet age, an age of technology, an age of hip, cool animation, and something that we hope will resonate with that age group," explained Sander Schwartz, president of Warner Bros. Animation, in a phone interview from Hollywood.

Yep that's right. A character that went fundamentally unchanged for 60 years, was one of the most popular characters during that entire time, needs a new, "edgier" look. When I was 8 years old, as a cartoon character, he was already 30 years old, and he was one of the most popular cartoon characters then. For some reason, the producers back then didn't give Bugs Glam Rock makeup and a Members Only Jacket in order that he'd appeal to a younger demographic. What kind of idiot messes with an icon of animation?

I forgot, the kind that wants to give Bugs super powers:

For "Loonatics," the six characters are being projected 700 years into the future, given superpowers, and outfitted in tight-fitting, slenderizing space gear.

[...]

He said the characters' superpowers have not yet been finalized. And neither have their names, although they are expected to have names close to those of their ancestors (think Buzz Bunny)

Lovely. Now, instead of Bugs getting by with his wits, he'll use his superpower. And something tells me it won't be related to how smoking Bugs looks in a Dress.

No, that would just be so 1999, you know.

Update: Michelle at A Small Victory has more:

Stop fucking with my childhood, please. Stop remaking my favorite movies and stop giving my favorite cartoon characters makeovers. Is the entertainment industry so bereft of new, creative ideas that they have to basterdize everything that was good about tv and movies? Eh, don't answer that. I know the answer.

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What about self-censorship

Armed Liberal over at Winds of Change is ambivalent about the new rules over indecency just passed by the House:

Yes, I can listen to CD's or NPR when I have the kids in the car.

Yes, there are choices.

But somehow, when I think about this, or the New York DJ's Opie and Anthony who egged a couple into having sex in a church (where they were arrested), I kind of squirm a bit.

Where's the bottom? Is the market really the only thing that we can legitimately use to determine where the bottom is?

Whenever I hear these discussions about government censorship, increased fines, and the like, I ask myself a question: would Congress enact these laws if radio and television exercised some level of editorial control in the first place? For the past 35-40 years, movies, television, and radio have consistently gotten more risque, more violent, more gory in a persistent attempt to be "edgy". Most of the time, this "edginess" is really a mask for being unable to make a decent plot or thematic elements. For example, take a look at four sci-fi blockbusters, two from the late '60s, and two from the past decade or so.

In the 60's we have The Planet of the Apes and 2001: A Space Odyssey. The two movies are some of the best movies ever made, and definitely in the top 10 science fiction movies of all time. Yet both are rated G. Today, we have the Matrix trilogy, all rated R, and none of that trilogy was anywhere near as good as either PotA or 2001.

Another example is Howard Stern. I listened to Howard Stern pretty regularly when he was on afternoons on WNBC, and I've listened to him occasionally now. Howard complains daily and bitterly about how he is being censored by the Man today(FCC) or by the Man back then(WNBC management). Most fo the movie Private Parts details this struggle with WNBC management. I listened to him back then. He was funny back then. Today he's boring. The reason why he was funny was because he was forced to operate within limits, and had to actually use his talent rather than rely on the parade of nuts 'n sluts that currently makes up his radio show. Today, Howard Stern is no different than a bazillion other morning shock jocks that cram the airwaves, all giving out the same parade of nuts and sluts.

And that really is the issue. Smutty, crass media isn't just bad for delicate sensitivities. It's also dull.

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February 15, 2005

SSN Jimmy Carter to be Commissioned

Navy to Commission Attack Submarine Jimmy Carter

Jimmy Carter is the third and final submarine of the Seawolf class. As the most advanced submarine in the class, Jimmy Carter will have built-in flexibility and an array of new warfighting features that will enable it to prevail in any scenario, against any threat – from beneath Artic ice to shallow water. Differentiating Jimmy Carter from all other undersea vessels is its multimission platform (MMP), which includes a 100-foot hull extension to enhance payload capability. The MMP will enable Jimmy Carter to accommodate the advanced technology required to develop and test a new generation of weapons, sensors and undersea vehicles for naval special warfare, tactical surveillance and mine-warfare operations.

But does it have defense capability against killer rabbits?

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Why did Eason say what he did?

Why did Eason Jordan make anti-American comments? If you want an explanation, and get CNN/fn, here is a method that will explain all.

First, get a VCR. Then set the VCR(or TiVo) to record from 2AM to 6AM on weekdays, and all day on weekends, starting at about 4AM EST. What you'll notice is that CNN has near Beeb levels of anti-Americanism on their so-called "international" network. Eason Jordan said what he said because he knew it would sell in Europe and the ME. I don't know if that makes what he did better or worse. It is better in a sense that he didn't believe it himself. It is worse because he whored his credibility for ratings, then tried to backtrack when American audiences found out his double-dealing.

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How clueless is the MSM media?

Take a look at this blurb on blogs, taken from this weeks Newsweek:

Eason Jordan resigned Friday, right before Newsweek went to press. Major right of center bloggers had been blogging about it for at least a week previous to that, and the story had leaked into Brit Hume's show, and a few MSM outlets by the middle of last week. Yet the biggest thing Newsweek could find on a political blog was Kos and Atrios going after a comparative nobody.

On the one hand, someone at Newsweek reads a blog, which I suppose is a good thing. However, if the only blogs they read are the kind that carry the exact same left-of-center worldview that is part and parcel of every single MSM outlet, exactly what good are they getting out of reading them?

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Let it be known

That Iowahawk has the Conch

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February 10, 2005

What do Michael Bloomberg and Fidel Castro have in common?

Their laws regarding smoking.

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February 06, 2005

My good deed for the year

I've decided to do a good deed for the year. That good deed will be to teach Donovan McNabb to tell time, so that he won't waste four minutes of game time and lose the superbowl in the process.

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Mark Steyn on George Bush

"This is a president who wants to leave his mark on more than a cocktail dress."

Of course, read it all.

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February 04, 2005

Minor changes

I'll be adding and deleting some blogs from the blogroll for the next few days, so expect some changes.

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Fire Ward Churchill

Eugene Volokh and Stephen Bainbridge both think that Ward Churchill shouldn't be fired, because firing him is an infringement of freedom of speech. Bainbridge invokes Voltaire as the justification for keeping him on the payroll courtesy of the taxpayers of Colorado:

This one of those occasions when those of us on the right need to suck it up and echo the line famously attributed to Voltaire: "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." We do not remain true to our values if we are willing to say "free speech for me, but not for thee," even if that is what Churchill likely would say if the shoe were on the other foot.

The problem is not that Churchill is endorsing mass murder. The problem is that Colorado taxpayers are paying for it. And Churchill is a vile, hate-filled apologist for mass murder. Let's put the shoe on the other foot. Imagine a professor, not only a professor, but chairman of his department, not just simply engaging in Holocaust denial(leftist antiSemitism is routine on campus), but actually endorsing the actions of the Nazis(read Churchill yourself, and judge). Would any reasonable person expect a professor to still be employed at that institution, tenured or not?

Bainbridge and Volokh seem to be reading something into the first amendment that I don't see. How did

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

Turn into

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances, and tenured professors shall be guaranteed a paycheck, regardless of which acts of mass murder they endorse.

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February 03, 2005

OK, I'm back

Sorry for the absence. I'll get into some detail tomorrow(er, today)

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