Why Megan McArdle is Wrong

Ms. McArdle exercising her 2nd amendment rights.

(2nd Anniversary re-print.  Original posted 2/10/2010)

At a rather young age (10?) I recall reading an article about standardized tests.  Researchers were doing studies to determine if standardized tests unfairly measured “low income” and/or “minority” children.  The example they used was one of those common, simile problems often [...]

Too Close to Home?

(2nd Anniversary re-print.  Original posted 12/01/2009)

I hope I don’t offend anyone; this is a sincere question and I am very interested in learning what y’all (you’se guys for Rich and Stosh, you’ins for Eric) have to say.  I haven’t looked at the numbers but there is no question our nation graduates way, way, way too [...]

Atlas Shrugging in the Playground

I’ve never liked Ayn Rand — and this tongue in cheek story reminds me why…

When little Aiden toddled up our daughter Johanna and asked to play with her Elmo ball, he was, admittedly, very sweet and polite. I think his exact words were, “Have a ball, peas [sic]?” And I’m sure you were very proud [...]

There Are Experts…

and then there are journalists. P.J. O’Rourke tells us about a special kind of expert in The Weekly Standard — the 72-Hour Expert from Kabul, Afghanistan.

If you spend 72 hours in a place you’ve never been, talking to people whose language you don’t speak about social, political, and economic complexities you don’t understand, and [...]

Pussy Abhor

Who is this heroine bad bad woman?

Footage of the attack was captured by a CCTV camera which the couple use to monitor the front of their home.

They have now posted the video on YouTube and Facebook in a bid to track down the culprit.

Darryl, 26, a mobile phone repair man, said: ‘I’d like to know [...]

Julian Assange

Wikileaks founder and spokeshole Julian Assange was charged and then discharged of rape and molestation by a Swedish prosecutor this past week and weekend. Assange, of course, is trying to paint it as a Pentagon set up. Using our noodle — and the common sense God gave us (or that you inherited from [...]

Much Ado… About Nothing?

According to the AP — a group of soldiers at Ft. Eustis in Virginia are claiming they were punished for not attending a Christian concert last May — Via Yahoo! News:

Pvt. Anthony Smith said he and other soldiers felt pressured to attend the May concert while stationed at the Newport News base, home of the [...]

In Class With Floyd

I’m prepping Fall Courses and wrapping up Summer ones. These are a couple of the books I’ll be assigning this Fall.

For a grad seminar called Psychology, Law and Public Policy

In my Disability Law course:

The Ugly Laws: Disability in Public (History of Disability)

And as a supplemental in my Humanities course (which I love to teach [...]

Hall of Shame

The Washington Post is reporting that Roger Clemens is going to be indicted for perjury.

Roger Clemens will be indicted on charges of making false statements to Congress about his use of performance-enhancing drugs, the New York Times is reporting.

Citing two sources who’ve been briefed on the matter, the Times reports that an announcement is [...]

Nice Touch Ensign Crusher

From a blog called Letters of Note comes this story about Wil Wheaton (Wesley Crusher on Star Trek: TNG) and a young fan — from 1989…

In 1988, aged just 8 but already a fan of the teen actor due to Stand By Me, Star Trek: The Next Generation and his ‘awesome smile’, an excited Teresa [...]

WOW

Found at Jawa Report

Getting Screwed By the Government

From the London Sunday Telegraph:

One local authority is using its budget to pay for the services of a prostitute in Amsterdam, while others have said visits to lap dancing clubs are permissible under new policies which transfer funds directly to those who receive care from social services.

Holidays abroad, subscriptions for internet dating and driving lessons [...]

Hallowed Ground

We’re all familiar with the number of dead on 9-11 — or its approximation — 3,000 total including over 2,700 in the World Trade Center attack. I had assumed that after nearly 9 years that most (well over most) remains had been recovered and identified. That assumption was wrong**.

Human Remains Discovered Since 2006

About [...]

Cease and Desist

From the Hill’s Blog Briefing Room:

The Pentagon demanded Thursday that Wikileaks hand over classified Afghanistan war documents published leaked to the website.

Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell at Thursday’s briefing said “the only acceptable course” is for Wikileaks to turn some 15,000 documents still being reviewed by the website back to the U.S. government and delete all [...]

There’s Always Minnesota

Every time I feel embarrassed for California (even though I didn’t create the problems here) Al Franken comes along and makes me think… “Hey! Maybe we’re only the 49th most embarrassing state!” Jesse Ventura AND Al Franken… holy crap Minnesota.

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) scolded Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) on the Senate [...]

Ignorance of the Law is Sometimes An Excuse

I’m not as anti-War on Drugs as libertarians — especially the folks from Reason, but I am concerned (though I don’t know if the “war on photographers” is a real trend or a faux media trend because I’m unaware at any real attempt to fully catalog incidents where people are wrongfully arrested for videotaping and [...]

Can vs. Should

Bill McGurn has a great piece on the Mosque that is being planned near Ground Zero in today’s Wall Street Journal. Here’s a bit, go read the whole thing:

In the 1980s, Carmelite nuns moved into an abandoned building on the edge of the former Nazi death camp to pray for the souls taken there. [...]

Clarification

This is THE crux of this election… actually, it has been the crux of every election since 1788.

h/t: HotAir via Mi Madre

Penalties For Early Withdrawal

It seems our troops won’t be home from Afghanistan in 2011 as promised by our TelePrompter in Chief. From this AP report:

“Nobody thinks that Afghanistan is going to be a model Jeffersonian democracy,” President Barack Obama said in a television interview that aired Sunday.

“What we’re looking to do is difficult — very difficult — [...]

He’s Not Gonna Take It

This has been making the Facebook rounds… but it is too awesome not to share… For you chillens out there Al and Tipper Gore’s first incarnation was crusading against immoral lyrics on recorded music and the putting of stickers warning of adult content. As a parent I’m not against that, but as with [...]

Election Pics! Come Get Your Election Pics!!

Plans for holding an 80th birthday gala (and fundraiser — natch) for Charlie Rangel are moving forward at The Plaza Hotel — one of the toniest hotels in Manhattan.

Lobbyists and other party donors received invitations this week to join Sens. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and New York Gov. David Paterson (D) at [...]

Incompetence, The Rule of Law and Gitmo

Here’s an interesting — and telling — story from Yahoo! News about the status of trials for terrorists and other unlawful enemy combatants down at Gitmo. A bit:

Attorney General Eric Holder announced in November the trial would be moved to federal court in New York. But the administration backtracked and put the issue under [...]

Pfc Bradley Manning and Julian Assange Deserve Death

and this is why From Friday’s London Daily Telegraph:

In an interview with Channel 4 News, Zabihullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman, said they were studying and investigating the report, adding “If they are US spies, then we know how to punish them.”

The warning came as the US military’s top officer, Admiral Mike Mullen said that [...]

Dirty Waters

California Congresswoman Maxine Water is going to be charged with violations by the House Ethics Committee.

Both Waters and Rangel are prominent members of the Congressional Black Caucus. Dual ethics trials would be a major political liability for Democrats, forcing them to defend their party’s ethical conduct while trying to hold on to their House majority.

While [...]

Total BS

Total Recall… may be remade… by the director of…. Die Hard 4. Somebody get me Michael Ironside… stat! I don’t care if he did leave his forearms on that elevator. He can put a stop to this travesty.

h/t: JJ

Rangel Wrangle (BUMPED)

CBS News is reporting that Charlie Rangel has cut a deal with the House Ethics Committee (stop laughing!) to avoid a public trial.

Harlem friends of Rangel tell CBS 2 they have been told that the details could be unveiled when the House Ethics Committee meets Thursday afternoon.

“Sixty years ago I survived a Chinese attack in [...]

What Is It With Leaks Being Overhyped?

Last week I blogged an item about how the Gulf oil spill’s long term effects are being over hyped by the media. In that post I asked:

How bad can the long term environmental damage be when the Gulf of Mexico is already loaded with oil and has been for thousands or millions of years?

So [...]

Afghan Wig Out

The ongoing WikiLeaks release is being covered by The Guardian here — it seems to me to be the most comprehensive coverage.

A lot will be written about WikiLeaks’ motivations…. I don’t know that that is very useful — why does a toddler throw a tantrum? Because he can and because he lacks the wisdom [...]

BHO = BS

Watch the above…

Then read this from The Australian:

Correspondence obtained by The Sunday Times reveals the Obama administration considered compassionate release more palatable than locking up Abdel Baset al-Megrahi in a Libyan prison.

The intervention, which has angered US relatives of those who died in the attack, was made by Richard LeBaron, deputy head of the US [...]

Lt. Col. Allen West

Both of these clips are awesome…

And this one on his service in Iraq…

And if you’re not familiar with his service in Iraq… here’s a snip from The Weekly Standard:

In 2003, Allen West was facing a possible court martial hearing that could have put him in prison.

Responsible for over six hundred men as a Lieutenant-Colonel in [...]

Do Tell

Lt. Dan Choi (here pictured protesting Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell by handcuffing himself to the White House fence) was discharged honorably by the New York Army National Guard for violating the policy. Here’s the story from AOL News:

One of the most prominent voices against the U.S. military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, who came [...]

Rangel Tangle

We’ve always known Charlie Rangel is as crooked as a dog’s hind leg. Hell — he won the seat from a crooked politicians around Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. back in 1970. And while it’s not the indictment leading to the living the rest of his life behind bars he deserves — being charged [...]

Big Mistake?

One of the things I detest as much as racism is the casual, reckless or intentionally misleading labeling of one as “racist” of one who is not — or who we don’t know — especially based on one snippet or one word, etc. Andrew Breitbart made a big splash yesterday with his drop of [...]

Say Cheese!

This is most likely one of those “trends” that is more heat than light that I posted about recently, but this motorcyclist faces 16 years in prison for filming his own arrest. The UK has had an increasing war on photographers and videographers and I would hate to see this sort of thing increase [...]

Ruling Class v. Country Class

This article from The American Spectator by Angelo Codevilla called “America’s Ruling Class — And the Perils of Revolution” nails how I think and feel about the state of our culture — and the escalating culture war (about much more than coarse pop culture and abortion — this is an existential war). That’s not [...]

WHO. What?!?

United Nations World Health Organization. Dangerous? Stupid? Dangerously stupid?

WHO spokesman Paul Garwood insisted he wasn’t criticizing Amnesty’s work, but the public relations flap illustrated an essential quandary for aid groups in unfree states: how to help innocent people without playing into the hands of their leaders.

Amnesty’s report on Thursday described North Korea’s health care system [...]

Labor Virgins

George W. Bush caught a lot of heat when he said that illegal aliens do jobs “Americans won’t do”. As each passing year of college freshman come through my classroom I think he is right — and as I look at many of my colleagues (especially the Gen x and Y) I am even [...]

Sky? Falling

The above is a timeline of the last decade’s media stories of impending doom relative to the number of deaths. In other words… the media likes to scare the hell out of us in extreme disproportion to the actual danger. Not news to anyone around here perhaps, but interesting to see it graphed [...]

Healthcare Rationing is For Chumps

Hello chumps… the invaluable Byron York over at The Washington Examiner has a story about Obama’s new Healthcare Czar that is, well, infuriating:

Donald Berwick, recess-appointed by President Obama to head Medicare and Medicaid, is a well-known advocate of health care rationing and admirer of Britain’s National Health Service. Rising health costs and limited resources “require [...]

White Liar, Black Heart

Over at Slate.com Jack Shafer has a mostly great column called Press Box where he points out and ridicules ethical lapses in journalism (quit laughing!). His July 7th column on a New York Times article about a trend of young girls wanting eyes like Lady Gaga is a good example of him skewering what [...]

Climategate. Over.

Or is it? From the London Daily Telegraph:

Prof Jones lost his job as head of the Climatic Research Unit at the UEA after personal emails he sent appeared on the internet.

The emails referred to a ‘trick’ used to interpret data and the death of a leading climate change sceptic as “cheering news.”

Sceptics claimed the [...]

And Clinton Was Trying To Get Erected

Iowahawk Nails It

Here’s Iowahawk’s bid to collect $100,000 from Andrew Breitbart for the e-mail list and transcript for Ezra Klein’s junior high journalist (aka Liberal) media listserv aka JournoList. There’s more description at the second link. From Iowahawk:

EZRA KLEIN has entered the room.
MATTHEW YGLESIAS has entered the room.
ERIC BOEHLERT has entered the room.
JOSH MARSHALL has [...]

Macro Economics 101

Since Floyd has copped to listening to NPR I suppose it’s safe for me to come out of the closet.  Ira Glass has one of the most annoying voices to ever earn a living on radio.  He can pack more condescension and superiority into a simple, “Good Morning” than Shakespearean trained Lionel Barrymore’s, “You’re worth [...]

The Politics of Confirmation

Here’s a good brief (and mostly objective) history of the beginnings of the modern judicial confirmation process and its lousiness with partisan politics. As with most things bad about today’s politics… they intersect with both LBJ and Richard Nixon. From the Sept./Oct. 2009 issue of Humanities:

In the aftermath of the Senate hearings [...]