Thursday, March 24, 2011

College’s harsh lesson

Education bubble:

College’s harsh lesson - BostonHerald.com: "It’s college admissions season, when parents will open their mailbox and find out the bad news: Their kids were accepted to an elite, big-name college.

That’s right: bad news."

Down the Rabbit Hole | The Middle East

Wonderful:

Down the Rabbit Hole | The Middle East: "To all appearances, U.S. foreign policy in the Obama Administration has now definitively gone down the rabbit hole. It is intoxicated with an advanced form of Wilsonian madness, one shorn of all sensitivity to the consequences of the U.S. government’s behavior. Like Alice with her pills, some things are getting or will soon get bigger—risks, mission definition and casualty figures on the ground in Libya—while others are getting smaller—our reservoir of good options, our stock of common sense and our peace of mind."

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Don’t Call Me, I Won’t Call You - NYTimes.com

Interesting, I have also noticed this trend:

Don’t Call Me, I Won’t Call You - NYTimes.com: "NOBODY calls me anymore — and that’s just fine. With the exception of immediate family members, who mostly phone to discuss medical symptoms and arrange child care, and the Roundabout Theater fund-raising team, which takes a diabolical delight in phoning me every few weeks at precisely the moment I am tucking in my children, people just don’t call."

Friday, March 18, 2011

Chevy Volt: The Car From Atlas Shrugged Motors

Good question:

Chevy Volt: The Car From Atlas Shrugged Motors - Forbes.com: "Volt sales are anemic: 326 in December, 321 in January, and 281 in February. GM announced a production run of 100,000 in the first two years. Who is going to buy all these cars?"

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Ignoring Death Threats to Wisconsin Politicians Is Media Bias

Good article:

Lee Stranahan: Shame: Ignoring Death Threats to Wisconsin Politicians Is Media Bias: "Why isn't the mainstream media talking about the death threats against Republican politicians in Wisconsin?

Try to set aside whatever biases or preconceptions you might have for a moment and ask yourself why death threats against politicians aren't considered national news, especially in the wake of the all too fresh shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and other bystanders. And there hasn't just been one death threat, but a number of them."

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Mark McKinnon: Do We Still Need Unions? No.

Changing narrative:

Mark McKinnon: Do We Still Need Unions? No. - Newsweek: "The manufactured Madison, Wis., mob is not the movement the White House was hoping for. Both may find themselves at the wrong end of the populist pitchfork. While I generally defend collective bargaining and private-sector unions (lots of airline pilots in my family), it is the abuse by public unions and their bosses that pushes centrists like me to the GOP. It is the right and duty of citizens to petition their government. The Tea Party and Republicans seek to limit government growth to protect their pocketbooks. Public-union bosses want to increase the cost of government to protect their racket."

Are Christians Obsessed With Gays and Abortion?

Read the whole thing:

Are Christians Obsessed With Gays and Abortion?: "Imagine a world in which mainstream coverage of Christian America reflected our actual expenditures and actual efforts. You'd barely hear from people like me, and perhaps you wouldn't even have to. We'd have the entirely justified reputation as America's most generous community. Yet instead we're labeled as 'homophobic' or 'anti-choice,' and that label dogs us in all aspects of our public life."

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Conservative artist boxed out at Pratt

Sounds like libs need to step outside of the box:

Conservative artist boxed out at Pratt by James Panero - The New Criterion: "You don’t have to be an art critic to see something tasteless going on at Pratt Institute. Since 1887, this venerable New York institution has been dedicated to educating “artists and creative professionals to be responsible contributors to society.” Yet teachers and administrators at Pratt have been nothing but irresponsible in their recent dealings with a fifth-year drawing student named Steve DeQuattro."

The Leiter Side of Union Thuggery

Time for public unions to cease:

The Leiter Side of Union Thuggery - WSJ.com: "Last week, as the Wisconsin stalemate was coming to an end, we worried about the potential threat that unionized policemen, in 'solidarity' with other unionized government employees, might tolerate or even participate in lawless behavior in order to undermine the workings of republican governance and preserve union privileges. Milwaukee radio host Charlie Sykes reports that Wisconsin businessmen are now receiving letters importuning them to oppose Gov. Scott Walker's efforts on behalf of Wisconsin's taxpayers:"

Online news consumers outnumber newspaper readers

The demise of the newspaper:

For first time, you online news consumers outnumber those newspaper readers: the impact on politics | Top of the Ticket | Los Angeles Times: "For the first time in history, a larger percentage of Americans (46%) get their news online than get their news on that paper stuff that leaves their fingers ink-smudged (40%).

Only local television news (50%) still surpasses online as a source of news for Americans. And its lead is shrinking.

The little-noticed development has many major implications for American politics, how they operate and how they are consumed."

Monday, March 14, 2011

Episcopal cleric tries Islamic rituals for Lent

Good grief:

Episcopal cleric tries Islamic rituals for Lent

The Rev. Steve Lawler should have just given up chocolate or television for Lent.

Instead, Lawler, of St. Stephen's Episcopal Church in Ferguson, decided to adopt the rituals of Islam for 40 days to gain a deeper understanding of the faith.

On Friday, he faced being defrocked if he continued in those endeavors.

"He can't be both a Christian and a Muslim," said Bishop George Wayne Smith of the Episcopal Diocese of Missouri. "If he chooses to practice as Muslim, then he would, by default, give up his Christian identity and priesthood in the church."

Thursday, March 10, 2011

A Double Shock to Liberal Professors

Very interesting:

A Double Shock to Liberal Professors: "Social psychology has long been a haven for left-wing scholars. Jonathan Haidt, one of the best known and most respected young social psychologists, has heaved two bombshells at his field—one indicting it for effectively excluding conservatives (he is a liberal) and the other for what he sees as a jaundiced and cult-like opposition to religion (he is an atheist)."

Wednesday, March 09, 2011

The View from the Gulag

Great article:

The View from the Gulag | The Weekly Standard: "Of course! It was the great brilliant moment when we learned that Ronald Reagan had proclaimed the Soviet Union an Evil Empire before the entire world. There was a long list of all the Western leaders who had lined up to condemn the evil Reagan for daring to call the great Soviet Union an evil empire right next to the front-page story about this dangerous, terrible man who wanted to take the world back to the dark days of the Cold War. This was the moment. It was the brightest, most glorious day. Finally a spade had been called a spade. Finally, Orwell's Newspeak was dead. President Reagan had from that moment made it impossible for anyone in the West to continue closing their eyes to the real nature of the Soviet Union."

Tuesday, March 08, 2011

Social Security 5 Enduring Myths that Must Go

Interesting:

Social Security 5 Enduring Myths that Must Go: "A handful of misconceptions tend to crop up repeatedly — often having to do with that fiscal fun-house mirror, the Social Security trust fund. And despite the efforts of writers like Allan Sloan and experts like the Urban Institute’s Eugene Steuerle, the myths won’t die. This column won’t kill them either, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t take a whack. Here goes:"

Sunday, March 06, 2011

American Thinker: A Requiem for Multiculturalism

Good, they are finally waking up. Now it's time to see if the US does:

American Thinker: A Requiem for Multiculturalism: "Stop the presses! The British, French and German heads of state agree on something: Cameron, Sarkozy and Merkel have all recently declared multiculturalism a failure.

Like the related dogma of diversity, multiculturalism is so deeply embedded in the lexicon of liberalism that it has become axiomatic. Proponents hold it so dear that the faintest doubt poses an existential threat."

Saturday, March 05, 2011

Farewell, My Lovely - Reason Magazine

The self destruction of s state:

Farewell, My Lovely - Reason Magazine: "At press time, California was being governed under a state of economic “emergency” declared by Brown’s predecessor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, in light of a staggering $28 billion budget shortfall expected in the next 18 months."