THE COMICAL OF HIGHER EDUCATION: In his Best of the Web column today, James Taranto proffers “A lesson from an editor in how not to do journalism.”
Archive for 2012
May 8, 2012
THE SUBSTANCE OF STYLE: $2.99 e-book sale on Virginia Postrel’s The Substance of Style extended to May 31, in both Kindle and Nook formats.
While local control is preferable to impersonal central control, while it’s easier to move to another city than another country, while authoritarianism in a small scale is better than authoritarianism on a larger scale, statism starts with the words “there ought to be a law” for every small, pesky annoyance. Statism begins at home, and the fight to roll it back must begin in every town and city council.
LUGARGEDDON: Allahpundit writes, “Simply put, if you’re bracing for a brutal political war over sustainability in the age of entitlements, you’re probably not going to get much from a genial grandfatherly type whose tenure has seen more than $14 trillion added in federal debt.”
A PILL TO PREVENT AIDS/HIV? Apparently so. The FDA is meeting on Thursday to discuss whether the drug Truvada should be approved as a preventative for those at risk of contracting HIV through sexual intercourse.
#ASKMICHELLE: What could go wrong?
WISCONSIN RECALL ELECTION EMOTION IS GETTING FARCICAL. Chippewa Falls man does a Tiananmen Square-style standoff against his wife’s car (and loses).
SCOTT BROWN CALLS ON ELIZABETH WARREN “to authorize the release of her law school applications and all personnel files from the various universities where she has taught.”
“Serious questions have been raised about the legitimacy of Elizabeth Warren’s claims to Native American ancestry and whether it was appropriate for her to assume minority status as a college professor. Her changing stories, contradictions and refusal to answer legitimate questions have cast doubt on her credibility and called into question the diversity practices at Harvard.”
QUICK, CHECK OUT THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN HAWK-CAM. The mother/father just brought in a rabbit!
UPDATE: Rabbit dinner is over, and a human being on the ground just mooned the camera.
BARACK TO THE FUTURE: At least Bill Clinton ran as a new Democrat, says Romney adviser:
While the Obama campaign pushes out its new slogan urging voters to look “forward,” Mitt Romney’s team is feeling reminiscent.
In a press briefing before Romney’s speech in Lansing, MI Tuesday, a senior adviser sought to contrast Obama’s campaign message with that of a Democratic presidential candidate of the past: Bill Clinton.
“The reality is that when Bill Clinton ran in ’92, he ran as a new Democrat,” said the aide, citing ticket’s campaign pledge to reform welfare. “That was the famous ad that they ran: Clinton and Gore were going to be different kinds of Democrats.”
He continued: “President Obama has really turned his back on all of that. He hasn’t run as a new Democrat, he’s run as an old Democrat… more spending, more taxation, more regulation.”
In casting Obama as an “old-style Democrat,” the Romney campaign is apparently seeking to undermine the president’s campaign slogan and the message it represents — one of progressive, forward-thinking solutions.
Team Romney’s retort: Look at the past four years.
No wonder Obama digs Mad Men (besides his past love of trying on various personalities, a recurring theme of Mad Men): that show’s era represents the high-water mark for “Progressivism,” just before the lights went out.
THE INCREDIBLE RESPONSIBILITY OF BEING 2d IN LINE TO THE PRESIDENCY: Or maybe not. According to Hilary Clinton, “Being a vice president is kind of like being a first lady” because “You are there to support and serve the president.” Putting aside the question of what she means, exactly, by “serving” the President, I will assume this lackadaisical attitude toward the Vice Presidency won’t continue once Mitt Romney selects a running mate. Unlike Biden, who is at best a type of “first lady,” Mitt’s choice will widely be characterized by the Dems as a critical decision, requiring experience, courage and judgment. LOL.
VEGAS ON THE POTOMAC: Asking the important questions at Instapundit: Is Joe Biden the Tony Bennett of the Obama administration, or its Shecky Greene?
Obama famously instructed his fan base that they shouldn’t honeymoon in Vegas at the start of his administration. (Not surprisingly, they paid little heed to their MC.) Who knew that he would be bringing it to DC?
UPDATE: Forget Vegas, Joe’s trying out for the Vatican. They told Glenn Reynolds that if he voted for John McCain, he would see an administration that blurred the line between church and state…and they were right!
CAN YOU SAY “BACKFIRE”?: Elizabeth Warren’s ancestor reportedly rounded up Cherokees for the Trail of Tears. Ouch. [fixed broken link!]
h/t to Kat Ciano and Michael Patrick Leahy on this one
RON RADOSH: How the Academic Establishment has Silenced a Major Critic of the Field of “Black Studies:”
Noting that there were legitimate problems to address about the plight facing the black community today, [Naomi Schaefer Riley] argued that they were not being addressed in black studies departments. Instead, she argued, all they wanted to do is engage in arguments that blame everything on the white man.
The result of Riley’s article — again, her opinion — was an avalanche of protest to the Chronicle’s letters section. Next week, the editors told readers that they received “thousands” of protests. That means, of course, that Riley hit a real sore spot. In a note to its readers, editor Liz McMillen announced that “article that did not conform to the journalistic standards and civil tone that you expect from us,” and that Riley’s piece did not meet the “basic editorial standards for reporting and fairness in opinion articles. As a result, we have asked Ms. Riley to leave the Brainstorm blog.”
In other words, an expression of opinion — that cited chapter and verse to back up her argument, led the editors of the Chronicle to fire Riley from her post as one of a group of distinguished bloggers on academic issues.
Earlier, McMillen had asked readers to submit their views about Riley’s position. It was, she then had said, “informed opinion.” Now, having been trounced upon by the mob of politically correct leftists and the civil rights establishment, McMillen has backed down, apologized to the mob, and unceremoniously fired Riley. She has, in effect, allowed the organized mob of leftist academics to dictate to The Chronicle of Higher Education’s editors what is to be allowed on its pages, and what is to be forbidden.
Read the whole thing.
RELATED: Jonathan Last of the Weekly Standard on the “Mob on the Quad.”
MORE: Victor Davis Hanson: “Writing an opinion can get your fired, but assuming a false identity does not?”
NOVEL WRITING IN THE KINDLE ERA: James Lileks, Andrew Klavan, and C.J. Box discuss the writing process in a fun, mostly apolitical Ricochet podcast.
AT AMAZON, IT’S THE KINDLE DEAL OF THE DAY.
Plus, today only, 33% Off Circulon Hard Anodized 11-Piece Cookware Set.
TEENAGE WASTELAND: B.H. Obama and T.S. Eliot.
NOT OVER YET? France’s Francois Hollande Faces National Assembly Elections.
RELATED: Investor’s Business Daily Calls Out Establishment Press For Promoting ‘Myth’ of European ‘Austerity.’
“I KNOW THIS IS AN ELECTION YEAR BUT IT’S NOT AN EXCUSE FOR INACTION.”
HIGHER EDUCATION FOR ALL?
ASGHAR FARHADI’S Academy Award-winning film A Separation has been released on DVD. It didn’t get a wide theatrical release since it’s in Persian (Farsi), but it’s absolutely worth seeing even if you don’t like reading subtitles. You’ll get a riveting and extraordinarily well-acted view of Iran beyond the politics, but sophisticated viewers will notice subtle political messages that are too understated for Tehran’s monkeyish government censors to notice. Government censors never seem to understand literature and film, and it’s always a pleasure to see what artists can sneak past them.
Trailer here:
[youtube MjTkXGRhy9w]
WAAAAAY BEHIND THE CURVE: Kofi Annan warns of possible civil war in Syria.