Archive for 2013
September 16, 2013
HIGHER EDUCATION UPDATE: Anglosphere Rules Global Education Roost. “What rankings like these really explain is the sustained power of the Anglo-American brand. The prestige of American and British degrees brings hundreds of thousands of foreign students and faculty to their shores every year. Top students from China and India who will be the movers and shakers in their countries compete every fall and winter to spend their most formidable years in English speaking countries. This is as powerful a force for exporting Anglo-American ideas and norms as Washington, Hollywood, and Silicon Valley.” Well, it would be if Anglo-American universities believed in and instilled Anglo-American ideas and norms.
LEADERSHIP BY LAZY SUSAN: Inside White House, a Head-Spinning Reversal on Chemical Weapons.
MARC THIESSEN: Obama’s “Unbelievably Small” Presidency.
NAVY YARD SHOOTING: Facts still seem few and confused. As always, remember that early reports are often wrong.
UPDATE: More here.
TAXPROF: The IRS Scandal, Day 130.
WEAKNESS SPREADS: Failure of Summers Nomination Is Latest Sign Obama Is Running Out Of Steam. “It’s a measure of just how far the president’s stock has fallen that he couldn’t get the Federal Reserve chairman he wanted because Democrats revolted. . . . If Obama is regarded as feckless and inept on the international stage and easily pushed around by his own party, you wonder what is going to get accomplished in the next three years. Very little, I suspect.” Under the circumstances, that’s probably the best we can hope for.
Related: The Atlantic: How A Small Team Of Democrats Defeated Larry Summers — And Obama.
Then there’s this.
MORE ON THAT MEDIA SHIELD LAW, COURTESY OF CHARLES GLASSER:
Some blogs and new reports have erroneously stated that the FFIA would only cover “credentialed” or salaried journalists who work for mainstream media. The legislation, in fact, provides strong protection for new-media journalists, including bloggers.
The FFIA covers individuals who gather news and information for the public, regardless of their medium. The protection applies equally to new media, such as blogs, web sites, and news apps, and traditional media, such as newspapers, magazines, and broadcasters. The bill states that it covers journalists who distribute news “in print, electronic, or other format,” and it explicitly mentions websites and mobile apps.
Similarly, the bill’s protections are not limited to people who produce journalism for financial gain. Indeed, the FFIA does not contain any requirements regarding compensation. The bill covers a wide range of bloggers, student journalists, and others, as long as their primary intent is to gather news and information for the public.
The bill also provides a “safety valve” that gives a federal judge broad discretion to cover individuals who do not fit into any of the categories listed in the bill. This provision allows the judge to grant shield law protection to an individual who does not fit into one of the many listed categories if coverage would be in “the interest of justice and necessary to protect lawful and legitimate news-gathering activities under the specific circumstances of the case.” Although the vast majority of people who gather news would fit into the listed categories, this safety valve ensures that the bill is inclusive and covers unanticipated situations.
I remain opposed to shield laws in general, but if true this makes the bill somewhat less bad than earlier thought.
TODAY IN HIGHER EDUCATION: Professor holds study session for “Students Of Color Only.” Yeah, I’d trust that guy to grade fairly.
THE WAGES OF “SMART DIPLOMACY:” After Syria Policy Debacle, Obama’s Hold on Congressional Democrats Weakens.
DICK DURBIN’S “STAND YOUR GROUND” HEARING webcast here. Given that the vast majority of Americans support stand your ground, I assume this is just political posturing.
TV DEAL OF THE WEEK: 56% off The Borgias and The Tudors.
Also, new markdowns on women’s shoes, sandals, and boots.
And, today only: Up to 55% off Select Logitech Mice, Keyboards, Webcams and More.
NICK GILLESPIE: Four Principles Of A Libertarian National Security State. This is an excellent piece, but let me break out one key point:
One of the main reasons that Barack Obama’s approval ratings are in the crapper is because of his epic failure to live up to his promise to run what he guaranteed would be the most transparent administration EVAH. That’s especially true when it comes to national security issues. Even the most hardened anti-terror hawks have been shocked by revelations of widespread secret drone strikes, extra-judicial kill lists, a war on leakers and journalists, and ubiquitous snooping on Americans.
However disturbing it was to learn of massive surveillance of law-abiding citizens in violation of restrictions on the NSA, it was made even worse by blatant lies to the American public.
Indeed.
FROM ANDREW KLAVAN, a close study of Putin’s op-ed.
CHRIS CHRISTIE: America’s Most Overrated Governor? “New Jersey’s economy is a mess, even compared with its neighbors. The property tax burden is up sharply. Poverty is rising. And the state’s credit rating has dropped on Christie’s watch as the long-range outlook deteriorates. His successor will inherit a bigger mess than he did.”
Crime’s up, too, but hey — nobody’s asking Cory Booker tough questions about Newark, so why should Christie worry?
DUDE, IF IT WEREN’T FOR “STYLE POINTS,” YOU WOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN ELECTED: President Obama: ‘Less concerned about style points.’
NOT EXACTLY LEADING WITH HIS STRENGTHS: Obama’s week ahead: All about the economy.
President Obama will launch a week of economic events on Monday, highlighting the five-year anniversary of the crashing of the financial market to argue that Republican policy prescriptions to looming fiscal battles would undo recent gains.
Looking back to the economic collapse of 2008, which helped propel him to the White House, Obama will argue the country has since been on a steady climb back to prosperity. The White House is hoping to use the week as leverage before an October deadline to keep the government funded and ahead of the nation reaching its borrowing capacity just weeks later.
It’s all fun and games until someone says the magic words: Labor Force Participation Rate.
UPDATE: Industrial Production Misses Fifth Month In A Row. Unexpectedly!
YA THINK? The Hill: House panel accuses State Dept. of obstructionism in Benghazi investigation.
The State Department willfully obstructed a congressional investigation of the deadly attack on a U.S. diplomatic post in Benghazi last year, according to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
State Department officials routinely refused requests for documents on its investigation into the September, 2012, attack, including interview transcripts and summaries of eyewitnesses to the attack, according to a committee report obtained by The Hill.
Additionally, members of the independent Accountability Review Board (ARB) tasked with reviewing the events that led up to the Benghazi attack were rife with “actual and perceived conflicts of interest” with State, the House report adds.
If this is a “phony scandal,” why are they working so hard to cover it up?
HAVE YOU NOTICED NO ONE EVER PUSHES FOR QUOTAS WHERE MEN ARE UNDERREPRESENTED? Alice Arnold, the former BBC Radio 4 newsreader, has said that a quota for female radio hosts is the only way to achieve equality.
ORDINARY CITIZENS ARE PRESUMED TO KNOW THE LAW, AND PUNISHED IF THEY GET IT WRONG. Men Legally Carrying Firearms Arrested at Texas Capitol – Troopers Not Aware of Gun Law Exemption.
More here.
LAWS ARE FOR THE LITTLE PEOPLE: Audit Finds IRS Employees Don’t Follow Their Own Rules.