Archive for 2014

GAMERGATE: Escalation.

THE HIGHER EDUCATION BUBBLE MAY HAVE ALREADY POPPED IN LEGAL EDUCATION, BUT THAT HASN’T STOPPED EVERYONE: $700 Million in New Buildings at Five Law Schools. I hope these aren’t paid for with borrowed money.

A POEM FOR EZEKIEL EMANUEL, from Rudyard Kipling.

Kipling is always good, but I would say, rather: “Though much is taken, much abides; and though We are not now that strength which in the old days Moved earth and heaven; that which we are, we are. One equal-temper of heroic hearts, Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.”

TOO YOUNG TO DIE, too old to worry. As you get older, you do see these things differently.

SHOOTING THOSE WHO DISAGREE ON CLIMATE CHANGE: Ed Driscoll: Terry Gilliam’s Eliminationist Rhetoric. With lefties, however funny they might seem, things always seem to turn to the gulag eventually.

Plus: “Gilliam’s dystopian 1985 film Brazil ends with Jonathan Pryce’s protagonist being brutally tortured by Michael Palin’s Speer or Eichmann-esque coolly technocratic statist character. Presumably, Pryce’s character dies at the end of the film or shortly afterwards. Who knew until now Gilliam meant it to be a happy ending and the whole film a how-to guide for big government?”

K-12 IMPLOSION UPDATE: Why Girls Tend to Get Better Grades Than Boys Do. “The testing situation may underestimate girls’ abilities, but the classroom may underestimate boys’ abilities.” When I was that age, the teachers’ favorites were usually girls with neat handwriting who weren’t exceptionally bright. That still seems to be the case.

Perhaps it’s because of the shortage of male teachers. We need Title-IX-like laws to force equality.

BOB ZUBRIN: Victory From Space: In 20th-century wars, the key was air power. In 21st-century wars, it will be space power. “The defense not only of Europe, but of the entire free world, hangs upon this matter. For the past 70 years, U.S. Navy carrier task forces have controlled the world’s oceans, first making and then keeping the Pax Americana which has done so much to secure and advance the human condition over the postwar period. But should there ever be another major conflict, an adversary possessing the ability to locate and target those carriers from space would be able to wipe them out with the push of a button. For this reason, it is imperative that the United States possess space capabilities that are so robust as to assure not only our own ability to operate in and through space, but also our ability to comprehensively deny this power to others. Space superiority means having better space assets than an enemy. Space supremacy means being able to assert a complete monopoly of such capabilities. The latter is what we must have.”

SO, BASICALLY, GMC HAS PUT OUT THE “MUSTANG II” OF SPORT TRUCKS? I’ve always considered the “sport truck” segment to be silly anyway, but if you’re going to do it, do it right. And the Syclone was cool, except for its dumb name.

ACTUALLY, I’D LIKE THIS FEATURE: Ford offers ‘surveillance mode’ to cops. “It employs the car’s rear-view camera and proximity radar to warn police officers if they are being approached from the rear. If a stranger comes up from behind, a chime warns the officer. It also rolls up the driver’s side window, locks the doors and flashes exterior lights.”