A Monty Python Take On Socialism
Not bad. They don’t exactly seem like fans of monarchy either.
June 25, 2008
June 24, 2008
James Dobson Criticizes Obama’s Speech
Obama made a ‘Call To Renewal’ speech that Dobson responds to.
Of course, Dobson is free to believe as he pleases, and to organize others around those beliefs to try and change the legislative process.
Those who insist we all live according to beliefs for which they can’t always provide a reasonable defense are precisely what the system protects against. Maybe they’re anti partial-birth abortion Christians and maybe they’re global warming true-believers. Reasonable people can disagree.
June 23, 2008
A Goya Tour Of Madrid At The NY Times
“Fantasy abandoned by reason produces impossible monsters: united with her, she is the mother of the arts and the origin of their marvels.”
See Also: Goya’s Fight With Cudgels and Goya’s Colossus. A very good Goya page here.
June 21, 2008
Some Philosophy Of Science At Bloggingheads
In the comments thread, you’ll find some people wondering at what science can and can’t do. As to the why questions, science asks them all the time but seems to assert a certain kind of knowledge. Beyond that…Metaphysics? Religion?
You’ve probably seen the Templeton Conversations around, where some interesting thinkers are asked if science makes a belief in God obsolete.
June 19, 2008
Barack Obama Will Not Accept Public Financing
Video from Obama’s website here.
Obama has led the way in mastering a new system of campaign donations: utilizing the social networking capabilities of the internet…so he may be able to afford his decision.
More on public financing here.
Earnest yes, but effective?
June 16, 2008
George Will On Stephen Colbert: Can The Right Avoid Many Dangers Of Idealism?
Full interview here. (scroll to last video, link may not last long).
Will is public enough to have a character, but he’s deeper and less foolish than the dread Coulter, Rush Limbaugh, and Bill O’Reilly.
As he navigates the tricky public-thinking-man-in-America waters, what are his ideas about how to move conservativism ahead?
His new book, ”One Man’s America…” here. His most recent columns here.
Addition: Will discusses China, Obama and McCain, and even Hillary Clinton here (~7:00 long)
June 15, 2008
The NY Times On Equal Parenting: When Mom And Dad Share It All
The author, Lisa Belkin, showcases a series of husbands and wives with children who are going against the grain, and attempting to create:
…“equally shared parenting,” a term the Vachons have embraced.”
There are reasonable arguments here, and issues here that affect all of us: work/life balance, family, raising children, tradition:
“The point…is not to spit at tradition for the heck of it but rather to think things through instead of defaulting to gender.”
I could be convinced. Yet, is the equality stick the best tool by which families should measure themselves and challenge these norms? Isn’t this inviting all kinds of other problems?
“Social scientists know in remarkable detail what goes on in the average American home…Any way you measure it, they say, women do about twice as much around the house as men.”
Most men already have incentive to do some of the housework if they love their wives, and wish to continue to have love, companionship, and kids (in part, a way to pass on their genes). Also, of course, social science has its limits as most good social scientists would point out.
What about biology?
“Women, she says, know that the world is watching and judging. If the toddler’s clothes don’t match, if the thank-you notes don’t get written, if the house is a shambles, it is seen as her fault, making her overly invested in the outcome.”
How many guys do you know who worry about writing thank-you notes? As the article mentions, this isn’t an option for everyone.
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Later on, it pretty much becomes a parody of other hot-button liberal issues:
“Jo would not disagree with Deutch’s point that she had a role in creating that inequity — choosing to major in international rural development…”
Poor Jo…will she never win? There’s this from a lesbian couple:
“We developed a wonky theory,” Dorea says of all that talking [sic]. “You need a rabid N.G.P. — nongestational parent. The N.G.P. has to push if you are going to get an equal relationship”
Dads-to-be take note!
Addition: From bloggingheads: The purpose of women is to bear children?
Another Addition: If you’re like me, you’re exasperated with this line of thought. Even if liberalism is more grounded and deep than this, it still promotes an idealism that can be dangerous to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for the rest of us. When will they bottom out? Do they need to bottom out? How will the right respond? What effect does this have on our institutions and our freedoms?
by wallyg
June 12, 2008
George Will On Electoral Votes Needed For 2008 Primary
Will is thorough.
If Ed Rendell gets on the ticket with Obama, they might take Pennsylvania. Michigan could go for McCain, the first time since 1988. California is likely a waste of money for McCain to even campaign.
2004 Election-Kerry in Blue:
by ryankendog
Addition: Pollster.com has more on comparing the 2004 and 2008 elections.
June 11, 2008
The Boom In College Education From Becker-Posner
You didn’t know there was one? (June 9th posting).
Posner continues to wonder at the increasing numbers of women in higher ed.
Perhaps there is a fear of education becoming feminized, enough so that young men will pursue their futures elsewhere?
If so, there sure are a lot of politics nvolved.
June 10, 2008
“The Kindness Of Strangers:” Two Books On Race Reviewed In The Prospect
Some ideas about ”race,” but also a lot of sloppiness.
“So does this mean that, deep down, we are all racists? No: we are too clever and self-interested for that. The very social feature that makes us unique—our ability to co-operate with unrelated others—makes us, uniquely among animals, capable of moving beyond the politics of race and ethnicity.”
Oh boy, seems that in recognizing “the politics of race and ethnicity” there likely lurks a politics of the author’s own, or at least a lot of unclear thinking. At least there’s some mention of self-interest…
“We humans will get along with anyone who wishes to play the co-operative game with us—and that part of our nature will always trump guesswork based on markers of ethnicity or other features. The key is to provide or create stronger signs of trust and common values than are provided by the statistically useful but imprecise markers of ethnicity. “
Say I “play the cooperative game” with a black man (who I recognize as a fellow human and animal), find “common values” with him, and then go kill an Indian? The moral thinking here isn’t too deep.
Clearly this isn’t the best of the social sciences…
If we take on the obligation of casting a moral net and a set of ideas wide enough that can unite people globally (or more realistically, at least within our own societies), then let’s get back to basics.
See Also: Jared Diamond: “Vengeance Is Ours” In The New Yorker
