TopherMedia

Bad news for my future employment

2008-12-23T22:05:00.002-05:00

Young GOP jobs hit hard on Capitol Hill

Time to embrace that "religious left" label, I suppose. Maybe Sojourners is hiring...

My view on Rick Warren for invocation

2008-12-23T21:55:00.004-05:00

This is what I sent around to PoL Chat. I'm questioning my view a bit, as Mr. Gallagher alerted me to a 2004 letter from Pastor Warren suggesting his parishioners vote on the traditional life issues and gay marriage. I hold to most of this as a matter of perception though.

I'm under the impression most of you knew of Rick Warren before Proposition 8, so I don't need to go into his history so much. What I think I need to reinforce is that inside the spectrum of religious conservatism, Rick Warren has been considered a capital-L Liberal, and by no means part of the movement proper. He's a meagchurcher who has been buddy-buddy with media and liberal politicians since day one.This perception started to change when he asked about abortion and gay marriage at the Faith Forum (or whatever it was called) and then a little more when he spoke out on Proposition 8.

That liberalism has nothing to do with his actual stances, mind you. Many religious conservatives share Warren's economically liberal/social justice tendencies. Speaking for my own community, it's simply that they could not possibly fathom why he would be willing to take the focus of abortion and other 'hot-button' issues. The idea is, of course, that the pro-life movement only has a chance if all people of faith would speak with a united voice.

Warren has clearly moved away from that on some level. Recent quote :

“But to me it is kind of a charade in that people say ‘We believe abortions should be safe and rare,’” he added.

“Don’t tell me it should be rare. That’s like saying on the Holocaust, ‘Well, maybe we could save 20 percent of the Jewish people in Poland and Germany and get them out and we should be satisfied with that,’” Warren said. “I’m not satisfied with that. I want the Holocaust ended.”

So you read that, and you gasp, and you take offense and all that. Religious conservatives applaud the point, but many also take offense in a different way. They ask why you would still invite now-President-elect Obama to speak at your church if you believe that he is absolutely complicit in a holocaust of defenseless babies. But he did invite Obama, this person who is not only pro-choice, but voted against the Born-Alive Infants Protection Act in Illinois. Didn't matter. Rich Warren is still there to reach out on other issues, instead of sacrificing them all for the one and condemning those who disagree.

Dara, it's not that most Americans don't know these ideals exist (although the more conservative end is probably unnecessarily wary of government as a tool to accomplish them) it's just that they are absolutely subordinate to other concerns for the time being.

And by the way, may I remind everyone who (at least verball) opposes gay marriage besides Rick Warren? Barack Obama . Yes, he came out against Prop 8 in that video, but he did so just a few days before and very incoherently--and mind you, he's never given a reason for his belief on marriage outside of his religion. Is that acceptable? And if so, why do we have a political culture where religious language is acceptable as justification for refusing to recognize relationships between people but not for opposing the taking of an either potential or actual life?

After all that....I suppose hyper-progressive Rev. Jim Wallis would have been just fine too.

-Chris

There's good consumer culture and bad consumer culture.

2008-11-29T19:43:00.002-05:00

And it's bad consumer culture when you trample someone to death in a rush for bargains, push the police officers trying to save the person, and knock around a pregnant woman for good measure.

I'm not even mentioning the double-homicide because that seems unconnected.

A Missed Opportunity on Gay Marriage for the Religious

2008-11-25T19:25:00.004-05:00

I've been reading civil rights/equal protection among races Supreme Court opinions and discussions of those opinions for a decent portion of my day, and it strikes me: there are lots of times when the Court took a position that only one person really supported, because the majority side couldn't get a majority without them. Here I am thinking of the deal Chief Justice Warren made for gradual desegregation so as to get a unanimous Court.

Gay marriage is going to happen, if not everywhere right now. This bothers lots of religious people; not me. I'm made hopeful by seeing young people fight to extend marriage to everyone. But I feel too often like it's put only into rights language, that the rights that come from marriage and the right to marry is all that matters. If some religious people were willing to be the kingmakers for the pro-gay marriage side, we could get a lot of rhetoric out there about the value of openly committing yourself to a stable, monogamous relationship in the public sphere, and maybe even the value of sanctifying a sexual relationship rather than embracing an ideal of free love.

But no one wanted to make that deal. No one was willing to accept gays to put those lessons right next to social justice for children. And now the gay marriage debate is going to be ended by the next generation, who very well may end up viewing it as an important break with our religious traditions as opposed to their fulfillment.

Edit: Judge overturns Florida ban on adoption by gays. Thank you, God. How dare someone call themselves pro-life and vote for that.

Senator Stevens defeated

2008-11-19T14:00:00.002-05:00

And about time too. That was about to become the biggest polling flip ever (Fivethirtyeight's model gave Senator-Elect Begich 100% odds of victory.)

Now we wait on Minnesota and Georgia. But at least I now know that if the Republicans hold the Democrats below 60, it's not because they successfully elected a felon.

Dear 46

2008-11-15T21:58:00.002-05:00

Wrong.

Love,
45

For clarification's sake:
1) From 52 to 48 with Love is a photo gallery dedicated to post-election reconciliation. Neil Stevens of Redstate is being snarky about this. For the record, my submission (from a 48, of course) is page 2.
2. The 45 refers to the percentage of conservatives who are confident in President-Elect Obama. Believe it or not, many of us just thought McCain would be better. Conversely, the 46 is the percentage of conservatives who are not confident in the President-Elect.

Dichotomy: More hilarious than sad, more sad than hilarious?

2008-11-13T11:30:00.003-05:00

I'm going to go with more hilarious than sad, considering it was rooted out within a week: A Senior Fellow at the Institute of Nonexistence

It was among the juicier post-election recriminations: Fox News Channel quoted an unnamed McCain campaign figure as saying that Sarah Palin did not know that Africa was a continent.

Who would say such a thing? On Monday the answer popped up on a blog and popped out of the mouth of David Shuster, an MSNBC anchor. “Turns out it was Martin Eisenstadt, a McCain policy adviser, who has come forward today to identify himself as the source of the leaks,” Mr. Shuster said.

Trouble is, Martin Eisenstadt doesn’t exist. His blog does, but it’s a put-on. The think tank where he is a senior fellow — the Harding Institute for Freedom and Democracy — is just a Web site. The TV clips of him on YouTube are fakes.

And it goes on like this. Granted, the hoax is very elaborate and intelligent. The problem is, there is nothing approaching a serious verification here. In fact, it seems that the producers of this hoax had more safeguards in place than they actually had to use.

This would seem to be an argument against blog culture in America--except that the Times actually admits sourcewatch.org had called out this source as fake months before, not to mention that Mr. "Eisenstadt"'s videos (like , which came out before the supposed leak) are pretty obviously comical.

UGH. On the plus side, I was listening to Denis Leary's "Asshole" when I pulled up Tristyn's post today, which made me feel better. Of course, the content of that post--that people can be banned from smoking in their own homes--makes me want to throw up.

I'm back

2008-11-12T16:47:00.010-05:00

I'm fairly certain nothing has happened in the world while I've been gone, but don't quote me on that.

Just kidding. I actually feel rather much like this fellow:

And hat tip to Aaron Bray: I think this
is sweet. President-Elect Obama is going to turn the world into our fangirl.

Neither here nor there

2008-10-21T14:27:00.005-04:00

First off, on the off-chance anyone is reading my blog who doesn't also read Ms. Maltby's or Mr. Ryan's, Bulldog Productions' latest work 95 Theses is reproduced below. If you like it--and you darn well should--go to 95ThesesRap.com and check out some of the behind the scenes stuff.

param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/dt5AJr0wls0&hl=en&fs=1">

Also, when I first heard that Colin Powell endorsed Barack Obama, I had a weird dream later in which Sarah Palin got confused and endorsed Obama as well. So I thought I was a bit prophetic when I saw Did Palin denounce McCain's campaign tactics? as a headline, but alas, she merely thinks robo-calls are not as great a campaign option as sitting down with every individual American. Tough call there.

I think this works.

2008-10-18T18:17:00.002-04:00

Or rather, I think it would have worked a few months ago. I think Reformer with Results --though not in those terms, obviously--would have been the right direction.

"For an America that does not permit torture." Sigh...

I'm a fan of well-founded assumptions.

2008-10-16T13:37:00.002-04:00

This, however, is a bit much.

Irish Bookmaker Pays Out Early On Obama Victory

(h/t Joshua Haselkorn)

Apologies for the sporadic updates

2008-10-12T19:35:00.002-04:00

I'm too busy with midterms to write about substantial issues, and the Presidential election is too much of a foregone conclusion to waste any time talking about it. (Yes, the Bradley Effect still exists, but it no longer reverses projected blowouts. That's just an empirical fact.)

I may be making a couple changes to the blog soon that will make it a bit more interesting. In the meantime, I direct you to Nicola and company, as well as the Huffington Post blogs left over from the YPU debate. (I was incorrect in thinking that Ferny was the only one posting--Kate and David also have one-shots, and Leah has posted before.)

In which George McGovern and I agree on something

2008-10-07T15:40:00.002-04:00

Namely, the absolute atrociousness of the Employee Free Choice Act
as it currently stands. Some of its aspects are admirable, but the loss of the secret ballot is inexcusable to me, and it is apparently inexcusable for the former Democratic Presidential Nominee as well.

Oh, and mind you, I love me some unions. I'm actually on teachers' union insurance for the next four years of my life. In fact, I was listening to this lovely song earlier (though that's more because I've been spending my last week listening to old propaganda songs--which are often quite good.)

And more of my friends get promotions

2008-10-04T20:57:00.003-04:00

In addition to Will and Helen getting snapped up by Culture11, Ferny is now apparently headed to the Huffington Post. I feel that at some point, I'm going to know every blogger I read on a daily basis personally--and that will be quite weird.

And if I may take a moment to cite him as well: this is not acceptable. Of course, this is not either, even if the motivation is different.

This Probably Bothers Me More Than It Should

2008-09-30T02:22:00.002-04:00

So I take it everyone (at least my fellow Yalies) is pretty much familiar with those Obama Progress shirts with the highly artistic mock-up of the Senator's face.

Just a random thought--let's presume Senator Obama is actually President this time next year. Isn't it going to be really freaking weird to wear a shirt that sports a stylized, nearly deified version of our leader's face with the word "PROGRESS" emblazoned below?

(For the record, Mr. Logan Mohs has informed me he's seen shirts that sported George W. Bush's face around. I would have provided a picture, but after about 10 minutes of searching, I couldn't find it. I presume it's much, much less popular regardless.)

Congratulations are in order

2008-09-26T18:51:00.003-04:00

That is, for Will, on his recent well-deserved promotion in the world of online opinion journalism.

Also, in hopping around the brand-new Culture11 site, I am surprised to find I am apparently not the only conservative who really, really likes Rachel Maddow. She seems to me to be a bit of a composite of everything I really like about my politically engaged liberal friends. I haven't had the benefit of seeing any of her show since the promotion, but this seems illustrative:

Olbermann has a segment titled “The Worst Person in the World,” an extended rant about, in his words, “the mortal enemies of honesty and dignity, of selflessness and class.” (Whew.) Meanwhile, Maddow has a segment called “Talk Me Down,” where she invites someone to help her see the other side of an issue.

Granted--and as the article later notes--that segment can also entail bringing Bob Barr in to discuss John McCain. But I have some hope that this can be a step forward for television media--an openly partisan show (partisan to ideology, anyway) that manages to raise the discourse within its own sphere.

Now I'm probably going to go watch it and completely change my mind. Debate is back on for tonight though, so I'll probably have this comfortable misconception for about a few days.

Huh?

2008-09-25T18:33:00.002-04:00

First rule of being the VP Nominee of a Major Party: Katie Couric Should Not Be Able To Make You Look Stupid.

In other news, the Freshman Prize Debate went quite well (3rd for me, higher for other potential PoR petitioners). I'd slap my speech up here, but it's somewhat long and I don't entirely understand the "Read More" hack for Blogger. I argued that Barack Obama was bad for the Democratic Party, whereas David Trinh (who is excellent, and who rightly won) argued the other side of that coin, that he is good for the Republican Party. I think that actually might end up being the case.

And I'm sure this will become my catchphrase over time

2008-09-21T12:30:00.004-04:00

What Leah said. Except in this case, add lots more anger. It's very difficult for me to be charmed by one of the primary architects of this war, no matter how affable or humorous he is. If that's very knee-jerk liberal of me, so be it.

Anyway, Olmert is resigning, obviously under pressure from the Yale Political Union. I personally will be preparing for my freshman prize debate topic "Resolved: Vote Obama". I'm trying to be...creative, shall we say.

Liveblogging The YPU Blog Debate

2008-09-17T19:45:00.025-04:00

7:46 PM: Arianna Huffington is being introduced. This place is not quite as overflowing as I would have presumed. I don't think anyone in the room didn't clap when they mentioned leaving the Republican Party. And here I presumed the Conservative Party was at least tangentially connected.

7:48 PM: Ms. Huffington is beginning her opening speech. She claims the affirmative position in this debate is obvious. I agree, but maybe Nicola will change my mind. Who picks the debate topics again? I thought the speaker suggests them.

7:50 PM: Did she just speak against bailouts? Or does she just want them for everyone?

7:51 PM: Ms. Huffington is referencing the Judith Miller story as their first major scoop. I'm not going to weigh in one way or another on that.

7:53 PM: Yes, Bob Woodward likes a good story. I'm not sure he has a responsibility to "journalistic integrity" in the books he published. In his commentary on television, sure.

7:58 PM: Out-of-context quote: "Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder is good for democracy". I agree with--and associate myself with--the basic point. My favorite instrument is, in fact, the loud drum of outrage.

8:01 PM: The Strom Thurmond birthday story? Really? Yes, Trent Lott resigned...from his leadership post. Net result: nothing. He's about to go become a very successful lobbyist. Oh, and what's good about the mainstream media getting blogs? Same info, different form.

8:03 PM: Global warming just knocked our sign over. In all seriousness though, I'd put global warming deniers--at least those who don't believe humans are the primary reason for climate change--quite a few steps above flat-earthers, even if I don't agree with them. That's like the creationist version of Godwin's Law.

8:04 PM: Ms. Huffington brings up that she broke up Senator Obama's statement about "bitter" people "clinging to guns and religion". Unsurprisingly, there is silence.

8:05 PM: "Calling Iraq a mixed bag is like saying you have a mixed diagnosis, you have a brain tumor, but your acne has cleared!" "Hey, I want to look good in the casket!"

8:09 PM: Ms. Huffington says that the Huffington Post removes ad hominem attacks. Let me check out a recent article's comments:

McSame has become FRODO after the White House Keys.

Actually, that's funny. And based on the other comments I looked through, the quality is a little better than I expected. Cool.

8:14 PM: Taking questions now. "Suppose I'm a monarchist." I'm so glad I'm sitting with the PoR. Did Matt just get offered a job?

8:15 PM: First freshman question: Noah Bokat-Lindell! I like him! Ms. Huffington takes the opportunity to make another blonde joke and diss MSNBC at the same time. I approve .

8:18 PM: "I don't know if any of you remember Kosovo." I do! And I was actually reading about Elian Gonzalez earlier! (Specifically, in a Dave Barry article.)

8:19 PM: David Porter cuts to the chase. "Obama Muslim?" and Trig Trutherism. (Don't know Trig Trutherism? Read clearly-irrelevant blogger Andrew Sullivan. The problem, of course, is not that the crazy bloggers get wide audiences--it's that they get amplified by repectable ones.)

8:22 PM: SHE FORGOT FERNY REYES'S NAME? I know Ferny's name! (Of course, I'm still on a formal basis with him.)

8:25 PM: The reason, of course, that pathetic attempts at objectivity replace truth is because of the nagging suspicion that what I believe to be truth might actually be opinion in part. But there certainly is too much "covering the controversy".

8:28 PM: Ms. Huffington leaves. Many people walk out. Nicola takes the stage. "The radio is good for fascism." Silence. Well, I thought it was funny. I'm thinking Father Coughlin.

8:31 PM: A question of relevance. Of course, my total readership comes from nepotism, if that's what I can call the Yale Mafia.

8:33 PM: The McCain ads really are just video press releases. At some point, those have to stop getting media. Right? And I LOVED the Chuck Norris ad. I got that video sent to me quite a bit at the time, as an open Huckabee supporter AND Chuck Norris fan.

8:35 PM: And Nicola takes questions. This is kind of a weird moment for me, considering that she's possibly my favorite blogger. I still think this is a very, very difficult point to make. The questions are awfully repetitive.

8:38 PM: Sarah Plain did not get chosen because of that blogger. Conservatives love her because she's a pro-life woman in high office. The. End.

8:39 PM: Trickle-down joke. I feel like I'm back at the Progs.

8:40 PM: Nicola ends. Even MORE people leave. I think my cutoff should be 9:30, considering I have no book that needs signin'.

8:42 PM: I am actually watching Nicola read my blog. HI NICOLA!

8:43 PM: "Democracy itself is undemocratic" is not quite how I would summarize Nicola's argument. Oh, and I don't think universal healthcare is coming back because of the blogosphere. I don't think it ever left the Democratic Party.

8:45 PM: The problem with blogs is that they already look more respectable than the cardboard sign.

8:51 PM: ...and the current speaker just made the above point. Either I'm brilliant, or there is only so much room to debate. Oh, and somehow, I don't mind if "leaders doubt themselves".

8:52 PM: There are less people here than at a Ben Schenkel party. I may be misspelling his name.

8:54 PM: I love questions that end in "discuss."

8:55 PM: Dara Lind is speaking! For Yalies, she just wrote a great follow-up to her YDN editorial from a couple days ago on I'qrai. You can read it here.

9:00 PM: Why is everything either about to collapse or our last best hope? Oh, and maybe comparing the media to the Soviet Union is a lot closer to Godwin's Law than Ms. Huffington's comment. I like the Casey at the Bat reference, though.

9:04 PM: Ms. Lawson? Have I now seen everyone from I'qrai in person? I liked Good Night and Good Luck, even if it was a bit of a hagiography.

9:06 PM: {fanboy} DAVID BROOCKMAN! {/fanboy} One man fights against the deconstruction of vulnerable narratives. "May you have the courage to be moved."

9:12 PM: If everyone believes in Santa Claus, no one gets presents. - Leah.

9:17 PM: The Vice President of the YPU references two different articles from last week: Philip Weiss and Jerusalem Post. Contrast well-taken.

9:22 PM: Ah, Kate is speaking. I'll have to stay a bit longer. And she's right, I do spend the most of my blog linking to others. "I do read liberal blogs--sorry, Mr. Chairman, I have sinned."

Actually, here's where I'm going to give my own personal conclusion:

The one positive of blogs vs. radio or television and the like is that if I have an immediate fact-check. If your numbers have no link, I don't believe you. If you link me to disreputable sites, I don't believe you. If you link me to strong, intelligent sources, I believe you--on the facts, anyway. And I like that.

9:32 PM: Leah is working at Hillhouse? I have a friend there. Poignant story too. I can't really do it justice in summary.

9:37 PM: Leah's done now. And I think I am too.

How not to conduct your election analysis

2008-09-16T11:51:00.002-04:00

Battleground Update: The Red States Get Redder, The Blue States Get Purpler

1) I could summarize that sentence by saying "McCain's poll numbers have risen across the board".

2) The entire premise for the article is based on a definition of "red states" and "blue states" that is inextricably tied to arbitary polling from earlier this year. Since when did we consider Pennsylvania and Minnesota to not be swing states, or for that matter, when did Virginia become a place where a 2-point Republican lead was huge? All I see in this analysis is a map that looks shockingly like the Kerry/Bush map, with Iowa and Colorado flipped--in other words, status quo ante.

Anyway, I'm going to hold off on the doom and gloom economic post until sometime next week, when I can look at Monday in better context and see how bad things are. A potential AIG bailout is worrisome, though.

Weird Juxtaposition Of The Day

2008-09-13T11:28:00.002-04:00

Compare this McCain ad...

...with this Defenders of Wildlife ad attacking Sarah Palin.

Personally, I think Sarah Palin's actions make perfect sense if she just assumed the wolves she was having killed were actually Barack Obama's lawyers.

As a redirect, Nicola has been doing some nice work over at I'qrai this week, so go check that out. In response to one of her posts though, I disagree that Joe Biden's remark about life beginning at conception is indicative of "Creeping Christianism, Batman!" I think it's more of a new wave of religious politics where you try to woo religious voters by simply professing to agree with their beliefs but happen not to let those beliefs influence your views on anything. (Which is actually the best way to weaken Christianism, in my view.) Personally, I presume Senator Biden is a bit like me, where he is religiously faithful to that belief but not scientifically convinced at this juncture in his life. If he is scientifically convinced, however. then I'd like to hear why that view doesn't come into play at all in his voting record.

Mental Health Break

2008-09-07T15:23:00.003-04:00

Been a while since I've put up one of these. Hat tip to Rebecca Fine:

Incisive political commentary will come once my Spanish work gets done. For some reason, it's just sitting there right now. In the meantime, the Freddie and Fannie takeover gets official.

The 2012 Vetting Process

2008-09-03T01:03:00.004-04:00

My original reaction to Senator McCain's choice of Gov. Palin was that of vague annoyance. I have been mostly operating under the general assumption that Senator Obama will be elected President in 2008, and that it's important for the Republican Party to maintain a strong "bench" for 2012. It was my presumption that a more-experienced Governor Palin (and even her supporters agree she is too inexperienced now) with a continuously high approval rating would be a very strong candidate in that election: a strong social conservative without too much overt religion and a natural boost in female support. Governor Huckabee without the natural flaws.

Boy, was I wrong. I have been bombarded with* spaghetti attacks against Palin (throw it all against the wall and see what sticks). First, there is the connection to the formerly-secessionist Alaskan Independent Party, which she doesn't seem to be a ember of (at least based on her not-so-damning convention address here) but her husband certainly was. The crazy pastor connection is probably a little notable too. Troopergate is a pain, and I pray she doesn't get indicted over this. I really cannot make myself care about her daughter's pregnancy--or her boyfriend/fiancee's Myspace page, for that matter--though I do hope she's not forced into a loveless marriage for political reasons. (I must ask, though, is she actually opposed to condom usage for even married couples, or is Del Ali just making stuff up?)

I don't know if any of this, along with some of the more silly rumors I've come across, actually necessitate McCain removing her from the ticket. (You'll notice I didn't touch Trig.) But I think that--save a McCain victory/untimely death and a subsequent excellent job from President Palin--this is the last time we will see her on the natonal stage. Bring on Jindal, I suppose.

Camp Yale was lovely, by the way. Though I really ought to read some Rand before I spend an hour in OSGAY for a discussion of a line of thinking primarily modeled on her work.

*Here I use "bombarded with" for its little-known secondary meaning "actively seeking out". I sometimes enjoy defining my own terms.

Be gone for a bit.

2008-08-26T10:21:00.004-04:00

So I'm going to Freshperson Conference tomorrow, to be followed by some rather hyped-up days at Camp Yale. As such, I'm going to take a short hiatus from blogging until I get my feet back on the ground. In the meantime, thanks to all of you for making me feel exceptionally welcome here already, especially Helen, David III, and Nicola.

I expect excellent liveblogging of the Democratic National Convention, because I'm going to miss most of it. I caught a little last night--Sen. Kennedy choked me up, Speaker Pelosi decidedly did not, and I'm an incredible sucker for not-entirely-unscripted moments like the one after Michelle Obama's speech. (Will clearly does not agree)

Edit: And if you haven't yet, read Adam's most recent post and sign the petition.

The Most Important Endorsement Of The Entire Election

2008-08-25T22:22:00.002-04:00

Daddy Yankee Endorses John McCain

This is crazy:

Appearing before a small group of honor students at Phoenix’s Central High School (his wife Cindy’s alma mater) on Monday morning, McCain announced that he had gotten the bling bling endorsement of one Daddy Yankee, a big deal Latin American recording star perhaps best known for his 2006 reggaetron hit “Gasolina.”

... Yankee, who met with McCain at his Arlington, Va., campaign headquarters last month (sending Hispanic reporters on scene covering the event into similar hysterics), told the students that he decided to support McCain, in part, because he had championed the recent immigration reform bill. “(McCain’s) a fighter for the Hispanic community,” the rapper said. “I just want to say thank you Daddy Yankee,” McCain said, pleasing this reporter who wondered if the senator would, in fact, call the star “Daddy.”

Honestly, this is just brilliant. I don't even know what to say. He entirely bounces out Ludacris's endorsement of Obama for me.

Comment from my friend who lists "daddy yankee" as her religious status on Facebook:

I KNOW AND I AM VERY ANGRY. I DO NOT WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT. IT DOES NOT. MAKE. SENSE.

Watch this video. I'll try to cover the convention tomorrow.

Mental Health Break: The Whiteness Test

2008-08-23T23:02:00.000-04:00

Just something I concocted for myself, and you don't even have to be white to take it. Go to Stuff White People Like: Full List, and count up how many things you like (or if it's easier, count the things you don't like and subtract that from 107). Divide by 107, and you have your whiteness percentage.

Update: This may not work, as I have come out as 37.3%, whereas I was expecting closer to 50000000000%. Maybe this is more of a WASP test.

For one brief shining moment, I love Barack Obama

2008-08-23T12:07:00.003-04:00

I have a personal love and respect for Joe Biden. I remember one time during the Democratic debates where there was a discussion of whether or not the candidates supported the troop funding bill. Biden responded forcefully:

Explaining his vote for a bill funding the war in Iraq that didn't contain a timetable for withdrawal, Biden stressed that Democrats did not have the necessary 67 votes to override a presidential veto of a bill with timetables.

"Look, the Republicans and this president have not told us the truth about this war from the beginning. The last thing we Democrats should do is not be telling the truth," he said. "As long as there is a single troop in Iraq that I know if I take action by funding them, I increase the prospect they will live or not be injured. I cannot and will not vote no to fund them."

Who was that young naif Biden smacked down over that, anyway?

Oh right.

By the way, can someone confirm if they actually received the text message at 3 AM? Because that just seems mean, if kind of clever.

Seeking feedback

2008-08-22T16:01:00.004-04:00

Mr. David Broockman has written a post called On The Importance of Life Experience, much of which I agree with and find very thoughtful. However, I find this paragraph problematic:

Insofar as being "American" refers to a set of experiences, I think it's clear that that's a set of experiences John McCain has not had. If American simply means "spending a lot of time with a very narrow subset of people who have American citizenship," fine. But that's a pretty lame definition.

That's in the context of John McCain's recent "I'll have my staff get to you" on how many houses he actually owns, of course.

This idea of "American" as some set of experiences John McCain lacks troubles me on a lot of levels. First of all, like my many enlightened liberal friends and Ruben Navarrette Jr., I tend to operate under the assumption that the special thing about American culture is that we all come from very different backgrounds in terms of ethnicity, heritage, and social status. This statement puts forward a narrative that writes the wealthy and privileged out of society, with a bonus implication that they only associate with each other. (If that was true, I have a few relatives who would never have spoken to me until I got into Yale.) After all, if I say that knowing what it means to struggle financially is a necessary American experience and write out the uber-rich, couldn't I just as easily say knowing what it's like to get by in the end is a fundamental American experience and write out the extremely poor?

So my question is: is there even one fundamental experience--financial difficulties, grandma's apple pie, screaming at the football referee--that we can define as necessary to the American experience? That's not a rhetorical question--I'm really searching for an answer.

Note: Since I started typing up this post, Adam and Tristyn put some thoughtful responses up on David's original post. I'm going to quote Adam, because he's so close to my line of thinking here.

Now you know that I'm neither Stalinist nor high modernist, but in a nation of 300 million people and enormous number of km^2 of land, and just as many subcultures and communities, we're never going to find a President with intimate familiarity with even a significant number of them. This is why local government is good. Your focus on these particular experiences, while in character, is still a narrow look at things.

"7 houses" says nothing about McCain's life experiences, it just operates under the - again scary - assumption that if you're rich, you don't have experiences with the poorer sections of life. "7 houses" just creates an us-vs.-them class division mentality, which as far as I've seen has worked out splendidly. The specifics about McCain aside (mainly because I haven't bothered to look them up, what with not planning to vote for him anyway), there are enough Horatio Alger stories out there (I know a couple myself) that to equate rich with a lack of "life experience" - defining "life experience" as that tiny subset, of course, of possible life experiences - is just plain irresponsible.

Suggestions for Running Mates Obama should ignore.

2008-08-22T13:48:00.004-04:00

John Kerry.

Rick Astley.

Tyra Banks

Hannah Montana. Oh wait, he already picked her for Treasury Secretary.

I predict riots in this streets...

2008-08-21T14:02:00.003-04:00

if this election projection actually comes to pass.

Electoral College: McCain 274 Obama 264
Popular Vote: Obama 50.52% McCain 48.48%

The scary thing is that it makes sense. Senator Obama is competitive in lots of states where Democrats aren't usually competitive, and Senator McCain is unusually not competitive in places like Oregon, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania. As for the map, Obama winning the whole Kerry map plus Iowa and New Mexico is definitely a possibility.

Just found it interesting, that's all. Polls mean nothing right now, but it's been weird seeing McCain come back a bit. I just can't imagine people tolerating a candidate who got over 50% of the vote (unlike Gore) losing.

The Birthday Planner

2008-08-20T02:08:00.003-04:00

My most recent contribution to the field of sketch comedy. I'm not sure if I get hits off the official site, but I'll embed here in case you're too lazy.

A common bafflement

2008-08-16T21:21:00.003-04:00

So Andrew Sullivan got me thinking a bit yesterday with "Abortion and Homosexuality"

By what logic can gay rights be more significant an issue for a religious party like the GOP than abortion?

And why would pro-gay-equality Republicans be less welcome than pro-choice Republicans? There is no real comparison in any theology: abortion is arguably the taking of human life; the worst that can be said of gay couples is that refuse to make more human life. So placing the position on gay rights on a higher level than abortion rights can only be explained by bigotry, it seems to me. Or, in McCain's case, a perceived need to cater to bigotry.

To be fair, I don't think the selected quote of McCain's that Sullivan is mocking is evidence of bigotry, per se. I think he was merely trying to explain that one heterodoxy is not unforgivable. I'll leave that be. The truth is, I've noticed this trend in the way a "social moderate" is perceived in America. I remember reading an article back in 2004 about new Democratic Congresswoman from South Dakota, Stephanie Herseth, which approvingly called her a moderate for her support of abortion rights and strident opposition to gay marriage. But honestly, I don't see quite how the position is defensible. Perhaps other forms of Christianity outside the Catholic realm Sullivan and I live in truly do consider the fight against homosexuality to be a higher Biblical calling--after all, there is much less of an outright ban on abortion than homosexuality in the Bible. But if I am to take these politicians at their word that they are fighting for a secular morality--the culture of life, the strength of the marriage institution--then it seems like the case against allowing gay marriage is far weaker.

Ideally, your freedom stops at my big toe. If you consider a fetus to be a human life of equal value to its mother, then you can argue the necessity of a law banning abortion. If you truly believe that homosexuality is an expression of decadence and filth, its expression still cannot be said to impose on others. (The only argument I've heard that touches that is that expressions of homosexuality will turn other people to "the gay lifestyle", which I consider an absurd argument and one that doesn't particularly apply to whether marriage licenses can be issued to gay couples or not. After all, doesn't everything become less cool when it's mainstream and legal?)

Personal note

2008-08-14T23:51:00.002-04:00

I just got my sweet new MacBook Pro today for Yale, and I'm sort of becoming iChat--specifically video chat--obsessed. This is going to be a problem very soon.

If you'd like to add me, the handle is younglibertarian.

Mental Health Break--BarackRolled

2008-08-11T13:14:00.002-04:00

If anyone in the Yale Mafia already posted this, my apologies. But I found this hilarious. (Grudging hat tip to Redstate)

Georgia-Russia Update

2008-08-11T10:28:00.003-04:00

No matter how you slice it, Cease-fire proposed as Russia bombs Georgia is not a terribly encouraging headline. Georgia seems to have offered a bilateral ceasefire on Sunday that Russia refused, so I'm unsure that a broadly international effort to accomplish the exact same ceasefire under the exact same terms will be effective at all. However, it is nice to see France and Finland (Finland? Really?) getting involved. I appreciate getting the occasional reassurance that there are countries besides the United States who are willing to take active roles in these situations.

By the way, I may be a Republican, but I jumped a little when I heard Dick Cheney say that an act of aggression "will not go unanswered". It's better in context, but still.

Edit: Nicola Karras is a very funny lady.

Glorious Victory Update

2008-08-10T00:04:00.003-04:00

Shelton's National Little League Players win the New England Championship 2-1 and advance to the Little League World Series. I watched this--they pulled out two home runs in the last inning. Really cool. I'm a Valley Boy, so this is a big deal.

Yale graduate Sada Jacobson won the silver in women's sabre fencing, and the United States swept the whole podium.

USA picked up 5 other medals in swimming, including (obviously) a gold for Michael Phelps in the 400m individual medley. That man is a machine.

And Tom Lambert of Tavern Banter is 21 today. Happy Birthday Tom!

Telepathy [EDITED]

2008-08-08T19:14:00.004-04:00

So, I was all set to complain on here after watching an hour of the Situation Room that the Russian invasion of Georgia is being entirely buried in coverage of the Edwards affair. However, Leah beat me to it, so go head over there.

I'll have more on Georgia later--in the meantime, CNN's coverage is here. Hopefully, we can and will bring the Georgian troops back home from Iraq swiftly.

EDIT: New coverage by the AP suggests this is much more complicated than originally presented by CNN. I'm not certain how much I'm allowed to quote from the AP, but here's the end of the article that made me question my early assumptions:

Georgia's president said Russian aircraft bombed several Georgian villages and other civilian facilities.

A senior Russian diplomat in charge of the South Ossetian conflict, Yuri Popov, dismissed the Georgian claims of Russian bombings as misinformation, the RIA-Novosti news agency reported.

The Georgian attack came just hours after Saakashvili announced a unilateral cease-fire in a television broadcast late Thursday in which he also urged South Ossetian separatist leaders to enter talks on resolving the conflict.

Georgian officials later blamed South Ossetian separatists for thwarting the cease-fire by shelling Georgian villages in the area.

Check out the rest here.

A Good Day To Be A Jets Fan

2008-08-07T12:42:00.002-04:00

At least, I'm pretty sure it is. After all, he won't be playing for more than two years, if even that. But come on--it's Brett Favre. BRETT FAVRE!

I admit, I will be sad to see Chad Pennington go. I still believe in the guy. Oddly enough, Ta-Nehisi Coates does as well, and makes the case for the Vikings to pick him up.

If this season posts a more successful record for both the Jets and for Pennington, this might be my favorite season for a long time.

Yale Mafia Roundup

2008-08-07T02:22:00.003-04:00

Quixotic Capers pointed out that Obama's public speaking isn't perfect, but I agree more with Porter's reply pointing out that Obama's supporters are really the ones acting out of the ordinary. However, I agree his response would probably sound a little weaker if it wasn't punctuated by cheering. (He should donate McCain a crowd one day.)

Tristyn is always good for an out-of-context quote:

John McCain is aware of the clitoris!

Leah challenges the destruction of public schools by pointing to NYC's private kindergarten system, and Will has a reasonable response. (Though I don't ever want to see the term "entry-level kindergarten" again)

David Broockman made me laugh. Twice. I think this is common.

Largely Unclear made sense, and now I'm questioning if we're sentencing some terror suspects based on the concern that we've now made them extremists.

And hooray for Adrian!

Mental Health Break

2008-08-07T02:06:00.002-04:00

Snoop Dogg v. Rick Astley Mash-Up.

Words fail. Use this for your RickRoll next time.

And yes, I am aware that Rap Parody Week ended. But it never really ends.

In Which I Copy A Comment Verbatim

2008-08-06T14:21:00.002-04:00

And don't think it doesn't bother me a little that my commenters are all much better informed than I am.

dporter said...

I'm in China right now and I'd say that it's definitely true that the Chinese are limiting dissent on account of the Olympics. But when you think about it, it makes total sense. What would get China worse publicity - public protests against the government or what they're doing right now? The government has decided, pretty reasonably that it's the former. If the Olympics are meant to open up countries by putting a media spotlight on them, the media is going to have to change its style of reporting.

I have a strong feeling that the setback is only temporary, though. China wants to maintain its image during the Games, but, all in all, it's actually a fairly open society. China is no police state - in fact, before the Olympics got close, it had less of a police and military presence than the US. There are no restrictions on free speech in people's daily lives - that is, the government isn't hunting down people for criticizing it to their friends and neighbors. And Chinese are generally aware of the "bad" aspects of their government's policies (I put bad in quotes because most Chinese, at least, most educated Chinese - ie, the ones I've interacted with - have a far less negative view about the things we in the West criticize). They know what the Western media says about China, but rather than getting mad at their government about it, they get angry at Westerners for criticizing China.

In China, the West is largely viewed, with some reason, as having a horribly biased perspective on China. China's government, for better or worse, enjoys broad support in China, far more than, say the American government does. This doesn't mean Chinese don't want changes - environmental problems and economic development in the country's interior are at the top of most people's lists - but the improvement in the average Chinese person's life over the past 10-20 years has been remarkable, and most Chinese credit their government with that. Deng Xiaoping is still loved and revered as the leader who began this process.

In general, I'd say you should be optimistic about China's progress. I don't think the Olympics are going to help, but the trend in everything from standard of living to democratization to human rights to environmental protection to minority rights is a positive one. China really isn't the world's problem country at this point. As the Chinese would say, the Western media is 大作文章 - making excessive reports - about problems in China. It isn't perfect, but it's doing far better than one would think from seeing Western news (and way better than I thought before I got here at the beginning of June).

I am a sellout.

2008-08-06T14:19:00.003-04:00

I have a decent-sized collection of political buttons, and you know, I want it to be complete, so I may or may not have just ordered a free Obama button from MoveOn.org.

Which means I just gave MoveOn.org all my information. For an Obama button.

I'm going to choose to rationalize this by saying I just cost them $0.02.

Honey, I Cloned The Dead Dog!

2008-08-05T18:32:00.004-04:00

I know a trend when I see it, and this is going to be huge.

California woman sells house to clone pet

SEOUL (Reuters) - The loss of Booger the pit bull terrier was almost more than Bernann McKinney could bear.

Now she is happy, minus $50,000 and her house, and owner of five cloned Booger puppies.

"It is a miracle for me because I was able to smile again, laugh again and just feel alive again," McKinney told a news conference in the South Korea capital to show off the week-old black puppies -- all of whose names include the word Booger.

...

"As of today, we are at the stage of receiving orders from anywhere in the world," RNL CEO Ra Jeongchan said.

RNL has said it expected to clone about 100 dogs next year and for the price to drop as technology improves.

Granted, $50,000 is going to be out of most people's price range. Somehow, though, I can't imagine "Hey, we can give you back your deceased pet!" isn't going to be an enticing opportunity for a lot of people, especially if the price drops.

Of course, I always thought part of the point of giving children pets was to teach them how to deal with death. Maybe in the future, it will teach children to whine for their parents to bring Fluffy back NOW OR THEY'RE THE WORST PARENTS EVER.

More Fun With Olympic Oppression

2008-08-04T11:13:00.002-04:00

Defiant Chinese Harassed, Jailed Before Olympics

The Olympic Games have become the occasion for a broad crackdown against dissidents, gadflies and malcontents this summer. Although human rights activists say they have no accurate estimate of how many people have been imprisoned, they believe the figure to be in the thousands.

The crackdown comes seven years after the secretary general of the Beijing Olympic Bid Committee declared that staging the Games in the Chinese capital would "not only promote our economy but also enhance all social conditions, including education, health and human rights."

Now, human rights have been set back rather than enhanced, activists say.

"The Olympics have reversed the clock," said Nicholas Bequelin, a Hong Kong-based specialist for Human Rights in China.

This is disturbing, if very predictable. What I find weird, however, is the Chinese government's absolute certainty that they will project a better image to the world if they round up dissidents instead of allowing them to speak to foreign media. I don't know if the Chinese have a saying similar to "Actions speak louder than words", but someone ought to translate it for President Jintao.

This quote from a Times article on Sunday is bothering me more and more:

“It’s a risk worth taking,” Mr. Pound said. “The Games will be well delivered. You hope good will come from it. I don’t think any closed country that has hosted the Olympic Games has been the same thereafter. It can’t be.”

I hope they're right, but I'm seeing it less and less. To cite that Times article, these Olympic Games may not be another Berlin, but they're darn sure not a Seoul.

The "R" Word

2008-08-02T14:02:00.002-04:00

What, you thought I means recession? Well, we're not allowed to say that word either, unless we're talking about a Young Jeezy album.

No, I'm talking about reparations. Earlier this week, I caught a quote from Obama implying his openness to reparations as an idea. I made the assumption that he was never actually going to come out in support of the concept.

Turns out that after a day or two of constant coverage of race in the campaign, Senator Obama is coming out in strong opposition.

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama opposes offering reparations to the descendants of slaves, putting him at odds with some black groups and leaders.

The man with a serious chance to become the nation's first black president argues that government should instead combat the legacy of slavery by improving schools, health care and the economy for all.

"I have said in the past — and I'll repeat again — that the best reparations we can provide are good schools in the inner city and jobs for people who are unemployed," the Illinois Democrat said recently.

It's certainly the right position to take, and as the article says, he had a similar position in 2004. Assuming the point of reparations is practical as well as moral, it only makes sense to target the poor on the whole instead of trying to search for descendants of slaves everywhere. If Senator Obama has gone on record saying he didn't want his children to benefit from affirmative action, then why would they be receiving reparations because of the struggles of their mother's family?

The end of the article caught my eye however:

One reparations advocate, Vernellia Randall, a law professor at the University of Dayton, bluntly responded: "I think he's dead wrong."

She said aid to the poor in general won't close the gaps — poor blacks would still trail poor whites, and middle-class blacks would still lag behind middle-class whites. Instead, assistance must be
aimed directly at the people facing the after-effects of slavery and Jim Crow laws, she said.

"People say he can't run and get elected if he says those kinds of things," Randall said. "I'm like, well does that mean we're really not ready for a black president?"

Let me leave aside the notion that Senator Obama must secretly support reparations because he's African-American and that he can't simply not be saying those things because he doesn't believe them. There are many areas within the scope of poverty we can target that will disproportionately affect African-Americans--as Obama says, improving inner-city schools has to be a first priority. I think we'd make a bigger mistake in handcuffing ourselves because we were afraid we might help some poor white people too.

And this will be the last time I talk about race here for a while. (Unless I write that story about Italy that Sasha brought to my attention.)

Senator Obama Capitulates on Offshore Drilling

2008-08-01T22:29:00.000-04:00

I blogged briefly earlier about McCain's "Celebrity" ad which has been getting a lot of play for being 1) unfair (yes) and 2) racist (no).

Apparently, I can add 3) Effective. Not only did Obama's lead in the Gallup poll disappear in the wake of all this ad coverage, but Senator Obama has given in on the main issue the ad goes after him for: his opposition to offshore drilling.

From First Read:

"U.S. Sen. Barack Obama said today he would be willing to open Florida's coast for more oil drilling if it meant winning approval for broad energy changes. 'My interest is in making sure we've got the kind of comprehensive energy policy that can bring down gas prices,' Obama said..."

"'If, in order to get that passed, we have to compromise in terms of a careful, well thought-out drilling strategy that was carefully circumscribed to avoid significant environmental damage - I don't want to be so rigid that we can't get something done,' Obama said."

More: "[H]e told the Post he would be open to expanding the current drilling boundaries if it meant winning approval for more fuel-efficient cars, developing alternative energy sources and making the country more 'energy independent.'"

Since McCain's a big "try everything and hope it works" guy as seen in his own advertising, this sort of blurs the differences between the two candidates on energy quite a bit. Apparently, Senator Obama is willing to adjust to the realities of this debate, even if he won't fully cede the point. Good for him.

Mental Health Break

2008-08-01T19:31:00.000-04:00

Continuing on with Rap Parody Week. This one is kind of dated, but I remember these movies and you probably do too.

Plus, Aries Spears makes a great 50 Cent.

Actually, pro-choice and anti-abortion aren't synonyms.

2008-08-01T11:18:00.000-04:00

Now that I'm hearing some television pundits describe Tim Kaine as bringing pro-life credentials to the Obama ticket, I think we need to clarify some terms.

*If you support making abortion illegal and unavailable, you are pro-life/anti-abortion/anti-choice, whichever is your favorite term.

*If you support overturning Roe v. Wade and letting the states decide, you are somewhat neutral but probably fall into the anti-abortion camp.

*If you think Roe v. Wade should not be overturned, and that there is a basic right to abortion, you are pro-choice.

Guess which one Tim Kaine is?

To quote the Washington Post from his 2005 gubernatorial race:

"I am pro-life," Kaine said when talking about his view on abortion.

Kaine says that while he has a personal, religious opposition to abortion, he is supportive of a women's right to choose. And he explained that as part of his answer.

But the Kilgore camp says that when Kaine says, "I am pro-life," he is being disingenuous. As the argument goes, the phrase "pro-life" has a specific meaning in the American consciousness, and is associated with the belief that abortion should be outlawed.

Mind you, I'm not objecting to this. It makes sense that the Democratic vice-presidential candidate would be pro-choice. And he certainly supports a few restrictions on abortion. But don't tell me he will swing conservative Catholics with his pro-life stridency.

Reason #5,268 Timing Is Important

2008-08-01T10:31:00.000-04:00

Remember when John McCain showed up to Michigan, the original capitol of the auto industry whose unemployment rate hit 7.6 percent last December in part due to a loss of 25,000 manufacturing jobs? Remember how bad a place it was to go advocate more free trade?

Well, he's doing it again. Just as the McCain camp is Taking Great Umbrage that Obama would inject race into the debate, he has a speaking appearance with the Urban League.

D'oh.

Speaking of which, getting into the actual race discussion, I really don't find this McCain ad to be racist due to the sheer presence of white women. The difference between this ad and the anti-Harold Ford ad is that the Harold Ford ad intimates the prospect of a relationship with a white woman, and so could play to certain racist fears. I don't think you can stretch the McCain ad to implying the same with Barack Obama and Paris Hilton.

Well, that's odd.

2008-07-31T18:03:00.000-04:00

Edit: Barry's comment below is correct--the summary changed, not the measure itself. Given that the Supreme Court's decision hasn't been "frozen" pending the referendum, this change makes more sense to me. My bad.

Opponents of gay marriage say they'll sue over changed wording in Proposition 8 (h/t Kevin Hu at Flaming Libs)

Supporters of Proposition 8, the proposed state constitutional amendment that would ban gay marriage, said they would file suit today to block a change made by California Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown to the language of the measure's ballot title and summary.

Petitions circulated to qualify the initiative for the ballot said the measure would amend the state Constitution "to provide that only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California."

In a move made public last week and applauded by same-sex marriage proponents, the attorney general's office changed the language to say that Proposition 8 seeks to "eliminate the right of same-sex couples to marry."

I'm about as big a supporter of legal same-sex marriage as you'll find, but I don't understand how you could change the wording of a circulated petition. Besides, doesn't the original bill ban all non man-woman marriages, including say, polygamy? It looks to me like the new language narrows the scope of a proposition agreed upon by voters.

It's not so much the exercise of the power that bothers me as the ability to wield the power in the first place.

"Complete Privacy Does Not Exist"

2008-07-31T17:30:00.000-04:00

So sayeth Google in a privacy case over Google Street View. (h/t Reactionary Epicurean)

Google is being sued by a Pennsylvania couple after their home appeared on Google’s Street View pages. The couple’s house is on a private road clearly marked as private property.

“Today’s satellite image technology means that even in today’s desert, complete privacy does not exist,” says Google’s submission.

“In any event, the Plaintiffs live far away from the desert and are far from hermits.”

The couple are suing Google for US$25,000 in damages, saying that the value of their property has been damaged and say they have suffered “mental stress”.

Leaving aside that semi-disconcerting statement, I do not think Google should be paying out money for property damage or mental stress. Still, I think Google is trying to use a "The Internet Has New Rules" argument when the fact of the matter is they physically drove down a private road and took pictures. Yes, a satellite with incredible visual technology could take pictures of the street, and that opens up all sorts of questions. But Google didn't use a satellite, because they couldn't. That's why I can't see your face when I use Google Maps Satellite View. They just drove up a private road without permission and are using technology they don't have to argue that it's fine.

Well, maybe if time machine technology advances a little further, I can forge winning lotto tickets the day after without issue.

This is quite cool

2008-07-31T14:48:00.001-04:00

Or terrifying, depending on your perspective. H/t to Patrick Appel on Andrew Sullivan's site.

Watching The Growth of Walmart Across America

Two notes:
1) With the exception of a jump to New Hampshire, it doesn't look like Wal-Mart ever moves to any state unless it's in a bordering state.
2) What, are there no Wal-Marts in Alaska or Hawaii?

Oh, and don't forget: Walmart Is Sunny Now!

Mental Health Break

2008-07-31T14:07:00.000-04:00

Since David Broockman at the Flaming Libs posted a political video for his mental health break (and a funny one at that, check it out.) I think I'll respond with the Ludacris rap that gave Sean Hannity an aneurysm last night.

In the spirit of Rap Parody Week on TopherMedia (or in this case, Rap Self-Parody), here you go:

(Disclaimer: I like Ludacris, although I admit he is probably one of the more misogynistic mainstream rappers out there.)

Radovan Karadzic in UN Court

2008-07-31T13:41:00.000-04:00

Karadzic was the Bosnian Serb leader during the Bosnia War.

From the AP, via MSNBC:

Prosecutors say he was responsible for the 1995 Srebrenica massacre of some 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys, a deadly 44-month siege of Sarajevo and establishment of internment camps where non-Serbs were tortured, raped and murdered

For the record, the Srebrenica massacre was the largest mass murder in Europe since World War II and was officially declared a genocide about a year ago. In fact, the area was supposedly a safe zone during the war, patrolled by around 600 UN troops.

Hopefully he will be brought to justice. The AP article is doubtful though:

Convicting him of genocide will be difficult, requiring proof of a deliberate intention to eradicate a specific ethnic group, in whole or in part.

Ideally, the other crimes against humanity would be enough to put him away for life. Of course, an ideal UN would have had the ability to keep its safe zones safe, but I suppose that's an argument for a different day.

Personal anecdote

2008-07-30T21:11:00.000-04:00

I was having a few brief political conversations after I posted my blog to my Facebook, and this comment struck me:

Also, the McCain campaigns ads are so hilariously stupid. Like if I was someone who's like [stupid] in politics (which I am)--seems like McCain doesn't really have anything positive to say about his own campaign, yet is having a hard time coming up with bad things to say about Obama's.

I agree. Attacks on Obama have ranged from misleading to flat-out false. The weirdest thing is that McCain's stump speeches and major policy addresses seem flat-out disconnected from these particular slurs. That's not to say he's not attacking Obama--because he is--but it's not part of one coherent message.

But it goes beyond that. Like my friend says, you have to speak positively about yourself. Check out this latest Obama ad:

15 seconds on your opponent, and most of the negative response does not come directly from you.
15 seconds positive focus on you, with summaries of a few popular plans of yours.

It's pitch-perfect. I'm not sure why McCain's people can't follow that simple model.

AKP Holds Onto Official Recognition

2008-07-30T13:12:00.001-04:00

Turkey's governing party, the Justice and Development Party (AKP), barely held onto its existence today by the vote of one judge on Turkey's highest court. The country of Turkey is officially a secular republic, and the Justice and Development Party was the first openly Islamic party to take power. They leave today intact, but with their public funding cut in half.

In some ways, this strikes me as the worst kind of judicial activism--judges trying to call a democratically elected party in a republic illegal and thereby force it from power. On the other hand, Turkey seems to have a separation of mosque and state codified into its constitution in a much more direct way than we have in the United States. Now, the AKP claims to have no plans to undermine the secular basis of Turkey. Even if they do intend to pass some more religiously based laws, though, is the desire of the country at large really entirely subordinate to a judge's interpretation of the law? I think "interpretation" is the right word, since the party clearly is not pushing for sharia law or anything close to an obvious violation of the law.

For the record, examples of AKP's religious actions at the municipal level include banning alcohol and lifting the ban on headscarves. Yes, lifting a ban on a type of religious expression. Just saying.

The most interesting things happening in Connecticut on July 30th, according to WTNH

2008-07-30T10:59:00.000-04:00

Dunkin' Donuts to offer healthier menu items

The new menu will be called DDSmart and will include all current and new items that either have 25 percent few calories, sugar, fat or sodium than comparable products or contain ingredients that are "nutritionally beneficial."

Galietti sentenced to almost 4 years in trash case

A former salesman at a Danbury trash hauling company has been sentenced to nearly four years in prison for participating in a scheme to drive up trash rates by stifling competition.

What you're teaching your dog from Bark Busters

Instead of waiting patiently by the door, Rover might decide a walk is in order and bring your walking shoes to you. Or if he's in the mood for a snack, he might bark at you from the kitchen to call you.

Whether these more assertive gestures are considered problem behavior often is a matter of personal preference. Sometimes, they are just downright cute!

Well, this is nice, if a little late.

2008-07-30T07:18:00.000-04:00

The United States House of Representatives has apologized for Slavery and Jim Crow Laws.

Do I have to mention the author of the bill is the only white congressman representing a majority African-American district, and he's facing a primary challenge by an African-American candidate? Or were you cynical enough to guess something like that?

If you were, you also guessed that every member of the Congressional Black Caucus who signed on as a co-sponsor to his bill is refusing to endorse his re-election campaign, right?

Just checking.

Still, regardless of intention, I think the passage of this bill is important and probably well-timed with Senator Obama's meteoric rise as well. Actually, Australia did something similar earlier this year with an apology to its indigenous population.

Hey, speaking of Obama and apologies and indigenous populations:

"I personally would want to see our tragic history, or the tragic elements of our history, acknowledged," the Democratic presidential hopeful said.

"I consistently believe that when it comes to whether it's Native Americans or African-American issues or reparations, the most important thing for the U.S. government to do is not just offer words, but offer deeds."

Ironically, I'm not sure if Obama just said the idea of reparations is on the table, or if he was just "offering words". I'm going to lean toward the later, given his recent nuances on affirmative action.

China's Government Enforces Internet Censorship For Journalists During The Olympics.

2008-07-30T07:01:00.000-04:00

In other news, water is still wet.

This is the headline at Drudge Report this morning, and I'm questioning the placement. Granted, the article in question at BreitBart does say that the full extent of the censorship is not yet known, but if it's primarily a blackout of Falun Gong, things could be a lot worse.

Of course, it's still pretty odd that the Chinese government is still irrationally afraid of an organization that's primarily known for its meditation practices. And by "afraid", I mean "the emotion that makes you torture people and allegedly even harvest their organs while alive." Granted, that's Wikipedia and not all the sources are entirely impartial, but I'd be hard-pressed to believe that there isn't a lot of truth at least to the torture allegations.

Oh, and now this blog is officially banned in China.

Obscure Issue You Care About But Don't Know It Yet (Episode 1)

2008-07-29T23:56:00.001-04:00

The issue: Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska is being indicted.

Do I know him?
Yes you do. He's the guy who hilariously compared the internet to a "series of tubes". An audio clip from the speech is posted below--the whole thing is actually pretty funny, sadly enough.

So why do I care?
You care because Ted Stevens holds one of the ten Republican seats in danger in the upcoming election--his polling numbers, in fact, had taken a big dip prior to this scandal. He was going to be one of the Democrats' main targets, but now it's anyone's guess what will happen. Republicans saved the governor's seat in Alaska by kicking a corrupt incumbent out via primary, but Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich is probably too strong a candidate to easily be taken down by a no-name Republican.

Okay, let me ask again: why do I care?

Sorry. Basically, this probably brings Democrats ever closer to the prospect of a 60-vote majority in the Senate, which would prevent Republicans as a party from blocking any legislation the Democratic majority wants to pass. This doesn't matter if we end up with a President McCain--67 is the magic veto breaker--but it would be a major fast-track for a President Obama's agenda.

Gotcha. By the way, why is "bribery in the form of home improvements" giving me a sense of deja vu?
Because you live in Connecticut.

Lessons From The Chris Shays Campaign.

2008-07-29T23:28:00.001-04:00

Me From Two Weeks Ago: Why am I going door-to-door for Shays at 3 PM if almost no one is home?

Me Today: Because if you go at, say, 6:30, you'll get doors slammed in your face because it's dinnertime.

Seriously though, today was probably the first door-to-door event I've had that didn't leave me excited for the next time. I like it better when people just pretend not to be home. Then again, there's probably a reason that people are more hesitant to talk to strangers at their door in slightly more downscale neighborhoods than in the wealthiest sections of Fairfield. My mom still refuses to open the door after being robbed once, so I get it.

Still, I'm glad to be doing what I'm doing. If you'd like to reward my sacrifice by showing Chris Shays some love, do it here. Every little bit helps to re-elect one of the last progressive Republicans.

Mental Health Break--Sad 50 Cent

2008-07-29T11:16:00.000-04:00

Andrew Sullivan created the concept, and I think this is only appropriate as my first one.

"Even giant gangsters sometimes needs to cry". Perfect.

Now, I'm against the death penalty as a practice....

2008-07-29T10:49:00.000-04:00

But when someone is convicted of two murders, one attempted murder, and three rapes, not to mention the possibility of having two other murders and five other rapes to his name that he wasn't even convicted of, then excuse me for not wringing my hands too much.

And no, I see no significance in the fact that Ron Gray would be "the first military member sentenced to death since 1961". Last time I checked, raping and murdering civilians is called a war crime when you do it during an armed conflict, so I'm not thinking there was any confusion there.

The "Likely Voter" Gap

2008-07-29T10:31:00.000-04:00

Andrew Romano over at Newsweek's Stumper blog posits that the likely voter gap might mean the race is leaning McCain. Basically, when you look it the polls of registered voters and remove those considered not to be likely voters, you get a break for McCain in most cases. This is a pretty consistent strength for Republicans, in part because the older you are, the more likely you are to vote. I can attest to this having done some "likely voter" targeting on Republican campaigns--I was knocking on the doors of a lot of senior citizens.

Sean at Fivethirtyeight.com claims flat out that due to expected greater interest in the election by Democrats and young people, "any likely voter screen that doesn't currently skew Democratic is probably an incorrect likely voter screen". I think that's going a bit far, but it's important to remember that this is an aberration. If you look at the the other polling from July 2008, there are plenty of "likely voter" polls, most of which favor Obama pretty heavily. In fact, the one thing that distinguishes the poll from Gallup/USA Today is not its clever use of likely voters--it's that the sample size is way smaller than the others. A sample size of under 800 doesn't make for a reliable national poll, even if done in conjunction with a much larger registered voter poll.

In other words, this is probably more likely to be an aberration due to a small sample size than a secret strength for McCain--even if I would really like it to be the latter.

Larry Craig Accidentally Featured On Obama Button

2008-07-28T12:54:00.000-04:00

That's got to be worth something.

UNITY '08

2008-07-28T02:51:00.001-04:00

You know, when I first heard Senator Obama was speaking at the Unity '08 Convention, I assumed it was the Unity08 Movement for an independent candidate for President that Sam Waterston had been making the rounds promoting just a year ago. I admit to having put my name down in support of that group (I was open to an independent if Giuliani and Clinton were the nominees, which looked likely at the time) so I was immediately annoyed that they would simply cop out and endorse Senator Obama.

Turns out Unity08 is a "journalists of color" conference, and not actually a political convention at all. Senator Obama simply chose to speak, while Senator McCain declined the opportunity. I understand if McCain would choose to avoid audiences hostile to his message, but then why show up to the NAACP Convention?

Perhaps the only lesson McCain took from that was that any time he had to share a stage at an all-black event with Senator Obama was trouble. But UNITY isn't even an all-black organization:

UNITY: Journalists of Color, Inc. is a coalition of the Asian American Journalists Association, the National Association of Black Journalists, the National Association of Hispanic Journalists and the Native American Journalists Association.

If I had the kind of poll numbers McCain has right now (23%) with Hispanics, I'd be falling over myself to get to these events. To put that 23% in context--President Bush picked up 44% in 2004, without as strong a record on a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants.

One last note: President Bush's ability to win a substantial number of black voters in key states was noted as a disconcerting trend for Democrats following the election. Senator Obama will presumably erase that trend without having to spend a dime. That is hugely damaging to the Republican effort in Ohio in this coming election.

And I begin anew.

2008-07-28T02:00:00.000-04:00

This will be my second attempt at a political blog. You can find my previous posts here. Of course, that's from back when I was supporting Mike Huckabee for President, but the writing is no worse than it will be now.

I am hesitant to use Blogger as a primary site for my political blogging, but Redstate and other group blogs don't lend themselves to offhand thinking, and besides, significant blogs like The Volokh Conspiracy do just fine on a basic model such as this one.

Cheers,
Chris