Aug 17 2008

Rick Warren, Obama and McCain, post mortem #1

Category: election 2008,McCain,Obama,politicsharmonicminer @ 9:19 am

Having expressed my concerns about how Rick Warren would handle the Obama/McCain interview, I have to express my appreciation that Warren played it all pretty straight.  I do wish he had asked more follow-up questions when he got vague answers (Obama on abortion, both on exactly what they’d do about Darfur, quite a few more, etc.), but some of that is perhaps just limitations of the format.

The follow up on abortion I wish I’d heard for Obama: “Well, can we agree that when the baby is out of the womb it gets full human rights?”  And then move it back a day, and ask again.  And then another day, and ask again.

But Warren did well, and deserves credit for doing a service.

Side note:  Obama is really afraid of directly confronting McCain in a give and take discussion, which is why he’s avoided all the townhall meetings McCain suggested.  With only three debates, Obama is obviously hoping he can somehow slide through without dealing directly with tough follow up questions, and just let his natural charm work on the audience.  So he liked this format a great deal, I’m sure…  and McCain still made him look unformed and unsure.

Tags: ,


Aug 16 2008

Rick Warren, Obama and McCain, reactions live

Category: Uncategorizedharmonicminer @ 6:10 pm

I just listened to the first hour, the hour of Obama and Warren. Live blogging from here out.

Obama was smooth, spoke better and stuttered less than he frequently does when speaking “off the cuff”.

Continue reading “Rick Warren, Obama and McCain, reactions live”


Aug 16 2008

Rick Warren, Obama and McCain to talk

Category: abortion,election 2008,McCain,Obama,theologyharmonicminer @ 1:51 pm

On Friday evening, Hannity and Colmes on FOX (with Michael Steele subbing for Hannity) interviewed Richard Land and Tony Campolo in preparation for Rick Warren‘s Saturday interview with Obama and McCain at Saddleback Church.

Land was representing evangelicals from the Right, and Campolo from the Left. This is being written before Warren’s interviews of the candidates. I’ll probably follow up with further comments. But, to set the table:

Warren is a strong evangelical pastor and author who is known for adding more traditionally “liberal” concerns to his list of issues, including the environment and poverty, without releasing his traditional commitments. He is, I suppose, a moderate, politically. He signed the Evangelical Climate Initiative, (The entire statement is here.) If Warren has endorsed a candidate, I don’t know about it.

Land did NOT sign the Evangelical Climate Initiative. One presumes this is not because he does not care if the world melts, or boils. He is generally conservative on most social issues. He is generally not in favor of starving the poor, or bombing the capital of any nation that annoys the USA.

Campolo did NOT sign the Evangelical Climate Initiative. That could be because the second paragraph begins with this line, “We are proud of the evangelical community’s long-standing commitment to the sanctity of human life.” Campolo could not credibly sign such a statement, being a very-Left liberal Democrat, even though he probably does agree with the eco-panic expressed in the Evangelical Climate Initiative. He is a member of the Democratic Party platform committee for 2008.

Here is what I’ll be watching for:

Continue reading “Rick Warren, Obama and McCain to talk”


Aug 16 2008

Signals, hopefully not smoke, on judges and other matters

Category: abortion,election 2008,judgesharmonicminer @ 9:07 am

This is an election in which the “values voters” of yore are mostly being ignored.

In recent presidential elections hot-button social issues like abortion and marriage played a prominent role. In 2000 the candidates hotly debated the impact of the next president’s Supreme Court picks on abortion rights as pro-choice activists attempted to galvanize voters with the prospect that George W. Bush’s election would result in limits on or even outlawing of abortion. In 2004 an Ohio state referendum on gay marriage helped turn out religious conservatives who may have put George W. Bush over the top in the decisive state. After the 2004 election, pundits and activists debated the role of “values” voters and Democrats committed to reaching out to these voters in the future.

But this year, the most remarkable thing about the two most prominent social issues,abortion and gay marriage– is how little we have heard about them.

There are several reasons for this, but the main one is John McCain.  McCain, for good or ill, has positioned himself as more “moderate” than “conservative”. Compared to Obama, he is quite conservative, of course, but he is significantly to the left of, say, Ronald Reagan.  He signals that “moderation” in several ways.  He makes noises about maybe selecting a pro-choice running mate.  He takes the occasional, obligatory swipe at big oil.  He talks about “corruption in both parties”.  And he avoids talking much about hot button issues for conservatives, like abortion and gay marriage, because he thinks anything he might say will either offend conservatives, or “moderates”.  Since he believes he can’t please both, he says little.

  Continue reading “Signals, hopefully not smoke, on judges and other matters”

Tags: , ,


Aug 15 2008

Proving the obvious: and they call it “higher learning”

Category: higher education,humorharmonicminer @ 9:22 am

So, being an academic myself, I often find it embarrassing that so many pieces of research are undertaken to prove the obvious. Here is the latest.

For the first time, scientists have proven that “beer goggles” are real – other people really do look more attractive to us if we have been drinking.

Well, that certainly is surprising. Some other favorites of mine:

When close family members have terminal illnesses, the rest of the family has a hard time, too. (Some nursing professor got a government grant to prove this.)

People who are good-looking have easier lives than other people, all things being equal. (No… say it isn’t so.)

People whose minds drift while they are reading can’t remember what they read as well as other people. (Well… that certainly explains a lot.)

Students who do their homework learn better than students who don’t. (I finally figured this out after being graduated from college. Nice to know someone has finally proved it.)

Depressed people are more likely to commit suicide than un-depressed people. (Maybe they should drink more beer? Those beer goggles would cheer them up.)

People who exercise regularly and eat a balanced diet are healthier than people who are fat, sedentary, and eat a diet of potato chips and, well, beer. (Darn.)

And finally, my all-time favorite: men are more likely to watch the entire match in women’s beach volleyball than women. (No beer goggles needed here, but they may enhance the experience anyway.)

And here’s something I’d like to see researched:  Has any man ever committed suicide while watching a women’s beach volleyball game?  If not, maybe they should just run that all day, everyday, on the SPIKE channel.  If it saves even one life…..

Tags: ,


Aug 14 2008

“Diversity Leadership” and the diversity training industry: a project of the Left

Category: diversity,higher education,multi-culturalharmonicminer @ 9:34 am

Diversity Training University International (DTUI) is a company specializing in training diversity officers and workers for organizations. They maintain a blog where they discuss “diversity issues” from the point of view of diversity trainers and managers, and in a recent article discuss the difficulties diversity managers and trainers can have when they meet resistance.

In-house diversity professionals often ask me about how to address resistance to their diversity and inclusion program. These professionals describe managers who give a nod to the diversity program in leadership meetings, while making excuses for not being more actively involved in addressing the issues in their units. Others enthusiastically offer their opinions and suggestions on other topics, but disengage when the diversity goals are covered. A couple of the managers seem to be openly hostile towards the diversity program based on the reasons they give for not supporting it and the aggressive tone of their statements about it. Many managers may not openly show support negative statements about the diversity program, but you can see their faces light up while that “brave” individual speaks her or his mind.

I guess you can count me as one of those speaking his mind.  And yes, I’ve seen eyes lighting up when I speak up for people who are a bit reserved but agree with me.

Here is one of the more revealing paragraphs:

Our view of cultural diversity has been ingrained in us since birth. It
is not easy to unlearn the biases and prejudices we are exposed in a
society that gives us the double message of being tolerant in our
attitude and exclusive in our behaviors. Liberals tend to bend over
backwards for people who are different
and too many people of color
struggle with their own sense of sense of being treated unfairly. The
diversity professional must be clear about any baggage he or she brings
to the work.

I provided the boldface, to illustrate the inadvertent admission of the article. Diversity is a project of liberals, of the Left. No news here…. but the admission is useful for confirming it in the mind of doubters.

Why does this matter?

Because when organizations embrace diversity, they are embracing the Left. It really is that simple. That might be OK for some organizations, but when Christian universities, churches, other para-church organizations, etc., embrace diversity, they will not be able to avoid the intrusion of aspects of the Left which they may (and certainly should) find objectionable, on a host of social issues and political implications.

It is possible, of course, that a strong diversity movement in an institution is not the cause of a Leftward motion, but is rather a symptom of it. The correlation is clear, however. Whether diversity is itself a contributor to Leftward motion, or whether it is merely the “canary in the coal mine”, or both, a strong diversity emphasis in your institution is something to be concerned about, if you hold to traditional perspectives on matters like abortion, gay marriage, national defense, government taxation and redistribution, etc.

If you’re a diversity professional now, I suggest you encourage your children to seek another career. According to the New York Times:

Ethnic and racial minorities will comprise a majority of the nation’s population in a little more than a generation, according to new Census Bureau projections, a transformation that is occurring faster than anticipated just a few years ago.

Got that? Your job is going to be as obsolete as the buggy whip, and quite soon. Better start planning for early retirment, and encourage your kids to major in something else…. say, engineering or business administration or marketing. Or white studies.

Tags:


Aug 13 2008

Not a voter “literacy” test: a civics test instead

Category: Congress,constitution,election 2008,White Househarmonicminer @ 9:09 am

So, here is a civics test for prospective voters. The test’s author, Doug Patton, has devised a 27 question test that 8th graders would once easily have passed. He thinks you should be able to score at least 18 in order to vote. That’s 66.6%, a “D” when I was in school.  Patton’s introduction to his test:

I have never been an advocate of the popular notion that “everyone should vote.” Some people look at me as if I am somehow un-American when I say that I am not in favor of encouraging people to vote who would otherwise never darken the door of a polling place. I really don’t want someone on the streets of Hollywood, who just failed to identify the vice president of the United States on one of Jay Leno’s “Jay-Walking” segments, helping to select the person who will lead my government for the next four years.

Take the test here.

I have to report, sadly, that enormous numbers of high school graduates cannot pass this test (that is, get a score of 66.6%). More college graduates than I would wish are similarly unprepared. Yet this test is not hard, for anyone who has the vaguest notion of how our government functions, and the barest minimum of knowledge about current events. I know it is politically impossible that a test such as this will ever be adopted. But if you can’t pass it, you should be embarrassed to be voting. And in all honesty, I think the author of the test was too generous. In my opinion, if you can’t score about 24 out of 27, you should go out to lunch on election day (since you’re already there…), and then go home, and read a book or something.

Continue reading “Not a voter “literacy” test: a civics test instead”

Tags: ,


Aug 12 2008

Senator Pat Wiggins Wigs Out

Category: Congress,humor,politicsharmonicminer @ 9:18 am

Well… now we know the high level of discourse in the California State Senate, when an invited witness says something even vaguely challenging to the status quo. Warning: the following is rated PG for language. Not R… but definitely PG.

Democratic Senator Pat Wiggins decided on a terse, efficient response to the testimony of a pastor who was discussing the impact of proposed federal regulations on his community: Bulls**t. That’s right… to a pastor, who was speaking with complete politeness and deference to the high station of the Senators. Republicans have been known, on rare occasions, to use, uh, colorful language to other Senators. I do not recall hearing of one speaking this way to a witness, particularly one so polite and graceful himself.

You’ll note that the committee chair immediately leaps in to try to ameliorate the damage… but in this case, video is wonderful thing.

If Senator Wiggins, a white woman, had been a Republican who spoke this way to a black witness (espeically one so polite), anyone want to take the bet that she wouldn’t be getting called a racist? Pastor Robert Jones is a United Methodist, a denomination not known for rabid conservatism and right-wing polemics.

The hearing was about (you guessed it) global warming. I guess the good Senator got a little hot under the collar.

Senator Pat Wiggins Wigs Out

Tags: , ,


Aug 11 2008

Russia invades US ally, Georgia: what will we do?

Category: Uncategorizedharmonicminer @ 9:31 am

Let’s not mince words. Russia has invaded the nation of Georgia. I’m glad we have a President Bush and not a President Kerry right now.

Despite the idiotic New York Times headline at the link above (when Hitler invaded Poland, would the NYTimes have reported “Polish fight continues”?… Hmm… maybe they DID), Russia is a completely untrustworthy actor in this, and completely unbelievable when it says that the action is only to “defend civilians from Georgian aggression”. Particularly since it continues to move deeper into Georgian territory, and has just taken a city, Gori, in the middle of Georgia. This is not a “border clash”.

Russia’s claims of distorted Western press coverage are risible…. this from the nation that murders troublesome journalists as state policy.

By the truckload.

Russia is the third most deadly country for journalists, after Iraq and Algeria, according to the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists, which says Politkovskaya was at least the 43rd journalist killed for her work in Russia since 1993.

If the West does not act fast, it will be too late, and there will no longer BE a nation of Georgia. And Russia’s appetite will not be sated.

Think Obama is up to handling this kind of thing?

Shudder

UPDATE: Dick Morris on the parallels to Hitler’s 1938 invasion of Sudetenland, a part of Czechoslovakia.

UPDATE: Powerline on the oil pipeline angle. The unbelievable part is that apparently the Russians missed when attempting to bomb the pipeline. But they’ll try again.

UPDATE: The question, will we do anything about it? h/t: Instapundit

UPDATE:  Anti-war groups all over the USA organize to protest the Russian invasion of Georgia.  NOT


Aug 11 2008

Magneto for V.P.

Category: election 2008,humor,McCain,Obama,politicsharmonicminer @ 9:23 am

The suspense is simply killing me. Who are the vice-presidential candidates going to be? I can’t stand it. Why won’t they tell us? What are they hiding? Well… I think the nice people at io9 may have figured it out.

With the Democratic and Republican Party conventions just a few weeks away, speculation is running wild about who each candidate is likely to pick as his running mate. But who could measure up to the impossible standards that both Obama and McCain will be looking for in their potential Vice Presidents? No real person could have the faultless moral character, good looks and ineffable belief in truth, justice and the American way necessary to win over the voters – which is why we’re choosing from some of our favorite comic book politicians ……..

Read the speculations, and then make some of your own. Personally, I think McCain is going to choose Archie, and Obama is going to choose Veronica (wasn’t she one of the Obama girls?)…. but I could be wrong.

Then there is always the possibility that Obama will simply choose himself as vice-president. That way, if he has to leave office prematurely, he can still be president.  Of course, we’d have to have an origin story about how he became THE ONE by falling into a bucket of radioactive graveyard votes (that’s why he’s so concerned about radioactive waste).

I’m sure Stan Lee can make it all work out.

Tags: ,


« Previous PageNext Page »