Who, in the last month, has made the following statements:
“Are Jews crazier than other people?”
“He was handed media stardom defending his mother
by John Cole| 8 Comments
This post is in: Democratic Stupidity
Who, in the last month, has made the following statements:
“Are Jews crazier than other people?”
“He was handed media stardom defending his mother
by John Cole| 5 Comments
This post is in: Domestic Politics
Despite the fact that almost everyone on the planet is recognizing that the Supreme Court decisions on the Michigan Affirmative Action cases are a victory for Affirmative Action and racial preferences, the Insane Clown Posse (my name for the Atrios subsitutes) is upset. Let’s review the remarks about the ruling:
NAACP– Kweisi Mfume, president and CEO of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said the court provided universities with a roadmap for constructing lawful affirmative action programs.
“The Michigan model now becomes the operative model for both graduate and undergraduate affirmative action programs,” he said in an interview.
Linda Chavez– In two split decisions, the Supreme Court today ruled that minority applicants may be given an edge when applying for admissions to universities, but limited how much a factor race can play in the selection of students.
The NY Times– Justices preserved affirmative action in university admissions by a narrow margin but with a forceful endorsement of the role of racial diversity on campus.
Even the National Review thinks this was a victory for Affirmative Action:
President Bush’s statement on the Supreme Court’s Michigan rulings is a major letdown: “I applaud the Supreme Court for recognizing the value of diversity on our Nation’s campuses.” Oh, please. There is precious little to “applaud” here. More Bush: “Today’s decisions seek a careful balance between the goal of campus diversity and the fundamental principle of equal treatment under the law.” Perhaps the rulings do “seek” such a thing, but they do not in fact achieve it. Not even close. Color-coded admissions will be in our future for a long time.
Interesting. Seems like a win, right? Not to the mouth-breathing Insane Clown Posse:
Yes, the Supremes upheld race-based criteria in college admissions in Grutter v. Bollinger, but just as with the relentless whittling away at Roe v. Wade, this is a strategy of death by a thousand cuts. With Gratz, Rehnquist continues his life’s work hamstringing minority advancement, and validates all over again Chris Rock’s mordant observation: “There ain’t a white person in this room who would trade places with me–and I’m rich.”
No wonder they are the fringe- they can’t even claim victory when it is announced for them on the front page of every newspaper and the lead story on every television broadcast. Not surprising from people whose observations on political policy are based upon stand-up comedy.
by John Cole| 2 Comments
This post is in: Outrage
While we are all paying attention to the SCOTUS rulings on Affirmative Action, this seems to have slipped underneath the radar:
With none of the fanfare that usually accompanies the introduction of a new bill, Rep. Lamar Smith (R.-Tex.) quietly slipped proposed new legislation into the hopper Thursday calling for greater FBI and Department of Justice (DoJ) involvement in Hollywood’s ongoing war against file swappers.
The Piracy Deterrence and Education Act of 2003 (H.R. 2517) calls for the FBI to “develop a program to deter members of the public from committing acts of copyright infringement,” including increased information sharing of suspected online copyright violations among various law enforcement agencies, copyright owners and Internet service providers (ISPs). In addition, the DoJ would be required to formulate programs to educate the public on copyright laws.
Smith, chairman of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet and Intellectual Property, found a co-sponsor of the bill in Rep. Howard Berman (D.-Calif.), who introduced legislation in the last Congress that would have authorized copyright owners to hack into computers of suspected file swappers.
Orrin Hatch got beat up last week for his remarks, and it appears that these fellows intend to follow through where Hatch let off. Here is the list of Smith’s top contributors. Here is the list of Berman’s, who received 40k from Hollywood in 2002). Here is a list of how much Hollywood gave in 2002.
by John Cole| 7 Comments
This post is in: Movies
I had intended to go to see The Hulk tonight, but after reading Oliver Willis’s review of the Hulk, I might go see Bruc Almighty or something else. Here is part of Oliver’s review:
“Hi, my name is Ang Lee. Somehow I’ve made the Incredible Hulk boring.”
That’s all I could think as I walked out of Hulk. Here’s a movie about a 10 foot tall giant whose driving force is pure and unbridled rage and Ang Lee (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) has managed to mold the thing into a snoozefest. For too many years critics have derided the plots and pacing of summer movies, essentially dismissing them as MTV-inspired bits of candy. I’m here to say that I like my candy, and I want my summer movies to be big, loud and engaging. Based on sheer entertainment value, Hulk is sadly a failure.
I am trying to think of a time I disagreed with Oliver about a movie or tv show, and I can’t. Sorry Hulk, I’ll catch you on DVD.
This post is in: Politics
Speaking of Democrat candidates, did anyone else see Dennis Kucinich on stage singing ‘This Land is Your Land,’ while the other candidates were perched uncomfortably on bar stools on a stage? I forget where or what the event was, but it was some of the funniest video footage I have seen since Michael Dukakis decided to go joy-riding in a tank.
Here is a WaPo piece on Kucinich.
by John Cole| 16 Comments
This post is in: Politics
From the NY Times:
Democratic presidential hopeful Howard Dean sought to redefine and broaden his liberal, anti-war campaign in formally announcing his candidacy Monday, telling disenchanted American voters, “You have the power!” to oust President Bush and rid Washington of special interests.
With at least 2,500 supporters crammed into a brick-lined town square, the steeple of a Unitarian church behind him, the former Vermont governor pledged to speak “for a new American century and a new generation of Americans.”
Dean pledged to fight conservative Republicans, docile Democrats and the rest of the Washington establishment — all of whom he holds responsible for turning Americans away from the political system.
Talk about a bad day to announce your candidacy for President, and it will get little or no attention because of the SCOTUS rulings. Regardless, I thought he had already announced months ago. At any rate, does anyone know how he fared yesterday on Meet the Press? I took the day off.
*** Update ***
Here is the transcript.
*** Update #2 ***
William Jefferson Dean?:
Russert: Well, in 1995, when you were advocating that position, you were asked how would you balance the budget if we had a constitutional amendment…
Dean: Yeah.
Russert: …calling for that, and this is what Howard Dean said.
by John Cole| 3 Comments
This post is in: General Stupidity
From the ‘No Kidding’ department:
Talking on a mobile phone while driving your car is just as dangerous when using hands-free equipment as when holding the phone in your hand, according to a Swedish study published on Monday.
The National Road Administration (SNRA) tested 48 people in driving simulators, dividing them into two groups — one with and the other without hands-free mobile phone devices.
The drivers in both groups received about 10 phone calls each during 1.5 hours of simulated driving in different conditions. The test revealed almost no difference in reaction time between the two groups.
“It is the distraction of the phone conversation that is the problem,” Ingemar Skogo, the SNRA director general, told Reuters.
No kidding. ANYONE who has had either a learning or memory course could have told you this- it was not holding onto the phone that was causing the problem, it is the attendant COGNITIVE INTERFERENCE with hand-held OR hands-free phones that is the problem. In other words, “It’s the distraction, stupid.”
Alan Baddeley has constructed an entire career studying these issues- I wish lawmakers would pay attention to some of his work, or at the very least read what I have written about this issue.
*** Update ***
This is related.