PETER BERKOWITZ in WSJ: WHY COLLEGES DON’T TEACH THE FEDERALIST PAPERS: “Small wonder it took so long for progressives to realize that arguments about the constitutionality of ObamaCare are indeed serious.” This is so very true. The Federalist Papers are not even taught in law schools. If our best and brightest aren’t taught these things, how can we possibly defend our Constitution? Answer: We can’t. It is a crisis of ignorance.
Archive for 2012
May 6, 2012
YOU’VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME: Not only has Iran’s state-run media used Photoshop to make another fake missile launch photo, this time the Mehrs News Agency included Jar Jar Binks in the picture.
INDIANA SENATE HOPEFUL RICHARD MOURDOCK: “IT IS NOT BIPARTISANSHIP WE NEED. IT IS PRINCIPLE.”: An impassioned statement from the tea party candidate trying to unseat longtime Senator Richard Lugar. Amen.
Turns out Amish farm kids are remarkably immune to allergies. Since they are more immune than other farm kids, it’s possible it is a result of the genetic pool. But it’s also possible that things such as drinking raw milk are involved. You know, the same raw milk our government protects us from?
As the Professor would say, “Faster, please” Perhaps the most exciting medical breakthrough in recent times. There’s an 80% chance that in five months Bill Weir will be the first person ever to see his cardiac tissue beating outside his body.
If only dinosaurs had invented beano, they’d still be around. Or at least that’s the belief of those attributing pre-historic climate change to… dinosaur flatulence.
NEW STUDY: TEST TUBE BABIES HAVE MORE BIRTH DEFECTS A new study from Australia confirms the long-held belief that babies conceived using in vitro fertilization (IVF) suffer higher rates of birth defects. But it is unclear if the higher rates are due to the jostling and handling of sperm or eggs, or instead due to the fact that the sperm or egg donor suffers from an infertility disorder.
SOMETHING TO LOOK FORWARD TO: According to the 2012 Sex Census, conducted in England, individuals in their 30s report the least satisfying sex lives because of financial and child-raising pressures. The good news? “The best sex apparently happens in the fifties, while sexual confidence peaks between the ages of 60 and 69.”
CAN GREEKS BECOME GERMANS? Twitchy rounds up highlights of the Twitter reaction to the European elections this weekend.
We’ve already mentioned France, so here’s the “fun” out of Greece this weekend: “Neo-Nazi party expected to win between 6-8% of the vote in Greece,” Philip Klein of the Washington Examiner tweets, linking to this Washington Post article. “On the upside, Greek Nazis will be much lazier and less effective than their German forbears. But the parties they throw! #Opa,” Jon of the Exurban League blog responds.
Thomas Friedman, call your office.
BIDEN UNLEASHED: Goes against Obama and endorses gay marriage, Axelrod quick to back-pedal, hilarity ensues.
IS CONTRACT LAWYERING doomed by algorithm?
A forgotten New York City “Hidden” Subway station is both visually stunning and an illustration of how elaborate top-down economic planning (shovel-ready, even) is often outpaced by technological development, creating massive waste.
It was opened in 1904, with the hope of making it the crowning glory of the New York subway system in elegant architecture and a place for commemorative plaques to honour the work that had resulted in such a successful underground mass transit system.……..The reason for its closure was that newer longer cars were required ……… as the stations tracks were severely curved, a dangerous gap between the train doors and the platform was formed making it an unsafe area. This combined with the fact that only about 600 people used it, resulted in its closure with only mythical plans of turning it into a transit museum.
Stunning pictures. Someone should use it as the setting for some urban fantasy movie.
SHOOTING THE MESSENGER: James O’Keefe Subpoenaed by NH Attorney General.
AT AMAZON, markdowns in Home & Garden.
DO TEACHERS SHOW MINORITY STUDENTS A “POSITIVE BIAS” THAT THWARTS ACHIEVEMENT? A new report from the Journal of Educational Psychology confirms common sense: Political correctness and an overzealous attempt to be “nice” or “gentle” with minority students undermines their success by failing to provide the kind of critical feedback needed for improvement. A fake, poorly written essay was submitted to teachers for feedback. The teachers “displayed a ‘positive feedback bias, providing more praise and less criticism if they thought the essay was written by a minority student than by a white student.”
THOSE 15 MINUTES OF FAME SURE GO BY QUICKLY: “A bear that became famous after it was tranquilized and fell from a tree at the University of Colorado died when it was hit by two cars after returning to town, likely looking for food.”
As the Professor would say, David Baron, call your office.
QUANTIFYING THE DEATH SPIRAL OF CLIMATE SCIENCE: “In 2008, James Hansen declared that we were at a tipping point due to ice loss at both poles which was going to decimate life on the planet…Since the same date in 2008, Arctic ice has increased by more than 15%.”
BASTILLE FALLS; WORLD STOCK MARKETS NEXT? “This photo of a fleet of Ferraris purportedly fleeing to the Swiss border captures the feeling of many rich French people today. The socialist candidate François Hollande has defeated incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy — the first time a socialist has been elected President of France the Mitterand years,” Walter Russell Mead writes. “This is a good night to keep tabs on financial markets in Asia and then Europe; as investors digest the news we will see whether a panic breaks out. Hopefully, they won’t. The markets have had a few weeks to accustom themselves to an election outcome that was widely predicted in advance.”
ROBERT REICH: THE ANSWER ISN’T SOCIALISM BUT MORE WEALTH REDISTRIBUTION: Er, um, so wouldn’t that actually be more like communism? You can’t make stuff like this up. Apparently the key to economic improvement isn’t harder work, increased efficiency, or self improvement but more aggressive wealth distribution and …… more leisure time? In Reich’s words, “The problem is not that the productivity revolution has caused unemployment or under-employment. The problem is its fruits haven’t been widely shared. Less work isn’t a bad thing. Most people prefer leisure. A productivity revolution such as we are experiencing should enable people to spend less time at work and have more time to do whatever they’d rather do.”
FROM PJTV, VODKAPUNDIT’S WEEK IN BLOGS.
#OCCUPYFAIL: Video: Occupy doofus sings about tweeting from his boat. His cardboard boat.
No wonder NBC can relate so well to OWS.
TAR. FEATHERS. Woman Jailed For Trying To Fill A Prescription.
Seriously, we need personal accountability for these mistakes. No official immunity.
NEWS FROM THE FUTURE: Sex Robots A Reality By 2050, Researchers Predict.
LEGAL INSURRECTION: No longer feeling sorry for Dick Lugar.