David Rodeback's BlogLocal Politics and Culture, National Politics,
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Saturday, May 27, 2006The Week's Excellent ReadingsThis week's list is super-sized. It starts with four essays about our soldiers and our society, in honor of Memorial Day. Favorites for Memorial Day Paul Beston writes the best thing I've read so far this week on Memorial Day's theme. The day is two days hence, but, come Tuesday, even, it might still be the best. Or maybe the best is Ben Stein's brief speech to the families of military casualties. You decide. There went our soldiers, being heroes again. Lou Dolinar offers this long and detailed account of a massive New Orleans rescue operation that the media and others have largely ignored. (Why haven't we heard this story before? By the way, I myself apparently wasn't cynical enough about the Big Media Acronyms in Katrina's aftermath.) Jonah Goldberg summarizes the Katrina story and adds some valuable insights. The Usual Favorites Paul Greenberg has a bit too much of a love affair with the sentence fragment going here, but I tried not to let that distract me from reading a really fine essay. (Apparently, I succeeded.) And here Paul Greenberg is almost as good as Thomas Sowell in this little economics lesson on prices, profits, politics, and petroleum. In the next installment of Townhall.com's excerpts from William Bennett's new book, America, the Last Best Hope, Andrew Jackson is president, James Madison is the sole surviving signer of the US Constitution, South Carolina blames a stiff federal tariff for depressing its economy, the Civil War is three decades away, and nullification and succession are the topics of the day. Jack Kelly puts immigration in perspective. Here's Thomas Sowell talking sense, as usual, this time about immigration. And here he is again. And again. (Three parts, so far.) Kyai Haji Abdurrahman Wahid, former president of Pakistan, says extremism isn't Islamic Law. Jeff Jacoby on the importance of learning English, and why expecting it of immigrants isn't racist. (Then, how about making kids who were born citizens learn it, too? Especially the ones who already speak and write it poorly.) Immigration (See also some of the favorites above.) Tony Blankley has a delightful "modest proposal." Jeff Jacoby says the real immigration problem is what people are finding when they get here. Mark Steyn rants a bit. It's not immigration, it's societal transformation, he says. John H. Fund writes about a national ID. It's not surprise that we ought to require a photo ID to vote (among other things) to discourage voter fraud, including the registering of non-citizens. The surprise here is the former President Jimmy Carter seems to be on board with that (or any) very sensible idea. Mark Helprin summarizes the immigration debate rather well, I think, especially if you don't mind the name-calling when it applies to your own position. George Will takes up the topic of bilingual ballots and related legislation. He's against them, partly as a rule-of-law issue and partly out of common sense. Greg Crosby fears the disappearance of American culture. US Politics Writing from Nevada, Sherman Frederick calls Nevada Senator and Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid "a political tranvestite" who will not be reelected. Lately, you see, the supposed conservative Democrat has been dressing up as Nancy Pelosi . . . Wes Pruden has some barbed words for critics of President Bush's religious beliefs. Michael Barone wants to talk about the good news we're not hearing. Rebecca Hagelin has a moral argument for portable health care insurance. Michael M. Rosen cuts through the baloney on the matter of phone records and the NSA. If you're interested in the intersection of politics, the Big Media Acronyms, and the blogosphere, you might enjoy Keelin McDonnell's tale in The New Republic of how the blogosphere recently beat up on former White House Press Secretary Mike McCurry. Walter Williams doesn't like mandatory seat belt laws, on principle. I don't necessarily agree about the seat belts, but read this piece at least for the great John Stuart Mill quotation at the end. Herman Cain accused liberals of trafficking in public ignorance -- encouraging it, exploiting it, etc. I can't say I disagree with Bert Prelutsky here. That's why I call the ACLU the Anti-Christian Liberals Union. But I'm not as funny as he is, even when he's serious. Debra Saunders has some grim numbers about the future impact of today's entitlements. Hillary, her iPod, copyright laws, and the music industry. What does it all mean? James Lilek writes. Dr. Roy W. Spencer has a few climate-related questions for Al Gore. Don't expect answers anytime soon. My favorite phrase in Wesley Pruden's essay on Congress is "professional courtesy." Watch for it. Paul Greenberg's word of the day is "character." The tables may be turning; Jack Kelly writes about leaks and prosecuting the leakers. Men, Women, Growing Up, the Mating Game Lenore Skenazy is delightful in this look at Web-enabled dating, focusing on one New Yorker's quest for . . . well, read the column. Paul Johnson notes that even ugly men can attract beautiful women. Tread cautiously, though. There's a French-language reference to Dr. Henry Kissinger's anatomy which might offend on moral (or especially on aesthetic) grounds. Betsy Hart has a nice piece on "twixters," graduation, and growing up. Leonard Pitts, Jr., muses on the majesty of black women and the "opting out" of black men, and how to change the latter. Suzanne Fields writes on the oppression of Muslim women -- which multiculturalism perpetuates, by the way. Education Gene Weingarten has some suggestions to make US History more interesting, so that maybe school students will actually learn a little of it. John C. Dvorak makes an interesting point about the place of modern technology in the modern classroom. Nina Shea reports on the content of Saudi school textbooks, years after the most rapid bigotry was supposedly removed. With friends like this . . . Global Thoughts Pete Du Pont answers global warming alarmism with numbers. Sally McNamara outlines the UN's plans to be an actual government, despite its overt indifference to rampant corruption. It wants now to impose global taxes, most of which seem designed to place the United States at a disadvantage. Iran and Iraq Charles Krauthammer explains Iran's latest delaying tactic, asking for talks with the US, and why we should turn them away. Peter Wehner leads us through yet another effort to debunk myths about our action in Iraq. Ralph Peters has some things to say about "outrageous dishonest headlines," too. Stay with him for the "global report card" at the end. The anti-war crowd is getting a little obvious. Now it appears they invented a fake soldier to tell false tales of atrocities US forces never actually committed. Any means, however foul or false, is justified for the sake of the end, apparently. Michelle Malkin reports. By the way, score another one for the bloggers. Max Boot thinks we need -- no pun intended -- more boots on the ground in Iraq, especially Baghdad itself. Local Interest Here's a detailed story by Patty Henetz of The Salt Lake Tribune on the saga of mass transit in Utah County. The Deseret News ran this article on top youthful scientists' views on science education in Utah Schools.
Copyright 2006 by David Rodeback. |
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