Blogworthies LXVII

Because The Blog from the Core simply can't cover everything.

Noteworthy entries @ HerbEly, Liberty Files, Midwest Conservative Journal, Rightwingsparkle, ID the Future, IowaHawk, Lead and Gold, JunkYardBlog, Hoystory.com, The Curt Jester, Armavirumque, Mere Comments, JimmyAkin.org, WindsOfChange.Net, Catholic Light, neo-neocon, The Corner, You Can't Make It Up, A Western Heart, Mystery Achievement, A Physicist's Perspective, Power Line, Cella's Review, and Silflay Hraka.

Decline of War: Why this isn't News @ HerbEly:

War has fallen on hard times. Worldwide, the number of wars has been declining for fifteen years. As Greg Easterbrook reports in New Republic, major news media have almost completely overlooked this story....

The White House as Editors @ Liberty Files:

I couldn't get the Terry Moran haranguing of Scott McClellan which I discussed earlier today out of my craw. And then I remembered a time when it was just fine for the White House to go beyond asking the media to clean up its act, to actually threatening the media if they ran an unfavorable story.

Anyone recall the Juanita Broaddrick story?...

Going the Extra Mile @ Midwest Conservative Journal:

Trying hard to save the marriage, the Anglican Diocese of New Westminster has magnanimously agreed to only sleep with its mistress in certain Vancouver hotels: ....

I had a weird thing happen the other day... @ Rightwingsparkle:

... I went out to walk my youngest to the bus stop and there were these folders and papers strewn all over the street. I started picking them up and as I was looking at them I noticed they were work related and thumbing through the papers I realized I knew who's work this was. It was a mother of one of my daughter's Jr High friends when they had cheered together. I didn't know the mom well, except to see her at games, but her work number was on the papers so when I got home I called her. It seems her car had gotten broken into the night before and they had stolen her laptop and her briefcase. They had obviously thrown out what was in the briefcase. She was very grateful to have all the papers and said she would come get them....

Gimme a Hit Off That Orb: Abusing the "No Theory of Design" Quote @ ID the Future:

There’s a hilarious scene in Woody Allen’s futuristic comedy Sleeper (1973) where some rich partygoers pass a silver orb from hand to hand, caressing it as they do. The intoxicating effects of the orb are immediate: euphoria, diminished motor control, impairment of higher cognitive functions — in short, the partygoers get stoned....

Newsweek Lutefisk Story Sparks Fury Across Volatile Midwest @ IowaHawk:

Decorah, IA — The debris-strewn streets of this remote Midwestern hamlet remain under a tense 24-hour curfew tonight, following weekend demonstrations by rock- and figurine-throwing Lutheran farm wives that left over 200 people injured and leveled the Whippy Dip dairy freeze. The rioting appeared to be prompted, in part, by a report in Newsweek magazine claiming military guards at Spirit Lake’s notorious Okoboji internment center had flushed lutefisk down prison toilets. Newsweek’s late announcement of a retraction seems to have done little to quell the inflamed passions of Lutheran insurgents in the region, as outbreaks of violent mailbox bashings and cow tippings have been reported from Bowbells, North Dakota to Pekin, Illinois....

The rotten heart of investigative journalism @ Lead and Gold:

Previously, I noted that Seymour Hersh is showered with honors when he "investigates" conservatives and Republicans but drops off the media radar when he does his thing against liberal icons. Just one more blogger complaining about liberal bias....

Arrogance @ JunkYardBlog:

The entire press seems to be melting down over the retracted Newsweek story....

It'll save me time @ Hoystory.com:

The New York Times decision to put its columnists and editorials behind a subscription-only service is going to save me quite a bit of time responding to dishonest garbage like this.

Unless the Democrats are smart enough to back down and delay their filibuster fight for a Supreme Court nominee, the Republicans are going to use the "nuclear option" this week or the next. I was originally reticient to repeatedly refer to it as the nuclear option because the term seemed so overwrought — instead preferring the "Constitutional option" or the "Byrd option" — not anymore. I'm going to embrace the nuclear option, because I will smile when I see Senate majority leader Harry Reid's head explode when the Republicans push the button.

And now, for the Times, a fisking....

Secular Humanist Chaplain @ The Curt Jester:

Via Domenico Bettinelli is a story about Harvard hiring a secular humanist chaplain and I am sure it will come as no shock to my readers that this chaplain is an ex-priest who left the church over contraception. Now this story opens up a rich vein of possible comedy of which I will try to tap a bit....

"Anything but pro-American"? @ Armavirumque:

Yesterday, PowerLine reported (The Pause that Enrages) on a speech given by Indra Nooyi, president and chief financial office of PepsiCo (Telephone: (914) 253-2000 — you might want to give them a call after reading this), at a ceremony honoring new MBAs at Columbia University. They quoted this account from Wes Martin, one of the graduates:

After talking of her childhood back in India, Ms. Nooyi began to compare the world and its five major continents (excl. Antarctica and Australia) to the human hand. First was Africa — the pinky finger — small and somewhat insignificant but when hurt, the entire hand hurt with it. Next was Asia — the thumb — strong and powerful, yearning to become a bigger player on the world stage. Third was Europe — the index finger — pointing the way. Fourth was South America — the ring finger — the finger which symbolizes love and sensualness. Finally, the US (not Canada mind you) — yes, you guessed it — the middle finger. She then launched into a diatribe about how the US is seen as the middle finger to the rest of the world. The rest of the world sees us as an overbearing, insensitive and disrespectful nation that gives the middle finger to the rest of the world. According to Ms. Nooyi, we cause the other finger nations to cower under our presence. But it is our responsibility, she continues, to change the current state of world opinion of the US. It is our responsibility to make the other fingers rise in unison with us as we move forward. She then goes on to give a personal anecdote about some disrespectful US business women in an Asian country and how that is typical of Americans overseas. No talk of what the US has done for the world throughout its history. No discussion about the ills that have been cured and the rights that have been wronged by the US. Just how wrong we are for the way we are perceived and how right they are in their own perceptions of the United States.

This sounded completely outrageous — could it be true? In an update, PowerLine published a response from a PepsiCo spokesman: ....

Humans at the Zoo @ Mere Comments:

Many have made the observation that a society that abandons a universal moral standard will substitute a lesser moral position and become fiercely "puritanical" about it. Witness the supression of smoking tobacco in public places, and especially the campaign to stomp out cigarettes among teenagers. Meanwhile we pass out condomns to 14-year-olds and imply that losing one's virginity is no big deal and that there really is nothing "to save for marriage."

I can't help but wonder if a similar subsitition has taken place in the media at least when it comes to its general pro-abortion bias being balanced out by its tender concern for all the other long-leggedly beasties who inhabit our fragile planet. A zoo can pretty much guarantee news coverage should a gorilla have a miscarriage or dolphin have an organ transplant or get stranded off the Florida coast....

New Mary Document (ARCIC) @ JimmyAkin.org:

.... For those who may not be up on what the reader is asking about, there is a new, just-out document from ARCIC (the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission, or the main Anglican-Catholic ecumenical dialogue) called "Mary: Grace and Hope in Christ." It's also called "the Seattle Statement" since key work done in drafting it was done in Seattle, where it was released Monday by the Catholic head of ARCIC (Seattle Archbishop Alex Brunett) and the Anglican head (Peter Carnley, Archbishop of Perth).

I'd been hearing rumblings about the new document for a bit, but when it came out today, I immediately tried to get a copy....

Newsweek Shows Us Why Media Trust is Plummeting @ WindsOfChange.Net:

Reader SAO writes in to ask why we aren't covering the Newsweek story, which incited the deaths of at least 15 people over a poorly-checked, irresponsible report that the magazine itself now admits is probably false. Me, I'm wondering why no-one on Newsweek's staff saw the potential problems with this report at the time....

A thousand crosses on the Mall @ Catholic Light:

Last week, near the end of my bike ride to work, I spotted hundreds of small white crosses staked in the ground east of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in downtown D.C. Wondering what they were for, I saw a young woman carrying a makeshift sign saying "America in Iraq" that she was preparing to hang someplace.

I immediately swerved across the grass toward two men conversing with each other, obviously discussing the logistics of their display. I stopped my bike about five feet away from them, and they stopped talking and looked at me. One of the men had short gray hair, professional-looking glasses and a baseball hat that said "KENT STATE." The other guy had jeans and a black shirt, and looked like a roadie....

The press plays Truth or Consequences — or neither @ neo-neocon:

Austin Bay has some excellent commentary on the story of the Newsweek article alleging that a Koran was flushed down a Guantanamo toilet. The report has sparked outrage and deaths in Afghanistan, and may cause more before this is through.

The questions raised by this story are deep ones. What is the responsibility of the media for the unforeseen consequences of their reporting? And what duty do they have to try to foresee the possible consequences of publicaton? If foreseen, what duty do they have to suppress a story to avoid such consequences? And how certain do they have to be of the story's veracity to publish these — or any — allegations?...

Pay No Attention To Those Judges Behind The Curtain @ The Corner:

This little editorial from the Washington Post is a perfect specimen of mainstream-media arrogance on the issue of same-sex marriage. A federal judge tosses aside a marriage amendment passed by 70 percent of the voters of Nebraska, and all the Post can do is bemoan the fact that the decision seems to vindicate supporters of a federal marriage amendment. The Post makes no effort to hide its disgust at the idea of defining marriage as the union of a man and a woman. A federal amendment is a “noxious proposal” that would “write discrimination” into the constitution. But don’t worry, says the Post, Judge Bataillon’s decision will probably be reversed on appeal. No need to get hysterical about a bad decision (which, by the way, the Post spends much of its editorial defending).

So here’s the real message from the Post: “You Americans, with your noxious bigotry, should pay no attention to this decision (which nullifies your votes on the grounds that they are noxious bigotry.) This decision is simply the action of one isolated and mistaken judge and is bound to be reversed on appeal. (Although our closer look shows that this judge’s opinion’s got a lot of merit.)” ....

Cameron Diaz: Get Serious(ly), You Guys! @ You Can't Make It Up:

Special correspondent and official "bestie" Annie Tucker reports live from LA, following the 2005 Reebok Human Rights Awards. Read on to learn that not only is Cameron Diaz a great person and skilled improvisor, but high school kids'll do the sh*t out of her to boot: ....

Let's try for accuracy next time @ A Western Heart:

One of my major gripes with the mainstream media is that they're very quick to jump on anything that might sell papers, or increase viewers, regardless of its factual accuracy. The latest example of this is quite sickening. You'll have no doubt read about the story regarding the supposed desecration of the Koran at Guantanamo Bay, which many newspapers were quick to jump on....

The War Council Has Adjourned @ Mystery Achievement:

The South American and Arab Countries Summit (which the U.S. was not allowed to observe) has concluded....

Thoughts on Behe talks @ A Physicist's Perspective:

Recently, I had the opportunity to attend two lectures by Michael Behe when he spoke in Davis. I blogged about those here and here. I promised that I'd also blog some of my own thoughts on the talks, so I'll do so here....

Down the memory hole @ Power Line:

Today's Star Tribune carries an op-ed column by former Minnesota Senator Rudy Boschwitz disputing the substance of the David Durenberger/Walter Mondale column on the filibuster. Rudy's column is "Changing the rules to do the nation's business." I took a whack at the Durenberger/Mondale column myself in my Daily Standard column: "They were against it, before they were for it." I profiled Rudy Boschwitz in my previous Daily Standard column: "The ambassador nobody knows." Today the estimable Ambassador Boschwitz adds some details to Mondale's "down the memory hole" approach to his own political history: ....

David Warren, writing in Commentary,... @ Cella's Review:

... reviews the controversial scholar Bat Ye’or’s explosive book Eurabia. The essay (which is not online, unfortunately) is hardly uncritical, but Mr. Warren ultimately does endorse most of her conclusions.

They are not conclusions likely to be greeted warmly. Indeed, it is rather difficult to even imagine them receiving a fair consideration. The prejudices of political correctness are too potent....

Doin' the Diversity Hustle @ Silflay Hraka:

Interesting article here regarding a coalition of law firms and Fortune 100 corporations in New York. The firms and corps have agreed that the law firms will provide the race, sex, sexual preference and so forth for all the attorneys working on any given matter. The corporations, for their part, have agreed that any legal team that isn't diverse enough — not enough women, minorities, or gays — will be fired.

There's a word for this enlightened practice: Illegal....

Lane Core Jr. CIW P — Sat. 05/21/05 09:33:35 AM
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