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Wednesday, March 31, 2004

Posted 7:17 AM by Zach Wendling
Commission
I'm skeptical of the various commissions investigating 9/11, especially as the coverage has been skewed to reflect poorly on President Bush even before Clarke's 15 minutes. It'd be nice if the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States really was about uncovering past mistakes so that they don't happen again. But since I saw Charled Schumer describe the commission as such on the Senate floor, we can be sure it's primary purpose will be to produce bricks partisans can heave at each other.

But at least both sides will get bricks.

Melana Zyla Vickers has a nice column at Tech Central Station outlining five major errors committed out of a "post Cold War, Democratic world-view" that were presented at the commission's hearings last week:

  • Unwillingness to use force to retaliate against terrorism or pre-empt attacks
  • Inaction in the face of legal obstacles
  • Animus toward the intelligence community
  • Fear of unpopularity in the court of domestic and foreign public opinion
  • Failure to improve the effectiveness of bilateral relations with Arab states and Pakistan


Posted 7:10 AM by Zach Wendling
Fantastic News
Tom Daschle may be getting his very own Ralph Nader! The Senate Minority Leader has one of the most disingenuous public personae of any modern politician, especially in his home State, where his liberal politics are out of step with many South Dakotans. Lots of time amongst the constituency and Native Americans have sustained Daschle for years, but he may be facing a fatal challenge. Tim Giago, a Native American journalist and activist, announced an independent candidacy for the Senate last week. The Democratic machine in SD is impressive, when 'voting irregularities' (a euphamism for fraud) and an army of lawyers helped win Democrats the last Senate race two years ago by about 500 votes. Giago's defection might be all it takes to de-elect Tom Daschle. An interesting prospect indeed. You can find out more at the aptly- but not creative-ly named blog, South Dakota Politics.

Posted 7:01 AM by Zach Wendling
Tiresome . . . or is it?
Whenever someone starts spouting off about how much better the economy was under President Clinton, I feel very tired. The implication is that the President has some sort of enormous influence over the health of the economy, which is really affected by a host of other actors beyond the President's control: State legislatures, Governors, the Federal Reserve, small businessmen, and the rest of the freakin' world, to name a few.

True to my party, though, I think we can reasonable credit some Presidents (cough Reagan) when their policy decisions are radical. I doubt we've had any such seismic activity in the past 15 years, despite Bush's attempts to be both a Keynesian and a supply-sider. As Jonah Goldberg noted when good economic news started to trickle in, it'd be nice if we could pin it on the tax cuts without having to explain away the massive federal spending.

In any event, the economy is improving, and without the benefit of a technology bubble. While I don't support the notion that Presidents deserve all the credit (or blame) for such improvements, this independent ad for Bush makes some clever comparisons with his predecessor. As long as Bush is going to get heat for the economy, he may as well use this to fight back.

Posted 6:49 AM by Zach Wendling
Call Out
A new student group called Students for Global Democracy is holding thie callout meeting tonight at 8 pm in the Oak Room of the IMU. SGD is "a new student group working towards worldwide freedom in a bipartisan and nonviolent manner." Check out their website for more details.

Tuesday, March 30, 2004

Posted 12:50 AM by Nick Blesch
AIDS in Africa
In the comments to Alex's most recent article, there has been a lot of discussion about the AIDS epidemic in Africa. Some people maintain that the money spent on the war in Iraq could have been used to foster a much greater human rights victory: allowing those in Africa who are infected with the AIDS to live the ten or so years that US AIDS patients live, as opposed to the eighteen or so months that they usually do.

Now, I am about to say something really harsh, but stay tuned: this seems to me as if it would be an abject waste of money. How can I say such a thing, you ask? Have I no heart?

Well, let's look at it this way: the people who have AIDS will die. It's not a question of "if," but rather a question of "when." Instead of arguing that the money that went to Iraq could have been used to drag out the lives of people who are already guaranteed death at a (generally) young age, why not use that money to promote AIDS awareness and safe-sex practices? Without programs as such, extending the lives of AIDS victims in Africa 600% (or more) simply means that those already infected will have significantly longer to infect others.

Dying at age 18 of an uncurable virus is a tragedy, to be sure, but it is a wholly preventable one. I think that if we were to spend billions on the AIDS crisis (as oppsed to the war in Iraq), the money would be far better served by keeping people who don't have AIDS from getting it than by extending the lives of those who are already infected.

Comments?

Monday, March 29, 2004

Posted 9:35 PM by Matthew Stevenson
Notice
Be sure to check out the Arts and Life Blog for all the latest news about free concerts at the School of Music as well rumors that Legolas will be the next James Bond.

Posted 4:17 PM by Matthew Stevenson
Reality TV
From the once great TV show, The West Wing...
CJ: Aren't we admitting all the countries we formed NATO to fight?
Toby: Yes.
CJ: Then why not dissolve it?
Toby: We like the bomber jackets.

Posted 10:45 AM by Joshua Claybourn
More Doublespeak
Winds of Change has posted a facsimile of a letter, on Congressional letterhead, from US Rep. Christopher Shays to Richard Clarke, dated July 2000, in which Shays tells Clarke that his classified testimony to Shays' subcommittee was "less than useful."

Shays also was unhappy with Clarke's assertion in his testimony that it was "silly" to think a comprehensive strategy could be developed to combat terrorism. And when Clarke was asked in the testimony how spending priorities were established, he "responded by providing a list of terrorist organizations." So, Rep. Shays asked, "Why is there no integrated threat assessment?"

I'm not sure if this is genuine because the blogger doesn't tell us how he obtained it, but if it is a genuine document I'd expect it to find it's way to the mainstream press within a few days. I suspect Shays or a Congressional staffer leaked it. Here's a pdf of the supposedly real thing. I point it out to note that the blogosphere has once again got the scoop.

Posted 7:09 AM by Zach Wendling
Cartoons Will Be the Downfall of Free Speech
Last year, J. P. Benitez, then assistant editor for the IDS Op-Ed section, ran a cartoon lampooning affirmative action, inciting a storm of political correctness backlash. Incredibly, IU's Vice Chancellor Charlie Nelms asked, “Since when did free speech give one person or newspaper the right to denigrate an entire race of people?” HR's Karl Born answered this well, "Nothing makes that right, but to answer his question, 'December 15, 1791.'”

Indeed, the response of the University and the IDS to the protestations of professional whiners was disgraceful. Needless to say, this kind of silliness isn't confined to IU.

Eugene Volokh notes that the Southwest Missouri State University student newspaper The Standard is under investigation for publishing an "offensive" cartoon : "The cartoon in question, printed in the November 21, 2003, issue of The Standard, was entitled 'The 2nd Thanksgiving.' It depicts two Native Americans meeting a Pilgrim woman with a gift of canned corn. The Pilgrim responds, 'Gladys, the Indians are here and it looks like they brought corn . . . Again . . .'"

FIRE is rushing to the defense of the faculty advisor and the student editor. Tellingly, the artist has escaped scrutiny . . . he is Native American. Meanwhile, SMSU's Office of Equal Opportunity is alleging that The Standard "had violated a religious freedom law, a civil rights act, and university policy." Even worse, an official from SMSU:

ominously drew [Faculty advisor Prof. Wanda] Brandon's attention to an OEO regulation that prohibits the target of an investigation from even divulging the fact that he or she is being investigated. This regulation not only prevents the subject of an investigation from getting advice on how to proceed, but also ensures that questionable OEO activities will not be exposed to public scrutiny. Standard editor Mandy Phillips states that the OEO attempted to use this policy to prevent the newspaper from printing an article about the investigation.
Professor Volokh comments:
[SMSU's actions are] especially troubling given how innocent the cartoon is (not that it's very funny, but it's surely not some sort of racist slur). Even genuinely offensive cartoons, of course, are constitutionally protected. But when something like this causes such a stir, then it shows a lack of perspective and common sense as well as a lack of respect for the First Amendment.
How much worse would IU be if Vice Chancellor Nelms had similar power to SMSU's OEO? He, after all, isn't even aware of the 1st Amendment, or at least is on the record as grossly misunderstanding it.

Posted 6:32 AM by Zach Wendling
March Madness
This recently came up in the comments sections:

It happened Wednesday as Richard Ben-Veniste of the commission questioned Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage. Ben-Veniste wanted to know why Armitage had not seen another official who was interviewed repeatedly on TV. "Do you own a television?" Ben-Veniste asked Armitage, a blunt-spoken native of Boston.

The two began to argue. Then Tim Roemer, former Democratic member of Congress from Indiana, interjected. "You might want to have Mr. Armitage clarify his remarks," Roemer said. "I'm sure the TV is on basketball these days -- isn't it, Mr. Armitage?" Besides Roemer, another former Indiana congressman, Lee Hamilton, also is on the commission.

Roemer's remark lightened the mood. Ben-Veniste said, "It's tough serving on a commission with two of these Hoosiers, let me tell you. "All they want to do is watch basketball."


Posted 6:29 AM by Zach Wendling
New Columns!
Scott Tibbs tells us why Gridlock is Good, especially in Indiana.

Megan Alvarez takes a look at Bush's new immigration plan.

and Alex Gude takes on the anti-War crowd and their arguments.

Have fun!

Friday, March 26, 2004

Posted 2:30 PM by Alex Gude
Why Clarke is Wrong
Partly in Richard Clarke's own words, and partly through the use of Lexis Nexis, Deroy Murdock lists the numerous proven connections between Iraq and Al Qaeda that have been confirmed. This goes a long way to refute Clake's claim that "There is absolutely no evidence that Iraq was supporting al Qaeda ever". Just listen to one example of what Clarke said in his testimony before the 9/11 commission:

"On Wednesday, he told the September 11 Commission about Abdul Rahman Yasin, the al Qaeda operative indicted who federal prosecutors indicted for mixing the chemicals in the bomb that rocked the World Trade Center, killed six, and injured 1,042 people on February 26, 1993. "He was an Iraqi," Clarke observed. "Therefore, when the explosion took place, and he fled the United States, he went back to Iraq." While Clarke believes Baghdad did not orchestrate that attack, he concedes that Hussein embraced this assassin. "The Iraqi government," Clarke continued, "didn't cooperate in turning him over and gave him sanctuary, as it did give sanctuary to other terrorists."

He, along with piles of evidence and logic, refute his claim.

UPDATE: Go read Frum's analysis of the Clarke book.

Thursday, March 25, 2004

Posted 6:58 PM by Joshua Claybourn
Here come the critics
The U.S. economy grew 4.1 percent last year and is expected to do even better in the opening quarter of this year. Expect liberals to renew efforts to talk down the economy in 5...4...3...

Posted 6:49 PM by Matthew Stevenson
UN-fair and UN-balanced
The World's Moral Authority - the United Nations, attempted to pass a resolution condemning Israel for killing terrorists. Unfortunately, the bane of Western Civilization and Great Evil, the United States, vetoed it because the resolution did not condemn the terrorists.

Posted 6:06 PM by Matthew Stevenson
Repeat Ad Nausaum
This is going to be a weekly headline for the next 7 months so we should all get use to it.

Posted 7:17 AM by Zach Wendling
Damn You PIRG!
The latest attack on PIRG comes from Brooklyn College geology professor David Seidemann, who criticizes the work of NYPIRG as engaging in "scientific research misconduct," in the "consistent use of dishonest methodology: the group selectively reported or altered data and ignored scientific control, thereby reporting conclusions that were arbitrarily chosen rather than analytically derived," in studies that make them "look more like perpetuators of fraud than mere junk scientists."

Seidemann also attacks NYPIRG's enablers: the complacent and protective college administrators (particularly at CUNY) and uncritical New York Times.

I hope the recent rash of anti-PIRG stories continues.
(Hat tip: Jane Galt)

Posted 7:05 AM by Zach Wendling
Real American Food with Real American heroes
The Grand Old Cause, a non-partisan conservative activism group, will be hosting a rally today in support of our troops. Bring some friends to Dunn Meadow between 11 am and 3 pm for hot dogs and apple pie. Pick up yellow ribbons and meet some soldiers who have served in Iraq.

Posted 6:54 AM by Zach Wendling
He's Coming
Controversial ex-White House staffer Richard Clarke will be in Indianapolis on Friday to give a talk at IUPUI about cyberspace security. Unfortunately for you Clarke-junkies, the speech will be given at a closed conference, though the media will be able to ask questions. How much you wanna bet they'll ask more about his new book than his speech?

Stuart Benjamin has a fairly good analysis of the response by Bush's supporters to Clarke so far, and it appears that they and the administration are doing a poor job of making the case for dismissing Clarke.

My take-home message is that this is a case of he-said/they-said. Clarke belonged to an elite group of policymakers, became dissatisfied with decisions and/or analysis of that group, then expanded the scope of the discussion by sharing information with the public. Usually, such expansions are followed by even more expansions by the attacked party, which would be Bush's inner circle. However, because the policies at hand involve national security, expanding the scope of access to information might be foolish if not dangerous. If so, the administration and its supporters haven't made a good counter-argument to Clarke because they can't reveal the exculpatory evidence. What we are left with, then, is ambiguous vollies like, "X is not as it seems in context," which I'm sure inspires a lot of eye-rolling in the press corps.

Ultimately then, we have to decide who has more credibility: Clarke the whistleblower, or the Bush administration. I'm sure for most of HR's readers the answer will be clear (if in no way unanimous). For more moderate parts of the electorate, their impression will likely be guided by how the media portray this. So far, it has been rather one-sided since only one side has a sexy, fleshed-out story to tell. But how likely are the media to put extra scrutiny on Clarke, or to portray the Bush adminstration as helpless rather than stonewalling?

Posted 1:24 AM by Matthew Stevenson
Defense Exhibt Y
The IDS advocates illiteracy. Regular readers of the paper should not be surprised. It's a shame that this article must appear on the same page as Paul's work.

UNRELATED SENTENCE OF NON-ADVICE TO FILL MY WORD QUOTA: Don't drink gasoline in large quantities.

Wednesday, March 24, 2004

Posted 10:17 PM by Matthew Stevenson
Not a Fan of the Ladies Are You, Trebek?
Check this out - Al Franken, Tucker Carlson, Peggy Noonan, Tim Russert and many more, all competing on Jeopardy! Given that Jeopardy! is the greatest game show ever and that Alex Trebek is the coolest person I've never met, should make for some good television.

Posted 7:59 PM by Nick Blesch
I Got to Meet a Presidential Candidate!
This past Monday, Gary Nolan, one of the potential nominees for the Libertarian Party's presidential run was in Bloomington. A good sized crowd (for a third party, anyway) got together at Divino's to hear him speak about a full spectrum of issues; his ideas on most topics are unsurprising for anyone familiar with the Libertarian Party's platform, and more details can be found on Mr. Nolan's website.

What I found most interesting, however, was what a nice guy he was. Unlike most (but not all) of my past experiences with politicians (of all parties and at multiple levels of government), Mr. Nolan was friendly, outgoing, and quite willing to take time to speak with individuals about issues that they find important. Impressive.

Posted 4:05 PM by Alex Gude
Richard Clarke Refutes Many of his Own Claims
In perhaps one of the best examples of media bias I've seen yet, you probably won't hear anything about Richard Clarke's admission that Bush was tougher on terror than Clinton, along with a myriad of other praises for Bush. You won't hear this despite the fact that he said it to reporters. Unless you check out Fox News, which of course we all know is "the worst source for news." Don't worry though folks, I'm hear to let you know about it. Clarke makes some good points, such as "there was no plan to take out Al Qaeda presented to the Bush Administration by the Clinton administration" and also that the Bush administration actively created new policies to deal with Al Qaeda, Pakistan, and the region in general, and carried them out. These revelations seem to run contrary to what he is saying now. I'd go into why Clarke doesn't deserve to be listened to at all, but this will suffice for now I think.

Posted 1:07 PM by Alex Gude
You Can't Handle the Truth!
Although this came out a while ago, I just can't resist posting George Will's 1st 28 questions for Kerry. Can those of you who support Kerry answer them?

Posted 6:28 AM by Zach Wendling
Rally for Bush
The IU College Republicans are holding a cookout in Dunn Meadow today from 11 am - 3 pm in support of President Bush and his re-election campaign. Drop by with your friends for hot dogs and drinks.

Posted 6:22 AM by Zach Wendling
No
So I received my IU Bulletin in the mail yesterday and checked out OneStart. All I have to say is, No.

Maybe 5% of my frustration is due to the fact that I'm old and stuck in my ways. But otherwise this is just a stupid. The Schedule of Classes is maddening. Wouldn't it be nice if they printed the SoC? Instead, we have 50 pages explaining the new system. Look, I don't want a manual to tell me how to look up classes. The SoC and the registration process should be simple enough that one doesn't need a manual to figure them out. And of course, I finally figured out the SOC without resorting to the manual anyway.

 

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