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Folk Marxism

This theory really helps me to understand "liberal" ideology better than anything I've ever read before.

Arnold Kling TCS article
WSJ:Best of the Web

Any thoughts on this Justin?

Repeating History's Mistake

Do you ever wonder what the people who allowed Hitler to rise to power were thinking? When they listened to news reports on the radio or read newspaper accounts of things that were taking place in Europe, what was going through their minds. Hindsight is 20/20 of course, but I wonder what it would be like to go back in time to the mid-1930s and talk to people on the street about Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy and Imperial Japan. Maybe I'm just being overly dramatic here but when I read articles like this one and this one, I wonder if maybe I'm not one of those people who tells themselves that everything is ok, when the writing is starting to appear on the wall. I want to believe as much as the next guy in the "moderate" Muslims, but is that the same thing that people said about the "moderate" Germans. Is the election of Hamas in 2006 any different than the election of the National Socialist Party in 1933?

I mean seriously, am I crazy to be worried about this?

Microchip in your Razor

I think the R&D people at Gilette have too much time on their hands:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000BUW8WM/102-7978845-5047356

Here's the product description:
-Backside of the cartridge features a Precision Trimmer for side-burns and hard-to-reach areas
-Power handle features on-board microchip that optimizes the razor's performance in and out of the shower
-Breakthrough five-blade shaving surface on the front of the cartridge
-Flexible comfort guard carefully follows the contours of the face
-Enhanced indicator Lubrastrip signals when it's time to change the blade

Funny site

http://redwing.hutman.net/~mreed/index.htm

Not that we have flame wars in our comments (or any comments for that matter) but this is hilarious.

A Letter to Secretary Rice

Dear Secretary Rice,
I would just like to say that I am very disappointed and discouraged by the following statements made by State Department Spokesperson Justin Higgins.

"These cartoons are indeed offensive to the beliefs of Muslims," State Department spokesman Justin Higgins said when queried about the furore sparked by the cartoons which first appeared in a Danish newspaper.

"We all fully recognize and respect freedom of the press and expression but it must be coupled with press responsibility," Higgins told AFP.

"Inciting religious or ethnic hatreds in this manner is not acceptable. We call for tolerance and respect for all communities and for their religious beliefs and practices."

These comments indicate to me a stunning misunderstanding of this situation and send an alarming message about the US support for the freedom of speech and the press around the globe. These cartoons were solicited precisely to show that free expression in Europe was being suppressed by the threat of violence and terror at the hands of radical Islamic militants. Their response to the publishing of the cartoons is evident throughout Europe and the Mid-East, where rather than a tolerant response they are calling for bombings and beheadings. Even if the cartoons were in poor taste, they were certainly not intended to "incite religious hatred".

The recent controversy surrounding a political cartoon in the Washington Post and the dignified response by the Joint Chiefs of Staff serves as an example of how civilized societies respond to the actions of the free press. Condoning, or at least not strongly condemning, the rhetoric and actions of the radical Islamic militants while failing to show support for the fundamental rights of the peoples of Denmark and other European countries is in my estimation a poor response.

It is my hope that the US can play an active role in encouraging tolerance, but more importantly in demonstrating the importance of freedom of speech even in the face of disapproval. Otherwise where do we draw the line? I shudder to think what kind of place America and the rest of the Free World would be if our governments imposed limits on our press or other institutions in the name of religious tolerance.

I hope that the US Dept of State does a better job in the future of promoting the ideals that so many Americans, both past and present, fight and die for both at home and abroad.

Sincerely,
Tremain E. Wheatley

Boycott the Infidels!

For what it's worth, I would just like to voice my support for this worthy cause.

Surely the West must be punished for it's insolence and the grievous injuries that Islam has suffered at the hands of Danish doodlers. D'oh.

Umm...yeah. Seriously people, WTF?

I mean, these Danish cartoonists are real creative geniuses if you ask me. Who would ever think to associate Mohammed (and Islam) with terrorism? I wonder what their inspiration was. Those crazy Danes!

I think this blogger has the right idea.
Check out his whole blog, it's pretty solid.

This news report says it all:

"The Muslim Council of Britain said its reaction to the BBC's decision to broadcast [the controversial cartoons] would "depend on the context".

A spokesman said: "It depends on whether they're broadcast to illustrate the story about the row developing, or, in the same way as the European newspapers have published, to gloat about freedom. (I don't even know what gloating about freedom means. Should we be embarrased by freedom? Is choosing to exercise that freedom somehow a bad thing?)

"We recognise that the newspapers have full freedom. However, we hope that they would be able to show restraint when it comes to these images because of the enormous hurt it would cause to Muslims."

Cry me a freaking river. Here's a tip: Don't read the comics section of a European newspaper. Then your feelings won't be hurt. When Danish cartoonists start killing Muslims for their beliefs, then we can talk.

Does the Muslim Council of Britain understand the enormous hurt that is caused when people blow up subway trains in the name of Allah? How about you start condemning the violence and killing that is perpetrated in the name of Mohammed before you start whining about us drawing pictures of him.

Some advice for American Idol wannabees

I love watching the early rounds of American Idol where they travel around major cities and tens of thousands of people audition to make it on the show. This is mostly for the entertainment value of watching people who are absolutely terrible but nonetheless so amusing. It dawned on me after watching a few of these shows that either American Idol attracts some of the most self-deluded people in America to its auditions or most of these contestants don't have honest people in their lives.

So here's a couple simple tips that may help people when considering whether or not to audition for next year's show.

1) Find a few people you know won't lie to you, sing for them and ask them for their honest feedback. They may not be a recording studio talent scout but chances are they will be able to tell you if you sound like a cat being beat with a baseball bat.
2) If you still want to go forward with auditioning, by all means go ahead. If you know you can't sing, but you are going to do something funny or weird or try to be the next William Hung, by all means go ahead. You're the reason I watch the show. Maybe you'll make it on TV. But for goodness sake, don't bitch and moan and complain and cry when Simon tells you that you suck, because you do.
3) If you are overweight by more than 40 pounds, get on a diet now and maybe you'll be ready for next year's show. Granted Ruben was a big boy, so the rule applies less to guys than girls, but take one look at major recording stars and it's pretty plain to see that being fat ain't really that popular. If you love being big and beautiful, you're probably pursuing the wrong line of work.
4) Ditto if you're ugly. There's not much you can do about this one, but let's be honest we live in a pretty shallow country and if you look like you fell face first off the back of a pickup truck you're probably not going to get too far once the voting starts.

Are you a closet bigot?

I'm not sure how scientific this really is, but it's worth wasting a few minutes of your life doing.

Implicit Association Test

By some "smart" fellows up at a little university in Cambridge, MA

I did 2 so far and here are my results:
1) I associate careers with men, and family with women - umm yeah definitely
2) I'm not biased against blacks or whites (i.e. I don't associate negative or positive emotions with one or the other more) - umm yeah, also pretty true

I'll update with some of my other preferences when I'm done with those tests.