Thursday, January 19, 2006
I found this post of interest, given I am old enough to remember being taught that the triumph of socialism was "inevitable":
The Leftists of the generations of Beatrice Webb, Eric Hobsbawn, Paul Baran, Paul Sweezy and even Joan Robinson actually believed in "scientific socialism" and seriously debated such issues as the correct calculation of the surplus value of labor and the role of money in Communism. The Marxism of that era was regarded as a potentially exact science, capable of accurately predicting social trends and even human behavior. It was treated seriously. As late as the 1970s, Chairman Mao's Little Red Book was regarded as a scientific guide to action in the same sense that a trigonometry textbook contained formulas for the solution of angles, given the sides of a triangle.
Of course, this begs the question: what movements/ideas that we consider "inevitable" today will prove not to be quite so "inevitable" over time. A lot of people think it "inevitable" that Spanish will become in America what French is in Canada: a coequal official language. Maybe. What if the United States gets serious about assimilating immigrants again and/or Hispanic immigrants get serious about assimilating despite all the policies which encourage them not to do so?
There is a story about a woman whose husband hit a deer on the highway. She told a friend: "If my son hit it, he would have been driving recklessly. Had my daughter hit it, she would have been driving carelessly. Since he hit it, the accident was unavoidable."
The word "inevitable," like the word "unavoidable," is all too often a way to derail thoughtful discussion about the impact of our choices in the here and now will have on the future.
|posted by Jim on 1:05 PM|
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Thursday, January 12, 2006
Walter Durranty Award Nominee (Cuba Edition)
Writing about his two visits to the Ukraine in 1933, New York Times correspondent Walter Duranty was content to describe how "the people looked healthier and more cheerful than [he] had expected, although they told grim tales of their sufferings in the past two years." Actually Stalin had ensured 10 million Ukranians died from starvation in 1933 alone.
Minnesota school teacher Mary Jo Thompson just returned from Cuba, which she describes as a paradise compared to the United States:. Here are some of her thoughts:
I told him that I found the whole education system very impressive.
I explained that Cuba has no racial or economic achievement gap and that they score among the top countries in the world in math and reading. I offered that this might be because they provide every Cuban child free preschool education, and of course, unlike any other third world nation I could think of (and some first world nations I wouldn’t even mention) they’ve had nearly 100% literacy in their nation since 1961.
I even let it slip out that they assiduously maintain low class sizes—20 in the elementary, 15 in the secondary grades—and are training thousands of new art and music teachers to meet their goals [emphasis added]. They also give universal access and free tuition to all citizens for university level education. “I think they’ve actually achieved “No Child Left Behind,” I added. He seemed a little surprised by the last bit. "How many days were you there?" he asked.
Then he probed in his good-cop way, "How did you like Cuba? Better weather than in Minnesota!” he winked. “But isn’t it extremely poor?" I said yes, from what I'd observed, the people were suffering greatly from the 42-year old US embargo, especially during the last 15 years since the Soviet block dissolved. I agreed that they had hardly any consumer goods and some foods were rationed, but I was impressed that they ate well nonetheless and were very healthy. “In Cuba they have a lower infant mortality rate and a longer life span than in the US.” I elaborated. “You know, they have free health care and great medical schools,” I added, but he didn’t pick up on the last things I’d said.
|posted by Jim on 5:06 PM|
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Roy Blunt for Majority Leader
Congressman Roy Blunt has earned the support of English First advocates in his race for Majority Leader.
President Bill Clinton's Executive Order 13166 made any person's language choice a protected civil right. Congressman Blunt is a cosponsor of legislation to repeal E.O.13166. His opponent, Congressman John Boehner, has not.
Blunt was also a cosponsor of E.O. 13166 repeal bills in both the 108th and 107th Congresses, while Congressman Boehner was not.
Congressman Blunt has also taken the lead on fighting against consent decrees, the main tool of bilingual education preservationists.
|posted by Jim on 12:42 PM|
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Tuesday, January 10, 2006
Stare Indecisis?
The fawning profile of Senator Arlen Specter in today's Washington Post revealed that this man cannot even make a decision about his own breakfast: "[Specter] took two sips of coffee, ate a banana and a bowl of cereal- -All-Bran, Shredded Wheat and Raisin Bran mixed together."
Can you say "RINO chow"?
|posted by Jim on 2:06 PM|
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Friday, January 06, 2006
DeLay, Daschle and Abramoff: Some Scandals Matter More Than Others
As long as politicians can make or break a business, that business will seek ways to make friends with politicians. Add feminism, which claims it is sexist to inquire if a wife's career might benefit from her husband's job, and you have a lobbying loophole no one dare touch. For proof, Google "Hillary Rodham Clinton" and "cattle futures" or ponder Linda Daschle's remarkable lobbying career, as described by the Washington Monthly in 2002. At that time, Linda's husband, Tom, was the elected leader of Senate Democrats.
Linda saw herself as an independent career woman:
"What is it about Linda Daschle's actions that have any bearing on Tom Daschle's public service? I just don't see the connection," [Linda] says. "I think a congressional spouse is entitled to a career, self-fulfillment. I love what I do.
The drug company Schering-Plough, which sought to extend the patent on its allergy drug, Claritin, came to a different conclusion. It hired Linda Daschle, who has no expertise in pharmaceutical issues, as a lobbyist. For good measure:
Schering-Plough ... has also been kind to Sen. Daschle's pet charity, the National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (NOFAS). In 1997, Richard Kinney, Schering-Plough's in-house lobbyist who was working on the patent issue, joined the board and the company has sponsored NOFAS's annual fundraiser, which both Daschles host every year.
The Monthly added that, despite Schering-Plough's largess, "Sen. Daschle says he opposes the patent extension on its merits." Still, noted the Monthly, other folks thought engaging Linda Daschle as a lobbyist was money well spent:
Schering-Plough isn't the only one of Linda Daschle's clients to simultaneously seek good will from her husband: The air transport industry gave more than $100,000 in campaign contributions to the senator's campaign in the last election cycle. Northwest Airlines, which paid Linda Daschle's firm $190,000 in 1999, was the second-largest donor to Tom Daschle's Senate campaign in 1998.
Full disclosure: I personally contributed $100 to Tom DeLay's legal defense fund in 2005. I also worked with accused DeLay staffer Tony Rudy on a bilingual education reform bill in 1998 and still consider him my friend.
|posted by Jim on 4:37 PM|
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Thursday, January 05, 2006
Congress to Crack Down on Free Health Care for Illegal Aliens?
New York Times columnist Bob Herbert is outraged that the budget reconciliation bill, which will be voted on in February, actually requires proof of U.S. citizenship be demonstrated before receiving Medicaid services. Right now, a mere "four states check for citizenship before awarding Medicaid."
Once anyone asks for any government benefit, including all the translation services now demanded of health care providers, it seems only fair to determine if the applicant is legally entitled to receive it. If Herbert thinks the United States taxpayer should pay for unlimited free health care to everyone in the world who sneaks into the United States, he should say so.
|posted by Jim on 9:12 PM|
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