Tom Shales writes this in today's Washington Post about Bill Moyers. Unbelievable.
Saturday, December 18, 2004
This Sounds Like a Simpsons Episode
The "carnies" get there day:
SPREAD JOY THROUGH YOUR WORK IN CIRCUSES AND FAIRS
VATICAN CITY, DEC 16, 2004 (VIS) - This morning the Holy Father received participants in the Seventh International Congress of the Pastoral Care for Circus and Fair Workers. The meeting, which is taking place in Rome from December 12 to 16, was organized by the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant Peoples.
After recalling the theme of the congress, "Welcoming Circus and Fair Workers: from diversity to the coexistence of differences," the Pope said that their work, "which is difficult and very special, can be a privileged occasion to proclaim the authentically human values in the world's fora. In a time when it seems as if the frenzy of producing and getting rich is the only thing that matters, spreading joy and cheer is true testimony to those non-material values that are necessary to live fraternity and gratitude."
"Your world, that of the circus and amusement parks," concluded the Pope, "can be turned into a new field of the great themes of pastoral care, ecumenism and the encounter of members of other religions, and the common commitment to building a universal brotherhood."
SPREAD JOY THROUGH YOUR WORK IN CIRCUSES AND FAIRS
VATICAN CITY, DEC 16, 2004 (VIS) - This morning the Holy Father received participants in the Seventh International Congress of the Pastoral Care for Circus and Fair Workers. The meeting, which is taking place in Rome from December 12 to 16, was organized by the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant Peoples.
After recalling the theme of the congress, "Welcoming Circus and Fair Workers: from diversity to the coexistence of differences," the Pope said that their work, "which is difficult and very special, can be a privileged occasion to proclaim the authentically human values in the world's fora. In a time when it seems as if the frenzy of producing and getting rich is the only thing that matters, spreading joy and cheer is true testimony to those non-material values that are necessary to live fraternity and gratitude."
"Your world, that of the circus and amusement parks," concluded the Pope, "can be turned into a new field of the great themes of pastoral care, ecumenism and the encounter of members of other religions, and the common commitment to building a universal brotherhood."
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!
I just wanted to get that off my chest. If I get another "Happy Holidays" or "Seasons Greetings" card, my head's going to explode. IT'S CHRISTMAS!
I Think I Found the Pot (and the Kettle)
The American Civil Liberties Union is using sophisticated technology to collect a wide variety of information about its members and donors in a fund-raising effort that has ignited a bitter debate over its leaders' commitment to privacy rights.
Some board members say the extensive data collection makes a mockery of the organization's frequent criticism of banks, corporations and government agencies for their practice of accumulating data on people for marketing and other purposes. . . .
The group's new data collection practices were implemented without the board's approval or knowledge, and were in violation of the A.C.L.U.'s privacy policy at the time, said Michael Meyers, vice president of the organization and a frequent and strident internal critic. Mr. Meyers said he learned about the new research by accident Nov. 7 in a meeting of the committee that is organizing the group's Biennial Conference in July.
He objected to the practices, and the next day, the privacy policy on the group's Web site was changed. " They took out all the language that would show that they were violating their own policy," he said. "In doing so, they sanctified their procedure while still keeping it secret."
Some board members say the extensive data collection makes a mockery of the organization's frequent criticism of banks, corporations and government agencies for their practice of accumulating data on people for marketing and other purposes. . . .
The group's new data collection practices were implemented without the board's approval or knowledge, and were in violation of the A.C.L.U.'s privacy policy at the time, said Michael Meyers, vice president of the organization and a frequent and strident internal critic. Mr. Meyers said he learned about the new research by accident Nov. 7 in a meeting of the committee that is organizing the group's Biennial Conference in July.
He objected to the practices, and the next day, the privacy policy on the group's Web site was changed. " They took out all the language that would show that they were violating their own policy," he said. "In doing so, they sanctified their procedure while still keeping it secret."
Get to Work, Mr. President
Milton Freedman says:
"After World War II, opinion was socialist while practice was free market; currently, opinion is free market while practice is heavily socialist. We have largely won the battle of ideas; we have succeeded in stalling the progress of socialism, but we have not succeeded in reversing its course. We are still far from bringing practice into conformity with opinion. That is the overriding non-defence task for the second Bush term."
"After World War II, opinion was socialist while practice was free market; currently, opinion is free market while practice is heavily socialist. We have largely won the battle of ideas; we have succeeded in stalling the progress of socialism, but we have not succeeded in reversing its course. We are still far from bringing practice into conformity with opinion. That is the overriding non-defence task for the second Bush term."
Where's The Outrage?
AUBURN, New York (AP) -- A judge Thursday refused to block Wells College's plans to allow men to enroll next year for the first time in its 136-year history, saying the survival of the institution was at stake.
Two students had challenged the school's decision to go coed on several grounds, including fraud and breach of contract, but Acting State Supreme Court Justice Peter Corning said they failed to prove their arguments in seeking an injunction.
Corning said he saw the case as "balancing the inconvenience of two students against the annihilation of the college."
I don't have a problem if girls want to attend an all female school. In this case, that's why they went there. But where's the outrage at students attempting to exclude members of the opposite sex from furthering their education? If this were men excluding women, it would be all over the news. But because it's women excluding men, it's not even a blurb in the paper.
Amazing.
Two students had challenged the school's decision to go coed on several grounds, including fraud and breach of contract, but Acting State Supreme Court Justice Peter Corning said they failed to prove their arguments in seeking an injunction.
Corning said he saw the case as "balancing the inconvenience of two students against the annihilation of the college."
I don't have a problem if girls want to attend an all female school. In this case, that's why they went there. But where's the outrage at students attempting to exclude members of the opposite sex from furthering their education? If this were men excluding women, it would be all over the news. But because it's women excluding men, it's not even a blurb in the paper.
Amazing.
Friday, December 17, 2004
Great Move By Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart to Match Kettle DonationsAssociated Press
BENTONVILLE, Ark. - Folks dropping money in Salvation Army kettles at Wal-Mart stores can make their money go twice as far. The world's largest retailer announced Thursday it would match up to $1 million in donations.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has more than 3,600 domestic stores operating as Wal-Marts, Supercenters, Neighborhood Markets and Sam's Club warehouse stores.
The company said the clock started Thursday on the match and runs through Christmas Eve.
Wal-Mart competitor Target Corp. has joined a number of other major retailers in banning the Salvation Army bell ringers, saying it was not fair to select certain charities and not others for the coveted space.
Wal-Mart, as well as Kmart, kept the bell ringers. Wal-Mart restricts, however, which groups can solicit at its properties but allows its local stores to select the specific nonprofits.
"We hope our customers join us in donating what they can to benefit an organization that does so much in our communities to serve families in need," Wal-Mart spokeswoman Betsy Reithemeyer said in a news release. "The Salvation Army red kettles and the bell ringers are truly a holiday tradition worth keeping."
The Salvation Army said the kettle donations are spent locally and said the Wal-Mart match will extend local donations.
BENTONVILLE, Ark. - Folks dropping money in Salvation Army kettles at Wal-Mart stores can make their money go twice as far. The world's largest retailer announced Thursday it would match up to $1 million in donations.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has more than 3,600 domestic stores operating as Wal-Marts, Supercenters, Neighborhood Markets and Sam's Club warehouse stores.
The company said the clock started Thursday on the match and runs through Christmas Eve.
Wal-Mart competitor Target Corp. has joined a number of other major retailers in banning the Salvation Army bell ringers, saying it was not fair to select certain charities and not others for the coveted space.
Wal-Mart, as well as Kmart, kept the bell ringers. Wal-Mart restricts, however, which groups can solicit at its properties but allows its local stores to select the specific nonprofits.
"We hope our customers join us in donating what they can to benefit an organization that does so much in our communities to serve families in need," Wal-Mart spokeswoman Betsy Reithemeyer said in a news release. "The Salvation Army red kettles and the bell ringers are truly a holiday tradition worth keeping."
The Salvation Army said the kettle donations are spent locally and said the Wal-Mart match will extend local donations.
Tuesday, December 14, 2004
A New Majority?
This is surprising:
NEW YORK A new Gallup poll shows that the public values “values” less than November exit polls suggested, but another survey from the same outfit released today shows a historic surge in Republican party affiliation.
In Gallup's latest poll this month, those identifying themselves as Republicans jumped to 37% of the public, with Democrats now clearly trailing with 32%.
NEW YORK A new Gallup poll shows that the public values “values” less than November exit polls suggested, but another survey from the same outfit released today shows a historic surge in Republican party affiliation.
In Gallup's latest poll this month, those identifying themselves as Republicans jumped to 37% of the public, with Democrats now clearly trailing with 32%.
The Ax Will Fall
From the Washington Times:
Heads to roll
A CBS News insider tells Inside the Beltway "four or five" of the network's employees face dismissal as CBS prepares to release a "critical" internal investigative report on the use of fake documents in a pre-election story challenging President Bush's Vietnam-era service in the Texas Air National Guard.
CBS' Dan Rather already has announced he's stepping down from the anchor chair on March 9 — his 24th anniversary on the job — although the network says his departure is unrelated to the fallout from the bogus claims leveled against the president. Mr. Rather will remain a network correspondent.
Here's hoping Dan's head rolls.
Heads to roll
A CBS News insider tells Inside the Beltway "four or five" of the network's employees face dismissal as CBS prepares to release a "critical" internal investigative report on the use of fake documents in a pre-election story challenging President Bush's Vietnam-era service in the Texas Air National Guard.
CBS' Dan Rather already has announced he's stepping down from the anchor chair on March 9 — his 24th anniversary on the job — although the network says his departure is unrelated to the fallout from the bogus claims leveled against the president. Mr. Rather will remain a network correspondent.
Here's hoping Dan's head rolls.
Reds Make a Move...Finally
...and I like it:
CINCINNATI - Cincinnati Reds general manager Dan O'Brien today announced the acquisition of starting RHP Ramon Ortiz from the Angels in exchange for minor league RHP Dustin Moseley.Ortiz, 31, last season went 5-7 with a 4.43 ERA in 34 games, including 14 starts and 20 relief appearances. Prior to 2004, Ortiz had made all 123 of his Major League appearances as a starting pitcher.
Each season from 2001-2003, Ortiz posted at least 13 victories while making 32 starts and accumulating at least 180.0 innings pitched. He produced his best year during the Angels 2002 World Series championship season, when he went 15-9 with a 3.77 ERA and 4 complete games. He followed that campaign by winning a career-high 16 games in 2003.
Ortiz has a career record of 59-49 in 157 Major League appearances, including 137 starts. He led the Angels in victories in 2000 (8), 2001 (13) and 2003 (16).
Moseley, 22, last season combined to go 5-6 with a 3.86 ERA in 20 starts between Class AA Chattanooga and Class AAA Louisville. He was selected by the Reds in the supplemental first round (34th overall) of the 2000 First-Year Player Draft.
CINCINNATI - Cincinnati Reds general manager Dan O'Brien today announced the acquisition of starting RHP Ramon Ortiz from the Angels in exchange for minor league RHP Dustin Moseley.Ortiz, 31, last season went 5-7 with a 4.43 ERA in 34 games, including 14 starts and 20 relief appearances. Prior to 2004, Ortiz had made all 123 of his Major League appearances as a starting pitcher.
Each season from 2001-2003, Ortiz posted at least 13 victories while making 32 starts and accumulating at least 180.0 innings pitched. He produced his best year during the Angels 2002 World Series championship season, when he went 15-9 with a 3.77 ERA and 4 complete games. He followed that campaign by winning a career-high 16 games in 2003.
Ortiz has a career record of 59-49 in 157 Major League appearances, including 137 starts. He led the Angels in victories in 2000 (8), 2001 (13) and 2003 (16).
Moseley, 22, last season combined to go 5-6 with a 3.86 ERA in 20 starts between Class AA Chattanooga and Class AAA Louisville. He was selected by the Reds in the supplemental first round (34th overall) of the 2000 First-Year Player Draft.
Better Late Than Never
Cornwell recants. This from The Economist:
As he admits, Hitler's Pope (1999), his biography of Pope Pius XII, lacked balance. “I would now argue,” he says, “in the light of the debates and evidence following Hitler's Pope, that Pius XII had so little scope of action that it is impossible to judge the motives for his silence during the war, while Rome was under the heel of Mussolini and later occupied by the Germans.”
That's nice, but hasn't the damage been done.
As he admits, Hitler's Pope (1999), his biography of Pope Pius XII, lacked balance. “I would now argue,” he says, “in the light of the debates and evidence following Hitler's Pope, that Pius XII had so little scope of action that it is impossible to judge the motives for his silence during the war, while Rome was under the heel of Mussolini and later occupied by the Germans.”
That's nice, but hasn't the damage been done.
More Good News for the NY Times
This isn't very PC, especially at a NY Times print shop. Shame on the The Times.
The Jewish plaintiff is Harvey Alpert, a 53-year-old resident of Marlboro, N.J., who began working at the Edison plant as a chauffeur in 1977 and is now a floorman. The complaint alleges that, like the other men bringing the suit, Alpert was "subjected to very offensive epithets" that included being addressed by a colleague as "a (expletive) fat Jew Bastard." The same colleague is alleged to have said "I hate that Jew bastard. I want to kill him."... The other complainants, two Latinos and six African-Americans, also alleged that fellow employees addressed them as "nigger," "coon," and "spook." "This stuff is highly pervasive and of long standing in the sewer where these people have been working," said one of the plaintiffs' attorneys, Jeffrey Bernbach of White Plains, N.Y., in an interview with New Jersey Jewish News. "The New York Times has long been aware of it and has done nothing to clean it up."
The Jewish plaintiff is Harvey Alpert, a 53-year-old resident of Marlboro, N.J., who began working at the Edison plant as a chauffeur in 1977 and is now a floorman. The complaint alleges that, like the other men bringing the suit, Alpert was "subjected to very offensive epithets" that included being addressed by a colleague as "a (expletive) fat Jew Bastard." The same colleague is alleged to have said "I hate that Jew bastard. I want to kill him."... The other complainants, two Latinos and six African-Americans, also alleged that fellow employees addressed them as "nigger," "coon," and "spook." "This stuff is highly pervasive and of long standing in the sewer where these people have been working," said one of the plaintiffs' attorneys, Jeffrey Bernbach of White Plains, N.Y., in an interview with New Jersey Jewish News. "The New York Times has long been aware of it and has done nothing to clean it up."
Being Alone is Bad
Apparently, we were not created to be alone:
The team, from Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, said the findings strengthened previous research suggesting that marriage improved people's quality of life. A recent study concluded that single men were at greater risk of dying than smokers. Researchers said that singletons tended to drink more because they socialised more. They also worked longer because they had no partner to make time for and often missed meals. Dr Patricia Mona Eng said that increased alcohol consumption among widowed and divorced men could be linked to the stress of being alone.
Heck, I could have told you that and saved you a bunch of money.
The team, from Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, said the findings strengthened previous research suggesting that marriage improved people's quality of life. A recent study concluded that single men were at greater risk of dying than smokers. Researchers said that singletons tended to drink more because they socialised more. They also worked longer because they had no partner to make time for and often missed meals. Dr Patricia Mona Eng said that increased alcohol consumption among widowed and divorced men could be linked to the stress of being alone.
Heck, I could have told you that and saved you a bunch of money.
Sunday, December 12, 2004
More Coaching News
The Irish are settling for an NFL coordinator with NO head coaching experience. Let's see if he can get the job done.
Charlie Weis is to become the new Notre Dame football coach, ESPN's Chris Mortensen reports.
Sources close to the university confirmed Saturday that the New England Patriots offensive coordinator has agreed to a six-year contract that will pay him approximately $2 million per year.
Weis will fly to South Bend after Sunday's home game against the Cincinnati Bengals and meet with the Fighting Irish football team that night.
A press conference to introduce Weis will be held Monday.
Charlie Weis is to become the new Notre Dame football coach, ESPN's Chris Mortensen reports.
Sources close to the university confirmed Saturday that the New England Patriots offensive coordinator has agreed to a six-year contract that will pay him approximately $2 million per year.
Weis will fly to South Bend after Sunday's home game against the Cincinnati Bengals and meet with the Fighting Irish football team that night.
A press conference to introduce Weis will be held Monday.
Possible Good News in Oxford
This is interesting:
San Francisco 49ers coach Dennis Erickson has emerged as the secret leading candidate to become coach at the University of Mississippi, multiple sources have told ESPN's Chris Mortensen.
Erickson plans to stand firm this week against 49ers front office sentiments that he fire some of his assistant coaches, Mortensen reports. Erickson, who has contractual control over his own staff, reportedly will ask for clarification on management's plans to improve the team through free agency.
Erickson's a great coach, especially with x's and o's. He had great success at Washington State, Miami, and Oregon State. This would be a huge catch for Ole Miss.
San Francisco 49ers coach Dennis Erickson has emerged as the secret leading candidate to become coach at the University of Mississippi, multiple sources have told ESPN's Chris Mortensen.
Erickson plans to stand firm this week against 49ers front office sentiments that he fire some of his assistant coaches, Mortensen reports. Erickson, who has contractual control over his own staff, reportedly will ask for clarification on management's plans to improve the team through free agency.
Erickson's a great coach, especially with x's and o's. He had great success at Washington State, Miami, and Oregon State. This would be a huge catch for Ole Miss.
Heresy
From a NY Times piece on internet dating:
Feeling weary and, she said, "jerked around," Ms. Gold let her paid subscription to Match.com expire, and she has turned to real-life singles mixers for professionals. "I think I just burned out," she said. "It's kind of like communism. On paper, it's a perfect system."
Whoa, how did the Times' editors let that slip through.
Feeling weary and, she said, "jerked around," Ms. Gold let her paid subscription to Match.com expire, and she has turned to real-life singles mixers for professionals. "I think I just burned out," she said. "It's kind of like communism. On paper, it's a perfect system."
Whoa, how did the Times' editors let that slip through.
Is Beinart the Left's Buckley?
George Will on the Democratic Left's quandary:
Beinart aspires to change the Democratic base so that it will accept a presidential candidate who espouses 1947 liberalism -- someone for whom anti-totalitarianism is the organizing imperative of politics.
But how do you begin reforming a base polluted by the Michael Moore-MoveOn.org faction? Moore says "there is no terrorist threat" -- that terrorism is a threat no greater than traffic accidents. MoveOn says that "large portions of the Bill of Rights" have been "nullified" -- presumably, then, the federal judiciary also has been nullified.
When Moore sat in Jimmy Carter's box at the 2004 Democratic convention, voters drew conclusions about the party's sobriety. Liberalism's problem with the Moore-MoveOn faction is similar to conservatism's 1960s embarrassment from the claimed kinship of the John Birch Society, whose leader called President Dwight D. Eisenhower a Kremlin agent.
The reason that Moore is hostile to U.S. power is that he despises the American people from whom the power arises. Moore's assertion that America "is known for bringing sadness and misery to places around the globe" is a corollary of Kuttnerism, the doctrine that "middle America" is viciously ignorant.
Beinart is bravely trying to do for liberalism what another magazine editor -- the National Review's William Buckley -- did for conservatism by excommunicating the Birchers from the conservative movement.
But Buckley's task was easier than Beinart's will be because the Birchers were never remotely as central to the Republican base as the Moore-MoveOn faction is to the Democratic base.
Beinart aspires to change the Democratic base so that it will accept a presidential candidate who espouses 1947 liberalism -- someone for whom anti-totalitarianism is the organizing imperative of politics.
But how do you begin reforming a base polluted by the Michael Moore-MoveOn.org faction? Moore says "there is no terrorist threat" -- that terrorism is a threat no greater than traffic accidents. MoveOn says that "large portions of the Bill of Rights" have been "nullified" -- presumably, then, the federal judiciary also has been nullified.
When Moore sat in Jimmy Carter's box at the 2004 Democratic convention, voters drew conclusions about the party's sobriety. Liberalism's problem with the Moore-MoveOn faction is similar to conservatism's 1960s embarrassment from the claimed kinship of the John Birch Society, whose leader called President Dwight D. Eisenhower a Kremlin agent.
The reason that Moore is hostile to U.S. power is that he despises the American people from whom the power arises. Moore's assertion that America "is known for bringing sadness and misery to places around the globe" is a corollary of Kuttnerism, the doctrine that "middle America" is viciously ignorant.
Beinart is bravely trying to do for liberalism what another magazine editor -- the National Review's William Buckley -- did for conservatism by excommunicating the Birchers from the conservative movement.
But Buckley's task was easier than Beinart's will be because the Birchers were never remotely as central to the Republican base as the Moore-MoveOn faction is to the Democratic base.
Red State Syria?
My suspicion is that there's much more of this sort of thinking in the Middle East.
Two months into my stay, the issue of pro-Bush Syrians suddenly re-emerged when I began teaching English classes to several dozen students. The students were, almost without exception, from the upper echelons of Damascene society: well educated, financially comfortable, with many hailing from important Syrian families involved in high-level economic and governmental decision-making.
One afternoon I was explaining the passive tense of verbs, and I used an example that came to mind from American culture. I asked them if they knew who was nominated by the two main parties to run for president. "John Kerry was nominated by the Democratic Party, and George Bush was nominated by the Republicans," replied one of the brightest in the class, a veiled Muslim engineering student named Rahaf. "Very good," I said. "Now, who do you think will be elected?" "Bush," cried several of the students at once, smiling. Abandoning my lesson plan for the moment, but curious at this sudden display of interest in the election, I ventured: "Who do you want to win?" "Bush," said Rahaf, while a number of others nodded in solid agreement. I pressed them further for a few minutes, asking individual students why they liked Bush. The same ideas came up again and again: he is a strong leader, an honest man, and, most of all, a believer. Like the winning margin of American voters this year, these Middle Easterners related to Bush's sense of religious conviction and his confident steering of a nation and culture they admired.
"But doesn't he scare you?" I asked finally, unable to contain my personal feelings and throwing the lesson plan out the window. "Because of Bush's ideas many people in my country think that all of you are terrorists." Rahaf and most of the others just shrugged. Maybe that was all true, they said, but he was still a good president.
I found these same sentiments expressed almost word for word in my two other classes.
Two months into my stay, the issue of pro-Bush Syrians suddenly re-emerged when I began teaching English classes to several dozen students. The students were, almost without exception, from the upper echelons of Damascene society: well educated, financially comfortable, with many hailing from important Syrian families involved in high-level economic and governmental decision-making.
One afternoon I was explaining the passive tense of verbs, and I used an example that came to mind from American culture. I asked them if they knew who was nominated by the two main parties to run for president. "John Kerry was nominated by the Democratic Party, and George Bush was nominated by the Republicans," replied one of the brightest in the class, a veiled Muslim engineering student named Rahaf. "Very good," I said. "Now, who do you think will be elected?" "Bush," cried several of the students at once, smiling. Abandoning my lesson plan for the moment, but curious at this sudden display of interest in the election, I ventured: "Who do you want to win?" "Bush," said Rahaf, while a number of others nodded in solid agreement. I pressed them further for a few minutes, asking individual students why they liked Bush. The same ideas came up again and again: he is a strong leader, an honest man, and, most of all, a believer. Like the winning margin of American voters this year, these Middle Easterners related to Bush's sense of religious conviction and his confident steering of a nation and culture they admired.
"But doesn't he scare you?" I asked finally, unable to contain my personal feelings and throwing the lesson plan out the window. "Because of Bush's ideas many people in my country think that all of you are terrorists." Rahaf and most of the others just shrugged. Maybe that was all true, they said, but he was still a good president.
I found these same sentiments expressed almost word for word in my two other classes.
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