Blogs for 2007 - Road to the Middle Class

WHAT do you think happens when an MSM reporter calls up a political author for an interview on their latest book? David Kirkpatrick of the New York Times called up Hugh Hewitt’s publisher for an interview about his new book A Mormon In The White House. It turned out that what he wanted to know unfold

Blacks Losing Out As Hispanics Gain Power

by Christopher Chantrill

AFTER a century of top-down social programs and half a century of enormous immigration, you’d expect that things would not be going too well where immigrants interface with the low-paid and the low skilled in America’s cities. You’d expect that there would be countless examples of “unintended consequences” of government programs and high-toned reforms laying waste to the poor and the immigrant.

And you would be right.

And things are going to get worse. The huge Hispanic immigration of the past half-century unfold

Gas-Guzzling Gore

by Christopher Chantrill

WHO can fail to be heartened by the news that Al Gore’s house is a real energy hog. The chaps at the Tennessee Center for Policy Research went through Gore’s electric utility bills and they found that Gore is burning up more than 20 times the average household in his posh Tennessee house.

The average household in America consumes 10,656 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per year, according to the Department of Energy. In 2006, Gore devoured nearly unfold

Europe's 200 Year Civil War

by Christopher Chantrill

IT’S no particular secret that the last 200 years has seen a struggle between religious believers and secularists. On the one side was Voltaire and his cry to erase the infamies of the Church. And on the other side were the religious who saw the secular world view as “an insurrection against God,” according to Larry Siedentop.

Over the past hundred years the religious camp has come, by unfold

Call Me a "Civil Societist"

by Christopher Chantrill

NOW THAT the conservative light is dimming at the end of the Reagan-Bush era, it is time to get back to basics.

Unlike the coach who bellowed: Let’s get back to basics—this is a football, our basic need is: What do we believe in. And what we call ourselves.

Are we conservatives? Libertarians? Conservative libertarians? Libertarian conservatives? Names matter.

Arnold Kling has decided what to do.

unfold

Advice to Euros Visiting the US

by Christopher Chantrill

WHAT SHOULD eager young visitors or sojourners in the US do to avoid deal-destroying faux pas? The Global Perspective offers some tips and tricks. Most are unexceptional, such as: Don’t assume that your understated Euro demeanor will go over in the US. Good point. In the US you are expected to be outgoing and open.

But really. when it comes to politics what kind of advice is this?

In fact, politics is unfold

Tax pledge dodge thrall - Commentary - The Washington Times, America's Newspaper

by Christopher Chantrill

HERE’S A no-brainer, brought to you by opinion columnist Donald Lambro.

The winner of the Republican presidential nomination will probably be the candidate who most embodies the core principles and beliefs of Ronald Reagan.

No kidding! You mean like lowering tax rates and facing up to the nation’s enemies foreign and domestic?

It turns out that the Republican presidential candidates are a bit slow at signing up for Ronald unfold

Sexualizing Little Girls

by Christopher Chantrill

ALTHOUGH any rational observer would note that there are a lot of overweight young girls out there, the sexualizing of little girls means that girls as young a 6 or 7 are experiencing eating disorders.

Mona Charen took a look at a Washington Post article on early sexualization and found that things were worse than she thought.

"When do little girls start wanting to look good for others?" asks the Post, and quotes a sex educator as unfold

Criticizing Hillary: Deja Vu All Over Again

by Christopher Chantrill

REMEMBER the good old days of the 1990s? When anyone that criticized President Clinton was immediately shamed as a Clinton Hater?

Those days are back, according to Dick Morris and Eileen McGann. And it is not just opponents of the future president who are forbidden to criticize her.

Not even supporters of Hillary’s opponents are allowed to disparage her. If they do, the wrath of Hillary surfaces and it is not a pretty unfold

What Went Wrong for Republicans?

by Christopher Chantrill

WHERE DID the Republicans go wrong and what can they do to regain the trust of the voters? Columnist Bill Steigerwald asked Genevieve Wood of the Heritage Foundation.

Republicans have now been in the majority for over 10 years in the Congress and they’ve ended up holding the White House. It became about holding on to power, unfortunately, instead of putting into practice conservative principles like limiting government and reducing unfold

Hagiographers Under Every Rock, Says Publishers Weekly

by Christopher Chantrill

EVERY ONE of us has their obsession. We just like to interpret the world to fit our prejudices. The problem is when we let things get a little out of hand, as Reagan biographer Paul Kengor complains:

Though one would never know this from reading Publishers Weekly, the fact is that Ronald Reagan is now consistently rated among the most successful presidents in all of American history—even by liberals who comprise academia and unfold

If America Won't Buy Quality Newspapers...

by Christopher Chantrill

HERE IT comes. It was inevitable, really. We can thank Steven Rattner for giving us a heads-up on it, an early warning so we can head it off at the pass.

Rattner takes a look at the delicate state of the newspaper business today.

The Washington Post has lost 14 percent of its circulation since 2000. And newspapers have lost half of their young readers.

Perhaps most worrisome is the loss of young unfold

Secular Dem Candidates Off to Church

by Christopher Chantrill

THE REPUBLICAN Party is the party of the religious, married, with children. The Democratic Party is the party of the secular, the single, and the childless. So much we know.

So then why does the Edwards campaign feel it necessary to separate from blogger Amanda Marcotte, whose blog, according to Mary Eberstadt, is full of

scatological Catholic-baiting rants about "theocracy" marked by leering references to the pope and liberal use of the unfold

Oh Good. Michelle Malkin Is "Not a Shill"

by Christopher Chantrill

OUR liberal friends seem unable to deal with people like Michelle Malkin. Never have, never will. So Howard Kurtz’s profile in the Washington Post is just par for the course in liberal condescension. He goes to Andrew Sullivan for a quote:

She may be shrill, but she’s not a shill.

Well, you can certainly say that Andrew Sullivan knows “shrill.”

Actually we should not be unfold

Did America Overreact to 9/11?

by Christopher Chantrill

DAVID A. Bell wrote recently in the Los Angeles Times that the United States overreacted to 9/11.

The attacks were a horrible act of mass murder, but history says we’re overreacting.

Oh really, writes philosopher unfold

War on Terror and Cousin Marriage

by Christopher Chantrill

WHAT in the world has cousin marriage to do with the War on Terror?

Good question senator. I just so happens that there is one particular part of the world that goes in for men marrying their father’s brother’s daughter.

That is significant because “in-marriage” of this kind promotes very strong clan loyalty. Whereas “out-marriage,” that is marrying mother’s brother’s daughter or any less close kin all the way out to marrying people unrelated at all, promotes social and cultural adaption and peaceful unfold

Newt's Full of Ideas

by Christopher Chantrill

NEWT GINGRICH is not announced as a candidate for the presidency, but he’s certainly busy doing what he does best—churning out political ideas.

First of all, he’s issued a 21st Century Contract With America, a ten point program like the old 1994 Contract. As Newt writes:

In a rapidly changing world with new threats and new competitors, we must implement policies that will ensure America’s leadership, safety, and prosperity. And we must unfold

Evolution: Not Just God vs. Darwin

by Christopher Chantrill

OUR good freinds in the mainstream media like us vs. them conflict. It makes for good punchy copy. That’s why the media like to report the evolution debate as God vs. Darwin, progressives vs. fundamentalists, science vs. religion.

Not exactly says What Is Enlightenment? magazine.

Between the Neo-Darwinists on one side and the Intelligent Designers on the other are at least ten more "schools" of evolutionary unfold

Parents Flock to Supplementary Schools

by Christopher Chantrill

THE GOVERNMENT schools suck. That’s true whether you live in the United States or Britain. And if you are poor, the schools really suck. So what do you do?

In its December 2006 edition of Civitas Review the British civil society think tank Civitas (pdf) describes its effort to help parents with children trapped in dysfunctional schools. It is opening “supplementary unfold

Liberals Trivialize Evil

by Christopher Chantrill

A CONSTANT theme of conservative talk-show host Dennis Prager is clarity. Let’s agree to disagree, he’ll say, but let’s try to understand exactly why we disagree.

This week Prager is trying to achieve clarity on the meaning of two liberals (or maybe lefties) who have compared their opponents to Nazis.

First, there was Ellen Goodman who in a now famous article compared global warming skeptics to Holocaust deniers. She unfold

Harvard's 'Rebellious Daughter'

by Christopher Chantrill

THE WONDERFUL thing about being a woman, wrote Agatha Christie, is to wonder what is going to happen to you next.

Curiously, the newly appointed President of Harvard, Dr. Drew Gilpin Faust. feels the same way. As Sara Rimer writes:

I’ve always done more than I ever thought I would. Becoming a professor — I never would have imagined that. Writing books unfold

School Choice in Sweden: Who Knew?

by Christopher Chantrill

FOR THE last ten years in Sweden there is only one thing you can say about school choice. It’s the law.

It must be the best-kept secret in education. In other words, I never knew about it. Not until I read about it last week in an article in the London Spectator (reg) that called for liberating schools in Britain.

Naturally, I unfold

Profits and People Go Together

by Christopher Chantrill

YOU know everything you need to know about Larry Kudlow from his reaction to the recent announcement of ExxonMobil’s profits.

ExxonMobil just reported the largest annual profit ever by a U.S. company — a staggering $39.5 billion.

I say congratulations

Well, he would say that wouldn’t he. Kudlow is a Wall Street guy.

You know everything you need to know about Hillary Clinton from her reaction to the unfold

Richard Feynman, Kantian

by Christopher Chantrill

LAST week there was a bit of a flap over global warming. The lefty Guardian reported, according to Nick Schulz

"Scientists offered cash to dispute climate study."

Yes, apparently the American Enterprise Institute had actually offered money for papers by scientists on global warming. The call for papers didn’t actually say that the scientists were expected to act as global-warming “deniers.”

The call for unfold

If School Choice Can Work in Sweden...

by Christopher Chantrill

WHILE we Yanks and the Brits agonize over school choice last-ditch union leaders like Randi Weingarten hiss about people who don’t care about kids. But the socialist Swedes have gone ahead on school choice anyway. As Fraser Nelson and James Forsyth write:

Those denouncing the [school-voucher] system as the product of discredited right-wing ideology will have difficulty explaining its success in unfold

Compassionate Democrats Love Lavish

by Christopher Chantrill

DOES IT really matter that presidential candidate John Edwards, whose campaign centers on a Two Americas narrative about rich and poor, has just built a lavish mansion reaching the imperial size of 27,000 sq ft?

Not really. As Mike Baker points out, we are really missing the point.

After introducing their new home on her husband’s campaign Web site, Elizabeth Edwards explained the couple had taken special unfold

The New "A" Word

by Christopher Chantrill

WHO KNEW? Be very careful who you call “articulate.” Because they might be offended. Or at least their political supporters might be offended.

Certainly someone who feels that they are overdue for a “talking-head” appearance might be offended.

Anyway. There’s another important thing for you to know so that you can pass as enlightened and bien-pensant. Here it is:

Don’t call any prominent African American like Senator Barack Obama (or is it person of color, today) unfold

So Why Is Giuliani Leading the Pack

by Christopher Chantrill

EVERYONE knows that Rudy Giuliani is too liberal for the Republican base. There are his divorces, his support for abortion, and his support for gay marriage. The theocratic party will never go for that.

Who is that “everyone” by the way?

Then why is Giuliani leading the GOP pack right now, by 31 percent to 26 percent for John McCain. As John Podhoretz writes:

unfold

What Makes Public School Kids Excel in School

by Christopher Chantrill

WHAT’S THE secret of success? Specifically, how do public school students from modest homes compete against private school kids who have all the advantages, from educated parents, after-school tutoring, and computers and stuff at home.

Queena Lee-Chua, Filipino college instructor did some research. Yes, she discovered, the private school kids have plenty of advantages,

But according to our unfold

Two Turning Points, says Michael Barone

by Christopher Chantrill

DEMOCRATS, we know, have to play to their base. And their base believes that violence never solves anything. Republicans, of course, play to their base. And that base tends to believe in the vision of the legendary Al Davis: Just Win Baby. Thus the ongoing domestic conflict over Iraq and the war on terror.

So let us rise above all this and listen to the adult Michael Barone. There have been, he asserts, two important turning unfold

When Women Rule the World

by Christopher Chantrill

WHAT with women now outnumbering men in higher education about 60:40, it certainly seems that the writing is on the wall for the patriarchal age.

So this report on mating customs in an island off Guinea-Bissau by Rukmini Callimachi has some salience, as the social scientists say.

On this remote island the women chose their mates. Have done since the dawn of time.

In this archipelago of 50 islands off unfold

Bush's "Reading First" Is Working

by Christopher Chantrill

EVERYONE is disappointed by the Bush Administration’s No Child Left Behind Act. It was bushwhacked by Sen. Ted Kennedy and the vital school-choice reforms were ripped out.

But don’t forget the phonics reading program, "Reading First." It is working, and just in the way intended.

In City Journal Sol Stern tells how in a tale of two school districts.

One of the districts, in Richmond, Virginia, is a classic inner-city unfold

A System of Patronage So Vast...

by Christopher Chantrill

EVERY THREE months the excellent Theodore Dalrymple reports on the utter waste and degradation of the welfare state in Britain. And in the Winter 2007 edition of City Journal he explains how it really works. For he asks: How is it possible for the welfare state to sustain failure on such a massive scale?

It is simple, really. Failure is the whole point. It is failure that justifies the whole system, the pyramid of patronage we unfold

Climate Change: Government Scientists vs. Deniers

by Christopher Chantrill

WHO are you gonna believe, the government-funded scientists on the UN’s IPCC and their fourth assessment of climate change. Or is it still possible that the Sun did it? New York Times reporters Elisabeth Rosenthal and Andrew C. Revkin give us the bad news:

In a bleak and powerful assessment of the future of the planet, the unfold

Reading Tea Leaves in Iraq

by Christopher Chantrill

THE BIG PROBLEM for us war-mongers is to know what is really going down in Iraq. Is Iraq in a civil war? Is the conflict there a religious war of Sunni vs. Shia? Is all the violence being orchestrated by Iran? Is everything lost? Or is everyone posturing for the cameras, cynically manipulated images of violence as the cheapest way to influence US policy?

First of all, writes Iranian unfold

New Hope for School Choice

by Christopher Chantrill

AFTER THE reupdiation of the Republican Party in November, you might be forgiven for thinking that all is lost. But at least where school choice is concerned there are grounds for hope, according to George Will.

The public school lobby, which apparently has little confidence in its product, lives in fear of competition — the fear that if parents’ choices are expanded, there will be a flight from public schools. But the tide is turning[.]

Of unfold

A Revolution in Black Politics

by Christopher Chantrill

OK, let’s get serious, suggests Kay S. Hymowitz in a major article in City Journal.

What if someone gave a convention called “Black America Today” and Barack Obama, Harold Ford, Cory Booker, Bill Cosby, and Juan Williams starred as the marquee names?

Er... What about Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, and the stalwarts of the Congressional Black Caucus?

That’s just the point. There’s a new generation coming up unfold