Saturday, September 06, 2003 Free Trade: How to Help the Displaced Worker So, free trade helps the US because it reduces costs of products for American consumers and producers. But in the process, structural changes in the economy destroy certain industries that cannot compete: steel, manufacturing, textiles, food production, etc. How to help these workers out? Not trade? Trade such that other countries cant use their lower wage advantage? Job train American workers into new jobs?
In a recent interview with Reuters, his best friend Franco Columbu confirmed that such incidents have taken place, such as when he touched the breasts of a British television presenter. "Like the girl in London when he was lying on the bed, the couch or whatever it was, and touching her and taking a picture," Columbu said. "That stuff is Arnold, he does that. He says, 'You have nice big legs' and touch her, fine. But nothing harmful or telling somebody 'Leave, I am going to be with her alone."' "They love it of course. I've never seen him do something that was, like, out of place. Talking, yes, he would say something like 'Oh, you look so sexy,' 'Oh, ya, you have a nice ass,' but that's it." ... Over his long career in bodybuilding and then film, Schwarzenegger has often discussed women and sex in a way that some voters may find objectionable. "Girls became sex objects. I saw the other bodybuilders using them in this way and I thought it was all right," he wrote in his 1977 memoir "Arnold: The Education of a Bodybuilder."Whatever I thought might hold me back, I avoided. I crossed girls off my list -- except as tools for my sexual needs." "My attitude about all that has changed radically. I used to feel that women were here for one reason. Sex was simply another kind of exercise, another body function." In the 1974 book "Pumping Iron" Schwarzenegger said: "If I see a girl with big tits, I'm going to stare and stare. And I'm going to think in my mind what I am going to do with her if I would have her."
Posted by Timothy,
6:11 PM
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Wolfowitz and the UNSee TPM.
Posted by Timothy,
4:47 PM
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Some Really Interesting Blogs:
The Dean Blog: Interesting and fresh commentary on media coverage of Dean and the general horse race. A Taxing Blog: For those of us always looking to understand more the intersection (thanks Emmett) of economics and public policy. The Poor Man: Witty commentary on politics and culture, from a now-Clark supporter.
The New York Times reports that Abbas will resign today. The move is to put pressure on Arafat to relinquish his authority over the Palestinian secuirty forces and to coax the US, Britain and Israel into pressing for the same.
No matter which side you are on, this has to be seen as a step backwards. I'm doubting whether we will see peace in Israel within our lifetimes. What do you think?
Posted by Jordan,
12:01 AM
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Friday, September 05, 2003 Sad news from Anaheim: Apparently one person has died from an accident on a Disneyland rollercoaster. I'm kind of creeped out because I was on this ride not more than four days ago. CNN has the story.
Posted by Greg Klein,
9:56 PM
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TNR Online Help Wanted Ad WANTED: ASSISTANT EDITOR FOR THE NEW REPUBLIC ONLINE Job consists of writing, commissioning, and editing web pieces, primarily about pop culture. Interest in politics a plus. Candidate should have 1-2 years professional journalism experience. Could be based in New York or D.C. Please send resume and 3-5 writing samples to: [Link]
Posted by Timothy,
4:55 PM
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I Know Who This Is: The Rutland Herald (of Vermont) wrote about the DNC debate watching party that happened last night in Dartmouth Hall.
One Dartmouth student, who came into 206 Dartmouth Hall with a silver Mac iBook under his arm, said he came away very impressed with Gephardt. “Maybe it’s because I’m from the Midwest,” he said, declining to give his name, as he left with his friends, who appeared to be Dean supporters. “But he was a lot more forceful than I expected.” [LINK]
Posted by Kumar,
3:39 PM
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Dean on International Trade
Here is what Dean said in the WaPo about two weeks ago:
One multilateral institution that might not fare so well in a Dean administration, though, is the World Trade Organization. In what would be a radical departure, China and other countries could get trade deals with the United States only if they adopted "the same labor laws and labor standards and environmental standards" as the United States. Whether or not that demand was consistent with WTO rules? "That's right." With no concession to their relative level of development? "Why should there be? They have the right to have a middle class same as everyone else."
In the NM debate tonight, Lieberman lambasted him for this position and (I never thought I'd say this), but I had to agree with him. Dean's position as stated makes no sense. Part of the "labor laws" that Dean cites is presumably a minimum wage. Forcing factories in third world countries to either have our same minimum wage would be impossible and to impose such a rule would be disastrous for the workers in those factories and to a lesser extent, the American economy.
I doubt Dean is really serious about what he said in the WaPo article and he seemed to change his tune a bit tonight when Lieberman pressed him. I'm not sure what exactly these "international labor standards" (rather than American ones) that Dean now says he supports would consist of, but Dean needs to spell this out in detail because his trade position as stated currently sounds startlingly close to Kucinich's. I support international workers' rights and environmental standards, but we cannot apply American standards to the whole world and Dean has yet to articulate an alternative set of standards.
Schwarzenegger didn't shy away from controversial views. He often got into heated battles with Rick Wayne -- a black bodybuilder from St. Lucia, a Caribbean island -- about one of the most emotional international issues of the 1970s: racial segregation in South Africa. Wayne said Schwarzenegger defended the apartheid system and argued that white South Africans could not turn power over to black South Africans without ruining the nation.``At the time, I just thought he was an out-and-out racist,'' Wayne said in a recent interview. Schwarzenegger also appeared to have no qualms about telling Jewish jokes to his friends. Wayne said he watched Schwarzenegger upset Jewish friend Joe Weider to the point of tears with his crass jokes, which included doing an impression of Hitler. As their friendship evolved, Wayne said he came to understand Schwarzenegger's sense of humor. Wayne once asked his friend how an Austrian immigrant had conquered Hollywood. In a moment of ``pure mischief,'' he said, Schwarzenegger stood up, looked him ``straight in the eye and said, `Because I've got the greatest physique in the world, I'm sharp, I'm super talented.' Then he stood up, walked down the hall, looked over his shoulder and said: `And I'm white.' '' What might have once set Wayne off now leaves him chuckling.``Today I don't necessarily think he's a racist,'' he said. ``How are you a racist and have a black guy as your friend?''...
Rather than focus on the actor's words, Walsh advised, voters should look at his deeds: supporting the Special Olympics in South Africa with former President Nelson Mandela, donating money to Jewish groups, and backing gay adoption.``The actions that Mr. Schwarzenegger has taken in these areas are a mountain compared to rare comments of interactions from decades ago,'' Walsh said.
See how Body and Soul attacks Arnold for still belonging to the advisory board of U.S. English (Emmett's excuse that Cronkite and Chavez found the cause worthy enough to join does not explain why they both publicly left, while Arnold did not sever his ties):
Put aside, for a moment, the fact that "English only" laws -- the focus of the group's work -- don't serve to encourage immigrants to learn English (ESL classes in most places are packed full), but rather to restrict the government's ability to communicate with and provide services to non-English-speaking residents. Beyond that, U.S. English is hardly a benign organization. Its co-founder, John Tanton, founded or helped fund at least 13 anti-immigration groups, three of which the Southern Poverty Law Center lists as "hate groups," including this charming collection of vigilantes. Tanton's no longer associated with U.S. English, but one of their current spokesmen is James Lubinskas, a contributing editor to the neo-Confederate American Renaissance magazine. When news of John Tanton's racist views came out in 1988, several prominent members, including Walter Cronkite and the certainly far from liberal Linda Chavez resigned, rather than be associated with such views. Chavez accused Tanton of being both anti-Hispanic and anti-Catholic....
Cronkite and Chavez left in disgust, but Schwarzenegger, who joined the board in 1987, chose to stay. That doesn't make him a racist. It may mean he's simply oblivious to what he's signed on to. But at the very least, he ought to be asked about his connection to U.S. English now. If a group like that is uncontroversial, we have a lot of problems.
Nathan Newman is far more vituperative, representing the further left firebrand view:
Want to know why the rightwing Wurlitzer is going after Bustamante as a "racist"? Because they need to throw rhetorical sand in the works to cover up and confuse the real links of their guy Arnie to racist networks.
What is serious is Schwarzenneger's continued association with the anti-immigrant U.S. English, which advertises itself as promoting the english language, but whose co-founder, John Tanton, has made clear its racist purpose. In 1988 he wrote the memo detailed in the linked article:
"In this society, will the present majority peaceably hand over its political power to a group that is simply more fertile. Can homo contraceptives compete with homo progenitivo if our borders aren't controlled. . . .Perhaps this is the first instance in which those with their pants up are going to get caught by those with their pants down. As whites see their power and control over their lives declining, will they simply go quietly into the night? Or will there be an explosion."
When the memo was made public, Walter Cronkite resigned from the board and prominent Hispanic conservative Linda Chavez resigned as President. Schwarzenegger? He's still on the advisory board. And its spokesman, James Lubinskas (who apparently resigned this month) was a contributing editor of the August 2003 issue of American Renaissance magazine, which the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) lists as a hate group. The magazine is published by Jared Taylor, a leader of the white-supremacist group Council of Conservative Citizens, which is also listed by SPLC as a hate group.
So let's see-- you have Bustamante having been a student member of a group that's only relation to racism is a few distorted phrases in a document from 1969 versus Arnie's active role TODAY on the board of a group founded by a leading racist and which hires hate group supporters as its spokesperson. This is the game folks-- real racists are using the smokescreen of charges of "racism" against Bustamante to debase the term and confuse everyone. This is War is Peace, Hate is Love territory.
And Jon will hate me for posting this, but here's the Guardian talking about "outercourse" with underage girls. Maybe this will help Arnold with the social conservatives:
[Maria Shriver] was a self-assured Democrat with her own career. He was a conservative Republican with traditional views on women. He told interviewers that Shriver wasn't allowed to wear pants when she went out with him and that children should be ruled ``with an iron fist.'' But the relationship has weathered intense challenges. Rumors of on-set affairs filled tabloid headlines for years. More recently, several female reporters came forward in 2000 to accuse Schwarzenegger of fondling them during interviews, and an actress told a London newspaper that she had a seven-year sexual relationship with the actor. The actor has dismissed the allegations and -- in the campaign -- sought to focus on his political views.
I wonder what happens when we apply Kalbian logic to all these things 'swirling' around Arnold.
Posted by Timothy,
12:23 AM
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Thursday, September 04, 2003 Thoughts on the Debate in New Mexico
I am going to score this as a defeat and a victory for Dean. Listening to him speak I kept wondering, who put the fire out? Dean has gotten as far as he has by being the most passionate opposition candidate. Tonight he was restrained and it showed. If Dean has decided that his sharp rhetoric has taken him as far as it needs to and that now is the time for him to settle into a more pollished campaign he is dead wrong. The passion is the campaign....
...Which is why I also say that this debate was a victory for Dean. He has completely realligned the parameters of the Democratic primary. Suddenly everyone on stage was lashing out at Bush with Dean's typical gusto. Gephardt reapeatedly called Bush a "miserable failure," Lieberman said he let our troops down by not preparing a reconstruction strategy, Kerry lamented the Iraq policy and arrogant unilateralism, Edwards lashed out at cuts in education and the "war against work," and the crowd loved it every time. The days of the Democrats cuddling up to Bush policy are over and you can thank Howard Dean for that change.
Posted by Jordan,
11:46 PM
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"Why Estrada Quit" When I saw the words "unprecedented Democratic filibuster" In NRO, I immediately thought: I guess they don't care about the precedent of the Republicans filibustering Earl Warren's replacement. Some of these hack conservatives had been advancing the line the constitution requires a majority vote on Senate confirmations of judges. I sometimes think I'd be happy if we didn't have filibusters at all. But it's silly to maintain that filibustering Warren's replacement was constitutional but Estrada was not. No one puts it like that, but only because it shows how silly the constitution argument is. More relevent stuff with thoughts on the actual recent events from Yglesias is here. Update: Not Geniuses puts it well:
The thing is, the Democrats have gone along with numerous right-wing appointees. We've now blocked one and we're being called shameful? The only reason why the filibusters have even been used is because Hatch changed the rules to make it harder for Dems to have a say in appointments now than it was for Republicans under Clinton.
Mideast Maneuver: After we reported last week that former Vermont governor Howard Dean was catching some flak on the left for his pro-Israel stances, Dean was heard to be tilting left on the Middle East in remarks caught on the campaign trail in New Hampshire. "We have to get the Israelis out of the West Bank, but we can't get them out of the West Bank if a bomb goes off like it did yesterday," Dean said, according to a report by The Associated Press. "Palestine," Dean said, "is the best hope for peace in the Middle East, partly because Palestinians have experience with Israeli democracy and involve women in their political life," the newswire reported. "Compared to the citizens of many Arab nations, Palestinians... have a better understanding of democracy than anybody else," Dean said at a Manchester house party.
Posted by Timothy,
11:06 PM
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Zogby's New South Carolina Numbers: Edwards, Dean, and Kerry rise. Lieberman and Sharpton slip. Undecided is still way out front, indicating that (as with everywhere, but here statistically, it's still a dogfight). This poll was conducted after Kerry's Patriot Point, Charleston announcement speech. From Zogby:
There was a lot of talk of how people down South respected Lieberman's faith. But now that he's had a drop equal to Edwards' and Dean's rise in the polls, and the undecided is still so high, does that indicate it was just name recognition buoying him early. If you follow the link, you'll see that of the major candidates, Dean is still the least well known, although nobody is really well known--unlike up here in NH. So what do people think? In the comments section, Alston seemed to think that Edwards-Clinton comparisons were bad news for the Senator down in dixie. Can one of the New Englanders do it in SC? Kerry's going to push his military record, which CW says carries more weight in the South than in the North. Dean's got an interesting stance on guns that might help him. I know that SC is pretty conservative. But this is a primary, so what are the Democrats like in that State?
Posted by Graham,
2:36 PM
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Does he? From Tuesday's Whitehouse press conference:
Mokhiber: Scott, two things. First, does the President know how many people have been killed and wounded in Iraq since the beginning of the war?
....
McClellan: The President knows that what we are doing in Iraq is central to winning the war on terrorism.
Posted by Clint,
6:37 AM
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California Recall Debate
The first debate amongst recall candidates just concluded on CSPAN2. If anyone missed this it is definitely worth seeing (there may be a way to access the video through CSPAN's website). Schwarzenegger backed out of the debate- he will only participate in live discussions when he is given access to the questions in advance- and he was barely mentioned during the discussions. In attendence were Bustamante, Huffington, Peter Camejo, Peter Ueberoth, and Tom McClintock.
Initial Impressions--
Bustamante: looked terrible. he was relentlessly pounded from the left by Camejo and especially Huffington who called him out again and again for taking special interest money. When he tried to take an ideological stand they one-upped him every single time. Having two left-wing liberals on stage made the Democrats look pathetic.
Huffington: did moderately well. She was feirce in her criticism of Davis and Bustamante for perpetuating a special interest-driven government and she was equally feirce in criticizing the Republican Party for defunding of social programs and perpetuating fiscal hypocracy. However she too often drifted off into attacking the Bush administration and taking stands on national issues.
Camejo: outstanding. stuck to his guns and made forcefull stands on his entire platform with the confidence of someone who knew he would never have to retract any of his comments. The icing was in his closing statement in which he made a plea for more a more inclusive political process (including instant runoff elections). "Now that you've seen a debate with 5 candidates, could you really ever go back to only 2?" He was absolutely right. Bustamante and McClintock looked like chumps. Camejo navigated the debate with a Dean-like fire and also made good plugs for the Green Party.
Ueberoth: probably the most interesting candidate on stage. Ueberoth relentlessly stuck to his message of creating jobs and making budget cuts to balance the budget. In the face of questions about abortion and the death penalty he responded by saying that he was there to talk about the budget and the economy. When asked about various California ballot initiatives he pleaded ignorance saying "I don't know, I'm a neophyte, but I'm here to talk about creating new jobs." Given that the state budget deficit and economic downturn are the 2 biggest issues of the recall I think his tenacity may pay off with angry voters. He also had a strange Ed O'Donnell quality to him- ignoring almost all political conventions, refusing to criticize Davis or any of the other candidates, promising to lock Republican and Democratic lawmakers in the state house until they reached a resolution, and pledging to resign once he got his goals accomplished. McClintock: did a good job of presenting himself as a conventional Republican but he got chewed up again and again by Camejo and Huffington. He was strong with his criticisms of Davis and Bustamante but like Bustamante he found himself trapped by his party affiliation. The lefties attacked him as a heartless corporate crony and Ueberoth was able to edge in from the right by painting McClintock as a career politician (or at least by defining himself against those terms).
Another observation: The only issue out of dozens that all of the candidates agreed on was to fight Bush/Ashcroft moves to subvert California's legalization of medical marijuana.
Posted by Jordan,
1:30 AM
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Wednesday, September 03, 2003 Pat Robertson says no option but to vote for Arnold
Buchanan and Press, September 3, 2003 (via drudge)
Pat Buchanan: LET ME TAKE ANOTHER PROMINENT CANDIDATE, ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER. HE IS PRO ABORTION HE IS PRO GAY RIGHTS, HE'S GOT A LIFESTYLE WE COULD CALL BODYBUILDIER LIFESTYLE THAT YOU'VE BEEN READING ABOUT PAT ROBERTSON SHOULD CHRISTIANS IN GOOD CONSCICENCE, CAN THEY VOTE FOR ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER?
Pat Robertson: WELL YOU KNOW, I'M A BODY BUILDER. I DO SOME PRETTY HEAVY WEIGHTLIFTING, SO I THINK THE WEIGHTLIFTERS OF THE WORLD NEED TO UNITE. I TELL YOU WHAT THOSE GUYS IN CALIFORNIA COULD USE A BIG BRUISER TO KNOCK SOME HEADS TOGETHER. I MEAN THEY'RE OUT OF CONTROL OVER THERE. SO WHAT ARE THEY GONNA DO? I MEAN YOU GONNA HAVE BUSTAMANTE WHO IS SORT OF THE GOVERNOR GRAY DAVIS LITE? THEY DONT WANT ANYMORE DAVIS, SO WHO ELSE YOU GONNA PUTT IN? I THINK YOU DONT HAVE ANYBODY ELSE THAT'S COMING UP ON THE RADAR SO THE OTHER ALTERNATIVE IS JUST STAY HOME.
Here more on Arnold from VodkaPundit, talking about the debates:
Now comes word that Arnold won't participate in the upcoming gubernatorial debates:
Five leading candidates vying to replace California Gov. Gray Davis in the state's recall election will participate in the first official public debate Wednesday. Arnold Schwarzenegger will not participate.
So far, no big deal – frontrunners often skip out on debates. They have much to lose and little to gain. But then there's this:
He has said he will participate in a September 24 debate that will provide questions in advance.
Ah. The gentle way to read this is that Arnold is simply unready for a six-way, unscripted debate. That's understandable, considering he's only been a candidate for a few weeks, but less understandable when he's obviously been considering a run for at least a couple of years now. If you're inclined to be less charitable, you could take this to mean that Arnold wants to gain the advantage of appearing in a debate, but doesn't want the risk of sounding like, well, yet another Hollywood type getting in over his head.
While trying to do the right thing, Kerry has always sought to make himself a thinner target. He was for affirmative action, just not this affirmative action. He was for a drug war, just not this drug war. He was for an Iraq war, just not this Iraq war. This is Kerry's nature, and he knows it. He sometimes argues, when pressed about his vote on the war resolution, that most votes in Congress are really "yes, but" or "no, but." In Kerry's case, it's sometimes "yes" and sometimes "no." But it's always "but."
Of course this one from back in the middle of the summer during my blogging hiatus, by Chris Suellentrop, is also a bit harsh, if you're pulling for Kerry this primary season. The highlight comes in the second to last paragraph:
As I'm leaving the event, I run into a Kerry campaign worker. He stops me and asks me about Dean and what he's like. He says he'd really like to hear him speak, but it's not kosher for staffers to go to other candidates' events. Maybe if he goes in plain clothes, he muses. Everyone talks about what a great speaker Dean is, he says, but how does he interact with people? I tell him I was impressed.
Posted by Graham,
3:53 PM
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Cheney Lied, and not just about WMD According to John Dean, Nixon's former Counsel, Cheney lied to congress about his degree of compliance to a GAO inquiry about the Energy Taskforce:
The [GAO] Report quietly - but tellingly - notes that the Vice President's team "solicited input from, or received information and advice from nonfederal energy stakeholders, principally petroleum, coal, nuclear, natural gas, and electricity industry representatives and lobbyists." (Emphasis added.)
In other words, if the Vice President is not trying to cover up the fact that he met with big energy interests - including past contributors - and allowed them a large role in settling our nation's energy policy, why all the secrecy ? That is what other observers have suspected - and what has been rumored from the beginning. Thanks to Cheney's obfuscation, we still can't know for certain. Yet thanks to GAO, we do now know for certain that he lied to Congress to cover up something, and there is little doubt in my mind as to what he is hiding.
Posted by Clint,
7:42 AM
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Tuesday, September 02, 2003 Dartmouth in the News (sort of):Newsday writes about the end of summer and writes: After his last day at the beach Monday, Brian Taylor is returning to Dartmouth College, where the 19-year-old from Roslyn Heights said he is focusing on "Women's Studies," though not in the classroom.[LINK]
Concord Monitor once again consults Professor Fowler, who is a Dean-skeptic: "It's always bad to be the front-runner," said Linda Fowler, a professor of government at Dartmouth College. "The press starts scrutinizing you more carefully, looking for flaws. And other candidates will always focus their attacks on the person out in front." The challenge for Dean, Fowler said, will be to keep his rivals from shaping the debate around him. Much of Dean's success has come from his ability to define himself on his own terms. In coming months, the spotlight will only intensify, with other Democrats raising questions about his chances in a general election and his record as governor of Vermont. The relatively untested Dean could buckle under the increased attention, Fowler said.[LINK]
Maybe, Professor Fowler is an Edwards-optimist (from Channel 3 News): Dartmouth College political scientist Linda Fowler says geography may ultimately be on his [Edward's] side. "Historically Democrats have never won the presidency without someone with southern roots," says Fowler. In the past 40 years only three Democrats have been President and all of them were from the South: Lyndon Johnson, Jimmy Carter, and Bill Clinton. But will this trend continue with Edwards or another candidate in 2004? "That of course, has always been his real claim as a serious contender, is that he's the one one viable southerner. Maybe Bob Graham, although he came in late and is also stuck in the bottom," speculates Fowler.[LINK]
Where is Buzzflood when you need them?
Posted by Kumar,
1:57 PM
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Thoughts on Russert's Interviewing Style: Yglesias has good commentary on why Russert's I-am-going-to-show-you-as-a-hypocrite style may not be the best way to create public dialogue. I watched the Kerry interview yesterday. I sort of agree with Matt but politicians so often change what they are saying to placate the audience that keeping them consistent has public policy value. If no one pointed out flip-flopping, there would be no way to determine what a politician thought or where s/he planned to vote on a given issue. [LINK]
Posted by Kumar,
12:17 PM
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What do you think, Dartloggers? Conservative Andrew Sullivan writes: THE AIRCRAFT CARRIER LANDING: Can we all now agree that that was the dumbest political gesture of the last two years?[LINK] Agree?
Posted by Kumar,
12:03 PM
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Tim, Thank God You are Not Studying in California: Dan Drezner writes of this hillarious quote from a graduate student at the recent APSA conference: "I need to finish quickly, since the governor signs all University of California diplomas, and I want to avoid a Schwarzenegger signature on my diploma." [LINK]
Posted by Kumar,
11:58 AM
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Interesting Study on the Nature-Nurture Debate: Its conclusion is that it varies with class. For middle and upper classes, with stable family and social environments, genes matter a lot more for IQ and other intelligence abilities. For the poor, however, the environment seems to overwhelm any genetic capabilites and is far more important. Read the WaPo article. [LINK] I wonder how the findings of this study impact social debates on affirmative action, the idea of the American Dream and that of early education.
Posted by Kumar,
11:51 AM
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MEChA Ted Barlow at Crooked Timber has the most comprehensive and convincing piece responding to those who say Cruz Bustamante belonged to a racist organization in college. Here is one loooong post from Ornicus as well. I await Emmett's response to evaluate.
Matt Rustler has a post on Bustamante and says: "I just Fisked The Blogfather. Sure hope I know what I'm doing." Instahack sure messed up.
ALSO: Kausfiles complains of Bustamante: "The one thing he didn't do is renounce the slogan, 'For the race everything. For those outside the race, nothing.'" Uh... but that isn't really the best translation of the slogan, as Kaus himself noted yesterday! Kaus is upset because Bustamante won't renounce a mistranslation?!? Sure, Bustamante would say "Racial separatism is wrong" but didn't denounce MEChA directly. But it's not clear to me he should have. I have no idea why Bustamante needs to have the courage to denounce right-wing distortions of sayings in MEChA.
I'm not sure I should have said Barlow's piece was the "most comphrensive and convincing" one on MEChA. Ornicus is certainly comphrehensive. Barlow has also admitted an error in his post, but it still seems in its main point to be a persuasive and hard-hitting piece. Check out the comments in Yglesias and in Tacitus. Tacitus says: "Finally, Barlow concludes that on this issue, the 'right [is] engaged in a cynical smear job.' An unsurprising conclusion, really. I'm sure that some on the right are doing just that... [mention of Fox News]... As for my argument, and me personally, it doesn't affect either one bit." I also found it funny that Atzlan.net seems to be more supportive of Arnold than Bustamante. Heh.
Posted by Timothy,
11:47 AM
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Which is Better: Productivity Overall or Productivity per Hour? A CNN article on this got me thinking. [LINK] The three econ classes I took in college don't give me enough background to know the answer, so jump in with your theories. If we country A and country B. Country A has a productivty per hour of 10 units per hour and it has 10 people. Country B has a productivity per hour of 12 units per hour and has 10 people also. In country A, the 10 workers work 12 hours a day and produce 120 units. In country B, the 10 workers work 9 hours and make 108 units. Country A makes more overall so each worker of country A is on average wealthier, but the workers of country get to consume more non-work hours. Which is better? Is this just a values question? Where is Nathan Newman when you need him?
Posted by Kumar,
11:39 AM
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A Left-Leaning Dean-hater? Yes, they exist and one of them even has a blog. Dartmouth Deaniacs, enjoy reading this Edwards supporter. [LINK]
Posted by Kumar,
11:26 AM
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Monday, September 01, 2003 More Irrational Clinton Hatred I love it when someone disputes a post of mine and their response proves my original point. In my post on lingering Clinton hatred, I noted some conservatives were more upset by Clinton's cigar than Arnold gang-bang:
Tim, the Lewinsky thing was like catching Al Capone on tax evasion. From Whitewater to Filegate to Travelgate to the Vince Foster Suicide to Gennifer Flowers to Paula Jones to cattle futures to the other Tyson Chicken stuff, Clinton was Grade A scum.
Wow. How does the 'Vince Foster Suicide' show that Clinton was "Grade A scum'? I hope Kalb is not implying Clintonites murdered him; if that is the case Kalb is a grade 'A' nut. Foster couldn't take the beating dished out by the Wall Street Journal editorial page, and complained that in Washington people lived to destroy someone. Kalb is pathetically using right-wing attacks in response to my point about lingering Clinton hatred. As for Whitewater, they spent $50 million plus and found basically nothing.
As much irrational hatred as there is about Bush (and I think there's just as much), there aren't sites dedicated to the body count around him like there were with Clinton, and with good reason. People always make huge accusations of people in power, but with Clinton, the possibilities were so much greater.
Huh?!? There were sites about the body count around Clinton because there was so much more irrational hatred of Clinton! It's not evidence that Clinton was really that bad, but that the right-wingers were irrational (and generally much, much more rapid than Bush haters). There is no equivilence between the level of irrational Clinton hatred and those of the Democrats today. God, I never want to hear from a Reviewer how stupid campus leftists are. I'd say I'd much rather have Jared on my blog than Kalb, but that is insulting to Jared.
Also, look at what happened in the aftermath of the impeachment hearings- two Republican speakers of the house left office at least partly because they'd cheated on their wives. Infidelity, or the accusation thereof, has cost Republicans too. Look at Bob Packwood for more proof. And then there were the Clarence Thomas/Anita Hill hearings.
Kalb is just confused here. If the Republicans were right that impeachment wasn't 'all about sex' then I see no reason Speaker-to-be Livingston should have stepped aside. It was hypocrisy and his own decision that brought him down. By the way, the news about Newt's adultry didn't come out until much later and that had nothing to do with his leaving. New left because of the huge repudiation Republicans received in a midterm election over impeachment. Bob Packwood wasn't kicked out for 'infidelity' but for rape. Big difference. Clarence Thomas is a pretty crappy example for Kalb's point. Last I checked, he was still writing Supreme Court opinions. Kalb could have at least brought up Juanita Broderick. But Kalb is a shining example of how our political discourse is debased and how idiot conservatives sometimes actually believe loony right wing theories, and present these stories as arguments for why Clinton was so bad. Luckily, I do not think this is at all the case for many (hopefully most) Dartmouth conservatives. I'm guessing they would be ashamed of these lines being parrotted, especially at this late date.
Posted by Timothy,
10:49 PM
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Will the Grassroots ever go back to sleep? No. Howard Dean's Sleepless Summer Tour may have concluded in New York City last Tuesday, but huge crowds of supporters keep on turning out to see the Doctor. He campaigned over the weekend in New Hampshire and 1,200 people showed up to a "house party" in Walpole (sources tell me that's just north of Keene, for the uninitiated in Granite State Geography). Here are the pictures.
Posted by Graham,
6:09 PM
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On "Por La Raza todo. Fuera de la Raza Nada" Kausfiles runs a correction on something he said about MEChA:
What's the translation of "Por La Raza todo. Fuera de la Raza Nada"? Alert reader W.M. suggests that kf (and the LAT, and Michelle Malkin) have been mistranslating this MEChA slogan, and I think he has a point. Instead of "For the Race, everything. For those outside the Race nothing," (Translation #1) the phrase may mean either
"By means of the Race, everything. Outside the Race, nothing." (Translation #2)
or
"On behalf of the Race, everything. Outside the Race, nothing." (Translation #3)
Either of those translations would be considerably more benign than the wildly offensive one that's been given. They would be more typical and precise expressions of a virulent and misguided identity politics--e.g. that the ethnic background of Chicanos is the most important thing about them, and that the only route to political and personal advancement is through ethnic solidarity as Chicanos (as opposed to, say, as Americans or as individuals). ... The context is ambiguous, however. It's a pretty strident passage, with distinctly unfriendly references to the "foreign Europeans" and the "foreigner 'gabacho' who exploits our riches and destroys our culture." Maybe the slogan is ambiguous too. ... Reader feedback requested: Further consultation with better Spanish speakers more familiar with 1960's Chicano radicalism is required--if that means any of you, please fill me in. ... But it seems very possible at least that the importation of the nasty reference to "those outside the race"--e.g., non-Chicanos--was unwarranted. I've corrected the text and appended updates below. ... Still ... : Either way, the LAT was still wrong in suggesting that the slogan wasn't part of the MEChA philosophy, and it's still true that an Anglo group with an equivalent slogan would be pilloried (by the Times and others). I still want ex-Mechista Cruz Bustamante to say whether or not he agrees with it, and if he says he agrees, or if--as I suspect--he disagrees and doesn't have the minimal courage to say he disagrees, I don't think I want him to be governor. ... What's the difference between #1 and #3? The difference between saying, "Those outside the Race should wind up with nothing" (#1) and, "We'll do nothing outside of what we do to help the Race--i.e., we won't work to benefit outsiders or ourselves as individuals" (#3).
The phrase is: "Por la raza todos. Fuera de la raza nada." "Por" in this context means "by", as in "done by" or "with the help of". One of Mickey's alternative translations is to this effect. Yet he reads the most malevolent sense into it. To me, someone who actually KNOWS Spanish-speaking people (and is married to one), it most logically means, "Anything we can do will have to be through ourselves. We can't expect any help from whites." Which would in fact validate Mickey's pet theory of self-reliance -- though he can't see it, being too bigoted, too insulated in his world of right-wing ideology and the very lucrative, whites-only life that it brings him.
I should emphasize that I personally do not know a wit of Spanish. Again, this type of thing (as well as tests and conference going) is why I had been somewhat hesitant in making an immediate global pronouncement on Bustamante's MEChA connections (particularly when it is said MEChA is like the KKK). Again, I personally have issues with communitarian sentiments, but that doesn't mean they are necessarily racist. I've also noticed on nexis an uptick of California papers mentioning Bustamante's MEChA membership. Politically speaking, California Republicans would be in a much better position to make an appeal to the electorate if they had never had a nasty campaign for Proposition 187. ALSO: Be sure to read Tacitus.
If Dean is connecting to the desire for a political eros - an unreasoning attachment to the object - Clark represents agape - the spiritual and intellectual love.
Hmmm... as a Columbia grad student in political theory, I tend to want my political involvement in the real world to be exciting (because God knows T.M. Scanlon and Nagel are not). But some of my buddies in international relations are really hoping Clark will enter the race, thinking he is willing to use force but also understands the importance of multilateralism and coalition building. They do, however, also like Dean. Can such intellectual love of a candidate beat Dean's cash and cult-like status? I never thought this could be the discussion around Dean. P.S. Even offensive realists like John Mearsheimer at the University of Chicago think Bush's foreign policy actions in Iraq are born of delusional thinking. More on this and other fun things from the American Political Science Association later. Also, does anyone know if Dartmouth has a Clark representative, and what students, if anyone, are in charge of the other campaigns at Dartmouth?
Clinton's impeachment takes that standard to a new level, by raising the bar for lewdness to Olympian heights. As tawdry as Schwarzenegger's words from 1977 are, compare them to the Starr Report. Arnold will have to do far more inventive things with his Cohibas than smoking them if he's to surpass the shock factor of the late nights and Easter Sundays in the Clinton Oval Office.
Just to clarify, Arnold teamed up with multiple other bodybuilders and gang-banged a girl on the second floor of a public gym dated a stripper, and admitted to smoking herb and hashish.
Maybe I'm not so good at understanding the conservative mind here. I suppose because the Starr report mentioned that Clinton used a cigar, that's more "tawdry" than a gang-bang? UPDATE: Lest anyone think this is just rumors about Arnold, check the link to the interview above, and exerpted here:
Schwarzenegger: [...] Bodybuilders party a lot, and once, in Gold's -- the gym in Venice, California, where all the top guys train -- there was a black girl who came out naked. Everybody jumped on her and took her upstairs, where we all got together. Oui: A gang bang? Schwarzenegger: Yes, but not everybody, just the guys who can f&%$ in front of other guys.[...]
Posted by Timothy,
1:18 PM
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For those wondering... ...ClearChannel owns the bus stop ads in Copenhagen.
Posted by Clint,
6:05 AM
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Sunday, August 31, 2003 Brilliance in One Post: Start reading The Daily Meme. Its a weekly (ironic I know, sort of like the Week in Review section of the now monthly Dartmouth Review) breakdown of the conventional wisdom of who is up and down in American politics, and its really good. [LINK] (Note: It is by a Clark supporter, although his commentary is very fair.)
Update: Free Dartmouth is now listed as a Clark-friendly blog at Clarksphere. We have yet to listed on any major Dean blogs as a Dean-friendly blog. Free Dartmouth Deaniacs, time to get cracking.
Posted by Kumar,
3:46 PM
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StarQuest Henry Stern (known to friends as StarQuest), the former parks commissioner of NYC is interviewed in this article from Sunday's New York Times.
Stern was also interviewed by Janos Marton for an article printed last week in The Dartmouth Free Press. The Times will have to do a lot better if it hopes to keep up with the DFP.
Note: If you have not read Janos' article yet, check it out. It is shrewd and excellent.
Posted by Jordan,
3:24 PM
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Thoughts Emmett? Nathan Newman has a eye-opening post about Arnold. Here is an excerpt....
What is serious is Schwarzenneger's continued association with the anti-immigrant U.S. English, which advertises itself as promoting the english language, but whose co-founder, John Tanton, has made clear its racist purpose. In 1988 he wrote the memo detailed in the linked article:
"In this society, will the present majority peaceably hand over its political power to a group that is simply more fertile. Can homo contraceptives compete with homo progenitivo if our borders aren't controlled. . . .Perhaps this is the first instance in which those with their pants up are going to get caught by those with their pants down. As whites see their power and control over their lives declining, will they simply go quietly into the night? Or will there be an explosion."
When the memo was made public, Walter Cronkite resigned from the board and prominent Hispanic conservative Linda Chavez resigned as President.
Schwarzenegger? He's still on the advisory board.[LINK]
Posted by Kumar,
3:12 PM
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Even Republicans Want a UN Role: A new CBS News poll asked "who do you think should have the lead responsibility in setting up a new government in Iraq - the United States of the United Nations?" 69 percent of Americans favored the UN (only 25 percent the US). Even among Republicans, 56 percent favored the UN having a lead role. [LINK]
