Hobsonphile Weekly

2003-10-02T21:47:00.000-07:00

QUICK SHOT: I've been following some hot job leads of late- hence the momentary hiatus. However, I wanted to pop in for a moment tonight to direct you all to Andrew Sullivan's analysis on the Iraq situation. Go there. Go there now. It is under the heading "READ THE REPORT".

2003-09-24T12:47:00.000-07:00

I've changed this site from a daily to a weekly blog so I can spend more time writing my entries. The next entry should be published at the end of the week.

2003-09-19T10:31:00.000-07:00

AFTERMATH: Here on high ground, we were spared the worst of the damage. Some limbs came down- a neighbor's tree was cracked in half- and a few pieces of siding were blown off some nearby houses. During the height of the storm, some of the wind gusts were strong enough to make the entire house shake- my brother says that's when he first started getting nervous. We lost power for a few hours last night, but electricity is now restored.

Compared to others in the area, we were very fortunate:

Articles:

The Effects of TS Isabel in the District

Boil/Conserve Water Advisory for Northern VA

Flooding in Northern VA

2003-09-17T14:50:00.000-07:00

Hurricane Isabel Advisory Number 47

Statement as of 5:00 PM EDT on September 17, 2003

...Large Hurricane Isabel closing in on the coast...
A Hurricane Warning remains in effect from Cape Fear North Carolina
to Chincoteague Virginia...including Pamlico and Albemarle
sounds...and the Chesapeake Bay south of Smith Point. A Hurricane
Warning means that hurricane conditions are expected within the
warning area...generally within 24 hours.

All preparations to protect life and property should be rushed to
completion in the Hurricane Warning area.

A Tropical Storm Warning remains in effect south of Cape Fear to
South Santee River South Carolina...and north of Chincoteague to
Sandy Hook New Jersey...including Delaware Bay. A Tropical Storm
Warning also remains in effect for the Chesapeake Bay from Smith
Point northward...and for the tidal Potomac.

At 5 PM EDT...2100z...the center of Hurricane Isabel was located
near latitude 31.1 north... longitude 73.3 west or about 315 miles
south-southeast of Cape Hatteras North Carolina.

Isabel is moving toward the north-northwest near 14 mph. A turn to
the northwest with an increase in forward speed is expected prior
to landfall. On the forecast track...the center of Isabel is
expected to make landfall in eastern North Carolina during the day
Thursday. However...the precise timing and location of landfall is
uncertain...and conditions will deteriorate over a large area well
before the center reaches the coast. Tropical storm conditions are
expected to reach the coastline tonight.
Maximum sustained winds are near 105 mph...with higher gusts.
Isabel is a category two hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane
scale. A slight increase in strength is possible prior to
landfall.
Hurricane force winds extend outward up to 115 miles from the
center...and tropical storm force winds extend outward up
to 315 miles.

The most recent minimum central pressure measured by an Air Force
reserve unit reconnaissance aircraft was 955 mb...28.20 inches.

Storm surge flooding of 7 to 11 feet above normal tide levels...
along with extremely large and dangerous battering waves...is
expected near and to the north of where the center crosses the
coast. Storm surge flooding of 4 to 8 ft above normal tide levels
is expected in Chesapeake Bay and the tidal portions of adjacent
rivers.

Storm total rainfalls of 6 to 10 inches...with locally higher
amounts...are likely in association with Isabel.
There is the threat of isolated tornadoes over eastern North
Carolina tonight and Thursday.

Repeating the 5 PM EDT position...31.1 N... 73.3 W. Movement
toward...north-northwest near 14 mph. Maximum sustained
winds...105 mph. Minimum central pressure... 955 mb.

For storm-related information specific to your area...please monitor
products issued by your local weather office...and statements from
local emergency management officials.
An intermediate advisory will be issued by the National Hurricane
Center at 8 PM EDT followed by the next complete advisory at 11 PM
EDT.

Forecaster Franklin

My younger brother's forecast has Isabel making the northwest turn a little later and tracking closer to DC. We shall see.

2003-09-16T15:43:00.000-07:00

HURRICANE WATCHES NOW POSTED: Isabel has weakened to a Category 2. However, the most recent discussion from the NHC forecasts some intensification before landfall. The current forecast takes the storm west of my location and further inland. Preparations have begun in the DC area.

2003-09-15T14:41:00.000-07:00

STORM TRACKING, II: Isabel has weakened to a Category 3 with the 5 PM advisory. This was predicted by most models. It has also begun to turn northwest, making a mid-Atlantic strike increasingly likely.

2003-09-14T12:44:00.000-07:00

STORM TRACKING: This...

...is currently forecast to go right over my house.

Eep.

2003-09-12T15:10:00.000-07:00

Apologies for not updating of late. Real life has intruded.

Today we have some news of a more "Act-of-God" type:

The latest prediction my younger brother has made has this storm tracking a little further north and hitting North Carolina and Virginia. But it is still a little early to say that anyone on the East Coast is out of the woods quite yet. All of us from Florida to New England should keep our eyes on this one.

2003-09-03T19:52:00.000-07:00

ABORTION SHORT TAKES: Paul Hill, who murdered Dr. John Bayard Britton and his bodyguard, retired Air Force Lt. Col. James Herman Barrett, outside of an abortion clinic in 1994 was executed today. I certainly don't mourn this remorseless bastard, even though I am quite firmly pro-life.

Meanwhile, as Kathleen Parker pointed out late last week, very little coverage has been given to Sandra Cano's ("Mary Doe," Doe vs. Bolton) motion in federal court seeking to reverse the 1973 USSC abortion ruling. Interestingly, both Sandra Cano and Norma McCorvey (Roe Vs. Wade), women instrumental in the legalization of abortion, have since repented. Norma McCorvey's reversal, too, is rarely mentioned.

I was once more liberal on the subject of abortion than I am now- university biology and a lot of soul searching changed my views. In brief, I believe those who are pro-choice have some pretty mixed up priorities. The Declaration of Independence states that we are endowed by God with the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. I believe these writes are written in this order for a reason. Without life, there is no liberty; without liberty, there can be no pursuit of happiness. It is a hierarchy, with life being the first and most important right. Those who are pro-choice, however, have elevated liberty above life- "I personally believe abortion is wrong/morally questionable, but I don't want to force that on anyone else." This is relativism. And our relativism on the subject of abortion has opened the door for the likes of Terry Schiavo's husband.

OH BOY: And now, for some evening adult entertainment, I bring you the Naked Bike Ride for Peace. (Warning, NC-17 content)

2003-09-02T19:09:00.000-07:00

I wish today's Gallup Tuesday Briefing on the ideological trends in Generation X (posted here on Free Republic) had more information on the questions that were asked of the respondents. I fear asking Americans whether they believe their views to be conservative, moderate, or liberal will result in a less accurate picture than running down a list of specific policy questions. Constant assertions that individuals who are anti-abortion, anti-gun control, and anti-preferences are "conservative" at best and "radical right Republicans" at worst while people who are pro-choice, pro-gun control, and pro-affirmative action are given no ideological identification much of the time could very possibly have skewed the results. The references to "ideological balance" on social questions are disturbing as well- "ideological centrism" would be a far more accurate, neutral term. "Balance" (perhaps inadvertently) suggests that people who are conservative across the board (or liberal across the board) are somehow less reasonable, or imbalanced, which is not necessarily the case. (Nor is centrism necessarily anything more than mere ideological indecisiveness.)

2003-08-28T19:47:00.000-07:00

As August draws to a close, a new class begins its college experience. While in many ways, this can be a fun and fulfilling adventure, the frosh of recent years are facing real threats to their intellectual development and personal freedom. I know. For more than a year now, I have been running a ping list for campus-related issues on Free Republic, and I can't even begin to count the number of articles I have read that put into sharp relief the profoundly unfree atmosphere of our post-secondary education system. Professors substituting ideology for scholarship, students disciplined for speaking their minds, heterodox papers burned by student activists, controversial speakers shut down by the heckler's veto... the list goes on. For conservative students especially, this enforced intellectual orthodoxy can be personally trying and sometimes even damaging to their futures.

Fortunately, these students are not alone.

If you are a conservative college student, or if you are the parent of a conservative student, the links below will provide invaluable resources:

Foundation for Individual Rights in Education

College Republican National Committee

Conservative Debate Handbook by Ohioan

Young Americans for Freedom

Collegiate Network

Students for Academic Freedom

I have also added these links to my permanent list at right.

If you are conservative, you must be ready and willing to stand up and fight. At best, you will give others the courage to express their views. I was told a very encouraging story today by my younger brother, who is currently a junior: His public speaking professor was expressing a very biased view of the separation of church and state issue, and he spoke up for the opposing side. His willingness to speak opened the door for others, and a one-sided lecture became a true discussion.

At worst, you may find yourself facing a hostile professor or administration. If this happens, know that there are organizations out there who are equipped to back you up.

As stated in SAF's Academic Bill of Rights:

The central purposes of a University are the pursuit of truth, the discovery of new knowledge through scholarship and research, the study and reasoned criticism of intellectual and cultural traditions, the teaching and general development of students to help them become creative individuals and productive citizens of a pluralistic democracy, and the transmission of knowledge and learning to a society at large. Free inquiry and free speech within the academic community are indispensable to the achievement of these goals.

We must remind university administrations of their true mission.

2003-08-27T17:54:00.000-07:00

Moore's monument has been removed and everywhere there are signs our society is worse off without adherence to the Ten Commandments. Parents have abdicated their roles as moral guardians, television is growing ever more trashy and exploitative, and young girls are counseled on the joys of sex rather than on the joys of life-long love. Articles appearing today include:

FOX TV's 'Temptation Island' Is Not Only Sleazy, Exploitative, and Mean-Spirited -- It's Playing with Fire, Says Morality in Media

Birthday Party Gone Bad
Mom Accused of Stripping for Boys

Sex and the 'glamour' girl

And we are only wading in the giant cesspool here, folks.

2003-08-26T20:50:00.000-07:00

The plight of Terri Schindler-Schiavo is in the headlines again with the intervention of Governor Jeb Bush.

In certain cases, I support the cessation of medical care, but there are disturbing ambiguities in this case that must not be cast aside. I have watched the video evidence provided by the Terri Schindler-Schiavo Foundation, and I cannot agree with her husband's claim that she is completely unresponsive. And if there is any doubt at all, we must err on the side of life.

2003-08-25T21:41:00.000-07:00

Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore may have erected his monument with the intention of baiting his opponents. He may be abusing his power in ways far more crucial than defending the public display of the Ten Commandments- only a thoughtful review of his record can confirm this for sure. But I believe we are running the risk of discounting a message simply because of the singular unpleasantness of the messenger.

Putting aside the perceived zealotry of Justice Moore, here is the true question at hand: Does the display of the Ten Commandments in any public place threaten religious freedom as established by the First Amendment? The answer to this question is no. Not only is the mere presence of the Ten Commandments in a court house not a threat to our freedom, as religious symbols go, the commandments are not as exclusive as some might have you believe.

Last year, I posted an article by Steve Farrell on how the Founders understood freedom of conscience that certainly applies in this instance. It was religion by force of law, taxation, or the sword to which they objected, not to the acknowledgement of religion- and its influence upon the common law- in the public sphere. From the earliest days of our republic, our representatives have prayed on the floor of Congress, our presidents have instituted fast days, and public servants of all types have appealed to God in their writings and their oratory. There is a tendency in these days to confuse honor, acknowledgement, and personal feelings of exclusion with establishment- but it is the application of the force of law to which the First Amendment refers, not to the prevention of personal discomfort in the open market place of ideas. What matters are the decisions made inside the courtroom, not what may be displayed outside.

In all of this hoopla over Justice Moore’s monument, I have not seen very much discussion on what is actually said in the verses that constitute the Ten Commandments. (Verses quoted from here on out will be from the New American Bible.) The commandments form the basis of three major world religions practiced by billions of people worldwide. Granted, it is not an entirely universal document- the first verses are unabashedly monotheistic:

Then God delivered all these commandments:

I, the Lord, am your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that place of slavery.

You shall not have other gods besides me.

You shall not carve idols for yourselves in the shape of anything in the sky above or on the earth below or in the waters beneath the earth;

You shall not bow down before them or worship them. For I, the Lord, your God, am a jealous God, inflicting punishment for their fathers’ wickedness on the children of those who hate me, down to the third and fourth generation;

But bestowing mercy down to the thousandth generation, on the children of those who love me and keep my commandments.

You shall not take the name of the Lord, your God, in vain. For the Lord will not leave unpunished him who takes his name in vain.

But, monotheistic or not, the laws put forth in the Ten Commandments have influenced the ethical belief systems of the majority of Americans, whether they are cognizant of that fact or not. In truth, the later half of the commandments lay down a blueprint for a good society that is universal in its application:

Remember to keep holy the sabbath day.

Six days you may labor and do all your work,

But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord, your God. No work may be done then either by you, or your son or daughter, or your male or female slave, or your beast, or by the alien who lives with you.

In six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, but on the seventh day he rested. That is why the Lord has blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.

Most Americans do not see the sabbath in fully religious terms as do the Jews, but consider the wording of these verses. The physical and spiritual rest found on the sabbath is an experience that God has opened to all- adults, children, animals, and the strangers among us. (The Bible mentions slaves as well, as slavery did exist in Biblical times. Obviously, that does not apply in America today.) Who could object to such inclusiveness?

Honor your father and your mother, that you may have a long life in the land which the Lord, your God, is giving you.

You shall not kill.

You shall not commit adultery.

You shall not steal.

You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male or female slave, nor his ox or ass, nor anything else that belongs to him.

All of the above are also fully inclusive moral laws to which all but the most debased among us can agree. Again, who can object to laws against stealing, infidelity, lying, jealousy, and murder?

If anything, our current troubles can almost certainly be traced back to individuals and groups who have abandoned the great blueprint embodied in the Ten Commandments. We could only benefit from its display.

2003-08-22T20:11:00.000-07:00

SOMETHING'S FUNNY HERE: Death tolls from the heat wave in France are now being reported around 10,000. This seems unbelievably astronomical to me, especially in a purportedly First World country. If these figures are true (and I have my doubts), then what is Chirac doing cooling his heels in Quebec? He has a major humanitarian crisis on his hands!

I think Mark Steyn hits the nail on the head in his recent column:

Jacques Chirac, en vacances just up the road from me in North Hatley, Quebec, took time out of his three-week holiday to issue a statement on events in Baghdad, where 20 people died on Tuesday. But he didn't bother to interrupt his vacation to issue a statement on events in France, where so many people have died, the funeral homes are standing room only and they're having to store bodies in the freezers at the fruit and veg markets.

Now that his old pal and nuclear client has been removed from power, M Chirac is utterly irrelevant to the future of Iraq. But surely France still falls within his jurisdiction, doesn't it?

...

In Paris this spring, a government official explained to me how Europeans had created a more civilised society than America - socialised healthcare, shorter work weeks, more holidays. We've just seen where that leads: gran'ma turned away from the hospital to die in an airless apartment because junior's sur la plage. M Chirac's somewhat tetchy suggestion that his people should rethink their attitude to the elderly was well taken. But Big Government inevitably diminishes its citizens' capacity to take responsibility, to the point where even your dead mum is just one more inconvenience the state should do something about.

The disregard for the recently deceased is especially shocking.

2003-08-22T19:59:00.000-07:00

WAPO's MORAL COMPASS CAN'T FIND NORTH: Appearing in today's edition of the Washington Post is an article that romanticizes transgendered prostitutes. The most ridiculous quotations:

Life as a prostitute is not easy. Life as a transgender prostitute is harder still, activists in the transgender community say.

Yes, life as a prostitute tends to be difficult. This is not because of societal intolerance- this is because prostitution attracts the criminal or psychologically disordered element. Let's have some common sense here.

"These women are in such a difficult position. Nobody would want to be in their shoes," says Katherine Rachlin, a clinical psychologist and gender specialist in Greenwich Village. She's been working with transgenders for 15 years, and transgender prostitutes -- there are many in Manhattan's meatpacking district, she says -- in the last few years.

"At any stage, they can be beaten up by customers, by lovers, by family members," says Rachlin. "And some of them don't feel the need to disclose because they have a sense of rightness: They are female regardless of their body and regardless of what anyone else says. I'm overgeneralizing here, but for a transgender woman to tell a man that she is a male goes against everything in yourself. So they use their own moral compass, they decide how to handle the situation. There's not a right or wrong answer here."

There's not a right or wrong answer here? Sure there is. There's an old fashioned virtue called honesty, and society can only function when everyone is expected to abide by it. We don't let certain individuals off the hook simply because they are members of the fashionable minority groups of the moment.

Look, I am open to the idea that there are genuine cases of gender identity confusion. But, as with gays, my toleration does not extend to obviously dangerous sexual lifestyles. To me, that shows a callous lack of concern for the health and well being of these people.

2003-08-21T21:23:00.000-07:00

HEH: As soon as I mentioned net speak, I noticed that MSN had an article posted on that very subject.

2003-08-21T19:55:00.000-07:00

"POWERPOINT IS EVIL": When I first saw the title to this article, I laughed. But upon reflection, I believe this author is touching on a truth. Between automatic spelling and grammar checks, PowerPoint bullets, and the infamous net speak, true literacy has been devalued in this computer-centered culture and the young are the worst offenders. No where is this literacy gap more evident than on the fan fiction uber-site, fanfiction.net. Scan the Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings sections especially to see what I mean.

2003-08-21T19:16:00.000-07:00

JUST IN CASE YOU THINK THEY'RE KIDDING:

You can't negotiate with this mentality, folks, no matter how much you may wish it were possible.

2003-08-20T11:41:00.000-07:00

THE UN WAS HOIST BY ITS OWN PETARD: Burried deep in an AP story on yesterday's bombing is this not entirely suprising revelation:

Except for the recently built concrete wall, U.N. officials at the headquarters refused heavy security because the United Nations ``did not want a large American presence outside,'' said Salim Lone, the U.N. spokesman in Baghdad.

The United Nations went into postwar Iraq with trepidation. Relations with Washington were at an all-time low and the strains led the U.N. Security Council to authorize a loosely defined mission forced to work with the U.S.-led occupation.

But U.N. officials in Iraq, trying to maintain an image of neutrality which has long allowed them to operate in some of the most hostile environments, deliberately decided to forgo tighter security measures which the U.S. military could have provided. (Emphasis mine.)

Twenty-plus people are now dead because of this arrogance. Congratulations.

2003-08-19T13:54:00.000-07:00

AND THE TERROR CONTINUES IN ISRAEL: At least 18 dead, including 3 children, in Jerusalem bus bomb. (Note: Registration is required to access the link.)

2003-08-19T13:43:00.000-07:00

HEADLINE NEWS: An explosion in Iraq claims the lives of 20, including a major UN official. Developing...

2003-08-19T09:42:00.000-07:00

Well, looky here- I got myself a brand new live feed from the Bush campaign. Being a political pragmatist, I have decided to support President Bush in the 2004 campaign. Have I agreed with every decision made by this administration? No. I don't think that, given the current political climate, it is possible for any president to achieve everything on the social conservative wish list. But as an unabashed hawk, I do appreciate Bush's willingness to throw our weight around in the world a bit. And I also like him as a man.

Now, is this decision subject to change? Of course it is. We're still more than a year away from the election. As the months pass, we'll have to see what develops.

2003-08-18T20:49:00.000-07:00

THE FRAUD OF SEX EDUCATION: Sex these days is a very difficult topic to avoid. On our magazine racks, headlines such as the following shout at us while we wait at the check out counter:

“Turn Him On Like Crazy”
“Sexy Breasts: A Daring Trick Only a Cosmo Girl Would Try”
“How to Make Him Fall Hard”
“Kirsten Dunst Lets Her Wild Side Show” (Taken from the April, 2001, issue of Cosmopolitan)

Popular recording "artists" sing proudly about promiscuity. On many of our most popular television programs, main characters engage in serial monogamy (or even riskier behaviors) and never face the real world consequences. The message is aggressive, and it is inescapable- sex is about pleasure, it is cool, and those who question the uninhibited expression of sexuality are obviously fascist, moralistic prudes.

I began thinking about this topic again last week when I saw an announcement for a flirting class being offered by the tax-payer funded Stop AIDS Project of San Francisco. (Click on the link to learn more about the thrust of this organization.) From the announcement:

Title: Flirt, Date, Score

Program: STOP AIDS

Description: Want to flirt with greater finesse and date with more confidence? Who doesn't? Share your expertise and hear how others are successful in meeting guys and staying safe today.

I believe FReeper ClearCase_guy said it best:

I'm teaching a new class --

Title: Earn money, Cash check, buy lots of stuff
Program: Save for retirement.

Indeed. It is astounding to me that tax-payer funded programs are teaching at-risk populations anything other than the following advice:

If you don't want to get HIV or other STD's, don't use drugs and stop having sex with multiple partners.

Simple, easy, and it only takes one meeting. But our current cultural elites have never let common sense get in the way of their world view- even if their world view is resulting in lifelong illness and death for a rising number of gays.

Perhaps the plight of a minority population doesn't quite get your attention. Then consider this- the very same people who are betraying gays are in charge of comprehensive sex education programs in the public schools. And the disaster that has befallen young gays is only one facet of an epidemic of depression and STD's that has afflicted sexually active teens from all walks of life nationwide.

Dr. Meg Meeker covers this epidemic in a great deal of detail in the stunning Epidemic, but here are a few statistics:

*Every day, 8000 teens will become infected with a new STD.(Epidemic, page 12)
*Nearly one out of four sexually active teens is living with a sexually transmitted disease at this moment.
*Although teenagers make up just 10% of the population, they acquire between 20 and 25% of all STD's. (Epidemic, page 13)

And even more damaging to the case for comprehensive sex education, some studies are now finding that teens continue to fail simple tests on their knowledge of STD's. (Epidemic, page 19) Looking at some of the sex education sites targeted towards teens may help to explain this knowledge void. These sites are full of omissions and misinformation.

Take the teen-oriented site run by SIECUS. The site's goal is announced on the first page:

Let's talk about how to express yourself and take care of yourself, all of yourself.

Notice the emphasis on self expression. This is a feature of many commonly used sex education curricula. In these programs, it is stressed repeatedly- to the point where it becomes a mantra- that sex is a "natural part of life," a necessary feature of being human, a significant part of a person's identity, and a good, fun, healthy activity. All of this is true, to a point. Where SIECUS goes wrong is in its elevation of personal choice:

It's all about making and keeping choices true to yourself.

Remember, for many young persons the choice to be abstinent is the best choice.

Masturbation is just one possible choice.

For others, touching another person in a sexual way, or expressing their sexual interest in someone, may be what they want and choose to do.

It is classic Rousseau- the inner self is the only true judge of what is right and moral. This attitude assumes that human nature is universally good. Social conservatives know better- their world view, informed by religion and supported by history, recognizes that man is fallen, tempted by evil, and goodness is a quality that must be taught, aggressively, by society. They realize too that children and teenagers, who have not yet matured cognitively, physically, or emotionally, are not equipped to make the kinds of life altering choices organizations like SIECUS expect them to make without the firm hand of parental guidance. And I'm not talking about parents sitting down and chatting openly about sex and sexual values- I'm talking about the power of "Thou shalt not."

Now let's take a look at the sort of information SIECUS is giving teens about STD's. Here is the full text of the page discussing how STD's are spread:

Here is how HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are spread:
STDs are spread easily by sexual touch with any part of the body which carries the infection, such as the penis, vagina, anus, and even the mouth. STDs include diseases such as gonorrhea, syphilis, HIV, Chlamydia, genital warts (HPV) and herpes. We now know that if you have an STD it is much easier to become infected with HIV. In 1990 alone, more than three million teenagers became infected with STDs.

Probably by now you know that HIV is the virus that causes AIDS. Because HIV is a very fragile virus, it is hard to become infected with HIV unless you put yourself at risk.

The truth is you probably will not become infected with HIV if you understand how it is transmitted and if you always take actions to protect yourself.

Here is how most people become infected with HIV: by sharing needles and works to shoot drugs or steroids with someone who is infected with HIV. Sharing needles for ear piercing or tattooing can also cause HIV infection, and by taking part in any type of unprotected sexual intercourse - anal, oral or vaginal. Children who are born to HIV-positive women may also be infected with HIV. Remember, an HIV-positive person may not look sick and probably feels healthy. That person may not even know he or she is HIV-positive. But, an HIV-positive person can infect a sexual partner, whether that partner is heterosexual, gay, lesbian, or bisexual.

On the Safer Sex page, we are told the following:

Here are some activities that have some risk of transmission of HIV or other STDs depending on how well you protect yourself:

Sexual Intercourse With Protection. Vaginal and anal intercourse must be protected using lubricated condoms with nonoxynol-9. Another way to increase protection is to withdraw the penis before ejaculation. This is sometimes called "pulling out". It should not be the only kind of protection that is used by a male. Pulling out should be done while using a condom as well. Oral sex on a woman must be protected with a barrier between the mouth and the vulva. You may cut a non-lubricated latex condom lengthwise up the side and open it up to make a flat surface then cover the vulva. All of these will help you protect yourself from becoming infected with HIV and other STDs.

This was what I was told in my own public school a decade ago. The "use a condom" message was drilled into my head so often I could recite it in my sleep. But guess what? It's wrong. Shocked? Believe me, so was I.

Even if we assume that a sexually active teen uses a condom appropriately 100% of the time (and that's a big assumption), it is a lie to say that condoms make sex "safe". Condoms are relatively effective in reducing the risk of contracting HIV. But in a report released in 2001, a panel of researchers sponsored by the NIH (not exactly a conservative interest group) was forced to conclude that while there was evidence that condoms reduced the risk of contracting HIV, there was not enough evidence to conclude that condoms were effective in reducing the risk of contracting other STD's. (Epidemic, page 105) Some STD's, like herpes and HPV, can be transmitted through skin-to-skin contact. Herpes is a lifelong infection that can have a devasting effect on a person's intimate life. And HPV has been linked to almost 100% of all cervical cancers. In other words, even with a condom, a teen can "catch" a devastating cancer from sex.

They didn't tell me this in school. Fortunately, I had already decided for personal and religious reasons to hold off on sex, but I am angry for all the people my age who didn't hold off because they were assured that sex was "safe" with a condom. It is an outrage that the truth about "safe sex" is being sacrificed on the altar of ideology. And it is an outrage that these elites are using our tax dollars to promote a view of sex that is divorced from morality and spirit.

Sex has been reduced to nuts-and-bolts biology- a way to grab instant gratification. But sex used to be seen in a vastly different light. Contrary to popular belief, the Bible is not simply a book filled with endless "Thou shalt not's". Consider the Song of Songs:

How beautiful you are, how pleasing, my love, my delight!
Your very figure is like a palm tree, your breasts are like clusters.
I said: I will climb the palm tree, I will take hold of its branches.
Now let your breasts be like clusters of a vine and the fragrance of your breath like apples,
And your mouth like an excellent wine-
that flows smoothly for my lover, spreading over the lips and the teeth
I belong to my lover and for me he yearns. (Song of Songs, 7:7 - 7:11)

Sex in the Biblical tradition is an honored thing, a union between lovers united until death by marriage. The Bible acknowledges that we are sexual beings and provides for us a series of guidelines for how we may express this side of ourselves in a way that honors ourselves, our lovers, and Creation. This tradition holds out hope that we can achieve something higher and nobler than the satisfaction of our animal lust.

Looking out at our world of hang-ups, hook-ups, disease, and heartache, I choose hope.

2003-08-15T11:09:00.000-07:00

THE IMPORTANCE OF PARENTAL GUIDANCE: Here is a fabulous article written by Clarence Page. The following line regarding the increasingly sexualized clothing being marketed to young girls made me laugh:

Parents, take note: If you don't want your daughter to be a whore, don't put her in the uniform.

Heh. Ain't that the truth. (Speaking of the sexualization of children, I am currently working on a rant covering the fraud of sex education. It should be up either later today or tomorrow.)

But this is the money passage:

No, it takes more than just telling them to do well. You have to follow up. Relentlessly. As a female Memphis psychologist wrote, "Listen to the words, trust the behavior."

Such are the elements of successful parenting, regardless of a family's income bracket, according to William A. Sampson, a black associate professor of public policy at DePaul University in Chicago. He's written two books, "Black Student Achievement: How Much Do Family and School Really Matter?" and "Poor Latino Families and School Preparation: Are They Doing the Right Things" after studying the daily lives of low-income black and Hispanic families in suburban Evanston. His conclusion: For all the fuss that is made about other reforms like vouchers, increased spending, smaller classrooms and standardized tests, "the family is more important in improving schools than the schools themselves." Rich or poor, Sampson found, student performance depends directly on how well parents promote the old-fashioned virtues that schools prize: Discipline, delayed gratification, responsibility, self-control, self-esteem and cooperation.

I'm not sure about the reference to self esteem and cooperation (those terms have become tainted by leftist pedagogy, perhaps forever), but the rest is absolutely correct.

2003-08-15T10:09:00.000-07:00

Commuters sleep on the steps of the Post Office on 33rd Street and Eighth Avenue in New York during the early hours of Friday, Aug. 15, 2003 after being stranded by the city's electrical blackout. (AP Photo/ Mike Appleton)

This might have been my brother's fate. Fortunately, he was not traveling through New York to get to New England yesterday. As it stands, he is still stuck here in Virginia while Amtrak gets the trains squared away. Sigh.

2003-08-14T21:37:00.000-07:00

Well, there we are. I just received an invite to join Live Journal. So from this point forward, my more recreational interests will be discussed at my page over there, while my political/cultural interests will be discussed here.

2003-08-14T14:07:00.000-07:00

And as soon as I hit post and publish for the entry below, some interesting news hit my desk...

NORTHEAST BLACKOUT: The cable news channels are reporting a massive blackout affecting New York City and many points north. Here's the thread on Free Republic. I hope my FReeper friends in that neck of the woods are doing okay!

2003-08-14T13:52:00.000-07:00

I've been lurking around the Babylon 5 fandom for several months now, and I have been rather disappointed to find that fan fiction writers have largely neglected the three characters I listed yesterday as my favorites. I have been working to rectify that myself, but in the meantime, I would like to recommend three stories- two published in the last week and one somewhat older- that I truly enjoyed:

1. Truth or Dare, written by Selena. Published last week, this is a moving and funny short story that marvelously captures the relationship between Londo and G'Kar in B5's fifth season. The ending is delightful, but the two strongest moments are Londo's reflections on his greatest shame and G'Kar's final, impossible dare.

2. Knowing Love, also written by Selena, who is quickly becoming my favorite B5 author. This one focuses on Vir and his love for Londo and is a deeply touching read.

3. Pillow Talk, published in 1998 by Ruth Owen. This is a pure humor piece set in the fifth season starring Londo and G'Kar. I laughed myself silly reading this one.

And while I'm on the subject of good reading material...

FOR YOUR CHILD'S BOOKSHELF: Last year, when I started this blog, one thing I intended to do, as someone who was interested in education in particular, was maintain a regular feature wherein I recommended various books written for younger audiences. Today, I would like to recommend Lois Lowry's novel, The Giver.

The Giver takes place in a community in an unspecified future in which the collectivist ethos has won the day. War does not exist. Pain does not exist. Sexual desire is supressed with drugs. The population is strictly controlled through infanticide and euthanasia. People are assigned to family units and to jobs by the community at large. Individual choice is an anathema, and so is inequality. Even the landscape has been altered- has become flat and colorless- to reflect this move to "sameness."

But there is one member of the community who possesses the memories of the ancients, memories of the world before the "sameness"- the Receiver of Memory. But the current receiver is growing old and a new one must be trained. The main character in The Giver, a twelve year old boy named Jonas, is selected for this honor. And through his experiences with the Receiver of Memory, Jonas comes to understand the true inhumanity of the "sameness" and the true beauty of life as it was lived by the ancients, complete with all the pain, the wrong choices, and the risk. Below is perhaps my favorite passage:

"There are so many good memories," The Giver reminded Jonas. And it was true. By now Jonas had experienced countless bits of happiness, things he had never known of before.

He had seen a birthday party, with one child singled out and celebrated on his day, so that now he understood the joy of being an individual, special and unique and proud.

He had visited museums and seen paintings filled with all the colors he could now recognize and name.

In one ecstatic memory he had ridden a gleaming brown horse across a field that smelled of damp grass, and had dismounted beside a small stream from which both he and the horse drank cold, clear water. Now he understood about animals; and in the moment that the horse turned from the stream and nudged Jonas's shoulder affectionately with its head, he perceived the bonds between animal and human.

He had walked through the woods, and sat at night beside a campfire. Although he had through the memories learned about the pain of loss and loneliness, now he gained, too, an understanding of solitude and its joy...

As the passage continues, Jonas is given the memory of Christmas and learns what a family was to the ancients. The very concept of the traditional family seems terribly risky to Jonas compared to the strictly controlled family units of his own community, a community in which "grandparents" do not exist because the old are cared for in a separate facility. But all the same, he senses something truly wonderful in that memory of the family- with grandparents- gathered around the Christmas tree:

Jonas hesitated. "I certainly liked the memory, though. I can see why it's your favorite. I couldn't quite get the word for the whole feeling of it, the feeling that was so strong in the room."

"Love," The Giver told him.

Jonas repeated it. "Love." It was a word and concept new to him.

This is a truly stunning book that emphasizes the sanctity of individual life. I understand that this book has been banned in certain districts because it deals with some more adult, disturbing themes such as infanticide, euthanasia, and sexual desire. Thus, this recommendation is purely for children who are middle school aged or older. (Though, as always, I leave the final decision up to the parents.) But if you are a parent who wishes to communicate the humanity and compassion of our pro-life, individualist, liberal (in the classical sense) tradition, you will find The Giver to be a powerful instrument.

2003-08-13T15:12:00.000-07:00

When you're out of work, you often find yourself doing some very odd things to alleviate the boredom. Recently, I re-discovered Babylon 5 while rooting through my old VHS collection, and now I am insanely addicted.

Granted, I don't love all of B5, nor do I think JMS is the second coming. I look at the show with a definite critical eye. In brief, here is my overall impression of the series:

Things I LOVED

1. Londo Mollari. He is the ultimate tragic figure. If a better warning about the consequences of bad choices has ever been written for television, I haven't seen it. Sitting down to write for him as a fan fiction author is akin to peeling an onion. There are layers upon layers in his psyche. He is a murderer, a profound romantic, a brilliant manipulator, and a man of great personal warmth and humor. He can spin an amiable, colorful, tragi-comic tale about the madness of existence one moment, and in the next strike down a perceived enemy with unparalleled ruthlessness. What I believe truly elevates Londo to greatness as a character is the fact that JMS didn't simply draw him as a stock villain. Londo's motivations were always clear and sometimes sympathetic, even if his actions were not. And Londo did not remain in one place- his redemption arc is one of the most moving elements of the series. You may or may not believe that Londo ultimately died a saved man, but he is a marvelously rich character nonetheless. And he is brought to life by a true talent, Peter Jurasik.

2. G'Kar, played by the other great talent, Andreas Katsulas. One thing that has always struck me about B5 is its respectful and reverent treatment of spirituality and religion. G'Kar's arc, which serves as a gripping counter-point to Londo's, is about an individual who discovers faith and enlightenment through tremendous personal struggle and pain. This is another brilliant, multi-faceted character.

3. The evolving relationship between Londo and G'Kar. I have always believed that Londo and G'Kar's duet (they are joined at the hip, those two) is the emotional core- the soul- of the show. Whenever I have cried over this show, it has been, with only some exceptions, because of these two characters. The other characters and the other storylines certainly have their moments, but no other threads consistently throb with the passion and the pain that live within these men and the relationship that evolves between them. I think if Delenn were here, she would nod in agreement when I say that, in a strange way, Londo and G'Kar are soul mates, destined to struggle, to fight, to bleed, to seek redemption, and ultimately to die together.

4. Vir Cotto. There is a special place in my heart for this sweet little Centauri and the story of his coming of age. There is a difference between innocence and virtue, and Vir's story is about revealing that difference. Vir arrived an innocent- untested, naive, obedient, and uncommonly gentle, but not truly virtuous because he had never really seen evil and had never been presented with the choice between evil and good. Throughout the first three years, we saw Vir start to go through a profound transition from the innocent to the virtuous man- arguing with Londo, then apologizing to G'Kar, then acting on behalf of the Narns as Abrahamo Lincolni, etc. But it was the assassination of Cartagia that truly ended Vir's childhood- from that point forward, he carried himself with the gravitas and sadness of a hard-won maturity. Stephen Furst was absolutely charming in this role and did an excellent and subtle job conveying Vir's incremental growth.

5. The relationship between Londo and Vir. Londo was often a difficult man to love, but Vir did love him, unconditionally. And this struck me as incredibly poignant. This relationship, though quieter and less central, did much to reveal not only Vir's courageous heart, but also the more tender sides of Londo's nature.

6. The Centauri/Narn conflict. Out of all the long term storylines, this was the most successful because it was so deeply personalized for me through two strong, emotionally riveting characters.

7. The fall of Centauri Prime and the infiltration of the Drakh. This was the crowning element of Londo's tragic arc, successful because, again, we saw it through the eyes of strong characters.

Things I Only Liked

1. Garibaldi and Ivanova, both interesting and solid characters, if not quite as emotionally affecting as the characters mentioned above.

2. The Shadow War. An epic conflict weakened by an anti-climatic ending- oh, if we just sit around and speechify for an act or two, maybe they'll just cut it out and leave. Yes, I understand and appreciate that the war was over ideology, but the philosophizing in the conclusion was a bit much. And the whole "Get the hell out of our galaxy!" thing was just plain ridiculous.

3. The Earth Civil War. This conflict was relatively interesting, but it was weakened by the fact that we never really got to know the primary villain, President Clark, and by the fact that I never really found Captain Sheridan a compelling character. The fascism parallels were good, however, if a little obvious.

4. The Minbari Civil War. This conflict brought some wonderful performances out of Mira Furlan, particularly with the "I think of my beautiful city in flames" monologue. However, I think this civil war ended way too abruptly to be as emotionally affecting as the conflicts mentioned under the "LOVED" heading. The starfire wheel was a little overwrought.

5. Sinclair as Valen. A good story weakened by the utter lack of charisma of the actor.

Things That Made Me Crazy

1. The constant shifting of the focus away from familiar characters in favor of previously unknown guest characters in the fifth season. This worked once ("Passing Through Gesthemane"). But it wore on my patience in the last year. To this day, I still violently hate "A View from the Gallery." Awful, awful episode. One day, I will write a longer essay on exactly why.

2. The constant intrusion of the writer's voice to canonize Sheridan and Delenn, also an annoying feature of the fifth season. Okay, they're heroes. We. Get. It. Crimeny!

3. Marcus Cole. The ultimate Marty Stu- far too perfect to be interesting. In later years, Sheridan and Delenn also slipped into Mary Sue/Marty Stu territory and hence became dull.

I've also been amusing myself by taking personality tests at Quizilla. Here's what the "Ultimate Personality Test" came up with for me:

Seer

The ULTIMATE personality test
brought to you by Quizilla

That sounds about right. And just for fun, I decided to run this test for Londo and Vir (Definitely an item for the YKYBWTMB5W file, yes?) For Londo, I got this result:

Exhibitionist

The ULTIMATE personality test
brought to you by Quizilla

For Vir:

Protector

The ULTIMATE personality test
brought to you by Quizilla

Amazingly accurate! Heh.

And finally, on the culture war front, an article by Mark Steyn on the banning of speech that is critical of the homosexual community.

I'm a little more... I suppose "liberal" would be the correct term... about homosexuality, but Steyn has hit the nail on the head with this one. The current gay agenda isn't about tolerance- it's about forcing an anti-family, anti-religion, anti-decency world view onto our society.

As I said, I don't consider homosexuality itself an abomination. But I do think the homosexual community should be open to criticism like any other group.

What bothers me in particular is the conflation of homosexuality with all forms of sexual deviance. I just don't get why these activists think being gay means you must embrace promiscuity, hardcore porn, and public lewd behavior. There is enough evidence out there to show that such a lifestyle is extremely dangerous to one's physical and emotional health. Why sentence your community to death, spiritual and physical, in this fashion?

The focus on identity politics is troubling too. One's sexual orientation should not be the whole of one's identity. Each individual is valuable and unique and may call himself by many names.

Just my opinion, for what it's worth.

2002-09-16T11:05:00.000-07:00

"FORCE" VERSUS PERSUASION:

Unlike the moral cowards who tremble in the presence of God-hating intimidation groups, and their incessant charges that mere verbal and written defenses of religious principles constitute force - our progenitors knew what force was, and what it was not, and as moral beings stood up responsibly, faithfully, on God's side, as they saw it, in whatsoever situation they were, in public and in private, in the legislature and in the classroom…

Steve Farrell, in a much needed article on the subject of religious freedom.

2002-09-08T12:35:00.000-07:00

WHEN DAVE BARRY GETS SERIOUS... he really gets serious- here is his beautiful article in honor of the heroes of Flight 93.

2002-09-06T04:59:00.000-07:00

AFTER A LONG ABSENCE... I have finally returned, and I am writing from a different location. This morning, I would like to alert you to an exciting campaign to take back our college campuses, headed by the refreshingly passionate David Horowitz.

2002-08-23T15:31:00.000-07:00

ALL YOUR CHILDREN ARE BELONG TO US: California's liberal fascists are at it again.

2002-08-23T10:37:00.000-07:00

CULTURAL UNDERSTANDING WITH A SICK TWIST: I am a young woman who stands at a not very impressive 5'4". My upper body strength leaves something to be desired. And I am not stupid. I avoid walking around East Baltimore at night unescorted. I remain alert when I am walking through the city alone. I understand that much of the responsibility for my safety rests on my shoulders.

But I also depend upon a larger societal attitude that believes the safety of young women like me is a serious concern. I depend upon a societal attitude that finds the assault or exploitation of a woman to be a hideous moral evil that should never be countenanced, no matter the background of the attacker.

It has become increasingly clear that the worldwide left does not hold my safety as a young woman in high regard. They wish to rob me of my right to carry a firearm for my personal defense. They excuse a man taking sexual advantage of a female inferior... as long as that man continues to genuflect to the appropriate causes. And now, the latest betrayal.

Anger and fear do not even begin to cover what I feel about these latest pleas for "cultural understanding." Here's what I "understand"- if any man touches me- black, white, or brown- when I have not solicited the advance, the next thing he will feel is my hands grasping his genitalia and twisting with all my strength. How's that for cultural understanding?

2002-08-22T15:59:00.000-07:00

UGH: Reason one and reason two why there is no way in hell my kids are going to public school.

2002-08-22T15:58:00.000-07:00

THREE NEW LINKS ADDED AT LEFT: I've added links to three blogs run by smart, thoughtful individuals.

2002-08-21T06:29:00.000-07:00

WHOO-HOOOOOOOOO! Jihad Cindy has been ousted! Cel-e-brate good times, come on...

2002-08-20T10:30:00.000-07:00

PUTTING POLITICS ASIDE WHEN THE CIRCUMSTANCE CALLS FOR IT: Compare the class of Richard Dreyfuss's article on Charlton Heston with the sniveling, snot-nosed screeds of Bryan Curtis or Juan Andrade. Gleefully reveling in the misfortunes of a prominent political opponent is sick and debased- I don't care how strongly you may feel about gun control.

2002-08-20T09:44:00.000-07:00

PRACTICAL ENVIRONMENTALISM: James K. Glassman's article in JWR outlines a premise that I believe environmentalists must consider: Protecting the environment requires money. It is our affluence here in the United States that allows environmentalists the luxury to promote their cause, and that affluence was generated by capitalism. Perhaps it is less satisfying to wait for the market to reach the stage where environmentalism becomes easily affordable- but as the catastrophic environmental effect of a rigidly controlled economy in former communist countries demonstrates, attempting to force the issue through nondemocratic, bureaucratic means is hardly effective in the long run.

While I'm on the subject of the environmental movement, I think another reason I approach the cause with a healthy amount of skepticism, besides the fact that they seem extremely unwilling to acknowledge that clean air requires wealth generated in a dynamic economy, is their expectation that only the strong arm of the government can manage environmental concerns. This faith in government- this abdication of private responsibility- is incredibly foolish. The government can't even deliver our mail in a timely fashion, and it certainly can't keep our railroads competitive. Stories of the incompetence of government (How exactly do millions of dollars simply disappear from the books?) are legion. Perhaps these environmentalists need to get off their bums, pool their own resources, and buy that wilderness preserve on their own.

But being the enemies of private property and personal responsibility that they are, I doubt most greens would go for that plan. And I am not overstating their laziness. This past April, anti-globalist greens joined other left wing interest groups in a giant anti-American demonstration in the middle of DC. Refusing to allow them to take to the streets without being answered, Free Republic was there as well, staging a counter-demonstration. We left our corner of the Mall cleaner than how we found it- but as several of my fellow counter-demonstraters report, the trash and debris left by these supposed "friends of the Earth" was simply incredible- they couldn't be bothered to clean up after themselves, I suppose because they expected the DC government to do it for them.

2002-08-19T13:16:00.000-07:00

POINT/COUNTER-POINT: As someone who deeply loves and appreciates the open debate that should characterize the democractic process, I give you two opposing answers to our current burning foreign policy question: Should we attack Iraq? Brent Scowcroft says NO. Jay Nordlinger says YES.

2002-08-19T12:57:00.000-07:00

A CASE OF THE GIMMIE, GIMMIE, GIMMIES: Anti-reparations bulldog David Horowitz reports on this weekend's laughable demonstration on the Mall.

What I find especially amusing about this pathetic display of victimhood and the entitlement ethos is the genuflections to Marcus Garvey, he of "Back to Africa" fame. Anyone with any true knowledge of history knows that Garvey's push to abandon the notion of achieving equality in America in favor of immigration to Africa made him the darling of the Ku Klux Klan and the equally racist Anglo-Saxon Clubs of America. If only I could've been in attendance with the following sign: "The KKK loved Marcus Garvey." Though I suppose that might've earned me a fist in the mouth.

I am heartened by the fact that, by all accounts, attendance at this event was pathetically low. One only hopes this is a signal that the media-recognized "Black Leaders" and their brand of victim politics are on their way to becoming irrelevant. As John H. McWhorter writes in this summer's City Journal, there are more pressing issues facing the African American community than the nursing of old wounds, and there are more serious people and groups out there who are working to tackle these issues. I would like to alert you to the activities of one such group, the African American Republican Leadership Council, and to urge Republican Party leadership to embrace this group post haste.

2002-08-19T06:24:00.000-07:00

HEH: An amusing article from a Canadian newspaper makes my kosher requirements look easy.

2002-08-13T11:47:00.000-07:00

A SPOT-ON CARTOON: Bruce Tinsley's Mallard Fillmore comic is pure genius. This week, he has the aforementioned fast-food lawsuit in his sights, but check out the archives as well.

2002-08-13T11:45:00.000-07:00

AN INTERESTING PERSPECTIVE ON MORNING PRAYER: A thought-provoking article by Rabbi Avi Shafran- I've never thought of morning prayer this way, but this really struck a cord.

2002-08-07T23:26:00.000-07:00

SURRENDER NOW, GREAT SATAN: Up late, I give you this week's obligatory link to Ann Coulter. Ah, nothing like a little sarcasm on a very, very early Thursday morning!

2002-08-07T16:46:00.000-07:00

THE IMPURE DIAMOND: By this, I'm referring to the baseball diamond. With a potential strike on the horizon, Benjamin Shapiro writes about the fate of the game. My younger brother provides a guest comment, as he is far more knowledgeable about the game:

First of all...I wholeheartedly agree with his idea of abolishing the minimum pay requirements. I would also do salary arbitration more often, and with a slightly different format. (if you are unfamiliar...currently in baseball...after playing baseball at the big league level for 3 years, all players are eligible for salary arbitration, where they propose how much they should get paid, and the owners make a counter-proposal, and then a panel of baseball officials decide how much he's really worth between those two figures...this goes on until a player has been around for 6 years...at which point he's an unrestricted free agent if his team can't sign him).

The Seattle Mariners create an increase in away attendance figures of about 23% according to the Wall Street Journal and ESPN's away attendance figures.

The Yankees create a 34% increase. The Detroit Tigers create a 51% DEcrease in attendance.

The Mariners should get rewarded for generating interest in foreign stadiums and producing money for MLB.

The arbitration system is flawed in that it is also un-American as is...right now, the player and the owners of his team are the only ones that can get in on the bidding for his services, and because of this, the panel deciding his salary operates in a vaccuum...totally unaware of what other teams might or might not pay for his services. The other problem is that once a team and player agree to go to arbitration, the team is contractually obligated to pay whatever the arbiters decide is the fair amount of money. I propose that salary arbitration occur every year of a players career through year 5, and that it entail ALL 30 TEAMS making bids for his services to the commissioner...at which point the commish tells the players' team what the highest bid was, and that team can either pay that high bid, or release him to the FA market.

Another big problem with revenue sharing right now is that players signed from foreign markets like Japan don't benefit their MLB team as much as they should. Right now, any money MLB earns from countries that are not the US or Canada is put into a central fund and divided evenly amongst the 30 teams. This is total crap. Why should the Montreal Expos get 1/30 of the Ichiro/Kazu profits the Mariners generate each year for signing and promoting them abroad? Mariner games are broadcast in Japan every day...and this contract is worth almost a BILLION dollars over the three years of Ichiro's stay in Seattle. And that all goes straight to Bud Selig. That's just wrong.

To compensate for that flaw...MLB makes the process of bidding on Japanese or other foreign players a bit silly...all teams have the opportunity to bid on Ichiro, but they are sealed bids, which Selig sends to his current team in Japan, at which point, the highest bid is the winner (forcibly) and has the rights to negotiate for a new MLB contract with that player. If they fail to do so, the player has to play in Japan that year. That's just doofy. Why not allow the player to play in America at his own will, and let HIM pick the team he wants to sign with?!

There's also a problem with the way foreign born amateur players are drafted to the bigs. As it stands now, teams have the right to talk exclusively
with players and sign them for huge amounts of money if they live in Cuba, but American players have to go through the drafting process and be up for grabs by any team...zuh? Why not just make all baseball players have to sign up for the world wide draft if they want to play in the MLB system...and let all 30 teams have a whack at them instead of allowing the Yankees to have practically every Dominican prospect uncontested, WHILE STILL getting good draft picks in the actual draft.

So to recap:

Institute a world wide draft.

End the foreign posting system, and allow foreign players to be free agents at the discretion of their teams.

End all revenue sharing and luxury tax talk, and institute a system of rewarding teams for the profits they actually generate.

End all foreigh revenue sharing.

Abolish the minimum wage.

End MLB's monopoly exemptions and make it a public business like any other.

End the 10-5 rights. (players currently have a right to demand a trade and limit the list of teams they can be traded to if they've played at least 10 years in the majors, at least five of those with their current club)

Revamp salary arbitration to be more a reflection of market value of the player while still protecting his current team and giving them the opportunity to have access to him first.

It should be noted that even as we speak (though Selig won't admit it) the free market is beginning to have an affect on player salaries, and resulting team success. Before the off-season, Bret Boone, Barry Bonds, Chan Ho Park, Sammy Sosa, Larry Walker, and many many other free agents were expected to break the bank with new huge contracts...almost every FA wound up taking arbitration because no one would offer them the money they thought they would get. Including Bret Boone...the Mariners offered him 8 mil per for 3 years guaranteed with a 4th club option year at 9 mil. He rejected that thinking he would get offers of 10-12 mil per for many years from other teams in need of a second baseman. Nothing happened for two months. No one called...no one made offers. Boone took arbitration and after a two week wait, took the original offer. :D

Thankyou, Matt, for your contribution.

2002-08-07T10:20:00.000-07:00

JONAH GOLDBERG, I LOVE YOU: But there is something you forgot to mention in today's article on JWR. Many people who are against war with Iraq fall into Danziger's "safe" categories as well. I've had several encounters with anti-war activists, and a large proportion of them have been privileged, white college students who certainly wouldn't be called to the front lines. What Danziger is doing is pulling up the old class war cliche- i.e., that it is easy for conservatives to call for war because they are the party of the wealthy, and thus their backers aren't likely to face the consequences. That's BS with a capital B.

In fact, the people who have the most to lose are often passionately in favor of war. On a train going into DC this past April, I met a young man who had just enlisted. Overhearing my tangle with a couple of anti-war activists (I was on my way to Free Republic's counter-protest), he joined in, expressing his disgust with the concept of "peace" in a manner that was far more colorful than my own. He was young, able-bodied, and had already joined the military- the chances that he might one day be on the front were surely much higher than anyone else's in that Metro car. And yet he was one of the most passionate defenders of the war in Afghanistan I had ever encountered. Surely, he knew full well the risk to himself that was involved- but that didn't seem to matter to him.

This is something that leftists will never truly understand or appreciate. Countless young men who are eligible for military service (and even some who are not- my younger brother would fight in heartbeat if he were not significantly visually impaired) believe America is worth dying for. And those who love these men believe America is worth the sacrifice. My mother, wife of a now retired Naval officer, surely believed this when she recited her wedding vows. And I certainly believe the safety of my country is worth the loss of a father, brother, husband or son, even though I would absolutely mourn such a loss.

Danziger is deluded if he believes that the only people in favor of war are those for whom the decision is easy.

2002-08-06T07:28:00.000-07:00

AN ARTICLE MY MOTHER WOULD LOVE: Robert Tracinski's article about the immorality of the welfare state is well worth a read.

No one is more against "social programs" than my mother. Whenever my father and I bring up the subject in her presence, Charlotte, normally a sweet and unassuming woman, becomes a lioness. "Well, I'm just sick and tired of people thinking they are entitled to something from the government!" she will burst out, a passion in her voice that is rarely heard. It's a passion that comes from the experience of a difficult life conquered by her own will.

As Theodore Dalrymple writes in an old favorite of mine, it has become unfashionable to suggest that poverty may be the result of individual choice. Such a suggestion is seen as overly harsh and judgemental. But as Dalrymple's accounts of the lower class in England and elsewhere (Life at the Bottom is an excellent collection of his work- I highly recommend it) demonstrate, this rush to nonjudgement merely serves to comfort its champions and does little to help the poor. Allowing people to follow paths that lead to unhappiness and squalor to bolster one sense of his own tolerance is not compassion- it is self-absorption.

2002-08-02T13:02:00.000-07:00

HEART OF DARKNESS: The bombing of Hebrew University in Israel calls to my mind Theodore Dalrymple's fine meditation on the value of civilization, published in the wake of the 9/11 attack. That terrorists would target a university that welcomes people from many different nations and walks of life demonstrates their barbarism.

Our heritage makes clear that certain ways of life are superior and calls us to respect the experience of those who came before us (i.e., our elders and our ancestors). Implicit in this is the notion that you cannot do whatever you want- that you must learn the meaning of self control and personal responsibility. The anti-westerner cannot countenance culturally demanded limitations on his own behavior- they are boring and, worse, unforgivably oppressive. So, like the brat teenager who disobeys his curfew or a two year old throwing a tantrum because he does not want to leave the playground, he rebels.

Children also hate unfairness. When my brother and I were younger, we constantly demanded exact equality between us, whether the issue was the volume of soda in our cups or our bedtimes. But as our parents constantly reminded us, exact equality was impossible. Matthew and I were different children- Matt was docile, I extremely difficult and willful. Being different, we required different approaches. This idea that inequality is built in to human nature and unalterable is an anathema to a child- and to an anti-westerner.

Anti-Westernism is childhood rebellion writ large. The fact that certain intellectuals can express their rebellion with apparent eloquence does not alter the psychology that lies at the root of their ideology. In the enemy, I see the toddler screwing up his face, throwing himself to the floor and kicking his legs because he can't have what he wants when he wants it.

2002-08-01T06:42:00.000-07:00

MAN OF THE (FAMOUS, WEALTHY) PEOPLE: Ann Coulter's finely tuned instinct for hypocrisy is extremely entertaining. This week, she lampoons Al Gore.

2002-08-01T06:31:00.000-07:00

THE (FAST FOOD) FEAST OF FOOLS: Larry Elder, David Limbaugh, and Kathleen Parker have all weighed in (no pun intended) on the latest entry in the Parade of Fools. All I can say is, thank God for Caesar Barber! Now I know exactly who I can blame for my gradually expanding rear end. Damn Taco Bell and Pizza Hut for enticing me to consume their dangerous product- it's because of these corporate criminals that I can no longer fit into my favorite black dress slacks!

This case deserves the steady drumbeat of ridicule it has received in the conservative press.

2002-07-31T08:17:00.000-07:00

APOLOGIES FOR THE SPARSENESS OF THE BLOG: I am currently in the process of changing jobs and relocating to rural Massachusetts, so my entries will be fairly irregular for the next few weeks.

2002-07-26T10:00:00.000-07:00

REGISTERING ON CAPTAIN OBVIOUS' WORLD CRISIS MONITOR: As Tom Purcell reports in Jewish World Review, a study appearing in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences has concluded that girls are different from boys- at least when it comes to emotional memory. Groups of men and women were shown evocative photographs and, three weeks later, asked to recall details of those photos. Women were 10 to 15 percent more accurate in their recollections than men.

Of course, with studies like these, it is difficult to distinguish the effects of socialization and the effects of biology. But evidence exists elsewhere that suggests that gender goes far deeper than external genitalia- that the sex hormones have an influence on the structure of the brain, and thus, have an effect on behavior. The story of David Reimer, recounted in the book As Nature Made Him: The Boy Who Was Raised as a Girl, is one dramatic illustration of the reality that gender is more than skin deep. Forced to grow up as a girl after a botched circumcision, Reimer's suffering at the hands of strict behaviorist ideology is a powerful reminder that the nature of men and women cannot be engineered to serve societal whims.

The reality that men and women are different- in physicality and behavior- is no threat to gender equality as long as we understand equality in its true sense. Equality is not total sameness in result- equality is defined by a process that includes opportunity and autonomy.

The misunderstanding of equality as being result-defined- by radical feminists and others on left- is one of the most pernicious misunderstandings to arise in modern times. It has led to an attitude among the elites that smacks of snobbery and totalitarianism- an attitude that encourages meddling in other people's affairs.

To nosy feminist elites, I have this to say: I like being a girl in the traditional sense. I plan on getting married and on having children. I plan on shaping my career around my family rather than the reverse. I am not a sheep or a tool of the patriarchy- I'm a living, breathing, autonomous human being. That I have decided to follow a course in life that does not follow the radical feminist script does not prove that I am benighted and must be saved.

2002-07-25T16:57:00.000-07:00

FOR YOUR CHILD’S BOOKSHELF: Children- and families in general- are a special concern of mine, so periodically I will be reporting on kid-friendly topics. Among those topics will be my continuing list of books that I believe are necessities for conservative parents looking for engaging ways to transmit their values.

Tonight, I would like to focus on an old and widely recognized classic, A Wrinkle In Time. In this cross between science fiction and Judeo-Christian allegory, young misfit Meg Murry (along with her brother, Charles Wallace, and her new friend, Calvin), using a very novel mode of travel, fights the dark force on the planet of Camazotz to rescue her father, a scientist who disappeared while working on a secret experiment for the government.

Evil in the novel is embodied by IT, a powerful and seductive mind that promises freedom from responsibility, unhappiness, inequality and pain. On the dark planet of Camazotz, individual difference has been obliterated- deviations from the collective will are punished. The children instantly recognize the sinister nature of this world. At the end of the eighth chapter, Charles Wallace, under the influence of IT, tries to convince Meg of the desirability of Camazotz. Meg, however, understands such a promise is a lie:

Meg shook her head violently. “No!” she shouted. “I know our world isn’t perfect, Charles, but it’s better than this. This isn’t the only alternative! It can’t be!”

”Nobody suffers here,” Charles intoned. “Nobody is ever unhappy.”

”But nobody’s ever happy, either,” Meg said earnestly. “Maybe if you aren’t unhappy sometimes, you don’t know how to be happy…”

Conservative parents should be heartened by such a simple, yet moving, expression of what Thomas Sowell calls the tragic vision, or the acknowledgement of struggle as a necessary component of the human soul. Also noteworthy is the conservative understanding of equality that informs the story:

[Meg] didn’t know the Gettysburg Address. How did the Declaration of Independence begin? She had memorized it only that winter, not because she was required to at school, but simply because she liked it.

“We hold these truths to be self evident!” she shouted, “that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

As she cried out the words she felt a mind moving in on her own, felt IT seizing, squeezing her brain. Then she realized that Charles Wallace was speaking, or being spoken through by IT.

“But that’s exactly what we have on Camazotz. Complete equality. Everybody exactly alike.”

For a moment her brain reeled with confusion. Then came a moment of blazing truth. “No!” she cried triumphantly. “Like and equal are not the same thing at all!”

In the end, it is Meg's independent spirit and the love she holds for her family that finally rescues Charles Wallace from the power of IT. This is a fantastic book that affirms the importance of freedom and the love of God.

2002-07-25T15:50:00.000-07:00

THE TRAGEDY OF WAR: Though I understand the root of Benjamin Shapiro’s frustrated column in Jewish World Review today, I must take issue with his claim that “One American soldier is worth far more than an Afghan civilian.” I think we should take care not to completely scuttle the sensibilities that distinguish us from the enemy. Concern for civilian populations is a legitimate and noble focus for foreign policy and military strategy. Are we not, in part, fighting against Islamo-fascism on behalf of these people?

What does deserve scorn, however, is the all-or-nothing rhetoric, prevalent on the left, that is constructed to paralyze us in the face of a very real foe. Reality check: War is an ugly business here on the fallen planet Earth. It is particularly ugly in this specific war, as the enemy is not exactly fond of donning easy to recognize accoutrements of battle. No matter how studiously we strive to avoid it, collateral damage is inevitable. Civilian deaths do not, as the left would have it (at least when it comes to criticizing the U.S.- strangely enough, other groups seem to escape this rigorous scrutiny), automatically make a military strike terroristic. Distinctions must be made between accidental and purposeful casualties, and still more distinctions must be made between the will of individuals, cultural attitudes (i.e., how does the culture respond when noncombatants are killed in a conflict), and the official policies of ruling groups.

2002-07-25T15:19:00.000-07:00

BACK, WITH INTERNET RESTORED: I returned from New York in the middle of a driving storm and discovered that my internet service was down for the count. For me, this is a bit like cutting off my oxygen, but fortunately the service was restored today.

2002-07-17T21:37:00.000-07:00

VACATION IN NEW YORK: I will be leaving Thursday morning for New York City and will not return until next Wednesday, July 24. See you then!

2002-07-17T09:44:00.000-07:00

THE DIGNITY OF A QUIET, PRIVATE LIFE: Kathleen Parker's indictment of our let-it-all-hang-out culture is spot on. Reality TV is my family's current guilty pleasure, but that doesn't mean I don't recognize the genre's manipulative, exploitative quality. Nor do I admire the fame-whores who frequently populate these programs. I am far more impressed by those who endeavor to live their lives with due attention paid to responsibility and principle- those whose very existence is defined by the word humility.

FRIVOLITIES: I suppose this admiration for the humble lies at the root of my current raging crush on Canadian comic Colin Mochrie. In my usual tradition of catching on to a TV show long after it has hit the scene, I recently discovered the joyful silliness that is Whose Line Is It Anyway? Where else can the superhero Captain Hair save the world from a shortage of Rogaine? Where else does it become logical to launder a diplomat's garment with the household cat? You can't write sitcoms this bizarrely funny. And like reality TV, we get to catch a glimpse of real human personalities interacting with each other- but without all the backstabbing (though friendly ribbing isn't out of the question, as the oft-targeted Colin would no doubt attest). Colin has become my personal favorite for one very important reason- aside from being a gifted absurdist (he was the source of the laundry-related incident mentioned above), he's managed to maintain an endearingly humble quality in a profession that almost demands exhibitionism. And that is something that deserves admiration.

2002-07-17T05:05:00.000-07:00

FROM THE SICK AND TWISTED FILE: This story, reported yesterday by the Associated Press, brought me to tears. I am not a proponent of legal animal rights, but animal welfare is an absolutely admirable concern. The level of cruelty displayed by the people in this story is sickening.

2002-07-16T22:44:00.000-07:00

Eternal Father, strong to save,

Whose arm hath bound the restless wave,

Who bidd'st the mighty ocean deep

Its own appointed limits keep;

Oh, hear us when we cry to Thee,

For those in peril on the sea!

An embroidery bearing the first verse of the Navy Hymn hung in my home for most of my childhood. It was this hymn that brought my mother to tears as she watched a September 11 memorial. The sacrifice at the heart of “Eternal Father” was a sacrifice with which she was intimately familiar- her brother injured in Vietnam, her husband absent for much of their early marriage.

As I think about how to construct an introductory statement of my beliefs, it is Charlotte, my mother, who comes to mind. Mom is the reason I consider myself a conservative.

I don’t think many on the left are capable of understanding a woman like my mother. Mom, despite coming from a deeply troubled home, graduated with honors from Granger High School in Salt Lake City, Utah. She was a top candidate for the Naval Academy in Annapolis- one of eighty women in the class of 1980, the first class in which women were included. Her participation in the historic gender integration of the Naval Academy is one of which any feminist would be proud.

Her life as a midshipman was an unhappy one, however, so at the end of her plebe year, 1977, she decided to follow a newly appointed ensign- my father- to his first assignment. In 1978 they were married, and in 1979, she gave birth to her first child- me. She stayed home to raise my younger brother and me, maintaining order in the house during those long periods when my father was out at sea and running a business from her sewing room. Today, despite poor health, she continues to find outlets for her creative talents in costume design.

To look at my mother is to see a concrete refutation of several powerful leftist lies.

Despite a domestic existence, she has not withered from boredom- in fact, she considers her two children to be her proudest achievements.

Her willingness to accommodate the demands of her husband’s occupation has not rendered her subordinate to my father. My parents are partners- different, but equal in importance and power.

And counter to perhaps the greatest leftist lie of all, she has not allowed an abusive childhood to dictate her destiny- through it all, she has become a kind, gentle woman and an upstanding citizen.

Potential Charlottes are everywhere- but it takes a society-wide ethic of personal responsibility to nurture them. And it is this ethic of personal responsibility, combined with a belief in universal morality, that provides a common thread for all of my convictions.

No excuses- your life depends upon what you put into it.