Owner: Matters of Manner and Type URL:http://mattersofmannerandtype.blogspot.com Join Date: Tue, 24 Jul 2007 15:26:33 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: This is a weblog of thoughtful conservative commentary on politics, culture and media. Site statistics:Click here
The kids are all wrong - To be a liberal is to hav... 2007-08-05 16:46:00 The kids are all wrong - To be a liberal is to have one's political maturation arrested at about the point of adolescence; this fact alone explains why 90 percent of blacks vote for Democrats (should they be inclined to vote at all.) To be sure, liberalism's politics of race has infantilized blacks and Hispanics to a point where no acceptance of more than an infinitesimal amount of personal responsibility would be expected or seen as appropriate by either whites or minorities. And such a circumstance is not idiosyncratic to race. Liberals readily accept that governments are empowered to legislate economic "equality" by way of elaborate confiscation and redistribution schemes, yet they aver that those self-same institutions are without the franchise to legislate morality.Similarly, the Left informs us that the mortal enemies of America are disenchanted with us because of something we did - never mind that even if that were true, nations and "organizations" (like, uhm, al-Qaeda or shal
Policing the Ranks - Faithful readers will recall ... 2007-08-08 23:13:00 Policing the Ranks
- Faithfulreaders
will recall
a recent entry that brought attention to the plight of two 13 year-old boys, Cory Mashburn and Ryan Cornelison, who were arrested, strip searched and charged with sex abuse and harassment for slapping two of their female classmates on the buttocks. Despite what we may feel about the wisdom of preteen males making horseplay with their female peers, this appeared to represent an unseemly form of misconduct by law enforcement, particularly on the part of the district attorney, Bradley Berry. Thanks to the involvement of the community - which by now includes much of the right-of-center blogosphere - the boys may be eligible for a "civil compromise" which would allow them to avoid a criminal trial.While the case involving Cory and Ryan may well reach some sort of satisfactory ending, another circumstance involving alleged misconduct on the part of elected officials continues to progress, albeit without the possibility of the defendants avo
The Worst of Both Worlds - I should be at least re... 2007-08-11 21:40:00 The Worst of Both Worlds
- I should be at least
relieved, if not overjoyed. As discussed elsewhere, I am (for now) a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), and I am generally nonplussed by the topic of ordination of gay clergy. So one might expect that I would welcome the news that (as reported by the Chicago Tribune) the ELCA voted today to refrain from disciplining congregations who call gay pastors who are in in what the denomination described as a "mutual, chaste, and faithful committed same-gender relationship" and asked that similar forbearance be granted to those ordained clergy who are similarly situated. The final resolution passed by a vote of 538-431, and was seen as a bit of a surprise according to the Tribune, as "it came a day after leaders defeated a measure that would have ended the ban on non-celibate gay clergy."My sense is that those who were gathered at Chicago's Navy Pier meant well with this resolution, in as much as they sought to avoid "f
Maricon = Macaca - The Spanish speaking readers of... 2007-08-10 04:18:00 Maricon = Macaca - The Spanish
speaking readers
of this site will know that the word maricon is a derogatory colloquialism for "faggot" en espanol. The revelation of Bill Richardson's previous use of the word while a guest on Imus in the Morning may turn out to be this year's "macaca" and might well be the straw that breaks the back of his stalled presidential campaign. During a Democratic Presidential forum sponsored by The Visible Vote '08, Washington Post reporter Jonathan Capehart asked Gov. Richardson about Richardson's previous use of the "m-word." As I watched Richardson's response, it was evident that the wind was going out of his sails (and such was the shared opinion of many who watched.) What sticks out for me is that once more and again, Don Imus' show was represented as some sort of safe haven where the rules of political correctness - rules that people like Bill Richardson established, mind you - do not apply. One wonders why it is liberals who have been repeatedly
At the end of the day - It is official. The new da... 2007-08-13 20:40:00 At the end of the day - It is official. The new day is beginning to dawn on the long twilight of benighted liberals, as Karl Rove has announced his resignation effective later this month. That Rove lasted as long as he did speaks to the tenacity that made him a formidable adversary for the Left. Ever the gentleman, he has been gracious in his commentary as he prepares to darken the doors of the White House for the last time.To be sure, Karl Rove was - as his boss (and I suspect friend) called him - the architect. His ability to craft presidential victories against well-funded rivals was nothing short of impressive. The 2004 victory was particularly noteworthy, as was delivered against a near universally single-minded opposition. Rove's ability to deliver overwhelming electoral majorities speaks to his innate understanding of America and her people.But in progressive circles, Rove will be remembered for little more than being the author of scandal. This does not surprise; the Left is b
"At least Jesse James had a gun!" - To paraphrase ... 2007-08-12 16:28:00 "At leastJesseJames
had a gun!" - To paraphrase what a conservative talk show host (whose name escapes me now) said recently, it is entirely likely that ordinary Americans have gotten bored with global warming even before it has happened. To be sure, it is tough to get exorcised about an event of uncertain timing or magnitude of effect - particularly when it's considered against real and present threats to humanity. This may explain a recent Newsweek cover story that aims to expose the network of global warming "deniers." (Nice job with the objective journalism guys!) Since the late 1980s, this well-coordinated, well-funded campaign by contrarian scientists, free-market think tanks and industry has created a paralyzing fog of doubt around climate change. Through advertisements, op-eds, lobbying and media attention, greenhouse doubters (they hate being called deniers) argued first that the world is not warming; measurements indicating otherwise are flawed, they said. Then they claim
To Rehabilitate the Culture, pt. 5 - Being an blac... 2007-08-17 21:11:00 To Rehabilitate the Culture, pt. 5 - Being an black conservative is hardly for those of weak constitution or faint heart, as there are days when it seems like the hardest job in the world. Conservatism for the African American represents something of a permutation of W.E.B. DuBois' "sense of looking at oneself through the eyes of others." While I proudly embrace both my ethnicity and my conservatism, there have been more than a few times when I sensed within myself a conflict between loyalty to the former and allegiance to the latter.To be sure, the conservative critique of American society often abrades hardest against African American culture as it manifests presently. My only solace is the sure knowledge that love of self and kind is not measured or defined by a willingness to abet or overlook dysfunctional and destructive behavior, but by forthrightness in confronting such behavior; I have done as much, and most prodigiously, as evidenced elsewhere.But there are moments when the f
Onward Christian Posers - As mentioned elsewhere, ... 2007-08-16 21:53:00 Onward Christian
Posers - As mentioned elsewhere, the psychological birthmark of liberals is "an acute awareness of how others make them feel about themselves." This has become no more evident than during an e-mail exchange that I had with Kelly Fryer on the matter of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's (ELCA) decision to suspend a church policy that required gay and lesbian clergy to remain celibate (as discussed here.) Kelly is herself a former ELCA pastor and seminary professor, and now dedicates herself to her coaching and consulting business, A Renewal Enterprise, as well as blogging at Reclaiming the F Word.After posting my thoughts on the ELCA's recent decision here and on a sister blog at Townhall.com, I was surprised to receive a comment from Fryer. As a progressive, I agree with much of what you say hear [sic]. First point: We're not a monolithic bloc that all sees things the same way. Second, I wish that what happened at Navy Pier was really as dramatic and im Read more:Onward
Diversity's Ends [Digg] 2007-08-22 15:47:16 The recent murders of three Newark residents by illegal aliens - along with the recent deportation of Elvira Arellano - highlight America's failures of assimilation. Read more:Diversity
, Digg
Diversity's Ends - The last few weeks have not qui... 2007-08-20 22:34:00 Diversity's Ends - The last few weeks
have not quite been art imitating life, but more like life imitating research. It was bad enough that Harvard researcher-cum-policy advocate Robert Putnam's recent study on diversity seemed to suggest that less was better. A Boston Globe article referenced Dr. Putnam's investigation thusly. [A] massive new study, based on detailed interviews of nearly 30,000 people across America, has concluded just the opposite. Harvard political scientist Robert Putnam -- famous for "Bowling Alone," his 2000 book on declining civic engagement -- has found that the greater the diversity in a community, the fewer people vote and the less they volunteer, the less they give to charity and work on community projects. In the most diverse communities, neighbors trust one another about half as much as they do in the most homogenous settings. The study, the largest ever on civic engagement in America, found that virtually all measures of civic health are lower in more Read more:Diversity
2007-08-29 23:40:00 Charlie in Wonderland - What can be said about an economy that has created at least 8.2 million jobs since 2003, has reduced the U.S. poverty rate for the first time this decade and has seen real median household income increase for two years in a row?If you are Charlie Rangel, you bemoan the fact that "[t]oo many Americans find themselves still stuck in the deep hole dug by economic policies favoring the wealthy." This sort of commentary from the Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee bespeaks a disdain for George W. Bush that exceeds Rangel's esteem for the truth. Mr. Rangel's comments notwithstanding, newly released Census Bureau statistics on poverty seem to suggest that the so-called "jobless recovery" has not only improved things for the wealthy, but has also improved the lot of most Americans.To be sure, these data confirm that Mr. Bush's economic policies have reversed the effects of a recession that began prior to his inauguration. But beyond the obvious economic im
The Difference [Digg] 2007-08-29 07:05:54 Republicans and Democrats alike are disturbed by the behavior of Sen. Larry Craig. But liberals and conservatives appear to be upset for different reasons. Read more:Digg
2007-08-28 21:06:00 The Difference - As I write this, Sen. Larry Craig is preparing a statement in regards to his recent arrest following an incident in a restroom at a Minnesota airport. As reported in Roll Call, the allegations against Sen. Craig are disturbing.Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) was arrested in June at a Minnesota airport by a plainclothes police officer investigating lewd conduct complaints in a men’s public restroom, according to an arrest report obtained by Roll Call on Monday afternoon.Craig's arrest occurred just after noon on June 11 at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. On Aug. 8, he pleaded guilty to misdemeanor disorderly conduct in the Hennepin County District Court. He paid more than $500 in fines and fees, and a 10-day jail sentence was stayed. He also was given one year of probation with the court that began on Aug. 8.To be sure, both Republicans and Democrats are rightly upset about the situation. For their part, Republicans are perturbed because the case involves lewd
2007-08-27 17:47:00 All the Difference in the World - Yesterday's New York Times weighed in on the recent contretemps between Dr. James Hansen of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) and that friend of science, Steve McIntyre. A quarter-degree Fahrenheit is roughly the downward adjustment NASA scientists made earlier this month in their annual estimates of the average temperature in the contiguous 48 states since 2000. They corrected the numbers after an error in meshing two sets of temperature data was discovered by Stephen McIntyre, a blogger and retired business executive in Toronto. Smaller adjustments were made to some readings for some preceding years.All of this would most likely have passed unremarkably if Mr. McIntyre had not blogged that the adjustments changed the rankings of warmest years for the contiguous states since 1895, when record-keeping began.Suddenly, 1934 appeared to vault ahead of 1998 as the warmest year on record (by a statistically meaningless 0.036 degrees Fahre
2007-09-02 22:43:00 Coming Home, pt. 2 - I had occasion this forenoon to enjoy a sumptuous brunch while discussing the future of mainline Protestantism. My wife and I were dining with two of our most dear friends, another husband and wife who are members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), as are my wife and I. (I won't bury the first bit of irony; both couples forsook attendance at our respective churches in order to sleep in and then meet at the restaurant.) Over the course of our conversation, the husband became more and more emphatic that the only thing that could save the mainline denominations from their present death spiral is a well-coordinated, all-inclusive marketing strategy that would emphasize the churches' traditions of emphasizing God's gifts of grace and forgiveness.Being one to hold my own council more often than not, I gingerly suggested to my friend that such an idea assumes that people make deliberations about their religious life as they would about a laundry dete
It's still not a divorce... yet. 2007-09-26 21:01:00 In news from the Christian Left, resolution appears to have been reached in regards to a rift between the Episcopal Church (ECUSA) and the world-wide Anglican Communion over the ordination of non-celibate gay and lesbian clergy (as reported by the Guardian Unlimited.) At the end of a six-day meeting of Episcopal bishops in New Orleans, the ECUSA confirmed that it will "exercise restraint by not consenting to the consecration of any candidate to the episcopate whose manner of life presents a challenge to the wider church."The final statement also dealt with the issue of blessing of same-sex unions. The ECUSA pledged "not to authorize for use in our dioceses any public rites of blessing of same-sex unions" (with the caveat that such an agreement would be superseded by a "broader consensus in the communion, or until General Convention takes further action.") The next ECUSA General Convention is scheduled for 2009.It appears evident that the church sees these moratoria as temporary, and th Read more:divorce
10 Questions for HillaryCare [Digg] 2007-09-25 20:48:26 Hillary Clinton's health care plan won't save dollars if it doesn't make sense. Size up the plan with these 10 questions. Read more:Digg
10 Questions for HillaryCare 2007-09-25 20:32:00 With considerable fanfare, Sen. Hillary Clinton unveiled her latest stab at health care "reform" last week with her American Health Choices Plan (AHCP). The plan would require all Americans to purchase health insurance, and purports to offer choice between one's existing coverage or either the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHB) or a public plan similar to Medicare. It aims to provide universal coverage for all Americans, while requiring no new revenue (except a few dineros from those rich folk who benefited from George Bush's tax cuts.)Any plan with this ambitious a scope merits a great deal of scrutiny, and such shall be provided from this quarter. Beyond questioning the wisdom of the idea of government-sponsored health care in the first place, there is benefit in examining the specifics of this particular iteration of "(pre)socialized medicine."1) Census Bureau data inform us that of the 46.9 million people without health insurance in 2006, approximately 10.2 million
Now the Sound, Now the Silence [Digg] 2007-09-24 21:35:38 Today's speech by Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at Columbia University speaks as much to Columbia's denial of reality as to his own. Read more:Digg
, Sound
Now the Sound, Now the Silence 2007-09-24 21:22:00 After all of the flap surrounding Columbia University extending Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad an invitation to speak in a university-wide forum, university president Lee Bollinger (of Gratz v. Bollinger fame) acquitted himself somewhat by way of his introduction (video from MSN and transcript from Columbia.) Bollinger sounded more like a conservative pundit in describing Ahmadinejad as having "all the signs of a petty and cruel dictator," before launching a systematic examination of the Iranian President's record of denying human rights to homosexuals, questioning the Holocaust, funding Islamic terrorism - to include supporting attacks on U.S. troops in Iraq and its nuclear program.But Bollinger's being correct in his critique of Ahmadinejad does not mitigate the university's poor judgment in allowing the him such a forum in the first place. The right thing to do would have been to deny Ahmadinejad the opportunity to begin with. To be sure, Ahmadinejad did not illuminate his thinking Read more:Sound
Why Jena Matters [Digg] 2007-09-23 15:01:23 How politicians and the MSM got it wrong, and why it's important for America to get it right. Read more:Digg
Six Years Hence [Digg] 2007-09-11 21:57:41 What has changed (and what has regrettably remained unchanged) since 9/11/01. Read more:Digg
, Years
Worse Than War [Digg] 2007-10-01 21:52:48 As the situation in Myanmar informs us, there are far worse things than war... Read more:Digg
Worse Than War 2007-10-01 21:30:00 It may be well-established in the minds of a majority of Americans - especially given our travails in the Middle East - that military conflict of any kind is an ultimately pointless effort that leads directly to more suffering than it could ever be worth. It is especially easy to draw such a conclusion in this present age of limited wars with nebulous objectives. The cause of nation-building in particular is especially susceptible to criticism from all corners, as those peoples who are in need of functioning central governments are most often also in need of a shared culture that will undergird and sustain a fledgling government.And so, it is very easy to conclude that war is - to quote deceased soul singers and anti-war liberals - "not the answer." To the thinking of the anti-war Left, there is little to be esteemed as infinitesimally - and avoided so assiduously - as war, and nothing is to be as devoutly wished as peace. Of course peace has a strange definition to this brand of pro
Take it Like a Man 2007-10-11 22:05:00 In comments made elsewhere, I proposed that the best argument for allowing same-sex couples to participate in civil unions was that such arrangements would provide gays and lesbians an opportunity to further "take their rightful places as fully-formed adults." It is my sense that by providing a legal approximation of marriage to homosexuals, they can gain for themselves the same advantages as heterosexuals in similarly committed relationships, and society can reap the benefits that accrue from increased familial stability.If the integration of gays and lesbians into the fabric of American society makes good sense - and I would argue that as much is abundantly the case - then we need not stop with promises made at the county courthouse. A logical extension of this idea would encompass oaths of military service made by gay and lesbian recruits. The present "Don't ask, don't tell" (DADT) stalemate was as despicable an executive order as any president ever issued, and is wholly untenable
Sauce for the Gander 2007-10-09 16:45:00 With great regret, I must direct your attention again to the matter of Sen. Larry Craig (R-ID). In an apparent case of one's self-image far outstripping their self-respect, Sen. Craig has made it clear that he intends to stay in office, concluding that "it is possible for me to work here effectively" (as reported by NPR.) It is yet unclear to this observer how such could be the case, as Mr. Craig not only was charged with, but plead guilty to a criminal offense.Indeed, his guilty plea was sufficient enough on its own merit such that a Minnesota judge refused to allow him to withdraw it. As discussed elsewhere, the root of my exasperation and disgust with Craig lies not in any alleged hypocrisy on his part, but in the arrogance that underlies his belief that he has a divine right to hold office, irrespective of his criminal behavior.Of course - American culture being what it is presently - there are those who sneer at the idea that soliciting sex in a public bathroom is a crime at all
Dum and Dumed Down [Digg] 2007-10-07 15:48:40 A recent analysis concludes that many states are watering down their reading and math proficiency standards in order to satisfy NCLB. Read more:Digg
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