Lots doing in the world.
- The end is near for Qaddafi, or not, who knows: “Libyan rebels said they were less than 20 miles from Muammar al-Qaddafi’s main stronghold of Tripoli on Sunday, a day after opposition fighters launched their first attack on the city. The rebels said Saturday that gunbattles and mortar rounds rocked the city during the attack. NATO aircraft also made heavy bombing runs after nightfall, with loud explosions booming across the city.” I have found it interesting that we see very few photos or videos of Libyan civilians killed or injured by NATO bombing runs over cities; compare to coverage of the U.S. in Iraq and Afghanistan, or Israel in Gaza or Lebanon.
- The MSM really is building up Jon Hunstman comes out swinging. For someone who has no support, they sure do love his attacks on Rick Perry. Dear Jon, they don’t really love you, they’re using you. If you ever did become popular, they would tear you down in a second.
- John Kass at the Chicago Tribune is a great columnist. I have to remember to read him even when Blago is not in the news. He is predicting that Obama is nearing a Killer Rabbit Moment.
- Haven’t mentioned Strauss-Kahn in a while. Reports are that charges will be dropped.
- When news broke that the Obama administration issued an Executive Order requiring “diversity” standards in the federal government, my first thought was, “you mean the federal government is not already diverse?” Just like the deportation policy change, it seemed that Obama’s Executive Order was more about politics and campaign strategy than actual diversity. And the numbers bear that out, as pointed out in a Washington Times editorial: “According to the Office of Personnel Management, federal employees in fiscal 2010 were 66.2 percent white, 17.7 percent black, 8 percent Hispanic, 5.6 percent Asian and Pacific Islander and 1.8 percent American Indian. Compared to the general U.S. population, the federal force is a bit too diverse. Blacks are overrepresented by 6.9 percent compared to the civilian work force, Asians and Pacific Islanders by 1.2 percent, and American Indians are more than double their proportion of the population at large. White Americans, who make up about 70 percent of the work force, are underrepresented by around 4 percent. Hispanics are also underrepresented despite the Clinton-era executive order 13171, “Hispanic Employment in the Federal Government.””
- Rick Perry is getting the mainstream media colonoscopy, unlike a certain other candidate. And a lot of it is blantantly anti-evangelical:
Will update this list, your comments and suggestions are solicited.
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Comments
That Killer Rabbit story is hilarious! I was just a kid during Carter’s term, so I don’t remember that at all. But I do remember Monty Python’s Holy Grail movie. Thanks for linking, so I could understand what those allusions to a “killer rabbit” moment were really all about.
Could you write about/update on the topic of Obama’s EO overreach this week regarding “diversity” in the federal gov’t ranks? The 90-day plan request and 120-day turnaround are saying desperation, to me. Thanks!
Huntsman is a media favorite. The last time we elected one of those it didn’t work out so well.
When news broke that the Obama administration issued an Executive Order requiring ”diversity” standards in the federal government, my first thought was, “you mean the federal government is not already diverse?”
On a slightly related note…
I’m a bit perplexed every time I hear some liberal (usually) lamenting the lack of girls/women interested in the science, technology, engineering, & mathematics (STEM) fields. The blame (depending on the strength of the particular liberal’s advocacy) is usually some mixture of outdated male patriarchy, throwback attitudes that girls aren’t “good” at math, etc. etc. IOW, the blame is usually the “system” that puts girls at a disadvantage.
But…
Hasn’t the educational “system” been firmly in the hands of the liberals for at least a generation now? Certainly those stereotypically “under-represented” among this year’s graduating high school seniors have been indoctrinated in the best inclusive diversity that our educational system has to offer. I graduated high school in 1984 and can remember the hand-wringing even then.
If any classically bigoted attitudes remain in the educational system to the extent that they significantly effect student achievement I suggest it is plainly obvious the kinds of people that hold these attitudes. And if women and minorities aren’t being adequately prepared by our educational system then I suggest it is plainly obvious where the fault lies.
Sort of like…with the media being 80%+ registered Democrats where does the fault lie when some navel-gazing journalist notices that missing white girls get far more coverage than missing minority girls?
Ever heard of “Dominionism”? Dominionism is allegedly sinister right-wing Christianist plot to take over the world.
Dominionism seems to be a 21st century version of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion: a wacky, paranoid conspiracy theory devoid of factual evidence that reveals the ugly bigotry inherent in secular progressive political circles.
Professor, what about the “irony” section?
While Great Britain burns and its population riots out of control, the Guardian writes a hit piece trying to convince the Brits how the U.S. will go to hell under Rick Perry (of course, that is not what they really said, but snarc is required to explain the Guardian article).
Huntsman chances would improve if he changed parties and primaried Obama as a Decmocrat.
Let’s be fair …
President Obama inherited the worst killer rabbit problem since the Great Aggression.
LukeHandCool (who thinks the Perry campaign’s new slogan should be, “Wabbit Season!!”)
Professor,
The Japanese parody of your video of the day got me to wondering. I love to watch amusing TV commercials from countries around the world. Besides music and political videos, have you ever posted TV commercials?
“We are the World” ???
This 30-second TV commercial from the Czech Republic speaks to the universal condition of mankind … no translation from the Czech necessary … a thousand times better than any sappy “We are the World” ballad.
Who among us … no matter what culture or country the world over … has not suffered this torture at least a dozen times a day in his adult life?
LukeHandCool (The Uniter).
I have a special request to make, and want to thank Professor Jacobson for this open thread. HillBuzz has a special action item today: Sunday Action Item: Can you please leave a comment on the YouTube video mocking Trig Palin?
In a nutshell, they are asking Americans to comment on this YouTube video (click HERE; be forewarned, it is quite irksome). Basically, a group of gay, young men sit around like the women on “The View” and opine. During the dialog, the insult and demean Trig Palin.
There is no snark I can offer that describes the flaming level of hypocrisy seen in this video. Gays want tolerance and not to be bullied, but this group picks on one of the sweetest creatures God ever made. As an extra bonus, it seems this was filmed at one of Chicago’s trendiest and swank establishments — and none of the producers seemed to have noted that the readings on the hypocrisy meter were off-the-charts during the group’s ravings.
Kevin DuJan of HillBuzz would like to have regular Americans comment, to express the fact that no child of any candidate should be so mocked during any campaign. It will serve as a warning to the other elites not to go there with Palin’s family during the 2012 election cycle. I am also thinking that the swank establishment that OK’d this inanity, Sidetrack, may need some special attention from Chicago’s Palinistas and tea party types.
I think that if I witnessed a fatal stabbing, I’d consider it my civic duty to tell the police what I saw and provide a suspect description … but this Los Angeles Times journalist was on his way home at the time and couldn’t be bothered to wait any longer than five (yes, that is 5) minutes. Maybe dinner was getting cold.