Archive | Uncategorized

I am already starting to become uncomfortable about my ratio of substantive blogging to mentions of my ongoing book tour. It seems that part of what it takes to be a blogger is the time (and internet connection) to read other blogs or online sources that then stimulate a new blog. Traveling this much, it […]

Being on WGN tonight reminded me that call letters for radio and TV stations often used to be chosen as acronyms for something else. Here is a short list from memory of some Chicago call letters (I used to know more): WGN = World’s Greatest Newspaper (The Chicago Tribune)WLS = Word’s Largest Store (Sears)WTTW = […]

(For more, see here.)16.5 feet of silver in the Twilight Zone = 1 Rod Sterling.101.94 g of falling figs = 1 Fig Newton (at standard Earth gravitational acceleration, 9.81 meters per second squared).1 trillion pins = 1 terrapin.10^21 piccolos = 1 gigolo. 3 1/3 tridents = 1 decadent.1/1000 of a female sheep = 1 milieu.1 […]

Thanks everyone for the thoughtful (both agreeing and disagreeing) messages and response posts. Thanks even for the not very thoughtful ones. Two of the better posts are at Jumping to Conclusions and at Kesher Talk. One of the not-so-good posts says that “Holocaust denial also includes the minimization of the Holocaust, or denying its uniqueness.” […]

This post pretty much sums up why I disagree with Sasha: [Money quote, but read the whole thing]: The Nazi goal wasn’t to take territory from Jews. It wasn’t to take resources from Jews. It wasn’t to destroy armed opposition to the German government. There was no underlying reason for it; the goal was to […]

I have already argued that we should substitute legal for illegal immigration. But what standards should be applied to the legal entrants? I hear two major complaints about the current groups of immigrants, legal and illegal combined: 1. Too many are unskilled.2. Too many don’t speak English. Whether or not we agree with these complaints, […]

I’ve been critical of Republicans and Democrats for not criticizing Sharpton. Several readers, and Mark Kleiman, point to this piece noting Sharpton’s close ties with Republican Stone. The problem with this piece is that it provides not a shred of evidence tying Stone’s contacts with Sharpton not only to Bush, but to anyone else in […]

Sonoma State University speech code: Just ran across this — it prohibits, among other things, “disparaging comments about women as a group,” “the use of sexist humor or demeaning sexual allusions,” “making statements which communicate to students . . . limiting preconceptions about appropriate and expected behaviors, abilities, career directions, and personal goals which are […]

Remember the recent decision exonerating Southwest Airlines from liability because one of its employees said “Eenie Meenie Minie Moe”? This related tale arrived in today’s email, and the basic facts check out against what I can glean from newspaper accounts:Dear Professor Bernstein, The editor of the Catholic Missourian passed on to me your editorial, “Keeping […]

As you may recall, the Paul Craig Roberts column that I criticized argued: Compare an American taxpayer’s situation today with that of a 19th century American slave. Not all slaves worked on cotton plantations. Some with marketable skills were leased to businesses or released to labor markets, where they worked for money wages. Just like […]

Fascinating post at the Marginal Revolution about “Red” and “Blue” books. Basically, with few exceptions the left and the right don’t read the same political books. No wonder each side thinks the other is from outer space! I have some personal experience with this phenomenon, as You Can’t Say That! has definitely turned out to […]

Let’s go back to the original list of policy alternatives: 1. Let everyone in.2. Let everyone in but terrorists and the infectious.3. Let many people in but try to control their behavior ex post.4. Try to keep as many people out as possible.5. Try to influence who gets in.6. Create new and differential legal categories, […]

Over at Southern Appeal, guest blogger Owen Courrèges finds my note below (the part about the “Marxism had little to do with actual socialism” argument) misguided and writes: Sure, there are people who assume the label of ‘communist’ who claim to be anarchistic, and these people are different from the Stalins and Castros of the […]

Michael, at www.2blowhards.com offers his usual astute commentary on the possibilities for the new editorship at NYTBR. Here is some of his advice: “# I’d de-emphasize new books somewhat, especially new literary books. Have you ever looked at a copy of a year-old Book Review Section? Nearly all of the lit-fiction that was reviewed so […]

In reaction to Eugene’s post about a pharmacist who refused to prescribe the morning-after pill, and laws that prohibit “discrimination” against such employees, such laws are foolish, and pervert the concept of discrimination. Employers should be permitted to fire any employee who refuses to do his job, because of his religious convictions, or for any […]