Only 7 months, 7 days: Looking down over Broadway, everyone is bundled up to brave the coldness for a little wintry shopping. Just thought I'd let you know.

Situation: I received one of those "You can get lots of money from Nigeria" e-mails. I want to screw with this scam artist bastard. What should I do?

More depressing than the Palestinian anthem? Here is the NYU Even-Song (the alma mater):

O grim, grey Palisades, thy shadow upon the rippling Hudson falls,
And mellow mingled tints of sunset illumine now our classic halls;
While students gather 'round thy altars with tributes of devotion true,
and mingle merry hearts and voices in praise of N.Y.U.

O stately Square that lies before us, these stony portals straight and strong,
the birthplace of our Alma Mater, we'll ever praise in splendid song.
The archway ever stands triumphant, protecting all we seek to do,
with thee for e'er our inspiration, O honored N.Y.U.

But college friendships all must sever, and fade as does the dying day,
and closest kinships all be broken, as out in life we wend our way;
And yet, whatever be life's fortune, 'Tho mem'ry fails and friends by few
We'll love thee still, our Alma Mater, our dear old N.Y.U.

(Note to Lane: We are only doing the second stanza because the rest is way too depressing. That, and we will laugh or make obnoxious NYU-Law-student-esque comments if we have to sing it.)

One Truth: Taking pictures out of my 14th floor view, staring to eastern Manhattan, I open the window to expose better angles. Leaning out, I smell more than just the dirt and dust of an old city with a long past. I smell the freedom. I know that, no matter what is occurring anywhere in this world right now, no matter what anyone says about my life and my country, I can go downstairs and just start walking and doing. North, south, east, west, it makes not a difference. I can go where I want, I can buy what I want, and I can say what I want. Alone, without power against me, without threat of my person, I can do it, without fear of government retribution.

So when Saudi Arabia or Iraq or any of those other dictatorial, nonsense nations speaks up, I can laugh. Because I am free. Because I have what none of them have, what none of them grant to their citizens. I need not live each day to survive until the next because of what my country offers. By creating and maintaining marketable skills, I can afford a life that will offer plenty of rewards.

I have seen and will see many lands. I have seen and will see many cultures. I will know more of life than 99% of the inhabitants of this planet ever have, all because I am free.

Do I believe it? Absolutely. If there are not many truths in this world, there is one: Freedom means opportunity. It is an opportunity to learn, to grow, to be.

A little clarification on my comments below. My aside was an attempt at irony, pointing the the frivolity of the name game in the Middle East. It didn't work. Thanks to The Hauser Report for duly noting my incompetence.

Update: This was written to be posted over an hour ago, but Blogger wouldn't post it. As The Political Hobbyist says: Grrrr.

Band names of the future: Hashemite Restoration Project

Can anyone please explain the purpose of NATO anymore?

I've received way too many hits from people searching for Daniel Pearl's tape. If they are looking for it to watch the thing, they are sick. Ill in a serious way. While it's nice to get lots of hits, this is not the way I want to receive them.

I think the response to SFSU and the related happenings is for people to combat speech with speech. (The threats are something different.) Post what the Palestinians do and have done in their 35 years of existence. [Here, of course, I refer to Arabs who coopted the term Palestinian, since the first 'Palestinians' were Jews. They really should be called Judeans or Sumarians, to be more historically accurate.]

Post around the city what other countries in the middle east do. Explore, on very public sheets of paper, the recent history of conflicts in the world, focusing on just how many involve peaceful Muslims. Or how Arab/Muslim leaders treat dissent, treat women, treat homosexuals, treat other religions. Make everything truthful. Mislead no one. Make it loud. Put it out there now. Continue the fights over the terrorist-supporting, bodily-harm threatening groups at SFSU. Make it public. Open a website, contact media outlets. But do it soon or it will all just be part of the Big Lie.

Update: As relates my post two below, look at Drudge right now. His warning was from 1998. WTC was 9/11/01, 3 years later.

This may be the best hope, frankly, for those Catholics who are looking for the Church to evolve.

What could they have done? I have been sitting, listening to Condi Rice's press conference, and I find very little of it useful.

[Prologue: The following all takes as implicit the reality that our idiot federal branches did not do a damn thing about terrorism on from Saddam Hussein beginning in the early 1990s. If Hussein, Bin Laden, the Iranian Leadership and all others related were dead this wouldn't be an issue. I don't want to blame Clinton because that would mean blaming someone, and we can't do that in today's society. Instead I'll just say that Clinton was the leader of our country for a high portion of the most serious terrorist threats in the last two hundred years of our nation's history. You make the connection.]

Here is the situation: It is correct to assume that the U. S. did not know of any imminent threats of the nature of 9/11 (planes hijacked and taken into buildings). Therefore, what could have been done to prevent what happened? Nothing. Look what happens now when they put out general warnings. People go cuckoo, either because the warning exists at all or because it is too generic. So, what could our government have done to prevent September 11? To do something pro-active would have required substantial, well-proven threats that were going to occur. This isn't realistic now; it wasn't then.

The only solution I can contemplate is warning people about plane hijacking. What would people have done? Granted, the idea of flying planes into buildings is nothing new. But it hadn't been done in real life, and the probability that it might have occurred was minimal given everything we knew and could have been reasonably expected to know.

Think of the reaction in this country if in July or August 2001 we were told that hijackers might take aim at big buildings. Mass hysteria would have been an understatement. The credibility of the American government, to its people, would have been shot completely. What would have been the likelihood of the confluence of that warning and the events of 9/11? Nil. Even if we had been warned that planes might be hijacked, people wouldn't have reacted the way they reacted now. We needed (poor choice of words) that jolt on 9/11 to get the average citizen into action. It wouldn't happen again, but it wouldn't have been prevented the first time, no matter what.

This all has been a response to the recent revelations about what threats might have been known prior to 9/11. This is not to say there weren't massive failures in many ways in all the branches of the federal government, extending over a long period of time. But synthesizing the information, in a vaccuum, out there prior to 9/11 would not have stopped what had occured.

---

And don't worry, Political Hobbyist, I'm going out tonight (Tavern on the Green, thank you).

Reality Bites: The movie, and a great one at that, has been on perpetual play on the NYU Movie Channel. (I don't think the fact that graduation time has come upon is us a coincidence). The characters in the movie were 22 in 1993 (give or take). They are 31 today. Where are they now? They grew up in the heyday of MTV and AIDS. They were too young for the 70s and too old for the internet. They aren't even the Dazed and Confused generation. Are they typical Gen X? I guess so. But they are the lost Gen X-ers. They didn't quite make it, born at just the wrong time I guess. So who are they and where are they? Just asking.

If you haven't yet done so, read Christopher Hitchens review of Blinded by the Right (link via an old, old post by Andrew Sullivan).

Happiness is remembering you didn't read yet Best of the Web Today because you took a long nap.
That and a warm puppy. (Hi Winston!)

Wise lesson in logic by the good Prof. And an ever wiser follow-up.

Never!

Richard Daley: Segregation Now, Segregation Forever? (under Balkanization Watch)

Yes, that is correct. Bahrain is another country that doesn't hate Jews, rather just dislikes it when Jews are within 10,000 miles of the country's presence.

Campus intolerance at UT, a story from a couple years back. That is standard these days, the nutso lefties (because there are intelligent, cogent lefties on campus, who are often drowned out by the multicultural bigots) have their views that all whites are presumptively wrong and bad (hmm, sounds like prejudice to me) if they don't adopt the party line. That's not being liberal, that's being Liberal.

On a much less harmful but related note, here's an update to the story about my encounter with just such a lefty: The person never responded to my questioning about the logic of the analogy. Instead a day passed and the person posted a story "On Being White" by, you guessed it, Michael Moore. Before I even had a chance to respond another individual posting this story.

(Shout out to Lane McFadden.)

I have a really great piece thought out on the whole affirmative action in the courts (ie Michigan). But it is just thought out and not written because I have my last exam and paper today. For now, console your broken heart with this piece on the topic by John Fund.

Chutzpah used to be defined as the person who, having been found guilty of killing both of his parents, appeals to the court for mercy on the grounds he is an orphan. It will henceforth be defined as: Terry McAuliffe, the Fundraiser-in-Chief for Clinton, Inc. saying ANYTHING negative about ANYONE's fundraising techniques.

-- Rich Galen

I wasn't the only one on the Booker bandwagon/watch. Check out Jeff Pollak's story over at The Hauser Report, the eventual liberal blog of record.

On a scale of 1 to 10, how happy are you that you aren't waiting in line for hours to watch the first showings of Attack of the Clones: 11. Thank goodness for ST.

Existential dilemma, brought to you by the good folks at The Corner.
As a proud member of the NYT boycott, I am refusing to read articles, etc., of the paper, regardless of form. Even hits are inappropriate, in my opinion. But what about stories that are older than the boycott? Do I ignore them as well, or am I free to peruse with pleasure? I won't read them, but it'd be nice to have a moral loophole when you know the NYT has written something so completely ignorant and, therefore, quite amusing.

Nor is it clear why he did what he did if he did what we think he did.
-- Mickey Kaus on Howell Raines and the New York Times against Andrew Sullivan, with the first round going to AS.

Now, if Andrew sued Howell Raines and the Times where would .... argh, pop!

Congrats Stanford students and alumni. One of your own has been published ... in a Saudi Arabian English daily. When you read the screed, remember that this is an English daily. The reason I mention this is because if the writing is at all representative of the basic grammatical and spelling tools taught at Stanford, you should have gone to public school (like Berkelely, oooh).

... thus proving even chopping it off isn't enough of a deterrence.

Sharpe James wins, Cory Booker and Newark's residents lose.

It is now clear that federal monitors were needed. The US Attorney has stated that there was pressure by police at one of the voting locations, and selective police persecution was found elsewhere as well.

CBS News has just run a small portion of the Daniel Pearl videotape. They found it on the web. It is now out there somewhere. Dan Rather explained the editorial process behind the decision to show any of it; CBS made a reasoned, rational decision. None of the pieces shown were graphic in any way. The whole piece, however, is disturbing. As the correspondent (don't know the name) said it best, Daniel Pearl wasn't killed because he was a spy, he was killed because he was an American and a Jew.

The far left in America: For those of you who don't experience academia in America on a regular basis, here is an example of such an instance. I am on the National Lawyers' Guild NYU listserve, mostly, I'll admit, for the enjoyment of what is posted. For those of you who doubt the insanity of academia, or for those of you who need further proof, please read and learn, because there is quite a lesson here. I'll keep it updated if I receive other sterling responses.

Under the title 'Auschwitz in Afghanistan', a listserve member posted a story about the alleged conditions in an Afghanistan prison from a forwarded e-mail. The posting began, before the story, with the following: "Of course the Zionists would probably claim the skeleton-like men in the photo must just be anorexic, because Auschwitz is their unique legacy."

There is standard bash Israel, pro-Palestinian garbage. I found this to be in excess. So I responded on the listserve as follows:
Jews, Communists, Gypsies, Poles, Homosexuals, Blacks, the Intellecutal Elite, nearly 1.5 million in all (over 10% of those killed in the Holocaust). Auschwitz was a Nazi creation, a party with designs on the slaughter of all persons not of its ideal (which would mean the murder of a good portion -- if not nearly all -- of those on this listserve). If you want to make the claim that the 2,000 prisoners at this camp are being held in a concentration camp, so be it. Make the claim; if it is true, the world should know and should learn and should change. The analogy to Auschwitz doesn't flow logically. It is an insult to those with the ability to think. The legacy of Auschwitz is not that of Zionists, it is that of humanity. It equally would be embarrasing to compare this place in Afghanistan to the Japanse-American internment of WWII or the Rwandan genocide or any of the other mass herdings and/or killings. But maybe you're just too ignorant or hateful to understand or care. [I finished with a historical background on Auschwitz from its website.]

The person who sent the original e-mail responded with the following (in its original form):
Jonathan-

I don't know what possess you to think that you are the master of history or social analysis of suffering and what analogies can and should be drawn. But you do an injustice to any point you are trying to make to insult anyone who disagrees with you by saying we can't think. Face it, we just have a different opinion than you - and you
better get used to not knowing the truth. I know NYU and our profession doesn't teach humility but if you havent gotten it yet, there is no single perspective of the world, and if there is, Noam Chompsky is far more knowledgable than your 30- years of existence.

hows this: suffering, is suffering. and systematic starvation and elimination of any people is systematice starvation. the us has an agenda against a lot of people and doesnt give too much of a damn to what is happening. why the fuck cant we know whats happening in guantanmo bay? whats so secret that military tribunals must sentence to death people weve never heard of or never have gotten to see the truth?

we were attacked, yes, and that was HORRIBLE. HORRIFYING. no one disagrees with that and my heart still suffers from those acts and the people who suffered. BUT THIS IS NO DIFFERENT. today, people are being starved to death and most of the white world, who sees persecution from one perspective like yours, doesnt give a fucking shit about it because they are all viewed as terrorists who did something bad to us. as if you have moral authority to say whats right and whats wrong. has it occurred to you that not all are guilty of shit? and no one deserves to suffer that way?

oh and you forgot to mension the kurds. naturally.

I responded with an attempt to logically deconstruct what had just occurred:
Okay, interesting response to my post. I am willing to have a discussion on the matter.

>>>I don't know what possess you to think that you are the master of history or social analysis of suffering and what analogies can and should be drawn.

I don't claim to be a master of history or social analysis of suffering. In fact, I don't know what would entitle anyone, ever, to make such a claim. That doesn't change the fact that the analogy forwared was poorly reasoned.

>>>But you do an injustice to any point you are trying to make to insult anyone who disagrees with you by saying we can't think. Face it, we just have a different opinion than you - and you better get used to not knowing the truth

We can't think: That was not what I wrote. I stated, simply, that the logic was flawed, in response to whatever letter you forwarded. I'm also not sure who the 'we' is. I would consider using flawed logic, when done so intentionally to win an argument, 'not thinking.' I wouldn't want to be the 'we' associated with such tactics.

Opinion: It would seem to me the only 'opinion' that matters in your posting is whether the world should act regarding the conditions of the captured Taliban in Afghanistan. If they are in terrible conditions, the conditions should be changed and those in charge dealt with appropriately. It would seem to me that we agree on that. The only other opinion I espoused in my post was that what the Nazis did to everyone (all 1+ million in Auschwitz, all 10 million killed, the millions of others harmed) was horrendous. I assume we can agree on that as well.

>>>Noam Chompsky is far more knowledgable than your 30- years of existence

30 years: I'm not that old.
Noam Chomsky: Am I to assume this is somehow related to Israel? I don't really know, but if it is, read this piece by Alan Dershowitz on Chomsky, in MIT's The Tech: http://www-tech.mit.edu/V122/N25/col25dersh.25c.html

>>>systematic starvation and elimination of any people is systematice starvation

That is correct; that is also not underlying the report you put on the listserve.

>>>the us has an agenda ... gotten to see the truth?

Again, that is not underlying the report you put on the listserve.

>>>today, people are being starved to death and most of the white world, who sees
persecution from one perspective like yours...

I did not realize there was a single 'white' perspective and that I had the honor of being said representative. I actually don't know how many 'white people' (which in itself is quite a loaded, and circularly reasoned, term) actually agree with my perspective, especially not at this school. It would seem to me, as well, what you are trying to insinuate is actually some type of insult, which you don't look kindly upon yourself.

>>>doesnt give a fucking shit about it because they are all viewed as terrorists who did something bad to us

This may be the 'white' perspective. But I don't subscribe to this theory. Am I a paradox or has your logic failed again? Either answer is acceptable.

>>>as if you have moral authority to say whats right and whats wrong. has it occurred to you that not all are guilty of shit? and no one deserves to suffer that way?

Moral authority: I have no idea why this concept was introduced. Should I defer to Noam Chomsky?

On all not guilty and suffering: Did I suggest all were guilty? No. Did I advocate suffering? No. In fact, I said if the allegations were true, the situation should be alleviated.

>>>oh and you forgot to mension the kurds. naturally.

What happened to the Kurds was disgusting. I mentioned two examples in my response, both of which further explicated my point about your poor logic: Japanese-Americans and Rwandans. I could have mentioned a thousand more. Instead, I used the phrase "any of the other mass herdings and/or killings." That catch-all includes the Kurds. I'm not sure why you would suggest otherwise; to do so would be illogical.

Conclusion: I am more than willing to debate many issues with anyone who so desires. Was it an insult to state 'ignorant or hateful'? 'To insult' can be defined, among many other ways, as "To treat with gross insensitivity, insolence, or contemptuous rudeness" (dictionary.com). I am guilty as charged. I also stand by my statement. The comment "[o]f course the Zionists would probably claim the skeleton-like men in the photo must just be anorexic, because Auschwitz is their unique legacy" is borne out of poor logic. The question, then, becomes why such poor logic. My suggestion: ignorance or hatefulness.

Update from PoliticsNJ.com: There is "no evidence of complaints" made by the Booker for Mayor campaign, Christie stated.

Hey baby. How long are we going to cry in this election?

-- (hopefully, soon-to-be-ex) Mayor Sharpe James, when asked about the allegations made by Booker's campaign about James' campaign's involvement in electoral misconduct.

from PoliticsNJ.com

One more note on the WaPo Newark story. The headline is:
In Newark Race, Black Political Visions Collide

What the hell is a 'black political vision?'

New Newark update: PolNJ has just updated the site again:

Federal and state election observers responded to a call from election day workers at the George Washington Carver School that Newark police officers were attempting to sway voters on their way into the polls. Kim Gaddy, a Booker poll worker who witnessed the event, said that she and a James campaign worker were talking when "a police officer started telling voters to 'do the right thing' when they voted." "I said 'he can't say that' and the officer smiled." By noon, the officers were no longer at the location.

A Newark source: Politics NJ is following the Newark saga unfold. Here are new developments (regarding which I make no comment on veracity as I have no knowledge beyond what the site, a very good one, has reported):

At an impromptu press conference today, the Booker campaign alleged widespread voting irregularities in today's municipal elections. "We've seen the Sharpe James machine kick into gear today," said Booker spokeswoman Jen Bluestein. "Voters are facing intimidation at the polls, broken machines, and a lack of emergency ballots at sites where the machines aren't working."

A Sharpe James campaign challenger, who refused to disclose his name, said that the James campaign had hired gang members to intimidate voters outside the polling place. ... Discussing the presence of alleged gang members nearby, the challenger said, "being from this neighborhood, I recognize who's who and what's what. Of course he hired gang members. Look at those guys, I know who they are. There are Crypts and another gang called the Tombstones." PoliticsNJ.com observed a person wearing a Tombstone jersey talking to a campaign worker from the James campaign shortly thereafter. "Who do you believe hired them?" PoliticsNJ.com asked. "Come on, it's obvious," he said, "they're Sharpe's guys -- they were over here before. He's got some Crypts, a few Bloods, and Tombstones over here." "They'll come over, and say 'Are you with Sharpe?' and if you say you're for Booker, they'll say 'S--t, come on now' or 'What the f--k you talking 'bout?'" the challenger explained, "its bulls-t but that's how it's done." Several of the men the James challenger referred to wore white t-shirts spray painted in the James campaign color- red -advertising the A-1 line on which the Mayor is running for re-election.

More bombs: At least one pro-Palestinian and Al Qaeda bomb has been found in Philly. It was exploded by the authorities. A second 'suspicious' package is being investigated. This probably means nothing, but it will develop later.

On Reuters. LGF catches the following: Reuters has taken a strong stance against calling terrorism terrorism, on the grounds that one man's terrorism is another's freedom fighter. Okay, moral equivalence, yadda yadda yadda. Except that they call the Palestinian actions an "uprising for independence."

As LGF states, "[t]his line obviously comes straight from the Saudi propaganda machine. The second sentence makes it clear that it’s not supposed to be attributed to Abdullah, either, because they repeat the “uprising” canard a second time, without quotes, as if it were a simple fact, framed with the usual misleading disproportionate casualty figures."

Instapundit notes that the Sixth Circuit has upheld Univ. of Mich Law School's affirmative action program.
You all should examine the very ugly procedural mess shaping up in Judge Bogg's dissent (his Procedural Appendix), basically accusing the Circuit's Chief Judge of manipulation and a few related improprieties. For a case of this political importance, Boggs certainly knew what would follow his writing of this Appendix and the responses by other judges to his commentary. This may spin into interesting, and unexpected, territory now.

Flash ... backs ... to ... civil ... procedure ... with ... Linda ... Silverman. aargh

First problems in Newark ... developing. talking to sources now

Update: ABC radio is reporting that voting booths in the East ward are not working properly. Surprise, surprise, this is a Booker ward. This is not the story.

The story is that James pulled his people out of the East ward a few days ago. The ward was so overwhelmingly Booker that the James campaign decided not to contest the ward, basically at all. And within minutes, literally, of the opening of voting, the Newark machines in the East ward aren't working. I report, you decide. Hopefully my sources will update with further insight or development.

This is exactly the type of inciting, threatening comment about which poor Mr. Fisk writes.

One More Dawn: I had written a lot about this piece that discusses the Newark Mayoral primary today, about the corruption, about the attacks, about the hope for a future in Newark. Then the blogging tool I was using froze, and I lost it all. I am going to give it another shot -- though much more concise since I have other work.

Sharpe James is the past, a corrupt, toe-the-party-line or disappear type of guy.
Cory Booker is presenting realistic, possible solutions for plaguing problems.
For that, Booker has been demonized, as 'not black enough', as a right-winger, as a tool of whites, the media, and Jews, as supported by the KKK. (Only some of which, for that matter, Sharpe James has denied saying or supporting.)

In a contest that should have been about old vs. new, it has turned somehow into black vs. everything else (though both major candidates are black and those who have suffered the most in Newark are mostly black), which is indicative of how Sharpe James is stuck in an ugly past (by that I mean that struggle for basic rights and freedoms) and that past has come to embody that for which he claims to fight. It is also indicative about how the liberal establishment views its hold over big city, minority politics. Read the article; it is drenched in the sweat of race wars past. The future lies in economics, opening avenues previously unpaved for the residents of Newark. The past is evidenced in the words of the James' campaign, in the focus of the Post's story.

This has been a very ugly contest, ugly enough to warrant federal monitors. Booker finally has pulled ahead in the polling. But dead guys and multiple-voting voters aren't counted in test polls. Though there will be monitors, they will be unable to tell if an individual has voted under two or more names in two or more polling places. This is the only chance for Sharpe James to save his career. Don't think he won't stoop to whatever level he deems necessary to win.

Sharpe James is a dinosaur from the days of the political Mafioso, big city leaders who accepted power (lots of it) in return for vast, corrupt awards for cronies. Cory Booker is the future, offering a path to a brighter future for a city too long in the slums, promising to revitalize the rest of the city as Sharpe James has done for the downtown. Booker has been demonized, which is the only reason this battle is as close as it is. A complete unknown, young councilman, fighting the entire entrenched Democratic establishment has pulled ahead in the polls because of his ideas, because he has new promises and a new way of doing business.

If you don't believe me, just look at the Sharpe James website. Scroll down and look at the comic on the site (which, conveniently, doesn't link straight through). If that picture doesn't tell you everything you need to know about racial politics and old time Democratic party hacks (of the Terry McAuliffe variety) in 2002, nothing will.

Arms Reduction: The bad guys don't play by these rules. We shouldn't either; it would be viewed as a sign of weakness, whether or not we like it.

As an Andersen partner admits committing a crime, Reliant admits faking trends to increase revenues through swaps.

Big Bang revisited: It still doesn't explain from where the first speck came.

No, moron, Americans are leading an anti-French campaign.

Quick Quote: [I]f I were Chomsky, I'd hate myself. -- Instapundit

Taking quick issue with Opinion Journal: I'm not in any way whatsoever a fan of social engineering in our military, but I think BOTW is out of line with its commentary that because at some elite colleges homosexuals are living with female roommates because of the 'general male locker-room mentality' of heterosexual males, that this makes a good argument against homosexuals in the military.

A few very quick points before going back to finishing Best of the Web:
1. Major problem with self-selection here. Those who want to enter the military aren't going to be the ones with locker-room mentality issues. I find it unlikely that this policy is in place because every homosexual at these elite schools feels this way.
2. This speaks only to these elite schools and the students that attend them. These students, being elite students, might be more predisposed to, umm, far-left Berkeley type views at far-left Berkeley type schools than might otherwise be found in the rest of the country. This, too, is self-selection.

I am sure many others will take on the comment in much further depth.

Just when you have something nice to say about any Middle Eastern-Arab-Muslim country, it goes and claims Al-Jazeera is a Zionist front.

Clarification: I was referring purely to the give-us-your-money-and-we'll-make-you-happy portion of their show. They are, otherwise, scum. I was just on the income tax kick, so I wanted to get in a mention about how they don't deserve special tax treatment. I will clarify by stating that I was far from endorsing any of their actions.

Divestment: We have been told, many of us often, that attacking Israeli policy is not attacking Jews and is not anti-Semitic. I certainly believe that can be true. But that doesn't mean it is always true. The ridiculous Harvard/MIT scheme is an example of the insidious nature of the attacks against 'Israel.'

Look at the links provided on the website (here). The utter falsity of many of the sites is not relevant. What is relevant, however, is the hatred espoused toward Jews.

The worst link is to Boycott Israeli Goods. One of the news articles is this post, which explains how the Kosher symbols on goods are actually taxes levied on products by the Zionists. (Called the 'Kosher Nostra')

I've heard the far left claim both ignorance and lack of responsibility when quoting, citing to, or otherwise co-opting anti-Semitic or otherwise hateful (meaning aimed at other groups as well as at Jews) writings. The divestment group here, if confronted, will do the same. Either excuse (ignorance, lack of responsibility for what others say) is preposterous.

Sorely Missed: This column is the send-off of Alexander Conant, the outgoing Editor-in-Chief of UW-Madison's The Badger Herald, the independent student-run daily newspaper. Over the last year and a half, Alex has stood firm for liberal beliefs on a campus run PC-amok. He, along with former EICs and many editors and writers, has brought grace and dignity to a paper and a school that might otherwise be lacking such in many ways, helping to avert a stigma that some Liberal colleges have brought upon themselves. (See, e.g. Cal-Berkeley, Swarthmore, etc.)

I am proud and amazed at how he and the staff handled the David Horowitz anti-slave reparations advertisement last year, behind the scenes helping and guiding not just the Herald but the newspapers of other universities during their decision-making processes about the ads. He stood firm by the side of Julie Bowman, then EIC, as she fought off threats that exceeded those tolerable in an open political debate.

He rhetorically fought for what was most important, open and honest debate, evidenced by the revitalization of the Herald's website to include a comments section that is used often. Alex is a tribute to what we should strive for in today's academic environment. He believed in free speech, not the free speech of the typical Liberal campus where one is free to express any opinion so long as it is the same as that of the PC police, but of an environment to discuss the issues of the day.

Many may have disagreed with what they thought to be his beliefs, but I'll guarantee you that no one knew his beliefs from reading the pages of the paper, which makes his accomplishments all the more impressive. Having known Alex since his arrival in Madison near 4 years ago already, I have learned to understand and agree with some of his views, while disagreeing vehemently with others. I have changed, and I imagine he has as well. Such is the process of maturation, as one should expect in academia even in the year 2002.

I can testify that the issues of the day presented by the editorial board of The Badger Herald were presented by the entire board, standing upon the principles of open debate and students' rights. The Herald's editorial page was a medium through which views could be discussed civilly (unless and until a challenger so thought otherwise), challenging students, professors, and the administration alike.

Alex is moving on, out of the world of journalism. The Badger Herald has lacked leadership in the past. It may do so in the future. For one year, at least, UW had its paper of record stand as a beacon of what can be accomplished despite having an administration and a group of intolerant students and professors fighting every non-PC step that you make in creating an actual debate on issues of the day.

I'm proud to have seen Alex associated with an important part of my alma mater. I'm prouder to call him my friend.

Anecdotal evidence to prove, once again, that dogs are better than cats. (It's near the bottom of the article.)

There would be nothing better than a core of five to eight intelligent, pugnacious, pro-Israel students to take that stupid Cal class.

The Discovery Channel: You all should know just how great it is, but I learned once again how awe-some it can be. There was a wonderful show on super volcanoes, and how Yellowstone park is a dormant SV (which scared the hell out of me).

The point being that even average Volcanic blasts lift so much ash into the air that it can decrease the worldwide temperatures by up to a degree (as happened a decade ago). This all means that, as the ash settles, the temperature warms back up. Ah yes, you know where I am going with this, don't you Tim Blair?

The recent rise in temperatures might just correlate with things beyond our control (a hush goes through the crowd).

I wonder how much the enviro-crowd actually bothers to look into these things. Never mind, one of 'em did. And know he is a vilified dissident.

Cipro update: I got it, as well as the malaria meds. Now to the moral: If you are getting shots for Typhoid, Polio, Tetanus, Hep A, or any of those fun suckers, don't plan on lifting anything heavy for a couple of days. My shoulders are still sore, though I am now a marvel of modern medicine. Bring it on, microbiotic (or is that nanobiotic?) waste.

Yes, my federal income tax class is now over, but the memories will remain forever, or at least hopefully through the bar exam. I think OpJo has mixed income and assets, but I don't think so badly. I don't have the empirical info with me, but I would guess that over $135k in assets isn't so bad in the whole scheme of things. Then again, the amazing real estate appreciation over the past few decades may have blown the 150k out of the water.

Speaking of tax policy: It's just pure capitalism, PH, so long as the group isn't treated as an actual church by the IRS.

Cultural Comment: Dennis Leary's 'Asshole' is a pretty trippy song.

If this wasn't in preparation of an Income Taxation exam, Mr. McFadden is almost as demented as yours truly.

If you notice his example, the people are Abbie, Bill, Clara, and Dan. That's ABCD. Hmm, sounds like a teaching example.

On that note, a couple of friends and I were pondering the meaning of some-kind-of-policy-as-it-relates-to-oil over some Chinese and Thai food. We figure that the 50 cent per gallon price rise in oil costs the average family nearly a week's worth of pay, after taxes (see, though late, I got in the segue).

And speaking of segways (and segue's) that Max Bickford/Pickford, whatever, show on CBS had a segway on it. I didn't watch the show. Actually, I accidentally happened to have it on CBS when Fox should have been on, and I saw someone riding a segway. I think they are cool.

Here's to hoping The Hauser Report comes out with the fully developed thesis that I hope he soon will. (To be revealed at a later time.)

Update: Happy Mother's Day to all.
Nets won today, which is nice. I used ot be a Knicks fan. I'm not a Nets fan, but I'll root for Jersey, baby.
Spurs deserve to lose.

The Simpsons: Due thrashing of JFK!