Australian performance artist Stelios Arcadiou, known as Stelarc, has a third ear implanted on his arm. The ear was grown in the lab using human cartilage and cells, and then surgically implanted. Next he'd like to implant receivers and transmitters so others can listen in over the internet to what the ear hears. Some have criticized the extra ear as not clinically necessary and potentially offensive to those who have lost an ear in an accident. Supposedly he wouldn't hear the criticisms if he wore a long-sleeved shirt...
Talk show host and author Tavis Smiley has written a new book called Accountable, which attempts to navigate the difficult waters swirling around the success or failure of Obama's presidency. Smiley, who is African American, is quoted in the Washington Post today as saying that if Obama fails, "it may be another 400 years before we get another African-American president." Smiley is at the center of a raging debate among African-American leaders about the limits of tough questioning of the new president and his policies, a debate in which Smiley has been in the minority as an advocate for treating Obama as a man and not merely a milestone. Smiley is on the right side of this debate, in my view, but his apocalyptic opinion that Obama holds the fortunes of African-American politicians in his hands only feeds into the mantra of those who regard Obama as an untouchable symbol. A failure of Obama's policies would and should damage only those policies - massive expansion of government, nationalization of various parts of the U.S. industrial sector, international naiveté, and radical social liberalism - but that failure should merely pave the way for the election of someone of opposing views. There are a number of conservative African Americans of stature who have that resume, and the country could well elect one of them president before 4 -- and not 400 -- years have passed.
For weeks the FRC Blog has been commenting on the growing prominence of CNBC as a national news outlet. We have also commented on the liberal counter-reaction against the network. Our point has been that even though the Left dominates the mainstream media (MSM), in a time of financial and economic crisis the MSM news organs are structurally ill-equipped to deal with stories of such complexity. CNBC has on-air staff with the smarts and the career training to discuss these matters at a sophisticated level. The MSM does not have people like this on their programs with a few exceptions (e.g., Lou Dobbs at CNN (who is not MSM)). Consequently, there has been a tremendous power shift toward CNBC.
CNBC is more conservative than the MSM, but it might be fairer to say CNBC is more libertarian and market-oriented. That being said there has always been a good mixture of liberals and conservatives on CNBC, and many Wall Street players were Obama supporters.
Well, the Left noticed the increasing prominence of CNBC and a campaign of mau mauing began quickly once Barack Obama became president. First, Rick Santelli was attacked; this effort was assisted by NBC's Today Show. Jim Cramer was next, and his assault by Jon Stewart soon followed. However, it appears that a larger effort to compromise CNBC is underway, and it may be working. There is now an entire Leftist-"progressive" website devoted to serving up ideological attacks on CNBC: it is called "Fix CNBC." (Go to the website and look at the long list of liberal big-wigs who have signed on. Amazing. This is quite an effort. I wonder who is paying for it?) Interestingly, Media Matters also presents an online petition at "Change CNBC," and the language looks pretty similar to Fix CNBC's petition.
Last night President Obama went on the Tonight Show. Deciding to go off-teleprompter, the President made a joke at the expense of the disabled, saying that his bowling skills might qualify him for "the Special Olympics." In other words, America was treated to the spectacle of her President engaging in a less-funny version of the traditional Rodney Dangerfield send-up ("I tell ya, I don't get no respect. I went bowling the other day, and my wife Michelle tells me...") Lovely. (It should be noted that Obama has since apologized for the comment.)
For those of you keeping track, there has been a recent bevy of digital ink spilt on the Jon Stewart- Jim Cramer kerfuffle. At about the same time I chimed in, Mark Hemmingway at National Review gave us an excellent run down on this feud and the larger Stewart comedic bait-and-switch. Wunderkind Ben Shapiro presented a similar anti-Stewart brief over at Big Hollywood. Tucker Carlson has presented his insider's testimony about Stewart as pseudo-pundit. And the always enjoyable Jon Last has been following the business with a matter-of-fact and correct read on Stewart's soporific lack of funny. Furthermore, the CEO of NBC Universal, Jeff Zucker, has gone on the attack, calling Stewart's hit job "absurd."
It hasn't yet been officially launched, so I'll unofficially (off the record) refer you to FRC Action's new blog The Cloakroom, where you'll find Tom McClusky and crew hanging out these days. That's right, Tom has been hiding in the cloakroom. Head on over to check out their new digs.
(Remember, this is all off the record, and you never heard it from me...)
The 25 Movies President Obama Gave Prime Minister Brown
The British press is a-flutter over President Obama's gift of 25 DVDs to Prime Minister Brown. In response to criticism that the gift was cheap and vulgar, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs responded that the DVDs represent an American Film Institute selection of classic cinema that accurately portrays aspects of the United Kingdom's history. Downing Street reportedly will not divulge the titles of the DVDs. The U.K.'s Daily Mail has published a list of the movies, but luckily, we at Family Research Council have obtained the real list of DVDs given to Prime Minister Brown.
Here is President Obama's selection:
1
Braveheart
2
The Patriot
3
The Wind that Shakes the Barley
4
Ghandi
5
Zulu Dawn
6
A Bridge Too Far
7
John Adams (HBO Series)
8
Bloody Sunday
9
Patton
10
Khartoum!
11
A Man for All Seasons
12
Gallipoli
13
1776 (film)
14
The Buccaneer
15
The Crossing (A&E)
16
Rob Roy
17
The Bounty (1984)
18
Churchill: The Hollywood Years
19
Bottleshock
20
Beckett
21
Unforgiven
22
A Passage to India
23
Austin Powers
24
In the Name of the Father
25
Joan of Arc (1948)
Now,what subject of the Crown wouldn't enjoy watching these films?
[Special thanks to my colleagues Michael Fragoso and Michael Leaser, who contributed to the above mischief.]
An Open Letter to Larry Kudlow, the Nation's Irreplaceable CNBC Host
Dear Larry:
The Politico reported yesterday "it's rumored that [Senator Christopher Dodd (D-CT)] could face a challenge [in his 2010 Senate re-election race] from CNBC host Larry Kudlow, an opponent who would focus the coming election squarely on the economy."
Say it ain't so, Kudlow.
For those not familiar with you, Larry, I provide two links with some fair and balanced info: CNBC, Wikipedia. In short, you are a supply-side economist who served in the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the Reagan Administration's Treasury Department, and various Wall Street firms with distinction. You are a happy guy; an optimist. You are a conservative, and, as I have observed over the years, a much-needed media friend of the pro-life cause - something we at FRC appreciate greatly. And, since the financial meltdown you have been hosting a M-F 7:00 p.m. hour-long market analysis program on CNBC - now called The Kudlow Report.
"You Commie homo-loving sons of guns! I did not expect this, but I - and I want to be very clear that I do know how hard I make it to appreciate me. Often. But I - I am touched by the appreciation and I hoped for it enough that I scribbled down - so I have the names in case you were Commie homo-loving sons of guns."
In case you were trapped in an elevator during the Academy Awards, or landing in a USAir Jet on the Hudson River, you doubtless know by now that the above quote was part of Sean Penn's acceptance speech for his Oscar in the film, Milk.
For once, let's not focus on homosexuals. Or even on guns. Let's consider instead that toss-away line about Commies. The Hollywood glitterati cheered and laughed to have themselves so described by one of their favorite bad boys. And maybe, with Penn's blessing, we can use the Russian pronunciation-Gollyvood.
"The heavens declare the glory of God; the firmament sheweth his handiwork." Thus saith the Lord. Not necessarily, saith George Will. Washington's leading smart man notes today's two hundredth anniversary of Lincoln's birth with a useful explanation of what Darwin taught. Darwin was born on the same day that Lincoln was born. Historian John Lukacs calls such coincidences spiritual puns. There are some secularists who are trying to make Lincoln and Darwin trans-Atlantic twins, suggesting somehow that just as Lincoln liberated the slaves, so Darwin freed us from religious dogma and catechesis through his writings on the origins of dogs and cats-and us.
Will notes that Darwin "had no intellectual room for a directing deity that wills a special destination for our species." Darwin, Will points out, "placed humanity in a continuum of all protoplasm." How elevating.
Will rejects Intelligent Design. "The fact of order in nature does not require us to postulate a divine Orderer." But is it reasonable for us to rule that divine Orderer out of order?
Greatest Hits from the Porkulus Debate - UPDATED 02/09/09
Darned If You Do, Darned If You Don't "Because if we don't move swiftly to put this plan in motion, our economic crisis could become a national catastrophe."President Barack Obama's weekly radio address, February 7th.
"President Obama's economic recovery package will actually hurt the economy more in the long run than if he were to do nothing, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) said Wednesday.
CBO, the official scorekeepers for legislation, said the House and Senate bills will help in the short term but result in so much government debt that within a few years they would crowd out private investment, actually leading to a lower Gross Domestic Product over the next 10 years than if the government had done nothing." Stephen Dinan, "CBO: Obama Stimulus Harmful Over the Longhaul." Washington Times, February 4th, 2009.
Hey Wait a Second! What Happened to That Guy Always Talking About "Hope"? "Because each day we wait to begin the work of turning our economy around, more people lose their jobs, their savings and their homes. And if nothing is done, this recession might linger for years. Our economy will lose 5 million more jobs. Unemployment will approach double digits. Our nation will sink deeper into a crisis that, at some point, we may not be able to reverse." President Barack Obama, "The Action America Needs," Washington Post, February 5, 2009.
Bye Bye Bipartisanship? "Washington seems consumed in the process argument of bipartisanship."House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) commenting on the attempt to get Republican support for the legislation in the Senate.
It All Depends on What Your Definition of Stimulus Is "So then you get the argument, well, this is not a stimulus bill, this is a spending bill. What do you think a stimulus is? That's the whole point."President Barack Obama at the House Democratic Caucus Annual Issues Conference in Williamsburg, VA.
Spending Cuts Shmending Cuts "These cuts are very damaging -- [the House bill] was put together very carefully." . . .
"The new Senate cuts, if passed, 'will do violence to the future,' said Pelosi." House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on spending cuts in the Senate version of the legislation.
"Sen. Carl Levin of Michigan, told reporters he and others hoped that some of the funds on the chopping block would be restored next week when negotiations open on a House-Senate compromise." "Tentative Deal on Senate Stimulus Bill", Associated Press, February 6, 2009.
Shortest Night EVER "So it is 6:15 tonight and I would hope in the next 12 hours we could have a piece of legislation we will feel good about it after working on the many hours that we have worked ... There isn't a single senator who has come to this floor who hasn't said that this economy is in deep trouble, and we have to do something to fix it. And my comment was I hope we can do that. And that's the reason I've said we've got to work the night." Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) on the Senate floor Thursday, February 5th.
"We're going to stop legislating tonight"Senator Reid less then three hours later.
Short But to the Point Award "So what."House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey (D-Wisc.) in response to a question on NPR's "Morning Edition" about the perceived lack of direction from Congress as to how money in the stimulus should be spent.
Party of Personal (Shifting of) Responsibility "The person who spends the money badly will be responsible (not the U.S. Congress)." House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey (D-Wisc.) on the lack of direction of where exactly the money should go in the bill.
I Don't Think Neil Kinnok Will Claim Authorship of This Speech "Anybody remember a time when we're talking about, if we don't make some real changes, deficits that are a trillion two hundred billion dollars a year for as far as the eye can see, if we don't, ah, get it right, which you guys have already?" Vice President Joe Biden remarks at the House Democratic Caucus Annual Issues Conference in Williamsburg, VA. It appears he was starting to talk about the deficit and then realized he was talking to a crowd that just greatly increased the deficit. Politico reports "(d)uring the speech, some members read newspapers or checked BlackBerrys in the warm conference room."
It's Tiring Spending All Your Money "My staff is worn out, working around the clock. So is David Obey's staff. So is Nancy Pelosi's staff."President Barack Obama at the House Democratic Caucus Annual Issues Conference in Williamsburg, VA.
"Man am I tired. Working all day to find enough R votes to get this thing to conference. I confess I'm cranky." Senator Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) twittering on the Senate negotiations.
Joe the (Lousy) Oddsmaker "If we do everything right. We do it with absolute certainty . . .there is still a thirty percent chance we are going to get it wrong." Vice President Joe Biden remarks at the House Democratic Caucus Annual Issues Conference in Williamsburg, VA.
Maybe She Was Talking About In All 57 States? "Every month we do not have an economic recovery package, 500 million Americans lose their jobs." House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) The latest census numbers show the U.S. population is 303 million.
Easing Families Burdens by Eliminating Them "One of the elements of this package is assistance to the states. The states are in terrible fiscal budget crises now and part of what we do for children's health, education and some of those elements are to help the states meet their financial needs. One of those - one of the initiatives you mentioned, the contraception, will reduce costs to the states and to the federal government." House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), on This Week With George Stephanopoulos, defending giving millions of dollars to Planned Parenthood as "stimulus."
It's All Bush's Fault "I do think that there was some spending in the bill that was makeup for a starvation diet under the Bush administration, some important priorities of our party" Senator Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) on why there was a lot of bloated spending in the so called stimulus bill.
This Guy Could Almost Make Me Miss Lincoln Chafee. Almost "If a city needs tree planting and that brings real jobs and it puts people and their trucks and their trees and their nurserymen to work, and if it provides shade, and it provides greenness, and if it absorbs carbon, and if it engages in traffic calming, there are all sorts of good reasons why people would want to do that."Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) speaking against Coburn amendment 309 that prohibited stimulus funds from being spent on any casino or other gambling establishment, aquarium, zoo, golf course, swimming pool, stadium, community park, museum, theater, art center, and highway beautification project.
This is Ronald Reagan's birthday. The Gipper would have been ninety-eight. Last year, on the campaign trail, Barack Obama paid a tribute to the man they called the Great Communicator. He told liberal supporters he would be their Reagan. Backers of Hillary Clinton pounced. How could you say anything good about Reagan? But Obama held his ground. He said that Reagan was a transforming President. It was for that purpose that Obama was seeking the Presidency.
It's hard to imagine today how bad things were when Ronald Reagan clobbered Jimmy Carter in 1980. The economy was a shipwreck. The "misery index," that statistical combination of inflation plus unemployment, had been used by Jimmy Carter in 1976 as a stick to beat the hapless Jerry Ford. In 1976, it was 13.5, but by 1980, Carter's misery index had jumped to 20.8. Young couples couldn't buy a home. They were lucky if they could even get gas. Carter warned Americans to prepare for a future that would be colder, darker, poorer. It was a time of "malaise."
Carter spent days at Camp David conferring with his Cabinet. Then, he descended from the mountaintop to fire the lot of them, retaining only his young, inexperienced White House staff. Even a key liberal congressman was exasperated: "He's cut down all the tall trees and left the monkeys!"
Even worse was Carter's record on foreign policy. Millions of people in the Third World lost their liberty and tens of thousands their lives under Jimmy Carter. Communist-backed guerillas rampaged in Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America. When Iranian jihadists invaded the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, Carter dithered for 444 days as fifty-two Americans were daily subjected to beatings and threats of murder. Even the liberal media described the situation as "America held hostage."
Ronald Reagan swept into office in 1981 with confidence and courage. He coolly faced down Soviet threats and brushed off an assassin's attack with a hearty joke: "Honey, I forgot to duck." When Libyan jets threatened American planes in international waters, Navy brass asked the commander-in-chief how far they could pursue the hostiles. "All the way into their hangars," Reagan said.
Reagan slashed taxes and re-built our hollowed-out military. Americans were once again proud of the uniform and the flag it served. It was "Morning in America" as Reagan trounced Fritz Mondale in 1984, carrying forty-nine states.
President Reagan took a strong stand in defense of unborn children. He showed malice toward none. Yet the oldest of our Presidents appealed eloquently for the lives of the youngest of Americans.
Ronald Reagan was never ashamed of his faith. He braved media scorn when he proclaimed 1983 "the Year of the Bible." He told an Evangelical convention the Soviet Union was "an evil empire." With Pope John Paul II, he helped the believers behind the Iron Curtain push back against godless Communism. Reagan went to West Berlin. There, he publicly challenged Mikhail Gorbachev to "tear down this wall." He lived to see that ugly scar through the heart of Europe removed.
When he died in 2004, after a decade-long bout with Alzheimer's, even the liberal media was impressed by the American people's outpouring of feeling. As George Will said of him: "Reagan became the great reassurer, the steadying captain of our clipper ship. He calmed the passengers -- and the sea."
Today, we honor his memory. We thank our Lord for such a leader.
Not Quite a Stimulus: Speaker Pelosi's Payoffs and Pork Bill - UPDATED
Updated 01.29.09
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) recently found that the cost of the Pelosi-Reid stimulus package now exceeds $1.1 trillion. CBO also estimated that only 7 percent of infrastructure money would make its way into the economy by the end of the year and only 38 percent would be spent by the end of the 2010 fiscal year. Senator Jeff Session's (R-Ala.) office estimates the actual number going to tangible road and bridge construction is just a little more than 3 percent.
Where is this money going to? A not exhaustive look at the 1,588 page legislation, H.R. 1, "The American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009" shows the bill is more payoffs and pork then stimulus.
Many thanks to the website readthestimulus.org and its participating organizations.
PAYOFFS
To the "Green" Lobby
$600 Million To Buy New Cars For Government Workers (Page 89)
These cars would be "green" friendly cars - however very few gas pumps have the right gas to run these cars. The Federal government already spends $3.5 billion a year.
$10M for bike and walking trails (Page 65)
$200M for plug-in car stations (Page 31)
$400 million for NASA scientists to conduct climate change research (Page 22)
$800 million to clean up Superfund sites (Page 122)
$600 million for grants for diesel emission reduction (Page 119)
$650 million for "alternative energy technologies, energy efficiency enhancements and deferred maintenance at Federal facilities" (Page 119)
$1.5 billion for construction of "Green Schools" (Page 176)
To the Unions
$1 billion to the controversial COMMUNITY ORIENTED POLICING SERVICES COPS Hiring Program
"$150 billion in new federal spending, a vast two-year investment that would more than double the Department of Education's current budget. The proposed emergency expenditures on nearly every realm of education, including school renovation, special education, Head Start and grants to needy college students" Sam Dillon, "Stimulus Plan Would Provide Flood of Aid to Education," New York Times. January 27, 2009. NOTE: Private and religious schools are excluded.
Look for the Union Label. "The stimulus bill passed by the House last night contains a controversial provision that would mostly bar foreign steel and iron from the infrastructure projects laid out by the $819 billion economic package. A Senate version, yet to be acted upon, goes further, requiring, with few exceptions, that all stimulus-funded projects use only American-made equipment and goods." Anthony Faiola, "'Buy American' Rider sparks trade Debate," WashingtonPost, January 29, 2009.
To the Abortion Industry
Representative Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) inserted in the original bill billions of dollars for family planning groups, including the abortion giant, Planned Parenthood. Pressure and public exposure from Congressional Republicans forced the Democrats to remove such funding from this bill. However the bill still provides billions in reforming the health care system and working towards nationalized health care - with little to no debate.
$2.7B in NIH grants which would be targeted to among other things embryonic stem cell experimentation. (Page 56)
Other Special Interests
$3 Billion for Prevention & Wellness Programs, Including $335 million for STD Education and Prevention -- Recent government expenditures in this area include a transgender beauty pageant in San Francisco that advertised available HIV testing and an event called "Got Love? - Flirt/Date/Score" that taught participants how "to flirt with greater finesse."
$83 billion for the earned income credit for people who don't pay income tax. SOURCE Wall Street Journal
$50 million for the National Endowment for the Arts (Page 122)
$75 million for smoking cessation (Page 148). This contradicts the latest version of SCHIP that is funded largely by new taxes on cigarettes.
$4.19 billion open to ACORN. The Pelosi-Reid bill makes groups like ACORN eligible for a $4.19 billion pot of money for "neighborhood stabilization activities."
MISCELLANEOUS PORK
Some of the biggest winners in the package are federal agencies and Congressional relatives:
$2 Billion for national parks. "A top House Republican is demanding an investigation into whether the more than $2 billion for national parks in the House stimulus package is proper in light of the fact that the chief lobbyist for the National Parks Conservation Association is the son of House Appropriations Committee Chairman David R. Obey (chief author of the bill.)" Stephen Dinan and S.A. Miller, "Stimulus has plum for Lawmakers Son," WashingtonTimes, January 29, 2009.
$54 billion will go to federal programs that the Office of Management and Budget or the Government Accountability Office have already criticized as "ineffective" or unable to pass basic financial audits.SOURCE Wall Street Journal
$462 Million for Equipment, Construction, and Renovation of Facilities at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) (Page 137)
$1.2 billion to the National Science Foundation (Page 46) "Chuck Grassley knows it when he sees it. The "it," of course, is pornography. And Grassley has seen it deep in a demurely titled section of a report from the National Science Foundation -- a report that says NSF employees have been spending significant amounts of company time on smut sites and in other explicit pursuits . . . In one particularly egregious case, the report says one NSF "senior official" was discovered to have spent as much as 20 percent of his working hours over a two-year interval 'viewing sexually explicit images and engaging in sexually explicit online 'chats' with various women.' Investigators calculated the value of the time lost at more than $58,000 -- for that employee alone." Andie Coller, "Grassley Lainches Porn Inquiry," Politico, January 29, 2009.
$150 Million for Repairs to Smithsonian Institution Facilities (Page 128)
$44 million to the Agricultural Research Service (Page 135)
$227 million for oversight of the pork barrel spending in the stimulus (Page 11)
$1 Billion for the Follow-Up to the 2010 Census (Page 49)
Discretion is given to governors and Mayors for how to spend a large chunk of the money. The U.S. Conference of Mayors recently sent Congress a $96.6 billion wish list of "shovel-ready" projects which now could be funded by the stimulus. These projects include: "$1 million for annual sewer rehabilitation in Casper, WY; $6.1 million for corporate hangars, parking lots, and a business apron at the Fayetteville, AR airport; 28 projects with the term "stadium" in them; and 117 projects mentioning landscaping and/or beautification efforts. The taxpayers should be most teed off at the 20 golf courses included in the list." SOURCE National Taxpayers Union
Perhaps Mr. Olbermann is unaware that FRC is not "James Dobson's lobbying arm" (we've been an independent non-profit since 1992), but around the office, we're wondering if Tom was slighted a bit?
Is it more or less of an honor to come in third to Rush Limbaugh and Sarah Palin?
Today at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. the Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI) released a new study that found most Americans to be civically illiterate.
The study was conducted by giving a random sampling of more than 2500 people a 33 question test on civic literacy. Questions ranged from knowledge about the Declaration of Independence to the economy. The result of the test was that more than 1,700 people failed. The average score overall was 49 percent, which equals an "F" on the ISI scale.
Another disturbing finding of the study was that twice as many people know that Paula Abdul was a judge on American idol than they know that the phrase "government of the people, by the people, for the people" comes from the Gettysburg Address.
Many of the people polled by ISI believe that colleges should be in charge of teaching America's heritage and history. This includes 73 percent of people in the West, 69 percent in the Midwest, 74 percent in the Northeast and 74 percent in the South. Yet even with this high expectation from the general public many of these institutions are failing to do so. The results show that the average score for college graduates who took this civic literacy exam was 57 percent. Once again, an F on the ISI scale.
Chairman of ISI's National Civic Literacy Board, Josiah Bunting, III, said of these results; "There is an epidemic of economic, political, and historical ignorance in our country."
So what do we do with these results? ISI is calling on elected officials, trustees, taxpayers, parents and college administrations to start reevaluating college curricula and looking at new standard of accountability. They are asking, "Do colleges require courses in American history, politics, economics and other core areas?"
David Brooks, columnist for The New York Times and a speaker for the event, said that a knowledge of American history is beginning to be left behind by liberals and conservatives alike. He went on the say that "human beings want stories and history provides that."
Jon Last has a fascinating article at the Weekly Standard on the depressingly sad state of the Icelandic economy-which historically hasn't done all that bad ever since Erik the Red and his Viking cohorts settled the place a thousand or so years ago. As one might expect, inept government interventions and political posturing played very large roles in the collapse. I, for one, hope it gets better, given that Icelanders with no work or money are going to be looking for something to do. When someone descended from Vikings named "Magnusson" is looking for something to do, it's time for some people to get worried-yes, I'm talking to you Newfoundland, Scotland, Ireland, England, and Normandy.
Fourteen middle schools around D.C. have recently implemented a new program called Capital Gains along with New York and Chicago city schools. The program was designed by Harvard economist and researcher Roland Fryer to increase incentive for low income students to do their work and attend school. Hence, the reason why Harvard is covering half the cost of the $2.7 million dollar project, and the District has to pay the rest.
The D.C. students that are participating in the program have the potential to earn up to $100 a month for doing things like their homework, having a good attendance record and getting good grades.
But it begs the question, why pay people to do something they are required to do? Is paying them actually going to help students learn things like responsibility, hard work and duty? And what about the other middle schoolers in the District that go to school, turn their homework in on time and study without getting a paycheck? It seems that monetary incentive is telling these kids that they aren't capable of learning on their own, that they have to be tricked into submission and into learning. It sends kids the message that doing the right thing has a price tag and isn't something that should just be expected.
But of course the students like getting money, who wouldn't want to get paid to go to school? When Christopher Johnson from Kelly-Miller Middle School was asked about getting paid he said, "People ain't had money. It's better now for people to have money than not having money."
And while there have been no reports of the results of this program yet, it would seem that the money they are paying kids to go to school might be better spent on improving their grammar.
For more info check out: http://www.wusa9.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=76165&catid=158
I now have better access to internet. Here is the latest official information on what is happening (in short). The Governor has asked for me to assist in coordinating volunteer food relief. The need is overloading state government resources. Here is our biggest need: mobile food kitchens and food. As of last night at the joint command meeting, which I am now attending, a little under 1/2 of the state was without power. That is changing by the hour, but some areas will be 3-4 weeks before power is restored, especially in South Louisiana.
Beyond food kitchens, basic food staples that can be cooked is needed: beans, rice, meat (with refrigeration truck). Contributions can be sent to PRCCompassion.net.
I was watching the Olympics last night, and was struck by a number of things. When, exactly, did "beach volleyball" become an Olympic sport-and why isn't there any Kenny Loggins playing during the game? Is Michael Phelps really the guy from Waterworld? And most importantly, what is Visa thinking?
Their series of "Go World" commercials defy any sort of explanation. Narrated by Lucius Fox-err, Morgan Freeman-and put to music clearly lifted from an exhibit in Epcot Center, they strive to embody the very soppiest of Olympic-tide twattle.
We're told, "We don't always agree, but for a few shining weeks we set it all aside..." Right. Tell that to the people of Georgia. Freeman goes on, "[We] come together, and stand, and cheer, and celebrate, as one." We act as one. That's rich, given that the games are being hosted by the ideological step children of history's most bloodthirsty and murderous collectivist. "We forget all the things that make us different, and remember all the things that make us the same." I guess some people in the Chinese government missed the memo on that. Oops. We're lastly admonished to take up a new cheer: Go World.
Listen, I'm perfectly fine with athleticism for athleticism's sake. I think it's just great. I respected Curt Schilling pitching a masterful game seven in the 2004 ALCS with a torn up ankle-even though he was playing for a bunch of dirty Boston scrubs against the greatest team in the history of sports. In fact, Leon Kass and Eric Cohen recently had an excellent pieceThe New Republic on how the human good of pure athleticism is the benchmark ethical criterion for discussions of performance enhancement. This Visa campaign is not that. What we have here is trite utopian One-Worldery channeled into a sentimentalist corporate ad campaign. It would probably be par for the course with the Olympics, but given both the tense state of world affairs and the brutal tyranny of the Chinese Communist host regime it is not only in bad taste but is insulting.
The Chinese regime wants us to overlook their current despotic ways-and forget that these are but minor peccadilloes compared to the grievous sins of their not-so-distant past-amidst a tidal wave of artificial pomp and ginned-up false unity. The recently departed Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn warned us against that sort of historical amnesia, and it's a shame that Visa is willing to help us along that path. It didn't used to be that useful idiots and fellow travelers could count among their ranks international conglomerations. So much for the Running Dog...
The great popularity of the recent HBO series, John Adams, is well deserved. The movie, unlike the fine David McCullough book, shows how good old honest John got himself in a peck of trouble as the first Vice President. He took up six weeks of the time of the first Senate with long and tedious lectures on titles. David McCullough, when he spoke at the National Press Club in 2000, airily dismissed Adams' disastrous misstep. "Oh, he was a good, thrifty New Englander. He didn't want to make the titles hereditary. But he knew everyone loves distinction and he thought titles would be cheap." The HBO series shows the revulsion of many of the senators at the very idea. Adams wanted the President to be titled: "His high Mightiness, President of the United States and Protector of their Liberties." Behind Adams' back, the senators snickered at the portly, balding Vice President, calling him "His Rotundity."
The series shows Adams in the best of lights, and he deserves much good light. Even when he's wrong, even when he's vain and prone to temper tantrums, we see the human toll of his brave labors for Independence. His son Charles dies of alcoholism. His beloved daughter Nabbie dies of breast cancer. Our hearts go out to him and to his beloved Abigail. McCullough told the National Press Club that the correspondence between John and Abigail is on microfiche--and the indelible record of their fidelity and love is five miles long!
When I take the Witherspoon Fellows to Monticello, I always speak of my reverence for Mr. Jefferson, that great defender of religious and civil liberty. But I always disagree with George Will. Will famously wrote that "Thomas Jefferson lived as a free man should live." No, John Adams lived as a free man should live; he never freed his slaves because he never had any!
My favorite John Adams story dates to the year 2000. Then, Bill Clinton occupied the Oval Office. That December, the Clintons invited their nearest and dearest friends to celebrate the two hundred years that the White House had been the Executive Mansion. They asked David McCullough to come and read from his wonderful biography of John Adams.
As the liberal Washington Post columnist Mary McGrory reported, McCullough ended with John Adams' famous prayer, the one FDR had had engraved in the mantle in the State Dining Room:
"I pray Heaven to bestow the best blessings on this house and all that shall hereafter inhabit. May none but honest and wise men ever rule under this roof."
Miss McGrory wrote that when the prayer was read, all of Bill Clinton's best friends looked at their shoes in embarrassment. Honest John Adams had crafted that inspiring petition in 1800. He hurled it like a javelin two centuries into the future and he punctured Bill Clinton's pretensions with his pointed prayer. God bless John Adams!
At one level it's a bit embarrassing to admit that I regularly watch movies based on comic books. I'm 56 and my youngest is 14, so it's at least a semi-voluntary endeavor. Nonetheless, I grew up with subscriptions to DC Comics, the "Justice League of America," "Classics Illustrated," and an obscure favorite called "Metal Men." These readings did not replace literature for my siblings and me; they supplemented it, and, with "Classics" especially, helped to pique interest in the real (and even unabridged) thing. It's hard even now to describe the imaginative windows opened by just a handful of N.C. Wyeth illustrations in the editions we craved as children.
Thus, an invitation to watch a full-fledged Batman movie with today's technological accomplishment is no bow to my teenage son, it's irresistible. The new feature, The Dark Knight, is engrossing and visually spectacular. Unlike the comic books, however, it also has psychological depth and is almost unremittingly dark. It is good v. evil, certainly, but it is a troubled good confronting, in the character of the calculating Joker played by the late Heath Ledger, an almost-explicable evil.
The intense scenes of the Joker wielding knives in the face of his victims are stomach-churning to watch (at least one hopes that audiences have not become used to scenes like this that, in Roman Polanski's 1970's film noir Chinatown, became an iconic image of sadistic criminality), but it is during these scenes that the character explicates his personal history. He is the tormented product, he seems to imply, of his father's wanton cruelty to his mother, just as much as Batman, played by Christian Bale, is the product of his father's heroic effort to save his mother. Role reversals abound in the movie, and the public's need for heroes it can both treasure and revile supplies the broad dramatic tension, but good fathers clearly matter.
Among the twisted ethical dilemmas the Joker poses to Gotham City involves two ferry boats full of passengers who are challenged to a potentially mutually fatal decision. One boat is full of criminals, the other ordinary citizens, so it is not a "Sophie's Choice" that is presented. The scene is played out to an extraordinary conclusion. In the murky moral swamp into which Gotham City has sunk, this depiction of "lifeboat ethics" leaves plenty of room for thought. The Dark Knight is overlong and the violence exceeds its prequel, Batman Begins, and there are instances of implied sexuality and some language.
Finally, the film redefines the Batcycle just as Batman Begins redefined the Batmobile. At least a few things in Gotham City have gotten definite upgrades. Now if only my mother hadn't thrown out a half million dollars' worth of comics . . .
I asked my Witherspoon Fellows, Jan Ledochowski and Simona Beskova, to attend a talk on Tuesday by the man behind the Irish vote against the Treaty of Lisbon, which would have further expanded and consolidated the European Union. Their report follows:
When Chinese Communist Chou En-lai was asked his opinion of the French Revolution, he replied: "It is too soon to tell." Edmund Burke had no such hesitation, as my colleague Michael Fragoso shared with us. Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was another Briton with few doubts.
In 1989, Mrs. Thatcher went to Paris for the G-7 conference. President Francois Mitterrand had decided to use the summit to showcase the bicentenaire of the French Revolution. Reporters flocked to Mrs. Thatcher to get her impressions of the event. What did she think of the French Revolution, they probed. "It resulted in a lot of headless corpses and a tyrant," the Iron Lady replied. But surely Madame would agree that the French Revolution began the long march toward human rights, non? "Certainly not! That began with Magna Carta," Mrs. Thatcher replied firmly. For this act of resistance, Mrs. Thatcher was consigned to the second row of dignitaries at the Notre Dame festivities. Still, she may have had the last word. As Britain's gift to France on the two hundredth anniversary of their revolution, Mrs. Thatcher presented a leather-bound first edition of Charles Dickens' immortal Tale of Two Cities.
Today is Bastille Day-the day in which the French celebrate their wretched Revolution. To commemorate the Eldest Daughter of the Church's descent into anarchy and despotism, here is Edmund Burke's take on the events that followed the Storming of the Bastille:
It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then the dauphiness, at Versailles, and surely never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she just began to move in - glittering like the morning star, full of life and splendor and joy. Oh! what a revolution! and what a heart must I have to contemplate without emotion that elevation and that fall! Little did I dream when she added titles of veneration to those of enthusiastic, distant, respectful love, that she should ever be obliged to carry the sharp antidote against disgrace concealed in that bosom; little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fallen upon her in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers. I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards to avenge even a look that threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone.
That of sophisters, economists; and calculators has succeeded; and the glory of Europe is extinguished forever. Never, never more shall we behold that generous loyalty to rank and sex, that proud submission, that dignified obedience, that subordination of the heart which kept alive, even in servitude itself, the spirit of an exalted freedom. The unbought grace of life, the cheap defense of nations, the nurse of manly sentiment and heroic enterprise, is gone! It is gone, that sensibility of principle, that chastity of honor which felt a stain like a wound, which inspired courage whilst it mitigated ferocity, which ennobled whatever it touched, and under which vice itself lost half its evil by losing all its grossness.
In Washington one meets a handful of people who are almost universally liked and respected. So much is at stake in the partisan battles in the capital that having the admiration of political friend and foe alike is unusual. Tim Russert achieved that and so did Tony Snow.
Tony spoke at the FRC Action Values Voter Summit in 2006 and described with relish his experience at the White House with a mix of professionalism and amazement that was endearing and all-American. He knew, appreciated, and communicated how lucky he was to have been born in the U.S. of A., grown up in the Midwest, and been given a chance to work in hallways and places he had dreamed of as a kid. That youthfulness, and the bedrock values that fueled him, never faded, whether at the peak of his success or in the throes of his illness. The proximity of those two things, the peak and the throes coming at once, and the way he handled both with wit and verve only underscored how grounded he was. He will be greatly missed. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family.
Pixar's newest movie Wall-E is a gem. Technically brilliant to a degree even the excellent Finding Nemo and Toy Story movies did not achieve, this nearly silent film offers more food for thought than most adult fare, and it does so with a romantic heart that is never cloying. It may be a sign of our times that machines like the waste collection robot-hero Wall-E and a space probe (her name is Eve) in search of greenery-on-Earth exhibit more genuine emotion than most human actors. Then again this duo, who populate an empty planet with little going for it, sense their need for each other (Wall-E is inspired by a battered video of Hello Dolly he has preserved among his trash-trove and watches obsessively) without a hint of vulgarity or, it goes without saying, carnality. They are literally hard-wired for connection.
As for the movie's politics, it transcends polarization while remaining decidedly pro-green, pro-life (babies abound), and pro-romantic love between opposite sexes capable of regenerating a blighted Earth. Rank consumption has never been skewered better, or with a gentler touch that bemoans how far humanity has sunk but does not succumb to self-loathing. These soft, slothful creatures are still "us" and still capable of renewal, which, opening themselves to intimacy and to, well, infants, they achieve. John Lasseter and his Pixar team have made some of the top feature films of the last 15 years, and Wall-E may be the best of them all. The score, crucial to the almost wordless atmosphere of the movie, is tremendous too.
The following research is cited from an academic review paper published in 2007, "Statutory Rape Crime Relationships between Juveniles and Adults: A Review of Social Scientific Research," (Aggression and Violent Behavior, 2007)
In an analysis of the national Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS), data from 21 states from 1996 through 2000 indicated that of the 7,557 statutory rape incidents reported to law enforcement:
95% involved female victims with male offenders.
About 60% of the female adolescents were aged 14 or 15.
The median age difference between the female adolescent and the male was six years.
Approximately 45% of the male participants were age 21 or over, 25% were age 24 or older.
The paper went on to state, "The studies generally show that the relationships with adults and older partners comprise a large percentage of all sexual relationships for girls of a younger age. A number of factors may contribute to this: The younger a girl is when she begins engaging in sexual activity, the more likely she is to be a risk taker, have poorer judgment, or come to early initiation through a history of sexual abuse that would orient her toward older partners."
While I would not agree with all of the conclusions drawn in this scientific review paper, it does report research which elucidates the fact that a large percentage of sexually active teen girls have, at one time or another, been sexually involved with an adult male. The experiences cause and place girls and adolescent females at high-risk for negative psycho-social and health outcomes.
Witherspoon Fellowship Lecture: Michael Ward on Planet Narnia
If you're in D.C. tomorrow, you might find it worth your while to stop by FRC headquarters at noon tomorrow, Tuesday, April 29, for a lecture by Dr. Michael Ward on his new book, Planet Narnia: The Seven Heavens in the Imagination of C.S. Lewis.
Join Family Research Council as we welcome Dr. Michael Ward for a lecture on his new book, Planet Narnia: The Seven Heavens in the Imagination of C.S. Lewis (Oxford University Press, 2008). In Planet Narnia, Dr. Ward argues that Lewis secretly based The Chronicles of Narnia on the seven heavens of the medieval cosmos.
The publication of Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia befuddled the scholarly world. Those who best knew his academic works found the seven-volume work uncharacteristically disorganized. Even Lewis's close friend, J.R.R. Tolkien, dismissed the books as "carelessly assembled" and "jumbled". Convinced of Lewis's ordered intent behind The Chronicles, scholars have attempted to make sense of this apparent disparity, but until now, none of their proposed theories have proved tenable.
In an interview with Medill News Service that was posted on the Internet last week, I discussed FRC’s opposition to an immigration bill that would allow foreign nationals who are the same-sex partners of American citizens to immigrate to the United States on the same basis as foreign spouses of American citizens. FRC does not believe that homosexual relationships are the equivalent of marriage, and we therefore oppose any legislation that would treat such relationships as the equivalent of marriage.
In response to a question regarding bi-national same-sex couples who are separated by an international border, I used language that trivialized the seriousness of the issue and did not communicate respect for the essential dignity of every human being as a person created in the image of God. I apologize for speaking in a way that did not reflect the standards which the Family Research Council and I embrace.
At this defining moment in American history, values voters everywhere are wondering, "Where do we go from here?" Bishop Harry Jackson and Tony Perkins hope to answer that question with their new book, Personal Faith, Public Policy, available Tuesday, March 4. Jackson and Perkins focus on seven key issues that they believe can unite Christians from all walks of life, including: family, religious liberty, life, immigration, poverty and justice, racial reconciliation, and the environment.
The book is a must-read for people who want to promote social change through spiritual truth. It explains why and how Christians can successfully engage the culture with the values agenda. Click here to pre-order your copy.
William F. Buckley, Jr., was my first conservative—and I didn’t like him much. With his arched eyebrow and flickering tongue, with his $50 words, I thought he was the perfect picture of a snob. I thought his brand of politics would never attract a national following.
As a young college student, I watched him on TV. I wasn’t buying his labored defenses of constitutionalism that he said justified some in resisting integration. I was strong for civil rights and he was against civil rights. Or at least that’s what I thought at the time.
When my hero Hubert Humphrey took to the Senate floor to defend the great Civil Rights Act of 1964, I laughed when he said if any part of that great charter ever led to racial quotas or set-asides, he would eat the page of the Congressional Record on which the bill was printed. I hope Hubert liked Tabasco sauce.
Buckley had warned us. And he warned us of many other things, too. Like Communism.
Perhaps it was because Buckley was such a great man of faith himself that he understood instinctively that Communism was, in the words of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, atheism with a knife to your children’s throats.
I laughed, too, when Buckley ran for Mayor of New York City in 1965. He ran against the liberal knight, John V. Lindsay. Buckley realized he never stood a chance, saying that if he won he’d demand a recount.
Later, when Lindsay switched parties and became a Democrat, his staffers asked me what the Mayor of New York could do for me in my own race for state Assembly. Knowing how my Long Island neighbors despised the limousine liberal Lindsay, I said: “Mayor Lindsay could denounce me by name.” The devil didn’t make me say that; William F. Buckley, Jr. did.
When Buckley debated Governor Ronald Reagan about giving away the Panama Canal, I invited my fellow Coast Guard officers to watch it on TV. As we gathered in the Officers Club, I assured them that Buckley “clean up the floor with Reagan.” At that time, I happened to agree with Buckley that the U.S. ought to give away the canal. I agreed with California Senator Hayakawa who said “we stole it fair and square.”
What we saw instead was Ronald Reagan at the height of his powers. I switched parties and positions on the spot. I became a Reagan man. And Bill Buckley—wrong as he was on the canal—became one of Reagan’s best boosters. My Coast Guard buddies never asked for my political advice again.
Perhaps my favorite Buckley quote is the one that summed up his political philosophy—and mine. It wasn’t just because he was a Yale man that he put down Harvard so memorably. He said: “I should sooner live in a society governed by the first two thousand names in the Boston telephone directory than in a society governed by the two thousand faculty members of Harvard University.” He was, after all, a good democrat.
He would have agreed with Edmund Burke: “Individuals are foolish, but the species is wise.” William F. Buckley, Jr. understood that ideas have consequences. And he did his best to advance the ideas of faith, family and freedom. He did it with wit and energy. God rest ye, Merry Gentleman!
There's an odd feeling in the office today. So much is at stake. It's overcast in Washington. Everything is anticipation. What will the voters do? I remember being here in 1984. We were pretty confident that President Reagan would be re-elected. He led in all the polls. Still, there was uneasiness.
I concluded then that in most countries, the people fear the capital city. In this country, the capital city has a healthy fear of the people. Keep it that way.
President Reagan, of course, respected the American people. And more, he loved them. They fully returned his affection. That day, they gave him their support. He carried forty-nine states.
Shortly afterward, I was asked to draft a letter for President Reagan to Congress. In my version, the President said "if we don't teach phonics, I fear the rising generation will lack the essential tool of literacy." I got that draft letter back within three hours. That line was circled in red. In the margin, someone in the President's office wrote: "This president has concerns. He has no fears." I was never so happy to be corrected in my life.
We're happy to congratulate Witherspoon alumnus David Crater (a Witherspoon Fellow in the Summer of 2001)on his success in Germany. We will always be gratified by the successes of the students whom we have had the privilege of knowing here at FRC.
LEEDS SCHOOL STUDENTS WIN INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS COMPETITION IN GERMANY WITH INNOVATIVE SOLAR ENERGY PLAN
A team of University of Colorado at Boulder MBA students beat 80 other teams to win an international competition that required participants to develop a business plan to distribute solar energy technology in Africa.
The winning team included CU-Boulder Leeds School of Business graduate students (left to right in photo) Tetyana Hinkson (MBA '08), David Crater (MBA '08), and Kristin Apple (MBA '08). The trio competed in the Business Masters 2007 International Case Studies Competition finals in Karlsruhe, Germany, on Nov. 21 through Nov. 23.
The team beat competitors from other leading business schools around the world with a plan that would provide an affordable, environmentally friendly solar energy system in East Africa to irrigate crops, increase food production and generate more income for the region's farmers and entrepreneurs.
Yesterday, FRC was treated to a Witherspoon Fellowship Lecture by William J. Bennett. If you weren't able to come in person, or missed the webcast, you can now view the video of the lecture below:
If you're in downtown DC today, please join us at FRC headquarters at 11:00 AM for a Policy lecture on the film Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed. You can also view a webcast of the event by following this link. Here's the relevant info:
In the forthcoming major motion picture Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed, Ben Stein exposes the frightening efforts by the “Darwinian Machine” to suppress evidence of “intelligent design” in nature and discriminate against those who examine such evidence.
Join Todd Norquist and Dairek Morgan for a powerful presentation on this controversial documentary that chronicles Ben Stein's quest to bring back freedom in our institutions, laboratories and most importantly, in our classrooms.
See a SNEAK PEEK of exclusive clips from Ben’s “Expelled” movie with a special guest appearance by Caroline Crocker, a biology professor who lost her job after she questioned evolution.
I'm here in the ballroom of the Hilton Washington, as the Briefing began just over an hour ago. We've already heard from Sen. John McCain, Sen. Sam Brownback, and Rep. Tom Tancredo is speaking now.
With the FRC Action Washington Briefing 2007 just about to get underway, now would be as good a time as any to vote in the Brieifing's Straw Poll. You can vote here in person if you've registered for the Briefing, or you can become a member of FRC Action and vote online.
Voting will end soon, so what are you waiting for? Go ahead and vote...
UPDATE: I've confirmed the time, and voting will be closed at 1:00p.m. EDT on Saturday.
Yesterday, I had the privilege of participating in "Table Talk Luncheon" at American University's Kay Spiritual Life Center. The topic was "Religion & Politics in the US: Young Evangelicals in National Politics." My worthy counterpart on the panel was Tim Kumfer from Sojourners, with whom I even found a few points of agreement (you'll have to listen to the audio to find out exactly which points).
Before a packed room of American University students, we discussed "hot button" issues like same-sex marriage, embryonic stem cell research, abortion, and the nation's "right-left divide" and evangelicals' involvement in politics. Although most of the audience seemed to lean left, they were gracious hosts, and I had a great time. Thanks to all the students who attended, and to the chaplains who organized the event.
I'll post a link to the audio of the event here whenever it becomes available.
Familial, Funny, and Filthy: A Review of Knocked Up
A recent New York Times Magazine profile of writer-director-producer Judd Apatow contained this intriguing assertion:
Both of the films Apatow has directed offer up the kind of conservative morals the Family Research Council might embrace -- if the humor weren't so filthy.
As the (unofficial) movie critic for FRC I decided to put that claim to the test by screening Apatow's latest film. The verdict: Knocked Up offers up the kind of conservative morals the Family Research Council might embrace -- if the humor weren't so filthy.
The story centers around the relationship between Ben Stone, a schlubby unemployed stoner, who meets rising TV personality Alison Scott in a bar. After getting drunk the pair stumble into an awkward one night stand. Eight weeks later, Ben is shocked when Alison meets him and reveals that she is pregnant. Despite having little in common, the two decide that they have to at least try to make some kind of relationship work for the baby's sake.
It's that twist that makes Knocked Up one of the most pro-life, pro-family film I've seen in years -- and that’s including what passes for "Christian" films. Unfortunately, it is also the filthiest family-oriented film I've ever seen. This is a family movie that I can't recommend for families.
Still, while the ends can't justify the means, it is worthy wading through the crudity to examine the message being presented.
One of the most striking aspects of the film is the use of language. Throughout the film, the obscenities flow freely, yet there is one word too obscene even for these foul-mouthed characters: abortion. When Ben tells his roommates about the pregnancy his buddy Jonah suggests that Alison get a procedure that, he says, "rhymes with 'shmashmortion'." He's quickly condemned as a "monster" by another roommate for even suggesting such an inhuman action.
The only other person to hint that Alison should kill the child is her horrible mother who tells her to wait till she's ready to have a "real baby." As Ross Douthat observes, "Knocked Up is almost naively pro-life: Of course Alison decided to 'keep' the baby, the script suggests, because killing it would be terribly and obviously wrong, and she's not a bad person."
Another old-fashioned value supported by the film is marriage. Allison's sister Debbie (Apatow's own remarkable wife Leslie Mann) and brother-in-law Pete (the understated Paul Rudd) got married because they got "knocked up" and…well, that's just what people do, so the movie implies, when they find themselves with child.
As Allison and Ben attempt to reconcile their imperfections (well, Ben's imperfections) with that ideal, Debbie and Pete reveal how the ideal isn't always so ideal. (Apatow, Mann, and Rudd deserve praise for making this sub-plot compelling enough to be its own movie.) In fact, the character of Pete reveals the key to understanding the movie.
When Ben and Allison drunkenly stumble into bed together, he blurts an epiphanic understatement: "You’re prettier than I am." Indeed, Allison is not only prettier, she's smarter, and nicer, and cleaner, and…so far out of Ben's league that it makes it nearly impossible to suspend disbelief when she confesses her love. Sure, women like losers. But unless Allison has been drained of self-respect and self-esteem, there is no way she could fall in love with such an absolute and total loser.
But a scene later in the second half of the film puts the bizarre romance in perspective. After tiffs with their women, Ben and Paul flee to Las Vegas where they binge on hallucinogenic mushrooms and watch Cirque de Soleil. In his drug-induced stupor Paul has a moment of clarity, admitting that his wife's desire to always be in his presence scares him to death: "I don't think I can accept pure love."
Pure love, Apatow seems to be saying, is what comes with having a family. And we men don't deserve it. While we may not be flat-busted, overweight, unemployed stoners, when it comes to pure love we aren't any more worthy than Ben. We don’t deserve anything so wonderful as a wife much less the miracle of a baby. So if by some stroke of fate/luck/providence we find these blessings in our life we must to do whatever it takes to keep them. We may be losers but we don't have to be fools.
Knocked Up definitely isn't a film I can embrace. The humor is indeed too filthy. But any film that has such a powerful pro-family message deserves at least a pat on the back.
Apparently Hillary Clinton is trying to find a new campaign song and she has asked people to vote on her web site for which song she should use (after my run in with her staffer I looked for John Michael Montgomery’s “I Swear” but it wasn’t there.) I thought it might be fun to start a contest for the other candidates. This is not the place to give your opinions on the candidate (the IRS would love that!) but give a song and a brief explanation of why. Such as “I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Out of My Hair” for Senator John Edwards of the $400 coiffure; or Lit’s “My Own Worst Enemy” for Newt Gingrich; or “Who Are You” by The Who for Mike Gravel (or a number of others.) Self described environmentalist Al Gore can have “It Ain’t Easy Bein’ Green” by Kermit the Frog and Rudy Giuliani (who seems to dress up a lot in dresses) can campaign to “Dude (Looks Like a Lady)” by Aerosmith. Here is list of the candidates – sing away:
Joe Biden
Sam Brownback
Hillary Clinton
Chris Dodd
John Edwards
Jim Gilmore
Newt Gingrich
Rudy Giuliani
Al Gore
Mike Gravel
Chuck Hagel
Mike Huckabee
Duncan Hunter
Dennis Kucinich
John McCain
Barak Obama
Ron Paul
Bill Richardson
Mitt Romney
Tom Tancredo
Fred Thompson
Tommy Thompson
*The earliest known American election campaign song was God Save George Washington, issued in 1780 and sung to the tune of God Save The King.
A Lesson in Web Etiquette for the Huffington Post (Part II)
Like a dog that returns to his vomit is a fool who repeats his folly. -- Proverbs 26:11
(UPDATE: Scroll down to the bottom to see Max's hilarious response.)
Yesterday we had a bit of fun at the expense of professional gadfly Max Blumenthal. We enjoyed providing a lesson in web etiquette by showing what can happen when you hotlink images without permission. Although it took almost four hours, Max caught on and pulled the image from the Huffington Post. Thinking our prank had run its course, we returned the original image.
Not only did he hotlink the same image to the Huffington Post, he included it on The Smirking Chimp, Talk2Action, and on his own website, MaxBlumenthal.com. We've decided to provide a remedial lesson by exposing some of Max's favorite blogs and websites. Listed below are srceenshots of the various sites (click on the link to view the image):
Thanks, Max. You've provided us with hours of amusement here at FRC.
UPDATE: After about six hours, Max finally caught on and posted this amusingly angry response:
KKK paypal and friend of the white supremacist Council of Conservative Citizens, Tony Perkins, has orchestrated the hacking of this post. In doing so, he has drawn greater attention to his links to and ideological support for white supremacists. The photo of Christopher Hitchens posing with the Family Research Council's Witherspoon Fellows was scrubbed from FRC's site today out of fear that I would link to it again. The Family Research Council is a paper tiger that fears me and employs juvenile pranks to attempt to silence me. Father forgive them for not knowing that I won't stop bringing the pain.
Max has a gift for packing a lot of nonsense into a short space so let's separate it out and take it a little at a time:
First, for almost three years Max has been trying to peddle his nonsense about Tony Perkins being associated with David Duke and other white supremacists. In fact, he gets hopping mad that no one seems to pay attention when he repeats such scurrilous charges. The fact is that FRC has responded to that first claim about Duke back in 2005 and yet Max still repeats this lie. He also makes much ado about a speech before the CCC. It is true that when Perkins was a state legislator he spoke at lunch that was sponsored by that group. At the time he did not know of the groups racist agenda (be honest, have you ever heard of the "Council of Conservative Citizens?"). After he found out, he forcefully denounced the group. One question that Max never seems to ask is that if Tony Perkins is a racist, why do so many African-American churches and pastors support him?
Second, he claims that "Tony Perkins, has orchestrated the hacking of this post." Actually, my web editor Jared Bridges and I are the one who orchestrated this prank. We did it mostly because it would be fun and because we suspected you wouldn't have a sense of humor (boy, were we right about that!). Also, "hacking" implies that we broke into your website rather than just changed a picture that you stole from our site.
Third, he says "In doing so, he has drawn greater attention to his links to and ideological support for white supremacists." Stop and think about that for a second, Max. If your claims had any truth to them wouldn’t we try to avoid bringing attention to your article? Besides, since no one seems to have noticed what was going on it appears no one is reading your site anyway.
Fourth, he says, "The photo of Christopher Hitchens posing with the Family Research Council's Witherspoon Fellows was scrubbed from FRC's site today out of fear that I would link to it again." It wasn't "scrubbed" from our site. In fact, you are welcome to download a copy and post it on your site…if you ask nicely. All you had to do is ask, Max.
Fifth, he goes nuts when he says, "The Family Research Council is a paper tiger that fears me and employs juvenile pranks to attempt to silence me." Was it a juvenile prank? Absolutely. And a pretty funny one, if I may say so myself. Also, how is linking to your posts (all four of them) an attempt to "silence" you?
The absolute best part of the post, though, is when he says, "Father forgive them for not knowing that I won't stop bringing the pain."
Hotlinking images, defined as using the graphic image of an external site in your own code, is an violation of internet etiquette. As Kevin Aylward from Wizbang! says, "It's all fine and good to give a hotlinker a break, but the best way to turn newbie hotlinkers into respectable Interweb citizens is a dose of public embarrassment."
Unfortunately, The Huffington Post hasn't learned its lesson so when they hotlinked to this:
We decided to replace it with another image:
(Note: No kittens were actually harmed in the making of this prank. The kitty is only sleeping. Here is a closeup of that image.)
Here's the direct link to that page. Eventually they should be smart enough to take it down...or not.
(UPDATE: After 3 1/2 hours, Max finally caught on and removed the image.)
At FRC headquarters last night, we formally welcomed Ken Blackwell to the staff as Senior Fellow for Family Empowerment at an evening reception attended by many of our allies and friends in the nation's capital. To a standing-room-only crowd, Ken delivered remarks on the current political landscape and the lessons learned from the 2006 elections. We look forward to showcasing his insight and expertise on issues such as family economics, tax reform, and education.
While a new hero is entering Washington, we honor another who is departing. Jan LaRue, a former FRC colleague, is retiring from her position as Chief Counsel and Legal Studies Director at Concerned Women for America and moving to Texas. Jan has taken a lead role nationwide on issues like pornography, abortion, and judicial activism. Although she will be greatly missed, her efforts in the nation's capital live on through the many people her work and testimony have touched. Please join us in thanking Jan for her dedication to the cause!
In the race for the future occupancy of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue (it's one house at least whose market price is up), the media is atwitter about the amount of campaign cash the candidates have raked in to date. Several pundits have predicted that this will be "the most expensive campaign in history." Yet few analysts seem to understand that money is not the ultimate measure of success. If it were, then Ross Perot and Steve Forbes would be counted among the former Commanders-in-Chief.
While these hopefuls seem adept at raising dollars, they have yet to raise the interest of voters to the point of congealing around their candidacy. Wayne Berman, a Washington lobbyist, argues in The Washington Post that large fundraising "is hugely important if you have to prove you are a credible candidate." While money is no doubt extremely important, without a message you're nothing more than an ATM for political consultants. Proving that you are a credible candidate with a sound vision for America should come first and fundraising will naturally follow. As pollster Kellyanne Conway suggests, "Excitement begets money."
As it stands, values voters have yet to get excited. Obviously, the candidates have several months to develop their platforms, but we await the second quarter results in which the frontrunners are defined not by cash--but by conviction.
Monday at the National Press Club, pro-family leaders from the U.S. and Canada gathered for a press conference. The topic was the upcoming meeting of the World Congress of Families (WCF), which is being held in Warsaw, Poland on May 11-13. In an exciting development, the Polish president, Lech Kaczynski, has agreed to serve as honorary patron and to give the opening address. Speakers at the press conference, including FRC's Senior Fellow Bill Saunders, noted the importance of the family to the health of societies, as well as the pressures families face from bad governmental policies.
The meeting in Warsaw will feature speakers from around the world who will diagnose family ills and offer practical solutions. FRC will be there, and we urge pro-family activists in the U.S. to come as well. What happens in Europe affects the U.S., as European nations exhibit the characteristics of nations that follow policies of radical secularism and social pessimism. This Warsaw meeting promises to be a true springtime for a united, worldwide effort to promote the family.
For the first issue of their new redesign, Time magazine has a cover photo of Ronald Reagan with a tear streaming down his face. Here's how the table of contents describes the image: "Photograph by David Hume Kennerly. Tear by Tim O'Brien."
How many people will believe that the tear is real, rather than a fabricated image? Is this a dishonest use of the image by Time?
More importantly, shouldn't the magazine acknowledge that it ripped off the idea from Iron Eyes Cody, the "crying Indian" from those 70's era PSAs on pollution?
During yesterday's FRC blogger briefing conference call, Joe mentioned that registration is now open for FRC Action's Washington Briefing. We're especially excited about some special events related to bloggers and blogging which are in the works. Watch this spot for updates. In the meantime, here's the relevant information for registration:
As we face powerful attacks on our values, there is no better time to stand with FRC Action and our friends at Focus on the Family Action, American Values, and the Alliance Defense Fund for a fall event guaranteed to change the public debate. Registration is now open for the second annual Washington Briefing 2007: Values Voter Summit from October 19-21 at the Hilton Washington in downtown D.C. Last year's event attracted 1,800 attendees from 47 states and nationwide coverage from more than 200 major media outlets. Join us for special sessions featuring the 2008 presidential hopefuls, a who's who of the pro-family movement, a presidential straw poll, book signings, a gala dinner, and much more! For more information or to register, log on to www.frcactionwashingtonbriefing.org or call 888-372-2284. Book your reservations by May 15 and receive a $25 Early Bird discount!
While many in Congress apparently don't have the stomach to battle the Islamic terrorists in Iraq, they don't hesitate to take up a fight with the head of the U.S. military over his opposition to a proposed law that would allow homosexuals to openly serve in the U.S. military. In an interview in which Gen. Peter Pace, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, was asked about a bill introduced by Rep. Marty Meehan (D-Mass.), Pace said that homosexuality, like adultery (both of which violate military law), is immoral. Sen. John Warner (R-Va.) was quick to fire off a response saying he strongly disagreed with the General's statement that "homosexuality is immoral." House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) joined the anti-Pace volley, saying, "We don't need moral judgment from the chairman of the Joint Chiefs." Even administration officials, like Defense Secretary Robert Gates, signaled retreat from the General when he said "personal opinion really doesn't have a place here." The Washington Postaccused Gen. Pace of "bigotry."
Many Americans do not know that military personnel have a separate set of laws that govern their conduct; it is called the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ). Under the UCMJ homosexual behavior, like adultery, is criminal. It is immoral. The outrage should not be focused at Gen. Pace for defending the law, it should be directed at Rep. Meehan and others who in the midst of a war want to make political correctness a priority and try and turn the military into a laboratory for their liberal social ideas. As Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Pace should not have to apologize for defending the law; rather, he should be applauded for upholding it. We urge his colleagues and the administration to resist the urge to retreat and instead follow his brave leadership.
We are pleased to announce that Ken Blackwell, former undersecretary at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Human Rights Commission and mayor of Cincinnati, will join FRC as Senior Fellow for Family Empowerment. In this new role, Blackwell will lead our efforts in addressing education, tax reform, and family economics.
As one of the nation's leading conservative voices, Mr. Blackwell has a distinguished record of service in Ohio as both treasurer of state and secretary of state. The Wall Street Journal has compared his policies and principles to those of Ronald Reagan. In the battle for family, faith, and freedom, we can think of no better teammate than Ken Blackwell whose unwavering commitment to conservative policies has advanced both family enterprise and family strength.
FRC Action is joining with some of the most influential faith-and-family groups, to host an event guaranteed to change the debate in 2008. Focus on the Family Action, American Values and other invited cosponsors are teaming up with us to host The Washington Briefing 2007: Values Voter Summit October 19-21 at the Hilton Washington in downtown D.C. Last year's event attracted more than 1,800 attendees from 47 states, and coverage from every major media outlet in the country. With a stellar line-up that featured speakers such as Dr. James Dobson, Sean Hannity, Tony Snow, Bill Bennett, Ann Coulter, Newt Gingrich, House and Senate leaders, and dozens more, The Washington Briefing 2006 exceeded all expectations. This year's event promises to be even bigger. Registration for 2007 opens March 15. Book your registration before May 15 and receive a $25 Early Bird discount.
A new poll from the Associated Press and AOL News asked respondents to name the past year’s biggest villain. The results:
#1 -- George W. Bush (25%)
#2 -- Osama Bin Laden (8%)
#3 -- Saddam Hussein (6%)
#4 -- President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran (5%)
#5 -- North Korean leader Kim Jong II (2%)
#6 -- Donald Rumsfeld (2%)
#7 – Tie: Satan, Hugo Chavez, Tom Cruise, Dick Cheney, Hillary Clinton, John Kerry and Rosie O’Donnell (1%).
The same poll asked Americans to name the year’s biggest hero:
#1 – George W. Bush (13%)
#2 -- The troops in Iraq (6%)
#3 – Tie: Jesus Christ, Barack Obama, Oprah Winfrey (3%)
#4 -- Bono (2%)
#5 – Tie: Warren Buffett, George Clooney, Bill Gates, Al Gore, Billy Graham, Angelina Jolie, Colin Powell, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Condoleeza Rice (1%)
When a poll shows our President is considered more villainous than three dictators, the world's most infamous terrorist, and the Prince of Darkness, and that Barack and Oprah are on par with Jesus then either (a) we don't take polls seriously anymore or (b) Americans are boneheads.
Maybe we should take a poll to find out the answer...
Each week, FRC Blog sponsor’s the FRC Blogger’s Briefing in which we host a conference call that provides bloggers an opportunity to communicate with politicians, policy makers, religious leaders, and others who set the agenda within our nation's Capital. Listed below are a few of the bloggers have written about previous briefings:
Dec. 14 -- Ramesh Ponnuru, Senior Editor of National Review; Author of the Party of Death
600,000 prostitutes, 5.7 million with AIDS and Richard Gere sees the answer in condoms- which are not completely effective in stopping the spread of the disease and doesn’t stop other STDs?
Hollywood star Richard Gere cheered on thousands of Indian prostitutes dancing to raunchy Bollywood songs on Wednesday and urged them to refuse sex without condoms to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS.
"No condom, no sex. No condom, no sex. No condom, no sex," Gere hollered into a microphone as about 10,000 prostitutes gathered at a dusty Mumbai fairground joined him in chorus.
The actor, dressed in a brown jacket and black trousers, presented awards to sex workers in recognition of their work on various HIV/AIDS intervention programmes.
"You're unique. This is amazing, an unbelievable experience," said the star of the hit movie "Pretty Woman", also known for his support to the people of Tibet.
"This is unfathomable. This will not happen in the U.S. or Europe, or even in Asia."
The United Nations says 5.7 million Indians are living with HIV/AIDS, the world's largest caseload. Many of those infected are prostitutes.
Mumbai has an estimated 600,000 prostitutes, but a sizeable number of them are not in brothels which makes implementation of HIV/AIDS intervention programmes difficult.
A killer elephant named Osama bin Laden that is thought to be responsible for the deaths of at least fourteen people in India has been shot dead. 'Osama' had reportedly trampled 14 people to death in the past six months in the north-eastern state, the BBC reported.
He was given his name by villagers in Assam's eastern district of Sonitpur. Reuters is reporting that a forestry official said on Sunday "Osama" had been shot dead on Saturday in a tea plantation on the outskirts of Behali town, about 140 km (90 miles) north of Guwahati, Assam's main city.
"The elephant was killed after villagers identified him," a senior forestry official said, adding the animal could be identified because it had no tusks.
Australian performance artist Stelios Arcadiou, known as Stelarc, has a third ear implanted on his arm. The ear was grown in the lab using human cartilage and cells, and then surgically implanted. Next he'd like to implant receivers and transmitters so others can listen in over the internet to what the ear hears. Some have criticized the extra ear as not clinically necessary and potentially offensive to those who have lost an ear in an accident. Supposedly he wouldn't hear the criticisms if he wore a long-sleeved shirt...
This is Ronald Reagan's birthday. The Gipper would have been ninety-eight. Last year, on the campaign trail, Barack Obama paid a tribute to the man they called the Great Communicator. He told liberal supporters he would be their Reagan. Backers of Hillary Clinton pounced. How could you say anything good about Reagan? But Obama held his ground. He said that Reagan was a transforming President. It was for that purpose that Obama was seeking the Presidency.
At this defining moment in American history, values voters everywhere are wondering, "Where do we go from here?" Bishop Harry Jackson and Tony Perkins hope to answer that question with their new book, Personal Faith, Public Policy, available Tuesday, March 4. Jackson and Perkins focus on seven key issues that they believe can unite Christians from all walks of life, including: family, religious liberty, life, immigration, poverty and justice, racial reconciliation, and the environment.
For the first issue of their new redesign, Time magazine has a cover photo of Ronald Reagan with a tear streaming down his face. Here's how the table of contents describes the image: "Photograph by David Hume Kennerly. Tear by Tim O'Brien." 
More importantly, shouldn't the magazine acknowledge that it ripped off the idea from Iron Eyes Cody, the "crying Indian" from those 
FRC Action is joining with some of the most influential faith-and-family groups, to host an event guaranteed to change the debate in 2008. Focus on the Family Action, American Values and other invited cosponsors are teaming up with us to host The Washington Briefing 2007: Values Voter Summit October 19-21 at the Hilton Washington in downtown D.C. Last year's event attracted more than 1,800 attendees from 47 states, and coverage from every major media outlet in the country. With a stellar line-up that featured speakers such as Dr. James Dobson, Sean Hannity, Tony Snow, Bill Bennett, Ann Coulter, Newt Gingrich, House and Senate leaders, and dozens more, The Washington Briefing 2006 exceeded all expectations. This year's event promises to be even bigger. Registration for 2007 opens March 15. Book your registration before May 15 and receive a $25 Early Bird discount.
