tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-209478372012-02-08T01:58:34.963-05:00das capitalistnoreply@blogger.comBlogger1551100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20947837.post-49016694638916869772010-04-09T14:18:00.000-04:002010-04-10T14:20:06.502-04:00

Soon we will be able to make an informed choice between Snickers, M&Ms and Doritos. Truly history-making.Read full blog on American Thinker

das capitalistnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20947837.post-73489651129017346512010-04-09T14:02:00.000-04:002010-04-10T14:03:32.777-04:00

Here's a fun party trick. Surround yourself with liberals-not hard to find in Boston-and invite them to hear Sarah Palin at the Boston Tea Party rally on April 14th, the day before Tax Day. I tried it out last night. People looked at me as if my dog had dragged in some roadkill. Read full blog on American Thinker

das capitalistnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20947837.post-69208148440607805132010-04-06T14:07:00.000-04:002010-04-10T14:08:23.847-04:00

The stagecoach is out of control on a mountain road and some of the passengers are yelling at the driver to whip the horses.Read full blog on American Thinker

das capitalistnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20947837.post-24737151252428227242010-04-06T13:57:00.000-04:002010-04-10T13:58:52.528-04:00

The spectacle of a sarcastic President is not a pretty sight. Unsubstantiated sarcasm is downright repugnant, transforming the leader of the free world into a mean-spirited twerp.Read full blog on American Thinker

das capitalistnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20947837.post-69843456658065258302010-04-06T13:51:00.001-04:002010-04-10T14:22:06.956-04:00

Since the passage of the Health Care Reform Bill, the Democrat leadership has embarked on a strategy of demonizing its opponents as angry, potentially violent racists. Charles M. Blow developed a new line of attack in his New York Times column last weekend, with an argument based on a recent Pew Research Council poll: Republicans don't understand ObamaCare, so they have no right to criticize

das capitalistnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20947837.post-68231787400952508842010-04-04T14:05:00.000-04:002010-04-10T14:06:52.017-04:00

On American Thinker:The New York Times published a seductive photo (here) on its front page of the 17-year old baby-faced girl who blew herself up on a crowded Moscow subway, taking 39 other commuters with her to paradise, and her 30-year old killer husband, both wielding pistols. The Times notes that the photo:is deeply repugnant to most people but also likely to be embraced by other extremists

das capitalistnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20947837.post-47919906096263338152010-03-31T13:59:00.001-04:002010-04-10T14:00:31.648-04:00

The focus on the gender of the bomber throughout the mainstream media is a transparent diversion from identifying them as part of the global Islamic jihad. Read full blog on American Thinker

das capitalistnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20947837.post-30176163676080985002010-03-30T14:01:00.000-04:002010-04-10T14:02:03.093-04:00

The fact that mainstream media coverage of the Muslim terrorist attacks in Moscow was predictable makes it no less craven. Read full blog on American Thinker

das capitalistnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20947837.post-6744280353745357072010-03-29T13:53:00.000-04:002010-04-10T13:55:30.382-04:00

According to Professor Jay Wexler, "separation of powers is not always positive. In times of crisis, when quick and decisive action must be taken to preserve the nation's well-being, a government with many power centers can seem like a real drag."Read full blog on American Thinker

das capitalistnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20947837.post-17273806650939701072010-03-26T13:55:00.000-04:002010-04-10T13:56:59.551-04:00

Nancy Pelosi compared to Churchill?Read full blog on American Thinker

das capitalistnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20947837.post-83242342313417232222010-03-26T13:48:00.000-04:002010-04-10T13:49:41.205-04:00

Leave it to the left to turn something as sensible as insulating your house into a big-government organized-labor boondoggle.Read full article on American Thinker

das capitalistnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20947837.post-86580247389673043512010-03-25T14:08:00.001-04:002010-04-10T14:14:00.526-04:00

Michael Capuano: "It is my hope that this landmark legislation will...serve as a starting point for further needed reforms."Read full blog on American Thinker

das capitalistnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20947837.post-61713130405822569402010-03-25T13:55:00.001-04:002010-03-25T13:56:52.677-04:00

Charles Phillips of Concord is thrilled that hundreds of millions of people are “active in social justice” grassroots organizations (Boston Globe letter 3/24/10). From my point of view, most of these “environmental and peace and justice organizations” do not, as Phillips claims, “make a better world.” Most are filled with busybodies who want to write laws, expand government and tell everyone

das capitalistnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20947837.post-55199468581250056442010-03-20T13:45:00.001-04:002010-04-10T13:48:08.343-04:00

The Cambridge, Massachusetts Climate Emergency Congress (CEC) is a casebook study of a new movement of "climate community activism" that pushes sustainability issues in municipal governments. It is a worldwide movement that bears watching. Read full article on American Thinker

das capitalistnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20947837.post-8960290023114999862010-03-15T13:44:00.003-04:002010-03-15T13:48:40.783-04:00

This letter in the Globe repeats the talking point that Climategate was about a few "minor" errors in thousands of pages of top-notch scientific reporting. Just because, as the letter writer admits, this point has been "stated many times" doesn't make it true.Science is not a popularity contestMarch 15, 2010IN HIS March 3 op-ed column “Gore still hot on his doomsday rhetoric,’’ Jeff Jacoby

das capitalistnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20947837.post-12101870523631083862010-03-14T23:48:00.004-04:002010-03-15T14:19:51.714-04:00

The front page of the Sunday New York Times Book Review has a review of Black Hearts, which begins with the following statement:Of all the crimes that sullied the record of the United States military in Iraq — the torture of prisoners at Abu Ghraib, the killings of 24 Iraqi men, women and children by Marines in November 2005 in Haditha…The Marines accused of murder in Haditha were in fact all

das capitalistnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20947837.post-36618044261628415032010-03-10T13:42:00.000-05:002010-04-10T13:50:49.871-04:00

With the threat of an NFL player walkout in the news, the Boston Globe editorial board grabbed the opportunity to bring up the fatuous argument that football is a socialist enterprise.Full article on American Thinker

das capitalistnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20947837.post-20708933452070641722010-03-10T12:04:00.001-05:002010-03-10T12:06:19.238-05:00

Number 4 on American Thinker!Is the NFL 'Socialistic'?

das capitalistnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20947837.post-62267189736046160022010-03-09T15:10:00.003-05:002010-03-09T15:19:03.386-05:00

The Boston Globe has acknowledged Climategate in a big story in the Sunday Science and Technology section: After errors, global warming gets a cold shoulder. Sort of. The article spins the story so that skeptics have twisted the story, misleading the public. Senator Kerry's response is typical:“What we have to do is go on the offensive,’’ Kerry said. The science “has been maligned and

das capitalistnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20947837.post-74939673066691293182010-03-06T12:02:00.000-05:002010-03-10T12:04:26.235-05:00

Another one on American Thinker.

das capitalistnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20947837.post-47922747328680655942010-03-02T15:17:00.003-05:002010-03-02T18:46:40.221-05:00

Mark Steyn's Happy Warrior column in NR has a story about the Australian Minister of the Environment Peter Garrett, the shaved head lead singer of the band Midnight Oil. It appears that Environment Australia has mandated an aluminum insulation that is causing house fires. Mark doesn't point out that Midnight Oil's biggest hit was "Beds are Burning," a song about giving Australia back to the

das capitalistnoreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20947837.post-4179702232198390902010-03-02T15:10:00.004-05:002010-03-02T15:17:51.988-05:00

I was listening to an R&B compilation that has a group called the Daktaris. I had forgotten about the television show Daktari, based on the movie Clarence the Cross-eyed Lion. It was on from 1966-69, about the same era as Born Free (with Elsa the lion). Back then it was a family show, but today it's classified as a children's show. The plot revolved around a veterinary clinic in Africa where

das capitalistnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20947837.post-63536456656695799332010-03-02T15:06:00.002-05:002010-03-02T15:09:55.611-05:00

Thanks to American Thinker for running another column.

das capitalistnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20947837.post-7605233272074766072010-02-26T09:04:00.001-05:002010-02-26T09:05:49.491-05:00

When the Republicans were in power, it was called the "nuclear option." Now it's called "reconciliation," or "majority vote" in today's euphemistic Boston Globe headline, "Democrats lay path to pass [health] bill in majority vote." The Globe quotes Nancy Pelosi: “We need to have the courage to get this job done." The reason she needs courage is because the bill is so unpopular with voters. A

das capitalistnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20947837.post-59349092948557624202010-02-13T04:35:00.008-05:002010-02-13T05:00:24.994-05:00

Two Cambridge City Councillors have announced they are in the race for Anthony Gallucio’s State Senate seat. Strangely neither of these candidates resides in the district.According to the Cambridge Civic Journal, Marjorie Decker’s home address is 61 Walden Street, Cambridge in Ward 10, Precinct 1. Decker page Denise Simmons lives at 188 Harvard Street, in Ward 2, Precinct 1. Simmons pageNeither

das capitalistnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20947837.post-47774517136713424172010-02-11T17:24:00.003-05:002010-02-11T17:27:19.908-05:00

The Boston Globe editorial staff takes GOP gubernatorial candidate Charlie Baker to task for what they term his “willful ignorance” about climate change. When pressed by a reporter to declare a position on global warming, Baker apparently replied, “I absolutely am not smart enough to believe that I know the answer to that question.” One might quibble with his choice of words, but it’s sensible

das capitalistnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20947837.post-87234317718316135672010-02-10T17:30:00.002-05:002010-02-10T17:33:08.298-05:00

AT posted my first column. 53 comments so far, but who's counting?

das capitalistnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20947837.post-1390335677364513642010-02-09T16:52:00.001-05:002010-02-10T11:30:34.816-05:00

It is not a news flash that purple loosestrife has been crowding out native species in the northeastern U.S. since it was introduced in the early 1800s, but if a scientific study of invasive species at Walden Woods mentions global warming as a possible cause, the story is catapulted to both the Globe’s front page (2/4/10) and its editorial page (2/7/10).The ecosystem at Walden Pond may be

das capitalistnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20947837.post-7484800198463769502009-12-06T11:39:00.000-05:002009-12-06T11:40:32.854-05:00

In his op-ed, “In glitzy shadows, a health reform foe lurks” (12/6/09) Lee Fang makes unfounded insinuations about a connection between David Koch and the John Birch Society, and attempts to create a conspiracy theory about right-wing billionaires “lurking in the shadows” attempting to influence policy. Does Fang think no one would notice that his employer, the Center for American Progress, was

das capitalistnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20947837.post-63567552631173495012009-12-04T10:56:00.001-05:002009-12-04T10:57:18.267-05:00

Ellen Goodman’s main contribution to the global warming debate was her statement in a 2007 column that “global warming deniers are now on a par with Holocaust deniers.” Unfortunately this defamatory word “denier” has become the accepted term for skeptic. Consider how nasty this accusation is. Climate scientists who question the political arguments of the IPCC, and ordinary people who are

das capitalistnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20947837.post-11392277466485936822009-11-23T08:32:00.003-05:002009-11-23T11:27:12.771-05:00

The Globe’s willful blindness toward Major Hasan’s ties to Islamic terrorism was disturbing. Today’s editorial “Welcome all faiths in uniform” (11/23/09) pushes the envelope of sanity; the lesson we are to learn from the Fort Hood massacre apparently is not a heightened awareness of the potential for violence from radicalized American Muslims. Rather we need to be on the watch for 1) “acts of

das capitalistnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20947837.post-46306586051342202892009-11-19T10:40:00.001-05:002009-11-19T10:40:53.361-05:00

Globe letter writer A. Dutton believes that it is “well-known” that President Obama is “willing to listen to others…almost to a fault.” Is she referring to the man who told Obamacare critics, “The time for bickering is over”? Who said, “I don't want the folks who created the mess to do a lot of talking. I want them just to get out of the way so we can clean up the mess. I don't mind cleaning

das capitalistnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20947837.post-76734398470011645492009-11-16T10:39:00.000-05:002009-11-19T10:39:59.314-05:00

Steve Almond describes in the Globe how as a father he must teach his daughter to share the limited resources of the playground, and he concludes that playground rules about sharing have an “adult name: socialism.” What he describes however is not socialism but a benign monarchy, where a disinterested adult dictates behavior to his at times unruly subjects. A socialist playground would be one

das capitalistnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20947837.post-26012744640554347112009-11-13T10:35:00.000-05:002009-11-19T10:39:05.325-05:00

RIght View:“This new library is the community's gift to itself. Come enjoy what you have built!” -- Library Director Susan FlanneryBy coincidence, the new Cambridge Main Library opened to the public on November 9, 2009, on the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. I visited the library to get a copy of Animal Farm to commemorate both events. Entering the new “Glass” building has a

das capitalistnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20947837.post-28534606741179823142009-11-09T10:42:00.000-05:002009-11-19T10:43:32.862-05:00

Steve Almond’s lack of self-awareness is truly staggering. On the one hand he seethes with ignorant rage and hatred for Rush Limbaugh and talk radio. His op-ed, with the snarky title, “Who’s afraid of big bad Fairness Doctrine” begins, “Of all the lies told by the pooh-bahs of talk radio…” and goes downhill from there. Other samples: “Talk radio hosts foment ignorant rage”; they are “

das capitalistnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20947837.post-44718950201053214432009-11-05T20:15:00.001-05:002009-11-05T20:19:35.805-05:00

Cambridge Chronicle 11/5/09These are trying times for global warming activists. Despite years of work, people don’t seem to be listening. The Pew Research Center reported last week that only 36% of Americans believe that man causes global warming—down from 47% a year ago.Climate scientists haven’t been listening to the mantra about the science being “settled.” This just in: In the August 2009

das capitalistnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20947837.post-81478413986567227672009-11-04T20:19:00.000-05:002009-11-05T20:20:41.095-05:00

Anita Dunn called Mao Zedong one of her "favorite political philosophers" and "one of the people I turn to most." Thomas Frank however believes Ms. Dunn is above reproach because she quoted "one of those Mao Zedong aphorisms that wouldn't look out of place on a motivational poster" ("Glenn Beck's Hotline to Nowhere, 11/4/09). By this logic we cannot criticize a neo-Nazi who loves Hitler

das capitalistnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20947837.post-61879397484580136002009-10-31T20:24:00.000-04:002009-11-05T20:25:32.946-05:00

I hope Mr. Gabler feels better after his temper tantrum where he calls investment bankers "sociopaths," worse than rapists or serial murderers ("The Gaggle of Economic Sociopaths," 10/31/09). Doesn't Mr Gabler realize that the "subprime mortgage pushers" were Barney Frank and Chris Dodd? And doesn't...oh, never mind. It's pointless to argue with a two year old.

das capitalistnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20947837.post-91148454310376805952009-10-21T20:21:00.001-04:002009-11-05T20:49:40.559-05:00

It doesn't require a conspiracy theory to recognize that President Obama wants to change this country-it was written in capital letters on his campaign posters. It is not paranoid, as Thomas Frank charges, to oppose this change ("From John Birchers to Birthers," 10/21/09).As to Mr Franks specific accusations:If you don't think that American educators are indoctrinating our children, you

das capitalistnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20947837.post-45159979787645351022009-10-16T20:25:00.000-04:002009-11-05T20:49:01.925-05:00

Your editorial "Limbaugh: Socialism on the 50 yard line" (10/16/09) scrupulously avoids any mention of the facts of the story: a blogger inventing racist quotes and placing them on Rush's Wikipedia page. Dozens of public figures, including--naturally--Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, repeating these slanderous lies. The mainstream media then playing along without bothering to undertake the most

das capitalistnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20947837.post-32241369892453593982009-10-11T20:27:00.000-04:002009-11-05T20:27:54.532-05:00

Marilyn Mason accuses the “right wing” of “flip-flopping” in the reactions to the Olympics and the Nobel Peace Prize stories (Letter, 10/10/09). It is however entirely consistent if you are negative on Obama to take a negative view of his success with the Nobel and a positive view of his failure with the Olympic bid; a positive times a negative and a negative times a positive both equal a

das capitalistnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20947837.post-23656825013289881412009-10-02T20:34:00.000-04:002009-11-05T20:36:09.033-05:00

Following the recent “longwinded” City Council debate on abolishing nuclear weapons (“Nuke talk sparks heated Cambridge council debate,” Chronicle 9/23/09), the Chronicle posted an online poll, asking, “Would you support a ballot question calling for the end of nuclear weapons?” At the time of writing, the landslide poll winner, with 62% of the vote, is the obvious (and irritated) question, “Why

das capitalistnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20947837.post-30997099432220657722009-09-27T20:28:00.000-04:002009-11-05T20:29:04.019-05:00

Apparently your editorial board couldn't find anything in Sarah Palin's Hong Kong speech to criticize, but you felt obliged to uphold your editorial mission of disparaging her at every opportunity. The best you could come up with was a feeble insinuation that there was something unethical about the fact that...she got paid to give her speech? Don't people speaking to 1,100 bankers usually get

das capitalistnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20947837.post-22614401247153175482009-09-12T20:29:00.000-04:002009-11-05T20:30:19.066-05:00

I agree with Neal Gabler ("The Extreme Republican Party, 9/12/09) that our political system benefits from having two parties with opposing ideological foundations. Mr Gabler, however, like too many of his fellow Democrats, approaches debate on current issues with an unfortunate extremism of his own. Rather than discuss global warming or the appropriate role of the federal government in end of

das capitalistnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20947837.post-4556601952593276092009-09-10T20:30:00.000-04:002009-11-05T20:31:01.447-05:00

The Globe headline this morning reports that according to President Obama, "The Time for Bickering is Over." Bickering is what we used to call the legislative process, back when we had leaders who believed in democracy.

das capitalistnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20947837.post-79019929128013100142009-07-21T20:36:00.000-04:002009-11-05T20:38:01.394-05:00

Things are built in China at an incredible pace. Need a new airport expressway for the Olympics? Done. Decide to create a new economic zone in Shanghai across the river with skyscrapers that rival Manhattan? Done. Projects the size of the Big Dig are no big deal.On the other hand, consider the Walden Street Bridge in Cambridge. In the 1990s, engineers noticed that the 86-foot long two-lane

das capitalistnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20947837.post-43255070838786887692009-06-11T20:38:00.000-04:002009-11-05T20:39:32.002-05:00

The Chronicle reports that “Over the years, Cambridge has implemented elements of a climate protection plan, with goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and the community’s carbon footprint”
(Chronicle 5/13/09).As noted on the City website, “in 1999, the City Council passed a resolution to join the Cities for Climate Protection (CCP), a campaign of ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability.”

das capitalistnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20947837.post-22293709692988236682009-05-15T20:40:00.000-04:002009-11-05T20:41:04.359-05:00

The Cambridge Forum--“bringing people together to talk” for 42 years—is an amazing local resource. Last week the speaker was self-described “provocateur” Michael Schellenberger, author (with Ted Nordhaus) of the controversial essay titled “The Death of Environmentalism.”Schellenberger delivered what a friend who joined me called “a tour de force.” He was frequently challenged during the Q&A,

das capitalistnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20947837.post-1057967559569605462009-05-07T20:54:00.003-04:002009-05-07T21:00:04.739-04:00

Rick Bass reviews EARLY SPRING: An Ecologist and Her Children Wake to a Warming World By Amy Seidl"Early Spring" is the kind of book we'll be seeing more of, as the natural world tilts, sags, slumps, and burns, growing ever-more heated, and with biology's whispered promises of impermanence dialed up to a such a volume now that even those who might not wish to consider such things can hear them

das capitalistnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20947837.post-46897895234245665622009-05-07T20:31:00.000-04:002009-11-05T20:32:25.467-05:00

Joan Vennochi admits that the image of the "adorable" Obama family is "managed expertly by the White House with help from the media." She also admits that Sarah Palin's family life "brings baggage that is especially difficult for a female candidate to overcome." But this female member of the press is happy to help out with the media manipulation of the Obama image, and happy to make life more

das capitalistnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20947837.post-24856980136199098602009-05-07T19:34:00.002-04:002009-05-07T19:36:33.736-04:00

Joan Vennochi (Globe, 5/7/09) admits that the image of the "adorable" Obama family is "managed expertly by the White House with help from the media." She also admits that Sarah Palin's family life "brings baggage that is especially difficult for a female candidate to overcome." But this female member of the press is happy to help out with the media manipulation of the Obama image, and happy to

das capitalistnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20947837.post-17569914303176514272009-04-16T22:33:00.001-04:002009-04-16T22:33:55.711-04:00

There’s a saying I’ve heard from Dennis Prager on talk radio: conservatives think liberals are wrong, but liberals think conservatives are evil. I’ve always found this to be a bit simplistic and exaggerated. Surely my Cambridge neighbors don’t think I’m evil because I disagree with them on the role of the government. But then I happened upon Mitchell E. Nelin’s letter in the Chronicle, who

das capitalistnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20947837.post-17512718881649968832009-04-16T20:41:00.000-04:002009-11-05T20:41:59.051-05:00

There’s a saying I’ve heard from Dennis Prager on talk radio: conservatives think liberals are wrong, but liberals think conservatives are evil. I’ve always found this to be a bit simplistic and exaggerated. Surely my Cambridge neighbors don’t think I’m evil because I disagree with them on the role of the government. But then I happened upon Mitchell E. Nelin’s letter in the Chronicle, who

das capitalistnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20947837.post-57465746974990505922009-04-13T14:24:00.000-04:002009-04-13T14:25:28.324-04:00

Professor Nadle argues in “Will Obama be a n0-go to racism conference” (4/13/09) that the U.S. should attend the upcoming U.N. racism conference, even though it promises to be another hate-fest with human rights paragons like Libya, Cuba and Algeria issuing statements criticizing the human rights records of Israel and America—alone among nations. Although she admits that some of the statements

das capitalistnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20947837.post-54506110893964238082009-04-01T20:23:00.000-04:002009-11-05T20:24:10.583-05:00

Scott Paul’s letter “Think of Carbon Law’s World Impact" (4/1/09) confuses two related but distinct issues: air pollution and climate change. He states that, “Air pollution causes 750,000 premature deaths in China, while 25% of the particulate matter over Los Angeles originates in China, which has become the world's largest carbon emitter.” Some particulate matter (soot and ash from burning

das capitalistnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20947837.post-11235149614569329932009-03-25T16:05:00.000-04:002009-03-25T16:06:15.851-04:00

Most of Sam Haselby’s “Divided We Stand” (Globe Ideas, 3/22/09) presents an excellent history of, as his subtitle calls it, “the problem with bipartisanship.” In his concluding paragraphs however his own partisanship for Barack Obama undermines his credibility. He starts to go off the rails by including the 2002 Iraq War resolution with slavery and Japanese internment camps as “shameful episodes

das capitalistnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20947837.post-8792191706122179872009-03-23T20:32:00.000-04:002009-11-05T20:33:49.430-05:00

Most of Sam Haselby’s “Divided We Stand” (Ideas, 3/22/09) presents an excellent history of, as his subtitle calls it, “the problem with bipartisanship.” In his concluding paragraphs however his own partisanship for Barack Obama undermines his credibility. He starts to go off the rails by including the 2002 Iraq War resolution with slavery and Japanese internment camps as “shameful episodes” with

das capitalistnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20947837.post-74060110481141605752009-03-20T20:43:00.000-04:002009-11-05T20:43:50.074-05:00

I’d like to express solidarity with the organizers of the protest against the Westboro Baptist Church demonstration (Cambridge Chronicle, 3/19/09). Any decent person—irrespective of the debate on gay marriage—recoils at Westboro’s harassment of high school students and their protests at military funerals with signs rejoicing in the death of American soldiers as divine retribution for America’s

das capitalistnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20947837.post-51844385945707036382009-03-20T08:50:00.001-04:002009-03-20T08:51:23.029-04:00

Obama made an interesting comment in his Leno interview:When you buy a toaster, if it explodes in your face there's a law that says your toasters need to be safe. But when you get a credit card, or you get a mortgage, there's no law on the books that says if that explodes in your face financially, somehow you're going to be protected.While it's true that some people get in over their heads with

das capitalistnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20947837.post-15317802779906755292009-03-12T11:16:00.001-04:002009-03-12T11:17:52.264-04:00

According to the Globe, "Obama has continued to stress the importance of community service by promoting federal programs such as Renew America Together." An entity that would chose a name whose acronym is RAT doesn't inspire much confidence.

das capitalistnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20947837.post-52185790736001332062009-03-11T16:36:00.000-04:002009-03-11T16:37:08.276-04:00

The Boston Globe highlighted the careers of three community organizers in this story: http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/articles/2009/03/10/organized__energized/?page=2One is an ex-con who is Boston City Councilor Chuck Turner’s Director of Constituent Services. His job sounds reasonable enough, despite the nutcase politics of his boss—but he seems more like a city employee than a community

das capitalistnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20947837.post-13252660013053265742009-02-20T20:44:00.000-05:002009-11-05T20:45:32.114-05:00

Cambridge Chronicle:The authors of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, a.k.a., the Stimulus Bill, neglected to affix one of those nutritional breakdown stickers, leaving its pork percentage in dispute. The manufacturer, Pelosi-Reid & Co., insists that their product contains no more than 1% pork – a mere $8.38 billion of unnecessary spending, or the equivalent of the GDP of Burkina Faso.

das capitalistnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20947837.post-56471105299425078572009-02-09T13:55:00.000-05:002009-02-09T13:56:15.935-05:00

The Globe delights in reminding us that George Bush ignored Science to promote his partisan and destructive agenda, while Obama will restore Science to its rightful place. Most recently, your Sunday editorial slipped in a crack on a piece about Obama not wearing a suit in the Oval Office: "The Bush White House may have been decked out in sartorial splendor, but that didn't translate into

das capitalistnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20947837.post-25821787960340788682009-01-25T23:17:00.000-05:002009-01-25T23:18:13.412-05:00

Eric J. Chiassen believes that wasted heat from things like our light bulbs will lead to a global warming Armageddon (“The other global warming” 1/25/09). When I was a kid, if I left the door open in the winter my mother would yell, “What are you trying to do, heat the outdoors?” It was funny because anyone with any common sense would recognize that the miniscule amount of heat escaping our

das capitalistnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20947837.post-68439843704761469192009-01-12T11:06:00.002-05:002009-01-12T11:07:45.612-05:00

The continuing spate of articles about global warming in the midst of record cold around the globe would be humorous if the negative economic effects of global warming legislation didn’t have such potentially tragic effect on the world’s poor. James R. Lee’s column in the Washington Post reaches new heights of absurdity. He tells us we should be worried, very worried about…”the problems of an

das capitalistnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20947837.post-89762100174528482512009-01-08T14:26:00.000-05:002009-01-08T14:28:53.078-05:00

The Right View: What is social justice?Mon Dec 29, 2008, 05:05 AM ESTCAMBRIDGE - When we were looking at schools for my daughter, one prospective teacher related how she had organized her kindergarten class into a protest march against the city workers who had been instructed to clear brush at a nearby park. The tiny environmentalists marched around in a circle with “Save the Brush” signs. The

das capitalistnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20947837.post-32959739667105066652009-01-08T14:24:00.001-05:002009-01-08T14:26:08.217-05:00

Letter to the New Criterion:Thanks for your fascinating January issue on relativism. I have always savored the lack of self-awareness of a relativist arguing that people who call other people evil are evil.Christie Davies (“Truth vs. equality”) discusses the relativist view of scientific truth. Last year the issue received national publicity when a dim-bulb Dartmouth professor sued students for

das capitalistnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20947837.post-79318093961700012832008-12-11T22:06:00.003-05:002008-12-11T22:07:51.898-05:00

Comments on today’s front page article in the Globe, “Winter easing its grip on northeast.”http://www.boston.com/news/weather/articles/2008/12/11/winter_easing_its_grip_on_northeast/The basic thesis, as confirmed by the observations of the Globe's climate expert Chuck Henderson, who sells outdoor apparel in North Conway, is basically correct. Winters are less harsh than they were in the mid-

das capitalistnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20947837.post-58787061234050482102008-12-03T15:44:00.002-05:002008-12-03T15:46:31.651-05:00

I've been trolling through the internet fever swamps and came across this intriguing statement:"We reject the power inequalities and structural violence based on privileges of class, race, gender, sexuality, religion, nationality, ability, and age."The usual round-up of victims, with a new one--"ability"? So having ability is a privilege that leads to "structural violence" (whatever that is)?

das capitalistnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20947837.post-13263767318869053822008-11-10T10:08:00.001-05:002008-11-10T10:10:22.690-05:00

Jim Gomes concludes his "Climate Plan in Peril" (11/10/08) with the mantra, "There is no longer any debate about the fundamental scientific question: The earth's climate is already changing, and human activities are the cause." Global warming alarmists seem to think that if they just repeat this often enough, they might convince the reluctant public to go along with their expensive schemes to

das capitalistnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20947837.post-85941818496660827412008-11-10T10:05:00.002-05:002008-11-10T10:08:32.541-05:00

Ian McEwan declares that “The [global warming] deniers are folding their tents,” despite the obvious contradiction of this statement by its inclusion in a debate with Bjorn Lomborg in the nation’s second largest newspaper, a paper whose editorial board frequently challenges the debate-squelching mantras of Big Climate.McEwan’s snide rhetorical question, “and what was to deny?” diminishes the

das capitalistnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20947837.post-7897553537744094512008-10-28T22:21:00.000-04:002008-10-28T22:22:24.357-04:00

Media Matters Summary: Numerous conservative radio hosts, including Chris Baker, Sean Hannity, Mark Levin, Jim Quinn, Michael Savage and Brian Sussman, echoed the false claim, originating on the Drudge Report, that Sen. Barack Obama said in a 2001 interview that he regretted that the Supreme Court has not addressed the redistribution of wealth. In fact, the "traged[y]" Obama identified during the

das capitalistnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20947837.post-77016994179680786432008-10-21T09:25:00.004-04:002008-10-21T09:32:31.117-04:00

I take issue with three points Powell made (and of course his final choice of candidate)1. The GOP has moved to the rightColin Powell is very much in the moderate Republican camp, so there may be many Republicans to his right, but I know that the 20 million in Rush Limbaugh's audience would groan about the idea that the GOP has moved too far to the right. President Bush's approval ratings are

das capitalistnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20947837.post-84384684170809734832008-10-21T09:24:00.000-04:002008-10-21T09:25:30.295-04:00

George Bush is Hitler, John McCain is George Wallace and now, according to a blogger on today’s Globe’s VoxOp column, there is a “darker aspect of the Palin persona” that delivered a “Joe-McCarthy-like innuendo …trying to link Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama to ‘terrorists.’"Isn’t it terrible how those nasty Republicans can only win by smearing their opponents?

das capitalistnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20947837.post-90400514284444491892008-10-15T09:02:00.004-04:002008-10-15T09:05:46.865-04:00

The Globe published two letters today full of outrage over an incident where John McCain called Obama "a decent guy." The writers were both offended because McCain's comment followed someone in the crowd accusing Obama of being an Arab (which he is), so therefore it's obvious that John McCain was going out of his way to insult Arabs. Oy!

das capitalistnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20947837.post-89654454914971446142008-10-15T08:59:00.001-04:002008-10-15T09:00:39.397-04:00

Bob McCarthy may be proud of his association with Bill Ayers, but he misses the essential point when he claims, “Nothing has been found to suggest anything inappropriate in the volunteer projects in which [Ayers and Obama] were involved during the 1990s” (Globe letter 10/13/08). The Chicago Annenberg Project was not “inappropriate,” as in illegal or immoral, but, as Stanley Kurtz and others

das capitalistnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20947837.post-38267643143830983082008-10-15T08:58:00.000-04:002008-10-15T08:59:26.737-04:00

When I heard Congressman John Lewis's outrageous comparison of McCain and George Wallace, I assumed sane people everywhere would dismiss it as the ravings of a civil rights hero who has lost his mind. I forgot about Derrick Jackson, who today repeats this libel in "John McCain Plays the Race Card." Accusing Barack Obama's critics of being racists is the ultimate race card.

das capitalistnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20947837.post-10730079012348081292008-10-06T12:56:00.000-04:002008-10-06T12:57:10.108-04:00

James Carroll struggles to make sense of our $700 billion military budget by imagining stacks of hundred dollar bills. Here’s another way of looking at it: for each of 300 million Americans, it costs $2,333 a year, or $6.39 a day to keep us safe in a dangerous world. In addition, Mr. Carroll neglects to point out that many countries around the world have small defense budgets because they rely

das capitalistnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20947837.post-29483440693512829402008-09-25T11:29:00.001-04:002008-09-25T11:29:51.381-04:00

This weekend I was subjected to a fifteen-minute harangue by an Obama supporter, who apparently was following Obama’s advice to “get in my face.” Either that or he’s been watching too much Keith Olbermann. It seems probable that Obama was inspired by Alinsky’s tactical rule #4, to ridicule and “infuriate the opposition, who then react to your advantage.”My reaction, however, was to excuse

das capitalistnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20947837.post-11096626636684078562008-09-24T12:08:00.001-04:002008-09-24T12:08:39.953-04:00

Tom Brokaw makes a valid point in the title of his op-ed piece: “Lots of People Could Use a Cash Infusion.” The examples of small business owners he chooses, however, are condescending and not especially funny. Barney "Big Un" Baumgartner of Windblown, Wyo, owner of the Big Un 24 Hour Tow Service and Trophy Taxidermy? Darlene Dalrymple, owner of the Shear Joy Hairstyling and Tattoo Salon in

das capitalistnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20947837.post-10034344660689747272008-09-08T13:50:00.004-04:002008-09-08T13:57:05.228-04:00

The Wikipedia entry for "UN Special Investigator" offers examples of the type of scandal that the UN might investigate:In other cases it is a specific, politically relevant fact, scandal or event, such as Israel's construction of a security wall in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, how the US Bush administration spent Iraqi oil-for-food program money after the invasion.It's no surprise that the

das capitalistnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20947837.post-57610696165710824962008-09-05T10:32:00.001-04:002008-09-05T10:33:28.338-04:00

Rahm Emanuel’s “Wal-Mart Thrives When Democrats Are in Charge” makes an argument similar to that of Larry M. Bartels in his recent book, “Unequal Democracy,” that the performance of the American economic in arbitrary four-year periods has a single explanation: the political party of the President “in charge.”To begin with, this argument assumes--in true liberal fashion--that an economy responds

das capitalistnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20947837.post-10767897846420964852008-09-03T17:45:00.001-04:002008-09-03T17:46:54.343-04:00

A gem from the Wikipedia entry on "minority groups.""Studies have consistently shown a correlation between negative attitudes or prejudice toward minorities and social conservatism (as well as the converse, positive attitutes and social progressivism).[2]"

das capitalistnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20947837.post-42968376317794173062008-07-08T10:37:00.000-04:002008-07-08T10:38:31.341-04:00

Earlier this month Obama revealed his energy program to Wesleyan graduates:At a time when our ice caps are melting and our oceans are rising, we need you to help lead a green revolution. We still have time to avoid the catastrophic consequences of climate change if we get serious about investing in renewable sources of energy, and if we get a generation of volunteers to work on renewable energy

das capitalistnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20947837.post-23698851432163610642008-06-01T12:23:00.003-04:002008-06-01T12:34:50.171-04:00

A liberal friend recently characterized a statement by Victor Davis Hanson as "anti-intellectual." Hanson was discussing "the dreams of intellectuals and elites who strive for economic efficiency or entertain dreams of a one-continent or one-world peaceful state." To me this speaks to Thomas Sowell's characterization of liberals as believing in the "vision of the anointed"--the idea that an

das capitalistnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20947837.post-29043587669248084012008-05-27T22:05:00.004-04:002008-05-27T22:12:10.623-04:00

An AP headline: "Report: Sex Abuse of Children by Aid Workers Widespread in War Zones."If instead of aid workers it was the U.S. military, the New York Times would run this story on the front page through election day. Isn't molesting the children you're supposed to be helping worse than putting dog collars on the enemy combatants at Abu Ghraib? (Not that the latter is excusable.)

das capitalistnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20947837.post-32041167555779035932008-05-12T11:14:00.001-04:002008-05-12T11:16:41.665-04:00

Jonathan Gottschall recognizes that postmodern literary criticism is ailing, but I have doubts about his recommended course of treatment (Boston Globe, Ideas, 5/11/08). Making literary criticism “scientific” may yield some interesting studies. Mr. Gottschall however seems unaware of the most elemental wrong turn that critics took a few decades ago—that of “privileging” the critic over works of

das capitalistnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20947837.post-60469220318471495782008-05-05T10:08:00.000-04:002008-05-05T10:09:04.618-04:00

James Carroll’s “The New Immorality of Iraq War” [sic] exhibits an ugly disdain for the U.S. military that is common on the John Kerry Left. He cannot imagine our soldiers rebuilding schools and medical clinics; to his kind they can only be heartless robots whose sole approach to any problem is violence. Thus he sputters with disbelief that President Bush would leave our troops in Iraq after

das capitalistnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20947837.post-17383840687797119522008-05-05T10:06:00.000-04:002008-05-05T10:07:19.141-04:00

published in the Cambridge Chronicle 5/8/08Criticizing multiculturalism is tricky business, so I better make it clear from the outset that I celebrate diversity as much as the next guy—especially if the next guy is from my 02138 zip code. I love Cambridge for its diversity--in my community of friends, on the street and in classrooms; in the 63 languages spoken (by the parents, one hopes) at

das capitalistnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20947837.post-30595079668604483452008-04-15T12:48:00.004-04:002008-04-15T12:54:35.458-04:00

Derrick Jackson thinks that eating meat is endangering our planet. ("One less burger, one safer planet" 4/15/08)With fatal food riots in poor nations, and with China rapidly approaching Western levels of consumption, we in the obese United States must redefine what constitutes, to borrow from McDonald's, a "happy meal." Scientists are concluding that along with more fuel-efficient cars and

das capitalistnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20947837.post-22366247604139489362008-04-15T12:47:00.000-04:002008-04-15T12:48:23.071-04:00

The Globe “news” story on the front page found a way to turn the Pope’s visit into an anti-Bush global warming story; your headline claims, “Benedict may discuss warming…Stances have differed from those of Bush.” You quote an Archbishop: the Pope “will insist on the moral imperative that all, without exception, have a grave responsibility to protect the environment.” This is a typical global

das capitalistnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20947837.post-47101377542025120552008-04-14T22:21:00.002-04:002008-04-14T22:24:54.725-04:00

I was talking to friend who listens to NPR a lot and she said, it really bothers me how those people in the Midwest are so sure that they are right. There's an intolerance that I find troubling. I wasn't sure what she was talking about, so I asked where she meant. She answered, "Of course, it's strange, because when I go to Ohio to visit my relatives, the people there are so nice." I asked

das capitalistnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20947837.post-3286021546894366732008-04-10T08:57:00.002-04:002008-04-10T09:00:17.139-04:00

A bumper sticker spotted in my neighborhood says, "I'm for Solar Power and I Vote."It's a perfect summation of environmnentalism. Not: "I'm for solar power so I bought solar panels for my house." Rather: "I'm for solar power, so I'm going to use the government to force you to pay for it."

das capitalistnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20947837.post-40288904641381219062008-04-04T10:31:00.001-04:002008-04-10T09:01:39.461-04:00

Douglas Zook’s letter on Plum Island displays everything that is wrong with global warming alarmism, in sharp contrast to the letter on the same subject by John A. Bewick. Mr. Bewick makes the sensible conclusion that “Anyone who lives on [a barrier beach] should do so at his or her own risk, not that of the taxpayers.”Professor Zook, however, brings global warming into the argument, starting

das capitalistnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20947837.post-60006676617636021152008-03-21T08:56:00.003-04:002008-03-21T09:12:10.358-04:00

The Globe finally started covering the Jeremiah Wright story after Obama’s speech gave them something they could equivocate about. Today’s front page headline is, “Voters' views diverge over Obama flap.”Nice to dream about this catastrophe being a “flap,” but I don’t think it’s going to play out as a minor fracas. I think it’s the end for Obama.A common theme expressed by people who still plan

das capitalistnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20947837.post-154241226095186002008-03-17T11:21:00.003-04:002008-03-17T11:25:03.453-04:00

Obama claims he wasn't in church for Jeremiah Wright's "I hate whitey" speech because he was addressing La Raza in Miami. So his alibi for not being with one hate-monger is that he was with a different group of hate-mongers.

das capitalistnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20947837.post-13910415939451979642008-03-09T22:36:00.001-04:002008-03-09T22:38:41.579-04:00

Herbert C. Kelman published a long piece in the Globe today titled, “’A Declaration of Principles’ for the Mideast.” I suspected it would be heavily slanted toward the Palestinian side when I read the phrase, “Herbert C. Kelman is a professor…” And when it continued, “of the Middle East Seminar at Harvard,” I knew for certain.The piece pretends to respect both sides, but it includes such

das capitalistnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20947837.post-19181963182365486682008-03-07T14:54:00.000-05:002008-03-07T14:55:13.572-05:00

"Future dangers will not come from the same source. The ideology will be different. Its essence will, nevertheless, be identical. The attractive, pathetic, at first noble idea that transcends the individual in the name of the common good, and the enormous self-confidence on the side of its proponents about their right to sacrifice man and his freedom in order to make this idea a reality." What I

das capitalistnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20947837.post-67818252475768885632008-03-03T09:53:00.003-05:002008-03-03T09:56:15.222-05:00

“This year, Nina Scott is giving up carbon” for Lent, the Globe reports on today’s front page story, “Going Green for Lent.” A photo shows Ms. Scott hanging clothes on a line in her basement because she has given up using her clothes dryer for 40 days. The fourth paragraph however has a telling admission:These actions will do little to slow global warming - at most, Scott will probably reduce

das capitalistnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20947837.post-75836706477396200272008-02-26T10:59:00.000-05:002008-02-26T11:01:02.747-05:00

The Globe reports on two reports citing the danger of mercury contamination when compact fluorescent lightbulbs break. “We found some very high levels (of mercury), even after we tried a number of clean-up techniques," said Mark Hyland, Maine director of the Bureau of Remediation and Waste Management. During several of the experiments, for example, he said mercury in the air was more than 100

das capitalistnoreply@blogger.com