Isn’t that like the Onion?

ArchPundit October 10, 2002 No Comments

Isn’t that like the Onion?

That is always my question when I go to David Horowitz’s Front Page Magazine. Tapped points out the problems with his latest efforts. He is trying to claim that there is a horrible bias in academia because of the commencement speakers choices at a few selected universities. It is always nice to have Tapped go after him and demonstrate how he selected cases to fit his desired results.

Of course, it might also be useful to point out that no one actually listens to commencement speakers. Given this, what does Horowitz want? Affirmative Action so that conservative speakers can be ignored just like more liberal speakers? Dave is fighting the good fight there!

Faculty Diversity Instapundit links to

ArchPundit October 10, 2002 No Comments

Faculty Diversity

Instapundit links to the Christian Science Monitor’s editorial on ideological faculty diversity. First, let’s stipulate diversity of all kinds is generally better. Second, let’s not the irony of all the whining about the prof in Florida who is supportive of radical Palestinians. In that case, ideological diversity doesn’t stretch very far. Go figure.

Third, let’s examine a key problem with the study done by Frank Luntz. He cites an overwhelming number of professors in the humanities and social sciences who are liberal. The good Dr. Luntz should know, as a political science PhD, that one needs a control. What are the percentages of natural science profs who are registered Democrats and hold similar views to their counterparts in the other areas?

Obviously, chemistry isn’t taught with a political point. Bush is doing his best with the biosciences though. The important point is that PhDs have long been more likely to vote Democratic and with reallignment that should continue to increase.

Natural science professors provide a good control group. They certainly aren’t hired for their political views (though Stanley Fish pointed out that no one really is) and how much they differ from their colleagues controls for the effect of education on partisan ID and ideology.

Why didn’t the good Dr. Luntz include such a control since he obviously has training in the social sciences? It wouldn’t have fit neatly in the story he wanted to tell.

As stipulated above, ideological diversity is a good thing. Not that many conservatives want to go into academia. Ideology affects the decision to make academia a career choice and certainly the context of the environment reinforces that effect. There isn’t anything dark happening here, it is simply a problem of self-selection. If the Good Dr. Luntz doesn’t like it, then perhaps he should think about how to encourage conservatives to pursue academic careers.

Cal Pundit fisks Lincoln and

ArchPundit October 10, 2002 No Comments

Cal Pundit fisks Lincoln and proves the point

Fisking is just intellectual laziness. Of course, his reference to the New York Times might earn him a fisking.

Sniper Stuff Jim Henley is

ArchPundit October 9, 2002 No Comments

Sniper Stuff

Jim Henley is doing some good stuff on the sniper shootings in Maryland. He points to A Cut on Bias who does some great postings on the likely motivations for the sniper.

Henley answers the question by Andrea Harris about what is so bad if she is wrong about it being Islamist terrorism by saying he’ll answer it afterwards.

The problem is it is a bad conclusion. It is possible, but that doesn’t make it likely. The war bloggers’ culture is one of assuming everything is related to their obsession. Not all senseless violent acts are perpetrated by Islamist terrorists. Their obsession with terrorism causes them to fit square pegs into round holes. All bad in the world isn’t tied to radical Islam.

The shootings in Maryland fit a pattern much closer to that of a spree killer trying to get attention. While it might be possible that this is a terrorist incident one doesn’t look for the less likely scenario and go on and on about it.

Worse, Katz (see below), Dipnuts demonstrating why he deserves the name, and (surprise) Bill Quick all want to claim the media is avoiding the use of the term because they are treating people like sheep. It never seems to cross their mind that they aren’t doing so because it is the less likely scenario and without evidence of it being a terrorist attack, the media is not bound by war blogger obsessions. Katz even makes the claim that the media is purposely looking for a white guy because of some politically correct bias.

What is she hurting? Rational thought. Fortunately the police don’t share the war bloggers’ obsession and have instead focused on likely scenarios.

The underlying claim is that they are being hyper rational beings using logic to deduce that a horrible act 1 year ago means that any horrible act now is suspect. This is assanine though because they are afflicted with hypervigilance that keeps them from making rational deductions depending on the evidence of a particular case.

And race does play a role in this process. I’m pretty damn sure they weren’t running around 1 year after Oklahoma City trying to blame all suspicious acts on irish boys from upstate New York.

Of course, to them, Oklahoma City was covered up by the Powers That Be TM.

How does one lose an

ArchPundit October 9, 2002 No Comments

How does one lose an election to the biggest ass in America besides Torricelli?

Move the boundary of what the biggest ass is.

“This is the biggest bunch of idiots I’ve ever seen in any campaign I’ve ever been involved in,” Roger Salazar, a spokesman for the campaign, said, “and I’ve seen a few.”

And Remember Death is not

ArchPundit October 9, 2002 No Comments

And Remember Death is not an Option

With respects to Steve Rosenbloom.

Forrester vs Simon vs St. Louis Rams

The problem of funding higher

ArchPundit October 7, 2002 No Comments

The problem of funding higher education

Light posting–not no posting. Today’s P-D has a good editorial on higher education spending. The problem with Hancock that I didn’t address specifically is that it doesn’t allow for costs that increase faster than the typical rate of inflation. Hancock is essentially set at inflation + some to make room for necessary changes. The problem is some areas go up much faster than inflation and the Hancock caps. Education and health care, two of the areas most supported by the public, are both increasing costs at faster rates than inflation or the Hancock limit.

Higher ed has to get control of its costs, but even given that occurring, spending still needs to be ‘caught up.’ Hancock limits our ability to do so. To provide educational opportunities in the form of student aid, the State of Missouri would have to bump up spending. Doing so in one lump would run into Hancock limits and severely limit other funds.

Higher ed is the easier issue. The real problem with Hancock will come from the effects of rising health care costs which have the ability to bankrupt some states. Hancock is an aggravating factor in this case, not the prime cause.

Inane Blogger Tizzy Katz continues

ArchPundit October 7, 2002 No Comments

Inane Blogger Tizzy

Katz continues his insistence that the shootings are terrorist related. He claims the targeting of schools is part of the plan, but fails to make a coherent argument why one shooting at a school fits the targeting of schools.

Then he tries to tie in the anthrax letters. Next you know he’ll be tying in Oklahoma City. In fact, if this does turn out to be your typical homegrown fruitcake, I’ll predict that he and others will try and tie to them to Iraq and al Qaeda.

Inane Blogger Postings Hell if

ArchPundit October 7, 2002 No Comments

Inane Blogger Postings

Hell if I know what caused ’em. They are kinda funny though, so I’ll leave ’em up.

I mean it this time

ArchPundit October 6, 2002 No Comments

I mean it this time

Light blogging for at least the early part of the week. Laptop is acting up and I am busy at work. Anyone know how to swap out HP Laptop fan?

Check out the stuff on Talking Points Memo for a good laugh on the Forrester situation. And when they catch the guy in Maryland–watch the wingnuts either ignore it or say he was framed if it isn’t an Arab. And above all–no retractions. If it is an Arab with actual ties–I’ll post a retraction for a week straight!