Thursday, July 7, 2011

Yah Allah, Oops, Tarantullah: Sid Harth

    • Thursday, July 7, 2011 As of 7:14 PM

    Commander in Tweet

    Just what we need, another "explanation" from @BarackObama!

    By JAMES TARANTO

    We have to admit, we didn't watch President Obama's "Twitter town hall" yesterday. In fact, we were unclear on the whole concept. We assumed that the whole thing was happening on Twitter--that the president would be tweeting answers to tweeted questions. And to be honest, we can think of better things to do on Twitter, like replacing a word in a famous quote with "duck."
    [botwt0707] Twitter.com
    A CBS News video set us straight. Apparently it was sort of an interview format, with a guy in a gray suit (Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, according to CNN) reading questions off a TV screen, and Obama speaking, not tweeting, in response. The questions were screened by a team of eight Twitter-selected "curators"--all journalists, coincidentally enough--which ensured that none of IowaHawk's questions would get through to the president. Too bad. We'd have liked to hear the answer to this one: "An $8 billion high speed train leaves Chicago for Iowa City at 8:15am at 40mph. Why?"
    In short, it was little more than a glorified press conference--replete, as CBS reports, with the usual Obama tropes:
    The magnitude of the worst U.S. recession since the Great Depression escaped President Obama when he first stepped into office, the president acknowledged today at his "Twitter town hall."
    Asked what mistakes he made in handling the recession, Mr. Obama said today he could have done a better job at explaining "to the American people it was going to take a while to get out of this."
    Except of course that he did explain: that there was a danger unemployment would rise as high as 8% unless Congress spent some $800 kajillion on a so-called stimulus. Congress obliged. Unemployment reached as high as 10% and is still above 9%.
    That's why the World's Greatest Orator keeps claiming that the quality of his explaining was insufficient. It diverts attention from the real problem: that his explanation was wrong because his policy was bad.
    Nonetheless, there's always room for improvement, and if Obama wants to learn to explain things better, he could do worse than to stop talking and start tweeting. Twitter's 140-character delimitation, though sporadically vexatious, is an inexorable disincentive to magniloquence. And let's face it, Obama can be a bit pompous.
    This seems as good a time as any to mention that you can now follow this columnist on Twitter. Sorry for the self-promotion, but as Hillel the Elder observed, "If I am not for my duck, who will be for me?"
    Heckuva Job, Thomas Friedman
    • "This is our generation's Sputnik moment."--President Obama, State of the Union Address, Jan. 25
    • "Shuttle's Last Flight Leaves Russia With Space Monopoly"--headline, The Wall Street Journal, July 7
    Dreams From My Biological Father
    "In the spring of 1961, President Obama's father revealed a plan for his unborn son that might have changed the course of American political history," the Boston Globe reports:
    The elder Barack H. Obama, a sophomore at the University of Hawaii, had come under scrutiny by federal immigration officials who were concerned that he had more than one wife. When he was questioned by the school's foreign student adviser, the 24-year-old Obama insisted that he had divorced his wife in his native Kenya. Although his new wife, Ann Dunham, was five months pregnant with their child--who would be called Barack Obama II--Obama declared that they intended to put their child up for adoption.
    Had Obama Sr. followed through with this plan, we would have ended up with the first adopted president instead of the first black president. And his name might have been something other than Obama, in the manner of Gerald Ford (né Leslie King Jr.) and Bill Clinton (né Blythe), both of whom took the surnames of their stepfathers, though neither, as best we can tell, was formally adopted.
    Obama's father did essentially abandon the future president. It is a historical curiosity that three of the seven most recent presidents grew up without their biological fathers present.
    Walter Mondale Explains It All
    Minnesota, where last November both houses of the legislature switched from Democratic (or, as they put it in the Gopher State, Democratic-Farmer-Labor) to Republican control while the governorship turned the other way, is in the midst of a government-shutdown crisis. The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that elder statesman Walter Mondale--a former senator and vice president, and unsuccessful candidate for president and U.S. Senate--is among the "neutral third parties" who've been asked to help mediate the dispute.
    But Mondale doesn't exactly sound neutral to us:
    "I never remember a time when we had such deadlock, paralysis, almost unrelenting rigidity," said Mondale, a veteran of the epic civil rights battles of the 1960s. "We were able to work across the aisle and shape what I call American solutions to big issues."
    Mondale said he's at a loss to explain what happened in the ensuing years. "Something happened to shatter that essential ability to compromise and build for the future," he said.
    The roots, he said, reside not in Minnesota but in the increasingly polarized national political arena. "I'm worried that this fever that's seized Washington has been nationalized," he said.
    Mondale traces part of that fever to a growing emphasis on conservative social issues even within the Tea Party, which got its impetus as a fiscal reform movement.
    "Some of it began when we started converting political issues into religious questions," he said. "Once you get into that mode, compromise becomes a sin, not a necessity."
    Mondale's view of the past seems a bit myopic. For one thing, there was a strong religious component to "the epic civil rights battles of the 1960s," as well as to their precursor, the campaign to abolish slavery.
    And while Mondale is certainly right that "social issues" are divisive, isn't the real problem that what used to be mostly religious questions, like abortion and marriage, have been turned into political ones by overactive courts?
    This Isn't an Ad Hominem Attack, You Jerk
    Peter Wehner is a thoughtful, high-minded commentator. So it wasn't surprising to see his name on a Commentary blog post titled "Ad Hominem Attacks Are Not Necessary." He starts by citing some examples:
    As Republicans in Congress and the president negotiate over raising the debt ceiling, liberal commentators are, as they so often do, adding to the quality of the debate based on the rigor and care of their arguments. For example, the Washington Post's Richard Cohen compares the GOP presidential field as "a virtual political Jonestown." Then there's MSNBC's Chris Matthews, who--when he's not complaining about the incivility of Republicans--finds time to describe the GOP as "the Wahhabis of American government." Not to be outdone, Tina Brown of Newsweek and the Daily Beast refers to Republicans in Congress as "suicide bombers."
    We are with Wehner in thinking that such name-calling worsens "the quality of our political dialogue"--unless they are leavened by wit, a quality Cohen, Matthews and Brown do not seem to possess. But Wehner gives this trio too much credit when he describes their comments as ad hominem attacks. They are not. They are merely gratuitous abuse, not substantial enough to be fallacious.
    An ad hominem attack consists in responding to one's opponents' arguments by pointing out flaws in his character. Former Enron adviser Paul Krugman cites some examples: "You habitually refer to someone as 'former Enron consultant [sic] Paul Krugman,' or invariably bring the size of Al Gore's house into discussions of climate change."
    As Krugman's examples also illustrate, an ad hominem attack isn't necessarily fallacious. Sometimes the character of the person making a claim is relevant to evaluating the claim, and if you don't believe us, ask Dominique Strauss-Kahn.
    An ad hominem argument needn't be an attack, either. The first sentence in this item might have been an example, had our purpose been to agree rather than disagree with Wehner.
    The Atheist Anita Hill
    We'd never heard of atheist activist Rebecca Watson either, but she managed to set off quite a hilarious kerfuffle with a dull but lengthy video telling the story of her recent travels. It seems the itinerant irreligionist went to Dublin for an atheist conference, where she spoke on a panel about either feministic atheism or atheistic feminism--we'll just call it "feminatheism." Then she experienced a trauma (skip ahead to 4:20 in the video):

    Thank you to everyone who was at that conference who engaged in those discussions outside of that panel. You were all fantastic, and I loved talking to you guys. All of you except for the one man who didn't really grasp, I think, what I was saying on the panel? Because at the bar later that night--actually, at 4 in the morning--we were at the hotel bar. Four a.m., I said, "You know, I've had enough, guys, I'm exhausted, I'm going to bed."
    So I walked to the elevator, and a man got on the elevator with me, and said, "Don't take this the wrong way, but I find you very interesting, and I would like to talk more. Would you like to come to my hotel room for coffee?"
    Um, just a word to the wise, here, guys? Don't do that. Um, you know, I don't really know how else to explain how this makes me incredibly uncomfortable, but I'll just sort of lay it out that I was a single woman, you know, in a foreign country, at 4 a.m., in a hotel elevator with you--just you--and don't invite me back to your hotel room right after I've finished talking about how it creeps me out and makes me uncomfortable when men sexualize me in that manner.
    Apparently she wasn't listening when he told her not to take it the wrong way. Anyway, The Atlantic reports that celebrity atheist Richard Dawkins started a flame war on another atheist's blog by writing "a sarcastic letter to a Muslim woman, pointing out how trivial Watson's experience in the elevator was compared to the abuses Muslim women deal with on a daily basis":
    "Stop whining will you. Yes, yes, I know you had your genitals mutilated with a razor blade, and . . . yawn . . . don't tell me again, I know you aren't allowed to drive a car, and can't leave the house without a male relative, and your husband is allowed to beat you, and you'll be stoned to death if you commit adultery," he wrote. "But stop whining, will you. Think of the suffering your poor American sisters have to put up with."
    This was a bit inflammatory, and needless to say the feminatheists were inflamed, but Dawkins subsequently restated his argument in a perfectly reasonable way:
    The man in the elevator didn't physically touch her, didn't attempt to bar her way out of the elevator, didn't even use foul language at her. He spoke some words to her. Just words. She no doubt replied with words. That was that. Words. Only words, and apparently quite polite words at that.
    Even that only got the feminatheists angrier. Oh well, regardless of the merits, this is a bit like the Iran-Iraq war. Both sides are so obnoxious, we're rooting for both to lose. And we're not even religious.
    The ASPCA's Orwellian Propaganda
    Here's a fascinating example of the misuse of language, from the Associated Press:
    When Stephen Zawistowski got his first dog 50 years ago, she was the only dog in the neighborhood that was spayed.
    "She had an incision that must have been a foot long and was sewn up with what looked like piano wire," says Zawistowski, science adviser for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
    It took years of campaigning to change thinking about sterilizing pets, but it has paid off. This year fewer than 4 million unwanted dogs and cats will be euthanized, down from as many as 20 million before 1970.
    There are several reasons: Aggressive adopt-a-pet campaigns are carried out every day in cities all over the country and breed rescues save many dogs. But animal experts believe spaying and neutering has played the biggest role in saving so many lives.
    Did you catch that "saving so many lives"? True, fewer animals were put to death, but that's because they weren't born in the first place. By this logic, hunting a species to extinction "saves lives" because it prevents any more of the species from being killed.
    This sort of deceptive language is commonly deployed on behalf of totalitarian regimes to conceal their brutality to human beings. It's fascinating to see it used in this context, where the moral stakes are so much lower.
    Other Than That, the Story Was Accurate
    "The Associated Press has withdrawn its story about a lawyer filing a Florida Bar complaint against Casey Anthony attorney Cheney Mason for making an obscene gesture in public. Florida Bar spokeswoman Karen Kirksey says that no complaint has been filed and that the man who claimed to have filed it is not an attorney."--Associated Press, July 7
    Metaphor Alert
    "Stretching the canvas across the Western and Near Eastern Muslim lands, more than a dozen countries can be seen, in snapshots, at widely differing stages of fermentation."--Conrad Black, National Review Online, July 7
    We Blame Global Warming
    "Weiner House Seat Will Be a 'Hot' One"--headline, New York Post, July 7
    If We Could, It'd Be a Lot Lower
    "Plouffe: Americans Won't Vote on Unemployment Rate"--headline, TheHill.com, July 7
    But if We Didn't Already Know That, Doesn't That Mean It Did Make Us Wiser?
    "Twitter Town Hall Proves Technology Doesn't Make Us Wiser"--headline, Commentary website, July 6
    'They Had Personally Raped, Cut Off Ears, Cut Off Heads, Taped Wires From Portable Telephones to Human Genitals and Turned Up the Power, Cut Off Limbs, Blown Up Bodies, Randomly Shot at Civilians, Razed Villages in Fashion Reminiscent of Genghis Khan, Shot Cattle and Dogs for Fun, Poisoned Food Stocks, and Generally Ravaged the Country Side'
    "Kerry: Republican Floor Tactics Are 'Cynical, Craven and Dangerous' " --headline, TheHill.com, July 6
    Jimmy Carter Update
    "Former President Named Executive Director of Islamic Society of Milwaukee"--headline, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, July 6
    Wow, Is He Powerful
    "Murdoch Shuts Down News of the World Following Scandal"--headline, FoxNews.com, July 7
    'The Witness Will Answer the Question'
    "Court Orders Immediate End to 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' "--headline, Yahoo! News, July 6
    What Would We Do Without Legal Experts?
    "Legal Experts: Casey Anthony Will Be Released From Jail"--headline, Puffington Host, July 6
    So Much for the War on Drugs
    "High Times in Chattanooga"--headline, Garden & Gun, June/July issue
    The Lonely Lives of Scientists
    "Scientists Find a Rich Array of Unknown Bacteria in Human Navels"--headline, Washington Post, July 4
    The Lonely Lives of Researchers
    "Forget Aspirin Because True Love Works as a Painkiller, Study Reveals"--headline, Daily Mail (London), July 7
    But Only if You Bathe With a Friend
    "Hot Baths May Cure Loneliness"--headline, Scientific American website, July 2
    Is There No Limit to Corporate Greed?
    "Kraft Sneaks Veggies Into Mac and Cheese"--headline, Crain's Chicago Business, July 6
    Hey, Kids! What Time Is It?
    "Time to Play Hardball With Credit Companies; More"--headline, Bruce Williams syndicated column, July 7
    Questions Nobody Is Asking
    Answers to Questions Nobody Is Asking
    It's Always in the Last Place You Look
    • "Keith Olbermann Lost Nearly 30% of His Viewers in His Second Week"--headline, BusinessInsider.com, July 5
    • "A Search Is Under Way for Tainted Sprout Seeds"--headline, New York Times, July 6
    Too Much Information
    • "Björn Borg Shares His Underwear With McEnroe"--headline, TheLocal.se, July 6
    • "iBag Urine Bag Tweets When It Is Getting Full"--headline, MedGadget.com, July 6
    • "Bend Woman Files Lawsuit Against Manufacturer of Brazilian Blowout"--headline, Oregonian, July 6
    Breaking News From 1194 B.C.
    "Trojans Crush City"--headline, Iowa City Press-Citizen, July 7
    News You Can Use
    • "Double-Fortified Salt 'a Good Alternative to Cereals': Study"--headline, FoodNavigator-USA.com, July 5
    • " 'Floss for Fertility,' Women Advised"--headline, BBC website, July 5
    Bottom Stories of the Day
    • "Pizza Prankster Strikes: 10 Orders Placed to Vineland Woman's House"--headline, News of Cumberland County (Bridgeton, N.J.), July 6
    • "Cranberry Producers Vote to Continue Marketing Order"--headline, PerishableNews.com, July 6
    • "U.N. Report Criticizes Israel for Actions at Border"--headline, New York Times website, July 7
    • "David Brooks Is Democrats' Man of the Hour"--headline, Politico.com, July 6
    • "Greenpeace Applauds Canada's Grocers for Improved Seafood Practices"--headline, Globe and Mail (Toronto), July 7
    We Suppose They'd Have Called a Daughter Miranda
    We'd missed the birth announcement last week, but it seems Washington lawyer Maeve Townsend has borne a son Gideon Joseph Kennedy McKean. This is significant because Gideon is the first great-grandchild of the late Sen. Robert F. Kennedy. (Miss Townsend is the daughter of Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, a former Maryland lieutenant governor.)
    It got our attention because of of this detail reported by the Washington Post: "They took their firstborn's name from the Supreme Court's Gideon v. Wainwright ruling ordering states to pay for public defenders."
    That's not as impressive as the late Ted Kennedy's Senate successor, who is named after both Dred Scott and Brown v. Board of Education.
    Follow us on Twitter.
    Click here to view or search the Best of the Web Today archives.
    (Carol Muller helps compile Best of the Web Today. Thanks to Jeanie Ribble, Michele Schiesser, Ethel Fenig, Taylor Dinerman, Michael Segal, Ed Grinberg, Bruce Goldman, Ed Lasky, Bob Roenigk, Nelles Hamilton, Gerald Massoudi, Jerry Rhoden, Andy Hefty, John Rothchild, Miguel Rakiewicz, Kyle Kyllan, Marty Stephens, David Hoffman, James Schott, Harris Perry, Peter Grace, Jorge Souss, Zack Russ, Rod Pennington, Scott McIntyre, Marion Dreyfus, David Shapero, Nick Kasoff, Richard Belzer and David Hallstrom. If you have a tip, write us at opinionjournal@wsj.com, and please include the URL.)
    More In Opinion

    Login with Facebook
    Share articles and post your comments on Facebook What's this?

    Available to WSJ.com Subscribers

    More in Opinion

    Most Popular

    Posted by at

    No comments:

    Post a Comment

    Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)