thoughts in and out of season
James Kalb I just finished Crevecoeur’s Letters from an American Farmer. An interesting book in many ways, although rather miscellaneous, and it’s hard to know when he’s telling the truth. One interesting feature: he emphasizes the effect of immigration, national diversity, freedom, and economic opportunity in producing a common American type: decent, orderly, enterprising, prosperous, politically-minded, … More ...
I wonder if he could get the ACLU to help him? Union orders dues donated to ACLU over objection of employee.
Jack Straw may be loathsome, but I do like his theory that the way to solve problems caused by immigration is to deal with their cause, “the huge imbalance in the quality of life and the standard of living between countries in the EU and those some way to the east,” by enlargement of … More ...
Scientific American bites the bullet: in spite of their generally left-wing orientation, they’re chosen Sex Differences in the Brain as a feature article. The article plays it straight summarizing the findings of recent research, even reporting as a possibility Richard Lynn’s suggestion that female IQs are lower.
I’d prefer other topics too, but mainstreaming homosexuality seems to be what’s happening: children’s book features gay boy. The book has a 10-year-old protagonist, and “[w]hile it contains some sex, it is not graphic and is not a dominant theme.” Like I said, mainstreaming—it’s no big deal. In theory a sequel could include a … More ...
Here’s a discussion in the Catholic context of issues related to the distinction between procedural and substantive conservatism: The Symbiotic Relationship Between Liberals and Conservatives.
Like other political views, conservatism can be substantive or procedural:
A triumph: whites pushed into minority status at Stanford. The key is recruitment, university officials say. Meanwhile, and not surprisingly, polls show most Californians favor getting rid of racial designations.
It all comes together in one story: Dearth of Women in Europe’s Top Science Jobs: Report. The story touches on the EU, human rights, an “expert group” and the fate of science in liberal society, and even includes a idiotic quote from the EU Research Commissioner: “A better balance of the sexes in scientific … More ...
Why is it that “human rights” treaties get signed with such alacrity? On its face, The Convention on the Rights of the Child makes depriving a child of the right to watch the TV programs he likes (Article 13) or choose who he hangs out with (Article 15) human rights violations. Nonetheless, it has been … More ...