December 2010
66 posts
4 tags
WatchThis Bloggingheads diavlog, from just before Thanksgiving, is well worth watching … especially for the relatively lengthy discussion of the recently-opened David Foster Wallace archives, and of his impact on writers in their thirties and on “creative nonfiction.” There is also, a little later on, an interesting discussion of the quality of the writing on Tumblr, on personal...
November 2010
40 posts
6 tags
Science and Morality →
I finally broke down and ordered Sam Harris’ new book, The Moral Landscape. It took me longer than it should have, given the subject matter, but I have to admit that I don’t much care for Harris’ previous work: there is something about the sort of self-righteous atheism he espouses in those books that really rubs me the wrong way.
That said, the central idea in his new book, of the...
3 tags
Some Things To Do With WikiLeaks Data
This lovely graph, created by Erik Voeten and published over at The Monkey Cage,
depicts the daily number of cables sent about the UN Security Council in the post-2006 period (for which the daily number of cables in the data is relatively constant). My first hunch was that elections for non-permanent membership would generate unusual amounts of lobbying. At first glance, this seems to only...
6 tags
Put Down That YouTube Box, Youngster! →
Last Sunday’s New York Times had a front-page article on the horrible negative effects that technology has on kids’ brains. The central character in the piece, Vishal, is a high school student from California who can’t manage to get through his summer reading assignment (Vonnegut’s Cat’s Cradle) because he’s addicted to the constant pinging and flashing of...
2 tags
A Different Look at The Wire's David Simon →
“I’m sorry if I offend anyone with my speech,” he said. “If my father were alive today, he would say, ‘Davie, please, don’t tell them what you really think.’”
Earlier this month, The Jerusalem Post ran an interesting interview with David Simon; you might have missed it if you’re not a regular reader of the Post or someone who just searches the internet for any mention of David Simon.
...
I'm on a Plane
I’m actually queuing up a few substantive posts that will publish over the next few days, now that I’m heading home after the Thanksgiving holiday … but since Delta is offering free WiFi on their flights, and since I got bumped up to 1st Class, and since the baby is fast asleep on my wife’s lap, I thought I’d try to post something for all of you to read while...
3 tags
I haven’t posted anything about my son here...
1 tag
Happiness is not a fish that you can catch
There’s a great piece by David Sosa on happiness as something outside of us rather than something entirely internal to us over at The Stone.
Thinking about what makes us happy is always a fun exercise and Sosa’s piece leads us in that direction.
Here’s a little preview:
Happiness is more like knowledge than like belief. There are lots of things we believe but don’t know....
3 tags
5 tags
5 tags
squashed asked: Do you think Homer complicates the role of the military hero somewhat in The Iliad? Achilles, despite being the greatest warrior, dies. And he had it coming. He spent the first half of the epic moping while the Greeks got thrashed. Then he flips out, slaughter's Hector, and acts fairly disgracefully with the body. We can hardly blame Hector for dying. After all, he faced Achilles. But...
5 tags
zachvaughn asked: I don't entirely disagree with your point, and I actually think Achilles is a good to bring up. If one reads the Homeric epics, particularly the Illiad, you see examples of sacrifice during the course of battle (if I remember the text correctly because I don't have it in front of me), not to mention the different types of heroes represented. I don't think the world is as clear cut...
5 tags
Our Confusion Regarding Heroism and the Medal of...
According to squashed:
The Sociological Images blog discusses an article by the American Family Association’s Bryan Fischer that claims that the Medal of Honor is being “feminized”. Fischer writes:
But I have noticed a disturbing trend in the awarding of these medals, which few others seem to have recognized.
We have feminized the Medal of Honor.
According to Bill McGurn of the Wall Street...
3 tags
4 tags
Three results from Ahmed Ghailani's terrorism...
It turns out that squashed managed to write down, much more succinctly, much of what I was going to write down. So here it is:
Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani was the first Guantanamo detainee to be tried in a civilian court. He was convicted of one of the two hundred eighty-five crimes he was charged with. (Essentially, he was convicted of plotting to blow up the buildings—but not of plotting to kill...
2 tags
WatchFinally, Andy Samberg and The Arcade Fire tackle human rights violations.
“The Holocaust? What was that?!”
“The Khmer rouge? So bogus!”
“Ethnic cleansing? Talk to the hand!”
“Darfur? What are you guys doing?!”
(via).
3 tags
WatchHT: W. Thomas Webb.
4 tags
3 tags
Human Rights Program Named in Honor of Forsythe...
It’s a very exciting time here at the University of Nebraska; the human rights program that I direct received an incredibly generous gift from David Forsythe, a world-renowned colleague in the field of human rights and international relations. Working with the University of Nebraska Foundation, a number of additional donors have also come forward to support the program and amplify...
4 tags
Glenn Beck’s Remarks About George Soros Criticized... →
Glenn Beck doesn’t like George Soros. And who would be surprised by that?
But the surprising thing (perhaps?) is the anti-Semitic rhetoric that Beck — who loves equating his political enemies with Nazis — used to denigrate Soros this week.
Here’s a fairly detailed description from the New York Times:
Abraham H. Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League,...
5 tags
DNA Test Casts Doubt on Executed Texas Man's Guilt →
Even if you think that you love executions — or, at a minimum, you think that they’re necessary — it’s clear that no one can defend the execution of innocent people … except that people routinely find ways to do so.
They say things like, “If you want to make an omelet, you have to break a few eggs.” Or, even in the face of evidence to the contrary,...
4 tags
“What does it mean, as a matter of public policy, to give up on the idea of...”
– This is, ultimately, one of the most interesting questions that we ought to be asking about the use of capital punishment.
Needless to say, we are not asking it. And, when people do ask this question, they are wrongly characterized as off-the-wall Lefties who necessarily oppose any form of offender...
4 tags
Taking Liberties With Madison
What follows is a guest blog post, written by my good friend Howard Lubert. Howard and I both received our PhDs from Duke University, though we didn’t actually meet until he interviewed (and subsequently hired) me at James Madison University in 2004. A lover of fine cigars from island nations with whom the U.S. has controversial trade relations and spirituous beverages from Scotland,...
3 tags
3 tags
Oh, The Circularity Of It All!
George W. Bush sees no problem at all with torture.
There’s just no way around that conclusion. If you read his book, you’ll see it; if you watched his interview with Matt Lauer last night, you’ll see it. And, of course, he seems perfectly happy to talk about it, convinced as always that he’s entirely in the right.
But, when we look closely at his explanation of why he...
5 tags
5 tags
C'mon, Amnesty International!
I donate to Amnesty International every year and I encourage you to do so too, whether you can write them a check or give some of your time by attending local group meetings or writing letters on behalf of prisoners of conscience.
I don’t really need anyone to send me anything in return, but this time I got a letter that was so odd that I had to reproduce it in its entirety. I put in the...
4 tags
Tim Tebow writing memoir due out in April →
Is anybody else really excited about reading the memoir of a 23 year old? Just me?
According to ESPN’s snippet of an article, “Tebow said his book would be a story ‘of faith, family and football’ and inspiring people to ‘fulfill their dreams.’”
And, while you’re anxiously awaiting Tebow’s book, keep in mind that my son is hard at work on his...
3 tags
“A third of student emails make me cringe. Not from scorn (well, maybe a little...”
– See Chris Blattman’s twelve simple tips for writing an email to a professor, employer, or professional peer.
My favorite is #1, a real problem here at the University of Nebraska:
1. Kick the email address from high school. It’s time for “hot_muffin92@hotmail.com” and “mikey_g@gmail.com” to...
2 tags
6 tags
“The rage I have is towards our ineptness and sense of irresponsibility to those...”
– The thing I like about Roméo Dallaire is that he encapsulates my (admittedly possibly skewed) thinking about Canada.
To wit:
It is clear that part of his determined engagement in fanning a “growing backlash among average Canadians who are starting to sense that this country ain’t what it used to...
3 tags
UNL scientist Mandigo makes it to meat pinnacle
Meat scientist Roger Mandigo’s induction Saturday in Scottsdale, Ariz., was into the Meat Industry Hall of Fame. And his biggest claim to fame outside that industry is research that led to the introduction of McDonald’s McRib sandwich in 1981.
I’m not sure what I like best about this story. Here are some options:
There is a Meat Industry Hall of Fame;
Roger Mandingo’s official...
4 tags
4 tags
What's Wrong With Our Society, 2.13
Like all good things, the second season of MTV’s “Jersey Shore” came to end last week. I’ll wrap up my thoughts next week, though, as I still haven’t had the intestinal fortitude to watch the reunion episode.
We learned a lot this season, to be sure, but the most important lesson was that virtually everything that happens on the show could be connected to some...
2 tags
3 tags
3 tags
The Unpleasantness of Midterm Elections
Following my post this morning about the impact (or lack thereof) that smugness and complacency can have on an election, I’ve been fortunate to enjoy an informative back-and-forth with some friends who study the American political process with a great deal of rigor.
I have learned the error of my ways and will no longer suggest that either the Left or the Right should concern itself with...
2 tags
Smug and Complacent
I can’t help myself. I really can’t. At least there’s a disclaimer below.
I haven’t seen any of the numbers — and even if I had seen them, I wouldn’t know what to do with them — but that won’t stop me for writing about the midterm election and what I see as a serious problem for the American Left.
The Left is generally smug and complacent; they...
2 tags
Socrates on Democracy and the Democratic Man
This isn’t my favorite translation of Plato’s Republic, but it still gets the point across:
And then democracy comes into being after the poor have conquered their opponents, slaughtering some and banishing some, while to the remainder they give an equal share of freedom and power; and this is the form of government in which the magistrates are commonly elected by lot.
Yes, he said;...
1 tag
