An article by Victor Davis Hanson.
Presidential historian Michael Beschloss, on no evidence, once proclaimed Obama “probably the smartest guy ever to become president.” When he thus summed up liberal consensus, was he perhaps referring to academic achievement? Soaring SAT scores? Seminal publications? IQ scores known only to a small Ivy League cloister? Political wizardry?
Who was this Churchillian president so much smarter than the Renaissance man Thomas Jefferson, more astute than a John Adams or James Madison, with more insight than a Lincoln, brighter still than the polymath Teddy Roosevelt, more studious than the bookish Woodrow Wilson, better read than the autodidact Harry Truman?
Consider. Did Obama achieve a B+ average at Columbia? Who knows? (Who will ever know?) But even today’s inflated version of yesteryear’s gentleman Cs would not normally warrant admission to Harvard Law. And once there, did the Law Review editor publish at least one seminal article? Why not?
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
OBAMA'S FAILED PREDICTIONS
From Forbes: Obama is a terrible economic historian.
From Instapundit (Dec. 13, 2011)
On Feb. 2, 2009, Obama told the “Today Show” that “a year from now I think people are gonna see that we’re starting to make some progress,” and that “if I don’t have this done in three years, then there’s going to be a one-term proposition.”
On Feb. 12, 2009, he predicted that his $830 billion stimulus would “ignite spending by businesses and consumers” and unleash “a new wave of innovation, activity and construction … all across America.”
On Feb. 26, 2009, Obama’s first budget projected that by 2011 the economy would be cooking ahead at 4% real GDP growth, with unemployment at 7.1% and falling fast.
On Feb. 7, 2010, he said “we are seeing the corner turn and the economy growing again.”
On June 4, 2010, Obama claimed the “economy is getting stronger by the day” and later that month said the recovery was “well under way.”
From Instapundit (Dec. 13, 2011)
On Feb. 2, 2009, Obama told the “Today Show” that “a year from now I think people are gonna see that we’re starting to make some progress,” and that “if I don’t have this done in three years, then there’s going to be a one-term proposition.”
On Feb. 12, 2009, he predicted that his $830 billion stimulus would “ignite spending by businesses and consumers” and unleash “a new wave of innovation, activity and construction … all across America.”
On Feb. 26, 2009, Obama’s first budget projected that by 2011 the economy would be cooking ahead at 4% real GDP growth, with unemployment at 7.1% and falling fast.
On Feb. 7, 2010, he said “we are seeing the corner turn and the economy growing again.”
On June 4, 2010, Obama claimed the “economy is getting stronger by the day” and later that month said the recovery was “well under way.”
Saturday, December 10, 2011
SEX AND EVANGELICALS
There does not appear to be much commitment to sexual morality among young evangelicals.
. . .the October 2011 issue of Relevant magazine contains a must-read article for those who see the need for a rather profound cultural course correction. It turns out that 80 percent of unmarried evangelicals (18 to 29) are sexually active. Yes, 80 percent. For all unmarried young adults the total is 88 percent. Oh, and even as 80 percent of young unmarried evangelicals are sexually active, 76 percent of evangelicals still believe sex outside of marriage is wrong. Even worse, 65 percent of women who abort their children identify as Catholic or Protestant Christian — that’s 650,000 Christian abortions per year.
. . .the October 2011 issue of Relevant magazine contains a must-read article for those who see the need for a rather profound cultural course correction. It turns out that 80 percent of unmarried evangelicals (18 to 29) are sexually active. Yes, 80 percent. For all unmarried young adults the total is 88 percent. Oh, and even as 80 percent of young unmarried evangelicals are sexually active, 76 percent of evangelicals still believe sex outside of marriage is wrong. Even worse, 65 percent of women who abort their children identify as Catholic or Protestant Christian — that’s 650,000 Christian abortions per year.
LOS ANGELES SHOOTING
I didn't hear anyone in the media saying this shooter was shouting "Allahu Akbar" while he was shooting.
STUXNET CONSIPIRACY
Ah, the world of espionage! It wasn't the US or Israel that put the stuxnet virus in Iranian nuclear software--it was the Russians. This is a very dark world.
The case for Russia: However, what about the case for Russian development and deployment? The Russians don’t support an Iranian indigenous nuclear capability. Their calculus is that their companies’ profit margins will benefit as long as the Iranians keep Russian scientists and engineers in country, who can oversee Iranian nuclear progress. Using its unique insights, Russia then plays a Byzantine game of delay and diplomacy. Delaying a program on technical grounds can’t go on indefinitely. At the same time, their involvement in the nuclear program is leverage in Russo-American negotiations.
The case for Russia: However, what about the case for Russian development and deployment? The Russians don’t support an Iranian indigenous nuclear capability. Their calculus is that their companies’ profit margins will benefit as long as the Iranians keep Russian scientists and engineers in country, who can oversee Iranian nuclear progress. Using its unique insights, Russia then plays a Byzantine game of delay and diplomacy. Delaying a program on technical grounds can’t go on indefinitely. At the same time, their involvement in the nuclear program is leverage in Russo-American negotiations.
Tuesday, December 06, 2011
EMPLOYERS: COLLEGE STUDENTS LACK SKILLS
From The Chronicle of Higher Education. The interesting thing to me is that it was not just "technical" skills that were missing. On all hiring criteria included in the survey, such as adaptability and critical thinking, applicants were performing below employers' expectations.
Friday, December 02, 2011
DEFEAT IN IRAQ
From the Weekly Standard.
The U.S. abandonment of Iraq will almost certainly increase the sectarian violence that drove Iraq’s Sunni Arabs to welcome the support of Al Qaeda in Iraq fighters. The seeds of renewed sectarian conflict are already being sown, both by the efforts of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to build his Dawa party into something like a Shiite Baath party, and by indications that Sunni Arab leaders are rapidly losing faith that their participation in Iraq’s government can benefit or even protect their communities. The renewal of sectarian conflict will push both sides back toward the extremes, opening the way for Al Qaeda in Iraq to reestablish itself and for Iranian proxy groups to dig themselves even deeper into Iraq. This time there will be no American forces to resist these developments.
The Shiite-led Iraqi government is banning Sunni parties--this does not look good.
The U.S. abandonment of Iraq will almost certainly increase the sectarian violence that drove Iraq’s Sunni Arabs to welcome the support of Al Qaeda in Iraq fighters. The seeds of renewed sectarian conflict are already being sown, both by the efforts of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to build his Dawa party into something like a Shiite Baath party, and by indications that Sunni Arab leaders are rapidly losing faith that their participation in Iraq’s government can benefit or even protect their communities. The renewal of sectarian conflict will push both sides back toward the extremes, opening the way for Al Qaeda in Iraq to reestablish itself and for Iranian proxy groups to dig themselves even deeper into Iraq. This time there will be no American forces to resist these developments.
The Shiite-led Iraqi government is banning Sunni parties--this does not look good.
Thursday, December 01, 2011
COLLEGE DEGREES LOSING VALUE
From the New York Times.
A general guideline these days is that people are rewarded when they can do things that take trained judgment and skill — things, in other words, that can’t be done by computers or lower-wage workers in other countries.
One of the greatest changes is that a college degree is no longer the guarantor of a middle-class existence.
A general guideline these days is that people are rewarded when they can do things that take trained judgment and skill — things, in other words, that can’t be done by computers or lower-wage workers in other countries.
One of the greatest changes is that a college degree is no longer the guarantor of a middle-class existence.
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