A Harvard Professor Demonstrates His Brilliance

Howard Gardner says:

“The right wing isn’t just taking over the country, it’s shanghaiing all our values. If there’s a Republican administration after the next election, I would join in efforts for some sort of secession. It’s not the same country anymore.”

Democracy can be a real pain when you're in the minority, but this seems a bit extreme.

Mis-leading Headline of the Day

From Reuters:

"Three Yale students arrested for burning U.S. flag"

Wow, what a great free speech controversy, right! Um, maybe not. The article provides some context:

"Police said the three torched a flag hanging from the porch of a house in New Haven near the Ivy League school."

The Economist

There is some discussion about this recent article which argues that the Economist is overrated. Let me weigh in with an opinion: The Economist is by far the best weekly newsmagazine around. The Economist is to Time as Time is to People. When I read Time, Newsweek, US News, etc., I come away feeling empty, having gained no new information or insights. By contrast, each week the Economist packs immense amounts of information and analysis into each issue. Sure, they have a particular worldview, and you have to recognize that everything is filtered through that. But so what? Everyone has a worldview. The Economist is just up-front about it.

Thank You For Not Spanking

A very extreme left wing California politician has proposed banning spanking. She says:

"I think it's pretty hard to argue you need to beat a child 3 years old or younger,'' ... . "Is it OK to whip a 1-year-old or a six-month-old or a newborn?''

Well, I suppose it is true that it's hard to argue you need to "beat" or "whip" a young child. But no one's arguing for that. They're arguing for spanking. And yes, spanking a child 1 year or old or younger seems pointless and cruel. But 2 and 3 year olds are a very different story.

I'm not sure I understand Virginia Postrel's comment, though:

Spanking, like gun ownership, is one of the characteristics of southern culture that non-southerners find barbaric. It persists in diaspora, especially among those who don't assimilate into the dominant culture of, say, California.

It's a "southern" thing? I have virtually no connection with the South, and I've always thought of spanking as the norm, assorted hippies excluded.

Tom Friedman Goes Overboard

In a recent column, Tom Friedman praises the Chinese government's push for innovation, and notes that part of him said:

"Gosh, wouldn't it be nice to have a government that was so focused on innovation -- instead of one that is basically anti-science."

Come on, now. Isn't that a little much? Sure, there are a handful of issues on which the Bush administration wants to limit scientists, based on the view that certain scientific activities create ethical problems. But to say that they are "anti-science"? That's just silly. Bush talks about science all the time: fuel cells, cellulosic ethanol, space exploration, etc.

Resistance is Futile

A school in Scotland is making students use fountain pens:

In this age of cell phones, text messages and computer keyboards, one Scottish school has returned to basics. It's teaching youngsters the neglected art of writing with a fountain pen.

There is no clacking of keyboards in most classrooms at the Mary Erskine and Stewart's Melville Junior School, although there is a full range of facilities for computer lessons and technology isn't being ignored.

But the private school's principal believes the old-fashioned pens have helped boost the academic performance and self-esteem of his 1,200 pupils.

"The pens improve the quality of work because they force the children to take care, and better work improves self-esteem," principal Bryan Lewis said. "Proper handwriting is as relevant today as it ever has been."

I love the last bit: "Proper handwriting is as relevant today as it ever has been." How can anyone possibly believe that? It's very possible that in a couple generations, there will be very little handwriting at all. Everything will be by keyboard and voice recognition. Is this a bad thing? On balance, I don't see why it is. Unless, of course, we lose our technology somehow, and can no longer communicate! So, perhaps it's best not to forget hand-writing altogether. But foutain pens seem a bit much.