For the record: this blogger has never used the N-word

This is getting ridiculous. So now James Webb is getting out front of George Allen by also denying that he has ever used the racial epithet beginning with N. (WP) So basically, the entire disussion of race and prejudice, which is an important one in Virginia, is getting boiled down to this parsing of words and questioning of childhood acquaintances.

Power to the procrastinators

Over the last few years some of America's more expensive colleges and universities have worked to make tuition more affordable.* While I'd guess that many factors beyond the price tag can make the road to college rocky for less-advantaged kids, maybe this type of assistance will help.**

But what about the recent move to eliminate early admission programs, in the name of equality? The basic idea is, it takes a certain set of socioeconomic advantages to access and succeed in the early admissions process. By elimintating early admissions, we level the playing field.

At least that's the conventional wisdom. But as Stanford's provost points out in this column, that conventional wisdom runs counter to the facts and statistics on early admissions. He makes a pretty convincing case that early admittees are not displacing less-advantaged applicants, and that, therefore, eliminating early admissions won't necessarily have the hoped-for field-leveling effect.

In all probability, the students to benefit most from the elimination of early admissions will be, you guessed it, the lazy-ass ones who can't be bothered to spend the summer touring colleges and obsessing over application essays. And I have to say, there is a certain justice in that.

*For example, Princeton converted its need-based student loans to grants in 2001 and Yale did so in 2005.

**Though, of course there's the disturbing trend that college tuition on average is rising much faster than incomes.

Fell victim to one of the classic blunders...

The most famous of which is never get involved in a land war in Asia.* But only slightly less well known is this: never go in against Bill Clinton when his legacy is on the line.

Silly Chris Wallace. Why on earth would you, on Fox News, ask Bill Clinton a question that was certain to enrage him? (transcript at ThinkProgress) A lesser debater would have gotten angry and flustered and come out looking worse for the wear. But you forget, this is Bill Clinton. So he got angry and articulate and cleaned your clock. It's hard to tell whether the intent was to throw Clinton off balance or what, but either way, you had it coming. Observe.

WALLACE: When we announced that you were going to be on Fox News Sunday, I got a lot of e-mail from viewers. And I’ve got to say, I was surprised. Most of them wanted me to ask you this question: Why didn’t you do more to put bin Laden and Al Qaida out of business when you were president? [I buy that most Fox viewers wanted to have this question asked. And all things being equal it is a fair question, until Wallace adds the following...]

There’s a new book out, I suspect you’ve already read, called The Looming Tower. And it talks about how the fact that when you pulled troops out of Somalia in 1993, bin Laden said, I have seen the frailty and the weakness and the cowardice of U.S. troops. Then there was the bombing of the embassies in Africa and the attack on the Cole. [Yeah, that's right, first accuse Clinton of being weak on terror. Then tie that to Somalia. In an interview that's supposed to be about the Clinton Global Initiative. There's no way that would piss him off]

Later, it gets worse:

WALLACE: One of the main parts of the Global Initiative this year is religion and reconciliation. President Bush says that the fight against Islamic extremism is the central conflict of this century. And his answer is promoting democracy and reform.
Do you think he has that right?

Oh, man. Again, sort of a fair question...until you get to the part where they segue from "Bill Clinton Inititative" to "President Bush is the bestest president ever" and the credulous repetitition of White House talking points. Anyhow, do check out the transcript, or better yet, watch the interview. It's a hoot.

*I don't know exactly what inspired me to quote The Princess Bride here. But the whole "land war in Asia" part is oddly appropo, don't you think?

"Millions use alternative medicine to get to sleep"

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) -- One in six Americans frequently have difficulty falling asleep, and 4.5 percent of them use some type of alternative medicine to treat their sleeping problems, a new study shows.

"Most respondents who used herbal therapies or relaxation techniques found these therapies helpful for managing their insomnia or trouble sleeping," Dr. Nancy J. Pearson and colleagues from the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Bethesda, Maryland, report in the Archives of Internal Medicine. (via CNN)

Yep. Bourbon.

Open for business.

There's a lot of talk about the influence of special interest money over political decisions in Washington. But it's not really such a black-and-white quid pro quo. It's not like lobbyists give lawmakers PAC contributions and take them out to fancy dinners and actually get specific legislative favors in return.

Except for when they do.

Rep. Ney Admits Selling Influence (WP)

Comment from a friend: "How much more could you possibly degrade the halls of Congress. I mean, sure, you could get caught having sex with a donkey in a committee room, and that would be unseemly. But it wouldn't violate the public trust like this."

Crocodile hunter rolls over in grave

Oh no! Apparently the freak death of Steve Irwin from a stingray stab to the heart has inspired some jackasses to go around attacking and mutilating stingrays. (The Guardian)

The persecution of these gentle--and freakin' cool--creatures is surely the exact opposite of what Irwin would have wanted. What a bummer.

Blogging the gap between war crimes and sketch comedy? Not so into it.

For the record, many of us immediately thought of that old Kids in the Hall bit when we saw this AP headline, and many of us briefly considered blogging about it...


But only Wonkette actually did so. Perhaps that's becuase the rest of us thought it a little inappropriate to poke fun at this:

Abdullah, 29, gave the chilling account during the trial of Hussein and six others for their roles in Operation Anfal, the 1987-88 campaign to suppress a Kurdish revolt in northern Iraq during the final stages of the war with Iran...

"At night, I heard the screaming of women and children," he said. He said he fled to neighboring Iran, but that his mother and two sisters went missing. Years later, their ID cards were found in a mass grave near Hatra, he said.

Update on the worst idea ever

Okay, okay, I take it back.

Survivor: Race Wars (as I like to call it) is changing hearts and minds.

Not least of all the heart and mind of its host, Jeff Probst. Until casting the show, the Washington Post reports, Probst "had not realized that 'Asian' includes Japanese, Koreans and Chinese and that they do not necessarily like each other as a matter of ethnic solidarity."

"When you start talking to a person from Asia, you realize -- Wow! They have all different backgrounds!" gushed Probst, who described himself repeatedly as a 44-year-old white guy from Wichita.

Probst's experience is affecting his daily life, too.

The other day, he told the reporters, he went to his dentist, who is white, and the dentist brought in another dentist, who is Asian. "And I found myself saying to the Asian doctor, 'Where in Asia is your family from?' " The dentist said he was Korean. "The only reason I had the courage to even ask that question or the knowledge to ask that question was I'd just spent 39 days with people from Korea," Probst said.

Moment of quiet freakout

Is it weird if I am really seriously considering picking up a Kearney Fallout Meter and some potassium iodide tablets?

I used to scoff at survivalism. But David Shenk has a point (Slate). You probably would survive a 21st century nuclear attack, and it would probably suck...but it might suck a whole lot less if you were just a little bit prepared.

The ultimate tempest in the ultimate teapot!!!

Hold onto your hats, folks!!!!

Lee Siegel, author, New Republic blogger, and coiner of the term "blogofascism" just got suspended from TNR. His crime? Posting outrageous, Siegel-aggrandizing comments on his own posts under the handle "sprezzatura."

Eh? What's that gentle buzzing I hear? That low-volume grumbling? Oh, it's just the left hand side of the blogosphere, which is going characteristically apeshit today over the Siegel suspension. (Google search: "lee siegel" sprezzatura)

Hmm, the whole story does raise some vaguely relevant questions about the unwritten rules and ethical constraints of blog punditry. And sprezzatura's posts are really over the top and fun to read in a cringe-inducing way. Quick, post some comments on ThinkProgress, then create a satirical mini-blog dedicated to the scandal! Get on it!

Please, just stay far, far away from U Street

"we decided to dedicate this edition of On the Go to the newbie university crowd: It's the College Freshman's Guide to Washington ." (WP)

*cringe*

Hey, the kids are alright. But you know what I mean.

Playing out the rope

Would it really be a problem for the Democrats if they were directionless going into the midterm elections this November?

In The New Republic this week, Peter Beinart postulates that the best strategy for the Dems is to keep any visionary agenda they may or may not have on the DL.

It makes sense. According to recent polling, an awful lot of Americans are pretty pissed at the Bush administration and/or the Republican led Congress right now. If you’re a Democrat, do you really want to complicate that equation? By pushing a bold national platform for voters to consider? (And bear in mind, it’s one thing to have a bold national platform, it’s another thing to push it aggressively.)

As Beinart writes, it seems quite possible that this is, in fact, the agreed-upon D strategy...and that the vagueness of their agenda is intentional.

Wishful thinking?