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Saturday, March 29, 2003 :::

Teaching by Intimidation, Part Deux

Thomas Sowell on the intellectual foundation of today's government schools:

It is bad enough when someone takes the position that he has made up his mind and doesn't want to be confused by the facts. It is worse when someone else makes up his mind for him and then he dismisses any facts to the contrary by attributing bad motives to those who present those facts.

Creating mindless followers is one of the most dangerous things that our public schools are doing. Young people who know only how to vent their emotions, and not how to weigh opposing arguments through logic and evidence, are sitting ducks for the next talented demagogue who comes along in some cult or movement, including movements like those that put the Nazis in power in Germany.

At one time, the educator's creed was: "We are here to teach you how to think, not what to think." Today, schools across the country are teaching students what to think -- whether about the environment, the war, social policy, or whatever.

Terrorism remains the greatest threat to America's security. But "public education" may rank a close second.

::: posted by Skip Oliva at 1:33 PM | link | donate |

Teaching by intimidation

Columbia University anthropology professor Nicholas DeGenova abandoned reason at an anti-war "teach-in" held on Columbia's campus earlier this week. New York Newsday reports:

"The only true heroes are those who find ways that help defeat the U.S. military," Nicholas De Genova, assistant professor of anthropology at Columbia University told the audience at Low Library Wednesday night. "I personally would like to see a million Mogadishus."

The crowd was largely silent at the remark. They loudly applauded De Genova later when he said, "If we really believe that this war is criminal ... then we have to believe in the victory of the Iraqi people and the defeat of the U.S. war machine."

This is not reasoned dissent, but open support for Saddam Hussein's regime. While I do not consider—as a judgment of law—De Genova's actions to be treason, he came dangerously close. Openly advocating the murder of U.S. soldiers is, in no context, a legitimate argument to make in the course of debating the merits of the war.

It's interesting that this took place at Columbia, a school which recently named Lee Bollinger its new president. Bollinger's name will soon go down in history as the respondent in the two Michigan affirmative action cases scheduled for argument before the Supreme Court on Tuesday. Bollinger was Michigan's president at the time the cases were first brought. More to the point, Bollinger is an impassioned defender of institutional racism, at least in the guise different admissions standards based on skin color or ethnicity.
Bollinger (and much of organized academia) believes diversity qua diversity is a virtue. For this reason, it is unlikely Bollinger will take any action against Professor De Genova, who after all was only "celebrating diversity" in declaring Saddam Hussein to be America's moral superior. Yet at the same time, the antiwar "teach-in" was anything but a model of intellectual diversity. Consider the Columbia campus newspaper's editorial on the event:

The goal of the event, presumably, was to spark intellectual, scholarly discussion about the war in Iraq. But last night's event was not a serious debate. It was a forum where professors could express their views unopposed.

Even if the event was designed for the very legitimate purpose of advocating only an anti-war perspective -- and not, as Professor Ira Katznelson suggested at the beginning of the evening, "to teach" -- one of the surprising things about the teach-in was the assumption on the part of several speakers that no one in favor of the war (or even anyone ambivalent) was present. Professor Jack Snyder said he felt comfortable speaking at Low last night because he knew there would be little opposition. The speakers were not out to change anyone's mind about the war; instead, they reveled in an atmosphere of intellectual conformity. . . .

While some professors did present articulate and sophisticated reasons for disagreeing with the war, the possibility of disagreement was never taken seriously; no "teaching" took place. Too many students left the teach-in feeling intimidated not by the overwhelming opposition to the war, but to the way an academic forum became a fervid presentation of an exclusive viewpoint. In the future, the University should be wary of advertising a "critical" forum that is so uncritical of its own perspective.

If President Bollinger values the ethical and intellcetual credibility of his university, he will dismiss Nicholas De Genova immediately. If Bollinger can't bring himself to do that, then Columbia's trustees should fire De Genova and Bollinger.

::: posted by Skip Oliva at 1:28 PM | link | donate |

Friday, March 28, 2003 :::

Untrustworthy Trust Accounts

The US Supreme Court says interest on lawyer trust accounts belongs to the poor. S.M. Oliva says it belongs to clients. Read about it at Initium.

::: posted by Nicholas Provenzo at 10:04 PM | link | donate |

Roll call of the honored dead

Fox News is keeping a list.

Read this poem by Theodore O'Hara (1820–1867) to remember them.

::: posted by Nicholas Provenzo at 8:07 PM | link | donate |

Statue of Liberty copy in France defaced

Link. Better that then a terrorist bomb destroying the real one in New York.

::: posted by Nicholas Provenzo at 7:18 PM | link | donate |

Antitrust news

From Reuters:

NEW YORK - Checkpoint Systems Inc. said on Friday a federal judge has annulled an antitrust verdict against the labeling system maker but upheld another ruling, lowering damages to be paid by the company to $13 million from $80 million.

A judge in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania annulled an verdict handed down by a jury last May for Checkpoint's allegedly antitrust activities in the market for electronic article surveillance tags.

The judge upheld a verdict on charges of violating state laws on tortuous interference and unfair competition, but reduced the award for these infractions to $13 million from $19 million.

Checkpoint, based in Thorofare, New Jersey, makes source tagging, bar code labeling systems and retail merchandising systems.

Shares of Checkpoint rose 47 cents, or 5 percent, to close at $9.85 on the New York Stock Exchange.

::: posted by Skip Oliva at 6:35 PM | link | donate |

TIGER WOODS supports the war:

I have great respect for the men and women fighting overseas to protect our way of life in Iraq and other parts of the world. As the son of an Army officer, I understand the strength, courage and discipline required to successfully carry out their missions in hostile environments and feel tremendous pride they are representing us.
Obviously, no one likes war. Our Congress and President tried hard to avoid the use of force, but ultimately decided it was the best course of action. I like the assertiveness shown by President Bush and think we owe it to our political and military leaders, along with our brave soldiers to be as supportive as possible during these difficult and trying times. I just wanted to take this opportunity to let our forces know that I am thinking about you and wishing you and your families the best.

::: posted by Nicholas Provenzo at 4:15 PM | link | donate |

I left my heart in Iraq

Michelle Malkin is disgusted with Helen Thomas.

::: posted by Nicholas Provenzo at 3:15 PM | link | donate |

American Patriotic Songs and Hymns

We've posted the lyrics of American patriotic songs and hymns at capitalismcenter.org. I'm partial to the Marines' Hymn, for obvious reasons, but I also admire the sentiments expressed in the 2nd stansa of the Air Force Song.

UPDATE: The USAF Heritage of America Band has a web page where you can download a host of American patriotic songs and hymns at no charge. They have all the service hymns, and much much more in both RealMedia and Mp3 formats.

::: posted by Nicholas Provenzo at 2:54 PM | link | donate |

Power to the Producer

Instapundit contemplates Lou Dolinar's proposal for Iraq's oil. Dolinar writes:

Our government should announce -- soon -- that the new postwar Iraqi administration will "personalize" the nation's oil revenues by establishing an Iraqi national investment trust -- The Iraqi People's Freedom Trust -- that will receive a major share -- say, 50% -- of all future Iraqi oil earnings.
The rest can go to central government and federal regional governments on some per capita basis.

I think Dolinar's proposal is a terrible idea. Iraq's oil is not the property of all Iraqis---it's the property of those who harvest it. Apply Dolinar's proposal to an industry like farming, with 50% of the profits going to the Iraqi people and the other 50% going to the government, and I think it's easy to see just how defective such a proposal would be.

I say Iraq’s nationalized industries, including its oil production facilities, should be privatized by auction to the highest bidder, and all auction proceeds should go to the Iraqi treasury. No distinction should be made between Iraqi and international bidders, and under Iraqi law, foreign ownership rights should be enforced with the same strength as domestic ownership rights.

Iraq has lived under bloody socialism for too many years. The antidote is not more socialism, but freedom and individual rights, including property rights. Instead of "power to the people," Iraq needs "power to the producer."

::: posted by Nicholas Provenzo at 2:21 PM | link | donate |

Congress abandons 'faith-based' initiative

The AP reports congressional sponsors of President Bush's faith-based initiative have given up on legislation that would make it easier for churches and religious groups to get government grants.

No word on the progress of reason-based initiatives. We'll keep watching.

::: posted by Nicholas Provenzo at 1:48 PM | link | donate |

The Ultimate Weapon of Mass Destruction

Ayokunle Ogunshola says it's not nuclear, chemical, or biological weapons. Read about it at Initium.

::: posted by Nicholas Provenzo at 6:01 AM | link | donate |

That was quick

FOX REPORTS every useable air base in Iraq is under coalition control.

::: posted by Nicholas Provenzo at 5:57 AM | link | donate |

Thursday, March 27, 2003 :::

Make sure that chicken has a visa...

Tyson Foods was acquitted yesterday on several counts of conspiring to smuggle illegal immigrants into the U.S. to work as Tyson employees. It took less than five hours for the jury to find Tyson and three of its managers not guilty on 12 of the 36 original charges brought by the Justice Department (the judge threw out the other 24 for lack of evidence.) Basically what happened was a few local Tyson managers hired illegal immigrants, and the government decided to prosecute the entire company, despite the lack of any substantial evidence that corporate leaders knew what was happening. Indeed, Tyson made every effort to comply with immigration and labor laws, but given the company's high employee turnover (about 75% of their 120,000 workers leave each year), it was almost inevitable that some undocumented workers would slip through the cracks.

The jury forewoman was blunt in explaining the verdict: "I was appalled that the government didn't have more hard evidence than they had...It was so obvious that they needed more evidence."

Lucky for Tyson this wasn't an antitrust case. They might not have had the luxury of an impartial jury then.

::: posted by Skip Oliva at 10:15 PM | link | donate |

That other useless international organization...

Sports Illustrated reported last week on the reign of terror imposed by Uday Hussein—Saddam's oldest son—as head of the Iraqi National Olympic Committee. Here's what happened to an Iraqi boxer who failed to win a regional competition:

With a wave of Uday's arm the manacled boxer was led into the room by Iraqi secret service. Sitting behind a dark wood desk beneath an oversized portrait of himself, Uday began his tirade. "In sport you can win or you can lose. I told you not to come home if you didn't win." His voice rising, he walked around the desk and gave the boxer a lesson. "This is how you box," he screamed as he threw a left and a right straight to the fighter's face. Blood dribbled from the athlete's nose as Uday launched another round of punches. Then, using the electric prod he was famous for carrying, Uday jolted the boxer in the chest.

There are dozens more stories like this one, yet the International Olympic Committee has sat on its hands for months, refusing to even consider expelling Iraq from the Olympic movement. Canadian IOC member Richard Pound went so far as to cast aspersions on evidence of Hussein's torture, saying the IOC has "to make sure this is not all tied to the Iraq-U.S. dispute, that we are not being used for propaganda." Apparently, Pound has no problem with Iraq—and dozens of other dictatorships—from using the Olympics for political propaganda.

::: posted by Skip Oliva at 10:07 PM | link | donate |

Coalition Will Call the Shots in Iraq, Says Powell

Link.

"We didn't take on this huge burden with our coalition partners not to be able to have a significant dominating control over how it unfolds in the future,"

"We would not support ... essentially handing everything over to the U.N. for someone designated by the U.N. to suddenly become in charge of this whole operation,"

Powell did allow for the possibility of a UN humanitarian assistance role. We can't have everything, at least not all at once.

Link.

::: posted by John Bragg at 7:28 PM | link | donate |

Shade of Things To Come?

Link. US Ambassador to the UN John Negroponte walked out of a UN meeting as the Iraqi Ambassador ranted on about a US plot to wipe out the Iraqi people. IT was just one meeting, but we can dream.

::: posted by John Bragg at 6:48 PM | link | donate |

Appealing to the masses

Microsoft is gearing up for a return to the federal appellate courts. Next Thursday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in Richmond will hear the company's appeal of a preliminary injunction ordering Microsoft to carry rival Sun Microsystems' software as part of Windows XP. And on March 13, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit announced that the never-ending government antitrust case will be heard, once again, by the entire court sitting en banc, rather than by a three-judge panel. The D.C. Circuit appeal was brought by Massachusetts and West Virginia, two states that refused to sign on to the federal government's settlement with Microsoft.

::: posted by Skip Oliva at 4:17 PM | link | donate |

Esta fusión es mala!

The Justice Department is getting in the way of the planned merger of Univision and Hispanic Broadcasting Corporation (HBC), two of the nation's largest Spanish-language broadcasters. In an odd twist, the DOJ is forcing Univision to divest its 30% interest in a third company—Entravision Communications—as a condition of permitting the HBC acquisition. The government argues that since Entravision and HBC directly compete in some radio markets, it's unfair that Univision should own a stake in both companies.

The terms of the DOJ's forced "consent decree" is particularly harsh. Univision must surrender its two seats on Entravision's board of directors, and must exchange all of its voting stock "for a nonvoting interest with limited rights." This is so, in the DOJ's words, Univision won't try to "improperly influence" Entravision's radio business.

As usual, the government admits they consider the interest of consumers—in this case purchasers of radio advertising—more important than the rights of producers. That's hardly news. But what is notable is that radio mergers are gaining more attention now from antitrust regulators and members of Congress. Sen. Russ Feingold, Wisconsin Democrat, is shilling legislation to impose new federal limits on the number and size of radio stations one company can own. Even Hispanic activist groups, such as the National Hispanic Policy Institute, are demanding the DOJ act to ensure more "local ownership" of Spanish-language radio and television stations. NHPI recently ran a series of newspaper ads touting 90% support in the Hispanic community for "local ownership" of radio stations. If that is the case, then why isn't this 90% putting together some capital to actually buy their own radio station? I guess it's just easier to try and take somebody else's through regulation.

::: posted by Skip Oliva at 4:08 PM | link | donate |

America the Liberator

JEFF JACOBY says Saddam will fight dirty to the end:

[it] will go down fighting, and it will remain brutal and fascist to the last. And how do brutal fascists fight? They shoot POWs in the head and flaunt their corpses on camera. They site military hardware near hospitals and schools, turning civilians into human shields. They wave a white flag to indicate surrender, then open up with machine guns or rocket-propelled grenades. They order noncombatants in front-line cities to attack allied troops, threatening to kill them if they refuse. They build a military bunker under the hotel at which foreign reporters are required to stay.

Jacoby is undeterred.

As is the case in nearly every war, brave soldiers have been captured or killed, armor and aircraft have been destroyed, and Mother Nature - this time in the form of furious sandstorms - has refused to cooperate with military planners.
But the losses and setbacks have been vastly greater for Saddam Hussein's military than for the forces fighting to topple him. With the war only a week old, Iraq's southern oil fields and its only port city are in American hands; thousands of Iraqi soldiers are in custody; Republican Guard divisions are being ripped from the air; an anti-Saddam uprising, aided by British troops, is reportedly underway in Basra; and the American-led alliance is nearly at the outskirts of Baghdad. If Gulf War II will not be a second Six Day War, neither is its outcome in doubt: Saddam's brutal fascist regime is going to be destroyed.

Amen.

::: posted by Nicholas Provenzo at 2:03 PM | link | donate |

The Red Ball Express

A lot of hay has been made in the news about stretched US logistic lines. There shouldn't be. In WWII, the famous Red Ball Express kept the fast moving armored columns supplied. The Red Ball route ran from the supply depots near Normandy to just south of Paris, about a 600 mile round trip. Drivers of the Red Ball worked round the clock and had to face mines, air attack, and infantry ambushes.

Today's battle in Iraq will call on the same courage. Today's Red Ball drivers won't have to worry about attacks from the air, but they will have to worry about mines and ambushes. That's warfare. They know it, and we should know it too.

There's wisdom in moving fast to Baghdad. When Saddam is deposed, the Iraqi war machine will crumble. Dictatorships are inherently unstable and don't do well without their dictator. Kill Saddam, and the US will win in Iraq.

::: posted by Nicholas Provenzo at 12:24 PM | link | donate |

War coverage

Rupert Cornwell says the the dilemma is whether to use decisive force or fight humanely.

I say decisive force is humane--for our troops.

::: posted by Nicholas Provenzo at 11:56 AM | link | donate |

Al-Jazeera's english website hacked

http://english.aljazeera.net/

For about an hour on Sunday, CAC's website, along with 15,000 other websites at Interland were hacked and their main page replaced with a vulgar anti-Bush message. Other websites hacked included the Ayn Rand Bookstore. Interland says the hackers used a vulnerability in Microsoft FrontPage extensions.

Cheap.

::: posted by Nicholas Provenzo at 11:25 AM | link | donate |

Wednesday, March 26, 2003 :::

The liberation of Augusta continues...

Martha Burk's break with reality is now complete with her pronouncement today that holding the Masters constitues "an insult to the nearly quarter million women in the U.S. armed forces."

This statement is irrational on its face, and hardly deserving of a serious reply. But there was one interesting statement to come from Burk's New York press conference today, and it was this: "It's appalling that the women who are willing to lay down their lives for democratic ideals should be shut out of this club. ... Democratic ideals do not include discrimination.''

Burk actually raises an interesting point. Augusta's membership policies aren't "democratic" for sure; but then again, the purpose of America is not to promote "democratic" values to the exclusion of all else. After all, if a society is organized around the principle of individual rights, it shouldn't matter whether one private golf club chooses to exclude women. We simply respect Augusta's right to govern their own membership, and proceed to carry on with our own lives. But Burk is long past the point where she can simply let this go. Thankfully, a few more statements like the one she made today, and even her allies in the media will finally abandon the "liberation of Augusta" crusade.

::: posted by Skip Oliva at 6:08 PM | link | donate |

In the Book of Genesis, the Tower of Babel represented the folly of humanity attempting to defy the will of God. The historical kernel of that story was somewhere in the Mesopotamian plain, where our armies fight today.

In 1281, typhoon winds and fierce Japanese resistance led to the loss of the Mongol fleet and the death of around 100,000 Mongol warriors. This was seen by the Japanese as a Divine Wind, or the original "Kamikaze."

In 1588, a fierce windstorm was instrumental in the victory of the (Protestant) English fleet over the attacking (Catholic) Spanish Armada. For centuries, Englishmen celebrated the "Protestant wind" that had brought victory through divine intervention.

According to press reports, the Iraqi armies have decided to meet the Americans and British in open battle, while covered by the sandstorm. Saddam Hussein hopes for a victory assisted by the weather, for an Act of God which would bring him victory in his self-proclaimed jihad. He is gambling much of his remaining army on these battles, and trusting to Allah to bring him victory.

Our Islamist enemies believe that, despite all of our wealth and our technology and our power, that they will triumph against us because it is the will of God that they prevail. They believe that jihad will triumph over the United States by the will of God, just as it destroyed the Soviet Union by the will of God. Today, many of them believe that the sandstorm in the desert, reducing our ability to operate, is the will of God.

When the sand clears, we will see which is destroyed and which will prevail, the United States or the mechanized forces of the jihad.

::: posted by John Bragg at 4:52 PM | link | donate |

Link More bad news, pretty much buried in the story. The Pakistanis, among the league leaders in the Islamist Lunatic Sweepstakes, now have a missile which can carry a nuclear warhead up to 132 miles. Previously, the Pakistanis were thought to only be able to deliver nuclear warheads via fighter planes.

::: posted by John Bragg at 4:09 PM | link | donate |

Link. Elsewhere in the Axis of Evil, a commentator for an Iranian newspaper speculates on the future of Iran's nuclear program.

Source unknown, reliability unknown, etc.

::: posted by John Bragg at 3:58 PM | link | donate |

And they put someting in that water too

For some reason, the City of San Francisco is now selling bottled water. I bet the for-profit bottlers appreciate that. And I expect we'll see more financially strapped cities operating businesses (and putting other business out of business).

::: posted by Nicholas Provenzo at 3:26 PM | link | donate |

Friends of America Network

Fredrik Norman has started a good trend. Be sure to let him know you are grateful.

::: posted by Nicholas Provenzo at 3:19 PM | link | donate |

How about our new look?

Just in case you didn't notice, we've updated the look of our website. Some changes are still coming, but I I like what we've done thus far. What do you think?

::: posted by Nicholas Provenzo at 3:10 PM | link | donate |

It's their philosophy, stupid

Paul Berman takes an in-depth look at Islam's philosopher-terrorist.

::: posted by Nicholas Provenzo at 2:16 PM | link | donate |

An Axis of Valor

The "Uni" in "Unilateral" now means "fifty" according to Condoleeeza Rice in the Wall Street Journal.

::: posted by Nicholas Provenzo at 2:06 PM | link | donate |

The Rule of Reason

Welcome to the Center of the Advancement of Capitalism's new weblog, "The Rule of Reason." In antitrust law, the "rule of reason" is the judicial principle the Supreme Court fashioned to cover for the fact that if the Sherman Act is interpreted literally, it prohibits every commercial arrangement. As early as 1911, the Court took a bald evasion and labeled it as reason.

We at the Center takes a different view of reason, and this weblog is one of our efforts to restore its correct use in our institutions. This weblog will supplement our online journal at Initium. Often we see things in the news that deserve instant commentary, and that's what bloging is all about.

For all of us at the Center, I hope you enjoy our efforts.

::: posted by Nicholas Provenzo at 8:00 AM | link | donate |

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