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11:30 AM - Nein Gott! Today's Gazette featured a cover story claiming that atheism is somehow beginning to resemble an organized religion. Aside from the fact that American atheists are generally lacking in dogma, clergy, ritual, and houses of worship, well, the guy's got a decent point. Many of them do, after all, regularly get together at restaurants and occasionally at outdoor gatherings. In that sense, they are at least as "religious" as the Juggalos and the Peaceniks. If only there were a literal hell to which all such nonsense could be thoroughly damned. Ah well.... (
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November 29, 2005
11:45 PM - IRONy J.G. Robinson reported in today's Oklahoman that Immigration Reform for Oklahoma Now (IRON) has set up a local chapter to help keep Oklahoma safe from those dangerous aliens percolating northward from the less civilized regions of the Americas. Now I'm just about as racist as the next biracial guy whose Puerto Rican father happens to resemble Mark Lloyd, but I cannot see the point in such fearmongering as this. Is anyone else out there overwhelmed by the irony implicit in IRON's efforts to keep immigrants of largely Native American descent out of a society built primarily by European settlers of the former Land of the Red Man? If those of overwhelmingly European descent now (daringly) calling themselves native Oklahomans cannot compete sucessfully in a free and open economy with those migrating up here desperately in search of hard work, perhaps they should consider moving to a more virulently socialist country with a tradition of blatantly racist protectionism, such as those from which their ancestors emigrated some time ago. If the Europeans cannot make use such folk, they could perhaps provide them with a social safety net of some sort. It is the least they can do in return for us taking their wretched, poor, starving masses yearning to be free. Tags: (
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November 28, 2005
11:28 PM - Damaged goods Although I have often failed as a parent, today is the first time that I truly feel like a failure. As a result of my negligence and lack of discipline, my son (who had been the picture of perfect health since day one) underwent dental surgery today to remove an abscessed tooth. The little trooper hardly even complained. I am particularly saddened about our failure to drill in the discipline of toothbrushing because we were blessed with such a perfect healthy child at the beginning, who became ill only because we failed to instill the sort of self-discipline in mundane matters which ought to be the first responsibility of every decent parent to inculcate in their children. How I hate learning such lessons the hard way. (
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November 27, 2005
11:45 PM - Boondocks - Granddad's Fight I tried to introduce a few of my fellow white-flighters to the joy of The Boondocks this evening, unsurprisingly unsuccessfully. Alas, the humor inherent in a "nigga moment" is entirely lost on them. They've never gotten into a fight over nothing more than a brusied ego or scuffed sneaker and they've never been hit over the head with a chair just before getting bounced out of a venue. I'm not exactly proud of it, but the humor inherent in the nigga moment resonates with me. I suppose it could have as easily been called a "machismo moment" if we were picking on spics instead of niggas. Is this merely introspective racism or are we stepping on the toes of cultural anthropologists here? Damn, I hope they aren't wearing Nikes. Tags: (
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November 26, 2005
11:45 PM - Sleeping with ET, et al This evening's book club selection was Sleeping with Extra-Terrestrials by Wendy Kaminer. Subtitled The Rise of Irrationalism and Perils of Piety, this book was a fairly thoroughgoing tirade about the various irrational beliefs which pervade our society and all too often seep into our public policy discussions. I had expected the more conservative members of the club to be a bit offended by the author's (and the host's) harsh (mis)treatment of mainstream religious beliefs. To the contrary, our resident radical socialist excoriated Kaminer for doing precisely that for which she had excoriated modern mainstream journalism, namely, mocking modern mass movements while going relatively easy on traditional religious beliefs. I found this exchange somewhat puzzling and was put at a loss for an expression eqivalent to "turns in her grave" for a living author. In all seriousness, though, Kaminer did a fine job of demostrating the extent to which we have a "sectarian public square" in which expressions of public piety are not merely the norm but are in some sense mandatory in the higher echelons of our democracy. What she did not do, in my estimation, was demonstrate that we are in the midst of an historical trend of rising irrationalism. I tried to solicit comments on this point, alas, to no avail. Without substantial empirical data (e.g. inter-generational scientific polling) it would be fairly difficult to demonstrate this central thesis of the book. I'm not demanding double-blind lab tests, here, merely something beyond anecdotal evidence, however relevant and persuasive it may be. 11:26 AM - The Cult of Irresistible Influence Today's Oklahoman carried an article detailing an event co-sponsored by the Oklahoma Office of Faith-based and Community Initiatives, the Cornerstone Assistance Network, and the Christian Leadership Foundation. Now, I actively support efforts to "focus Christian...compassion on the unmet needs of our community" and "make a difference in other peoples' lives, helping them to become and successfully sustain independent lifestyles." These are doubtlessly worthy and admirable goals. Churches should indeed focus more on Jesus' commands to aid the poor and less on building megachurches in isolated, insulated, means-tested white-flight communities (such as my own). It should give clergy pause, however, to note that this event is being coordinated by an arm of the state government and an organization which they have given a monopoly over the process of funnelling federal tax monies into church coffers. As the old saying goes, "With the King's coin comes the King." Moreover, it should give everyone pause that the state government is exclusively favoring a particular faith community (guess which one!) in the course of their efforts to further integrate church and state. Did not the Father of the Constitution warn us of such collusion? Tags: (
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November 21, 2005
04:16 PM - Evac On account of an unaccountable bomb threat I spent the better half of this afternoon wandering about the distant curtilage of 3001 (read: thirty-aught-one) and reading Christopher Hitchen's biography of Thomas Jefferson in my unexpectedly copious spare time. (
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November 20, 2005
11:45 PM - Boondocks - Guess Hoe's Coming to Dinner The newest installment was a bit disappointing (relative to the previous two) but nevertheless humorous and insightful. I doubt if any amount of exaggeration may be rightly considered hyperbolic when treating the phenomenon of otherwise rational men suspending disbelief for the sake of a sexy young woman. 06:57 PM - Sectarian Public Square No Longer Metaphorical Small town Oklahoma made big news in the usual way, that is, by showcasing how remarkably backward we can be out here in the flyover states. We cannot even seem to get "adultery" right. It's embarrasing. Senator Tom Coburn reportedly stated that "America's greatness depends on its faith, nothing else..." Probably Mr. Coburn would have some difficulty explaining why those American states with the least faith are generally the most literate and prosperous. Stigler pastor Mike Bush was reported to say that "All our laws are based on the 10 laws up here on our courthouse lawn." How he squares our First Amendment with the First (or Second or Third) Commandment remains something of a divine mystery. Technorati tags: Stigler (
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November 19, 2005
11:45 PM - The Corporation This evening we watched The Corporation, a remarkably slick documentary based on the book of the same name by Joel Bakan. The basic premise of the film is that the modern global conglomerate is an amoral institution hell-bent on the pathological pursuit of profit and power at any and all cost. The film drives home this point by illustrating a handful of the more glaring and well-documented examples of corporate malfeasance in an effort to demonstrate that corporations generally have all of the psychological attributes of a typical psychopath. The problem with such an approach, of course, is that it proves far too much far too easily. It may be applied to any human institution, from the corporation to the commune to the church to the government. Give any group of people some power and some of them will abuse it to their own ends. The crucial issue, then, ought not be which institutions and economic systems may be most readily held in check by moral individuals acting as men rather than angels. Alas, with the exception of Milton Friedman, no one in this film even attempts to address this crux of the matter. Technorati Tags: (
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November 17, 2005
05:11 PM - Okiethink at its finest Today I came across an article by Carla Hinton regarding a sermon preached by Anthony Jordan referencing a political cartoon by Jim Lange. Now there is nothing terribly surprising about Southern Baptists massing and sermonizing in my home town, or about the fact that they are meeting in the same church in which I met, courted, and married my wife. We understand that we live in a fairly well-polished portion of the buckle of the so-called bible belt. More surprising, however, is the list of alleged sins which have supposedly obscured the Biblical character of our Once Great State: Shock? Indeed, shock. Perhaps outrage as well. As of the FBI's most recent Uniform Crime Report, the data reveal that Oklahoma ranks in the top ten among the fifty states in forcible rape, aggravated assault, property crimes, burglary, and theft. Now I'm fairly confident that most of these crimes are at least as "unbiblical" as gambling (in its various insidious forms) and drinking liquor. Indeed, if I recall my extensive sunday schooling correctly, Jesus used His Divine Powers to make top-shelf wine (as a debut miracle to boot) and various Biblical heroes drew lots on a substantial number of occasions, typically for rewards far more substantial than mere filthy lucre. Now, I do not much approve of gambling or liquor personally, and I can count on my fingers the number of times I've personally indulged in either vice. Still, it seems the moralists down the street at my (lavishishly appointed) hometown church have lost touch with which social ills are truly plauging their home state. (
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November 16, 2005
10:05 PM - Thai House II Tonight, I ordered the clay pot tofu and I was surprised to have it delivered in a metal pan. Less surprising, perhaps, was the conversation. I find it oddly amusing how freethinkers obsess over religion. I'd rather talk about practical activism (or even impractical anarchism) as opposed to just badmouthing the reich. Ah well. (
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November 15, 2005
11:16 PM - Taxpayers Rights This evening I had the opportunity to hear Oklahoma State Senator Randy Brogdon (R-Owasso) speaking in support for of a proposed Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR), that is, "a set of budget and tax policies that limit the growth of government taxation and spending to inflation plus population growth." Despite all the bad press that schemes for limiting government spending (e.g. in Colorado) has been getting on NPR and elsewhere, this is a fabulous idea, and the first time in quite awhile I have seen the GOP attempt to "walk the talk" on limited government. I applaud Sen. Brogdon for his efforts and for his wilingness to present his admirable ideas to a (mostly friendly) libertarian crowd. Now if only the GOP could be made to realize that criminalizing consensual activity is a huge part of the big government problem, then my party could exist contendedly on the fringes of political discourse, knowing that we had made a positive difference in daming the flow mainstream power politics. (
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November 14, 2005
04:16 PM - Sally Allen is a pen name After reading this morning's column I have become convinced that "Sally" lives on my street. Since the USPS has inadvertently enlightened me as to the identity of all of my neighbors (along with a few of their predecessors) I know that there are no Allens living around here. Accordingly, it must be concluded that her real name is kept secret, probably for the sake of her teenage son. 11:14 AM - Racino Man It was reported in the Oklahoman today that some state officials have high hopes for the new racino. I suppose that is all well and good, but the piece could well have been written up as a case study in how government price-supports tend to muck about with the free market. Firstly, the going price of gambling activities is massively and artificially bolstered by a statewide ban on gambling, thus allowing a very few legalized activities (e.g. parimutuel betting at the horse races) to reap huge profits. Later, as state restrictions on gambling are circumvented by Native American gaming enterprises, the price of gambling adjusts downward towards a more free-market price, causing a loss of business to the racing industry. Again, the government feels compelled to intervene, this time by a limited legalization of certain casino-type games for the sake of bailing out the races. Naturally, at each step, the state gets its take. (
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November 13, 2005
10:22 PM - Boondocks - R. Kelly Trial It is official, I now have a new favorite animated program. Since the reader will likely not realize what an achievement this really is, allow me to briefly list my favorite animated shows: When it comes to combining shocking humor with scathing social commentary, it is difficult to top this list, but the creators and producers of The Boondocks have done something truly amazing, seamlessly grafting these crucial elements with something largely lacking in the above mentioned shows, that is, eminently likable characters. Huey and Riley are more than just a personification of the Angry Black Man™ sterotype in an animated, adorable, and adolescent form, they also illustrate a struggle for personal and social improvement in the midst of an actively alienating environment. Even while standing on opposite sides on the same issue (as in this week's episode) they radiate the wisdom that comes most easily to those who've yet to be thoroughly culturally conditioned: "At what point does personal responsibility become a factor...?" - Riley "What happened to standards? What happened to bare minimums?" - Huey These chidren are ready and willing to speak truth to power - prosecutor, judge, and jury alike. Their forward-leaning attitude and provocative questioning stands in perfect contrast against a background of pragmatism and laid-back cynicism modeled by their grandfather, Robert Freeman, who seems perfectly content to assimilate into white-flight suburbia and is more than willing to dispense with personal integrity in order to live and let live: "I'm gonna find me a white man and lie to him right now." - Grandpa Words to live by. Technorati tags: (
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November 12, 2005
11:59 PM - ACLU banquet This evening I enjoyed a rare opportunity to hang out with a group of people who call themselves "civil libertarians" and whom my mother-in-law refers to as "commie pinkos." I'm afraid that they are both right, but each only to an extent. The Angie Debo award winner for this year called for recognition of a constitutional right to "freedom from want" in his acceptance speech, a proposition warmly greeted by the crowd, with few exceptions. Those of us who consider forced (as opposed to voluntary charitable) programs of wealth redistribution to be foundational to any totalitarian state have some great difficulty seeing how such programs could ever be made to coexist with robust protection of the geniune civil liberties called for in the bill of rights. The keynote speaker was quite an eccentric fellow who has mounted a remarkably quixotic attack on the 1954 federal law declaring our nation to be "under God" in a spasm of red-scared patriotic fervor. The gist of his message was fairly simple, that the Founders quite deliberately chose to leave matters of godliness, piety, and civic deism out of the Constitution and all federal oaths of offices, and that we should honor their "original intent" for our nation at least in this particular matter. Accordingly, his speech provided a fascinating preview into the arguments that he may well make before a new and vastly more conservative Supreme Court should he ever be afforded the opportunity. Fascinating, I say, because he is deliberately pitching an original intent argument to an originalist court. Update: Technorati tags: 04:16 PM - Peace Fest I attended the peace festival as usual this year, but this time around I went more for the sake of shopping and socializing than activism. Among the smorgasboard of leftysomething activists peddling puerile propaganda and passing petitions, I only found common cause with a small handful which seemed generally in favor of individual liberty... ...including but not limited to the following: The remainer of the activists seemed more in favor of collectivism and subjugation of the individual to the state than any policies which might promote individual liberty at home and abroad. This is to be expected from the left, but it remains surprising to me to see how people react against personal liberty. As usual, I managed to shock a few people, e.g. by enjoying my roast beast sandwich (courtesy of Back Door café) while perusing the PETA agitprop, and by wearing around my Northop Grumman bowling shirt all day. It garnered a few dirty looks, but only a nice lady from the UU church was bold enough to broach the topic. (
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November 11, 2005
11:11 AM - For whom McDowell Toils So much for apologetics. (
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November 09, 2005
08:05 PM - DoD Radio - Fair & Balanced? Evidently, the Daily Oklahoman and the Daily Kos are two of the only major news outlets to cover yesterday’s debate in the Senate between Inhofe and Harkin regarding the allegedly (un)fair and (im)balanced nature of the American Forces Radio and Television Service (AFRTS). As a result of an alleged right-wing programming bias in the AFRTS, Senator Harkin proposed an amendment to ensure that the network's political programming be "fair and balanced" and mandate that the DoD select an "independent ombudsman" to make recommendations and reports to Congress. Senator Inhofe, by contrast, put forth an amendment to allow the DoD to hire an ombudsman to monitor programming without mandating any action. Given the partisan nature of this debate, I’ll leave it to the reader to surmise the outcome. What disturbs me most about this debate is that both sides appealed to government action and policy to solve the problem, and neither seemed to hit upon the idea of polling the troops and adjusting programming accordingly. I know that the AFRTS cannot operate as a free-market station, but they could at least make an attempt at ratings-driven programming. Is it so much to ask that we tailor the troops’ news and entertainment to conform to the wishes of the troops? U.S. Senate (
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November 07, 2005
03:32 PM - Singing the blues This morning I gained a whole new level of appreciation for the heartfelt lyrics of a band which I'll likely always consider among my old favorites. This is most assuredly not a Good Thing (TM). I'd write more, but I've always felt a mixture of pity and distain towards those who use diaries as personal therapy.
November 06, 2005
11:06 PM - Boondocks - Garden Party Despite the fact that one or more of the televisions in my home are tuned into the Cartoon Network at any given time ever since my four-year-old child figured out how to type the number "52" into a remote control, I've only rarely seen a new animated show which really piques my interest from episode one. It took me several years to open to to The Simpsons and Family Guy, even though (or perhaps because) they were firmly founded upon a time-honored sitcom formula which dates back (at least) to The Honeymooners. Tonight, however, I was delighted to find myself laughing out loud in my living room, and that despite having no one about with which to share a laugh. This show has boundless comedic and satirical potential, and it only remains to see whether its creators manage to maximally exploit that potential. Technorati tags: (
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November 05, 2005
10:22 PM - Cinemania This evening I watched a documentary on a few film-obsessed folks who have managed to take cinephilia to pathological levels. Perhaps unsurprisingly, almost all of them were heavily taxpayer-supported in their dedication to big-screen entertainment to the detriment of having a job or indeed any sort of ordinary life. One of them, though, was a beneficary of an estate. I'm not sure precisely what the larger social lesson is here, but I've little doubt that Milton Friedman and Noam Chomsky would each have something to say. (
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November 04, 2005
02:29 PM - "When I die... ...I'm going to miss myself." - CBR, age 4 My only son faced up to the reality and inevitability of death this morning. This has come a bit earlier than expected. 11:04 AM - AU vs. AF Today, my favorite watchdog group came out barking and snapping at the hand that feeds me. Legal experts from Americans United have made a few key recommendations to the Air Force, some of which are already more or less the way business generally gets done... ...despite a lack of unequivocal policy guidance. Suggestions included the following: I've been serving the Air Force (in one capacity or another) since the mid-1990's, and I've only rarely seen the government e-mail system used to disseminate religious messages since the establishment of guidelines restricting e-mail primarily to official purposes. Even less often have I witnessed proselytization of subordinates by chaplains or other officers, despite an abundance of evangelical officers in any given unit. With few exceptions, even the most staunchly religious zealots seem to operate on the understanding that their personal faith is too divisive of a topic to introduce into the flow of water-cooler conversation. Not so with civic deism. Opening prayers at mandatory (and quasi-mandatory) events are so routine that they may well be the norm rather than the exception. This generalization holds for everything from major events such as graduations and open ranks inspections to minor recurring briefings such as the commander's call. Typically, the prayer extols military virtues generally (or Air Force core values in particular) and is addressed to whom it may concern rather than any particular deity. This latter fact has become official policy since August, at which point the Wing Commander ordered that prayers at any official functions (voluntary, mandatory, or in between) are performed by someone properly "informed of the sensitivites for the devilvery of ministry in a pluralistic environment and...willing to comply with those requirements" in order that the prayers provide "the proper respect for the spiritual values of all present at the event." The new prayer policy is a far cry from AU's recommendation, but it remains a positive step away from the blatantly sectarian and divisive prayers of yesteryear. (
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November 03, 2005
04:16 PM - ACLU Spent part of this afternoon visiting with Joann Bell and Michael Canfield over at the ACLU office in the Paseo district. They are wonderful and interesting folk, but as much as I might admire those who put their personal lives on the line in order to promote civil liberties for all alike, I doubt that I'd ever be willing to put myself (and my family) in such a precarious position. Now, I suppose that makes me a bit of a coward. I wonder if a woman can ever really admire a coward, however vocally she objects to heroics. Is it acceptable (or even possible) to be romatically loved without being admired? (
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November 01, 2005
11:01 AM - Blog-o-rama I've decided to get back into daily blogging starting today, since I'm on break from Concord Law School for a couple months. It is a relaxing time, although I'm still feeling a bit iffy about all this spare time. |
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Josh McDowell was remarkably candid in his 