Al Gore's Mileage Will Be Amazing

India is producing an automobile that runs on compressed air. It pays to be full of wind!

Still, Bob Ewing's byline on the article is a surprise.

This Explains So Much

Write you own punchline: "You might not want to do it, but removing half of your brain will not significantly impact who you are."

Sudan Holds Fizzy Drinks Hostage

Accuse them of genocide, and they plot to take away our Coke. Do they want a full-scale war?

Gorgeous Tiny Chicken Machine Show

My life will never be the same again.



(Via MediocreFilms)

My Five Favorite Beatles Songs

In response to Norman Geras' incredibly tough poll...

"Across the Universe": Psychedelic Beatles songs are my least favorite of their stylings, since I am neither a product of the sixties nor its chemical rebellion. But this song is brilliant without the assistance of hallucinogens. A perfect fusion of music and lyric.

"Eleanor Rigby": Yes, it is ersatz-classical. Yes, it is a predictable selection for this poll. Yes, it is one of the most evocative songs in the English language.

"Hey Jude": I had the most trouble settling on this title, mostly because of "Strawberry Fields Forever" and "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds". Nevertheless, there is a mature quality in this song that the others lack. Underneath its classic rock form is a timeless lullaby for adults.

"Nowhere Man": The cold opening is an attention-getter, and the song just gets better. If the lyrics' wit (as in both humor and insight) are not enough to merit top placement, then consider the music. It is unapologetically catchy without being cheesy.

"Yesterday": This simple yet powerful song about love and loss is one of my first musical memories and one of my last memories of my maternal grandmother. I heard it along with "Let It Be" in her hospital room when I was four years old. Both have similar merits, but "Yesterday" has the edge.

Whatever you think of these picks, do not click the last link in this post.

Sign Language Translation

(Via AdamBuxton)

We Can't Pull Out

Robert Mitchum says so!

And here is the smartest article on Iraq I have seen in ages.

Saud Off

"My notion is that religions should be robust enough to trust their members. A religion should arm you to go into the world, not wall you off from it." - Roger Ebert

I watched Undercover Mosque, the video referenced in Vanity Fair's "Londonistan Calling" article. The paranoia at the mosques in question is bad, the bigotry is worse, and I think there are laws against inciting violence. One speaker claims a "freedom of speech" right to destroy the rights of others.

Why are so few Muslims publicly challenging these extremists? And why is the West failing in its support of Muslims courageous enough to shatter the stereotypes?

Update: Speaking of shattered stereotypes, CBS News reveals that aspiring to be a journalist-slicing jihadist will not free you from the long arms of the bureaucrats (pdf file). (via The Belmont Club)

Shatner in the Sky with Diamonds

Oh... the... humanity!

BBC vs. Scientology

A comment at Samizdata:

It seemed to me that on one side you had representatives of a fanatical cult trying to foist its views on the rest of the world and on the other... the Church of Scientology.

Truly, they deserve one another.

Owie.

Unwell Falwell Farewell

I did not want to post anything about Jerry Falwell. Speaking ill of the dead is not a good a habit, and the best I could muster for the reverend were double-edged adjectives such as "dedicated," "well-meaning," and "sincere." But the parishioners of Westboro Baptist Church remind me that Falwell at least had the reassuring trait of relative sanity:

"WBC will preach at the memorial service of the corpulent false prophet Jerry Falwell, who spent his entire life prophesying lies and false doctrines like 'God loves everyone,'" reads a posting on Godhatesamerica.com...

"Falwell warmly praised Christ-rejecting Jews, pedophile-condoning Catholics, money-grubbing compromisers, practicing fags like Mel White, and backsliders like Billy Graham and Robert Schuler, etc.," the site reads.

The hate-sponsoring lunatics also reworked "We Are the World" into "God Hates the World".

Know what God really hates? Nazis.

Update:


Update II: Bombs are not good coping devices.

Where Are We Going In This Handbasket?

Instapundit is covering a series of abuses under America's current president as professors share information, students express ideas, painters paint, religion engages minds, bloggers speak truth to power, others criticize government officials, and citizens publicly organize their views.

NASA's Idea of Breaking Wind

Watch the video with your volume up!

Iraq To The Future

Debate never hinges on what people know, but on what people believe they know. I have yet to find myself in an argument over whether fire burns, for example, but everyone has his talking points on Iraq. Human actions can be misguided, misread, mysterious. I know, because I oppose Big Government, favor gay marriage, think bans are an "un-nuanced" way to deal with problems such as drugs and abortion, believe all levels of government have social responsibilities, reject strict gun controls, support the Iraq intervention in principle, think Bush has actually done some things correctly, want Congress to raise the minimum wage, respect Condoleezza Rice immensely, and love to challenge and be challenged. Consequently, I have been called an anarchist, a closet Republican, a closet Democrat, a fascist, and a few synonyms of "moron." Turns out that people just think differently (when they think at all).

If you know me, you probably know my four-point action theory:

1. One can view actions as legitimate or illegitimate based on the morals of those doing the actions. The idea is that ulterior motives undermine even the most righteous aim. A crime-lord's henchman can turn his bosses over to the feds, but if he does it in order to take over the operation then society is hardly better for the exchange.

2. One can view actions in terms of whether we can justify the act ourselves. The argument is that people can do good things for the wrong reasons, so the morality of the actor is separate from that of the action. A donation through convenience can benefit the needy as well as any through charity.

3. A person can also view actions in terms of how they occur. An action can be personally and objectively justified, but the methods used can damage credibility. Even Belloq knows one shouldn't use a bulldozer to find a china cup.

4. Another perspective focuses on results. The end may not justify the means, but it sure is nice when happy endings occur by providence or human hand.

This may be an oversimplification, but most people I know consider all four factors. For example, (1) there is no doubt in my mind that President Bush was political about Iraq and so engaged in some dubious exaggerations, omissions, and contacts. But then his statements were reasonably honest compared to many pundits', including a significant number that chose to mislead in the opposing direction. Certainly I never bought conservative arguments that Bill Clinton killed 4,000 Iraqis and signed the pivotal Iraq Liberation Act "for no good reason," and do not buy them now that they are liberal arguments against George W. Bush. Instead, (2) I hold my head high among the dwindling number of Iraq interventionists and speak out against unfair criticisms because blowing the lid off of a U.N.-sponsored murder-for-profit scheme, giving others the option of democracy, and pushing anti-authoritarian agendas are all traditional liberal ideas that Clinton, Bush and the vast majority of Congress, even now, deserve credit for promoting in Iraq. I also happen to think there is valid historical and moral precedent for disposing of dictators who invade neighboring countries, target Jews, bar free and fair elections, gas fellow countrymen, torture political opponents, murder into the seven digits, endorse ethnic cleansing, and have silly mustaches. (3) The manner in which this happened raises questions about the mores of both sides of the debate, although the government's failure to engage the world press and to forcefully repudiate torturers and abusers among its own ranks has done the most to allow growing numbers of people to see individuals who rape, behead, and slaughter innocents as more sympathetic. (4) Nobody can be certain of the future, especially not with "war fever" and "war fatigue" at issue, so I will not join the pundits in this particular guessing-game. I will only say that the consequences of engaging in a war without a decisive victory usually, historically match or surpass the damages from the war itself, so I hope that there is a decisive victory, that any American withdraw without one bucks the trend and, if it does not, that America will hasten to aid again.

So there ya go, a few scattered thoughts for use as fertilizer. (Sorry about the smell.)

Indonesia Calls For Aid

Please offer what you can to help the people of Java.

And while people are most important, many of them have other loved ones that also need care.

But I Have Charlton Heston's Autograph

The things you see when you haven't got your machine.

Thank You Very Much Oh Mr. Donato

Spotted: New dress code for Democratic leadership.

The Language Gap As A Handicap?

The following is an essay I wrote in April concerning a series of articles on America's English-only debate.

English dominates the United States as the nation’s de facto language of commerce and entertainment. Although scattered pockets of non-English speakers and nods to “cultural diversity” fragment the language’s cultural reign, it is otherwise monolithic in its influence. Robert D. King’s “Should English Be the Law?” S. I. Hayakawa’s “Bilingualism in America: English Should Be the Official Language,” Greg Lewis’ “An Open Letter to Diversity’s Victims,” and Myriam Marquez’s “Why and When We Speak Spanish in Public” use well-reasoned arguments to explore the role English plays in American life as well as the extent (if any) languages such as Spanish threaten its supremacy. King and Marquez argue that the English-speaking majority is in no danger and should accommodate non-English speakers. Lewis and Hayakawa argue that non-English speakers should adapt to the mainstream for their own good as well as that of the masses. Each brings so many different views to the discussion that a reader may easily support making English mandatory in public schools while simultaneously opposing a law making English the official language of the United States.

For instance, King frames his argument with histories of the Official English movement and of other national languages, balancing his own observations in such a way that they could seem indifferent were it not for the nine pages leading to his proposed solution: “Benign neglect is a good policy for any country when it comes to language, and it’s a good policy for America.” Lewis is keen to report such facts as California’s English-only education substantially improving Hispanic elementary students’ grades, but he is blunter in his assessment of administrators who supported the earlier system of bilingual education (“liberal educational segregationists,” he calls them); he is downright quarrelsome when he segues into a tangent involving Ebonics and employment. Marquez is the most personable of the quartet, largely due to a first-person narrative drawn from her life as an Hispanic in America. The most reasonably passionate is Hayakawa. He has no difficulty providing data similar to Lewis’, but he also supplies his own experiences as an American, a son of immigrants, and a politician. Sentences such as “As a former resident of California, I am completely familiar with a system that uses two official languages, and I would not advise any nation to move in such a direction unless forced to do so” provide introductions for his essay’s supporting details.

One of those details cited by Hayakawa is the extensive use of English in India, arguably because the country would be in a multilingual muddle otherwise. This answers King’s contention that “India gets along pretty well with a host of different languages,” a rather bold remark considering how King adds that “English functions more nearly than Hindi as India’s lingua franca” without addressing why. This is probably because King regards languages as nothing compared to the “unique otherness” of a nation’s dominant character: his other example of multilingualism, Switzerland, is actually further removed from American size, population, and culture than India, but it possesses a solid cultural identity that enables it to function well with four different languages. However, his appears to be a minority view. Hayakawa, Marquez, and Lewis presume that language is a key component of cultural identity.

So while King suggests that “America has that unique otherness,” Hayakawa suggests it means nothing if Americans cannot communicate that “otherness” to one another. Hayakawa writes, “While it is certainly true that our love of freedom and devotion to democratic principles help to unite and give us a mutual purpose, it is English, our common language, that enables us to discuss our views and allows us to maintain a well-informed electorate, the cornerstone of a democratic government.” The argument is that America is a nation of immigrants, and “English unites us as American-immigrants and native-born alike.” Marquez strongly resists the notion that one must speak English to become culturally American, yet concedes that when she and her family speak Spanish it is because they wish to maintain ties to their ancestral culture, indicating that language is in fact very important to social integration. Lewis proposes that the reason behind American bilingual education is that Hispanic children should not have to learn English because they “are at risk for losing their cultural identity” by learning English. Hayakawa tones that notion down to merely say that bilingual education sometimes comes “dangerously close” to making avoidance of English the main goal, a declaration that still seeks to undermine claims that English’s presence in America is secure. King admits that “in much of the world, ethnic unity and cultural identification are routinely defined by language,” so it is fair to ask whether it is wrong for Americans to define Americanism as including English speech.

France is a major example of national identity through language, as President Chirac recently highlighted when he stormed out of a summit after a fellow countryman favored English and refused to do a presentation in French. Note that France maintains the Académie Française, a government entity devoted to preventing the “corrupting forces” of foreign language. Should French be law? Does a language spoken by a clear majority justify creating law to ostracize speakers of a minority language and thereby restrict their freedom to express themselves in whatever way they can? Thomas Jefferson observed, “Rightful liberty is unobstructed action according to our will within limits drawn around us by the equal rights of others. I do not add ‘within the limits of the law’ because law is often but the tyrant's will, and always so when it violates the rights of the individual.” Like King, Marquez contends, “From its inception, [the United States] was careful not to promote a government-mandated official language.” Perhaps the reality is English’s influence in American culture is not absolute, and that is not necessarily a negative value. There are non-English speakers living in the United States who may be unwilling to learn the language due to age, disinterest, or situation, but they are capable of exercising their rights as Americans.

Countering that last thought is the observation that they cannot exercise their rights as well as English speakers. Both sides of the debate offer variations on the idea that exclusively speaking a foreign language is crippling in American society. King writes, “It has always been taken for granted that English is the national language, and that one must learn English in order to make it in America.” Indeed, Lewis argues that “To succeed in America—with a number of relatively minor although often highly visible exceptions—it’s important to speak, read, and understand English as most Americans speak it.” Hayakawa reports how many Hispanic students fail academically in America because they were not taught English from the start. Marquez concurs that “to get ahead here, one must learn English.” There is agreement that the language gap is a hindrance for the minority, so the real issue is one of correcting that imbalance.

Please recall that King sides with leaving the matter to correct itself. Marquez appears to support government assistance for those who speak little or no English, as when she references voting ballots for German speakers in 19th century Pennsylvania. This is an especially sore point for Hayakawa, who notes that contemporary efforts to do the same target only those who are not white (since Caucasians are “presumed to be able to learn English without difficulty”) and ignore that there are already ways to achieve the same end (absentee ballots, translators allowed at voting booths, etc.). His solution is to use bilingualism solely for teaching students enough English to enter regular classes within two years of their educations. Lewis’ position is simply that teaching Standard English is imperative to allowing all citizens the opportunity to succeed, and “those who promote ‘diversity’” are to blame for denying many linguistic minorities that opportunity.

That brings to mind an interesting political juxtaposition among the articles. Lewis repeatedly warns on how "liberals who still blindly support bilingual education are condemning a significant portion of Spanish-speaking children to second-class economic citizenship.” There are strong words in the sentence: ‘blindly,’ ‘condemning,’ ‘second-class,’ and they all point to ‘liberals.’ King is the only one to note that many liberals supported English-only measures (including Bill Clinton, though he later expressed regret) and many conservatives opposed them (including George W. Bush). Marquez offers no blatantly political comment whatsoever, and Hayakawa focuses his attention on the perceived failures of specific U.S. legislators and his expectations for U.S. legislators in general.

Politicians are expected to act in the best interests of their constituencies, but practical considerations also play a role. As Marquez illustrates in her interactions at home and in public, there is no linguistic takeover of America planned, there is no disrespect toward English intended, and knowing one language does not preclude the learning of another. So why should others care for an official language? More to the point, why should others pay for it? King reports that laws in Quebec kept imported goods for Passover off the shelves because they were not labeled in French. Marquez and King both point to many bilingual immigrant parents who complain about how their children are failing to learn their parents’ tongue. Consider that a claim that English’s presence in America is secure. Hayakawa’s condemnation of government bilingualism as expensive is well-taken, particularly when he draws attention to the likelihood of it costing Americans billions, but he neglects to mention the costs of uniformly enforcing any English-only law; he then claims that recognizing Spanish as well as English as official languages would open the door for the multitude of other languages spoken in the U.S. though he does not explain why creating one official language cannot have the same effect. Lewis insists that “Membership in [racial or ethnic or cultural] groups is reductive” and Americans should devote their energies to “truly positive and universal values” instead, but the idea of citizens using their individuality to contribute to society is unenforceable. It is a noble but nebulous concept. The people rather than the government must bring about the change.

The overall effect of these four articles is the feeling that English merits becoming a requirement in U.S. public schools, but that using law to enforce any language is highly questionable. Lewis and Hayakawa are right to acknowledge that being able to communicate with all quarters of society is advantageous through a shared language. King and Marquez are less persuasive in their marginalization of that idea, but they touch on the overriding matter that making English law is essentially a means of regulating speech. All make apparent that there is a language gap in America and that every American in some sense bears the chore of reconciling the sides.

What Have I Missed?

My lengthy disappearance was the result of preparing for and attending university. I made the Dean's List my first semester with an A in English Composition, an A in General Psychology, an A+ in Introduction to Film (the instructor used the +/- scale), y tengo una A en mi clase de español.

The plan is to major in biology. I am unsure about my minor, but it will probably be photography or film & video production. My English instructor suggested I pursue a creative writing degree, but life as a starving artist can be quite a downer.

Noting accusations of liberal bias in academia, I must say that the most objective professor I had was... the film teacher! To be fair, though, the English teacher promptly apologized for her one, fleeting digression, and all of them encouraged independent thought.

I will attend Elementary Spanish II and World History I [ed: changed course] during the summer. Wish me well!

Update: Via Instapundit: James Felton, a professor of finance and law at Central Michigan University, and a colleague looked at ratings for nearly 7,000 faculty members from 370 institutions in the United States and Canada, and his verdict is: the hotter and easier professors are, the more likely they’ll get rated as a good teacher.

I liked my professors, from the two ladies with movie star looks to the 60-something men with too much/little hair, and they were only easy in the sense that they taught freshman courses. I was in the top 10 out of 300+ psych students (and that was my worst subject!), so I suggest the greatest failure of our educational system is not bias, or hotness ratings, or even depth of subject, but the neglect of critical thinking. Encouraging independent thought means little without also developing the tools (namely reason) to apply one's intellect. A women who sat behind me in film class was amazed at how much I took notes and studied, and when I said to her that studying is how one makes good grades she replied, "Maybe that's why I don't make good grades."

Still Here

Apologies for the tremendous lull in posting. University coursework can be challenging! Will return to posting on events (past, present, and future) after final exams in early May.

In the meantime, treat yourselves to some Basic Hip Digital Oddio.