Fairfax Babylon
David Plotz of Slate paints an interesting portrait of my former home, Fairfax County, Virginia in today's New York Times. In the last 25 years or so it has transformed from a quiet set of sprawling suburban neighborhoods into a strip mall, office park, parking lot, apartment complexed metropolis all its own. Despite being able to maintain its status as one of the richest counties in the country (#2 as of the 2000 census), it has absorbed a huge number of working class immigrants, mostly from Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East, in the last decade.
And those immigrants are occasion for some not-so-subtle legislation, such as the proposed ban on paving over front lawns to provide homeowners with more parking spaces. As Plotz points out, the houses most likely to have their lawns paved over are those with more than the usual number of residents packed inside - i.e., extended families living together. Those kind of extended families are far more likely to be immigrant families. Hence the gut-level reaction among many Fairfax residents that a bunch of smelly immigrants are destroying our neighborhoods and property values. There was also a proposal in the Virginia legislature offered by Fairfax County state Senator Leslie Byrne (D) that would have forbidden people from sleeping in rooms other than their bedrooms - again a measure clearly targeted at crowded low-income households that often are the only housing immigrant families can afford. Judging by the popularity of such measures (Sen. Byrne's bill passed the Virginia state Senate but was later withdrawn after sparking a public outcry) I expect more anti-immigrant zoning restrictions in the years ahead.
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Wednesday, June 19, 2002
He's Nibbled His Way into Our Hearts
Gringos and Latinos can both rejoice. The Cartoon Network has decided to pull Speedy Gonzalez out of the political correctness vault and put him on the air again, despite concerns from skittish executives that he and his fellow Mexican mice fostered negative stereotypes. The decision has gotten positive coverage from HispanicOnline.com and is supported by the League of United Latin American Citizens.
Respond
Gringos and Latinos can both rejoice. The Cartoon Network has decided to pull Speedy Gonzalez out of the political correctness vault and put him on the air again, despite concerns from skittish executives that he and his fellow Mexican mice fostered negative stereotypes. The decision has gotten positive coverage from HispanicOnline.com and is supported by the League of United Latin American Citizens.
Respond
The Pre-Pre-Primary Continues
The 2004 presidential race has been on since the verdict in Bush v. Gore, but some news organizations are just beginning to recognize that. Yesterday the Washington Post's Jim VandeHei described some of the issues Sen. Joseph Lieberman has positioned himself prominently on, from beating up on Enron to overseeing the structure of the soon-to-be Department of Homeland Security. So far, Lieberman seems to be in the lead over such likely Democratic primary rivals as Sen. Tom Daschle, Sen. John Kerry, and Sen. John Edwards. UPI was especially critical of the Post, pointing out at length how they called Lieberman's presidential ambitions five months ago. Memo to UPI: If knowing that a U.S. senator wants to be President was cause for congratulations, everyone in Washington would have a Pulitzer Prize.
Respond
The 2004 presidential race has been on since the verdict in Bush v. Gore, but some news organizations are just beginning to recognize that. Yesterday the Washington Post's Jim VandeHei described some of the issues Sen. Joseph Lieberman has positioned himself prominently on, from beating up on Enron to overseeing the structure of the soon-to-be Department of Homeland Security. So far, Lieberman seems to be in the lead over such likely Democratic primary rivals as Sen. Tom Daschle, Sen. John Kerry, and Sen. John Edwards. UPI was especially critical of the Post, pointing out at length how they called Lieberman's presidential ambitions five months ago. Memo to UPI: If knowing that a U.S. senator wants to be President was cause for congratulations, everyone in Washington would have a Pulitzer Prize.
Respond
Monday, June 17, 2002
The Bigger They Are...
The House of Representative's senior member may be facing a serious challenge this year. John Dingell, who has represented the Dearborn, Michigan area since 1955, was recently redistricted into a contest with fellow incumbent Lynn Rivers. According to the latest campaign finance reports, Dingell has over twice as much cash on hand ($1,155,862 vs. $459,799 as of 3/31/02) and a long history of bringing home the bacon to his district.
According to the Detroit News, Rep. Rivers' district includes the particularly Liberal areas around the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, while Dingell's historic district was mostly blue collar union workers dependent on the auto industry. It seems unlikely, for example, that environmentalists among the Ann Arbor voters will appreciate the decades Dingell has spent cozying up to the auto industry. If only because Rivers and Dingell exemplify such different ways of doing business, the fight for Michigan's 15th should end up being one of the most entertaining in some time.
Respond
The House of Representative's senior member may be facing a serious challenge this year. John Dingell, who has represented the Dearborn, Michigan area since 1955, was recently redistricted into a contest with fellow incumbent Lynn Rivers. According to the latest campaign finance reports, Dingell has over twice as much cash on hand ($1,155,862 vs. $459,799 as of 3/31/02) and a long history of bringing home the bacon to his district.
According to the Detroit News, Rep. Rivers' district includes the particularly Liberal areas around the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, while Dingell's historic district was mostly blue collar union workers dependent on the auto industry. It seems unlikely, for example, that environmentalists among the Ann Arbor voters will appreciate the decades Dingell has spent cozying up to the auto industry. If only because Rivers and Dingell exemplify such different ways of doing business, the fight for Michigan's 15th should end up being one of the most entertaining in some time.
Respond
America's New Money, Courtesy of Parker Brothers
The U.S. Treasury has alarming new plans for the nation's currency. In the interest of staying a step ahead of counterfeiters, they are contemplating adding new colors to existing bills. The Treasury spokesman assures us that they will only be adding "subtle color" so that "the public can rest assured that notes will maintain their distinct American look and feel." As with anything inspired by the Euro, I'm skeptical. Sure, it might start as only a little pink on Alexander Hamilton's cheeks, but are we to believe it will really stop there? Before you know it they be adding oddly-tinted spiral designs and other inexplicable shapes and our venerable currency will end up looking this this.
Respond
The U.S. Treasury has alarming new plans for the nation's currency. In the interest of staying a step ahead of counterfeiters, they are contemplating adding new colors to existing bills. The Treasury spokesman assures us that they will only be adding "subtle color" so that "the public can rest assured that notes will maintain their distinct American look and feel." As with anything inspired by the Euro, I'm skeptical. Sure, it might start as only a little pink on Alexander Hamilton's cheeks, but are we to believe it will really stop there? Before you know it they be adding oddly-tinted spiral designs and other inexplicable shapes and our venerable currency will end up looking this this.
Respond
Thursday, June 13, 2002
The Over-the-Hill Claims of an Alarmist Classic
This year marks a milestone for the environmental movement - the 40th anniversary of the publication of Rachel Carson's Silent Spring. Unfortunately most Americans have come to accept the false premise on the book without question. Today Ms. Carson's polemic is considered closely akin to secular scripture by the Left, despite the fact that her central argument about human health - that an influx of synthetic chemicals into the food chain was causing a massive increase in human cancers - was been disproved.
Respond
This year marks a milestone for the environmental movement - the 40th anniversary of the publication of Rachel Carson's Silent Spring. Unfortunately most Americans have come to accept the false premise on the book without question. Today Ms. Carson's polemic is considered closely akin to secular scripture by the Left, despite the fact that her central argument about human health - that an influx of synthetic chemicals into the food chain was causing a massive increase in human cancers - was been disproved.
Respond
Wednesday, June 12, 2002
All The W Keys Fell Off By Accident. Really.
News is out this morning that the there actually is some substance to stories that, during the transition Clinton-Bush transition, outgoing Clinton administration officials vandalized offices in the White House and EEOB. Most notable were prank messages left on answering machines and the alleged theft of dozens of "W" keys from keyboards around the White House. The General Services Administration estimates $20,000 was spent for repair, replacement, and cleanup of White House offices as the Bush team was moving in.
Now would be a good time to remember the pro-Clinton backlash against the vandalism story. Columnist and popular TV pundit Mark Sheids wrote the following in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer (among other papers) on June 4, 2001:
"The next time a serious press seminar is held on just why so many readers are so skeptical, so disbelieving and so hostile about who we in the press are and what we write, I have an answer: the Nationally Circulated Hoax in the mainstream press that Clinton staffers had vandalized the White House and Air Force One.
"The whole story was a fabrication and, to be blunt, a lie. It was a deception carefully cultivated by the Bush White House and then fed to friendly conservative journalists who were duped into perpetrating this fraud upon their readers and their listeners.
"Are the Bush people that arrogant not to care or that dumb not to know how embarrassing circulation of the phony story of the January pillaging of the White House by departing Democrats would prove to be for these conservative commentators?"
I had forgotten that Air Force One was part of the original story, but now it seems there is evidence of intentional damage to at least the White House. Doubtless Sheilds will scurry to issue a correction.
Respond
News is out this morning that the there actually is some substance to stories that, during the transition Clinton-Bush transition, outgoing Clinton administration officials vandalized offices in the White House and EEOB. Most notable were prank messages left on answering machines and the alleged theft of dozens of "W" keys from keyboards around the White House. The General Services Administration estimates $20,000 was spent for repair, replacement, and cleanup of White House offices as the Bush team was moving in.
Now would be a good time to remember the pro-Clinton backlash against the vandalism story. Columnist and popular TV pundit Mark Sheids wrote the following in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer (among other papers) on June 4, 2001:
"The next time a serious press seminar is held on just why so many readers are so skeptical, so disbelieving and so hostile about who we in the press are and what we write, I have an answer: the Nationally Circulated Hoax in the mainstream press that Clinton staffers had vandalized the White House and Air Force One.
"The whole story was a fabrication and, to be blunt, a lie. It was a deception carefully cultivated by the Bush White House and then fed to friendly conservative journalists who were duped into perpetrating this fraud upon their readers and their listeners.
"Are the Bush people that arrogant not to care or that dumb not to know how embarrassing circulation of the phony story of the January pillaging of the White House by departing Democrats would prove to be for these conservative commentators?"
I had forgotten that Air Force One was part of the original story, but now it seems there is evidence of intentional damage to at least the White House. Doubtless Sheilds will scurry to issue a correction.
Respond
Tuesday, June 11, 2002
How Do You Compromise With Someone Who Wants to Kill You?
In perhaps the least shocking development to come out of the Middle East since 1947, a new poll of Palestinians by a local news agency finds that the majority believe that the goal of their current conflict with the Israelis should be the complete destruction of the state of Israel. A despairing 68% of Palestinians also approve of suicide bombings against civilians - and that's down from 74% just six months ago. Lest this measurement of Palestinian public opinion be doubted, another suicide bomber has struck this afternoon in the town of Herzliya, killing at least nine people.
Respond
In perhaps the least shocking development to come out of the Middle East since 1947, a new poll of Palestinians by a local news agency finds that the majority believe that the goal of their current conflict with the Israelis should be the complete destruction of the state of Israel. A despairing 68% of Palestinians also approve of suicide bombings against civilians - and that's down from 74% just six months ago. Lest this measurement of Palestinian public opinion be doubted, another suicide bomber has struck this afternoon in the town of Herzliya, killing at least nine people.
Respond
Successfully Selling Anti-Capitalism
In a surprising development for political opinion magazines, the lefty standard-bearer The Nation is declaring profitability for possibly the first time ever. As Frank Ahrens of the Washington Post reminds us, it is expected that even such venerable titles as National Review and The New Republic continue to bleed their benefactors of steady amounts of cash year after year. The ideological irony comes in publisher Victor Navasky's capitalistic strategies for success - selling access to the magazine's online archives to universities for as much as $10,000 a year and running a series of luxury cruises and seminars for well-heeled subscribers. The cruise idea is especially amusing given writer Eric Alterman's cover story from October 1997 mocking the fundraising cruise hosted by National Review:
"The great thing about being a right-winger, so far as I can tell, is that you get to exploit people and feel good about it. Any self-respecting liberal would feel guilty being so well served by so many apparent Third Worlders. But the National Review cruisers don't feel guilty about anything, and it seems to make them nicer people. They are polite. They don't sneer. They seem to really care when they ask how you feel, how you slept or how you can possibly believe what you read in the "liberal media." The young female guards posted outside the auditorium to keep out the nonpaying riffraff are warm and friendly. Just think of the angst any decent-minded liberal would experience at the thought of refusing entry to a seminar on how to save the country."
Note: Not only has Navasky come to embrace the idea of elitist vacations as left-wing fundraising opportunities, but as it turns out in December 2000 the friends and editorial staff of The Nation cruised on exactly the same ship - Holland America's M.S. Ryndham - that has been used by the NR crowd to "exploit people and feel good about it" in 1997. Ha.
Respond
In a surprising development for political opinion magazines, the lefty standard-bearer The Nation is declaring profitability for possibly the first time ever. As Frank Ahrens of the Washington Post reminds us, it is expected that even such venerable titles as National Review and The New Republic continue to bleed their benefactors of steady amounts of cash year after year. The ideological irony comes in publisher Victor Navasky's capitalistic strategies for success - selling access to the magazine's online archives to universities for as much as $10,000 a year and running a series of luxury cruises and seminars for well-heeled subscribers. The cruise idea is especially amusing given writer Eric Alterman's cover story from October 1997 mocking the fundraising cruise hosted by National Review:
"The great thing about being a right-winger, so far as I can tell, is that you get to exploit people and feel good about it. Any self-respecting liberal would feel guilty being so well served by so many apparent Third Worlders. But the National Review cruisers don't feel guilty about anything, and it seems to make them nicer people. They are polite. They don't sneer. They seem to really care when they ask how you feel, how you slept or how you can possibly believe what you read in the "liberal media." The young female guards posted outside the auditorium to keep out the nonpaying riffraff are warm and friendly. Just think of the angst any decent-minded liberal would experience at the thought of refusing entry to a seminar on how to save the country."
Note: Not only has Navasky come to embrace the idea of elitist vacations as left-wing fundraising opportunities, but as it turns out in December 2000 the friends and editorial staff of The Nation cruised on exactly the same ship - Holland America's M.S. Ryndham - that has been used by the NR crowd to "exploit people and feel good about it" in 1997. Ha.
Respond
Sunday, June 09, 2002
Will They Also Be Offering a Major?
UC Berkeley's journalism school will soon be offering a class in the art and science of the blog, taught by Wired magazine co-founder John Batelle and the school's new media program director Paul Grabowicz. Postings to the class blog on intellectual property issues will be mandatory.
Respond
UC Berkeley's journalism school will soon be offering a class in the art and science of the blog, taught by Wired magazine co-founder John Batelle and the school's new media program director Paul Grabowicz. Postings to the class blog on intellectual property issues will be mandatory.
Respond