Best of the Web Today - May 6, 2005
By JAMES TARANTO
Blair Wins Again
Tony Blair has won re-election as Britain's prime minister, in the latest victory for a government supporting the liberation of Iraq. But Blair's Labour Party lost nearly 100 seats in Parliament, and this is being spun as a repudiation of the Iraqi operation--even though most of the seats went to the pro-war Conservative Party. (On the other hand, as these Guardian numbers show, the rabidly antiwar Liberal Democrats had a bigger popular-vote gain since the last election than did the Tories.)
To some extent the Labour losses were to have been expected, for the Tories had a particularly bad showing in the last election, in 2001. In 1940, when Franklin D. Roosevelt won his third term, he failed to carry eight states he had won four years earlier--but he still won a third term by a landslide. Labour still has a majority of some 66 seats, even though this reflects a loss of nearly 100.
Still, because of the way a parliamentary system works, the reduced Labour majority could be problematic for Blair, as the Christian Science Monitor notes:
It is a safe majority, as long as Labour MPs are happy to toe the line. In recent months, about 50 rebel Labour MPs have repeatedly voted against their own party's line.
Restiveness among the Labour ranks could eventually lead to Blair's replacement with Gordon Brown, the chancellor of the Exchequer, who is thought to be less pro-American than Blair.
Be Careful What You Wish For
The Earth's future looks bright--and that's bad news, according to "global warming" enthusiasts, reports Nature.com:
Our planet's air has cleared up in the past decade or two, allowing more sunshine to reach the ground, say two studies in Science this week.
Reductions in industrial emissions in many countries, along with the use of particulate filters for car exhausts and smoke stacks, seem to have reduced the amount of dirt in the atmosphere and made the sky more transparent.
That sounds like very good news. But the researchers say that more solar energy arriving on the ground will also make the surface warmer, and this may add to the problems of global warming. More sunlight will also have knock-on effects on cloud cover, winds, rainfall and air temperature that are difficult to predict.
Blogger Vilmar Tavares weighs in with some advice:
Break out the SUVs, boys and girls, and let's all go for a spin!!! Take your garage filling, V-8 powered environment killer, fire it up and drive to your mailbox (don't forget to leave it running for a few minutes so the engine is properly warmed it. We don't want excessive moisture to build up in the exhaust system and rust out the muffler.) Go ahead, punch a hole in your catalytic converter, too, and when you drive to the grocery store at the corner....hell, be bold!!! Leave it running!!!
But the Nature report says that the improvement in air quality most likely is a result of "the collapse of communist economies and the consequent decrease in industrial pollutants." So maybe you should trade the SUV in for a Trabant.
Did You Hear Something?
"The United Nations sounded an alarm for women's rights in Afghanistan on Thursday after three young Afghan women were found raped, hanged and dumped on a roadside with a warning not to work for foreign relief organizations," the Associated Press reports from Kabul.
Don't you feel better knowing the U.N. has sounded an alarm?
Rangel: Diversity Is Stupid
We conservatives often complain that when liberals talk about "diversity," they refer only to skin color and ethnicity and are actually hostile to diversity of ideas. So we ought to welcome signs of true political diversity in Congress, to wit, as the Washington Times reports: "Congressional Black Caucus members no longer vote lock step with each other and the Democratic Party, reflecting a significant change in the economic status and demographics of their constituents and their own political aspirations."
The CBC is entirely Democratic, but significant numbers of its members voted with Republicans on such matters as estate tax repeal and bankruptcy reform. But Charles Rangel of New York, the caucus's second most senior member (after Michigan's John Conyers) isn't happy:
"Why any member would be voting for the bankruptcy bill or estate-tax repeal or for making the tax cuts permanent or any of those things is just stupid, but it doesn't tear us apart because whether it is a speaker or a member, we only have one vote," he said.
"We have to be very, very tolerant of a person that votes stupid, because they may think they have a good reason and they are the ones who come down here, so you may think the vote is stupid but they know what they are doing," Mr. Rangel said.
Maybe Rangel should start wearing one of those I'M WITH STUPID T-shirts on the House floor--though these point to the wearer's left.
Business Advice From the New York Times
"Wal-Mart critics often note that corporations like Ford and G.M. led a race to the top, providing high wages and generous benefits that other companies emulated. They ask why Wal-Mart, with some $10 billion in profit on about $288 billion in revenue last year, cannot act similarly."--New York Times, May 4
"Standard & Poor's Ratings Services cut its corporate credit ratings to junk status for both General Motors Corp. (GM) and Ford Motor Co. (F). . . . The decision by one of the nation's most respected ratings agencies comes as the two iconic American automakers are losing market share at home to Asian automakers, seeing sales soften for their most profitable models and are facing enormous health care and post-retirement liabilities."--Associated Press, May 5
What Would We Do Without Israel?
"Israel Emphasizes Germans' Leading Role in Holocaust"--headline, Columbia (Mo.) Daily Tribune, May 5
Uh-Oh, Not Again
"Germany: Looking for Scapegoats"--headline, BusinessWeek Online, May 6
This Just In--I
"Being 'No. 3' in al-Qaida a Risky Job"--headline, Associated Press, May 5
This Just In--II
"Terrorists Will Keep Targeting Foreigners"--headline, Washington Times, May 6
Zero-Tolerance Watch
"Kevin Francois gave up his lunch break to talk to his mother, but it ended up costing him the rest of the school year," reports the Ledger-Enquirer of Columbus, Ga.:
Francois, a junior at Spencer High School in Columbus, was suspended for disorderly conduct Wednesday after he was told to give up his cell phone at lunch while talking to his mother who is deployed in Iraq, he said.
His mother, Sgt. 1st Class Monique Bates, left in January for a one-year tour and serves with the 203rd Forward Support Battalion, 3rd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division. . . .
The incident happened when Francois received a call from his mother at 12:30 p.m., which he said was his lunch break. Francois said he went outside the school building to get a better reception when his mother called. A teacher who saw Francois on his phone told him to get off the phone. But he didn't. . . .
Francois said he told the teacher, "This is my mom in Iraq. I'm not about to hang up on my mom."
Francois said the teacher tried to take the phone, causing it to hang up.
The student said he then went with the teacher to the school's office where he surrendered his phone. His mother called again at 12:37 p.m. and left a message scolding her son about hanging up and telling him to answer the phone when she calls.
Assistant principal Alfred Parham says Francois could have been arrested for being defiant. He adds that students are not permitted to use cell phones "for conversating back and forth during school because if they were allowed to do that, they could be text messaging each other for test questions."
Which raises the question: Do people who think "conversating" is a word have any business administrating tests in the first place?
Not Even Time Off for Good Behavior?
"New Yorkers Want Full Term From Clinton"--headline, Associated Press, May 5
Robert Byrd Wins One
"Senate OKs Bill Millions of Years in the Making"--headline, Statesman Journal (Salem, Ore.), May 5
Mayor for Life?
The mayor of Hedwig Village, Texas, a "spiderweb of cul-de-sacs anchored by stately mansions and rolling parkland," is running for re-election even though she isn't moving, the Associated Press reports:
Supporters of Mayor Dee Srinivasan continue to push for votes in Saturday's election even though she died from heart disease last month.
Her supporters, who still refer to her in the present tense, say she could still beat former mayor Sue Speck. . . .
"They're both strong-willed ladies," said Village Councilman Bob Dixon. "When you have two strong people who have been mayor they sometimes clash."
The lack of a pulse isn't necessarily a political disadvantage:
In 2000, Missouri Gov. Mel Carnahan died a month before the election and beat John Ashcroft for a U.S. Senate seat. In 1991, U.S. Rep. Ted Weiss, D-NY, died on the eve of the primary but defeated a convicted felon. And in San Jose, Calif., City Councilman George George Shirakawa died in May 1994 but was re-elected in June.
Maybe Americans really don't want activist government.
Foreign Indeed!
"Many authors hate to go on grinding book tours. But I've always found it a useful way to be a foreign correspondent in America and take the pulse of the country."--Thomas Friedman, New York Times, May 6
Always Look on the Bright Side of Life
"Tsunami Brings Better Treatment for Thai Stray Dogs"--headline, Reuters, May 5
Dogs Settle for Six-Pack
"Cats Net Fifth"--headline, Ponca City (Okla.) News, May 4
Look Out Below!
"Bud Light Dropped From Northwest Flights"--headline, Minneapolis Star Tribune, May 6
Not Too Brite--CXC
"A Bulgarian who dipped his hands into a popular public fountain in central Sofia was electrocuted because of faulty insulation in the fountain's lights and pump," Reuters reports from Sofia.
Oddly Enough!
(For an explanation of the "Not Too Brite" series, click here.)
I'm Sorry You Don't Exist
We've been studiously avoiding the story of Jennifer Wilbanks, the Duluth, Ga., woman who fled her impending wedding and claimed to have been kidnapped. But Wilbanks has now apologized, and this passage from CNN's report on the subject made us laugh:
While she apologized to her family, friends, community and "others I may have offended unintentionally," she did not specifically address the Hispanic man and white woman she made up as kidnappers in the story she first told authorities.
Just as outrageous, Wilbanks failed to apologize to Maggie Carpenter for stealing the idea.
Dispatch From the Porn Belt
The Associated Press reports from San Francisco (Kerry by 67.8%):
The 25 students in jeans and T-shirts could have been in any career that requires hustle. The classes, covering topics such as effective marketing, stress reduction and legal issues, could have been part of any professional development seminar.
But this was "Whore College," and any illusion it was just another corporate how-to for young go-getters abruptly ended at the sex toy display and was stripped away for good during a graphic demonstration that put a whole new twist on the concept of hands-on training.
"We are still illegal," instructor Kimberlee Cline said before her 20-minute demonstration. "If we want to be treated as business professionals, we need to act ethically within the industry."
Presented in conjunction with the San Francisco Sex Worker Film and Arts Festival, the class Wednesday at an erotic art gallery was billed as away for working girls and guys to polish their skills in a supportive atmosphere.
In fairness, we should note that the only place in America where prostitution is legal is Nevada (Bush by 2.59%), and only in counties where Bush had a majority of the vote.
Bluenoses Come in All Colors
"A pop culture controversy that has simmered for decades came to a head when a middle school marching band was told not to perform 'Louie Louie,' " the Associated Press reports from Benton Harbor, Mich.:
Benton Harbor Superintendent Paula Dawning cited the song's allegedly raunchy lyrics in ordering the McCord Middle School band not to perform it in Saturday's Grand Floral Parade, held as part of the Blossomtime Festival.
In a letter sent home with McCord students, Dawning said "Louie Louie" was not appropriate for Benton Harbor students to play while representing the district--even though the marching band wasn't going to sing it. . . .
"Louie Louie," written by Richard Berry in 1956, is one of the most recorded songs in history. The best-known, most notorious version was a hit in 1963 for the Kingsmen; the FBI spent two years investigating the lyrics before declaring they not only were not obscene but also were "unintelligible at any speed."
The Chicago Sun-Times reports that Dawning reversed her decision yesterday. Meanwhile, a press release from the conservative Pacific Justice Institute describes another case of music censorship, in San Diego:
A dance teacher working for a public school district was terminated from her job after a complaint that she used religious music in her instruction. The complaint came from a school district staff member who alleged that the music referenced Jesus several times. In addition to secular music on the day in question, the instructor used a rendition of Dona Nobis Pachem and O Si Funi Mungu. Dona Nobis Pachem is a classical piece by J.S. Bach and is sung in Latin. O Si Funi Mungu, which is translated as "Praise God," is sung in Swahili, though it has some English interspersed.
It seems neither side in the "culture wars" has a monopoly on philistinism. |
