‘National/International’ Archives
Monday Morning Links »
Because all the cool kids are doing it. This should happen on a more frequent basis. --Why Arizona's prison privatization plan failed to work. --Even the Economist dislikes "synergy." --What poker can teach us. --Life in Marikafka County. --TSA saves America from snow-globe terror.
Intellectual modesty in surprising places »
"This is possibly going to be the future." -Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, discussing solar film. The UA received a STIM$ 15 million grant to develop this new type of film, which researcher Neal Armstrong (uh...) says should have something "off the shelf at Target" by 2020. This actually raises a curious question - what kind of results are academic [...]
Desert Lamp soon to close down »
Not our choice, but Linda Sanchez's HR 1966 and the PC Police won't have it any other way (HT: Volokh @ Volokh): (a) Whoever transmits in interstate or foreign commerce any communication, with the intent to coerce, intimidate, harass, or cause substantial emotional distress to a person, using electronic means to support severe, repeated, and [...]
Serve the (public) servants »
So it begins. From the Chronicle: Washington — President Obama is expected to sign legislation today that would expand the federal national-service programs by the largest amount in 50 years. The bill will more than triple the size of the AmeriCorps program, to 250,000 slots, up from 75,000. It will also increase, to $5,350, the [...]
Have you talked to your parents about the war on »
Today is April 20, colloquially known as "420" --not only the high holiday for tokers worldwide, but a day that's also become important for those who advocate against the federal war on drugs. Naturally, the day is accompanied with unsurprising administrative action, this time over at UC-Santa Cruz (HT: Inside Higher Ed): University of [...]
Career opportunities: The fatal conceit of national »
Last week, the House of Representatives passed the GIVE Act, a bill that would renew the government-sponsored AmeriCorps volunteer program and massively expand "national service" programs targeted especially at high school and college students. Yesterday, the Senate passed its own version, the Serve America Act. Next week, the Senate bill [...]
Justice for All, Thoughtfulness for None »
Unfortunately, it's that time of year again, when the massive abortion-related pictures, sponsored by Justice for All, grace our lovely Mall. Laura has already penned a response at her blog, noting the hypocrisy in the endless criticism over this event, without considering the equally obnoxious Border Wall. (Speaking of which, do people not take [...]
Bureaucracy, Abroad »
There's less than a week left before the UA's (excessively) long winter break comes to an end. The good news, though, is that the rest of the UA blogosphere is starting to come back. First up is Laura Donovan, who got to see the best of French culture. Money quote: The flight was delayed for more than two hours the following day. We sat on the [...]
Environmentalism without the environment »
It started with Matt's post -- which I mostly agreed with, but left me with uneasy feeling. Then, over at the New York Time's Lede blog, the paper highlighted a story on the environmental impact of the conflict in Darfur. Finally, in Thursday's paper, there was this editorial on how "holiday dinners worsen global warming." Combined, these [...]
Subverting Rhodes »
One of the genuinely inspiring sports stories this year (i.e. not the usual pabulum about hardship, adjusting to campus celebrity, etc.) is the awarding of a Rhodes Scholarship to Myron Rolle, a black football player at Florida State University. Why does race matter here? From Jacques Barzun's From Dawn to Decadence: Scholars who called [...]
Weekend Notes and the Service Debate »
First, I'd like to take some time to welcome new guest-writer Matt Styer, whose first post can be read here. Matt was also a columnist for the Daily Wildcat last year, and is indeed an "unrepentant social democrat with strong Green sympathies." Zounds! But yes, expect some good intra-Lamp debates in the coming weeks. Yet let's not forget the [...]
Freakout on the civil service »
I don't have time at the moment to get too into it, but it seems as though a lot of conservative and especially libertarian types are very worried about Obama's civil service initiatives, complete with, on Connor's part, serious allusions to serfdom, and on the part of other far less reasonable people (I believe some CATO forums is where I read [...]