Here’s an interesting paper that examines Michel Foucault’s enthusiasm for the Iranian revolution in 1979. The story of how an avowed leftist came to support a movement that aimed at destroying human freedom, enslaving women, persecuting Jews, murdering homosexuals, and waging Jihad is not without its echoes today. The far left’s flirtation with Jihadism is alive and well – and it’s as good an insight into their moral vacuousness as any.
DATING FOR DOGS: The Brits pioneer a new personals service. I recall an ad a colleague once drafted for his own dog: “Well-hung pug seeks bitch who takes it from behind.” It never ran. Alas.
BRODER’S HARRUMPH: Much of David Broder’s worrying about the decline of the mainstream media is well-taken. But then he writes something daft like this:
When the Internet opened the door to scores of “journalists” who had no allegiance at all to the skeptical and self-disciplined ethic of professional news gathering, the bars were already down in many old-line media organizations. That is how it happened that old pros such as Dan Rather and former New York Times editor Howell Raines got caught up in this fevered atmosphere and let their standards slip.
Huh? Without the blogosphere, the arrogance and folly of Raines and Rather would have continued long past their expiration date. And the emergence of journalistic “stars” long predates the arrival of the blogosphere. It was mainly a 1990s phenomenon – and fueled by old media figures like Tina Brown and, yes, Howell Raines. Blogs have heped bring these “stars” back to earth. Which is partly why Tina is so pissy. I mean: what would you rather be doing – writing a fun blog that makes a difference, or appearing on an unwatched and largely unwatchable cable news chat show?
The Dish 