The Dish

A fascinating look at the perils of sex-selective abortions in the developing world. The social problems of a disproportionately male population mirror some of the disadvantages of polygamous cultures.

An in-depth look at Patrick Henry College. Money quote:

"I’ve been told there are things I cannot teach," Root said. "There are things I cannot ask." At most any liberal arts college, political science students study Thomas Hobbes and his State of Nature, in which the lack of government causes chaos and an ugly, every-man-for-himself state.

To illustrate this point, Root gave his class a fictional example of the State of Nature, in which two people were stranded on a lifeboat that would only be able to save the life of one person. What would ensue? In Hobbes‚Äô State of Nature, the result would likely not be pretty. This example, Stacey said, was perceived as an example of postmodern deconstruction and used to break down morality. So Root’s lifeboat example was gone.

But there were other instances that rubbed Noe, Root and Stacey the wrong way. A work of literature, which chronicles the birth of Hinduism, was banned. A text, used to teach the Theology Sequence, which had been chosen by various instructors, was pulled from the shelves unless another, balancing view was added to the curriculum.

"We don’t know from day to day, what is going to be accepted or what is not going to be accepted," Root said. "It’s a moving target."

Fundamentalism and liberal education: oil and water.

Steve Chapman is on the case:

His latest extralegal initiative furnishes more evidence that George W. Bush regards himself as an elected dictator, free to do anything he wants in the name of national security. Never mind what the U.S. Supreme Court said two years ago: "A state of war is not a blank check for the president when it comes to the rights of the nation’s citizens." … Even if you don’t care about the privacy of your phone records, you might care that we have a president who feels no obligation to obey the law. You might care that if the government was secretly doing this, it may be doing other things that are even more worrisome. And you might care that one day, we may find that the free society we claim to cherish has become a police state.

I look forward to Chapman being described as a "leftist."

A reader writes:

I just finished a biography of James Madison – the father of the Constitution.  He was a weighty advocate for the separation of Church and State. For example, he didn’t want religious education at the University of Virginia. As for the current debate regarding prayer by military chaplins, Madison was against having chaplains in the military at all. Now, the Christianists are not only ignoring that stricture, but they want a Christian prayer whenever there is prayer. Madison is turning over in his grave.

One thing you cannot repeat enough: The founding fathers were the opposite of Christianists. In fact, their constitution is designed to protect us from Christianism. And, by and large, it does. But in the Christianists’ attempt to stack the courts and in undermining critical secular institutions like the military, they still represent a threat to limited government and religious freedom. And that threat needs to be exposed and resisted.

"I think that is what the federal marriage amendment is, it is writing discrimination into the constitution. It is writing discrimination into the constitution and, as I say, it is fundamentally wrong. I would also hope that no one would think about trying to amend the constitution as a political strategy," – Mary Cheney, yesterday. Good for Cheney. Now testify before the Senate next month.

Sane, helpful analyses of confusing poll results here and here.

One reader sees the parallel:

In a troubled time of war, we get a barely-rebuffed VP who embodies an administration remembered as a halcyon period of peace and prosperity … In ’60, Nixon lost by the hair of his unshorn whiskers in a televised debate; in ’00, Gore lost by the whiff of his sighs in a televised debate… Both lost to more likeable, slightly more hawkish opponents (though JFK never pulled a 29 approval rating)… After bitter defeat, both weather embarrassment (losing California governorship; endorsing Dean), only to regain respect (abetting Republican gains in ’66; joining Apple and Google before they went supernova, making well-received environment movie).

Hmmm. A blogger picked up on the meme as well. TNR weighs in here.

This time – in Belgium, because of his stand against Islamism.

Here’s another enraging and fascinating story of how yet another man with integrity in the U.S. military came up against Rumsfeld, and lost. Money quote:

Over the course of the year-long tour, Gen. Batiste says he had to deal regularly with troop shortages. On three occasions, he was ordered to send soldiers to help other U.S. units in the cities of Najaf and Fallujah to put down revolts. Typically, the Army holds a couple of units in reserve to deal with unforeseen flare-ups. But the desire to keep the force as lean as possible meant there were no extra troops in Iraq.
Each time his soldiers left their area, attacks, intimidation and roadside bombs spiked, Gen. Batiste says. "It was like a sucking chest wound," he says. Relationships that soldiers had painstakingly built with local sheiks — who had been persuaded to cooperate with U.S. forces at great risk to themselves and their families – were lost when the soldiers were sent elsewhere, he says.

Fire Rumsfeld Now.

The anti-"amnesty" right is already dissing the president’s speech tonight.