GOTV: Thanks Senator Kerry!

That sound you hear is a million editing bays whirring to life. Any winnable district with a Democratic candidate who has ever appeared next to John Kerry on stage will have the footage spliced together with these remarks about the military:

You know education, if you make the most of it, you study hard, you do your homework, and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. And if you don’t you get stuck in Iraq.

What's intriguing is the obfuscation that is taking place in the media - it's about the White House attack on John Kerry's remarks. The selective editing, the creative headlines - as I type I'm watching the Chris Matthews triage effort, "putting things in context" and quoting other parts of the Kerry speech. The spin is that he was attacking Bush for being stupid, and of course all of the guests are Lefties.

Nice try, but weak. The folks in the military are crystal-clear on the implications of this remark. And what's even more laughable about the whole affair is that Kerry's "apologies" have been so off-the-mark and inflammatory that this issue is ensured to have legs. Had he immediately, genuinely apologized for any insinuation that military folks are stupid the whole thing would have deflated immediately, and the Republicans would have been the ones who look stupid by trying to make too much of these comments.

(Now they are playing McCain's remarks, and the commentators are saying he's "being smart politically" by condemning these remarks. Of course! Whenever McCain is critical of Republicans for their ineptitude he's being a strait-shooting, principled guy. But whenever he says something like this members of Beltway commatariat wink at each other and write it off as "politics". Riiight.)

But the biggest effect from this conflaption will be felt next Tuesday. If there were any lingering worries about Republican get-out-the-vote, John Kerry has made sure that anyone on the bubble about turning out on behalf of Republicans will be ready to do the deed.

Thanks Kerry! And by all means, keep talking!

Update: Looks like the talking point fax just rolled in from the DNC, and if you happen to be a Democratic pundit with a media appointment in the next 24 hours you are supposed to repeatedly reinforce the idea that - hey, it was just a "botched joke".

Try that out first on the the American Legion.

Tags: John Kerry, Chris Matthews

City Growth and Positivity

The fearfulness and scare-mongering stop here.

The city of Cincinnati is not shrinking, nor is the crime rate even close to what the hype would have you believe. You've heard people muttering negatively as they talk about safety and their subtle comments about property values and 'those people' and uncertainty about the city and where things are headed.

This has everything to do with perceptions, and nothing to do with reality. The census numbers were completely wrong and the crime rate isn't nearly as bad as originally thought. The implications are immeasurable for the future of Cincinnati - how it markets itself to businesses, investors, and young people. And there's a large and immediate financial benefit in terms of federal aid.

But the perception problem begins with how you, your neighbors and the folks at the office talk about these things. Too often it's the ladies lunch news network or the backyard barbeque gossip that wants agreement and validation of living decisions that others may not embrace - they've moved to a subdevelopment that used to be a cornfield. Why wouldn't you consider it with where things are going? You have a few kids and you want a roomy kitchen with neighbors you can trust, not strangers walking down the street. (Right?)

If city neighborhoods aren't your cup of tea, you've got plenty of options. It's not 1950 anymore even here in Ohio, but if you want an ersatz approximation you can find it in the exurb areas. More power to you - it's a reasonable choice. Just do the rest of us a favor and knock it off with the badmouthing and misinformation because you've made the tradeoff. It's always seemed more negative than necessary, but now it also happens to be factually wrong.

Finally, the city is changing - and real challenges remain. This won't ever be a place with flawless, homogenous neighborhoods that some people remember from their youth. Housing will always offer different options than the sprawling, spread-out areas North and West of town. There are renovation projects and condos - but also many older, smaller homes on closer lots that were constructed differently than their modern equivalents. And the crime rate in some areas still needs a constant response with law enforcement and citizenry in partnership. Everything isn't all roses.

But with effort, investment, and momentum - and with a shutdown response to any grinding, unnecessary negativity - this city can become something better than the memories of yesteryear and something newer than the off-the-shelf communities. With a younger and more dynamic population, businesses that take risks, a respect for community heritage, and diversity of all kinds (cultural, economic, professional) this can continue to be a great place to live. And it begins not with the politicians or bean-counters, but with the citizenry. Do your part.

Tags: Cincinnati, Growth, Population, Crime

Conflict Avoidance

Zakia Hyder, in today's Enquirer, suggests that Muslim teenagers should be denied any accommodation for their faith in public schools.

The students themselves, in Mason Ohio, went to a place away from the cafeteria during their Ramadan fast. Hyder sees all of the uproar that has resulted from this clash between cultural sensitivity and religious freedom and decided that it's better to steer clear of the whole thing - these are special accommodations and they should be forbidden in public school.

This conclusion isn't drawn form any constitutional analyses of the dilemma - but simply the fact that people are arguing with each other. Any legal or policy principles are reduced to the bland aphorism "school is for school". Conflict avoidance becomes a primary virtue in this treatment of the problem.

Without any core, commonly held principles in these types of arguments we are in the land of mushy uncertainty. No special rights for Muslim kids at school in the form of a classroom? What about the Korean Students Union - are they allowed to meet? How about the 17 year old boy who is taunted brutally for being gay, and wants to eat his lunch away from the others? Get back in the lunchroom kid, and fend for yourself.

The heart of the problem is that we know we have some obligation to apply some basic sensitivity towards different people in a pluralistic society. It's at the root of American culture - which has been constructed, painfully at times, with immigration and integration. But this obligation has been taken to a ludicrous extreme and transformed into multiculturalism and political correctness by many on the left, people who have made their careers screaming about identity politics. And these folks just can't find a way to be consistent when it comes to religious freedom. They would like to be sensitive to Muslims, but that means they have to include Christians - and for political reasons that's unpalatable.

Now I know everyone hates the centrist - but this simply seems like a situation where rational middle ground can be made consistent with the constitutional basis for society. If anyone actually reads the document they will see that the framers didn't erect a firewall between church and state - it reads: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. Elaborate contortions have been made to suggest different interpretations of this sentence.
.

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061028/EDIT02/610280336/1021/EDIT01

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061026/VIDEO/61026006/1077/COL02

Quavale and Marcus

On a cold October morning a man starts his car and leaves it to warm up while he goes back in the house. A young man - 14 years old - allegedly jumps in the drivers seat and tries to drive away with the vehicle. The owner sees this and retrieves his lawfully owned gun.

And he uses it.

So ended the life of Quavale Finnell.

Not all of the details are clear about the incident. And although charges have yet to be filed, there are some serious questions about the appropriate use of force in the name of "self defense". Based on my limited understanding of law there are some states which provide for a lethal response in defense of property, but Ohio isn't one.

But the story has weight and ongoing relevance in this city. Some people want to take this opportunity to change the law, and they have used this case - along with that of a deli owner who also opened fire - to make a public call to take back the streets from criminals who have left us with a surging murder rate and an increasing sense of hopelessness in many neighborhoods.

Now any more in-depth consideration of this issue and what it represents cannot proceed without splitting into groups: Those who want to understand the root causes for crime, and the reasons why the Quavale Finnells of the world might find themselves thieves - you stand to the left. The rest of you who place a firmer emphasis in law enforcement and simply fighting back and jailing the perpetrators - you stand to the right.

Normally I would expect the argument over differing approaches to last only seconds before it morphs into an acrimonious debate about racism. Finnell was an African-American, and it's certainly fair to say that the overall treatment of young men in his position has been a sore spot in the Queen City since well before the 2001 riots. Many on the 'root causes' side of the debate have, in similar cases, pointed to an endemic institutional racism that drastically reduces the opportunity for young men in his demographic to steer clear of troublesome activity.

But surprisingly those issues haven't been central to this case.

And one of the key reasons why might be Marcus Fiesel. In September it was a story that shocked everyone: His foster parents left him tied up in a closet over a long weekend, and when they returned he was dead. So they burned the body. There’s no comparison to the horrifying depravity of what those parents did to this little boy. But when the background began to emerge in the media there were some details that we can now compare to the life of Quavale Finnell. An economically depressed family has a kid, they lack the capacity to parent the kid, and that child becomes a ward of the state, which also failed to provide structure and guidance. It was a disaster. Marcus Fiesel never made it to his teenage years. But who would be surprised, based on how his life had been so far, if he would have ended up stealing automobiles too?

Some people may reasonably point out differences between the cases and problems that are caused by race, racism, and media bias. But it might also be productive to come to agreement on common issues and values. How can we prevent these cases? Is it a radical statement to say that kids have a better chance of avoiding trouble if they are in families where they are wanted from before the moment they are conceived – and in which they will receive guidelines, structure and support from parents who were first capable of supporting themselves? It seems less relevant whether or not people are black or white, repressive conservatives or a weed-smoking liberals, (or even – sacrilege – gay or strait) if these people are parents who set boundaries, check homework, and make know where there kids are - those children will be much more likely to succeed and avoid serious problems.

Law enforcement and a proactive citizenry are a practical necessity in a city beset by crime. But over the long haul we need fewer criminals, and we have a compassionate obligation to do everything possible to produce capable grown-ups, children who are wanted from the start, and strong, involved parents.

Relevant posts at Cincinnati Black Blog, Axinar's, and the Enquirer Forum.

Scenes from the Estate: K-Fed

Popular culture is again the topic du jour in the Spacetropic household during a rustic breakfast.

Mrs. S: More news, poopsie.
Mr. S: Don't keep me in suspense.
Mrs. S: I'm told that it's okay to hate K-Fed.
Mr. S: Well, Bernanke has been a disaster. A sensible monetary policy simply doesn't seem to be on the man's agenda. At the Princeton Club the other day --
Mrs. S: No, no. You misunderstand. Kevin Federline. He's married to that dancer.
Mr. S: Ah.
Mrs. S: He goes about using he nickname K-Fed. And he's apparently quite a dreadful singer, but they've gone and let him record an album about prostitution and murderous behavior.
Mr. S: Is he an associate of Mr. Clinton?
Mrs. S: It seems likely.
Mr. S: Then the hating begins right here. Is that the end of the marmalade? Ring for Margaritte.
Mrs. S: Don't over-exert yourself, darling. Hatred can be a very destructive emotion. Reverend McSwain suggests it's one of the reasons why the baser classes are always getting roiled up about something or other.
Mr. S: More jelly-jawed liberalism from that old fairy.
Mrs. S: Oh, hush. Bonjour Margaritte. S'il vous plait.
Mr. S: If I hear another blasted sermon about social justice in Outer Bongolia I swear I'm joining the Presbyterians.
Mrs. S: Hush. Enough.

Tune in next week when Mr. S quite nearly engages in fisticuffs with a young man canvassing the neighborhood with pamphlets about Green Party candidates. Hilarity ensues!

Tags: K-Fed, Ben 'Helicopter' Bernanke

Mason Muslims (Lunchtime for Democracy)

A group of religious students at a local public high school have been given special consideration because of their faith, and the citizens are outraged. Here we go with another group of fundamentalist Christian wackos violating the sacrosanct principle of separation between church and state. Right?

Try again. This time it's a group of Muslim kids who want a place to go during lunchtime in the month of Ramadan, at time when they observe a fast between sunrise and sunset. They have simply been given an empty classroom away from the feeding frenzy. And the citizens who are outraged are conservative Christians on the Mason City school board.

I'm waiting for fellow local bloggers Brian Griffin and 'The Dean' - outspoken Cincinnati-based defenders of a purely secular role for all things derived from government - to stand up and express their indignation over this foul encroachment of theocracy on an education system paid for by public taxation. Won't you join Jennifer Miller (the hardcore Christian on the school board) in denying these Muslim kids a simple classroom?

Hm?

Perhaps it time to admit that there are extremists on both sides. There's nothing wrong with Christian kids saying prayers before school, nor is there anything wrong with all of the Muslims spending one boring half-hour in a classroom during lunch. They can even have the lights on at taxpayer expense. We shouldn't care - and as long as nobody is actively promoting religion or practicing discrimination on those who are religious, we owe it to ourselves to be reasonable and accommodating in a pluralistic society. Somebody will always be hopping angry about some exception - but the rest of us need to be reasonable grownups.

Update: Brain Griffin thinks I've mischaracterized his views, but his argument seems to hinge on when we are asking the Muslim kids to attend school. He suggests that if we asked Christian kids to attend school on Sundays we'd have to accommodate their faith.

I'll admit this puzzles me, especially from someone who has been so stern a critic of 'theocracy'. The Muslims are allowed to use the classroom because the state requires them to go to school during Ramadan? Does that mean Catholic kids get to use state resources during Lent and Advent? I've never heard 'timing' used as the distinction before, but it starts to get tricky when every religion has a calendar.

I don't think you can have it both ways. You can't criticize the fundamentalists as a bunch of fascists - and treat religion as anathema - and then turn around and find some reason to be sensitive and tolerant when it comes to Muslims. You either apply principles fairly or you come out and admit you hate the Christian fundamentalists in particular.

But let's be clear: Jennifer Miller is a terrible community leader, and she sounds like she has a fearful, bigoted streak towards Muslims. And any claims she makes about this being 'a Christian nation' are meaningless in terms of the law and rights of individual citizens. As far as I'm concerned, as long as the mission of the school is not impacted (and there are no attempts at conversion) - the Muslims, Catholics, Baptists and followers of the Flying Spaghetti Monster can all share the marginal benefits of public resources like an empty classroom - whether it's Lent, Ramadan or Yom Kippur. No convoluted distinctions are necessary.

Tags: Ramadan, Muslims, Mason City Schools

It's Not the Media, Stupid

Two weeks from now there is a reasonable chance that the Republican Party will be handed it's collective ass in the midterm elections.

Instead of looking for the root causes for this turn of events I'm afraid that people on the right will be content to simply blame the media. This way of looking at things has been encouraged for many years by folks like Rush Limbaugh, and it was originally a very powerful and very true way of explaining the way politics are handled in America. Yes Virginia, the producers of the Today Show do despise all of the core values of the GOP, and yes, David Gregory does regularly vacation and socialize with Democrats only in Nantucket.

But these days, in this election it will be wrong to assume that the Republicans lose (either collectively or as a group) because media bias has elevated scandalous stories like Foleygate above any substantive issues. This narrative will be easy to propagate between 2006 and 2008, since it promises to be an extremely partisan time, when all kinds of congressional hearings and possibly impeachment proceedings will be more important than offering genuine solutions to our nation's challenges.

Many conservatives like myself think the Republican Party has done a bumbling, ineffective job at managing key issues, including the war on terror, federal spending - and most critically, defining our national agenda. This isn't 1982 anymore, and the influence of the Westport, Connecticut media is waning at all-time lows. Many other channels exist to communicate to the electorate and gather support. But the executive branch has failed miserably to use the bully pulpit, and congressional leadership has become more than useless (because that's not a bad thing in government) - they've become reactive, lazy, and foolish with our money.

To properly rehabilitate the political fortunes of conservatism it's critical to embrace a few foundational values: Accountability, leadership, and personal responsibility for one's actions. Take ownership of the outcome, and stop reflexively blaming the media for your ineffectiveness.

Tags: Democrats, Republicans, David Gregory, Rush Limbaugh

The Bengals and North Korea

It looks like Karl Rove's plan to disrupt the NFL season with nuclear dirty bombs has gone awry. Homeland security caught the kid who was paid to promulgate the rumor on the Internet. Alas, there will be no widespread panic to disrupt our weekend and send voters to the election booths in a few weeks willing to do the deed once more on behalf of security-conscious Republican candidates. But the good news is he didn't crack and reveal the names of Rove, Mehlman, et al.

* Cough, cough *

Joking aside, the essence of our age is an inability to ascertain risk.

In the aftermath of the school shootings in Amish country I caught some of the breathless news coverage. All of the newsbunnies were asking each other if there was "some sign" that this horrible crazy person was going to commit this vile act. The answer, unfortunately, was not really. If we arrest, as a precaution, every slightly depressed adult with some lingering resentment over previous injustices in personal relationships then society will consist of one massive prison with a few pathologically clueless grownups roaming around outside with the children.

Compare all of this arm-waving about "signs we should have seen in advance" with the current international mess over North Korea. If Seattle is nuked into glass at some point in the next few years - or Tokyo, or Taipei, or a few million acres of elk and tundra in Alaska - then won't we all agree this was something we saw coming?

For years and years we've watched this hopping, batshit-crazy dictator bleeding his economy dry to build a war machine, while breaking every promise at every opportunity to construct missiles and nuclear bombs. Then he tests these weapons and promises war. If North Korea were the neighborhood creepy guy he'd be walking around in his yard with hand grenades and machine guns with pictures of schoolchildren taped to the fence. He'd be dead before lunch. And yet we are unable to act beyond encouraging the United Nations to draw up impotent "sanctions" which will not be enforced by NK's two biggest trade partners - China and the South.

It never ceases to amaze me how grownups can be so hyper-reactive when it comes to small threats, but we are frozen and fearful when it comes to the larger threats - and we are capable of summoning up astonishing amounts of denial until it's too late.

Tags: Terrorism, North Korea, School Shootings

Cracker from Another Planet

On one hand, poor restaurant service is not uncommon. Everybody has stories about long waits, botched meal orders, and generalized incompetence that comes with a visit to corporate-owned dining outlets in exit-ramp America.

On the other hand, during a recent visit with my wife to Cracker Barrel in rural Ohio (during a cross-country drive) I remember feeling uncomfortable. Apparently there's something about our manner of speaking, mode of dress, or gait that suggested we were quite different than the other folks who were mowing down beans and ham. Our collared shirts, the absence of agricultural-themed baseball caps - and, most tellingly, a woman without knit patterns on her frock - this all seemed to say "outsider" to the other diners who gaped at us as we took our table.

And we're crackers, after all.

So I'm willing to entertain the possibility that Chris Rock's mother might have been the victim of racism when she sat at a table for 30 minutes while the servers and managers glided past, waiting on other customers. There are always some people who are ready to be offended - hoping anxiously to slip on a banana peel so they can file a liability lawsuit - but until any countervailing facts are known we should take such anecdotes at face value. Service-sector corporations are only as good as their most uneducated employees, and nobody should be pleased that the residue of centuries of racism appears to linger in places like Cracker Barrel.

Fountain Square News

The civic centerpiece of urban Cincinnati, Fountain Square, re-opened on Saturday in a sparsely-attended ceremony. News coverage in the past few days has been about Nikki Giovanni, the poet asked to read a work in honor of the event. Her poem was a rambling, unfocused rant about the city, which included a line about Ken Blackwell, an African American Republican from Cincinnati who is currently running for governor. She called Blackwell a "son of a bitch".

Some people have claimed this is offensive, inappropriate, and also just bad poetry. Giovanni, predictably, is making noises about "not being silenced" - the cheapest, most pathetic play in the ultraleft book. If you get criticized for delivering poor art, try desperately to insinuate they are trampling on your right to free speech. She believes her right to deliver unimaginative profanity comes hand-in-hand with our obligation to be forced to suffer this talent-free drivel. (She probably has strong opinion about the Bush policy on torture, but don't expect her to see the irony.)

On a more positive angle, the Lily Pad free wireless is up and running on the Square. Frankly I'd be happy to spend my lunch hour taking advantage of this service, but there aren't very many places to sit right now, and I'm not keen on always buying lunch at 'Rock Bottom'. Hopefully merchants can recognize the need for more casual outdoor seating or a coffee shop of some kind where citizens can pass the time without racking up a hefty bill.

Fountain Square is still a work in progress - both the physical reality of the place and the notion of what our common civic spaces should entail.

Related: Andrew Warner disagrees about Giovanni, and thinks she's a genius.

Tags: Cincinnati, Fountain Sqare, Nikki Giovanni, Project Lily Pad Wireless

Scenes from the Estate: Malawi Envy

While enjoying an aperitif this evening in the drawing room Mrs. Spacetropic and I had the following exchange:

Mrs. S: Have you heard the latest?
Mr. S: Pray tell, darling.
Mrs. S: Madonna. She’s hauled off and adopted an African baby!
Mr. S: Is that so?
Mrs. S: It’s quite the latest thing to do.
Mr. S: How does one go about doing it?
Mrs. S: From what I understand it involves putting several million dollars in the hands of the people in charge of Africa.
Mr. S: Well then, shall I call Mr. Peckington? He’d be happy to draw down funds from the offshore accounts. We’ll have a plump, healthy African baby in time for you to brag at the next sodality meeting.
Mrs. S: Oh – that’s very thoughtful of you poopsie, but don’t we have enough headaches with our own children?
Mr. S: Quite right, quite right.
Mrs. S: Which reminds me – where are the beastly creatures?
Mr. S: I seem to recall seeing them behind the guesthouse, singing whimsical songs and disemboweling toads.
Mrs. S: Oh, damn all. For what good reason are we paying our team of nannies?
Mr. S. (Mutters and stirs his gimlet.)

Tune in to the next episode of "Scenes from the Estate" when Mrs. S. drains an entire box of wine at the GOP dinner and reveals an embarassing secret about Mr. S!

White House Christianity

My sister was a White House intern for a time, and she has some problems with the Kuo interview last night on 60 Minutes. This guy apparently wrote a book recently - and I missed the interview myself, but I have noticed the increasing attempt among mainstream media types to drive a wedge between the very Christian wing of the party and, on the other end, the Buckley/Will camp and their more libertarian allies.

Of her first-hand experience my sister (who, like myself, has a closer affiliation with that latter group) offers this observation:

I don't know what parallel universe Kuo occupied during his time at the White House but my limited exposure to the people on every level of the Bush Administration was completely different than his. My colleagues spoke of being "blessed" by good fortune, exclaimed "good NIGHT!" when surprised, showed discretion and a deep understanding that their position at the White House meant they were serving the American people. I was constantly reminded that my colleagues and fellow interns came from a different background than I. For the most part, they came from the Christian right and acted just as I expected they would.

And this is certainly consistent with what we know about the man at the top; like him or not, we can be certain that when Bush claims that Jesus Christ is his favorite philosopher - he admitting the truth, regardless (and in spite of) what Chris Matthews and Johanthan Alter are going to snicker about over canapé at the next cocktail party.

And any organization as large as the executive branch is going to have it's share of middle-level scoffers and cynics who think they are smarter than both upper management and the lower-level rank and file. The willingness of such people to participate in an interview during election season on one of the most notoriously liberal broadcasts in the media - while simultaneously pushing a new book - well, should we be surprised?

Are there real issues that have caused tension between the different wings of the Republican Party in recent memory? Certainly - Terry Shiavo, most obviously. But to claim the Bushies look down on these folks is sheer cynical spin, and simply wrong.

Tags: Kuo, 60 Minutes, Fundamentalism

Electoral Bumfight 2006

Everyone's talking about this little post over here from law professor Reynolds.

First of all, I'm not sure the Republicans are going to lose this one. The Vegas odds may be against them overall, but it might not be as lopsided as you would be led to believe from watching Hardball. There are some big problems with the way opinion polls are conducted these days - such that very few people, if any, know the real "pulse" of the electorate. The proliferation of cell phones and the increasing tendency of folks to lie, ruthlessly, in response to polling calls (so tired we have become by these irksome interruptions)- all of this creates distortion in the results.

But there's a strong sentiment among the chattering class (and the blogosphere) that the GOP deserves to have it's pants kicked this time around. Some claim that the Democrats never back away from their own leadership in the same way - and this may hold true for Washington political class. But if we're talking about voters, I'm sure there have been plenty of cases where Dems have stayed home because their leadership is so god-awful and uninspiring.

Dukakis? Mondale? Please.

On a related note, Kim Strassel in the WSJ compares the situation of the Florida GOP (thriving) and that of the Ohio GOP (going under, rapidly) - and concludes that the Republicans lose when they don't live up to their own ideas and ideology of government, especially in terms of fiscal resposibility. This underscores Reynolds's analysis, and tells the tale strictly in terms of practical real-numbers local government - Florida is booming right now, and the Republicans are in good graces with the electorate.

So our situation, here in Ohio, again once again mimics our key national problem: What do you do when your leadership is so ineffective and corrupt that it's time to throw the bums out - but the other group of bums (in this case, Democrats) is at best an even trade, possibly worse? Vote them in, let them screw things up in a new and different way, and hope the original group has learned their lesson by the time the next election rolls up?

Tags: Instapundit, 2008, Ohio Election

Three Hundred Million Strong

The United States population has reached the three hundred million mark, and the Washington Post is providing all kinds of reasons why we should be acting apoplectic.

Immigrants, legal and illegal, account for about 40 percent of population growth. Immigration is also an important reason the "natural increase" in the population -- excess of births over deaths -- is significantly higher in the United States compared with Europe or Japan. Hispanics from Latin America, by far the largest share of recent immigrants, are driving the natural increase here. On average, Hispanic women have one more child than non-Hispanic white women.

So conservatives should be worried about the influx of breeding, papist Irish – oops, I mean Hispanics – that are diluting the culture. But the secular materialists should be all a-dither too, since the environment, their stand-in for religion, is also at risk by the increase of folks here in America:

Three hundred million is also a discomfiting reminder of a nation that, on its east and west coasts, at least, is running noticeably low on elbow room. More humanity is stirring up more traffic, more sprawl, more rules against growth, more protests against anti-growth rules, and more of the greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming. A surging population in the arid Southwest is also straining the supply of water. The growth is adding to a country that represents 4 percent of the world's population but consumes 25 percent of the planet's oil.

But evidence suggests that large, young populations are vital for a growing economy, innovation, and the efficient use of resources. Ireland, for example, was once a nation that lost millions to America in the decades following the industrial revolution – which was slow to benefit the emerald isle. (And many conservatives at the time did bemoan the cultural impact.) But today Ireland has a young population with much more growth and prosperity than the average EU nation.

All sorts of useful comparisons and counter-examples abound: Witness the birth dearth in Italy and Japan, or the terrific problem brewing in Europe as a result of a large influx of ultra-traditional immigrants from Middle East clashing head-on with declining nations that have never had the cultural infrastructure to integrate new arrivals. If you read past the doom and gloom the WaPo article does finally mention the positive impact of population growth and immigration

.Many demographers believe it is shortsighted to be anxious about the 300-million marker. They regard it as a symbol of an economically dynamic democracy that remains popular in much of the world.

"As almost nothing else can, immigration-led growth signals the attractiveness of the American economy and polity," said Kenneth Prewitt, a former head of the Census Bureau and now professor of public affairs at Columbia University. "You don't see large numbers of immigrants clamoring to move to China."

No kidding. For all of the endless kvetching of the college socialist lefties they never seem to explain why millions of people are still willing to risk life and limb to escape their decrepit regimes and make a start in America. Aside from Hollywood types like Alec Baldwin and the faculty of Columbia – people who keep threatening to leave but never buy a ticket – there’s simply no one headed in the other direction. But I digress. The article does go on to cite a few numbers that may get the authors fired for violating the doom principle of the mainstream media:

Indeed, lots of good news is embodied in the lives of the 300 million. Longevity has jumped from 55 years in 1915, to 71 years in 1967, to 78 years now. Over that time frame, the percentage of the adult population with a high-school diploma has jumped from 14 percent to 85 percent. Homeownership has risen from 46 to 69 percent. The death rate from tuberculosis has fallen from 140 to 0.2 per 100,000 people. While houses are 4.5 times as expensive (in constant dollars) as they were in 1915 and twice as expensive as in 1967, a gallon of milk in 2006 costs less than half what it went for in 1915 and in 1967.

I can’t help but think of Julian Simon – the contrarian statistician who made a bet with the apocalyptic “population bomb” environmentalists of the 1970s that the cost of a market basket of resources would be lower over time. He won every time – and he passed on this tradition to others like Peter Huber – whose numbers-heavy book, Hard Green should be on the bookshelf of anyone willing to challenge the average environmentalist sputtering ill-understood factoids. When you kids demonstrate a thorough understanding of topic like yield-per-acre land usage statistics in America between the 17th century and today – then we’ll talk. Otherwise you’re not environmentalists. You’re socialists who loathe the market and have a resentment complex. Be honest about it.

Meanwhile, somewhere out there the 300 millionth American came into existence, perhaps in a maternity ward – perhaps by way of boxcar in the Southwest. Either way we should be optimistic and welcome them to our marvelous nation.

Life Art

Hans Blix: I'm sorry, but the U.N. must be firm with you. Let me see your whole palace, or else.

Kim Jong Il: Or else what?

Blix: Or else we will be very, very angry with you, and we will write you a letter, telling you how angry we are.

Dying With Statistics

One of the problems with statistics is that people with an agenda feel justified in manipulating them to meet their political goals. If these goals happen to involve bleeding-heart "causes" - or even any situations where people's well-being is at stake -- then the manipulation is even more brazen.

Forty million are Americans are out of work and suffering! Okay, fine - the number is only twenty million, and most of them either don't want jobs or they have the brain wattage of wet salad - why are you quibbling over numbers? Are you insensitive the needs of twenty million Americans, mister big smarty-pants math stickler?

Apparently one of the fringe benefits of "caring" is you can multiply up (or down) by whatever factor you choose. Basic arithmetic and statistical accuracy become subjective provided you perch on high enough moral ground - in your own mind, of course.

So when I saw the number - 655,000 Iraqis killed - the first thing I knew was that this number was, excuse my Spanglish, total and complete bullshit. Reading the CNN article it's easy enough to highlight the name of the researcher (Dr. Gilbert Burnham) and right-click a Google search. Not six items down in the results list is another item from two years ago from the same guy which estimated 100,000 dead in the Iraq conflict.

Don't get me wrong, the U.S. military can be deadly - mostly towards combatants, but sometimes to civilians. And I'll even fall prey to the cynical play-on-sympathy gambit and concede that even a couple of thousand dead is a sad example of our failure as human creatures to find another way to live peacefully, when you really think about it.

But ultimately the authors of this study are either asking us to believe that half a million folks have been slaughtered in two years - or proving they are just making up numbers from thin air. It's a cynical play on the interest of the American public - who frankly, aren't that stupid - and it's an insult to professional excellence. There are, I hope, still a few folks in the academy who don't draw righteous, political conclusions in advance of gathering their supporting numbers.

When is that election again?

Tags: Iraq, Civilian Deaths

Nightmare On Vine Street

The grand re-opening of Fountain Square is Saturday. This picture, snapped on a cell phone, doesn't do justice to the sight I witnessed today in downtown Cincinnati:

There are huge stacks of shrink-wrapped marble tile scattered everywhere. Most of these, I've noticed, have been there for a weeks. The buildings consist of little more than steel frames - and equipment is spilling over into all of the streets nearby, making any driving near the Square a very frustrating experience. An email to 3CDC - the redevelopment firm in charge of this ambitious city project - confirms that the Square will be ready, but there will be a "punchlist of things to do" after this Saturday.

I've been involved in projects that come together at the last minute, but this seems like a spin job. At this rate there seems like a real possibility that the ceremony will take place at a construction site. Let's hope soon it looks like $42 million bucks.

Tags: Cincinnati, Fountain Square

Fizz, Pop, and Awe

Maybe our friends over in North Korea are having a little fun at our expense with some leftover fireworks from Dear Leader Day. As of the time of this posting nobody has noticed any radiation yet, and an American intelligence expert is on record suggesting that the putative nuke test was "more fizz than pop". And the UN Security Council has only expressed concern - which is their default reaction for any kind of international dust-up.

Why do we call it a Nuclear Club anyway? Wouldn't you prefer to hang out in a Nuclear Lounge instead? Imagine a fun, avant-deco place to visit after hours, with a great jukebox, retro cocktails, and kittenish grad students wearing go-go boots. Can't you picture a ruckus near the rope line as a dirty little North Korean dictator attempts to gain admittance?

The political ramifications of this little atomic kerfuffle won't immediately be known. It may knock Pagetouchergate from the headlines between now and November, and I'm waiting for somebody on the Democrat Underground forums to suggest that this was somehow, someway, the result of Karl Rove's manipulations. Meanwhile the stock market looks just as kooky as a Japanese seismological meter and our president has delivered a stern and un-Pelosi-like statement in response.

Tags: North Korea, Nuclear Test

Byrne, Stevens, Baroque Americana

David Byrne blogged recently about a Sufjan Stevens concert:

The feeling was of whispered intimate reminiscences of a midwestern childhood juxtaposed with their transcendent implications — the glory of the world discovered in the backyard, on a cross country trip, or at summer camp. Videos that looked like super 8 movies helped reinforce the aura of transcendental nostalgia, along with costumes that looked like they came out of a Jr. High theater production (everyone wore bird or butterfly wings and matching outfits.) Inflatable Supermen and santas were tossed off the balcony into the audience during appropriate songs — more images of childhood myths. It certainly all hung together.

David Byrne, of course, wrote a song entitled "The Big Country" on the indispensable More Songs ... in which the central refrain was I wouldn't live there / if you paid me to - referring, of course, to fly-over America. That was in the heyday of the disaffected New Wave, and Byrne later traded in this attitude for the ersatz folksy charm of True Stories. Nevertheless his original distaste is emblematic of a chauvinism found between the Hudson and the East River - one that David Byrne, at least, is capable of leaving behind.

Sufjan Steven has more expansive ambition. He has embarked on a plan to write albums about each of the 50 states, and the distinct locality of place that makes each one unique. It's not an entirely original concept - Dvorak wrote music inspired by the woods near Spillville, Iowa - and Mercury Rev has a wistful fascination with old and rural New York. But the scope of Stevens project is impressive.

And I guess I'm interested, these days, in any art that brings us back to the old, weird America - the people and states and municipalities along train routes and highways. To take on such subjects seems like defiant innovation in the face of so much self-centered, self-referential media (Studio 60 anyone?) which endlessly churns forth from the East and West coast.

Tags: Folkways, David Byrne, Sufjan Stevens

The Battle of Miami Township

It's a thoroughly modern tale of defiant individuals against business interests who have become accustomed to unfettered growth at the expense of local values.

Classic Properties of Symmes Township has developed beige-box subdivisions all over the outer exurbs of Cincinnati. One after the next they buy up rural farmland, seek the necessary permits from local government - who are anxious to comply - and soon afterwards the subcontractors fall into formation with trucks and backhoes. When they came around to Miami Township to begin the cookie-cutter assembly for the upscale "Reserves of Grey Cliff" (love the name, by the way - it sounds like either a malt liquor or a D&D module) - they thought it must be business as usual, based on recent history.

Until they met Theresa Ervin Conover.

Theresa didn't want them widening the road in from of her house and knocking down a stand of pine trees. And she had serious concerns about the impact of all of the new traffic and infrastructure on the 19th-century home she had recently purchased with her husband. And unbeknownst to the development company - who must certainly be accustomed to muscling over any opposition - Theresa Ervin Conover had degrees in urban planning and public administration, and she knew the game cold. In an out-of-court settlement the developers have been forced move the road, build a concrete wall, re-locate utility lines, and insure against any future harm to the Conover's property. How did the president of Classic Properties feel about this?

“She’s costing us a fortune,” Farruggia said at the time, referring to legal fees and the inability to bring in money while the project was stalled.

Show of hands - who feels sorry for Mr. Farruggia? The lesson learned is about, for lack of a better term, "sustainable growth". Many local governments are so blinded by tax revenue that they have little interest in supporting their constituents, and they are willing to agree to any demands made by developers, who are often very close, both personally and politically, to the people in public office. And the Conover case suggests that without advanced degrees, few people will have the knowledge (much less the financial wherewithal) to defend their rights in the maze of regulations and laws that are in place.

I'm not a weepy-Indian-by-the-landfill environmentalist. But I've become concerned about the trend towards building endlessly outward, ripping up land haphazardly, and never sparing any expense to preserve or repurpose old neighborhoods or the original land. Something is wrong when it has become more lucrative to build a new, bigger strip mall down the road than to renovate the boarded-up old one lying in disrepair. The Christians among us might even consider how this problem is informed by traditional virtues like stewardship and humility.

And everyone can contemplate the parable of Theresa Ervin Conover.

[HT Nixguy]

Tags: Classic Properties, Development, Exurbs, Joseph F. Farruggia

For What It's Worth

Today all of the folks who dislike the president and his policies have organized a 'Day of Mass Resistance' at various cities throughout the United States. People who feel strongly about this topic can use this handy-dandy finder page to locate a nearby protest action.

Here in Cincinnati we can expect the resistance movement to make an appearance at the intersection of Kenwood and Montgomery, an area notable for a high volume of suburban traffic. Instead of lobbing Molotov cocktails at police cruisers and hurling their explosive-laden bodies through the Panera storefront I expect the "resistance" will line the parking areas adjacent to the large commercial properties (I'm not sure there are sidewalks), raise hand-lettered signs, and chant. The sight of college students and liberation theology professors will prompt a few folks to tap on the horn of their SUV and answer questions from the children in the backseat.

If you are so inclined, join the resistance today, between 4 to 8 PM.

Tags: Day of Mass Resistance

Zeitgeist Galactica

The past several months I’ve been vindicated several times over.

I’ve recommended the show to practically everyone, with the same familiar spiel: “Yes, it’s a remake of that chintzy 1970s show, but it’s been transformed into a totally compelling grown-up story about post-9/11 society with three dimensional characters and jaw-dropping performances from the likes of Edward James Olmos and Mary McDonnell.” Still there are some people who won’t watch Battlestar Galactica – either because they can’t accept the association with the schlock of the original series, or they can’t believe science fiction could ever tell serious stories.

But I’ve been vindicated because most of these folks have bought the DVDs, caught up on the series, apologized profusely, and now openly declare themselves addicts of the show. Long email debates ensue about some of the themes presented in the series – notably the relationship between a civilian government and the military in times of crises, and the limits of democracy and our fragile notions of “human rights”.

The series is filled with characters and story that doesn’t cleave predictably into familiar political territory. The portrayal of military culture doesn’t always veer into the same shopworn model we have seen since Vietnam – where every general wants a destructive solution. And the civilian leaders, such as the teacher- turned-president played so powerfully by Ms. McConnell, are capable of steely determination in defense of the fictional endangered society. The ideas are familiar, but the ideology won’t match cleanly with any preconceptions. Liberals and conservatives alike will be entertained and simultaneously provoked by the story.

And the women on this show are just plain insanely hot.

The series returns for it’s third season this Friday at 9PM Eastern on SciFi. Last season ended with a Vichy France “occupation” theme in the works, and we can expect some overtones of the Iraq conflict. By all accounts the story will be very dark; this is a series that isn’t afraid to kick people, kill people, and see them ripped apart by their internal demons. But this only elevates those rare moments of heroism and harmony when they do take place. BSG goes to the zeitgeist: The decisions we make, rightly or wrongly in the hallowed name of liberty have real and often frighteningly painful consequences, intended and otherwise.

UPDATE: For those that can't wait until Friday, according to Ron Moore, executive producer, the first act of the first show of the third season is available online at the SciFi website.

Tags: Battlestar Galactica, Ronald D. Moore

Sick Leave

The past several days a nasty autumnal bug has incapacitated me and adding posts to the blog has been low priority.

Mrs. Spacetropic - whose father is a doctor - keeps a shelf groaning with the weight of various exotic medications. So whenever this happens she's constantly disappearing into the bathroom closet, rattling around various bottles of pills, and handing me new and more powerful concoctions from America’s pharmaceutical industry before leaving me alone in the house to experience the often alarming side-effects. As a result the past few days have been an over-the-counter version of Fear and Loathing, with Duke, our family golden retriever, taking on the role of Dr. Gonzo.

Today I'm mostly recovered, and semi-regular posting should resume.