Punitive Liberalism of the Day: Suffer for China's eco-sins.

Hot Air has a story about how the Obama Administration thinks the USA should pay for China's greenhouse gas emissions.

This is stupid on so many different levels it defies quick comment.

But it unintentionally reveals the real motive behind cap and trade isn't to protect the Earth, it's to punish the USA. If the USA pays for China's greenhouse gas emissions, where's the incentive for China to reduce those emissions? On the contrary, when you subsidize something, people produce more of it. China will produce more so-called greenhouse gases because we're paying for it.

Punish the USA and make Americans poorer while encouraging China to produce more greenhouse gases. That's the new policy the Obamans just thought up. These guys are amazing.

"No fun" conservatives undermine the movement

I wrote an email to Katherine Kersten about her column on Grand Theft Auto:

Columns like yours feed the false message that conservatism is about no one ever having any fun. People have learned it. They think conservatives want to make their fun activities illegal, even when those activities are as innocent and harmless as playing a video game.

Video games and interactive entertainment are the present and future. Just because you didn't grow up with them and they make you vaguely uncomfortable because you can't relate to them (have you tried?) doesn't make them any worse (or better or different) than any other form of entertainment.

Your ignorance is obvious from your column. People read books with dark characters in them. They've been doing that for years. I'm sure someone who grew up before novels wrote a very similar column. Then it assuredly happened for radio stories. Then comic books. Then movies. Then TV. There was similar ignorant nonsense about rock and roll music. Then rap. It's all the same kind of message: "old person can't relate to new entertainment, decides it's evil". Why do people keep making the same mistakes over and over again? Why do you?

Another section from your column is interesting:

Research confirms that violent media increase young people's aggressive thoughts and behavior and decrease their self-control and the inclination to help others. Adolescents who play violent video games tend to be more hostile, to argue more with teachers, to get into more physical fights, and to do more poorly in school, one national study reports.

Haven't conservatives been railing against the education system dumbing down and feminizing their sons for about 20 years now? I'm not sure I understand what's wrong with "aggressive". And don't teachers need to be argued with? If video games can reduce the trend of boys growing up to be wimpy, feminized metrosexuals, then Hooray!

A lot of conservatives, like myself, are tired of getting bogged down. It's hard enough to argue against big government and for freedom and America without having this ignorant nonsense to deal with. I can't really cite your columns in an argument, now can I? "Katherine Kersten is right about the muslim school, despite her appalling, ignorant nonsense about video games." Nope. Score one for the liberals, I guess.

For you, this is your "cling to their religion and their guns" moment. You and Obama should stop looking down on ordinary people. It doesn't help.

Shallow and sad

Jim Manzi posted a poll on National Review Online. He said "...Republicans face losing a generation as decisively as the Democrats did under Reagan if they don't figure out how to appeal to people under 30."

Here's the note I sent him in response:

I think you may misunderstand something. Democrats don't "appeal" to young people either. It's not about appeal. It's all about negativity, dislike, unhappiness, victimization, and shallow immaturity. No one tells these people the truth and they've been told it doesn't matter. Nothing matters. Except saying you care about the Earth and oppose the war can help your social status -- you might get invited to a party. Pretense to ideals is their virtue and talking points are their creed, if they even bother with those.

These people can't be reached until they grow up. And since many of their "parents" never grew up to be responsible adults, why should they?

A good conservative leader could gain the support of this group, but so could a good communist leader. Anyone with a good story and a magnetic personality could do it. They want to be told a story. That story was Obama's, but flakes blow where the wind takes them and the wind is not in Obama's favor.

Don't take these young people's political opinion seriously. They are not serious.

America is shallow. If you want something to worry about, worry about that.

Image from wvs

I sent a note to Victor Davis Hanson

This is a quick email I sent to Victor Davis Hanson.


I'd like to respond to your statement:

"...but since a dictatorial communist China holds over $1 billion dollars in U.S.-government-backed bonds, it is unlikely that any street protesting will lead to much more than a few meaningless resolutions in Congress..."

Two things about this:

1. "$1 billion dollars" must be a typo. (or actually 2 typos). Congressmen spend this much money without thinking about it at all.
2. This is fodder for conspiracy nuts. The fact that other countries hold US debt does not drive policy. Why would it? What recourse does China have with regard to the debt?

The idea that equates personal debt with national debt leads to a huge number of misunderstandings, to fear mongering, and to a loss of focus on the real problems. National debt is not a large enough part of GDP to represent a real problem in the US. (The unfunded Social Security and Medicare liabilities are, but that's not generally talked about as "debt" and has absolutely nothing to do with bonds or foreign bond holders.)

Please don't feed the fear mongers and conspiracy nuts. If you don't have a full understanding of the debt and finances, then ask someone at NR who does before you tell people to worry about foreign bond ownership. Foreign bond ownership is a non-factor.

Taxpayer funded Islamic School in Minneapolis area

Katherine Kersten reports today on a taxpayer-funded Islamic school in Inver Grove Heights in the Minneapolis area.

TIZA has many characteristics that suggest a religious school. It shares the headquarters building of the Muslim American Society of Minnesota, whose mission is "establishing Islam in Minnesota." The building also houses a mosque. TIZA's executive director, Asad Zaman, is a Muslim imam, or religious leader, and its sponsor is an organization called Islamic Relief.

Students pray daily, the cafeteria serves halal food - permissible under Islamic law -- and "Islamic Studies" is offered at the end of the school day.

Mrs. Kersten seems to be saying that the taxpayers ought not have to fund an Islamic school. I think this is a bigger opportunity than that. If Muslims can get taxpayer funding for an Islamic school, then Catholics can get government funding for a Catholic school.

Perhaps Muslims can lead the way here. It would be refreshing to see schools do something besides teaching children to hate their country.

Photo by bookish

US on the Road to Victory in Iraq

The UK Times reports on two letters seized in Iraq. The letters are written by an Al-Qaeda commander of a force of 600 AQI fighters that shrank to about 20.

Bottom line is that the US and the Iraqis have all but completely defeated AQI in that region of Iraq. It is just one region, not the whole country.

Note this is a UK newspaper (linked from Drudge). I wonder if the drive-by media in the US will report this?

Global Warming

It's sunny and -13 degrees F this morning at 11:00 AM here in Minnesota.

I guess that's why they're calling it "climate change" now. You can't sell global warming fear when it's this cold. That is also how we know global warming is science -- because finding an effective sales pitch is part of the scientific method, right?

Update: It is mid-afternoon and it has warmed up to -4 degrees.