Links With Your Coffee - Friday
- Dispatches from the Culture Wars: Religious Right Propaganda in Civics Textbook
The Center for Inquiry has released a report strongly criticizing a widely used civics textbook, American Government: Institutions and Policies, written by James Q. Wilson and John DiIulio. Wilson, a Republican, and DiIulio, a Democrat, are certainly eminent scholars. That only makes one wonder how in the world the errors documented in this report made their way into the book, especially into the 10th edition.
- "“History Will Not Judge This Kindly”" by Scott Horton (Harper's Magazine)
ABC News reports that the senior most advisors of President Bush, led by Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld and Condoleezza Rice, met in the White House repeatedly to discuss and approve specific torture tactics, including waterboarding and physical assault, as applied to particular prisoners.
- CJR: Globe Dissects McCain’s Health Plan
The story told of a journalist who asked if the senator’s skin cancer might make him sympathetic to the idea of requiring that insurance companies offer policies to those with such conditions. McCain responded: “That would be mandating what the free enterprise system does.” Indeed the free enterprise system does allow insurance companies to choose the healthiest people and refuse coverage to those who are sick. But how does that help people get care for conditions they already have? That’s what the public wants to know
- Dareland: They finally got the gun out of his cold dead hands
- 'Big brother' buildings offer less invasive security - tech - 09 April 2008 - New Scientist Tech
- So Much for the Information Age - Chronicle.com(tip to Big Daddy Malcontent)
I teach a seminar called "Secrecy: Forbidden Knowledge." I recently asked my class of 16 freshmen and sophomores, many of whom had graduated in the top 10 percent of their high-school classes and had dazzling SAT scores, how many had heard the word "rendition." Not one hand went up. This is after four years of the word appearing on the front pages of the nation's newspapers, on network and cable news, and online. This is after years of highly publicized lawsuits, Congressional inquiries, and international controversy and condemnation. This is after the release of a Hollywood film of that title, starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Meryl Streep, and Reese Witherspoon.
- Framing Science : Measuring the Impact of Michael Moore's SICKO
- The Satirical Political Report - An Offbeat Look at the Hot-Button Issues of the Day » General Petraeus Blames Writers’ Strike for His ‘Repeat Testimony’
- YouTube - Real Time with Bill Maher: Available until 4/21/08 (HBO)
- BBC NEWS | Health | Hope over US Alzheimer's therapy
Comments
Wow, considering that Moore's movie is just one movie in a nation of 300 million people, that's a pretty big impact! Nice to see.
Thanks as always for the links, Norm, more fascinating stuff than I can get to, and always something good.
"challenges to secrecy and opacity are moot if society does not avail itself of information that is readily accessible."
That article about the "information-age" was depressing yet so very true. Every time I hear a Spitzer joke I am reminded of a great song lyric by Michael Franti, "I don't care who they're screwing in private, I want to know who they're screwing in public."
Even in ultra-liberal NYC I'm often shocked at what important issues fly under the radar. Telecom immunity was almost unheard of, Turkey bombing the same Kurds that we were supposedly protecting/avenging by ousting Saddam was unknown, the hiring of illegal immigrants by Halliburton in the rebuilding of New Orleans and the repeal of the prevailing wage law seems to be lost... so many issues of importance to our nation's character and survival are swallowed up in election caricature stories, sexy scandals and bickering.
Bob Dole was right. We are the, "Land of the naive and home of the provincial."
Thanks for the heads up on the Dilulio/ Wilson text. I knew Wilson was conservative but he has written some good things. It really bothers me how publishers run 10 editions of a textbook that costs $100-$150 and they can't hire a factchecker. I reviewed an American politics text (American is not even my main subfield) and identified multiple basic factual errors. Guess what? They kept pumping out new editions with the same errors.
Did the scroll at the end of "Real Time" say that Richard Dawkins was going to be on the panel next week?
Not on the panel but a segment by satelitte. Stay tuned.
Have you guys seen John Stossel's take on Moore's film? I wonder what impact that had on people as well.
Thanks for the pointers. God I'll be glad when the primary is over and OGM can go back to informative articles and daily show clips...
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