Overland High’s Ward Churchill wannabe, geography teacher Jay Bennish, shaved his long hair and began preening in front of the cameras yesterday, including an appearance on the Today Show and several interviews with Denver reporters. Bennish has been in the spotlight since one of his students, Sean Allen, made public a 22-minute recording of an anti-Bush, anti-American, and anti-capitalist rant and said that it was common for Bennish to do this. Bennish said he’s been misrepresented, implicitly denying Allen’s claim that such rants occurred frequently:

Bennish told reporters Tuesday that the tape is a mere 20 minutes "out of one semester of material" and that he doesn’t necessarily believe everything he says in class.

"I think all of this has been taken out of context," he said when he arrived in Denver from New York. 

You know, when you’re comparing the President of the United States to Adolf Hitler, context is so important. Without all the context, people might think you’re a raving looney or a barking moonbat when in fact you’re making carefully considered, thoughtful, nuanced comparisons to Hitler.

And gosh, I’m sure that during the 28 minutes which Allen didn’t record, Bennish compared Bush to Mahatma Gandhi. Yeah, right.

Actually, Bennish was slightly misrepresented. The media reported that he noted "eerie similarities" between Bush’s remarks and Hitler’s speeches. But, from Michelle Malkin’s transcription, here’s what he actually said regarding Bush and Hitler:

He started off his speech talking about how America should be the country that dominates the world. That we have been blessed essentially by God to have the most civilized, most advanced, best system and that it is our duty as Americans to use the military to go out into the world and make the whole world like us.

Sounds a lot like the things that Adolf Hitler use to say.

We’re the only ones who are right. Everyone else is backwards. And it’s our job to conquer the world and make sure they live just like we want them to.

So you see, Bennish didn’t compare Bush’s remarks to Hitler’s; he compared his own totally false mischaracterization of Bush’s remarks to Hitler’s. Bennish flat-out lied about what Bush said, knowing that the vast majority of his class didn’t see the State of the Union speech, the remainder wouldn’t recall details, and just about the entire class would simply take his word for it.

After lying about what Bush said, lying about what capitalism is, lying about U.S. actions in the Middle East, lying about Cuba, and lying about the history of the Jews and the creation of Israel, Bennish offered the standard leftist teacher disclaimer — something like "My outrage at Bush’s eating of babies is just an opinion, something I throw out to make you think. I may not even believe it myself." Wink, wink.

The Rocky Mountain News obtained Bennish’s Cherry Creek School District job application (PDF). Here are a couple of excerpts that suggest he doesn’t just want students to think, he wants them to think in specific ways toward specific goals:

My primary objectives as a teacher are to encourage the students to think for themselves, to critically analyze the world in which they live in order to create a more democratic society.

I feel it is paramount to give back to our community, in an effort to better society, the world, & to make a more free & democratic environment.

Keep in mind that Bennish apparently thinks Cuba, Venezuela, and the the Palestinian Authority are more "free & democratic" than the U.S.

The News’ Charlie Brennan interviewed a couple of Bennish’s college professors, Peggy Raines and Judith Giesburg. (Either Bennish misspelled the latter’s name on his job application or the News repeatedly did so. I’m going with the News. Bennish had other misspellings, too.) Both spoke highly of Bennish. Raines seemed quite proud of Bennish and the others who learned all the right lessons in her program:

"I fear he may have got some of that left-wing orientation from me," she said with a laugh. "You know how professors are."
…

"I think Jay was one of our top candidates," Raines said. "We were very clear that Jay would go out and do something, and probably be a shaker and a mover.

"My guess was that he would probably be a political activist."

Speaking of many students who passed through her department at NAU, Raines said, "They care about social justice issues. They care about making the world a better place. So, I’m not exactly surprised that this is happening to Jay."
…

"I just think it’s a shame that the conservative right-wingers can try to dictate curriculum," Raines said. "I think it’s a shame that he could be suspended for trying to do what he does well, up there.

"My greatest hope is that it doesn’t end a promising young career."
…

Raines said one legacy of Bennish’s NAU experience is that he and his fellow students were taught to be "change agents" and to "push the envelope" a bit.

When told of Bennish’s mentioning President Bush and Adolf Hitler to his students in the same breath, she conceded it might not have been the most "prudent comparison."

"I think teachers need to know what they stand for, and I think he knows what he stands for," Raines said. "And yes, I think we have an obligation not to press our own agendas in classrooms.

"But, let’s face it. You can’t hang up who you are at the door."

There are thousands of education professors like Dr. Raines on our college campuses, and they’ve been doing their best to crank out tens of thousands of "change agent" teachers like Jay Bennish. Does that bother you? It does me, and I don’t even have kids.

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So what liberty-related topics interest you? Property rights and land use? Free speech? Islamization of Europe? Subsidizing illegal immigrants? Subsidizing someone else?  The threat of teachers’ unions? Socialized medicine? Socialized environmentalism? Socialized something else? You’ll find those topics and more in Carnival of Liberty #35 over at Owlish Mutterings . What are you waiting for — go check it out!

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If you like to look at pictures of pretty firearms, get on over to The AnarchAngel’s Carnival of Cordite #50. Likewise if you want to read some advice on lubricating pistols, a story or two about introducing newbies to the shooting sports, a rant or three about stupid gun laws, an expose of criminal behavior by a cop, and the usual assortment of fun range reports, showing off of new toys, etc.

Meanwhile, the Watcher’s Council’s latest vote-getters (or the list of all nominees) offer lots of worthwhile reading on topics ranging from U.S. history to black history to ancient religion to cartoons and ports. The winning council entry was Our George at Done With Mirrors, a nice tribute to Washington on his birthday. The winning non-council entry was Michael Totten’s The Beginning of the Universe, and it’s a terrific report on the Yezidis, non-Islamic Kurds practicing what they say is the oldest religion in the world. Totten had a fascinating interview with Baba Sheik, the Yezidi equivalent of the Pope:

Baba Sheikh apparently didn’t want me to think they were close-minded bigots. “We are a peaceful people,” he said. “We don’t interfere with others. We are the nation of generosity and kindness.”

He didn’t think that about everyone else in the region.

“72 times Muslims tried to conquer us,” he said. “Christians never once tried to conquer us. The Christians are wise, not like Muslims.”

Maybe even more fascinating than the glimpse into the world of the Yezidi was the glimpse of how Muslim Kurds think. Baba Sheik said some other unflattering things about Muslims during the interview, which was conducted through Totten’s Muslim Kurdish translator, Birzo. Birzo didn’t take offense or fly into a rage. After they left the Yezidi:

I asked Birzo if he found Baba Sheik’s comments about Islam and Muslims offensive.

“Of course not,” he said. “I understand his mentality and he understands mine. It’s okay. We are Kurds. Kurds don’t get upset about religion. We aren’t like Arabs. We believe in arguments based on reason, not emotion. If people don’t agree with me about something, I’m not going to get mad at them. We will just have different opinions.”

“I like the Yezidis,” I said.

“I do, too,” he said. “They are peaceful people, but they resisted Islam for so many centuries. You have to admire them.” I didn’t expect a Muslim to say that. Perhaps my expectations weren’t fair.

I liked the Yezidis, too. And I liked Totten’s piece so much I hit his tip jar. Go read it, and you too might want to do so.

On a totally different subject, What You Aren’t Supposed To Know: A DHS Port Security Fact Sheet by Dennis the Peasant is relatively short, but chock-full of information about how port security works and what the DP World deal really amounts to. After reading it, you’ll know the difference between ports and terminals, understand our "layered" approach to container shipping security, and see why terminal operations in this country are much less critical to our security than terminal operations in the foreign ports where shipments to the U.S. originate.

Also, go read Baldilocks’ Ports and Bigotry, which is sort of about ports, but more about looking into your own heart.

If you’re at all curious about what’s happened in the Scooter Libby case, check out Who Outed Valerie Plame? at Libertarian Leanings. It really is amazing — Libby’s indictment resulted from the investigation into who leaked Valerie Plame’s name to the press. Now, the judge in the case has ruled that information about an undisclosed person who was the original leaker isn’t relevant. Sure, this person was Bob Woodward’s source a month before Libby mentioned Plame, and thus may prove that Libby didn’t lie, but the judge figures that possibly exonerating Libby isn’t sufficient reason to "sully the source’s reputation," since the source hasn’t been indicted. My guess? The source must not have worked for Cheney. Probably a career (i.e., liberal, anti-administration) CIA or State Dept. employee.

On a much lighter note, Cultural Sensitivity 101 at One Cosmos presents some "wise old Islamic sayings" from the Muslim Book of Virtue by an Islamic Bill Bennett. Here’s a sample:

Sticks and stones will break your bones if your words should ever humiliate me.

If at first you don’t succeed, try, try, try to blame the Jews.

Good fences make it more difficult to kill your neighbors.

If it ain’t broke, that’s a good thing, because we have no idea how to fix it.

If you can’t beat ’em, at least try to kill and maim as many of their children as possible.

No word yet on whether irate mobs have gathered in front of Gagdad Bob’s house.

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I’m sorry I didn’t hear about this sooner. There’s sad news from the Libertarian Party:

Former Libertarian Party Presidential Candidate, noted scholar, and investment advisor Harry Browne died at his home in Franklin, TN on the night of March 1, 2006, after a long illness.

A well-known inspirational speaker and writer, Harry was the author of 12 books that sold more than 2 million copies. In 1996 and 2000, he was the Libertarian Party’s candidate for President of the United States, with popular vote totals of 485,798 and 384,431 respectively.

Harry was the founder of DownsizeDC.org, a non-profit group dedicated to reducing the size of government and forcing governmental institutions into compliance with the Constitution. He authored several popular books on the libertarian movement and philosophy including, Why Government Doesn’t Work and The Great Libertarian Offer. In addition to these works on Libertarianism, Harry wrote investment advice books including You Can Profit from a Monetary Crisis and Fail-Safe Investing.

During Harry Browne’s campaigns, he made appearances in almost every state and was credited with over 1,000 media appearances. He was often praised by the media, and won the endorsements of multiple talk-show hosts and journalists.

I spoke with Browne several times, and he was personable, charming, intelligent, and considerate — an old-fashioned gentleman. I’m sorry he had to die so soon (he was only 72).

Browne had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s disease), an incurable neurodegenerative illness leading to paralysis and death. 

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In my post about Overland High’s commie geography teacher Jay Bennish, I mentioned that some students rallied in support of Bennish and that ACLU attorney David Lane was suing on behalf of his First Amendment rights, and I wondered whether the students and Lane would defend all kinds of workplace speech equally.

I didn’t have to wonder long — this morning, Slapstick Politics pointed out a CBS4 (KCNC-TV) story from last night that seems calculated to offer a counterpoint to the Bennish incident. Since the story dates back to November, I suppose the Bennish story is the reason why this one’s suddenly getting some attention.

Mike Gray is a Public Works employee for Arapahoe County (where Overland High is located). He runs a lawn mowing business on the side, and often drives his truck and trailer to work. The trailer sports a sign promoting his business: "Lawn Services Done With Pride!! By An English Speaking American." Gray also wore, from time to time, a "U.S. Border Patrol" baseball cap from his son.  Arapahoe County has threatened to fire him:

Arapahoe County officials told Gray the sign and hat must go or else. In a Nov. 10, 2005, letter, his supervisor Monty Sedlak wrote the following:

"Some of your conduct … is reprehensible and discriminatory to our non-English speaking and/or Hispanic workforce. You are in violation of … guidelines which ensure a workplace free from harassment and sensitive to the diversity of employees."

"You are required to permanently remove your cap from the workplace. It is offensive and harassing. Your business sign, if on work premises, must be completely covered at all times. This behavior is inappropriate and any further incidents of this nature may result in further disciplinary action up to and including termination of employment."

Gray went looking for legal assistance and — surprise, surprise! — is getting it from the same David Lane who represents Jay Bennish:

Gray has hired attorney David Lane, who plans to file an injunction to allow the County worker to resume wearing his hat on the job and fully display his sign.

"What is of concern to me is whether the government of Arapahoe County is violating his Constitutional rights under the First Amendment," Lane said. "When the government tries to put a gag in people’s mouths because they don’t like the message that’s being delivered, I’d do everything in my power to stop that from happening."

I guess Lane is one of the old-fashioned ACLU types — a First Amendment absolutist — instead of one of the newer types who support suppression of "hate speech."

My take? The Bennish and Gray cases aren’t at all comparable. Threatening Gray over the lawn service sign is like telling Bennish he can’t have an "Impeach Bush" bumper sticker on his car — worse, really, since Gray’s sign is, except to the hyper-sensitive, no different than a sign that says, "Se habla Espanol." As for the cap, they can forbid that when they also prohibit other logo caps — Broncos, Rockies, Caterpillar, etc. Gray’s sign and cap aren’t related to the performance of his work.

Bennish’s anti-American rants, on the other hand, are precisely the performance of his work — or more properly, the failure to do so.

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Some people wondered why I didn’t jump right on the geography teacher story, since it happened right in my back yard. Frankly, when I heard the first news story Wednesday evening, my reaction was, "Another teacher spewing anti-Bush, anti-American rhetoric — ho hum."

For those who’ve missed the story: Overland High School (Aurora, CO) sophomore honors student Sean Allen grew tired of the frequent leftist rants from geography teacher Jay Bennish, so he recorded 20 minutes of one such rant on his MP3 player and played it for his father. The next thing you know, Sean was on radio station KOA’s Mike Rosen show (follow that link to listen to the rant itself or the Rosen show segment), and then Fox’s Hannity & Colmes. And the story’s been all over the news, talk radio, and the blogosphere ever since.

The Bennish rant is the usual leftist stuff: Bush’s State of the Union speech was "eerily like" a Hitler speech, the U.S. is a mass-murdering imperialist aggressor nation, capitalism is "at odds with humanity, at odds with caring and compassion, and at odds with human rights," the U.S. has committed thousands of "terrorist attacks" on Cuba, yada, yada, yada.

Keep in mind that Bennish is supposedly teaching geography — and that when these kids graduate (if they do), most of them won’t be able to locate Cuba or Iraq on a map.

On Thursday, about 150 disciples of Jay Bennish walked out of class in support of his "free speech" rights. I wonder how many of them would support the "free speech" rights of a teacher whose lectures included "deport all the Mexicans" or "Cindy Sheehan is a traitor" or "we should nuke Mecca"?

I was especially amused by the kid who told the reporter, "Mr. Bennish is just telling us the truth! [pause] And he always says it’s his opinion!" Riiight.

Sean Allen hasn’t returned to the school because he fears reprisals, and he may have to transfer. Bennish was put on leave with pay "to take some of the pressure off of him" while the school district investigates. He’s hired David Lane, who is Ward Churchill’s attorney, to file a First Amendment suit in federal court. I wonder if Lane would file suit on behalf of a teacher whose lectures included "deport all the Mexicans" or "Cindy Sheehan is a traitor" or "we should nuke Mecca"? (Actually, he probably would, if only for the publicity.) (UPDATE: Apparently, yes.)

Conservative Thinking has lots of quotes. Slapstic Politics has links to all the local news stories, audio, and video (with updates here). And of course, Michelle Malkin (who was in Denver) has been on top of the story. In fact, she transcribed the whole rant, if you’d rather read it than listen.

I guess I’m surprised that so many people are surprised. As Tom Sowell said, this is neither new nor unusual:

This kind of indoctrination is by no means restricted to Overland High School. School teachers, at all grades, often use their classroom for environmental, anti-war, anti-capitalist and anti-parent propaganda. …

Public education propaganda is often a precursor for what youngsters might encounter in college. UCLA’s Bruin Standard newspaper documents campus propaganda. Mary Corey, UCLA history professor, instructed her class, "Capitalism isn’t a lie on purpose. It’s just a lie," she continued, "[Capitalists] are swine. . . . They’re bastard people." Professor Andrew Hewitt, chairman of UCLA’s Department of Germanic Languages, told his class, "Bush is a moron, a simpleton, and an idiot." His opinion of the rest of us: "American consumerism is a very unique thing; I don’t think anyone else lusts after money in such a greedy fashion." Rod Swanson, economics professor, told his class, "The United States of America, backed by facts, is the greediest and most selfish country in the world." …

No, it’s not just all the Ward Churchills on college campuses. The high schools are full of Ward Churchills, too. Wake up, parents! In the teachers’ unions, the Kerry Democrats make up the right wing! If you’ve got kids in the public schools and this bothers you, you’d better get your kids out or get yourself actively involved. As Dr. Sowell says, it’s up to parents to help uncover this pervasive indoctrination and demand that it stop:

… At the K-12 schools, parents should show up at schools, PTAs and board of education meetings demanding that teachers teach reading, writing and arithmetic and leave indoctrination to parents. The most promising tool in the fight against teacher proselytization is the micro-technology available that can expose the academic misconduct.

Yeah, get your kid a small recording MP3 player.

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I’ve heard it on the TV or radio a bazillion times since the bombing of the golden-domed al-Askariya shrine in Samarra: "More deaths from sectarian violence today in Iraq…" The next sentence or phrase invariable mentions a suicide bomber or a car bomb. I then scream at the set, "That’s not sectarian violence, you moron — that’s Zarqawi’s goons!"

Of course, the reporters and editors and newsreaders aren’t really morons, so they must know that they’re being deceitful and irresponsible, and are undermining our war effort, when they describe every IED explosion, mortar attack, or other act of terror as if were part of Iraq’s inevitable descent into a Sunni-Shia civil war. But they do it anyway. Draw your own conclusions about their motives.

For a short and to-the-point contrary perspective from someone in Iraq, read Ralph Peters’ March 1 column in the New York Post (emphasis in original):

THE reporting out of Baghdad continues to be hysterical and dishonest. There is no civil war in the streets. None. Period.

Terrorism, yes. Civil war, no. Clear enough?

Yesterday, I crisscrossed Baghdad, visiting communities on both banks of the Tigris and logging at least 25 miles on the streets. With the weekend curfew lifted, I saw traffic jams, booming business — and everyday life in abundance.

Yes, there were bombings yesterday. The terrorists won’t give up on their dream of sectional strife, and know they can count on allies in the media as long as they keep the images of carnage coming. …

…

You are being lied to. By elements in the media determined that Iraq must fail. Just give ’em the Bronx cheer.

For an in-depth, multi-source, nuanced look at the whole situation, see this long Mudville Gazette roundup of news from Iraq, which includes a transcript of Prime Minister al-Ja’fari’s address to the country, televised within hours of the shrine bombing. I doubt that you saw or heard any of what he said in your newspaper or on your TV:

We were honored today by the visit of the heads of the Sunni Waqf Office and the Shiite Waqf Office. They are two gentle and good- willed persons. … I received our two brothers, along with a number of Shiite and Sunni scholars. We exchanged views and discussed the current situation and how to use Friday sermons in the best possible way to strengthen relations between the scholars, who will deliver Friday sermons in order to guide the people in this crisis. I listened to them as they talked about certain points. I did not find any difference between their positions with regard to the need to emphasize unity among Iraqis and to inform people of the importance of unity, particularly under these current circumstances.

…

During the talks we held today, we urged the brothers, who affirmed their desire to end the crisis, to not only try to resolve the crisis through Friday sermons, but also to depend on their good relations and to be present in each others’ mosques. There should be a Shiite presence in Sunni mosques, and there should be a Sunni presence in Shiite mosques. These efforts will support the efforts exerted by our scholars and religious authorities, who stressed the need for respecting the sanctity of mosques and people. Undoubtedly, there is a mutual feeling that some parties are trying to turn Iraqi national unity and sectarian coexistence into sectarian fighting. God willing, this crisis, with the help of the efforts made by our brothers, scholars, and preachers, will remind us that we should maintain Iraq’s unity.

And Greyhawk noted that those efforts were:

… about as successful as could possibly be expected. As American troops remained as far in the background as possible, the situation began to appear less like civil war, and more like ongoing violence.

 Regarding the plan to incite a civil war, Greyhawk concluded (emphasis added):

There was a step 4 to the plan, by the way. That would be the violent takfiri "response" to the desired Shiite response to the shrine bombing. While that Shiite response was less than anticipated, the response of the media met the planners expectations to the point they could move forward anyway, so we’re seeing elements of step 4 enacted now with continuing violence across Iraq. More people are dying, but no, you’re not seeing civil war.

And don’t offer undue credit to the American troops. You are seeing proof of what they all know to be true – violence is ongoing, but the Iraqis are increasingly capable of handling it themselves. A few more "civil wars" like this one and the troops will indeed be home.

Quagmire, my ass.

Meanwhile, Mickey Kaus over at Slate (not exactly part of the Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy) takes some pretty good shots at the Old Gray Lady’s breathless reporting of doom in Iraq (emphases and ellipses in original):

Excitable Times in Ruins! Did the New York Times really run a story last week headlined:

More Clashes Shake Iraq; Political Talks Are in Ruins

"Ruins"? Wow. That is embarrassing. … The hed was repeated in the story’s lede, which said that "political negotiations over a new government" were "in ruins." Funny thing, though–in today’s NYT, negotiations seem to be going on again. Those Iraqi "ruins" get picked up pretty quickly. … P.S.: I’m not saying Bill Keller’s** headline and lede writers were amping up the Iraq hysteria in order to manufacture another Tet. Maybe they just have no judgment or perspective. …

Ouch, that’s got to hurt. 🙂

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Yesterday, I wrote about how CBS News seems to use polling to shape public opinion, not to report it. Today, I want to look at how the New York Times reported the results of a NY Times / CBS News poll about the federal gasoline excise tax. Here’s the Times’ headline:

Americans Are Cautiously Open to Gas Tax Rise, Poll Shows

And here’s the lede of the story (emphasis added):

Americans are overwhelmingly opposed to a higher federal gasoline tax, but a significant number would go along with an increase if it reduced global warming or made the United States less dependent on foreign oil, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll.

Making it clear that this is an advocacy piece, the story continues this way (emphasis added):

The nationwide telephone poll, conducted Wednesday through Sunday, suggested that a gasoline tax increase that brought measurable results would be acceptable to a majority of Americans.

Neither the Bush administration nor Democratic Party leaders make that distinction. Both are opposed to increasing the gasoline tax as a means of discouraging consumption, although President Bush, in recent speeches, has called for the development of alternative energy to reduce dependence on foreign oil.

So there’s the Times’ message: the American people are decent, unselfish, and planet-loving enough to accept higher gas taxes for a noble cause, but their leaders are letting them down. Is that an accurate characterization? To find out, you have to look at the poll questions (PDF). When I did, I was immediately struck by how the questions manipulate a person who wants to think of himself as civic-minded and caring. I’ll paraphrase them to emphasize my point:

Would you favor a gas tax increase? 12% Favor
What if there were offsetting payroll or income tax cuts? 28% Favor
What if it cut our dependence on foreign oil, you selfish bastard? 55% Favor
Now we’re talking! What if it saved the planet? You want to save the planet, don’t you? 59% Favor
OK, let’s calm down. What if the tax increase were $2/gallon? 17% Favor
And it helped pay for the war on terrorism? 24% Favor

Notice how the first four questions form a progression that’s virtually guaranteed to produce increasing support numbers. Then they throw in the dash of cold water ($2/gallon) just in time to bring down the support number for financing the war.

People care what others think of them, even anonymous pollsters, and research has shown that people are much more likely to claim they practice "virtue" than to actually practice it. "I always pick up after my dog. I hardly ever eat junk food. I exercise vigorously four times a week. I want my taxes increased to make the world a better place for children and puppies — really, I do."

The poll did provide an indication of just how willing to pay higher taxes the respondents really are. Here’s the question:

In order to cut down on energy consumption and reduce global-warming, which would you prefer — requiring car manufacturers to produce cars that are more energy efficient OR imposing an increased federal tax on gasoline?

8% preferred the tax increase. Given a choice, only 8% opted for the solution that would cost them money. Of course, the Times story didn’t mention that question; it was too busy throwing carefully selected quotes from carefully selected respondents at you — quotes designed to reinforce the message of the story, that decent, unselfish, planet-loving people would be happy to pay higher gas taxes.

As for those of you who think cutting gasoline consumption is a pretty good idea — did you speak out in support of the gas price increases last fall? Or do you only support incentives to conserve when they benefit the government instead of the oil companies?

You know, the oil companies spend their increased revenue on exploration, infrastructure, research, and dividend payments to widows and orphans, while the government — well…

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This is not good news:

(CNN) — A cat in Germany has been infected with bird flu, health authorities said Tuesday.

The virus was discovered in a cat found dead on the island of Ruegen, in northern Germany, said Elke Reinking, press officer at the Friedrich Loeffler Institute on the island of Riems in northern Germany.

I think the concern — alarmism, actually — in the media over a bird flu pandemic has been overdone. But examples of species-jumping like this (and in the middle of Europe, not a Thai jungle) are worrisome. Do you have your emergency ribavirin and interferon supplies yet?

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The technical writers on the TECHWR-L (pronounced "tek-whirl") list have been tossing out suggestions for the most annoying words, phrases, and expressions. People have proposed all the usual suspects that turn up in buzzword bingo, plus the usage errors that set their teeth on edge (such as "contact Mary or I"). After John Posada proposed the word ubiquitous, Ned Bedinger related something that just totally cracked me up:

True story:  Some v-e-r-y smart smurfs at Sun announced at the first Java One conference that their goal for Java was to be "ubiquitous everywhere." 

I swear it brought tears to my eyes.

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The latest public opinion poll by CBS News and the way it’s been reported make it pretty clear (if there was still any doubt) that the major legacy media organizations use polling not to discover public opinion but to help shape it. The CBS poll has been trumpeted in every newscast and front page since its release: the President’s poll numbers have plummeted to an all-time low. Americans are unhappy with his performance across a broad range of issues and disagree with him about just about everything.

Never mind that the poll sampled far more Democrats (40%) than Republicans (28%) — after all, they did adjust the results so that the Dem advantage was only 37% – 28%. And never mind that it’s a poll of adults — not likely voters, or registered voters, or eligible voters, or citizens, or even just legal residents — any adult with a pulse and an ability to grunt responses would do for their purposes.

To really judge the quality and fairness of such a poll, you have to look at the questions (PDF). And CBS News makes that somewhat difficult. You see, the questions leading up to a given question can have a profound influence on how people respond to it. In other words, to judge the fairness and evaluate the results of question 30, it helps to look at questions 26-29. Well, too bad — questions 26-29 are "held for future release." In fact, quite a few questions are either "held for future release" or "held for separate release" (I have no idea what the subtle distinction is, or whether all the questions in both categories will eventually be made public): questions 13, 17-18, 24, 26-29, 32, 34-49, 66-71, and 76 (20 more are marked "blank").

Sometimes, however, you don’t have to hunt for subtle methods of biasing the results. Sometimes, they just plain lie right there in the question. For example, here’s question 55 (emphasis added):

After 9/11, George W. Bush authorized government wiretaps on some phone calls in the U.S. without getting court warrants. Do you approve or disapprove of George W. Bush doing this?

Just 46% approved (it went up to 51% when they added they phrase "saying this was necessary in order to reduce the threat of terrorism" to the first sentence). But does that question truthfully describe what Bush authorized? I don’t think so.

The CBS wording implies specific wiretaps on individual phone lines. As I understand it, the NSA program was both broader and much less specific — it monitored/screened multiple forms of communications (phone, email, text message, fax, etc.), but didn’t specifically target a given person or line (in fact, the government went to the FISA court for warrants against specific persons in the U.S. when evidence developed by the broad screening justified it).

But more egregiously, the CBS wording clearly suggests that Bush authorized the targeting and interception of calls within the U.S. That’s just plain dishonest. The communications that were monitored had to either originate from or terminate to a known al Qaeda operative outside the U.S.

There’s only one way both ends of a monitored communication could be in the U.S.: if an al Qaeda member flew from, say, Pakistan to the U.S. and while here, used a cell phone, email account, etc., activated in and apparently based in Pakistan, but unbeknownst to the NSA, temporarily in the U.S. I think that’s neither likely nor, if it did happen, a substantive violation of the restriction on domestic surveillance.

I’d rephrase the question like this:

After 9/11, President Bush authorized government monitoring of communications between known al Qaeda members in foreign countries and people in the United States without getting court warrants. Do you approve or disapprove of President Bush doing this?

Do you think the number who approve might be higher if the question were asked this way?

Which wording is more honest?
 

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Kentucky Dan has posted Carnival of Liberty #34 over at Committees of Correspondence. Looks like lots of interesting posts. If you have plenty of time on your hands, go read them all. Then tell me which ones you recommend for the person who needs to prioritize and pick out just a few choice morsels from the whole bowl of stew. 🙂

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Recently, I’ve been the recipient of a couple of "viral marketing" efforts. I’m happy to encourage the recognition of blogs as a vehicle, so I’ll give them both the mention and link that I presume they wanted.

The first one’s from a company named MatrixStream, and it’s a professional effort. They’re selling IPTV (internet protocol TV), both streaming (real-time) and VOD (video on demand, i.e., download for later viewing). They make some pretty impressive claims regarding the superior quality available with their proprietary, patent-pending technology, including the ability to deliver DVD- and HD-quality video over a broadband connection (min. 1.5Mbps) to a set-top box or a PC-based software player.

MatrixStream’s primary customers — and presumably the focus of their marketing efforts — are broadband service providers to whom they want to sell their end-to-end IPTV solution — servers, technology, and set-top boxes. So why should you, the average blog reader who doesn’t own a cable, satellite, or DSL company, be at all interested in them? Well, because they’ve partnered with one of their clients, Movie99.tv, to let you try their PC-based player software and watch some movies and trailers for free.

Obviously, they’re hoping you’ll be so impressed that you’ll want to get your movies this way, instead of by driving to the video store or waiting for the DVD to arrive in the mail. Maybe they’re hoping that you’ll bug your broadband provider to offer this service via the slick-looking high-definition (up to 1080p) IMX 1020 HD set-top box at right.

I haven’t tried the Movie99 player and service yet, and probably won’t until I get my act together and get my Windows Media Center PC set up and connected to my Samsung HDTV — I don’t particularly want to watch movies on my PC.

If you try Movie99, let us know what you think in the comments. Don’t forget that you need a 1.5Mbps pipe. If you’re stuck at 256kbps, forget it. If you’re still on dial-up –wow, how last century. 😉

The second viral marketing solicitation I received is a much more modest, non-professional effort: Don Hagen asked me to mention THE SATIRICAL POLITICAL BELIEFS ASSESSMENT TEST. Why, sure, Don! I think it goes on for too long, but there are some funny items, and readers can sample as much or as little as they like.

The test consists of 179 (!) multiple-choice questions, each of which has a conservative, liberal, libertarian, and communist answer. Here’s an example:

10: What techniques are best for maintaining discipline in the classroom?

CONS: If just one student misbehaves, severely punish the entire class.

LIBL: Force boys who refuse to settle down to take psychotropic drugs, such as Ritalin and Prozac.

LBRT: Anyone who doesn’t want to be in class can leave.

COMM: Anyone who doesn’t want to be in class can be made an example of.

Not bad. Take a look, I’ll bet you find some you like.

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Check out Friday’s winning entries from the Watcher’s Council (nominees here). The two top vote-getters provide sort of a Democrat theme. The winning council entry does so explicitly, as Right Wing Nuthouse’s The "Happy Warrior" Is Weeping In His Grave is a paen to Hubert Humphrey. I don’t share Rick’s deep admiration for Humphrey (I remember the 1964 speech he found so captivating, and I think it was grating and tiresome), but he’s right about the Democratic Party (and especially the DFL in Minnesota) having gone downhill since the Humphrey days. It would be difficult to find a high-ranking Democrat who’d say this today:

"Certainly one of the chief guarantees of freedom under any government, no matter how popular and respected, is the right of citizens to keep and bear arms. This is not to say that firearms should not be very carefully used, and that definite safety rules of precaution should not be taught and enforced. But the right of citizens to bear arms is just one more guarantee against arbitrary government, and one more safeguard against a tyranny which now appears remote in America, but which historically has proved to be always possible."
— Sen. Hubert Humphrey

The winning non-council entry evokes Democrats simply by being at Dinocrat.com, which is "dedicated to DINO’s" (Democrats in name only). Interesting blog — I’ll keep an eye on it. The winning post has the unwieldy title How Does the Modern World Look When You Have Done Nothing To Help Create It, and Innovation Is a Threat To Cherished Beliefs? In it, Jack points out how fundamentally the Islamic and Western cultures differ:

… We take it for granted that people are fiddling around in their garages inventing oscilloscopes or wonder drugs or extreme sports. But what would it be like to live in a land where people invented nothing, where technology came to you as though from Mars? More than this: what if that constant progress and tinkering represented a threat to the sufficiency of the founding documents of your culture and religion? …

According to Jack, the entire Islamic world (over a billion people) has recorded fewer patents in its entire history than the residents of Utah (2.4 million) recorded last year. A follow-up post provided an interesting graph of the top 25 patent-producing countries (per capita, adjusted for GDP). The U.S. is, of course, far out in front. The next five are Japan, India, China, Germany, and Korea.

This list demonstrates that the superiority of Western Civilization has nothing to do with the European genetic heritage or some geographic advantage. Twenty years ago, China didn’t even have a patent law or a concept of intellectual property, and in that short time period, it’s vaulted into 4th place. The Asian countries that adopted Western values rank near the top, while predominantly Muslim Indonesia and Malaysia rank near the bottom.

No, you don’t have to be of European ancestry to create wealth, progress, and modernity, but you do have to embrace Western values — reason, science, free thinking, and at least a minimal level of property rights and economic liberty to reward innovation and entrepreneurship. And you have to forcefully reject the madmen who want to stone or behead anyone who doesn’t conform to their 7th-century values and beliefs.

Unless you prefer poverty, squalor, death, disease, and misery.

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On Tuesday, one of my favorite liberals, Christopher Hitchens, posted a brilliant and impassioned column entitled "Stand Up for Denmark!" at Slate.com. Needless to say, you should read the whole thing, but this gives you a sense:

… A small democratic country with an open society, a system of confessional pluralism, and a free press has been subjected to a fantastic, incredible, organized campaign of lies and hatred and violence, extending to one of the gravest imaginable breaches of international law and civility: the violation of diplomatic immunity. And nobody in authority can be found to state the obvious and the necessary—that we stand with the Danes against this defamation and blackmail and sabotage. Instead, all compassion and concern is apparently to be expended upon those who lit the powder trail, and who yell and scream for joy as the embassies of democracies are put to the torch in the capital cities of miserable, fly-blown dictatorships. Let’s be sure we haven’t hurt the vandals’ feelings.
…

Denmark is a fellow member of NATO and a country that sends its soldiers to help in the defense and reconstruction of Iraq and Afghanistan. And what is its reward from Washington? Not a word of solidarity, but instead some creepy words of apology to those who have attacked its freedom, its trade, its citizens, and its embassies. For shame. Surely here is a case that can be taken up by those who worry that America is too casual and arrogant with its allies. I feel terrible that I have taken so long to get around to this, but I wonder if anyone might feel like joining me in gathering outside the Danish Embassy in Washington, in a quiet and composed manner, to affirm some elementary friendship. Those who like the idea might contact me at christopher.hitchens@yahoo.com, and those who live in other cities with Danish consulates might wish to initiate a stand for decency on their own account.

Today, Hitchens and a modest group of supporters, including Cliff May, Andrew Sullivan, and Bill Kristol, held a peaceful rally at the Danish Embassy. Vital Perspective has nice pictures. So does Vodkapundit, although Stephen Green complained — and rightly so — that his photo source didn’t provide the critical component of successful rally photoblogging:

Hey, what’s a protest without some hot protest babes? And where are those pictures, Chris? Huh?

But the attendees had some clever and funny signs (the title of this post is one of them). Here’s my favorite, from Vital Perspective:

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