Author: Marc

I have read On the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin. I found it a profound work. I really need to automate my searches, because I ended up digging back over three years to find my review of that book. I failed to note perhaps the most important single consequence of that book. And it wasn't science. In the early 19th Century, most naturalists were deists. The writings of scientists like Thomas Jefferson and political philosophers like Thomas Paine reflect a disdain for religion, but a belief in the existence of a greater being. Up to that point, no overarching theory provided an adequate explanation for the diversity of flora and fauna throughout the world.

What changed with Darwin?

To begin with, Darwin took great pains to document supporting evidence in excruciating detail prior to presenting each individual conclusion. In this manner, he was able to answer most challenges before they were even presented to him. The careful reader would be hard pressed to find any thesis without support. Next, Darwin was very reserved in the presentation of just how certain his conclusions were. In many cases, he seemed to invite others to attempt to disprove points. Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, he actively avoided any wording overtly attacking religion. This forced critics to make unsupported claims in order to attack Darwin. By that time, however, he had become such a giant among the great minds of the day that friends like Huxley were able to eloquently and decisively swat down detractors like so many flies.

While no claims were made by Darwin as to the origin of life, science was now able to explain so much of the natural world as to render a "creator" superfluous. Darwin allowed the intellectual a reasoned means for dispensing even with the "deist" cloak.

Author: Marc

I have been drowning in media recently. I had already noted that the books currently in my possession have probably already exceeded my lifespan. But then I realized that I should just as well cancel my New York Times subscription. It is true that the Old Gray Lady is one of the few non-right wing publications left in the country. Unfortunately, they squander what integrity they have by employing "opinion journalists" (an oxymoron if ever I heard one) like David Brooks, Maureen Dowd, and Ross Douthat.

The last is really the tipping point. Brooks and Dowd are each wrong about 70-80% of time* with their 8th-grade-level discourse. Amazingly, with Douthat (and William Kristol before him) the failure rate approaches 100%. Brooks and Dowd (sounds like a terrifyingly bad country duo) occasionally pull off a well-reasoned or even eloquent column. There is no danger of that with Douthat. Beyond his poor writing skills, his pattern of thought bleeds into every paragraph. The pattern, that is, of a naive and pampered child of privilege who truly believes in the fantasy worlds of right-wing nuts.

I would say that Douthat seems to have an above-average intelligence. I don't mean he is in the same league as Brooks and Dowd, either of whom might actually present a bit of a challenge in a debate. Rather, I mean that he is not literally stupid like Glenn Beck or Sean Hannity. His writing suffers most dramatically from his profound naivete. He cannot write an article without betraying a profoundly limited lack of awareness of the world around him. He seems to really believe in the existence of the same kind of Randian fantasyland as The Atlantic's phenomenally ill-informed Megan McArdle.

Of course, I have provided no support for my allegations. This is not hypocrisy. If I claimed to be a journalist or if I accepted a six-figure salary as a journalist, I would do so. The sad part is that the sequestered child in Mr. Douthat will not ever be required to maintain anything like journalistic standards. So I will cancel my subscription.


*Note: see how I slyly snuck in a completely made-up number? That is what opinion journalists do for a living: make up statistics in support of their conclusions. Some would consider this estimate generous to Bobo and MoDo, but each has been known to produce quality articles. I defy anyone to produce a single Douthat article that does not present a profoundly insupportable conclusion.

Author: Marc

Robert Farley over at Lawyers, Guns & Money has an article that points to today's New York Times, Senators Warned of Terror Attack on U.S. by July:

At Tuesday’s hearing, Senator Dianne Feinstein, Democrat of California and chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, asked Mr. Blair to assess the possibility of an attempted attack in the United States in the next three to six months.

He replied, “The priority is certain, I would say” — a response that was reaffirmed by the top officials of the C.I.A. and the F.B.I.

Author: Marc

Yesterday, I read through the entire left Blogosphere about Ross Douthat's most recent literary abortion. He managed to make himself look even more of a clown than usual. His thesis? It was something like this:

The baby-killing feminists are big jerks for gloating that the recent uptick in teen pregnancy is probably due to the Bush Administration's hundreds of millions in spending on "abstinence only" sex education programs. But I think it wasn't. Also, girls are icky.

Author: Marc

We have recently added a few items, one to Events: Cirque du Chine, and two to to Restaurants: Great American Land & Cattle Company and Pancake Alley.

Author: Marc

The Road is very different from most post-apocalyptic tales. On the surface, it is more realistic in that humans would be generally few and far between several years after a civilization-ending catastrophe. That is an unusual approach, but the undefined event has caused a nuclear winter-type of climate which may or may not be the reason that all or nearly all flora have died. Aside from the background, this is basically a tale of a man trying to get his small son to safety. In a time of absolute uncertainty, however, this is a journey with no known destination. Rather, the drive is to the direction of south.

He kept the boy close to his side. The city was mostly burned. No sign of life. Cars in the street caked with ash, everything covered with ash and dust. Fossil tracks in the dried sludge. A corpse in a doorway dried to leather. Grimacing at the day. He pulled the boy closer.

Author: Marc

Sometimes I think I work with a great group of professionals who are respected throughout our organization.

Other times, they make things like this:

Note that it has sound. (Right click and select play)
...Sigh...