Friday, January 23, 2004 Clinton in Davos By Diana Hsieh @ 6:03 PM Bill Clinton actually had some true and useful things to say in Davos, according to the hard-to-please Jay Nordlinger: Speaking of the discontents of the world, he noted that terrorism is not necessarily "caused" by poverty, because so many of the terrorists are not poor — in fact, some of them are downright rich. This is elementary for you and me, but it was good for this crowd to hear it, particularly from the idolized Clinton. He noted that one response to globalization is to revert to a tribalism, or a primitivism — people around the world have done that. He said that "the anti-globalization people" have some valid criticisms, but they tend to mourn a past that probably never existed. Was there ever a time when economies were localized and perfectly self-sustaining? He quoted Will Rogers, whom he said was a big figure during his youth in Arkansas. You know the old line: "I lived in the so-called good ol' days, and the good ol' days ain't never was." (Forgive me if I don't have the vernacular just right. And this bit on Carly Fiorina's talk is well worth noting: On to Carly Fiorina: She is CEO of Hewlett Packard, and she speaks in crisp, clear English. It is almost completely devoid of international-conference-speak, which is refreshing. She is like a cool glass of verbal water. But what is the content of that water? She says that "the fundamental objective" of her company — the fundamental objective, mind you! — is not "to make money" but "to do good," "to be a good international citizen." When she says "make money," she makes it sound so dirty. She borrows the old Quaker business about not just doing well but doing good. Fine and dandy, of course, but I find myself wishing — not for the first time — that businessmen would be a little less defensive and more self-confident. They have nothing to apologize for. Does Hewlett Packard want to do good? Then let it invent and manufacture products that people need — or want, or that make their lives better — and sell them at affordable prices. That is doing good. I hate to be more pro-Hewlett Packard than the CEO of Hewlett Packard, but . . . I tell you, I would wet my pants with joy if one of these people, at one of these conferences, said, "You know? People like Henry Ford and Bill Gates have done more for humanity than any thousand soi-disant benefactors-of-humanity put together." I'd like to see that too, although I probably wouldn't wet my pants with joy. Link / Noodles / Trackback Thursday, January 22, 2004 Reason #828272 By Diana Hsieh @ 9:07 PM Reason #848172 why the US government should not send a manned mission to Mars: We can't even keep in contact with our rovers. As entranced as I am by space travel, what a #$%&@ waste of taxpayer dollars. (And isn't Spirit the third rover lost in short order?) Update: Spirit isn't dead yet, merely critical. Well now, that's a relief! Link / Noodles / Trackback Wanted: More By Diana Hsieh @ 8:28 PM For all my disagreements with Andrew Sullivan, I wish that more Republicans were like him, i.e. fiscal conservatives, social/cultural liberals and foreign policy hawks. That would be a Republican Party I could vote for. Andrew writes: Well, I've never tried to please everyone with this blog but the torrent of abuse and mockery yesterday because of my criticisms of the SOTU caused me a little grief. According to many Republicans, I'm selling out to the "hard left." According to some Democrats, I've finally seen the light, ha, ha, ha. How about applying principles to changing events and circumstances? It says something about what has happened to the Republican party that supporting fiscal responsibility is now the position of the "hard left." And it says something about some Democrats that you either have to hate this president or love him unconditionally. Why can't a grown-up have a complicated position? I'm a fiscal conservative, social/cultural liberal and foreign policy hawk. Neither party provides a comfortable home for people like me. I supported Clinton in 1992, backed Dole on moral grounds in 96 and opposed impeachment. I backed Bush (narrowly) in 2000. The war made my support for Bush stronger than I ever expected. I still admire his courage during that terrible time and respect his tenacity against terror. This time, I'm leaning toward Bush for those reasons but appalled by his fiscal recklessness, worried by his coziness with the religious far right, and concerned that he has no forward strategy in the war. I'm equally concerned about the obvious irresponsibility of the Democrats on national security (and spending) at a time of great peril. But at least they're not going to bait gays and nominate judges like [Charles] Pickering. So I'm stuck, and trying to figure things out as I go along. Hence my attempt to look at the Democratic candidates as possible presidents and subject my support for Bush to further scrutiny. Why is that such a crime? Isn't part of what's wrong with our politics that this kind of weighing of options has become so taboo? Personally, I'd vote for Joe Lieberman for President in a heartbeat. Unlike most Democrats, he's not an appeaser of terrorists and tyrants. He's a moderate Democrat, so his policy ideas aren't consistently, revoltingly socialist, merely often bad. And most importantly, the Republicans in Congress would block all of the silly spending plans he might propose, whereas they've fallen all over themselves to pass whatever Bush proposes. Long live gridlock! Sadly, Lieberman has little chance of winning the nomination, so I'll likely not vote for anyone for President. Bush's fiscal irresponsibility is just too much to bear. Link / Noodles / Trackback Give Me a Break! By Diana Hsieh @ 6:10 PM I've long been a big fan of John Stossel's work, including his shorter but more frequent segments on 20/20 of late. I particularly enjoy his crafty method of exposing the idiocy of the positions he opposes without seeming partisan. So reading this review got me quite excited to read his new book Give Me a Break : How I Exposed Hucksters, Cheats, and Scam Artists and Became the Scourge of the Liberal Media.... Link / Noodles / Trackback Wednesday, January 21, 2004 Math and Literature By Diana Hsieh @ 12:48 AM The similarities between the problems of graduate education in literature and in mathematics are more substantial than you might think: too much emphasis on novelty, too little on understanding the established wisdom. I worry about such problems in philosophy, although the problems don't seem nearly as acute as those in either math or literature. Then again, perhaps that's because so much history of philosophy doesn't count as "established wisdom." (Really, I jest. Graduate education in philosophy ought to be more focused on either the foundational issues or the historical giants.) Critical Mass has also been blogging on the problems associated with the attrition rate in graduate school. Erin's original post is here, with stories from readers here. As a side note, I'm really glad to see so much blogging on academic issues; it's really quite helpful to me as a grad student. (And I'm not just interested in academic philosophy blogging, as this post indicates. I find the similarities and differences between philosophy and other disciplines quite fascinating.) So thanks to all the academic bloggers... the more you grouse, the happier I am! Link / Noodles / Trackback Tuesday, January 20, 2004 Sidewalk Art By Diana Hsieh @ 11:44 PM Wowowow. You'll find completely amazingly wonderous sidewalk chalk drawings on the top and bottom of this page. Link / Noodles / Trackback Grad Lounge Discussion By Diana Hsieh @ 11:27 PM Today in the philosophy grad lounge, a discussion ensued in which a number of my fellow grad students lamented the fact that the none of the Democrats candidates for president are really liberal, well except perhaps for Dennis Kucinich. Massive cultural gaps can be so entertaining. Link / Noodles / Trackback Sunday, January 18, 2004 Inclusion By Diana Hsieh @ 8:10 PM Michael Lopez of Highered Education has a very interesting and disturbing post on the push to "include" (not merely mainstream) severly retarded children in regular classrooms. Sadly, his analysis of the motives (self-deception about the true nature and capacities of these children) and consequences (mockery of the few capacities that such children do have) rings true. Link / Noodles / Trackback John Lewis in Denver By Diana Hsieh @ 11:15 AM A most welcome announcement from Lin Zinser: John Lewis will be the first speaker of the Front Range Objectivist Supper Talks on Saturday, January 31, 2004. FROST is planning to host these supper talks six times a year. It will be hosted at the West Woods Golf Club at 6655 Quaker, Arvada, Colorado (a suburb of Denver, Colorado) and will cost $45.00 per person. (The price is $35 for students.) There will be a social hour beginning at 6:00 pm, followed by buffet dinner at 7:00 and John's talk at 8:00. Anyone is welcome (even non-Objectivists who you think might be interested). Please contact Lin Zinser for details at lin@zinser.com or snail-mail your reservation and check to 8700 Dover Court, Arvada, CO 80005. You may also call her at 303.431.2525. Below is a lecture abstract prepared by Dr. Lewis. *** Important Note: Please RSVP to Lin Zinser by January 25th, as she needs to order the dinners in advance. *** The Failure of the Homeland Defense: Lessons from History John Lewis Jan 31, 2003 Lecture Abstract With the creation of a cabinet-level Department of Homeland Defense, America has accepted a permanent, institutionalized state of siege on its own soil. But is this the correct strategy? This lecture examines several cases from history, asking what has happened when great nations, facing attack, have turned to defense rather than offense. The results are unequivocal: the only defense is a good offense. America should project her military beyond her borders, into the enemy's homeland, and should leave her cities free and open, as demonstrations of the power and success of freedom. But this strategic lesson depends upon deeper factors. A nation must understand, and focus on, its self-interest; the military must then be allowed to win. A nation under attack must not exempt those who start a war from its consequences; the psychological will of the enemy to continue the fight must be destroyed along with its physical resources. There is a deep connection between intellectual clarity, moral certainty, and the offensive strategy needed to defeat a ruthless enemy. Only Ayn Rand's philosophy of Objectivism provides the moral foundations needed to succeed against the threats we face today. Biography Dr. John Lewis is Assistant Professor of History at Ashland University, Ashland, Ohio. He is holder of an Anthem Fellowship for Objectivist Scholarship. He is also active as an Objectivist speaker and writer, publishing in The Intellectual Activist and lecturing at conferences. His PhD is in Classics from the University of Cambridge, and his BA in History from the University of Rhode Island. He has taught Ancient History at the University of London, and is a visiting scholar at Rice University and Bowling Green State University. Link / Noodles / Trackback

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