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6.16.2001 11:27 PM A Trotskyist group of screamers is trying to take over the Oakland, CA teachers' union. What teachers' union president Sheila Quintana doesn't realize is that her radical opponents are just taking ideas and values she subscribes to to their logical conclusion. "Class Struggle" [via Metafilter] Sean Hackbarth | 10:55 PM Bret Stephens finds little real anti-American opposition in Europe. All the anger is from a small group of protesters, Leftist politicians, and publicity-seekers. So, while the average European isn't filled with rage toward Bush and the U.S., European Union propellerheads fear General Electric and oppose its merger with Honeywell. "GE/Honeywell Merger at La Mort's Door?" "Europe Doesn't Hate Bush" Sean Hackbarth | 3:50 PM Jesse Helms: staunch conservative Senator and U2 fan. "Sen. Helms Takes in U2 Concert" [via Drudge] Sean Hackbarth | 6.14.2001 10:08 PM Labeling egg cartons won't stop free-wheeling lawyers from filing lawsuits. Look at the tobacco industry. Waiter, make mine over-easy. I like to dunk my toast into the yummy gooey goodness. "Beware of Danger by the Dozens" Sean Hackbarth | 10:02 PM The next thing we'll find out is that breathing (exhaling to be exact) causes pollution. It's all that carbon dioxide we expel. "Candles Now Blamed for Earth's Pollution" [via Drudge] Sean Hackbarth | 9:57 PM Professional athletes seem to be overwhelmingly conservative. John Solomon wonders why. Some of the great quotes he got include Charles Barkley explaining to his grandmother why he's for the GOP ("Grandma, we are rich.") and Arturs Irbe from formerly communist Latvia ("The Democrats are for big government. I experienced that, and I didn't like it."). "Sweep Right" [via Metafilter] Sean Hackbarth | 1:46 AM Andrew Solomon's The Noonday Demon radiates with knowledge and understanding. Combining detailed horrendous experiences of his own depression with science, medicine, history, and anecdote, he offers a very human picture of this debilitating mental illness. If it's self-help you want, this book isn't for you. It's self-reflection because The Noonday Demon provides a broader understanding for those suffering from depression (or "The Blues" as I like to call it). Solomon's personal reflections can offer sufferers a vocabulary for explaining and dealing with own demons. For those who don't suffer from depression, the book offers insight into the irrational dispair the depressed suffer. From that, a greater empathy can be realized. At the end of the book, Solomon finds his daily choice to live to be invigorating. He knows his demon will never leave, but he draws strength from it to appreciate his own life. "Down but Never Out" Sean Hackbarth | 6.13.2001 1:47 PM With the most powerful politician in Wisconsin history off in Washington, D.C., state Democrats are going after one of Tommy Thompson's most important legacies: school choice. The Democratic-controlled State Senate slashed the voucher amount in half and capped the total number of kids who can take advantage of educational competition. The Democrats can crow all they want about how they want to protect public schools "for the children," but they neglect to help those kids who's lives could be seriously changed if they were allowed to escape shameful public schools. They don't care about the children; they care about the teachers' union that opposes any competition to the monopoly they control. "Senate Democrats Cut Choice Payments in Half" Sean Hackbarth | 1:39 PM In one of the worst ideas I've heard in years, Eric Hufschmid, wants nationalized software development.
I want to make two points. First, there isn't a serious problem with desktop operating systems. Sure, I wish Windows was more stable, and it could use more features. But software is a complex creature. While Moore's Law pushes processor performance to higher levels all the time, software development lags because it's hard dealing with a very complex end user--us. Better software development tools are needed to more quickly and effectively make complex programs. Nationalizing Windows source code would not bring about the torrent of new developers Hufschmid. After seeing Microsoft's crown jewels ripped away from them, what developer would want to create a popular program used by millions. There would be a legitimate fear that the government would steal it in the name of the "public good." Second, Hufschmid doesn't seem to acknowledge that analogous to "market failure" ("free enterprise is not practical with desktop operating systems") there is "government failure." In Hufschmid's limited model, the public sector can do no wrong. But how I wish that weren't the case. Government schools are pumping out uneducated children across the country; municipal water utilities dump raw sewage into lakes; over $5 trillion has been spent on the war on poverty since 1964, yet the poverty rate is about the same. Government failure exists, and to think such failure wouldn't happen with administrating Windows source code is beyond naïveté. If you really want to see a screwed up software industry, ask the same institution that runs the IRS to manage software development. I'll trust Bill Gates over any burearcrat or politician any day of the week. "GPL vs. Linux" Sean Hackbarth | 6.12.2001 1:56 PM In the world of Leslie James Pickering "property is not human. It is not violent to destroy property." So destroying research labs is justified to protect the planet from those "making a profit off the destruction of the natural environment." "Eco-Terrorist Attacks Prompt Federal Action" Sean Hackbarth | 6.11.2001 2:06 AM Art should be about examining the human condition. This piece of bad black humor only makes me want to examine the artist's anti-Catholic sentiments. [via Robot Wisdom] Sean Hackbarth | 1:01 AM The Christian Science Monitor is right when they mention that President Bush will have a tough time convincing the Europeans that he is a free-trader while backing possible imported steel sanctions. But remember, his European counterparts who love to subsidize domestic industries aren't pure free-traders either. "Protectionist Bush?" Sean Hackbarth | 6.10.2001 11:32 PM I joked to a friend who is spending the week in Washington State to watch out for earthquakes. Me and my big mouth. "Moderate Quake Hits Western Washington" Sean Hackbarth | 11:27 PM Janet Reno has announced that she will run for governor in Florida. Ooops! Maybe not. "Janet Reno to Run in Florida Governor's Race in 2002" Sean Hackbarth | |
ABOUT When I'm not pondering the fate of the universe, I'm reading, writing, or selling books. Here you'll find comments on politics, culture, books, and music. Not necessarily in that order. MAILBOX sean--at--theamericanmind.com  Support democracy and human rights in Iraq! 
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