The 4,317,000 births in 2007 just edged out the figure for 1957, at the height of the baby boom. The increase reflected a slight rise in childbearing by women of all ages, including those in their 30s and 40s, and a record share of births to unmarried women. But in contrast with the culturally transforming [...]
Posts from ‘March, 2009’
Retreating from reality
It’s not what happens out there in reality land; it’s what I want to happen. And by our weird logic, this “I” is not our physical brain but some weird metaphysical creation that even atheist liberals believe in. When we go online, each of us is our own editor, our own gatekeeper. We select the [...]
Liberalism was originally designed to pacify the middle class
Fascinating book, fascinating review: Social conditions by 1848 had piled up tinder for a conflagration. Resentments over everything from unemployment and taxes to labor demands on peasants — not to mention the aspirations among regional elites for greater autonomy — had rallied support for revolution. But transforming myriad grievances into positive program proved difficult. Tocqueville [...]
To the smart young people who recognize our civilization is failing
You will either agree, or disagree, with the statement that this civilization is failing. Having met and known and number of highly intelligent people, especially the young, I have had first hand contact with the belief that this civilization is failing. Items of contention: Idiots always win by sheer number, and stupid ideas win because [...]
Anti-racism for Conservatives
The principle of conservatism is that we conserve, or protect and nurture, the good things in life. What’s good generally doesn’t change through the years. We will always like brave, honest, forthright, honorable, gentle, assertive, intelligent, healthy, attractive and morally upright people. We will also always like the great works of culture from ancient Rome [...]
Evolution versus Creation: a false dilemma
A common logical fallacy is bifurcation: distill a complex scenario into two logical choices, and try to force your audience to pick one. “Have you stopped beating your wife yet? Answer YES or NO only.” “Are you Progressive, or a regressive truck-driving beer-chewing trailer-dwelling redneck uneducated impoverished neanderthal racist?” “Are you pro-Zionazism or anti-Semitic?” All [...]
Anyone but ourselves is to blame
In a desperate attempt to come up with a politically-acceptable scapegoat for the recession, Pam Martens attributes this to Jon Stewart: For example, the mortgage and debt securities were, in reality, junk bonds but they were traded as triple A. Counterpunch Wait a second: when the economy was booming, and all of us seemed to [...]
Sexual liberation makes bad sex
Only one in four women and one in three men enjoy 100 per cent sexual satisfaction following a romp beneath the sheets. Women’s biggest complaint is that men lack imagination and go through the same routine time and time again. Men reckon most women are in too much of a rush to get things over [...]
Europe faces beaucoups ethnic unrest
Not to say “I told you so,” but: Two out of three serious teenage criminals are children of parents born outside the Netherlands. In most cases, no prison sentence is imposed, it emerges from a study sent to parliament by Justice Minister Ernst Hirsch Ballin. Only just over one-third (37 percent) of the convicted youngsters [...]
How we’ll move into tyranny
Plato predicted that democracies, by splintering the consensus that founds a civilization into atoms formed of individual wills, become so chaotic that at some point, tyranny is desired by the citizens and so comes to pass. Every civilization has a life cycle, from birth to death, says Plato. At birth, it has the simplest form [...]
