Required Reading

I have to tell you, the pickings on the internets were slim today. Normally I have twenty open windows from which to choose the Required Reading list. Today, I had three. As you may have inferred, that means some of what follows isn’t exactly pressing business. 1) From the blog “Just One Minute,” We Interrupt This Orgy of Self-Congratulation…” by Tom Maguire. If you’re not reading Maguire every day, you should be. Here, he deconstructs a research paper that concludes that more lefties read conservative blogs than righties read liberal blogs. The study begs an obvious conclusion, and one much celebrated in the liberal blogosphere – liberals are better people than conservatives. Sadly, Maguire shows that the study’s reasoning is flawed in a number of areas. But cheer up, lefties – just because the study stinks doesn’t mean you’re still not better people than conservatives! After all, who’s more likely to care about keeping the ANWR pristine, regardless of what such environmental zeal does to Americans on the economic margins? 2) From the Wall Street Journal, “Bush’s Third Term” by the editors. The Journal comments, “Most Presidential candidates adapt their message after they win their party nomination, but Mr. Obama isn’t merely ‘running to the center.’ He’s fleeing from many of his primary positions so markedly and so rapidly that he’s embracing a sizable chunk of President Bush’s policy. Who would have thought that a Democrat would rehabilitate the much-maligned Bush agenda?” Lest everyone get too carried away with this meme, let me be the first to point out that contrary to rumors now swirling about the blogosphere, Obama remains very much in favor of Hope and Change. 3) From the Boston Globe, “Grim Proving Ground for Obama’s Housing Policy” by Binyamin Applebaum. (Yes, I know the story is almost a week old – have I mentioned how we had slim pickings today?) Read how Senator Hope/Change, back in his community organizing/state legislating prime, brought even more blight to an already blighted neighborhood while his friends profited! Serious academic exercise for anyone needing to test their mind this weekend: When is the last time there has been a presidential finalist with so few tangible accomplishments in his adult life? (I guess Obama does have two bestsellers on Warren Harding.) 4) From the Pew Poll, “As Gas Prices Pinch, Support for Energy Exploration Rises” by some guy who works for the Pew Poll. Or as I like to think of it, the ‘Death to the Caribou Movement’ gains momentum. 50% of people now favor drilling in the pristine paradise/national treasure that is the ANWR. That’s up from 42% in February. You know, a smart politician running for national office might spy an opportunity there. 5) From the Wall Street Journal, “Daily Diversion: ‘Pineapple Express’ Makes Huey Lewis Cool Again” by Michelle Kung. This piece represents the kind of laziness that gives all of journalism a black eye. I was in the prime of my teenage years in the early/mid 1980’s when Huey Lewis frequented the top of the charts. I not only had a Member’s Only jacket, I even saw Huey Lewis in concert. If a dork like me was part of Huey’s core audience, you can be sure of the following – he was never cool. Thus he can’t be cool again. (He is however a fine golfer and an extremely nice guy.)