Muckraking

Journalists are as a class not necessarily noted for having long historical memories, but the Louisville Courier Journal shows an uncommon level of amnesia in an editorial that claims that U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell "pioneered political slash-and-burn."

Pioneered? Yes, of course. There were no negative campaigns before Sen. McConnell came on the scene.

Of course, the senator has been noted for running rough campaigns, and the newspaper is free to complain about it on its editorial page. However, in addition to the above hyperbole, the newspaper also ran a picture along with its editorial that is classless and over the top. It is a picture of Jaws with mouth gaping that appears over the words, "McConnell in action."

A Do Nothing Congress? Well, There's the Horses

Congress has failed to come up with anything approaching a coherent energy policy and recently passed agriculture legislation that continues to pay farmers not to grow crops, even as food costs skyrocket. Regarding the impending entitlement crisis? Nothing. However, no one can accuse the legislative body of not setting out to accomplish anything constructive. Earlier this year, they grilled Roger Clemens over his alleged steroid use. Now, they are checking into drug use with regard to thoroughbreds.

Not since the 1850's has the country been afflicted with a Congress so out of step with the needs of the country. That is not a Republican or Democratic problem. It is a fundamental failure of leadership.

Which of These Names Just Doesn't Belong Here?

Golda Meir
Indira Ghandi
Margaret Thatcher
Hillary Clinton

Regarding three of these, Peggy Noonan writes:

Great women, all different, but great in terms of size, of impact on the world and of struggles overcome. Struggle was not something they read about in a book. They did not use guilt to win election -- it comes up zero if you Google "Thatcher" and "You're just picking on me because I'm a woman." Instead they used the appeals men used: stronger leadership, better ideas, a superior philosophy.

The one to whom the above paragraph does not apply is the one whose supporters have lately been crying misogyny to explain away failure.

Nor does it apply to the one who seems to have said that she is hanging around the campaign for the same reason that a nephew hangs around a rich uncle with a heart condition.

Not Ready for the Steve Carlton Comparisons Yet, But....

Cincinnati Reds rookie pitcher Edinson Volquez has a record of 7-1, with a 1.33 earned run average.

All of the other Reds pitchers combine for a record of 14-25.

While this only represents the first two months of the season, it is reminiscent of one of the most remarkable seasons that any pitcher has ever had. In 1972, Steve Carlton, pitching for the worst team in baseball that year, finished the season with a record of 27-10. The team's record was 59-97, meaning that all of the pitchers other than Mr. Carlton combined for a record of 32-87.

On Arguments and Interests

An Associated Press report on the advice of the American Heart Association that all people with high blood pressure should own monitoring devices contained a statement that reveals the silliness of those who focus on interests rather than the content of arguments:

Outside experts strongly agreed. But some said the case would be more compelling if those pushing the monitors had no industry ties.

The argument that all people should own monitors is either compelling or not regardless of the interests -- financial or otherwise -- of those making the case. Of course, a financial interest may provide an explanation as to why someone either consciously or unconsciously, intentionally or unintentionally, makes a bad argument, but it does not change the validity of the argument itself.

In addition, the statement sees having "industry ties" only in a negative light. Certainly, those relationships can create an incentive to argue in favor of one's own financial interests, as the statement suggests. However, being involved in the industry can also give one a day-to-day appreciation of the value of a product or a service. Additionally, those actually in an industry have a level of expertise regarding their product or service that those outside of it do not have.

It is always wise to "follow the money" when evaluating what one is hearing. However, the existence of an interest does not devalue a valid argument. That many think that it does reveals some of the poverty of our political and social discourse.

My Contentment at Being out of Touch

I am visiting my parents this week. I have not watched the morning network news and entertainment programs for years, but that is part of their morning routine. As a result, for the last two mornings I have been subjected to overhearing one of them (Good Morning America, I think: whatever Diane Sawyer is on) while trying to occupy myself with other interests. Yesterday, Ms. Sawyer -- who I recall was once regarded as a serious network journalist -- nearly struck Harrison Ford while attempting to knock some bottles off of a table with a long whip. "Did I hurt you?" she cooed. He laughed and told her she did not.

My question: have these programs gotten worse, or did I just not notice how really bad they were when I was younger? What I have seen/heard the last couple of days is sort of like Regis and Kathy Lee -- without the hard news content.

GOP Calamity Quote of the Day

Why not? Republicans pretend to be conservative every day."

-- Peggy Noonan, Wall Street Journal columnist, responding to a comment by Republican National Committee chairman that the GOP cannot let Democrats "pretend to be conservatives." Ms. Noonan's column provides a brutally accurate assessment of the problems currently facing the party.

Media Covering Democratic Contest Correctly

Conservatives and Republicans frequently complain about the way the mainstream media covers politics, and those among them preferring Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primary have joined her Democratic supporters in criticizing the way that those news organizations have covered the primary. They have argued that the media has favored Barack Obama by downplaying Clinton victories over the last couple of months while continually questioning when she will leave the race.

While the critics are correct that the media has covered the race in this way, it is understandable that they have done so.

The race for the Democratic nomination was for all practical purposes over in February, when Sen. Obama followed an impressive performance on Super Tuesday with a string of nine consecutive victories. Looking at how the primaries were lining up, as well as a series of desperate tactics by Sen. Clinton, I called the race for Sen. Obama at that time, and my brief explanation for doing so has held up over time.

Since February, anyone who understood the math and the Democratic rules could see that it was essentially impossible for Sen. Clinton to win. She could prolong the event and in the process dampen enthusiasm for Sen. Obama, but barring some out of the blue disqualifying failure by Sen. Obama, it was impossible for her to win. Subsequent events have proven this to be the case, and Sen. Clinton continues on with her campaign to tarnish Sen. Obama for no discernible purpose.

Has the media coverage discriminated? Yes, but in this instance justifiably so. Anyone who has seen a chicken have its head cut off knows that activity does not prove life. The Clinton campaign remains active, but it has long been dead.

Redefining Failure as Passing

Some educators are making the argument that students deserve credit for doing nothing. They argue for eliminating the ability of teachers to give zeroes for work not performed and instead giving students a minimum score of 50.

A report in USA Today explains the reasoning behind this "emotional academic debate:"

Other letter grades — A, B, C and D — are broken down in increments of 10 from 60 to 100, but there is a 59-point spread between D and F, a gap that can often make it mathematically impossible for some failing students to ever catch up.

This creates what Douglass Reeves, who somehow heads an organization referred to as an "educational think tank," describes as a "classic mathematical dilemma: that the students have a six times greater chance of getting an F."

He does not explain the difference between a classic mathematical dilemma and a nondescript one, but the reader might surmise that he was just relieved to be able to claim it as a mathematical dilemma, as opposed to a logical one. If he were up to resolving a logical dilemma, he might recognize that making more than 60 has nothing to do with "chance," as though grades were determined by rolling a series of dice, but it has to do with whether the student demonstrates the minimal knowledge necessary for passing.

The reason that schools want to stop giving zeroes is that some educators measure their success based on whether students pass, not on whether they learn anything. If those who learn nothing can still pass, so much the better.

Fully Informed Voters

Talk radio personality and Dallas Morning News columnist Mark Davis writes that the recent saga of Carrollton mayor Becky Miller confirms his opposition to early voting. Ms. Miller lost her re-election bid after news emerged a few days before the election that she had apparently made numerous untruthful claims regarding her personal history. Referring to the fact that many voters had cast their ballots before this was known, Mr. Davis writes:

I do not know whether Ms. Miller had concocted details ranging from the mundane (the university she attended, which has no record of her) to the heart-rending (the "brother" who died in Vietnam who became a close family friend in the revised story) to the wildly dubious (singing backup for Linda Ronstadt and dating the Eagles' Don Henley, neither of whom recall her).

But I do know that voters deserved to evaluate the gaping holes in her story. The only voters who cast a fully informed vote were those who resisted the crack pipe of early voting.

Mr. Davis differentiates early voting, which is done solely for the purpose of convenience and which he opposes, from absentee voting, which is the only recourse for those who know they will be away from their communities on election day.

Congress Tells Americans Concerned about Food Prices to Go to Hell

With food costs soaring in the United States and abroad and growing concerns regarding a global food crisis, a bipartisan majority in Congress again showed themselves unfit to govern by passing a $300 billion agriculture bill intended to pander to American farmers. The bill spends $40 billion dollars on subsidizing already high food prices, taxes the import of ethanol in order to drive up fuel prices, and even pays farmers $30 billion to keep farmland idle at a time of food shortages and price increases.

In addition to those policy decisions, the bill has also been porked up with items such as subsidies for race horse owners in Kentucky.

Democrats overwhelmingly passed the bill in hopes of buying off rural voters who traditionally lean Republican. A majority of GOP congressmen joined in out of fears that the Democratic strategy might work. The losers in all of this: the American people, who need a Congress that is serious at a time of economic fragility and spiking food costs.

Murphy Was an Optimist

When the notoriously cheery Fred Barnes is this pessimistic about Republican prospects in the fall, one knows that things really are bad.

They are.

A Little Satire on Wednesday?

After heavy criticism for his denunciations of the Catholic Church, which he had described as "the great whore," San Antonio pastor John Hagee emerged from a period of Bible study and deep reflection and apologized for what he had said.

Rev. Hagee explained that the Church was nothing more than a 2-bit whore. He regrets using the word "great."

That is not true: he actually gave a thorough and laudable apology. However, The Oracle couldn't help himself.

Adding Insult to Injury

As if consumers aren't concerned enough with gas prices approaching $4/gallon, the Dallas Morning News reports another problem that might make them angry: pumps that shortchange buyers.

The Texas Department of Agriculture has found problems at more than 2,000 stations across Texas. The department is serious about confronting the problem: Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples, a former state senator (and a genuinely nice guy: I met him briefly at a conference during the time that he was in the senate) has quadrupled the fines that were in place a year ago.

The DMN has a map showing the locations of stations in the Dallas/Fort Worth area that have been fined here. Consumers can also report complaints related to the accuracy of fuel pumps to the Texas Department of Agriculture at 1-800-835-5832.

Vincent Voyeur might?

In a Dallas Morning News report, Forrester Research analyst Henry Hartevledt explained why most people don't mind restrictions on cell phone usage on commercial airplanes: "No one wants to sit next to a Chatty Cathy talking about their latest conquest."

He's right, though his pronoun usage could use some work. One thinks that it would be difficult to make air travel more unenjoyable than it already is, but an airplane full of people chatting on their cellphones would undoubtedly make it worse.