Dangerous Bipartisanship

It sure seems like the only way to get bipartisan support for anything in Washington is to propose that the government be able to spy on everyone forever without a warrant; or to propose that the government be able to incarcerate anyone forever without charges.

Delhi Rape Victim's Condition Deteriorates - NYTimes.com

At some point, all you can say is "What the hell is wrong with people?"

Delhi Rape Victim's Condition Deteriorates - NYTimes.com:

'via Blog this'

Unbelievable

This is, frankly, incredible; and not in a good way.

http://www1.rollingstone.com/extras/Deposition-Transcript-of-Glenn-Hubbard.pdf

Kant a consequentialist?

So Parfit argues, apparently, in On What Matters. I'll have to think about that.

Tallis Scholars at Duke

It's always a pleasure to see the Tallis Scholars live. That twelve voices can fill a huge cavern like Duke Chapel with glorious sound is quite astonishing, really.

The program of music by Mouton, Cornysh (the elder), and Browne was a fine one. It's nice to hear Mouton's music beyond the sublime "Nesciens Mater"; and Cornysh's music highlights the immense differences between music being written on the continent and in England in the early 16th Century. The Browne "Salve Regina" helped demonstrate that, while Mouton and Cornysh wrote very fine music, Browne wrote great music and should be considered one of the very great English composers of that or any age.

It's also nice to see (and hear) the Tallis Scholars sing the early English music at a lower pitch than in the past. This was true, too, of Tallis's "O Nata Lux", which was the welcome encore. It sounds much better to my ears without a piercingly high soprano line.

Bottom line here is that the Tallis Scholars are better than ever. Peter Phillips has changed with the times in his understanding of the music he presents and in his presentation of it. His Josquin mass cycle is timely and important. I only hope that he will record some of the masses that are not securely in the Josquin canon (like, say, the "Quem dicunt homines".

Yglesias » What’s the Point of Medicare Privatization?

Yes, absolutely. What Matt says....

Yglesias » What’s the Point of Medicare Privatization?

Yglesias » Higher Education From 50,000 Feet

Matt nails it again.

Yale is “better” than the University of Connecticut so funds flow to it. But in our current setup, better simply means more exclusive. It’s a measure of the quality of the inputs, not the quality of the instruction. The result is that both the public sector and the civic sphere are essentially acting to redistribute wealth and opportunities upwards.

Yglesias » Higher Education From 50,000 Feet

The Wayback Machine

Peter Baker dixit:

Mr. Clinton’s lowest postelection moment arguably came less than 24 hours before he began his comeback. In April 1995, he was reduced to arguing at a news conference that “the president is relevant.” The next day, bombers blew up an Oklahoma City federal building, and Mr. Clinton’s steady, reassuring and empathetic response made him more of a national leader.

I remember the "Is the President still relevant" meme from way back when, and I have only one question (two, actually): Who were the journalists pushing this meme back then, and, if they are still in business, why are they still in business?

Odd Man Out | Open Mind

Tamino schools Anthony Watts yet again. I fear there's dirt in my yard smarter than Watts....

Odd Man Out | Open Mind

DeLong Smackdown Watch: Nick Rowe Metaphysical Necessity of Monetarism Edition - Grasping Reality with Both Hands

Brad DeLong gives us an economy of baristas and yoga instructors as a way of explaining the (late?) recession.

DeLong Smackdown Watch: Nick Rowe Metaphysical Necessity of Monetarism Edition - Grasping Reality with Both Hands

Tax Deal Puts Economy between a Rock and a Hard Place - TheFiscalTimes.com

I'm afraid Bruce Bartlett may be right. Which is bad news, indeed.

Tax Deal Puts Economy between a Rock and a Hard Place - TheFiscalTimes.com

Leaked Fox News Emails Show Deliberate Slant On Health Care Coverage

I'm shocked. Just shocked.

The greatest track and field performance of all time?

I could mount an argument for Daniel Komen's 7:20.67 3000 meters race from 1996, equivalent to a 7:55 for 2 miles.

Monbiot.com » Impervious to Learning

Quote of the day: "Journalism is a mistake waiting to happen. With tight deadlines, big rewards for shock and awe and small rewards for methodical, less spectacular work, with an inverse relationship between volume and truth in public life, reporters tend to stumble from one accident to another."

--George Monbiot

Monbiot.com » Impervious to Learning

Yglesias » The News From Iceland

Years of growth wiped out. But Iceland is still doing better than Ireland, etc.

Yglesias » The News From Iceland

3 Oregon deer attack and injure barking dog - Odds and Ends - GMANews.TV - Official Website of GMA News and Public Affairs - Latest Philippine News

So this is why Zoe has stopped barking at the deer in our yard...

Ah, London

For everyone (like me) who truly, madly, deeply loves London...

Who and what are we?

So many fundamentalist Christians seem to model themselves on the God of the Old Testament, that vengeful, wrathful, judgmental Deity. But they (and we) are not vengeful, wrathful, judgmental deities; we are fallen, flawed creatures for whom humility is the correct response to the riddle of life and compassion the correct response to the suffering of our fellow humans.

On An Overgrown Path: Now we rise and are everywhere

"Evensong sung by the college choir in the 15th century chapel is one of the great free experiences of the Western world"

And one of these days...

On An Overgrown Path: Now we rise and are everywhere

On An Overgrown Path: WFMT Chicago shows the Brits a thing or two

Everyone should be reading "On An Overgrown Path."

On An Overgrown Path: WFMT Chicago shows the Brits a thing or two