Shot In The Dark - Politics and Current Events in Minnesota and Beyond

Friday, April 26, 2002

See no Bias, Hear no Bias - According to Byron York, the American news establisment is funding liberal attack groups.
posted by Mitch Berg 4/26/2002 05:41:51 PM

Schuleschiessenanschlacht - Germany's second school massacre in two monthsclaims 18.

Good thing they have strict gun control laws!
posted by Mitch Berg 4/26/2002 11:06:46 AM

Tale of Three Networks - The Media Research Center tells the hilarious tale of the widely-varying treatment David Brock received on three network "news" shows - NBC, CNN and Fox.

But there's noooooo liberal bias. Nossir.
posted by Mitch Berg 4/26/2002 08:31:42 AM

Thursday, April 25, 2002

What a Night - I'm floored to report that the subscribers to the E-Democracy's Minnesota Politics discussion list voted me "Most Valuable Poster", while the St. Paul discussion group ranked me #3.

I am, of course, one of small group of conservative gadflies on these very liberal lists. I suspect the large number of liberal nominees may have split the vote.

Nonetheless, I'm thankful - and I think everyone who voted for me in what I consider one of the nicer compliments I've gotten lately.

posted by Mitch Berg 4/25/2002 10:43:32 PM

Wednesday, April 24, 2002

Political Larnin' - I grew up in a family that valued education - where, near as I could tell, we were all equal, whatever our ideology, as long as what we packed into our skulls was good.

I've come to know, since then, that life is more complex than that. A great many liberals are incredibly smug about the purported difference in education, intelligence and empathy between conservatives and liberals.

Much to write on this subject - and many anecdotal sources to cite (and coming days I will). But til then, an introduction to the complex relationship between politics and education.
posted by Mitch Berg 4/24/2002 10:11:57 PM

%#$%#$$@# Alarm Clock - OK, Running very late. I'll put today's contributions up later today. .
posted by Mitch Berg 4/24/2002 06:48:21 AM

Tuesday, April 23, 2002

All About Schools - I wasn't a big critic of public schools. From some perspectives, I'm still not - my kids still go to them. For now. My dad was a teacher, as were both of my mother's parents. It was part of life, growing up, even moreso than for most kids.

I'd like to write more about schools and education in coming weeks. Starting with this, from today's Strib.
posted by Mitch Berg 4/23/2002 07:42:03 AM

If I Were Only Green - My Green friends love to talk about what a man of integrity Ralph Nader is.

My reply, courtesy of Reason's Matt Welch.

And While We're At It - Greens insist the private market can never be good for the environment. Ronald Bailey suggests they're wrong.
posted by Mitch Berg 4/23/2002 07:31:44 AM

Let the Bleating Begin - the Euro left is already whining about Le Pen.

Hell, I'm upset about Le Pen. He's a fascist. However, a vote for Le Pen is not a vote for fascism, but rather a vote against the EU.
posted by Mitch Berg 4/23/2002 07:29:18 AM

Monday, April 22, 2002

Office Time-waster of the Day: Find out which character from Monty Python and the Holy Grail you are.

My results below:

which "monty python and the holy grail" character are you?

this quiz was made by colleen

I'd have figured I was John Cleese as the French "seeeeely Eengleesh Knnnn-iggets" character...
posted by Mitch Berg 4/22/2002 07:27:03 AM

Speaking of Diversified Votes... - Mary Cheney, the Vice President's daughter and an open lesbian, is the latest in a series of high-profile gays to defect from what Andrew Sullivan (another one) calls "the plantation of the Democratic Party".
posted by Mitch Berg 4/22/2002 07:16:35 AM

The Native Dollar and Vote - With their casino earnings, Minnesota's Native American tribes have long been a cash cow for Democrat candidates.

Now, it seems, the tribes are wising up and diversifying their spending. And, perhaps, their political outlook.
posted by Mitch Berg 4/22/2002 07:11:38 AM

Ventura talks with Time again - Every time he does an interview with a major weekly (or Playboy), I have visions of the mid-eighties Ventura, talking with the "interviewers" in the WWF shows (yes, I watched it -twice...). If only Vince McMahon would do the interviews...

Does Identity Programming Pay? - The Oxygen network is gasping for...oh, I'm not going to stoop that low.
posted by Mitch Berg 4/22/2002 07:09:31 AM

Europe Swings to the Right, Part III - And the left - Britain's Guardian, which is to the UK what the Minnesota Daily is in Minneapolis - isn't at all happy about it.

The most recent rounds of elections - in Denmark, Portugal, Spain, Hungary, Italy,and Belgium - at de facto referenda on the European Union. They are the average Euro-schmuck's last line of resistance against the final triumph of bureaucrats and bean-counters, the EU.

If they can get it...
posted by Mitch Berg 4/22/2002 07:06:12 AM

Sunday, April 21, 2002

Europe Swings to the Right - Two big election upsets in Europe further mark the continent's swing to the right (by their standards).

In the German Land, or State, of Sachsen-Anhalt, the industrial heart of the former East Germany (to the extent that East Germany had industry or heart), the Christian Democrats clobbered the currently-ruling Social Democrats. Sachsen-Anhalt is regarded as the electoral belwether of the unified Germany - as they go, frequently, so goes the rest of the country - so this defeat is regarded as a bad omen for German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder.

In the meantime, an even more telling upset in France, current Socialist premier Lionel Jospin has been ejected from the final round of voting in their upcoming presidential election in yesterday' s presidential runoff. The Socialists came in third in the biggest French upset since the Battle of Sedan.

Look for all sorts of spin and electoral shenanigans in Germany, Italy (where the pan-Euro left is mobilizing against Silvio Berlusconi as we speak) and, as we noted earlier this week, Hungary, where the relatively conservative and successful government faces a full-court press of Euro-socialists eager for a victory.

Any victory.
posted by Mitch Berg 4/21/2002 06:38:01 PM

Berg's Law of Liberal Iraq Commentary:

In attacking the reasons for war, no liberal commentator is capable of addressing more than one of the justifications at a time; to do so would introduce a context in which their argument can not survive