Rantingprofs

How Times Have Changed

I haven't read very much of this book yet, but two things are clear. First, when the nation was at war, each of the newsweeklies had a distinct editorial vision towards the war. And, second, that war was a major focus for them.

In other words, it doesn't seem to me that they were constantly rotating through the same damn cover story on your health (or your teenager's health) and amazing new technologies over and over and over.

How many ways can they re-report and re-write the same cover packages?

All High Speed Car Chases in America Take Place Between 3 and 4pm EST

Or, Shep Smith on Fox (who I think is generally pretty good) is like a little kid with a brightly wrapped package or a candy bar when it comes to these things -- he just can't help himself. No matter what other news has taken place over the course of the day, a high speed chase will hold Fox News hostage for the better part of the hour, so long as Smith has the controls. Even with shots fired and people jumping out of cars and what not, MS holds itself to the highlights reel today. But not Fox, oh no, they're there for every twist and turn.

Get. A. Grip. On yourselves.

Sharp Objects

Look, immediately after Sept. 11, the fact of the matter is you probably couldn't have convinced most Americans to fly if you didn't ban all sharp objects. In retrospect, however, we probably did all go a bit overboard, and the amount of effort that goes into making sure no one arrives at their destination able to take care of a hangnail is probably a bit misplaced. (And I think I speak for virtually all smokers when I say that allowing books of matches, but not allowing cigarette lighters, just strikes all of us as just this side of completely insane.)

So it probably wouldn't hurt to rethink what can and can't be brought on board planes.

That said, anyone working for TSA -- or DHS -- who even ponders whether it makes sense to permit people to bring throwing stars and ice picks on board should be looking for a new job the next day. When I complained to a friend of mine who thinks pretty carefully about such matters awhile back when one of the airlines was reconsidering real silverware, he pointed out that if the airline was the one distributing the knives, the terrorists wouldn't be the only ones armed, and he was pretty sure no planeload of Americans was going to let themselves be taken again. (Which would have been fine, but as I recall the proposal it was for first class only. Not a wide enough distribution of weaponry.) Passengers can overcome nail scissors. But what are the chances that at least some of the good guys will randomly have happened to have ice picks and throwing stars on them for defensive purposes if necessary on every plane?

Well, As Long As Your Anger is Focused

Christian peacemakers are taken hostage is Iraq, and the groups they represent blame -- the US and the UK. Well, as long as we've got that straight.

By the way, do you notice you can get all the way through this story in the Post without ever finding out exactly what work it was the Christian peacemakers were doing over there? The second sentence on the Germans kidnapped explains they were distributing medical supplies. But a screen and a half, and we have no idea what these guys were doing, over a period of well over a year.

Makes you wonder, no?

A National Strategy for Victory in Iraq

I've only skimmed it, but here it is (pdf) as it will apparently be the focus of the President's speech today. Without passing comments on the specifics of what's in here, it's about damn time some kind of detailed strategy was released. If they'd released the specifics of a "national strategy for victory," beyond the bumper sticker platitudes they'd continued to throw at people despite all evidence that they weren't working, there wouldn't need to be this frantic effort to play rhetorical catch-up behind this Murtha business now.

The Poor, The Undereducated, The Minority

Essentially, those with no other alternatives. Those are the young people who we've been told end up enlisting.

But is that borne out by the data?

A new study by the Heritage Foundation, a comprehensive look at several sets of recruiting classes, makes clear that isn't the case.

Indeed, for every two recruits coming from the poorest neighborhoods, there are three recruits coming from the richest neighborhoods.

That isn't to say that most recruits aren't coming proportionately from rural states. But, as the authors point out, that's hardly news. That's been true for years, if not generations.

But you still have to ask who it is who's enlisting.

If, for example, we consider the education of every recruit, 98% joined with high-school diplomas or better. By comparison, 75% of the general population meets that standard. Among all three-digit ZIP code areas in the USA in 2003 (one can study larger areas by isolating just the first three digits of ZIP codes), not one had a higher graduation rate among civilians than among its recruits.

In fact, since the 9/11 attacks, more volunteers have emerged from the middle and upper classes and fewer from the lowest-income groups. In 1999, both the highest fifth of the nation in income and the lowest fifth were slightly underrepresented among military volunteers. Since 2001, enlistments have increased in the top two-fifths of income levels but have decreased among the lowest fifth.

These are going to be kids with options.

And, once again, the authors answer the charges made by Rep. Rangel that enlistees are overwhelmingly (or disproportionately) minority.

Allegations that recruiters are disproportionately targeting blacks also don't hold water. First, whites make up 77.4% of the nation's population and 75.8% of its military volunteers, according to our analysis of Department of Defense data.

Second, we explored the 100 three-digit ZIP code areas with the highest concentration of blacks, which range from 24.1% black up to 68.6%. These areas, which account for 14.6% of the adult population, produced 16.6% of recruits in 1999 and only 14.1% in 2003.

Lieberman on Iraq

He shames all the other pols, Democratic and Republican, and if he's off on the number of enemy fighters by fifty percent (which, face it, is well within the realm of possibility) then he's still right.

Saddam Unplugged

Isn't it somewhat bizarre that the trial was a major story on cable news all day long yesterday, and -- I don't know about you -- I never once heard a word about any of this.

Terrorist Financing

Apparently, government agencies are still wasting time pushing and shoving one another.

Grand.

Yes, That Was Exactly the Problem with the Katrina Coverage

Not enough good pet stories.