As you may know the members of the Watcher’s Council each nominate one of his or her own posts and one non-Council post for consideration by the whole Council. The complete list of this week’s Council nominations is here.
One word on the Watcher’s observations on global warming and this year’s cold, snowy winter. I continue to think that it’s too early to tell but that if next year is colder, too, it will be pretty hard for global warming activists to find a trend line. Climate change is a given. So is human influence on it. Dealing with the effects of climate change on human beings is a political problem not an economic or engineering problem.
The Glittering Eye, “Wealth”
In my submission this week I muse about wealth and the misconceptions about it.
The Colossus of Rhodey, “ABC’s ‘Ugly Americans’: Obnoxious George Bush Supporters”
When a purportedly serious news organization is reduced to staging guerrilla theater one wonders if journalism has any farther to fall. I suppose this is the inevitable outcome of infotainment.
Mere Rhetoric, “Media Outlets Can’t Get Over The Tactical Brilliance Of Hamas’s Use Of Human Shields”
Civilian casualties may not be innovative but they certainly are an effective way of influencing policy in a democratic country like Israel. That’s why they’re an objective for terrorists.
The Provocateur, “Some Perspective on the Great Loan Modification Scam”
Mike explains a way that real estate sellers and buyers colluded to defraud banks and predicts loan modification as the next scheme.
Bookworm Room, “Looking for insults”
Bookworm notes how exhausting a world in which everything is as important as everything else is. It’s a form of nihilism, Bookworm.
Right Truth, “America Said NO”
Debbie is outraged that the United States government allegedly refused to approve the Israelis’ plan to attack Iran’s nuclear development sites. I’ve been saying that would be the case for years so I’m unsurprised. I’ve also been saying that neither Israel nor the U. S. would attack Iran. I continue to think that the notion that Israel will attack Iran before George W. Bush leaves office is extremely unlikely and I honestly don’t know why any friend of either the U. S. or Israel would suggest that it’s in the offing. We’ll see—there are only eight days.
Soccer Dad, “Both sides now”
Soccer Dad identifies another case of treating things that aren’t equivalents as though they were, this time from public editor Clark Hoyt of the New York Times. It’s part of the same inability to prioritize I complained about not long ago. It must make life so much simpler.
Rhymes With Right, “Representation By The Numbers”
Greg looks at a proportional representation complaint on the Houston City Council. It seems to me that part of the problem is that the city council is far too small. For goodness sake, Houston is a city of 2 million people now. A hundred city council members would be too few.
Cheat-Seeking Missiles, “As BHO Channels FDR, Worries Grow”
I’m beginning to think that too many Democrats really believe their New Deal rhetoric and that they’re in for a horrible surprise when they find that the economy has changed a lot in 75 years and whether the measures they’re advocating worked 75 years ago or not they’re not going to work now. BTW I’m also getting the impression that the Obama Administration is employing two parallel processes: an information-gathering process which is open and a decision-making process which is closed. That gives the impression of being open without actually being open. In fairness that’s better than the Bush Administration in which both processes were closed. Or the Clinton Administration in which I gather that there were competitive information-gathering processes.
The Razor, “Three Shocks For New Doctors”
Scott’s physician wife is appalled at her debts and tax rate. I can answer her question, however: being a physician has intrinsic rewards. The extrinsic rewards can be taken away from you by others, the government, for example. Only you can cause the intrinsic rewards to be lost.
Joshuapundit, “The Hidden Story On Gaza”
I’m genuinely surprised that Freedom Fighter had to think twice about why Hamas has done what it has and why the Olmert government has responded now. The answer is obvious: politics. That’s the reason that any government or quasi-government does anything.
Well, I’ve decided which posts I’ll vote for this week. Which posts would get your votes?
