Archive for the ‘Society’ Category
Football and a nation of wusses
The trend in American society in recent years towards risk-aversion and excessive safety-first concerns are undermining an American institution known for toughness: football.
I was nearly knocked over by last week’s news that, for the first time in its history, the National Football League called off a game because of weather. A game in Philadelphia between the local Eagles [...]
San Francisco bans fast-food toys, introduces “Crappy Meals”
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San Francisco’s Happy Meal Ban
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Here is the Daily Show’s take on the San Francisco council’s banning of toys in Happy Meals at McDonalds and at other fast-food restaurants.
Facing a comedy interviewer, the councilman behind this idea, [...]
PC version of Huck Finn removes the word “nigger”
New South Books plans to publish a new, PC-sanitized edition of Mark Twain’s classic The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, reports Publishers Weekly. It replaces the word “nigger” with “slave”, and makes similar edits to other words deemed offensive. This is lunacy.
PW writes: “ For decades [Huckleberry Finn] has been disappearing from grade school curricula across the country, relegated to optional reading [...]
27 million reasons to cheer: more babies and immigrants keep population rising
Guest Post by Alex Standish
In 2010 there were 27 million more Americans than in 2000. This is a good sign. It shows that America is still a vibrant, dynamic society, even if the rate of growth (9.7 percent) is slower than the rate in the 1990s (13.2 percent).
Any country that is adding to its [...]
2010’s Heroes and Zeroes
Today’s spiked reviews the year 2010 with a series of articles.
In the lead article, “A year of intellectual rebels and misanthropic moaners,” spiked readers and writers name their heroes and zeroes of the year. Here are mine:
HERO: Diane Ravitch, whose bestselling book The Death and Life of the Great American School System made her the most vocal [...]
People would rather see celebrities “dead” than donate to AIDS charity
The “Digital Death” campaign from AIDS charity “Keep a Child Alive” has got to be one of the most sanctimonious celebrity campaigns ever. It is also turning out to be one of the biggest flops ever.
Various celebrities, from Kim Kardashian (famous for… being Kim Kardashian) to Swizz Beatz (huh? or am I just out of [...]
Diane Ravitch responds to Bill Gates
Bill Gates has spent a lot of his money in support of trendy school reforms, and education historian Diane Ravitch has become recognized as probably his most articulate opponent in this area. In an interview with the Washington Post, Ravitch has some great replies to questions from Gates.
Here is her response to Gates’ question, “Does she [...]
“Don’t touch my junk”
Will John Tyner become the latest American folk (mass media) hero for uttering those words?
As you will learn from this video, Tyner refused to be scanned by one of the new, full-body Advanced Imaging Technology machines at San Diego airport. He then resisted a TSA agent’s attempt to swipe his hand over his body, including his [...]
Anti-religious holiday messages are not humanistic
The American Humanist Association (AHA) and similar groups will soon be launching an anti-religion advertising blitz to coincide with the holiday season.
The AHA’s campaign will contrast violent and sexist passages from the Bible and Koran with quotes from non-believers like Albert Einstein and Katharine Hepburn. It differs from last year’s “Be Good for Goodness Sake” theme. According [...]
Juan Williams and illiberal liberalism
National Public Radio’s firing of its reporter and pundit Juan Williams is disturbing for advocates of free expression and debate.
NPR is, of course, free to hire and fire whoever they want; Williams did not have a job for life. And, in my opinion, he’s not a particularly insightful commentator. But the circumstances of his firing are problematic. [...]