CURRENT WISDOM
Jackasses, Assorted
Washington Post In the invaluable pages of the Post another inscrutable report of alGore'swhereaboutsunderthefrontpage headline, "Al Gore, Rock Star: Oscar Hopeful May Be...
...Carter back, but how about some of his speeches...
...But they have not been found evil...
...In fact, if your organization 7 6 T H E A M E R I C A N S P E C T A T O R A P R I L 2 0 0 7 C U R R E N TW I S D O M resorted to using its resources to bribe scientists to support a pre-determined agenda, it would be both disappointing and inexcusable...
...The IPCC process also offers open scientific inquiry...
...No matter how well hidden they are, no matter how successfully they have been silenced, these prisoners deserve every right afforded to any American...
...Washington Post In the invaluable pages of the Post another inscrutable report of alGore'swhereaboutsunderthefrontpage headline, "Al Gore, Rock Star: Oscar Hopeful May Be America's CoolestEx-VicePresidentEver": Incredible as it may seem, Al Gore is not only totally carbon neutral, but geek-chic cool.Novelvetropecanstop him.HerollswithDiddy.Heisonfirstnamebasis,forreal,withLudacris.But what does this mean...
...January 24, 1987...
...Molly Kelly went withtheregularlatte...
...Then the just-acquainted pair settledinatacafetableandgabbedfor20 minutes or so about their children, jobs, and Senate careers (United States Senate for Hillary...
...Victor Navasky's patients: The Reagan Administration's invention of a Soviet threat to Iran as part of itsdisinformationcampaigntomaintainthePersianGulfwaratahighlevel of mutual destruction is typical of what has been U.S...
...February 26, 2007) New York Times Two female Machiavels deliberate on the fate of the Nation and even the progressive Times cannot resist the SEXIST impulse...
...Allowingprisonersandex-convictsto vote will keep us honest...
...He writes under the byline Walter Mosley--doubtless not his real name: Voting is not a privilege but a responsibility that each and every American bears...
...Keene,N.H.--HillaryRodhamClinton ordered a chai latte...
...The IPCC process brings together highly respected scientists from more than100countries.Theirworkisthoroughly peer-reviewed, and while not incorporating some of the most recent--andmostalarming--science,it does provide the most thorough and most respected assessment of the science of global warming...
...Still others have interests very different from ours...
...Kelly out of the blue to say "hi" and introduce herself, like a new neighbor ready with a casserole...
...February 9, 2007)The Nation ThekindofpishposhthataneditorialistatthelachrymoseNationdeems memorable: On the eve of the 1992 elections, novelist E.L...
...policy and practice throughout the world during the entire history of the cold war...
...Thanks in part to massmedia suffusion, wrote Doctorow, the Presidenthasbecome,"thefaceofour sky, the conditions that prevail...
...We mustacceptourresponsibility--forthe troops serving on our behalf, and for the political morass we have helped create by refusing to share power and responsibility with others...
...It may be too early to bring Mr...
...SenatorU.S...
...We understand that, despite the best scientists in the world reporting that humans are unequivocally responsible for global warming, there willbethosewhochoosetoignorethe experts...
...The nightmare of Soviet tanks clanking through the Brandenburg Gate and overrunning Western Europe is the myth on which NATO was built...
...And how did it happen...
...Doctorow reminded Nation readerswhythebizarreandtroubling pageants known as presidential elections matter so deeply...
...February 12, 2007)C U R R E N TW I S D O M A P R I L 2 0 0 7 T H E A M E R I C A N S P E C T A T O R 7 7From the Archives Timeless Tosh From Current Wisdoms Past (April 1987): New York Times IntheveryweekthatformerpresidentJimmyCarteraskedanincreasingly uneasy Houston audience-"How many of those little black kids does it take to equal one Amy...
...The Presidentwegetisthecountryweget....He is the artificer of our malleable national soul...
...It was all very cozy...
...DeMuth: We write today regarding our very serious concerns about the reports that the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) offered to pay scientists upto$10,000inreturnforquestioning the findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's (IPCC) Report.Wewouldbesaddened,should these reports be accurate, by the depths to which some would sink to undermine the scientific consensus that human activity is the major sourceofglobalclimatechange...
...These are human beings we'retalking about--not slaves or beasts...
...We hope that you will respond to this letter by telling us that the news reports that you offered to pay scientists up to $10,000 is incorrect...
...Casserole" indeed--would they ever remark on Barack Obama's "meatloaf...
...It appears that your organization--and your financial backers-would rather pay for the results it desires...
...We will not, however, stand silently by while organizations attempt to underminesciencethroughoffersofsignificant amounts of money...
...Senator Cc: Members of the AEI Board of Trustees (February 6, 2007) The Nation In the loony purlieus of The Nation finally there appears a Mahatma Gandhi for the Unabomber, John Wayne Gacy, Charles Manson, et al...
...February 16, 1987) The Nation More Bolshevik flumdiddle for Dr...
...Just as it was a few weeks ago when Mrs...
...They'realreadydoingtime.Theyhave been found guilty of breaking the law in our flawed system and sentenced...
...And voting will not give them more money or freedom to run the streets and commit crimes (or drink beers...
...Voting will help to articulate the valid needs and perspectives of our millions of convicted felons...
...That means we cannot always have our way...
...Fifteen?Twenty?Ten?Five?Ithinktheanswerisone.Butit'shardforme to believe this," Carter said...
...they have not been relieved of their citizenship...
...Instead we have to build on the ever-widening circle of nations that agree that war should be allowedonlyasalastresort...
...the learned neoliberal fabulist, Professor Doktor Amitai Etzioni of George Washington University, asseverates: Jimmy Carter, where are you now that we need you...
...All our goals--securityagainstterrorism,nonproliferation of nuclear weapons, reliable access to resources and markets, protection of human rights, environmental safety--can be achieved only through international cooperation...
...February 24, 2007)United States Senate Adolescent humbug from four United States Senators ably supported bytheirteenagedspeechwriters: Mr...
...The feat that Communist hordes with Chinese faces could hop across the Pacific to San Diego if allowed to conquer South Vietnam provided the rationale for America's Twenty Years' War in Asia...
...What we need now is a rerenderingofyour"malaise"speech.Maybeawholeseriesofthem....What we need most is public leaders who will not lull us with soothing but baseless optimism, but who instead will be capable of seeing the world the way it is so we can learn to cope with it...
...Indeed, we would passionately defend their right to do so...
...Somenationscanbegenuineallies,and others are understandably wary of us because of our chronic unilateralism...
...If not, we trust that AEI will publicly apologizeforthisconductanddemonstrate its sincerity by properly disciplining thoseresponsible.Welookforwardto hearing from you on this most important matter...
...Does your donors' self-interest trump an honest discussion over the wellbeing of the planet...
...February 25, 2007) Commonweal Hallucinatory observations on world politicsfromaProfessorDavidO'Brien,whohasservedthreetoursofDisneyland and become a respected authorityon"Goofy,Pluto,andPals": We Americans have to grow up...
...Senator Dianne FeinsteinJohn Kerry U.S...
...Too bad...
...The laws, good and bad, affect them as much if not more than the rest of us...
...One four-year term may find us at reasonable peace with one another, working things out, and the next, trampling on each other for our scraps of bread...
...Bernard SandersPatrick Leahy U.S...
...SenatorU.S...
...Lately we have heard that if the contras do not overthrow the government of Nicaragua, Sandinistas will soon be in Harlingen, Texas...
...New Hampshire Senate for Molly...
...They're already incarcerated...
...AndwhatifTinyTownUSAdecides that it can't support a prison that might tip its mayoral election...
...Clinton called Ms...
...Christopher DeMuth President American Enterprise Institute 1150 17th Street NW Washington, DC 20036 Dear Mr...
...If AEI did engage in the conduct reportedlastweek,itwouldhighlight the extent to which moneyed interests distort honest scientific and public policy discussions in Washington...
Vol. 40 • April 2007 • No. 3
