MaroonBlog

After a (longer than intended) haitus, I have decided that I will return to blogging regularly. I can't say I haven't missed it, in fact quite the opposite. The reasons for the long absence are many, but sufficed to say I was less than thrilled with the outcome of the midterm elections, and more importantly was feeling the pressures of school and career.

But it would only be a surrender of sorts to cease writing when the climate turns sour, and it felt like just that. Moreover, I was beginning to feel like the polarizing nature of an exclusively political blog was preventing me from writing on a wider range of topics that I found both interesting and poignant. The influence of the University of Chicago being what it is, I decided it was time to seek a forum where I could continue to elaborate on politics, while also opining on topics related to law, economics, music and technology, to name a few. Make no mistake - this will still be a largely political forum, but it is the duty of any good citizen to educate himself on a wide range of topics, all of which he may find relevant to life in a political society.

That being the stated goal, I am pleased to announce that MaroonBlog is no more - long live The Horatian Oath! Head on over, and thanks for sticking around - I think you'll like what you find.

First and foremost, it would be foolish for the Democrats to view this as some sort of victory of their ideological principles (or lack of), rather than what it was: a backlash against Republicans who weren't being Republicans. Examining ballot initiatives, by way of contrast to the candidates elected, reveals a much different story than what is being hyped by the MSM. In Michigan, voters rejected racial preferences in school admissions, while several states passed bans on gay marriage. California, for its part, rejected punitive taxes on oil producers. Yet the tax and spend, free love Democrats control both houses of congress. The meaning of this seemingly contradictory series of events is simple: the American people, more than one party or the other, hate do-nothing politicians. Recently, those Republicans who were swept into, and kept in, office on the principles of small government, fiscal responsibility, strong immigration and national security policies, and morally conscience social policy have descended to the level of their counterparts, by abandoning principle to maintain their place in office. This is what was defeated on Tuesday, nothing more.

The Republicans, for their part, need to lick their wounds, clean house, and get down to business. First, its time to remind themselves what got them into power in the first place, and return to it. Congressional republicans must propose sweeping immigration reform during the next term, an issue that is a win-win, with the Democrats either conceding to stronger measures, or risking being labeled early as the party that is soft on security once again. President Bush will have to take a stronger stand on immigration, and start vetoing bloated spending bills. And as for the new Secretary of Defense, its time to stop beating around the bush in Iraq. We need to increase troop levels, maybe dramatically, fire up the bombers, and go on the offensive once again. The "War" in Iraq was a sweeping success. The aftermath, however, has been an ongoing political charade that attempted to placate moderate voters and obstructionist Democrats at the expense of security and American lives. Let's bring this conflict to a close, not by withdrawing but by finishing the job.

Democrats did not win on Tuesday - lethargic Republicans lost. And perhaps rightly so. Now, however, the majority is the Democrats to lose, and they likely will. For, while they gained their majority by running on conservative principles, it won't be long before the true colors of Pelosi and Dean shine through, and the American people remember why they booted the party of tax hikes, abortion on demand, and national security waffling out of office in the first place.

Not that any of the pundits are paying much attention, but post natal stem cells continue to lead the way in new health care discoveries and cures (note, that to date, not a single actual cure has come from embryonic stem cells.

British scientists have grown the world's first artificial liver from stem cells in a breakthrough that will one day provide entire organs for transplant...Described as a 'Eureka moment' by the Newcastle University researchers, the tissue was created from blood taken from babies' umbilical cords just a few minutes after birth.

They go on to mention that, while a full grown liver is still in the future, the miniature one is functioning, and will be used as an accurate means to test new drugs. This is revolutionary, and should be rightly heralded as a turning point in the development of safe, ethical medical treatments using non-embryonic stem cells. Somehow, however, I feel like Michal J. may have missed the memo.

The point of the Western Civilization sequence is to nurture this sense of a living and continuous tradition of the West. That cannot be accomplished by a classicist assigning extra Cicero in a specialized course on ancient history. It can only be accomplished by a sequence of courses that connect Cicero, Machiavelli, and Tocqueville, a sequence taken in common by sufficient numbers of students to spark real discussion and debate, even outside of class. It is this sense of shared tradition that is being lost here, and that is what this debate over Chicago's curriculum changes is really about.

Stanley Kurtz, over at National Review, wrote those words in 2002 about the changes that were made to the Core curriculum here at Chicago, mainly the specialization and decomposition of the Western Civilizations Sequence. Flash forward, and it appears that "Great Books" rival Harvard is taking steps backward on the same front. According to the Boston Globe, Harvard will be making American History once again a requirement for graduation (a requirement, I must note, that is notably absent here at Chicago). Kurtz is on the topic again, however, and he isn't impressed.

Personally, I think he is right to be weary of such superficially "conservative" core adjustments, in lieu of more substantial progress, but at the same time I think Conservative academics, in general, need to take their victories where they can. The very emphasis on History at all, albeit still with its faults ("Health Care in the United States: A Comparative Perspective"???), at least opens the possibility of previously unheard discussion and debate on topics that drive the contemporary political debate, and form the basis of American, and Western, Civilization. As the left knows very well, you can't lose a fight your refuse to join. Judging from the student quotes, I'd say this is only the beginning of some needed reform:

"It seems to be about fears about the Middle East and the need to learn science so we can create better weapons to maintain American supremacy," said [Jenny] Tsai, a social studies major.

Putting aside the fact that the proposed changes are in the humanities, not the hard sciences, Tsai unwittingly reveals the sad, partisan state of affairs at Harvard. Let's hope this change is the first of many, for her sake at least.

Xerox has a great site where you can send a free postcard to a soldier stationed overseas, complete with children's artwork and a custom thank you message. It doesn't take any time, and you can do it as often as you want, so check it out. (Hat Tip: Kingdom Heirs)

Stendahl wrote a novel about an ambitious young man trying to figure out what career he should follow to achieve his goal of becoming hte next Napoleon. He chose the priesthood as being most suitable for his times.

This article makes me think the military will be a method to rapidly rise in rank in the next few decades.

What better way to break a long absence from the blog than with a whopper of a story, one which poignantly illustrates the complexity of police work, and the need for more common sense in the realm of airport security, and the fight against terror. Living in Southside Chicago, you prepare yourself for all sorts of shenanigans, yet never really expect to find yourself in the situations that grace the cover of the Maroon.
When I arrived home yesterday, I noted two individuals carrying a large duffel bag standing at the door to my apartment building, fidgeting with the door. By the time I reached the door, they had it open, so I assumed they had a key, and thought little of it. That is, until I noticed the array of electronics in the duffel bags as they two jogged up the stairs of the building.
My suspicion peaked, I entered my downstairs apartment, jettisoned briefcase on-the-fly, and took the back staircase that runs in our building to the second floor apartment, also rented by our fraternity. Much as I had expected, as I entered the kitchen, I could hear voices and the sound of moving property in the front room of the apartment. Returning to my downstairs apartment, adrenaline pumping, I told the only other person home at the time, a small Indian woman, to call the police. Clutching a broomstick in hand (yes, I considered using a fraternity paddle), I paced loudly up the backstairs again, entered the kitchen, and proceeded to make as much noise as possible. Apparently successful in that endeavor, I walked down the hallway, stick in hand, and confronted the two intruders in the living room.
Shocked, and clearly more scared than I was, they began quickly emptying the contents of the bags into the floor, and stammering off an explanation for their uninvited, ill intentioned presence in my apartment. I threw open the front door to the apartment, and conveyed my sense of urgency regarding their departure. They hastily agreed. Because of the amount of time they spent jabbering and putting things down, they also hastened themselves right into the arms of Chicago's finest, arriving faster than I would have thought possible. Many long hours later, following myriad police interviews, felony charges resulted, and Harold's fried chicken was deemed in order.
Several important lessons came to mind as I sat, waiting, in the gritty waiting room of the 29th and prairie Police station, lessons that sorely warrant repetition in a world so often as backward as our own. First, there is nothing scarier than knowing that someone is in your house, but how anyone can justify the city of Chicago's total ban on firearms is completely beyond me. Nothing multiplies the feeling of helplessness like knowing that all that stands between you and criminal is a hastily wielded dowel. I have no doubt that the result would have been the same, i.e. the expulsion and capture of the perpetrators, but it is undeniable that it would have been both quicker, and safer, for everyone involved had the sound of a round being chambered, not a broomstick cracking, alerted the intruders to my presence. The irony, of course, is that no amount of bans will ever prevent those who break the law, and break into homes, from carrying the very implements I have been denied. Frankly, it's as disgusting a backward, blame the victim policy as exists in America today.
That said, the second lesson of the day follows quickly from the first: the focus of our legal system, and certainly our penal system, has drifted far from its moorings indeed. After several hours in the waiting room, one of the officers on the desk chuckled to me "You're still here? Wanna answer the phones or something?" He proceeded to lament what so many have said before: "Sucks to be the victim huh? That's why most crime goes unreported." Indeed. I've blogged on the failures of our penal system before, but I have no doubt that my two interlocutors will be getting a first hand introduction very soon.
The third, and perhaps most important lesson, is that profiling saves lives. If you don't like it, aren't comfortable with it, I understand, but I will remind you again the next time you are the victim of a crime. As the arresting officer pointed out sometime later, the only reason they were able to catch the suspects, who had exited the building and were fleeing when they arrived, was because of the terse "two black males" description. It does not bode well that I would not have been comfortable calling the TSA in this situation. Those on the left who simultaneously wish to treat terrorism as a law enforcement tool, while also denying the very tools of law enforcement to those who prosecute the war on terror, are living in a dream. As soon as al Qaeda starts using vacationing families from Nebraska to blow up planes, I suppose it will no longer apply, but for now I believe the single biggest boost for airport security, bar none, would be to do away with the idiotic and wasteful random searches, and focus on the demographics that are known to be terrorists. Simply, and logically, put: Not all Arabs are terrorists, but all terrorists that have thus far attacked the US are Arab. And while not all blacks are criminals, by far, it was only the recognition of the simple fact that all criminals residing in my apartment were black that lead to their capture. Simple lessons, but costly to learn.