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Wednesday, November 18, 2015

Miscellany: 11/18/15

Quote of the Day
I can live for two months on a good compliment.
Mark Twain

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Municipalities Are Ignoring Civil Forfeiture Reform in NM



More on Academic Fascism



Political Potpourri: The Rise of Rubio

The poll results are all over the map in today's RCP. The results are mixed for Trump. He seems to have opened up a near-double digit lead in NH (2 polls) and FL (plus a couple of polls in nearby NJ and CT), but he's still losing to Clinton in a battleground state (NH) and places third in CO, his worst recent showing I recall. Carson won CO, tied for second in one NH poll and third or worse elsewhere. Rubio swept second place across the board, scoring from 13-19 points, including 18 or better in 3 polls. Also, the 3 Outsiders are finding it harder to maintain their grip on half poll support. And it appears that Rubio is a particular recipient of support, whether it's coming from the Insiders or Outsiders. Now Rubio has yet to win his first polls in the Age of Trump. But I remember 6 years ago Rubio seemed to be a distant second to GOP recruit Gov. Crist and then shot right past him.

Note that I'm not ready to write off Carson given recent wins in CO, GA, and VA. But going 1 for 6 today was not good. I do realize today's cluster largely came from the Northeast which is more RINO and home territory for Trump, and I don't know to what extent the Paris attacks may have temporarily boosted Trump's anti-immigrant support. I need to see more data.

Facebook Corner

(Pacific Legal Foundation). Under our view, the U.S. Constitution … forbids government actions that single out explicitly religious institutions for unequal treatment.”
I believe that constitutionally credits have been held not to be public disbursements because the government never actually touches the money: taxpayers are given more autonomy to make decisions of educational choice over their own money. 

 Not surprising that Kadas, a former Democrat state legislator appointed by a Democrat governor, is supported by anti-education choice unions fending off competition to public school monopolies. In the end, these anti-competitive restrictions will never survive judicial muster. PLF is right to promote competitive education.

(Pro-Life Libertarians). If you are a libertarian, and not an anarchist, then you usually see the only proper role of government as being that which protects life, liberty, and property. Syrian refugees are fleeing threats to their very lives, yet so many want to refuse them access to America. What's the point of government, again?
Well, minarchists want limited government, including the size and scope of government's authority. For example, I agree to the use of common defense to repel an invasion, but that does not imply an unlimited mandate to intervene globally on the pretext all nations pose a potential threat. 

 I do think there are reasons to screen migrants for security and health concerns (contagious diseases), etc. However, the rule of law must protect individual rights consistently. To give an example, we had fairly open immigration policies under WWI. One glaring exception involved discrimination against Chinese and other Asian immigrants. We know if individual states implemented discriminatory policies like the Chinese Exclusion Act, they would have violated the Fourteenth Amendment (see Yick Wo v. Hopkins); at best, for the federal government to do the same would be hypocritical.

 The attempts to restrict Syrian refugees are morally unjustifiable.

(Reason). Should we bristle at the idea of yet another inflexible government mandate in public education or commend Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel for recognizing how important computer education is for today's students as they prepare to enter the work force?
As a former IT professor, you might think that I would support this. Let me put it this way: I think the process of learning to program supports several higher-order critical thinking constructs, and I found in my own teaching of undergraduate courses that a plurality of students in my own classes lacked relevant experience and struggled to develop relevant skills (that was 20 years back but probably still relevant).

 Part of the problem is the rate of technological change. For instance, when our service course featured PC applications, I was wary over testing, say, over keystroke combinations, because I anticipated even then that 5 years later, the application landscape would change. I do think that there is a complementary role for computer skills, just as for mathematical skills, but the idea of mandating it is misguided, one designed more to the benefit of IT educators than students.

 It's hubris to think that central government can micromanage job fulfillment in the dynamic economy. For example, we've seen government-subsidized college education glut the jobs market, far exceeding the demand for college graduates. The IT field does offer professional opportunities, but it can be highly competitive, whereas you compete against anyone with an Internet connection and a keyboard halfway around the globe. I worry about Democrats trying to rig the education system, while neglecting the basics of reading and math which are indispensable for competing in today's and future economies.

 What we need is competition in the education market, not megalomaniac politicians rationalizing another way of feeding corrupt, ineffective education monopolies.

(Pro-Life Libertarians). Libertarians love to talk about freedom, individual rights, and limited government. But when it comes to those scary Syrians, who all look like terrorists, let's lump them all together, men, women, and children, and bomb them with our biggest government bombs! After all, they are not Americans, so they have no rights!
Agreed. The fearmongering directed at Syrian refugees is an abomination. I am particularly incensed at Rand Paul's demagoguery on the issue.

Political Cartoon

Ron Paul's photo.
Courtesy of the original artist via Ron Paul
Courtesy of Gary Varvel via Townhall
Musical Interlude: My Favorite Vocalists

Aretha Franklin, "Rock Steady"



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