At Least 47% of Americans Are Really Dumb

Or so reflects this Rasmussen poll where 47% of Americans favor the return of the Fairness Doctrine.

71% also think it is "already possible for just about any political view to be heard in today’s media." Um, so what is the impetus for controlling content on the airwaves other than to forcefully push your agenda? Where do all of these angry little fascists come from?

And apparently 54% of the supporters are Democrat while Republicans are "evenly divided" on the issue. Dear Half of Republicans, I don't even know you anymore.

The "Fairness Doctrine" arose in an era of very limited television due to limited bandwith, and while that still seems like a pretty poor excuse for controlling media content, the very rationale for the FCC-imposed rule no longer exists. So this is just a naked "We want to control what you see and therefore think" agenda.

Why not take it a step further and demand the same for books? Sure, there are lots of books and people can choose whatever they want- but therein is the danger. They could choose only the books that they want to read without any balancing offset. And why stop with just political views? I mean, underlying values which inform politics (e.g. Christianity informing views on abortion) require a balanced viewpoint as well. And if those toothless hick heartlanders only read the Bible, we'll at least need to allow for some kind of Book of Rebuttal. Perhaps sandwiched between Acts and Romans. Or between the New Testament and the Old.

"But Holmes, that is ridiculous! You shouldn't be able to control the content in a book." But if I read the book aloud on TV, that would be different how? Look, I know the New York Times is biased- that is why I don't buy it. I know CNN is downright propaganda, that is why I don't turn it on. Ideas in a free market have a much better chance of getting out than one built on the PBS model- that last bastion of free and balanced thought. Er... (But I did love that hippie painter guy.)

Jackass

Or is it Jillass? Ann Althouse reads Naomi Wolf so you won't have to. Ace lends a hand.

Yale bans stage weaponry

In response to Virgina Tech, of course.

Students involved in this weekend’s production of “Red Noses” said they first learned of the new rules on Thursday morning, the same day the show was slated to open. They were subsequently forced to alter many of the scenes by swapping more realistic-looking stage swords for wooden ones, a change that many students said was neither a necessary nor a useful response to the tragedy at Virginia Tech.

According to students involved in the production, [Dean of Student Affairs Betty] Trachtenberg has banned the use of some stage weapons in all of the University’s theatrical productions. While shows will be permitted to use obviously fake plastic weapons, students said, those that hoped to stage more realistic scenes of stage violence have had to make changes to their props.

This might be the most idiotic response yet to the massacre. But it's early yet.

Via Michael Rubin.

Believe

"The Secret" can cure cancer. Or at least help you snag a convenient parking space.

In the film a woman says the law of attraction cured her cancer, but many followers settle for more prosaic victories. Victoria Moore, a saleswoman in Silicon Valley, said the principles of “The Secret” help her snag coveted parking spots. “But if I let in the slightest bit of doubt, it doesn’t happen,” she added. Elizabeth Cogan, a self-described shaman from Sparks, Nev., said the principle works at restaurants, where she envisions herself not having to wait for a table.

If Victoria Moore found parking spots in midtown Manhattan between the hours of 9 and 5, I'd believe, too.

Math is mean

A discussion amongst the innumerate.

I've come to realize that probably one reason I struggled with algebra, geometry et.al., was that it seemed to me that these were basically reactionary academic disciplines, useful for designing weaponry or potentially repressive computer technology, but not with any obvious humanistic or social positive uses.

If I'm wrong about this, I'd appreciate it if people could show me how this discipline can have progressive uses.

******************

I agree. The uses of mathematics are primarily to serve the elites and powerful within society. Thanks to mathematics, the United States was building rocket ships to collect pebbles on the moon while they had hundreds of millions of their own citizens at home starving to death. Mathematics is great for building nuclear war heads, weapons technology, software to line the pockets of millionaire fat cats, or creating non-sense to feed the bullshit rationale for junk sciences such as economics. But for the poor working family just trying to get by, mathematics has very little to offer.

Via Lisa.