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 Friday, July 12, 2002
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William Saletan's Harken Hypocrisy compares Bush on Monday, July 8, to Bush on Tuesday, July 9, showing how he contradicts himself and expects us not to notice. Saletan's conclusion is eloquent and devastatingly simple:
 Bush was elected on a promise to end the contradiction between presidential rhetoric and presidential rationalization. So far, all he's done is change the subject from sex to money. 
Whether Bush was actually elected at all is still debatable, as far as I'm concerned, but otherwise, Saletan is absolutely right: Bush is not delivering what he promised. Of course, that should surprise no one. What also shouldn't be surprising is the fact that somehow the media and politicians can whip up more moral indignation and righteous anger over sex scandals than they can over money scandals. I wonder if this is because the Repubs are just better manipulators of public opinion (playing the "morals" card on sex is always a winner for them), or if perhaps it's simply that we all second-guess ourselves before getting angry at greed, since we're all greedy, too. Oh, and then there's the fact that media organizations are probably less eager to pounce on corporate fraud and corruption since they are themselves fraudulent and corrupt corporations. Sigh... 1:52:58 PM 
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So you thought academia was a meritocracy, huh? You thought the smartest people, with the best ideas and abilities, who worked really hard, were the ones who ended up with tenure? Think again: More and more people (especially women) are being denied tenure because they're not nice enough or don't "fit in" with other faculty. In academia, if you play nice with others you're called "collegial," but:
"Historically, collegiality has not infrequently been associated with ensuring homogeneity, and hence with practices that exclude persons on the basis of their difference from a perceived norm," the statement [from the American Association of University Professors] said. "An absence of collegiality ought never, by itself, to constitute a basis for nonreappointment, denial of tenure or dismissal for cause."
However:
Because tenure reviews are confidential, and based so deeply on personal judgment, it is often difficult to assess precisely what went wrong with a particular candidate.
As if the Humanities job market wasn't bad enough, now you have to be nice, too? :-)
The fact that promotions in academic fields (particularly the Humanities) can so easily become capricious and personal only proves the truth of Noam Chomsky's assertion that American universities are normalizing (read: brainwashing) institutions:
The universities, for example, are not independent institutions. There may be independent people scattered around in them but that is true of the media as well. And it[base ']s generally true of corporations. It[base ']s true of Fascist states, for that matter. But the institution itself is parasitic. It[base ']s dependent on outside sources of support and those sources of support, such as private wealth, big corporations with grants, and the government (which is so closely interlinked with corporate power you can barely distinguish them), they are essentially what the universities are in the middle of. People within them, who don[base ']t adjust to that structure, who don[base ']t accept it and internalize it (you can[base ']t really work with it unless you internalize it, and believe it); people who don[base ']t do that are likely to be weeded out along the way, starting from kindergarten, all the way up. There are all sorts of filtering devices to get rid of people who are a pain in the neck and think independently. Those of you who have been through college know that the educational system is very highly geared to rewarding conformity and obedience; if you don[base ']t do that, you are a troublemaker. So, it is kind of a filtering device which ends up with people who really honestly (they aren[base ']t lying) internalize the framework of belief and attitudes of the surrounding power system in the society. The elite institutions like, say, Harvard and Princeton and the small upscale colleges, for example, are very much geared to socialization. If you go through a place like Harvard, most of what goes on there is teaching manners; how to behave like a member of the upper classes, how to think the right thoughts, and so on.
After nearly 20 years of formal education (gasp!), I still feel like I haven't learned how to think the right thoughts and how to behave like a member of the upper classes. More evidence that I need to find a new gig. 10:27:50 AM
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Here's a great way to make Microsoft behave: cut off their government funding. 9:57:00 AM
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Craig's Booknotes from the last couple of days has some great coverage of the whole pot calling the kettle black business as Bush and Co. pretend to crack down on corporate crime. But this isn't just about crooked corporations or politicians. There's a structural problem here: the U.S. simply relies too heavily on the stock market to take care of people in their old age.
For example, a friend of mine makes $40-50k/year and has been contributing to her 401k plan every month for many years. She told me yesterday that she lost nearly $5,000 in the last quarter, and the fund has been losing value more or less steadily for the last two years. That matches my own experience w/my meager retirement accounts. And, of course, stock people always say that you have to be patient w/stocks, that over time they will increase in value, yadda, yadda, yadda. Fine. That's great. But I don't think we should have to gamble with our life savings and play the odds in the hope that we'll be lucky enough to retire when the market's up. What's happening to people who are reaching retirement age right now? Not to mention the employees of these corrupt and soon-to-be bankrupt companies like Enron and Worldcom -- what about them?
You might see this as something of a leap, but what all this corruption on Wall Street shows more than anything is that we need a national health care and retirement system that's funded by corporate taxes, not by stock dividends. If people's health care and retirement money came out of corporate profits via taxes, when companies like Enron crashed and burned their employees wouldn't be left high and dry -- they'd already be taken care of. Social Security on steroids. It's time. 8:32:12 AM
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The U.S. got all excited about the World Cup recently, showing it could show enthusiasm for some sport other than football, basketball, or baseball. Yet, domestic coverage of the Tour de France (the World Series of cycling, if you will), remains almost nonexistent. If you'd like to follow the tour, try the BBC's Cycling Homepage. It features daily recaps of each stage, great maps of the routes (including elevation changes), and in-depth profiles of various riders. Great stuff. 8:06:37 AM
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Another great morning in the middle of the middle of the midwest. You know you're in a strange place when the day improves with clouds. Today the clouds are dark and dense, a tease that rain might come, but it's ok that it's just a tease -- at least the temperature is bearable w/out AC.
The kind of sunshine I'm looking forward to comes in the form of a tour featuring the Flaming Lips, Cake, Modest Mouse, De La Soul, and Kinky. Wow. Unlimited Sunshine is coming to St. Louis at The Pageant on Wednesday, July 31, and to Chicago's Aragon Ballroom on Friday, August 30. Sounds bright and shiny to me. 7:52:55 AM
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