Liberalism: There ain't no such thing as good news

The percentage of blacks marrying whites has risen by 3 times since 1980. Asians are just as likely to marry whites as they were in 1980 (40%), even though there is a much larger Asian population to choose from, and Hispanics are significantly more likely to marry whites than in 1980 (38% compared to 30%), even though there is a much larger Hispanic population to choose from. The sheer number of interracial marriages has risen 20% since 2000.

This is good news, right? Not the way the Washington Post spins it, complete with a commentary by Cornell Prof. Daniel Lichter that is completely at odds with the data, but supports liberal shibboleths about 9/11 and the recent Arizona illegal immigrant law:

The number of interracial marriages in the U.S. has risen 20 percent since 2000 to about 4.5 million, according to the latest census figures. While still growing, that number is a marked drop-off from the 65 percent increase between 1990 and 2000.

About 8 percent of U.S. marriages are mixed-race, up from 7 percent in 2000.
The latest trend belies notions of the U.S. as a post-racial, assimilated society. Demographers cite a steady flow of recent immigration that has given Hispanics and Asians more ethnically similar partners to choose from while creating some social distance from whites due to cultural and language differences.

White wariness toward a rapidly growing U.S. minority population also may be contributing to racial divisions, experts said.

“Racial boundaries are not going to disappear anytime soon,” said Daniel Lichter, a professor of sociology and public policy at Cornell University. He noted the increase in anti-immigrant sentiment in the U.S. after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks as well as current tensions in Arizona over its new immigration law.

“With a white backlash toward immigrant groups, some immigrants are more likely to turn inward to each other for support,” Lichter said.

In fairness to Prof. Lichter, reporters have been known to quote sources out of context, but there’s no excuse for how the Post reporter, Hope Yen, reported this story. It’s possible that there is actually some hidden bad news in the data, but if so, it’s not apparent from the story.

We can live briefly with Obamacare if it produces an anti-Democrat rout in the November election

Republicans and conservatives, the two species that have best resisted the knee-buckling charm of Barack Hussein Obama, will be rewarded whether or not health care reform is enacted.

Given that Democrats in Congress are afraid of voting for Obamacare, and rank and file citizens loathe the bill, it is likely to fail in Congress.  At this point, Rep. Paul Ryan says the Democrats are 10 votes short of the level needed to pass Obamacare.

If, on the other hand, Obamacare passes, the loyal opposition will have to prolong the battle, but the rewards for success could be even greater. The prospect of socialized health care, and the methods used to bring it about, could provide the outrage and public zeal necessary to challenge the liberal enterprise more broadly.

We have failed unionized public schools that survive only because alternatives are not permitted to operate. We have entire departments in our liberal arts colleges dedicated to teaching students to think of themselves as victims.

In Detroit, we have people lining up to receive their share of "Obama's money."

These and many other maladies have a common root - liberalism - and a common language, usually expressed as conspicuous compassion.

Polls show that voters are fed up with the liberal enterprise, which means that the November election could produce a real rout.

If so, let the dismantling of liberalism begin with abolition of the Education Department and other Democrat hiring halls such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The terrorists would look pretty in pink

The panicky pols are again in a lather, this time over where to put a few hundred suicidal maniacs once their current group home, at Guantanamo Bay, is closed for violating President Obama's terrorism etiquette.

Besides a swarthy, Arabic complexion, these men have one common denominator: they are willing to die if they can only take some us along for the ride. Needless to say, their hatred of America arouses sympathy among liberals.

So, in true liberal fashion, President Obama has ordered that Guantanamo be closed within one year, without having first determined what to do with the killers-in-waiting.

The answer is hiding in plain sight.

Turn the prisoners over to Sheriff Joseph Arpaio of Maricopa County, AZ, where they could get in touch with their softer side by wearing pink clothing and answering to female guards.

It's easy to see that Arpaio, 76, is on the right track: he has been denounced by Amnesty International, the American Civil Liberties Union, the Arizona Ecumenical Council, the American Jewish Committee, and the Arizona chapter of the Anti-Defamation League.

An Army veteran, Arpaio was first elected shriff in 1992, and has won reelection four times. He resurrected chain gangs, serves inmates surplus food and prohibits sexually eplicit material. His jailhouse radio station serves up classical music, opera, Frank Sinatra hits, patriotic music and educational programming.

For years, Arpaio has operated a tent city to house some inmates. When they complained about the heat, Arpaio replied, "It's 120 degrees in Iraq and the soldiers are living in tents and they didn't commit any crimes, so shut your mouths."

But he, too, has a softer side. He allowed the inmates to strip down to their pink underwear.