Jonathan's blog

The conservative columnist for The Wall Street Journal had this to say about calling your political opponent a Nazi (link):

…we disapprove, on both rhetorical and moral grounds, of comparisons between Obama and Hitler or ObamaCare and Nazism. (It should go without saying that such expression is fully protected by the First Amendment.) One should never in earnest liken a political opponent to the Nazis if that opponent does not practice or advocate genocide or totalitarianism.

To do so is a rhetorical error because it calls attention away from the speaker’s message and toward his lack of perspective. It is a moral error because of that lack of perspective. There may be plausible arguments that ObamaCare is evil in intent or would be evil in effect, but it is insane to equate it to the singular evil of Nazism. The easy recourse to Nazi analogies--far more common on the left than the right--debases the currency of moral outrage and can only diminish moral clarity.

This morning a 15-year-old allegedly stabbed and killed a 17-year-old and critically injured an adult man and two other children in his foster home.  It's not the kind of thing that happens around here very often.  I think this is the first time that I've read a story like this in the local newspaper (link) and paid attention to the "Reader Comments" section.  It's very strange...comments from the biological mother of the victims, from friends of the alleged murderer, etc.

Tonight we watched Burn After Reading (2008,R).  From ScreenIt!:

Fitness center employees' attempts to blackmail an ex-CIA agent go awry and end up involving more people than expected.

Coen Brothers.  Nuff said.  I give it 4 out of 5.

Key Club initiations