The Rosenbergs Never Spied, Alger Hiss Was A Martyr, And Mao Killed Only A Few Who Needed Killing

My favorite analyst, Dr. Sanity, has some wisdom for us wrapped around the equally wise observations about academia by the Selma Oracle, Victor Davis Hanson. What a refreshing reality check! Thanks to Instapundit, OTR also found this Atlantic article on mass confirmation bias, a subject that ties directly into the therapy administered by Drs. Sanity and Hanson.

OTR finds it useless to attempt an improvement or elaboration on the message these posts bring to the reader, but he highly recommends the interesting message thread following the Atlantic post.

"He Was Coherent But Just Not Rational"

A leftist enviro-wacko died today at the Discovery Channel building in Sliver Spring, Maryland, after taking three hostages in protest over the cable network's programming. The event was telling enough, but a follow-up story in the Washington Post had an equally chilling quote from one Cynthia Philpott.

She and her boyfriend were new to Washington in 2008 when they decided to attend one of the enviro-wacko's Discovery Channel protests out of curiosity. Philpott related that his behavior was a bit challenging, but she followed up her comments with this remark:

He was coherent but just not rational.

I have written several posts over the past two years expressing my concern over what seems to be a national shift from a delicate social balance governed by reason to one governed by emotion. It is an "Alice in Wonderland" experience for the participant-observer to watch what is happening on the wrinkled edges of both political extremes in our nation. Even the words begin to lose their meanings and any hope of successful communication as a bridge to positive change is met with serious challenges. I will be interested to see how many old and new media folks catch Philpott's telling phrase and examine it for the pathology it represents. The analysis should be quite interesting, particularly of those "searchers" who may feel a bit unhinged over capitalism, the planet, and the implosion of the Soviet Union in late 1991. It is unfortunate that they seem to be ascendant lately.

The Ida May: Chesapeake Skipjack

The story goes there are only two truly happy days in a sailboat owner's life, the day he buys the boat and the day he sells it. That may work for most sailors, but there are exceptions. I found one today. This one isn't about the joy of sailing as a recreation. You could say the sailboat here is a piece of work. She is the Ida May, built in 1906 as a work boat called a skipjack. At one time there were thousands of skipjacks working the Chesapeake Bay oyster beds. Now the fleet is down to about thirty.

Two brothers have been working over the last four years to restore the Ida May, their father's last boat. It is a labor of love. Your link to the story is here.

The Star Gazer Voyages Into Eternity

Jack Horkheimer, PBS Television's Star Gazer, passed away yesterday in Miami from respiratory disease that plagued him all his life. For the past thirty-five years--twenty five on a national basis--viewers who heard Isao Tomita's electronic interpretation of Debussy's Arabesque No. 1 knew it was time for some astronomical entertainment from the Star Gazer. He was quite a salesman, and living proof that you didn't necessarily need to be a subject matter expert in order to sell your product well. For the last twenty years or so, Star Gazer has been available through a variety of media reaching millions of naked-eye astronomy enthusiasts around the world. We're going to miss Jack. Though they'll never be another quite like him, I do hope he made plans for a successor to help fans "keep looking up!" For those who may not be familiar with the Star Gazer, here is the episode prepared for August 16-22:

Gun Regulation In The People's Republic Of Maryland

Glenn Reynolds (Instapundit) linked to a scary Washington Post story today regarding a most revealing right to concealed carry lawsuit filed in Maryland. In 2002, Raymond E. Woollard and his family were enjoying Christmas Eve on their farm in Baltimore County when an intruder broke into the home. With the help of his shotgun and his son, the owner subdued, then held the dirtbag for OVER AN HOUR waiting for the police to arrive. As a result, the owner received a concealed carry permit to protect himself and his family from future break-ins or threats. Last year, the Maryland State Police withdraw the permit saying that the threat had passed because he hadn't been attacked again. The police essentially put a de facto limitation on criminal threats to the Woollard family.

Frankly, this is a rather stunning assumption on the part of the Maryland State Police. Reynolds had little comment on this story, so here is the Post link.

Reservations, Please!

Iran Air Flight 744 operates twice a month between Tehran and Caracas. The airplane is a Boeing 747SP, a shortened version of the 747, capable of carrying a maximum capacity over a long range with superior performance. An former Israeli intelligence agent says you or I could never reserve a seat on this flight. It's for Iranian agents. Do you really think they fill up that big cargo hold with luggage? And I wonder what goes back to Tehran?

William Katz (Urgent Agenda) has some comment on this story and a link to the original report from WTOP in Washington.

Sanity Restored

Ah, the good news today is Dr. Sanity's return to blogging after a four month absence. That's a long time to go without a bit of her theraputic wisdom. Obviously rested and ready, in today's post she brings us her insightful commentary on the ingredients of human progress. The focal point for this exploration is Matt Ridley's new book, The Rational Optimist: How Prosperity Evolves, and a review by Gagdad Bob. The blog has a fine examination of the role of ethics and how its erosion leads individuals and the society they lead into narcissism and decline. References and links to the works of Ayn Rand and Thomas Sowell add to the discussion. If the following observation catches your attention, you will appreciate the wisdom this post brings to our attention:

There is no doubt in my mind that the key "boundary conditions" that have enabled the incredible advances in human progress around the world which have decreased both human misery and poverty everywhere is due to the adherence to a rational ethical system that allowed individuals to interact in a socially productive and mutually beneficial manner--"between brains" so to speak; without the use of brute force and government coercion.

Those boundary conditions are being systematically and deliberately dismantled and replaced by a medieval, irrational and unethical system, that depends primarily on force, involuntary servitude, and the submission of the individual to the will of the State.

Dr. Sanity is a medical doctor specializing in psychiatry and aerospace medicine. The photo of her at work is from her blog--obviously enjoys the work. I feel better already.