That’s the story Felix Salmon (yes, that Felix Salmon) tells here after hearing former Stanford Professor Sebastian Thrun talk about putting his Introduction to Artificial Intelligence course online, which resulted in a total enrollment of 160,000 students all over the world(I’m linking even though the class is “over” for the time being, which means that…
Is that, you know, a promise?
Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner, proving that he will go the whole nine yards, and then some, to ensure the re-election of President Obama, makes the promise everyone’s been waiting for: If Obama wins, he’s history!
Patrick Deneen is better than you are, or at least more pompous
Over at Front Porch Republic, a site that I’ve never visited before and probably won’t visit much again, Georgetown Poli Sci Professor Patrick Deneen announces that he’s leaving G-Town for Notre Dame, saying that “my family and I are looking forward to living in a community that is less hectic and less dazzled by the…
Mitch Daniels, Man of Steel
Is there anything more pathetic than a liberal like myself, who sees “his” President, Barack Obama, as the tool of both Wall Street and the CIA? Well, apparently there is, the fate of big-city conservatives like Ross Douthat and Bill Kristol, who are wetting their collective worsteds over the prospect of either Newt or Mitt…
Expanding Starobin, excoriating Kagan
Last Friday I ran an effusive post on the fabulous articles now appearing in the New Republic! Well, that still stands, although I’d like to expand a little on what Paul Starobin wrote about the demise of Bill Daley and walk back, just a little, about what I said about the “good Kagan,” whose first…
Of frogs and men
Surrealistic Ben, the da-da man from Harrisburg, Pa., sends us this one. A frog the size of a cow? In central Pennsylvania, all things are possible. “Mom! Mom! Mom! Do we have any flies? You know, some really big ones?” Lois sighed. Jeremy and his frogs. She didn’t know where he got them. “Mom! Mom!…
The New Republic: Starting to stop not making sense
What is the deal with the New Republic? A couple of days ago they published an intelligent article on the Middle East by Kenneth Pollack, and today they publish a long, intelligent article on the fact that no, America is not “declining” (unless you mean, like, morally, in which case it totally is), an article…
Felix Salmon: Suze Orman is a big, fat idiot!
My god, is it Make Fun of Felix Salmon Week again already? I thought I had just gotten done trashing Felix two weeks ago! How time flies, eh? Well, enough shilly-shallying. Let’s get down to business. Two weeks ago, Felix wrote “I’m a big fan of Suze Orman, and I’m generally very mistrustful of prepaid…
Newt Gingrich is not a racist. He only makes grossly racist statements. All the time.
Over at the Daily Beast, Peter Beinart ties himself into knots trying to explain why “non-racist” Newt Gingrich says racist things, to wit, that black people (and only black people) somehow need to be told that they should stop collecting food stamps and get jobs instead. “Gingrich’s problem isn’t racism,” claims Pete earnestly, the sweat…
The Washington Post: Not entirely without honor, on occasion
I’ve pretty much lost count of the mean things I’ve said about the Washington Post,* but, by publishing “10 Reasons The U.S. Is No Longer The Land Of The Free” by George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley, the Post has demonstrated that it still feels some obligation to present opposing views. Turley’s eponymous blog…