American Civil War: A New One–Updated

Is a new American Civil War possible? I’ve mused on this notion, mostly dismissing it because it’s so uncomfortable to contemplate and then Glenn Reynolds writes about it today in his TCS Column:

One question is “who’s ‘we’ here?” I don’t see much of a sign that the American public — which, after all, overwhelmingly favored centrists in this month’s elections — is as divided as Card suggests. But — as Card also notes — the elites are much more divided, and the media tend to play up those divisions, because division and conflict are good story-drivers. (“We live in a time when moderates are treated worse than extremists, being punished as if they were more fanatical than the actual fanatics.”) To the “activist” crowd on the left and right, people who don’t share their views 100% are evil, and on the other side. This tends to backfire politically, which I think is why the elections favored centrists this time, but that doesn’t stop the polarization. In a way, it tends to make it worse.

He brings up an interesting point here about the moderates in the middle. He talks about them being treated worse than the extremists. Hmmm…. I have found myself riled up by “moderates”–not because they are so philosophically far away from my views but because they seem so ignorant of their own views. Some don’t know what they believe or why. This leads to places where voting comes down to “feelings” and the big picture is ignored in deference to the immediate and expedient.

What do I mean? Well, in the recent election a slew of centrists were elected, but they were Democrat. They said the right things to get elected, but the sum total of their election will mean a complete course change (leaving it behind) on fighting the War on Terror. Why? Because the newly-elected centrists will have zip to say about policy. The old extreme leftist guard will be putting forth legislation. The newbies will tow the line–or else.

I can understand the dilemmas posed by two parties so corrupt and smug and self-satisfied and utterly unconcerned about the voter’s views. I can understand wanting to smack them all down. The moderates, those least likely to have a philosophy beyond “everyone should be nicer”, sent a message: be nice!

But what does “be nice” mean? Does it mean be nicer to fetuses? Does it mean be nicer to terrorists? Does it mean be nicer to gay people? Does it mean be nicer to white and oriental people? (Affirmative action was smacked down in Michigan.)

I think this is what the moderates want:

• Abortion: Make it hard to get and fewer in number, but keep it legal. It’s probably a wrong, but a necessary evil. Besides, almost all my girlfriends have had one, I have too. Does that make me bad?
• Gay marriage: Gay people are nice. They are our friends. We just feel like marriage is a word that means between man and woman and should stay that way.
• War on Terror: We know there are bad guys out there, but do we need to have so many of our guys blown up? The notion of a long, protracted, messy war makes me queasy in the stomach. I don’t know the solution, but I don’t like what’s happening. Can we just come home and regroup? They all hate us anyway.
• Social Security: The trouble is fifteen years away, do we really need to think about it?
• Affirmative Action: Racism is a rarity and wrong. It is wrong to have institutional racism, too. It’s unfair to treat people differently. Racial preferences do that.
• Taxes: Life has been good the last couple years but I’m still living beyond my means trying to keep up with the Jones. I’ve got lots of credit card debt. This makes me nervous. And then Social Security might not be secure. I don’t want taxes to go up on me, but I think it would be okay for taxes to go up on anyone who makes more money than me.
• Oil dependence: We know that using oil makes us dependent on other countries, but we just don’t like the idea of digging holes in our tundra or ocean. That just seems bad. Let’s keep things the same. I’ll drive a hybrid and recycle to make myself feel better.
• Immigration: We need a border fence for security. I really like my lawn guy and housekeeper. They are guilty pleasures, really. I wish they spoke better English, though. And I don’t like subsidizing their health care costs, nevermind the bilingual program at school.
• Media: They mostly tell the truth. I don’t read the new media much. They’re all so opinionated. It makes me uncomfortable.

Mostly, I see a trend of denial and ignorance. Those on the far Left and far Right have “solutions” based on philosophy driven by core beliefs. The moderates find a strongly held opinion very uncomfortable. They find finding solutions uncomfortable. They find the current political climate uncomfortable. They find the world situation uncomfortable.

We currently have a Congress who will probably come up with legislation that angers everyone–if they’re capable of coming up with any at all. Negotiating compromise in this Congress will be like walking through chest-high glue. I don’t expect much progress.

Maybe that’s good for the country. Don’t expect the philosophically motivated to see it that way, though. That’s why Civil War isn’t out of the question.

UPDATE: But what is happening at the edges of society?

Well, in Academia mob rule and eliminating dialogue is the order of the day. Will we come to a place where people choose their higher learning institution based on philosophy? Doesn’t that work against the very notion of a liberal arts education?

The Anchoress has two very significant posts on the Media and War on Terror. How can you have moderate views on this issue? And here is a look at the enemy via Betsy. Again, I ask: how can you have moderate views on this issue?

How can you be moderate about press abuses unless you’re uniformed or just plain cynical? Gateway Pundit has more about the AP bogus story.

And then, all one has to do is look around the world to see America’s future should we give up the fight against Islamic terrorism. And there are some Americans who believe Sharia is a good idea in a multicultural world. How do you have a moderate opinion about this?

The problem as I see it, is that there are too many issues that require too much opinion. Moderation is likely to get one killed. So are the majority of Americans really moderate about the War on Terror?

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The Thanksgiving Stuffing That Keeps on Giving

Did you know that one out of four people gets food poisoning on Thanksgiving, mainly in the form of Salmonella or Ecoli. Well, Melissa has been sick for the last 48 hours due to said poisoning. She hopes to return to full time blogging as soon as this terrible ordeal passes. She hopes that you will continue to stop by and check out links in the meantime.

Steve

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Mormon Mitt Romney: Religious Discrimination

Here in the USA, where a country was built on religious freedom, religious discrimination has become de rigeur among the smarter-than-thou elites. Ann Althouse talked about it over the weekend. She says this:

There is going to be a lot to monitor on this story. There’s the usual way social conservatives and social liberals import religion into their struggle, but the addition of a distinctive new religion is making everything old new again. It could get really ugly. And make no mistake: Sullivan’s move is an ugly one. He doesn’t like social conservatives and the way they use religion, and he sees an opportunity to drive a wedge into them by raising questions about religious doctrine and prodding people to feel hostility toward Mormons. He thinks this is justified because — he asserts — the Republicans have won power by styling themselves as a “religious organisation.” They’ve used religion to their advantage, so they deserve to have it used against them. But stirring up hostility toward one sect? That is a dangerous thing that goes far beyond the targets you think you’re aiming at.

Here’s the point: Leftists hate any form of Christian “religionist” as Sullivan likes to say. They are hoping to turn Christian’s close-minded hatred against one another. The assumption is that religious people are evil, hating, close-minded idiots. That’s why we’ve had gay Republicans pushed out of the closet with glee in the last elections. Never mind that the supposedly open-minded among us are bringing forth great personal destruction for political gain (which I don’t think worked, by the way).

These purveyors of tolerance are actually purveyors of hate. It seems like it is hate toward Republicans, but it’s really not. The hate is pointed at God–God’s place in American society. A God who makes rules they disagree with and want banished for their own psychic comfort.

The “moral” victory to the Left will be when America is the secular belief vacuum that is Europe. Sin will cease to exist and everyone will be free–except those who believe in God.

More at Just One Minute.

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AP Bogus Reporting Out of Iraq

Yet more reasons to believe less than half of what you read and all of what you see. AP has been using a bogus “reporter” for months. Gateway Pundit has it all. It’s called propaganda and the press in on the other side.

Who’s the other side? Any side that opposes the U.S. and Israel.

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TV is Dead

Over at Techcrunch, TV has been declared dead:

The key tipping point will be when a startup is able to distribute proper television content over the Internet legally. People will begin to abandon their cable tv subscriptions in favor of Internet distribution. MobiTV is in the best current position to do this – they have a ton of cash and are only a few deals away from being able to offer the equivalent of a cable television subscription over the Internet. And The Venice Project may also win. iTunes will continue to pursue their pay per show model, and that will also take market share.

I agree. Here’s why: About five years ago, we gave up TV. Recently, we got it back with the flat-screen craze. What have we done? We have watched movies and certain sporting events. Otherwise, forget it! The news I get online is better, more complete, less biased, and more varied. Plus, I can read it when I want to. TV, unless I pay an insane amount of money for cable and TiVo, must be watched at certain times–for content I pay for handsomely. What? I don’t think so.

If I’m going to pay, it’s going to be my way. For example, I really enjoy Battle Star Galactica (nerd alert), but don’t want to waste time with commercials and story-line disruption. I buy the season at the end and watch it in order, on my time.

For extra perks and if the technology was easier, I’d download it, too. TV is dead–especially as younger people grow up relying on media content they master.

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New York Times Investigation

After all the hullabaloo coming out of the Times about the Plame affair that wasn’t, it’s interesting how concerned they’ve become about revealing sources when they have essentially aided and abetted organizations being investigated by the government. After the Grey Lady leaked important terrorist-busting American intelligence gathering, they are going to have a tough time finding public, and as it turns out, Supreme Court Justices, sympathy now that the tables are turned.

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Oxygen Monitor Worthless During Labor

Another intervention that does nothing:

The device, a fetal pulse oximeter, was meant to be used with fetal heart-rate monitoring, which is performed in 85 percent of births in the United States. Despite its routine use, the heart monitoring is controversial, because doctors adopted it in the 1970s without rigorous testing and then kept using it even after studies found that it led to higher Caesarean rates but not healthier babies. The heart monitors can create false alarms that lead to Caesareans.

Researchers had hoped that the fetal pulse oximeter would improve that situation — that monitoring both the oxygen level and the heart rate would help doctors do a better job of deciding when a baby was in trouble and needed to be delivered in a hurry. But it did not, the study found.

These interventions are actually harmful: they lead to more Caesareans which result in more interventions, longer hospital stays, more infections, and more complicated recoveries for mothers. In Houston, C-section rates are up to 50% and higher by some doctors.

This is absolutely insane. For ages, women have birthed babies the old-fashioned way, drug-free and without stupid interventions that impair the natural course of things. These days, women are so brain-washed that they believe birthing a baby to be a medical problem looking for a solution. And doctors decry their malpractice insurance rates. Why? They try to intervene and create an environment where birth can be “managed”.

A baby is not a tumor. It will come out on its own 99% of the time. C-sections were a nice help for the 1-2% freak happenings. They have morphed into a fall-back position for mothers and doctors intent on controlling the uncontrollable. Birthing a baby is perfect preparation for parenthood–mysterious, with it’s own timing and rhythm. Just like a baby’s personality, the birth has it’s own pace and pattern. Attempting to control it often leads to more problems.

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Give Thanks

Are you an American? Are you a journalist? Michelle Malkin has a list of things to be thankful for.

Today, Sunday, I’m thankful, once again to have Gina Cobb guest posting for me. She did a fantastic job, as usual. (Gina, feel free to keep on posting whenever.)

I’m also thankful to be home, where my house is on a firm foundation. I have discovered that I could not live in a houseboat.

I’m thankful for my beautiful children.

We are making a list that anyone in the family can write on: 1000 things we’re thankful for. We’ll see how long it takes to fill up the list.

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Medicating the Mind of a Child

From loading iPods to popping uppers, all in a day’s work for a ten year old these days. The New York Times has an interesting article on the “scant” evidence for psych medication for youngsters. Well, that’s not stopping the Psychiatrists I know. Who ever let evidence interfere with treatment–especially when parents want the easy out?

Many psychiatrists and parents believe that such drug combinations, often referred to as drug cocktails, help. But there is virtually no scientific evidence to justify this multiplication of pills, researchers say. A few studies have shown that a combination of two drugs can be helpful in adult patients, but the evidence in children is scant. And there is no evidence at all — “zero,” “zip,” “nil,” experts said — that combining three or more drugs is appropriate or even effective in children or adults.

“There are not any good scientific data to support the widespread use of these medicines in children, particularly in young children where the scientific data are even more scarce,” said Dr. Thomas R. Insel, director of the National Institute of Mental Health.

I’m going to write something very unpopular: ADHD and many other pseudo-diagnoses, are largely the results of poor parenting. Rather than continue, I’ll refer you to the work of Dr. John K. Rosemond and Dr. Rogers H. Wright, specifically the chapters “The Diseasing of America’s Children: The Politics of Diagnosis” and “Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: What it Is and What It Is Not” in the book Destructive Trends in Mental Health. It is a worthwhile read. It is no longer politically correct to look to the parents when children misbehave. It is now the standard to heavily drug children and there is absolutely no evidence whatsoever that indicates any benefits. None. Zero. And yet, look what is happening:

Ms. Kehoe, who receives government financial and child-care assistance because her children are considered mentally ill, said she knew that there were risks to the drug cocktails. Both her sons are short and underweight for their age — a common side effect of stimulants — and she fears that the drugs have affected their health and behavior in other ways.

“But I don’t think the insurance would pay for it if the F.D.A. didn’t decide that children should use it,” said Ms. Kehoe, who herself takes psychiatric medication.

In fact, the drug agency has specifically warned against the use of Lamictal, one of the drugs Stephen takes, in children who, like him, do not suffer from seizures because in 8 out of 1,000 children the drug causes life-threatening rashes.

Stephen and Jacob’s psychiatrist did not reply to telephone messages left with an office secretary on three different days. Ms. Kehoe said that she asked him to speak to this reporter but that he refused. The boys have had 11 psychiatrists over the last three years, according to prescription records, and many more before that, Ms. Kehoe said.

Ms. Kehoe herself is medicated. Is it possible that Ms. Kehoe hasn’t learned coping mechanisms and has taught her children the same maladaptive behaviors? Worse than this, though, are the physicians so willing to drug children when all evidence points to the fact that they simply don’t work:

The use of two-medicine combinations in children is on much shakier ground. Even for single drugs, the effectiveness of some psychiatric medications in younger patients is questionable: most trials of antidepressants in depressed children, for instance, fail to show any beneficial effect. But hardly any studies have examined the safety or the effectiveness of medicine combinations in children. A 2003 review in The American Journal of Psychiatry found only six controlled trials of two-drug combinations. Four of the six failed to show any benefit; in a fifth, the improvement was offset by greater side effects.

“No one has been able to show that the benefits of these combinations outweigh the risks in children,” said Dr. Daniel J. Safer, an associate professor of psychiatry at Johns Hopkins University and an author of the 2003 review.

If the evidence for two-drug combinations is minimal, for three-drug combinations it is nonexistent, several top experts said.

“The data is zip,” Dr. Hyman said.

No matter the med, no doctor can tell you how a two or three-drug interaction will affect an adult’s body–that includes statins, beta-blockers and anti-cholesterol meds to name three commonly prescribed medications. Now, imagine a child’s developing mind being subjected to powerful brain-chemical altering medications.

One of my first patients in clinic was a guy who had been on Depakote and Lithium almost his entire adult life. He was a drooling mess. Now children are routinely given tranquilizers, stimulants, anti-convulsants, anti-depressants, etc. to moderate behavior.

This is a dangerous game being played on the minds of our children. No research exists supporting this invasive behavior by doctors. Children are walking experiments all to save parents and schools the difficulty of dealing with sensitive, challenging children.

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Kids Growing Up Too Fast

Is 10 the new 15? Yes say parents and psychologists:

But as the limits have been pushed, experts say the stakes are also higher — with parents and tweens having to deal with very grown-up issues such as pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. Earlier this year, that point hit home when federal officials recommended a vaccine for HPV — a common STD that can lead to cervical cancer — for girls as young as age 9.

“Physically, they’re adults, but cognitively, they’re children,” says Alderman, the physician in New York. She’s found that cultural influences have affected her own children, too.

Are you kidding me? I must be hopelessly naive. A nine-year old having sex? Where, pray tell, is a nine-year old alone to have sex?

The “adultification” (my new word) of kids is appalling. Here is an example:

Claire Unterseher, a mother in Chicago, says she only allows her children — including an 8-year-old son and 7-year-old daughter — to watch public television.

And yet, already, they’re coming home from school asking to download songs she considers more appropriate for teens.

Guess what? My kids don’t have an iPod (I do though) and they don’t get to download music (I do though). I figure when they start earning money they can download music–you know downloading involves buying something. That takes money. Whose money?

It’s subtle. Changing the argument from if it’s OK to how to experience it. No one is asking if the act of going to iTunes and spending someone else’s money is appropriate or not. It’s assumed that it is perfectly normal for an eight year-old to navigate the web sans parent involvement–oh, except for mom and dad’s bank card.

Are you kidding me? Maybe it’s my excessive time spent on the web, but it’s no place for a child unchaperoned. I’m not sure it’s a place for teenagers unchaperoned.

I’m a fuddy-duddy. Mean, even. The TV is off-limits except for sporting events and we change the channels during commercials. All videos are filtered through boring old mom and dad. The kids do not get to watch videos in open-minded bliss. We’ve ruined Pocohantas for them--it’s politically correct, factually incorrect (interesting how that goes hand-in-hand) clap trap. The kids know it. We don’t own that video, by the way.

Even still, my seven year old daughter talks like a Valley Girl some days. She says she has to be “tough” at school. In second grade.

I feel like parents are conceding ground to the dark side. It is assumed a kid will be sexually exploited–magazines, web, peer influence. It is assumed a kid will act out on what he or she sees or hears. It is assumed that children will become little adults, celebrated even, at 10.

Well this parent concedes nothing. Parents, friends, push back. Be the bad guy. Turn off the TV. Nix the computer time. Say no to adultification and say yes to keeping kids kids.

Doesn’t adulthood come soon enough?

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