The following is an excerpt from OpinionJournal.com’s “Best of the Web” written by the editor, James Taranto.
Cartoon by Rick McKee.
Out on a Limb
“New IRS Head Says Taxpayers No Longer Trust Agency”–headline, Associated Press, June 3
We Blame George W. Bush
“Riots Resume in Turkey, Erdogan Blames Twitter”–headline, IsraelHayom.com, June 3
Everyone’s a Critic
- “William Shatner ‘Appalled’ by IRS ‘Star Trek’ Parody”–headline, Mashable.com, March 26
- “Bob Woodward Criticizes IRS ‘Fiction’ “–headline, Politico.com, June 4
Breaking News From Last Month
“IRS Targeting Extended to Conservative, Republican Groups, According to Agency Employee”–headline, National Review Online, June 2
Breaking News From Stardate 4598.0
“ANALYSIS: Kirk’s Plan to Curb Gang Violence Faces Formidable Hurdles”–headline, Chicago Sun-Times, June 2
Bottom Story of the Day
“More Trouble for the IRS”–headline, TheHill.com, May 31
‘They Could Die’
“The burgeoning community of storm chasers was shaken over the weekend by news that one of their most esteemed members, veteran storm chaser Tim Samaras, 55, along with his son, Paul Samaras, 24, and chase partner Carl Young, 45, were killed by a tornado,” USA Today reports:
They were among 13 killed in storms Friday in Oklahoma.
The storm chasers’ deaths have cast into stark relief the hazards for those who choose to place themselves near lethal tornadoes.
“He (Tim Samaras) was a really well-respected researcher and he was not at all considered someone who was reckless. And so that’s why this is so surprising,” says Cameron Redwine, 32, a storm chaser and photojournalist from Denver. . . .
Already, groups are suggesting that the deaths Friday could lead to re-evaluation of storm-chasing tactics.
“It is too early to say specifically how this might change how we cover severe weather, but we certainly plan to review and discuss this incident,” says David Blumenthal, a spokesman for The Weather Company, parent company of the Weather Channel. Three members of The Weather Channel staff were in an SUV that was sent tumbling some 200 yards by the storm Friday, leaving one occupant hospitalized with broken bones, [TWC “severe weather expert” Greg] Forbes says.
“I hope there are lessons learned from this tornado,” he says, “that people realize that if they’re going to go out storm-chasing, that they could die. There’s no guarantee that they’re going to be able to escape the tornado.”
That Forbes quote is a perfect example of the naive assumptions that undergird liberalism, of both the classical and contemporary variety. The classical liberal assumes that people are fundamentally rational, so that if somebody takes what seems like a foolish risk, it must be because he didn’t understand the danger. But few people were more knowledgeable about tornadoes than Tim Samaras; surely he of all people understood their dangers.
This can be reconciled with the classical liberal view of man by stipulating that costs and benefits are subjective: For Samaras, the thrill of the chase was worth the heightened probability of early death. But Blumenthal’s hope that people will learn “lessons”– that they “realize that if they’re going to go out storm-chasing, that they could die”– reflects a peculiar naiveté of contemporary liberalism: its endless faith in “education,” which in this case amounts to belaboring the obvious, to solve perceived problems.
Note: Some of the excerpts above are from the June 3rd BOTW Archives. For more “Best of the Web” click here and look for the “Best of the Web Today” link in the middle column below “Today’s Columnists.
