The following is an excerpt from OpinionJournal’s “Best of the Web” at WSJ written by the editor, James Taranto.
What Would We Do Without Experts?
“Save Some Money, Experts Say Don’t Buy Organic Produce”—headline, KXAN-TV website (Austin, Texas), Nov. 17
Hey, Kids! What Time Is It?
“Islamic State Cannot Be Defeated With Kindness. It’s Time to Kill or Be Killed”—headline, Daily Telegraph (London), Nov. 16
Why Do Bad Things Always Happen to Him?
“MANILA, Philippines—After years of red-eye flights across the Pacific and marathon summits, President Obama had hoped to arrive in this Southeast Asian capital and tout progress in his seven-year charm offensive in Asia: His campaign to move away from the cycle of crisis in the Middle East and toward the rising region was finally yielding results. Instead, the president was due to land Philippines Tuesday amid a fresh crisis—a reminder of the trouble that has dogged his ‘Asia rebalance’ from its inception. The terrorist attacks in Paris and talk of reprisals for the Islamic State quickly threatened to overshadow Obama’s good-news tour to the Philippines and Malaysia this week.”—Kathleen Hennessey, Associated Press, Nov. 16
Say Watt?
Philadelphia has a new mayor, Jim Kenney, and the Philadelphia Inquirer has a story headlined “So Far, Kenney’s Top Appointees Are a Mix.” Reporter Claudia Vargas elaborates:
A hallmark of Kenney’s mayoral campaign was building a diverse citywide coalition. Likewise, his major appointees revealed thus far include two African American men, two white women, and a white man.
It reminds us of a story that appeared in the New York Times in 1983:
Interior Secretary James G. Watt, upset by a Senate vote barring him from leasing any more Federal land for coal mining, told a business group today that he was being advised on the issue by “every kind of mixture you can have. I have a black, I have a woman, two Jews and a cripple.”
After coming under immediate criticism from groups representing blacks, women, Jews and the handicapped, Mr. Watt issued an apology, saying his choice of words “was unfortunate.”
People sure were sensitive back in the ’80s!
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