The Claremont Conservative

• Harvey Mudd Accepts 30% of Male Applicants, But Over 55% of Female Ones

  Number of comments: 4
  
  I have often criticized Harvey Mudd's President Maria Klawe for her obsession with women in the sciences. I made the case that there was evidence of discrimination in Harvey Mudd. Pomona's The Student Life printed this chart on its front page. The statistic at [...]
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  Posted: November 29, 2009, 8:43pm EST
  by Charles Johnson

• Smoking on the Balcony Banned in Claremont Hall

  Number of comments: 6
  A friend writes in to say that Claremont Hall's status as a "green dorm" has made it impossible for him/her to smoke on the balconies, without receiving menacing remarks from that dorms R.A.s. Apparently smokers aren't allowed to smoke anywhere near the building.
  
  One wonders what, if anything, prohibiting' [...]
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  Posted: November 29, 2009, 10:56pm EST
  by Charles Johnson

• Some Quick Links Out and About the Claremont Blogosphere

  Number of comments: 1
  CMC Associate Math Professor Mark Huber has a fantastic blog on science fiction, math, and his general thoughts on life. Highly recommended, especially if you are a closeted sci fi geek like me. (Okay, truthfully, no closet could hold me.)Michael D. Steinberger, a Pomona Professor, has a great [...]
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  Posted: November 28, 2009, 7:55pm EST
  by Charles Johnson

• Wake Up: Some Follow Up Thoughts on Those Who Ignore Islamic Violence

  Number of comments: 1
  Some more quick thoughts on Zaid Shakir's apology tour for Nidal Hasan. I'd hazard a guess that this is not a classical Greek apology tour where there might be some explanation provided, but an apology in the more modern sense: an effort to throw up smoke and mirrors, instead' [...]
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  Posted: November 28, 2009, 5:14pm EST
  by Charles Johnson

• Muslim Scholar: Islam Not To Blame for Fort Hood Massacre

  Number of comments: 0
  
  At best, the upcoming visit of Zaid Shakir is an exercise in wishful thinking. At worst, it is an insult to reasoning and thinking Americans everywhere. To picket or not to picket, that is the question.
  His topic? "Responding to the Fort Hood Tragedy." Or as the [...]
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  Posted: November 27, 2009, 12:26am EST
  by Charles Johnson

• A Few Thoughts on Andrew Bluebond On Blackface and Dexter

  Number of comments: 5
  
  J'accuse, Mr. Bluebond, j'accuse de n'avoir pas étudier les consequences
  
  Earlier in this semester Andrew Bluebond co-wrote a piece for Campus Progress decrying the supposedly rampant rise of blackface in the world, titled, "The Troubling Resurgence of Blackface." (This symposium on blackface ranks' [...]
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  Posted: November 25, 2009, 6:13pm EST
  by Charles Johnson

• Claremont Conservative Scoops The Forum

  Number of comments: 9
  The CMC Forum reports that Mitt Romney will be the Res Publica speaker, just as I reported thirteen days ago. (That's called a scoop in the business, ladies and gentleman, and lest they get high and mighty and say that they were just checking their [...]
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  Posted: November 24, 2009, 10:23pm EST
  by Charles Johnson

• Paul Rahe on Soft Despotism

  Number of comments: 0
  
  In January of this past year, I participated in a Winston Churchill conference at the Hotel de Coronado.
  It was an entirely fantastic experience and we read such Churchill classics as My Early Life and Thoughts and Adventures in great detail. Over dinner, Rahe [...]
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  Posted: November 23, 2009, 2:25pm EST
  by Charles Johnson

• The Cost of Fareed Zakaria's Visit to the Athenaeum?

  Number of comments: 1
  Was Zakaria Worth $75,000? Photo Courtesy of Claremontmckenna.edu
  A friend writes in with this tidbit about the cost of bringing past Res Publica speaker, Fareed Zakaria, to our college earlier this semester.
  Apparently, according to Harpers, the cost for one hour of Mr. Zakaria's' [...]
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  Posted: November 23, 2009, 2:25am EST
  by Charles Johnson

• CMC IQ Video Thoughts

  Number of comments: 1
  
  
  I found the interview [above] between Fareed Zakaria and Professor Minxin Pei to be quite a treat. A conservation between two experts on the larger question of China and its future, discussing the issues in a kind of Kissinger style realpolitik, was simply amazing!
  
  Still, I [...]
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  Posted: November 23, 2009, 10:38pm EST
  by Charles Johnson

• The Student Life on Affirmative Action For Men

  Number of comments: 0
  This most recent issue of The Student Life featured a front page article about the supposed discrimination against women that the federal government is investigating.
  I'm confused. I, and The Claremont Independent, have documented repeated instances of discrimination on the basis of race on several' [...]
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  Posted: November 23, 2009, 10:21pm EST
  by Charles Johnson

• My Student Life Op-Ed on Helen Prejean at the Athenaeum

  Number of comments: 2
  

  Here's the link to The Student Life copy. Below find my op-ed.

  It's not every day that I get to beat up on a nun, but here goes. Truthfully, I’m about as agnostic as you get on spiritual matters, but I do believe that everyone retains a right [...]

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  Posted: November 20, 2009, 7:48pm EST
  by Charles Johnson

• Quick Links Out and About the Claremont Blogosphere

  Number of comments: 9
  Pitney says that Palin is using her book tour to look at the prospect that she might be running for president. In so doing, she'll be following the lead of Barack Obama who did much the same thing for his book, The Audacity of Hope. Pitney was quoted in' [...]
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  Posted: November 20, 2009, 4:01am EST
  by Charles Johnson

• Bahrain's Ambassador Mistaken on Academic Freedom

  Number of comments: 0
  Clarification: The Bahraini ambassador said that she had not heard of the incident and that she would look into it if Vishnu would provide a link for her to look into.
  
  I'll have the full Bahrani Ambassador's quotation on Israel later this evening or earlier tomorrow.
  But before then, [...]
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  Posted: November 19, 2009, 4:11pm EST
  by Charles Johnson

• Fight on the Right: Ilan Wurman's Democrat-Lite Prescription for the Country

  Number of comments: 0
  Over at The CMC Forum, Ilan Wurman, my friend, co-worker, and one-time co-blogger, has a defense of using government and still being conservative.
  
  Undoubtedly this comes from his having read Grand New Party by Ross Douthat and Reihan Salam, which among other things argues that we should [...]
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  Posted: November 18, 2009, 5:12pm EST
  by Charles Johnson

• More Coverage on Riley Lewis and My Attempts at Jeopardy Fame

  Number of comments: 0
  Dan Evans CMC '12, over at The Forum, interviewed me and Riley over our bid to be on College Jeopardy! Here's a quick selection of what Riley had to say:
  According to Lewis, the judges would call on contestants regardless of who buzzed in first, testing how well they' [...]
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  Posted: November 18, 2009, 1:53pm EST
  by Charles Johnson

• A Few Quick Thoughts on Debate Night

  Number of comments: 17
  What follows are some of my thoughts on the debate night this evening put on by The Forum.
  The first debate was interesting, but Natalia's argument that we don't have the funds for isn't much of an argument. One day we will have the funds, but should we still' [...]
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  Posted: November 17, 2009, 8:43pm EST
  by Charles Johnson

• Should Claremont Dorms Continue to be Co-Ed?

  Number of comments: 2
  Maybe Kevin Burke was onto something with his op-ed in The Forum this past week about status and drinking. And maybe the reason Claremont students drink so much is that there's so much fraternizing with the sexes. In a way, perhaps CMC's not male dominated culture leads to more [...]
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  Posted: November 17, 2009, 2:31pm EST
  by Charles Johnson

• No Hitting the UCs While They are Down, Says Dean Vos

  Number of comments: 2
  In The Los Angeles Times today, there's an article mentioning the efforts of private colleges to attract students dissatisfied with the declining U.C. system.
  Richard Vos, vice president and dean of admission and financial aid at Claremont McKenna College, said he has noticed parents asking more questions about whether [...]
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  Posted: November 16, 2009, 2:25pm EST
  by Charles Johnson

• Ross Douthat on Jon Shields New Yorker Interview

  Number of comments: 0
  Ross Douthat of New York Times fame (and most recently a PSU event) weighs in on The New Yorker interview with Jon Shields. (I blogged about that here.)
  
  Naturally, I'd wager that because the subject matter is abortion, you won't hear a peep out of CMC's PR [...]
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  Posted: November 16, 2009, 2:12pm EST
  by Charles Johnson

• On Monte Carlo Night: A Review

  Number of comments: 13
  Clarification: I initially wrote that ASCMC should have the money only to send Kyle to Paris, Texas, implying that ASCMC was paying for the trip to Paris. It is not. But, by the alumnus providing it, it did free up money that would otherwise have gone to the prizes. In [...]
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  Posted: November 16, 2009, 11:30am EST
  by Charles Johnson

• Pitney on Our First "Pacific President"

  Number of comments: 33
  
  Pitney has the history here, but in fairness to Obama, I think what he meant to say was that he was our nation's first pacifist president. You know, totally unwilling to defend America or her interests when called upon. Here he is, again, bowing' [...]
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  Posted: November 14, 2009, 4:26pm EST
  by Charles Johnson

• Seth Lipsky on The Constitution

  Number of comments: 0
  James Taranto of The Wall Street Journal has a fantastic interview with my old boss, Seth Lipsky.
  
  When The Sun closed down last year, I wrote this post about how much I learned from Mr. Seth Lipsky. At the time, I complimented him on the breathtaking, all [...]
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  Posted: November 14, 2009, 7:04am EST
  by Charles Johnson

• On Hub Quiz Tonight

  Number of comments: 7
  There were well over 100 people tonight at Hub Quiz, but you know, when you read Kevin Burke's confused, overgeneralizing piece for The Forum, that no one ever goes to the dry events on campus...
  We lost tonight, in large part because the Hub Quiz people deliberately wrote' [...]
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  Posted: November 14, 2009, 3:48am EST
  by Charles Johnson

• Obama in Japan Is Good, Says Pomona Prof.

  Number of comments: 4
  Does it surprise you that the narcissist in chief visited Obama, Japan?
  Here's the quotation in full from David Arase of Pomona College in The Christian Science Monitor:"Obama can use his visit to set the stage for a revitalized relationship by focusing on two'" [...]
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  Posted: November 14, 2009, 2:58am EST
  by Charles Johnson

• CMC Professor Jon Shields on Abortion, Stupak Amendment, and the Politics of the Pro-Life Cause

  Number of comments: 1
  There's a fantastic interview with Professor Jon Shields in The New Yorker of all places. Here's his response, in part to a question about why the pro-life movement continues to draw in adherents.Why, in a rapidly liberalizing culture, has opposition to abortion basically stayed the same? What [...]
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  Posted: November 14, 2009, 2:42am EST
  by Charles Johnson

• A Few Questions for the Ambassador from Bahrain

  Number of comments: 3
  
  Bahrain is one of the most forward looking Arab nation in the Middle East. It is currently the only Arab nation that allows non-Muslims to become full citizens and it has a progressive record vis a vis women's rights.
  
  As Exhibit A, take the' [...]
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  Posted: November 13, 2009, 3:26pm EST
  by Charles Johnson

• Mitt Romney's Coming to Claremont McKenna?

  Number of comments: 0
  
  A source close to the Res Publica committee informs me that next semester's big name speaker will be none other than former Republican presidential candidate, Mitt Romney.' [...]
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  Posted: November 11, 2009, 9:30pm EST
  by Charles Johnson

• Chuck DeVore in Real Clear Politics

  Number of comments: 0
  A few days ago, Carly Fiorina secured the backing of eight GOP senators in her California Republican primary bid against CMC alum, Chuck DeVore.
  
  Kyle Trystad for Real Clear Politics wrote up how this race is the next New York-23, a reference to the failed bid of [...]
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  Posted: November 10, 2009, 2:56am EST
  by Charles Johnson

• Meg Whitman Just Lost My Vote

  Number of comments: 3
  The Griffith R. Harsh IV and Margaret C. Whitman Charitable Foundation in 2007 contributed $100,000 to the Environmental Defense Fund, which is now at odds with Whitman over water policy. The foundation also invested $3 million in hedge funds based in the Cayman Islands — a Caribbean tax haven that's' [...]
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  Posted: November 10, 2009, 11:08pm EST
  by Charles Johnson

• My Pope Center Op-ed on the Ath, Gays, and Communism

  Number of comments: 4
  A Hand Up for Freedom
  I wrote an op-ed for the Pope Center about how the Ath has effectively forgotten the fall of Communism, as it remembers homosexual rights. Titled another, "Another Stone Wall," here's a snippet of the article. It’s all right for Claremont' [...]
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  Posted: November 09, 2009, 8:45am EST
  by Charles Johnson

• College Jeopardy: The Final Wait

  Riley and I auditioned for College Jeopardy today. This is the final hurdle and we hear back in December.
  
  The process was pretty grueling. We got breakfast at the Radisson Hostel in Culver City, which incidentally, is the same hotel where Ken Jennings became a contestant. We then went [...]
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  Posted: November 08, 2009, 6:14pm EST
  by Charles Johnson

• My Defense of Craigslist in The Student Life

  Number of comments: 5
  If you want to read my defense of Craigslist and how you can find anything you want on it, head on over to The Student Life's op-ed page.
  
  The Forum, under Emily Meinhardt, didn't want to publish it, so I went elsewhere. And hey, The Student Life is [...]
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  Posted: November 07, 2009, 6:01am EST
  by Charles Johnson

• We Won Hub Quiz by Four Points

  Number of comments: 6
  Bryce Gerard CMC'11, Riley Lewis CMC '11, Alex Berman CMC '12, and I won Hub Quiz tonight. Our team name was Team Ramrod and we won $40 each. We were down and nearly out in the third round, but Bryce got all 16 Disney characters on the identification round, putting' [...]
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  Posted: November 07, 2009, 2:03am EST
  by Charles Johnson

• Classical Liberalism, Free Speech Found in The Student Life!

  Number of comments: 1
  There's a fantastic article by Brendan Rowan PO '11 in this past issue of The Student Life. The title pretty much says it all: "Something Offensive is Found on the Internet, Determined to be "Bias-Related." Good on The Student Life for publishing it. Here's a sample from the article:[...]
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  Posted: November 06, 2009, 5:49pm EST
  by Charles Johnson

• Go To This: PSU Events Are Seriously Good Now

  Number of comments: 0
  

  Governing with the Gavel?

  The Role of the Courts in a Democratic Society

  Thursday, November 12th, 2009

  8pm, Edmunds Ballroom
  

  As this summer's confirmation of Sonia Sotomayor showed, the country remains deeply divided on questions of judicial temperament and the role of the judiciary. As the Supreme Court' [...]

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  Posted: November 06, 2009, 12:12am EST
  by Charles Johnson

• Tibor Machan CMC '65 on Ayn Rand for Reason.TV

  Number of comments: 0
  It's no understatement to say that the work of Ayn Rand changed my life. It must have left an impression: I went to an Ayn Rand conference for my 17th birthday. Have a look at what Tibor Machan CMC '65 has to say about it. The run time is five [...]
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  Posted: November 05, 2009, 11:11am EST
  by Charles Johnson

• Andrew Bluebond Doesn't Get Humor About HIs Global Warming Religion

  Number of comments: 2
  
  Careful where you point that finger, Bluebond
  After I wrote a my little missive on Charlie Sprague's silly environmentalist suggestion, I wrote something saying that if the college were serious about banning emissions, it should ban East Coast and international students and only admit' [...]
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  Posted: November 05, 2009, 10:57am EST
  by Charles Johnson

• Travel to and From School: The Next Thing To Be Banned?

  Number of comments: 5
  Riley Lewis: CMC's one future student?
  
  In his usually incoherent column for The Forum, Charlie Sprague writes about how we should "End Fall Break," and leaves this silly one-liner.
  For the environmentalist, ending fall break would probably reduce the college’s carbon footprint as many students' [...]
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  Posted: November 05, 2009, 12:48am EST
  by Charles Johnson

• An Irreverent Look At All the Gay Rights Speakers Coming to Claremont

  Number of comments: 3
  Having just turned 21, I sympathize with the gentlemen that got raided by the police at the Stonewall Inn some forty years ago. I rather like having a brewsky (or two or several) at the local pub and would prefer to enjoy the company of my fellows or frauleins without [...]
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  Posted: November 05, 2009, 12:08am EST
  by Charles Johnson

• Pitney, Pestritto, and Voegeli on Year One in the Age of Obama

  Number of comments: 3
  First, here's R. J. Pestritto [quoted in part] in National Review:
  Democrats said something else during the campaign that we should have listened to. With remarkable consistency, they identified themselves with progressivism and made clear that they aimed to revive the principles and policies of the Progressive Movement' [...]
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  Posted: November 05, 2009, 12:03am EST
  by Charles Johnson

• Conor Friedersdorf PO '02 Open Letter to Jonah Goldberg

  Number of comments: 0
  Over at True Slant, Conor Friedersdorf PO '2002 writes an open letter to Jonah Goldberg, in which he mentioned his time at Pomona College:
  

  It is actually surprising that the gulf separating our attitudes is so deep. As a native of Orange County, California, the people I most respect' [...]
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  Posted: November 04, 2009, 6:18pm EST
  by Charles Johnson

• Against Don't Ask, Don't Tell

  Number of comments: 2
  Let me surprise a few people here: I'm in favor of repealing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."
  
  First off, let me just say that I think Dan Choi is a patriot and I can't believe that "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" is still a serious policy in America.
  
  Let's think' [...]
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  Posted: November 04, 2009, 5:58pm EST
  by Charles Johnson

• Neo-Liberalism and Latin America

  Number of comments: 0
  I've been asked to write something regarding neo-liberalism in Latin America for a friend. It's a paying gig, so I'm naturally excited, but what to say, what to say and what was so wrong with the classical liberalism, anyways?
  Have a look at how awesome liberalism in immigration' [...]
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  Posted: November 02, 2009, 11:07am EST
  by Charles Johnson

• Matt Spaulding's New Book Profiled in National Review

  Number of comments: 2
  Matthew Spaulding, CMC alum, wrote a new book, We Still Hold These Truths: Rediscovering Our Principles, Reclaiming Our Future that is the subject of a profile in National Review.
  I've been reading Race and Liberty in America: The Essential Reader by Jonathan Bean about how' [...]
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  Posted: November 02, 2009, 10:21am EST
  by Charles Johnson

• A Few Short Links

  Number of comments: 0
  
  From the Claremont blogosphere:The Forum's laughablly vague "Rules of Conduct." It really is ridiculous. Good thing it is almost never enforced. But I really don't think anyone should have this kind of power...Amy Jasper suggests that CMC is male-dominated. It isn't. 52 percent of the freshman class' [...]
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  Posted: November 01, 2009, 1:31pm EST
  by Charles Johnson