Culture: December 2008 Archives
Task Force on New Americans: Building an Americanization Movement for the Twenty-first Century
"With immigrants increasingly coming from different countries of origin and settling in communities that lack a long history of receiving immigrants, citizens and immigrants alike should reengage the principles and values that bind us as Americans. Educating on these principles and providing opportunities for civic participation will ensure that the United States remains a successful nation and a home to immigrants who prosper and contribute to American society...."
"The Task Force uses assimilation to refer to the process of embracing shared political principles, which exemplify democratic traditions and build a sense of community and common identity as Americans.... Assimilation is the notion that shared political principles, including the principles of democracy, in the United States bind together immigrants and citizens from different cultures. The three components of political integration are embracing the principles of American democracy, identifying with U.S. history, and communicating in English."
(Via The Corner.)
LIKELIHOOD OF CONFUSION®: eBay, Vero and the Scientologists
How the CoS is using eBay's anti-piracy program to prevent the auction of the cult's famed e-meters.
Only Collect « a historian's craft
The work of a young historian: "And the work is: Only Collect; that is to say, collect everything, indiscriminately. You're five years old. Don't presume too much to know what's important and what isn't. Photocopy journal articles, photograph archives; create bibliographies, buy books; make notes on every article or book you read, even if it's just one line saying 'Never read this again'; collect newspaper clippings and email them to yourself; collect quotes; save your ideas for future papers, future projects, future conferences, even if they seem wildly implausible now. Hoarding must become instinctual, it must be an uncontrollable, primal urge. And the higher, civilizing impulse that kicks in after the fact is organization, or librarianship." Who knew there was a professional niche for hoarding evidently useless information? (Via Jollyblogger.)
Businessweek.com: The 50 Top American Philanthropists
George Kaiser is 3rd at $2.377 billion, behind Buffett and Gates and just ahead of George Soros. Walton Family is 6th, T. Boone Pickens is 16th, David Koch is 25th, Charles Koch is 40th, and Henry Kravis is 44th. Depressing note: Most of the top philanthropists are very generous with left-wing causes and leftist approaches to solving problems. (Via Club for Growth.)
