Kimberley Strassel recently wrote a "pro-free-speech" article in the Wall Street Journal, the well-known temple of conservatism.  WSJ's scholarly pretensions (you know "the Journal") aside, editorial biases clearly dominate WSJ's content.  So it is not a real surprise that Ms. Strassel is railing on Obama once again and supporting Mr. Romney, also once again.  But her latest article made me chuckle.  Here's why.

Ms. Strassel tries hard to make the case that the Obama campaign is trying to discredit and intimidate "private" citizens for their political donations.  Clearly, that is not a good thing.  But when I noticed that her list of 8 targeted private citizens (yes, Obama's campaign is allegedly spending resources to intimidate 8 poor, defenseless private citizens) included the Koch brothers (would it surprise anyone if they were 2 of the 8 :)), I realized that this was yet another political hack job.  Once a superwealthy (did I say poor?  sorry. my mistake.) private citizen dumps millions of dollars into political organizations that aim to influence public opinion in a big way, those private citizens become public citizens.  Fair targets for public conversation.  Period. 

The one good thing about the article - if this is the kind of argument to which ardent rightwing, consevative supporters are reduced to by the Obama vs. Romney matchup, the fall is going to be a great time for the Obama folks. 

English Journalism in India - Lazy, Hypocritical, and Amateurish

This is a short post. 

The vast majority of English journalism in India is sloppy, lazy, hypocritical, and amateurish.  The sloppiness is on daily display. Pick your favorite newspaper and scan it for typographical errors.  Laziness? How many truly well researched, investigative articles do you see in Indian newspapers?
Hypocritical and amateurish?  Well, that brings me to the reason for this post.  Have you all read how the "reporters cornered" Mamta Sharma, the chairwoman of the National Commission for Women in India?  Her fault?  She said "sexy" could also have a positive connotation.  They want her to take it back.  Darned character assasins.  None of them could have the moral courage of Mamta Sharma and stand up on stage and say what they truly believe in.  After shooting their impotent barbs at Ms. Sharma, I'm sure they went back to their laptops to see their favorite "item number."  Hypocritical.  See, you agree.