The state of the culture

Harl Delos, who's become a frequent commenter here, on his blog refers to my rant on the meaning of effete, but only in passing, which is probably the attention it deserves. It's in the middle of a nice, thoughtful essay about relationships and marriages:

Well, this won't be controversial:

To Mark Bauerlein, a professor of English at Emory University, the present is a good time to be young only if you don't mind a tendency toward empty-headedness. In "The Dumbest Generation," he argues that cultural and technological forces, far from opening up an exciting new world of learning and thinking, have conspired to create a level of public ignorance so high as to threaten our democracy.

I usually avoid commenting of "family values hypocrites," because the left does such a good job of bashing them, and there are plenty of hypocrites out there of all political persuasions. But this guy is just beyond the pale:

Vito Fossella built a career as a staunch "family values" pol, polishing his image in his predominantly Catholic district with a string of anti-gay votes.

A Dartmouth professor feels the heat and flees the intellectual kitchen:

Often it seems as though American higher education exists only to provide gag material for the outside world. The latest spectacle is an Ivy League professor threatening to sue her students because, she claims, their "anti-intellectualism" violated her civil rights.

Remember "The Harrad Experiment"? Yeah, I once thought it was brilliant, revolutionary, just the antidote for the stodgy sexual mores of my parents' generation. Of course, I was in high school at the time.

Same fantasy world, modern-day version:

Geez. I already knew many in the press were in bed with politicians, so I didn't really need to hear this:

Remember that story some of us got so exercised over about the proposed Maine law that would make it a crime merely to peer at children? Turns out we didn't have the story quite right:

The bill that sparked the controversy would make it possible for authorities to bring charges against sexual voyeurs who target children in public places. Under existing law, such conduct must occur in a private place to be illegal.

Awww, the poor babies:

PENDLETON — The dress, the hair, the limo, the dinner.

It's never cheap to go to a high school prom.

A few Americans come to their senses:

It had to happen sometime: American Idol is showing signs of mortality in its seventh season.

Ratings for TV's top show are down 7% to an average 29 million viewers for regular episodes and down 10% among adults ages 18 to 49, the main currency on Madison Avenue.

I can't stand it, can't stand it, can't stand it (construct mental picture of my head banging against the computer monitor):

Cyrus agreed to write a book about her early life in Tennessee, her move to Los Angeles and her parents — especially her mother — effects on her success.