on the cover
Railroad!
Proposed lines ‘set rich blood a-tingling’ in early 1900s
Some Other Proposed North Coast Railroads
Choo-choo Fantasies
Exposing this east-west rail nonsense
seven-o-heaven
Undeterred Will
Will chides Andrew for lack of attention to detail and makes plans for his inevitable victory.
Today
44th Annual Kinetic Grand Championship Race
STAFF PICK / events, art, outdoors, sports, for kids, free / 9 a.m.-6 p.m. A 3-day, 42-mile kinetic sculpture race over land, sand, mud and water! LeMans start at the Noon Whistle on the Arcata Plaza. Follow the race through Manila, Eureka and into Ferndale on Memorial Day for the Glorious Finish. kineticgrandchampionship.com. 889-3024.
Flow 2012 Fashion Show
STAFF PICK / events / 8 p.m. Arcata Theatre Lounge, 1036 G St. Student designed and produced clothing. Fundraiser for Arcata Arts Institute. $35/$25 students. artsinstitute.net. 822-1220.
Woodside Preschool's Rummage/Bake Sale
events / 8 a.m.-noon. Woodside Preschool, 900 Hodgson St, Eureka. www.woodsidepreschool.com. 445-9132.
Lanphere Dunes Restoration
STAFF PICK / outdoors / 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Meet at Pacific Union School. Help remove non-native invasives at the Lanphere Dunes Unit of the Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Tools and gloves provided, wear work clothes and bring water. Carpool to the protected site. 444-1397.
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TWO Comments
Comment / By ER column reader / Feb. 2, 2009, 1:13 p.m.
This guy gets a sundae? Please.
I read Sowell’s article. His opinion is that the government cannot provide lower prices and lower supply when there is increasing demand without using taxpayer dollars. Hourany does nothing to dispute this short of using pompous vocabulary such as unctuous, polemic, and excoriates.
Hourany is correct in only one point, that Sowell is not a “conservative columnist.” Correct, he is a libertarian/free-market columnist.
As for the “the very excellent Kathleen Parker…” some people consider her “the very elitist Kathleen Parker.” I personally disagree with her article recommending that the Republican party dump people such as Sarah Palin. Most of us would rather leave that kind of elitist attitude to another political party.
Comment / By larry hourany / Feb. 9, 2009, 7:58 p.m.
Sowell 2-9-9
Oh mi god—Sowell is a libertarian, not a conservative writer. That changes everything. Well, maybe we can still examine what my critic claims is Sowell’s thesis: Bad policies are ultimately paid for by the taxpayers. This may be true, and it is certainly consistent with Sowell’s general position. But when he goes on to say that Sowell’s main point is that “lower prices and lower supply when there is increasing demand” cannot be achieved by the government “without using taxpayer dollars,” he is going way beyond anything Sowell actually said. Sowell is addressing government policies and programs, not the direct production of electricity. Consistent with his earlier positions, Sowell is apparently questioning control or regulation of the market. But even free-marketeers should be leery of deregulation after Enron and the current deregulation fiasco.
And, oh dear—Mr Whoeverheis took me to task for my—frivolous?—use of words. Yes, I do like to play with words. Since he/she didn’t like my “unctuous to the utmost” I could just say Sowell is “supremely hypocritical and misleading.” But I suggest to my critic that it is the meaning that prevails. So, instead of calling me a “pompous writer” he could have called me an “accurate writer.”
There is a process called ‘confirmation bias’ that influences the way we see the world. The process has three main features: detection, denial, and distortion. When all three are involved in the perception of an event, we are left with little of substance. Perhaps I can offset my critic’s empty calories with an ice cream sundae.