From the WSJ Opinion Archives

by JAMES TARANTO
Monday, January 22, 2007 12:42 P.M. EST

Discrimination Yes, Humor No
"An article in the annual joke issue of Princeton University's student newspaper has left some readers accusing its staff of racism," the Associated Press reports:

The Daily Princetonian issue included a column with a byline that closely resembles the name of Jian Li, an 18-year-old Asian man who filed a civil rights complaint against the university last summer after he was denied admission. . . .

Li, who now attends Yale University, told The Associated Press on Saturday that his complaint against Princeton accusing the school of bias against Asian students remains under investigation. . . .

Under a byline of Lian Ji, the article published Wednesday used broken English and spouted racial stereotypes to bash the school for his rejection.

"Hi Princeton! Remember me? I so good at math and science. Perfect 2400 SAT score. Ring Bells?" the article begins. "Just in case, let me refresh your memories. I the super smart Asian. Princeton the super dumb college, not accept me."

The kerfuffle over the column prompted an editor's note, which is less abject than these things usually are:

Since publishing Wednesday's joke issue, we have learned that some of our readers were offended by a column satirizing Asian stereotypes. The response surprised us: We did not seek to offend, and we sincerely regret having upset some of our readers.

Many criticisms of the column, however, do not recognize its purpose. Using hyperbole and an unbelievable string of stereotypes, we hoped to lampoon racism by showing it at its most outrageous. We embraced racist language in order to strangle it. At its worst, the column was a bad joke; at its best, it provoked serious thought about issues of race, fairness and diversity.

All this, though, misses the most appalling point. Li alleges that Princeton denied him admission on the basis of race, a claim that is almost certainly true. (If he was good enough to get into Yale, is there any doubt Princeton would have admitted him had he been black?) No one seems outraged by this, but people are upset at the Princetonian's mockery of him.

According to the "diversity" ethos that prevails at America's elite universities, then, it is racist to make fun of people for their race but perfectly fine to discriminate on that basis.

A Surprising Surge Supporter
It has been suggested that Sen. Ted Kennedy wants to treat Iraq the way he treated Vietnam and Mary Jo Kopechne. But this may be a bum rap. Yesterday on "Meet the Press," Kennedy had this to say:

I, I suggest that the president has the responsibility to demonstrate and prove to the American people that the surge will work. This is because the surges in the past--when we were in Najaf--Najib in 2004, were not successful. In Fallujah, they weren't successful. In Baghdad this last year, they haven't been successful, 2005 not successful. The burden is on the president to prove to the American people that it will work.

"The surge will work" is an empirical proposition, so the only way to prove it is through experimentation--i.e., we must conduct the surge and see if it works. Thus by demanding proof, Kennedy is endorsing the surge. No doubt the president is grateful for his support.

Divided We Stand
The Associated Press reports that some Democrats have come to the realization that division over Iraq could lead to defeat. No, it's not what you think:

Two leading Senate Democrats sought to build support Sunday for a bipartisan resolution opposing President Bush's war strategy in Iraq, cautioning that division over whether the measure goes far enough could spell defeat.

"The worst thing we can do is to vote on something which is critical of the current policy and lose it," said Sen. Carl Levin, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee. "The public doesn't support his policy; a majority of the Congress doesn't support his policy."

"If we lose that vote, the president will use the defeat of a resolution as support for his public policy," said Levin, D-Mich.

Levin doesn't want to see his party defeated. As for the country, that's another matter.

Classic Maureen Dowd--III
The famous New York Times article celebrating spinsterhood, which we discussed last Tuesday and again Friday, has yet another problem, to which several readers called our attention. It turns out that the statistic the Times trumpets is not that 51% of "women"* are unmarried, but that 51% are "living without a spouse." Here is what that means:

In a relatively small number of cases, the living arrangement is temporary, because the husbands are working out of town, are in the military or are institutionalized.

True, the number of military wives living stateside while their husbands are deployed overseas is small relative to America's total female population. But it is symbolic of how bogus the Times story is. A military wife may be a statistical outlier, but the divorcée who told the Times, "A gentleman asked me to marry him and I said no. I told him, 'I'm just beginning to fly again, I'm just beginning to be me. Don't take that away,' " is hardly a typical American either.

* A category that includes 16- and 17-year-old girls.

A Male First Lady?
New York's Sen. Hillary Clinton has established an exploratory committee, the first step toward an expected run for the presidency next year, the New York Times reports, adding that New York's junior senator is a woman of substantial accomplishment: "While she is not associated with any major piece of legislation, she is widely regarded as an effective, thoughtful lawmaker who has built bipartisan ties."

Mrs. Clinton's husband is Bill Clinton, who served as president from 1993 through 2001. If she becomes president, he would be the first male first lady, and the two of them would be the only people in American history to serve as both president and first lady.

The Times claims that Mrs. Clinton "is broadly popular with women," but we have to wonder about this. Whereas she is known for the cozy domestic life she shares with devoted hubby Bill in their Chappaqua, N.Y., home, the majority of American women don't even live with a spouse. Can Mrs. Clinton possibly relate to these modern women, who, as the Times notes, delight in their freedom? "It takes a village to raise a child," Mrs. Clinton once observed. But does Emily Zuzik, a 32-year-old musician and model who lives in the East Village of Manhattan, really want to be tied down with kids?

The senator's campaign Web site features a video depicting a relaxed-looking Mrs. Clinton sitting on a couch, asking Americans to join a "conversation" with her. "You know, after six years of George Bush, it is time to renew the promise of America, our basic bargain: that no matter who you are or where you live, if you work hard and play by the rules, you can build a good life for yourself and your family."

On the official Democratic Party Web site, someone called Sadie puts the case against Bush in slightly stronger terms (quoting verbatim):

BUSH makes me literally ill. the bile is rising up in my stomach as we speak....I wish I could race into bush's office and vomit all over his face. I wish I could stand over him and puke and gag and wretch until nothing but the last nasty drop of yellowish green bile runs down his ugly hate filled face, off his chin and down over his suit.

It may turn out, then, that Mrs. Clinton is a bit too mellow to appeal to her party's core voters.

Aren't They Overcovering the Topic a Bit?

"How Obama vs. Clinton Shapes Up"--headline, E.J. Dionne column, Washington Post, Jan. 22

"True Featherweights: The Sport Might Seem Fluffy, but Pillow Fighters Pack a Punch"--headline, news story, Washington Post, Jan. 22

At Least Until She Becomes President
"Hillary Returns to Antarctic for Final Time"--headline, CTV.ca, Jan. 20

The Imaginary Vote
New York's other senator, Chuck Schumer, has an essay in Newsweek called "We Can Win the White House," in which he reveals the secrets of Democratic electoral success:

Biking through New York's boroughs in 2005, I thought about some old friends, Joe and Eileen Bailey. Though they are imaginary, I frequently talk to them. To me, they represent the hardworking and often-ignored families who are not tuned in to special-interest newsletters or editorial pages, but want a little something more from their government and their leaders.

In 2006, Democrats did much better with people like Joe and Eileen.

The Democrats won thanks to imaginary voters? Is Schumer admitting to massive election fraud?

How Did That Happen?
"China's one-child policy has created a generation of 'only' children that now numbers 90 million, a senior family planning official said Friday."--Associated Press, Jan. 19

Defying Gravity
"Golden Gate Bridge Suicides Rise Sharply"--headline, KPIX-TV Web site (San Francisco), Jan. 19

Must've Been One Nasty Ski Trip
"Charles Cancels Ski Trip to Help Save Planet"--headline, Reuters, Jan. 21

News You Can Use
"Drew Barrymore Likes to Run Naked in Irish Wheat Fields"--headline, FoxNews.com, Jan. 20

Bottom Stories of the Day

  • "South Dakota, Other States Mark 11th Anniversary of Amber Alert System"--headline, Government Technology, Jan. 15

  • "Connecticut to Lose Its Last Howard Johnson's Restaurant"--headline, Associated Press, Jan. 19

  • "No Changes Planned at CBS Evening News With Katie Couric"--headline, Broadcasting & Cable, Jan. 22

  • "Without Rain, There Would Have Been No Ice: Steady showers before freeze nearly forgotten"--headline, Austin American-Statesman, Jan. 20

  • "Bush Library Not a Pulpit Topic at Many Methodist Churches"--headline, Dallas Morning News, Jan. 22

Young at Heart
From Yavapai County, Ariz., the Associated Press brings us an utterly bizarre story about a quartet of sickos. It began when a man showed up at a school, seeking to enroll a 12-year-old boy named Casey Price:

School officials became suspicious and called deputies, telling them they thought the guardianship papers and birth certificate presented by a man who said he was the "12 year old's" grandfather appeared to be fake and that "Price" looked much older than 12, said Susan Quayle, a spokeswoman for the Yavapai County Sheriff's Office. . . .

Sheriff's detectives investigating the case learned that the "grandfather" was Lonnie Stiffler, 61, who lived in a home in Chino Valley with Robert James Snow, 43, a sex offender who had failed to register with authorities, and the "12-year-old."

It turned out that "Casey Price" was actually Neil Havens Rodreick II, a registered sex offender who is 29.

Wait, it gets weirder:

During interviews with the men, detectives learned that Stiffler and Snow met Rodreick through an Internet chat about two years ago, Quayle said, and they began to trade sexually explicit photos. He convinced them he was "Casey Price" and was only 12.

Stiffler and Show went to Oklahoma and met Rodreick at a hotel, then brought him back to live with them in Arizona and began an ongoing sexual relationship, Quayle said.

Rodreick apparently shaved his body hair and used makeup to keep up his guise as a pre-teen boy, Quayle said. He also dressed as a juvenile and tried to act and talk like a pre-teen.

"He looks young, I would not have guessed that he's almost 30," Quayle said, though she noted he certainly looked much older than 12.

When detectives unraveled the case and told Stiffler and Snow that "Price" was named Rodreick and was in fact 29, Quayle said they became dismayed and angry that they had been "conned."

This sounds almost comical but in fact could have been quite sinister. There is evidence that the men had enrolled Rodreick in several other schools around Arizona, and Quayle believes the faux boy was "being used to troll for other kids" (it would have been more accurate to say simply "for kids").

But here is the strangest part of all:

All four men made an initial appearance in Yavapai County Justice Court Thursday, with all but Stiffler being held on $50,000 bond on a charge of failing to register as sex offenders. Stiffler was booked on two counts of forgery and one count of hindering prosecution and ordered held on $100,000 cash bond. . . .

Quayle said deputies are looking into other possible charges, but are not asking for child molestation charges involving Rodreick.

"We can't charge them with child molest because he was not a child," Quayle said.

Recall that the other men met "Casey Price" on an Internet chat room. We often hear about stings in which law-enforcement agents masquerade as minors in order to catch online sex predators. It's odd that these men would escape prosecution because no actual child was involved, simply because the man who told them he was a boy turned out to be a fellow pervert rather than a policeman.

(Carol Muller helps compile Best of the Web Today. Thanks to Danny Tesvich, Nathan Mower, Paula Ryan, Michael Segal, Ed Lasky, John Nernoff, David Shapero, Roger Heinig, Susan Dempsey, Steve Thornberg, Brian O'Rourke, Andrew Robinson, Ken McKenna, Rod Pennington, John Neal, James Carroll, Mary Tarpey, Dawn Fordham, R.J. Sorce, Scott Yates, Jo Atkins, Chstopher Thompson and Greg Askins. If you have a tip, write us at opinionjournal@wsj.com, and please include the URL.)

Today on OpinionJournal:

Click to email this article EMAIL THIS Click to format this article for printing FORMAT FOR PRINTING
ARCHIVE