Gleanings from the blogosphere, Aug. 16

I managed to miss this post the first time around, but I'm glad I took another look, thanks to Ambivablog. Bobby at Stubborn Facts spouts so much good sense it's frightening, as he goes from the Connecticut primary to the war in Iraq, putting his finger on the dangers of "True Believers" on both the right and the left over-simplifying and radicalizing issues and listening only to those opinions that agree with theirs.

McQ discusses the phenomenon of purging the ranks by true believers - in this case libertarians - who arbitrarily try to decide who can stay in the shrinking tent. I am not a libertarian, so the specifics of this argument mean little to me, but I think his illustration of the dynamic is downright illuminating and a useful caution to anyone who has a cause they passionately believe in.

At Booker Rising, Shay is emphatically rejecting "victomology rhetoric" for the high rates of AIDS among blacks and claiming that rampant promiscuity has more to do with the problem than poverty, ignorance, and prejudice. Does she really think she's going to get an audience by advocating personal responsibility? I'm cheering her on, personally, and I hope there are a lot of non-blacks listening too. Good sense is colour-blind.

Technorati tags: Heresy, AIDS