Man Bites Horse: From the NYT‘s Nicholas Kristof–
You can’t make this up: Republicans back contraception for wild horses, cut it for humans.
Kristof thought this was such a cutting point that, after using it to close his most recent column, he repeated it on Twitter for his 1,079,881 followers (and got retweeted by at least one NYT colleague). But why is it so devastating–or even devastating in any way? The conservative Republican response is presumably that life begins at conception and human life is sacred, while horse life is not. Duh! Also that we worry considerably less about the moral and social effects of promiscuity and eugenics on equine society. Horse eugenics means you win the Kentucky Derby. Human eugenics … well, you know. If the Republicans (or Democrats) had supported family planning for humans but opposed it for horses, now that would be strange.
Nothing in Kristof’s faux mot does anything to undercut the non-irrational world view of his intended targets. The chances that it will actually win over anyone are nil–but it will get him applause from a large audience (at least 1,079,881) of the already convinced. It’s as much entertainment as argument. Not that there’s anything wrong with it! Unless you want Kristof’s side to win. …