Roger L. Simon » Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert: Are They Pro-Islamofascist or Just Stupid?
Antisemites often ascribe super powers to Jews. They think that Jews are smarter and tougher, more cooperative and more competitive, faster to react and more given to long term planning, more artistic and more practical than other people. All that without having to go into a phone booth and change into fancy underwear with a cape. Which is good because there no longer are phone booths. Jon Stewart serves the valuable function of proving that members of the tribe can be just as opportunistic and short sighted as everyone else.
Stewart is a clown but not a funny one. Laugh at him but not with him. Do not let the cloak of comedy cover his real offenses. For his association with hate mongers and bigots like Yusuf Islam and Hamas he should be coldly confronted. When he attempts to weasel out with a smile respond with a firm refusal to play his game and return to the facts. Yesterday conservatives were gushing in Twitter over his line "We can have animus, and not be enemies." It works just as well reversed into "We can be enemies and not have animus." That is a simple test that his argument was vapid. If Jon Stewart spoke up for both apple and cherry pie, kittens and puppies, the MSM would hail him as a unifier.
Stewart brings no content to his discourse. His emotions are shallow and no basis for establishing policy. He offers his admirers nothing but a sense of entitlement and hostility to their proximate authority figures who demand personal responsibility and productivity. His politics amounts to attacking those his followers resent, their parents, religion, bosses and America, while exculpating or supporting the more distant and probably more dangerous authority of the organs of a bureaucratic government. He toys with representatives from distant and genuinely oppressive cultures secure in the belief that they could never threaten him. All the while those real malevolent threats wait off stage and watch.
Stephen Colbert on the other hand is simply a public idiot and should be treated with open contempt. Maybe the Democrats will try to get him into the US Senate.
There is a hierarchy of the left wing commentator comics. Stewart is probably the most functional. Colbert does function as his shadow. The idea that anyone as vulgar as Al Franken could be in the Senate, based on nothing more than his Harvard degree and the reluctance of sane people to soil themselves by confronting him, is so traumatizing that it is hard to respond to. That is an example of the "audacity" that Obama also used to advance himself. The worst of the lot is the odious Keith Olberman, who was not part of the Rally to Restore Sanity/or Fear. Unlike Obama the other four, Stewart, Colbert, Franken and Olberman have held what can be considered jobs. It is unlikely that Obama could hold down a comedy show after he leaves Washington. Maybe he can find an empty seat on Parker/Spitzer.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Comment on Pal2pal:
Obama Meltsdown and Lies Over 3 Minutes of Heckling (Video) Wow, just Wow!
Pal2pal
George W Bush and Bill Clinton worked together closely on the Global AIDS initiative. By attempting to steal or denigrate 43 on this 44 crosses 42. Do the math. Obama is now underwater and sinking. Bill Clinton went on his rewarding Hillary supporters tour and Hillary is out of town. The maneuvers and marshaling of forces in the next six months will resemble Europe in 1810-15 or America in 1861. We can only hope that the bloodshed will be confined to the the symbolic of domestic political careers. Unfortunately there is a strong linkage to international actors; Chinese, Russian, Iranian, Latin and Arab, who think of real armies moving across more than a chessboard and who are hazy about that post French Revolution Western concept of confining political terminations to the results of a ballot box and a lucrative pension with a golf club membership attached. Just who is Hillary talking to on this trip?
George W Bush and Bill Clinton worked together closely on the Global AIDS initiative. By attempting to steal or denigrate 43 on this 44 crosses 42. Do the math. Obama is now underwater and sinking. Bill Clinton went on his rewarding Hillary supporters tour and Hillary is out of town. The maneuvers and marshaling of forces in the next six months will resemble Europe in 1810-15 or America in 1861. We can only hope that the bloodshed will be confined to the the symbolic of domestic political careers. Unfortunately there is a strong linkage to international actors; Chinese, Russian, Iranian, Latin and Arab, who think of real armies moving across more than a chessboard and who are hazy about that post French Revolution Western concept of confining political terminations to the results of a ballot box and a lucrative pension with a golf club membership attached. Just who is Hillary talking to on this trip?
Friday, October 29, 2010
Comment on Daniel Hannan – Telegraph Blogs
When we have march'd our rackets to these balls, we will, in France, by God's grace, ...
When we have march'd our rackets to these balls, we will, in France, by God's grace, play a set shall strike his father's crown into the hazard – Telegraph Blogs
England is more than a damp corner of a foggy island and it is more than a catalog of wars and whores. It is a culture, a set of values, and something worth believing in and fighting for. If it treats itself like an administrative unit in some polyglot empire than that is how others will treat it. Believe in yourself and make being British something hard to obtain and worth fighting for.
Osama bin-Laden said that when people get to choose between the strong horse and the weak horse they choose the strong horse. The United Kingdom can welcome immigrants while insisting that those who come truly come to join its civilization.
That is not a call for bigotry or denial of each person's individuality in appearance, food, or private worship. It is not a demand that people conform to an Established Church. It is a statement that all must respect that what makes the UK a place worth joining is that Judeo-Christian Civilization. The social, political, legal and cultural institutions it created are worthy of respect.
Similarly with the EU. If the clerks of Brussels and the Enarchs of Paris treat the British with callous contempt be temperate and look in the mirror before your response. They are only acting in accordance with their natures and in response to passivity.
When America said "No" to the pretensions of the arbitrary functionaries of Lord North it resulted in a flowering of political and economic liberty in Britain. If the UK says No to the EU it may spark a great revival on both sides of the channel.
England is more than a damp corner of a foggy island and it is more than a catalog of wars and whores. It is a culture, a set of values, and something worth believing in and fighting for. If it treats itself like an administrative unit in some polyglot empire than that is how others will treat it. Believe in yourself and make being British something hard to obtain and worth fighting for.
Osama bin-Laden said that when people get to choose between the strong horse and the weak horse they choose the strong horse. The United Kingdom can welcome immigrants while insisting that those who come truly come to join its civilization.
That is not a call for bigotry or denial of each person's individuality in appearance, food, or private worship. It is not a demand that people conform to an Established Church. It is a statement that all must respect that what makes the UK a place worth joining is that Judeo-Christian Civilization. The social, political, legal and cultural institutions it created are worthy of respect.
Similarly with the EU. If the clerks of Brussels and the Enarchs of Paris treat the British with callous contempt be temperate and look in the mirror before your response. They are only acting in accordance with their natures and in response to passivity.
When America said "No" to the pretensions of the arbitrary functionaries of Lord North it resulted in a flowering of political and economic liberty in Britain. If the UK says No to the EU it may spark a great revival on both sides of the channel.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Comment on Virginia Postrel, Facebook |
is surprised that...
Facebook | is surprised that so many smart people have written so many column inches, pro and con, about the anti-elitism sweeping through American politics right now without ever using the words "Andrew Jackson."
The American History secondary school curriculum follows;
Colonialism-bad, Slavery-bad, Greedy Business-bad, Revolution leaders-flawed, Slavery-more bad, Mexican War-bad, Civil War-good, Industrial Revolution-bad, Indian Wars-bad, Unions-good, Spanish War-bad, Panama Canal-bad, Wilson WW-I-good, Treaty of Versailles and rejection-both bad, Greedy Capitalists-more bad, FDR New Deal WW-II-good, 1950s oppression of womyn artists & youth-bad, Vietnam-bad, 1960s art & culture-good, Nixon-bad, Bush(s)-bad, Obama-Redemption. Did I leave anything out?
The American History secondary school curriculum follows;
Colonialism-bad, Slavery-bad, Greedy Business-bad, Revolution leaders-flawed, Slavery-more bad, Mexican War-bad, Civil War-good, Industrial Revolution-bad, Indian Wars-bad, Unions-good, Spanish War-bad, Panama Canal-bad, Wilson WW-I-good, Treaty of Versailles and rejection-both bad, Greedy Capitalists-more bad, FDR New Deal WW-II-good, 1950s oppression of womyn artists & youth-bad, Vietnam-bad, 1960s art & culture-good, Nixon-bad, Bush(s)-bad, Obama-Redemption. Did I leave anything out?
Comment on Daniel Hannan, – Telegraph Blogs:
No to an EU budget hike, no to fiscal federalism,
yes to a referendum
No to an EU budget hike, no to fiscal federalism, yes to a referendum – Telegraph Blogs
It is not exactly clear from the thread what Mr Hannan means by "fiscal federalism." An explanation would be appreciated.
Federalism is generally a good thing and not to be confused with the faux EU doctrine of Subsidiarity. While not invented in America, bows to the Swiss and Dutch are in order, it is reasonable to view it as the key to the success of the United States and America's founders great gift to constitutional theory.
A Federation is more efficient and survivable than a Confederation but far more flexible and susceptible to democratic control than systems of provincial administration, whether their effectively appointed and centrally controlled rulers are called Satraps, Vicegerents, Administrative Unit Ministers, or Presidents of Constituent Republics.
UK Conservatives are understandably leery of dividing the Realm into independent districts. As it is the unhappy history has produced the Irish Republic occupy most of that island and with a low grade civil war that has lasted almost a century but whose citizens may vote in the UK. That privilege was granted even after their Lords were removed from the Upper House. In the cases of Scotland and Wales you have the worst of all possible solutions. Devolution has produced expensive talking shops that solve few problems but feed politicians ambitious to create new grievances and move towards dissolution. That is aside from the glaring problem of the West Lothian question.
Why not try real federalism? Transfer responsibility for social and educational policy, at least below the University level, and local services down to the 10 regional political units in the UK and make each of them equal in stature. Include tax authority and make it written in stone that there will be no subsidies from the national Exchequer. Local interests will compete to support politicians in Westminister who will fund national infrastructure projects or defense spending that benefits a region. Jealousy and competition will serve as a check on waste.
It is not exactly clear from the thread what Mr Hannan means by "fiscal federalism." An explanation would be appreciated.
Federalism is generally a good thing and not to be confused with the faux EU doctrine of Subsidiarity. While not invented in America, bows to the Swiss and Dutch are in order, it is reasonable to view it as the key to the success of the United States and America's founders great gift to constitutional theory.
A Federation is more efficient and survivable than a Confederation but far more flexible and susceptible to democratic control than systems of provincial administration, whether their effectively appointed and centrally controlled rulers are called Satraps, Vicegerents, Administrative Unit Ministers, or Presidents of Constituent Republics.
UK Conservatives are understandably leery of dividing the Realm into independent districts. As it is the unhappy history has produced the Irish Republic occupy most of that island and with a low grade civil war that has lasted almost a century but whose citizens may vote in the UK. That privilege was granted even after their Lords were removed from the Upper House. In the cases of Scotland and Wales you have the worst of all possible solutions. Devolution has produced expensive talking shops that solve few problems but feed politicians ambitious to create new grievances and move towards dissolution. That is aside from the glaring problem of the West Lothian question.
Why not try real federalism? Transfer responsibility for social and educational policy, at least below the University level, and local services down to the 10 regional political units in the UK and make each of them equal in stature. Include tax authority and make it written in stone that there will be no subsidies from the national Exchequer. Local interests will compete to support politicians in Westminister who will fund national infrastructure projects or defense spending that benefits a region. Jealousy and competition will serve as a check on waste.
More on Daniel Hannan – Telegraph Blogs:
Memo to my Leftie friends: you'd feel better if you tried not to hate us so much
Memo to my Leftie friends: you'd feel better if you tried not to hate us so much – Telegraph Blogs
The Left - Right alignment developed between 160 and 220 years ago. It began in the French National Assembly where the Jacobins sat to the left of the Speaker's dais in the Plain and the Royalists, Feuillants and later Girondins sat in the raised bleachers to the right, called the Mountain.
The designation in England of the Tory Conservatives as the equivalent of continental reactionaries was always problematic. They represented, and to some extent still do, rural and traditional interests. They were socially conservative but also sympathetic to a hierarchical society and an active paternalistic government. The Torys muddied the waters if they are viewed in a continental right-left manner by supporting the Reform Bills.
The English party that was the heir to those aligned to the innovative mercantile interests that resisted arbitrary authority were the Whigs who morphed into the British Liberals.The Liberals were the party that most closely resembled the American Conservatives in their (lower case) libertarian leanings. The transformation of the Liberals as they spent the last century and a half wandering across the ideological map is a fascinating story.
Historically there is often an alliance between the Nobles and the Commons against the Merchants and the Sovereign. For example in Rome the Emperor was usually aligned with the mercantile urban Freedmen Plebians against the Senatorial Class Optimates and the rural latifundia. Those late Republic identifiers may not apply over time but the concept remains valid.
The peasantry are usually attached to the rural gentry and when there is competition for their support the political system can become dangerously unstable. Their antagonism to the old nobility, exaggerated by the obsessive legal disputes and privileges in old regime France, fueled the Great Fear that ignited the Revolution. In England Charles I by aligning himself with the Nobles against the Whig Commons broke the historical pattern and temporarily doomed the Monarchy. The extension of the franchise under the Conservatives and their sympathy to social welfare can be viewed in that historical context.
Even today the Monarchy remains aware of it's dependence on popular middle class as opposed to aristocratic support. They have to be careful to calibrate just how far they go in project their image as sympathetic to different interests. Edward VIII was considered dangerous because when he toured afflicted regions and said "Something must be done to find these people work" it was seen as leading to a potentially fascist popular threat to the constitutional order.
The Left - Right alignment developed between 160 and 220 years ago. It began in the French National Assembly where the Jacobins sat to the left of the Speaker's dais in the Plain and the Royalists, Feuillants and later Girondins sat in the raised bleachers to the right, called the Mountain.
The designation in England of the Tory Conservatives as the equivalent of continental reactionaries was always problematic. They represented, and to some extent still do, rural and traditional interests. They were socially conservative but also sympathetic to a hierarchical society and an active paternalistic government. The Torys muddied the waters if they are viewed in a continental right-left manner by supporting the Reform Bills.
The English party that was the heir to those aligned to the innovative mercantile interests that resisted arbitrary authority were the Whigs who morphed into the British Liberals.The Liberals were the party that most closely resembled the American Conservatives in their (lower case) libertarian leanings. The transformation of the Liberals as they spent the last century and a half wandering across the ideological map is a fascinating story.
Historically there is often an alliance between the Nobles and the Commons against the Merchants and the Sovereign. For example in Rome the Emperor was usually aligned with the mercantile urban Freedmen Plebians against the Senatorial Class Optimates and the rural latifundia. Those late Republic identifiers may not apply over time but the concept remains valid.
The peasantry are usually attached to the rural gentry and when there is competition for their support the political system can become dangerously unstable. Their antagonism to the old nobility, exaggerated by the obsessive legal disputes and privileges in old regime France, fueled the Great Fear that ignited the Revolution. In England Charles I by aligning himself with the Nobles against the Whig Commons broke the historical pattern and temporarily doomed the Monarchy. The extension of the franchise under the Conservatives and their sympathy to social welfare can be viewed in that historical context.
Even today the Monarchy remains aware of it's dependence on popular middle class as opposed to aristocratic support. They have to be careful to calibrate just how far they go in project their image as sympathetic to different interests. Edward VIII was considered dangerous because when he toured afflicted regions and said "Something must be done to find these people work" it was seen as leading to a potentially fascist popular threat to the constitutional order.
Comment on « Iconic Photos:
L’Affaire Dreyfus
L’Affaire Dreyfus « Iconic Photos
People will defend a process even when doing so destroys the credibility and legitimacy of the institution the process was created to serve. Whether it is the trial of Dreyfus or the disciplining of priests by the Catholic Church or peer reviewed credentialing of global warming reports or the maintenance of feudal loyalty to the staff in the Committee to Reelect the President during Watergate the result is the same. It is the coverup that destroys the institution that those who perverted the process with lies had a duty to serve.
If the Anti-Dreyfusards had any idea of the damage that would be done to institutions that they valued would they have insisted on the truth? It is easy to teach children to admire the discipline of Titus Manlius Torquatus, who ordered his own son executed for breaking the law.
Human beings being social animals naturally rely on loyalty to shelter us from from harsh realities. When to that fear of the harsh disinfecting light of truth is added the pull of anti-Semitism the choice for many became irresistible. Some were willing to risk damaging the law, the social structure, and the loyalty of the people to defend the authority of the French army. More were secretly willing to sacrifice their public loyalty to all those institutions to indulge their desire to attack the Jews.
Dreyfus himself only survived by being convinced that he was living out the ideal of Manlian virtue. He became more conservative than his opponents. He was a Jew acting "more Catholic than the Pope." The idea that he could be equated with the Anarchists Saccho and Vanzetti must have filled him with horror.
People will defend a process even when doing so destroys the credibility and legitimacy of the institution the process was created to serve. Whether it is the trial of Dreyfus or the disciplining of priests by the Catholic Church or peer reviewed credentialing of global warming reports or the maintenance of feudal loyalty to the staff in the Committee to Reelect the President during Watergate the result is the same. It is the coverup that destroys the institution that those who perverted the process with lies had a duty to serve.
If the Anti-Dreyfusards had any idea of the damage that would be done to institutions that they valued would they have insisted on the truth? It is easy to teach children to admire the discipline of Titus Manlius Torquatus, who ordered his own son executed for breaking the law.
Human beings being social animals naturally rely on loyalty to shelter us from from harsh realities. When to that fear of the harsh disinfecting light of truth is added the pull of anti-Semitism the choice for many became irresistible. Some were willing to risk damaging the law, the social structure, and the loyalty of the people to defend the authority of the French army. More were secretly willing to sacrifice their public loyalty to all those institutions to indulge their desire to attack the Jews.
Dreyfus himself only survived by being convinced that he was living out the ideal of Manlian virtue. He became more conservative than his opponents. He was a Jew acting "more Catholic than the Pope." The idea that he could be equated with the Anarchists Saccho and Vanzetti must have filled him with horror.
Comment on PJM, Ed Driscoll »
‘Because the Rallies are Comic Events, You May Not Laugh’
Ed Driscoll » ‘Because the Rallies are Comic Events, You May Not Laugh’
SE Cupp criticized calls for Joy Behar to be fired for her on air vulgarities in calling Sharron Angle a "Bitch" because Ms Behar is a Comic. To me that argument fails for two reasons.
1. It is a subset of the special license for artists position that has been used to excuse the crimes of Exra Pound, Woody Allen and Roman Polanski. Who gets to decide who the artists are and how their talent mitigates their offenses? The whole concept is undemocratic.
2. It allows people to play both roles, demanding respect for their political opinions and then, at their own discretion, sheltering from any rebuke for an offense under the guise that it was a "joke." The solution to that is to treat them like clowns, relentlessly and publicly. If they attempt to stand on their dignity just laugh in their face and spray them with seltzer.
Ms Behar however should be treated in this instance as the professional she has pretended to be. She should be terminated.
SE Cupp criticized calls for Joy Behar to be fired for her on air vulgarities in calling Sharron Angle a "Bitch" because Ms Behar is a Comic. To me that argument fails for two reasons.
1. It is a subset of the special license for artists position that has been used to excuse the crimes of Exra Pound, Woody Allen and Roman Polanski. Who gets to decide who the artists are and how their talent mitigates their offenses? The whole concept is undemocratic.
2. It allows people to play both roles, demanding respect for their political opinions and then, at their own discretion, sheltering from any rebuke for an offense under the guise that it was a "joke." The solution to that is to treat them like clowns, relentlessly and publicly. If they attempt to stand on their dignity just laugh in their face and spray them with seltzer.
Ms Behar however should be treated in this instance as the professional she has pretended to be. She should be terminated.
Comment on PJM, Ed Driscoll »
Shhh—Nobody Tell MSNBC
Ed Driscoll » Shhh—Nobody Tell MSNBC
Remember when seconds count the police are only minutes away. If you have to safely restrain someone until the police arrive then try to do so using the minimum force that will ensure your safety. If you can prevent them from causing harm and allow them to escape without having reason to believe that they will continue to be a threat then let them go and give the police a good description. Of course if you reasonably fear that they may come back with a gun if released then you may need to restrain them. If you are not a trained and credentialed Law Enforcement Officer then how can you be held to their standards of professional conduct? That cannot mean that private citizens have no right to defend themselves or others. At least that is true in America. In England your mileage may vary. I am not a lawyer, I know both my parents, and I am not giving legal advice here. How you perceive the situation and more import how you articulate what you perceived is crucial. It would help if more proactive training was offered by the police to concerned citizens. The legal community should also be better at offering training as to people's rights and responsibilities.
Remember when seconds count the police are only minutes away. If you have to safely restrain someone until the police arrive then try to do so using the minimum force that will ensure your safety. If you can prevent them from causing harm and allow them to escape without having reason to believe that they will continue to be a threat then let them go and give the police a good description. Of course if you reasonably fear that they may come back with a gun if released then you may need to restrain them. If you are not a trained and credentialed Law Enforcement Officer then how can you be held to their standards of professional conduct? That cannot mean that private citizens have no right to defend themselves or others. At least that is true in America. In England your mileage may vary. I am not a lawyer, I know both my parents, and I am not giving legal advice here. How you perceive the situation and more import how you articulate what you perceived is crucial. It would help if more proactive training was offered by the police to concerned citizens. The legal community should also be better at offering training as to people's rights and responsibilities.
Comment on PJM, Ed Driscoll »
Mark Steyn: He Who Must Not Be Linked
Ed Driscoll » Mark Steyn: He Who Must Not Be Linked
Mr Steyn is a Canadian citizen, or is it subject? He lodges however on American soil, as does his blog. Linking to his blog is linking to a business located in the United States. Is it possible that Richard Warman by attempting to prevent Canadians from linking to Mr Steyn is violating a treaty between the governments of Canada and the United States? If Mr Warman can prevent those in the Great North from doing business with a person or business located in the Sunny South, or Vermont then all sorts of mischief may be possible. Consider if some person decided that Canadian forestry practices did not meet all the standards and regulations that are imposed on American companies. They could sue to restrict access to products produced up yonder. That would put the New York Times out of business in short order. Despite that it is probably a bad idea. Just as the US Constitution took away the power of States, or citizens within a State, to interfere with trade between States nations sign treaties to regulate international trade.
A phone call from the US Trade Consul may be in order.
Mr Steyn is a Canadian citizen, or is it subject? He lodges however on American soil, as does his blog. Linking to his blog is linking to a business located in the United States. Is it possible that Richard Warman by attempting to prevent Canadians from linking to Mr Steyn is violating a treaty between the governments of Canada and the United States? If Mr Warman can prevent those in the Great North from doing business with a person or business located in the Sunny South, or Vermont then all sorts of mischief may be possible. Consider if some person decided that Canadian forestry practices did not meet all the standards and regulations that are imposed on American companies. They could sue to restrict access to products produced up yonder. That would put the New York Times out of business in short order. Despite that it is probably a bad idea. Just as the US Constitution took away the power of States, or citizens within a State, to interfere with trade between States nations sign treaties to regulate international trade.
A phone call from the US Trade Consul may be in order.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Comment on Daniel Hannan – Telegraph Blogs:
Memo to my Leftie friends: you'd feel better if you tried not to hate us so much
Memo to my Leftie friends: you'd feel better if you tried not to hate us so much – Telegraph Blogs
The big change in public discourse over the last 40 to 50 years is that the downside for abuse has been removed for the Left. At one time barely functional sociopaths may have thought of hateful screeds or even shared them with their associates but they would not have issued them as public statements or in the workplace.
The reason for that was simple. It would have gotten them fired and shunned. More it would have resulted in pressure from those who agreed with the offender in principle. That was because the normal and healthy response of people to hearing a hateful ad hominum rant devoid of meaningful content would be to reject not only the message but also the messenger and any movement they were associated with.
It took decades to condition the public to tolerate such abuse. Beginning with the "Angry Young Man" artists in the 1950s the pressure to accept hostility as a validation of an argument, as opposed to considering it a reason to deem the arguer as illegitimate, has grown to the point where the need for a real argument has vanished.
If people like Lily Allen were denied the cover of pleading that it was "only art" and evaluated by the consequences of their actions then they would be charged with child abuse for the real harm that they cause. They are not exposing suffering but causing it. If people really confronted the abuse and some were held accountable for it then the balloon would deflate and public policy debates would again be held in terms of efficiency and competitive demands for limited resources. In those dull terms the Left would be sure to lose.
The big change in public discourse over the last 40 to 50 years is that the downside for abuse has been removed for the Left. At one time barely functional sociopaths may have thought of hateful screeds or even shared them with their associates but they would not have issued them as public statements or in the workplace.
The reason for that was simple. It would have gotten them fired and shunned. More it would have resulted in pressure from those who agreed with the offender in principle. That was because the normal and healthy response of people to hearing a hateful ad hominum rant devoid of meaningful content would be to reject not only the message but also the messenger and any movement they were associated with.
It took decades to condition the public to tolerate such abuse. Beginning with the "Angry Young Man" artists in the 1950s the pressure to accept hostility as a validation of an argument, as opposed to considering it a reason to deem the arguer as illegitimate, has grown to the point where the need for a real argument has vanished.
If people like Lily Allen were denied the cover of pleading that it was "only art" and evaluated by the consequences of their actions then they would be charged with child abuse for the real harm that they cause. They are not exposing suffering but causing it. If people really confronted the abuse and some were held accountable for it then the balloon would deflate and public policy debates would again be held in terms of efficiency and competitive demands for limited resources. In those dull terms the Left would be sure to lose.
Comments on Richard Miniter, Facebook:
An excellent Washington Times editorial today
An excellent...
The United States Congress retains the ability to issue a "Letter of Marque or Reprisal." Place a bounty on Mr Assange, and with a substantial bonus if he is delivered alive for trial. Offer another bounty for proof of substantial disruption to any electronic system used to harm the United States. Turn the private market loose and see what they can deliver.
-----
(in reply to Richard Miniter)
Look it up, the US did not sign the Paris Treaty, or Declaration, of 1856. Also it is questionable as to whether that would be a valid use of the Treaty power by the Senate and the Executive to override the Amendment power of the House and the States, if we had joined that effort, which again we did not. Generally speaking I am not a supporter of Ron Paul but he is correct on this issue. The power of the Congress to issue these documents remains intact.
-----
(in reply to Alex Boyle)
The European snatch and grabs of terror suspects in places like
Italy may make rounding up a little shit like this problematic.
The Euro police history may work in favor of an American op. People disappear all the time over there. It provides plausible deniability. Who knows who is after Assange? The people who hunt him may not know who they are working for. Assange is a crazy and paranoid jerk and he is lost in his own wilderness of mirrors. Those outside have to be protected from him. Who will protect him?
He is a citizen of Australia but will they give him sanctuary or stop an American operation? If the US pursues him in Sweden or Italy then the host nation may object but that would be an issue between the US and that country or between Australia and that country or Australia and the US. When you commit crimes or attack a nation other than your own you must realize that legally you have no claims or rights as an individual, except as a host country chooses to grant them to you.
There are Conventions protecting stateless individuals and people traveling from genocide and human trafficking and other crimes. They provide little protection to a criminal engaged in actions against a foreign country contrary to the Laws of War. International Law is the Law of Nations. If Mr Assange in his actions on behalf of those at war with the United States was not acting on behalf of the government of Australia, his place of citizenship, nor of Sweden, his place of residence, then he is no better than a pirate or unlawful combatant. He could be killed or hauled off to GITMO.
-----
(in reply to Alex Boyle)
I see this as an act of possession of stolen goods, than making war
Dealers in classified documents survive in the cracks by proving themselves useful to both sides. Once Kruschev proposed to Kennedy, who was complaining about the waste of resources fighting the Cold War spy game in Berlin, that they pool their resources and form a cartel. That way they would only have to buy the worthless paper once.
We will have to agree to disagree about whether to consider Mr Assange as a mere Fence or as an active hostile agent. The war is real, it is a fact. By dealing with the combatants or knowingly giving them aid, which he has been informed he is doing, Mr Assange and his confederates have placed themselves in the position of injuring not a private party but participating in an attack on a sovereign country.
Mr O'Brien has written well researched and entertaining books. My taste for the genre was formed long before I went to sea myself. starting with E.M. Forster's Hornblower novels.
The United States Congress retains the ability to issue a "Letter of Marque or Reprisal." Place a bounty on Mr Assange, and with a substantial bonus if he is delivered alive for trial. Offer another bounty for proof of substantial disruption to any electronic system used to harm the United States. Turn the private market loose and see what they can deliver.
-----
(in reply to Richard Miniter)
Look it up, the US did not sign the Paris Treaty, or Declaration, of 1856. Also it is questionable as to whether that would be a valid use of the Treaty power by the Senate and the Executive to override the Amendment power of the House and the States, if we had joined that effort, which again we did not. Generally speaking I am not a supporter of Ron Paul but he is correct on this issue. The power of the Congress to issue these documents remains intact.
-----
(in reply to Alex Boyle)
The European snatch and grabs of terror suspects in places like
Italy may make rounding up a little shit like this problematic.
The Euro police history may work in favor of an American op. People disappear all the time over there. It provides plausible deniability. Who knows who is after Assange? The people who hunt him may not know who they are working for. Assange is a crazy and paranoid jerk and he is lost in his own wilderness of mirrors. Those outside have to be protected from him. Who will protect him?
He is a citizen of Australia but will they give him sanctuary or stop an American operation? If the US pursues him in Sweden or Italy then the host nation may object but that would be an issue between the US and that country or between Australia and that country or Australia and the US. When you commit crimes or attack a nation other than your own you must realize that legally you have no claims or rights as an individual, except as a host country chooses to grant them to you.
There are Conventions protecting stateless individuals and people traveling from genocide and human trafficking and other crimes. They provide little protection to a criminal engaged in actions against a foreign country contrary to the Laws of War. International Law is the Law of Nations. If Mr Assange in his actions on behalf of those at war with the United States was not acting on behalf of the government of Australia, his place of citizenship, nor of Sweden, his place of residence, then he is no better than a pirate or unlawful combatant. He could be killed or hauled off to GITMO.
-----
(in reply to Alex Boyle)
I see this as an act of possession of stolen goods, than making war
Dealers in classified documents survive in the cracks by proving themselves useful to both sides. Once Kruschev proposed to Kennedy, who was complaining about the waste of resources fighting the Cold War spy game in Berlin, that they pool their resources and form a cartel. That way they would only have to buy the worthless paper once.
We will have to agree to disagree about whether to consider Mr Assange as a mere Fence or as an active hostile agent. The war is real, it is a fact. By dealing with the combatants or knowingly giving them aid, which he has been informed he is doing, Mr Assange and his confederates have placed themselves in the position of injuring not a private party but participating in an attack on a sovereign country.
Mr O'Brien has written well researched and entertaining books. My taste for the genre was formed long before I went to sea myself. starting with E.M. Forster's Hornblower novels.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Comment on PJM, Ed Driscoll »
Great Moments in Branding
Ed Driscoll » Great Moments in Branding
On this subject (Jon Stewart's "Gov't Doesn't Suck Rally"), as in so many, it was said best by Jay and Lynne in Yes Minister.
Bernard: What about a publicity campaign Minister, you know
ADMINISTRATION SAVES THE NATION, RED TAPE IS FUN,
full pages ads in ... in. Just an idea.
Jim: Red tape is fun?
Bernard: Well what about RED TAPE HOLDS THE NATION TOGETHER.
- The Writing on the Wall
(Youtube, the Statist tools, pulled the video)
On this subject (Jon Stewart's "Gov't Doesn't Suck Rally"), as in so many, it was said best by Jay and Lynne in Yes Minister.
Bernard: What about a publicity campaign Minister, you know
ADMINISTRATION SAVES THE NATION, RED TAPE IS FUN,
full pages ads in ... in. Just an idea.
Jim: Red tape is fun?
Bernard: Well what about RED TAPE HOLDS THE NATION TOGETHER.
- The Writing on the Wall
(Youtube, the Statist tools, pulled the video)
Comment on PJM, Ed Driscoll »
Obama: Republicans ‘Gotta Sit in the Back’
Ed Driscoll » Obama: Republicans ‘Gotta Sit in the Back’
Thirty years ago if any politician of any party at any level said anything as stupid as "They can come for the ride, but they gotta sit in back" a delegation of Elders would have walked into their office and said "You're through." Ever since 1968 all the brakes and checks have been removed from our political system. The old machines were terrible and corrupt and inefficient but they were supposed to do one thing right. Like the Parliamentary system the Clubhouse served to vet that is screen rising party operatives. Self interest served to motivate party bosses and other politicians to weed out the manifestly incompetent or delusional. Honesty was not the desired criteria but a degree of self control and the guile not to get caught were rewarded. The old system produced some spectacular failures but also had its successes. Harry Truman and Al Smith rose through the most corrupt machine politics but, even if you disagree with their policies, were far more effective and less gaffe prone than Obama.
The domination of politics by outside special interest groups and manipulators who specialize in crafting campaigns as if they were selling a media product is what has allowed untested mediocrities to rise. People like David Axelrod and special interest fundraisers like Emily's List work with advocacy groups, like the Tides Foundation, to control the Democratic Party and advance candidates. Thirty years ago they would have been viewed by the politicians as simple sources of money to be shaken down. Now the outsiders run the show and a politician's actual track record means little. In fact in both elective office and in appointed positions such as the Supreme Court having a paper trail that can be examined is considered a liability.
In their defense senior Republicans may be afraid that the Tea Party movement may expose the GOP to a similar wave of unqualified ticking bombs. It is important to focus the energies of the base into capturing local offices. This will serve not only to crowd out the breeding grounds of much of the money and many of the foot soldiers for the Democrats but will also provide for a tested cadre of office holders that the GOP can run for higher office.
Thirty years ago if any politician of any party at any level said anything as stupid as "They can come for the ride, but they gotta sit in back" a delegation of Elders would have walked into their office and said "You're through." Ever since 1968 all the brakes and checks have been removed from our political system. The old machines were terrible and corrupt and inefficient but they were supposed to do one thing right. Like the Parliamentary system the Clubhouse served to vet that is screen rising party operatives. Self interest served to motivate party bosses and other politicians to weed out the manifestly incompetent or delusional. Honesty was not the desired criteria but a degree of self control and the guile not to get caught were rewarded. The old system produced some spectacular failures but also had its successes. Harry Truman and Al Smith rose through the most corrupt machine politics but, even if you disagree with their policies, were far more effective and less gaffe prone than Obama.
The domination of politics by outside special interest groups and manipulators who specialize in crafting campaigns as if they were selling a media product is what has allowed untested mediocrities to rise. People like David Axelrod and special interest fundraisers like Emily's List work with advocacy groups, like the Tides Foundation, to control the Democratic Party and advance candidates. Thirty years ago they would have been viewed by the politicians as simple sources of money to be shaken down. Now the outsiders run the show and a politician's actual track record means little. In fact in both elective office and in appointed positions such as the Supreme Court having a paper trail that can be examined is considered a liability.
In their defense senior Republicans may be afraid that the Tea Party movement may expose the GOP to a similar wave of unqualified ticking bombs. It is important to focus the energies of the base into capturing local offices. This will serve not only to crowd out the breeding grounds of much of the money and many of the foot soldiers for the Democrats but will also provide for a tested cadre of office holders that the GOP can run for higher office.
Comment on PJM, Ed Driscoll »
Paradise Lost
Ed Driscoll » Paradise Lost
"a bunch of thoughtful, well-educated people"
Needs Work. Nothing fails like failure.
The GOP needs billboards. Unfortunately most of them in America are controlled by a unit of CBS that is controlled by the left wing Sumner Redstone's National Amusements.
In addition to the above slogan other billboard ready displays would include the unemployment rates on the day Obama was elected and 2 years later, just as follows.
6.9% vs 9.6% GOP.com
Another could just feature photographs of Bush, Cheney, McCain over the word Adults. The sharp version would have photos of Emanuel, Pelosi, Frank over the word Not.
Note there are varying ways to measure unemployment. A 09/2008 vs 09/2010 comparison of U-6, including the discouraged and marginal or part time workers as unemployed, would yield 11.2% vs 17.1%.
"a bunch of thoughtful, well-educated people"
Needs Work. Nothing fails like failure.
The GOP needs billboards. Unfortunately most of them in America are controlled by a unit of CBS that is controlled by the left wing Sumner Redstone's National Amusements.
In addition to the above slogan other billboard ready displays would include the unemployment rates on the day Obama was elected and 2 years later, just as follows.
Another could just feature photographs of Bush, Cheney, McCain over the word Adults. The sharp version would have photos of Emanuel, Pelosi, Frank over the word Not.
Note there are varying ways to measure unemployment. A 09/2008 vs 09/2010 comparison of U-6, including the discouraged and marginal or part time workers as unemployed, would yield 11.2% vs 17.1%.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Comment on David Goldman, First Things:
Disappearing Middle Eastern Christians, Disappointing Bishops
Disappearing Middle Eastern Christians, Disappointing Bishops | First Things
In 1967 Moshe Dayan intended to effect the annexation of Bethlehem into Israel. Due to a clerical, in the secular sense, error that did not happen. The golden moment passed and the Christian inhabitants of Bethlehem have been expelled. The occupation and desecration of the Basilica made unambiguously clear what the fate of the Church will be under Islamic rule.
Israel's effort to cast itself as the protector of religious minorities in the region foundered in Lebanon. This happened for several reasons, the weakness and disunion of the Christian community and the poor handling and alienation of Walid Jumblat and the Druse eventually snatched a defeat from the jaws of victory. Another golden moment passed.
America was not ready and even under Reagan withdrew after encountering the murderous rage that destroyed the Marine barracks. It took the Americans almost another 20 years more to assimilate the doctrines that lead to our engagement in Iraq. Unfortunately the enemies of Western Civilization used that time also and their corruption of the elites in Europe and America advanced far enough to possibly again snatch a defeat for the West. Five years ago there was another golden moment that passed when America had the forces available to crush the Alawite Shia proxy National Socialist Ba'ath regime in Syria and transform the Middle East. Lebanon had its Cedar Revolution but the tide ebbed.
How many bites at the apple will those fighting for the legacy of Judeo-Christian Civilization get? On the tactical level there is some hope in Israel's warming ties with Greece, and possibly with the Eastern Orthodox and Slavic world. Three times in 44 years there have been opportunities to free the captive Christians of the Levant and forge an alliance between Christians and Jews that could have served as a model to the masses in the Middle East seeking some alternative to brutal, corrupt, and arbitrary polities they are subject to. Under the tutelage of al-Jazeera even the American campaign in Iraq is perceived as a failure by a weak and divided nation. In the absence of a convincing victory by the West the inhabitants will turn to the "strong horse' of al-Qaeda's Salafism or Iran's apocalyptic Shia Islam.
There may be one last chance as Iran pushes Israel to the existential wall to change the dynamic. This may be the time to swing for the fences because the alternative is retreat and defeat and the extermination of millions while the survivors face eventual subjugation by an ideology whose long night,
In 1967 Moshe Dayan intended to effect the annexation of Bethlehem into Israel. Due to a clerical, in the secular sense, error that did not happen. The golden moment passed and the Christian inhabitants of Bethlehem have been expelled. The occupation and desecration of the Basilica made unambiguously clear what the fate of the Church will be under Islamic rule.
Israel's effort to cast itself as the protector of religious minorities in the region foundered in Lebanon. This happened for several reasons, the weakness and disunion of the Christian community and the poor handling and alienation of Walid Jumblat and the Druse eventually snatched a defeat from the jaws of victory. Another golden moment passed.
America was not ready and even under Reagan withdrew after encountering the murderous rage that destroyed the Marine barracks. It took the Americans almost another 20 years more to assimilate the doctrines that lead to our engagement in Iraq. Unfortunately the enemies of Western Civilization used that time also and their corruption of the elites in Europe and America advanced far enough to possibly again snatch a defeat for the West. Five years ago there was another golden moment that passed when America had the forces available to crush the Alawite Shia proxy National Socialist Ba'ath regime in Syria and transform the Middle East. Lebanon had its Cedar Revolution but the tide ebbed.
How many bites at the apple will those fighting for the legacy of Judeo-Christian Civilization get? On the tactical level there is some hope in Israel's warming ties with Greece, and possibly with the Eastern Orthodox and Slavic world. Three times in 44 years there have been opportunities to free the captive Christians of the Levant and forge an alliance between Christians and Jews that could have served as a model to the masses in the Middle East seeking some alternative to brutal, corrupt, and arbitrary polities they are subject to. Under the tutelage of al-Jazeera even the American campaign in Iraq is perceived as a failure by a weak and divided nation. In the absence of a convincing victory by the West the inhabitants will turn to the "strong horse' of al-Qaeda's Salafism or Iran's apocalyptic Shia Islam.
There may be one last chance as Iran pushes Israel to the existential wall to change the dynamic. This may be the time to swing for the fences because the alternative is retreat and defeat and the extermination of millions while the survivors face eventual subjugation by an ideology whose long night,
will sink into the abyss of a new Dark Age, made more sinister, and perhaps more protracted, by the lights of perverted science.- Sir W.L.S. Churchill, June 18, 1940
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Comment on PJM, Ed Driscoll »
But Obama’s Science Czar Said This Was a
Good Thing
Ed Driscoll » But Obama’s Science Czar Said This Was a Good Thing
Carbon the Ultimate Post-Space Age Element. It's a deodorant and a floor polisher. It will build life and kill you. Just shut up and send money. You are sure to get what you need sometimes, or at least what you deserve.
Con men depend on fast turnover. Once they hang around to long the mark figures out the game. Global Warming is past its shelf life. Global cooling has already been done. The important thing about the Alarmists cause of the day is that it can't be provable within the time allotted using legitimate science. Whatever it is is not important, it is like the Maltese Falcon, what Hitchcock called the MacGuffin, it only exits to be chased and generate money.
Another problem the grifters have is that not only their devices but their players hang around to long. Thanks to new media old scams and old scammers like Al Gore don't get off stage. This can be used against the perpetrators of fraud. The exposure of the incredible bulks that are Mr Gore and his house make subsequent alarms less convincing. To an extent however this persistence can also be a feature desired by the Left. Even debunked stories can be trotted out in the last ditch barrage before an election. Grandma in Florida and her not as bright as she thinks daughter in Illinois both remember that the evil Republicans lied about WMD and the whole war was a fake or something. Those funny people on TV said so.
Carbon the Ultimate Post-Space Age Element. It's a deodorant and a floor polisher. It will build life and kill you. Just shut up and send money. You are sure to get what you need sometimes, or at least what you deserve.
Con men depend on fast turnover. Once they hang around to long the mark figures out the game. Global Warming is past its shelf life. Global cooling has already been done. The important thing about the Alarmists cause of the day is that it can't be provable within the time allotted using legitimate science. Whatever it is is not important, it is like the Maltese Falcon, what Hitchcock called the MacGuffin, it only exits to be chased and generate money.
Another problem the grifters have is that not only their devices but their players hang around to long. Thanks to new media old scams and old scammers like Al Gore don't get off stage. This can be used against the perpetrators of fraud. The exposure of the incredible bulks that are Mr Gore and his house make subsequent alarms less convincing. To an extent however this persistence can also be a feature desired by the Left. Even debunked stories can be trotted out in the last ditch barrage before an election. Grandma in Florida and her not as bright as she thinks daughter in Illinois both remember that the evil Republicans lied about WMD and the whole war was a fake or something. Those funny people on TV said so.
Comment on PJM, Ed Driscoll »
Journalist, Heal Thy Self
Ed Driscoll » Journalist, Heal Thy Self
The last time I was in San Francisco I went to the Presidio. This perfect military base would cost billions to recreate and now the buildings that once served and were built with taxpayer money to defend the country are occupied by leftist foundations, such as the Tides Foundation, devoted to advancing the social welfare cause. The National Cemetery is still there and I recommend a visit. My suggestion is to reverse the BRAC process that was designed as an unholy alliance boondoggle for socialists and real estate developers. Reopen the old bases, and use Eminent Domain as it was intended. By the way, in San Francisco Army Street was renamed to Cesar Chavez Street.
The last time I was in San Francisco I went to the Presidio. This perfect military base would cost billions to recreate and now the buildings that once served and were built with taxpayer money to defend the country are occupied by leftist foundations, such as the Tides Foundation, devoted to advancing the social welfare cause. The National Cemetery is still there and I recommend a visit. My suggestion is to reverse the BRAC process that was designed as an unholy alliance boondoggle for socialists and real estate developers. Reopen the old bases, and use Eminent Domain as it was intended. By the way, in San Francisco Army Street was renamed to Cesar Chavez Street.
Comment on The New York Sun:
Carl Paladino for Governor
Carl Paladino for Governor - October 24, 2010 - The New York Sun
If Cuomo gets into the Governor's office and as now looks hopeful the Democrats out of New York experience severe loses amounting to a wiipeout between the coasts then NY will suffer in many ways.
1. NY will become the socialist wing of Democrat Party's redoubt. In near violent isolation from the rest of the country. Little sympathy can be expected from the majority when the NY delegation pleads for help.
2. Redistricting from the already flawed 2010 census will be entirely in the hands of Democratic Party operatives. This will result in extreme gerrymandering and the wide spread disenfranchisement of Republicans.
3. The result will be an entrenched and radical left wing regime driving out any trace of opposition. The State government will come to resemble what would happen if the feckless radicals of the NY City Council were given real power and the entire state to run.
4. The rule of law will be replaced by the rule of lawyers and patron-client relations.
5. The middle class and business will flee as the economy and politics will increasingly come to resemble those in the 3rd World.
If Cuomo gets into the Governor's office and as now looks hopeful the Democrats out of New York experience severe loses amounting to a wiipeout between the coasts then NY will suffer in many ways.
1. NY will become the socialist wing of Democrat Party's redoubt. In near violent isolation from the rest of the country. Little sympathy can be expected from the majority when the NY delegation pleads for help.
2. Redistricting from the already flawed 2010 census will be entirely in the hands of Democratic Party operatives. This will result in extreme gerrymandering and the wide spread disenfranchisement of Republicans.
3. The result will be an entrenched and radical left wing regime driving out any trace of opposition. The State government will come to resemble what would happen if the feckless radicals of the NY City Council were given real power and the entire state to run.
4. The rule of law will be replaced by the rule of lawyers and patron-client relations.
5. The middle class and business will flee as the economy and politics will increasingly come to resemble those in the 3rd World.
Comment on The New York Sun:
Our Prediction on NPR
Our Prediction on NPR - October 23, 2010 - The New York Sun
Excellent connection to the Brooklyn Museum episode. That still rankles because of the unbridled arrogance of those who feel entitled to taxpayer subsidies. The financing of PBS/NPR is more corrupt than that used in Hollywood to rob screenwriters, as exposed by Art Buchwald. Here is a heuristic, instead of thinking of the product as video or audio produced on DVD for broadcast think of it as low income housing. PBS takes tax payer dollars and sends it to outside contractors who produce the content. The inflated salaries of the executives in these quasi government agencies are paid from the donations, called Members Fees, of the viewing/listening public. Think of the product as being the same as the substandard concrete poured into a public housing project by a friend of the government appointed housing administration, with the advantage that the higher income target audience voluntarily send in tax deductable charity contributions. This entire system is overdue for a public airing.
Excellent connection to the Brooklyn Museum episode. That still rankles because of the unbridled arrogance of those who feel entitled to taxpayer subsidies. The financing of PBS/NPR is more corrupt than that used in Hollywood to rob screenwriters, as exposed by Art Buchwald. Here is a heuristic, instead of thinking of the product as video or audio produced on DVD for broadcast think of it as low income housing. PBS takes tax payer dollars and sends it to outside contractors who produce the content. The inflated salaries of the executives in these quasi government agencies are paid from the donations, called Members Fees, of the viewing/listening public. Think of the product as being the same as the substandard concrete poured into a public housing project by a friend of the government appointed housing administration, with the advantage that the higher income target audience voluntarily send in tax deductable charity contributions. This entire system is overdue for a public airing.
Comment on PJM, Roger L. Simon »
POLIWOOD – Cultural Suicide Watch:
Will Hollywood Embrace Islam?
Roger L. Simon » POLIWOOD – Cultural Suicide Watch: Will Hollywood Embrace Islam?
(in reply to David Levavi)
Kulturkampf was Bismarckian and was only expropriated, like much else, by the Nazis. If you are going to be so arrogant don't be so ignorant.
To conflate 5th century Christians with modern Islamists because they both celebrate when a Power suffers is an absurdity. Flawed as the Christians were they did champion values they inherited from Judaism, such as the value and dignity of the individual. Roman culture had its virtues as well as its achievements but failed because it had no greater rallying cry than the stability and power of the past. In that the Romans of the past resemble the Democrats of today. When their power slips they will find their support unraveling. Inertia is a poor political platform. The Islamists stand for neither the Mosaic nor the Stoic virtues. They represent only hate buttressed by the perceived inertia of success from conquests 5 to 14 centuries ago.
(in reply to David Levavi)
Kulturkampf was Bismarckian and was only expropriated, like much else, by the Nazis. If you are going to be so arrogant don't be so ignorant.
To conflate 5th century Christians with modern Islamists because they both celebrate when a Power suffers is an absurdity. Flawed as the Christians were they did champion values they inherited from Judaism, such as the value and dignity of the individual. Roman culture had its virtues as well as its achievements but failed because it had no greater rallying cry than the stability and power of the past. In that the Romans of the past resemble the Democrats of today. When their power slips they will find their support unraveling. Inertia is a poor political platform. The Islamists stand for neither the Mosaic nor the Stoic virtues. They represent only hate buttressed by the perceived inertia of success from conquests 5 to 14 centuries ago.
Comment on Pal2pal:
PJ O’Rourke: This is not an election on November 2. This is a restraining order.
Pal2pal
Far to many people vote. We need to cut the tax eaters out of the voting rolls. That would solve the problem of feral Donks.
My scheme is that everyone would receive electronically W-2 or 1099 forms listing all their compensations and whether they came from a gov't treasury, copy to the government. All statements would indicate what percent of the money listed came from the public treasury. If in any 12 months in a 18 month period the majority of a person's income came from either the federal or state/local level government then they would be ineligible to vote at that level. The only exception would be enlisted military. Purely oversight bodies with no budgetary authority, school boards etc., would be exempt and could allow all legal residents to vote. That way if you work for the Fed, or a contractor that is paid by the Fed, then you can't vote for Congress. If you work for the State or Municipality, such as a School Teacher, then you don't get to vote for the State Legislature, Governor, Mayor or Judges. Remember the President is elected by the Electoral College and the Presidential vote is legally just an advisory opinion poll, so I would let every citizen vote for the POTUS, barring felons.
Far to many people vote. We need to cut the tax eaters out of the voting rolls. That would solve the problem of feral Donks.
My scheme is that everyone would receive electronically W-2 or 1099 forms listing all their compensations and whether they came from a gov't treasury, copy to the government. All statements would indicate what percent of the money listed came from the public treasury. If in any 12 months in a 18 month period the majority of a person's income came from either the federal or state/local level government then they would be ineligible to vote at that level. The only exception would be enlisted military. Purely oversight bodies with no budgetary authority, school boards etc., would be exempt and could allow all legal residents to vote. That way if you work for the Fed, or a contractor that is paid by the Fed, then you can't vote for Congress. If you work for the State or Municipality, such as a School Teacher, then you don't get to vote for the State Legislature, Governor, Mayor or Judges. Remember the President is elected by the Electoral College and the Presidential vote is legally just an advisory opinion poll, so I would let every citizen vote for the POTUS, barring felons.
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Transcending Suffering
Today I visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art. While there were several interesting special exhibits one deserves special mention. In the hard to reach third floor gallery accessed through a stairway under an intricate Jain temple lattice carved canopy there is a temporary exhibit until March 27, 2011 of sacred Tibetan ritual objects, particularly prayer rugs.
This one caught my eye.
The explanation on the museum's web site explains that these are the arteries and bones laid out like the children's Operation Game.
It also gives the hopeful impression that this is all symbolic, hopefully like the sacrifice of Isaac that was transferred to the Ram, or for Christians the wine transubstantiated into blood during the Eucharist.
This one caught my eye.
The explanation on the museum's web site explains that these are the arteries and bones laid out like the children's Operation Game.
It also gives the hopeful impression that this is all symbolic, hopefully like the sacrifice of Isaac that was transferred to the Ram, or for Christians the wine transubstantiated into blood during the Eucharist.This large carpet is designed to serve as a preparatory place for ritual sacrifice. It shows a flayed man (Tibetan: g.yang gzhi) with "artery patterns" surrounded by his butchered bones, carefully arranged. His skull has been placed between his legs. At the four corners are serving dishes that display the surrogate sacrifice, a prepared dough-paste (Tibetan: gtor ma) that is used widely in tantric ritual, including to make lifesize human effigies. Two borders enclose the composition: a frieze of freshly severed heads and a continuous square-fret pattern with perspective rendering, a design traceable within subcontinental India to the murals at Ajanta and the stupas at Sarnath.Personally I can read a map and understand demographics and the realities of mass firepower in the hands of a regime unconstrained by western morality. Still looking at that rug it does make sense that the British have relied on the Tibetan's cousins in Nepal to supply their feared Gurkha shock troops. Are the Chinese sure that they want to tangle with these people?
Comment on Facebook | Michael Yon
"Bad Idea"
Facebook | Links on "Michael Yon"
This is an ugly situation. Sometimes everyone is wrong.
Under the original (undemocratic) rules of partition the Hindu Maharaja of the majority Muslim state of Jammu and Kashmir was allowed to accede to either India or Pakistan, or choose neither. He choose India.
The legitimacy of India's claim was compromised by two events in 1948.
1. India seized the majority Hindu state of Hyderabad against the wishes of
the Muslim Nizam.
2. India did not cooperate in providing an agreed upon referendum in
Kashmir.
The Pakistani claim is compromised by three factors.
1. The initial aggression by Pakistan in 1947.
2. The undemocratic nature of the Pakistani state for most of the last 62
years.
3. Continued subversion and terrorism supported by the Pakistani ISI.
Pakistan remains an artificial construct that never has attained the cohesion and stability of a proper nation-state. While India may not lavish Pakistan with the same goodwill the US shows to Canada it is not the source of her smaller neighbors problems. Most of these problems come from three sources.
1. The method by which Pakistan was originally carved out of British India
from disparate elements, even including modern Bangladesh, under
the leadership and personality of Muhammed Ali Jinnah.
2. The persistently feudal nature of the agrarian society.
3. The nature of Islamic culture that impedes economic, social and political
development.
While India has faced similar problems it has proven over time to be more tolerant, more creative, and more adaptable. Given that it would be a mistake to assist Pakistan in adding more to its dysfunctional polity.
This is an ugly situation. Sometimes everyone is wrong.
Under the original (undemocratic) rules of partition the Hindu Maharaja of the majority Muslim state of Jammu and Kashmir was allowed to accede to either India or Pakistan, or choose neither. He choose India.
The legitimacy of India's claim was compromised by two events in 1948.
1. India seized the majority Hindu state of Hyderabad against the wishes of
the Muslim Nizam.
2. India did not cooperate in providing an agreed upon referendum in
Kashmir.
The Pakistani claim is compromised by three factors.
1. The initial aggression by Pakistan in 1947.
2. The undemocratic nature of the Pakistani state for most of the last 62
years.
3. Continued subversion and terrorism supported by the Pakistani ISI.
Pakistan remains an artificial construct that never has attained the cohesion and stability of a proper nation-state. While India may not lavish Pakistan with the same goodwill the US shows to Canada it is not the source of her smaller neighbors problems. Most of these problems come from three sources.
1. The method by which Pakistan was originally carved out of British India
from disparate elements, even including modern Bangladesh, under
the leadership and personality of Muhammed Ali Jinnah.
2. The persistently feudal nature of the agrarian society.
3. The nature of Islamic culture that impedes economic, social and political
development.
While India has faced similar problems it has proven over time to be more tolerant, more creative, and more adaptable. Given that it would be a mistake to assist Pakistan in adding more to its dysfunctional polity.
Comment on PJM, Ed Driscoll »
Senator Ma’am: The Motion Picture
Ed Driscoll » Senator Ma’am: The Motion Picture
I hope this goes viral. The big change is that people are no longer afraid.
This is the inversion of what Buffalo Springfield sang about.
In his History of the Russian Revolution Trotsky wrote,
Call Me Senator from RightChange on Vimeo.
I hope this goes viral. The big change is that people are no longer afraid.
This is the inversion of what Buffalo Springfield sang about.
In his History of the Russian Revolution Trotsky wrote,
The officers hastened to separate their patrol from the workers, and, abandoning the idea of dispersing them, lined the Cossacks out across the street as a barrier to prevent the demonstrators from getting to the centre. But even this did not help: standing stock-still in perfect discipline, the Cossacks did not hinder the workers from “diving” under their horses. The revolution does not choose its paths: it made its first steps toward victory under the belly of a Cossack’s horse.It starts when you are no longer afraid.
Comment on: The Queens Courier >
Halloran eyes gun licensing rule change
Queens Newspaper New York - Queens NY News Paper- The Queens Courier > Archives > News > Top Stories > Halloran eyes gun licensing rule change
Also on Councilman Dan Halloran's Facebook.
May I suggest a change to turn the NYPD from purely hostile to supporters of the lawful firearms community? Just as POs conduct DARE training in schools detail Community Affairs officers to conduct firearms safety awareness training in the High Schools. Insist that PAL affiliated clubs be permitted in the schools. They used to exist.
An evaluation by a trained officer could be a factor in later denying a firearms license or granting it, as well as providing opportunities for career evaluation and recommendations for law enforcement or the military. Similarly access to J-ROTC programs should be mandated for all schools, with religious exemptions.
Also on Councilman Dan Halloran's Facebook.
May I suggest a change to turn the NYPD from purely hostile to supporters of the lawful firearms community? Just as POs conduct DARE training in schools detail Community Affairs officers to conduct firearms safety awareness training in the High Schools. Insist that PAL affiliated clubs be permitted in the schools. They used to exist.
An evaluation by a trained officer could be a factor in later denying a firearms license or granting it, as well as providing opportunities for career evaluation and recommendations for law enforcement or the military. Similarly access to J-ROTC programs should be mandated for all schools, with religious exemptions.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Comment on Frank Gaffney's Facebook:
China Will Leverage Resources Against the West
Facebook (2)
The Chinese read Mackinder and Kennan, they did their homework. The key areas of strategic industry have changed over the last 60 years but the old areas, Ruhr, West Midlands, Ohio, Donets, Kanto Plain are still important with a few new zones added. This is a combination of 17th century Mercantilism and 19th century Imperialism with 21st century technology.
The Chinese read Mackinder and Kennan, they did their homework. The key areas of strategic industry have changed over the last 60 years but the old areas, Ruhr, West Midlands, Ohio, Donets, Kanto Plain are still important with a few new zones added. This is a combination of 17th century Mercantilism and 19th century Imperialism with 21st century technology.
Comment on David Webb's Facebook |
National Public Radio should be funded by the "public" who support it not taxpayer dollars.
Facebook (1) | National Public...
Finally figured out the PBS/NPR scam. There has to be a law about this. PBS, government owned but in theory not a government agency, funnels billions of tax dollars to "independent" producers for shows bought by stations, listener donations to those stations are sent to pay million dollar administrators, sweet. Those administrators then claim that tax dollars are a tiny fraction of their budgets.
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This no different than the traditional contracting scandal. Instead of pouring substandard concrete to build shoddy housing they produce biased video reports, the product is secondary. Follow the money.
Finally figured out the PBS/NPR scam. There has to be a law about this. PBS, government owned but in theory not a government agency, funnels billions of tax dollars to "independent" producers for shows bought by stations, listener donations to those stations are sent to pay million dollar administrators, sweet. Those administrators then claim that tax dollars are a tiny fraction of their budgets.
----
This no different than the traditional contracting scandal. Instead of pouring substandard concrete to build shoddy housing they produce biased video reports, the product is secondary. Follow the money.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Comment on PJM Michael Ledeen: Faster, Please! »
Those Clever Mullahs
Faster, Please! » Those Clever Mullahs
Every now and then it is surprising to realize that the same people who spend their lives plotting complicated conspiracies drawn from a script writer's reject file and who endlessly search for evidence of fiendish plots by the Mossad and other enemies are capable of dropping a clumsy and obvious clunker right into the open, like something ugly in the soup or arriving at a carefully plotted scheme to infiltrate the rich in some wheezing jalopy. Here they are trying to put out the message that they are on guard in a twilight struggle against Zionist-American plotters, and they start calling people like Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca in a "Your Show of Shows" skit.
Their problem is that they can't get good help. No matter how smooth the would be Bond arch-villain seeking to bring down the West fancies himself to be in the end all his plans depend upon some idiot henchman who shows up wearing a "Kick Me I'm the Bad Guy" sign. Iran could spend decades plotting how to build a nuclear weapons program and then end up buying their computers from "Larry's Discount WMD Control Systems."
We can't count on this to thwart every threat but we can take comfort in it as proof that we are on the side of the angels.
Every now and then it is surprising to realize that the same people who spend their lives plotting complicated conspiracies drawn from a script writer's reject file and who endlessly search for evidence of fiendish plots by the Mossad and other enemies are capable of dropping a clumsy and obvious clunker right into the open, like something ugly in the soup or arriving at a carefully plotted scheme to infiltrate the rich in some wheezing jalopy. Here they are trying to put out the message that they are on guard in a twilight struggle against Zionist-American plotters, and they start calling people like Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca in a "Your Show of Shows" skit.
Their problem is that they can't get good help. No matter how smooth the would be Bond arch-villain seeking to bring down the West fancies himself to be in the end all his plans depend upon some idiot henchman who shows up wearing a "Kick Me I'm the Bad Guy" sign. Iran could spend decades plotting how to build a nuclear weapons program and then end up buying their computers from "Larry's Discount WMD Control Systems."
We can't count on this to thwart every threat but we can take comfort in it as proof that we are on the side of the angels.
Comment on Kings of War:
Come friendly bombs and fall on Abbey Wood
Come friendly bombs and fall on Abbey Wood | Kings of War
It just so happens that for an accumulation of reasons, the British peoples have a comparative advantage when it comes to fielding and leading highly effective military forces. This may seem entirely counter intuitive to people who view them, especially the English, as polite tolerant and courteous to a fault. Others, the French Spanish and Germans for example, have historically made much more of a public display of their tradition of bellicose masculinity. However in war above all other things results matter.
The fact is that 100 years of experimenting with incremental Socialism have proven that the British are simply not good at it. Perhaps somewhere there is an isolated and homogeneous society that will prove amenable to centralized bureaucratic administration and that will yield a high rate of productivity under the such a regime. No one has found such a community and if the North Koreans can't pull it off then maybe no one can.
So here we have a situation where you can do something better than other people can and do something else no better than or even worse than other people can. It does not seem very hard to say what your rational choice should be. Fire not just 20,000 civilians from the MoD but another 2.50,000 tax eaters infesting the landscape and free yourselves from the administrative leash of Brussels. Do that and you will be able to double your armed forces, while increasing your national wealth.
How large should the military be? It should be possible for a healthy society to maintain an efficient military establishment when not engaged in existential general conflict with an expenditure of about 4-4.5% of GDP. That should enable you to keep approximately 3% of the population between 18 and 40 years old under arms on active duty with thrice that as trained reserves earning superior education and health benefits. The UK has about 6 million residents between 18 and 24 year old (source: National Statistics Office). It would be reasonable to expect 10% of them to be serving at any time. Would this be a larger forces structure than is now supported? Yes but not outrageously large in historical terms. Is there a reason to support a force of that size? Ask yourself this question. Are there threats and insults to yourself or your allies ignored because the Prime Minister lacks the tools to deal with them? Are there bullies thieves and homicidal criminals who extort wealth or threaten your nationals or interfere in your domestic institutions with impunity because they do not fear you?
If what you want is a safe peaceful world where your people can travel and conduct their business inoffensively and in safety and where outside potentates will not send money and agents to undermine your institutions then shift your priorities and deconstruct the welfare state while rebuilding the armed forces that you are so good at.With luck and if the model of the Royal Navy that kept the peace for decades holds true you will be able to build it and rarely use it. That will prove that you built it large enough.
It just so happens that for an accumulation of reasons, the British peoples have a comparative advantage when it comes to fielding and leading highly effective military forces. This may seem entirely counter intuitive to people who view them, especially the English, as polite tolerant and courteous to a fault. Others, the French Spanish and Germans for example, have historically made much more of a public display of their tradition of bellicose masculinity. However in war above all other things results matter.
The fact is that 100 years of experimenting with incremental Socialism have proven that the British are simply not good at it. Perhaps somewhere there is an isolated and homogeneous society that will prove amenable to centralized bureaucratic administration and that will yield a high rate of productivity under the such a regime. No one has found such a community and if the North Koreans can't pull it off then maybe no one can.
So here we have a situation where you can do something better than other people can and do something else no better than or even worse than other people can. It does not seem very hard to say what your rational choice should be. Fire not just 20,000 civilians from the MoD but another 2.50,000 tax eaters infesting the landscape and free yourselves from the administrative leash of Brussels. Do that and you will be able to double your armed forces, while increasing your national wealth.
How large should the military be? It should be possible for a healthy society to maintain an efficient military establishment when not engaged in existential general conflict with an expenditure of about 4-4.5% of GDP. That should enable you to keep approximately 3% of the population between 18 and 40 years old under arms on active duty with thrice that as trained reserves earning superior education and health benefits. The UK has about 6 million residents between 18 and 24 year old (source: National Statistics Office). It would be reasonable to expect 10% of them to be serving at any time. Would this be a larger forces structure than is now supported? Yes but not outrageously large in historical terms. Is there a reason to support a force of that size? Ask yourself this question. Are there threats and insults to yourself or your allies ignored because the Prime Minister lacks the tools to deal with them? Are there bullies thieves and homicidal criminals who extort wealth or threaten your nationals or interfere in your domestic institutions with impunity because they do not fear you?
If what you want is a safe peaceful world where your people can travel and conduct their business inoffensively and in safety and where outside potentates will not send money and agents to undermine your institutions then shift your priorities and deconstruct the welfare state while rebuilding the armed forces that you are so good at.With luck and if the model of the Royal Navy that kept the peace for decades holds true you will be able to build it and rarely use it. That will prove that you built it large enough.
Comment on BrothersJudd Blog:
OH REALLY?:
BrothersJudd Blog: OH REALLY?:
Rove was having fun and that is hard to argue with. More important he has conducted himself well in conducting a very tricky maneuver, the retreat from an exposed position while under fire. He supported Castle, that was the safe simply professional thing for an outside consultant to do. He probably believes that his choice would have been best for the greater victory of the Republican Party and the achievement of conservative goals that he thinks he shares with most members of the Tea Party movement. He may have been wrong about O'Donnell but he did not have to be dishonorable in his choice. Now he faces another choice. He can sit the election out and sulk figuring that the Republicans who rejected his advice will crash and his prestige and influence will rise after the election. He can apologize profusely and grovel before the O'Donnell supporters. He can acknowledge the strength of the movement he underestimated and offer the best advice he can to those who will listen. He has chosen the third path and it does not speak badly for him. If he had beaten his chest and endorsed Christine O'Donnell as the best thing since sliced bread then his reputation would have suffered. As it is he can say that he recognizes her political liabilities, which does not mean that he attacks her as unworthy of the office, while still supporting the victory of the Republican Party and pointing out that the Democrats are worse.
Rove was having fun and that is hard to argue with. More important he has conducted himself well in conducting a very tricky maneuver, the retreat from an exposed position while under fire. He supported Castle, that was the safe simply professional thing for an outside consultant to do. He probably believes that his choice would have been best for the greater victory of the Republican Party and the achievement of conservative goals that he thinks he shares with most members of the Tea Party movement. He may have been wrong about O'Donnell but he did not have to be dishonorable in his choice. Now he faces another choice. He can sit the election out and sulk figuring that the Republicans who rejected his advice will crash and his prestige and influence will rise after the election. He can apologize profusely and grovel before the O'Donnell supporters. He can acknowledge the strength of the movement he underestimated and offer the best advice he can to those who will listen. He has chosen the third path and it does not speak badly for him. If he had beaten his chest and endorsed Christine O'Donnell as the best thing since sliced bread then his reputation would have suffered. As it is he can say that he recognizes her political liabilities, which does not mean that he attacks her as unworthy of the office, while still supporting the victory of the Republican Party and pointing out that the Democrats are worse.
Comment on Perfunction:
Historic Illiteracy: Idiot Sarah Palin
"Party Like It's 1773" After The Election!
Perfunction: Historic Illiteracy: Idiot Sarah Palin "Party Like It's 1773" After The Election!
Perhaps the franchise to vote should be restricted to people who can pass with a grade of 65 the NY State Regents Scholarship Exam from the year 1965. Maybe we could be kinder and just require the High School subject exams in US History and Economics be passed. Using the exams from 45 years ago would remove the possibility that more recent political agendas could be skewing the issue, back then Democrats ruled the country and we can be comfortable with acceding to the values of those Democrats.
Perhaps the franchise to vote should be restricted to people who can pass with a grade of 65 the NY State Regents Scholarship Exam from the year 1965. Maybe we could be kinder and just require the High School subject exams in US History and Economics be passed. Using the exams from 45 years ago would remove the possibility that more recent political agendas could be skewing the issue, back then Democrats ruled the country and we can be comfortable with acceding to the values of those Democrats.
Comment on AP - Yahoo! News:
Military recruiters told to accept gay applicants
Military recruiters told to accept gay applicants - Yahoo! News
Congress has passed laws, such as the UCMJ and Security Clearance laws, that limit the access of homosexuals to certain jobs. The courts have apparently declared that a violation of the XIVth Amendment.
Two contradictory problems are intertwined here.
1. Congress should have to cite the enumerated power that authorizes it to act under the Constitution. ObamaCare is simply an unconstitutional usurpation of State power by the federal government that barely pretends to have any tie to the "commerce clause."
2. The power of Judicial Review as currently practiced is largely assumed by the courts after Marbury v Madison but is not found in the Constitution.
We need to craft a new system that limits the assumed powers of the Courts and provides for a proper restraint on the Legislature. My suggestion is to shift the review function to the Electoral College, making the heads of the 3 branches at the State level ex officio members and with others as allotted serving for extended terms. Allow either a Court or a State to petition for review.
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(fm the related Facebook thread)
Congress makes rules for the courts as well as for the military. Congress has the power to withdraw anything from the courts' purview for appellate review. It does no good however to say that you disagree with a judicial action simply because that found some act of the Legislature or Executive that you agree with to be unconstitutional. The Constitution is the supreme law of the land and acts that violate it are invalid. The only useful question as I see it is who should have the power to declare an act of the political branches invalid? Given that the Judiciary as set up under the Constitution is subordinate to legislative restriction it makes sense to give the power of Review to some other body. My suggestion is to give that power to another independent and underused political body, the Electoral College.
Congress has passed laws, such as the UCMJ and Security Clearance laws, that limit the access of homosexuals to certain jobs. The courts have apparently declared that a violation of the XIVth Amendment.
Two contradictory problems are intertwined here.
1. Congress should have to cite the enumerated power that authorizes it to act under the Constitution. ObamaCare is simply an unconstitutional usurpation of State power by the federal government that barely pretends to have any tie to the "commerce clause."
2. The power of Judicial Review as currently practiced is largely assumed by the courts after Marbury v Madison but is not found in the Constitution.
We need to craft a new system that limits the assumed powers of the Courts and provides for a proper restraint on the Legislature. My suggestion is to shift the review function to the Electoral College, making the heads of the 3 branches at the State level ex officio members and with others as allotted serving for extended terms. Allow either a Court or a State to petition for review.
----
(fm the related Facebook thread)
Congress makes rules for the courts as well as for the military. Congress has the power to withdraw anything from the courts' purview for appellate review. It does no good however to say that you disagree with a judicial action simply because that found some act of the Legislature or Executive that you agree with to be unconstitutional. The Constitution is the supreme law of the land and acts that violate it are invalid. The only useful question as I see it is who should have the power to declare an act of the political branches invalid? Given that the Judiciary as set up under the Constitution is subordinate to legislative restriction it makes sense to give the power of Review to some other body. My suggestion is to give that power to another independent and underused political body, the Electoral College.
Comment on PJM, Michael Ledeen: Faster, Please! »
How Long Can the Iranian Regime Last?
Faster, Please! » How Long Can the Iranian Regime Last?
Will this clerical opposition to Khamenei result in renewed prestige for the religious scholars and a future opportunity for a restored and purified clericy to remain in power? The alternative would be for the fires of fanaticism to burn out in a Thermidor and lead the way to an eventual restoration of a civil society and a government that reflects what passes for middle class consensus in Iran.
England had it's episode of Puritan excess and that lead to the Restoration, and not just of a soon to be constitutionally restrained monarchy. It was the agricultural and rural Tory conservatism combined with the tolerant practical Whig mercantile values of the English that formed the basis of their successes over the following three centuries. If such a transformation could follow from the repudiation of Khamenei and Khomeini's legacy then Iran may have a bright future.
The English experience of recovery from revolutionary excess was happier than the French. That may have been due to many factors both internal and external. Other societies have remained trapped by the conditions the revolution created, even after no one still believed in it. The soviet system lasted for over 70 years. Some may simply view Islam itself as a permanent regime transforming captive societies through terror. The Iranian Theocracy has already lasted for 50% longer than English Puritanism. That means that a whole generation has grown up and is raising families with no personal knowledge of life before this regime. The destruction of human, financial, intellectual and moral assets is real.
When the next chapter opens which model, the English, French, Russian, etc., will most closely resemble Iran?
Will this clerical opposition to Khamenei result in renewed prestige for the religious scholars and a future opportunity for a restored and purified clericy to remain in power? The alternative would be for the fires of fanaticism to burn out in a Thermidor and lead the way to an eventual restoration of a civil society and a government that reflects what passes for middle class consensus in Iran.
England had it's episode of Puritan excess and that lead to the Restoration, and not just of a soon to be constitutionally restrained monarchy. It was the agricultural and rural Tory conservatism combined with the tolerant practical Whig mercantile values of the English that formed the basis of their successes over the following three centuries. If such a transformation could follow from the repudiation of Khamenei and Khomeini's legacy then Iran may have a bright future.
The English experience of recovery from revolutionary excess was happier than the French. That may have been due to many factors both internal and external. Other societies have remained trapped by the conditions the revolution created, even after no one still believed in it. The soviet system lasted for over 70 years. Some may simply view Islam itself as a permanent regime transforming captive societies through terror. The Iranian Theocracy has already lasted for 50% longer than English Puritanism. That means that a whole generation has grown up and is raising families with no personal knowledge of life before this regime. The destruction of human, financial, intellectual and moral assets is real.
When the next chapter opens which model, the English, French, Russian, etc., will most closely resemble Iran?
Monday, October 18, 2010
Comment on AP - Yahoo! News:
A productive Congress gets no respect from voters
A productive Congress gets no respect from voters - Yahoo! News
This deserves to be preserved for when Journalism School students show up at Tea Party rallies and ask "Can you give an example of media bias?" That comes before the question as to whether the protesters are all just hateful bigots and morons.
If I was Jim Abrams' boss I would worry that he believes that Congress churning out 2,000 page unread documents constitutes being "productive." The difference between Congress and a newsroom is that if the Editors pass along garbage unread then the business fails and the primary ones who suffer are the employees. The market will provide alternative sources for the product if the customers want it. If Congress passes vast unread bills with toxic effects embedded then we all suffer from having bad laws and policies enacted. Just doing something is not the answer when facing a serious issue, and these are very serious, in fact life and death, issues being dealt with.
The most dangerous man in the world is the one who is both ambitious and stupid. That is the guy who goes off to prove himself by repairing the nuclear power plant without letting his boss know. Congress by not doing their jobs, by not carefully reading the bills and passing them only when they were sure that they would do no harm, allowed enthusiastic amateurs to cause real damage.
Then add to that repudiation of the charge that Congress has been "productive" the fact that many of the Democrats now in danger of losing their seats, like Barney Frank in Massachusetts, actually created the problems by passing the corrupting Community Reinvestment Act and enabling the financial legerdemain that turned Fannie Mae into the engine that ate Wall Street.
This deserves to be preserved for when Journalism School students show up at Tea Party rallies and ask "Can you give an example of media bias?" That comes before the question as to whether the protesters are all just hateful bigots and morons.
If I was Jim Abrams' boss I would worry that he believes that Congress churning out 2,000 page unread documents constitutes being "productive." The difference between Congress and a newsroom is that if the Editors pass along garbage unread then the business fails and the primary ones who suffer are the employees. The market will provide alternative sources for the product if the customers want it. If Congress passes vast unread bills with toxic effects embedded then we all suffer from having bad laws and policies enacted. Just doing something is not the answer when facing a serious issue, and these are very serious, in fact life and death, issues being dealt with.
The most dangerous man in the world is the one who is both ambitious and stupid. That is the guy who goes off to prove himself by repairing the nuclear power plant without letting his boss know. Congress by not doing their jobs, by not carefully reading the bills and passing them only when they were sure that they would do no harm, allowed enthusiastic amateurs to cause real damage.
Then add to that repudiation of the charge that Congress has been "productive" the fact that many of the Democrats now in danger of losing their seats, like Barney Frank in Massachusetts, actually created the problems by passing the corrupting Community Reinvestment Act and enabling the financial legerdemain that turned Fannie Mae into the engine that ate Wall Street.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Media Matters Tea Party
Today at the New NY Times building, the financing of the construction by Forest City Rattner is a story in itself, and then at the 30 Rock headquarters of NBC News there was a rally sponsored jointly by Brent Bozell's Media Matters and by TeaParty365.
At The Times, 8th Ave.
The police were friendly and supportive, they appreciated that the demonstrators were cooperative and cleaned up after themselves. There was a fair amount of press, mostly Journalism students or special interest freelancers but CBS sent over an actual crew and reporter.
At NBC News, 49th St.
Between the two locations we walked past the Newscorp (Fox) headquarters on Sixth Ave. There was a demonstration there by ANSWER (Hamas) that I did not linger to photograph. It was not large but was not contained within barricades as the Tea Party demonstration with a police permit was. The police at the Fox demonstration did not look happy.
The police were friendly and supportive, they appreciated that the demonstrators were cooperative and cleaned up after themselves. There was a fair amount of press, mostly Journalism students or special interest freelancers but CBS sent over an actual crew and reporter.
Between the two locations we walked past the Newscorp (Fox) headquarters on Sixth Ave. There was a demonstration there by ANSWER (Hamas) that I did not linger to photograph. It was not large but was not contained within barricades as the Tea Party demonstration with a police permit was. The police at the Fox demonstration did not look happy.
Comment on Faust Wertz, Facebook |
Voting while not a citizen, and you may be a redneck
Facebook | Voting while not a citizen, and you may be a redneck
The only thing I will argue with here is your assumption, probably based on something a lawyer planted with the NY Times in order to build some kind of mitigating case, that the law is "not made clear to every immigrant." If someone comes in legally they have to go through many hoops and the very formality and complexity of the process means that they have to review their status and legal limits at multiple stages. It is simply inconceivable that any Lawful Permanent Resident could argue that they did not know. Not only can illegal voting get them deported but it is grounds for an automatic "permanent bar" on ever being permitted to reenter the United States.
By the way another ground for the "permanent bar" on reentry is moving abroad and renouncing your citizenship to avoid paying taxes. All those celebrities who announced that they were leaving the country and would refuse to pay to support Bush's war were blowing smoke and probably knew it. Their agents and lawyers had to explain to them that if they had gotten on that plane and then formally carried out their threat after making a dramatic statement it could have made them unemployable.
Practically the system makes it very difficult to renounce US citizenship. You have to go into the US Embassy in another country and fill out a formal document that leaves nothing to the imagination. Issuing a press release won't do it, and wont avoid a tax liability. If the IRS thinks that you moved for purposes of evasion then they can get ugly. If it was easy to prove someone had renounced their citizenship then expatriate critics like Gore Vidal would have trouble getting back in.
The American citizens who have joined al-Qaeda or the Taliban cannot claim that they renounced their citizenship when they left the country. If they were a US citizen when they got on the airplane at JFK to go to Pakistan then they committed treason when they took up arms against the United States or gave the enemy material aid and comfort. They are still entitled to the protection of the US Constitution even while they wage war against it. For that reason I do not believe that the President should have the right to order the assassination of these people. If they die on the battlefield in the normal course of war that is the risk the ran but a planned elimination of that person by use of a targeted Hellfire missile should be prohibited. Of course if we target everyone standing next to them and they get caught in the event, those are the fortunes of war.
There is a provision in the law for the Secretary of State to inform the the Attorney General that someone has taken an oath of allegiance to a foreign power, such as by joining the military or voting in a foreign election. That can result in a petition to the federal courts to have citizenship revoked. Taking an oath of loyalty to Osama bin-Laden or joining the Taliban could lead to that but it is the choice of the US government as to whether they pursue that option. It would be my preference that they do have that judicial process and then hunt these people with drones. Of course we would have to invite the person to surrender to US custody and come back to fight the case in court. That does not mean that I think that unlawful combatants held at GITMO should receive civilian trials. The proving of treason or the revocation of citizenship, it would be the government's choice which route to pursue, is a special case.
The only thing I will argue with here is your assumption, probably based on something a lawyer planted with the NY Times in order to build some kind of mitigating case, that the law is "not made clear to every immigrant." If someone comes in legally they have to go through many hoops and the very formality and complexity of the process means that they have to review their status and legal limits at multiple stages. It is simply inconceivable that any Lawful Permanent Resident could argue that they did not know. Not only can illegal voting get them deported but it is grounds for an automatic "permanent bar" on ever being permitted to reenter the United States.
By the way another ground for the "permanent bar" on reentry is moving abroad and renouncing your citizenship to avoid paying taxes. All those celebrities who announced that they were leaving the country and would refuse to pay to support Bush's war were blowing smoke and probably knew it. Their agents and lawyers had to explain to them that if they had gotten on that plane and then formally carried out their threat after making a dramatic statement it could have made them unemployable.
Practically the system makes it very difficult to renounce US citizenship. You have to go into the US Embassy in another country and fill out a formal document that leaves nothing to the imagination. Issuing a press release won't do it, and wont avoid a tax liability. If the IRS thinks that you moved for purposes of evasion then they can get ugly. If it was easy to prove someone had renounced their citizenship then expatriate critics like Gore Vidal would have trouble getting back in.
The American citizens who have joined al-Qaeda or the Taliban cannot claim that they renounced their citizenship when they left the country. If they were a US citizen when they got on the airplane at JFK to go to Pakistan then they committed treason when they took up arms against the United States or gave the enemy material aid and comfort. They are still entitled to the protection of the US Constitution even while they wage war against it. For that reason I do not believe that the President should have the right to order the assassination of these people. If they die on the battlefield in the normal course of war that is the risk the ran but a planned elimination of that person by use of a targeted Hellfire missile should be prohibited. Of course if we target everyone standing next to them and they get caught in the event, those are the fortunes of war.
There is a provision in the law for the Secretary of State to inform the the Attorney General that someone has taken an oath of allegiance to a foreign power, such as by joining the military or voting in a foreign election. That can result in a petition to the federal courts to have citizenship revoked. Taking an oath of loyalty to Osama bin-Laden or joining the Taliban could lead to that but it is the choice of the US government as to whether they pursue that option. It would be my preference that they do have that judicial process and then hunt these people with drones. Of course we would have to invite the person to surrender to US custody and come back to fight the case in court. That does not mean that I think that unlawful combatants held at GITMO should receive civilian trials. The proving of treason or the revocation of citizenship, it would be the government's choice which route to pursue, is a special case.
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Advice To a Tourist
From Yukari Ryle's Facebook | Now remember when...
Now remember when traveling overseas you are likely to meet many Foreigners. While they are different be assured they are neither Alien nor Illegal in their native habitat. Your nation expects you to serve as an Ambassador of Goodwill. In order to do that you must practice Effective Communications With Foreigners. This is best done by getting very close to them and then speaking real loud and slow. If you add a vowel to the end of every other word it will make them more comfortable.
Trust me, if you do this they will love you. Spectacular results have been reported. Always keep the phone number of the US Consulate handy though, just in case.
Now remember when traveling overseas you are likely to meet many Foreigners. While they are different be assured they are neither Alien nor Illegal in their native habitat. Your nation expects you to serve as an Ambassador of Goodwill. In order to do that you must practice Effective Communications With Foreigners. This is best done by getting very close to them and then speaking real loud and slow. If you add a vowel to the end of every other word it will make them more comfortable.
Trust me, if you do this they will love you. Spectacular results have been reported. Always keep the phone number of the US Consulate handy though, just in case.
Friday, October 15, 2010
Comment on PJM, Ed Driscoll »
That’s a lot of Decline to Hide
Ed Driscoll » That’s a lot of Decline to Hide
What can be done to raise standards? Pseudo science infests the Academy and distorts public policy. The traditional way of dealing with suspect academic fads was to multiply the number of departments in a university. This worked for a short time when resources appeared unlimited. Ethnic Studies and Gender Studies in the Liberal Arts were created as ghettos for the technically suspect who brought more jargon than content to the table. Unfortunately the progeny of these programs sought jobs and invaded the faculty lounges, crowding out the adherents of traditional scholarship. They became Mockingbirds who throw the legitimate offspring out of the nest. In the sciences Environmental Studies served the same purpose. It became a less rigorous alternative to traditional programs in Biology or Geophysics where results were predetermined and students learned how to advocate instead of objectively test the theory.
Perhaps the National Academy of Standards can sponsor a movement to ensure that every PhD in a recognized field has to pass an independently administered oral exam that would ensure that they meet the base level of competency of anyone from a good school who entered the community in the year 1970. It should be possible to collect a pool of 200 questions in each discipline from which the aspirant will face 20 during a 2 hour session. Five Examiners from outside schools scoring from 0 to 3 on each 5 minute answer. A score of 250 should be needed to pass. If each Examiner is given a pool of 10 candidates to whom they may disburse their points and if they gave each candidate a perfect score that would take 600 points. My suggestion is that they each be given only 525 points. That would force them to weed out the weakest candidates.
This plan would also draw a line between the Doctorates from the traditional disciplines and those who would lack the higher level of validation. Specialists in Environmental Science, Communications Arts and Gender Studies would be viewed on campus like Podiatrists crashing an AMA convention. Ethnic Studies programs would probably revert to becoming Committees training their students to meet the more rigorous standards of old fashioned departments of History or Anthropology.
What can be done to raise standards? Pseudo science infests the Academy and distorts public policy. The traditional way of dealing with suspect academic fads was to multiply the number of departments in a university. This worked for a short time when resources appeared unlimited. Ethnic Studies and Gender Studies in the Liberal Arts were created as ghettos for the technically suspect who brought more jargon than content to the table. Unfortunately the progeny of these programs sought jobs and invaded the faculty lounges, crowding out the adherents of traditional scholarship. They became Mockingbirds who throw the legitimate offspring out of the nest. In the sciences Environmental Studies served the same purpose. It became a less rigorous alternative to traditional programs in Biology or Geophysics where results were predetermined and students learned how to advocate instead of objectively test the theory.
Perhaps the National Academy of Standards can sponsor a movement to ensure that every PhD in a recognized field has to pass an independently administered oral exam that would ensure that they meet the base level of competency of anyone from a good school who entered the community in the year 1970. It should be possible to collect a pool of 200 questions in each discipline from which the aspirant will face 20 during a 2 hour session. Five Examiners from outside schools scoring from 0 to 3 on each 5 minute answer. A score of 250 should be needed to pass. If each Examiner is given a pool of 10 candidates to whom they may disburse their points and if they gave each candidate a perfect score that would take 600 points. My suggestion is that they each be given only 525 points. That would force them to weed out the weakest candidates.
This plan would also draw a line between the Doctorates from the traditional disciplines and those who would lack the higher level of validation. Specialists in Environmental Science, Communications Arts and Gender Studies would be viewed on campus like Podiatrists crashing an AMA convention. Ethnic Studies programs would probably revert to becoming Committees training their students to meet the more rigorous standards of old fashioned departments of History or Anthropology.
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Comment on PJM, Ed Driscoll »
And After All They’ve Done for Him
Ed Driscoll » And After All They’ve Done for Him
What makes this story of Obama whining about the Media interesting is the thought of Obama complaining about superficiality. We are reaching the point where TV personalities and TV candidates lack the attention span needed to stay on topic for a half hour interview. Eight or nine years ago I was talking to a young lady who was a Producer for MTV. She was complaining that their audience no longer had the attention span to focus on a three minute video clip. Those are the people who voted for Barak Obama and whose support in the Media he relied upon.
The content free man was elevated by a content free campaign. Compare how either George Bush and John McCain could be expected to react to a Bond film to what we would expect from Barry Obama. Either of the first two gentlemen recognize the traditional themes of Good versus Evil and Individual Ingenuity versus Organized Subjugation and permit themselves a smile at the toys and jokes and illegalities portrayed. Both would look at them and say to a companion, "Can't do that. Can we?" Both of them would know that in their youths they played the Bond role as their country offered it to them, alternately risking their lives in primitive aircraft and playing the charming guest to the ladies. Both could wear a dinner jacket and make small talk because they were trained in their youths to carry themselves properly in a uniform and make other people comfortable. The movie's superficialities would barely have to cross their minds, "Been there, done that." Obama was offered an opportunity in his childhood to learn those lessons but he lost them. That was partly due to his family's Marxist pretensions and partly due to his own odyssey of drugs and alienation. If Obama saw a Bond film I think that he would be looking at the clothes and thinking "I can do that." The Gentleman is secure in himself and therefore can be Other Directed. The alienated fraud remains Inner Directed.
Compare Obama to Colin Powell, a man who I have criticized regarding his politics and business affairs. The later grew up with fewer opportunities and privileges but he unlike the former would be secure in the knowledge that he knew how to wear a tuxedo. Powell is the genuine Gentleman and Obama is a Parvenu. Powell would remain focused on the villian's gun and not their shoes, unless he was dealing with Rosa Kleb.
What makes this story of Obama whining about the Media interesting is the thought of Obama complaining about superficiality. We are reaching the point where TV personalities and TV candidates lack the attention span needed to stay on topic for a half hour interview. Eight or nine years ago I was talking to a young lady who was a Producer for MTV. She was complaining that their audience no longer had the attention span to focus on a three minute video clip. Those are the people who voted for Barak Obama and whose support in the Media he relied upon.
The content free man was elevated by a content free campaign. Compare how either George Bush and John McCain could be expected to react to a Bond film to what we would expect from Barry Obama. Either of the first two gentlemen recognize the traditional themes of Good versus Evil and Individual Ingenuity versus Organized Subjugation and permit themselves a smile at the toys and jokes and illegalities portrayed. Both would look at them and say to a companion, "Can't do that. Can we?" Both of them would know that in their youths they played the Bond role as their country offered it to them, alternately risking their lives in primitive aircraft and playing the charming guest to the ladies. Both could wear a dinner jacket and make small talk because they were trained in their youths to carry themselves properly in a uniform and make other people comfortable. The movie's superficialities would barely have to cross their minds, "Been there, done that." Obama was offered an opportunity in his childhood to learn those lessons but he lost them. That was partly due to his family's Marxist pretensions and partly due to his own odyssey of drugs and alienation. If Obama saw a Bond film I think that he would be looking at the clothes and thinking "I can do that." The Gentleman is secure in himself and therefore can be Other Directed. The alienated fraud remains Inner Directed.
Compare Obama to Colin Powell, a man who I have criticized regarding his politics and business affairs. The later grew up with fewer opportunities and privileges but he unlike the former would be secure in the knowledge that he knew how to wear a tuxedo. Powell is the genuine Gentleman and Obama is a Parvenu. Powell would remain focused on the villian's gun and not their shoes, unless he was dealing with Rosa Kleb.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Comment on PJM, Ed Driscoll »
On Experiencing Gore Vidal’s Favorite Word
Ed Driscoll » On Experiencing Gore Vidal’s Favorite Word
Vidal is a good argument against government by an inherited aristocracy. Generations of creative talented courageous and patriotic people labored to create and preserve and improve the United States. They were honored for doing so. No matter what they did though their legacy will be judged by the conduct of their descendants.
Gore Vidal has proven deeply disloyal to the United States, the Constitution and the American people. His loyalty that he protests is not to what is but to his personal vision of what it should be. That vision is not rooted in a reasoned conviction of what best serves the greater good but rather what indulges his particular vanity. He does not seek to enlarge the space of Liberty in the future. That is served by strengthening the best friend of Freedom anywhere, the United States. He seeks only to exalt his pretension to deserve deference in the present.
Gore Vidal seeks to obscure criticism by charging that it is motivated by bigotry due to his homosexuality. That charge is false. As Erik Erickson trenchantly tweeted about a different issue, "What’s not acceptable coming from straight males can’t become acceptable just because it’s coming from a homosexual male instead." Vidal deserves public condemnation not for his private acts but for his public conduct. The device of preempting criticism of public behavior because of some private attribute is incompatible with democratic behavior.
Vidal is a good argument against government by an inherited aristocracy. Generations of creative talented courageous and patriotic people labored to create and preserve and improve the United States. They were honored for doing so. No matter what they did though their legacy will be judged by the conduct of their descendants.
Gore Vidal has proven deeply disloyal to the United States, the Constitution and the American people. His loyalty that he protests is not to what is but to his personal vision of what it should be. That vision is not rooted in a reasoned conviction of what best serves the greater good but rather what indulges his particular vanity. He does not seek to enlarge the space of Liberty in the future. That is served by strengthening the best friend of Freedom anywhere, the United States. He seeks only to exalt his pretension to deserve deference in the present.
Gore Vidal seeks to obscure criticism by charging that it is motivated by bigotry due to his homosexuality. That charge is false. As Erik Erickson trenchantly tweeted about a different issue, "What’s not acceptable coming from straight males can’t become acceptable just because it’s coming from a homosexual male instead." Vidal deserves public condemnation not for his private acts but for his public conduct. The device of preempting criticism of public behavior because of some private attribute is incompatible with democratic behavior.
Monday, October 11, 2010
Comment on Danny Ayalon, Facebook |
"On my way to Beijing to meet with ..."
Facebook | On my way to Beijing to meet with my Chinese counterparts to discuss the improvement of ties between our two nations, on developments in the Middle East and other issues of mutual interest
Good luck, tough negotiations face you in a police state with a very unstable political and economic structure. Hope you can convince them that the defacto alliance with Salafists and Khomeinists to surround India and gain access to Iranian-Afghan resources is a poor long term move. They are tied to very dangerous partners who will implode and spread violence everywhere, inc China. China is now in near hostility with powers East and South. May Israel help them find a better way.
Good luck, tough negotiations face you in a police state with a very unstable political and economic structure. Hope you can convince them that the defacto alliance with Salafists and Khomeinists to surround India and gain access to Iranian-Afghan resources is a poor long term move. They are tied to very dangerous partners who will implode and spread violence everywhere, inc China. China is now in near hostility with powers East and South. May Israel help them find a better way.
Follow on Reply on PJM, Ed Driscoll »
The Eye of the Needle is Awfully Thin These Days
Ed Driscoll » The Eye of the Needle is Awfully Thin These Days
John,
(who suggested private colleges, the arts and a purveyor of Cherry Garcia)
Good call on the Ben & Jerry's ice cream. The universities and the arts community were deliberately left off my list because decades ago they became contract management agents for the government. Eisenhower warned that this would happen and it did. First in the great engineering and hard science research projects and then in medicine and finally throughout the arts and social sciences the private philanthropies that once supported and under the eyes of their benefactors served as watchful critics of the colleges, hospitals, museums and theaters became reduced in the scope of what they attempt. That was because of the increased cost of the projects involved, the enormous scope of government demands that crowded out competition, and the effects of government regulatory and tax policy that limited the charities. The infiltration of Leftist apparatchiks onto foundation Boards eased their being shifted from their founders original intent. Political judges have aided in this effort by rejecting challenges from outraged relatives of the original sources of the endowments who saw their family's legacy being perverted.
The theoretically private institutions now either manage projects that are funded by the government or they serve to advocate, that is lobby, and organize political support for government expenditure.
The senior officers and many of the employees of Silicon Valley may personally be Liberals but that does not mean that the Left Liberal Elitists as a group generally hold their industry in the same regard that do the media communications industry (Hollywood) and its celebrities. The new Facebook movie may be seen as a chance to share the love but I suspect that the geeks in the end will find themselves stood up again. The Elitists love to use technology, they love toys, the more shiny and self indulgent the better. They love the money that the industry generates. They love the ability to claim a secret technical knowledge that allows them to confidently pass on orders to the rubes, that is why they love Climate Change. They probably do not really understand the information technology business any more than they do any other business. In the end it too can be demonized and set up for exploitation as a cash cow until it flees the country.
John,
(who suggested private colleges, the arts and a purveyor of Cherry Garcia)
Good call on the Ben & Jerry's ice cream. The universities and the arts community were deliberately left off my list because decades ago they became contract management agents for the government. Eisenhower warned that this would happen and it did. First in the great engineering and hard science research projects and then in medicine and finally throughout the arts and social sciences the private philanthropies that once supported and under the eyes of their benefactors served as watchful critics of the colleges, hospitals, museums and theaters became reduced in the scope of what they attempt. That was because of the increased cost of the projects involved, the enormous scope of government demands that crowded out competition, and the effects of government regulatory and tax policy that limited the charities. The infiltration of Leftist apparatchiks onto foundation Boards eased their being shifted from their founders original intent. Political judges have aided in this effort by rejecting challenges from outraged relatives of the original sources of the endowments who saw their family's legacy being perverted.
The theoretically private institutions now either manage projects that are funded by the government or they serve to advocate, that is lobby, and organize political support for government expenditure.
The senior officers and many of the employees of Silicon Valley may personally be Liberals but that does not mean that the Left Liberal Elitists as a group generally hold their industry in the same regard that do the media communications industry (Hollywood) and its celebrities. The new Facebook movie may be seen as a chance to share the love but I suspect that the geeks in the end will find themselves stood up again. The Elitists love to use technology, they love toys, the more shiny and self indulgent the better. They love the money that the industry generates. They love the ability to claim a secret technical knowledge that allows them to confidently pass on orders to the rubes, that is why they love Climate Change. They probably do not really understand the information technology business any more than they do any other business. In the end it too can be demonized and set up for exploitation as a cash cow until it flees the country.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Comment on PJM, Ed Driscoll »
The Eye of the Needle is Awfully Thin These Days
Ed Driscoll » The Eye of the Needle is Awfully Thin These Days
“Only one question remains — what area of the private sector — aside from the slip-and-fall attorneys — isn’t hated and vilified by the Obama Democrats?”
I can give you two and more will cross my mind while typing.
1. The dream factories of Hollywood. While their actual policies may be bad for the movie business, in that everyone suffers when the customers have no money, the mutual admiration society between the fantasists making movies and the fantasists trying to remake the world into their dreams continues. Washington remains "Hollywood for ugly people."
2. Luxury goods and service suppliers are loved by the Democrats. Purveyors of fine wines, artisan cheeses, limousines, and bespoke sustainable and secure architecture are cosseted and displayed with the zeal that Society matrons of the 1950s and '60s reserved for angry young man playwrights and non-representational artists.
“Only one question remains — what area of the private sector — aside from the slip-and-fall attorneys — isn’t hated and vilified by the Obama Democrats?”
I can give you two and more will cross my mind while typing.
1. The dream factories of Hollywood. While their actual policies may be bad for the movie business, in that everyone suffers when the customers have no money, the mutual admiration society between the fantasists making movies and the fantasists trying to remake the world into their dreams continues. Washington remains "Hollywood for ugly people."
2. Luxury goods and service suppliers are loved by the Democrats. Purveyors of fine wines, artisan cheeses, limousines, and bespoke sustainable and secure architecture are cosseted and displayed with the zeal that Society matrons of the 1950s and '60s reserved for angry young man playwrights and non-representational artists.
Hal Lewis: My Resignation From
The American Physical Society
Hal Lewis: My Resignation From The American Physical Society
The good Professor's letter is long and worth reading.
Fraud, theft and misappropriation of public money on a massive scale across at least two, possibly on six, continents is ongoing.
In a related note the NYC subways are still plastered with advertising for a special show, that closed in August, at the American Museum of Natural History. It beat the drum for the Global Warming cause under the over the top title "Climate Change: The threat to life and a new energy future." The list of co-sponsors and financial supporters is instructive. Here they are from the AMNH website:
Climate Change: The Threat to Life and A New Energy Future is organized by the American Museum of Natural History, New York, in collaboration with the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture & Heritage, United Arab Emirates; The Cleveland Museum of Natural History; The Field Museum, Chicago; Instituto Sangari, São Paulo, Brazil; Junta de Castilla y León, Spain; Korea Green Foundation, Seoul; Natural History Museum of Denmark, Copenhagen; Papalote Museo del Niño, Mexico City, Mexico; and Saint Louis Science Center.
Climate Change is proudly presented by Bank of America
Major support has also been provided by The Rockefeller Foundation
Additional support for Climate Change and its related educational programming has been provided by Mary and David Solomon, the Betsy and Jesse Fink Foundation, the Linden Trust for Conservation, and the Red Crane Foundation.
The good Professor's letter is long and worth reading.
Fraud, theft and misappropriation of public money on a massive scale across at least two, possibly on six, continents is ongoing.
In a related note the NYC subways are still plastered with advertising for a special show, that closed in August, at the American Museum of Natural History. It beat the drum for the Global Warming cause under the over the top title "Climate Change: The threat to life and a new energy future." The list of co-sponsors and financial supporters is instructive. Here they are from the AMNH website:
Climate Change: The Threat to Life and A New Energy Future is organized by the American Museum of Natural History, New York, in collaboration with the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture & Heritage, United Arab Emirates; The Cleveland Museum of Natural History; The Field Museum, Chicago; Instituto Sangari, São Paulo, Brazil; Junta de Castilla y León, Spain; Korea Green Foundation, Seoul; Natural History Museum of Denmark, Copenhagen; Papalote Museo del Niño, Mexico City, Mexico; and Saint Louis Science Center.
Climate Change is proudly presented by Bank of America
Major support has also been provided by The Rockefeller Foundation
Additional support for Climate Change and its related educational programming has been provided by Mary and David Solomon, the Betsy and Jesse Fink Foundation, the Linden Trust for Conservation, and the Red Crane Foundation.
Saturday, October 09, 2010
What Happened to The Democrats?
First posted as a comment on PJM, Ed Driscoll.
A POTUS on a Squishee Bender can sure do some Crazy Things
The preceding (Driscoll) thread was on how Obama is fostering discontent among traditionally Democratic working class white voters by exhibiting "The Affect of Adlai Stevenson, The Effect of Jimmy Carter."
Would Adlai Stevenson have allowed any of the people around Obama into his wife's house? The extraordinary decline in the Democrats bench over the last 60 years is a story that needs telling. Illinois gave the nation Adlai Stevenson and Paul Douglas. Read up on them, even in the Wiki.
What happened?
Both those gentlemen were liberals, that is to say that they were members of the Democratic Party's Liberal wing in the United States who served with honor. There was no doubt that their loyalties covered the contents of that sentence, in reverse order. First they were Gentlemen. They held themselves to code of honest conduct more demanding than anything they could expect from others. Even those of us who disagree with their preferred policies should acknowledge their basic decency and desire to serve others more than themselves. Second they were Patriots who unhesitatingly offered all they had for their country. Douglas volunteered for World War Two at the age of 50 and earned two Purple Hearts and a Bronze Star as an Officer of Marines. Stevenson volunteered for the Navy during the First World War before he went to college but did not see combat. They were Liberals and Ideologues in the honest sense of the word. They entered politics not as a career for those to lazy to get a job but because they wanted to help. To that end they were Democrats and fought for their party but they were not hacks willing to push the worse man over the better because the machine was all they had. They both worked with the machine but they were never its creatures. These were men who knew who they were and where they came from. They understood and cared deeply about America, its history, culture, values and people.
Compare them to the people who are in positions of power or influence in today's Democratic Party. By every one of the above criteria the current crop are inferior. Their fundamental trait is their mendacity. These are people who will resort to any stratagem, use any operative, promote any slander or panic, to advance their personal power. They distrust and even despise the country, seeing it as either a malevolent threat to others or as a resource to be exploited. Their Liberalism is a far cry from the fight for inclusion and liberty and protection from the petty tyrants of small towns or large factories that had motivated Stevenson and Douglas, and Harry Truman and Hubert Humphrey too. The current Democrats have a program of regimentation, stereotyping, grievance mongering and subjugation to bureaucrats and arbitrary bosses everywhere. They effect to resurrect a primitive model of party machine organization, although they have no real loyalty to the party, being willing to supplant it with outside agents like Acorn. In fact they have no loyalty to anything other than themselves, not even to each other.
Today's people of influence or leadership in the Democratic Party are most distinct from the giants of the past in lacking what I saw s the salient characteristic of the later, people "who knew who they were and where they came from." Consider some of the most influential Democrats of today, Soros Holbrooke Pelosi and Obama.
George Soros has controlled or funded the most influential tools of the Left. He spent tens or hundreds of millions of dollars over decades to fight the Bush Republicans. His opinions have sunk deep into America's psyche. He personally promoted Barack Obama from an obscure local politician and supported his presidential run. He is a man completely cut off from his roots. He is a former Jew who collaborated with the Nazis and openly or secretly promoted the most extreme or divisive elements that can weaken Israel, the United States or our allies, such as the British.
Richard Holbrooke is of a similar if lesser status. He holds positions of great influence over American policy but he has no knowledge of his own origins. His grandfather was Jewish but he does not even know his name. It is not that his near ancestors were immigrants, it is that his values are purely a matter of personal choice or fashion. They can be selected or dropped on a whim because they reflect no larger legacy. A person can come to America from China or Russia or some other place with a history steeped in repression. Nearly all of us came or have ancestors who came from such places. For most they can reflect on the attributes of that culture that reaffirmed human dignity and the examples, often punished in parable, of arbitrary authority. They can bring that heritage to the Anglo-American tradition that underlays our Constitution and personalize it. Holbrooke cannot do that. He can only evaluate our traditions like a dispassionate outside observer. As a diplomat he could be technically proficient but how could he represent America to the Other?
Nancy Pelosi is the scion of a notorious Baltimore family. The level of corruption and Mob influence in that city during the 1930's and 40's is a given although nothing can be proven against her father the Mayor. Her wiki has no reference to any questionable sources for her wealth or that of her husband or father. Her background is possibly as artificial as her facial appearance.
Last, I will leave it to the reader to judge if he is the least, is Barak Obama. He is a man whose entire life has been the construction of a public facade that served two purposes. One is the projection of an acceptable image to manipulate and control the hated majority power structure. That was openly discussed in "Dreams of My Father." The second purpose was the need to create a secure shell so that he could explore or invent who he is. Here is a man of apparently approximately 1/6th Black African ancestry who has based his values on his identification with a man, his presumptive father, who he barely knew who had himself largely invented himself as a leader of the native population in an anti-colonial movement. The voyage of self discovery for Obama is a continuing process. He has not internalized his identification, either with the legacy of Africa or his inheritance from America. Therefor he cannot bring that with him when he meets the world. He must arbitrarily choose what he finds appropriate and valuable every day.
Comments: On Facebook
It occurs to me that there are people with up to maybe 250 "friends" on Facebook, who read their walls,. There are also people with 3,000 "friends", who obviously do not even look at it. It makes sense to subscribe to some popular content providers, as an inexpensive way of browsing information. It does not make sense to expect any of those people to read your posts, This also applies to Twitter.
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Why then do I bother to post this? Purely as a diary entry, and possibly as a ping into the dark to see who answers.
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Why then do I bother to post this? Purely as a diary entry, and possibly as a ping into the dark to see who answers.
Friday, October 08, 2010
WASHINGTON (AP) - AP source: Gen. James Jones resigning as President Barack Obama's national security adviser.
Working for the Obama White House will now be seen as a suicide mission at the Pentagon. Expect potential candidates to become volunteers for recruit duty in Berkeley or Retire. Soon the GOP will be in and the Dems out. The Republicans better dig through the ranks and weed out the next generation of Weasely Clarks clogging the promotion pipelines. There are warriors available and the political game players, Diversity Managers, and phone jockeys need to get sent home.
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