Class Warfare vs. Anti-Cronyism

Class Warfare vs. Anti-Cronyism

Little Miss Attila links to an article by Timothy P. Carney in the Washington Examiner about the current administration's consternation over the public's drawing the wrong conclusions from the distribution of wealth and poverty. The administration hoped that resentment of Wall Street fat cats would propel Democrats to a mid-term victory; instead, much of the voting public identified the Democratic leadership with back-room deals for the well-connected. Even worse, they identified the Republican insurgents with genuine populism. Similarly, the public was cool towards the revival of the estate tax, no matter how much it was touted as a blow against the "rich." At heart, the Democrats mistook a popular revulsion against cronyism for a hostility to wealth. As Carney says:

[C]ronyism -- not wealth -- is the object of today's populist ire. . . . The Left has misread the postbailout populist sentiment all along, assuming public anger was directed at the rich. But American anger, I suspect, is directed not at some people who have money or success, but at those who profit through cronyism and their connections to power. . . . . In other words, anti-bailout anger is not anger at the rich, but anger at those unfairly getting rich -- at the taxpayer's expense.

Carney concludes that the Left is drawing the wrong conclusion about the Wisconsin battle over public sector unions, even as the battle spreads to other states. Paul Krugman, for instance, asserts that government unions provide a "counterweight to the political power of big money." That assertion, of course, draws horselaughs from voters who have begun to open their ears to the conservative counterargument: public sector unions are the ultimate example of the political power of big money.

I grew up thinking the Democrats were the champions of the ordinary citizen against an over-powerful government. I switched to the Republican Party when I concluded they did a better job at that task. Nothing disgusts me more in a RINO than a desertion of conservative principles in favor of country-club cronyism; I don't like it any better than I like public-sector unions. So I'd like to see the new Republican House majority go after ethanol subsidies, for instance, and to dismantle every bit of the Spendulus Bill that's still standing.

Democrat or Republican, what stands between us and cronyism is the principle of limited government. We need to keep government from interfering constantly in the economy to reward the good guys and punish the bad guys with tax policy and stimulus spending. They have no reliable skill at distinguishing one from the other, and no business getting in the game at all.

Arendt & the Suicide

Arendt & the Suicide:

A woman I've been spending a lot of time with lately is Hannah Arendt, the author of Eichmann in Jerusalem, The Origins of Totalitarianism and The Human Condition among other works. You may find this article about her interesting, as it treats her correspondence -- usually hostile -- with another Weimar-Republic thinker who resettled himself to Jerusalem after the war. It was occasioned by the suicide of a man named Walter Benjamin.

Best Presidents Evah

Best Presidents Evah

I keep reading about the recent Gallup poll asking who was the greatest U.S. president. I believe Ann Althouse correctly explains the otherwise perplexing results:

[T]he main thing going on here is people are being asked to come up with the name of a President, and they don't have that many names floating around in their heads. It's always safe to say "Lincoln." Beyond that, they're rooting around in the decades they remember personally.

Someone else suggested you might get more interesting results if you required people to give two reasons for each choice, then throw out the choices backed up by reasons that were obviously pulled out of thin air ("Like, he was the most awesome and saved the world and stuff").

But I'm more interested in the views on the subject I'm likely to find here. I believe my vote goes to Washington, for setting the example of a peaceful relinquishment of power in an age when it was practically unheard of. Frankly, even today, not many people worldwide can expect to enjoy that blessing in their lives. It's a signal achievement of the American experiment.

Stories I Like to Hear

Stories I Like to Hear

Per the New York Post, Lara Logan credits Egyptian women with preventing her being raped, by piling their bodies on top of her. That's morality and courage in action: placing your vulnerable body between someone else and harm. You don't have to be big and strong to do it.

It seems she was more scourged than beaten. If she'd been beaten for half an hour, she'd be dead. Instead she's covered in painful welts, obviously inflicted in a desire to shame and intimidate her. That's one reason I'm encouraged to hear that women in the crowd took it on themselves to intervene. I would imagine that Ms. Logan formed a lifelong bond with them in that moment.

Whither Morality

Wither Morality:

Philosophy Now is hosting a series of articles defending various versions of the idea that we should dispense with morality as an idea. Unfortunately, aside from that introduction, only one of the articles is available for nonsubscribers, Dr. Jesse Prinz' suggestion that all morality is cultural. This is actually one of the weaker claims, in that there is still a place for morality at the end of the discussion: the stronger claims are that morality should be abandoned even as a concept.

Read it through, and let's discuss it. I am myself a moral realist, so I don't agree with any of the positions being argued; but I'll be glad to explore them with you, to see why they might be stronger than they appear, or to suggest why they might not finally be right.

Winning

"The TEA Party is Winning":

So says E. J. Dionne, Jr., who notes:

Take five steps back and consider the nature of the political conversation in our nation's capital.... Washington is acting as if the only real problem the United States confronts is the budget deficit; the only test of leadership is whether the president is willing to make big cuts in programs that protect the elderly; and the largest threat to our prosperity comes from public employees.

...

The media are full of commentary on President Obama's "failure of leadership." There is some truth to the critique but not in the way the charge is typically made.

Obama is not at fault for his budget proposals.... In his State of the Union address, Obama made a good case that budget cutting is too small an agenda and that this is also a time for more government - yes, more government - in areas that would expand opportunities and strengthen the economy.

There are three separate assertions that concern us here.

1) The national conversation has turned (thanks, perhaps, to the TEA Party) to the importance of cutting the costs of government, especially entitlements and payments to government workers.

2) The President believes that the fact is that we need more, not less, in terms of government spending and involvement.

3) The media is unfairly hurting him by framing this as a failure of leadership instead of an attempt to lead, but in the opposite direction.

Let's compare that with a news story from the NYT, on the President and the Wisconsin situation:

"Wisconsin Puts Obama Between Competing Desires"

The battle in Wisconsin over public employee unions has left President Obama facing a tricky balance between showing solidarity with longtime political supporters and projecting a message in favor of deep spending cuts to reduce the debt.

There's not much in the article to suggest that "deep spending cuts to reduce the debt" is actually a "desire" of the President's (nor even "projecting a message" in favor of such cuts). It does mention his two-year freeze on pay raises, but that is clearly not a deep cut.

What it sounds like is that Mr. Dionne is right: the editors at the NYT are trying to "help" the President by portraying him as "leading" in a direction he doesn't want to go. In that way they may be hoping to shore him up against what they see as his own failure to understand and lead the national conversation; but they're masking his real attempts to lead in the other direction.

That's neither wise nor fair, even to President Obama. He was elected on a big-government platform, and it is clear that he believes in it, and has steadily argued for a larger government role in American society and the economy.

This is the political question of a generation for the United States of America: how to handle both the current economic disaster and the long-term problems of impossible entitlements, debt, and un- and under-funded government pensions. What we do now may save or doom us; the decisions made now will set a course that will be increasingly difficult to reverse by future governments should that course prove to be wrong.

Previous Congresses and administrations are at fault for us being here, by the same token: we wouldn't be facing these problems if they had not made promises to the sky on entitlements and pensions, while at the same time spending all the cash they were supposed to be saving up to pay for those promises.

Let's have the argument fairly. It may be that the TEA Party will win, or it may be that the President's party will win, but there is a clear difference between them.

The More Loving One

The More Loving One
W.H. Auden

Looking up at the stars, I know quite well
That, for all they care, I can go to hell,
But on earth indifference is the least
We have to dread from man or beast.

How should we like it were stars to burn
With a passion for us we could not return?
If equal affection cannot be,
Let the more loving one be me.

Admirer as I think I am
Of stars that do not give a damn,
I cannot, now I see them, say
I missed one terribly all day.

Were all stars to disappear or die,
I should learn to look at an empty sky
And feel its total dark sublime,
Though this might take me a little time.

1957

Get Some, Colonel

Get Some, Colonel:

I met Allen West when I was in D.C. last with Jimbo, and entirely by accident. He was most gracious.

It is refreshing to hear this kind of language from a member of Congress.

I am appalled.... Have they no shame in realizing that their inept, incompetent failures are the reason why we are debating this continuing resolution? They failed to pass a budget during the 111th Congress.

Have they no honor in realizing that their fiscal irresponsibility over the past four years has resulted in our standing on the precipice of a fiscal canyon from which we may not recover?

Honor and shame are qualities Congress could use.

"What Happens in Vagueness Stays in Vagueness."

One of the better titles for an article I have seen recently adorns this piece from City Journal.

Simulations

Simulations:

An interesting claim from The American Prospect:

I eventually got the hang of The Sims, the best-selling computer game in history, and my Sim self became productive and happy. She always reached the top of her career, her children always did well in school, and she always had enough money for a comfortable simulated life. Another pattern emerged as well, one that I feel powerless to stop: My Sims are conservative. I'm in complete control of them, but for some reason their lives aren't anything like the life I consider ideal in the real world. I'm a feminist graduate of an all-women's college who has vowed to never change my name or end my career to raise children full time--though I would never undervalue the work that many women do in their home. By contrast, my Sims rarely remain single long into adulthood. My wives always take their husbands' last names. They don't just have children; they bear lots of them. And they leave their careers to take on the lion's share of care-giving duties.

The idea here seems to be that the simulation is flawed in an anti-liberal way. An alternative interpretation is that the simulation is accurate: these are the rational choices for maximizing success in life, and the liberal program largely exists to make other choices sustainable.

That's not necessarily a bad thing -- there are several goods that may justify our arranging our society so that capitalism doesn't rule every single corner of it.

Now, I haven't played any of the games she mentions, but I expect that Ymar can fill in for me as our video game 'subject matter expert' (SME). With him to rely on for findings of fact, then, what do you folks think about this article and its claim? Are these games biased against liberals (and if so, can that be justified by her concept that it's to make them salable in poorer, less-populous red states)? Or is it just capitalism that is against liberalism (which would make more intuitive sense, as a good part of the liberal movements arose in opposition to problems resulting from capitalism)?

A Solution Appears

A Solution Appears:

Gatewaypundit is following this madness in Wisconsin, where legislators friendly to the public sector unions have fled the state to avoid doing their jobs a quorum being present in the legislature. That is, of course, a crime: but it's a state crime, and they're not in that state anymore.

Presumably the state police could request help from the Federal government, but how likely is it that the current Justice Department would provide such help? Not very!

Gatewaypundit suggests a solution:

TIME FOR A TEA PARTY CITIZEN’S ARREST!… I am offering $100 to the first person successful citizen’s arrest.

That sounds like an awesome idea to me. The citizens' arrest is of a piece with the renewed focus on the Second and Tenth Amendments: forgotten or ignored but never repealed, and still therefore the law of the land. It's a way of taking back the rightful duties and powers of a free citizen.

The Forfeit

The Forfeit:

What an interesting story:

On Thursday, a girl won a match at the most historic high school state wrestling tournament in the country, but she did so in an even more unusual and controversial way than most had imagined possible.

According to the Cedar Rapids Metro Sports Report, Des Moines Register and Associated Press, among other outlets, Cassy Herkelman, one of two girls who qualified for the Iowa state wrestling tournament, won the opening match in her Class 3-A, 112-pound classification by forfeit when her scheduled opponent, Joel Northrup, officially reported and withdrew from the bout, earning a loss but ensuring he could continue to participate in later matches at the tournament....

"I have a tremendous amount of respect for Cassy and Megan [Black] and their accomplishments," Northrup said in a statement given to the media following his official forfeit. "However, wrestling is a combat sport and it can get violent at times.

"As a matter of conscience and faith, I do not believe that it is appropriate for a boy to engage a girl in this manner."

I have a feeling that this reasoning is not going to win him any awards from the ladies of the Hall, who have often made a point of their desire to be engaged as an honest competitor. On the other hand, as a matter of freedom of conscience we must accept some space for people with differing views to live out their values, provided they are courteous about them and also willing to accept the consequences.

There's something elegant about his reason, too: that he is aware of the combative and violent feelings the sport brings out in him, and does not want to direct such emotions -- or violent, combative acts -- at a girl. That seems like a valid and reasonable objection, combining self-knowledge with values that oppose using physical force against women. I can't fault either point, even though I also see the value of free and honest competition.

Then again, I never found that wrestling brought out much aggression in me: it always struck me as a more mental and spiritual activity, more about analysis of their strengths and a kind of 'feeling through' their guard. In areas where I do feel strong emotions of violence, I would certainly also wish to avoid directing those at a lady. On those occasions when it has been necessary to argue fiercely against one, I have tried to rely on highly formal and courteous manners to ensure that it was done respectfully. That is not an option available here. Can you respectfully pin someone's head between your legs? Perhaps not!

Fake?

Fake?

This has to be fake, right? But it's very well done.

Apologies From Dubai. Nir Rosen: ‘I Feel Like Shrinking Now’ - FishbowlDC

Apologies From Dubai. Nir Rosen: ‘I Feel Like Shrinking Now’ - FishbowlDC

To paraphrase Jacques Chiraq: "He missed a good opportunity to shut up."

Rock and Rockabilly:

Joel reminds us that rock and country music have a certain connection. We can make that plainer with a few examples.

Jerry Reed is pretty much country, as is Johnny Cash; but you can see that Reed could stretch bluegrass into jazz just fine, while Cash is easily rendered into punk rock. Surf music? No problem. None of it is a problem for the masters, like 'the Killer' Jerry Lee Lewis, or Elvis himself. Consider the "walk away" quality of the Jerry Lee piece compared with the famous example from The Blues Brothers -- which isn't properly either rock or country, but blues music. Taking that on board, you can enjoy the piece with Ray Charles, B.B. King, and the Killer himself

Post up your favorite examples using the YouTube button, in the comments.

Parade Day

Parade Day

The preparations for the annual fire department fund-raiser are marginally less crazy this year, because our friend/neighbor/assistant chief is skipping his usual parade float. He sold his trailer a few months ago, and besides the parade has been going on for nine years and has attracted quite a few participants. None of them are quite as enthusiastic as our friend, of course, who in recent years has built a giant crawdad, a pirate ship, a Jimmy Buffet beach bar, and (last year) a flying saucer. We did have fun with the costumes, and even more with the Star Trek and Outer Limits music, but I'm just as glad not to be jamming the considerable painting work into this last few days before the festival starts on Friday. All I had to do this year was repaint the dates onto the festival signs.

Popping the Question

Popping the Question

In keeping with today's "Plug Maggie's Farm" theme, here's an article they linked this morning about the stubborn persistence of gender roles in the ancient ritual of the marriage proposal. As usual, I intrude my personal counter-experience: neither of us can remember how it was that we decided to get married, back in the Cretaceous. At some point, it just seemed that we were setting a date and informing the families. The NPH claims it was my idea, while I remember its being his.

The author of the linked article notes, nevertheless, that even in this gender-equalized, de-ritualized culture, one thing we never, ever witness is the woman getting down on bended knee. If there is a distinct proposal at all, it is the man who presents it. There does seem to be pressure to re-invent the ritual to show more verve:

Men who prefer a more intimate approach still must find a way to demonstrate wit and intelligence, qualities that are also good predictors of success in today's world. One author who achieved brief internet fame proposed to his girlfriend by asking for her hand in the preface of his latest book. It was a cunning trick, simultaneously showing off his impressive status for his beloved and letting him find out whether she actually reads his stuff.

. . . Some readers will doubtless rue the tired gender rules and status displays that define the contemporary proposal. But growing up in a culture whose idea of asking for a date is a midnight text message asking "u free?" a young man doesn't face many opportunities to demonstrate manly initiative in the romance department.

Speaking of manly initiative, you cain't hardly beat a Valentine's Morning presentation of my favorite almond chocolate bark shipped in from a little store in Houston. Way to improve my mood all week long! Better than roses any day.

In light of our recent discussions, I was amused to note that I didn't get past the first dozen comments in the linked article before the talk veered into the familiar territory of how terrible marriage was for men these days. Why do they pop the question, anyway?

Down on Maggie's Farm

Down on Maggie's Farm

I do like the Maggie's Farm site, and since they made an open appeal today to their readers for more exposure, I'm plugging them here.

Pickle

I Don't Want A Pickle:

Yeah.

So I took the motorcycle up to Tallulah gorge. It was like that. The late winter wind was strong enough to blow the wheels right out from under my cruiser; but, like a gyroscope, it pulled true as long as you had enough hammer under the throttle.

Therefore, as Lancelot said, "All shall be welcome that God sendeth."

Rock & Roll:

There was a recent discussion about whether rock and roll music was inherently degrading; and of course it mostly is.

There are certain subsets of the thing, though, which manage to avoid degradation. The best things point to the True and the Beautiful: the truth, and the beauty, of rock music is joy.



It's rare that they get to it honestly; mostly they lose it in other things. Once in a while, though, you get a song -- in rockabilly, or punk rock -- that is nothing more than an ode to joy. That's the real thing.