Consider a young man who has, since the shooting in Oregon on Thursday, shared every pro-gun-control theme that came across his desk. Last night, he told me he was thinking of getting a gun and a carry permit. It's safe to tell me this, and to seek advice on how to do it and what models would be wise. In public, though, he clearly feels he must aggressively signal his "virtue" on this and other liberal agenda issues. One gets the sense that he's doing it largely to try to appear attractive to young women of his generation. It's not at all what he really thinks, deep down. It's what he feels is safe to express.
This was brought to my mind this morning when I read this heart-felt article from a young woman who is a little ashamed about how much she loves being a mother. I know a young woman, about the same age as the young man I started with, who has similar feelings. She is a feminist philosopher, but came to me a few times after the birth of her sons to express a sense that being a mother was better than everything else she'd ever known. She wanted to ask someone who would hear the question with understanding: was that wrong for her to feel?
Of course it's not wrong.
It makes sense to be circumspect about your political views in polite company: religion and politics are the perennial topics to avoid at a dinner party. That's not what is going on here, though. They are talking about their views all the time in public. They're just committed to signalling support for views they don't really hold but are afraid to question, or even not to affirm loudly and publicly.
Herodotus tells us that the ancient Persians raised their noble sons with only three kinds of education. They taught them "to ride, shoot straight, and speak the truth." Obviously I think that is shortsighted: many more things should be known, so that you can explore the walls of the world, understand the mathematics that will let you track the leading edge of physics, peer into deep metaphysical wells, contemplate the limits of language and thought.
Yet the first lessons should not get lost. That there is much more to know does not change the fact that the Persians were right about the core of a good and noble life. Ride. Shoot straight. Speak the truth.
Unarmed guards
From "There's a Bear in the Sand":
Official US position: Don't worry because Putin won't be any more effective at waging war than we are. That sounds like a winning line. And may not, in fact, be true.
* * *
Putin says something of value here: "The people you are dealing with are cruel but they are not dumb" - which happens to be correct. Obama's just mailing in a Hallmark greetings card for Happy Geostrategic Analysis Day: "You can jail your opponents, but you can't imprison ideas." Whichever overpaid speechwriter came up with that, the President of the United States is the one who agreed to utter it. It's a superficial credentialed twerp's idea of "smart" - when you're in a room full of hard-faced men from Russia, Iran, Syria and France, but you think the same cute lines that work on "The View" will see you through. As Putin no doubt assured the mullahs et al in private, the people you are dealing with in Washington are not cruel but they are dumb.
I see Hillary is proposing a no-fly zone over Syria, but why stop there? Surely Obama could declare the Middle East a gun-free zone and put that unarmed security guard in charge.
The Sons of Murphy
Good luck to all of you building arks down South. We've seen more rain than a feast of Springs, this last week. Looks like we'll be blessed with a little more rain tomorrow. Keep dry, brothers and sisters.
I Suppose It's Only Natural
Given all the rain we've had lately, you'd have to expect a tide to roll.
Where the Republican Hopefuls Went to College
I'm not sure why Lindsey Graham is still listed as a "hopeful," but ok.
Fiorina has a bachelor's degree in "Philosophy and Medieval Studies." She'd fit in around here quite well.
Fiorina has a bachelor's degree in "Philosophy and Medieval Studies." She'd fit in around here quite well.
An Excellent Article
On religion and war, on why the 21st century will see the resurgence and not the death of faith, and on what Christians, Jews, and Muslims should do to make that resurgence wise. The author is a rabbi, and a thoughtful one.
Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes
Maybe not autumn music, but Jimmy Buffet has a number of good, under-appreciated tunes. I understand the first is about his grandfather, a tall-ship captain back in the day.
"We Need To Repeal Gun-Free Zones"
Gun Owners of America has a thorough rebuttal of the President's speech.
Nihilism, Plus Security
Consider these password security questions, whose answers are a little hard to dig up on the internet.
The Pack Almost Stopped the Oregon Shooting
A heroic US Army veteran charged the murderer in Oregon. He was shot five times, but fortunately survived and is recovering. If he'd had the tools to go along with his brave heart and strong will, he might have prevented these crimes.
A US Air Force vet at the school's veteran center nearby actually did have a handgun, and moved to intervene along with a number of other veterans. Unfortunately, they obeyed lawful authorities who herded them back inside their own building for their safety.
The government is the only thing that kept American citizens from stopping this attack. We need to comprehensively rethink the role of citizens in dealing with these sorts of distributed threats. The pack response to a threat of this type is exactly the right one. It has worked time and again, sometimes in spite of the government's best efforts to prevent it from working.
If you are a pro-government sort, perhaps it will help to remember that the citizen is also a kind of officer of the government. We entrust the office of citizen with a number of functions central to the common peace and lawful order, such as voting for other officers of the government, serving on juries, and the power of making citizens' arrests.
This is the only office adequately enough distributed to answer a threat of this particular kind. It is also the least likely office to devolve into tyranny, because its power is the least concentrated and most distributed among the American people.
We can take these guys. They are generally weak, full of anger but without virtue. It is only the differential power created by stripping Americans of our means of self-defense that allows them to carry out these attacks. We can stop them.
UPDATE: Loyalty is a two-way street. The wounded Army vet who fought for our fellow citizens is being supported by his former unit mates. You are invited to participate.
A US Air Force vet at the school's veteran center nearby actually did have a handgun, and moved to intervene along with a number of other veterans. Unfortunately, they obeyed lawful authorities who herded them back inside their own building for their safety.
The government is the only thing that kept American citizens from stopping this attack. We need to comprehensively rethink the role of citizens in dealing with these sorts of distributed threats. The pack response to a threat of this type is exactly the right one. It has worked time and again, sometimes in spite of the government's best efforts to prevent it from working.
If you are a pro-government sort, perhaps it will help to remember that the citizen is also a kind of officer of the government. We entrust the office of citizen with a number of functions central to the common peace and lawful order, such as voting for other officers of the government, serving on juries, and the power of making citizens' arrests.
This is the only office adequately enough distributed to answer a threat of this particular kind. It is also the least likely office to devolve into tyranny, because its power is the least concentrated and most distributed among the American people.
We can take these guys. They are generally weak, full of anger but without virtue. It is only the differential power created by stripping Americans of our means of self-defense that allows them to carry out these attacks. We can stop them.
UPDATE: Loyalty is a two-way street. The wounded Army vet who fought for our fellow citizens is being supported by his former unit mates. You are invited to participate.
This is from some of Chris' 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment Brothers:He's going to have a lot of bills while his broken legs heal, which is going to put him out of work for a while. We need to take care of each other. He did his part.
"There is a PayPal set up to help Chris in his recovery. It's on our NPO 5/20 brotherhood set up to help our brothers we served with. The website is 520brotherhood.org the PayPal link is on the page just earmark for Chris Mintz and it all goes to help his recovery and bills"
http://520brotherhood.org/donate.html
There's also a "Go Fund Me" account that's been set up:
https://www.gofundme.com/375getwc
Giving value for the wage
A developing story that should be fun to watch: Remember Joe Wilson, the shady "yellowcake" ambassador at the center of Scooter Libby's conviction for misleading federal investigators? He has sued a company called Symbion for nonpayment of $20K/month in consulting fees. Symbion, which builds projects of some sort in Africa, is quarreling with Mr. Wilson over the services he was supposed to provide, including perhaps special access starting in 2009 to then Secretary of State Clinton. Symbion has countersued, alleging that Wilson took credit for things he didn't really cause, such as Clinton's visit to a Symbion project. Clinton's email, heavily redacted to obscure "confidential" issues (though of course she never used her private email for state business, let alone classified business), suggests that Wilson was accustomed to approach her via Sid Blumenthal, and that she was at least in some degree open to his advances.
The dispute already has turned up gossipy bits about Wilson's use or abuse of company perks, in true "master of the universe" style, and his subcontracting of work to another shady ambassador, since indicted on federal charges. But what will be really fascinating about this suit is that, in order to get his pay, Wilson will have to prove that he delivered on things like access to Clinton. If I were he, I'd hire a food taster.
The dispute already has turned up gossipy bits about Wilson's use or abuse of company perks, in true "master of the universe" style, and his subcontracting of work to another shady ambassador, since indicted on federal charges. But what will be really fascinating about this suit is that, in order to get his pay, Wilson will have to prove that he delivered on things like access to Clinton. If I were he, I'd hire a food taster.
Whoever Has No Sword Is To Sell His Coat...
Early updates on the shooting in Oregon.
The President has issued his predictable call for more gun control. Every time one of these thing happens, he sees a need to strip more Americans of arms. I see a positive demonstration that the police can't protect you, and a duty to try to protect my fellow citizens, and thus become more firmly intent on never surrendering my arms nor the right to bear them. This is the sort of thing that could have been stopped, but once again, the victims were disarmed under color of law.
The President has issued his predictable call for more gun control. Every time one of these thing happens, he sees a need to strip more Americans of arms. I see a positive demonstration that the police can't protect you, and a duty to try to protect my fellow citizens, and thus become more firmly intent on never surrendering my arms nor the right to bear them. This is the sort of thing that could have been stopped, but once again, the victims were disarmed under color of law.
The Nairobi mall attack
Someone has pieced together eyewitness accounts of the terrorist attack a couple of years ago in Nairobi, which don't sound quite like what we heard at the time:
Nura and his two colleagues were having an early lunch of beef stew with chapati while the mechanic worked nearby when a call came through on the radio. “All units: Shooting going on at Westgate. Robbers inside.” Nura spoke on the phone to his commanding officer, who told him to get to the mall “and do whatever is necessary to handle it.” Nura left his plate of food on the table and jumped into the car. He was excited, eager even. As the unmarked squad car sped up the road, Nura hung out the window, waving his radio and shouting at drivers to move out of the way.
News of the assault was beginning to spread via frantic phones calls, texts, and WhatsApp messages. Westgate is in the heart of a Kenyan-Indian part of the city, and the close-knit community there knew better than to rely on the authorities to send help. Instead, the call went out to the community’s own licensed gun holders, who were organized into self-appointed armed neighborhood watch units.
Let's Play A Game
The New York Times published an article called "27 Ways to Be a Modern Man." Low score wins.
I have to confess to numbers 4, 5, and 11 (although not for 'modern' reasons -- I just refuse to use Twitter). That's a score of three for me.
You might be curious about number 16: "The modern man lies on the side of the bed closer to the door. If an intruder gets in, he will try to fight him off, so that his wife has a chance to get away."
That's not me. Oh, I sleep on the side closest to the door, in part because of the possibility of intruders. But if I get up to deal with one, my wife can sleep in.
Knowing her, though, she'd probably go for her Glock. Who wants to be left out of a good time?
I have to confess to numbers 4, 5, and 11 (although not for 'modern' reasons -- I just refuse to use Twitter). That's a score of three for me.
You might be curious about number 16: "The modern man lies on the side of the bed closer to the door. If an intruder gets in, he will try to fight him off, so that his wife has a chance to get away."
That's not me. Oh, I sleep on the side closest to the door, in part because of the possibility of intruders. But if I get up to deal with one, my wife can sleep in.
Knowing her, though, she'd probably go for her Glock. Who wants to be left out of a good time?
Let's not be hasty
From Ralph Peters:
Want to know how low we’ve sunk? The president of France just repeated his demand that Assad has to go. Secretary of State John Kerry, following the pattern of his surrender to the Iranians, has already said that, well, maybe Assad can stay for a while until there’s a “managed transition.”
Never before has a US presidential administration combined such naked cowardice, intellectual arrogance and willful blindness. We don’t have a president — we have a scared child covering his eyes at a horror movie. And Putin knows it.
The pickle crisis
Lileks has completely internalized the media narrative on income inequality. He could write these things in his sleep now.
Meet Your Meat
I assume you know the punchline to the joke about the pig with the wooden leg.
This only works with a certain kind of city folk. The rest of us knew where the meat came from, have cleaned and dressed our own meat, and understand how this works. You don't eat it while it's a cute piglet. You eat it once it's a mean old hog that would be just as happy to eat you, too.
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