It doesn’t work any better with social change than it does with games of chance. With leftism, the coin never comes up heads.
And David Solway writes that we shouldn’t rely on the children of the left to run our affairs.
Category Archives: Political Commentary
Birds Of A Feather
Iowahawk has the transcript of the meeting between the “progressive” bloggers and the president. But remember, he’s a moderate!
It’s pretty funny (as would be expected).
Building Confidence In Climate Models
Thoughts on verification and validation from Judith Curry. With the usual nonsense about “denialists” in comments.
Dispatch From Another Planet
On the fortieth anniversary of Doonesbury, Gary Trudeau provides an interview that inadvertently reveals why the strip hasn’t been worth reading for years:
Believe it or not, Obama’s very tough for business. The contradictory characterizations of him as fascist or socialist only serve to confirm the truth—he’s a raging moderate. And satirists don’t do well with moderates, especially thoughtful ones. In addition, Obama rarely makes gaffes and has no salient physical or temperamental features. And sinking popularity isn’t a critique. Even SNL’s main rap on him is his unflappability, hardly a vice in a world leader.
Even ignoring the absurdity that being a fascist and being a socialist are contradictory, where to begin? “Rarely makes gaffes”? Is he kidding?
British Career Women
There is something very strange going on here. I think that it’s probably a result of the increasing secularization of British (and European) society, in which the traditional religions have made themselves increasingly irrelevant.
[Update a few minutes later]
Mohammed (in its various spellings) is now the most popular boy’s name in Britain.
Uh oh.
Misnomer
Is there a more inappropriately named woman in the world than Joy Behar?
This Doesn’t Surprise Me At All
If the whole Senate were up for grabs, the Republicans would have a filibuster-proof majority. I can even imagine a veto-proof one. But that’s not how the Senate works. Flushing the rest of the turds will have to wait another two and then four years. And of course, a lot can change in two and four years.
Bear Stearnes Economics
It sure isn’t Keynesian. That restraining order can’t come soon enough.
Tea Parties
Yesterday and today. The modern version has a lot more in common with the original than the left wants to think.
The Pop Psychology
Political psychology got its start with Theodore Adorno’s attempt to identify conservatives as a psychological type, as measured on his F-scale (F stands for fascist). Today, as his ideas have trickled down and pop psychology has caught on, we see the common conflation of “anti-illegal-immigration” and “anti-immigrant,” the belief that welfare reform was essentially anti-black, and the reduction of concerns about Islamism to a kind of phobia. Conservatives’ ostensible reasons and supporting facts are dismissed without consideration, because it is presumed that those reasons and facts aren’t what really motivate them. And when one lacks, in postmodern fashion, a belief that reasoning can lead to truth, questions of political motivation become preeminent. Conservative ideas are investigated as psychological phenomena — evaluated for the mental health or pathology they suggest — rather than as philosophical propositions — evaluated for the truth or falsehood they contain. The Left seems every day less concerned with substantive reasons for policies, and focuses more intellectual energy on trying to discover the invisible psychopathologies of its opponents.
When you combine the conceit that political ideas are merely manifestations of subconscious impulses with a habit of viewing people through racial and other group taxonomies, it’s easy to buy into Blow’s belief that Tea Partiers are so anti-government because of our president’s racial background. Indeed, given all that, it’s easy to understand how Blow’s columns have at times become streams of assertions about the revolting bigotry of Republicans and conservatives.
They’re not elite, they’re just credentialed.
I think this is in fact just one more of many examples of psychological projection by the Left. There’s a whole book to be written about that. It would drive them (even more) nuts. In fact, I want to start gathering up chapter titles, with a little help from my commenters.
Racists
Liars
Haters
Bigots
Intolerants
Insane
Censors
Fascists
Imposers of Morality
I’m sure there are more.
[Late afternoon update]
The hate of the left. Yes, of course. If you’re in favor of limited government, you’re just like a Nazi. Oooooohhhh, those scary libertarians. They’re going to take over the government and [discordant organ sound, thundercrack, horses neighing] leave us alone.
When I was young and stupid, I thought that Rob Reiner was smart.
[Tuesday morning update]
More leftist projection, from Robert Reich:
…isn’t there something funny about Reich claiming that the GOP is full of authoritarian personalities, even as the Democrats have just enacted a law that orders Americans to buy health care? Which party is asking that government do a whole lot less and which is asking it do a whole lot more? Which party wants the government to boss people around more? Which party is more likely to attract people who find this sort of thing compelling? Which party wants to get rid of the union secret ballot? Which party wants to restore the “fairness” doctrine? Which party wants the government to be able to ban smoking, regulate salt, and ban political speech? Which party attracts people who like campus speech codes? Which party attracts movie stars who vow to be servants of Obama? Or educators who expect likewise of their students?
As I said, classic projection.
[Bumped]