A long but useful history of the conservative intellectual, from Matthew Continetti.
Category Archives: Social Commentary
The Echo Chamber
The roof blows off it:
There’s no way to tell what people think. It’s impossible for most Americans to form a judgment with which they feel comfortable, because they do not have sources of information they can trust. Fox News is in a civil war between the pro- and anti-Trump Republicans. The other networks are with Hillary. The major media outlets have lost credibility. Only 32% of Americans said they had “a great deal” or “a fair amount” of confidence in the news media in a September Gallup Poll survey. That’s the lowest level in history, and should be no surprise: the major media has to spin a new cover-up every couple of days, before it is finished putting the previous set of lies to bed.
That’s why Americans don’t simply watch the nightly news and go to bed. They read the rumors on the Internet and circulate them to their friends. They create networks of people they trust in the hope of obtaining an accurate account of what is happening around them.
That’s why I’m still calling this election for Donald J. Trump. The polls are meaningless. Perceptions are morphing as rapidly as the new-model Terminator in the molten steel vat at the end of the movie. The election will be won and lost a dozen times between now and Election Day. And when Americans finally go into the voting booth, they will not be able to think of a any reasons to vote for Hillary Clinton–only reasons to vote against Donald Trump. There are far more compelling reasons to vote against Clinton. And that’s how the election will go.
I hope this is true, but I’m skeptical.
Viewpoint Diversity On Campus
Heterodox U has put together a guide. My alma mater in Ann Arbor doesn’t fare well, but at least it’s not Missouri or Oregon. Keep it in mind both in sending your kid there, or hiring.
[Late-morning update]
Related: Are colleges making our young men sick? Despite all the blather about “rape culture,” the real war on campus is against them. And it starts in public schools, before they even get there.
A Rare Bright Spot In The Election Gloom
North Carolina Democrats quickly raise $13,000 to replace a firebombed Republican campaign office office. Credit where it’s due.
The Selective Moral Outrage
Old enough to remember when Left's hair was on fire over WJC's sexual assaults and how unfit it made him.
Oh, wait, no one is that old.
— Apostle To Morons (@Rand_Simberg) October 13, 2016
Sexbots
Don’t worry, they won’t ruin sex. I think that, like other technological advances, they will increase opportunities for more people.
Cultural Imperialism
Apropos of this thread, stop telling me I’m violent, or I’ll kill you.
Placebo Buttons
I’d always wondered about this sort of thing.
The Childishness Sweeping America
Thoughts from Bob Zimmerman:
The worst aspect of all these stories is how this childish intolerant behavior is becoming increasingly violent and aggressive. Unfortunately, our society does not seem to know how to stop it, and thus I expect it to only grow worse in the coming years, no matter who wins this coming election.
Like related things, it won’t end well.
In Defense Of Profits
Why they are at least as moral as wages. This kind of irrationality is more than partly a consequence of the failure of the public-education system. Or its success, depending on one’s point of view.