Category Archives: Social Commentary

Media Criticism, Political Commentary, Social Commentary

The Discussion That’s Been Lost

This:

Memo to the New York Times, New York publishers, and other morally clueless individuals scratching their heads over the Petraeus scandal: If you are writing a biography and either you or your subject are married to a third person, and you have sex, you have done something wrong. No mystery, no dilemma, no agonizing introspection needed.

Of course, knowing what is right is the easy part. Doing it can be hard. But if you are genuinely confused about the morality of what presumably happened in this relationship, it’s time to get your moral compass reset.

The problem is that we’re not allowed moral compasses any more. It’s too judgmental.

And of course, what they did was wrong even if there was no biography involved. But we’re not supposed to talk about that, just as we’re not supposed to criticize women who have children out of wedlock. Because, you know.

Political Commentary, Social Commentary, War Commentary

Remembering Those Who Served

[Note that I’m keeping this post at the top all day, but there’s lots of new content if you haven’t checked in in a while — just scroll past it]

Here is my Veterans Day post from last year.

Red Poppies

And this is ridiculous, and one more sign of the decline of Old Blighty.

I wouldn’t go so far as to say that all those men died in Flanders’ fields so that this schmuck could burn a poppy on the Internet, but that’s certainly the sort of thing that Americans have died in battle for, and many of them did die at Ypres and other places for that right, even for non-Americans.

I’ll try to keep this at the top today, so keep scrolling.

Business, Economics, Media Criticism, Political Commentary, Social Commentary

The Makers And The Takers

19 Comments

…and the forgotten men and women:

Now, before you say something in your comments you’ll regret — or should regret — this is not to endorse the freedom-killing and economy-destroying solutions of the left, which only create a nation of rulers and dependents. Barack Obama has been a disaster for the poor and the working class and, I believe, will continue to be so. But to pat a worker on the head with your cigar hand and say, basically, “Don’t worry, little man, an unfettered market lifts everyone,” is not going to win you his confidence or his vote. Reagan never did that. (Read the excellent WaPo piece by AEI’s Henry Olsen at the link.) Reagan always stood up and spoke up for the little guy. He identified with him and explained why his policies would help him. Many of today’s Republicans have lost that knack and given the game away in the process. That’s why the polls showed people shared Romney’s values but thought Obama cared about “people like me.”

It’s largely conservative policies that help the working guy and girl, but you have to let them know that and make sure they understand that government cares about them and will not abandon them if they fall off the bottom rung of the ladder. When one candidate is saying, “Tax the rich,” and the other is calling half the people moochers, both are wrong… but only one will win an election.

Yes, the September/October surprise worked. And Romney was no Reagan. But the good news is that a more ept candidate can make the case to the working class for free markets. But the Republicans have to start caring more about it themselves, and stop coddling big business.

[Update a couple minutes later]

Related thoughts from Paul Hsieh:

…in retrospect, the vote totals showed that Romney’s support may have been deeper than McCain’s in 2008, but not significantly broader.

So in that respect, those GOP rallies indicated something akin to the small-but-intense fan base for Apple computers in the mid-1990s. Of course, one of Steve Jobs’ key accomplishments in the 2000s was to turn that into an LARGE-and-intense fan base for Apple products.

I won’t rehash the “bigthink” arguments about the best next direction for the GOP. I just want to propose that *if* they can improve their message and inspire genuine enthusiasm for a positive pro-freedom agenda, then rallying (and growing) the base won’t be a problem. Although I have a mixed opinion of Ronald Reagan policies, he was an acknowledged master at communicating an inspiring, upbeat message to the voters. If the GOP finds a good message and a good messenger, then the turnout problem will take care of itself.

Yup.