Some people have a depraved taste for equality, which impels the weak to lower the powerful to their own level, and reduces men to prefer equality in slavery to inequality with freedom. I believe that it is easier to establish an absolute and despotic government amongst a people in which the conditions of society are equal, than amongst any other; and I think that, if such a government were once established amongst such a people, it would not only oppress men, but would eventually strip each of them of several of the highest qualities of humanity. Despotism, therefore, appears to me peculiarly to be dreaded in democratic times.--deTocqueville
It is much easier to think of innovations which benefited only the less well-off than it is to think of innovations which have benefited only the rich.This is from the Introduction to the book How the West Grew Rich by Nathan Rosenberg and L.E. Birdzell, Jr.. While it is probably true, it does not include the predatory inventions of financiers such as collateralized mortgage obligation which democratically can victimize both the rich and the poor.
Golden oldie:
When Tocqueville warned about the peculiar form of despotism that threatened democracy, he noted that instead of tyrannizing men, as past despotisms had done, it tended to infantilize them, keeping “them fixed irrevocably in childhood.” What Tocqueville warned about, Marcuse celebrated, extolling the benefits of returning to a state of what he called “primary narcissism.” What Marcuse encouraged, in other words, is solipsism, not as a philosophical principle but as a moral indulgence, a way of life. I note in passing that Marcuse was a college professor: How proud he would be of those contemporary universities which have, partly under his influence, become factories for the maintenance of infantilizing narcissism.--Roger Kimball
Trump has had a lot of success but, to my knowledge, has not won the majority of votes in a single state he has won. So would a convention fight--which has occurred seventeen time in the past--be that big a deal?
CNN’s Jim Acosta asked Cuba’s Castro why his socialist government jails dissidents, and whether he would free them. “Dáme la lista!” Castro thundered at Acosta, a second-generation Cuban-American. “Give me the list of political prisoners, right now!” Interestingly, Acosta did not have a list. Or a name. Apparently he was depending upon some generalized accepted belief rather than specifics. That tells a lot about American news. He gets to ask a penetrating question publicly to one of the world's great tyrants and he can't back it up?
It was mortifying to see Obama lectured by Castro recently. But there was a broader, brutal editorial regarding Obama's visit to Cuba in the WashPo. It argues that his appearance bolsters the savage government there. The author was a former prisoner there. He had a horrific story about the problem the government had with prisoners crying out before execution. The government thought the cry to Christ was a prayer but actually it was a group rallying cry. They eventually decided to gag the prisoners before shooting them. (It is interesting to think of this as Anne Applebaum reported: Totalitarians are more afraid of the right of assembly than any other right.)
Trump has had a lot of success but, to my knowledge, has not won the majority of votes in a single state he has won. So would a convention fight--which has occurred seventeen time in the past--be that big a deal?
CNN’s Jim Acosta asked Cuba’s Castro why his socialist government jails dissidents, and whether he would free them. “Dáme la lista!” Castro thundered at Acosta, a second-generation Cuban-American. “Give me the list of political prisoners, right now!” Interestingly, Acosta did not have a list. Or a name. Apparently he was depending upon some generalized accepted belief rather than specifics. That tells a lot about American news. He gets to ask a penetrating question publicly to one of the world's great tyrants and he can't back it up?
It was mortifying to see Obama lectured by Castro recently. But there was a broader, brutal editorial regarding Obama's visit to Cuba in the WashPo. It argues that his appearance bolsters the savage government there. The author was a former prisoner there. He had a horrific story about the problem the government had with prisoners crying out before execution. The government thought the cry to Christ was a prayer but actually it was a group rallying cry. They eventually decided to gag the prisoners before shooting them. (It is interesting to think of this as Anne Applebaum reported: Totalitarians are more afraid of the right of assembly than any other right.)
But we have the Saudis as friends.
“If Judge Garland is confirmed, he could tip the ideological balance to create the most liberal Supreme Court in 50 years.”--NYT. But everyone says--including the NYT--that he is a "centrist." In a column in the Wall Street Journal, Juanita Duggan, president and CEO of the National Federation of Independent Business, wrote that Garland is so against small business and so much for big labor that “this is the first time in the NFIB’s 73-year-history that we will weigh in on a Supreme Court nominee.” What worries the NFIB, she explains, is that “in 16 major labor decisions of Judge Garland’s that we examined, he ruled 16-0 in favor of the NLRB (National Labor Relations Board).” Elsewhere in the Journal, the editorial board wrote that they can’t think of a single issue on which Garland would vote differently from the four liberal Justices that already sit on the bench.
It was written in the SCOTUSblog that Garland favors deferring to the decision-makers in agencies. “In a dozen close cases in which the court divided, he sided with the agency every time.”
So, not surprisingly, Obama has nominated a man to the Supreme Court who agrees with him.
But these are areas of basic disagreement, basic to conservative thought. The real question is, what should the Rube-publicans do? Should they just accept this or, as the Democrats have done in the past--for example, with Bork and Thomas, just oppose it and get a compromise candidate?
Japan’s population declined last year for the first time in nearly a century.
A review of public records shows that some of the men who were with Scalia at the ranch when he died are connected through the International Order of St. Hubertus, whose members gathered at least once before at the same ranch for a celebratory weekend. Members of the worldwide, male-only society wear dark-green robes emblazoned with a large cross and the motto “Deum Diligite Animalia Diligentes,” which means “Honoring God by honoring His creatures,” according to the group’s website. Some hold titles, such as Grand Master, Prior and Knight Grand Officer. The Order’s name is in honor of Hubert, the patron saint of hunters and fishermen. The WashPo wrote, oxymoronically, "The society’s U.S. chapter launched in 1966 at the famous Bohemian Club in San Francisco, which is associated with the all-male Bohemian Grove — one of the most well-known secret societies in the country." An oxymoronic "well-known secret society." Great. Supreme Court Judges dressing up in strange robes and...wait, they do that at work.
A review of public records shows that some of the men who were with Scalia at the ranch when he died are connected through the International Order of St. Hubertus, whose members gathered at least once before at the same ranch for a celebratory weekend. Members of the worldwide, male-only society wear dark-green robes emblazoned with a large cross and the motto “Deum Diligite Animalia Diligentes,” which means “Honoring God by honoring His creatures,” according to the group’s website. Some hold titles, such as Grand Master, Prior and Knight Grand Officer. The Order’s name is in honor of Hubert, the patron saint of hunters and fishermen. The WashPo wrote, oxymoronically, "The society’s U.S. chapter launched in 1966 at the famous Bohemian Club in San Francisco, which is associated with the all-male Bohemian Grove — one of the most well-known secret societies in the country." An oxymoronic "well-known secret society." Great. Supreme Court Judges dressing up in strange robes and...wait, they do that at work.
Who is....Matthew Arnold? (G. K. Chesterton said that under his surface raillery Arnold was, "even in the age of Carlyle and Ruskin, perhaps the most serious man alive.")
It is dangerous to hold politicians for what they say. A speechwriter, a wandering metaphor, a moment of bravado might easily distort the appearance of an otherwise reasonable guy. But Obama said this in Cuba: “Here’s my message to the Cuban government and the Cuban people. The ideals that are the starting point for every revolution, America’s revolution, Cuba’s revolution, the liberation movements around the world, these ideals find their truest expression, I believe, in democracy.”
Now that, on the face of it, is downright foolish.
Apparently in a well-meaning but economically illiterate policy, Puerto Rico has frozen the price of condoms because of the threat of Zika virus. In an penny-wise effort to save money, this policy will be very expensive as the availability of condoms will drop and the Zika infection rate will consequently rise. Freezing prices is a touchstone for unreality.
In 2008 Jennifer Hudson's mother, brother and 7-year-old nephew were killed by her sister's estranged husband William Balfour. Hudson's brother-in-law was convicted on three counts of first degree murder in 2012 and sentenced to life in prison. Now Balfour has been interviewed by ABC. Why would anyone do that?
"We have good reason to believe that there's a bombshell in Donald Trump's taxes," Romney told Fox News host Neil Cavuto on Wednesday. One of the things I hated about the last election was how the Democrats smeared Romney with innuendo about his money and his taxes--especially that unforgivable speech Reid gave on the Senate floor. And here is Romney doing the exact same thing.
Mary Beard writes: Classicists are forever pointing out that "Et tu Brute" were not actually what the ancients said that Caesar said as he died. The best bet is that he said to Brutus (in Greek) 'kai su teknon?' or 'and you my child?', fuelling the suspicion that Brutus was actually Caesar's illegitimate son ('teknon' could be literally 'son' or a more general term of affection for a younger man). But what is less often pointed out is that the assassination was a rather inglorious failure, and not a successful coup at all. It wasn't just, as Shakespeare had it, that Brutus and his colleagues were shortly defeated by the supporters of the murdered leader (so watch your back, Boris). It was also that there whole political programme proved futile. They set out to destroy not just the tyrant, but also tyranny, in the name of Libery. The actual result of the assassination, after more than a decade of civil war, was autocracy (aka tyranny) established on a permanent basis under the emperor Augustus.
Matthew Arnold extolled criticism as “the disinterested endeavour to learn and propagate the best that is known and thought in the world.”
Touchstone: N: 1. A hard black stone, such as jasper or basalt, formerly used to test the quality of gold or silver by comparing the streak left on the stone by one of these metals with that of a standard alloy. 2. An excellent quality or example that is used to test the excellence or genuineness of others. usage: "the qualities of courage and vision that are the touchstones of leadership" (Henry A. Kissinger). ety: from assaying. A touchstone is a small tablet of dark stone such as fieldstone, slate or lydite used for assaying precious metal alloys It has a finely grained surface on which soft metals leave a visible trace. The word was introduced into literary criticism by Matthew Arnold in "the Study of Poetry"(1880) to denote short but distinctive passages, selected from the writings of the greatest poets, which he used to determine the relative value of passages or poems which are compared to them. (wiki)
Over the winter, the Chicago Cubs laid out $276.25 million for their top four free agent pickups. The St. Louis Cardinals spent $108.5 million on four players. Six other big league clubs spent at least $175 million on the free agent market. The Pirates made five significant signings — pitchers Neftali Feliz, Ryan Vogelsong and Juan Nicasio; and infielders Sean Rodriguez and John Jaso — at a total cost of $19.4 million. With an Opening Day payroll of about $96.7 million, the Pirates ranked 23rd among the 30 major league teams.
There remains a distinction between law and command. Law has an agreed upon structure, a history and predictability. Law is voluntary. Command is individual, often well-meaning but always outside the generally agreed upon and voluntary concepts and process of law.
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