Objective review of the US 2012 Presidential and Congressional general campaign

[eyeresist]

The Syndicate
Geoffrey Kabaservice

Review of:
If Not Us, Who? William Rusher, National Review, and the Conservative Movement
by David B. Frisk
ISI Books, 517 pp.

"Yet Frisk's unwillingness to grapple with the grittier details of Rusher's career curiously undervalues his subject, for in many ways it was Rusher, not Buckley, who was the founding father of the conservative movement as it currently exists. We have Rusher, not Buckley, to thank for the populist, operationally sophisticated, and occasionally extremist elements that characterize the contemporary movement. ..."

[ibanezmonster]

Yesterday I drove past some new business that had a large flag hanging with tons of text.
I was only able to read the first sentence written on it: "I built this business in spite of government handouts." (either "handouts" or "support")

I really hope these people that complain about these "government handouts" aren't complaining about the type that people need... if the government wasn't giving me any money now for school, I'd have tons of debt; one lady I work with has been trying to get more hours, but they insist on 20 hours a week, which will only cover rent, but she was saying she might have to apply for food stamps, even though she doesn't want to. 

[Florestan]

Yesterday I drove past some new business that had a large flag hanging with tons of text.
I was only able to read the first sentence written on it: "I built this business in spite of government handouts." (either "handouts" or "support")

The sentence is illogical; "without any government handouts" would have made more sense. 

[Scarpia]

Yesterday I drove past some new business that had a large flag hanging with tons of text.
I was only able to read the first sentence written on it: "I built this business in spite of government handouts." (either "handouts" or "support")

Presumably you were driving on a road constructed by the government?

[Florestan]

Why some Americans seem to fear government as Satan fears the smell of incense is beyond me... 

[Todd]

I was only able to read the first sentence written on it: "I built this business in spite of government handouts." (either "handouts" or "support")

I really hope these people that complain about these "government handouts" aren't complaining about the type that people need...

The sign, if it said what you report, was written by an idiot. 

There are certainly people who complain about handouts (ie, welfare) for the poor.  Such handouts irk me if there is fraud or manipulation involved, and there is plenty of that, and the total amount of fraud is probably in the billions or perhaps tens of billions of dollars per year.  What bothers me much more are the $1.1 trillion in annual handouts in the form of tax deductions, credits, and subsidies in the tax code, of which about two-thirds go to the top two quintiles of income earners.  This amount exceeds current federal revenue from income.  (There's a nice-ish article in the current Foreign Affairs covering just this topic.)  Now, how big is the deficit again?  But the path to more revenue always seems to be higher rates, which you see is more just, more fair.  Of course, increases in rates often come with increases in loopholes, but that wouldn't happen now.  Well, except perhaps for credits for electric cars, because, as everyone knows, the poor buy $40K+ unicorns on a regular basis.

[snyprrr]

Why some Americans seem to fear government as Satan fears the smell of incense is beyond me... 

Well,because ours answers to Tel Aviv.


Where does it say he's afraid of incense? I'd love to read that.

[ibanezmonster]

Presumably you were driving on a road constructed by the government?

Exactly. Just a small taste of the intelligence in the county I live in.

I hate government dependence as much as anyone else, but sometimes that's the only way to survive. The problem of people who grew up rich and complain about poor people taking their "hard-earned money" by being "lazy" is that their experience is limited, and many think they can just get family members to help them out. As Romney said, "Well, if students don't have any money for college, they can just 'shop around' or borrow money from parents." And that's why he won't get my vote.

You're only going to get money from 3 sources: 1) work; 2) government; 3) family. When work doesn't pay enough to live on and your family doesn't have any money to give you, what is the remaining option? 

There are certainly people who complain about handouts (ie, welfare) for the poor.  Such handouts irk me if there is fraud or manipulation involved, and there is plenty of that, and the total amount of fraud is probably in the billions or perhaps tens of billions of dollars per year. 

To be fair, I didn't get to read the rest of the sign, but that sentence was clear, so I don't expect much from the rest of it when I drive by it next (probably Thursday).

I was talking about this with my friend today. His ex-wife is exactly one of those people that many people hate because they abuse the welfare system. ~$400 in food stamps, plus $414 a month from he pays her for child support, so that's over $800 a month for them without her having to work. And she lives with her parents and gets by working 20 hours a week, if she does work.

But if you think about, I probably know why: working full time would be pointless, wouldn't it? Not only would you be paying for a babysitter, but you also might not get as much money from the government, so it would be like working for free, or in the worst case, working in order to lose money.

[Florestan]

Well,because ours answers to Tel Aviv.

I'm not so sure. Some Americans feared government even when Tel Aviv did not even exist, let alone the state of Israel.

Where does it say he's afraid of incense? I'd love to read that.

It's a Romanian idiomatic expression: to fear something as the Devil fears the incense. 

[Florestan]

You're only going to get money from 3 sources: 1) work; 2) government; 3) family. When work doesn't pay enough to live on and your family doesn't have any money to give you, what is the remaining option?

And whose fault is it if work doesn't pay well and the family have no savings, if not government's? Its primary business should be to see to it that the economy is strong enough so that the people be able to earn their money by their own work, not to make them dependent on social security. A temporary safety net for those in distress is absolutely necessary but when living on governmental aids becomes a permanent way of life for millions then disaster lurks around the corner.

But if you think about, I probably know why: working full time would be pointless, wouldn't it? Not only would you be paying for a babysitter, but you also might not get as much money from the government, so it would be like working for free, or in the worst case, working in order to lose money.

That's the ugliest face of the welfare state: it turns people who, given the right conditions (which the selfsame state destroyed), would be earning their money by themselves, into dependents of the state. Instead of encouraging, assisting and protecting work and savings it destroys any incentive for doing exactly that.

[The new erato]

Royal families are a national symbol, and ideally, if they follow their implicit obligation to be the most brave, kind, and wise in the land, they serve as objects of emulation. The counter argument here is of course that the royals get into embarrassing situations at approximately the rate of Hollywood glitterati, but on the other hand they also devote themselves to charitable works (they have the time, after all) and serve time in the armed forces. At their best, and because of their unique historical qualities, the royals unite and represent their nation in a positive way.

Off on a tangent here, but still:

I was in Oslo yesterday. In front of one of the citys older and more venerable hotels, one of these turns up and parks among BMWs and Audis:



Out from the drivers seat this man steps out, dressed in slacks and a leisure jacket:


The Norwegian crown prince and king-to-be. To be sure, there was a couple of relaxed security guys hovering round in the vicinity, but still.... I liked it. And it served as a timely reminder (to me as a antimonarchist by principle) that it is more a question of people than of systems.

Here's his grandfather, the then king Olav V, paying his fares on the tram in 1973 during a period of gas rationing (the Yom Kipput war or something), on his way to his weekly skiing trip:



Sorry for the off topic.

[Karl Henning]

The Norwegian crown prince and king-to-be. To be sure, there was a couple of relaxed security guys hovering round in the vicinity, but still.... I liked it. And it served as a timely reminder (to me as a antimonarchist by principle) that it is more a question of people than of systems.

Looks a decent fellow!

Just FYI, traditionally in English we should call him the heir apparent (I believe).

[Florestan]

Sorry for the off topic.

From my part thank you for the lovely one. 

[The new erato]

From my part thank you for the lovely one. 

I nearly crashed into him actually. It feels good to know that this part of the world, despite all the things that have happened, still can be like this.

Thank you Karl; I knew there was a term somewhere.

[The new erato]

Looks a decent fellow!

Just FYI, traditionally in English we should call him the heir apparent (I believe).

Yes he's very decent. Married a single (never married) mother with one son, daughter of divorced parents from the definitive (lower) middle class (to a definitive public uproar) instead  of some jetsetting princess. Turns out he was an extremely good judge on character on that call as well. They met each other on some rock festival IIRC.

[Todd]

Talk about off topic.  Snapshots of royalty really have no place in a thread devoted to people who must win election.  Looks like more Europeans need one of these:

[The new erato]

Jackson? We have no Indians over here....?

[The new erato]

Edit: I've just become aware that this post is not viewable so I'm removing it.

[Todd]

Jackson? We have no Indians over here....?

I was thinking good old fashioned populist/man of the people more than Indian fighter.  Clear out the cobwebs, and perhaps other relics.

[The new erato]

I was thinking good old fashioned populist/man of the people more than Indian fighter.  Clear out the cobwebs, and perhaps other relics.

I leave the populists to you americans and the GOP; re my previous post. Pity Ryan lacks a beard though.