tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11363027.post4167766484076618995..comments2024-03-28T21:32:41.763-05:00Comments on driftglass: Stupefying Lack Of Self-Awareness Is Not Just A River In Egyptdriftglasshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09379167083253389153noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11363027.post-76952960923976640742016-05-15T15:10:38.266-05:002016-05-15T15:10:38.266-05:00In WaPo's Outlook section today, a new book: T...In WaPo's Outlook section today, a new book: The Fractured Republic by Yuval Levin is reviewed. It goes through the usual recent (post-war) history of the U.S. from when the US was strong and cohesive to where it is now fragmented and at war internally. His solution to practice more subsidiarity (the principle in which the level of government closest to the people is the best, i.e. the federal government should do less not more and that the community, churches and other non-governmental institutions should solve societal problems. All good in the abstract but this is the real world. We fought a Civil War more than 150 years ago because local "solutions" led to institutional violence, slavery and tyranny. And that war is still not resolved. Virtually the entire history of the Federal Government is one of incremental corrections to market and local institutional failures that caused terrible harm and social or economic dislocation for millions of people. Yes, the GOP wants to return to the "good old days" because they were good if you were a while male with property. Everyone else not so much. Of course, Yuval Levin is considered the thinking person's conservative, which is a pretty low bar, admittedly but thinking that all of the social institutions that have been perverted for hatred and oppression are not somehow going to continually be perverted in the interests of the oppressors if we remove the Federal Govt. is naive putting it mildly.Jimbohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13891331049535299222noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11363027.post-78610134413285469372016-05-15T15:10:17.562-05:002016-05-15T15:10:17.562-05:00In WaPo's Outlook section today, a new book: T...In WaPo's Outlook section today, a new book: The Fractured Republic by Yuval Levin is reviewed. It goes through the usual recent (post-war) history of the U.S. from when the US was strong and cohesive to where it is now fragmented and at war internally. His solution to practice more subsidiarity (the principle in which the level of government closest to the people is the best, i.e. the federal government should do less not more and that the community, churches and other non-governmental institutions should solve societal problems. All good in the abstract but this is the real world. We fought a Civil War more than 150 years ago because local "solutions" led to institutional violence, slavery and tyranny. And that war is still not resolved. Virtually the entire history of the Federal Government is one of incremental corrections to market and local institutional failures that caused terrible harm and social or economic dislocation for millions of people. Yes, the GOP wants to return to the "good old days" because they were good if you were a while male with property. Everyone else not so much. Of course, Yuval Levin is considered the thinking person's conservative, which is a pretty low bar, admittedly but thinking that all of the social institutions that have been perverted for hatred and oppression are not somehow going to continually be perverted in the interests of the oppressors if we remove the Federal Govt. is naive putting it mildly.Jimbohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13891331049535299222noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11363027.post-27904193346653549782016-05-13T09:08:30.174-05:002016-05-13T09:08:30.174-05:00So, I just got done reading that article and..wow....So, I just got done reading that article and..wow.<br /><br />Even conservatism in the author's ideal world sounds pretty awful and useless. It's all morality and scolding. No thank you.Jim Joneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04368704961077326796noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11363027.post-28076859113717036452016-05-13T03:14:41.042-05:002016-05-13T03:14:41.042-05:00Your right!,
It is not just a river in Egypt.
...Your right!,<br /><br /> It is not just a river in Egypt.<br /><br /> It is a clogged sewage pipe that is backing up into a White House near you.Robthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15736678459663803707noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11363027.post-87963170925734566902016-05-12T18:30:13.337-05:002016-05-12T18:30:13.337-05:00Homo Sapiens evolved to live in tribes. The lack o... Homo Sapiens evolved to live in tribes. The lack of tribal support is at the root of many of our societal problems today. It seems that none of our committees have been able to come up with anything that works as well as the product of millions of years of evolution. So I find it unsurprising that "tribe" has been elevated to the lowest of slams by clueless right wingers still bent upon making good and sure the systems we do have never actually work. <br /><br /> -Doug in Oakland dinthebeasthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12941071534250216503noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11363027.post-40701716122119197172016-05-12T17:51:27.191-05:002016-05-12T17:51:27.191-05:00I guess this is all about Rachel Lu in Rachel Lu&#...I guess this is all about Rachel Lu in Rachel Lu's cloistered cozy world:<br /><br /><i>In their wrath, Trumpites blithely treated millions of ordinary working, family-rearing, flyover-dwelling Americans (who regard Trump as offensive and disturbing) as mere collateral damage in their private war with snooty Washington elites...</i><br /><br />I find it highly unlikely that Rachel Lu gives a tinker's damn about anyone if fly-over country, but she's clearly "upset" over what might happen to her precious Acela Corridor elite entitlement. I seem to recall seeing dozens upon dozens of Trump rallies in all sorts of places in fly over country with citizens lined up and cheering for their new Lord of the Mammon, plus aren't they ones who voted for him?? Does Rachel Lu need a civics lesson on how the Primary process works? That it's not up to her associates to nominate Trump or something??<br /><br /><i>It’s stupefying. Before our very eyes, we have watched our associates morph from members of a movement into members of a tribe...</i><br /><br />Ah yes. When one can refer to endlessly tossing red meat to the base and employing every dog whistle possible - yet stop just a tee-tee short of calling the current President a N****r - it's a <i>movement</i> but not, heaven forfend!!, something a louche as a - gasp! shriek! shudder! - TRIBE!!11!! <br /><br />Maybe it's still a movement, darling Rachel... something like a bowel movement. Call it a Trump Dump! RUKiddinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14057702539722165035noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11363027.post-71552787407265705762016-05-12T17:29:58.186-05:002016-05-12T17:29:58.186-05:00Another oxymoron or oxy moron or just moron.Another oxymoron or oxy moron or just moron.eskyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02891146398287891244noreply@blogger.com