tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85037089641128953272012-02-12T16:00:14.435-05:00This rule we must follow, that the argument of induction may not be evaded by hypothesis. - Isaac NewtonPhaedonoreply@blogger.comBlogger791100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8503708964112895327.post-84387279647112641222012-02-05T17:10:00.001-05:002012-02-05T17:10:52.056-05:00

In company with many Tea Party conservatives, I am not particularly sanguine about the current field of Republican candidates.  But my choice at this point is not a difficult one to make.  Simple elimination leaves me supporting only Rick Santorum.  A year ago I would not have thought it possible, but things change.  The candidates currently in the early lead are not, in my view, core

Phaedonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8503708964112895327.post-59886499172277380092012-02-02T22:07:00.002-05:002012-02-04T19:25:19.934-05:00

Utopia Human nature is imperfect, and it is unchangeable.  The failure of the naive to acknowledge and accept those two simple, yet elemental facts leads inevitably to grief. But grief does not discourage idealists; when their schemes fail they see only error in planning and execution, never questioning the possibility of -- nor their own faith in -- achieving a perfect end-state.  

Phaedonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8503708964112895327.post-60226512405814465952012-02-01T11:41:00.027-05:002012-02-12T15:37:43.234-05:00

One finds no shortage of persons who will tell you with great confidence who is and who is not electable.  Certainly one can analyze what he knows -- or believes he knows -- about American voters, their political and policy opinions, their "mood" and their likely preferences and form an opinion as to how any election will fall out.  In fact, polling data, in experienced hands most often yield

Phaedonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8503708964112895327.post-50135433786989986192012-01-21T15:45:00.000-05:002012-01-21T20:29:43.861-05:00

Opposing Statism: The Incomplete Conservative Argument  Until recently, I had never been satisfied with with conventional explanations of the steady rise of American statism.  Within the conservative pundit class there seems to be general agreement (or, at least, emphasis) that beginnings lay in the presidencies of Roosevelt, Taft and Wilson and the rise of the Progressives.  To be sure,

Phaedonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8503708964112895327.post-52652078893344119392011-08-24T15:05:00.003-04:002011-08-27T18:30:17.840-04:00

The Left [1] doesn't like the Tea Party; not one little bit.  No sirree bob!  They're, by God, extreme ultra right-wing fascists; violence waiting to happen.  They're a hate group.  And racists to boot. The list goes on. [2] The the Left's persistent and escalating attacks on the Tea Party were predictable, and, given that legacy media are the ideological handmaidens of the liberal

Phaedonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8503708964112895327.post-22476162072596153212011-08-19T13:42:00.062-04:002011-08-31T11:35:51.254-04:00

The Atlanta Public School (-teacher) cheating scandal, and similar reflections in other cities, points to the systemic corruption of the K-12 educational establishment.  That corruption is especially prevalent in major metropolitan areas where affirmative action priorities [1] have reduced the level of competence and judgment of "educators" [2].  Crony Socialism (a redundant phrase) invites

Phaedonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8503708964112895327.post-27779710672640125622011-08-18T19:11:00.002-04:002011-08-18T21:04:09.565-04:00

After puzzling for some time about the strong affinity between the Left and Muslims, [1] I think I have finally sorted it out. The answer to the title question is a brief one, and for that reason, this promises to be a short essay.  It is simply this: the two groups share a culture of entitlement and a conviction of their own innate superiority, on the one hand, and of right of dominion on the

Phaedonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8503708964112895327.post-89353799868974939652011-08-17T14:09:00.004-04:002011-11-30T20:02:33.635-05:00

The rioting we have recently seen in Great Britain, Greece, Sweden, France and parts of Germany (not to mention the emergence of American "flash mobs") gives us a window into the future.  A future that will surely come if the West persists in its determination to commit cultural suicide. The violence of mobs also invites us to look at the past, and, indeed at most of the world around us today.

Phaedonoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8503708964112895327.post-89609287627494834832011-07-28T22:01:00.009-04:002011-07-29T10:17:30.918-04:00

In the current political war over the US debt ceiling and reductions in spending, I find myself more than slightly annoyed by the want of a certain kind of courage on the part of establishment Republicans.  John Boehner, Speaker of the House comes to mind [1].  Like others of his experience in politics, he is foremost a pragmatic man.  He weighs his options and carefully considers their

Phaedonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8503708964112895327.post-73577623684060302352011-07-22T21:39:00.004-04:002011-07-22T21:51:36.516-04:00

The outcome of the pitched battle now underway in Congress will be of enormous importance to America's future.  Though nominally concerned with fiscal and economic matters, it is much, much more than that.  At issue is nothing less than the peoples' sovereignty. In earlier essays (notably here) I have remarked that the behavior of the current president, his leaders in the house and senate and

Phaedonoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8503708964112895327.post-10014811455996965852011-07-19T19:10:00.002-04:002011-07-21T19:48:51.213-04:00

There is an on-going argument among conservatives that Obama and the Progressives are simply misguided and ignorant, on the one hand, or that they are deliberately bent on America's destruction on the other.  That argument is perhaps best exemplified by the thinking of Michael Medved in the first case and that of Rush Limbaugh in the second.  I believe Limbaugh is correct. Both men are deeply

Phaedonoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8503708964112895327.post-38968665920296112122011-07-01T16:41:00.001-04:002011-07-01T17:43:32.369-04:00

Our politicians are engaged -- not in debate but in ideological war over the conditions for raising America's debt ceiling.  A game of brinkmanship is being played out as the deadline (variously defined) approaches.  Both sides agree that the US credit rating hangs in the balance and that the ceiling must be raised.  At issue are government spending and taxes.  The Right is intent on reductions

Phaedonoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8503708964112895327.post-79146012149664337392011-01-20T19:00:00.012-05:002011-07-06T09:56:18.559-04:00

The sorry state of journalism is often portrayed -- in particular by media elitists, to the extent they acknowledge it -- as a recent development; one that calls into contrast the current state of affairs with some imaginary 'golden age' of purely objective reportage. My own suspicion, however, is that good journalism [1] has always been a rare thing. Journalists, and more especially those who

Phaedonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8503708964112895327.post-89252184773087463882010-12-07T19:40:00.006-05:002011-07-08T12:08:05.677-04:00

Vigorish, as readers will recall, is a term famously used by the Mafia to describe the seizure (skimming) of the profits of a business under the threat of force. [1]  Percentage varies according to the mob's need for cash and calculations about what the market will bear.  Our tax system is nearly analogous. Persons (outside government) who favor increasing taxation seem unaware of the losses

Phaedonoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8503708964112895327.post-40692947939267514502010-08-25T22:43:00.132-04:002010-09-06T12:04:58.474-04:00

Actually, it has already begun but so far without clear resolution.  I am referring to a definitive showdown between the central government and the states.  Conflict between the states and the federal government has been escalating for some time in the form of de facto nullification on the part of some states and the rapidly increasing evidence of contempt for constitutional limitations on the

Phaedonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8503708964112895327.post-6710743789818488222010-08-25T14:26:00.002-04:002011-07-08T20:13:01.109-04:00

Preface For some of us the time comes when we are forced to recognize that much of what we have been taught -- what is "common knowledge" -- is simply untrue.  That is the case, I believe, to some extent in all the academic disciplines but perhaps less so in the hard sciences than the soft sciences and liberal arts.  Here, I am concerned with history, which seems to be the subject of more

Phaedonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8503708964112895327.post-73564750090648034922010-06-18T14:43:00.005-04:002010-06-19T12:41:31.689-04:00

Beyond the context of an objective, competence cannot be measured.  For example, imagine a case in which a large tree is to be brought down in a short time and with a minimum human effort; here, we have defined an objective.  Next, imagine three woodcutters, each given his choice of tools for the purpose of felling the tree.  The workman who chooses a power chainsaw will be seen as more

Phaedonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8503708964112895327.post-41781352423441086202010-06-12T20:07:00.004-04:002010-06-12T22:42:37.228-04:00

The essential problem at the core of liberalism is faith-based epistemology. (1)  It is not a problem at the personal level where a set of strongly held core beliefs may be a great source of security, comfort, confidence and -- above all -- a sense of control in evaluating and understanding the self and the world.  It is an enormous problem, however, where there is no openness to the

Phaedonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8503708964112895327.post-39270253444936402922010-06-10T16:04:00.006-04:002010-06-10T21:13:06.153-04:00

O.K., the title seems pretentious; the use of the word "fundamental" in context may suggest that I am laying claim to some special insight. Maybe, maybe not. That's for the reader to decide. In short, I think what is most important in the Tea Party movement is unity; unity that transcends, and may ultimately overcome, the politically-driven balkanization of America. (1) This unity, as I see it

Phaedonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8503708964112895327.post-1425324152408784762010-05-22T10:53:00.677-04:002010-05-27T11:30:47.299-04:00

 With the advent of resurgent conservatism comes a heady and perhaps irrational political exuberance.  On the right there seems good cause for celebration.  The Tea Party constitutional movement, the hide-tanning of liberal senators and congressmen at town hall meetings, emerging assertions of state sovereignty under Tenth Amendment initiatives and polls that show a healthy majority of

Phaedonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8503708964112895327.post-59703646458991587312010-04-01T13:49:00.003-04:002010-12-10T12:08:11.556-05:00

[Please follow link below footnotes] It is hardly surprising that the left and their enablers are attempting to characterize political opposition as violent, but it invites unintended consequences.  Chief among them is a factual assessment of the true locus of political violence (here and here) -- the left. Actual violence, ranging from so-called "hate speech", (1) intimidation, and the

Phaedonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8503708964112895327.post-39838208105186519892010-03-31T22:22:00.057-04:002010-04-01T13:45:41.591-04:00

For a number of reasons I believe the Left has made a calculated and careful assessment of the American political scene, and it has decided to gamble for the seizure and control of American political and economic power.  They believe, arguably with good cause, that that their hold on the strongest factions in American politics is sufficient to enable them to consolidate and exercise power over

Phaedonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8503708964112895327.post-28590823711678140122010-03-12T15:54:00.004-05:002010-03-12T21:33:31.488-05:00

A good deal -- though not nearly enough -- has recently been written (here, here and here) regarding comments by Glenn Beck and Charles Krauthammer regarding growing opposition to Islam in Europe. In particular their mischaracterization of Geert Wilders as fascist and extremist. Regarding Dr. Krauthammer I will only mention that he is often wrong, always elitist and occasionally brilliant. In

Phaedonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8503708964112895327.post-25401669885880182602010-02-28T15:32:00.025-05:002010-03-02T14:21:28.424-05:00

Al Gore's fear-mongering book and video, An Inconvenient Truth: The Planetary Emergency of Global Warming and What We Can Do About It, represent an undeniable triumph for K-12, academe, Hollywood, TV, the press and liberal lemmings worldwide. And no mean achievement in the entrepreneurial spirit of, say, Bernie Madoff, Charles Ponzi and John Law. (1) But fashions change, and the recent

Phaedonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8503708964112895327.post-17972244761072927592010-02-25T20:20:00.006-05:002010-03-02T13:15:43.489-05:00

There are many traits of traditional conservatism that I like. Independence, individualism, positive attitude, willingness to work, courage, self-sufficiency and disposition to charitable acts. It appears, however, that the general feminizing of Western Society has not found conservatives immune. Among the spokesmen for the right -- from best to least -- I cannot name one who has not

Phaedonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8503708964112895327.post-83611848227609911042010-02-10T21:19:00.748-05:002010-03-10T13:34:46.730-05:00

How is one to explain the spectacular rise in popularity of a man, who, until recently, had not attracted inordinate attention with his middling morning talk show (1), a popular but mostly unexceptional tenure on CNN Headline News and guest appearances on ABC’s Good Morning America?   Beck was already well known, to be sure, but his was hardly a household name.  Today it is. After little more

Phaedonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8503708964112895327.post-53856192791111804922010-02-10T13:23:00.135-05:002010-02-11T12:04:58.448-05:00

In the run-up to the American Civil War there were many bizarre and convoluted exercises in argumentation on both sides of the slavery debate.  The title quotation (1) is a statement by George Fitzhugh of Virginia, who advocated for socialism and asserted that not only blacks (certainly) but also whites should be enslaved.  Slavery was thought to be desirable because persons in that estate were

Phaedonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8503708964112895327.post-85548777483463919242010-01-28T13:27:00.003-05:002010-01-28T13:30:40.814-05:00

In an article titled How Muslims Defeated the United States, Diana West offers a letter from a soldier now serving in Iraq.  His views on America's role and future in the Middle East are not optimistic, and it runs counter to virtually all 'established' narratives.  In her comments about the letter, West rightly observes that it is "certain to challenge and disturb readers across the political

Phaedonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8503708964112895327.post-73301306270893147862010-01-20T16:11:00.019-05:002010-01-20T18:44:09.644-05:00

In my earlier post I concluded by writing: Surprise me, Massachusetts voters, with a new showdown at a rude bridge. I was surprised indeed. After years in the Kennedy wilderness, it would appear there has been a homecoming.I also wrote that, in the then unlikely event of a Brown victory, ...we will have another big-government Republican in congress, and, on balance that is a moderately good thing

Phaedonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8503708964112895327.post-12467366382860568022010-01-20T15:35:00.005-05:002010-02-12T19:11:41.186-05:00

This is a challenge I post periodically* in hopes that someone will show me to be in error. I maintain that most of the work of government is destructive to liberty and civil society, and that it leads to unnecessary complication in the lives of citizens. To be clear, I do not assert that government does nothing useful or reasonably well, so long as it is within the scope of its enumerated

Phaedonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8503708964112895327.post-2279573630992765522010-01-20T14:34:00.011-05:002010-02-20T14:31:25.802-05:00

Conservatives -- contrary to the claims and behavior of the left -- are generally happy, easygoing sorts, slow to anger. They simply don't have time for it; they are going about the business of living and assume others are doing the same. People of the left, on the other hand, seem perpetually angry, and their business is minding that of others. Minding and, insofar as possible, controlling.

Phaedonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8503708964112895327.post-31151564475684517882010-01-19T18:38:00.013-05:002010-01-19T20:30:43.899-05:00

In the aftermath of terrorist attacks -- failed or successful -- post-mortem analyses typically reveal that necessary intelligence was in hand but not integrated in ways to prevent disaster. One thinks of 911, of course, but also of Mumbai and more recently Fort Hood and the Christmas flight to Detroit. But the broader anti-terrorist methodology and especially the seriousness of governments

Phaedonoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8503708964112895327.post-51459378145478979602010-01-14T20:20:00.008-05:002010-01-18T19:06:13.125-05:00

There comes a time, we may imagine, when even the most neglectful parents, unable to abide the unpleasantness of baby's soiled nappies, are finally moved to change them. In the same way, the left is periodically moved to change its name.During the early years of the last century (and the latter part of the one preceding) the American left referred to themselves as "Progressives". The end of the '

Phaedonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8503708964112895327.post-46765093173328797952010-01-13T16:11:00.009-05:002010-01-15T12:15:58.062-05:00

I don't ordinarily comment on political contests, but in this case I will. There is much hopey optimism among Republicans and some conservatives that Scott Brown will overcome his Democratic opponent, Martha Coakley. If it happens, we will have another big-government Republican in congress, and, on balance that is a moderately good thing. At best, a Brown victory may be indicative of a trend

Phaedonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8503708964112895327.post-68459611429843106812010-01-09T17:58:00.013-05:002010-01-13T17:41:47.218-05:00

Much is revealed about our adolescent ruling class by its use of language. Many of their phrases point to a grossly inflated sense of power and competence; the former may exist insofar as it is vested in government, but the latter is notably absent. They suggest the sense of omnipotence felt, perhaps, by a video-gamer able to conquer the hazards of his virtual environment with a joystick.

Phaedonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8503708964112895327.post-49537139852071801082010-01-09T14:33:00.007-05:002010-01-09T16:17:14.763-05:00

In his unfinished Metamorphosis, Kafka's protagonist, Gregor Samsa, awakens to find himself transformed into a vermin (cockroach). To Samsa's credit I would point out two things: he did not transform himself, and he had the wit and grace to despise what he had become. Our congress, on the other hand, is a different matter. They have transformed themselves, and they regard their present

Phaedonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8503708964112895327.post-4460748396909971832009-12-26T14:19:00.001-05:002009-12-26T14:25:25.429-05:00

The very mention of the words "good" and "evil" (especially the latter) can invariably be counted upon to set off a spasm of righteous indignation among the relativist left. They will be particularly incensed by what they misperceive as usages that have meaning only in a wholly religious (biblical) context. Because the left is at heart antinomian (1), they eschew and despise any kind of standards

Phaedonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8503708964112895327.post-34288975508223893792009-12-19T14:18:00.011-05:002009-12-22T10:42:49.886-05:00

Human Nature, Behavior and ConsequencesDespite the naive, ideological assertions of cultural Darwinists and utopian dreamers, human nature is a constant; it has not, does not and will not change. And it is important to recognize that men are not inherently good or evil -- they are both. To paraphrase Shakespeare, man is neither good nor bad but thinking (characterization) makes him so. I might

Phaedonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8503708964112895327.post-86067935335139843432009-11-26T16:25:00.007-05:002009-11-26T16:36:19.337-05:00

As the title suggests, I have some reservations about Wikipedia, but, on balance they are few. Criticisms of Wikipedia are numerous (1) and broad, but correcting as best one can for the uniqueness of the Wiki model, they are much the same as for traditional encyclopedias. The Wiki staff, itself -- refreshingly -- examines the matter at some length. For a good overview see this New Yorker

Phaedonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8503708964112895327.post-3141248225506227412009-11-25T11:34:00.009-05:002009-11-25T12:55:25.436-05:00

And now I find myself writing a fourth essay commenting on Sarah Palin. But it's not Palin herself who commands my attention so much as the predictably irrational elitist response to her. Indeed, my earlier postings (here, here and here) have dealt more with elitism than with Mrs. Palin. A better expression of elitist animus than this video interview with Martha Stewart (1) is not easily found.

Phaedonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8503708964112895327.post-40922875592859790392009-11-19T17:11:00.010-05:002009-11-19T18:14:56.824-05:00

She's baaaack... Well, she never really went away, but her pre-print best seller, Going Rogue, has returned her to the spotlight. As Dracula might shield his eyes from a crucifix, so the left* scrambles for the cover of darkness.What is it about Sarah Palin that so unhinges the liberal establishment? Why the hysteria that exceeds even Dubya-derrangement? While there are many things in play, I

Phaedonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8503708964112895327.post-87615136802573847092009-11-18T16:14:00.008-05:002009-11-19T18:23:31.508-05:00

Probably not. At least not by traditional methods of incremental change.The problem is one of inertia. Regardless of who occupies the White House and congress, the enormous bureaucracies and career staff -- which if not uniformly ideological liberals -- are statists who favor the left's bias toward the constant expansion of government. In terms of political effect it is a distinction without a

Phaedonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8503708964112895327.post-10987391497484464622009-10-15T17:56:00.012-04:002010-02-23T19:37:24.668-05:00

When we think about what's happening in America we sometimes fail to see ourselves as a part of a larger collapse -- that of the West, taken as a whole. What is happening here -- reckless deficit spending, multiculturalist abandonment of our heritage, failure of our educational system, Leviathan government, usurpation of sovereignty and liberty -- has been moving apace in Western Europe for

Phaedonoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8503708964112895327.post-61023835246061803722009-10-12T18:33:00.011-04:002010-02-23T19:33:07.558-05:00

We are accustomed to thinking that all conservatives are Republicans, and that is roughly true. But we commit the fallacy of affirming the consequent when we assert that all Republicans are conservative. In fact, most are not. Defining 'conservative'. Conservatives are persons who believe in principles of liberty, the rule of law, small government, capitalism and a free-market economy, the

Phaedonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8503708964112895327.post-90847842905365527672009-09-10T16:57:00.008-04:002010-02-23T19:25:34.557-05:00

What do ACLU-led attacks on public religious observance and the increasingly scant attention now given to Greek and Roman history by the K12 curriculum have in common? Together they symbolize the consequences of a powerful, ubiquitous, longstanding, relentless and largely successful assault on the values and traditions of the West. It is not confined to the Western Hemisphere or to Europe; it is

Phaedonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8503708964112895327.post-19532414596847191822009-09-10T13:31:00.006-04:002010-01-07T11:32:58.231-05:00

Implausible Denial. One of the chief characteristics I have attributed to the left is denial. They deny what's there and affirm what ain't. France defines the standard.Crime in France is a growing and serious problem. Much of it is -- by empirical standards, i.e., facts -- associated with the growing number of hostile, unassimilated Muslims*. Especially Muslim youths. But multicultural relativism

Phaedonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8503708964112895327.post-42104448793454989402009-09-07T13:43:00.006-04:002009-09-10T09:34:09.181-04:00

Pat Santy and others have written extensively about Obama-Left, Inc. being out of touch with reality and perpetually in denial. I agree with the analysis, but in the interest of simplicity, on the one hand, and praxis on the other, I have adopted a kind of bare-bones way of assessing liberal performance in the world. A way, that for me, answers the question, “so now what”?I would argue that these

Phaedonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8503708964112895327.post-88839675012408359742009-08-29T12:10:00.002-04:002009-09-07T18:58:27.470-04:00

Boston, August 29, 2009Funeral services today for Edward M. Kennedy. Mary Jo Kopechne unable to attend.End of post.

Phaedonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8503708964112895327.post-83199856543031178642009-08-28T19:07:00.005-04:002009-09-10T10:15:11.510-04:00

The metastasizing, coercive power of government, increasingly unchecked by constitutional restraint, led by a narcissist and his far-flung elitist cohort of KGB-progressives from the houses of congress and offices of bureaucrats to the streets of ACORN. One and all channeling the shades of Rousseau, Marx, Gramci, Marcuse and Alinsky; recklessly betting the wealth of our nation and the liberty of

Phaedonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8503708964112895327.post-27525815925901960342009-08-28T18:34:00.008-04:002009-08-28T18:51:57.664-04:00

After a brief lacuna between July 6 and August 20, the Dr. Sanity blog is back in business. Since I wrote earlier about her decision to quit, I post here to square the record. Glad she's back.End of post.

Phaedonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8503708964112895327.post-448720024941078742009-08-21T17:43:00.007-04:002009-08-25T10:45:27.846-04:00

Across the political spectrum, this mantra is often repeated: “Real immigration reform must be comprehensive…”It’s the word “comprehensive” that really bothers me when used in connection with any big government program. Stimulus, healthcare reform, Cap and trade, Energy policy and the former, failed initiative for immigration reform — all are comprehensive. And bloody-well scary.Here, I deal with

Phaedonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8503708964112895327.post-66646991568800135892009-08-19T11:59:00.002-04:002009-08-19T12:03:56.471-04:00

Cash for Clunkers: Taxes for Government. A perfect metaphor

Phaedonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8503708964112895327.post-83380088464560141122009-08-14T15:35:00.006-04:002009-08-17T16:12:50.900-04:00

This essay is meant to provide some background for a subsequent posting which opposes any kind of "comprehensive" legislation (reform or otherwise) and argues for a radical simplification in the crafting of law. What is at stake is the principle of individual and community sovereignty.Beginning with the Johnson administration it became the mission of government to write all laws -- general and

Phaedonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8503708964112895327.post-62733416817593576492009-08-14T13:09:00.008-04:002009-09-08T14:23:33.959-04:00

Hillary Clinton could not have carried off the feat so effectively as has BHO. His singular achievement has been to awaken and energize the essential conservatism of the American plurality. The robust elitism of Mrs. Clinton could not have rivaled the malignant narcissism of Obama -- a narcissism which prevents him from concealing effectively his sinister and wholly pernicious anti-American

Phaedonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8503708964112895327.post-27516772845694338672009-08-07T10:39:00.009-04:002009-09-10T10:17:16.682-04:00

More interesting, perhaps, than Sarah Palin herself is the hysterical reaction she elicits -- from the left especially, but also from a few on the moderate right. It is a phenomenon. It is a war of social and political memes. A war between WASP America and "America as it should be". As I see things, the characteristic reactions from the left are essentially different in kind from those on the

Phaedonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8503708964112895327.post-319784389893176002009-08-05T15:23:00.011-04:002009-09-10T10:19:35.935-04:00

Given a provenance as dubious and murky as that of our current president, an antique would find no market among careful buyers. Matters of interest include his mentors, associates and academic and professional records. Yet we have invested the treasure and security of our nation in a cipher -- Barack Hussein Obama.Who is this man? What do we know about him? By deliberate concealment the public

Phaedonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8503708964112895327.post-90258372091895281822009-08-01T20:44:00.008-04:002009-09-10T10:20:51.890-04:00

When we think of aliens our imagination may turn to the spacemen of the Roswell, NM or to the melded Robert Heinlein* sort. Of more recent vintage, sliders, conjured up by sci-fi writers who follow eleven-dimension physics -- parallel universes in "inner" space. Or infiltrated spies. More mundane, we may simply consider immigrants -- especially those reared outside the Western Tradition.Whatever

Phaedonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8503708964112895327.post-15014235997990790182009-07-31T12:28:00.011-04:002009-08-01T22:29:43.974-04:00

This is a shot across the bow of the statist ship. Or perhaps a Socratic-style taunt. It poses, in any case, a question (or is it a thought-experiment?) that wants an answer.This is a challenge that, given the wholly pernicious initiatives of the present administration -- healthcare reform, cap and trade, stimulus doles and nationalization of the private sector -- seems to have more urgent

Phaedonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8503708964112895327.post-28819408055607810102009-07-25T19:06:00.011-04:002009-09-10T10:21:34.748-04:00

Which is simply calling a spade a spade. While I can only guess at Barack Obama's motives, and motivations -- who he is as a man -- what he is, behind the evanescent mask of language, is plain enough.He is a Marxist. 1. To elaborate I would add, consequently anti-American 2. and devoutly anti-capitalist.Now the president's liberal (and robot conservative) defenders will object to the term --

Phaedonoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8503708964112895327.post-51375806402335055222009-07-23T22:54:00.018-04:002009-09-10T10:23:40.687-04:00

Last night's preemptive prime-time performance was an exercise in vagueness, evasion, dissembling and sophistry. He preached the liberal vision to the media choir, but he did not inform.Perhaps the dog ate his homework. Whatever the case, He was clearly (and typically) unprepared with the facts or details ("specificity") of even the fundamental issues bearing on the healthcare (now called '

Phaedonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8503708964112895327.post-22194913477032119122009-07-16T17:35:00.007-04:002009-07-16T18:18:12.155-04:00

No, this is not about the Frog Prince. Rather, it is a cautionary note about politicized science and equally politicized supportive op-eds.Readers will recall the frenzied cries from the left bemoaning the wanton destruction of nature by a greedy and callous entrepreneurial society. Instant the amphibian equivalent of the Noble Savage -- the noble frog. A defenseless victim of the depredations of

Phaedonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8503708964112895327.post-56155236464480372942009-07-10T19:28:00.007-04:002009-07-11T01:13:34.312-04:00

Dr. Patricia Santy is a practicing psychiatrist and a prolific, though careful, conservative writer with a good command of politics, economics and social phenomena. To say that her resume is an impressive is to master understatement.I first came to her blog, Dr. Sanity, in the course of researching narcissism (about which more, perhaps, in a future blog). I found a wealth of information in her

Phaedonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8503708964112895327.post-33214072869690940402009-07-09T13:44:00.003-04:002009-07-09T13:59:46.572-04:00

The real sadness regarding the two vignettes that follow lies in the fact that they are so unexceptional.A young woman tells us what is important in her life and identifies her concerns.And, as Mary Grabar observes, a young man shows his fealty: “I thought of the people I saw on the MARTA train I took to downtown Atlanta that afternoon, especially the young man accompanied by a scantily clad

Phaedonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8503708964112895327.post-45411589218376117332009-07-04T13:15:00.005-04:002009-07-16T18:19:49.520-04:00

Most pundits on both sides of the political divide seem to agree that the Alaska governor has capitulated. Being somewhat contrarian by nature I'm not ready to call for taps signaling the end of Gov. Palin's political career. But prediction is shaky enough when one knows the salient facts, so I won't hazard one.What bothers me is the fact that I see her as the proxy (Joe-the-plumber writ large)

Phaedonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8503708964112895327.post-3444241419619862702009-07-02T21:15:00.005-04:002009-07-09T14:02:36.267-04:00

To the extent that the problem of hypocrisy can be reduced to a simple cause I would submit that it rests – for conservatives -- on the adherence to standards, writ large. For liberals it is something else entirely.What kinds of standards? Those traditional in Western culture, particularly – but not exclusively – normative ones: standards of social behavior, decency, honor, objective truth,

Phaedonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8503708964112895327.post-40481903755135191322009-06-28T16:35:00.007-04:002009-07-03T10:47:31.182-04:00

I recently added the "Read More" feature to this blog. The changes do not apply to former postings, but in future you will see a lead paragraph or so and then be able to jump to the full article if you choose. That should tidy up the main page a bit.

Phaedonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8503708964112895327.post-89259853107678156682009-06-28T13:38:00.004-04:002009-07-03T10:47:08.281-04:00

Most readers will remember that Dr. Jack Kavorkian came to public notice because he was overtly engaged in the medical specialty of euthanasia. His clients, who were terminally ill and/or in constant, unbearable pain, engaged him to hasten their demise in a quick and humane manner. The courts ruled that his activity was illegal and ordered him to desist. He did not, and he was consequently

Phaedonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8503708964112895327.post-90676247503100560092009-06-19T19:32:00.004-04:002009-07-16T18:44:09.073-04:00

Persons or groups of persons sometimes ally themselves with others who have historically mistreated them. I have two examples in mind -- the Jewry's affinity for liberalism and the blacks' for Islam. I have been puzzled and perplexed for a long time as to why so many Jews ally themselves with the left. In the 20th Century (and perhaps before) it is the left that has visited the very worst

Phaedonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8503708964112895327.post-51142855092050871002009-05-19T13:14:00.003-04:002009-11-27T17:39:45.006-05:00

The Economist, like so many other mainstream publications, has become little more than a hardware store of received opinion. That fact is a great comfort, though, to many on the Left; one can shop with confidence, knowing exactly what products will be available and what prices are to be expected. They need not concern themselves with the true cost of shoddy merchandise.Think of modern liberal

Phaedonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8503708964112895327.post-67841722628083558532009-05-08T11:17:00.001-04:002009-11-27T17:43:12.957-05:00

Jacqui Smith, the British Home Secretary, has included on her list of persons banned from England the name of talk-show host Michael Savage.Now Savage is not high on the list of well-known public Conservatives that I admire. Emotion (see previous post) and the sense of outrage trump careful reasoning in his polemic. He is deliberately provocative, and he is aggressive, often to the point of

Phaedonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8503708964112895327.post-15188948572076242272009-05-03T14:37:00.001-04:002009-11-27T17:45:04.070-05:00

The tension between emotion and reason is a natural and fundamental part of the human condition. It is a fact of life, and, when kept in balance, it is useful to the ends of civil society.But when the equilibrium is upset to extremes -- in either direction -- there is a price to be paid.Social groups of all kinds and sizes experience periodic swings toward one pole or the other over time. An

Phaedonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8503708964112895327.post-50774852382843410132009-04-20T11:26:00.003-04:002009-11-27T17:40:59.485-05:00

At the Gates of Vienna blog I found this series of eight short videos that follow the history of the crusades. Historically accurate and engaging (if a bit scary), they are sobering and instructive. Warning to multiculturalists: this series is not Politically Correct!Among other things, it is clearly shown that -- in contrast with Utopians of the modern West -- Muslims have no illusions about

Phaedonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8503708964112895327.post-15797544109126384242009-04-14T11:20:00.000-04:002009-04-14T19:23:05.131-04:00

Takuan Seiyo continues putting together a serious and engaging opus in From Meccania to Atlantis, complete with some interesting metaphors and a wide range of useful references. It is an ambitious and thoughtful polemic affirming the Western tradition in times of trouble.Using the Invasion of the Body Snatchers as a metaphorical foundation to explain the hold that postmodern philosophy has gained

Phaedonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8503708964112895327.post-83500585846092979122009-04-13T13:49:00.000-04:002009-04-13T14:45:39.494-04:00

There are times when we make embarrassing mistakes. We can acknowledge the error and try to prevent a recurrence or we can practice deception on ourselves and others to minimize damage. Most of us, I suspect, do both at one time or another. Human nature, as I see it. But for certain politicians the rewards for the latter course are enormous; the risks for the former unthinkable. This post by

Phaedonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8503708964112895327.post-53385766863568888372009-04-13T13:05:00.000-04:002009-04-13T13:45:16.715-04:00

In is interesting to see the way ideas ebb and flow through the public consciousness. Some are current for a time, fade away and then re-emerge, newly apposite to changing circumstance. As books fall from best-seller lists, so do they occasionally return years later.I am thinking of Ayn Rand's "Objectivism" (the ideas) and Atlas Shrugged (the books). This submission by Amit Ghate to Pajamas

Phaedonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8503708964112895327.post-48424057852353649182009-04-13T12:44:00.000-04:002009-04-13T13:47:17.569-04:00

For those among us who find themselves wondering about the passiveness and denials of the left (and, increasingly the center) Dr. Joy Bliss, of Maggie's Farm, probes for answers from the perspective of psychiatry. I found this article (Part I) on Dr. Sanity's blog, and I think it is a useful analysis.

Phaedonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8503708964112895327.post-87272511565426548182009-04-11T19:57:00.000-04:002009-04-11T20:25:53.378-04:00

The notion of generalized human equality is a staple – a mantra – of collectivists. Like so many of the ideas floated by the left, it sounds good, it rings with noble sentiment, but it is bereft of intellect and its meaning is corrupt. The applied, functional meaning is rather more like human leveling. The equality of persons, correctly and narrowly defined, exists only in the sight of God and

Phaedonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8503708964112895327.post-81563589154420838082009-04-09T21:33:00.000-04:002009-04-14T11:17:32.409-04:00

The challenge is simple enough, really. It is this: cite an example of a serious problem in contemporary society -- social, political or economic -- that is not caused by or exacerbated by government.For readers who are vaguely troubled about the conditions of American society but uncertain about what is wrong, as well as those who know that serious problems exist but do not understand their

Phaedonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8503708964112895327.post-57363933694703415292009-01-25T14:36:00.000-05:002009-01-25T14:40:47.937-05:00

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