Three cheers for The University of Chicago – home of free speech, free thought, free market economics, Milton Friedman and 89 other Nobel Prize winners!
I often disagreed with John McCain. I thought he was too quick to compromise with the Democrats on domestic issues and too quick to support new wars. However, McCain is an honorable man and an adult. Those are precious right now.
This was somewhat encouraging. The liberal HuffPost is calling our Rachel Maddow for a bogus story. Who knows what could be next? Breitbart or The National Enquirer calling out Hannity for his Seth Rich garbage?
It doesn’t matter what he statutory tax rate is for corporations if they don’t close the loopholes…at least for our international corporations it doesn’t make that much difference. Long term studies show that profitable companies like GE, Netflix, Facebook, to name a few, pay no income taxes at all even when they make a good profit. In fact, many times they have a negative tax rate. I don’t know if it’s still active, but there was a foreign investment act that actually gave tax breaks to companies to move overseas. :–/
One clarification. From yesterday, “Debra, A couple of days ago you wrote that the country needed to maintain good public education, churches and stable employment for the benefit of lower class Trumpkins. ”
This is not about ‘helping’ anyone. And it’s not just for the benefit of working people. All people need productive work regardless of where they fall on the economic scale. When they don’t have it on a wide scale, bad things happen: crime, depression, depravity, debauchery, suicide and sometimes, revolution. You seem to think these things are limited to the poor. They’re not. And the consequences of these things are not limited to the poor either. It’s in every American’s best interest to have a stable productive population.
For Dodgers, beating Yankees would be Hollywood ending
_______________________________
LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers are Hollywood. They get it. They know who they are and the town they represent. So, in the middle of the wildest of champagne celebrations, there was Peter Guber, a Dodgers co-owner, soaking in the success.
It has been 29 years since the Dodgers made it to the World Series, and Guber, who produced or was executive producer on such films as “Rain Man,” “The Color Purple,” “Midnight Express,” “Batman” and “Flashdance,” knows a great story.
He was taking it all in at the indoor batting cage bunker at Wrigley Field, which had been turned into Dodgers Party Central after an 11-1 thrashing of the Cubs on Thursday night gave the Dodgers the NLCS in five games.
Guber knows the rich history of Dodgers-Yankees World Series encounters.
So when The Post asked him what would it mean to play the Yankees in the World Series, Guber smiled and answered this way, a Hollywood way: “What would it mean to beat the Yankees!”
Yes, these Dodgers are not just happy getting back to the World Series for the first time since 1988. These Dodgers would like nothing better than to face the Yankees and beat them, a coast-to-coast triumph for the team that produced the best record in baseball this year. …
________________________________________
And then there is this. It’s quite a good speech by Steve Bannon at CAGOP the other day. He talks about Republicans unifying behind economic nationalism. He says it’s time to put away the Ayn Rand and related Austrian school of economics which reduces a nation to its economics. We are not an economy, rather we are a country with a social fabric and a civic responsibility whose economic underpinnings are free market capitalism.
He also references JD Vance (Hillbilly Elegy). He said Vance showed him a study from MIT and Harvard that demonstrates a direct correlation between loss of the manufacturing jobs and the opiod crisis.
That’s in the first 15 minutes. Really good speech.
While we are discouraging people from accepting personal responsibility for their actions, perhaps we should consider whether the loss of manufacturing jobs turned Harvey Weinstein into a sexual predator.
Debra, I think you should send Trump to the same medical facility where Weinstein is receiving his anti-molesting treatment. Maybe Trump’s sexual assaults were caused by NAFTA, but he needs the same treatment as his buddy, Harvey. Maybe they also have a pill that prevents lying.
Economic nationalism is voters taking personal responsibility for the laws and welfare of our own citizens and country. Just because closet Randians and people addicted to identity politics want to divide and conquer, doesn’t mean we ought to allow them to do so. Surely we can be charitable, responsible, and politically active at the same time. ;–)
”Economic nationalism” is snake oil. If you don’t believe me, look at Venezuela. A high percentage of imports are used to help manufacture US exports. If Trump messes with the trade deals, that will cost US jobs, including manufacturing jobs, not to mention killing the purchasing power of consumers.
Taking personal responsibility is improving your skills, working hard, not faking disability, not faking illnesses to get opioids, not having illegitimate kids, being active in your church, staying married, raising your children with love and discipline. Trumpkins and Democrats have been voting to live off their fellow citizens for decades. There is no responsibility in that.
Conservatives like Kevin D. Williamson actually care about the lower class Trumpkins. That is why he states hard truths. Conservatives who don’t care just move away from the Trumpkins.
Bannon organizing Trumpkins to take away the freedom of their fellow citizens to buy and sell from other countries is basically an Obama community organizer move. Rather than trying to help people be productive, they try to use the government to bring others down to the level of their followers. Bannon is a pale Obama in need of a shave and a diet.
It is even worse than David French states. Hannity had O’Reilly on his show within the last two weeks.
I would call this “stunning,” but I’m not surprised. It’s shameful. And so is the moral cowardice on the right that enabled him. pic.twitter.com/u1KdkBqNXx
Debra, You are not going to like Dreher’s latest which makes a comparison to Chapter 5 of Daniel and says some harsh things about the chubby, unshaven Obama (Bannon):
Some conservatives have become what they claim to despise. Belshazzar Feasting Inside The Beltway https://t.co/RIYMejXN0l via @amconmag
I agree with Ricky’s description of personal responsibility @10:24. Furthermore, nothing in the speech I linked @2:25 in any way diminishes the idea of personal responsibility— if anything, it applies that concept evenly (as Ricky does not) to include individuals who are choosing to break the law by illegal participation in the economy. [ As an aside, I prefer the President’s recent bi-partisan position on DACA, but that’s beside the point.]
There is personal responsibility, and then there is civic responsibility, which among other things, includes the role of government. I’m not a big follower of ‘isms’ as such, but to the extent that economic nationalism returns the country to its traditional constitutional focus of self-preservation as a self-governing, sovereign nation, as opposed to a loose collection of individuals with conflicting global interests , it is a positive thing and people should be raised up to promote it.
I don’t agree with some of it, but I found this very interesting as an insight into the thinking of some staunch Democrats. It’s an article by a Democrat at a liberal publication expressing concern that Democrats are going to continue losing to Trump Republicans as long as Democrats refuse to address the immigration issue.
It’s ironic, especially since in his interview with Charlie Rose last Sunday, Bannon said he thought the House in danger for 2018 because DACA reform might be passed by Republicans. I guess DACA is the new hot button on both sides. Hope they’re able to resolve it humanely.
I saw that Ricky. I Rod Dreher has excellent insights on faith and culture, and that is where his writing is invaluable. Politics sails right over his head, almost every time. He’s not alone. :–)
Dreher’s article is not really about politics. It is about how a major part of the church is perverting and destroying itself by merging with Trumpism.
Hannity’s visit to FBC Dallas was a big topic of conversation in D/FW this week. My wife warned people to say away from Dallas less they be consumed by fire and brimstone. My son hoped that Jesus would appear with a whip in hand and drive Jeffress and Hannity out of the building.
Ricky @2:18 Wow. I would have to agree with the Wife there. I thought we were going down a slippery slope here in Chattanooga when we gave the Sunday a.m. service to an emissary of Ted Cruz last year. Then came Mike Huckabee this summer—but to do him justice, he is a Baptist minister in good standing, and gave a good, though rather general, message. And this morning the senior pastor gave a call for people to come forward for prayer—welcoming all ethnicities, including ‘Iranian, Mexican—even illegals—we don’t care’. He’s a good man, but we do seem terribly self-conscious don’t we. :–)
Ricky@ 10:29, Dreher’s article (Belshazar…) is a critique of the political situation from a culturally religious perspective. This is a good example of the dissonance that is being felt now by many well-meaning Evangelicals and Orthodox Christians on the political Right. I think it is the normal pain that comes from decoupling several decades of the deliberate merging of religious impulse and moral authority with our globalized, big business politics. In that process, both religion and politics have been somewhat damaged. The pain feels even worse because the catalyst comes in a package (Trump) that is viewed as obnoxious by comparison.
But it’s a mistake to view the catalyst as a primary cause. The Randian concepts that selfishness is a virtue and that greed is good has become imbedded in our big business and government subconscious as well as our politics. And worse, the mindset of these assumptions have penetrated much of the church. It shows. And it hurts. But in this case, the pain is a good sign because it’s a wake-up call. Perhaps healing comes next. If not, I think we will go to a much darker place before it gets light again.
Dreher’s critique is not of the political situation. His criticism is of a church that has substituted participation in the culture wars for its job of preaching and living out the Gospel. His criticism goes well beyond the current Trump/Bannon/Jeffress melding.
You can attack globalization and corporations and portray conservatives as Randian Social Darwinists. I can attack Trumpkins and Democrats as slothful and ignorant and too ready to blame others for their problems. However, we are not pastors preaching in pulpits. We would never make such statements in a church setting.
Dreher’s article focused on the church. His great concern is when the Robert Jeffresses of the world bring the Sean Hannitys (or the Ted Cruzes) of the world on stage on a Sunday morning when people have come to hear the Gospel or wrestle with whether they should move their family to a particular church. When that happens, Jeffress is just a very pale Jeremiah Wright, and the people are not being told: Repent of your sins and Believe in Christ!
I might defer to DJ’s judgment, but the only other time I can remember the conservative political commentary being this good was in 1980. Then, as now, the writers knew what was at stake and rose to the occasion. Here is a column from Peter Wehner:
I would not disagree with any of that Ricky. Sorry, I’m jumping around too much—I was back on the Belshazzar Feasting article. Blame Rod Dreher for giving me too much great material to think about. :–)
One thing this election has seemed to do is open up the floodgates on politics and politicians in the church. I don’t remember seeing nearly this much open activity in past years. In fact, I believe I have mentioned before that I knew on minister 15 -20 years ago who had to apologize to the congregation for even mentioning abortion in passing because everyone was afraid of losing tax exempt status. No one is afraid of that now.
Here is a question: Do you think Hannity heard more of the Gospel from the Catholic Church that “made him feel guilty” or the “evangelicals” who helped shape his current theology?
Wandering Views 
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Three cheers for The University of Chicago – home of free speech, free thought, free market economics, Milton Friedman and 89 other Nobel Prize winners!
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I often disagreed with John McCain. I thought he was too quick to compromise with the Democrats on domestic issues and too quick to support new wars. However, McCain is an honorable man and an adult. Those are precious right now.
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Ah! Now here is something worth reading about. An intellectual battle between economists concerning the effect of lowering the corporate tax rate.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/planning-for-the-future-is-impossible-its-also-this-mans-job/2017/10/20/6d1c4196-b500-11e7-be94-fabb0f1e9ffb_story.html?utm_term=.adc84445b8ad
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This was somewhat encouraging. The liberal HuffPost is calling our Rachel Maddow for a bogus story. Who knows what could be next? Breitbart or The National Enquirer calling out Hannity for his Seth Rich garbage?
https://www.google.com/amp/s/m.huffpost.com/us/entry/us_59ea060fe4b05b4f1c3ad52f/amp
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It doesn’t matter what he statutory tax rate is for corporations if they don’t close the loopholes…at least for our international corporations it doesn’t make that much difference. Long term studies show that profitable companies like GE, Netflix, Facebook, to name a few, pay no income taxes at all even when they make a good profit. In fact, many times they have a negative tax rate. I don’t know if it’s still active, but there was a foreign investment act that actually gave tax breaks to companies to move overseas. :–/
https://itep.org/the-35-percent-corporate-tax-myth/#yearbyyearcharts
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The only thing I agree with you about today Ricky is the hats. :–)
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One clarification. From yesterday, “Debra, A couple of days ago you wrote that the country needed to maintain good public education, churches and stable employment for the benefit of lower class Trumpkins. ”
This is not about ‘helping’ anyone. And it’s not just for the benefit of working people. All people need productive work regardless of where they fall on the economic scale. When they don’t have it on a wide scale, bad things happen: crime, depression, depravity, debauchery, suicide and sometimes, revolution. You seem to think these things are limited to the poor. They’re not. And the consequences of these things are not limited to the poor either. It’s in every American’s best interest to have a stable productive population.
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Dodgers! (Sports are now political, right?)
http://nypost.com/2017/10/21/for-dodgers-beating-yankees-would-be-hollywood-ending/
For Dodgers, beating Yankees would be Hollywood ending
_______________________________
LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers are Hollywood. They get it. They know who they are and the town they represent. So, in the middle of the wildest of champagne celebrations, there was Peter Guber, a Dodgers co-owner, soaking in the success.
It has been 29 years since the Dodgers made it to the World Series, and Guber, who produced or was executive producer on such films as “Rain Man,” “The Color Purple,” “Midnight Express,” “Batman” and “Flashdance,” knows a great story.
He was taking it all in at the indoor batting cage bunker at Wrigley Field, which had been turned into Dodgers Party Central after an 11-1 thrashing of the Cubs on Thursday night gave the Dodgers the NLCS in five games.
Guber knows the rich history of Dodgers-Yankees World Series encounters.
So when The Post asked him what would it mean to play the Yankees in the World Series, Guber smiled and answered this way, a Hollywood way: “What would it mean to beat the Yankees!”
Yes, these Dodgers are not just happy getting back to the World Series for the first time since 1988. These Dodgers would like nothing better than to face the Yankees and beat them, a coast-to-coast triumph for the team that produced the best record in baseball this year. …
________________________________________
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That’s some serious “California Dreamin'” you folks have goin’ on out there Donna.
But the Dodgers ain’t winnin’, whether it’s The Yankees or the Astros. Doesn’t matter.
😜
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Oh, we’ll see about that 🙂
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And then there is this. It’s quite a good speech by Steve Bannon at CAGOP the other day. He talks about Republicans unifying behind economic nationalism. He says it’s time to put away the Ayn Rand and related Austrian school of economics which reduces a nation to its economics. We are not an economy, rather we are a country with a social fabric and a civic responsibility whose economic underpinnings are free market capitalism.
He also references JD Vance (Hillbilly Elegy). He said Vance showed him a study from MIT and Harvard that demonstrates a direct correlation between loss of the manufacturing jobs and the opiod crisis.
That’s in the first 15 minutes. Really good speech.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oX0Z0vGVeJI
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While we are discouraging people from accepting personal responsibility for their actions, perhaps we should consider whether the loss of manufacturing jobs turned Harvey Weinstein into a sexual predator.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2017/10/21/rose-mcgowan-warns-harvey-weinstein-if-you-come-one-us-you-come-all-us/787178001/
Debra, I think you should send Trump to the same medical facility where Weinstein is receiving his anti-molesting treatment. Maybe Trump’s sexual assaults were caused by NAFTA, but he needs the same treatment as his buddy, Harvey. Maybe they also have a pill that prevents lying.
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Williamson is getting a lot of comments to yesterday’s article and is responding in a typical male Texan manner:
https://twitter.com/kevinnr/status/921828510301392896
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Economic nationalism is voters taking personal responsibility for the laws and welfare of our own citizens and country. Just because closet Randians and people addicted to identity politics want to divide and conquer, doesn’t mean we ought to allow them to do so. Surely we can be charitable, responsible, and politically active at the same time. ;–)
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”Economic nationalism” is snake oil. If you don’t believe me, look at Venezuela. A high percentage of imports are used to help manufacture US exports. If Trump messes with the trade deals, that will cost US jobs, including manufacturing jobs, not to mention killing the purchasing power of consumers.
Taking personal responsibility is improving your skills, working hard, not faking disability, not faking illnesses to get opioids, not having illegitimate kids, being active in your church, staying married, raising your children with love and discipline. Trumpkins and Democrats have been voting to live off their fellow citizens for decades. There is no responsibility in that.
Conservatives like Kevin D. Williamson actually care about the lower class Trumpkins. That is why he states hard truths. Conservatives who don’t care just move away from the Trumpkins.
LikeLike
Bannon organizing Trumpkins to take away the freedom of their fellow citizens to buy and sell from other countries is basically an Obama community organizer move. Rather than trying to help people be productive, they try to use the government to bring others down to the level of their followers. Bannon is a pale Obama in need of a shave and a diet.
LikeLike
It is even worse than David French states. Hannity had O’Reilly on his show within the last two weeks.
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Debra, You are not going to like Dreher’s latest which makes a comparison to Chapter 5 of Daniel and says some harsh things about the chubby, unshaven Obama (Bannon):
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I agree with Ricky’s description of personal responsibility @10:24. Furthermore, nothing in the speech I linked @2:25 in any way diminishes the idea of personal responsibility— if anything, it applies that concept evenly (as Ricky does not) to include individuals who are choosing to break the law by illegal participation in the economy. [ As an aside, I prefer the President’s recent bi-partisan position on DACA, but that’s beside the point.]
There is personal responsibility, and then there is civic responsibility, which among other things, includes the role of government. I’m not a big follower of ‘isms’ as such, but to the extent that economic nationalism returns the country to its traditional constitutional focus of self-preservation as a self-governing, sovereign nation, as opposed to a loose collection of individuals with conflicting global interests , it is a positive thing and people should be raised up to promote it.
LikeLike
I don’t agree with some of it, but I found this very interesting as an insight into the thinking of some staunch Democrats. It’s an article by a Democrat at a liberal publication expressing concern that Democrats are going to continue losing to Trump Republicans as long as Democrats refuse to address the immigration issue.
It’s ironic, especially since in his interview with Charlie Rose last Sunday, Bannon said he thought the House in danger for 2018 because DACA reform might be passed by Republicans. I guess DACA is the new hot button on both sides. Hope they’re able to resolve it humanely.
http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/10/the-issue-that-could-lose-the-next-election-for-democrats.html
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I saw that Ricky. I Rod Dreher has excellent insights on faith and culture, and that is where his writing is invaluable. Politics sails right over his head, almost every time. He’s not alone. :–)
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Dreher’s article is not really about politics. It is about how a major part of the church is perverting and destroying itself by merging with Trumpism.
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Debra, Apparently, Dreher read your comment as he wrote an article this morning on Hannity’s “theology”.
http://www.theamericanconservative.com/dreher/moralistic-therapeutic-hannityism/
Hannity’s visit to FBC Dallas was a big topic of conversation in D/FW this week. My wife warned people to say away from Dallas less they be consumed by fire and brimstone. My son hoped that Jesus would appear with a whip in hand and drive Jeffress and Hannity out of the building.
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A good article on the speeches of McCain and Kelly:
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Ricky @2:18 Wow. I would have to agree with the Wife there. I thought we were going down a slippery slope here in Chattanooga when we gave the Sunday a.m. service to an emissary of Ted Cruz last year. Then came Mike Huckabee this summer—but to do him justice, he is a Baptist minister in good standing, and gave a good, though rather general, message. And this morning the senior pastor gave a call for people to come forward for prayer—welcoming all ethnicities, including ‘Iranian, Mexican—even illegals—we don’t care’. He’s a good man, but we do seem terribly self-conscious don’t we. :–)
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ricky@ 10:29, Dreher’s article (Belshazar…) is a critique of the political situation from a culturally religious perspective. This is a good example of the dissonance that is being felt now by many well-meaning Evangelicals and Orthodox Christians on the political Right. I think it is the normal pain that comes from decoupling several decades of the deliberate merging of religious impulse and moral authority with our globalized, big business politics. In that process, both religion and politics have been somewhat damaged. The pain feels even worse because the catalyst comes in a package (Trump) that is viewed as obnoxious by comparison.
But it’s a mistake to view the catalyst as a primary cause. The Randian concepts that selfishness is a virtue and that greed is good has become imbedded in our big business and government subconscious as well as our politics. And worse, the mindset of these assumptions have penetrated much of the church. It shows. And it hurts. But in this case, the pain is a good sign because it’s a wake-up call. Perhaps healing comes next. If not, I think we will go to a much darker place before it gets light again.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Dreher’s critique is not of the political situation. His criticism is of a church that has substituted participation in the culture wars for its job of preaching and living out the Gospel. His criticism goes well beyond the current Trump/Bannon/Jeffress melding.
You can attack globalization and corporations and portray conservatives as Randian Social Darwinists. I can attack Trumpkins and Democrats as slothful and ignorant and too ready to blame others for their problems. However, we are not pastors preaching in pulpits. We would never make such statements in a church setting.
Dreher’s article focused on the church. His great concern is when the Robert Jeffresses of the world bring the Sean Hannitys (or the Ted Cruzes) of the world on stage on a Sunday morning when people have come to hear the Gospel or wrestle with whether they should move their family to a particular church. When that happens, Jeffress is just a very pale Jeremiah Wright, and the people are not being told: Repent of your sins and Believe in Christ!
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I might defer to DJ’s judgment, but the only other time I can remember the conservative political commentary being this good was in 1980. Then, as now, the writers knew what was at stake and rose to the occasion. Here is a column from Peter Wehner:
LikeLike
I would not disagree with any of that Ricky. Sorry, I’m jumping around too much—I was back on the Belshazzar Feasting article. Blame Rod Dreher for giving me too much great material to think about. :–)
One thing this election has seemed to do is open up the floodgates on politics and politicians in the church. I don’t remember seeing nearly this much open activity in past years. In fact, I believe I have mentioned before that I knew on minister 15 -20 years ago who had to apologize to the congregation for even mentioning abortion in passing because everyone was afraid of losing tax exempt status. No one is afraid of that now.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Dreher and Williamson are like William F. Buckley used to be for me. I can read one of their articles twice and still think I missed something.
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Here is a question: Do you think Hannity heard more of the Gospel from the Catholic Church that “made him feel guilty” or the “evangelicals” who helped shape his current theology?
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I think I am beginning to figure Trump out. I’m pretty sure there is going to be a wrestling match between these two down the road.
http://www.politico.com/story/2017/10/20/frederica-wilson-trump-gold-star-families-244013
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Finally, the Tweet of the day:
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