May 19, 2013
Review Corner
Housekeeping task: First, here is your definition of friendship:
The book I made blog friend sc read atop the book he made me read. I got a kick out of that on a recent visit.
Last week's Review Corner was G.K. Chesterton's "What's Wrong with the World," a bit of indulgent but intelligent retrospective from a 70-year-old academic. This week's is curiously similar: Deepak Lal's Poverty and Progress: Realities and Myths about Global Poverty
At the start of my seventh decade, as I look back over the past 50 years, during which I have studied, engaged in various debates, and traveled in the Third World, I am amazed at the transformations that have lifted billions out of poverty. One of the saddening experiences in writing this book, and of reading what younger scholars have written during the last 20 years, is the realization that many of them have little sense of this amazing achievement or its causes.
[...]
This ancient history is relevant to this book, as it reveals the dyspeptic response (only strengthened over the years) of the foreign-aid industry to anything that smacks of the classical-liberal viewpoint from which the book was written and which if adopted would lead to the euthanasia of these Lords of Poverty.
Despite some sadness in that excerpt, Lal's book could be called "What's Right with the World." Professor Lal is quite pleased with economic liberalism's record of lifting people out of poverty. He did his early work in India, which has expanded its economy by judicious application of freedom and property rights (though still too bureaucratic for its true potential). China opened up and hundreds of millions of people escaped $1/day poverty. Now, Lal is optimistic about Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).
As in Asia, the answer to Africa's economic problems must lie in beginning to set its citizens free of the shackles of the state. Africa has for too long been used by western ideologues as a laboratory for their latest dirigiste ideas. They have made Africa’s problems worse. The best thing the world can do for Africa is to keep its goods and capital markets open and let the continent’s entrepreneurial multitudes make their own future, beginning by learning how to hold their predatory rulers to account and ensuring that the state becomes a civil, not an enterprise, association.
So...what is Lal's "magic bullet" that propelled us from privation? For Deirdre McClosky, it is "Bourgeois Dignity," for my progressive friends it is good vibes and labor unions. To what does Professor Lal attribute this miracle?
I hope brother jg is seated securely. Lal talks about "Promethean Growth" as cultures discover the limitless energy of fossil fuels as opposed to wood, peat and dung. He is an economic historian and suggests England superseded the Dutch because the lowlands ran out of Peat and Britain had plentiful coal.
The biggest lacuna in this theory of the transition from an agrarian to an industrial economy is its failure to account for the ending of the energy constraint posed by fixed land, with the increasing substitution of land-based organic energy by the unlimited mineral energy provided by fossil fuels (Wrigley 1988).
[...]
But the stagnant per capita income worldwide before the Industrial Revolution, for which Clark's stylized Malthusian model is broadly applicable, is best explained by the land constraint on the energy needs for generating Promethean intensive growth. Clark’s correct assumption of diminishing returns to land captures this. But he ignores the central feature of the story in mankind's escape from structural poverty-- for, it was the substitution of fossil fuels, which provided an unending supply of mineral energy, for the limited products from land in the preindustrial organic agrarian economies that was the hallmark of the Industrial Revolution. It was this that allowed, first the West and now the Rest, to escape from the age-old structural poverty of the "Malthusian economy."
Chapter Ten punctures the research on global warming and expresses concern that, just as we are poised to bring the last groups out of poverty, promethean growth is threatened.
This use of an unbounded energy source, accompanying the slowly rolling Industrial Revolution, allowed the ascent from structural poverty, which had scarred humankind for millennia. To put a limit on the use of fossil fuels without adequate economically viable alternatives is to condemn the Third World to perpetual structural poverty.
Not to say that Lal does not appreciate bourgeois dignity nor the individualism and freedom that animates ThreeSourcers.
By contrast, the alternative technocratic approach to poverty alleviation is necessarily infected with egalitarianism because of its lineage. At its most elaborate, it is based on some Bergson-Samuelson-type social welfare function, laid down by Platonic Guardians. 8 Given the underlying assumption of diminishing marginal utility, any normative utility weighting of the incomes of different persons or households leads naturally to some form of egalitarianism. But this smuggling in of an ethical norm, which is by no means universally accepted, leads to a form of “mathematical politics.” Poverty alleviation becomes just one component of the general problem of maximizing social welfare,
Why did England have an Industrial Revolution and China did not? All ThreeSourcers had better sit for this. It's a McClosky-esque turn from individualism and science
This cultural divergence, as I argued in Unintended Consequences and which was summarized in Part 1, was due in part to the family revolution of Gregory the Great in the sixth century in the West. This gave rise to the individualism that led to the Renaissance and the scientific revolution, but also to the rise of nuclear families and the creation of statist safety nets for the poor, replacing the communal ones provided in the past and which continued in the other Eurasian civilizations-- including China. It was not the welfare states, which were a necessary consequence of its newfound individualism, that led to the rise of the West, but the sheer escape from tradition in art and science that individualism promoted.
I put my Kindle down and shook in this section because of my decades working in Boulder, Colorado where most people just assume the superiority of Eastern philosophy, medicine, science, thought, religeon, art, and cuisine. I am totally down appreciating Thai, Himalayan, Chinese, and Vietnamese food.
But -- and I am clearly putting words in Lal's mouth here -- the codswallop of eastern spirituality over science denied this great, wealthy and brilliant culture their renaissance. Lal mentions that they did not have a Shakespeare -- I suggest they needed a Martin Luther.
I have picked a few items of interest to folks 'round these parts more than I have covered this magisterial work. It is five stars and highly recommended.
He is exactly right. I would go much further - fossil fuels are what make modern capitalism possible. I alluded to this (but did not explicitly say it - that was for part II, which I have not written yet) in my post "Notes on the Dynamics of Human Civilization." Even if you don't have time to read that whole big thing, take a look at the graphs at the beginning of the essay. Notice how closely humanity's energy expenditure and economic growth is. They cannot be separated. As I said in another post:
The answer: in many respects Gross Domestic Product is energy consumption. Every service and good in an economy is produced by using energy. "Wealth" is really just the word we use to name the goods created and services rendered through our energy use. Inasmuch as GDP purports to measure "The monetary value of all the finished goods and services produced within a country's borders" [2] it will inevitably reflect the amount of energy consumed to produce those goods and services.
The great thing about capitalism is that you can compete without coercion and you can gain vast wealth without stealing it from others. Before fossil fuels came around this was not true. Economic growth was just too small to gain wealth by honorable means - thus the great number of wars (the best way to make money back in the day) before the growth revolution, and the lack of wars after words. Fossil fuels have done more for the cause of world peace than almost anything else humanity has devised.
Posted by: T. Greer at May 19, 2013 2:48 PMEnjoyed your post (I always do -- did I ever respond to your "far right and far left?" I remembered doing so but did not see it on your blog.)
To channel Ms. McClosky (ever read her?) though, correlation is not causation. Coal was around, fire was around. Both were well distributed in time and geography. And yet, it happens in Western Europe and it happens in the 17th (ish) Century.
Posted by: Jk at May 19, 2013 9:33 PM@tg: we do argue 'round these parts. Please accept that as a small quibble with an excellent essay. This exact why has become my favorite topic of late. My favorite explanations being Niall Ferguson's Civilization (six killer apps), David Deutsch's Beginning of Infinity: Explanations that Transform the World and Deirdre McClosky's Bourgeois Dignity: Why Economics Can't Explain the Modern World. (I'll be tacking Lal on that list.)
If you figure out why we arose from primordial economic soup, it seems you have a substantive case for how we should proceed.
Nah, no worries mate. I have took much greater beatings before - heck, I have took greater beatings before here. (Remember those long conversations with Perry, anyone?)
1. Correlation/Causation. Sure. But the correlation is really, really tight - so tight that a few people have made an equation for it. See also the two graphs at the end of this post. Energy consumption goes down in depressions, up when the economy grows. They are tagged together closely. The reasons for this are pretty clear - wealth is the product of applied energy.
2. Why did Britain have an industrial revolution and China did not? I think this is probably one of the biggest (if not the biggest) debate found among world historians. There are those (Pomeratz, The Great Diversion that suggest that the big difference between Britain and the Yangtze river basin (China's most productive area, c. 1800) is that Britain had coal stores nearby, and the Yangtze had none.
I find this less convincing.
But I also do not think on can wave away the question by attributing stunted growth to 'Eastern mysticism.' The Chinese tradition is pretty diverse; it has just as many hard bitten realists who disdained all things cosmological or mysterious as it did Buddhist-mystic types. (Many of their manuals make Machiavelli look tame!) And China was the scene of both fairly impressive (for a premodern society) economic growth, technological innovation (among other things, they invented the cross bow, compasses, gunpower, paper, and printing), and were a center for international trade (think silk road - but they also had extensive maritime networks). They once were very open to outside technologies; they learned to sail on the ocean blue from Arab traders, and then supplanted them as the primary traders in the South Chin and Indian oceans. They also were pretty institutionally advanced when it came to economics - during the Song Dynasty (c. 1000-1200 AD) they had paper money, savings banks, and joint-stock companies. (Unfortunately the Mongols took over the place and that experiment ended).
So why did all of that change?
My personal inclination is to blame the Ming and Qing dynasties. They were isolationist to an extreme - shut down the trading routes, worked their hardest to fight "foreign" influence and whatnot. What is notable is that both dynasties had very few competitors - in contrast to the Song, who controlled only half of China, the Ming controlled all of it, and the Qing added Manchuria, Tibet, and Mongolia to their possessions. The world was controlled from one center. This hurts innovation. The renaissance flourished because there was no centralized authority to stop it from doing so; the same was true in China's most intellectually diverse periods. Wrote I in a post comparing the two:
Both premodern Europe and ancient China were host to vicious polities divided in a desperate bid for survival. There was no world spanning empire; all roads did not lead to Rome. (Or Luoyang, for that matter). There was no universal center of learning or prestige that all intellectuals passed through before their voices could be heard, nor was there a single governing authority with power to clamp down on thinking it disapproved of. The decentralized political system of both eras allowed intellectual movements to flower without serious interruption. The competitive nature of this system piled fuel on the fire, for dueling states that refused innovation - be it scientific or strategic - faced annihilation
A similar thing happened in Japan. Before the Tokugawa shogunate was foisted upon the Japanese people, Japan was divided into 8 or so dueling kingdoms. During the height of their wars (late 1500s) there were more guns in Japan than in all of Europe. But when the Tokugawa shogunate united them all and took over, they set up a system that was very stable. They de-armed the populace, made the nobles rotate between the capital and their homes so they could not concentrate power, and forbade contact with outsiders. The system worked - Japan had peace for 400 years and the ruling Shogunate stayed in power. But when Commodore Perry came around with his cannons off of Edo, forcing the Japanese to open up to the world at gun point, there was no guns in the harbor to oppose him.
I can't help it if you are a statist!
But I do think you provide a host-worthy petard in noting that energy use decreases during recession. I don't think you're suggesting that paucity causes it (70's America, maybe...). Likewise I don't think coal fell out of the sky in 1820 and landed in Northern England.
They learned to use it to enhance productivity outside diminishing returns. The Chinese were using gunpowder way back before color TV. I believe it is Niall Ferguson who talks about the machines they invented but used as toys and demonstrations of the greatness of the ruler. But never applying them to production or wealth creation.
The last thing I'd do is call energy unimportant, or quibble with Deepak Lal that environmentalists' restrictions threaten the continued lifting of people out of poverty.
But there's more to it.
I don't think we really disagree. Modern economic growth could not have happened without energy. But man would never have had the chance to harness it without the science of the enlightenment or the property rights ensure by Great Britain.
The Chinese failed, I think, not because they were particularly anti-science, but because they were headed by a government that had no interest in innovation and a vested interest in slowing it. The fact that all literati had to go through Beijing to become anything was part of this problem.
P.S. Chinese gunpowder - part of the reason the Chinese used gunpowder more for fireworks than fire-arms was the nature of the enemy they faced: nomadic horse empires to the north. In Europe gun powder first makes it mark as canon, to be used in sieges (which the nomads did not have), and as slow to load arabesques designed to fire haphazard into massed infantry (again, something the nomads lacked). Asian polities that faced infantry armies and castle fortifications (such as japan, whose many guns are noted above) were quick to use gunpowder for military purposes.
May 12, 2013
Review Corner
I'm going to infer from 11 substantive comments to last week's Review Corner that the topic of political language is still of interest and that Arnold Kling's division of American polity into Conservatives, Progressives, and Libertarians has been accepted on some level. Because I wish to marry this to another tenured ThreeSources discussion: canons. (One n -- looking up the plural I see I have been discussing aircraft armament. Oops. my bad).
Homonyms aside, I have frequently complained that the Progressives have a substandard canon. I hold that, but in the spirit of fairness must admit that my beloved Libertarian canon is inferior to the Conservatives. Mises, Hayek, Bastiat, Wollstonecraft, Locke and Rand excite me and I hold their ideas in great esteem.
But I spent last week with GK Chesterton's What's Wrong with the World. And I have to admit that Chesterton and Edmund Burke lay a timeless foundation for Conservatism (blog friend Sugarchuck would throw in C.S. Lewis; probably JRR Tolkien and Jonah Goldberg deserve slots in the pantheon).
Chesterton gets five stars for clarity and five for sparkling prose. I highlight quotes for reader's corners and it is difficult to stop and leave any lines un-highlighted. Sugarchuck compares his humor to Monty Python:
Compromise used to mean that half a loaf was better than no bread. Among modern statesmen it really seems to mean that half a loaf is better than a whole loaf.
[...]
It is not merely true that a creed unites men. Nay, a difference of creed unites men--so long as it is a clear difference. A boundary unites. Many a magnanimous Moslem and chivalrous Crusader must have been nearer to each other, because they were both dogmatists, than any two homeless agnostics in a pew of Mr. Campbell's chapel.
[...]
I am told that the Japanese method of wrestling consists not of suddenly pressing, but of suddenly giving way. This is one of my many reasons for disliking the Japanese civilization. To use surrender as a weapon is the very worst spirit of the East.
Gilbert Keith uses his gifts in support of conservatism. Jonah Goldberg loves to quote his line "Tradition is the Democracy of the dead." I'm a modernist and a libertarian, but the argument that we discard the proven is compelling.
Our modern prophetic idealism is narrow because it has undergone a persistent process of elimination. We must ask for new things because we are not allowed to ask for old things. The whole position is based on this idea that we have got all the good that can be got out of the ideas of the past.
I think the natural affinity between Kling's L's and C's is a common belief in property rights. GK is eloquent, as usual:
The average man cannot cut clay into the shape of a man; but he can cut earth into the shape of a garden; and though he arranges it with red geraniums and blue potatoes in alternate straight lines, he is still an artist; because he has chosen. The average man cannot paint the sunset whose colors be admires; but he can paint his own house with what color he chooses, and though he paints it pea green with pink spots, he is still an artist; because that is his choice. Property is merely the art of the democracy. It means that every man should have something that he can shape in his own image, as he is shaped in the image of heaven.
TGreer's comment on last week' Review Corner segues into this week's. I, too, came to little-l libertarianism through conservatism. For me it was Bill Buckley and National Review (and I still subscribe to Frank Meyers's Fusionism). Buckley subscribed to Milton Friedman's libertarian ideas on economics, school choice and drug legalization.
But Buckley and Chesterton "stand athwart history, yelling 'Stop!'" For Chesterton, that includes a large portion of the book devoted to Women's suffrage which a modern finds difficult to read. Chesterton is agin it, not because women are not good enough to vote. But because they are too good
Many voteless women regard a vote as unwomanly. Nobody says that most voteless men regarded a vote as unmanly. Nobody says that any voteless men regarded it as unmanly. Not in the stillest hamlet or the most stagnant fen could you find a yokel or a tramp who thought he lost his sexual dignity by being part of a political mob. If he did not care about a vote it was solely because he did not know about a vote; he did not understand the word any better than Bimetallism. His opposition, if it existed, was merely negative. His indifference to a vote was really indifference. But the female sentiment against the franchise, whatever its size, is positive. It is not negative; it is by no means indifferent.
Some things, sir, are not worth conserving.
But it is an awesome read and it is available on Kindle for $0.00. At five stars, that is an undefined value.
Click "Continue Reading" for more quotes.
Men have votes, so women must soon have votes; poor children are taught by force, so they must soon be fed by force; the police shut public houses by twelve o'clock, so soon they must shut them by eleven o'clock; children stop at school till they are fourteen, so soon they will stop till they are forty. No gleam of reason, no momentary return to first principles, no abstract asking of any obvious question, can interrupt this mad and monotonous gallop of mere progress by precedent. It is a good way to prevent real revolution. By this logic of events, the Radical gets as much into a rut as the Conservative. We meet one hoary old lunatic who says his grandfather told him to stand by one stile. We meet another hoary old lunatic who says his grandfather told him only to walk along one lane.
Chesterton, G. K. (Gilbert Keith) (2012-05-12). What's Wrong with the World (pp. 241-242). . Kindle Edition.
The mob can never rebel unless it is conservative, at least enough to have conserved some reasons for rebelling. It is the most awful thought in all our anarchy, that most of the ancient blows struck for freedom would not be struck at all to-day, because of the obscuration of the clean, popular customs from which they came. The insult that brought down the hammer of Wat Tyler might now be called a medical examination. That which Virginius loathed and avenged as foul slavery might now be praised as free love. The cruel taunt of Foulon, "Let them eat grass," might now be represented as the dying cry of an idealistic vegetarian.
Chesterton, G. K. (Gilbert Keith) (2012-05-12). What's Wrong with the World (pp. 281-282). . Kindle Edition.
What I say is that the communal ideal is not conscious of their existence, and therefore goes wrong from the very start, mixing a wholly public thing with a highly individual one. Perhaps we ought to accept communal kitchens in the social crisis, just as we should accept communal cat's-meat in a siege. But the cultured Socialist, quite at his ease, by no means in a siege, talks about communal kitchens as if they were the same kind of thing as communal laundries. This shows at the start that he misunderstands human nature. It is as different as three men singing the same chorus from three men playing three tunes on the same piano.
Chesterton, G. K. (Gilbert Keith) (2012-05-12). What's Wrong with the World (p. 271). . Kindle Edition.
The things philanthropists barely excuse (or do not excuse) in the life of the laboring classes are simply the things we have to excuse in all the greatest monuments of man. It may be that the laborer is as gross as Shakespeare or as garrulous as Homer; that if he is religious he talks nearly as much about hell as Dante; that if he is worldly he talks nearly as much about drink as Dickens. Nor is the poor man without historic support if he thinks less of that ceremonial washing which Christ dismissed, and rather more of that ceremonial drinking which Christ specially sanctified.
Chesterton, G. K. (Gilbert Keith) (2012-05-12). What's Wrong with the World (pp. 246-247). . Kindle Edition.
I quite understand why Mr. Carnegie has a hatred of Greek. It is obscurely founded on the firm and sound impression that in any self-governing Greek city he would have been killed. But I cannot comprehend why any chance democrat, say Mr. Quelch, or Mr. Will Crooks, I or Mr. John M. Robertson, should be opposed to people learning the Greek alphabet, which was the alphabet of liberty. Why should Radicals dislike Greek?
Chesterton, G. K. (Gilbert Keith) (2012-05-12). What's Wrong with the World (p. 228). . Kindle Edition.
The trick has always been to adopt the new where it is an improvement and retain the past where it is best. The failures of human progress rarely come from incorrect judgment in each case, but from on person or group of people making those judgements on behalf of the rest.
My prescription for remedy is two-fold: Liberty, and an unfettered marketplace - of both goods and ideas. In terms that Facebook Progs can (perhaps) understand, call it "crowd-sourced progress." It may not happen as fast as advocates of "perfect shopping cart wheels for everyone, always, immediately" may prefer but it makes up for that failing with an oft overlooked feature: The ability to change direction before tens of millions of people die, rather than afterward.
And if only a single ten million lives would be saved, isn't that worth it?
Posted by: johngalt at May 12, 2013 12:38 PMMay 8, 2013
Review Corner (Bumped to propagate comments)
I gave away the premise of Arnold Kling's The Three Languages of Politics in a Pre-review corner. Kling takes on one of my favorite philosophical questions, videlicet, "How can my Facebook friends be such incredible Gooberheads?"
Perhaps they are and perhaps they are not. Kling suggests that each polity speaks its own language; that Conservatives, Progressives, and Libertarians not only judge policy on different axes as Jonathan Haidt suggests, but that each communicates in a different political language.
Progressives believe in human betterment. They see nearly unlimited potential for humans to improve materially and, more important, morally.Conservatives believe in human weakness. In Biblical terms, man is "fallen." The dark side of human nature will never be eradicated. It can only be tamed by social institutions, including the family, religion, and government. Take away those institutions, and what emerges is Lord of the Flies.
Libertarians believe in human rationality. People pursue ends, and they act as they do for good reason.
To bring it home, I am always surprised how frequently people just do not recognize liberty and coercion. Good old Republican-voting family members support smoking bans and are receptive to helmet laws, nannyist food directives and the like. When I describe the issue as property rights, they look at me blankly, as if -- wait for it -- I am speaking a different language. Touché, Kling.
Kling and I fit quite well into the L's:
Libertarians also look at government as the ultimate source of the problem. Libertarian economics is closely aligned with the Austrian tradition, and Austrian economists view central banks as the Dennis the Menace of capital markets, distorting interest rates and causing bubbles.
It is impossible not to compare it to Haidt's superb The Righteous Mind. Kling references it and includes an appendix describing it. Where Haidt starts with data and infers some interesting political observations, Kling takes the "why can't we all get along" question head on, using Haidt and other behavioral books to assemble his thesis. I cannot imagine anybody not reading both.
Kling's is brief and direct -- I give it five stars.
Addendum: Blog friend TGreer, commenting on the pre-review corner, applies the scale to politicians (Specifically ones which he knows will torque me...) Kling applies his to journalists and pundits, which is certainly cleaner. Taking FDR's entire 17 terms as New Dealer, War President, and party leader, I would find it hard to shoehorn him into one of Kling's boxes, even though the two Presidents Roosevelt are the archetype of Progressivism. I don't know whether that is a failing of Kling's micro-taxonomy or the lack of purity in actual legislative politics.
UPDATE: John Stossel (High Prince of the "L's") posts this quote to Facebook today:
Liberty is not a means to a political end. It is itself the highest political end. -- Lord Acton
Well, I don't think you have to like TR's exchange with JPM to see that Roosevelt wasn't framing things in term of oppressed and oppressor. He was framing things in term of law, right and wrong.
IMHO, one of the admirable things about TR was his belief in the Strenuous Life. He believed that individuals should not accept laziness or ease; that they should try the hard thing, that heroism is always available to those worthy of it. One of his statements on this effect has so inspired me that I put it to memory:
Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.
Where TR gets problematic is that he applied this philosophy of living to national affairs. As he says two sentences above the one just quoted, "As it is with the individual, so it is with the nation." He really believed that governments should act like people; he believed that governments should act like him.
TR's weakness was that he conflated the government with himself. And I don't mean that in the King George, arbitrary gov. type of way (though I suppose you might make that case), but in how he behaved as captain of the executive and how he believed governments ought to behave in general. TR was an energetic guy, always on the look out for adventure, great deeds, and the chance to stand for the ultimate good. He could never just sit by and do nothing. Trust busting was just these heroics on a national scale. It was a fight against barbarity and corruption. Far from seeing himself as champion of the weak or the defenseless, TR saw his role as the guiding hand of the greatest power on Earth - the American people. The government vs. the banks was Lancelot against those evil medieval lords.
Now I think we can agree that this is the wrong way to do things. But it certainly was his of doing them.
And in the end that is what makes this idea of the three languages so interesting. As the Hitler example shows, you can be talking any of three languages and ultimately reach the same conclusions (in this case, that Nazis are plenty bad). TR promoted statism with a civilizational frame of thought; today it is mostly the progressives who argue for larger government powers. They found the same solution from different ends. (Although I will point again that TR would be probably a Republican today... nanny state was not his thing.)
The libertarian movement will succeed, I'd wager, not by convincing everybody to think on the liberty axis, but by convincing people concerned with civilization and/or injustice that increasing the scale of government will only make these problems worse. We've go to be reverse TRs.
Posted by: T. Greer at May 8, 2013 11:45 AMBefore I assume something that is incorrect, what do you mean by "reverse TR's?"
Posted by: johngalt at May 8, 2013 7:55 PMTR argued for an energetic executive (something we associate with progressives) with the "conservative civilization language." We should reverse the process: that is, use "civilization-conservative" (and "injustice-oppression") language to argue for smaller government.
If people don't understand the liberty/statist line of thought it will be easier to use their language for the right cause than it will be to get them to change their language altogether.
Posted by: T. Greer at May 9, 2013 12:14 AMIt's difficult to imagine using the language of statism, whether the "civilization-conservative" or "injustice-oppression" variety, to make the case for its opposite - liberty.
I believe everyone understands the liberty/statism dichotomy. The division is between those who fear their own individual failure and those who do not. Or if not "failure" then the class-envy that is continually manufactured by each new crop of statists. In either case the fear or the envy/hatred is unfounded, more so today than ever in history. Statists must be exposed and discredited. All of them.
My thoughts keep returning to jk's terminology, which I believe fuses your proposition with mine. He called it Prosperitarianism. Methinks that we, or at least I, didn't give him enough credit for it at the time.
Posted by: johngalt at May 10, 2013 2:49 PMPerhaps you're right (you're certainly right about my being under-appreciated) that it is hard to use another's language to express your view. What I picked up from Haidt and reinforced by Kling, is that that is their belief/language.
Kling's Oppressed/oppressor is in line with Haidt's harm/care. Your interlocutor does not give a rat's ass about liberty qua liberty. People in his estimation are or would be beholden to McDonalds and Walmart if not government. And if people are lacking food, shelter, health care or free contraception under freedom, what good is it?
I'm not sure it gives you tools to convince. My uberprogressive (let's say Communist) biological brother read the Haidt book and we agreed that neither of us had ever really reached anybody or changed any minds. But it does give a perspective of why or from what perspective they're coming.
Oh, I think it is possible, though some issues are easy to do it with than others. Take government bail outs for example. Bail outs "destroy the moral hazard of risk" (civilization language), "prop up an entrenched rentier elite" (progressive language), and drastically increase government intervention is an otherwise free market ("libertarian language").
I guess I am living evidence of all this. If we were to take a referendum vote on the issues of the day, I would vote with the libertarians 9 times out of 10. But I am not really a libertarian. On matters of foreign affairs, drug policy, bail outs, and more I vote with the libertarians - but often for different reasons than they do. I utterly reject the "libertarian" idea that humans have limitless potential. I suppose my disposition is too conservative for that. Deep down my abiding concern is staving off barbarity and saving civilization; I just happen to think the concentrated power of unaccountable governments cannot do this. This was the starting point. I came to appreciate libertarian arguments because conservative civilizational types made their case first. (I shudder to think where I'd be if my introduction to libertarian thought had been The Fountainhead or something of that type - would have lost me at the start.)
P.S. On a related note - anybody notice how similar the "radical" right and "radical" left really are? (see this post: Far Left and Far Right: Two Peas in a Pod? ) It might be easier to work with them than we think.
Posted by: T. Greer at May 11, 2013 11:26 PMApril 30, 2013
Pre Review Corner
Don't wait for Sunday! Snap up: Kling, Arnold The Three Languages of Politics Kindle Edition. It's $1.99 on Kindle. It's short (short enough you could read it on a tablet or desktop with the Kindle app), and it will get five stars this weekend if I get Wi-Fi at my undisclosed location.
Kling distills Jonathan Haidt's "The Righteous Mind" and some other behavioral psychology texts to provide three languages as practiced by three sections of the American polity:
The first dominant heuristic is the one I associate with progressives (henceforth Ps). Ps, who are likely to respond X to the basic question, are most comfortable with language that frames political issues in terms of oppressors and oppressed.The second dominant heuristic is one I associate with conservatives (henceforth Cs). Cs, who are likely to respond Y to the basic question, are most comfortable with language that frames political issues in terms of civilization and barbarism.
The third dominant heuristic is one I associate with libertarians (henceforth Ls). Ls, who are likely to respond Z to the basic question, are most comfortable with language that frames political
That sets it up, but it's a better read than "the third dominant heuristic" implies.
Interesting. According to this rubric, TR, FDR, and Truman would all be conservatives... probably on the same boat as GWB.
Posted by: T. Greer at April 30, 2013 6:07 PMApril 29, 2013
John LeCarre Meets Ron Paul
We have oft, on these very pages, jested about the turgidness of monetary policy. It truly is fundamental to Liberty but boy howdy...
In Battle of Bretton Woods, Benn Steil tells the remarkable story of the 44-nation postwar economic conference known for its location in the remote New Hampshire town.
I have always used "Bretton Woods" as synonymous with a gold standard, as in "Nixon took us out of Bretton Woods." In truth -- as gold bugs have screamed at me for years -- it was a managed convertibility, what Larry Kudlow would call a gold peg, but with rates dictated by fiat. Steil relates a story I had also heard from Amity Shlaes
From his bed each morning, Roosevelt would, after briefly conferring with his advisers, set a daily target for bumping up the gold price, not always through scientific methods. One day, November 3, the president suggested that gold should go up twenty-one cents. "It's a lucky number," he explained, chuckling, "because its three times seven." "If anybody ever knew how we really set the gold price through a combination of lucky numbers, etc.," observed Morgenthau, "I think they would be frightened."
Before we get into that snoozefest discussion, the remarkable parts are the participants, and the purposeful move to use the conference output to make the US and the US Dollar the global hegemon. Britain was financially ruined by the war -- she had zero hope without Lend-Lease. Heavily indebted to the US from Lend-Lease, Britain had no power at Bretton Woods to push its agenda; no one did, the US held all the good cards.
All Britain had was a formidable representative in John Maynard Keynes: the economics wunderkind who was rewriting the science, the first and last economic celebrity, and a formidable debate partner. Keynes learned his craft sparring with the likes of Karl Popper, American bureaucrats were intellectual cannon fodder.
But in the United States corner was one of the oddest characters you will encounter in history: Henry Dexter White. White had no title at all until late in his tenure, but he had the vision of the dollar replacing gold as the world currency and he had a plan to make it happen. Oh, and he was a Soviet Spy.
Keynes, not yet Lord K, was not too impressed with his interlocutor:
"He has not the faintest conception how to behave or observe the rules of civilised intercourse," Keynes groused. Arrogant and bullying, White was also nerve-ridden and insecure. Being wholly dependent on his ability to keep his boss, Treasury Secretary Henry Morgenthau, an FDR confidant with limited smarts, continually rearmed with actionable policies, he was always acutely conscious of his tenuous status in Washington.
Keynes was Keynes:
Like another great mind of his time, Albert Einstein, Keynes had a preternatural ability to see relationships between complex phenomena entirely differently than generations of experts before him. Though mathematics was the primary analytical tool for both physics and economics, neither Einstein nor Keynes was exceptionally gifted in, nor fascinated by, higher mathematics. They had an utterly rare gift of intellectual intuition; both thought through problems which obsessed them using the vehicle of analogy, like riding on a light beam (which sparked Einstein's theory of special relativity) or living in an economy that produces and consumes only bananas (through which Keynes "proved" that thrift was deadly).
Excuse me, jk, did you say White was a soviet spy? Why yes, he worked with Whittaker Chambers before Chambers was traded for two third-round draft picks. And Chambers claims that he was second only to Alger Hiss in the damage done over his tenure. Yet -- at the conference -- he pursued US interests unfailingly. Though he thought that Communism was the wave of the future and that the US and USSR were destined to be the great postwar allies, there is no suggestion that he weakened the US position. White was out to best Keynes and Britain -- and did so.
Monetary policy types will dig the importance given by this book. WWII is attributed to bad policy, and the whole point of Bretton Woods -- planned long before Allied victory was certain, opening weeks after D-Day -- was to prevent currency nationalism that would precipitate additional conflict. That was how it was sold to Congress and the American people.
Most surprising to me was the enmity between the US and Britain. PM Churchill and FDR may have had a special relationship, but it was not passed to Misters Atlee nor Truman, nor Congress, nor Americans wary of Monarchy and Imperialism. We had them "where short hairs grow" and there were few people that wanted to let them off easy. If they were destroyed by the terms concluding Lend-Lease, who cares?
What was that spy thing again, jk? That sounded interesting.
White performed superbly at his HUAC hearing, He waved the flag and stated his love of Apple Pie and Motherhood, and turned the tables on unprepared examiners to draw applause. A young Senator from California thought that he could get him on perjury, for disavowing Whittaker Chambers. But each time While would answer that "he could not recall" his contact. The publication of the Verona papers in the late 1990s corroborate all of Chambers's charges.
And that young Senator Nixon went on to become President -- and pull our nation out of the Bretton Woods agreement...
A great and interesting story. Alas, it reads more like Ron Paul than the Spy Story at times, but it's a good yarn all the same. Four stars.
So, you're saying that Barack Obama is a Soviet spy?
The Amazon book description says that White "also, very privately, admired Soviet economic planning and engaged in clandestine communications with Soviet intelligence officials and agents over many years."
And your review says he was a "Soviet spy." Which leads me to wonder, which description is more damning?
Oh yes, that Obama is a spy quip... Would you rather I say that he "admires Soviet economic planning and engage[s] in clandestine communications with Soviet intelligence officials and agents?"
[Awesome review, by the way, of an apparently awesome book.]
Posted by: johngalt at April 30, 2013 2:49 PMThanks for the kind words! I'm comfortable with the spy declaration because of the Verona papers. And while I agree that admiration of economic planning is wrong, misrepresentation of your intentions is far worse. It would be as if President Obama had said "I will not raise taxes on those making less than $250,000" or "if you like your health care plan, you can keep it." You know -- willful misrepresentation.
Okay, a little more seriously: this is FDR's administration, Rex Tugwell and Henry Wallace openly favored Soviet planning "I have seen the future and it works."
"'I have seen the future,' wrote radical journalist Lincoln Steffens after a trip to Petrograd in 1919, 'and it works.' By the time of Bretton Woods a quarter century later, White believed that Soviet socialist economics had proven itself a success. 'Russia is the first instance of a socialist economy in action,' White writes. 'And it works!' Much of the animus toward the Soviet Union within the American political establishment was, he argued, political hypocrisy born of an ideological inability to acknowledge the success of socialist economics."
Steil, Benn (2013-02-11). The Battle of Bretton Woods (Council on Foreign Relations Books (Princeton University Press)) (p. 6). Princeton University Press. Kindle Edition. "
Posted by: jk at April 30, 2013 3:32 PMThe Bolshevik Revolution was in 1914, if memory serves, so Mr. Steffens was comfortable proclaiming Soviet socialism a success after a mere 5 years. A striking parallel with today's champions of "Obamanomics."
Posted by: johngalt at May 1, 2013 2:05 AMApril 14, 2013
Review Corner
I'm slacking on you yet again. This week's "book" is a white paper. You can download "50 Vetoes: How States Can Stop the Obama Health Care Law" from Cato, or you can get it all pretty and packaged up for Kindle® from Amazon for $3.49. Spendthrift that I am, I dropped the $3,49 like it was nothin' and enjoyed it on the couch.
A few pages in and one asks "I wonder if this ObamaCare® was really a good idea?" Cannon enumerates the flaws and consequences -- intended and unintended -- of what he dutifully calls PPACA. Because the law diverted some control to the states to get the famous 60 votes, and because the Feds are woefully behind and outclassed in its implementation, Cannon says that the States have a real opportunity to upend the law -- and that they should.
Collectively, states have the power to block that spending and to reduce federal deficits by $ 1.7 trillion by refusing to implement Exchanges and the Medicaid expansion. So far, 34 states, accounting for roughly two-thirds of the U.S. population, have refused to establish an Exchange, while 16 have refused to implement the Medicaid expansion. Those states have reduced federal deficits by hundreds of billions of dollars.
Cannon destroys the concept that the state exchanges are actually autonomous examples of Federalism:
The Act thus empowers the secretary to require state-funded Exchanges to operate exactly as she would operate a federal Exchange. One example is the Act's "navigator" program, in which groups that help consumers select an insurance plan-- a role traditionally performed by insurance agents and brokers-- receive funding from Exchanges. Some states have enacted laws requiring navigators to obtain a license. Yet the secretary has prohibited states from requiring navigators to be licensed agents or brokers, or to carry insurance typically carried by agents and brokers. She has also prohibited navigators from receiving any compensation from health plans either inside or outside an Exchange. If the secretary later decides to prohibit insurance agents and brokers from serving as navigators, or likewise to require state-funded Exchanges to exclude certain health plans, state-funded Exchanges will have to obey. What the secretary declares bound in Washington shall be bound in the states; what she declares loosed in Washington shall be loosed in the states.
Even states expecting to proceed with creating exchanges find that the Feds have no plan, no documentation -- not even a Web site.
"We have gotten little bits of information here and there about how the federal exchange might operate," said Linda J. Sheppard, a senior official at the Kansas Insurance Department. "I was on a panel at Rockhurst University here, and I was asked, 'Where is the Web site for the federal exchange?' I chuckled. There really isn’t any federal exchange Web site."
[...]
Kathleen Sebelius, the secretary of HHS, has repeatedly emphasized that "states have to meet a standard of transparency and accountability." A state exchange must have "a clearly defined governing board,” and the board must hold regular public meetings. . . . By contrast, federal officials have disclosed little about their plans, are vague about the financing of the federal exchanges and have refused even to divulge the "request for proposals" circulated to advertising agencies.
I know. The ThreeSources community is shocked at government opacity, arrogance, and incompetence. Most of the arguments will be familiar to ThreeSourcers: "The Act's 'community rating' price controls force insurers to sell coverage to the sick far below cost, and to the healthy far above cost. In that environment, an insurer that provides the highest-quality care to the sick will attract all the sickest patients, and will quickly go bankrupt, as healthy people avoid that carrier's higher premiums. In this way, the Act's community-rating price controls literally punish health plans that provide the most attractive coverage to the sick."
But the enumeration, collection, and strict documentation of the arguments is well worth your three-fifty. I do not suppose there is much chance in the newly Communist People's Republic of Colorado -- but there are real opportunities to avoid and perhaps repeal this wicked law.
A critical mass of states could force Congress to repeal the law. To some, it is unimaginable that Congress and President Obama would do so-- just as it was once unimaginable that 34 states would refuse to establish Exchanges, or that 16 states would refuse to expand Medicaid, or that congressional Republicans and President Obama would join together to repeal the CLASS Act. The PPACA is weaker, and the path to repeal is clearer, than it has ever been.
Four stars. Dry but informative and short.
If the ideologues behind Obamacare and other efforts to promote "equality" such as capping the size of private retirement accounts were to actually go "all in" on that principle they would have to infect every one of us with every disease and sickness known to man. Otherwise, "some animals are more well than others."
Assignment to reader: Look up and post (or just post) your favorite quote on the evils of "equality." My first search will be H.L. Mencken. (Or maybe Eric Hoffer.)
Posted by: johngalt at April 15, 2013 7:24 PMApril 7, 2013
Review Corner
TIME Magazine's Executive Editor Nancy Gibbs and Washington Bureau Chief Michael Duffy trace the surprising, complicated story of "the world's most exclusive fraternity."That's from the Amazon "Book of the Month (April 2012)" review of The President's Club. And that's all the Review Corner you probably need. It's a very conventional, TIME Magazine look at an interesting topic: the interplay between ex-presidents with each other and current occupants of the office.
It's full of fun facts and juicy tidbits:
He had reason to be especially grateful: thanks to Truman's personal intervention, the IRS judged Eisenhower to be a nonprofessional writer and so taxed his income from his war memoir Crusade in Europe at the 25 percent capital gains rate rather than the 75 percent income tax rate, which among other things meant that Mamie Eisenhower got her first mink coat. Eisenhower sent Truman a signed copy, the first volume he gave anyone outside the family.
[...]
Finally, there was something personal; whatever reverence Ike deserved as a general, Kennedy did not extend to the man himself; he called him "that old asshole."
[..]
Julie and David had met only a few times as children. "But each," observed the Washington Post, "had a mother who was forever saying 'I want my child to have a normal life'-- while normal mothers were talking about their children growing up to be president."
My recently deceased brother-in-law recommended this book last year; I read the Kindle sample and elected not to pull the trigger. I saw it on sale a couple weeks ago and gave it another chance.
I wouldn't tell anybody not to read it, but I will be unusually miserly with the stars. Among the juicy tidbits is a paucity of serious thought or anything outside conventional, Schlesingerian-academic-journalistic thought. It's like, well, reading TIME Magazine. On Bush Peré:
The first two years of the first Bush's presidency had delivered solid bipartisan achievements at home: a new clean air measure, a historic civil rights act for disabled Americans, and a landmark deficit reduction deal. But each was anathema to the party's right wing. Which meant the younger Bush would need to take a harder line on economic and social issues while signaling to uncertain independent voters that he wasn't a hopeless ideologue. Hence the mantle of the "compassionate conservative."
Historic civil rights act for the trial bar, maybe... Clinton's Impeachment:
But Ford's proposal seemed almost Edwardian in its quaintness. The notion that the House Republican leadership, a mostly male group led by Newt Gingrich that had developed a seething dislike of Clinton, would somehow limit its yearlong probe was unimaginable.
Yup, conventional wisdom about the modern presidents. Nothing about anybody before Hoover. I suppose those bewhiskered (and predominantly male) guys were not very interesting. Worth one trip through, but I doubt it will excite any ThreeSourcer: two stars.
March 31, 2013
Review Corner
It's enjoyable to read the "it" book and be hip and up to date. Especially when one's fashion hails from the Clinton Years and musical tastes from Hoover's. But I found my inner Nassim Taleb and dusted off a moldy old book that was discarded from the Austin Peay State College Library in Clarkesville Tennessee. This contrarian is convinced that he may be one of the foremost experts on Vice President Charles G. Dawes.
There is, near as I can tell, one book on the General: "Portrait of an American" by Bascom N. Timmons, ©1953 Henry Holt & Company. And I've read it. I'm sure a little internet searching would disabuse me of my expert status quickly, but it is my dream, let me live it.(I will follow up with some of his writings.)
I was drawn to Dawes because he is a published composer; the haunting melody to the 50's hit "It's All in the Game" is his "Melody in A Major" from 1912 and I have a vintage piece of sheet music with his name. His Wikipedia page fed my interest:
After the war, the U.S. Senate held hearings on overcharges by military suppliers. During heated testimony, Dawes burst out, "Hell and Maria, we weren't trying to keep a set of books over there, we were trying to win a war!" He was later known as "Hell and Maria Dawes" (although he always insisted the expression was "Helen Maria").
This was a style Dawes used with great efficacy (and one I'd confess I'd like to cultivate): a generally reserved decorum punctuated by short and sharp blasts of well-directed anger:
And the Earl of Crawford, Chancellor of the University of Manchester, conferred the LLD degree on Dawes with the words:"Strangely in his chariot is the tornado harnessed alongside the dove. And I trust I overstep no limits set by diplomatic reticence if I add that, under the tempestuous exterior and unconventional address, brimming over with picturesque expletives, none of which, however, he claims to have invented himself, he conceals the kindest of hearts and the most loving of dispositions.
(I'm cultivating the kindest of hearts and most loving of dispositions parts...)
After completing Amity Shleas's 5 star biography of President Coolidge, I wanted to learn a little more about his VP and scored the book used from Amazon for $7.98. As it happens, he did not participate much in the Coolidge Administration. Coolidge invited him, offering the courtesy Harding had extended him. But Dawes felt it was a bad precedent and Constitutionally dubious as the VP was more a Legislative Branch position. I recall our current VP laughing that off in a debate with Governor Palin.
He might not have been a big cog in the Coolidge Administration, but he is an amazing man with an amazing career and lifetime achievements. He personally met 15 Presidents; assembled and ran the Allied procurements for WWI attaining the rank of General; was ambassador to Britain after the war; built the largest bank outside of New York; made Sen. Robert Lafollette’s list of 100 robber barons; instituted huge philanthropy efforts -- oh, and was Vice President. And published a song.
The entire Dawes family shows up in American History like Forrest Gump. William Dawes rode with Paul Revere -- we know of one and not the other because Mr. Longfellow found one name more mellifluous. General Rufus Dawes was a Civil War hero and had tickets to see "Our American Cousin" at the Ford Theatre with President Lincoln. Dawes's mom was ill or else they would have been there.
Dawes goes west as a young man and meets William Jennings Bryan in Lincoln, Nebraska before Lincoln is served by rail. The two become fast and lifetime friends at a debating club. By 1896, Dawes has moved to Chicago and is heading the Illinois campaign to elect William McKinley. He tells everybody that Bryan will be the Democratic nominee "if he makes it to the podium at the convention." A paper in Lincoln is among the unbelieving:
"Just three people believe the boy orator of the Platte, who speaks in platte-te-tudes, has a chance for the Democratic nomination. They are: Bryan himself; his wife; and Dawes, a Republican."
The nominating speeches go late and it is not certain whether Bryan will speak. He takes the stage late and gives the "Cross of Gold" speech. Dawes telegraphs campaign HQ that Bryan will be the nominee and leaves the hall. All the large states withhold votes on the first five ballots. Then Bryan is nominated and quickly gets the nod.
He's there when JP Morgan rescues the banks in the Panic of 1907. New York says they'll keep the Knickerbocker Trust afloat if Dawes will run it. They telegraph that he can write his own ticket. Dawes demurs. The Man of the West will stay West.
Even in law school, he is in contact with future Presidents:
"I received the engrossed bill for the erection of the new building, and signed it as President of the Senate. Less than fifteen minutes later, Chief Justice Taft telephoned, asking whether I had signed the bill. He was anxious to have President Coolidge approve it today. This I arranged within an hour, to his considerable satisfaction. I have always felt grateful to Taft for, in 1886, he marked the papers of our graduating class in Cincinnati Law School, and passed nearly the whole class, including myself. He does not know it, but that was one reason why he got such quick service today. The friendship with the Chief Justice, which I have enjoyed during these last four years, has been one of the pleasant things of my service here. He is beloved by all."
Politically, Dawes joined Theodore Roosevelt's reform camp early, but like Taft and Coolidge, saw its flaws and veered away to a more lasseiz faire approach. TR begins coming after his friends:
Back in Chicago, Dawes told Armour and P. A. Valentine about the White House conversation.
"Armour is very much alarmed and worried over the matter," Dawes wrote. "He said to me in the most dejected tones:
"'Dawes, I am living and recently have been living the darkest hours of my life. I believe the intention is to indict the packers. Everyone eats meat and a suit against the packers would be politically popular. Roosevelt wants popularity. I am an accident in this business which I inherited from my father who was a great leader. I am not a criminal and if I am indicted as a lawbreaker it will be a great grief to me and my family."'I have endeavored strictly to obey the injunction. I have wanted to obey the laws always. All my life I have tried to be a good citizen. I have in this world only my mother, my wife, and my daughter. If I left my business to my little girl it would be a curse to her. I have felt almost as if I would like to quit the worry and stress of business life and sell out. Yet I have a sense of duty to the men who have grown up with the business and who would lose their places that has led me to abandon the plan. I have long since lost the desire for money and I feel I have few friends.'
The Bureau of the Budget was formed under President Harding at Dawes's request to cut spending:
"On the first onslaught, the Navy dropped out on a hundred¬million-dollar reduction I had put down for them. Admiral Coontz (Chief of Naval Operations) is a tough old buck. I had to accept his statement as far as the present is concerned."Agriculture followed by reneging on $25,000,000. Beads of perspiration formed on my forehead and, I regret to say, profane ejaculations characterized my vocabulary. Secretary Mellon, who joined me at the office, joined also in the perspiration, although naturally a cool man. By evening, I had raked up a dependable $305,000,000, notwithstanding the $125,000,000 that dropped out."
In spite of such signal achievements, Dawes never forgot the limits within which his bureau was to function.
The bureau brought spending down under Harding and Coolidge but was disbanded by FDR (surprise).
A great book about a most interesting American. Five stars. As I have a real live hardcopy, it is available to any ThreeSourcer who would like to read it -- I'll even pay shipping.
March 17, 2013
Review Corner
In 2001, my wife, Shawnna, and I moved to Arizona. I love nearly everything about my adopted state, but the one thing that troubles me greatly is Arizona’s widespread hostility toward Mexican immigration, not just illegal but legal as well. Among many Arizona conservatives, opposition to immigration dwarfs all other political issues, even in the face of economic recession. The vehemence on this issue initially puzzled me, given that Arizona still is the land of Barry Goldwater and largely reflects his libertarian, live-and-let-live philosophy.Indeed, I have often joked that if Arizonans are really serious about protecting our traditional values against assault from hostile newcomers, we should wall off our western border to California rather than our southern border.
Governor Jeb Bush and Clint Bolick provide a solid blueprint for moving forward in Immigration Wars. I don't agree with every word of it, and I'm rather certain it would not be any ThreeSourcer's idea of perfection. It is a contentious debate, and apart from the bitter clingers on both extremes, I think the authors understand it is about compromise and understand it is about moving forward. While imperfect, if Congress were to pass it exactly as written, there is nothing in this book that I could not live with.
The best part is its two foundational premises:
We believe comprehensive reform should be constructed upon two core, essential values: first, that immigration is essential to our nation, and second, that immigration policy must be governed by the rule of law. Those who expound only one of those values to the exclusion of the other do violence to both, because the two values are inseparable.
Many of our circular, circuitous, and cicumlocutious immigration debates have danced around this, because I was unable to state my premises so clearly.
The authors are as pro-immigration as I am and the book celebrates many reasons for increasing and legalizing/normalizing additional immigration. The talk shows and political reviews have focused on their solution to current undocumented aliens. Those who came here as adults are offered a pathway to permanent legal status but not a head start toward citizenship. This is not the plan I'd write, but I can sign on if this is un-am-nasty enough for a plurality.
This is the most contentious issue, and the position of a prominent Republican is newsworthy. Some of the more subtle points are more interesting. Bush and Bolick call for refocusing preferences on skills and economic need in favor of "family reunification."
Reuniting someone with their long lost third cousin twice removed is sweet. But it sets up a chain migration that can grow without bounds. Plus, it is biased toward less productive new citizens. Spouses and children can follow an immigrant but no further. We're sending home doctors and entrepreneurs and physics geniuses to bring more grandmothers in. Sweet, but not in our best economic interests.
One hopes that this might get resolved. We cherish rule of law, yet look the other way for startling abuses to people and equal enforcement.
It is in no one's interest for illegal immigrants and their families to live in the shadows. We need everyone to participate in the mainstream economy, to pay taxes, to participate openly in their communities, to be willing to report crimes-- that is to say, to be accountable, responsible members of society. That cannot occur when people fear they will be arrested if their immigration status is known.
It is an enjoyable and quick read touching economics, education and politics. If the debate were moved forward in this direction, that would be a huge net positive.
Four stars.
UPDATE: That other fella named Bush has a very good guest editorial in the WSJ today.
March 11, 2013
Review Corner
Due to the bone-crunching blizzard this weekend, I regret that Sunday's Review Corner was not completed. (Out-of-staters, that's a joke -- the teevee news people prepared us for Snowmageddon all week and we got six inches and immediate heat to melt it).
In lieu of my completing, y'know, actual work, I offer the author c/o Prager University:
And some quotes:
Our ignorance of Coolidge hurts more than our understanding of the presidency; it diminishes our understanding of his era, and our past. The education in rhetoric, religion, classics, and geometry Coolidge received at his quirky independent school, Black River Academy, and at Amherst College reminds us how our schools have changed since then. Coolidge and the poet Robert Frost never knew much about each other; Coolidge was a Republican, Frost a Grover Cleveland Democrat. But the lives of the pair crossed in odd ways, including at Coolidge's college, Amherst. And Frost's themes-- independence, responsibility, character, property rights -- also preoccupied Coolidge.
And:
It is hard for modern students of economics to know what to make of a government that treated economic weakness by raising interest rates 300 basis points, cutting tax rates, and halving the federal government, so much at odds is that prescription with the antidotes to recession our own experts tend to recommend. It is harder still for modern economists to concede that that recipe, the policy recipe for the early 1920s advocated by Coolidge and Harding, yielded growth on a scale to which we can aspire today.
Of particular interest to ThreeSourcers, however, will be Coolidge (and Harding's) fight to reclaim the party from TR and the Progressive wing -- enough to split Sen. Lafollette into a third party run in 1924.
But Roosevelt did not stay decorous long. By temperament Roosevelt was neither judge nor solicitor but prosecutor. In fact, he treated the White House as a prosecutor's office. In McKinley's time the Sherman Antitrust Act had not been used aggressively; Roosevelt, however, found it a useful tool. Roosevelt moved against the Northern Securities Company and J. P. Morgan aggressively, asking for the great company's dissolution. Astonished, J. P. Morgan asked TR if his other companies would be assailed. "Not unless we find out," said Roosevelt, "that they have done something we regard as wrong."
[...]
Roosevelt's cockiness piqued other Republicans. One was Warren Harding, the proprietor of a newspaper in Marion, Ohio. Roosevelt, Harding thought, resembled Aaron Burr in the magnitude of his egotism, with "the same towering ambitions."
I knew the facts and personal anecdotes. Where Shlaes truly breaks a new intellectual trail is in identifying the break of the Boston Police strike not only as the event that launched the plainspoken Yankee Governor onto a national stage, but the event which separated him -- permanently -- from Progressivism.
Still, Coolidge felt certain of one thing. The progressives could not be met. Conciliation would not work. As he made his rounds in the now quiet city, he went over the police strike and kept coming to the same conclusion. This time, there was no middle ground.Shlaes, Amity (2013-02-12). Coolidge (Kindle Locations 3244-3246). HarperCollins. Kindle Edition.
A-freaking-men. Five Stars!
"Coolidge was sympathetic to the farmers, but helping them wasn't the government's function."
Bully!
But this comports poorly with "for the general good" and one should naturally expect today's response to be, "Well make it government's function then."
Posted by: johngalt at March 11, 2013 2:58 PMSeven years -- and counting...
But the public good includes farmers and non-farmers, 'lectric car makers and non-'lectric car makers. I submit you can make the correct policy decision considering the public good.
I can. You can. Government can't. They will always default to "yes" whenever asked.
Posted by: johngalt at March 11, 2013 7:08 PMFebruary 17, 2013
Editor's Choice Award
I'm perhaps too generous with stars in Review Corner. I'm pretty respectful of an Author's work, and -- contra Tyler Cowen -- by the time I invest the time and money in a book, I'm fairly certain I'll be interested. The problem is that I am left without tools to highlight that exceptional, once-a-year, mind-blowing book. My inner math guy will not allow six on a scale of five.
But this is a blog, and you can just make **** up as it pleases. Ergo and further pursuant to, I institute the "Editor's Choice Award" and if any of my blog brothers wish to award one, we'll move the apostrophe.
I retroactively award it to David Deutsch's "The Beginning of Infinity." We discussed it last year, but I am in a thread on the JC-JK Book Club on it. And it is a reminder of the kind of book that gets something beyond five crummy little ThreeSources Review Corner stars.
The second recipient is the topic of today's Review Corner: Nassim Nicholas Taleb's: Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder. Both are mind blowing books by brilliant, off-the-charts-long-tail-genius authors. Curiously, Taleb contradicts many things I believe; Deutsch much fewer. I mention that only because my ThreeSources reviews are more political and philosophical than literary. To most I would not bring it up
To steep in the intelligence of either is a great gift. Taleb worked as a "quant:" the highest, brainiac job on Wall Street. He worked just long enough to earn what he calls his "f*** you money," enabling him to pursue life and knowledge on his own terms. He is a polyglot and a polymath. His books will quote philosophy, physics, business, medicine, ancient history, and the derivation of Aramaic words -- all before breakfast. I enjoyed Black Swan, but this is his Magnum Opus. It is divided into seven books, and he says "Black Swan" should rightfully be the eighth book in "Antifragile."
If you don't wish to commit $15.99 and some serious brain cycles to the book, I'd search the Internet for interviews and reviews where he author defines Antifragility. My description will be too short and incomplete:
Fragility, like the author's favorite tea cup, is the exposure to great harm from volatility. When asked for the antonym of fragile, most will choose "robust." The stone, unlike the tea cup, can be dropped on the floor or shaken in shipment. Taleb claims that we have no term for the actual antonym of fragile, so he provides the neologism "Antifragile." Antifragile things don't just weather volatility, they are strengthened by it. The first example is human bones. Six months of weightlessness in space or an extended hospital stay greatly reduces bone strength which requires stressors. Indeed the entire body profits from random stressors of exercise, fasting, &c.
Much of our modern, structured, world has been harming us with top-down policies and contraptions (dubbed "Soviet-Harvard delusions" in the book) which do precisely this: an insult to the antifragility of systems. This is the tragedy of modernity: as with neurotically overprotective parents, those trying to help are often hurting us the most.
[...]
The antifragile gains from prediction errors, in the long run. If you follow this idea to its conclusion, then many things that gain from randomness should be dominating the world today-- and things that are hurt by it should be gone. Well, this turns out to be the case. We have the illusion that the world functions thanks to programmed design, university research, and bureaucratic funding, but there is compelling-- very compelling-- evidence to show that this is an illusion, the illusion I call lecturing birds how to fly.There is the medical fragilista who overintervenes in denying the body's natural ability to heal and gives you medications with potentially very severe side effects; the policy fragilista (the interventionist social planner) who mistakes the economy for a washing machine that continuously needs fixing (by him) and blows it up; the psychiatric fragilista who medicates children to "improve" their intellectual and emotional life; the soccer-mom fragilista; the financial fragilista who makes people use "risk" models that destroy the banking system (then uses them again); the military fragilista who disturbs complex systems; the predictor fragilista who encourages you to take more risks; and many more.
Taleb, Nassim Nicholas (2012-11-27). Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder (Kindle Locations 462-467). Random House, Inc.. Kindle Edition.
Did I mention that Taleb is rudely dismissive of those he considers beneath him? This includes most people, but happily for the ThreeSourcer, academics and mainstream journalists top the list. Thomas Friedman and Paul Krugman get some serious whacks. Alan Greenspan -- it's all good fun until he turns his sights on Hayek and Ronald Reagan (neither get it as bad as the others, but I am warning the ThreeSourcer...)
Academics, oh my:
A nail displaces another nail, with astonishing variety. But academics (particularly in social science) seem to distrust each other; they live in petty obsessions, envy, and icy-cold hatreds, with small snubs developing into grudges, fossilized over time in the loneliness of the transaction with a computer screen and the immutability of their environment. Not to mention a level of envy I have almost never seen in business.... My experience is that money and transactions purify relations; ideas and abstract matters like "recognition" and "credit" warp them, creating an atmosphere of perpetual rivalry. I grew to find people greedy for credentials nauseating, repulsive, and untrustworthy.
He's not very keen on Economists and big company CEOs.
Likewise, Gerd Gigerenzer reports a more serious violation on the part of Harry Markowitz, who started a method called "portfolio selection" and received the same iatrogenic Swedish Riskbank prize (called "Nobel" in economics) for it, like other fragilistas such as Fragilista Merton and Fragilista Stiglitz. I spent part of my adult life calling it charlatanism, as it has no validity outside of academic endorsements and causes blowups (as explained in the Appendix). Well, Doctor Professor Fragilista Markowitz does not use his method for his own portfolio; he has recourse to more sophisticated (and simpler to implement) cabdrivers' methodologies, closer to the one Mandelbrot and I have proposed.
If one judges a man by his enemies, Nassim Nicholas Taleb would be a ThreeSources hero and we would hold feasts in his honor with fireworks and martinis. Philosophically, it is hard to pin Taleb down. Some of his points should draw some amens from the ThreeSources choir:
The great benefit of the Enlightenment has been to bring the individual to the fore, with his rights, his freedom, his independence, his "pursuit of happiness" (whatever that "happiness" means), and, most of all, his privacy. In spite of its denial of antifragility, the Enlightenment and the political systems that emerged from it freed us (somewhat) from the domination of society, the tribe, and the family that had prevailed throughout history.
[...]
What Erasmus called ingratitudo vulgi, the ingratitude of the masses, is increasing in the age of globalization and the Internet. My dream-- the solution-- is that we would have a National Entrepreneur Day, with the following message:Most of you will fail, disrespected, impoverished, but we are grateful for the risks you are taking and the sacrifices you are making for the sake of the economic growth of the planet and pulling others out of poverty. You are at the source of our antifragility. Our nation thanks you.
[...]
This great variety of people and their wallets are there, in Switzerland, for its shelter, safety, and stability. But all these refugees don't notice the obvious: the most stable country in the world does not have a government. And it is not stable in spite of not having a government; it is stable because it does not have one.
He's a great reader of philosophy. Of all the folks I read, I think only Popper (and Taleb is a Popper fan) has a close-to-equivalent grasp of straight-up philosophy. Taleb probably has an advantage in depth of Eastern, Islamic scholars. Taleb is an Eastern Orthodox Christian from Lebanon (Levant to him) he has a foot in the east and one in the west as it were, and he assembles his knowledge and philosophy from both.
He quotes approbationally from philosophers I have dressed in silver and black and put on the Raiders' sidelines: Nietzsche, Wittgenstein, and of course Plato. I can't help but feel his nuance is a higher order. He doesn't go to Hagel or Kant, the ThreeSourcer is safe from that. But he is no Randian.
Perhaps the idea behind capitalism is an inverse-iatrogenic effect, the unintended-but-not-so-unintended consequences: the system facilitates the conversion of selfish aims (or, to be correct, not necessarily benevolent ones) at the individual level into beneficial results for the collective.
And while he is not anti-modernity, he is skeptical -- here we separate him from Deutsch. He would gladly trade the "addition" via positiva of all Pharmaceuticals ever invented for the "subtraction" via negativa of smoking. He drinks coffee (mmm, coffee), chamomile tea and wine -- nothing that has not been around 1000 years. He doesn't approve of eReaders, he listens to baroque classical music. All of these seem rather charming to his character but I have no plans to join him.
You can certainly criticize medicine and Big Pharma for producing solutions with worse side effects than the disease. No doubt we've all had a chuckle at the narrated fine print in the commercials. But I (and Deutsch) see it as trial and error (a most antifragile process) on the way to better medicine and medication. Patients should consider his points, but I'm not going to shutter Roche and Merck.
Quibbles. Picayune philosophical quibbles with the brilliant work of a brilliant author. Five Stars and the coveted ThreeSources "Editor's Choice Award" to this magnificent book.
If only your original elevator talk had explained that you saw classical liberalism's effect on "society" as an inverse-iatrogeneic effect. We would at least have been forced to delay pouncing on you long enough to look up what that means! ;)
The author's concept of fragility is intriguing. All of us have probably observed at one point or another that prosperity has made us soft. Here is a more rigorous explanation of that phenomenon.
Posted by: johngalt at February 18, 2013 4:01 PMHeh, that was for you!
The fragility is less the softness of modernity, as the attempts to iron out natural volatility's setting up a catastrophic crash (Black Swan). Glue all of your expansion joints and the structure won't slip, but it will be more likely to shatter.
Posted by: jk at February 18, 2013 4:18 PMFebruary 3, 2013
Conscious, Huh?
John Mackey's Conscious Capitalism is a free-range chicken sandwich, on a whole grain roll with mustard, tofu and arugula. With a side of quinoa salad. Some good stuff, but it just does not work.
Libertarians of all typographical cases are celebrating the book's release for its full-throated, fulsome defense of free market capitalism. And they are right.
In the long arc of history, no human creation has had a greater positive impact on more people more rapidly than free-enterprise capitalism. It is unquestionably the greatest system for innovation and social cooperation that has ever existed.Mackey, John; Sisodia, Rajendra (2012-12-25). Conscious Capitalism: Liberating the Heroic Spirit of Business (Kindle Locations 352-354). Harvard Business Review Press. Kindle Edition.
Mackey quotes Hayek, and Deidre McClosky. He knows and lives his Adam Smith. I dance at the idea that a huge hunk of patchouli stained college-know-it-all hippies will be exposed, for the first time, to the fundamental moral case for freedom and property rights. Veritably goose pimply.
And yet Mackey will not be walking away with as many stars as you're expecting. My Randian brothers and sisters have explained the problems with believing the right thing for the wrong reason, and I have struggled with that. I seek "Mutual Forbearance" like President Van Buren. I look to build political coalitions around common beliefs and have watched the liberty-minded bifurcate themselves into oblivion. Conscious Capitalism is Exhibit A for the defense.
If the book is 33% defense of Capitalism, it is undermined by the next 33%. This is "Conscious" Capitalism. And like President George W. Bush's "Compassionate" Conservatism, the modifier negates the noun.
Capitalism is swell, says Mackey, but we need to get past it to a squishy loving and caring capitalism that is not measured so much on profit as saving the world and being really groovy. Most readers would say that is unfair, but I got off to a bad start as the book's foreword by Medtronic's Bill George takes a swipe at a hero of mine:
I first discovered John Mackey's philosophies when I read his 2005 debate with Nobel Prize-winning economist Milton Friedman about the way capitalism works. Shortly before Friedman's death, Mackey challenged his view that the only responsibility of business is to its shareholders, which financial markets have translated into its short-term stock price. [Italics in original]
Mackey would hang his hat on the italics and accuse me of reading in things he did not write. And he'd probably point out that I am overweight from eating too much animal fats. But I'm with Friedman -- and bacon. Capital is a scarce resource -- are we going to allocate it based on value or social conscience? I fear I am being too harsh and welcome correction -- every ThreeSourcer should buy and read this book.
If 33% is defense of capitalism and 33% is exposition of his "conscious," new-and-improved capitalism, the remaining third is a business management book, a'la Pete Drucker or Steven Covey. Mackey has been wildly successful. He has generated incredible wealth and value and built one of the world's most respected brands. His business acumen is well worth sharing.
Does it square the circle? There is a great business case to be made for treating stakeholders well; there is no better leadership than instilling a higher purpose in your team; and all these things add shareholder value, which Friedman would appreciate. Mackey is gracious with approbation for other leaders of innovative companies: Costco, Southwest Airlines, &c. who have also created amazing shareholder value with the concepts espoused.
Yet at the end of the day, I see Conscious Capitalism as an out. Well, me missed our quarter, but the new Thursday all-day Yoga sessions are really going to help us connect with our feelings.
A couple of years ago, we saw a billboard for CareerBuilder.com at a bus shelter in New York City. The sign read, "If your company cared, it would be in the caring business." This is a sad but largely true statement; too many companies do not care and are not designed to care about anything other than their own prosperity.
Huh? What? With heavy heart, I apportion only 2.5 stars.
UPDATE: I'm being defensive before anybody even offers criticism, but I suggest John Allison performed the same task with philosophical purity. His [Unadjectived] Capitalism is no less empowering than Mackey's CC: workers are happy and management practices integrity. Yet Allison recognizes that capital is a scarce resource and proper allocation requires conventional scorekeeping.
January 29, 2013
ThreeSources Book Club
The object of last week's Review Corner was not available on Kindle. So I have an actual, corporeal paperback edition to give away. I know I only gave it three stars but the price is right -- holler if you'd like it.
January 27, 2013
Review Corner
In last week's Review Corner, I confessed that my lack of knowledge about the events, places, and people in Ancient Rome reduced my ability to appreciate Gibbon's work.
From Rome, I set the WayBack Machine™ to antebellum America. Blog friend TGreer surfaced on Facebook and recommended Harry L. Watson's Liberty and Power. Contra Rome, I know the stories in here chapter and verse -- enough that I found the exposition sections a little dry. Interesting that Watson accepts "The Corrupt Bargain" between John Quincy Adams and Henry Clay as factual. The biographers of Adams, Clay and Jackson that I've read tend to think it more of a tin ear for politics well exploited.
If we're to travel well worn roads, what new insights can the author bring? There is one Watson does extremely well and one he does poorly.
The assembly and rise of the Democrat and Whig parties -- indeed the acceptance of a two-party system of governance is covered very well. I will recommend this book to a lot of big-L Libertarian and "No Labels" types. I'm frequently told that a new third party is going to come along and fix everything. "It happens all the time" I am told. Well, it happened three times, in a smaller nation under extreme exigencies.
I always credited Van Buren's vision and wizardry with the creation of a national Democratic Party. Watson shows the importance of Jackson's cult of personality. He perhaps soft pedals the Little Magician's use of spoils and patronage, but an accurate assessment surely requires both.
The foundation of the Whigs and the integration and recruitment of multiple small factions is especially interesting: probably my favorite part of the book. Not having voluminous exit-polling data from the 1836 and 1840 elections, he looks at the counties of Western New York that were growing after completion of the Erie Canal (damned, Whiggish internal improvements!), the factions they attracted and their voting patterns in different years.
Into what crucible can we throw this heterogeneous mass of old national republicans, and revolting Jackson men; Masons and anti-Masons; Abolitionists and pro-Slavery men; Bank men and anti-Bank men with all the lesser fragments that have been, from time to time, thrown off from the great political wheel in its violent revolutions, so as to melt them down into one mass of pure Whigs of undoubted good metal -- Millard Fillmore
Less well done was the book's premise. The title and colophon address the balance of liberty and power. It is often and well discussed but Watson is a history professor at the University of North Carolina. If one loves history one must read academics or chose from a very small pool of material. But the good professor cannot grasp liberty were it to bite him in his professorial ass.
There is a great discussion of the bank war and the nullification crisis. Watson tries to present all sides. No doubt he has forgotten more about the historical than I have known. But he cannot accept that the BUS might be (nay, is sir!) philosophically wrong. The viewpoint of capitalists, agrarians, craftsmen, workers and politicians from both sides are meticulously examined. But in a book that looks to examine liberty and power, the little-l libertarian side of monetary policy is not even considered. The same can be said for internal improvements, arrogation of power to the executive, and to some extent federalism.
A very good book, but I would give it three stars and suggest that most would prefer John Meacham's American Lion or David Heidler's Henry Clay: the Essential American.
Ah, the perspective from the Ivory Tower, where "fairness" and "objectivity" have come to dictate philosophical relativism.
You write that the author meticulously examines "both sides." (Not "all sides?") You mentioned Libertarians and No Labels. Third parties and Millard Fillmore's "one mass of pure" X "of undoubted good metal." All of this points to a natural dichotomy: good - bad.
I don't mean to suggest that there is or will ever be a "good" party and a "bad" party. Political parties are a means to organization and administration. I mean to explain that in both political parties, as in all human activity, there exist demonstrably good and bad ideas. The trick is to reliably and consistently identify which is which, made harder by the skill with which the proponents of bad ideas can and do cloak them with the sanction of "goodness."
But the first step is to acknowledge the dichotomy. All things are not equal, nor relatively so. One side is right, the other side is wrong, and the middle is evil.
The basic and crucial political issue of our age is: capitalism versus socialism, or freedom versus statism. For decades, this issue has been silenced, suppressed, evaded, and hidden under the foggy, undefined rubber-terms of "conservatism" and "liberalism" which had lost their original meaning and could be stretched to mean all things to all men.Posted by: johngalt at January 27, 2013 12:53 PM-Ayn Rand in "'Extremism,' or the Art of Smearing," in Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal
Good review!
The section on the rise of the Democratic Party was my favorite; it taught me a lot I did not know. Before reading it I did not realize just how much the creation of the party (and the party system that sprang from it) was dependent on the efforts of just two men (Mr. Jackson and Van Buren), or how the very existence of mass party politics was one of the central issues during those early elections. I also learned from Watson's description of the two leading characters. Historians tend to typify President Jackson as either an Indian-killing authoritarian or the blessed expression of true democracy; Martin Van Buren, however, is almost universally condemned as a slimy, wily, Machiavellian politico. It was refreshing to see him cast in something of a good light.
Says JK:
"But in a book that looks to examine liberty and power, the little-l libertarian side of monetary policy is not even considered."
But was small-l monetary policy really much in consideration back then? Today's libertarianism finds its roots in the classical liberalism of the 18th and 19th centuries, and I used to think that this classical liberalism was the main mode of thought back in those days. However, it had a competitor in classical republicanism (which, I am afraid, is even less persuasive today than classical liberalism, for it really does not have any modern political descendents). I thought Watson's chapter on the subject captured republican thought brilliantly. My amazon review summarizes:
The drama came about, Watson contends, because of the lens Jacksonian statesmen used to understand political realities of their world: republicanism. As with their revolutionary fathers, men of the antebellum looked upon liberty as the highest aim of state, and understood it to be "the power of self control in self governing communities" (44). The purpose of the statesmen, therefore, was to facilitate those conditions in which liberty could thrive and tyrannical power could not take root. They saw the issue in (for the average 21st century American) a very moral way. Only a 'virtuous' and 'moral' people would appreciate freedom, and only they would have the strength and independence to ward off corruption and tyranny. Thus anything that sapped the independence or reduced the virtue of the citizenry should be opposed, and anything that strengthened the citizenry's free exercise of their rights was to be championed.
Now in practice early Americans tended to synthesize the individual-rights classical liberal view of liberty with the "self control in self governing communities" type of liberty championed by republican thought, but it seems that the second type was the more dominant of the two.* In that age both parties were united in this view.
If what republicanism was the main filter through which antebellum politicians of all political stripes saw their world, I can understand why Watson may gloss over little-l views on the Bank. If it was not central to the days' debate, why spend time writing about it?
I am open to shattering my accord with Watson, however. His case makes sense, but it would make less so if contemporary arguments/politicians/thinkers were advancing little-l liberalism instead of little-r republicanism on these economic questions. Do you know of any books, articles, ect. that might so inform me?
JK said:
"I suggest that most would prefer John Meacham's American Lion or David Heidler's Henry Clay: the Essential American."
Agreed. Watson's work is a historical monograph. He does not write with a popular audience in mind, so almost any biography will be more readable. But it is a good example of its genre and I recommend it to those who want to understand what motivated politicians of our early Republic.
*I have been on something of an antebellum binge recently, and have only had this idea confirmed. I was surprised to learn, for example, that the month before James Madison vetoed internal improvements he gave a speech in favor of national improvement projects. He did not protest against improvements on principle; he actually thought a vigorous program of federally funded improvement was vital part of protecting the Union against external foes. Thus his speech was a call to amend the constitution and make internal improvement legal! What scared him was not the eclipse of free enterprise by the federal government, but the erosion of the constitution itself. He worried more about civic virtue than authoritarian economics. (Daniel Walker Howe, What God Hath Wrought: A History of America, 1815-1845, pp. 88-89)
Posted by: T. Greer at January 28, 2013 1:14 PMI could be guilty of projection, but I have always seen Taney's and Jackson's opposition to Biddle and the BUS as being pretty compatible with today's Ron Paul supporter's view of Chairman Bernanke an the Federal Reserve.
Lord Acton and John C. Calhoun promoted a libertarian mindset that is pretty recognizable today and championed by folks like Tom Woods. Woods and Co. are a little too ready to say "things were really swell except for that slavery thing" for my taste. But every libertarian I know has had to confront the discomfort of realizing that Calhoun, Davis, and Alexander Stephens perhaps had a truer understanding of the Constitution than the victors.
Things change but the expression of liberty from John Locke to Rand Paul seems to have a large common cord. None of which is likely to be addressed by a book from an academic press.
On this topic, academic guy whom I've just insulted, can you tell me how to get my hands on Taney's Bank War manuscript? It's in the Library of Congress and I almost made a special trip to DC to see it a few years ago but that was scuttled -- is that the only way to read it?
...and I always admired Madison more for accepting Constitutional restrictions on something he supported.
Posted by: jk at January 28, 2013 1:46 PMJanuary 20, 2013
Linquo (I quit)
The victory over the senate was easy and inglorious. Every eye and every passion were directed to the supreme magistrate, who possessed the arms and treasure of the state; whilst the senate, neither elected by the people, nor guarded by military force, nor animated by public spirit, rested its declining authority on the frail and crumbling basis of ancient opinion. The fine theory of a republic insensibly vanished, and made way for the more natural and substantial feelings of monarchy.It's easy to draw parallels between the United States and the Roman Empire. Easier still to be concerned with that which brought down the last great world hegemon. Without discounting them entirely, I fear they are overblown. But I am getting ahead of the review corner.
I finished Volume I of Edward Gibbon's (2011-10-14). History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, It is very interesting, but I think I will find my inner Tyler Cowan and move on to some other material before tackling Vol. II.
I was concerned that it would be too dry. You know those 18th Century guys can go on sometimes. Rather, any difficulty is that he is too conversational and assumes too much background knowledge of the reader. Gibbon's 18th Century readers knew the emperors and key historical events. This allowed the author to comment and draw broad themes. Imagine somebody in 2325 figuring out the Clinton Impeachment from Hitchens's "No One Left to Lie To;" one could...
I enjoy old history books for the meta layer of how people at the time of authorship viewed the events. Carl Swisher's 1935 biography of Chief Justice Taney is pretty short of opprobrium for the Dred Scott v. Sandford decision. To read a contemporary of the Founders exegete on millennia old events is a great mental exercise. Kind of like playing video games at a Rave on Ecstasy.
The takeaway after one-sixth, however, is the Hobbesian cheapness of life. Tens of thousands are slain in battles. The whole Senate is poisoned (or was that a dream I had?). The Imperial purple is pretty much a death sentence. I wonder if a lot of the didn't go to battle for personal safety. There is the occasional 40 years of relative peace and safety if the dice come up two benevolent and sturdy monarchs in a row. But these patches seem awfully rare -- and include absolute slavery, a pervasive but not absolute caste system, foreign adventurism. Most every history book elicits an "I'm glad I didn't live then" out of me. But Ancient Rome: especially no thanks.
I chose to infer parallels between the Roman Empire and the USA more as universal truths than comparison of democracies. The franchise was so limited and temporal that I find it difficult to assess Rome as self-rule. Capricious monarchies controlled lives and fortunes more like the EPA than any system we would call "democratic." The near provinces enjoyed the services of government without paying their fair share. They financed services the old fashioned way: plundering neighboring lands.
The conquest of Macedonia, as we have already observed, had delivered the Roman people from the weight of personal taxes. Though they had experienced every form of despotism, they had now enjoyed that exemption near five hundred years;
Still, there are eternal truths. The first example of supply-side economics?
Constantine visited the city of Autun, and generously remitted the arrears of tribute, reducing at the same time the proportion of their assessment from twenty-five to eighteen thousand heads, subject to the real and personal capitation.40 Yet even this indulgence affords the most unquestionable proof of the public misery. This tax was so extremely oppressive, either in itself or in the mode of collecting it, that whilst the revenue was increased by extortion, it was diminished by despair: a considerable part of the territory of Autun was left uncultivated; and great numbers of the provincials rather chose to live as exiles and outlaws, than to support the weight of civil society.
Roots of the IRS?
About that time the avarice of Galerius, or perhaps the exigencies of the state, had induced him to make a very strict and rigorous inquisition into the property of his subjects, for the purpose of a general taxation, both on their lands and on their persons. A very minute survey appears to have been taken of their real estates; and wherever there was the slightest suspicion of concealment, torture was very freely employed to obtain a sincere declaration of their personal wealth.
Interesting and good clean fun. I think my time would be better served with a more modern, chronological, structured history of the period. Between Gibbon's loose style, and my ignorance about the people and places mentioned, this reads like a science fiction novel Illyricum/Alderon? Some place.
But I spent 2.99 and have five volumes left! Three-point-five stars.
Gibbon's writing is itself history and for that reason alone is worth reading.
Posted by: Steve D at January 22, 2013 3:21 PMIndeed, SteveD. I would like to have a better handle on historical events, as I think his contemporary readers did. That would allow me to better appreciate Gibbon.
Posted by: jk at January 22, 2013 3:36 PMJanuary 13, 2013
Review Corner
I love Penn Jillette. He is funny, appreciative of liberty, and celebrates the rational.
I have mentioned that his evangelism gets on my nerves. He can be the Governor Huckabee for Atheism, but I try to respect others' beliefs. Like Hitchens, I buy all but his most devout writings. Every Day is an Atheist Holiday!: More Magical Tales from the Author of God, No! was on the edge, but I was due a Penn book so I picked it up.
The book is a collection of short essays and stories. It starts with "the title cut" including a very funny riff on the severity of Christmas Carols. I had family over for Christmas right after finishing this book, and there were quite a few choruses everyone was laughing at. So here is the thesis to the book:
The word "holiday" comes from "holy day" and holy means "exalted and worthy of complete devotion.” By that definition, all days are holy. Life is holy. Atheists have joy every day of the year, every holy day. We have the wonder and glory of life. We have joy in the world before the lord is come. We're not going for the promise of life after death; we're celebrating life before death.
That's the thesis, but it quickly devolves into autobiographical sketches, philosophical musings, and general libertine madness. One of the items Jonathan Haidt uses to test psychological reaction to unexpected depravity appears in this book as a humorous anecdote. I'll not share that particular tale here. But there is much good fun to be had:
My girlfriend could now convince me to put on jeans and a shirt, so we decided to have a Thanksgiving celebration at our house. We invited a creepy elderly sideshow sword swallower, a lighting designer, Teller, a guy who had just quit dealing angel dust in Fresno and was hanging out with us to help him stay clean, and a geologist. It's always important to have a geologist around so that if you end up in space, there's someone to die first. At least that's what happens on Star Trek.
He explores what art is and his belief in Magic as "using lies to tell the truth."
I couldn't have put myself in the same category. I aimed for poet and hit Vegas headliner. Billy West, the greatest voice guy in the world (he's Futurama, Ren & Stimpy and the best M&M-- red), once said there was just one showbiz and we were all in it. Teller says art is anything we do after the chores are done.
[...]
I use Teller’s broad definition of art: “Whatever we do after the chores are done.” There’s one show business and Bach, Dylan, Ron Jeremy, and the guy at the mall in the Santa suit are all in it. By that definition The Celebrity Apprentice is art, and for my sins, I was on it.
A wee bit of politics sneaks in:
The real corporate EPCOT follows the libertarian ideal of making money. Goddamn, they are good at that. Losing on Dancing with the Stars got me VIP treatment at all the Disney properties "forever," which turned out to be about a year. We took our children over to California and down to Florida and we were treated great. I did worry a little that my children would be spoiled by not waiting in lines, but then ObamaCare was passed and I know they'll get to wait in lines when they're sick and that'll build some real character.
If you're getting the idea of a grab bag, you've got it. But they are unified by the Jillette's humor, and incredible underlying honesty. They're great stories, they're funny stories -- from a true believer.
Five stars.
January 6, 2013
Review Corner
Oops.
When I went to purchase Justice Scalia's "Reading Law" [Review Corner] I accidentally purchased another book by the same authors: Scalia and Garner's Making Your Case: The Art of Persuading Judges. It might have been wishful thinking, as "Making Your Case" was $15 and "Reading Law" was $40. In the end, Nino got $55. Damned one percenters.
Making Your Case is targeted at lawyers -- and I do not even play one on TV. But I do like to argue (Do Not! Yes I do!) and I would like to communicate my positions more clearly. And a bit of time in a mind so expansive as Justice Scalia's is not time wasted.
You need to give the court a reason you should win that the judge could explain in a sentence or two to a nonlawyer friend.
[...]
If the academic brief seems particularly damaging, you might take the trouble to check the scholarly writings of the signatories; some professors have been known (O tempora, O mores!) to join a brief that flatly contradicts their own writings. By noting this, you’ll help both the court and the academy.
I love internecine debate, and the authors split over a few items. Bryan Garner (O tempora, O mores!) suggests that you can even use contractions in you brief:
In some sentences, are not contractions all but obligatory? Do you not think?
Scalia disagrees:
Formality bespeaks dignity. I guarantee that if you use contractions in your written submissions, some judges--including many who are not offended by the use of contractions in the New Yorker, Time, Vogue, the Rolling Stone, Field and Stream, and other publications not addressed to black-robed judges engaged in the exercise of their august governmental powers--will take it as an affront to the dignity of the court.
An interesting look at a career I never considered. From what I gather between the virtual covers of this book, that was pretty wise on my part. Yet, I admit it has fascinated me later in life. This book gives a good glimpse and much advice that is valuable outside of law. Five accidental stars.
You had me at "targeting lawyers."
Posted by: Keith Arnold at January 7, 2013 4:48 PM"You need to give the court a reason you should win that the judge could explain in a sentence or two to a nonlawyer friend."
Did not Chief Justice Roberts fail this test in reverse in the matter of his Americans v. Affordable Care Act ruling? As I recall it, his justification was tortured in the extreme.
Posted by: johngalt at January 9, 2013 3:19 PMDecember 30, 2012
Review Corner
I had the good fortune to share the evening with 2.5 Heinlein scholars on Friday night. That is an excellent method to prepare for a Review Corner -- I'll try to keep that up whenever possible: convene a small panel. I got some interesting historical perspectives, plus the empirically provable observation that "I am weird."
I was also reminded that I was not the target demographic. The martial tone and the action sequences were better tuned to younger folk, who would then encounter the more serious ideas in the book.
This very personal relationship, "value," has two factors for a human being: first, what he can do with a thing, its use to him . . . and second, what he must do to get it, its cost to him. There is an old song which asserts "the best things in life are free." Not true! Utterly false! This was the tragic fallacy which brought on the decadence and collapse of the democracies of the twentieth century; those noble experiments failed because the people had been led to believe that they could simply vote for whatever they wanted . . . and get it, without toil, without sweat, without tears.
I enjoyed it but yearned to return to my boring old non-fiction as I have lost much of my taste for fiction and novels. Ergo, I do not intend to pen the world's 3,463rd literary review of Robert A Heinlein's Starship Troopers. I suspect ThreeSourcers would better enjoy a discussion of its central premise.
We have had enough guesses; I'll state the obvious: Under our system every voter and officeholder is a man who has demonstrated through voluntary and difficult service that he places the welfare of the group ahead of personal advantage.Heinlein, Robert A. (1987-05-15). Starship Troopers (pp. 192-193). Ace. Kindle Edition.
I'll let the Rand-Heinlein Axis squirm on that pivot for a moment, but I think most know that citizenship needed to be earned by national service. Our protagonist impulsively casts aside a cushy fast track through Harvard and family wealth to fight in the Mobile Infantry so he can vote. (And, of course, to pick up chicks.)
Blog Brother EY suggested that this was the only solution to democracies' devolving into voting themselves bread and circuses from the Federal Largesse. I too am tortured by this problem -- especially so after November 7, 2012. It is a perfectly valid hypothetical and would probably provide a government better than most. I'd be more comfortable placing my trust in America's veterans than the polity at large. Even though my friend JC would vote but not me, I could be persuaded.
But I am going to dissent from this solution on two counts.
One. It is hypothetical. I am a big fan of the United States Constitution. It started with some flaws that we fixed; and it had some original genius that we broke. But in between, it created a continental nation, and a global economic and military power. I make the same complaint that I do of the Rothbard - Rockwell - Lysander Spooner libertarian wing. Your ideas are interesting, but I am wary to compare the text on clean white sheets of paper (or Kindle eInk) to messy, real world empiricism. That, and well-tailored Che T-shirts, are what make Marxists look good.
Two. The two greatest things in American government -- and I will suggest they are one -- are civilian control of the military and our peaceful procession of power. Tears of joy at every inauguration: even when I disagree, I am happy that the people can choose to get it good and hard (Thanks, Mister Mencken!)
Reading Gibbon's little book on Rome, I was struck by the tumult of keeping the military in line. In all the contretemps and intrigue, the path to a career as Emperor seems to consist of knocking off the present officeholder and then getting the support of the armed forces.
The command of these favored and formidable troops soon became the first office of the empire. As the government degenerated into military despotism, the Praetorian Praefect, who in his origin had been a simple captain of the guards, was placed not only at the head of the army, but of the finances, and even of the law. In every department of administration, he represented the person, and exercised the authority, of the emperor.Gibbon, Edward (2011-10-14). History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, All 6 volumes plus Biography, Historiography and more. Over 8,000 Links (Illustrated) . Packard Technologies. Kindle Edition.
Witness Gens. Wesley Clark and Colin Powell and (seven?) generals who have ascended to the Presidency. It is a political profession. A branch of most governments. Do we want to introduce a closer integration between the military and government?
I'm less worried about taste for adventurism and conquest. Rep. Ron Paul's candidacies remind that that appetite may be suppressed among those who have tasted it. I think that over time the lines would blur between military and government. And that losing that sharp interstice might introduce new problems to politics which we have been fortunate to avoid.
Yes, all of that, but also - how much suspension of disbelief is required to swallow the notion that those who choose "a cushy fast-track through Harvard and family wealth" would sit still for a system that disenfranchises them. A Constitution has not safeguarded our government from self-dealers; could a simple restriction of the vote do any better? I think the rich and powerful would find a way to take over the government.
Posted by: johngalt at December 31, 2012 12:58 PMOh yes, and thank you for recognizing me as half of a Heinlein scholar. I'll add it to my resume!
Posted by: johngalt at December 31, 2012 1:17 PMThe fantastically wide-ranging discussion of the other night was one of the best of my life! I will write something coherent about the meeting later this week.
I don't see limiting the franchise as "hypothetical" though. In fact, it was limited for much of the history of the (our) Republic by various tests. In his collection Expanded Universe RAH presents some alternative tests to Service; some tongue firmly in cheek, some more serious. You might want to have a look. The one about letting only women vote for the next hundred years is stimulating. Or something.
Posted by: Ellis Wyatt at December 31, 2012 9:23 PMWe had a great time as well. Thanks.
I fear brother jg may be correct that self-rule will always implicitly tend to devolve toward direct democracy. Do you restrict the franchise -- which is questionably moral -- or do you concentrate on limiting the purview of government, which is unquestionably moral?
By hypothetical, I meant that the existing system has been tested by 112 Congresses, 17 Supreme Courts, Civil War, LBJ, TR, FDR and Woodrow Wilson. I suspect a lot of damage could have been done to any system in 224 years.
If you can keep their hands off the pie, there is less pressure to control government and fewer opportunities for graft or rent-seeking. Make the ruling class small enough and it doesn't matter which loser the populace elects. That's why I think strict attention to enumerated powers has a better chance at success.
Last night I heard a serious sounding discussion of a Constitutional amendment for spending limits under "article 5" or something like that. The forces of liberty have already lost the masses, but the US map is still, geographically, mostly red. Could be some hope there.
Posted by: johngalt at January 3, 2013 11:43 AMDecember 28, 2012
Pre-Review Corner
I'll post a review of Starship Troopers this Sunday. No doubt it will benefit from association with Heinleinian Blog Brothers and Sisters at this evening's bash.
I recently started Gibbon's History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (only 5.994 books to go!) and was struck by this as a sort of Anti-SsT concept. In Rome you had to be a citizen to be a soldier:
In the purer ages of the commonwealth, the use of arms was reserved for those ranks of citizens who had a country to love, a property to defend, and some share in enacting those laws, which it was their interest as well as duty to maintain. But in proportion as the public freedom was lost in extent of conquest, war was gradually improved into an art, and degraded into a trade. 30 The legions themselves, even at the time when they were recruited in the most distant provinces, were supposed to consist of Roman citizens.Gibbon, Edward (2011-10-14). History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, All 6 volumes plus Biography, Historiography and more. Over 8,000 Links (Illustrated) (Kindle Locations 463-467). Packard Technologies. Kindle Edition.
I find it more synonymous with SsT than antonymous. Whether you must be a citizen to be a soldier or a soldier (retired) to be a citizen, in both cases the ability and duty to use deadly force are linked to having a personal property stake in the nation state. It's more of a chicken and egg distinction in my estimation.
Posted by: johngalt at December 28, 2012 4:12 PMDecember 27, 2012
Review Corner Follow-Up
Ronald Bailey of Reason reviews the topic of the-Sunday-before-last's Review Corner:
Dinosaurs were cold-blooded. Increased K-12 spending and lower pupil/teacher ratios boost public school student outcomes. Most of the DNA in the human genome is junk. Saccharin causes cancer and a high fiber diet prevents it. Stars cannot be bigger than 150 solar masses.In the past half-century, all of the foregoing facts have turned out to be wrong. In the modern world facts change all of the time, according to Samuel Arbesman, author of the new book The Half-Life of Facts: Why Everything We Know Has an Expiration Date (Current).
"... Fifteen hundred years ago everybody knew the Earth was the center of the universe. Five hundred years ago, everybody knew the Earth was flat, and fifteen minutes ago, you knew that humans were alone on this planet. Imagine what you'll know tomorrow."
Facts have had a half-life for quite a while. I shared this article with Galileo Galilei, and he just rolled his eyes and said "Eppur si muove."
Sometimes I wish celebrities had a half-life like facts do. I mean, aren't Justin Bieber's fifteen minutes of fame over yet?
Posted by: Keith Arnold at December 27, 2012 7:10 PMThe real joy of the book is its quantitative -- not just qualitative descriptions. Yes, everything changes but Mister Bieber's voice and lyrics; I was impressed by the long-term mathematical precision of the changes.
Posted by: jk at December 27, 2012 7:25 PMI caught that, with Price's observations on the increasing speed of new facts and knowledge - sort of a Moore's Law / Kryder's Law applied to discovery. Admittedly, the growth rate was somewhat slower in Galileo's day...
Posted by: Keith Arnold at December 27, 2012 8:07 PM...but the log of the rate of change remains remarkably constant from eppur si mouve to VP Gore's inventing the Internet.
Posted by: jk at December 28, 2012 11:14 AMThat log of the rate of discovery wouldn't happen to be 42, would it?
Posted by: johngalt at December 28, 2012 2:06 PMDecember 23, 2012
Review Corner
I want to start a fight right before Christmas on The Jc-Jk Book Club. I promised a review by Sunday of Don Fabun's "The Dynamics of Change." My pal jc will soon counter with his thoughts on ThreeSources' fave David Deutsch's "Beginning of Infinity."
Much more than our previous book exchange, I enjoyed this one. It's a big coffee-table book full of great photographs, illustrations, and quotes.
Curiously, it is very similar to the Deutsch book (without the "pitchers"). Fabun, in 1965, tries to look ahead to the mystical far off 1980's and picture what the world will be like. Not George Jetson and Rosie, he is surprisingly prescient about several things. He nails the iPod if not quite the iPhone:
That's it--over there on the bureau where you left it last night--your electronic alter-ego. It is no bigger than a pack of cigarettes, yet It has stored in it everything you have ever experienced. Ask it a question, and if it doesn't have the answer, it will plug into some system that does; a Federal central information service, a state service, a municipal one.GPS, Google® cars:
This will be done by guidance systems in the vehicle. There will be television surveillance of every mile of highway so that a dispatcher can anticipate problems and correct them before congestion builds up, or take remedial action after an accident has occurred.The driver's position in relation to other vehicles within one mile of him, together with his position on the roadway with respect to all points of conflict, will be shown continuously on a small television viewer, available to him at the flick of a switch. While he's watching TV, who is watching the road?
The next step of course, would be the completely computerized, electronically controlled movement of automobiles on freeway and turnpike systems. Such control systems will be well within our technology in the next two decades; they almost are now.
Like Deutsch, Fabun is optimistic about the future and sees a large role for technology. He even imagines Norman Borlaug but is unwilling to commit to the vision:
What more is needed as evidence that the serpent has transfixed at with his stare? Says The New York Times, July 12, 1965, The report by a government task force) observes that 10,000 persons die every day from malnutrition and starvation and that with food production declining and population increasing ... the world would be hard put to feed itself by 1980. The report estimates that about 70 per cent of the children in less developed countries are undernourished or malnourished.... About 50 per cent of all children up to 6 years old and about 30 per cent of the age group from 7 to 14 are labeled as 'seriously malnourished.' It is reported that about half the children in less developed countries including the Latin America countries, never reach their sixth birthday."Or Vision magazine, May 29, 1964, says, "Without the successful achievement of fantastic --and up to now unforeseeable--economic development population growth must inexorably convert Latin America into one of the most unfortunate, miserable and devastated regions of this planet."
Great news Don: Borlaug was found, unprecedented growth did happen, and except in the most corrupt countries and those least respective of property rights, Latin America is doing pretty well.
Whereupon I diverge with Fabun. He reads the best and brightest of his day and is certain that their brainpower can be harnessed to create the brave new world. Yet history has shown that central planning produces "Brave New World." Spontaneous order, freedom, and crowdsourced innovation, on the other hand, produce unimaginable wealth.
Both Deutsch and Fabun see an unbounded sphere for man. Fabun sees an iPod and the Internet in 1965; Deutsch sees us mining asteroids and spreading through the galaxies in 2011. Deutsch is an Oxford professor and I doubt very much he shares many of my political views. I'm guessing he's a chattering class Guardian reader.
But he does not look to the faculty lounge for the future, rather to enlightenment values: Popperian epistemology and the scientific method (If you dig "Infinity," I highly highly highly recommend his "The Fabric of Reality.") These require freedom, trial and error, not central planning.
This being our second "book swap," I'd point this out as a unifying theme. Both your suggestions suggested that we get in line and follow our wise leaders -- both of mine say get the hell out of the way and let human beings create.
But I'll give this one four stars.
[Comment right here, or join the rough and tumble on Facebbok: The Jc-Jk Book Club]
December 16, 2012
Review Corner
How about a little epistemology, scarecrow? I must admit, it is probably my favorite field. I prize the scientific method as the pinnacle of reason and foundation of our wealth and comfort. David Deutsch elevates it to one thread of four in his "Fabric of Reality;" Karl Popper moves so naturally between it and philosophy as to annoy a good friend of mine who wants "just the science stuff."
If you dig it too -- and you know you do -- you will dig The Half-life of Facts: Why Everything We Know Has an Expiration Date by Samuel Arbesman. My interest was piqued by a WSJ review which highlighted the degradation of facts, how many are proven wrong. The best example is probably a transcription error in the iron content of spinach. One newspaper prints that it has 35 and not 3.5mg of iron per 100 grams -- and the legend of Popeye is born!
That is the hook, but the book is more nuanced and more interesting than that. Like the title suggests, he puts actual numbers around the statistical shift in knowledge: how quickly new information is added, how quickly erroneous information is corrected or discarded in certain fields. Both hard and soft science are studied.
Technology can even affect economic facts. Computer chips, in addition to becoming more powerful, have gone from prohibitively expensive to disposable. Similarly, while aluminum used to be the most valuable metal on Earth, it plummeted in price due to technological advances that allowed it to be extracted cheaply. We now wrap our leftovers in it.
[...]
John Maynard Smith, a renowned evolutionary biologist, once pithily summarized this approach: "Statistics is the science that lets you do twenty experiments a year and publish one false result in Nature."
ThreeSourcers will enjoy a long-delayed correction from the New York Times. On January 13, 1920, the New York Times ridiculed the ideas of Robert H. Goddard:
Goddard, a physicist and pioneer in the field of rocketry, was at the time sponsored by the Smithsonian. Nonetheless, the Gray Lady argued in an editorial that thinking that any sort of rocket could ever work in the vacuum of space is essentially foolishness and a blatant disregard for a high school understanding of physics. The editors even went into reasonable detail in order to debunk Goddard. Luckily, the Times was willing to print a correction. The only hitch: They printed it the day after Apollo 11's launch in 1969. Three days before humans first walked on the moon, they recanted their editorial with this bit of understatement: Further investigation and experimentation have confirmed the findings of Isaac Newton in the 17th century and it is now definitely established that a rocket can function in a vacuum as well as in an atmosphere. The Times regrets the error.
Maybe they'll get around to Walter Duranty and the Ukraine Famine someday...
But this is five stars for certain. Just enough math, non-political but serious to deflect the bad arguments of junk science, and an entertaining read.
December 9, 2012
Review Corner
And now for something completely different. After three Randian books, I read -- at the suggestion of a good friend of this blog -- Francis Collins's The Language of God. Collins attempts to sell belief to scientists and science to believers. Before we begin, it is worth noting that he is something of a Hoss. From his Amazon page:
Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D., helped to discover the genetic misspellings that cause cystic fibrosis, neurofibromatosis, Huntington's disease, and a rare form of premature aging called progeria. A pioneer gene hunter, he led the Human Genome Project from 1993 until 2008. For his revolutionary contributions to genetic research, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2007, and the National Medal of Science in 2009.
The book is very well written and I enjoyed it. As I confessed to my recommender, in 11 years of Catholic school education, I received exactly one semester of intellectually rigorous theology. He and another good friend did hard time with the Jesuits. I wish I had encountered more. The most enlightening spiritual parts of his book may be the C.S. Lewis and St. Augustine quotes. I've read a little Lewis and Zero Augz.
What the book did really well is sell science to the believer. Most of the text is devoted to providing a theological context to evolution and the big bang. Collins is no friend of Creationism, Intelligent Design, or Young Earthers (Senator Rubio, line one...) I confess that most people I know accept every word of his. It matches what I was taught in Catholic schools. I never saw science as the enemy to belief.
I found it less convincing in the converse: selling belief to the scientist. To Collins belief is self-reinforcing and the arguments sound circular. I don't know that this is bad -- that's what faith is right? Once it is demonstrable, it ceases to be faith -- no salvation for "Rock, Hard." He certainly provides a framework for the scientist to accept belief, but I didn't find the Tolkien-finally-breaks-down-Lewis argument.
I was troubled by the denial of human qua human greatness. I argue this on Facebook with my atheist buddies. Bushels of Carl Sagan quotes about how we are the hair on a bacteria of a flea of the dog that is the universe -- and why do we think we're so damn special? A lefty buddy asks me to prove that we are the only animal with free will. I suggest "deferred production" and he comes up with the example of a slime mold that leaves some bacteria to grow. Yes, JC, I admit it: us and slime mold, we're the great creatures endowed with free will and reason.
Collins does score by pointing out that:
By any estimation, the biological complexity of human beings considerably exceeds that of a roundworm, with its total of 959 cells, even though the gene count is similar for both. And certainly no other organism has sequenced its own genome!
Yet he later provides a long C.S. Lewis quote that ends :
But sooner or later they fell. Someone or something whispered that they could become as gods.... They wanted some corner in the universe of which they could say to God, "This is our business, not yours." But there is no such corner. They wanted to be nouns, but they were, and eternally must be, mere adjectives. We have no idea in what particular act, or series of acts, the self-contradictory, impossible wish found expression. For all I can see, it might have concerned the literal eating of a fruit, but the question is of no consequence.
My belief was always more defined by "render unto Caesar..." we are completely free to operate in the material, mammon sphere if we behave well. We're adjectives now?
I am not comfortable telling a guy like Collins, or my many believing friends of liberty not to believe. The Richard Dawkinses and even sadly the Christopher Hitchenses and Penn Jilletts can be as tiresome to me as TV preachers. Many people accept democratic capitalism under a rubric of love-thy-neighbor, I choose a render-under-Caesar appreciation of reason and consistent philosophy.
Very interesting read -- four stars.
Oddly enough, more than six years ago, I was part of a discussion on this very same book, but from the other side of the coin - from the theological half. JK, you write that though Collins did well is sell science to the believer; selling belief to the scientist, not so much. I humbly propose that he didn't do as great a job of selling science to the believers as you might think. Here's that 2006 discussion:
The blog, Pura Locura, is no longer active, but here are the major actors:
Pablo (blogging as "pableezy," as the original name of the blog was "Pableezy's Sheezy," and you may make of that what you will), proprietor of the blog, and a nice guy. His was a youth leader at a church near here that was once theologically sound, and then embraced postmodernism.
John (blogging as J-Lou), a former youth leader in the same church, an adherent of the Emerging Church Movement of Brian McLaren, a theological liberal, and most recently a proponent of "Social Justice" with urban youth.
Steve (blogging as "steve w" in this discussion), senior pastor of the same church.
Yours truly (blogging at the time as "Qoheleth," and often addressed simply as "Q").
Most of the other incidental participants were young adults and college-age commentors who were a part of the youth group Pableezy and J-Lou had led. I will apologize in advance both for the lack of grammar and youth-oriented writing (none of the participants there had the advantage of holding a copy of the Three Sources Stylebook) and for the theological underpinnings that some may find tedious. Think of it as another side of me that I don't inflict on my blog-brothers over here, if you would.
So, I wasn't all that impressed with Collins' book from that side of the coin, either.
Posted by: Keith Arnold at December 10, 2012 12:37 AMSuperb. For the internet, I'd call that great grammar and spelling.
It's a big world, isn't it? Thanks for the link.
Posted by: jk at December 10, 2012 11:04 AMNovember 18, 2012
Review Corner
I enjoyed Gene Healy's "Cult of the Presidency." No doubt my references to it have become tedious over these last four years. But in all the right-left, conservative-libertarian, platonic-aristotelian discussion, I think it underappreciated how many of our freedom issues stem from the removal of Constitutional balance-of-power. If we did not think our presidents the leader of the free world and our dad, they would be far more limited in the rumpus they could cause.
Healy nails this in "Cult." It is an important look at the arrogation of power to the executive and is bipartisan in his disapprobation. The book details a litany of transgressors as we lost the idea of a constitutional magistrate a long time ago, but the book spends most pages thumping one President George W. Bush. I read it after Obama had been elected and laughed under my breath: "Oh. Gene, Gene...buddy you have no idea how much worse things are going to get."
Wishes do come true and the author has released an e-book update to cover the first Obama Administration. False Idol: Barack Obama and the Continuing Cult of the Presidency
Over the last few years, when people asked me if I planned to write another book, I'd demur, joking that I could just update The Cult of the Presidency every four to eight years with details on whatever fresh hell the next president visits on the country. The joke was on me, it seems. When it comes to presidential cults, Barack Obama turned out to be the gift that keeps on giving-- an irresistible opportunity to put Cult's themes in front of a new set of readers.
It remains celebrity and Congressional pusillanimity that gives our President such power -- not parchment.
"In a republican government, the legislative authority necessarily predominates," Madison wrote in Federalist 51, and he actually worried about whether the president would have sufficient power to resist congressional encroachment.
[..]
Their powers are anything but equal: Congress can remove executive officers, up to and including the president. Congress decides on the structure of the executive branch; it can create or destroy agencies and departments and regulate them through Article I, Section 8' s "sweeping clause." The president has no comparable powers over Congress. There's a reason the Capitol Dome dominates the D.C. landscape, towering over the comparatively modest presidential residence down the street. The capital's design mirrors the constitutional architecture, in which Congress, not the executive, was supposed to be the prime mover in setting national policy.
[...]
"My classes think I am trying to be funny," [Constitutional Professor Charles] Black continued, "when I say that, by simple majorities," Congress could shrink the White House staff to one secretary and that with a two-thirds vote, "Congress could put the White House up at auction." But Professor Black wasn't kidding: Congress has the power to do all that if it so decides. And if Congress can sell the White House, surely it can defund illegal wars and rein in a runaway bureaucracy.
I had hoped that waving the specter of the eeevil George Bush, that I might be able to bring some of my lefty friends into the fold on this. In 2017, maybe I can.
Four stars (just 'cause much of the meat is all in first book) but it is great -- and a deal at $3.49.
November 11, 2012
Review Corner
The Cato Institute is in good hands.
I read John Allison's The Financial Crisis and the Free Market Cure: Why Pure Capitalism is the World Economy's Only Hope shortly after finishing Yaron Brook's "Free Market Revolution: How Ayn Rand's Ideas Can End Big Government." They are, curiously, the same book.
Allison saw the drama unfold from his point of view as head of BB&T Bank. Allison's take is a lot more detailed and technical than Brook's (while far less technical than Edward Conard's Unintended Consequences), but the two Rand acolytes are in synch philosophically and economically.
Allison was John Galt in Don Luskin's "I Am John Galt," and he describes how her principles guided the management team of BB&T, keeping them out of trouble even though real estate was a huge portion of their business and their geographic areas were among the worst hit. Of course, no good deed goes unpunished in government. BB&T was forced to take TARP funds it did not need, and Allison "went Galt" shortly after:
Unfortunately, BB& T's highly decentralized decision structure has largely been destroyed by the recent regulatory attack. This is true irony in that while BB& T's structure radically outperformed the industry, we have been forced to replicate the credit decision structure of Citigroup, Wachovia, Bank of America, and others, which fundamentally failed. However, a centralized structure gives the regulators a greater sense of control.
Both Brook and Allison use the Bernie Madoff example to separate self-destruction from rational self-interest.
In my role as CEO of a large public company, I have had the opportunity to meet many financially successful people. I have never met anyone who was both financially successful and happy who achieved this result primarily by taking advantage of other people. I have met a few people who were financially successful who, I believe, achieved this result based on some level of deceit. These are the unhappiest people I have ever met.
Unlike Conard (and like Brook), Allison sees little or no role for government regulators. Bad banks gotta fail and people have to select good banks and allow reputation and yield to manage the risk.
Many independents and moderates who are skeptical of big government believe that we do need many regulations. They fail to recognize the incredible march of the regulatory state. They also do not understand that, as public choice theory has proven, government bureaucrats are often motivated by destructive incentives. In my career, since 1971, I cannot think of a single additional regulation placed on the financial services industry that did not reduce the efficiency of the industry and lower the country's overall standard of living. The only success stories have been deregulations (such as interstate branching).
Lots of excerpts in this review, and trust me, there were a criminal number of great ones that did not make the cut. I'll give this book five stars and the heartiest of recommendations. I'll close with this bone to the Randians, from footnote #3:
I also thought about titling the book How the Critique of Pure Reason by Immanuel Kant (1783) Caused the Financial Crisis, but that was too obscure for most people, although it was more accurate, since Kant was the major philosophical opponent of reason who put an end to the Enlightenment century (1700s) that indelibly shaped the founding of the United States.
November 4, 2012
Review Corner
Man, am I ever behind in writing Review Corners. I finished the selection for the Jc-Jk Book Club. but want to give my interlocutor seem time to catch up. The selection foisted upon me was short and he delivered a copy (what service!) Much to say later, but it was actually enjoyable.
I have a few finished books to review, but think it is time to address Yaron Brooks's Free Market Revolution: How Ayn Rand's Ideas Can End Big Government.
I'll start, and we can attempt virtual book club in the comments. But I will start at the end:
Stop letting the enemies of capitalism claim the moral high ground. There is nothing noble about altruism, nothing inspiring about the initiation of force, nothing moral about Big Government, nothing compassionate about sacrificing the individual to the collective. Don't be afraid to dismiss those ideas as vicious, unjust attacks on the pursuit of happiness, and self-confidently assert that there is no value higher than the individual's pursuit of his own well-being.
That remains the most difficult of Rand's ideas to accept. I do not disagree with a word of it. But I am drawn to the economic arguments and the pragmatic political possibilities. Brook in person (really, watch the video if you were not there) and in this book is affable and forthright. And I confess that I am finally seeing the wisdom of attacking the problem at a deeper level even if it is difficult.
Brook's clarity and humor bring principles to life.
It's crucial, here, that the use of force be physical. There is no such thing as forcing someone via emotional or intellectual means. If your loser brother-in-law guilts you into paying his bills, he didn't make you pay his bills. If Amazon runs a really great commercial for the Kindle Fire, Jeff Bezos didn't make you buy one -- he persuaded you. If peer pressure leads you to jump off a bridge, you still had the power to heed your mother's advice.[...]
The worst victims of this injustice are the ambitious poor. By sapping immense amounts of capital from productive individuals, the entitlement state cuts down on the number of businesses that get launched, the number of jobs that get created, the amount of economic progress that takes place, the amount of economic opportunity that is available. Although the wealthy can get by in an entitlement state, at least for a while, those wishing to climb out of poverty often cannot.
I attempted to make an argument, a week before seeing Dr. Brook, against the altruism that celebrates Bill Gates and Warren Buffett's giving money away more than the massive good done by their earning it. I failed and perhaps could not do much better after the book to separate benevolence -- which is good -- from altruism. Modern people use the terms interchangeably, not thinking of Comte but of kind neighbors. Being against kind neighbors is a tough sell.
At the same time, ceding the moral ground cannot continue.
Individual liberty means that if you develop a scientific theory that holds that the earth revolves around the sun, no pope can silence you. If you want to follow your dream of becoming an electrician, no bureaucrat can demand that you first get a government license. If you and your doctor judge that an experimental new drug is the best shot you have at saving your life, you don't have to consult some FDA official. If you want to revolutionize transportation, you don't have to explain yourself to Rex Tugwell.
I am coming around...
October 14, 2012
It Is So On!
I have to issue some personal props to my pal, JC. Most of the Colorado contingent knows him personally, and other ThreeSourcers may remember some heterodoxical comments. My friend is a man of the left and a Malthusian who sees much of what I call progress as questionable because of environmental impact.
But this guy engages with me on Facebook and drove across town on a Friday afternoon to surprise/meet me at the 3:55 showing of Atlas Shrugged Part II.
Most notably, out of dozens of attempts, he remains the only one to take me up on one of my "I'll read any book you suggest if you'll read X" offers. We discussed round one a bit on these pages. He surprised me by showing up to the movie, and he himself suggested another "book challenge." I accepted, of course, and he ran to the car to get a treasured copy of Don Fabun's "The Dynamics of Change." After a brief discussion, I countered with David Deutsch's "Beginning of Infinity" discussed 'round these parts
We briefly discussed "virtual book club" and I have made an attempt here. As JC is a Facebook guy (Doyen of the infamous FB nemeses), I started a Facebook Page: The JC-JK Book Club. A couple ThreeSourcers have "liked" it -- as have a bunch of lefty pals. Should be a wang dang doodle if anybody else cares to pile in.
October 7, 2012
Review Corner
The word of the day is "relitigate." As in: "It is too soon to relitigate the events and policies of the Bush Administration."
But one is forced to, in conquering Condoleezza Rice's No Higher Honor: A Memoir of My Years in Washington. Rip those wounds open, relive the good times and bad.
The next morning I went down to the gym to exercise and found myself in the company of Tony Blair, with whom the President was to meet that morning. "Well, George has stirred it up a bit," he said with characteristic British understatement. The President came in a few minutes later and talked about the speech, explaining why he'd made it and that he had intended it as a clear indication of his dedication to Middle East peace.
Yes, George stirred it up a bit. Rice is unflinchingly loyal to President Bush, Secretary Colin Powell, and to her team at State and the NSC. VP Cheney and Secretary Rumsfeld, conversely, get hung out to dry on occasion -- but not in the long knives style of many DC memoirs. She is respectful and considerate of their positions while she unabashedly advocates hers.
Rice mixes the personal with the historical. The book proceeds chronologically. Not quite President Carter's White House Diary, but she hews pretty close to the timeline. I don't know about the mix of personal. I'll confess that sometimes the book seems a little too long. And yet, many of the anecdotes are satisfying:
The spring of 2002 gave me one of the best imaginable reasons to practice. One day in March, my assistant Liz Lineberry had come in to say that Yo-Yo Ma was on the phone and wanted to speak to me. "You mean the cellist?" I asked. "I think so," she answered. It was indeed the greatest living cellist of our time, and he had a proposition for me. He was receiving the National Medal of the Arts on April 22 and wondered if perhaps we could play something together at the ceremony. We'd met at Stanford several years earlier, when he'd given a concert there. At the time his "Let's play together sometime" comment had seemed to be just a polite throwaway line. But now here he was, asking me, the failed piano major, to play with him.
[...]
The performance went very well. The President was beaming as he congratulated us after we finished. It was one of the most memorable days of my life. I'd come full circle and back to music. But I wasn't confused about what my real destiny was. I would never have played with Yo-Yo Ma had I stayed in music. He played with me because I was the national security advisor who could also play the piano. I had made a good decision when I changed my college major.
Other great personal glimpses relate to her achievement from her beginnings as "a poor black girl from Birmingham." The book begins with the '99 campaign, but she and Alma Powell reflect on their shared background in Buckingham Palace before retiring for the night.
One cannot help but compare her story to Michelle Obama's "first time I was proud of my Country" comment. I accept that the left has a different cannon for patriotism. Yet, one hears Rice celebrating the possible while others distain the challenge. She is moving as she describes becoming the 65th replacement for Thomas Jefferson.
With the President and my Aunts Gee and Mattie and Uncle Alto looking on, my friend and Watergate neighbor Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg read the oath of office. As I repeated it, I took in every word:
[...]
and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God. Then I thanked all those who'd helped me, especially the generations of Rays and Rices who'd always thought such a day possible. I glanced up at the portrait of Franklin. What would he have thought of this great-granddaughter of slaves and child of Jim Crow Birmingham pledging to defend the Constitution of the United States, which had infamously counted her ancestors "three-fifths" of a man? Somehow, I wanted to believe, Franklin would have liked history's turn toward justice and taken my appointment in stride.
Too soon to relitigate, but it is an engaging story of a woman I admire very much and a candid look at the inner workings of the Executive Branch. Four stars.
September 23, 2012
Review Corner
There's more to life than politics and dusty old economic texts. Why there's culture and art and architecture and Minneapolis geography and the music of our youth and the understated excitement of sexual attraction.
Who better to serve as a spirit guide for these than James Lileks?
Leaf through this blog or my predecessor blog, and my appreciation for Lileks will be on full display. He is a clever, provocative and funny writer. His political stuff carries more force because of its rarity. In addition, he seems to be the renaissance man of the commercial Internet: always experimenting, always something new commercially or design or just outrageous content like the story woven around the matchbooks.
I set aside my non-fiction for his new novel Graveyard Special. In Lileksian Internet pioneering style, I think it is Kindle Only. It is light enough that it would be a fun and comfortable read on a PC or tablet's Kindle reader for all you luddites that have the books with the paper and the cover-thingies.
Whatever your method, read this masterpiece. It is vintage Lileks: a bit noir-y but with a great deal more humor. I was the annoying guy at the coffee shop last week LOL-ing with my Kindle. But Lileks lines come one after another:
Joe was depressed. But we'll get to that. You can't tell the story of Dinkytown in the End Times without dealing with Joe's epic, all-consuming, life-smothering depression. It probably showed up on weather radar as a small black dot.
[...]
I think she believed me, because she seemed to vibrate at a frequency that would summon wolves and confuse bats.
And politics is never missing, even if it is not central to the storyline:
The new cook was sitting in A-6, his right foot jackhammering up and down, smoking a cigarette, reading the Worker's World. He had a T-shirt that announced his solidarity with the latest batch of communists in Central America. Vic was the name. Dick's brother. He seemed friendly enough, but every so often I'd see him flick his eyes over the restaurant, and he'd get that "some day this will all belong to the people" look, and I had the suspicion that his people weren't, you know, people as the term is generally understood.
[...]
Tara had a story about campus reaction to the election, including a quote from Vic's group, the People's Committee on Loudly Demanding Things Be Different, or whatever it was called. They'd decided that the best way to raise people's consciousness was to protest Militarism on campus.
It's Lileks. It's 3.99 on Kindle. It's five stars. What are you doing still reading me?
Thanks you for that, Lileks is one of the first people I ever read regularly on the web, circa 2000, and he gets me laughing, which is reason enough to love his work. The fact that's it's also intelligent, principled and insightful are welcome additions.
Posted by: Ellis Wyatt at September 24, 2012 3:35 PMHe's an amazing cat. Do you have any of his coffee table books? "Gastroanomalies" and "Interior Desecrations" anchor mine -- and I enjoy watching people leafing through them.
Posted by: jk at September 24, 2012 4:13 PMActual books jk?? Don't they have a kindle you can put on your coffee table? :-)
Posted by: dagny at September 24, 2012 5:06 PMHeh. They do have the DX... Guess I am just behind the tomes.
Posted by: jk at September 24, 2012 5:09 PMBehind the tomes. A typo worth keeping.
Posted by: jk at September 24, 2012 5:14 PMSeptember 16, 2012
Review Corner
If I had a time machine, I would go back a couple months and try reading Niall Ferguson's Civilization first, then Deirdre McCloskey's Bourgeois Dignity. Just an experiment, I'm not saying one order is better than another. But it is interesting to compare, as both try to explain the same thing.
Ferguson starts man's leap out of the primordial economic ooze a couple centuries sooner than McCloskey, and while his version of events does not contradict McCloskey, he cites six "killer apps" that allowed the West to outpace "The Rest." Ferguson provides the Cliff Notes to his book at the beginning and at the end:
Why did the West dominate the Rest and not vice versa? I have argued that it was because the West developed six killer applications that the Rest lacked. These were:
1. Competition, in that Europe itself was politically fragmented and that within each monarchy or republic there were multiple competing corporate entities
2. The Scientific Revolution, in that all the major seventeenth-century breakthroughs in mathematics, astronomy, physics, chemistry and biology happened in Western Europe
3. The rule of law and representative government, in that an optimal system of social and political order emerged in the English-speaking world, based on private property rights and the representation of property-owners in elected legislatures
4. Modern medicine, in that nearly all the major nineteenth- and twentieth-century breakthroughs in healthcare, including the control of tropical diseases, were made by Western Europeans and North Americans
5. The consumer society, in that the Industrial Revolution took place where there was both a supply of productivity-enhancing technologies and a demand for more, better and cheaper goods, beginning with cotton garments
6. The work ethic, in that Westerners were the first people in the world to combine more extensive and intensive labour with higher savings rates, permitting sustained capital accumulation.
That's the whole book. Saved you $16.99 I did! I would highly recommend the entire work, however. Ferguson, like McCloskey, is a serious student of history, pulling out amazing and illustrative anecdotes from Ancient China or the Ottoman Empire like I quote Buffy. It's an enjoyable and substantive book.
His examples fascinate. His explanation of "#6 Work" goes beyond Calvinism to tie Christianity fundamentally to freedom. That could keep ThreeSourcers up until the wee hours separating the finer points
Protestantism, [Max Weber] argued, "has the effect of liberating the acquisition of wealth from the inhibitions of traditionalist ethics; it breaks the fetters on the striving for gain not only by legalizing it, but . . . by seeing it as directly willed by God".
He joins Reason in highlighting Western Culture's contributions to bringing down Soviet Communism. This old Reagan/Thatcher guy rejects efforts to undermine their accomplishments (and Pope JPII), but rock and roll and blue jeans cannot be forgotten, either.
So why not just let Czechoslovakian students have all the jeans and rock 'n' roll they wanted? The answer is that the consumer society posed a lethal threat to the Soviet system itself. It was market-based. It responded to signals from consumers themselves -- their preference for jeans over flannel trousers, or for Mick Jagger over Burt Bacharach. And it devoted an increasing share of resources to satisfying those preferences. This the Soviet system simply could not do. The Party knew what everyone needed -- brown polyester suits -- and placed its orders with the state-owned factories accordingly.
[...]
In any case, for the Soviets to keep pace with the much richer Americans in the Cold War arms race, tanks had to take precedence over tank-tops, strategic bombers over Stratocasters.
Ferguson is not the freedom lover that McCloskey is. He's a British Telegraph reader who talks about "The Texas Terror" in the introduction and is quite concerned that we lose Civilization to global warming in the conclusion. In-between, he is eminently fair and allows the data to lead him to conclusions that ThreeSourcers would applaud.
In the end, his conclusions seem compatible with McCloskey's, though you can see areas where her bourgeois dignity idea would underscore or better explain his ideas.
Also interesting to read East v West in the shadow of the Romney Gaffe embassy protests and killings. Islam squandered world dominance because they refused reason, the East in general even refusing to adopt obvious Western advantages in medicine and finance.
And, in the shadow of the riots, one cannot argue with his fears for "Civilization's future:
Maybe the real threat is posed not by the rise of China, Islam or CO2 emissions, but by our own loss of faith in the civilization we inherited from our ancestors.
[...]
Civilization will not last, freedom will not survive, peace will not be kept, unless a very large majority of mankind unite together to defend them and show themselves possessed of a constabulary power before which barbaric and atavistic forces will stand in awe.
Four point seven five stars. If you read just one, read McCloskey's. But read them both.
Thank you, sir! You are a Grandmaster of reviews.
Posted by: Ellis Wyatt at September 17, 2012 12:57 PMSeptember 9, 2012
Review Corner
We could have sent Steve Forbes to the White House, y'know. I look back on American History and look for inflection points which would have changed the country unrecognizably. My only actual serious effort to write a book was to flip the decision in Dred Scott v. Sanford.
Normally, a good counterfactual requires that something was close and almost happened and I confess we did not stay up late on a November Tuesday to see Mr. Forbes lose a squeaker. But he ran a serious campaign with a seriousness and honesty that caused Bernie Goldberg to see the rampant perfidy in his own profession of journalism.
A flat tax imposed 16 years ago would have changed the world. And listening to his wise words in Freedom Manifesto: Why Free Markets Are Moral and Big Government Isn't we still might.
Freedom enabled people unleash their energies, sharpen their skills, pursue their dreams-- and reap the rewards. The combination of latitude and necessity spurs people to develop their abilities and increase their knowledge. It develops what the philosophers call "autonomy," the capacity to be your own person, to think independently and act responsibly in a free society. Nicholas Capaldi of the National Center for Business Ethics at Loyola University calls autonomy "our greatest ultimate and objective good."
I don't think any ThreeSourcer will be too surprised by the beginning, middle or end. It's choir preaching 'round these parts -- but it is good choir preaching.
He marries the consequentialist case to the rights case for capitalism well enough that someday all ThreeSourcers might live as brothers and sisters.
To paraphrase Mises, people may refer to a successful pasta manufacturer as "the spaghetti king." But this king did not build his empire through wars and conquest, but by selling pasta people like. What Marxists totally miss, Mises writes, is that "the rich" in free markets do not get their power by impoverishing wage earners -- but by producing goods that improve their standard of living.
Or how about a response to SEIU President Andrew Stern's concern that parent's "cannot see where the jobs of the future are"
Responding to Stern's complaint in the Times, George Mason University economist Donald Boudreaux asks, "when could Americans of any generation foresee future jobs?" Did the telegram-deliverer in 1950 foresee his child designing software for cell phones? Did the local pharmacist in 1960 foresee his daughter's job as a biomedical engineer?
Donald Boudreaux's questions highlight another flaw of apoca-liberal pessimism: it's fixated on the present. Unlike entrepreneurs who think in terms of the future, bureaucrats and their supporters are stuck in the here and now. They see market conditions like high prices as permanent and can't imagine how things could possibly change-- even though they always do.
In the case of health care, statists believe government is the only answer "because health care is so astronomically expensive." It's impossible for them to grasp the idea that, if you removed today's innumerable government constraints that are inflating the cost of both care and insurance, the entire universe would instantly change.
Forbes makes a consequentialist case for capitalism on the environment, wealth distribution, innovation and personal freedom. Four stars -- only four as little will be new to ThreeSourcers, but it is a great a powerful read.
September 4, 2012
Okay, One More...
But drive safely and don't forget to tip your waitresses and bartender!
My blog brother has successfully cajoled me into sharing a few more quotes from Deirdre N. McCloskey's Bourgeois Dignity: Why Economics Can't Explain the Modern World. This makes this the third post in the review One and two here. To catch the new visitor up:
It initiates a humanistic science of the economy, "humanomics" as the economist Barton Smith calls it. Speech, not material changes in foreign trade or domestic investment, caused proximally the nonlinearities, or (expressed in more conventional theorizing) the leaping out of the production possibility curve, the imaginings of possible lives.We know this empirically in part because trade and investment were ancient routines, but the new dignity and liberty for ordinary people were unique to the age. What was unique was a new climate of persuasion, out there in the shops and streets and coffeehouses populated by the bourgeoisie. As I shall try to persuade you, oh materialist economist.
I'm predisposed to join jg's critique that it is a product of many factors and that I am willing to accept her devotion to a rhetorical acceptance of bourgeois values if she'll concede the importance of liberty and energy and trade.
McCloskey does appreciate the value of other factors, but she is a data-driven economist and shows that these are fractional improvements from which we gained magnitude gains. She spends much time on energy, in her case the availability of coal in Britain in the 17th Century. Again, that is swell, sez McCloskey, but others could have bought and shipped coal or developed more wood or whaling -- energy is an input and it is great that it is cheap. But if it is expensive it shaves off percentages, it does not stop growth. Mister Rockefeller's energy revolution is 150 years and a continent away. The colonies experience mad growth with water power.
She pours through literature, looking for heroic bourgeois characters. Think "Merchant of Venice;" traders are outcasts, minority people a little too canny for their own good. McCloskey and I do share some heroes:
In 1913 Willa Cather without the antibourgeois sarcasm which her fellow members of the American clerisy were beginning to develop, has her heroine, Swedish-American Alexandra Bergson, exclaim, "There's Fuller [the real estate man] again! I wish that man would take me for a [business] partner. He's feathering his nest! If only poor people [such as Alexandra's unenterprising brothers] could learn a little from rich people!"
We still have Babbitt and Disney movies to fight though.
Or at any rate so enlightened Europeans and the new bourgeois liberals claimed, contrary to the zero-sum notions that had governed the world up to then, in which every win to Europe was supposed to have arisen from a comparable loss to the rest. It lives on, I repeat, in recent talk about "competitiveness." "Win minus lose equals zero. Profit is evil." No, said the enlightened liberals like Mill, not usually-not if the social accounting is win-win-win-win-win-lose.
[...]
It has given many formerly poor and ignorant people the scope to flourish. And contrary to the usual declarations of the economists since Adam Smith or Karl Marx, the Biggest Economic Story was not caused by trade or investment or exploitation. It was caused by ideas.
September 2, 2012
Review Corner
Some intellectuals, though, look with suspicion on the Bourgeois Era, calling it "globalization," which they think they detest, along with McDonald's and the bourgeoisie and capitalism. The suspicion has been expressed since 1848 in repeated assaults by the clerisy on the bourgeoisie, commonly their fathers, each new assault presented as a courageous speaking of truth to power, a daring new insight, though expressed in identical form from Flaubert and G. B. Shaw to Sinclair Lewis and David Mamet.Conversely, the Bourgeois Era to the author of those words, Deirdre N. McCloskey, represents the move from $3/day privation to modern abundance and personal freedom.
Her Bourgeois Dignity: Why Economics Can't Explain the Modern World is a challenging book -- and it is only book two of a planned six. I hope both McCloskey and my pal Robert A. Caro are eating well and taking care of themselves.
Challenging because McCloskey is a Chicago School Economics Professor of tremendous intellect and reading. Clearly the book was written for much smarterer people than me. It is not turgid prose by any means, it is an entertaining read. It is thick with ideas and precise documentation. (Also like Caro -- you have to stop and let your brain catch up with the author's sometimes.)
[John Stuart] Mill was too good a classical economist, in other words, to recognize a phenomenon inconsistent with classical economics. That the national income per head might triple in the century after 1871 in the teeth of rising population is not a classical possibility, and he would have seen the factor of sixteen in Britain from the eighteenth century down to the present as science fiction.
And challenging because it contradicts my deepest beliefs. Contradicts is too strong a word because, as a Chicagoan, she is a devout believer in liberty and free markets and property rights and the importance of trade. No ThreeSourcer would pull out a single sentence and say "that is wrong." But her claim is that all those great things existed elsewhere and did not produce an enlightenment or a 16-fold increase in consumption.
Until the view suddenly changed in academic circles in Spain and in commercial and some political circles in Holland and then in Britain and then (in all circles) in the United States, dignity and liberty for the bourgeoisie was viewed as an outrageous absurdity. Of course the bourgeoisie was contemptible, in Confucianism the fourth and lowest of the social classes, or in Christianity the rich man of the gospels who can scarcely enter heaven. Of course the market needed to be regulated in the interest of the rich-or at least in the interest of the continued rule of the rich by way of giving a little to some selected and favored and relatively well-off poor people (unskilled automobile workers earning $30 an hour, high-school-graduate administrators in Cook County (now "Stroger") Hospital earning $1oo,ooo a year, members of local 881 of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union earning more than what Wal-Mart employees are eagerly willing to work for). Of course people should be arrayed in a great chain of being from God to slave, and kept in their place, except by special royal favor or state examination or party membershipMy theme in short is the true liberal one of the de la Court brothers, Richard Overton, John Lilburne, William Walwyn, Thomas Rainsborough, Richard Rumbold, Spinoza, Dudley North, Algernon Sidney, Locke, Voltaire, Hume, Turgot, Montesquieu, Adam Ferguson, Smith, Thomas Paine, Destutt de Tracy, Jefferson, Madame de Stael, Benjamin Constant, Wilhelm von Humboldt, Charles [not Auguste] Comte, Charles Dunoyer, Malthus, Ricardo, Harriet Martineau, Tocqueville, Giuseppe Mazzini, Frederic Bastiat, Mill, Henry Maine, Richard Cobden, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Cavour, Johan August Gripenstedt, Herbert Spencer, Lysander Spooner, Karl von Rotteck, Johan Rudolf Thorbecke, Carl Menger, Lord Acton, Josephine Butler, Knut Wicksell, Luigi Einaudi, H. L. Mencken, Johan Huizinga, Frank Knight, Ludwig von Mises, Willa Cather, Rose Wilder Lane, Walter Lippmann until the 195os, Nora Zeale Hurston, Karl Popper, Isaiah Berlin, Michael Polanyi, Friedrich Hayek, Raymond Aron, Henry Hazlitt, Bertrand de Jouvenel, Ronald Coase, Milton, Rose, and son David Friedman, Murray Rothbard, James Buchanan, Ludwig Lachmann, Gordon Tullock, Thomas Sowell, Joan Kennedy Taylor, Roy A. Childs, Julian Simon, Israel Kirzner, Vernon Smith, Wendy McElroy, Norman Barry, Loren Lomasky, Tibor Machan, Anthony de Jasay, Douglas Den Uyl, Douglas Rasmussen, Deepak Lal, Chandran Kukathas, Ronald Hamowy, Tom Palmer, Don Lavoie, David Boaz, Richard Epstein, Tyler Cowen, David Schmidtz, Donald Boudreaux, Peter Boettke, and the young Robert Nozick. It is the obvious and simple system of natural liberty. It contradicts the aristocratic sneering by conservatives at innovations and at the bourgeoisie, or the clerical sneering by progressives at markets and at the bourgeoisie. The true-liberal claim is that unusual bourgeois dignity and personal liberty in northwestern Europe, and especially in Holland and then in Britain, made for unusual national wealth, by way of a revaluation of ordinary, bourgeois life..
Nor have I ever highlighted so many sections. I painfully culled it down to the few presented here. I'd love to share ten times as many, but I know ThreeSourcers will be holding big rallies to celebrate trade unions this weekend. You'll just have to buy it. Five Stars.
Parting thought: "So, do I 'believe it?'" It is consistent. It explains much. It cannot be effectively contradicted. In the end, like the Panic of '08, one is forced to weight the importance of different factors. Am I prepared to reduce my votes for liberty, free trade, and a codified scientific epistemology? No. But I will and suggest others should value more highly the acceptance of bourgeois dignity. And, who knows, maybe by book four or five she'll have me.
If one skips over the "Galt's speech" listing of great names which comprise "the de la Court brothers" your collection of excerpts is quite modest. So much so, in fact, that the point remains distant from my full comprehension. Perhaps, with some discussion...
If I understand correctly, the bourgeoisie are most responsible for modern western prosperity yet are universally reviled by Marx-inspired progressives as well as the aristocratic segment of conservatives, which some have taken to calling the "establishment" and wherein I include Republican progressives or "RINOs."
So that we're clear, I take "bourgeoisie" to mean the ambitious, self-employed middle-class who, through innovation and sweat routinely become members of the "one percent." The "new rich" if you will.
What's not to believe? Why would any of this lead to a conflict with "votes for liberty, free trade, and a codified scientific epistemology?" To me it only reinforces the necessity and rectitude of a TEA Party revolution in the Republican party, where such votes are at least welcome if not universal.
And for such a conclusion to emenate from an academic treatise is both rare and of revolutionary value.
Posted by: johngalt at September 2, 2012 12:10 PMOne must be extremely cautious standing in front of a guitar player yelling "more!"
But keep in mind this is part two of this review: part one lives here.
You're correct in that she does not credit Cheetos® or astrology with the rise in living standards. But four weeks ago, I was very comfortable suggesting that scientific epistemology deserved credit (cf. David Deutsch) or a critical mass in good old Ricardian trade (cf. Deepak Lal) or an amorphous idea of "liberty" (Hayek, Mises, and presumably at least one of the de la Court brothers).
McCloskey says "No." They had science in 500 BCE China, they had free trade in the Ottoman Empire, they had movable type in ancient Korea, &c. There are 49 Chapters in this book and almost all of them are "No, it wasn't X." Somebody, somewhere had X in abundance and produced naught a knot on the hockey stick.
She knows Professor Lal. I don't remember Deutsch's name, but she quotes all of my heroes chapter and verse, understands them but says 'uh-uh, you don't get 16X from that."
What does give you 16X is the rhetorical acceptance of innovating, belief in buying low and selling high.
Went straight from that into Steve Forbes's book. He quotes McCloskey on a couple occasions, but a Forbes Quote of Thomas Sowell (meta-hoss) captures it:
But to his loud and vociferous critics, Romney was just "moving money around" and had gotten an unfair tax break.
These sentiments are rooted in age-old prejudices. Economist Thomas Sowell has written brilliantly about the long-standing distrust of "middleman minorities" that cuts across cultural boundaries. Middlemen include not only Jews and Asian immigrants in the United States, but groups like the Ibos in Nigeria and the Parsees in India. Prejudices against them, Sowell explains, were never about ethnicity. "Retailing and money-lending," he explains, "have long been regarded by the economically unsophisticated as not 'really' adding anything to the economic well-being of a community."
Like Michael Moore, people for hundreds of years have been unable to see how those who "make money off money" are really making anything.
Forbes, Steve; Ames, Elizabeth (2012-08-21). Freedom Manifesto: Why Free Markets Are Moral and Big Government Isn't (Kindle Locations 1625-1626). Random House, Inc.. Kindle Edition.
The easy critique to McCloskey's theory seems to be that a combination of factors was required. Did any other civilization ever have everything we do except a dignified bourgeoise and fail to prosper?
Further, the Industrial Revolution is widely regarded as a prerequisite for massive wealth creation. Aren't all civilizations that predate it excused for not producing more crops than one's family could consume in a year?
Let me be fair: I haven't read the book and am only going on your excerpts and summaries. As much as being critical, I'm just trying to pry more specifics from you. (More! More!)
And finally, I can't help but credit cheap and abundant energy, together with means to use that energy to do work, for the standard of living that modern man has become not only accustomed to, but takes as a natural and automatic condition - one that will "always be that way." Let Hollywood live on the beach and make movies without electricity or fossil fuels for a few years and we'll likely see a shift Eastwood in their philsophy and politics. (Yes, I do remember when American movies actually glorified Exceptionalism. It was before my time but the celluloid lasted long enough to bring it to my eyes.)
Posted by: johngalt at September 4, 2012 3:22 PMAugust 26, 2012
2016 Movie - Food for Thought
I watched the Dinesh D'Souza film 2016-Obama's America yesterday with family and friends. My brother and father were the driving force and dad thought it so important we all see it that he paid for all of us. Having been cautioned by JK's distaste for D'Souza's conspiratism I was eager to see and hear for myself what evidence Dinesh presents, and what hypothesis he has formed.
As a starting point I read this critical review by Washington Post's Michael O'Sullivan. His instinct is to dismiss it as a rehash of prior Obama hatred, but some of his dissmissals ring hollow.
As readers of the Forbes article know, the central thesis of "2016" is that Obama's worldview -- his "compass," as D'Souza calls it -- was largely shaped by the anti-colonialist, anti-white and anti-Christian politics of Obama's supposedly radical Kenyan father. Never mind that Obama, growing up, spent precious little time with the man, who for most of his son's early life was estranged from Obama's mother. D'Souza trots out a professional psychologist to speculate on how the senior Obama's absence reinforced his influence, rather than weakened it.D'Souza makes it all sound almost plausible, but only if you're predisposed to believe that Obama hates America. It's bashing, all right, but with a velvet-gloved fist.
What is glossed over here is how he makes it sound plausible. That explanation is omitted and replaced with a cautionary "almost" to convince readers they need not bother to evaluate the plausability on their own. D'Souza explains that Obama's worldview was constructed not in the image of his absentee father, rather in the idealized image of him portrayed by his mother. Ann Dunham, an almost completely overlooked component of Barack's formative years, was as anti-American, or at least anti-capitalist and anti-"colonialist" as they come. So says D'Souza. He supports this claim with multiple facts. He concludes that diminishing America's influence in the world, in effect punishing America for its colonial heritage, is fully consistent with many of the previously inexplicable acts of President Obama: To repair America's "plunder" of foreign resources he gave billions of American taxpayer's dollars to Brazil and others to build up those nations' oil industries; to push back present-day colonialism he has sided with Argentina over Great Britain in the Falklands conflict; his mideast policy arguably reflects a prejudice against western influence in favor of native rule, whatever that may happen to become. Actions as seemingly unimportant as returning a bust of Winston Churchill and presenting gag gifts to the Queen of England also betray a lifelong hatred for that country, the once great colonial power which had colonized and "exploited" his father's native land - Kenya.
In the film D'Souza also shows how then candidate Obama diverted attention from these beliefs and tendencies by suggesting his goal was a racial reconciliation within America. When longtime mentor Reverend Jeremiah Wright's anti-Americanism threatened to derail his campaign, Barack gave a nationally televised speech on race relations and distanced himself from the anti-colonialist values. And when other formative influences were called into question his campaign skillfully portrayed them as good-ol American leftists rather than the world socialists they would likely call themselves. When the President lectures America about the unfairness of the "one percenters" Americans think of wealthy corporate titans standing unapologetically on the shoulders of the working or "middle" class. But to a world socialist, EVERY American is a one-percenter, right down to the homeless shelter or overpass dweller who may freely beg for change and sleep opon the paved streets of American cities, free from scourges like disease, garbage dumps and open sewage running through the streets of a typical third-world village, always with ready access to medical treatment-on-demand in the shiny hospitals of the most prosperous nation on earth.
My opinion of the validity of D'Souza's original conclusions is buttressed by Elizabeth Reynolds' 'D'Souza's "Rage" a Middling Psychoanalysis' in The Dartmouth Review. After labeling Dinesh as an "ultra-conservative member of the Dartmouth Class of 1983" and praising Obama's book 'Dreams From My Father' she presents a fair, perhaps more fair than she intended, interpretation of the facts in D'Souza's book. Her conclusion:
Perhaps D'Souza's anti-colonial theory does help explain, as the Weekly Standard put it, Obama's omnipotence at home and impotence abroad. It is a matter of the reader's opinion. Regardless, D'Souza brings something new to the table with his latest book. It seems clear to me that D'Souza has done his research, with his extensive history of colonial Africa and insightful background information on Obama's early life. His concept of investigating the impact of Barack Obama's father had potential, but I'm afraid that D'Souza's conclusion, that Obama is trying to essentially destroy America, ultimately takes it too far.
Ironically, it is Reynolds who takes it too far for "essentially destroying America" is not D'Souza's claimed goal for Barack Obama. He merely wants to diminish our nation, not destroy it. The call to action at the end of the film? Every American must decide for himself if America should be diminished - and vote accordingly.
On entertainment value - 2 stars.
The music was good and the cinematography of exotic locales almost made one feel he was there. But really, how long can one enjoy listening to strange people speaking with strange accents?
On "must-see-ness" - 5 stars.
(Out of 5.) If he is right, don't you want to know?
In reply to "did not" I might ask an Obama supporter why he asked a non-partisan commission (Simpson-Bowles) to develop a workable debt reduction strategy and then completely ignored their advice. "Can you tell me one reason why you believe the president seriously wants to lower the national debt?"
Big enough? Non-partisan enough?
(He [Obama] wants to raise taxes on the rich. "Okay, that's eighty billion dollars of debt reduction per year, assuming the rich agree to keep doing what they're doing. How many eighty billions are there in sixteen trillion?")
Posted by: johngalt at August 27, 2012 2:35 PMDo I want to know? I don't know. Whether he is wedded to failed policies because of his academic background and ignorance (likely) or willfully wants to damage America -- does it matter?
My Dad used to correct me "you can't look into a man's heart." I think that advice may be handy here.
Then he'd suggest I get a haircut...
Posted by: jk at August 27, 2012 7:32 PMGreat review! The Refugee will likely save his money, as he does not need to be convinced of something he already believes. However, it does start a very worthwhile conversation in the broader electorate.
Posted by: Boulder Refugee at August 27, 2012 8:21 PMBarack Obama's academic background, such as we know of it, started at home and was reinforced by every leftist who crossed his path, either academically or socially. Barack Obama may indeed be ignorant to the efficacy of Austrian economics but not because he is an ignorant man.
I never claimed to be looking into his heart. Supposedly he showed us that himself in 'Dreams.' But there exists a tidy triangle connecting the points of the "Global Fairness" Movement, young Barack's friends and family, and President Obama's actual policies and actions.
Posted by: johngalt at August 28, 2012 11:59 AMAugust 19, 2012
Pre Review Corner
My fabulous and unprecedented streak of weekly Review Corners comes to a close today. I will be taking a bit more time with Deirdre McClosky's Bourgeois Dignity: Why Economics Can't Explain the Modern World. ThreeSources apologizes for the convenience.
I am intrigued enough to take the opportunity for a two parter. As this is book two in a planned series of six, the idea of two Review Corners is not completely out of whack. I'll begin with a partisan rant.
McClosky opens with The Fact (her caps) and it strikes me that The Fact is the most important philosophical, political, and economic question in the history of the world. I plan to make it a sine qua non of engaging with me that a prospective interlocutor accepts The Fact to some level and has some thoughts on an explanation. Not that arguing with me is such a privilege, but my Facebook friends who will not rise to this level will get Likes on their cute kitty pictures but no engagement on politics.
The Fact is the undisputable hockey stick. Not global temperatures, but rather global median income. For x years (anthropology is not my field but x is large) man skittered about the surface like other animals, then formed larger social groups, communities and cities. And yet typical consumption was in the neighborhood of 1-3 dollars per day equivalent to modern income. There are small bubbles in Ancient China, Rome or 12th Century North Italy, but they don't continue, spread or increase. Homo Sapiens return to Hobbesian privation.
It has been this way for all of history, and for that matter all of prehistory. With her $3 a day the average denizen of the earth got a few pound of potatoes, a little milk, an occasional scrap of meat. A wool shawl. A year or two of elementary education, if lucky and if she lived in a society with literacy. She had a 50-50 chance at birth of dying before she was thirty years old. Perhaps she was a cheerful sort, and was "happy" with illiteracy, disease, superstition, periodic starvation, and lack of prospects. After all, she had her family and faith and community, which interfered with every choice she made. But at any rate she was desperately poor, and narrowly limited in human scope.
Then in Northwestern Europe in the late 18th/early 19th Century, this figure begins to grow until the present day Norway where it is $137. Not even accounting for Google or jet travel or anything we enjoy that was not available at any price, we use sixteen times the food, clothing, lighting and housing of our ancestors 50-200 years ago (depending where you live).
This is astonishingly interesting! How did this happen? Deepak Lal divides the hockey stick into two blades and credits Ricardian economics. International Economic World Orders Liberal International Economic Orders allowed most of the world, under pax Britannica then pax Americana, to trade and realize the advantages of Comparative Advantage and specialization. Mises, Hayek, and Schumpeter would likely accept that and add the power of economic liberty. My man, David Deutsch says it was the scientific method and a structured epistemology. I suppose I have always accepted a virtuous mix of all these. The Calvinist work ethic is frequently mentioned as well.
McClosky -- are you sitting down -- says these are all great things but that you cannot make the numbers work or show that these factors did not exist in places and times where it did not take off. No, the answer is philosophy and rhetoric. We climbed out of the $3/day ooze when we accepted bourgeois values and valued enterprise.
Once buying low and selling high was seen as beneficial and the trader was viewed as an upstanding member of the community -- sez McClosky -- the world changed, and we began to accrue wealth. Bourgeois Dignity.
I am only a quarter in, and this is the second of a planned six books, but I am hooked. She writes for the academic and must spend a lot of time laying a meticulous foundation for things which are obvious to ThreeSourcers. Yes, we're richer, yes it is better to be rich than poor, yes human freedom plays an important role. Yet these parts are solid and enjoyably comprehensive.
You can score this one and beat me to the end -- I doubt you'll be disappointed. I will of course withhold my rating until I have completed the assignment.
I recall, when so-called 'anthropogenic global warming' was first floated as a theoretical phenomenon, thinking that nobody would ever voluntarily forego the prosperity of our plentiful-energy economy for the vague and infinitesimal goal of fractions of a degree of global cooling. This was before I was as learned in philosophy and came to understand the myriad reasons why an upright-walking human being would ever deign to advocate such a thing.
Posted by: johngalt at August 20, 2012 2:45 PMAugust 12, 2012
Review Corner
First, the elephant in the room. Scalia and Garner's Reading Law: The Interpretation of Legal Texts was $40 -- on Kindle! "Does the Eighth Amendment no longer hold, Nino?" If anybody wants I have an old, first-gen Kindle I could put it on and lend. Ow!
I cannot pass on any book by a sitting Supreme Court Justice at any price, and I cannot complain about this one; it was informative and entertaining. Like David Deutsch, Nassim Taleb, or Thomas Pynchon, it is great to get an invitation into a mind of that caliber.
Scalia's acerbic wit is on display throughout.
In a curious and lengthy passage, Judge Richard A. Posner has likened a judge who follows the unintelligibility canon to a platoon commander who, on receiving a garbled message, does nothing and presumably allows his troops to be slaughtered.
[...]
The analogy limps.
One more word than "Jesus wept." But Ow!
More importantly, he promotes his judicial philosophy of originalism versus both the purposivist, living Constitution crowd and strict textualists. The book is presented as 70 common law cannons which are frequently used in judging cases. Each gets a description and most get an example case or two and the authors' opinion of whether it was applied wisely in the particular instance.
One could hardly imagine a more sweeping negation of the possibility of laws that accurately represent the judgment of the people, laws whose content is predictable, and judges who subjugate their personal views to the rule of law. "A government of men, not of laws" summarizes this cynical view, which invites judges to do whatever they like, since they cannot do otherwise--the doctrine of predestination applied to judicial decisions.
It's jurisprudential philosophy -- but in a very technical wrapper. Actual cases, many outside of or predating the United States, and difficult cases provide an appreciation for complexity that your typical pundit-class commenter may not completely grasp.
Contrary to the praise heaped on the Shakespearean character Portia for holding that Shylock could take his pound of flesh but not spill a drop of blood ("O upright judge! . . . O learned judge!"), it was a terrible opinion. She should have invoked the principle that contracts to maim are void as contrary to public policy. Her supposedly brilliant rationale ignored the well-acknowledged predicate-act canon.
Most importantly, I enjoy the authors' respect for Constitutional principles, most notably separation of powers and the job of legislative bodies in drafting the text. Scalia may be the béte noir of the left, but he is extremely respectful of other Justices, judges, and circuits. He has no compunction in attacking their opinions, but reading this book (or Bryers's or Stevens's or O'Connor's) one is struck by a higher level of respect and congeniality than we artisans ascribe to the Court.
A great read and a deeper look than I was expecting. Four stars.
August 5, 2012
Review Corner
I hope ThreeSourcers appreciate how unseriously I take "Review Corner." When moved by a book, it is great to share it with both of my dedicated readers. But all in all, I took the name from Bullwinkle's "Poetry Corner" and take it about as seriously.
Authors work the social media and blogs, and it has been a great joy to get little thank you notes on good reviews and even a kindly defense on one that was less than five stars.
I happily picked up Brad Hennenfent's Anthem Against Obama when Dr. Hennenfent commented on one of Brother Ellis's posts. I traded a couple emails with the author and hope to preserve an alliance.
The book is a great read. I think every ThreeSourcer will dig it. He has repurposed Ayn Rand's "Anthem" to a modern dystopian post-Obama world. And it is done brilliantly. Hennenfent captures the timeless ideas of freedom and individualism and brings them to life.
We had never heard of these mountains, nor seen them marked on any map. They had never been mentioned in the Home of the Students. The world was much larger than they had taught us.
Long time Review Corner readers hear a "but" coming and here it is. The author mentions in an introduction that he might revise the book after the 2012 election. While the jabs at President Obama are enjoyable for a partisan like me, I think they present two problems.
First, they detract from the timelessness that Rand and Hennenfent capture. There are philosophical enemies to liberty everywhere and every when. Of course, that's the books concept and premise. "Did you think there were too many monkeys in Jane Goodall's book, jk? Huh?" Yet I found those to be fun but less satisfying than the rest.
Second, the level of Dystopianism that the story requires attributed to the current administration is a strawman argument. I'm sympathetic, but I imagine one on my Facebook friends picking this up -- or I imagine a book that has Mitt Romney forcing society into coerced Mormonism with all the Starbucks closed down. I'm not what most people would call a big fan of our 44th President, but the line from his bad policies and philosophy to this is tenuous (not non-existent to be fair, but tenuous).
Humorous to the dedicated opposition and enjoyable. But I found it turned a good and serious philosophy book into a "red meat for partisans" polemic. I think I might prefer the revision.
All said, you still have to buy and read this quality work: four stars.
July 29, 2012
Review Corner
The Necessary and Proper Clause has been widely misunderstood. Some have called it the "elastic clause," and suggested that it granted Congress vast authority that Congress otherwise would not have. But leading Federalists, including Madison and Hamilton, asserted the contrary. Even John Marshall, the Ratifier who as Chief Justice was accused of taking an overly-broad view of the Necessary and Proper Clause, specifically affirmed that it was a mere statement of what the rule would have been if the Clause had been simply omitted.Robert G. Natelson filed amicus curiae briefs on ObamaCare with Dr. Dave Kopel, who spoke on NFIB v Sibelius at Liberty on the Rocks. (If you have not watched the videos Ari Armstrong took, you are missing something.)
He is also the author of The Original Constitution, an all night house party for Constitutional Originalists. Natelson goes through the Constitution, clause by clause, and clarifies it based on the law books of the time in addition to secondary papers like Madison's notes, ratification documents and The Federalist Papers.
It was an entertaining read (you know who you are, it might not displace Harry Potter), and I look forward to hanging on to it for reference. It is a superb way to go "one step deeper" than just the original text. Natelson is a lover of liberty and brilliant legal scholar -- he is not imputing his beliefs on the text but rather expanding understanding based on originalist knowledge.
The Founders would have seen permanent federal land ownership for unenumerated purposes as subversive of the constitutional scheme. This was partly because the government was to enjoy only enumerated powers and partly because extensive federal land ownership would render many people dependent on the government.
[...]
The other six twentieth-century alterations, however, embodied ideals fundamentally at variance with those that had inspired the Founders. Their addition to the Constitution significantly changed the system’s design.The Sixteenth Amendment of 1913 ended the apportionment rule for the income tax. While in theory this did not otherwise expand the power of the federal government, it helped to realize two of the Founders’ fears: that some groups would be able to use the tax system to plunder other groups, and that the central government could impose a "direct tax" on citizens of a state without regard to the population of their state. The Seventeenth Amendment, ratified the same year, provided that the people, rather than the state legislatures, henceforth would elect United States Senators. There were strong arguments for such a change, but there is little question that it impaired the constitutional balance by weakening the voice of state governments.
The Eighteenth Amendment (1919), which established national prohibition of alcoholic beverages, was repealed only a few years later by the Twenty-First (1933). During the time Prohibition was in effect, however, federal agents became involved in routine law enforcement in a way they never had before--and Americans became inured to the practice.
Five stars.
This comports with my longstanding belief that American constitutional rule ended at the beginning of the last century, not this one - and that the Sixteenth Amendment was the lynchpin.
What is less clear, however, is why it happened then? Why was the government content within its limitations, at least economically, for over a century before seeking to expand its power? The passing of the Founders and their memories is one explanation. Anything more concrete than that?
Posted by: johngalt at July 29, 2012 3:55 PMI'm going with two clever parlimentarians: Speaker Thomas Brackett Reed made the house "efficient" and turned the reins over to TR; LBJ made the Senate work and took the reins himself.
These subverted Congress' avoidance of harm through inaction just in time for the Progressives.
July 22, 2012
Thomas Wolfe, Call your Office!
This Review Corner might become a midlife crisis -- thou art forewarned.
Insty linked to the Kindle Deal of the Day or whatever and I picked up Kurt Vonnegut's "Welcome to the Monkey House" for $2.99. My first apartment (below) was littered with Kurt Vonnegut paperbacks. I had read each a dozen times, but they were out and I would pick them up and reread them. "Sirens of Titan" was on the coffee table and I must have read it 20 times. "Welcome to the Monkey House," however, was in the car.
I continued to read Vonnegut -- if less obsessively -- as long as he wrote. Even though I came to abhor his philosophy, his percussive, poignant, and amusing writing style always made it worthwhile. He deteriorated as a writer pari-passu with my growing impatience with his ideas. The cruel joke was that his paean to Socialism, "God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater," is an unappreciated flop while the damning scorch of "Harrison Bergeron" lives on.
I had reread Bergeron many times recently, but the rest of the stories in Monkey House were dim memories. I laughed out loud, the man was brilliant. But his dystopian themes and überhip irony grate on me. I could not really get into them. I don't know if have outgrown childish things or lost my youthful sense of whimsy.
About that apartment. I don't want to overplay my brush at fame, but I got on Google to look at my old 'hood that is on the news 24 x 7. It was closer than I thought.
Thomas Wolfe reminds "You can't ever go home again." True that -- and not just because it has been evacuated.
I'd delete this post were it not for bloggers honor. A bit of reflection and a reread of a few stories show this is waaaay too harsh. Quite a few stories are brilliant and even the ones that bug me are superbly well written.
The author himself conceded that he was not on top of his game in the novels of his later years. These, conversely, are from the apogee.
A bit like hating the Grateful Dead for Deadheads, I placed some undeserved scorn on the author. He deserves scorn for other things, but not these amazing short stories.
July 15, 2012
Review Corner
Or, Why didn't we nominate this Bain guy?
Edward W. Conard is, I believe, the current Managing Director of Bain (you know how hard it is to figure out when those guys come and go!) but for our purposes, the author of a magisterial book on the "Panic of '08," which Conard refers to as "the Financial Crisis" (caps his).
Unintended Consequences, Why Everything You've Been Told About the Economy Is Wrong. is a very serious look at the banking system, political economics, and policy. He pulls no punches and he goes into the weeds when he must to explain complex financial instruments.
Anybody who remains interested in the Po08 needs learn about MBSs, CDSs, SIVs and the like. I considered myself -- not a financial whiz -- but self-congratulatory that I understood what these were and why they were used. Conard's book took me to a brand new level. On a good day, I could now explain whey the mezzanine tranches of subprime mortgage backed securities were as deserving of AAA status as a 20% down home mortgage. But I'd still suggest you pick it up from Conard.
More interesting to the average ThreeSourcer is his philosophy. I would compare him to Larry Kudlow: he is an outstanding proponent of free markets and their benefits, yet he is in no way "all-in" on freedom when it conflicts with asset prices. He sees roles for government that many ThreeSourcers will not appreciate, yet his cogent appeals to liberty make his heterodoxies difficult to dismiss [If we had editors at ThreeSourcers, that last sentence would have a big red line through it...]
Speaking of Heterodoxy, he opens early with a numbingly-counterintuitive chapter to get things flowing. Conard credits Roe v. Wade as the source to American freedom vis-à-vis Europe. Fusionism writ large, the alliance of anti-abortion social conservatives and free-market folk saved the country from the general human disposition toward wealth redistribution. US and European GDP growth tracks closely through the 1960s, splits near Roe, and diverges from there.
By the random dint of history, the landmark Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade brought pro-investment voters to power in the United States. This faction, representing about 35 percent of the electorate, combined with enough of the now-mobilized social conservatives-- principally the Christian Right, who vote Republican and represent 15 percent of the electorate-- seized the majority and permanently shifted the political economic center to the right. Without a similar legal ruling in Europe and Japan, a similar shift in political power never occurred.
[...]
Nixon was the last Republican president before voters contested Roe. Without the 15 percent bloc of evangelical Christian voters in his back pocket, Nixon had to accept a 70 percent marginal tax rate to capture 51 percent of the vote. Even then, he only won the election because of the unpopularity of the Vietnam War. Eisenhower only won by accepting a 90 percent marginal tax rate! Clinton was the first Democratic president in office after voters contested Roe. With only 85 percent of the vote available to him, where 40 percent of that vote supported tax reduction.
He is brilliant on trade and immigration. I don't think he is up late worrying that the Chinese are sewing our Olympic Uniforms. He asks "if offshore workers were to offer their labor to US consumption for free -- how much would we want?" All of it, right? As much as we could get. Well, seventy-five cents an hour is essentially free. Let us have Americans do something more wealth-producing and have others stitch up our homoerotic, paramilitary athletic uniforms.
In addition to talented workers thinking about how to improve future outcomes, there are other forms of overlooked investment. Immigration has freed many talented workers from household tasks and increased their availability for more productive activities-- namely, work.
This is a hefty and serious book, which I do no favors by summarizing in a blog post, but he does see a role for government as lender of last resort. FDIC prevented bank runs for 75 years. If institutions keep sufficient liquid reserves to prevent runs, there will not be sufficient risk capital and growth will be slowed. Much has been written as to why Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers received different treatment. Conard would have had the Fed and Treasury save both. And backstop AIG.
The crisis was an old fashioned bank run -- only the investment vehicles were changed. As only government can provide enough warm fuzzies to depositors to prevent withdrawls, it makes sense to have them backstop these 75-year storms so that the economy can grow at full strength in-between. He has some innovative ideas to address concerns of moral hazard.
Of greatest appeal 'round these parts is his appreciation for the morality of freedom. I wish that "that other Bain guy" could explain so well the benefits of risk taking and capital accumulation:
Who captures the value from the tractor? Not the farmer who competes with other farmers for unskilled tractor-driving wages; his return comes largely from avoiding the cost of not investing. Not the tractor manufacturers who compete fiercely with one another on price. Not the landowners-- tractors make it easier to plow more difficult land-- and not investors, such as banks, that compete with one another to supply the capital at perhaps a 7 percent return. The consumer captured almost all of the value through lower food prices.
Long review corner, sorry. And I have still not captured much from this fascinating book. Five Stars.
July 8, 2012
Review Corner
First. Apologies. In discussing Randal O'Toole, I had been dutifully looking up his last name to ascertain spelling -- all the while adding an extra l to his first. I hope some of the Colorado ThreeSourcers were able to catch O'Toole on Jon Caldera's "Devil's Advocate." He is a fascinating man and a serious mental hoss.
I'm on my fourth book which purports to explain the financial crisis I like to call "The Panic of Oh-eight." If you add the inane Matt Damon documentary, that's five different viewpoints. O'Toole's (the third book) is perhaps the most unusual and counterintuitive. Yet his knowledge of history, supporting statistics and anecdotal evidence force you to take it seriously.
Being a CATO guy, O'Toole is not a big fan of the Community Reinvestment Act, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, fiat currency, or Countrywide cronyism. And yet, he shows that the housing bubble did not devastate Houston, which had all of those, but did affect Vancouver which had none. The real problem, detailed comprehensively in American Nightmare, is zoning, growth restrictions, and urban planning that seeks to enforce the leftist utopia of dense urban housing and public transit.
In Houston, if you want a house, you can buy a plot, get a permit, build a house and move in within 120 days. Texas does not give counties the right to zone or restrict residential housing. Supply and demand are therefore matched and prices are non-volatile: when more housing is needed, they build it. What a concept, eh? In Boulder, you bid up the price of an existing home or start a decadal permit process.
Slow-growth advocates say, "Only the wealthy can move to our city." Smart-growth advocates say, "Less-wealthy people can move into our city as long as they are willing to live in one of the high-density enclaves we have prepared for them."
Houston is his favorite example but not an anomaly. Raleigh, Atlanta, and a host of other cities without onerous growth restrictions escaped the housing bubble. In his interview, Jon Caldera suggests homes are affordable in Houston "because nobody wants to move there." Turns out, Houston is the fastest growing metropolitan area and is adding another Boulder to its ranks every year. Yet $90,000 buys you a large three-bedroom house.
It's difficult to summarize this argument and not sound like a fruitcake. You've got to read the book or watch O'Toole (sadly, I don't think Caldera's show is posted online; if I find it I will link). He has a serious grasp of historical trends in housing and property ownership and a firm statistical/economic footing for his theory. Five stars.
Really glad you saw it. They are rerunning it today at 12:30 PM (Mountain) for those who missed -- set DVRs to "stun!"
Posted by: jk at July 9, 2012 11:35 AMReally glad you helped me see the big-picture conclusion. (I was multitasking while I watched it, like it was a Rockies game or something.)
I tried to "summarize the argument and not sound like a fruitcake" in a July 8 Tweet that for some reason is not showing up on the #3Src topic page yet.
#3Src What really caused the housing bubble that popped in '08? [link to blog post] Hint: It wasn't the CRA. Thank you Randal O'Toole!
I think my followers can see it though.
Posted by: johngalt at July 9, 2012 1:51 PMHowever, Nevada is one outlier that I'm very familiar with, and O'Toole notes in the linked article. As Elmer Keith said, "Hell, I was there!" I was planning to move to Reno and the way the market shot up in '03 was startling, so I congratulated myself on buying in fall '04 and moved about 9 months later. Peaked at about +20% and then Rock Lobstered ("down, down, down").
Anyway, the point is Reno and Vegaas were much more sensitive to recessionary shocks than places like Texas or some of the other states mentioned.
Not disagreeing with the role of the government in distorting the housing market, not at all. But there were some fairly free markets overwhelmed by other factors.
Posted by: Ellis Wyatt at July 9, 2012 2:29 PMEW, he addresses Nevada several times directly in his book. There are many areas which have various proxies which provide the same impedance between supply and demand even if they cannot be laid directly on planners.
One section on Nevada:
Speculation plays a role in housing bubbles. It appears that the real demand for housing in California was probably met in late 2004 or 2005, but speculators kept pushing up housing prices through 2006. An overflow of speculation from the California market probably contributed to the housing bubbles in Nevada and Arizona. Without California's land-use regulation, California speculators would not have imagined that prices in Arizona and Nevada would increase fast enough to satisfy their desire for profit from the real-estate market.
O'Toole, Randal (2012-04-23). American Nightmare: How Government Undermines the Dream of Homeownership (Kindle Locations 4472-4475). Cato Institute. Kindle Edition.
And:
All these states except Nevada have growth-management laws; as described in Chapter 11, Nevada’s housing supply is constrained by the limited amounts of private land available for development.
O'Toole, Randal (2012-04-23). American Nightmare: How Government Undermines the Dream of Homeownership (Kindle Locations 4333-4334). Cato Institute. Kindle Edition.
Posted by: jk at July 9, 2012 4:08 PMThank you gentlemen for the additional information. I'll have to read the book, because while I don't doubt that eeeevile California speculators were part of the problem in NV, my experience actually living there was that the cities and counties were very enthusiastic about encouraging housing development of both (local) public and private lands. The vast federal holdings were generally not a problem (yet - the cities were starting to grow up against them in some places, though).
Posted by: Ellis Wyatt at July 9, 2012 7:23 PMJuly 1, 2012
Review Corner
With my company's fiscal year end and rollout of a new ERP system on adjacent days, hopes for a Sunday Review Corner were fading fast. Randall O'Toole's "American Nightmare" is superb but not really a page turner. And the RMA automation section for which I am responsible is not going that well...
How fortuitous, then, that Professor Glenn Reynolds's The Higher Education Bubble is finally out on Kindle®. I teased him a bit over email that -- of all people -- his electronic version should not have been two weeks after hardcopies were shipping. Among its many virtues, it's a quick read. ($4.99 on Kindle and the stats say 56 pages).
Regular readers of Instapundit will not be bedazzled by new concepts. But he very clearly lays out what I agree to be an important new trend. And it's short enough you might be able to get a teacher to read it (now that was just mean!) I'd pair it up with Change.edu (free borrow for Prime members) to really see some of the flaws.
He opens with Herb Stein's superb dictum of "Anything that can't go on forever won't." Then he makes a compelling case that while the utility of a liberal arts education has fallen, its cost has soared. I remain pleased that my nieces and nephews in college today have chosen less expensive institutions and generally less debt. (That said, I'll package up a NBS [Niece Backed Securities] bond and offer it to ThreeSourcers at about .03 on the dollar if anybody is in -- but I digress). Most are following the recommendations of completing the first years at community college. Even our budding MD completed her undergrad downtown.
I'm less sanguine than the Professor that government bailouts are not going to be the answer. In the fever-pitch-shadow of the Tea Parties, all of our legislators fell all over themselves to make a 3.1% college loan a new American Right; they fought only over how to fund it.
A great, quick, read. A bargain at $4.99. A Karmic indulgence for all the free use of Instapundit all these years. Four stars.
Glad the nieces aren't taking the path that leads to an appearance on the Huckabee show and saying, "I have sixty thousand dollars in student-loan debt that I don't know where it came from."
One counterpoint, however, to your close. Congress didn't "fall over themselves" to pass the student loan bill. It was more of an Obamacare, Stimulus bill, sorta thing. You know, here's this mondo bill we wrote and now we're all gonna pass it. But don't worry that you haven't read it. That is so four years ago.
Posted by: johngalt at July 1, 2012 7:00 PMWHOA! Danger -- extreme hossness at brother jg's link. Don't read it within one hour of eating.
To bring it back to topic (and the digressions were all mine) that dysfunctional Congress will not be seen as obstructing education. Both Presidents Bush prided themselves on shoveling money at education. And Democrats...well...let's say the Teachers' Unions are a core constituency and move on.
The system Reynolds describes will have to fail before it is repaired, and it is "Too Sacred To Fail" by Congressional standards.
June 24, 2012
Review Corner
I still have one chapter remaining of Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter. But Sunday Morning Review Corners are becoming habit.
It is an enjoyable yarn, well written, and there are several nice grace notes for somebody who follows the antebellum period closely. I guess it is a big deal now with a movie from the author's screenplay.
And that is my concern. It is to history what Jon Stewart is to current events. It -- and he -- are sort of right and basically well informed. Yet both are forced to trade the nuance of the facts for the yarn, the laugh, the story.
The War Between the States presents a rich depth of study in economics and liberty. Seth Grahame-Smith, like most high-school history teachers and Apu's Citizenship Test is forced to enforce the The-Civil-War-was-all-about-slavery meme. A new generation will use this book as a springboard to learn history (Yaay!). But they will start on a too prevalent misconception (Booo!)
DISCLAIMER: I am not ready to join the sympathizers. The existence of slavery was abhorrent enough to override -- and spoil for centuries if not all of time -- the high ideals of liberty and local governance embodied in the Confederacy. I'm not lining up with Lord Acton, but feel we must take a more nuanced view of this defining period of history.
That said, the book is fun. Four stars.
June 10, 2012
Review Corner
How is anybody going to learn any history if it is written by historians? That's not a quip attempt, I am serious.
First a whole mess of stars to Kevin Costner for the History Channel's miniseries on the Hatfields & McCoys. It was well done. Costner brought money and star power and some big ticket crew to a cable special. If you missed it, I strongly recommend your trying to catch it.
I knew nothing of the story except that they feuded. While I enjoyed the miniseries, I wanted to read a bit more and see what they got right and what they missed. A little Kindle® shopping led me to Blood Feud by Lisa Alther: The Hatfields and the McCoys: The Epic Story of Murder and Vengeance
And for 11 chapters, murder & vengeance is what you get. Seriously, the descriptions of people and events throughout the feud are superb. While Costner's folks did a good job, a book is better suited to expressing ambiguity. Nobody knows what happened, and a researcher like Alther is faced with a McCoy book, a Hatfield book, oral histories and salacious journalism. Alther is humble but succeeds in a fair portrayal seeking outside references and corroboration.
I enjoyed the first 11 chapters and was ready to start dishing out the stars. The feud was complete and the loose ends were tied. Were this a miniseries the theme music would be swelling right about now -- and yet
And yet four full chapters and an epilogue remain. In this final third, Alther puts on her full professor hat and offers page after page of conventional academic nonsense.
I'm a big boy. I love history. And I am used to writers not sharing my liberty philosophy. I can roll my eyes at snarky asides and conventional wisdom. But it was as if the author went out for a cigarette and some evil grad student snuck in a hundred pages and sent the manuscript.
I highlighted a few lines from the last section. Why did they fight? She has a few interesting suggestions: genetic, economic, political, philosophical -- but the bulk is devoted to her theory of "daddy issues"
On the McCoy side, Perry Cline lost his father at age nine, leaving him vulnerable to the machinations of Devil Anse Hatfield. Frank Phillips never met his father, who was killed in the Civil War, and he spent much of his time trying to live up to his father's reputation for bravery. Harmon McCoy's sons lost him to murder when they were very young. Ranel and Harmon McCoy's father, Daniel, failed in his traditional responsibilities by giving them no land when they started families of their own. Ranel McCoy failed his own sons similarly. Daniel left a legacy of shiftlessness, and Ranel of litigiousness.I sometimes picture all these sad young men, and some not so young, fighting their shadowbox battles for or against phantom fathers, acting out their longing for fathers who had died or never claimed them, their hatred of fathers who had failed or rejected them -- and slaughtering one another in the process.
Mmmkay. Then again, it could have been. No, you tell them:
If only the feudists had spent as much money and effort on acquiring contraception (which was, in fact, available in other regions of the United States at this time) as they did on acquiring guns, ammunition, and moonshine, a different scenario might have evolved. With fewer children, their farms could have remained intact instead of being constantly subdivided into ever-smaller plots. Those angry young hillbullies would have had secure livelihoods and perhaps wouldn't have felt such a compulsion to charge around the countryside on horseback, expressing their fury by creating such terror and misery for others.
But the real feud was the Appalachians against the wicked Corporations
Once again, while audiences gasped in horror at the outrageous behavior of the fictional feudists, they admired their ruthless aggression. As one writer puts it, "Those forces, which were shaping a new American business and political elite -- and hence American mass culture . . . found the idea of man's 'wolf-law' nature a useful indulgence, a justification for annihilating one's rivalsBut an unknown number of miners and guards alike had died on Blair Mountain, and many more had been wounded. The large corporations had originally refused to enter the Tug Fork Valley due to the supposed savagery of the people who lived there. But the system the corporations had set in place instead turned out to be far more savage and lethal than anything enacted by the Hatfields and the McCoys.
I left out the section on how great President Wilson was. I can email that if you'd like.
A sad and sour ending to an otherwise great book. Four-and-a-half stars for Introduction - Chapter 11; minus 2.5 for Chapter 12 - Epilogue. Two stars. But if you have Tyler Cowen's discipline and can put it down when she goes off, I'd recommend it highly!
Lonely guys commenting on their own posts...
The Costner folks seemed to do a decent job on accuracy. There are many discrepancies between the book and dramatization, but it's a credible version of events.
The worst part is having the über-sympathetic Costner play a character, making him immediately a hero. There are several stories about how "Devil Anse" Hatfield got his sobriquet -- but none are for Costnerian equanimity.
Regarding Costner, yes he's great at the sympathy. In "JFK" he managed to make Jim Garrison into some kind of hero, rather than a paranoid maniac who hounded and prosecuted an innocent man.
Posted by: Robert at June 11, 2012 3:42 PMCostner AND Oliver Stone? You're Braver'n'me man.
Snark aside, Kevin did do a great job on the miniseries. He can't help it if he is likable.
Posted by: jk at June 11, 2012 5:14 PMJune 2, 2012
Review Corner
I have another data point, if not a direct answer to Brother jg's superb post on "Underdogma."
[Author Michael] Prell's premise is that our country's electoral preference for collectivist policies stems not from ignorance, but from a healthy American proclivity to root for the underdog.
On my brother-in-law's recommendation, I just read Winston Groom's Patriotic Fire which details Andrew Jackson and Jean Laffite and the battle of New Orleans. Underdogs indeed.
I'll reach back to a pre-blog Review Corner. One of my favorites and a book that launched my interest in history is What If? A collection of counterfactual essays well, I'll let the subtitle say it: "The World's Foremost Military Historians Imagine What Might Have Been." This 12 year old book is cheaper in paperback than Kindle but it moved me because the continuation of our American Experiment is so improbable. It starts (working from memory) with Washington and the Battle of Brooklyn. Without an unusual fog to hide the General's audacious retreat, American Independence would have been a footnote in British textbooks.
Thirty years in, we find ourselves back at war with the world's foremost military and, much as I dig James Madison, things ain't going well. Then a curmudgeonly Anglophobe General leads a small band of untrained and ill-equipped militia and a band of pirates to defend a near-undefendable city. [Spoiler alert -- the US wins!]
Staggeringly improbable! A great read. Four stars.
May 28, 2012
Review Corner
I had posted James Pethokoukis's Road to Freedom QOTD a few weeks ago. Many of the AEI bloggers have piled on since, and there are quite a few quotes from Arthur C. Brooks's book available on the AEI Blogsite.
And yet, I would advise you to take The Road to Freedom for a spin. It's very good, and its topic is near and dear to the hearts of ThreeSourcers: how can we make the most effective case for free markets and free enterprise?
As President of AEI, Arthur Brooks's opinion is interesting by default. As it happens, I think it will have a lot of appeal to ThreeSourcers, even though he is ready to concede a lot more to the state than most of us. Yet, the demand for a moral and not economic case will attract some ThreeSources enthusiasm. So what if growth is a little slower, if it is more "fair?" Brooks points out that a 1% d2GDP/dt2 means that in 72 years our descendants will have half the wealth they would without the loss. That the poor and the marginalized are the ones who truly benefit from growth and wealth creation.
A great read. At the end of the day I don't think either I or dagny or jg can claim Brooks to be "on our side" in the Elevator Talk wars (he does use the phrase "elevator talk"), but it is good data.
Four stars, as I have been too generous of late -- and that most ThreeSourcers will not encounter many new ideas. But what is there is well said, well documented -- and well worth a read.
Where was I on May 9th and why didn't I comment on Road to Freedom QOTD? That is some good stuff and I went back today to defend it from brother Perry.
Posted by: johngalt at May 29, 2012 7:04 PMDown at the Occupy Denver Rallies fighting Capitalism?
Posted by: jk at May 29, 2012 7:34 PMMay 27, 2012
Review Corner
This hung on my office door for a long time:
He has achieved success who has lived well, laughed often, and loved much; who has enjoyed the trust of pure women, the respect of intelligent men and the love of little children; who has filled his niche and accomplished his task; who has left the world better than he found it, whether an improved poppy, a perfect poem, or a rescued soul; who has always looked for the best in others and given them the best he had; whose life was an inspiration; whose memory a benediction.
Attributed -- erroneously it seems -- to Ralph Waldo Emerson. A friend and I used to joke that "a perfect poem" was a rather high bar; neither of us though young at the time seemed on track to complete any of the markers to Emersonain success. He later got into Orchids; maybe he will make the botanical cut.
The poem was in an ad for a Boulder Bank, and the reason it scored the prized location was that it also had President Lincoln's letter to Mrs. Bixby I am shocked to learn that its authenticity is now debated. Even before the Internet: lies, lies, lies!
That was a long side track, but the phrase "perfect poem" has haunted me to this day. Who leaves behind something of perfection? Especially in art, it seems heretical.
And yet, I am going to credit Robert A. Caro with a perfect piece of scholarship for his four-volumes-and-counting exhaustive exegesis on President Lyndon Johnson. Caro is the greatest biographer of all time. While I quip that "it's too bad he wasted his skills on LBJ," that is neither fair nor accurate. Our Thirty-Sixth provides both a complex personality and an opportunity to examine our Republic's legislative and electoral system in intricate detail.
I think anybody is completely mad for not reading all four, and hope Caro's health holds out to complete the series. But I do recommend Volume III: Master of the Senate" to one who balks at the idea of all ("Master" alone is 1400 pages). These books show an insider's view of elections and legislation that nobody is naive enough not to suspect, yet nobody would be calculating enough to fabricate. I think you learn more about how government really works from Master of the Senate than 100 Civics textbooks. The warts and all view has even me rethinking the benefits of self government.
Caro also ranges around (again, he has the page count -- no idea how big this one is but it has occupied your humble blog brother for almost three weeks). The introduction sections on President Kennedy are as instructive as complete books. While the books are lengthy and dense with facts, they are not a bit turgid nor long winded. Masterful.
For a guy who has spent so much of his life on one individual -- I have always wanted to run into Caro at a cocktail party or Walmart* or somewhere so I could ask "Do you like him? At all?" Caro's writings have done much to engender a personal antipathy for Johnson that I do not feel for any other President, whether I like their policies or not. TR and Wilson destroyed this once free nation, but seemed interesting, real guys, who were devoted and patriotic.
The Lyndon Baines Johnson of the first three volumes -- and the author hints of the fifth -- is an unprincipled slave to ambition. All his personal failings happen to be those which most disturb me. He is brutal to subordinates, obsequious to superiors, and completely ruthless without an agenda to hang it on. All his crimes are committed for the betterment of LBJ.
For seven weeks in this book, his subject gets a chance to shine. The transition from November 22 in Dallas to his State of the Union gets deservedly high marks. His initial legislative agenda, where the master again finds the strategy and tactics to complete the JFK agenda and start his own has to be applauded for brilliance whether you agree with it or not. Like watching Marty Broduer beat my Rangers, you have to provide props where props be due.
Lastly, Caro grades on a curve because he does support the agenda without reservation. Those opposed to it are racists upholding progress demanded by the majority. No doubt true, but Caro surprised me by never giving the slightest nod to property or states' rights, or even questioning the efficacy or current fiscal condition of these vaunted programs.
That sounds like a huge negative to ThreeSourcers, but it is not. We're big boys and girls and we know academic dispositions. At the end of the day, nobody else on the whole planet could have passed JFK's tax cut, which set up decades of prosperity. Or the Civil Rights bill which suborned property rights but elevated human dignity.
A lot to think about. A lot to learn. A lot to enjoy. Five stars without question.
May 6, 2012
Review Corner
I went to bed the night of April 30 sweating bullets.
I had a 5AM ride to the airport arranged and I had pre-ordered two Kindle books scheduled for release on May 1. Surely the good folks at Amazon would hook me up the night before or right at midnight and I would have something to read on the plane.
Right? Yes they did. And I enjoyed -- thoroughly -- Jonah Goldberg's Tyranny of Clichés on the way out.
It is hard for me to be objective with Jonah. He is such a favorite, I don't know if I could not like one of his books. We actually have a few areas of disagreement. But I so appreciate his method, writing chops and analytical skills that I consider him a real go-to guy. This book is no exception.
The premise -- and this book is far more partisan than Liberal Fascism -- is that the left cheats in the war of ideas by passing off platitudes and bromides as thought and argument. The Tyranny Blog on NR has more background on the book and several examples:
One man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter
...the sort of thing that would make any good Jesuit weep. It steamrolls through a fallacious comparison, confusing ends and means on its way, in order to celebrate both relativism and nihilism and elevate moral cowardice as an intellectual principle.Violence never solves anything
Really? It solved our problems with the British empire and ended slavery.Better ten guilty men go free than one innocent man suffer
So you won’t mind if those ten guilty men move next door to you?Diversity is strength
Cool. The NBA should have a quota for midgets and one-legged point guards!
Goldberg is funny and, as mentioned, far more pointed than in his previous book, but I appreciate the scholarly research to back it up. He quotes Michael Oakeshott
You truly take to heart Oakeshott's lovely epigram, "The conjunction of ruling and dreaming generates tyranny."
And then runs right into a pop culture reference:
But this is not really fair. The French Enlightenment was a lot like the Star Wars franchise: It started great; it just evolved into disaster over time, as the characters became more and more unbelievable. Montesquieu, after all, influenced the Founding Fathers as much as anyone, and was the author of the whole idea of the separation of powers.
Switching back and forth as easily as I switch from Sumatra to Columbian coffee:
"[W]e must demand that the individual shall be willing to lose the sense of personal achievement," insisted Jane Addams in 1902, "and shall be content to realize his activity only in connection to the activity of the many." Walter Rauschenbusch, the leading proselytizer of the progressive social gospel movement, declared, "New forms of association must be created.... Our disorganized competitive life must pass into an organic cooperative life." Elsewhere, Rauschenbusch put it more simply: "Individualism means tyranny."
I don't know that your average ThreeSourcer will change positions of discover a lot of new ideas in this book. But I guarantee everyone who takes it up will be entertained, learn a lot of new foundational material, and likely have a few myths punctured (let us say I have a couple of research projects after completing it).
Five Stars! It's Jonah fer cryin' out loud!
BTW: The second preordered book is Robert A Caro's The Passage of Power. Volume IV in his masterpiece biography of President Johnson. Mister Kindle says I am 13% in (Volume III was 1400 pages, I am not sure what I am into here) and it is incredible. The section on President Kennedy is better than any books I have read on Kennedy. I have no problem claiming Caro to be the best biographer of all time, this seems to keep on or above the trend line.
UPDATE: Good Tyranny of Cliches review in the New York Post
And one for Sister dagny:
a mechanistic utilitarian could craft a perfectly consistent argument that the slavery of the few would maximize the happiness of the many. The only plausible utilitarian retort is that the many could not be happy while enjoying the fruits of slave labor.
Goldberg, Jonah (2012-05-01). The Tyranny of Cliches: How Liberals Cheat in the War of Ideas (p. 71). Penguin Group. Kindle Edition. Posted by: jk at May 6, 2012 8:32 PM
April 30, 2012
Philip K. Dick
The author seems to have enjoyed Blade Runner more than blog-sister dagny did.
Oops, sorry if I was not clear. I think Blade Runner is a fabulous movie! I highly recommend the Director's Cut and it remains a sci-fi movie masterpiece.
I occasionally admit that I spent many a college road trip journeying to Science Fiction conventions, wearing costumes, and being told by well-meaning friends that I needed to, "get a life." The Blade Runner Director's Cut was one of the movies played over and over at such events so you could watch it at 3am when the panels were over.
However, I did think it was kind of silly that they took the plot from one story and the title from another and just stuck them together. I suppose it was because the general movie-going public would not have gone to see a flick titled, "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep," even if it did have Harrison Ford and Daryl Hannah in it.
If there is anyone out there who hasn't seen it - 4 stars.
Posted by: dagny at April 30, 2012 5:27 PMApril 22, 2012
Review Corner
I missed it. It's all my fault. I read today that "John Stossel rivets enthusiastic Denver crowd while promoting 'No They Can't!'"
I canceled a couple meetings and made plans to go down to Denver Wednesday for a book signing at the Tattered Cover in LoDo. I was taken very ill that morning (mostly all better now) and did not make it after all.
While I did not get riveted, I ordered a couple of signed copies: one for a great friend and one for the lovely bride. Yet, in a further display of bad husbandship, I read it first and then leant it to our niece.
Like Joe (and Blake) Kernen's book, I don't know that most ThreeSourcers will learn a lot of new things or have positions swayed by "No They Can't!" But my niece is an interesting data point. She is an Obama true believer but she loves John Stossel. I can't wait to hear what she thinks (I had not even finished the last chapter but did not want to miss this opportunity). Of all the public personages in the world, Stossel probably represents my views more closely than any other. I cannot think of one issue on which we are far apart.
I also like his style. He concedes that our problems have bipartisan roots yet does not enjoy bashing the parties in the style of a Matt Welch, David Boaz, or Nick Gillespie. He makes his point, answers questions, rebuts thoughts misconstrued -- but then leaves it to his interlocutor to form opinions.
And while I love to plow through Hayek and Mises (for once, I am not being pedantic -- I really do) Stossel's books assemble the most important concepts in an accessible, fun -- dare I say riveting -- package. Assuming that the last chapter does not call for the nationalization of the oil companies, I give it a provisional five stars.
Thanks to Brother Keith for recommending Philip K. Dick's A Scanner Darkly. It was interesting. My head is just not in the fiction space, so I am going to eschew a review. It was thoughtful and interesting. I was not prepared for the darkness and dystopia, but will not critique the author for the reader's failings.
"My Name is John Galt"
That was D.B. Sweeney speaking. Sweeney is cast in the pivotal role of the next installment of the Atlas Shrugged movie series, Atlas Shrugged: Part II - Either-Or
Sweeney is new to the franchise, partly because the John Galt character had a minor role in the first film and partly because the producers have chosen to recast the entire movie! There has been much consternation about this on the movie's discussion boards but I'm looking forward to it. My sense is that the first movie wasn't as well acted as it could have been. The leading roles of Dagny Taggart and Hank Rearden were played by Taylor Schilling and Grant Bowler who, while attractive, didn't seem to have their hearts in their roles. They are replaced by Samantha Mathis and Jason Beghe.
Mathis is a better fit in the role, being born in 1970 instead of 1984, and starring in major motion pictures like Broken Arrow, where she played the fetching park ranger who tracked down John Travolta and his nuclear missle.
And Beghe's name may not be familiar but viewers will recognize him from Judging Amy, G.I. Jane, Thelma and Louise, Castle, and dozens more TV series' where he had supporting roles.
Perhaps the only recognizable name in the cast is Esai Morales who replaces Jsu Garcia as Francisco. Garcia gave, I thought, the best performance of the heroic characters in Part I but Morales is still an upgrade. A consistent theme of the new cast is more experience and more maturity. It can't help but show up as a more compelling movie than the brave and fearless but out-of-its-league production of Part I.
And finally, who is D.B. Sweeney? New York-born in 1961, he set his sights on a pro baseball career. When a motorcycle accident scuttled that he pursued acting. His filmography is heavy on television roles and he had starring and supporting film roles as well, including Eight Men Out, No Man's Land and The Cutting Edge. [The last of these has special meaning to me and dagny. As washed out hockey player Doug Dorsey, Sweeney takes up figure skating with Olympian Kate Moseley and when they first meet, on the ice, Sweeney's effort to impress the young lady is dashed when he catches the ice with the toepick of his figure skate (non-existent on hockey skates) and face plants on the ice. I did the exact same thing on my first date with dagny.] Sweeney has the right build for the role of John Galt, and a natural smirking swagger that both fits the role and can lend it warmth and likeability.
I, for one, am really looking forward to the premier of Atlas Shrugged: Part II in October.
I, too, look forward to Part II. But less with this news. We are predisposed to love it because we want so badly for this to succeed.
But I watched it again recently (free on Amazon Prime -- yay!) and, stepping out of my booster space, I certainly see its flaws. Recasting will have a horrible effect on continuity. And I will miss Ms. Schilling, whom I thought did a good job. The discontinuity will provide more ammunition to those who wish to discount this movie.
Interesting bordering on the serendipitous that you post this today. A good friend of mine recently rented Part I only to be extremely disappointed that Pt II wasn't ready yet. My news that we were only 33% there was not greeted warmly.
If Donald Rumsfeld were producing, he'd realize that you go to war with the cast you got.
Here's an interesting question: Should Part III retain the Part II cast, or be fully recast one more time?
I ask this from the perspective that "nobody saw Part I," at least not anyone who didn't seek it out or was otherwise already an accolyte. We "boosters" will have no trouble switching the characters to new actors and neophytes will do better with a higher grade of actor carrying the script. Presumably Part II will have greater box office than Part I. I can easily imagine - not predict, mind you, but imagine - a big budget finale for Part III. Audiences have already shown their willingness to sit through a speech or two by Mel Gibson or his ilk, and there is one humdinger of a speech coming one day in Part III.
Hey, a boy can dream.
Posted by: johngalt at April 22, 2012 3:17 PMMaybe they'll get Mel for PIII...
Sorry, it just seems to be unraveling. Not sure the basis for expecting better box office for PII.
Posted by: jk at April 22, 2012 3:52 PMDigging the idea of three casts. That's a good idea.
Posted by: jk at April 22, 2012 9:39 PMBetter box office because of:
- Better word-of-mouth due to better film, better acting.
- Better distribution through lessons learned on Part I.
- More compelling storyline in Part II vs. Part I.
Thin, I know, but I think low-budget sequels are often better than the original. (See: Road Warrior vs. Mad Max.)
Posted by: johngalt at April 23, 2012 2:18 PMApril 15, 2012
Review Corner
Only fun books today.
Two-ninety-nine on Kindle® -- you cannot go wrong. Novitiate-Brother Bryan turned me on to this and I enjoyed it quite a lot. Like Tom Woods, it is great to encounter those who would are "a little farther out there" than I am. I find myself always doing Block's job (you mean speculators aren't bad?) without his wit or knowledge.
It is a great and provocative read -- and a great reference when you are asked to defend someone who is not a Disney hero but is not harming anybody. I also enjoy the history of a book. Reading Mises or Wollstonecraft or Locke, you become immersed in their time period and must contextualize their ideas in it. Block writes in the 1970's and I almost dusted off my leisure suit and put "Some Girls" on. He decries that NYC Taxi medallions are an astronomical $30,000 (an investment to rival 1958 Les Paul guitars) and one of the cartoons that graces the text uses the n-word.
Did I mention he goes too far? He credits the drug pusher for keeping prices low, accepts pimps as economic middlemen, pushing any violence and coercion to a side issue. I dunno, Walter, I need to think about some of those. But that is all I ask those who are just as shocked at my defense of others. Four stars.
Joe & Blake Kernen Your Teacher Said What?!: Trying to Raise a Fifth Grade Capitalist in Obama's America
Joe Kernen cohosts CNBC's Squawk Box; Blake is his daughter. The two of them did a book tour appearance on Kudlow that is in the adorable hall-of-fame. Dad does most of the talking, but Blake takes on a bit of self-education to grow beyond her teachers' and pop culture's simplistic views on economics. I don't know that any ThreeSourcer will learn something from this. But it could be subtitled everything we believe made accessible to a fourth grader. Nice. Four stars.
Lastly, my lovely bride turned me on to the poetry of Edna St. Vincent Millay long ago. I had forgotten the exact phrasing of her famous verse:
My candle burns at both ends;
It will not last the night;
But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends--
It gives a lovely light!
I looked it up and became re-captured by her other work. Renascence and Other Poems is $0.00 on Kindle; several others are free or low single digits. What a voice, what a total HOSS (Merle Rubin noted: "She seems to have caught more flak from the literary critics for supporting democracy than Ezra Pound did for championing fascism"), what a nice change from economics and politics. Five stars.
Maybe we can start the 5th grade capitalist in First Grade. Think the jg and dagny home needs a copy of that one. :-)
Posted by: dagny at April 17, 2012 12:47 PMApril 12, 2012
Post ad hoc Review Corner
One of the reasons Jonathan Haidt's (five stars) The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion has caused such a stir on the right has been Haidt's data showing -- mirabile non dictu -- that Conservatives understand Liberals (conventional American usage of these terms) much better than Liberals understand Conservatives,
I chuckled and thought of my Facebook friends reading that the lefties asserted that conservatives would not object to someone harming a defenseless animal (Puppy-kicking-NASCAR-Retard-bastards!). Haidt presents it in the context of his six-dimensional morality scale and it is quite convincing. Haidt's admission of a lifetime in the liberal wing with no real exposure to right wing ideas provides additional verisimilitude.
Andrew Biggs has a brief review of that section and some additional speculation.
But Haidt's research went one step further, asking self-indentified conservatives to answer those questionnaires as if they were liberals and for liberals to do the opposite. What Haidt found is that conservatives understand liberals' moral values better than liberals understand where conservatives are coming from. Worse yet, liberals don't know what they don’t know; they don’t understand how limited their knowledge of conservative values is. If anyone is close-minded here its not conservatives.
Haidt has a theory regarding why this is the case, based on the idea that conservatives speak a broader and more encompassing language of six moral values while liberals embrace three of the six in a narrow set of core values. I see nothing wrong with this explanation.
I must confess that this book has really stuck with me. I not only enjoyed it but I think of its precepts frequently -- in work relationships, Facebook arguments, &c.
WOW, I hardly know where to begin here, so I will just wade in.
Regarding Phil K. Dick, I would add to Keith’s lexicon that the movie Blade Runner (Harrison Ford – probably qualifies as pop culture) is based on a Phil K. Dick story called, “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep.†The title Blade Runner comes from another Phil K. Dick story with an unrelated plot. Apparently the title was picked at random.
@JK: I do not think your list of conservative novels really qualifies as, “pop culture.†I do not disqualify them because they are novels but because they seem to me to be relatively unknown. I could be wrong here as I do not claim to be a follower of pop culture, quite the contrary in fact, but I think pop culture novels are those that are made into movies. Think The Hunger Games and Harry Potter. Perhaps you could get Heinlein into pop culture based on the Starship Troopers movie but the movie directly contradicted the ideas in the book and certainly didn’t reflect conservative thought. Not sure I have ever left a movie theater quite so angry…
Re-read what we wrote about V for Vendetta so long ago and I’m a little surprised that we were so hard on it. It has become a favorite, often recommended and re-watched. Makes a great Halloween costume too. Jg looks just like V. However, my liberal friends insist this movie reflects liberal thought and not conservative thought. “Clearly the conservatives are the bad guys!†Don’t see how this can possibly give liberals a look into conservative thought if they deny this reflects conservative thought. This might perhaps support the theory above that liberal values are a subset of the conservative ones and they only see the liberal ones in this movie. Also includes one of my all-time favorite movie lines, “You only have bullets, but I have ideas and ideas are bullet proof.â€
Capt. Mal and crew are perhaps the best example of pop culture conservative thought. Although once again, I have liberal friends that claim this show reflects liberal thought too. Perhaps lack of commercial success noted by jk is because it reflects conservative thought and the liberals just aren’t interested.
Which leads me to yet another theory as to why conservatives understand liberals better than the reverse: Maybe they just don’t care what other people think?
Posted by: dagny at April 13, 2012 3:29 PMWait. You mean Willa Cather isn't pop culture?
Fair but I suggest that charlotte and bonfire were big deals -- they did a movie of bonfire, though unfortunately cast.
Posted by: jk at April 13, 2012 11:11 PMIn talking with dagny I realized I could have been more specific than "pop culture." I was trying to describe the societal influences that bombard the public without having to be sought out.
Posted by: johngalt at April 14, 2012 9:29 AMLess that I misunderstood and more that I took the topic in the direction I wanted. But I think you undersell the impact of a popular novel. "The Stand" by Stephen King did much for the left as did Steinbeck in his day or Updike & Cheever in mine. Sadly more of us have been influenced by Dickens's "Christmas Carol" than "Bleak House," but what ya gonna ado?
Posted by: jk at April 14, 2012 11:23 AMI see "A Christmas Carol" every year on television, in one or more of many film adaptations. The original novel was assigned reading in my public school. What is "Bleak House" and who wrote it? (You told me earlier and I still had to ask.)
I'm not the most well read among my generation, nor the least. I'm certainly not least read amongst thems that followed me. This goes to my original point: Liberals teach all of us their values in our formative years, but when we try to teach adult liberals anything it is water off a duck's back. They already "know" everything. It's like they are parents or something.
Posted by: johngalt at April 15, 2012 2:26 PMDickens wrote both "Bleak House" and "Christmas Carol." A friend had given me a collection of his one year for Christmas so I had read several of his novels but was never a huge fan.
Seeing Bleak House referenced in some Buffy lit-crit got me to grab it and I loved every word. I still don't know if it's the exact selection, or that I was older and I suspect I'll never know. Bleak House touched me.
There is a very good Andrew Davies BBC adaptation that is enjoyable and faithful. If you like that kind of costume drama stuff at all you should give it a try.
I put it into the Harrison Bergeron category because this man whom we know from Oliver Twist and Christmas Carol (and who appears of both my liberal five and conservative five) really hit this one out of the park. Countless characters are ruined by demanding the unearned. The multigenerational lawsuit Jarndyce & Jarndyce has multiple generations expecting a piece of an aristocratic fortune and ruined while good people create and manage their own lives.
Boulder folks will howl with recognition at Mrs. Jellyby, the "telescopic philanthropist" who leaves her own children unattended and uncared for while she ministers single-mindedly to poor children in Africa.
April 1, 2012
Madison
My pre-review of James Madison and the Making of America attracted a comment from the author, Kevin R. C. Gutzman, who was kind enough to answer a speculation on the timing of the book.
Finishing the book and considering -- it would have been germane any year of the Republic. They fought over the Commerce Clause at the Convention in Philadelphia, and clever Congress people tried to use the General Welfare Clause and the text of the preamble to expand government power before the ink was dry.
The underline for me -- and I think my draw to Madison -- is how hard drafting a Constitution is. We argue self-assuredly about the wonder of the Tenth Amendment and the evils of the 17th. It's wondrous to think that with no scattered history and trial, that this magnificent document was assembled, sold, and ratified. Nobody at the birth thought it was perfect -- it was law-sausage and contained deep compromises to each signer.
No doubt the founders would yell "what are you doing!" at us for much of what we tolerate, but I think there would be some pride in the devotion to its principles.
That's me talking, not the book. But it is a great read with some new viewpoints. Four stars.
I'm going to have to read it! I have been to several of Dr. Tom Woods lectures where he references Dr. Gutzman's research and always speaks very highly of him.
Posted by: Bryan at April 1, 2012 11:57 AMIt's very good; on Kindle or I'd lend. Hey, did you read Woods's 33 Questions??
Posted by: jk at April 1, 2012 12:04 PMMarch 28, 2012
Preordered! (Drool...)
|
My favorite author writes about my favorite President. Life is good, but I must wait until June 26. |
March 18, 2012
Right for the Wrong Reasons
An odd Review Corner for an odd book today.
"Abundance: the future is better than you think" by Peter Diamandis and Steven Kotler was an emotional read. I often wanted to applaud their enthusiastic optimism for innovative, technological, reason-based solutions to current Earthly woes. My most loquacious Facebook interlocutor has forbade me from ever using Karl Popper's "back to the caves" on him again. Perhaps I did go to the well too often. But he and his cohorts see less technology as the solution to technology's negative externalities. I see more. Domesticating the horse was a big step up but London dung disposal (a good punk band name) was considered an insuperable problem, as was North American deforestation to power railroads.
I come from the Virginia Postrel camp that innovation will solve pollution, energy scarcity, ocean acidification and any deleterious effects of global warming -- if the foundational principles of freedom, property rights, and rule of law are honored. I think I am safe in saying that fellow Popperian David Deutsch agrees with me and Postrel. I want to welcome the Abundance authors to our club.
They think these problems can and will be solved, but they are naive to the effects of politics. This is not an original critique. Professor Glenn Reynolds made similar statements in his Washington Examiner review of the same book. Reason piles on. (Follow that last link for a good video interview with Diamandes.)
And, here, the emotion changes. The book has an inspiring chapter on education by teacherless peers with access to computers
This led Mitra to an ever-expanding series of experiments about what else kids could learn on their own. One of the more ambitious of these was conducted in the small village of Kalikkuppam in southern India. This time Mitra decided to see if a bunch of impoverished Tamil-speaking, twelve-year-olds could learn to use the Internet, which they'd never seen before; to teach themselves biotechnology, a subject they'd heard of; in English, a language none of them spoke. "All I did was tell them that there was some very difficult information on this computer, they probably wouldn't understand any of it, and I’ll be back to test them on it in a few months."
They did quite well (should I have said "spoiler alert?"); then better with a teenaged coach who did not understand biotechnology but provided encouragement; then better still with some volunteer "Grannies" from the UK available via Skype®
I wept a bit at the power of this. But it was back to anger at the section's conclusion:
Soon we're going to be able to create gamed-based learning that is so deep, immersive, and totally addictive that we're going to look back on the hundred-year hegemony of the industrial model and wonder why it ever hung around for so long.
Umm, excuse me...I don't think we'll wonder "why it held around so long." I think we'll wonder how we ever overcame an over-empowered public sector Teachers' Union aggressively promoting the fiduciary interests of its dues paying members.
The union does not merit a mention. Objections to GMO crops are dismissed as silly, but not enumerated as the threat to progress that they are. African farmers cannot use GMO seed to increase yields and still sell to EU countries. Maybe technology cures that somehow -- but quite possibly it does not.
And so on and so on though energy, health care, food, water, &c. Things are going to be swell -- with which I agree -- but the swellness is going to come from Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and NGOs under the auspices of the UN, more than free people with property rights.
I undersell the authors a bit. They do mention entrepreneurs in mobile phone adoption, and do suggest that "the bottom billion" of our planet's poorest be considered as an exciting market opportunity. But the call is for more philanthropy, not more freedom.
I would still recommend it -- just have some pain killing medication available. Four stars.
A new tack for your FB friend: From now on instead of "environmentalist" or "alternative energy proponent" use the sobriquet neo-luddite.
If it catches on, maybe it will serve to make such ways of thinking "something that's not cool, that it's not acceptable, it's not hip to [be an environmental absolutist] anymore, in the way in which we changed our attitudes about cigarettes."
Posted by: johngalt at March 19, 2012 3:00 PMFebruary 26, 2012
Eviewray Ornercay?
I recently ordered, partially at JK's urging, a high-powered spotlight and David Deutsch's 'The Beginning of Infinity.' The "spotlight" is a piece of crap. The book, however, is a gem. Its premise involves one of those foundational ideas that affects, well, everything.
At this writing I've read only the recommended chapter 17. It contrasts two distinct worldviews: In one the survival of mankind is assured by living within the natural limits imposed by one's environment; in the other man's fate is secured by manipulation of that environment. But this isn't all. Those in the first camp say the manipulators are all wrong. In their unnatural, untested solutions and innovations they unwittingly create consequences. One such consequence is resource depletion, which the naturists claim they avoid by minimizing their numbers and moderating their consumption. This strategy is superior, they claim, to relying upon innovation after innovation to provide a healthy lifestyle for ever greater numbers of humans.
Before reading this and for as long as I can remember I have believed that we, mankind as it were, would always find a solution to any problem we may encounter. It was barely ever anything more than a curiosity. Now Deutsch has explained to me that this is why enviros, naturists and other advocates of primativism in its many forms believe the way they do - an inherent mistrust of human ingenuity.
I'm still plumbing the depths of how these ideas integrate with Rand and Heinlein, but they do. Quite thoroughly, in fact.
Clearly I need to expand the Review Corner franchise to include outdoor lighting.
Glad you dug it so far. I also think the quantum theory chapter will unite us; he separates the good science from the bad philosophy and mysticism.
Posted by: jk at February 27, 2012 7:38 AMMaybe I'll skip ahead to that one too. I'm also reading Chris Kyle's American Sniper. A much easier read.
I'm looking forward to reading how, if, someone chooses to defend "static societies."
Posted by: johngalt at February 27, 2012 11:23 AMFebruary 12, 2012
Review Corner
First. I am innocent. I did not actually hijack my blog brother's post with a pre-review of David Deutsch's "The Beginning of Infinity: Explanations that Transform the World." It happens that I was correct in including Deutsch, and this book, in the epistemological pantheon of Robert A Heinlein and Ayn Rand.
Second. Drop everything and buy this book. If the $17.10 (Hardcover) or $14.99 (Kindle) is a hardship for you, it would be an honor and privilege to buy this book for you. If you could not possibly spare the time for its 496 pages, read Chapter 17 and decide if you want to make time for the rest.
Third. I'm going to go with five stars. I'd hate to pick a favorite between his "The Fabric of Reality" and TBoI but I am guessing most ThreeSourcers would prefer TBoI. The non-physics contingent will find it more accessible. Aside one chapter on quantum theory, the new book concentrates more on Popperian epistemology -- two of the four theories from which "The Fabric of Reality" was woven. It also includes nods to the others: computational theory and evolution. Make that two nods to evolution.
I shook while reading the second to last chapter (the famed 17). The intrinsic optimism of the primacy of reason and the very real dangers of choosing a static society made me want to walk around with hardcopies as PM Thatcher did with Hayek and say -- as the post I "hijacked--" This is what I believe!
There are some good excerpts in the pre-review. I marked a gob more of them but will instead ask you to trust me just once and buy this incredible book.
It's on its way, along with a million candlepower spotlight for hunting the skunk that has made itself an unwelcome new resident of the farm.
I never really thought of myself as "insignificant" whether in comparison to the universe or to Whitney Houston. Instead I marvel at the inhospitability of the universe. Insignificant? That was the speck-sized insect on a piece of firewood I added to the waning flames yesterday. I was beyond a giant to him. And yet, I took his notice and think about him still -I wonder if he escaped the heat.
Posted by: johngalt at February 12, 2012 7:11 PMOh, and I thought highjacked was your word. It evolved in my consciousness from the memory of "crashing." "wondering why it exists" indeed.
Posted by: johngalt at February 12, 2012 7:27 PMGreat news -- I think you'll dig it mightily.
You know what I mean. There's a Carl Sagan, "we are the insect" mentality that correlates highly with leftism in the people I know. Funny, while there is not an overt political thought in the entire book, I find it to be the answer to and explanation of many of my infamous "Facebook friends."
PS Any high, medium, or low dudgeon on the hijacking accusation was self-inflicted or meant otherwise humorously.
December 28, 2011
Review Corner
I have put this particular Review Corner off because I wished to do a serious post. Yet, Professor Reynolds serves up a sweet segue today, linking to How the Government Has Caused America's Obesity Problem.
The book, of course, is the oft Reynolds recommended Good Calories Bad Calories by Gary Taubes. And the surprise is that it is really not a diet book. In fact, I was forced to pony up another thirteen bucks for an actual diet book to follow Taubes's precepts.
Good Calories, Bad Calories is an epistemology book. He examines data from more than a century of dietary research. At the risk over over-synopsizing 500 pages, he suggests that the accepted wisdom is built on unproven concepts and weak data, while dispositive results are thoughtlessly discarded. The fundamental bedrock principle of "eat fewer calories and exercise more" to lose weight is (my words) a bunch of hooey.
We've broached the idea of bad government programs on these pages, and I like to reference "The Four Food Groups" and "The Food Pyramid" when my interlocutor suggests government involvement in our private lives to be a good thing. But Taubes documents the medical community's misfeasance and government's malfeasance in propagating these bad ideas. Of course, it continues to this day in FLOTUS's "MyPlate.gov" which I understand is being quietly withdrawn.
Epistemologically (a great MadLibs® adverb), I cannot help but draw a parallel to climate change. You start a logical assertion: "more CO2 in the atmosphere will retain more heat" or "calories ingested must be less than calories expended." Both statements are demonstrably true -- and yet, both operate in the context of a sophisticated, un-modelable, incomprehensibly complex and chaotic system. Neither the Earth nor your body is designed for ceteris paribus. The Earth can raise clouds and you can moderate your metabolism or digestion.
Yet the science is very much settled in both fields. The core principles are never truly proven but are accepted. Then a body of work investigates ancillary principles with scientific rigor. It's as if we accept that the moon is made of cheese, then commission elaborate measurement of cheese viscosity and density to complete our understanding.
Before the hate mail comes: of course both could be correct. Global warming might be real and low-fat diets and exercise plans might be effective weight loss in some group of people. But both should be evaluated by scientists who exhibit a bit of skepticism.
Five stars for what it is. He has a follow up, "Why We Get Fat," which is shorter and has more practical advice. But the comprehensiveness and serious of Good Calories, Bad Calories is a great read.
[Personal note: I lost 70 pounds and never felt better when I was on Atkins several years ago. I convinced myself that it would be difficult now but have reconsidered. Cliché though it may be, the new year will bring my triumphant return. I will start "induction" Jan 3, so that I might enjoy beer for the NHL Winter Classic on the 2nd.]
October 23, 2011
Review Corner
The Economist called it a "resoundingly silly" caricature of economic liberalism and "a sad little book" that is simplistically dogmatic and displays "cocksure superficiality" in an abusive tone. The review suggested that the book would receive "low marks if presented by a second-year undergraduate to his tutor," and that "the case for freedom ... is ill served" by such a book. It accused von Mises of attacking straw men and having contempt for the facts of human nature, comparing him in that respect to Marxists.[1] Conservative commentator, and former Communist Whittaker Chambers published a similarly negative review in the National Review, stating that Mises's thesis that anti-capitalist sentiment was rooted in "envy" epitomized "know-nothing conservatism" at its "know-nothingest."[2]Huh. I give it five stars.
The other two, I am guessing, were penned in 1956, when "The Anti-Capitalistic Mentality" came out. (BTW Mister Chambers: next year a book is gonna come out that you're reallly reallly not going to like.) With 55 years of hindsight, I suggest Ludwig von Mises's not so sad little book looks pretty fresh and describes Hollywood, the ivory tower, and #occupywallstreet as well as anything released this century.
It is a peculiar book from Mises. The technical, philosophical, economic,. epistemological content one expects is contained in this book -- yet it is wrapped in an accessible candy shell. I suspect Mises purposefully wanted to reach a larger audience, and I will agree with The Economist that is gets rather polemical in spots. But it is a question we still ask. Having the fun of meeting blog friend gd for coffee with a bevy of ThreeSourcers, it came up. My sister has asked. Everybody I know who loves liberty has asked once: "Why the bleedin' heck is liberty such a tough sell?"
It's not that you're fighting Marx and Roseau. You're fighting Steinbeck, Woody Guthrie, Stephen King, and every Disney flick ever made. The guys who meet personal needs, who make your life better are villains. Why for? How come?
If you want to chance disagreeing with one of Britain's best magazines and our nation's foremost opponent of Communism. I recommend this book. I do not agree it is sad, but it is very short, completely non-technical, and amazingly prescient. Mises.org offers an eBook for $5, or a complete text or PDF version is available free.
September 7, 2011
Review Corner
Hugh Laurie's "Let Them Talk" is out this week -- available on the distinctly non-evil Amazon MP3.
Laurie is best known as TV's (Randian) Dr. House, although I felt the end of the last season discarded all of his Randian cred.
But that isn't important now. Occasionally on House, and much more frequently on BBC shows like "A Bit of Fry and Laurie" and "Jeeves & Wooster," Laurie tickles the ivories with a great penchant for American Jazz & Blues. "Let them Talk" is a collection of New Orleans blues. I'm halfway through and must report I am diggin' it the most.
The Wall Street Journal offers a positive review:
"I wore a suit and a tie everyday as a sign of respect for the music," Mr. Laurie said. "When Irma [Thomas] arrived I was even more on my best behavior. She couldn't have been more gracious."Then the thought crossed my mind: Why not Dr. John? I was caught somewhere between hysterical laughter and abject terror."
On the day he was to cut "After You've Gone" with Dr. John, whose real name is Mac Rebennack, Mr. Laurie decided to arrive at the studio early so he could practice. But his guest was already there, working out an arrangement on piano. "Joe said, 'Step away from the piano. We want you just to sing.' Mac gives a performance that appears to be effortless. His phrasing and embellishments are completely spontaneous."
I'm enjoying it a lot. I'll go five stars.
August 29, 2011
99 cents of debased fiat currency
I do love e-readers. I won't bore you again with the reasons.
Yesterday, I hit my Kindle's "suggestion for you" and it hooked this brother up with a collection of Bastiat essays with a foreword by FA Hayek: The Economics of Freedom: What Your Professors Won't Tell You, Selected Works of Frederic Bastiat, for the princely sum of 0.99. The ones I had seen are worth reading again, and there are quite a few I had not seen (unseen?) or forgotten. In "Credit," our favorite 19th Century French philosopher/economist predicts and debunks Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
This much being granted, what good can credit institutions do? They can make it easier for borrowers and lenders to find one another and reach an understanding. But what they cannot do is to increase instantaneously the total number of objects borrowed and lent.However, the credit organizations would have to do just this in order for the end of the social reformers to be attained, since these gentlemen aspire to nothing less than to give plows, houses, tools, provisions, and raw materials to everyone who wants them. And how do they imagine they will do this? By giving to loans the guarantee of the state.
Bastiat describes two farmers, James & John, both of whom would like to borrow the only plow in France.
John, with his honesty, his property, and his good name, offers guarantees. One believes in him; he has credit. James does not inspire confidence or at any rate seems less reliable. Naturally, Peter lends his plow to John. But now, under socialist inspiration, the state intervenes and says to Peter: "Lend your plow to James. We will guarantee you reimbursement, and this guarantee is worth more than John's, for he is the only one responsible for himself, and we, though it is true we have nothing, dispose of the wealth of all the taxpayers; if necessary, we will pay back the principal and the interest with their money."
Is it just me, or is this story sounding somehow familiar?
In a given country and at a given time, there is only a certain sum of available capital, and it is all placed somewhere. By guaranteeing insolvent debtors, the state can certainly increase the number of borrowers, raise the rate of interest (all at the expense of the taxpayer), but it cannot increase the number of lenders and the total value of the loans.
If the President has a Kindle, I would happily cough up 99 cents to buy this for him. There are quite a few good lessons in it.
You'll never get the preznit to read it unless you spoof the title to something like, "How to Take Your Mulligan on the Putting Green and Still Win the Calcutta."
Posted by: Boulder Refugee at August 29, 2011 11:38 AMAugust 14, 2011
Review Corner
<bullwinkle voice>Welcome, Poetry Lovers...</bullwinkle voice>
First up is a proper review corner for Thomas Woods's 33 Questions About American History You're Not Supposed to Ask. Brother nb linked to Woods a few weeks ago and we discussed his appearance on Stossel.
I ended up grabbing his book and I am certain that any ThreeSourcer would dig it mightily. Woods strips away the PC version of American History, trashing shibboleths like the environmentalism of indigenous peoples, FDR's economic chops, radicalism of nullification and states rights, the importance of unions and progressive legislation to improve working conditions, &c.
I guess my favorite thing about it is that I was challenged from the wingnut side. Woods goes A LOT farther than I would on some of his answers. To give an example I must offer a painfully uncontextual paraphrase: Against the Federalization that accompanied the Civil War, the destruction of States Rights and creation of a modern nation state are presented as culpable for the 20th Century wars. Slavery was not only not the cause of what Brother Keith calls "The War of Northern Aggression," it seems to be too low on the list to bear inclusion, based on Lincoln's lack of dedication to emancipation and multiple Northern examples of racism and acceptance.
Yet, these are perfect examples of the value of the book. Woods presents a "book of questions." While I might quibble with some answers, the author is dead-on that these questions are not -- cannot -- be asked in a history class today. I thought of the Simpsons episode: Apu is getting his citizenship, and taking a test. The official asks the cause of the Civil War. Our favorite accented Slushee® purveyor launches into a nuanced disquisition of the place of tariffs in an agrarian economy versus the industrialized North -- the tester interrupts and says "Just say 'Slavery!'"
Four stars fer sure.
Next, a premature, advance review corner, for what I'm guessing is a future five star. I was not going to read David Mamet's The Secret Knowledge: On the Dismantling of American Culture also discussed on these pages. It's a polemic, thoughts me, I'd rather read history or economics or something.
A "Kindle Sample" changed my tune -- I am enthralled at his eloquence, devotion to reason, and the scope of his reading. I'm going to tease the choir with the introduction to Chapter 8, The Red Sea:
There is another possible interpretation of the parting of the sea by Moses.Rather than intervening to create a path in a unitary substance, it could be said that he demonstrated that freedom lay in the ability to see distinctions; that is, that life could be seen as divisible into good and evil; moral and immoral; sacred and profane; permitted and forbidden--that the seemingly unitary "sea" of human behavior and ambition could actually be divided. A slave is not permitted to make these distinctions. All of his behavior is circumscribed by the will of his master. The necessity of making distinctions is the essence of freedom, where one not only can but must choose.
This revelation of the long-denied, long-lost necessity was, to the escaping Jews, something of a miracle, inspiring awe, fear, and an attendant shame--shame that they had submitted to enslavement, and shame that they had forgotten the essence of freedom so completely that its possibility seemed to them supernatural. Moses told the Jews to look back at the pursuing army, and said, "Those Egyptians you see today you will never see again"-- that is, they would be freed from not only the fact but the shame of slavery as soon as they recognized in themselves the possibility of choice
I'd say it is purdy good...
[Mamet, David (2011-06-02). The Secret Knowledge: On the Dismantling of American Culture (Kindle Locations 735-744). Sentinel. Kindle Edition.]
Parting of the Red Sea = Red Pill/Blue Pill. I like it.
Posted by: johngalt at August 15, 2011 3:00 PMJust added to my kindle wish list...will plunge in right after I finish A Feast for Crows, A Dance with Dragons, and Steyn's "After America". In that order.
Posted by: Lisa M at August 19, 2011 9:27 AMJuly 24, 2011
Review Corner
It's unusual to hate the ending of a non-fiction, history book. It is rarely a surprise "Huh? The South Lost?" And if you enjoy a book and its thesis for 14 chapters, the denouement is usually like the last day of the Tour de France: a pleasant ride without substantive changes.
But "Reckless Endangerment" broke the mold. Not enough to ruin the experience or force me to retract its recommendation, mind you, but certainly enough to lose one star and leave me with a queasy feeling for days after.
For fourteen chapters, Gretchen Morgenson and Joshua Rosner carefully construct a trenchant case against government's complicity in the housing bubble. The Community Reinvestment Act and the implied government "put" against Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are deftly told with names, dates and facts. The crony capitalism of Angelo Mozilo at Countrywide, the capture of regulators and of Congressional oversight are all documented in excruciating and maddening detail.
As I was warned, the authors mention but do not highlight loose money. Fed Chair Greenspan gets whacks for ineffective regulation, but not much for quarters of negative real interest rates. The repeal of Glass-Stiegel, which I consider a leftist bogeyman, gets a whole chapter while monetary policy gets mentions -- disappointing, but acceptable, it is their book.
But after they have layered and interconnected this airtight case, they graft a Chapter 15 onto the end that says "yeah, but it was really all about Wall Street Greed." "Squeeze me? Baking Powder?"
Maybe I read too much into it or am a tool for Goldman Sachs, but I thought this non-sequitor, afterthought compromised much of this excellent book. Unlike 1-14, Chapter 15 had little documentation and context. It was cribbed from the Matt Damon movie and contained all the hoary chestnuts like Goldman's shorting the securities it was selling. I know that offended Senator Levin. But the authors are more sophisticated and one expects them to understand that a trade has two sides, and that GS is a rather large entity. Were its traders bound to support the paper other divisions were creating, congressional hearings would be warranted.
In the end, though, the famed first fourteen are well worth the price and time. I give it four stars and a hearty recommendation.
Heh. Maybe the last chapter was grafted on by the editor or publisher after signoff by the authors on the final proof.
Posted by: johngalt at July 24, 2011 2:28 PMJuly 20, 2011
Don Luskin's Promo Video
Did I link this?
The book is great!
July 18, 2011
Guest Review Corner
Blog friend JC puts this in the comments, but I want to promote it to a post:
========================================================
FINALLY FINISHED Virginia Postrel's book: The Future and its Enemies!
First, I would like to begin with apologies. The book challenge was started back in Feb? March? My friend jk quickly procured and read my challenge to him: Making Peace with the Planet by Barry Commoner. jk must be a speed reader. He finished far ahead of expectations and quickly posted his review. Me, on the other hand, dragged my feet, ordered the book to be delivered by bicycle messenger and read by candle-light to reduce the fossil fuel impact this book challenge would have on our frail planet! ;-)
Excuses, excuses...
I carried this book with me everywhere I went. Unfortunately, I rarely found/made time to read it. Once summer started, the hiking, biking, kayaking and RC airplanes took precedence over Postrel's book. I guess I would have done better with a deadline - I might have finished it faster (maybe not).
The Future and its Enemies was the toughest book I have ever read. When I read, I read slowly to ensure I grasp the full intent, content and supporting comprehension of the author. My biggest problem with this book is how frequently Postrel shifted from lucid clarity in her reflections on the status of society to sheer and utter ignorance about the topic she assumed to know so well. These radical shifts between reality and fantasy made my head reel every time I picked it up. I frequently went back to re-read the previous section to ensure I understood what she was writing so eloquently before she drifted off into ignorant assumptions about practices and policies that have no basis in reality. Again, it was a tough read.
Postrel's book should have been titled "The Dynamist Manefesto (and how to label and mock anyone who appears not to be a dynamist") She writes the book in support of her beliefs and positions posted at www.dynamist.com. Maybe the book should have been titled "Supporting the Dynamist Manifesto" - I don't know... the title and content were in conflict from my perspective but, then again, I would never claim to be 100% dynamist (or any other [insert term here]) based on Postre's judgmental assumptions.
Although the book made me wonder how a person could come to adopt the wildly ridiculous ideals presented in this book, I found a significant amount of useful material for reflecting on past and current technologies, industries and political policies. Case in point:
(quoting from p. 205) "It isn't terribly appealing to argue, for instance, that you want everyone else to be worse off so that your company can charge high prices, run inefficiently, and not worry about coming up with new and better products. Far better to invoke reactionary ideals of loyalty and stability, to suggest that turbulence is evil and competition suspect - or to offer technocratic promises of predictability and order against the messiness of experimentation. If you can also suggest that uncontrolled "technology" is plowing over "people", so much the better. The people inventing and using new technology don't count much in stasist calculations - and, chances are, they haven't yet gotten organized into an interest group."
Her statement is spot-on with regards to the battle between conflicting industries and/or political parties (fossil fuels vs. wind, solar and geo-thermal). Individual stasists in the FF camp are fighting hard to hold on to their old, inefficient and outdated product and the internal combustion engines that they feed. Ignorance, arrogance and greed seem to rule the day while rational thinking has taken a back seat to rhetoric.
My last point is regarding how Postrel believes that non-dynamists are working hard to destroy/slow/ruin the world we live in. She speaks as though technocrats, stasists, reactionaries and other “non-dynamists†are a growing population. I am not sure how she arrived at this conclusion but I challenge her to prove that human evolution is driven by epi-genetic proclivities that eventually eliminate dynamists from the human family. Fact is, the human family has always included reactionaries, stasists, technocrats and every other mindset we can imagine. We (humanity) would not have arrived at our current place in history if it were not for all of those conflicting views and philosophies. We need each one of these types of people in society to maintain a dynamic balance in our evolutionary growth and development. The world is much better off with our conflicting views than it would be if there was no conflict and/or no growth.
"Conflict is the gadfly of thought. It stirs us to observation and memory. It instigates to invention. It shocks us out of sheeplike passivity, and sets us at noting and contriving." - John Dewey
We can see that the scales have not yet fallen from our friends eyes. "Rational thinking" does not lead to a policy of government subsidy to prop up favored but unsustainable (economically) energy schemes.
I'll give the reviewer credit for apparently finishing the volume, which I'd now like to add to my short list, and for his creativity in contorting Postrel's critique of group-identity politics and anti-competitive regulation into something that comports with his own worldview. A clever bit of philosophical self-preservation having been exposed to said "wildly ridiculous ideals" as, I presume, an individual's right to work, prosper and retain his earnings.
Posted by: johngalt at July 19, 2011 9:39 AMI chose this because I thought jc would like it, so score me .000 for predictive power. But I know of two others' reading it on my recommendation, both of whom like it. So score me .667 on literary recommendation.
For those who have yet to have the pleasure, it is not political, per se. It is more about philosophy and economics, which might underlie politics, but she does not take sides or endorse anything remotely partisan. Her stasists include both VP AL Gore and Pat Buchanan -- two people not normally linked politically. But her point is that both impede innovation and progress in their own way.
I find it a paean to Hayek, spontaneous order, organic bottom-up structure, and the progress of incremental improvement. One of the most memorable is the creation of contact lenses. Imagine going to the FDA today and suggesting that you're going to grind lenses out of glass and insert them in people's eyes.
Yet somebody (named in the book but I have forgotten) did. Then plastic, then gas-permeable, then disposable, now overnight, &c.
I will correct my brave interlocutor on only one point. The title is not a bellicose denunciation of those who disagree; it is a homage to Dr, Karl Popper's magisterial "The Open Society and its Enemies" (which was far more bellicose).
Ah, well, you can't win them all.
Posted by: jk at July 19, 2011 11:59 AMAgain, props for playing. I have made this offer a hundred times and my friend, jc, remains the only one who ever took me up on it. My niece has ordered Ron Paul's book from the library, but this is predicated on their being much she'd agree with in it. And she told me not to expect that she'd read the whole thing.
Posted by: jk at July 19, 2011 2:14 PMJuly 17, 2011
Pre-Review Corner
The stupidest line in the English language has got to be "I'm so behind in my reading." "Show me a person who is not behind in his reading," retorts me, "and I'll show you somebody with nothing to read." That rare -- as in never -- event caught me yesterday. I had finished everything on my Kindle. I went to the Kindle store for suggestions. They had several SharePoint books (that's work, ugh) and quite a few tatting books (I share an account with the lovely bride, something I recommend highly for his-and-hers kindlers).
And, Reckless Endangerment, which got the nod -- and $12.99 of my hard-earned fiat currency.
Today Rex Murphy has an extended review in the National Post.
First, a note about Reckless Endangerment's authors. They are, respectively, Gretchen Morgenson, a Pulitzer Prizewinning New York Times business reporter, and Joshua Rosner, a financial analyst -solidly competent and authoritative both. Reckless Endangerment does not come, in other words, out of the wild territory of hyper-partisanship or the backwaters of conspiracism.Any person with a regard for the United States, or with some surviving faith in the virtues of representative democracy, will finish this book severely angry. It's a good game to play, should you start to read it, to keep count of the number of times you lay the book down in exasperated wonder that the American system could have been so twisted, so abused and so turned against itself.
I read several good reviews about this book when it came out, but I thought I would pass as I already agree with what I understand its conclusions to be. It seems to match pretty closely with my view of the Panic of '08 causes (though they have been accused of soft-pedaling monetary policy).
But what I am gonna do? Read SharePoint books on Sunday? I am just a couple of short chapters in, but I think it will be worth it. I have this vague notion that the Community Reinvestment Act forced banks to offer loans to subprime borrowers and include it on my list of government intrusion. But the second chapter really nails it down, from its passing in 1977 to a Boston Fed paper in 1992 that suggested broad racial imbalance in lending, to the ambitious strike of James Johnson at Fannie, to the substantive facts disproving the '92 paper.
All my friends believe greedy Wall Street guys and George Bush caused the problem to drive up Halliburton shares and get rid of Saddam Hussein -- I don't know, it gets murky sometimes. This appears it might be to the panic what Lawrence Wright's "The Leaning Tower" was to Islamic terrorism: a non-ideological and serious look at fundamental causes.
I had a suggestion for anyone's reading list last week. The Mike Rosen show is a fairly good filter of authors on book promotion tours. While you read I move irrigation pipes, mow weeds, install sprinkler systems, move hay... I frequently envy you and always appreciate your Review Corner.
Maybe more than just your FB friends but certainly not "all" your friends believe the "greedy capitalists" narrative. But the non-partisan and non-conspiratorial disclaimer is proof that this is precisely how it will be treated by the government fat cats and those in their sphere. The fat cats by self-interest and the confederates by faith, all will be unpersuaded by even the most airtight case that "government did it."
Posted by: johngalt at July 17, 2011 4:38 PMJuly 16, 2011
Review Corner
A quick review corner for David Heidler's Henry Clay: the essential American: this is a very well written book. It is interesting and informative, and the topic is truly one of the greatest of American statesmen. One encounters Clay as the rival when reading about William Henry Harrison or Zachary Taylor and the nemesis in any book about Andrew Jackson, John Quincy Adams, or John Tyler. It is fascinating to look at the same issues from Clay's vantage.
Heider (and his wife I believe) bring this colorful character to life through decades of monumental American history. He is interesting as the five-time-almost-President, but he is essential as the third of the Clay-Webster-Calhoun triumvirate.
The best thing about Clay in the end is that he, Calhoun and Webster remain our dream of Republicanism: brilliant men of passion, principle, and patriotism. <yoda voice>Not this stuff</yoda voice>: of Dodd and Grassley. Even in disagreement, it is easy to respect these men. The likes of, I fear, we may never see again. And Clay was the star of even that elevated company.
Superb. Four stars.
July 2, 2011
Review Corner
How 'bout a movie for a change?
I just sent "Departures" back to Netflix -- what a great film (it is definitely a film and not a movie, trust me). IMDB gives the plot as
A newly unemployed cellist takes a job preparing the dead for funerals.
The movie, er film, is in Japanese with Engrish subtitles. You're picturing a lengthy, tedious art film, c'mon admit it. Art it may be; tedious it is not.
I think ThreeSourcers would dig it -- not that there's a Reaganite message about cap gains taxes -- but for a serious and beautiful look at work and art, individualism, and human dignity. A small, ensemble cast is endearing. The cinematography is superb, showing a Japan that is not Disney, Clavell, or dystopian.
Sweet, well paced and unusual -- Five stars.
Totally agreed; it's quite a stunning and moving movie. It reminded me of "Cold Fever" with it's deliciously slow pacing and odd moments of humor.
Hmmm. Maybe I better see "Cold Fever."
Posted by: jk at July 2, 2011 11:38 AMDude, that is one seriously obscure film. Netflix no got. Amazon has a Region 2 DVD from a private seller used at $23. Did you see it in Iceland?
Of course, now I really want to see it...
Posted by: jk at July 2, 2011 9:43 PM
I don't know whence I saw it, nor how I got turned onto it. When in doubt, ask the guru's at the Video Station in Boulder... I've only found one film they couldn't get, and they did know it ("our copy finally died, and we can't get another"...).
IMDB fans give it a 7; which isn't the most reliable (aka, obscure films are mostly voted on by the geeks who sought them out), but I really liked it.
nb
July 1, 2011
Review Corner
I finished "The Jacket" and Matt Welch's Declaration of Independents last night. It is a remarkably uplifting book.
It is funny, thoughtful and well written. None of that surprises me because of the authors. But the book starts by laying out a serious and ambitious agenda:
The Declaration of Independents is a call to wave away the clouds of obfuscating political malarkey, to call things (in [Vaclav] Havel's phrasing) "by their proper names," identify governance for what it is, expose how it sells itself, and inject into the political sphere the same forces of innovation, individualization, and autonomy that are bettering the way we live in every other sense.
They accomplish all this without nattering the way Libertarians sometimes do. It remains very upbeat, in spite of chapters like "We are so out of money!" There's a kind of Reaganite optimism about it, not that they have many kind words for our 40th. but they do have a true belief that free people will overcome the challenges of over-weaning government.
Funny, upbeat, informative, thoughtful. I will offer any of my leftist friends to read anything of their choosing if they'll pour through this one. It should be easy as Speaker Boehner and President George W Bush get as many or more whacks than anybody else.
Five stars. Greg Gutfield says "It's better than 'War & Peace' and 'Everybody Poops' combined."
Any book using the description, "obfuscating political malarkey," goes to the top of MY reading list.
Posted by: dagny at July 1, 2011 4:09 PMHeh. I hear you bought the Luskin book ; this hardcopy is up for grabs...
Posted by: jk at July 1, 2011 5:49 PMJune 19, 2011
Review Corner
To get a break from history and politics, I always enjoy a good pop-science-cosmology book. A good friend of mine and I trade recommendations, plus the Wall Street Journal has been reviewing a lot of them lately. I liked Stephen Hawking's newest, The Grand Design, and the best of the recent breed is Martin Bojowald's Once Before Time.
But I'll put Lawrence Krauss's Quantum Man well up there. Like Mr. Speaker, the author is gifted with an entertaining personality to document. Richard Feynman breaks the scientist stereotype nicely: he plays bongos at a strip club, moves to Brazil to support his research and carnal needs, and makes indelible impressions on his colleagues for his potent personality and an intelligence recognized even by the top strata as superior.
The author is a physicist who met Feynman but was not close. Krauss feeds a good dose of theoretical physics. It's not full strength or I would never have survived, but I would not recommend this to one with a casual interest. I laughed out loud a few times when the author or subject was attempting humor, but also once in Chapter Seven when Krauss drops a couple of sentences to explain what an integral is. "Dude. The folks who don't know what an integral is gave up in Chapter Two."
There's a devilish balance with all of these books, how far to dumb them down, and I think this one gets it about right. Four stars.
As this is NASCARretards.com ThreeSources, I'll make a political point unintended by any of the authors. After getting up close and personal with "climate science" and arguing epistemology with one of its true believers on Facebook "why do you worry so much about predictions when we should be fixing the planet????" it is an absolute joy and something of a shock to read about real, un-scare-quoted, science.
Early on, they split the well known lines of hydrogen spectrum into secondary and tertiary frequencies which comport to quantum effects. The third line is off its predicted value by 1/10,000,000. Nobody calls the UN or any of the country's ex-Vice-Presidents. The theory is scrapped until it or the experiment to test it can be repaired. Real science. Scientists argue and take sides, sometimes for petty reasons, sometimes for actual insights. Yet nobody is thrown out as a "photon-denier."
It's stunning to read these three and try to give any credence to the tomfoolery that is "climate science."
June 9, 2011
Brian Doherty Tries Review Corner
I bet I reviewed his "Radicals for Capitalism."
He posts a thoughtful review of Ron Paul's book, with which I had some complaints. Doherty may not be the Republican wingnut I am, but he presages my concerns:
On the other hand, the Ron Paul of Liberty Defined seems in many ways designed to antagonize the standard right wing while emphasizing areas of affinity with the progressive left. This is not some centrist "liberaltarian" project of selling liberty to pundits and intellectuals of the Democratic mainstream. Ever the rebel, Ron Paul sounds more like a "left-libertarian," reaching out to the far reaches of the progressive left and the downtrodden to challenge concentrations of statist power.
Paul consistently criticizes the welfare and corporatist state as privileging the privileged instead of helping the poor. He never talks like his own party is better than the other. When he attacks Barack Obama--which is not that often--it is almost always in the context of pointing out that the president is just as bad as George W. Bush on questions of civil liberties or foreign policy. When criticizing restrictions on commercial speech, he uses the Utne Reader-friendly example of nutritional supplements. When talking health care, he gives a shout-out to homeopathy.
So, it wasn't just me...
Perry and gd:
We're not that far apart. I don't think anybody 'round these parts is going to brag too loudly about GOP advances in liberty.
But Doherty captures something that I felt but did not isolate: there are elements in the current Republican party that are taking on collectivism. Paul's son in the Senate is a helluva start. Then you have Govs. Rick Scott and John Kasich turning away Federal choo choo crack; Govs. Scott Walker, Mitch Daniels, and Chris Christie taking on public employees' unions; the Ryan Plan, discussion on the debt limit; &c.
No, it is not time for a victory lap. But his party has proposed every serious impediment to government growth; the other guys are totally into the status quo ante (ante last November). But Paul would lose his iconoclast cred by giving props -- hell, one prop -- to his party. That is churlish, selfish, and his refusing to take a side impedes the cause of liberty.
More partisan hackery from jk: Speaker Boehner wants to cut spending as part of a debt ceiling increase; House Democrats (Hat-tip Insty who says "surprise") want to raise taxes. Umm, that's not the same.
Posted by: jk at June 10, 2011 11:14 AMJk -- I want to clarify that when I speak about "Republicans and Democrats" I am talking about congressmen not constituents. I also agree that there are a few exceptions (you provided some in your post), but for the most part the Republican Party is still stuck in their traditional ways of pandering for votes. I do not hear Mr. Paul criticizing his son, Chris Christie, or Paul Ryan very often and when he does it is usually tempered (for instance, he has some public disagreements on policies with his son, but his harshest criticisms are not directed at the people you mention).
I think you might have some validity in your critique of Paul's demeanor as selfish and churlish in what could be perceived as attempts to create a divide in the Republican Party. Others could argue that he is bridging the political gap between Conservatives and Liberals and would consider his unwillingness to compromise his political beliefs as a virtue. Both opinions on his behavior might be right and they might also be wrong.
In my small world experience I find people from many different backgrounds (race, religion, sex, rich, poor, etc.) supporting Ron Paul. The two primary ideas they all have in common is the belief in a strictly limited Federal Government and sound economic policy. They usually understand the direct link between the two.
That's all well and good, gd, but the problem with rallying behind a personality is that it is a package deal. Along with the limited government and sound money ideas we also get, in Paul's case, a neutered military and villifications of corporatism. (An abbreviated list of his oddball agenda to be sure.)
I've been impressed by the resilience and electoral might of the TEA Party. That moniker represents the two ideas you chose to mention but without tying them to any cult of personality or packaging them with unrelated issues (so far.) A comparison between the TEA Party and the Ron Paul REvolution (or whatever it's called) shows that TEA Party membership and influence is patiently growing with greater numbers and greater diversity, while the Paul Partisans seem to be a small but fiercely dedicated band of non-conformists. Which approach do you expect will be more persuasive with our friends and neighbors?
Posted by: johngalt at June 10, 2011 3:33 PMPoint taken, gd, but the Doherty review underlines my growing unease when I read the book. He can't throw out one of these? He can't say that he hopes the party follows young turks like Ryan, Rand (filè) and Rubio to embracing liberty? No, he can't because he finds every Republican but himself lacking.
Posted by: jk at June 10, 2011 3:52 PMJg, the relationship between creating a global empire and sound monetary policy is probably something we will have to agree to disagree on. I can understand why opponents consider it an “oddball†viewpoint, but that does not mean it is wrong (time will continue to tell).
His anti-corporation stance is not inherently anti-corporation. He just wants large corporations to be on a level playing field without the advantage of government assistance. For instance, I have never heard him say that large corporations should be punished by the government through higher taxes or increased regulation. Rather, he has said the exact opposite. He understands that the unintended consequence of more regulation and higher taxes actually leads to less competition through regulatory capture (i.e., the largest corporations can afford the increased costs and tax avoidance while the smaller businesses cannot). All he is trying to do is tell Liberals that their crazy punitive attitude towards business has the unintended consequence of penalizing small business and benefiting the large corporations that they purport to despise. I have nothing against large corporations myself, but am in complete agreement with him. Therefore, I do not consider this to be anti-corporation, but it could be spun that way I suppose.
Jk, I think you are probably correct that Rep. Paul would be doing himself a favor to be a little more conciliatory with the members of his party that directionally line up with his views.
June 6, 2011
He Does't Even Award Stars.
An obscure law professor in Tennessee tries to climb aboard the Review Corner bandwagon. He presents an erudite view of David Bernstein's "Rehabilitating Lochner," but one misses the stars and toilet humor available elsewhere on the Internet.
Keep an eye on this young feller anyway.
Awesome story, even without the humor. I can't resist a quote:
"That the narrative was a false one did not, for decades, undermine its force."
And there we have the subtitle of the entire Progressive movement. And yet with increasing frequency we see hopeful signs that those decades are uncerimoniously coming to an end. Yes, you may say it - I have hope for change.
Posted by: johngalt at June 7, 2011 3:01 PMReview Corner
I'm in danger of damaging the franchise.
Anybody who gives three superlative reviews in a string of four books is obviously:
- Not paying attention;
- In the hooks of "Big Kindle;", or
- Not sophisticated or ironic enough to see flaws.
But I can't help it, it's five stars for James Grant's "Mr. Speaker!"
I bought this after reading a WSJ review. I consider myself at least a minor league history buff and had not heard of (or much about) Thomas Brackett Reed. Reed was Speaker of the House in the 51st, 53rd and 54th Congresses.(Yawn!) But he transformed the House in the same way that Lyndon Johnson transformed the Senate 50 years later.
Today, it is said that a majority in the House "can pass a ham sandwich;" hard to imagine that the House of the Gilded Age was a model of obstructionism. Members of the minority party could sit at their desks and be silent for roll call, leaving the body without a quorum. Dilatory motions could tie up the house for days. Even bills with overwhelming bipartisan majority support would stew through multiple congresses because of the value in delaying the next piece of legislation.
I hear the ThreeSources choir muttering in the back. "Congress doing nothing sounds pretty good, n'ect ce pas?" "Why is Leader Johnson a villain and Speaker Reed a hero?" and "Are there any more Cheetos®?"
The party labels are reversed. Grover Cleveland Democrats and his compatriots in Congress, notably Southern House Democrats are happy to let whiz-bang Republican big government ideas stew. They would like to *ahem* lower taxes.
I give Reed a pass for three reasons. One: the House was not just dilatory, it was truly dysfunctional; it's Constitutional business could not be performed. Two: I personally like the idea of a "people's house" being the democratic and responsive section of government. Let the Senate and other branches be the cooling saucers. And, three, in a heart-rending Coda, private citizen Reed returns to the first district of Maine and is saluted by President Roosevelt. The author suggests Reed's concern that his efficacy was now in the employ of McKinleyesque taxation, Progressive encroachment on liberty, and TR's bellicosity. (Reed left the Speakership and Republican Party politics over these, most notably the Spanish-American War.)
The author is a financial writer and the discussion of monetary policy -- truly the issue of the day in Reed's time -- is clear and comprehensive.
Lastly, Speaker Reed's wit keeps the pages flying by. There are a few collections of Thomas B Reed Quotes online, but you have to hear dozens to get the full flavor of the man. I'll leave you with way too few:
One of the greatest delusions in the world is the hope that the evils in this world are to be cured by legislation.[To Theodore Roosevelt, in response to an over-the-top compliment]: If there's one thing for which I admire you, it's your original discovery of the Ten Commandments
[Asked if he will be the GOP nominee]: They could do worse, and probably will.
Five stars.
UPDATE: The author interviewed on NRP (7:42).
May 28, 2011
Drop Everything and Buy This Book
Last time I recommended a book before completing it, it did not end well. Yet, I have a lot more confidence here.
I saw Don Luskin on Kudlow and decided to put down some things I was reading and dive into I Am John Galt which Luskin co-authored with Andrew Greta.
The Introduction is a comprehensive and succinct view of Rand's philosophy. I make the daring prediction that it will generally please every ThreeSourcer. They do not cover a prodigious and productive career in 20 pages, but it is an awesome view from 20,000 feet
It is followed by nine chapters, each about a modern historical figure, paired with the fictional Rand character he represents. Steve Jobs as Howard Roark, Paul Krugman as Ellsworth Toohey...
When I write the real Review Corner I will suggest that Luskin is perhaps too close to Krugman and should have allowed his co-author to pen that one, but that will shave off a small fraction of a star at worst. I post this early so that you can all drop what you are doing and buy this book.
I just dropped what I was doing and bought this book. (Okay, I needed something to get over the super-saver free shipping bar, but I'm looking forward to reading it!)
Posted by: johngalt at June 27, 2011 6:37 PMMay 1, 2011
'Atlas Shrugged Part 1' - Only the Beginning
I enjoyed the very fair Pollywood review of 'Atlas Shrugged Part 1' by two relatively pro-Rand film writers, Lionel Chetwynd and Roger Simon that JK linked for us. They had some very good points and I fully expect the producers to follow as much of their advice as possible in future efforts. This first production clearly had some handicaps that led to its shortcomings, many of which will not apply to the sequels, e.g. the looming expiration of contratual rights, inexperience of the independent production company, and perhaps most importantly... working with the most tedious and least compelling portion of the novel, i.e. the first third. As a first-time reader I wasn't hooked by the story until the tunnel scene, which won't transpire until Part 2.
If the Aglialoro-Kaslow Atlas Shrugged franchise produces better products with its promised sequels than was the original it will not be the first such situation in motion picture history. I'm thinking of the progression in production value, if not necessarily the story line, of the Australian 'Road Warrior' series. The film by that name was far more entertaining and compelling than the predecessor 'Mad Max.' And it's a well-known fact of life that improving on an existing product is a shorter bridge than must be crossed when blazing an original trail.
'Atlas Shrugged Part 1' also suffered from an almost maniacal focus on keeping a quick pace. This led to many stilted scenes where a bit more dialogue would have fleshed out the scene considerably. For example, the "old wounds" in the relationship between Francisco and Dagny are only hinted at in their solitary scene together alone. Rand wrote a richer storyline than was presented to viewers of this film and allowing it to "balloon" to a full two-hours wouldn't have hurt its flow one bit.
But I must disagree with Mr. Chetwynd over his characterization of Rand's novels as mere "ciphers" for her philosophy, having no "depth of character" and lacking the undescribed qualities that would have resulted from "a reflective, creative work." I did find the character portrayals in the film to be rather two-dimensional but I attribute this to the aforementioned limitations and not to the source material to which the producers "slavishly" adhered. I would have liked to see more of the warmth and vulnerability of the literary Dagny in the movie character - an extended scene with Francisco could have provided this. In contrast with Messrs. Chetwynd and Simon, Robert Tracinski observed:
But Ayn Rand started out her career--in the 1920s through the 1940s--as a Hollywood screenwriter, working for such legends as Cecil B. DeMille and Hal Wallis. She wrote her novels in a very cinematic style, with stark visuals, sharp exchanges of dialogue, and peaks of high drama. She gave a director everything he could ask for to keep the audience in their seats: visually beautiful settings from the skyline of New York City to the mountains of Colorado, large-scale action scenes set on railroad lines and in steel mills, big ideas expressed in sharp-witted exchanges of dialogue--and, of course, passionate love scenes with handsome leading men and beautiful leading ladies.If you can't figure out how to make a good movie out of all of that, then brother, you don't know your own business.
I applaud the passion and dedication which drove Aglialoro, Kaslow, and the entire The Strike production company to complete this much anticipated movie that so many have tried and failed at previously. I am encouraged by their reaction to the predictable reception these Hollywood outsiders were given for their faithful adaptation of Rand's paramount though controversial work. I look forward to bigger and better products to follow, on both the big screen in Parts 2 and 3 and in special DVD releases such as director's cuts and a possible miniseries. These film adaptations can only add to the inspiration and defense of liberty offered by the most influential book ever written save the Bible.
April 21, 2011
Online Education Rocks!
This time, in history and literature.
First JK brought us the Khan Academy for math and science.
My contribution in kind is Shmoop University.
No one will be surprised that I found these guys by searching for something relevant to Atlas Shrugged.
In the brief time I've spent perusing the voluminous content they offer on this controversial and revolutionary novel I have been greatly impressed. The treatment is honest, accurate and thorough. I hope to use it to help explain some of the book's themes to others. (And to refer to other literary titles and, when time permits, move on to history topics.)
March 20, 2011
Review Corner, Deux
The Review Corner you've ALL been waiting for! I wonder what jk thought of "Making Peace with the Planet" by Barry Commoner? Well...
For those who missed the story, I made a bargain with an intelligent yet überprogressive friend. He will be feasting on the superb "Future and Its Enemies" by Virginia Postrel. In return, I would read a book of his choosing and landed MPWTP.
I was initially disappointed and concerned. Yet the quality of writing, and occasional heterodoxies made it an interesting read. In the spirit of sharing ideas, I would like to start with the book's good points. The writing, as I mentioned, is well done, but most of the plusses are what the book is not:
- It is not Malthusian. It is not as dynamic as I'd like, but for an "environmentalist" tract, it allows for growth and population. He joins Postrel in taking some swipes at Kirkpatrick Sale for Luddism and Paul Erlich for Erlichism.
- It is not misanthropic. A peer suggests "we should send atomic bombs to overpopulated nations, not feed them." Commoner is correctly appalled. He does not, like many, see humans as the problem. He also makes fun of those who would confer personhood on cute, furry, vertebrates and worship Gaia.
- It is not anti-modernity. Commoner is not a back-to-the-caves guy. He admits that "a symphony performed in an urban concert hall has a majesty that cannot be replaced by a shepherd's hornpipe."
- It does not reject economic incentives. Commoner shares a study that shows economic growth as a superior method of population growth than a birth-control regimen.
In spite of all the great things that the book is not, the problem becomes what the book is. The first edition was released in 1975. He has revised it a few times between then and 1992 and I must assume that he stands by all that is left in the most recent edition. But it is full of references to high compression engines and leaded gasoline, CFCs, PCBs, acid rain. These are intermingled with global warming concerns even though they were supposed to cause global cooling at the time.
I guess that's fair enough, but he takes a snapshot at the nadir of world environmental stewardship. I was around in '75. We were gonna die from killer bees and the ozone hole and global cooling, and smog, and leisure suits, and acid rain, and fallout from atmospheric atomic bomb tests. Contra Postrel, he makes no allowance for innovation or improvement. We have made huge improvements in almost every problem he describes. But it's always 1975 in Commoner land.
Most seriously, though, and most contra Postrel, he provides an authoritarian, top-down, static solution. The book ends with a bold plan to commit $500 Billion a year (in 1992 dollars, one presumes) for "at least ten years" to enact all of his fixes. The only mentions of freedom in the book reference it as an obstacle to doing what needs to be done. A sort of hopeless American nostalgia for capitalism.
Commoner ran for President in 1980. His candidacy for President on the Citizens Party ticket won 233,052 votes (0.27% of the total). * Yet, he feels empowered to spend more than $5 Trillion on his plan. Electric trains, retirement of third-world debt, government purchases of non-economic items like electric cars [check!] and photovoltaic cells, that will allow the providers to scale up production to make their products affordable.
You may guess that I won't be recommending the book for its Economics. For my last point, I will quote Ludwig von Mises instead of Postrel. He refers several times to the "capitalist flaw" that the producers dictate to the consumer. LvM makes that the central point in his superb "Socialism." The flaw under public ownership of the means of production is that the producers dictate what is produced. Under capital ownership, the consumers dictate and capital forces the producers to supply what will provide the best return.
Two and a half stars. You'll recognize many ideas from friends and relatives, and it is assembled pretty well.
You are a kind and compassionate man of letters. Thank you for this glimpse into a volume I'd never have read. Further comment by me would be divisive, therefore I shall abstain.
Posted by: johngalt at March 20, 2011 2:24 PMInteresting review. Thanks for sharing it. Postrel's book was sent via an environmentally friendly courier. The bicycle trip will take a few more days to get here and I look forward to reading it.
Posted by: JC at March 21, 2011 7:41 PMOh NED, it is so difficult to restrain myself.
Posted by: johngalt at March 22, 2011 1:07 AMBook review: The Future and its Enemies by Virginia Postrel
I took on this challenge with an agreement to read the book The Future and its Enemies by Virginia Postrel while my comrade, jk, was asked to read Making Peace with the Planet by Barry Commoner. In my ignorance, I failed to acknowledge the fact that I not only had to read the book but I was required to provide a “book report†to share what I thought of the book.
Virginia provides a succinct and accurate note for the cause of her book: “This book examines the clash between stasis and dynamism and explores those contrasting views.†She goes on to confirm that she is a dynamist and in doing so, she presents her Web site: www.dynamist.com.
So here we are, comparing two books. One book is written by a well-known author and scientist and the other written by a political and cultural writer, a self-proclaimed “dynamist†with libertarian and classical liberal views. Hmmmm… science vs. politics and culture. This is going to be interesting! (I am still reading – liking a lot of what she has to say and seeing more holes than a Swiss cheese party in Afghanistan!)
FINALLY FINISHED Virginia Postrel's book: The Future and its Enemies!
First, I would like to begin with apologies. The book challenge was started back in Feb? March? My friend jk quickly procured and read my challenge to him: Making Peace with the Planet by Barry Commoner. jk must be a speed reader. He finished far ahead of expectations and quickly posted his review. Me, on the other hand, dragged my feet, ordered the book to be delivered by bicycle messenger and read by candle-light to reduce the fossil fuel impact this book challenge would have on our frail planet! ;-)
Excuses, excuses...
I carried this book with me everywhere I went. Unfortunately, I rarely found/made time to read it. Once summer started, the hiking, biking, kayaking and RC airplanes took precedence over Postrel's book. I guess I would have done better with a deadline - I might have finished it faster (maybe not).
The Future and its Enemies was the toughest book I have ever read. When I read, I read slowly to ensure I grasp the full intent, content and supporting comprehension of the author. My biggest problem with this book is how frequently Postrel shifted from lucid clarity in her reflections on the status of society to sheer and utter ignorance about the topic she assumed to know so well. These radical shifts between reality and fantasy made my head reel every time I picked it up. I frequently went back to re-read the previous section to ensure I understood what she was writing so eloquently before she drifted off into ignorant assumptions about practices and policies that have no basis in reality. Again, it was a tough read.
Postrel's book should have been titled "The Dynamist Manefesto (and how to label and mock anyone who appears not to be a dynamist") She writes the book in support of her beliefs and positions posted at www.dynamist.com. Maybe the book should have been titled "Supporting the Dynamist Manifesto" - I don't know... the title and content were in conflict from my perspective but, then again, I would never claim to be 100% dynamist (or any other [insert term here]) based on Postre's judgmental assumptions.
Although the book made me wonder how a person could come to adopt the wildly ridiculous ideals presented in this book, I found a significant amount of useful material for reflecting on past and current technologies, industries and political policies. Case in point:
(quoting from p. 205) "It isn't terribly appealing to argue, for instance, that you want everyone else to be worse off so that your company can charge high prices, run inefficiently, and not worry about coming up with new and better products. Far better to invoke reactionary ideals of loyalty and stability, to suggest that turbulence is evil and competition suspect - or to offer technocratic promises of predictability and order against the messiness of experimentation. If you can also suggest that uncontrolled "technology" is plowing over "people", so much the better. The people inventing and using new technology don't count much in stasist calculations - and, chances are, they haven't yet gotten organized into an interest group."
Her statement is spot-on with regards to the battle between conflicting industries and/or political parties (fossil fuels vs. wind, solar and geo-thermal). Individual stasists in the FF camp are fighting hard to hold on to their old, inefficient and outdated product and the internal combustion engines that they feed. Ignorance, arrogance and greed seem to rule the day while rational thinking has taken a back seat to rhetoric.
My last point is regarding how Postrel believes that non-dynamists are working hard to destroy/slow/ruin the world we live in. She speaks as though technocrats, stasists, reactionaries and other “non-dynamists†are a growing population. I am not sure how she arrived at this conclusion but I challenge her to prove that human evolution is driven by epi-genetic proclivities that eventually eliminate dynamists from the human family. Fact is, the human family has always included reactionaries, stasists, technocrats and every other mindset we can imagine. We (humanity) would not have arrived at our current place in history if it were not for all of those conflicting views and philosophies. We need each one of these types of people in society to maintain a dynamic balance in our evolutionary growth and development. The world is much better off with our conflicting views than it would be if there was no conflict and/or no growth.
“Conflict is the gadfly of thought. It stirs us to observation and memory. It instigates to invention. It shocks us out of sheeplike passivity, and sets us at noting and contriving.†- John Dewey
Posted by: JC at July 18, 2011 6:50 PMReview Corner, Un
NED bless Netflix. Not being a big movies guy, there are a lot of great ones that I have missed.
"The Dish" (2000, IMDB) showed up in a red envelope yesterday and I was enthralled. If you missed it, or have not seen it in awhile, put this on your queue.
NASA needs a radio telescope dish in the Southern Hemisphere to communicate with Apollo 11. The best choice for receiving TV signals is in Parks Australia. This brings the town to notoriety and the small town mayor to political attention.
The characters are interesting and well played, but I recommend it to ThreeSourcers for celebrating the Apollonian side of the Moon landing. I was nine at the time and, just like the mayor's son, I could rattle off specs and decipher all the acronyms. But I remember, and did not really share, my father's sense of awe. It was all on schedule for me. I knew the missions and this one was planned for '69. This film connected me with the awe of completing that mission with that technology. Five stars.
March 8, 2011
Review Corner
John Ranelagh writes of Margaret Thatcher's remark at a key Conservative Party meeting in the late 1970's, "Another colleague had also prepared a paper arguing that the middle way was the pragmatic path for the Conservative party to take .. Before he had finished speaking to his paper, the new Party Leader [Margaret Thatcher] reached into her briefcase and took out a book. It was Friedrich von Hayek's The Constitution of Liberty. Interrupting [the speaker], she held the book up for all of us to see. 'This', she said sternly, 'is what we believe', and banged Hayek down on the table."
CoL probably remains my foundational book as well, but it's been joined by a couple in 2011. With my Presidents project completed, I have caught up of a few things I always wanted to read: important books by favorite authors. The first was Ludwig von Mises's "Socialism" with its brilliant economic defense of liberalism.
But I thought of the Thatcher quote upon finishing Virginia Postrel's "The Future and its Enemies." Something tells me I am going to be buying a bunch of copies of this (holler if you want on the list). Without delving directly into too much economics or politics, Postrel makes an astonishing case for freedom. I could throw this book down at any of my Facebook friends and say "this is what I believe."
Yup, I could do that with Hayek or Mises, but they'd never make it. This book is very accessible. It's an easy read, yet it captures the philosophy that underlies much of the politics and economics I hold so dearly. What you really need from Smith's division of labor, Ricardo's comparative advantage, Hayek's spontaneous order or Schumpeter's gales of creative destruction is lovingly nestled, without a dry or dismal paragraph in the whole book. (I can't quite say that about Wealth of Nations or Constitution of Liberty...)
It sounds delightful. One of the Amazon reviewers calls it a "libertarian manifesto." But should you be successful in cajoling any Facebook friend to read it, what happens when they realize: [From the first Amazon review]
"The downside of this philosophy, Postrel readily notes, is that it doesn't allow us to manage tomorrow by acting today. And that's exactly the point: we shouldn't want to."
She says we shouldn't want to, and we don't, but Progressives will say "failure to manage man's future impact on his world is the height of irresponsibility." Then what?
Posted by: johngalt at March 8, 2011 12:40 PMThen you quit. The central theme of the book is to reject the "stasist" axis of reactionary conservatives, luddite environmentalists, and authoritarian puritans. Someone who would read the book and still want to be included in one of those camps is beyond reach. But they would see what they were arguing against.
Posted by: jk at March 8, 2011 1:22 PMApologies. One shouldn't really expect any book or "elevator speech" to be the "Magic Mind Bomb" that can convince everyone to think for himself, do for himself, and stop stealing from his neighbor covertly as well as overtly.
Liberty and free trade are powerful armies in the war of ideas that have conquered more of east Asia than the Korean war and Vietnam war ever could have, even if the Allies had won. This book is another effective weapon in that war - particularly where the weakest front is located: The home front.
Let me know if you reach any of your FB friends. After reading it myself I may join you in pamphleting my stasist friends with this $6 paperback.
Posted by: johngalt at March 8, 2011 2:56 PMThe plan is to offer to read any book of their choosing in exchange for their reading this. I'll let you know.
We used to call individuals with your zeal and dedidication "missionaries."
Posted by: johngalt at March 9, 2011 2:28 PMThe path of the pilgrim is never easy, brother...
Posted by: jk at March 9, 2011 4:09 PMJanuary 6, 2011
Here Comes John Galt
To the big screen.
Here IT comes. The film version of my favorite novel, which we last discussed here and here, is in post production and should appear in theaters "No later than Tax Day, April 15."
Many of my trepidations about making this story into a movie have been salved by this interview with executive producer and financier (read: owner) of the film, John Aglialoro.
Ranked by Forbes Small Business as the 10th richest executive of any small publicly-traded company (revenues under $200 million) in 2007, Aglialoro is one of those rare corporate executives who fully "gets" the philosophical message in Atlas Shrugged.
So the storyline should be safe. The scope of this movie is Part I of the book, which readers can review key points from by reading those entitled entries in Three Sources' "Atlas Shrugged QOTD" archive.
And the casting appears excellent as well. In my mind's eye I can envision Ms. Schilling walking through an abandoned factory, or consoling her poor, misguided young sister-in-law. And the movie's Hank Reardon, played by Grant Bowler, seems a perfect fit. I can easily see him telling Tinky Holloway that his game is up.
But we'll have to wait for the second sequel for that scene. I've heard that the intentions for Parts II and III of the book are to be separate sequels, each following about a year after it's predecessor.
Judging by some of the scene photos the setting of the movie will be decidedly modern. Apparently it will be set in our time, not in that of the book's writing. This is as it should be. The uninitiated youth will be more captivated than with a more faithful portrayal of the book. And, more importantly, we are closer to the events of the story becoming reality today than at any time in history.
Fun. But how's he intend to make a film without the wisdom of Hollywood?
They should steal Glenn Reynolds's tagline: "It's Ayn Rand's world, we're just living in it."
Posted by: jk at January 6, 2011 4:48 PMI expect that production values will be the last thing for which critics will pan this film.
Posted by: johngalt at January 6, 2011 5:32 PMI was being a liiiiiitle more sarcastic than that.
Posted by: jk at January 6, 2011 6:32 PMYes, I read the sarcasm. But I took it as a "quantum comment." It can have multiple meanings at the same time. (Alas, in our era it has no literal meaning whatsoever until a judge says it does.)
Posted by: johngalt at January 6, 2011 8:21 PMJanuary 5, 2011
Review Corner (Bumped)
Usually, when the chattering classes send up a big cinematic celebration of the decade between Jack Kerouac's and KC & the Sunshine Band's, I run for the hills. Surely, they will celebrate the Dionysian and not Apollonian vision of The Sixties. When the producer is Richard "blow up kids who don't believe in global warming" Curtis, a bit of trepidation is warranted.
Yet, no, if you have missed the little British indie comedy Pirate Radio, run -- do not walk -- to your Netflix queue.
Sadly, the comedic genius we enjoyed from British television seems diluted at the very best. Brother jg's atheist friend, Ricky Gervais, delivered a very original character in "The Office," but most of what I have seen of late have been hampered by political correctness (Robin Hood) or just a race to the bottom versus America (Couples, &c.) And yet, British film has stepped up to take up the slack with great little indie films like "Kinky Boots," "Blow Dry," and now "Pirate Radio."
Five stars.
UPDATE: Another viewing stirs up more commentary...
1) ERRATA: It is certainly not an "indie flick." Richard Curtis is a big time producer and the film is not starved for budget: aerial shots, stars, special effects -- it's not "Star Wars III," but it's not "Return of the Secaucus Seven." To its credit, however, the film feels indie. It is fresh, non-formulaic, and relies on writing and storyline.
2) It does earn its R rating. The free love sixties are viewed up close and personal. Yet not a minute seems prurient. What happens happens and all the costs and benefits are there to see.
3) Best of all, the film seems very neutral. The lifestyle is laid out, as are the fashion trappings: equal parts silly, pompous and cool. Curtis -- who wants to tell you what light bulb to use and where to vacation -- remarkably does not tell you what to think. It's like the Buffy episode "Normal Again," the creators keep their thumb off the scale.
4) The part that is not fair is the attack on government. This is a sea-steading movie and the antagonists are a joyless bureaucrat who is happy to rip joy away from 25 million of his countrymen just to display control and nannyism -- and his assistant, who is actually named "Twatt."
5) What a soundtrack. I worshipped 60's music as a lad, turned away as an adult, then got into the jazz snob thing. But these tunes, if you'll pardon the pun, rock. Beyond the Jimi Hendrix and Otis Redding stuff I knew I'd like, they pull up a bunch of great songs. "Judy in Disguise" was an oldie when I was a kid, but it sounds fresh in the movie (and I have been singing it for a couple days...)
I need a favorite movie. My bank asks me that every few months and I have to reset my account. I just don't have a favorite movie. This one might be it...
January 4, 2011
I've Been Bested
I may have to quit "Review Corner." I can clearly not compete.
Blog friend LisaM embeds a three part review of Star Wars III. I confess I only made it through one part. It's as long as the movie. But, as lm points out, it's quite a bit better.
December 6, 2010
End of a Journey
Close to President Obama's inauguration, I took some advice from Nicholas Nasim Taleb. In "The Black Swan," he suggests that people should read more books and less news. I knew the next few years of news would not be to my liking, so I allowed all my political magazine subscriptions to expire (I destroyed a rainforest with renewal offers).
I thought that I would read a book about each US President: 43 books and give myself a bright gold star. Finish up by the end of 2009. I had a plan and started with Joseph J Ellis's His Excellency: George Washington. (Five Stars!)
But the best plans have some flexibility and I quickly discovered both that I really enjoyed it and that I clearly needed to read more than one for each chief executive. So the one year plan was out the window. But this dropout actually connected with a multi-year intellectual exercise.
Last night I finished Barack Obama's Dreams From My Father. I'll give President O three stars for an interesting read and I'll recommend it to ThreeSourcers. You can see where he comes from. It disturbingly sets up his distrust of business as compared to his complete trust of government.
It belies campaign claims of a "post racial" America. He looks for his place among his family, the Luo tribe, and people of African descent. I know, I know. "I wouldn't understand" but...I don't understand.
November 22, 2010
Review Corner
I think all ThreeSourcers will enjoy President Bush's Decision Points.
No doubt we differ in our opinion of 43 (who also liked to refer to presidents by ordinal), but Decision Points offers Bush's own view on many of the issues we have beat up on these very pages. You want to hate him for TARP or Medicare Part D, it is certainly your prerogative. I found I could go along with about any of his explanations -- you've heard me make most of them -- but I cannot join him on "when people hurt, government must act." He never questions that. He's essentially a market guy, but lacks Reagan's (and our) skepticism of government. For all of Senator McCain's blather, George W. Bush is the modern day's Theodore Roosevelt. And I do not mean that in the nicest way.
But after two years of his successor, it is hard not to feel nostalgia for his decency, probity, and patriotism. Without saying the present occupant of 1600 Penn lacks these, a few hundred pages of President Bush (and Laura's which I read right before) refreshes because he wears his love of country, freedom and our nation's military on his sleeve.
A mixed bag indeed. Of the 14 chapters, the one I found most difficult to accept was the penultimate on "The Financial Crisis." "Wall Street had a party and we all got the hangover" not only lacks nuance, but also connection to reality. He spins around and expresses cogent thoughts on Fannie and Freddie and comes close to questioning whether Federal largesse should subsidize minority home ownership, but he won't say a word against Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan and one is left -- at the very end of the book -- with the thought that he doesn't get it.
I quibble, and you will too. But it is a fun, interesting, and informative read. ThreeSourcers will know the policy but will enjoy the anecdotes. Four solid stars -- plus a quarter for pissing off Jacques Chirac again. One last time.
UPDATE: Shelfari invites users to create "Ridiculously Simplified Synopses." Someone submits:
"Red State: Texas hero arrives in Washington making brilliant decisions that save the world from terrorism.""Blue State: Texas warmonger water-boards the US into hurricanes and economic doom."
November 5, 2010
V, Guy Fawkes and the TEA Party
I don't remember what precipitated the choice but I decided to make "V" my halloween costume this year. I watched the movie again and found it much more pleasing than on initial viewing (during the second term of the "atavistic, homophobic, warmongering" President George W. Bush.) Obviously I wasn't so defensive about possible hidden meanings this time around.
I reviewed past reviews and commentary on these pages and was reminded that we all instantly recognized that labeling V as a "terrorist" was false. (He never attacked innocent civilians, only the guilty accomplices of a totalitarian state.) While searching the web for character quotes I found this leftist review which, despite it's anti-conservative bias and failure to grasp the "terrorism" distinction, recognizes the liberty and freedom message of the film.
One of the most progressive aspects of the film is its attempt to inject optimism about political change in a world that is despairing. "Every time I have seen the world change, it was for the worse", Evey tells V, echoing the reality of an entire generation in the First World. V sets out to prove to Evey that "governments should be afraid of their people", and, despite the terrorist trappings, the film's fundamental message is that responsibility for political change lies with the mass of people, not institutions or politicians or stars.
Then why do leftists so despise the TEA Party movement, which seeks to restrict government and champion liberty via popular activism?
September 19, 2010
Review Corner
ThreeSourcers may breathe a sigh of relief. This will be the final post discussing Robert A Caro's Master of the Senate.
At the Big Texan Steakhouse in Amarillo, TX, there was (is I guess) a 72 oz. steak that is yours for free if you eat it in one hour. I never tried this particular challenge. But I felt, at the conclusion of this book like I had just finished the steak. It was really good but I have been reading it for what seems like a Senate term and was glad to see the last page.
Despite all my whining, I am going to give it five stars and a hearty recommendation. I never learned as much between starting and finishing a book in my life. There are 1400 pages and I dare you to read one and not learn something.
He begins with a historical view of the Senate and the framers' intent in adding this antidemocratic house to the legislative branch. He charts the institution's course through the antebellum years of Calhoun, Webster and Clay. He lambastes the postbellum years as the Executive Branch gains strength. He gives serious consideration to both sides of the 17th Amendment. Then he charts how LBJ harnessed diffuse powers of the body to further his on ambition and lust for power.
The crowning achievement is a step by step walk through the passage of the 1957 Civil Rights Bill. LBJ wants the presidency and knows his only hope at being more than a sectional, Southern candidate, is to pass "a Nigra bill." For seven months, he pieces together one coalition after another, compromise, dealmaking and parliamentary chicanery. We all know this stuff goes on, but the detail and determination is stunning.
Y'all are better scholars than I and will not get bogged down in its thickness and density as I did. But there is not one of you that will not like it.
Five.
September 5, 2010
Review Corner
Still slogging through Robert A Caro's "Master of the Senate." This becomes the longest I have ever spent with a single book and the end is barely in sight. While I am enjoying it, a good friend of this blog gave me a much appreciated diversion.
On the occasion of the passing of my wonderful dog Skylark, Brother Sugarchuck suggested I read Garth Stein's The Art of Racing in the Rain.
I would read a couple loooooong chapters of MOTS and click the Kindle over to read a few short breezy chapters of "Racing." After a decade-long run of reading mostly nonfiction, this is the first fiction book that has really grabbed me. We've got enough dog and motorsports lovers around here that I think it'd be a hit.
Beautiful. Five stars. Now back to LBJ...
I've also read both "The Art of Racing In The Rain" and "Marley and Me" recently, and liked Stein's book a bit better. I think it was the point of view - a dog recounting his life in flashback - and the unique premise. I won't spoil the end.
Posted by: Keith Arnold at September 6, 2010 10:54 PMTruly enthralled by "Racing." I did not read "Marley & Me" but, like the rest of America got the movie, certain that with Owen Wilson, Jennifer Aniston, and a Larador, I was in for a laugh riot. I'm still in therapy.
Posted by: jk at September 8, 2010 11:42 AMAugust 20, 2010
Review Corner Done Right!
Oh man, I have been bested:
For the record, 1554 is probably my favorite. But even without that, one has to appreciate what the New Belgium Brewing Blog called his "unpretentious style."
With my moniker, you have to imagine I'd chime in. The folks at NB have my utmost respect and I like their beers (specifically, Blue Paddle Pils - THE summer quaff). That being said, I like 1554 but never seek it out.
I like my dark beers like my women: dark, a bit bitter, and even a bit mysterious.
Be good all.
Posted by: nanobrewer at August 25, 2010 7:15 AMAugust 7, 2010
Consequentialist Libertarianism
First, a quick Review Corner. Haavaad Professor Jeffrey Miron's Libertarianism from A to Z would be enjoyed by any ThreeSourcer. As the title suggest, it is a dictionary of libertarian thought on various topics. Available for Kindle, I read a few every time I'm in the doc's office or finish another book. Five star stuff.
He introduces a pair of terms that make me think of my blog brethren: consequentialist vs. philosophical libertarianism. Miron espouses consequentialist thought because he suggests it is more suitable to explanation and evangelism. At the risk of reopening the biggest 3src war of all time, I've always been fond of pointing out freedom's successes. A'la Friedman: look at Hong Kong and Maoist China. Same people, climate, and geography -- but the free state is wealthy, while her resource-rich neighbor across the bay is poor.
The consequentialist does not have to disagree with the rights-based approach but chooses concrete practical examples. I don't expect everyone will change their beliefs (although he does teach at Harvard!) but it is a clear and respectful differentiation and I think the terms might do us well 'round here.
Can we kumbaya on this with an "all of the above" libertarianism policy? You promote economic freedom as 'best for society' I'll promote it as 'moral and just for every individual' and we'll both celebrate Friedman and Kel Kelly.
Posted by: johngalt at August 7, 2010 6:25 PMKumbayas all 'round, bro. I just found it to be an interesting locution for different views heard on these pages.
Posted by: jk at August 7, 2010 7:36 PMJuly 29, 2010
Sneek Peek
Thanks to Instapunit and Reason.tv:
"He doesn't owe you shit."
Works for me.
I note that he says "Part 1" is "only 127 pages." I'd like to see Part I be the first 10 chapters, followed by parts 2 and 3 with 10 more chapters each. I hope he's only referring to screenplay pages.
Posted by: johngalt at August 4, 2010 3:06 PMJuly 19, 2010
No Brad Pitt...
I'd meant to comment on this before now...
This was the first I'd heard of this latest effort. Thanks bro! A brief examination of the casting looks like faces I'd expect for most of the characters. Dad was surprised this was in production. "Hollywood? Hollywood?!"
It looks like a project of a brand new production company established specifically for the purpose: The Strike Productions. This bodes well.
Posted by: johngalt at July 22, 2010 8:22 PMJuly 18, 2010
My Life in Ruins
We're going to share a post between "Review Corner" and "Quote of the Day" to reduce our Carbon Footprint.
I watched My Life in Ruins with Nia Vardalos and Richard Dreyfuss last night. If, like me, you have a high tolerance for chick flicks (or unlike me you perhaps are actually a chick). I'd recommend it. It had an honest feel about it that is usually missing from the Romantic Comedy genre. Dreyfuss may be king of the moonbats, but he is a superb actor and really knocks this one out of the park.
There is one great line that all ThreeSourcers might appreciate. Georgia (Vardalos) is an American who moved to Greece for an academic position. When it fell through, she took a job as tour guide, guiding tourists through ruins with professorial disquisitions when they would rather be at the beach or souvenir stands. Hilarity ensues, yadda yadda.
Early on, she is complaining about the general clutter, disorganization and lack of repair in a culture that prefers comfort to achievement (even before the sovereign debt crisis). She enumerates Grecians' contributions to politics, philosophy, science, astronomy, mathematics and art until: "until they invented 'the nap.'" That captures Europe (The South especially) so perfectly. They gave us so much until they invented the nap.
Four stars with a warning that if you can't stand the genre this one will not win you over. ("Elizabethtown" might).
June 22, 2010
Six Stars
That's what I'm giving the new Ridley Scott "Robin Hood" film that JK rated (unseen) at 5 stars. It isn't just "a rousing love letter to the tea party movement" but a must see inspiration.
I also hereby nominate Ridley Scott to direct a film version of Atlas Shrugged, after reading How 'Nottingham' Became 'Robin Hood' and Robin Hood - Whose Fault Was It?
In Hollywood, the director is always considered to be the ultimate author of a movie. The director is always right, and the bigger the director, the less likely anyone will shoot down their crazy whims. So what happens, Martell asks, when the director is wrong? If Universal/Imagine had taken Robin Hood away from Scott when it started to go off the rails and had handed it to a younger, cheaper director -- one interested in actually making the script that Imagine had bought -- then it could have been delivered on schedule, wouldn't have cost a reported $200 million-plus, and might have actually been good.
And...
This might not come as a welcome thought for fans of Loxley and the gang, but it was about half-way through the film that I realized that the 'origin' of Robin really isn't all that interesting. When it comes down to it, the tale of Robin Hood doesn't really get exciting until he's Robin Hood -- you know, robbing from the rich, giving to the poor. But in Hood, so much time is devoted to creating a supposedly 'realistic' setting around the myth that you kind of wish they would just get to the good part.
Yep, that explains why so many of these reviewers thought it was boring and too long and terrible - He never did get around to "robbing from the rich, giving to the poor." Instead, he protected the weak from the strong. (Dang, what a LOOOOOOZERRRR.)
June 3, 2010
Review Corner
I'm giving Robin Hood five stars just on David Boaz's review:
Robin tells the king the people want a charter to guarantee that every man be “safe from eviction without cause or prison without charge” and free “to work, eat, and live merry as he may on the sweat of his own brow.” The evil King John’s man Godfrey promises to “have merchants and landowners fill your coffers or their coffins….Loyalty means paying your share in the defense of the realm.” And Robin Hood tells the king, in the spirit of Braveheart’s William Wallace, “What we ask for is liberty, by law.”Dangerous sentiments indeed. You can see what horrifies the liberal reviewers. If this sort of talk catches on, we might become a country based on antistatism, laissez-faire, individualism, populism, and egalitarianism and governed by a Constitution.
It seems all the lefty film critics are in full panty-wad mode over this "rousing love letter to the Tea Party movement."
Hat-tip: Instapundit
And I thought no one on this site would ever say anything good about Robin Hood.
Oh, you meant the movie?
The movie plays fast and loose with history, but at least this Robin Hood speaks with an English accent...
Posted by: Keith Arnold at June 4, 2010 2:15 PMIt's Friday, I'll take the bait: is Robin Hood intrinsically anti-capitalist? I'd suggest that "the rich" targeted by the merry men were government and church aristocrats, while "the rich" targeted by President Obama include many more legitimate wealth creators.
Reachin'? 'Cause I really like Russell Crowe.
You are right of course, JK: Robin Hood "stole from the rich" monarch and "gave to the poor" whom said monarch had first stolen from via taxation. But what is remembered in popular culture is the part in quotes.
Robin Hood was beloved by the people, while Ragnar Danneskjold was reviled. Why? Because Ragnar gave not to "the poor" but to "the taxed." (And stole from the state, not from the "rich.") Ragnar also kept a very careful accounting of how much he returned to each, ensuring that it never exceeded what had been stolen from him by state taxation.
Posted by: johngalt at June 4, 2010 3:29 PMI know there are many different versions of the Robin Hood mythos, but as I seem to recall from my tender years, the monies liberated by Mr. Hood were taxes imposed by Prince John (the same one who would one day be forced to sign the Magna Carta), which John pretended were to ransom Richard the Lion-Heart from his captors. John hoarded the money himself, and Robin set himself to thwarting that. Richard, of course, showed up at the end of the story in disguise, after having escaped his captors without ever having been ransomed.
It's just a little jarring to see 21st-century political sentiment projected onto 11th-century England. Pre-Rutherford, "liberty, by law" and Constitutional governance would be something of an anachronism.
I once got teased - politely - for invoking Robin Hood on this site, if only to offer to serve as Friar Tuck's stand-in (my Shepherd Book reference was better received, I think...) - hence my first comment. Nonetheless, I could not in good conscience resist Cary Elwes' smackdown of Kevin Costner, and I'm stunned not to have been ribbed for it. Happy Friday, friends...
Posted by: Keith Arnold at June 4, 2010 4:40 PMI remembered who said it, but I forgot at whom it was directed. And yes, I remember your getting attacked for invoking the name. Happy days...
Posted by: jk at June 4, 2010 6:10 PMApril 24, 2010
Review Corner
I think ThreeSourcers would enjoy 1912: Wilson, Roosevelt, Taft and Debs--The Election that Changed the Country by James Chace. It's an interesting mix of politics and philosophy, covering three Presidents and an important labor leader.
Chace does a good job. Of course, he is a historian so he doesn't appreciate anything that ThreeSourcers do. He's very dismissive of President Taft, who played golf instead of working 24 x 7 to remove our freedoms like Presidents Roosevelt and Wilson.
But I've inured to that. Think happy thoughts for me as I begin John Milton Cooper's new bio of Woodrow Wilson.
What Chace does superbly is to contrast Wilson's and TR's Progressivism, and -- as we've discussed -- contextualizing it and tying it to FDR's. I'll give it Four and a half stars for its readable and comprehensive look at a sizeable span of American history as many paths converge on this intriguing election. (Spoiler alert: Wilson wins!)
February 22, 2010
Review Corner
|
FIVE STARS!
Fun, and pretty. The best part, whether watching or reading, is knowing it was written by America's premier Socialist. Watching it last night, it occurred to me that it could have been written by Ayn Rand. What a masterful celebration of the individual! The lovely bride and I watched it twice (it is unrandianly short) and then clicked it off to find the Olympics on. I have mentioned that I have been less enthralled than some, but it seemed like the Men's skiing deserved to be grafted onto the end of the film: here were folks from all over the world trying to be the best and to prove they are the best -- an emotional juxtaposition from the equality dystopia. |
December 31, 2009
Avatar: Reincarnating the Same Old Story
With a teenage son facinated by mythical creatures and scifi, the movie "Avatar" (starring Sam Worthington and Sigourney Weaver) was a holiday must-see for The Refugee Clan. Although the 3-D special effects were at times vivid, the movie itself was nothing more than yet-another-attack-on-the-military-and-capitalism.
The Refugee would normally post a "plot spoiler" warning at this point, but there really is no plot to spoil. Avatar is the revenge of the American Indian, Custer's Last Stand and "Dances with Wolves" all wrapped into one. In the movie, the US military-industrial complex (which are indistinquishable as entities) has colonized a remote planet for the purposes of mining "unattainium," which sells for $20 million per kilo on planet Earth. The indigenous peoples, who happen to have braided hair, ride winged horse-like steeds, shoot bows and arrows, have shamans and speak a language that sounds remarkably like Lakota, coincidentally reside over the largest deposit of unattainium on the planet. The "company" wants the military, a bunch of ex-Marine mercenaries, to move the people from their sacred, ancestral homeland at any cost. The blood-thirsty ex-Marine commander is only too happy to do so, especially if he can kill them all with "shock and awe." He is completely unconcerned about women and children being in the way. How the movie progresses is not worth relating. Suffice it to say that the evil capitalists are vanquished from the planet forever and the local people become one with the environment.
Avatar, as work of art, is bereft of value because it adds nothing to the discourse. It is, frankly, left-wing propaganda packaged to appeal to a young audience. While not denying nor condoning the sometimes horrific treatment suffered by Indians at the hands of the US government (e.g., the Sand Creek Massacre), The Refugee labels this movie as a loser. It is just another ad hominem attack on the US, our military, our history and capitalism-as-greed. Balance and perspective are irrelevant to the producers. The similes are cheesy (i.e., "unattainium), the story plotless and the characters completely predictable. That the producers would intentionally propagandize to young minds in this way is deplorable. The Refugee is unhappy to have patronized this endeavor to contribute to the profit that the producers so apparently abhor. Perhaps his experience can serve as a warning to others.
The Refugee would refer XX to the example of the gentleman who started the company that he and many of us in this discourse either do or have worked for. No one would disagree that said gentleman started it to create his own wealth (to great success). But, think of the tens of millions of payroll dollars the company has paid to hundreds of employees over the past 30 years. Is this not an intersection of self-interest and the benefit of others? Moreover, if this entrepreneur announced tomorrow that henceforth all wages would be sent to the poor in Africa in the name of "social justice," would XX work another minute for the company? Would that make XX "selfish?"
None of this is original thought to Three Sourcers, but something that XX should consider.
Posted by: Boulder Refugee at December 31, 2009 9:16 PMPerfectly put, br. And all of that despite paying confiscatory tax rates to various governments every step of the way. Those governments serve the "greater" good of others and the public, don't they XX? Isn't that good enough for you? Would any amount of altruism ever be good enough to satisfy your sanctimonious vanity? (You might reword that last bit jk.)
Posted by: johngalt at January 1, 2010 12:28 AMNot a bad example, br. (By the way, xx has gone on to greener pastures, so he would likely applaud my CEO's giving away all our wages to the poor. Please do not put such ideas in his head...)
Prompted by his question, I did a lengthy exegesis (familiar to all ThreeSourcers) about Bill Gates. It started "One of my favorite topics. I hope that the Gateses do less harm giving their money away than Mister G did good earning it." And ended "So you're right. Gates harms the world through altruism and betters it substantively through a ferocious self-interest. Do we want to reward intentions or results?"
Posted by: jk at January 1, 2010 11:41 AMI enjoyed the movie. But then again, I think I have a higher tolerance for movies that do not match well with my ideology the other folks here. ^_~
On a more serious note, I was incredibly impressed with the film's visuals. It was a visual spectacle of the likes I have not yet seen. (I did see it in 3d, fwi.) The film's premise, that of the "avatars", intrigued me. So did a couple of the film's other ideas -- an ecology that is neurally integrated, and the idea of a 22nd century space traveling Dutch East India Company gave me food for thought.
Were the movie fails, I think, is in its villains. I did not find the grizzled, lets-slay-some-natives-before-breakfast, former marine to be realistic, to say nothing of the cookie-cutter evil corporate executive. Both were flatter than a rice wafer, and about as interesting to boot. The businessman, in particular, seemed to be nothing but caricature of what the typical hard-leftist thinks greedy stock-watching businessmen should be like. His behavior makes no sense in any other way; I sincerely doubt that such a man would be successful in the real world, much less a future trading colony in 2150.
(It is all the sadder really, because there was so much room to make the character interesting. I was hoping they would pull a Firefly and make him Chinese, but nope, they needed to whitewash the Evil capitalist's staff.)
So, in sum: Clever premise, amazing artwork, bad implementation. I say 3.5 stars.
if you only have enough time to see one movie, pass this one up and see Holmes. That film gets a 5.
Well, I'm going to stand up for the other folks around here.
I have no trouble reading Steinbeck or seeing an intelligent movie that does not match my beliefs. Nor do I think anyone will question the art and spectacle. I 'spect I'll see it when it comes out on DVD.
But the downside you describe is aggravating because Hollywood doesn't even bother to give enough real thought to my beliefs to make my villains interesting.
Posted by: jk at January 1, 2010 7:40 PMWhy, whatever do you mean? tg's description of the Hollywood depiction of soldiers and businessmen sounds precisely like the descriptions lefties recite about the real counterparts.
Posted by: johngalt at January 2, 2010 12:23 AMDecember 21, 2009
Entertainment News
We don't do a lot of Entertainment News 'round here, but the death of Brittany Murphy suggests that I complete a Review Corner.
Ramen Girl is a fun little Indie flick. And if you are saying "Brittany Who?" it is a nice performance.
A fun 4-star rental (available on the Netflix instant queue). I don't think we'll follow a celeb death too closely, but RIP Ms. Murphy.
September 25, 2009
Gitmo And Review Corner
We're saving database entries by doubling up -- there's a recession thingy you know!
Jennifer Rubin -- let me steal Insty's words -- rubs it in that the Administration has suddenly learned that closing Guantanamo Bay is a wee bit harder than giving a speech.
It was Obama who made closing Guantanamo the cornerstone of his national-security agenda. It was he who, with great fanfare, announced the decision to close the facility before all the data had been gathered. It was he who again and again derided his predecessor’s administration and the arguments against shuttering Guantanamo (it was only a “false” choice between our values and security, he lectured us). It was Obama who couldn’t resist the urge to debate the former vice president–and then lost the confidence of the American people. And indeed, just this week, he was preening at the UN:
You'll want to read the whole thing; there's more abuse where that comes from.
And you'll also want to put "Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay" on your Netflix queue if, like me, you missed it. I watched it last night and laughed aloud through much of it. If you have not seen any (how many are there?) I would start with H&K Go to White Castle, but this one was almost as good.
I don't need to warn you that this is not intellectual entertainment, nor is it family friendly (well, The Manson Family...) Call it a guilty pleasure, but I find these films fresh and funny. The "bad boy" films that grew out of 40 Year Old Virgin and Knocked Up leave me cold. Harold & Kumar are no cleaner and no more moral -- but they are a lot funnier.
I tensed up when the bumbling President Bush character came on. But in the situation, he comes off pretty well. Totally stupid, but up to speed with the morality we expect from other key figures. He even gets several good lines in.
Four stars, if your tastes go that way at all.
June 17, 2009
Review Corner
I'm going to reach back to the long ago and far away year of 2001. If you need a rental and maybe missed this like I did, you are in for a treat.
Blow Dry, with Alan Rickman and Natasha Richardson comes from that British indie comedy community that brought Full Monty (they call this "Full Monty with Hair") and my favorite, "Kinky Boots." Like Kinky Boots it concerns the inflow of London culture into a small rural town. This time, Keighley, as it is selected to host the annual British Hairdressing Championship.
It is laugh out loud funny but punctuated with some very poignant serious moments. It is available on the Netflix Instant Queue. Five Stars.
May 30, 2009
Review Corner
First: Netflix vs. Blockbuster by Mail. Netflix has the coolest Internet, instant viewing service. If you have a TiVo or an XBox or buy a dedicated player for $99 you can watch any of their digital downloads at any time if you have a current subscription. Very very cool and sufficient to lure me away from Blockbuster's Blue to Netflix Red. But, I have to confess that Blockbuster -- true to nomenclature -- does a better job getting you the hot new movies when they come out.
I was the last guy in the nation to see "Slumdog Millionaire." By the time I got it, I had heard so much approbation I was let down. It's a good film but it did not hold up to the hype. Good story and all, but none of the characters were complex and the cinematography was rather conventional, though the Ballywood touches were entertaining (three stars).
By comparison, I watched "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" last night and was enthralled. A great Fitzgerald story, a superb performance by Brad Pitt -- but, most notably, a masterpiece in filming. We go from the end of WWI to Hurricane Katrina and the richness of each era is captured in the lighting and style. There are great grace notes of little homages to films of each era; I trust those who know and follow movies more than me would have caught many more.
I haven't given five stars in a while, but I will here. I plan to watch it one more time before I send it back, If you missed it, check it out,
March 21, 2009
Review Corner
I cannot vouch for historical accuracy of this film. Several items seemed to contravene my understanding of events or basic beliefs about the personnel involved.
Disclaimers aside, "Cadillac Records," based on the the true story of Chess Records founder Leonard Chess is a lot of fun. Narrated by Cedric the Entertainer -- who makes an awesome Willie Dixon -- the movie tells the tale of Len who goes all in to create the studio and label. He plays pretty fast and loose with the rules but creates a viable enterprise and makes stars out of a young Muddy Waters and younger Little Walter. Chess does payola without apology and takes all the money coming in, capriciously providing Cadillacs and houses in lieu on any real accounting or belief in what ThreeSourcers might call property rights.
That was accepted as basic exploitation when I grew up, but the Len Chess character makes a pretty good defense of himself as providing positive impact. Howlin' Wolf, who was always known as an astute businessman, hurls a few bon mots at his less sophisticated colleagues. "I own this truck, it don't own me," he tells Muddy and his Cadillac. Later on, Muddy asks Chess for money for Little Walter's funeral and Wolf throws in a big pile of bills saying "I don't need no daddy."
The last half of the movie is lifted by the superb performance of Mos Def as Chuck Berry -- and the show is stolen by Beyonce Knowles's Etta James.
Great music, great fun. If you want history read a history book -- I give it four stars. I should confess that I am not a scholar of the period and that my misgivings do not constitute proof of inaccuracy. There were just a few parts that lacked verisimilitude.
February 15, 2009
Crying for a Long Tail
Joss Whedon/Eliza Dushkus's new show Dollhouse has had a few of what Robert Johnson called "Stones in my Passway." The week it was announced, the writer's strike hit.
Worse, from those who know more than me, the show got scheduled on -- shield the kiddies' eyes here -- Friday night! Galley Slave Jonathan V. Last announced the Friday Night schedule as conclusive proof that the show was dead before beginning. The idea is that Sarah Connor goes to Friday for one last ultra-geek season before dying and that Dollhouse is strangled in the cradle.
I don't know how this works and I am tempted to accept my Buffy-sire's judgement. What struck me as sad is that the Whedon blog site spends the next day discussing ratings and things you can do to promote the show. A few posts down, it is noted that Dollhouse premiers five years after the news that Angel was canceled (also Friday the 13th).
I read a piece last week that suggested one or more of the broadcast networks will likely go to cable in the next few years, trading the certainty of the subscription model for the revenue opportunity for a big hit. Blow your gales through this model, Mr. Schumpeter -- it is broke! The viewers are in save-our-show mode the day it's out, viewership is down, revenues are down. There has got to be a better way to run a railroad. I still imagine a subscription for a network or small group of networks and wonder that Whedon fans wouldn't just pony up $49 for a season of his newest show, licensed to watch new episodes live and owning a digital copy at the end like Amazon Unbox.
Since nobody else is talking about the actual show, how 'bout it? Did anybody see it? I think the show has potential and I am anxious to see where it goes. There was a lot to take in in one episode.
On the down side, I was less pleased with the latest Sarah Connor Chronicles. I have been warming up to this show over the last season or so and if last night represents the start of a super-scifi-geeked-out denouement, color me unconvinced. Good SciFi enables an astonishing pretext to view un-astonishing human behavior (Cameron and the tortoise was magical). Attempting the special effects of the Terminator movie grabs me a lot less.
Joint promos with Summer Glau and Eliza Dushku were worth the price of admission. Whedon geeks were treated to a great reunion of Buffy and Angel characters that even extends into the previous show (don't forget Glau was the ballerina in "Waiting in the Wings" before she was in Firefly). I haven't liked anything since Angel and I find myself getting hooked on a few current programs. I watched three Seasons of "Heroes" in two months just in time for the new episodes; "Eureka" is good but I will have to buy it now if comes back on; and cautions optimism on Terminator: Sarah Conner Chronicles and Dollhouse.
UPDATE: I'm going to back off my Terminator Criticism. I watched it again and found much to like. Ms. Weaver's extendo-knives® didn't do it for me, but the plotline took some well defined turns.
I've been reading here sporadically for a year or two, and had no idea of JK's passion for forward looking dramatech (my own word; most of Joss Whedon's work isn't quite Sci-Fi). Lest there be doubt, I am also a big fan of Whedon. Some day, I'll catch up on all those missed Buffy episodes... some day when I'm in the mood for the post 3rd season darkness... 'nuff said for now.
My reason for posting is to inquire as to why isn't there a CAT listing for either Sci-Fi or Joss Whedon? It seems like JK could surely fill a category up with interesting details (as alluded to in this post).
Posted by: nanobrewer at February 17, 2009 10:04 AMCategories are pretty ad hoc around here. You'd think the corporate boys in Cleveland would issue a standard or something...
I'm the Buffy guy and have some strong support among the commentariat. But the show we all agree on is Firefly. It is not only a great show, it also fits with our passion for freedom. We talked at length when the Serenity movie came out, a category page to capture it would have been nice.
Terri linked to this on her blog, I Think ^(Link) Therefore I Err.
Never invite a blogger to share personal feelings unless you have time to spare, but I had no idea that I was a dramatech (nice term) fan. Buffy snuck up on me -- I read so much about the show on political blogs, I had to check it out. Then, total darkness until Eureka, now I find myself watching Sarah Connor. I read a little SciFi but not a lot, I missed the whole Star-Trek thing, I wasn't a comic book guy.
It's like some latent pod was planted in me by an alien being when I was young that was recently activated by the mothership or something...
Posted by: jk at February 17, 2009 11:19 AM
We talked at length when "Serenity" came out
Sorry I missed that. I wouldn't have much to offer, since with young-uns still toddling about we almost never got to a theater. I watched that NF disc probably 3-4 times and River's dance of death over 10 times!
It is is my top 10 of SF films (instapundit had it at #1), perhaps top 5 but I'd have to revisit that list some day.
dramatech: glad you like it, feel free to use it. TechDrama is perhaps more accurate but this slips trippingly from the tongue, I think.
I did like Buffy as well. Mostly the sharp repartee, and a bit of fun over high schoolers mostly dealing in a very mature fashion over the save the world/homework tonight? dilemma. H.Potter would approve. I recall asking some teeanagers about the show, once. Their "ooh, that's soo stooopid!!" made me think: Joss got it just about right
Posted by: nanobrewer at February 18, 2009 11:28 AMLet me slip in a Serenity comment that never made the prior discussion because it took a while for it to gestate in my head:
Did anyone else pick up an intentional suggestion that Mal would have become a Riever if he'd lived on Miranda during the "experiment?" Mal's vengeful reaction to the operative's murderous tactics (and his character in general) tell me that he wouldn't have been one to "just lay down" had his mind been chemically manipulated. The same qualities which make him a decisive martial leader were presumably what caused the Rievers to go berserk when do-gooders tried to make the whole of the population more "civilized."
Perhaps this was obvious to everyone else and I'm just slow, but when I suggested it to dagny she didn't agree that it was intended.
Posted by: johngalt at February 19, 2009 1:30 PM
Sorry JG, I didn't see that implication, since there was no discussion as to how "the others" (aka, those who became Reivers) got there as opposed to just laying down in the sheep dip.
Certainly Mal was on fire in this movie, and Nate smoldered oh so well during Firefly. No, if there were any implication that Mal's personality was amenable, then surely Zoe would have been tagged as well.
Posted by: nanobrewer at February 21, 2009 1:46 AMJanuary 11, 2009
Review Corner
I won't have to give up the family-friendly animated genre after all. The pungent distaste remaining from my watching Pixar's WALL-E was wiped clean by 20th Century Fox's "Horton Hears a Who."
We've discussed the number of times you have to check your philosophy at the door to enjoy a major studio blockbuster movie these days. That is not required with "Horton." Perhaps it's the spirit of Ted Geisel shining through, or the Hollywood Censors were off the week this script was vetted, but I found the movie underscored my beliefs rather than contradicted them.
There is an awesome "tyranny of the majority" scene in which the pusillanimous city council asks the people whether they want the celebration to continue or follow the mayor's suggestion to prepare for potential calamity. "Bread and Circuses" win.
Meanwhile, in the other world, Horton sticks by his beliefs against a busybody, un-elected nanny-stater. Stand up and cheer!
Jonah Goldberg makes fun of Andrew Sullivan for "watching South Park for the politics" and I am not implying that the rest of the movie is not entertaining. The animation sparkles, and the voice talents of Jim Carrey and Steve Carell convey their large personalities into their characters. I don't know how many kids got the Dr. Kissinger reference, but I laughed out loud at many such grace notes.
Four and a half stars. Where I turned WALL-E off, we watched this one twice.
January 9, 2009
Rantview Corner
Izzit a rant or a Review Corner? I type, you decide.
I love animation and have a soft spot for children's films. I have a Disney shelf of DVDs that looks much like the parents' of a couple toddlers -- except mine are not covered with peanut butter "Honey! You got brie and bojolais on 'Mulan' again!" The Pixar flicks have dazzled me. I have to put 'Toy Story' on top because of Joss Whedon, but I have liked them all well enough. 'Cars' was a triumph of computer animation and they have walked a nice line of making the plotlines and dialog kid-friendly yet entertaining for (soi disant) grownups.
Yes, Disney films all have a bias against business and commerce (except 'Meet the Robinsons.') I have considered that the price of admission and can usually dismiss it with a few eye rolls. But I finally got 'WALL-E' from Netflix and excitedly clicked it on last night. Maybe somebody can tell me how it ends because I turned it off in disgust 52 minutes in.
I hate to pan a movie I did not watch all the way through but my wife changed it over to Martin Scorsese's blues-concert documentary "Lightning in a Bottle" (3.5 stars and did I marry the right person or what?)
WALL-E, the trash compacting robot has been left on earth because we ruined the Earth with too much trash -- if only we had followed King County's lead for mandatory recycling! What is left of earth's population is travelling on a spaceship waiting for plant life to be rediscovered. They live in hovercraft-barcaloungers surrounded with servant robots, ubiquitous TV screens and (better cover the children's ears) all kinds of shopping and malls, all brought to you by B-L, the Big-and-Large Corporation whose CEO has a Presidential Seal. With no gravity and no work required, they have all become morbidly obese. The sum total is a dystopia of radical Malthusianism that would be discarded as too ludicrous if offered in a serious vehicle. But for indoctrinating the kiddies against the evils of innovation and commerce it's fine.
If you did not guess, zero freakin' stars. Sorry this review is too late to perhaps save some readers. It has been out long enough, I am likely the last one disappointed with it. There is a really nice acoustic sequence with Buddy Guy -- oh wait, that's in the other movie.
I wish I had reviewed it when I saw it in theatres. I went because Lileks thought highly of it.
Even my five year old thought it was dumb.
Looked good, but jeez... a little heavy handed.
Posted by: AlexC at January 9, 2009 11:55 AMThe Refugee can't help here. He fell asleep after about 45 minutes - thought it started out slow and went nowhere.
Posted by: Boulder Refugee at January 9, 2009 12:22 PMOnce again, I am in the minority: I liked it.
Perhaps we just read different things into it. I found the idea of a trash covered world too fanciful to merit criticism- it was nothing more than a plot device to get humanity off Earth and into Space.
If we are really are to force political metaphors onto the movie, I will go ahead and state that WALL-E contained one of the best depictions of Tocqueville's soft depostism I have seen on film. That, added with a lesson on the evils of mixing market awith state and a good ol' endorsement of the "Hello Dolly" lifestyle leaves this commentator with little to begrudge the movie.
~T. Greer, Pixar fan.
Posted by: T. Greer at January 12, 2009 12:49 AMActually, tg, I was hoping somebody would stick up for the movie (I am quite the Pixar fan myself). I wish I had not sent it back to Netflix; I'll give it another spin someday on your counsel. But if it ends with a lot of TR trust-busting nonsense, I'll be cross.
Posted by: jk at January 12, 2009 11:25 AMThe Refugee made the mistake of buying a copy. He will be happy to lend it Blog Brother JK anytime. No reason to waste a Netflix shipment.
Posted by: Boulder Refugee at January 12, 2009 6:35 PMHeh. Good excuse for coffee.
Posted by: jk at January 12, 2009 6:41 PMJanuary 3, 2009
Hooked on Chrome
The browser wars seem so 1990's, I just haven't been interested in playing. In any case, my work has me effectively chained to Internet Explorer. I'm used to it and roll my eyes when associates whine for Mozilla 3.2.1.5 support. I came up in the UNIX world and am used to people's having particular tastes in tech.
Not sure what prompted me to try the Google® only-slightly-evil Chrome browser this morning. But holy-crimin'-Eddy, this thing is fast. I've been trying to objectively compare my new 7Mb dedicated pipe to my old shared 8Mb. Faster, slower, can I tell? Then I switch to Chrome and it is like being plugged directly into the server. It imported all my IE bookmarks, preferences and even passwords. As I type this, I even get spell-check right in the text box.
Sweet. Here's a link in case I am not the last guy who has tried it.
Spell checking in a text box?
2003 called, it wants it's feature back.
Posted by: AlexC at January 3, 2009 10:33 PMNew folks around here may not know that AlexC and I are actually the "I'm a Mac, I'm a PC" characters you see on TV.
Posted by: jk at January 4, 2009 11:54 AMThis is the cat's pajamas, JK. It even fails elegantly when I fat-finger a comment-post rather than simply losing everything as MS Exploder did.
Posted by: Boulder Refugee at January 5, 2009 2:41 PMUpdate: Adobe Flash presently does not have plug-ins for Chrome. Apparently, the cat has just a small nightie and no pajamas.
Posted by: Boulder Refugee at January 5, 2009 5:38 PMA good part of me suggests that this is one of the reasons for Chrome's performance. Blog sites are using a lot of active script to defeat pop-up blockers and hijack the user experience. I started visit Hugh Hewitt and NRO only on special occasions (Rep. Tom Tancredo's Birthday, National Heterosexual Awareness Day, &c.) because they took over my browser. Chrome opens them all instantly.
Posted by: jk at January 5, 2009 6:09 PMNovember 24, 2008
Review Corner
Keith wants to talk about '24.' [fourth comment] Sounds good to me!
His cynical take away from the long awaited return of agent "torture when necessary" Jack Bauer was that the plight of child soldiers in the develping world was intended to be the next cause celebre in the Hollywood activism community. Being the staid, fatalistic, heartless conservative that I am, I simply viewed the child soldier issue as a sympathetic plot device for foundational purposes to the story: Now that Jack (and CTU) have saved the nation and untold thousands of her citizens from death by terrorist acts, the panty wetters in our midst are free to question their tactics. "How many people did you torture Mister Bauer?" I look forward to a vigorous defense of such methods in defense of liberty and can only hope (there's that word again) not to be disappointed.
A positive sign was the repeated scenes involving the Frenchman who drove the U.N. supply truck. Feckless at every opportunity, when the brown stuff started hitting the fan and he sanctimoniously recited, "The U.N. remains neutral in this matter" Jack told him, "Why don't you go hide in the shelter with the other children."[3:37]
Jack's back, that's for sure. But so is (the supposedly killed) Tony Almeida! And they find a way to include Chloe as well.
I'll have to grudgingly concede Keith may be on to something though... the Coalition to stop the use of child soldiers, including the "red hand" campaign, is linked prominently from the official 24 website.
Welcome to ThreeSources, tg! I have historically been the only one to question the sanctity of his Jackness.
I watched the entirety of last season (I had to, less my blog brothers would use a masonry bit on my mandibular foramen) and came to the same conclusion. Be careful, friend, we're in a distinct minority around here. Immigration or Anarcho-capitalism debate has nowhere the severity of '24' debate.
I didn't mean to start this... my bringing the subject up was to simply point out the latest cause du jour, and how I expected Congress to hold hearings on the subject. Truth be told, I couldn't even sit all the way through this week's premiere. I walked out at the point where the French blue-helmet ratted out the children to the bad guys. Of course, I took some pleasure in seeing the role of cowardly collaborator given to a Frenchman, and seeing the UN work in this fictional country the same way they did at the Lebanon-Israel border.
T. Greer is right - the show lacks reality (let's see how many "in-real-time" episodes it takes for him to return to the States, for example). After the first or maybe the second season, the plot devices become annoyingly predictable (as soon as the President's son asks the kid if he has any evidence of the financial cover-up and the kid answers he's uploaded it to his hard drive, you know he's a Dead Man Walking). And there's always the Nefarious Criminal Mastermind high up in government - really, as if our government was competent to do this effectively.
As for the clear moral judgment issue, the show is hamfisted about it at a superficial level. In the first five minutes, we learn that the bad guys use children as soldiers in their planned coup and round them up against their will for that purpose (evil!), but Jack loves children so much, he'll let them steal the present he intends to give that petulant, willful daughter of his (saintly!). The writers certainly wielded that contrast like a blunt instrument, didn't they?
My feeling is that we've always needed heroes - we want there to be larger-than-life warriors to believe in. Jack Bauer, Jack Ryan, and Peter Parker are just the logical extension of Heracles and Apollo. We want there to be a Jack Bauer, because our government certainly won't do the job we want it to do against our enemies. We want a President like Jack Ryan, because neither the one we have, the one we're getting, or the one we voted for have the fortitude or the sense to do what Ryan would. Our need for heroes springs from our disappointment with what we're faced with in reality.
How's that for an amateur mass psychoanalysis of pop culture?
Posted by: Keith at November 25, 2008 12:04 PMGreat Googooly Moogooly, I clicked on Three Sources and got Oprah Winfrey. JK knows I hold him in high esteem and T.G.'s erudition and defense of Teddy Roosevelt make him tops in my book, but ya'll are starting to sound like a bunch of nancy boy David Schusters at a turkey killing. Simply put, you are violating Sugarchuck's Mighty Fine Rule #1, "Don't be cracking on Jack!" Grounded in reality? Maybe you want to watch a show about a bunch of Brie eating bureaucrats armed with Robert's Rules of Order and their own righteous indignation, slowly working their way through the perilous subsection C, paragraph 1 of a U.N. resolution, only to see it blocked by the French at the Security Counsel. (Oh the humanity!) You'd like, perhaps, a minute by minute rendering of Foggy Bottom types working their way through the grays and haze of diplomatic minutia, fiercely substituting this word for that? Not me! I'll take Jack and his "this sides Yin that sides Yang mother F'er" sense of moral judgement every time. It takes clarity, real moral clarity to defend the country with power tools and if you don't want to take my word for it, ask a woman. Do you think Michelle Obama or Hillary Clinton are going to loose themselves in a debate over moral consequences when the fate of the free world and the safety of their children is in the hands of some lowlife terrorist with the codes to the launch sequence? No damn way. While Bill and Barak search for symbols and commonalities of mutual understanding and cooperative dialogue, Michelle is getting the Craftsman circular saw and Hillary is pulling a Diehard out of the SUV. That's moral judgement.
Keith, God Bless you, but that was a whole lot of words to say we like to see our guys kick some butt. We liked it when John Wayne did it and we like it when Jack does. And nobody does it better than Jack. Did you see the way he threw down the captured assault weapon last night? Even empty, Jack could have willed death and destruction out of that barrel and he didn't do it out of a refined sense of fair play. He knew he didn't have to kill everybody until they'd tortured him first. Then and only then did he drop everything that moved. And he saved those kids! Way to go Jack, way to go.
Sugarchuck: I don't want to see Jack kick some butt - I'd much rather see him shoot people in the thigh or or attack their throats with his bare teeth. My point is that we want to see Jack do it because we're getting the opposite in real life.
I want my country to protect its borders and go toe-to-toe with enemies foreign and domestic. Because we're not getting it in real life, though, we go to the television to get our dose of it.
I will, though, amend one thing about what I've previously written. 24 has certainly taught us at least one thing that is true to life - it's given us a series of presidents that are inept, corrupt, or testicularly challenged, or a combination of the three.
Posted by: Keith at November 25, 2008 3:21 PMExcept, that is, for President David Palmer. In his case it was the first lady who was some combination of those three.
Posted by: johngalt at November 25, 2008 4:01 PMExcept, that is, for President David Palmer. In his case it was the first lady who was some combination of those three.
Way to go Sugarchuck! I tagged out to you at just the right time.
Posted by: johngalt at November 25, 2008 4:04 PMNovember 20, 2008
Quote of the Day
Babel, for which [Guillermo] Arriaga wrote the screenplay, was shown on the afternoon of October 31. I had not seen it previously, and almost walked out. It is truly an awful film, although it has a few intriguing sequences. Any one of the overlapping plots might have made an interesting movie by itself -- except for the story of the deaf, nymphomaniac, Japanese high-school coed --but this is one example of the whole being less than the sum of its parts. -- Rick Sincere at the Virginia Film Festival
I fully agree. It was a rambling, disjointed attempt to show, it appeared, how much damage just one single gun can cause to many people all over the world. (As though human beings and their free will were as random and disinterested as the stones by the side of the road.)
We didn't walk out - we were watching on DVD - but instead kept watching to see if it would ever redeem itself or if the entire film was really that pointless. It didn't. It was.
Posted by: johngalt at November 21, 2008 1:54 AMI haven't seen it; I just enjoyed the review and found it difficult to imagine a movie that could not be saved by a deaf, nymphomaniac, Japanese high-school coed.
Posted by: jk at November 21, 2008 12:21 PMAnd said co-ed was fully nude at one point. But no, she still couldn't save it. Sad.
Posted by: johngalt at November 21, 2008 3:55 PMNovember 3, 2008
Popperian Review Corner
How uncool to admit that you just got around to reading last year's "it" book, but I read Nassim Nicholas Taleb's "Black Swan" last weekend. It is an important book, a very enjoyable read, and a glimpse into a powerful, powerful intellect. It's as if Thomas Pynchon wrote non-fiction. Anybody who has not read it should -- and if you read it before the Black-Swannish market turmoil, you'd probably dig another round of it, post-panic.
The WSJ (news pages) reports that his hedge fund did -- well let us say a little better than the S&P -- during the recent swings:
Separate funds in Universa's so-called Black Swan Protection Protocol were up by a range of 65% to 115% in October, according to a person close to the fund. "We're discovering the fragility of the financial system," said Mr. Taleb, who says he expects market volatility to continue as more hedge funds run into trouble.A professor of mathematical finance at New York University, Mr. Taleb believes investors often ignore the risk of extreme moves in the market, especially when times are good and volatility is low, as it was for several years leading up to the current turmoil.
Looking for black swans, the fund keeps 90% in cash and buys gobs of puts that are far enough outside the expectations of the market to be cheap. Then when boomtimes go boom, they clean up.
I may do a longer review corner on the book but it will be hard to top the cold hard appreciation of the fund. We both appreciate Karl Popper, who would have applauded the predictive power of his theories. I have not quite reconciled my philosophy with Taleb's. I agree with his premises. I enjoy the trashing he metes out to economists, the Nobel prize committee, and conventional wisdom. I applaud his use of many of my heroes: Hayek, Popper, Poincare (and Yogi Berra). And nobody can deny his fundamental assertions after the stock market October we’ve just completed.
Yet like an H-bomb that seems a valuable invention -- but that you hope doesn't get into the wrong hands -- I worry that your average PoMo Sociology professor will use Taleb's arguments against the ideas of merit and evolutionary selection of better ideas that I hold so dearly. Taleb takes several digressions but never addresses those topics head on.
It may be too late to buy the fund, but buy the book ($10 on Kindle®).
October 20, 2008
Review Corner
Review Corner? On Monday? Yes, you have to buy this book today.
One hundred and one years ago this week, The Panic of 1907 was in full bloom. Robert Bruner and Sean Carr provide an entertaining and enlightening look inside the background heroics of J. Pierpont Morgan as he tried to keep the whole world from crashing. The book opens with a Mark Twain quote that "history does not repeat. But it rhymes."
I don't know what it is about October. I was doing PR for an Investment Banking Firm in 1987 and will never forget the ashen faces of my clients when the nation lost 25% of its wealth on one day. In October 1907, a "perfect storm" was cresting and "Pierpont" was determined to limit its destruction.
The book is entertaining and germane. I cannot say that I agree with its conclusions, and I cannot help but believe that the authors were trying a little too hard to make it match today (it was released August 31, maybe these guys should be managing my extensive -- yeah right -- portfolio).
But it is a great opportunity to look at the Panic of 2008 form a different perspective. And it is a great read. Four stars.
August 3, 2008
This Bud's For Me!
Mark the date: August 2, 2008. The day my beer snob license was revoked.
I went in to try a new place in my new home town yesterday (Old Town Erie has been a treasure trove of cool places to eat). I asked the waitress "what do you have on tap that's dark?" and she set me up with Bare Knuckle. I had never heard of it, but it was a creamy, grainy, nicety hopped stout.
"Who makes this?" inquires I. She has to return to the bar for an answer.
"Budweiser," replies she. At which point I am sure this woman is yanking my chain (These new town folk'll believe anything!) but a little Internet search backs her up. The good folks at Anheuser-Busch have been making this since 2004. It's a much lighter stout than Guinness -- earning howls of real beer snob derision at ratebeer.com. But it has its charms. I'll give it four stars, providing you don't follow their recipe for an "Irish American" and mix it 50-50 with Bud.
No, I'm not convinced. You guys are both still beer snobs. Budweiser is a good, light American lager - even without the commercials. And original Coors is still true to it's German pils heritage. After a long day of hard work on a hot farm I'll take either of those over anything else in my fridge.
Once the cool night air has settled in, that's when the heavier brews twist off.
Cheers!
Beer snob: Won't drink anything with a twist off cap.
Beer connoisseur: Will try anything once.
Posted by: johngalt at August 4, 2008 3:13 PMTrust the Ukrainians: Enjoy beer -- and life will be good.
I'm not too good for twist offs; I'm too large. Beer is an occasional treat, so I save it for the good stuff. (Meet you at the Colorado Coal Company some night and you can try the Bare Knuckle?)
Cheers back!
Posted by: jk at August 4, 2008 4:52 PMAh yes, the carbohydrates do tend to fill in the empty calories in one's organism.
CCC? Yes!
Posted by: johngalt at August 4, 2008 11:35 PMWow, I've never before been accused of being a beer snob! Heavier beers aren't even my preference, and twist-offs don't matter to me. I like a lighter, clean-tasting beer like San Miguel, or if I can't get it, Heineken and St. Pauli Girl. Domestic "pilsens" and "lagers" just don't have the flavor or clean aftertaste.
Posted by: Perry Eidelbus at August 5, 2008 12:42 PM"Beer snob" was really directed mostly at JK but you got swept into the generalization because you said "anything" Budweiser makes is crap. Most of their attempts at brewing innovation have fallen short of the original Budweiser lager that keeps them in business. And it is of unending shame to me that American beer consumers keep Bud Light in production. I'm as libertarian as they come but there really ought to be a law against calling that "beer." (I know - first amendment rights. blah blah)
Heineken is a good beer but St. Pauli Girl's appeal to me is lost once you get beyond the label. For light German beers I prefer Warsteiner or Konigsbrau. My favorite in the category is the original Pils: Pilsner Urquell from the Czech Republic.
Posted by: johngalt at August 5, 2008 3:11 PM
What I actually said was, "Hmm, Budweiser making anything that isn't crap? Might be worth a look."
I wasn't dismissing the possibility of a Budweiser product being good, only expressing surprise.
Laws are much less necessary than most people think. You don't need a specific law to punish force or fraud, and the latter includes misrepresenting a product so people will buy it. In this case, is it fraud to call Bud Light "beer"? That would be an interesting case, but the foregone conclusion is that most Americans' palates aren't sophisticated enough to say "yes."
Posted by: Perry Eidelbus at August 6, 2008 11:56 AMJuly 5, 2008
Review Corner
I have to play catch up from before the move, so I will do what Larry Kudlow calls a "lightning round:"
Liberal Fascism, by Jonah Goldberg. I wanted to read this and I read some good reviews. But in the end this book was better than I thought it would be. Goldberg checks his trademark humor at the door, and writes a very serious and important book. He tries bravely to keep it from being a polemic and he is mostly successful. Yet his topic makes it hard to escape. If you haven't read it or much about it, Goldberg aims to:
- Define fascism, not just as an insult or dysphemism for "something I don't like." He looks at Mussolini's Italy and, of course, Nazi Germany though he is thorough in separating Hitlerism and Fascism
- Look at America's closest brushes with fascism or fascist tactics, through the Progressive Era, Margaret Sanger, New Deal, 1960's radicals and the life work of Hillary Rodham Clinton.
- Lastly, tie fascism to the beliefs and tactics of the left. Amusingly, they love to throw the word at their enemies, but from greater State control of industry to organic food -- the shoe seems to fit a little better on the left if ya catch my drift.
I, like other reviewers, sell it a little short by synopsizing. It's a better, more serious, and more informative book than you are expecting. Four stars and change.
Economic Facts and Fallacies, by Thomas Sowell. Holy cow, Sowell is prolific, and I'm gonna agree with everything he says anyway, why give up $17.16?
Well, it's only 15.44 on Kindle® (both of these books were read on Kindle) and Sowell is a deity. You will certainly think of something in a different way (one for me was to consider the different median ages for different ethnic groups. When you consider African-American income statistics against the US population at large, consider that the median black age is five years younger (30) than all (35), with age having a huge factor on income). Even when you say you've heard the story before, Sowell is so lucid and his arguments are so tight, you will be far better prepared to yell at your in-laws at the next family function. Completely non-technical, very accessible, very well done. 3.75 (it would be higher if there were more new material).
Tin Man (DVD). I guess this aired as a miniseries on Sci-Fi Channel. I wanted to rent it from Redbox (it came out on DVD last March), missed it, and ended up accidentally buying it from Redbox (long story, but they sell older DVD's for $7, I had a credit and took a flyer). Merciful Zeus, this is a great film! This is another look at Frank Baum's Wizard of Oz. This one is more modern, a little darker, and a lot more Baum-ier than Judy Garland's with those great Harold Arlen songs.
Don't get your panties in a bunch if you love the original. This is not a remake. It's another look and that is all I'll say. And it is full of little devotions and homages to the 1939 film (the address of the farmhouse is "39"). It is told in three "editions." each of which is film length, so I realize you're making a substantive time commitment. But this is a gem. It is well shot, well acted, a ripping plot-line -- and the breadcrumbs of those little homages keep you alert every minute.
I'm thinking five stars. I can't think of anything not to like -- It's Buffy meets Dorothy!
I genuinely enjoyed Tin Man myself. Watched it last December on vacation at the in-laws, where they have HDTV and I was captivated. I will add that it's also thoroughly sexy, in a 'Ginger and Mary Ann' sort of way.
Six hours seemed like three.
Posted by: johngalt at July 7, 2008 3:41 PMGlad to get a little reinforcement; this really blew me away (you have got to try Buffy again, starting at a newer season or starting with Angel).
I cannot disagree with your comment. Ms. Deschanel is completely captivating (I had never seen her before) and, in true Buffy fashion, even the villain is attractive.
May 16, 2008
Review Corner
Uninteresting backstory: I have been a proud DishNetwork customer for several years -- cleaning out the crawl space unearthed a receiver from each EchoStar generation. I have been extremely pleased, but the new place faces Due North and so we're going to have to "start seeing other people." After careful consideration, I selected the lowest rent cable package and added a TiVo. The TiVo will better approximate the PVR I am used to, and going to a cheaper package will free up some funds to buy programming from Amazon Unbox.
The real review: Being an Unbox shopper now, I followed a "People who bought Xxxx, also bought Yyyy" link and listened to some samples of Sophie Milman's "Make Someone Happy." I bought the CD based on a couple of great tunes.
The first time through, I thought that this is a little too Easy-Listening for me. Let the record show I am a ballad man with a high tolerance. After a few runs through, however, I have really fallen for her voice and phrasing. Yesterday, I searched for more information about her, and now find myself completely smitten. She is 25 years old. She was born in Russia, raised in Israel, and now lives in Canada -- singing American Jazz. Let's hear it for globalization! I also did not know -- honest -- that she is preternaturally attractive.
I give the new CD four stars and the pictures on her website five.
UPDATE: Here's a video from her first CD:
March 29, 2008
Review Corner
I am late to the party, I know. I have heard a lot of good things about "The Kite Runner," both the book and the movie. Miraculously, I had not heard much about the plot or thesis. It was about Afghanistan, and a lot of my lefty friends liked it. Trepidation rules.
It was released on DVD this week and I rented it last night. This is a five star movie. I look forward to quizzing my friends about it. It comports neatly to my worldview which is orthogonal to theirs. I frequently am forced to set my politics aside to enjoy a film for its graphic achievements, but this one is both well crafted and well thought.
It's not a plot line that would suffer from "spoilers." Yet, on the off chance that I am not the last one on the planet to see this, rent it right away and just watch it unfold.
Like the man said, five stars.
December 30, 2007
Review Corner
A couple of good books.
Nanny State: How Food Fascists, Teetotaling Do-Gooders, Priggish Moralists, and other Boneheaded Bureaucrats are Turning America into a Nation of Children by David Harsanyi: the title says it all.
Harsanyi collects a diverse crew. They cover a wide political spectrum, but each wants to impede your freedom. From the "No Running!" sign on the kids' playground, to trans-fat bans, he gives a consistent voice for freedom and personal responsibility. I don't think much of the information will be new to ThreeSourcers, although I was interested in the "scope creep" of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, and new, zero-tolerance laws that criminalize driving with any measurable blood alcohol content.
One senses Haranyi is preaching to the choir. Still it is amusing, well paced, and chock full of outrageous examples. I give it four stars.
New Monetarism by David Roche and Bob McKee.
I purchased this based on a WSJ Editorial Roche wrote a few weeks ago. It made a lot of sense to me and I wanted to read more. ThreeSources friend Perry Eidlebus pronounced it "a steaming pile of bull." I'd like to buy Perry, and perhaps the Everyday Economist, a copy for a late Christmas present. As proof of disinflation, the book was $10.50 when I bought it, but it is now available for $9.61. It is a small, 80 page paperback -- about as long as an article in City Journal.
But he speaks to something I have long believed and argued on this blog. The existence of "disinflation" and the creation of money supra-central-banks. The diagram on the front speaks to a continuing argument 'round these parts. The bottom of the "liquidity pyramid" is money created by central banks, the next level shows the multiplier of fractional reserve banking, then money created by securitized debt, and lastly the multiplier of derivatives. Though a quick read, it is well documented.
Roche and McKee give voice (and documentation) to the Kudlow-Laffer school, but the authors do not share their sunny optimism. Their concepts of disinflation and their expanded view of liquidity comport, but Roche and McKee expect a cataclysmic bubble burst because so much of this liquidity is based on risk appetite, and that a small correction could bring the entire structure down.
I hate to take all their cheery predictions without the bad, but I think that they discount the fundamental point of derivatives, namely, getting risk into the hands of those that can best accept it. Roche and McKee advise (and let me be clear, this book is positioned more toward investment advice than economics) you to go long volatility. I wonder if they are ignoring the effect of instruments that would allow you to do so.
Interesting. Quick read, Three-and-a-half. Email me an address if you want me send you a copy.
Jonah Goldberg's Liberal Fascism
I have not bought it, so what is it doing in Review Corner?
One of the Kos kids wants to Googlebomb the book, guiding searchers to negative reviews. To prove I can be just as childish, I offer links to this corner post, this PowerLine review, and this Instapundit post. So there, Kossaks!
I will likely buy the book and do a real Review Corner, maybe if my new Amazon Kindle® ever ships. ('Twas a very Merry Christmas for me!)
December 17, 2007
Review Corner -- Last Minute Gift Idea
I make no secret of my appreciation for James Lileks. I think I have bought all of his books, and have given many as gifts -- some of the biggest gift hits.
I bought Gastroanomolies when it came out even though I was concerned. After The Gallery of Regrettable Food was there enough material? Was the master going back to the well too many times?
NO! I finally picked it up yesterday to flip through a few pages. I read it cover to cover and laughed out loud through most of it. It is even better than TGORF. I ordered it for a gift today and recommend it highly as a gift or personal purchase. I cannot imagine anyone who would not enjoy it (it's probably too PG-13 for the very young or delicate). Five starts -- it's Lileks.
November 3, 2007
Review Corner: One for Walt
Apple founders Steve Jobs and Steve Wozinak both claimed Walt Disney as a personal hero. This led me to a biography that I enjoyed (I've forgotten the title and none on Amazon ring a bell). He's a fascinating figure and, while he's rarely held up for political beliefs, he was an unabashed spokesman for innovation and modernity. He was an optimist who saw a bright future for America based on innovation and technology.
I've always wondered if he spins in his grave when the studio that bears his name portrays business and corporations in such a hostile manner. You can always bet on the businessman being the villain in a Disney movie. Usually some plucky kids have to save the community from some corporate type who's only after profit.
Of course, I can't project feelings onto another man, living or dead. Perhaps W.D. would look at the box office receipts and smile broadly. Either way, I would venture that he'd give his best grin to "Meet the Robinsons." This very fun film overtly portrays the Disney vision. In a trip to the future, the campy "Tomorrowland" is called "Todayland," and the final frame salutes his vision and philosohy
Mostly, modernity is actually celebrated in the plot. Inventions are good. Profiting from an innovation (gasp!) is good. A stolen idea results in dystopia. They didn't ever recite "The Kudlow Creed" but it had everything else.
Clever, Pixar animation, without the PC sops that one is usually forced to encounter in any movie these days. I give it four stars.
October 20, 2007
Review Corner
Short: Clarence Thomas's My Grandfather's Son: five stars.
Slightly longer: This book is, firstly, a distinctly American biography. Justice Thomas comes into the world with zero advantages and rises to great heights on his own intellect, integrity, and work ethic. Thomas's journey is America's. If we had an editor around here, such clichés would be stricken, but in this instance that would be a mistake.
A side interest of mine is how closely removed we are from a Willa Cather existence: both of my grandmothers were born into it, and at the end of the 20th Century two Justices sat on the Supreme Court who had grown up without indoor plumbing. Thomas's youth is about as hard as can be imagined without actual chattel slavery.
It is also a political tale. Thomas leaves the Catholic church and avoids the Republican party over tacit acceptance of racism and segregation. He and his family later look on in horror as the party of JFK becomes the bigots at his "high tech lynching." Thomas is consistently hurt by the people and polity who are there to help him, and when he speaks out, he's cast aside by white liberals for being uppity.
It is also a tale of incredible strength and courage. Hats off to this great man for his forbearance and strength. I read Bork's "Tempting of America" last year. One realizes that we are chasing out any decent people from government service. No wonder only he crazies seem to be left -- how many decent people would or could put up with this?
It's no secret that I'm a fan of Thomas. He's far and away my favorite justice (Nino blew it on Raich) but this book would appeal to anybody. Five stars -- easy!
October 6, 2007
That Scottish Play
It has been a while since I have had a solid rental recommendation for Review Corner but this one is worth the wait.
IMDB dates Macbeth as 2006, but it has just come to Redbox last week. The website synopsis reads:
The Melbourne underworld, present time.Macbeth, a loyal henchman to his crime boss Duncan, is told by teenage witches that he will one day assume great power. Driven by their prophecy, he plots with his wife to kill Duncan, and takes the leadership of the gang for himself.
Maintaining his power will require more murders and violence, finally driving his surviving enemies to unite and destroy him.
The look is contemporary: hot cars, cell phones and automatic weapons. There are steamy sex scenes, cocaine use, puking, and a body count that would put Stephen Seagal to shame. Yet the dialog is all blank verse. I am not a scholar but I think I caught a couple deviances from the original.
All and all, I think the bard would approve. jk gives a solid four stars.
September 8, 2007
Review Corner
I find Chris Rock extremely funny. His language is coarse, but that is his act and I can handle a few swear words without getting the vapors. His stand up comedy is funny, and he has played some great comedic roles. His depiction of Rufus, the thirteenth apostle in "Dogma" is one of the great performances of our time.
Seeing Mister Rock in a movie with Gina Torres of Firefly and Angel, I spent an extra three bucks to get it on pay per view and save a trip to my beloved Redbox. Rock stars and directs (directorial debut?) "I Think I Love My Wife."
I think I was really disappointed.
Rock plays an Investment Banker. While he pulls off the role, it seems a waste to have him playing a straight man in a comedy. More problematic is the film’s pacing and writing. It's an SNL skit but it does not have enough content to fill a two hour movie. I stopped halfway through to watch baseball and I was pretty happy to see it end.
Philosophically, I found it disturbing. It's not brimming with politics or economics, but sub rosa there are a few irksome undercurrents about race relations, with nods to the importance of "authenticity" for African Americans. Keep it real, bro, whatever. You can't enjoy the fruits of your labor, that would be wrong.
The basic premise is anti marriage: that after a few years, all the romance and passion dries away, and staying in a marriage faithfully is a chore that a grown up has to do. A duty to put your kids and spouse above your needs. That's a better message than "whatever floats your boat," but I can't buy it. I just celebrated my 24th Anniversary and I am lucky to know many happy, committed couples. I don't see this hairshirt mentality as the norm.
A yawner. A cringer. I can name one funny scene in two hours. A waste of talent. One star.
September 6, 2007
Review Corner
I let the GOP debate sit on the hard disk last night and went out to see some live music.
Hot Club Nouveau played at Nissi's and it was an incredible night. Four very young guys playing music in the style of Django Reinhart and Stephane Grappelli. I would call it the most difficult and demanding music that one could attempt. And these guys played it credibly, and then added some "Nouveau" parts on top.
It gives one hope for the Republic and the future. Colorado folk: these guys are based out of Fort Collins, see them if you have a chance.
August 25, 2007
Review Corner
They talk about movie plots as "formulaic;" here's the formula.
Young, idealistic member of X, where X is an element of a disadvantaged racial group in the United States encounters disadvantaged youth and winds up sharing his love of Y, where Y is an element of a popular activity but is NOT an element of activities considered popular for members of racial group X. Youths show great promise in activity Y after initial skepticism and demonstrate level of competency Z. Z is contiguous over a wide domain of X and Y.
I tease but confess that I almost always like these films. One worth watching was "Pride," newly released on DVD. X=African-American, Y=swimming, and I can't give you Z because I don’t do spoilers.
Three and three-quarters stars. If you like these films.
August 13, 2007
Review Corner
I've made no secret of my appreciation for Christopher Hitchens. "Hitch" has shown great courage, breaking with his fellow, Trotskyite travelers twice. Once to hold President Clinton accountable in the superb "No One Left to Lie To." Then, to support the war against Islamofascism, seeing the terrorists' goals as an assault against all that the left claims to hold dear. Even when he's not agreeing with me, he is an honest interlocutor for the left.
And yet. I just read his treatment of Thomas Paine's "Rights of Man." This is in the Books That Changed the World series, which I call Cliff's notes for grownups. P. J. O'Rourke's treatment of "Wealth of Nations was pretty good, but the overviews tend to be a little light for a book that you that truly interests you.
Hitchens's book on Paine is 158 pages. Amazon lists dimensions as 8.2 x 5.3 x 1 inches. You could hollow out a copy of the new Harry Potter and smuggle a dozen of these. He subtitles it "An Autobiography." He is far more concerned with the feud between Edmund Burke and Paine than in exegeting "Rights of Man." Fair Enough.
Paine was a complex figure. Most appreciate has fiery rhetoric in Common Sense, and the verve and fire he inculcated into the American Revolution. He was a champion of liberty, opposing monarchy, slavery, and religious oppression.
But he was completely hoodwinked by the Jacobins and could never see the French Revolution clearly. Hitchens doesn't sweep any of his flaws or failings under the rug, but he is willing to let a lot of them slide. I suspect that he wrote this simultaneously with "God is Not Great" and became enamored with a Paine-Hitchens congruence on religion. Plus the left does keep a soft spot for 1789.
In the end, Burke was right. Paine and Hitchens can legitimately criticize monarchy, but the Glorious Revolution that gave Britain its hybrid parliamentary monarchy has been a better friend to liberty than has France.
It's a quick read, Amazon will hook you up for $13.57, and I wouldn’t dissuade anyone from reading it. But I was not convinced. Three-point-seven-five stars.
August 5, 2007
Review Corner
We don't have a lot of "Public Intellectuals" these days. Academics have poisoned their own reputations with lack of scholarship and partisan sniping, few artists have stepped up to the plate. Politicians and pundits have been too partisan.
I would suggest, however, that Michael Barone carries the torch into this century. Barone is conservative and passionate in ideas, yet few would call him partisan. Even Newsweek's Eleanor Clift is deferential to him on "The McLaughlin Group." I treated myself to a purchase of his Almanac of American Politics in 2004. It comes with a subscription to a web version. I will never be without it again.
I really enjoyed two of his other books and recommend, highly, both. "The New Americans" was written before the great immigration contretemps, yet provides sagacious counsel about immigration and assimilation. His "Hard America, Soft America" should be read by every American as a prerequisite to making any political comment. It lays out the importance of a free market, competitive Hard America and also gives thoughtful voice to the need for a Soft America. It is an evenhanded and thoughtful work.
I just finished Barone's "Our First Revolution." I can heartily recommend this one as well.
Looking back 90 years before the American Revolution, Barone sees the seeds of the American Revolution in "The Glorious Revolution" which unseated the Stuarts, set up Britain -- almost accidentally -- as an archetype of representative government, cemented her as a defender of personal liberty, and created a military and financial power.
Of course, England had the Magna Carte, and natural law. Yet Britons had no rights which could not be waived by a monarch or suspended by Parliament. "Parliament was an event, not an institution," says Barone. Kings ruled for a dozen years, only calling a Parliament when they needed money. After the Glorious Revolution, Parliament has met every year since 1689.
One also sees the beginnings of party politics as the Whigs and the Tories are born (both are pejorative). Mostly one sees the roots of the bill of rights. As Parliament crafts a weaker version, the ideas took root in the American colonists who wanted, as Barone points out, the liberty they thought they had secured themselves as British subjects.
I found the first half to be a little work. If you don't know the players and the history leading up to it, there are a lot of data to juggle. If you don't have Barone's memory, you'll need to bookmark the family tree, maps, and footnotes.
I was also hoping for a Lockean demand for rights and liberties (Locke is in it) and moderately disappointed that it was just a typical, European, dynastic conflict and religious war. You don't find the purity of the American Declaration of Independence, At the same time, you get a clear picture of why they eschewed "an established religion," why the right to bear arms was enshrined and, with my apologies to the Jacksonians and Taneyites, why Alexander Hamilton sought a national bank.
Barone's a gem. When you get acclimated to the cast, the book moves like a rocket: informative and entertaining. I give it four-and-a-half stars.
July 28, 2007
Review Corner
I gave it away in a previous post, but I'd highly encourage everybody to buy and read Amity Shlaes's The Forgotten Man.
I don't suspect that we have a lot of "New Dealers" in ThreeSources Land who idolize FDR's economic policies. We fight every day against the New Deal legacy. To look at the US under President Coolidge, where the book begins, is to see a completely different national attitude toward freedom, property rights, and the right to contract.
I recommend this book for two reasons. It has a powerful narrative that few nonfiction books can claim. Even though you generally know the ending of each section, the book is a real page turner. The characters are lit brightly through deed and anecdote. I'm no expert on the period by any means, yet I came away with a clear feel for Presidents Coolidge, Hoover, and Roosevelt, as well as losing candidates Alf Landon and (the book's hero) Wendell Willkie. Andrew Mellon, Justice Brandies, Harold Ickes the elder, Rex Tugwell, Samuel Insull, Father Devine, Huey Long, Father Coughlin. It has a large and bright cast that comes to life.
Exciting, yes, but the story was all too real. The other thing I enjoyed was Shlaes's detailing the extent of FDR's collectivist instincts. Call me naive but I was shocked. FDR wanted state control of everything and had the Supreme Court not clipped his wings, we'd be living in a country where Senator Clinton's polity would be considered laissez faire. It is truly astonishing.
Shlaes wears her heart on her sleeve. Heroes and villains are as clear in "The Forgotten Man" as in an Ayn Rand novel. You’ve read Shlaes in the Wall Street Journal; to her and me the collectivists are villans. She doesn't impute bad motives but she shows it as a battle of individualists vs. collectivists -- and she details how FDR's policies made the depression worse and longer. It was WWII that brought the country out, and one component was that President Roosevelt needed to ameliorate his methods and political battles to create a united front to win the war.
We all celebrate FDR's war leadership, and the book ends before Pearl Harbor. His first two terms are scrutinized as are the events leading up to them.
The Publisher's Weekly review says "It's also a thoughtful, even-tempered corrective to too often unbalanced celebrations of FDR and his administration's pathbreaking policies" Me, I give it five stars.
UPDATE: I got a nice thank you from Ms. Shlaes. I'm glad I did not call her a grouch.
Maybe you'll get the next book for free. ;)
If you want to learn more about FDR's socialism, check out FDR's Folly: How Roosevelt and His New Deal Prolonged the Great Depression.
It's really shocking... I'll have to look for this one.
Posted by: AlexC at July 28, 2007 11:04 PMJune 16, 2007
Review Corner
Two films new to DVD.
Norbit, starring Eddie Murphy and Eddie Murphy and Eddie Murphy... Peter Sellers and Alec Guinness have made the most memorable of these films. Murphy plays almost every character, from the eponymous dweeby orphan male lead to his obese and unpleasant wife, and to the Chinese racist who runs the orphanage.
Murphy has the talent to pull this off and the film is generally amusing. But do not expect hidden bits of nuance and intelligence. It's all slapstick, juvenile fair -- done pretty well, mind you, but there is nothing more. I'll give it two and a half stars.
Breach, on the other hand, exceeded expectations. It is a tight, structured telling of the Robert Hanssen story, with the protagonist being the new agent in training who is assigned to keep an eye on him in his last months before retirement. It is well paced and suspenseful.
I don't know the historical details and I will not vouch for its accuracy, Much is made of Hanssen's devout Catholicism and you can sense underlying Hollywood giddiness to have a villain who goes to daily mass. Is life good or what?
Nonetheless, they have so much time and get to pick the stories they want to tell. This is told well, acted well, and answers Silence Dogood's question of "Whatever happened to Caroline Dhavernas?" Three and three quarter stars.
Three and three-quarters? Mmmmm, nuance!
Posted by: johngalt at June 16, 2007 1:05 PMThe NYSE finally went decimal. It's only a matter of time.
Posted by: jk at June 16, 2007 4:36 PMMarch 30, 2007
Review Corner Red Alert
Don't. Don't. Don't purchase or rent "Happy Feet." Resist the allure of adorable, dancing animated penguins.
I found this to be the most offensive movie I have ever seen. Watching nature shows and kids' cartoons, one frequently is hit with an unmistakable subtext that people are bad and that we should extinct ourselves or move back to caves. In this movie, it is not subtext, it is the actual plot.
When you're not offended, you will be bored to tears. Dancing penguins are cute for a few minutes, then the film jumps among dull, disjointed, and offensive -- with a little abject terror thrown in to make it inappropriate for toddlers who would otherwise be the only demographic intellectually unoffended.
A half a star, and I am being kind.
Did you see "The Family Stone?"
There's a movie that can get a guy mad.
A ensemble cast of liberals are a typical liberal family for Christmas (what? not winter-fest) who welcome the prodigal son and his very square conservative fiancee to their home.
Hilarity ensues as they "tolerate" her conservatism.
Posted by: AlexC at March 30, 2007 2:53 PMMy previous aggravation king was "Wall Street."
I contend that "Happy Feet" is still more insidious. "Family Stone" sounds bad but it targets one political group, Wall Street targets our economic system, Happy Feet attacks the entire human species! ("They're like Penguins but with featherless, fat faces...")
Also, the attempted inculcation of children is worrisome. Try to get your daughter to eat a fish stick after seeing Happy Feet, you vicious family of penguin starvers, you!
Don't Penguins eat fish?
Posted by: dagny at March 31, 2007 7:24 PMNot to give away the ending, but overfishing by people (filthy disgusting beings!) don't leave enough fish for the penguins -- or the gulls, forcing the gulls to eat penguins and the penguins to starve.
The DVD cones with a card of responsible fish choices from seafood watch.
Overfishing is a real concern and the archetypal explanation of "The Commons Problem" in economics. I hate to make light, but the enviros solution is, of course, to program children to nag their parents about consumption.
I should do a "mash up" video and turn the story into an economics lesson for the little young-uns. Penguins, dancing or not, face one of the most Hobbsian existences on the planet. I'd love to use the same footage to show the benefits of comparative advantage, innovation, trade, and, yes, commercial food harvesting and production.
I just read an article in Reason, however, where RIAA jacketed agents participated in a no-knock SWAT-style raid on a NYC hip hop studio. So I am suppressed by the Government from voicing my beliefs.
March 14, 2007
Guest Review Corner - '300'
Three Sources reliable reader and reluctant commenter "Macho Chick" (college-aged daugther of commenter Macho Duck) saw the '300' movie last weekend and raved about it. Dagny suggested she write a review for the blog. Here, other than minor punctuation and formatting, is her original work:
Hi Three Sources! I’ve been an avid reader and have been meaning to add my two cents for some time. I found something I thought should be cleared up right away before the movie critics, in all their infinite knowledge, give anyone the wrong impression.
I went to the midnight showing of 300, based on Frank Miller’s graphic novel, this past weekend, and thought I was going to be REALLY sorry about it in the morning, but as it turns out I was pleasantly surprised.
“In 480 [A.D.], an enormous force of more than a quarter-million Persians under their King Xerxes invaded Greece, both to enslave the free city-states, and to avenge the Persian defeat a decade earlier at Marathon. The huge force of ships and soldiers proved unstoppable on its way west and southward until it reached the narrow pass at Thermopylae (“The Warm Gates”) in northern Greece. There a collection of 7,000 Greeks had blocked the way. They hoped to stop Xerxes’ horde outright — or at least allow enough time for their fellow countrymen to their rear to mobilize a sufficient defense of the homeland.” (Victor Davis Hanson) (Thanks for the resources j.g.)
Many of the critics focused on the awesome fight scenes and cool computer generated graphics, and failed to point out the much more significant philosophical aspect. While the movie was very well put together and the actors talented, there was a very objective, American message. In the movie, without giving too much away, the hero, King Leonidas is conflicted about whether to go to war and protect his people from slavery or listen to the UN… oops I mean politicians… oops I mean Gods, and do the always successful 'sitting around to see what the Gods decide.' Great plan! His wife asks him not to do what he thinks the Gods would want, what the political committees think wise, or what tradition has demanded, but to do what a FREE MAN should do. What a concept.
“300 preserves the spirit of the Thermopylae story. The Spartans, quoting lines known from Herodotus and themes from the lyric poets, profess unswerving loyalty to a free Greece. They will never kow-tow to the Persians, preferring to die on their feet than live on their knees. If critics think that 300 reduces and simplifies the meaning of Thermopylae into freedom versus tyranny, they should reread carefully ancient accounts and then blame Herodotus, Plutarch, and Diodorus — who long ago boasted that Greek freedom was on trial against Persian autocracy, free men in superior fashion dying for their liberty, their enslaved enemies being whipped to enslave others.” (Hanson)
I have to disagree with the critics, (shock) and say I don’t think the movie is reduced in anyway. Not only does it address freedom versus tyranny, but what it really means to be free. The Persian leader tries to negotiate with Leonidas and his men, “Cruel Leonidas demanded that you stand. I require only that you kneel.” Is this freedom? Is the United States without free trade and freedom of religion, to name a few, free?
All in all this was a very inspiring and encouraging movie. I highly recommend it.
MC includes two links:
Nicely done, MC, thanks -- and please do more.
On the rental front, I will give a four-star recommendation to "The Prestige:" a very entertaining film.
Posted by: jk at March 14, 2007 6:12 PMI too enjoyed it... my only real problem was the "fantasy" aspect of some of the Xerxes soldiers. C'mon. An angry mutant guy chained up to be released on the Greeks at the last minute?
The story didn't need it.
Posted by: AlexC at March 14, 2007 8:33 PMFor another perspective on the movie, see "Some Comments on 300" by Diana Hseih, at http://www.dianahsieh.com/blog/2007/03/some-comments-on-300.html. Recommended reading.
Posted by: cyrano at March 15, 2007 12:05 AMP.S. I can't say I agree with Ms. Hsieh, since I have not seen the movie. I have read other things she has written, and find her credible (or at least having something valuable to say).
Posted by: cyrano at March 15, 2007 12:15 AMJanuary 20, 2007
Review Corner
I had been snowbound for a few weeks and had limited film selection. But I rented two very good movies last night.
INVINCIBLE. I cannot believe that none of the Keystone State contingent of ThreeSources has brought this up. It's a dramatization of the football career of Vince Papale, who attends an open tryout for the 1976 Philadelphia Eagles and ends up making the team. It's all-Disney, all-heart, but it has a surprising darkness that you don't expect from this genre.
I would put it in "The Reynolds File" for its close up look at life in America during the Ford years. I don't mean that as a swipe against our late 38th President. It is just obvious that the country was poorer then, with the added insult of those polyester jackets. The music is 70's rock, which sounds better in the film than I remember it in high school.
It's a good film, kind of a pro version of "Rudy" and the Eagles fight song is sung. jk gives it 3 -1/2 stars.
THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA. They say you can't judge a book by its cover, but I rented this film by the title, and the graphic where the stiletto heel has a devil's fork. I expected (feared?) something of a chick flick but it is not -- or at least it is a lot more. Oddly enough, my wife did not care for this and I liked it a lot.
I am a slob with a distant (very distant if you've seen me dress) fascination with fashion. It's an art form I definitely do not get. But after reading Virginia Postrel, and watching a couple episodes of "Queer Eye" (I'm losing my audience here, I can feel it) I remain intrigued that increased attention to appearance could boost one's self image and confidence and create a vicious circle of improvement. Not that I have ever tried it myself...
Our protagonist, Andrea Sachs (Anne Hathaway) is not immersed in this world either, but she stumbles out of J-school into a top fashion magazine as assistant to the demanding and difficult celebrity editor Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep). Her slobby friends tell her "You used to laugh at these people and now you're becoming one." The tension of friends, ambition, growing, success, and truth to self kept me hooked in this well paced film.
A very different movie about a different topic, but well paced, well written, and well shot. Ms. Hathaway is attractive and endearing. Three-and-a-half stars.
You lost me at "watching a couple episodes of 'Queer Eye'"
;-)
Posted by: TrekMedic251 at January 21, 2007 10:46 AMYah, I could hear eyes rolling as I typed that. For the record, I think I watched two or three total.
The ebullient effeminacy of the Fab Four was the hook, but the heart and soul of the show was the personal transformation that the "straight guys" made. Having a little more appreciation of their surroundings improved their lives. They'd frequently get promotions at work, friends would comment on newfound confidence -- it was pretty interesting.
If you can't hack Carson, just think of Virginia Postrel. There is something to style and fashion. Alas, I am too late to ever get it.
Posted by: jk at January 21, 2007 11:30 AMJK, the only hope for you is total immersion in 24, starting with season one. There is no room for the Queer Eyed in an all Jack world. More Jack, less whack. Do it now, while there is still time.
Posted by: sugarchuck at January 21, 2007 12:41 PMYou're still OK in my book JK, queer eye experimentation or not.
But then, I enjoyed a slice of quiche for lunch one day last week. (Disclaimer: The filling included bacon. Even Jack Bauer would eat quiche with bacon in it.)
Posted by: johngalt at January 23, 2007 1:55 AMDecember 30, 2006
Albums of the Year
Only two days to pick the ThreeSources Album of the Year. Get your nominations in.
ThreeSources friend SugarChuck sends his picks:
- Marty Stuart's Soul's Chapel. This is an all gospel record featuring our old pal Kenny Vaughn, who I believe is the greatest guitarist I've ever seen. There are no pyrotechnics, just great singing, archetypal tones and an infusion of the spirit of Pop Staples. This is what happens when people that love country music, blues, and gospel make records. No Cashville Gnats here...
- Roy Clark & Joe Pass Play Hank Williams It might be more of a guitarists only record, but what a great record it is. The simplicity of the Hank tunes demonstrates the genius of Joe Pass in a way that covers of Monk wouldn't, though I would love a Joe Pass plays covers of Monk. [ed: this is hard to get in CD format but iTunes has it.]
- I am going to throw one more out there and then call it a day. Larry Carlton Sapphire Blue. Amazing. Like Pass playing Hank, Larry playing straight up blues without the west coast syrup dripping all over everything is a gift. He also did a rock record that was darned interesting but the blues one goes to the island.
I will add a few to that list that make a trend:
- The Little Willies. I have a theory that twice in a decade, a good musician hits the pop charts and, likewise, there are two good TV shows each decade. That theory was based on Norah Jones. The Little Willies features her vocals, great guitar work from Jim Campilongo, and a great take on non-pop country sound. This is a must buy, but if the country genre scares you, buy "Lou Reed" on iTunes and check it out.
- Van Morrison Pay the Devil. A friend called Van "the only white guy with soul." I don't want to start a flamewar but you can make a good case for that. This is "Van the Man"'s rendition of country and it is haunting.
- The trend is people playing outside of genre, and specifically taking the country mantle. Many folks are scared off of country by all the bad stuff that comes out on Nashville. My last pick is pop artist Michelle Branch's foray into Country: The Wreckers Stand Still, Look Pretty. This has more of the contemporary Nashville sound and if you "hate country" give one of the others a try. I, naturally, discovered Branch when she did a live performance of "Goodbye to You" at the Bronze on Buffy. She has a haunting voice and style that she brings to the Wreckers.
I know we all agree on music, religion and politics around here. Anybody else see one we've missed?
Happy New Year.
How about this: "Southern Born Killers" by Stuck Mojo. The nomination is primarily for the tracks For The Cause of Allah and Open Season, although Yoko deserves mention.
Caution - explicit lyrics in the 3rd verse of Open Season and the 2nd verse of Yoko.
Audio tracks are here.
Video here.
The lyrics are difficult to follow, at least in the video. They are readable here for Open Season and here for Yoko.
This self-marketed album is also an example of JK's "long tail" since they gave up on trying to earn a living through record labels. (read the story)
Hat tip: Infidel Bloggers Alliance (via Cyrano) who has a remastered version of the video, which includes captioning and other goodies.
Posted by: johngalt at December 31, 2006 10:48 PMA positive vote for The Wreckers here. The only other CDs I bought this year were The Mosquitos "III", Chris Botti's "December" and RHCP's "Stadium Arcadium."
Posted by: TrekMedic251 at January 1, 2007 1:07 PMDecember 2, 2006
Force Be With Y'all
I think AlexC has started something.
I watched Star Wars IV last night. I bought a box set of IV,V,VI some time ago but I am not sure I watched them all. Unlike AlexC, I am going to watch them in the order they came out. I'll have to rent I,II,III or break down and buy them.
Thie first came out when I was in high school and I was very impressed at how well it holds up. The story is very good. The effects seem a bit dated but I feared they would have that hokey, trying-too-hard look about them and they don't. What does seem dated is because they set the standard and created so much of the genre. Criticizing the jump to hyperspace is like calling Chuck Berry's guitar playing "dated."
Tonight is "The Empire Strikes Back" which was always my favorite. Blog like Yoda will I tomorrow. Out of order putting words.
ESB is the best.
But you have to watch them in order. That way you can watch Anakin go from little kid to bastard to dead bastard.
Posted by: AlexC at December 2, 2006 5:20 PMPoint taken. But I had the first (last) three lying around and we were somewhat snowed in (DAWG indeed). Watching Buffy and Angel in every conceivable order, I've become a big fan of reverse time to see things that are foreshadowed and resolved.
We watched V and VI last night. Next weekend, I will try to procure I, II and III and watch with an open mind.
November 18, 2006
Review Corner
I have to call attention to a series of book. Stars must be given to the "Eminent Lives" series of biography from Harper Collins.
At ~200 pages, with no footnotes or bibliography, these books probably send serious historical scholars screaming for the exits (though should really serious historians be running around screaming?) Yet I think they provide a great opportunity to catch up on a historical figure. I may or may not have read a full length treatment of President Ulysses S. Grant, but Michael Korda's was great. I'm certain I would have passed on 550 pages about Ludwig von Beethoven but I enjoyed the Edmund Morris book. I might look a little more deeply at both of these.
Also offered by the series is a little analysis and opinion. Jefferson's Presidency is by far my favorite period in American history. I wouldn't call myself a scholar, but I've read many books about the time, the man, and his contemporaries. Christopher Hitchens's take on our third president was an interesting addition to the field and if you're looking for one in the series, start there.
I just finished "Democracy's Guide," Joseph Epstein's take on Alexis de Tocqueville. I've been enthralled by "Democracy in America" but didn't know anything about the author's life. Epstein does a great job capturing Tocqueville's life, thought, and current relevance. Epstein and Tocqueville remind us of the important differences between the French Revolution and America's Independence (Tocqueville considers "revolutionary spirit" pejorative and claims America's separation from Britain was not the class struggle associated with the R-word).
Epstein closely examines Toqueville's faith. Though he left the Church philosophically in his teens, he uses religion to great effect in "Democracy In America" and Epstein riffs that he could not come to terms later in life to turn back, declare himself atheist, or even declare himself agnostic. Epstein discusses the controversy of whether he made a deathbed conversion.
This is an example of the freedom of the series. The authors provide a general biography but each is free to explore his or her own specific interests. jk gives four stars to the books on Washington, Jefferson, Grant, Beethoven, and Tocqueville. My wife the Psych major wants the Freud book. I have to confess I don't know who the hell Caravaggio is, but for twenty bucks and an afternoon's effort, I could be a scholar.
November 11, 2006
Review Corner
The hurly-burly of politics has kept Review Corner from completing the Arts segment of ThreeSources (Uh-oh, he's talking about himself in the third person now...)
But Friday is still movie night, and I still attempt to appreciate Hollywood through an Interferon-induced haze. I'll do the lightning round to catch up:
NACHO LIBRE - iSi! This film has the quirky deracinated feel of "Napoleon Dynamite," but has a plotline that keeps you plugged in. I heard rave reviews for Napoleon; I liked it okay but didn't see what all the fuss was about. Nacho was a lot of fun. I also think it owes a bit to my favorite episode of Angel: "The Cautionary Tale of Numero Cinco." Perhaps they are just tied by the common subject of Mexican wrestling, but it helped drag me along for the ride. Cuatro Estrellas.
THE BREAKUP -- Review corner is not a connoisseur of Romantic Comedy but this one missed. I'm neither a connoisseur of leading men, but I found this to be incongruous casting. If you've seen the Vonage commercial where the computer nerd is dumping the hot chick in the red convertible, this is the feature-length version. Overweight, dumpy, unsophisticated, poorly dressed loser Gary (Vince Vaughn) will not do anything to save a relationship with Brooke (played by Jennifer Aniston!) I thought that unrealistic until my wife informs that the actors dated in real life, much to the same end. Chick -flick perhaps but Review Corner's wife was similarly unimpressed. Two stars for some clever supporting roles (rent the DVD, the alternate ending is the best five minutes of the film).
MONSTER HOUSE -- They can't all be Joss Whedon, but I have come to expect animated kids movies to have more grown-up themes interwoven. This has nothing for anybody over twelve. One point five for good technical animation. Cars was rented last night but will be watched later -- I'm hoping for much better.
POSEIDON -- Stick with Ernest Borgnine and Carol Lynley...Two stars for effects
GOAL! -- Clever and inspirational. Young Mexican illegal immigrant (Tancredo alert!) is discovered in LA for his soccer skills and gets a shot at English Premier play with Newcastle United. Four stars easy
UPDATE: CARS -- That's what I mean, there's great dialog for older viewers. I don't know that it is Pixar's best story but the animation is incredible and the story line is pretty fun. I'd've altered parts of the ending for political reasons, but it's Disney and it, sadly, captures the zeitgeist. I'll go four stars.
I've been desparetly looking for the "Polish" shirt, Vince Vaughn wears in the Breakup.
If you have any leads, shoot me an email!
Posted by: AlexC at November 11, 2006 3:04 PMI see. Ms. Aniston was won over by the T-Shirt. I missed that the first time. I'll keep my eye out.
I know the word deracinated because I am, brother ac.
October 29, 2006
Review Corner
I mentioned this documentary when I ordered it on October 6. John Fund called filmmaker Phelim McAleer the "Anti-Michael Moore." He uses the documentary as polemic format (though I hope not the mendacity) of The Great Scruffy One From Flint to champion -- instead of destroy -- the cause of modernity and freedom.
McAleer becomes involved with the controversy around a new gold mine in Rosia Montana, Romania. A Canadian firm wants to replace the run down, polluting Communist-era mine with a modern one, develop housing and infrastructure, and provide jobs to the blighted, dying community.
Phelim McAleer meets George Lucian, a young Romanian who wants to see the new mine so that he can get employment. Lucian, who has never strayed from his village, agrees to follow McAleer to Madagascar to see another poor village whose inhabitants, like Rosia Montana's, overwhelmingly want a new modern mining project to proceed. McAleer leaves Lucian in the sunshine when he goes to Chile, where a remote village also looks forward to a new mine.
Sadly, McAleer also introduces us to a cadre of pompous gasbag environmentalists who are doing all they can to stop these projects. McAleer juxtaposes the speech of big city, wealthy. modern environmentalists with the exigencies of the places they describe. Francoise Heidebroek describes Rosia Montana as a delicate paradise which should support itself with agriculture and tourism. Lucian gives a different tour. There is some mountain beauty, yes, but the people live in ramshackle huts with no modern conveniences. Most have no indoor plumbing and use outhouses in the -20C winter cold.
Ms. Heidebroek and like minded NGO staff in Madagascar, Argentina, and London feel no compunction denying Lucian, and huge swaths of the world's poor, the opportunity to have jobs, cars, heat and plumbing.
McAleer gets pro modernity views from other journalists and from Professor Deepak Lal (whose excellent book "Reviving the Invisible Hand" recently got a favorable review). They conclude that the environmentalist NGOs are now the enemies of the world's poor. McAleer has a guest editorial in The Rocky Mountain News on that topic. The idea (to which I once subscribed) that environmentalists are earnest and misguided but harmless is laid low.
A DVD is available on his website for $12.99. Buy one for yourself and at least one for a gift. Silence bristles when I discuss the anti-modernity agenda of the environmentalist movement. This is admittedly a small slice of a large movement but it shows a subtext that can be extrapolated to most all of the environmental NGOs and many of their supporters.
Five stars.
October 13, 2006
Review Corner
I'm a uniter, not a divider. I got a CD that might appeal to several ThreeSources music constituencies.
Morrison has produced credible albums in Rock, Blues, and Jazz genres. Pay the Devil has the Irish soulster performing classic American country music and some originals that sound entirely appropriate between Hank Williams and Clarence Williams.
You can count the guys who can really play in all these genres on one hand -- if you're Django Reinhardt! (Ray Charles, and Morrison as I see it).
Five stars! If you don't like country, buy it anyway, this might reel you in.
UPDATE: Long-tail alert: this CD was an "Amazon Recommends," it's not likely that jazz boy would have tripped over it otherwise.
UUPDATE II: Sugarchuck suggests a few additional members to my pantheon. Norah Jones is an omission. Norah, Ray, and Van. Folks who are not country fans should have two: Play the Devil and Norah Jones in The Little Willies. We're still arguing about the other ones. He suggests Cassandra Wilson and the preternaturally talented regional hit, Mollie O'Brien. I thought of Roy Clark and Gatemouth Brown but I am feeling discriminating.
I won't argue with JK. Honest I won't. I will say he missed Willie Nelson and that anyone interested in the jazz/country interface might want to check out the Joe Pass/Roy Clark tribute to Hank Williams (there is only one Hank in Sugarchuck world, though Hank Jr. does a mighty fine football song). Joe Pass steals the show and his approach to this very basic music shows how deep country can be in the right hands. Another interesting musician working this street is Jim Campilongo, the guitarist on the Little Willies CD. He has a telecaster and he's clearly listened to Roy Nichols and Don Rich, but he brings an incredible jazz sensiblility to what he's doing and a heapin' helpin' of Roy Buchanan too. Is this a great country or what?
Posted by: sugarchuck at October 14, 2006 6:48 PMWillie is a special gift but he gets the Cassandra Wilson critique. Willie sings "Stardust" and it's a Willie Nelson tune. Ray sings "You Don't Know Me" and it's pure country gold.
Posted by: jk at October 14, 2006 7:29 PMThis will not disturb our long and storied friendship. SC and I agree on all things political, including the infield fly rule. So what if we have a minor disagreement about one of America's greatest songwriters and worst economists. http://www.berkeleysquarejazz.com/blog/jk_030723.html
Posted by: jk at October 15, 2006 10:01 AMSeptember 17, 2006
Review Corner
My reading Ryan Sager’s 'The Elephant in the Room:" is the ultimate internecine experience. I agree with almost everything that he says, yet I do not agree with any of his conclusions.
First, the props. The book is very well written. It’s a page-turner; it’s laugh-out-loud funny. It’s insightful. And there are very few things in it that either a libertarian or traditional social conservative can disagree with. [Nor would Sager ever begin a sentence with a conjunction and end it with a preposition, yecch.]
He starts with a nice history of the Conservative movement and its leading lights. Buckley’s separating the wheat of conservatives from the chaff of the John Birchers, Whittaker Chamber’s bold stance against Alger Hiss (and later Ayn Rand), early opposition to the New Deal all get a play. Goldwater’s 1964 certain defeat and its importance in electing the “out of work actor” who spoke at his nomination some 16 years later.
Frank Meyer’s fusionism, however, is the central theme of the book. Can “the marriage” of libertarians and traditionalists that Meyer consecrated be saved? To Sager, the union has not borne fruit for either group in many years. Evangelicals are courted for election cycles and are not represented in legislation – much like the Democratic Party treats African-Americans.
Yet Sager, like me, is in the libertarian wing and his concern is the party’s abandonment of small government principles. These held the fractious elements together but have been turned upside down by the current Congressional leadership
What’s not true? What’s not to like?
He starts to lose me when he tears into President Bush, compassionate conservatism, and the ownership society. He starts with No Child Left Behind and impugns the President’s motives. I agree that Bush got rolled like the DC rookie he was by the Machiavellian Senator Kennedy (I think the Prince was younger than Ted). I’ll grant, furthermore, that Compassionate Conservatism, or as Fred Barnes calls it “Big Government Conservatism,” is fraught with peril and I am skeptical. I much prefer a Reaganesque aversion to government.
Yet Sager is too harsh. He wants to chase all the impure conservatives out of the party. That’s swell but then you’ll have what we call in my country a mi-nor-i-ty party.
I think all ThreeSourcers should read this book. I think that Senator Ted Stevens and Rep. Jerry Lewis should read this book. If the Democrats were smart, they’d read and heed it. There is a serious electoral faction up for grabs, namely Rocky Mountain libertarian GOP voters like me, but I cannot see their making inroads without chasing out some of their long established constituencies.
A fascinating book, completely germane to ThreeSources. Well written. Three stars easy.
September 9, 2006
Review Corner
One year ago, these pages were abuzz with anticipation of Joss Whedon's "Serenity." Sadly, it has not, as I hoped, started a "browncoat revolution" promising more sequels, a return of the TV show, and action figures in McDonalds Happy Meals. That's the vicissitudes of the market and I am a believer in markets.
It interests me that have seen few of the actors in other vehicles. Adam Baldwin had a short run in a Tim Minear TV show called "The Inside," Jewel Staite was the ex-wife in Minear's excellent "Wonderfalls. Apart from that, you don't see them unless, like me, you watch Angel and Buffy. Nathan Fillion lives on as the misogynist evil preacher Caleb, Gina Torres the demon-deity Jasmine, Adam Baldwin as Marcus Hamilton, the suave, un-jaynelike liaison to the senior partners of Wolfram & Hart. Aside from other Minear and Whedon shows, where are these people?
[Trivia break -- anybody catch Summer Glau (River Tam) as the ballerina in "Waiting in the Wings?" (Angel 3:13) I missed that until this latest run through.]
Last night I watched the engrossing "Kinky Boots." I had no idea what it would be from the plot synopsis; “a man turns to a drag queen for help saving the family shoe business.” I expected a campy, silly film and it really isn't. It is more poignant than heavy, but it is not silly. Charlie Price (Joel Edgerton) inherits the family shoe business as the fourth "Mr. Price." Charlie is trying to escape the shoe business and flee to London when #3's untimely demise puts him back in Northampton, in a foreman’s frock.
Schumpeterian gales have hit the traditional company hard and sales of top craftsmanship men's oxfords are not able to keep the company viable. The chance encounter with a drag queen provides the idea for a niche market: fetish boots capable of bearing the weight of the men who wear them.
That guy in the dress look kind of familiar? Why, it's Chiwetel Ejiofor, who was in Serenity as the superb villain known only as "The Operative." Kinky Boots is a different role but he is quite good in both. Ejiofor uses his singing background to create the onscreen presence of "Lola," whose "breasts are as supple as the day I bought them." It's funny and entertaining without being campy, as Lola and the crew in Northampton come to terms with each other.
Excellent, jk gives it four stars.
I thought "Serenity" was great,..but they kinda shot themselves in the foot with (SPOILER ALERT!!))
killing Shepard Book and Wash!
Kinda hard to make sequels without all of the cast!
Posted by: TrekMedic251 at September 11, 2006 10:27 AMI thought it was set nicely for a "prequel" that would show how Book got onto that planet and deal with his mysterious past.
Unfortunately, it's kinda hard to sell a sequel to a $40 million film. Sad days.
Posted by: jk at September 11, 2006 11:32 AMSeptember 2, 2006
Review Corner
Not much review fodder of late. I enjoyed Spike Lee's "Inside Man" but it cannot be discussed with revealing spoilers. A lot of drivel that I won't waste time panning as I knew what it was when I hit the touchscreen at Redbox. Two good DVDs last night, though.
First was a Starbucks(r) movie, "Akeelah And The Bee." If you spend any time inside any Starbucks (moi?) you've seen promotions for this, including vocabulary/spelling words that have caused me to retract any claims of pedantry. I rented the DVD and it is well worth it. A poor fourth grader from Crenshaw Middle School in South Central Los Angeles takes coaching from a UCLA Prof on sabbatical and parleys her natural talent into a trip to a national spelling bee.
There are a million chances for sophistry and a strong message against racism and poverty, yet this movie lets them all go by. The viewer can draw any conclusions, but they refreshingly fail to spell it out for you. It's nice to see a celebration of learning for learning's sake. jk gives it four stars.
In comparison, the glaring errors in "Take The Lead" show up like something that really shows up on something else. More poverty, potential racism, and ineffective schools in Los Angeles. More channeling of art and thought to escape meaninglessness. Yet "Take The Lead" was far less fulfilling.
Antonio Banderas (my wife did not complain when I grabbed one of his movies) plays Pierre Dulaine, a factual character who founded a program to teach ballroom dancing in inner-city schools. Like the Bee, this film shows kids truly growing to embrace a bigger world that they find through the art of dance. It's well done, well acted, and well worth a look.
The movie focuses much on the tension between the hip-hop music and dance that the children embrace naturally and the more classical, ballroom forms taught by Dulaine. I was disappointed, however, that there was not a nod toward the youths' accepting the traditional forms and the music that supports them. Dulaine and the tight-ass rich white people are all coerced to enjoy the hip hop style and athleticism, but we never see the youth admit "that Nat King Cole stuff is pretty 'fly.'" The multiculturalists demand that the target style is completely and uncritically appreciated, yet the arrangement is not reciprocal.
You'd almost think they made these movies for young people and not me, huh? Still good, 2.75 stars.
August 13, 2006
Review Corner
Public service time: Do not rent or purchase “C.S.A.”
I had my concerns but I love counterfactuals. I consider them a lively way to learn history's consequences as well as facts. I highly recommend the What If? books. They give insightful and intelligent commentary on how different the world could look with a small change of historical facts.
Last week's review corner included British actor Stephen Fry, who has also written some very good books. One, Making History, is a counterfactual of sorts where a young Physicist uses time travel to prevent Adolf Hitler's birth. This book, like What If, has some nuance. Actions have reactions and the removal of one figure does not supersede the unfairness at Versailles or economic forces of post-Weimar Germany.
"C.S.A" displays exactly zero nuance. Like good counterfactuals, it exploits a tipping point. Washington almost lost a huge percentage of Continental forces at Brooklyn. If not for fog and quick thinking, the war could have been lost early. Fry's setup is a little more far-fetched, but his is a novel. The Confederacy was close to bringing in Europe on her side, and in this mock-British-documentary, that is exactly what happened. Grant surrendered to Lee. Lincoln flees to Canada (using the Underground Railway) and dies in relative obscurity. So far, so good...
Most of the film is then devoted to the idea of a modern slave-owning and drawl-speaking continental power. Chattel slavery of Africans was so good, it was spread to include Asians on the west coast, and a caste system in Latin America. The Ken Burns style look at the War is interrupted by commercials for "The Shackle" to keep your property in line, "Black Sambo" racing oil, and a sequence of minstrel spots for restaurants and foodstuffs.
There is a great line in "The Simpsons." Apu is applying for U.S. Citizenship. During an oral history exam, he is asked " What was the cause of the Civil War?" He responds, "Actually, there were numerous causes. Aside from the obvious schism between the abolitionists and the anti-abolitionists, there were economic factors, both domestic and inter--" He is interrupted: "Wait, wait... just say slavery" and he confirms: "Slavery it is, sir."
I wouldn't call myself a Southern sympathizer. Most of my kin dressed in Gray and I am very glad they lost. Slavery outweighed any beneficent aspects of their cause. Yet I am aggravated when people cannot see any other factors. It's lazy thought.
And lazy thought carries on for two hours here. One star. Skip it.
August 5, 2006
R for Review Corner
Warner Brothers made a movie for ThreeSourcers. They created a testament to the power of ideas, the danger of collectivism, the importance for retaining a Sharansky free society instead of a fear society. They lined up superb acting, great writing and incomparable cinematography The movie would be called V For Vendetta.
Then, the politically-correct multiculturalism police got hold of the script. "Are you Different-reality-enabled?" they asked the studio. "This contravenes everything we stand for." A last minute deal allowed them to make their choice of three script changes. Production continued.
The movie suffers from the last minute changes but remains a great film. The changes are so obvious and transparent that they can be easily ignored. Let's cover these flaws first:
1) Make the evil leader conservative and Christian! or "I wish I was in a land Orwell-sotten, Irony there ain't forgotten..."
The film is set in a futuristic dystopia in Britain. Rather than chose the obvious villains of British Socialism or the ID-card issuing, weapon-confiscating, liberty-truncating Labour government, we create a Spode/Mussolini "High Chancellor" who came from the Conservative party and is overtly Christian. Because, y'know, the UK has a such a terrible record for falling for those guys.
2) Gay characters risk their life to keep a copy of the Koran.
Bon vivant and very-out-gay actor Stephen Fry plays (very well) a TV elite who keeps contraband art objects in a secret room. The highlight -- and most dangerous item -- is a 14th Century copy of the Koran. "I'm not Muslim," he explains, "but I don't have to be to enjoy its imagery or poetry." The character is gay as well, but must invite Evey Hammond (Natalie Portman) over to hide his sexuality. I wonder if his favorite "poetic imagery" in the holy book is perhaps the part about burying homosexuals up to their necks a toppling a wall on them.
3) The ultimate villain will, of course, have controlling interest in a pharmaceutical company.
Natch. They probably didn't fight this one.
Plus a few gratuitous swipes at "the former United States" and its problems, but who's counting?
Educated viewers who realize that the bad guys are collectivist socialists, that the serious contraband is anti-government artwork, and that the over-controlling state remains the real enemy, can make the translation in their heads real time, and enjoy one of the great movies of this year (or most others).
The look, the dialogue, the pace and the acting of this film are perfect in every way. Portman is lovely and credible without being glamorous. Several individual performances could be highlighted. I'm not a comic book guy and I had no prior knowledge of the characters or plot (I know a bit about Guy Fawkes!) I saw the movie because of the tag line "People should not be afraid of the Government. Government should be afraid of the people." On that sentiment it did not disappoint.
The film was released in DVD last Tuesday. If you have not seen it drop the mouse and go rent it. 4.5 Stars.
UPDATE: A commenter points out that the ideological flaws are more serious than I allow; I will back my rating down to four stars.
Dagny and I are grateful for the thorough review, JK. It prompted us to buy a copy last night and watch it ourselves. Unfortunately, the viewing consumed substantially more than the 132 minute running time as we had to continually pause the film for urgent trips to the kitchen to refill our Kool-Aid glasses. (We still have red moustaches this morning!)
Your description of "three script changes" fooled me into expecting no other blatant "different-reality" messages. Here are a couple you didn't mention: (spoilers follow but hey, it's on DVD already)
Terrorist. That's the name given, in the film, to anyone who uses violence to achieve political change. It matters not if he targets state criminals instead of civilians of a free society. Clearly, [sarcasm alert] if anyone employs such tactics against a state it is proof that the state is corrupt and tyrannical.
St. Mary's mass poisoning, Three Waters chemical attack, subway killings. These three cinematic disasters, ultimately revealed to us as the work of the totalitarian state, are obvious metaphors for 9/11, 3/11 and 7/7. It is left to viewers to make the extremely short journey to the conclusion that Bush (et al) orchestrated these real-world mass killings for the same purpose as Sutler's: To manipulate vox populi in support of the "regime."
You gave the impression that the studio required the script changes, but the actors interviewed in the "making of" bonus material are clearly the "different-reality-enabled" ones:
"I've never seen a Hollywood script that addresses the issues we're talking about today...you know, whether the threat, or the perceived threat, of terrorism or disease or anything else, justifies a diminution in civil liberties," says Stephen Fry. Rupert Graves follows with, "The fear that everybody has about terrorist attacks, and the laws being brought into effect to counter that, sometimes quite oppressive laws, it doesn't take a great leap to understand why and how a state might want a lot more control." Fry ends with, "It's obviously not about America now, or even Britain now, but nonetheless it is about those very issues and it's a marvelous thing to think that Hollywood is, again, able to do that." Let's ask the citizens of northern Israel if the terrorist threat is merely a "perception."
"V is the hero but he's not always good, and he sometimes does things that you can't possibly like because he's vengeful. Because of that it sort of taints his political idealism," says the otherwise delightful Ms. Portman. I suppose she's referring to his campaign to kill all the individuals complicit in his imprisonment and torture, and the murders of countless other victims of medical experiments. Even the ones who "didn't mean it."
"We all know that one man's terrorist is another's freedom fighter," Stephen Fry says. ["If 'everyone knows' such-and-such then it ain't so, by at least ten thousand to one." - Robert A. Heinlein]
I was intrigued by the movie prior to its release, when I saw a theater poster with the quote you cited: "People should not be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people." "How can they screw that up," I thought? Then I noticed it was by the Wachowski brothers, they of 'red pill, blue pill' epistemology. "They should get it right." After release, my sister-in-law saw the movie before us. She thought it would make us mad because, "It is portrayed in such a way that whoever's watching it can see what they want to see." Consequently we declined to contribute 20 bucks to it's creators. (Instead we gave them $16.87 for the DVD. Sigh.)
Give the film credit for being intelligent and thoughtful. It does understand that fear societies are bad. Trouble is, it sees evil in the mirror far more clearly than in, say, religious fanatics with military ordnance.
Three stars.
Posted by: johngalt at August 6, 2006 2:26 PMObviously my review was not thoughtful or comprehensive enough to save you $16.87. I owe you lunch.
I was hoping others saw it and I cannot feign surprise that you saw what you described. Your sister-in-law is right. I realized that moonbats would also get support from the film. Watching it a second time before returning it, a few things did make me nervous.
I'm a BIG Stephen Fry fan from his Jeeves & Wooster and Blackadder days. I like his partner Hugh Laurie on “House.” But I know he's a British lefty -- no doubt he'd think the movie was about Bush. I didn't watch any of the bonus features or commentary, but yeah, Hollywood, whatever.
That it was set in Britain and that there was such homage to Orwell, made me think of the land that, under a Labour government, has disarmed its populace and is creating ID cards as we speak.
And to a certain extent, both the left and right need to be vigilant against excessive government, and know that they have the power to stop it. I see no reason, why gunpowder treason, should ever be forgot.
One quibble: the state powers use "terrorist" indiscriminately and to their advantage -- perhaps they are accusing Bush and Blair of this. But the film's hero is continually called the T-word when he is obviously not.
The other movie I saw this weekend was Disney's "The Shaggy Dog." Tim Allen was good but the politics in this soi disant "children's" movie is 100X worse than V. The hero is Allen's daughter's animal-rights-terrorist Social studies teacher. It made V seem like reading "The Weekly Standard" by comparison.
And the dog movie lacked the startling cinematography of V For Vendetta.
JK states, "But the film's hero is continually called the T-word when he is obviously not."
That V is not a terrorist is the clear conclusion that you reached and we reached. However, I found it frightening in watching the bonus material that most if not all of the people working on the film thought he WAS a terrorist. They all intended for V's morality to appear ambiguous and for his behavior to be that of a terrorist.
We'd be happy to have lunch JK, but you don't owe it to us. We wanted to see the movie even if you had panned it.
Posted by: dagny at August 6, 2006 11:03 PMYes, that's another thing V had going - it was fantastically entertaining to watch and the dialog was excellent for an action film.
But when is Hollywood going to make a movie about a violently discriminatory ideological movement that fails to die with the Nazis of WWII, resurrecting itself decades later to threaten the world with death and destruction on a massive scale, only to be ignored, appeased and denied by the so-called "enlightened" classes who could have stopped them at any point right up until the giant mushroom cloud appeared. Nah, Hollywood hates documentaries.
Posted by: johngalt at August 6, 2006 11:18 PMI think, jg, that's slated to come out right after the films celebrating the heroism of American troops in Iraq.
You both are making me glad I skipped the bonus material. But I might put it in the Harrison Bergeron camp, where an artist who believes in one thing ends up producing a work which perfectly undermines it.
Lastly, the film had two ideals we can share with the worst of moonbats: mistrust of government and the power of ideas.
July 8, 2006
Review Corner
This week I had a Chilean Merlot. I'm not a Merlot drinker, but if you get a good, earthy one from the Southern Hemisphere, they can be pretty good -- wait, I was going to review movies; I know next to nothing about wine. Of course, I know less about movies. Somehow ignorance disqualifies on one but not the other. Funny.
I was probably the only guy who was disappointed with "Proof" because it didn't have enough math in it. I bet their focus groups didn't track that.
If you can get over the fact that it is not really about Mathematics, it is a good movie. Good acting from Gwyneth Paltrow and Anthony Hopkins. Jack Gyllenaal does a great job and his character goes the full two hours without kissing any guys, which is always a relief. The narrative is good, the plotline is interesting.
Perhaps I'm fatigued with Hollywood's exploration of "the links between genius and madness" (from the Proof website). Amadeus, A Beautiful Mind, et al -- nobody wants to celebrate intellectual achievement when they can explore personality flaws. Oversensitive? Perhaps. But where are the movies about American geniuses who were regular folk, like Walt Whitman, or -- oh never mind.
Three and a half stars, but don't expect to learn any math. Maybe someday they’ll dramatize John Derbyshire’s Prime Obsession. Then I can sell my autographed copy on eBay.
July 2, 2006
Review Corner
As proprietor of the dogsforbush.com site (though AlexC, JohnGalt and I are all represented), I don't have to push my bona fides as a dog lover. So I grabbed Disney's "Eight Below" about the Antarctic sled dog team requiring rescue.
Move over, Bambi and Dumbo, Disney has a new film to mentally scar another generation of youngsters. I weathered Bambi's mother's death alright as a youngster and have been able to see Dumbo leave his mom in the cage without having to be on Oprah or anything. Eight Below is very sad for a long time. I confess I wanted it to end through much of it "Okay, heartwarming rescue time, watching these dogs' hardships is getting to me..." This may be too much for little kids even if they're over 40. jk gives it two and a half stars.
Next was "Annapolis." The part of Louis Gossett, Jr. is played this time by Tyrese Gibson. The movie is good but we've seen it before: scrappy kid barely makes it into officer training. Tough sergeant is tough because he has to be. Scrappy kid is gonna quit the academy...
Since I had seen this plot (Where's Debra Winger?) I focused on the Zeitgeist. That's a pretentious term even for me, but TNR was discussing the Superman Z-geist, so I felt entitled. We spend two hours in the Naval Academy and encounter no patriotism whatsoever. There is a joke in one scene:
"Why are you here?"
"To fight for my country"
"Hahahahaha, no really..."
I paraphrase but the only mention of patriotism is to disavow it as a motive. While I don't remember Richard Gere delivering a lot of speeches on American exceptionalism, it seemed to be missing here.
For all my complaints, It's not a bad two hours; jk gives it two-point-five.
I saw 'Eight Below' too. Other than thinking there was no way I'd get on that plane without the dogs in the first place, I thought it was entertaining and moving. Yes, there was plenty of sadness, but the real story the movie was based on has been "Disneyfied" substantially. The actual number of dogs that survived was a fraction of those depicted in 'Eight Below.'
See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nankyoku_Monogatari
As for 'Annapolis' I will just say that we shouldn't be surprised that leftist directors making movies for leftist producers in leftist Hollywood would proselytize their "America Sucks" ideology in movies. The good that comes from this is how much less desire I have to drop 9.50 on a movie ticket since 9/11.
I thought that I would elect to stay as well. I'm not really on track for a long peaceful old age to begin with, a last stand with my baby girl would be in order.
I'm glad you responded, I was thinking that such a thought was pretty non-Randian. The primacy of human life is pretty easy to establish, is it not? Willfully endangering it for animal life would be philosophically wrong. Have I got it wrong?
RE: Annapolis, it wasn't anti-American so much as completely neutral. It seemed odd that you would not encounter a lot of patriotism at an academy.
Yes, you've got it wrong.
Risking one's life to defend a value is inherently selfish, even if that value is the love of and for an animal.
You've added an example though of how Objectivism is commonly misunderstood. The idea is that individuals are free to make their own choices in life based upon reason and objective knowledge. The notion that one's actions should always be dictated in advance by the tenets of some belief system or another is the very definition of "non-Randian."
Posted by: johngalt at July 5, 2006 3:09 PMJune 24, 2006
Review Corner
See I can too like an action picture! (punctuate that sentence)
When I think of "action pictures" I group them into two, pejorative types. First is the insane premise. Watching "Speed," or "Red Eye," or "Firewall" I cannot suspend disbelief that far; there's insufficient foundation for the plot. The other type is the exploding buildings movies like Tom Cruise's "War of the Worlds." All special effects, no plot.
Yet I can name a pile of movies with strong action that I enjoyed. Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings Trilogy ranks among my favorite movies ever. His "King Kong" was good if not quite up to LOTR standards. "Pulp Fiction," "48 Hours" -- even the "Blues Brothers" movies had car chases.
Last night I watched "16 Blocks" with Bruce Willis and Mos Def. It has a quorum of shooting and a manic bus blast through New York City. It also has a strong plot line, great acting, and a gritty urban noir feel even though it all happens in morning daylight.
Action pic, buddy pic, redemption -- this film has a lot of heart. jk gives it four-and-a-half.