The League of Ordinary Gentlemen

Under the banner of Romney

by Erik Kain April 17, 2012

At some point, the question of Mitt Romney’s faith will come up and loom much larger than any of his business past. It will come up not just in circles of evangelical conservatives, but as a controversial subject necessary for a healthy discussion of religion and politics. Or at least it should. I have nothing at all against Mormons themselves, and tend not to hold peoples’ faith against them (or try not to) unnecessarily. But faith is an important question ...

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Troubleshooting Inequality

by Elias Isquith April 17, 2012

In the past quarter-year or so, the economic news for the United States has been unpredictable. The end of 2011 and the very beginning of 2012 brought reports of sustained if not extraordinary growth, but it was the jobs numbers that inspired so many to once again adopt the cautious optimism that was so premature during 2010′s “recovery summer.” For the first time in a long time, the end of last year and the start of this one featured Americans ...

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At James B Franks’ Request, a MON TIKI Update!

by David Ryan April 16, 2012

January 1, 2012: If there’s a phrase from this passage that feels like it hits a little too close to home, it’s “schemer and narcissist”. It’s an occupational hazard for anyone trying to establish themselves as an artist. The job demands relentless self-promotion on an order that I’m sure most people would find distasteful to the point of being untenable. Probably this is also true for bloggers, or journalists, or anyone else for whom being in the public eye ...

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What’s Love Got to Do With It? (Unsolicited Advice from a Rich Buddha)

by David Ryan April 15, 2012

Will Wilkinson, the day after Steve Jobs’ death: As an undergrad I was an art major. Frankly, few of my fellow art majors were talented enough to make a living at it, even after four (or more!) years of training. Sure they loved art, but in the immortal words of Tina Turner, “What’s love got to do with it?” “Find what you love and never settle for less” is an excellent recipe for frustration and poverty. “Reconcile yourself to the limits ...

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Idiots and Maniacs

by David Ryan April 15, 2012

Tony Comstock, writing about his “Sputnik Moment“: Okay, I pretty much wonder “What the fish have I done with my life?” every time I have a set major back (which is pretty much a weekly event,) but one moment stands out above all the rest. It was the Spring after 9/11. The New York loft office? Gone, let the lease run out in January. The coop apartment? Rented for the foreseeable future. The house in Montauk? Sure, still have ...

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Characters And Records: Defining The President In 2012

by Elias Isquith April 14, 2012

Hey, wow, it’s Joe Klein and he’s being almost completely right about something:

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Friday Night Jukebox: X 3

by Christopher Carr April 14, 2012

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Intellectual Property: Abstract vs. Natural Right, Part V: The Conclusioning

by Patrick Cahalan April 12, 2012

I know. People have been asking themselves for weeks, “So, what were all these posts about, anyway? What’s your conclusion, Pat?” Well… two people, maybe? Okay, here’s my distillation of them, for those two people. It seems evident to me that in the traditional language of either natural right or abstract right there’s no fundamental right to “intellectual property”. “Intellectual property” is a misnomer, but it’s one of those misnomers that we’re probably stuck with as there is no better ...

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Weekend Cooking Project : Grilled Whole Fish

by Tod Kelly April 12, 2012

The weekends coming up fast, and if you’re like us then today or tomorrow you’ll be shopping for things to eat over beer, wine and cocktails. So if you haven’t already got your grocery list finalized, may I make a suggestion? Buy yourself a whole fish. And when I say whole fish, I’m not talking the wee little single-serving size trout or some such; I’m talking the one fish to feed them all kind of whole fish. And then grill ...

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Talking About The Talk

by Jaybird April 11, 2012

I admit, I was taken aback when I first heard about “The Talk”. I mean, I suppose I knew that this phenomenon probably existed in a plurality or maybe even a majority of cases… but it never occurred to me that this was something that, yes, all African-American parents talked about with their kids. I guess that I had never really thought about it before. So I asked an African-American friend at work if he got The Talk and, after ...

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The Internet is Awesome

by Patrick Cahalan April 11, 2012

Nine-year old Caine Monroy spent his summer vacation building a cardboard arcade inside of his father’s used auto parts store. And then the Internet got involved. I don’t know how I missed this story last September, but if you haven’t seen it, take 10 minutes. It will make your day.

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Hi-Dee Hi-Dee Hi-Dee Ho! – or, continued musings on relativism in art

by Guest Authors April 11, 2012

By Sam Wilkinson In my (unpopular) arguments about the relativism with which I approach art – that all art is equal, that all consumers are equal, and that nobody is substantively wrong – I have repeatedly struggled to find a way to make the argument in a persuasive and compelling fashion. This, I suppose, is my own failing. If I have remained ineffective at convincing people of the rightness of my position, I have remained equally unconvinced by the positions ...

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The Meaning Of Santorum

by Elias Isquith April 10, 2012

The Atlantic‘s David A. Graham thinks there are three major ways in which the now-suspended Santorum campaign diminished Mitt Romney’s chances of besting the President: 1. He has pulled Romney to the right on key issues.… 2. He’s cost Romney vital time and money.… 3. He has exacerbated Romney’s weaknesses. All true. But number one is the only one that really matters — and I’d phrase its impact differently.

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A Peek Across the Political Multiverse

by Guest Authors April 10, 2012

by Renee Hi there! Welcome to my sci-fi-political lab. That’s right! We use 24th century technology today to answer those tough questions about politics. No, I’m not a political scientist or a physicist – just your standard mad scientist – but thanks for asking. What can my equipment do? Well – I’m not sure I can explain – maybe I can show you. First we need a topic . . . The commentariat sure seems interested in the Supreme Court ...

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Strawmen Tell No Tales: The Sophistry of Victor Davis Hanson

by Nob Akimoto April 10, 2012

Hello again dear reader. Why yes, this is another post in as many days… While I rant and rage in comments, I try to keep polemics out of my front page posts and stick to topics I’m comfortable discussing if not without passion, then without rancor. I’m going to break that tradition just this once, and hope it won’t become a habit. Why? Because I’m sick to death of the equivocating and victim blaming surrounding the Trayvon Martin case. I’m ...

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My Two Cents (Worth only half a cent 10 years from now…)

by Nob Akimoto April 10, 2012

The biggest and greatest village preoccupation over the past several years has been the national debt. This has been helped by the criminal mismanagement (and I do mean this quite literally, if Greece were a public corporation, the past few finance ministers and prime ministers would be in jail) of public finances in some countries in the European Union. I of course, am of the opinion that the current US national deficit and indeed national debt is not a big ...

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Beyond Derbyshire

by Erik Kain April 9, 2012

In Oklahoma, this story has been unfolding for the past few days: TULSA, Okla. (AP) — Two men were arrested Sunday in a shooting rampage that left three people dead and terrorized Tulsa’s black community, and police said one of the suspects may have been trying to avenge his father’s shooting two years ago by a black man. Police identified both suspects as white, while all five victims in the rampage early Friday were black. Here’s Derbyshire: A small cohort ...

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Eating Peas

by Burt Likko April 9, 2012

Fellow Ordinaries Elias Isquith and Mike Dwyer have fired the opening shots in our discussion about the latest budget proposal from that fiscal firebrand from Janesville, Paul Ryan, and Tod Kelly (who has just been knocking them out of the park on these pages recently) has given a much-needed reminder to everyone that minding our manners is helpful and parroting memes and calling each other names isn’t. It’s easy to understand how tempers can flare over issues like the budget, so ...

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Paul Ryan Strikes Again: The Reihan Salam Edition

by Elias Isquith April 9, 2012

Reihan Salam is, best as I can tell, the smartest right-wing pundit of his generation. He also seems, by and large, to be a decent guy. He’s not especially vitriolic or militant and he usually sounds to me like someone who is more interested in the minutiae of policy than the bloodsport of politics. If everyone on the Right was like him, Daily Caller comment threads would be less noxious. I suppose there’s some marginal value in that. But the ...

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The Moral Treatment, Hygiene, and Education of Idiots

by Rose Woodhouse April 8, 2012

The Moral Treatment, Hygiene, and Education of Idiots and Other Backward Children is perhaps not the most auspicious book title. Nor is Idiocy: and Its Treatment by the Physiological Method. Recently I’ve had the opportunity to read them, and would like to take this opportunity to praise the author, Edouard Seguin, for his truly impressive insight, dedication, and humanity.

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