Links on a Thursday Morning

Jesse Walker | January 8, 2009

* The politics of poetry in Somalia.

* The Gaza war in Second Life.

* A "widening generational gap on the Alternative Right."

* A stimulus package for the Pentagon?

Comments

Fluffy|1.8.09 @ 7:59AM|#

Whoa - looks like there are going to be competing definitions of the word "paleoconservative". As if the nomenclature wasn't getting complex enough.

Bingo|1.8.09 @ 8:01AM|#

The "Alternative Right" article confuses the shit out of me. Where is the author getting his definitions from?

Elemenope|1.8.09 @ 8:05AM|#

As if the nomenclature wasn't getting complex enough.

In the good old days, naming was reserved to the Gods alone. Much simpler.

Fluffy|1.8.09 @ 8:36AM|#

I am somewhat struck that the article on Second Life Israel was written, but that the author failed to make a really simple, obvious and darkly amusing observation:

If the goal of the creators of Second Life Israel was to recreate Israel, the Gaza crisis has actually helped them perfect their re-creation and moved them closer to their goal, since their Second Life version of Israel now has its own security wall, and the Second Life Israelis are now also engaged in the process of trying to find moderates to talk to instead of extremists. It looks like ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny after all.

Tyler|1.8.09 @ 9:45AM|#

I think that the confusion in the "Alternative Right" article reflects how confused we are with the labels "conservative" and "liberal" in the US.

I consider myself a liberal, in the sense that I wish to maximize individual liberty and reject the status quo. Picture how Milton Friedman uses the term in "Capitalism and Freedom."

Conservatives are all about fighting FOR the status quo.

Of course, since in American history there was a status quo that consisted of Classical Liberals, it makes things really confusing.

I just don't like being called a conservative, mostly because the conservative movement just represents social conservatism at this point.

dhex|1.8.09 @ 10:28AM|#

the somalia piece was excellent. thanks for pointing that out mr. walker.

guy in the back row|1.8.09 @ 1:16PM|#

* A "widening generational gap on the Alternative Right."

But since the generation gap in the senate is between 69 year olds and 91 year olds (they must still be fighting over use of the word 'swell') we won't have libertarian leaning conservatives in positions of power until about 2051.

cuernimus|1.8.09 @ 3:46PM|#

And by that time will have transformed into "gahd damn kids, geht off mah lawn" conservatives.

jtuf|1.8.09 @ 9:25PM|#

guy in the back row | January 8, 2009, 1:16pm | #

* A "widening generational gap on the Alternative Right."

But since the generation gap in the senate is between 69 year olds and 91 year olds (they must still be fighting over use of the word 'swell') we won't have libertarian leaning conservatives in positions of power until about 2051.

Yeah, but if Democrate push through nationalized healthcare, the median age of the general population will drop quickly. That will make the youth vote more powerful.