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Straw Man Radio
If there is one persistent source of doubt for the opinion-yakker as he goes about his business attacking foolish ideas, it is this: Am I beating up on a straw man? Well, for those of you ever plagued by such questions, I really recommend listening to National Public Radio on this, Day One of the Resurrection. I've been listening regularly for the past 48 hours, during which various Reason scare-stories have been endorsed and doubled-down, with enthusiasm.
* A new Ministry of Culture? There was a long piece about Barack Obama will "revive American culture," boosting our allegedly beleauguered arts, taking us out of the dark days of, uh, Mapplethorpe-bashing or something.
* A European model for U.S. newspapers? I learned on Sunday that European newspapers are in "a better financial situation" than U.S. dailies (even though American newspapers are vastly more profitable, vastly more staffed, and filled with lots more and generally better journalism), and that we should be taking our newspaper-financing cues from Sweden. Where dailies are subsidized.
* A Cult of the Presidency? Where to begin? I heard a long news report on just how much of a historically post-partisan uniter Barack Obama really is. The moment after the groan-inducing Concert for Hope wrapped up at the Lincoln Memorial Sunday, the station hosts kicked it back to an analyst in Southern California for his measured take on the proceedings, and the first thing out of his mouth was "Wow, I just really wish I was back there to see such a thrilling event!" (Note: quote is approximate.) There was also an analysis of Barack Obama, the deep thinker/writer.
In a strange disconnect, the unself-conscious over-enthusiasm on the part of NPR and CNN (and I'm sure in many other media quarters) is considerably more gushing than what I've seen among the many tourists in town here in Washington. People are jacked up, sure, but there's also a Sunday-church sense about things–lots of folk dressed up in their finest, exuding a more somber observational vibe. Conversations about the man they've come to see sworn in tend to contain more measured skepticism than what you hear from the nation's elite journalists. At least as of 8 o'clock this morning.
short, fat bastard|1.20.09 @ 9:17AM|#
Welcome to National Ink Blot Day where tens of millions of Americans project their inner hopes and fears onto one single smiling face.
|1.20.09 @ 9:22AM|#
People are a little crazy about the new administration. Sure
thing. After a few months of actual governance, I am sure that the
progressives will be somewhat disappointed and the libertarians
will be somewhat relieved (I do not care what the conservatives
think).
However, when interpretting all the action and the celebration, I
think it is important to keep in mind that a lot of the emotion is
coming from people who are just RELIEVED aboutt he end of Bush's
term. For me at least, that was the strongest emotion after the
election, that our "long national nightmare" was finally over, and
that perhaps, just maybe, things might start to get "better" in
some vague way.
The media is all excited about a charismatic black man who appears
to be ready to govern as a thoughtful and considerate way. (whether
it works out this way is an empirical matter). Black people and
those who care deeply about civil rights will of course have their
own very deep reasons to be over enthusiastic. I think a lot of the
excitement by actual citizens is the sense of people just being
glad that "it" is over. Think of the final, redone scene of Return
of the Jedi, where the galaxy erupts in celbration. That is what it
felt like in Europe: relief. It is a case where the human we don't
know is better than the devil we do.
phalkor |1.20.09 @ 9:26AM|#
That's an interesting observation, that the media is filled with
more giddy airheads than the people you see attending the event. It
doesn't surprise me, but still you'd think news coverage would
focus on facts and observations rather than acting like swooning
schoolgirls, hah.
I just hope the journalists keep on their high and end up
performing a massive parody of themselves.
|1.20.09 @ 9:31AM|#
I'm buying stock in companies which manufacture mouthwash.
And moist towelettes.
|1.20.09 @ 9:33AM|#
This libertarian will be relieved if:
1. Obama demands that a bill eliminating the income tax is on his
desk by April 30th.
2. Obama demands that a bill eliminating the drug war is on his
desk by April 30th.
3. Obama submits a budget for FY 2010 that calls for zero defense
department spending.
If he does not do these things, then this libertarian will know
that all of his stuttering(off the cuff the guy is not so sharp and
even with a prepared script he is no Reagan or Jesse Jackson or
Ronald Dellums or MLK) bluster about "change you can believe in"
and "hope" was only so much disguised defecation.
The Angry Optimist|1.20.09 @ 9:34AM|#
Taktix, I prefer:
RICK WARREN: Obama! Deus Vult!
CROWD RESPONSE: Deus Vult! Deus Vult!
The Angry Optimist|1.20.09 @ 9:35AM|#
bluster about "change you can believe in" and "hope" was
only so much disguised defecation.
Bah, the man never said "libertarian" change, or changes LM wants.
You're as bad as the cultists: if The Walking Rorshach isn't what
it looks like, the image must be wrong, rather than the one
projecting.
|1.20.09 @ 9:40AM|#
For at least two years we will be at the mercy of the college professors, labor unions, welfare recipients, businesses that rely on tariffs and government contracts, and other people who live off the taxpayers. We're going to see what happens when the remora takes charge of the shark. It is possible things won't be much different, but it is also possible that things could get much worse. Good luck, everybody.
|1.20.09 @ 9:41AM|#
Yes, phalkor, you are right.
How about some cogent, hard hitting analysis on the empty slogans
of "change you can believe in" and "hope"? Why not ask the
following?
1. Mr. President-elect, one of your most prominent campaign slogans
was "change you can believe in". Do you think that being part of
the democrat party represents change? Was your decision to join one
of the two parties of state an act of courage? Of heroism? Of
change? Was your choice to join one of the two parties of state an
act that should inspire others?
2. Mr. President elect, you have droned on and on that your
campaign is about hope and that your election was a vote of
confidence for hope? How can you square that rhetoric with the
reality that you belong to one of the two parties of state? That
you want to increase the size of government? That you have no plans
to shut down the military industrial complex? That you do not want
to eschew the trappings of the office?
Any reporter who does not ask some of the above, is a shill.
|1.20.09 @ 9:44AM|#
TAO-
My point stands. Obama's slogans are just empty rhetoric. Do you
doubt that?
snarkster|1.20.09 @ 9:45AM|#
I've been listening regularly for the past 48 hours
What ever does this mean? Hourly? Every twenty seconds? Evey 18
hours? And for how long each time? The People demand full
disclosure!
The Angry Optimist|1.20.09 @ 9:48AM|#
Obama's slogans are just empty rhetoric. Do you doubt
that?
No, but we do not agree on why, LM.
To YOU, you think that anything that doesn't exactly conform to
your preferred policies is just "more of the same" and "not a
dime's worth of difference".
Zero defense spending? You're way out on the fringe on that one; if
Obama cut defense spending by a quarter...or even an eighth, that
would be change...but not according to you.
How can you square that rhetoric with the reality that you
belong to one of the two parties of state?
Like it or don't, but intellectually speaking, there are no
"parties of the state"; ask Bernie Sanders.
The Angry Optimist|1.20.09 @ 9:51AM|#
I don't like the fact that libertarians 'round these parts want to sound like airhead lefty "anarchists". Saying things like "slavery to the State", "Fascism" and "the military-industrial complex" is cruise control for my brain to say "ignore".
|1.20.09 @ 9:52AM|#
Well, I thought this Obama obsession was hoohah myself, until I
looked in the mirror this morning. Since going to bed, I had
dropped 30 pounds, appeared 20 years younger, I was buff again, and
there was a bounce and lightness to my step. Quickly checking
online I noted my stock portfolio had recovered and then
some.
The only downside: I can no longer remember any cogent libertarian
arguments.
This Obama fellow is amazing!
|1.20.09 @ 9:56AM|#
I have to confess to a deep, pervasive contempt for the people
fawning over Obama. They are abjectly pathetic. Same goes for any
hero-worshipers/fanbois, but Obama is the one happening today and
on a colossal scale.
The media people slobbering over Obama are the equivalent of
teenage girls at an N'Sync concert or Trekkies getting Jeri Ryan's
autograph.
BakedPenguin|1.20.09 @ 9:58AM|#
Sorry for the crudeness, but every time for the past three days
I tuned in to try to find news, CNN was having its long
masturbatory Obamagasm.
Thank you Jesus, for inventing football and DVDs so I had something
else to watch.
The Angry Optimist|1.20.09 @ 10:00AM|#
The media people slobbering over Obama are the equivalent
of...Trekkies getting Jeri Ryan's autograph.
WTF? At least she's hot and does something productive (providing
the URKOBOLD(tm) a candidate to run for Senate, for example).
Fawning over a politician is the lowest of the low; I have less
contempt for people who endlessly conjecture on the lackluster BSG
series...
:P
Jesse Livermore|1.20.09 @ 10:02AM|#
Quickly
checking online I noted my stock portfolio had recovered and then
some.
Check again.
|1.20.09 @ 10:05AM|#
TAO-
No, you are projecting your perceptions of me in your post. Of
course, his empty rhetoric of "change you can believe in" allows
for change of bigger, more intrusive government.
|1.20.09 @ 10:07AM|#
TAO, I wasn't slagging on Ryan, and in this case, I'm not slagging on Obama. My contempt is for the bootlickers and awestruck fawners, who I just find desperately pathetic. The fact that they don't realize how pitiful they look makes it even worse.
Alan Vanneman|1.20.09 @ 10:07AM|#
Conservatives/libertarians listen to NPR the way liberals read the editorial page of the WSJ. Instead of working up a sweat about it, Matt, you should make a living off it, a la Michelle Malkin. OK, you aren't that cute, but still.
|1.20.09 @ 10:16AM|#
The media people slobbering over Obama are the equivalent of
teenage girls at an N'Sync concert or Trekkies getting Jeri Ryan's
autograph.
Well the inauguration is their Progessive Baptism and Sermon on the
Mount all rolled in to one. They get to wash away years of white
guilt all at once. I guess I would be pretty excited too.
Also they're probably looking forward to smugging it up with their
compatriots around the world. "You think your country is
progressive? We have a have a black President. A black
President!"
Fluffy|1.20.09 @ 10:22AM|#
Andrea Mitchell on MSNBC just called Steven Spielberg a
"dignitary".
Steven Spielberg is not a dignitary. Even in Obama's America.
|1.20.09 @ 10:31AM|#
TAO-
You assert that an Obama proposal to cut defense spending by a
quarter or even an eighth would be change .."but not according to
you."
Please, do not put words in my mouth. I stated that I would be
relieved if he submitted a FY 2010 budget that called for zero
defense spending. I did not state that a proposal to cut 25% of the
military budget would not be change. Where do you get off making
these gigantic, irrational leaps?
juke|1.20.09 @ 10:36AM|#
Obama's victory down the line could have some positive
reverberations for liberty. Perhaps it's a step closer to getting
rid of affirmative action and returning to equality of opportunity
under the law.
Other than that, I suspect Obama will be little different than
Clush.
|1.20.09 @ 10:37AM|#
"the military-industrial complex"
Yeah, like that other crazy anarchist, President Eisenhower.
I think your brain is always on cruise control.
|1.20.09 @ 10:37AM|#
"Saying things like "slavery to the State", "Fascism" and "the
military-industrial complex" is cruise control for my brain to say
"ignore"."
True dat.
|1.20.09 @ 10:41AM|#
LM - lets go to the tape:
"3. Obama submits a budget for FY 2010 that calls for zero defense
department spending.
If he does not do these things, then this libertarian will know
that all of his stuttering(off the cuff the guy is not so
sharp..."
so you made an assertion of the "unless...then" form. the unless
was a complete elimination of the DoD. I think TAO's interpretation
of your comments is correct - I read them the same.
|1.20.09 @ 10:44AM|#
Thank you Jesus, for inventing football and DVDs so I had
something else to watch.
I'm going skiing; Obama's Ascension has cured global warming and
turned the sky a fabulous shade of blue.
dhex|1.20.09 @ 10:45AM|#
"For at least two years we will be at the mercy of the college
professors"
roving bands of professors all a rapin' and a pillagin' up and down
the streets of america...definitely a plausible scenario.
|1.20.09 @ 10:49AM|#
P Brooks,
Don't kid yourself, if global warming comes to halt as a result of
reduced solar activity the eco jerkoffs will give Obama the
credit.
|1.20.09 @ 10:49AM|#
The media people slobbering over Obama
Twenty bucks says one of the fawning fools slips and says
"coronation" instead of "inauguration".
phalkor |1.20.09 @ 10:50AM|#
I'm sick of watching the market, listening to Obama hype, and hearing incessant bitching. I'm with you P brooks, fuck it, let's go skiing.
Elemenope|1.20.09 @ 10:52AM|#
Saying things like "slavery to the State", "Fascism" and
"the military-industrial complex" is cruise control for my brain to
say "ignore".
While I'll give you the first two, I'm with Marcvs somewhat on the
third. The military-industrial complex, though prosaically named,
is by all accounts a real and corrupting phenomenon in American
politics.
AM_Chi|1.20.09 @ 10:57AM|#
Come off it people...you can't understand why people are
excited..??? WTF?? Wallow in your sour grapes if you wish, but I am
certainly excited as hell. This is the first black president- need
I say more. We are all watching history happen, so of course people
are going to be excited. In 100 years, people probably won't
remember Clinton or Bush, but everyone will know who Obama
was...
I agree that the talking heads are mostly blathering on and on; but
that is to fill air time. If you can not be excited about watching
history happen than go lie down in your bunker…just don't rain on
my parade!
|1.20.09 @ 10:58AM|#
El, true. I think a lot of people misuse the term tho - and very rarely make the right distinction in stating the problem. Ike's speech was actually pro-military and emphasized the need to increase it, even as he warned against ceeding power to the corporate interests who provided the materiel.
engineer|1.20.09 @ 10:59AM|#
The military-industrial complex, though prosaically named,
is by all accounts a real and corrupting phenomenon in American
politics.
Hey, I resemble that remark.
short, fat bastard|1.20.09 @ 11:00AM|#
but everyone will know who Obama was...
There's famous, and then there's infamous . . . .
|1.20.09 @ 11:02AM|#
just don't rain on my parade!
I'm not raining on your parade, I'm pissing in your cornflakes.
Can't you taste the difference?
|1.20.09 @ 11:03AM|#
domoarrigato-
Go to the tape. Did I say that a cut in defense spending of 25%
would not represent change? No, I did not. I attacked the use of
the slogan "change you can believe in". IMO, having the defense
department fast for a period of one year is truly "change I can
believe in". It does not mean that I think that a cut in defense
spending of 25% is not change.
Text, without context, is pretext.
Taktix®|1.20.09 @ 11:08AM|#
Come off it people...you can't understand why people are
excited..??? WTF?? Wallow in your sour grapes if you wish, but I am
certainly excited as hell.
I suppose I would be excited if the fact that Obama is black
somehow made all our problems go away, but it doesn't.
Symbolism is all well and good, but I'm looking for substance, and
the only substance I see is the ever-creeping slime of state
intervention.
Even Rome appointed an African Caesar, Septimius Severus, but that
didn't make him a good ruler...
|1.20.09 @ 11:09AM|#
AM chi-
I am excited about the Arizona Cardinals. I am excited about
Slumdog Millionare. I am excited about private entities who have
not sought any of the bailout moolah. I am excited that there are
people who do not look at the election of Obama as significant on
account of his race. You, however, appear to be excited about such
racist stuff.
|1.20.09 @ 11:13AM|#
Off topic-
Yesterday, like Matt, I had NPR on at work, and in the car. I gotta
give some props to Mad Max as several guests pointed to Dr. King
invoking scripture in his efforts to influence gvt. policy.
|1.20.09 @ 11:19AM|#
"Text, without context, is pretext."
Text before text too - just like text under text is
subtext...
but honestly - you did say that anything short of eliminating the
DoD would indicate that "change [was] ... disguised defacation" so
how are we misreading that statement? give me your revised version
if you wish to restate your remarks. I'm not imputing you with any
beliefs, or even arguing with your point - I'm just agreeing with
TAO that I interpreted your comment the same way. don't get all
pissy - if you are misunderstood, just say what you mean!
Xeones|1.20.09 @ 11:19AM|#
just don't rain on my parade!
Your parade is stupid and shallow. It is the Paris Hilton of
parades.
Elemenope|1.20.09 @ 11:22AM|#
I think a lot of people misuse the term tho - and very
rarely make the right distinction in stating the problem. Ike's
speech was actually pro-military and emphasized the need to
increase it, even as he warned against ceeding power to the
corporate interests who provided the materiel.
I agree that it is often misused, or at least used in a different
sense than Eisenhower meant it.
Naga Sadow|1.20.09 @ 11:31AM|#
Xeones,
No way dude! My plan is to knock her up. Then I can hang with her
rich crowd for awhile. Make a rap cd. Then get a PAYCHECK to waive
all parental rights. I got me a plan, see.
lunchstealer|1.20.09 @ 11:32AM|#
Well, the deep thinker and/or writer thing is founded mostly on
contrast with the past eight years. As near as I can tell, GWB's
analytical powers have been strictly limited to the field of
baseball. Outside of that his deepest thoughts have been how dreamy
Putin's eyes are.
So when THOSE are the standards, Obama's Reader's Digest
intellectualism seems more substantial.
Ska|1.20.09 @ 11:39AM|#
You make it seem like Ms. Hilton is a dirtier whore than most of Naga's other pigs.
Jim Treacher|1.20.09 @ 11:40AM|#
Steven Spielberg is not a dignitary.
The Ambassador of Hollywood.
True fact: Andrea Mitchell was the stunt double for ET.
The Angry Optimist|1.20.09 @ 11:41AM|#
If he does not do these things, then this libertarian will
know that all of his stuttering...bluster about "change you can
believe in" and "hope" was only so much disguised
defecation.
So, in other words, unless he cuts defense spending to zero, he is
bullshitting about really changing anything.
LM, this is a very straightforward reading of your remarks. Like it
or lump it.
Marcvs - As has already been said (but I did not clarify),
modern use of the term "military-industrial complex" is
cruise control for "ignore".
Interestingly enough, mentions of anarchism OUTSIDE of these here
circles is usually enough for my eyes to glaze over as well.
YAPPY COLLEGE KID: "But see, in anarcho-syndicalism..."
ME: Zzz.
Naga Sadow|1.20.09 @ 11:48AM|#
TAO,
Personally I KNOW society is hierarchical hence the reason I begin
thinking of turning warlord if the apocalypse comes or if Epi and
others start arguing about anarcho-capitalism.
TallDave|1.20.09 @ 12:14PM|#
Where dailies are subsidized.
Well, duh. You didn't seriously think the media were anointing
Obama the messiah without expecting a little back-scratching in
return?
No doubt the charge into a state media will be spearheaded by the
same people who freak out at the idea of a Christmas manger scene
in the town square.
|1.20.09 @ 12:19PM|#
TAO and domoarrigato-
I am sorry if I appeared to be all prissy. I did not intend to
be.
If Obama proposes a significant reduction in defense spending, yes,
I would be pleasantly surprised. Obviously, even a proposal that
calls for a token reduction in defense spending would constitute a
"change" as, if my assumption is correct, defense espenditures have
not decreased in many years.
Perhaps I should have been more emphatic in distinguishing between
"change" and "change you can believe in" as I believe there is a
distinction. Would you not grant that there is a difference between
"change" and "change you can believe in"?
|1.20.09 @ 12:33PM|#
The major media have been waiting 45 years for another Camelot,
and by god they're not going to miss one single piece of hyperbole
describing its return.
My advice is earplugs, noseplugs and hipwaders, 'cause this sh** is
gonna continue to be loud, smelly and deep for months.
(Not that you need my advice on this.)
Yip|1.20.09 @ 7:42PM|#
Are any of you old enough to remember segregated buses, schools,
whites-only hotels and lunch-counters? Hospitals that refused to
serve blacks? That we have elected an African American to the White
House represents a significant social shift. It's a symbol, but a
symbol that could powerfully affect society as a whole in the
following generations, perhaps burying completely the notion that
achieving success in a white man's world is not selling out, or
giving in to whitey. Perhaps, considering that Obama is of
mixed-race descent, progress towards a race-transcendent society
will be made. Maybe one day we'll be able to eliminate the hypen in
the hyphenated American.
So, I'm not going to be yelling boo on the sidelines on this day.
I'll wait until he's passed his first piece of bad legislation.
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