Is it my imagination or just my little corner of it or has the world gone mad since the midterm elections? I can’t tell whether it’s stupidity, brinksmanship, or just plain boredom but it seems to be everywhere these days. The president seems to be actively courting impeachment with his threats to act alone to grant amnesty to illegal immigrants. The editors of the Washington Post, the Keepers of the Sanctuary of the Prevailing Wisdom say so so it must be true:
We favor immigration reform, including a path to legal status for the 11 million foreigners in the country without valid papers. Congress should have acted on this long ago. We also understand that the president has broad authority in this area, which he exercised in 2012 to pardon young people who had been brought here as children.
Now, however, he is contemplating executive action not really aimed at one group or another but intended “to make the system work better,†as he said in his post-election news conference. He acknowledges that Congress should and could do this job, but he is tired of waiting.
Three years ago, when advocacy groups pressed him to take such a step, Mr. Obama demurred. “Believe me, the idea of doing things on my own is very tempting,†he said. “Not just on immigration reform. But that’s not how — that’s not how our system works. That’s not how our democracy functions. That’s not how our Constitution is written.â€
Mr. Obama may find a constitutional way to rewrite the nation’s immigration laws. But in his frustration with democracy, he is likely to prove his point: Unilateralism will not make the system work.
Returning, briefly, to the facts a majority of Americans oppose amnesty (or anything that sounds like it), want stricter enforcement, and candidates who favored liberalization of our immigration laws were typically defeated in the midterms even in Blue States. All of that may be crazy but they are facts. The president has probably won his last election but the same is not true for Congressional Democrats who cannot be counted on to stand behind the president’s agenda or even to oppose his impeachment.
Those organizing protests in Ferguson, Missouri seem to be actively courting race war. White folk in America have practically nothing to fear from blacks. The statistics could hardly be clearer on this. If you’re black, the person most likely to harm you is black, too. If you’re white, the person most likely to injure you also has white skin. Can you imagine how white Americans could react if they actually had something to fear, as one organizer of the demonstrations has allegedly called for? It’s madness. The people most likely to lose by that are white gentry liberals and non-whites.
At the best of times the world has only a passing relationship with sanity and that’s not limited to the United States although we seem to have made a fine art of it. Young people from all over Europe are going to help the insane barbarians of the Islamic State. They, of course, are upset with the Israelis and the Americans (I don’t believe they really distinguish between us, a view that also seems to extend to the banks of the Potomac).
The Germans are doubling down on their nutty policy of ordoliberalism. They do not believe (or do not care) that their economic policy has adverse consequences for their trading partners whose economies are increasingly in ruins. If only the Portuguese were more German, dammit.
Here in Chicago the mayor’s State of the City message didn’t mention the city’s single largest problem: the enormous bill that needs to be paid next year for the pensions of retired city employees. Very few have called him on it. It’s just plain crazy.
People are outraged over climate change, the situation in Ferguson, and over beheadings in Syria and Iraq. We absolutely need to do something. Nobody seems to be proposing any solutions. In the case of ISIS they either support the Administration or want much, much more bombing. They have yet to enunciate a clear national interest or how their strategy will effect their goals, something that seems to be a common factor behind all of the mad and maddening situations today.
We favor immigration reform, including a path to
legal status for the 11 million foreigners in the country without valid papersmaking our borders and laws completely irrelevant.FIFY, WaPo.
The world’s leadership class has been acting insanely since 2008. It became particularly bad in 2013 when the US tripled down on its policy of creating regional instability in MENA by playing brinksman games with Syria and supporting a course of action that must, perforce, have forced the Russian government to start invading its neighbors.
But it turns out that lots of nations have bad leadership at the moment*, including all of the major nations in Western Europe, the USA, Russia, China & Japan. (I think France has the worst at the moment, but that’s pretty much a matter of taste. Putin is the most dangerous, though, as he has a large nuclear arsenal and seemingly cannot back down.) So we’re pretty much humped.
* I’m include the major opposition parties, to the extent I’m aware of them.
Well yes, we’re not being well goverened. It happens from time to time — the period after Andy Jackson up to the Civil War doesn’t strike most historians as being our Very Best, a good stretch of the period from Grant’s second term up to say Teddy Roosevelt doesn’t really pass the smell test, and the Wilson and Harding administrations weren’t worthy of much praise either. And lots of folk think the period from Kennedy up Richard Nixon’s abrupt departure was particularly sleezy. Rumor has it that some people even doubt the sancity of Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, and one or more of the Bushes. Bad government is our common American lot. Sensible Europeans predicted this from 1776 onward.
Other hand, we come out of it in a bound, every so often. Think in terms of decades, not of weeks.
Well, Mike, the economy has been in the toilet almost seven years now with no sign of it relenting or the country’s leadership even taking notice, save when the mega-rich needed bailing out. I’ll leave it as an exercise to figure out how many weeks since the start of the last recession.
Note what the elites of the country have focused on in recent years. Trayvon Martin, Mike Brown, the War on Women, Bill Cosby lately, whether or not men that play violent sports are in fact violent, Kim Kardashian’s ass (it’s one thing if the entertainment press follow such stories as this & Cosby, but the Coz is THE story on CNN right now, for example), and on and on.
And it’s an every day thing, too. Seriously, is it so important that the NFL has an openly gay player in 2014 that it warrants huge coverage? Or the NBA?
Hell, I don’t have to look far. As I wrote on September 11:
And when was the last time you heard the news media discuss the job numbers in depth longer than the day they came out? Hell, I give better analysis with my brief comments here after looking at the FRED for all of minutes every couple of months. Absolutely worthless institutions and individuals running the place now, but they’re doing quite nicely for themselves.
@Icepick
… Kim Kardashian’s ass …
WTF. You need to get you mind right. Kim Kardashian worked that ass, and she built a fortune. To hell with Mitt Romney, she is an American hero.
President Kim Kardashian and VP Nicki Minaj – go team.
TB, it’s hard to see how they could do worse than the last couple of Administrations.
Is it my imagination or just my little corner of it or has the world gone mad since the midterm elections?
Actually, IMO, it’s been going mad, at an increasingly faster pace for at least the last decade or so.
I’m actually on the same page with what Ice said, “The world’s leadership class has been acting insanely since 2008. “ I personally don’t think Obama was the right president for these erratic times. However, I can’t say that the R’s had the right candidate, either, in 2008. The next 2012 general election, though, had a better contrast of nominees vying for the job of POTUS, and the electorate passed on the better, long-term choice — something they have retrospectively realized, when asked in polls done afterwards.
One journalist recently described all the contradictions, rationales, and amnesia expressed by the Obama administration as being similar to “crazy pills,” when expecting people to blindly swallow them. The naked lies, however, go way beyond health care — permeating the unilateral immigration strategy now on the horizon, the ginned up racial animus in Ferguson, the repeated cries of Republican obstructionism (especially focused on the House for not bringing the Senate-passed immigration bill up for a vote), while over 350 House bills remain dormant, deliberately upheld for debate or amendments, because of Reid’s dictatorial control of the Senate!
Even the Democratic dismay over the bipartisan senate immigration bill is fraught with lies of omission, by not updating the current republican senatorial stance for that same bill — many now withdrawing it, such as Rubio. It’s nothing more than partisan flimflam going on — with each party’s representative saying anything to swing the public support over to them, even if the information they are spewing is untrue or lacking full disclosure.
The real madding aspect of all this is that don’t these same politicians know there are video archives documenting all their behavior and words over the years!!! When too many switchbacks of stances,once taken, are recorded and then publicly played back, how is this supposed to render creditability, trust or even respect, specifically for these supposed representatives of the people, or generally for the bigger, broader government in charge of it all?
Does anyone know why Reynolds took his act over to OTB ? Some commenters are beginning to question why his stock argument is some variant of “you are stupid.”
Drew,
Michael seems to have always been more in sync with the conversational diatribes at OTB than here. Plus, he has all those satisfying green “check marks” below his comments — more than any other poster. For a writer, praise is paramount.
As for calling people “stupid,” it’s a standard label he gives those who see things differently than he does, or who drift too far to the right of his socially progressive ideology.
Drew, he commented about “needing” certain amounts and types of drugs & alcohol to get to sleep every single night. I pointed out, with my customary tact & delicacy, that was the hallmark comment of an addict. And he was gone.
The real madding aspect of all this is that don’t these same politicians know there are video archives documenting all their behavior and words over the years!!!
They were catching Reid contradicting himself in a matter of days earlier this year. I attributed that to senility, but Pelosi’s recent McGruber “gaffes” make me think that these old codgers just don’t understand the nature of the interwebs. Reassuring to know they’re going to be writing the regulations to make it all better!
Now that the (R)-tards have seized the Senate from the (D)umbasses I expect to see more of that from them. And you can bet on every “mistake” from the elephants getting played to the hilt!
I think Turchin is far too optimistic with his 2020 prediction for maximum political instability.
Thanks. It’s too bad, though. For me anyway, the whole point is to attempt to stretch your thinking……….while having some fun with it.
I have no opinion on his personal consumption habits, however he has expressed an odd fondness for the thumbs up/down. And so you know, I would therefore never, ever make fun of it over there. ; )
Lolz
The comments do not seem to be too over represented on either side, or if they do, somebody will usually jump in to defend the opposing side.
To me, the thumbs up/down is a mean girls popularity contest. If you disagree with me, put forth an argument, and if you agree with me, get your head out of my ass.
Other than his racist crap, I enjoy his rants and attacks, and it keeps things interesting. It helps to keep me honest, but if I have to crawl up anybody’s ass to get them to stay, it ain’t gonna happen.
I think it was more than a single reason not the least being that he thought he was becoming a distraction over here.
I’m in the radio broadcast range of St. Louis, and I tend to check out KMOX and KTRS on the morning commute (all of about 10 minutes). I’ve got a bad feeling about what’s about to happen if the grand jury decides not to indict. The possible silver-lining is that everyone is freaked-out enough that the schools are prepared to close w/ homework for the kids on that day, adults are planning to work from home, and some of the businesses/public facilities will close. It’s like a hurricane is a coming. And maybe that will be enough.
The number of sad things about this whole story is quite large. One of them is that St. Louis has largely avoided serious racial violence. IIRC there were no riots in St. Louis in the 50s or 60s. I think the last race riots there may have been in 1917.
I think it may have been Eldridge Cleaver who mused that the reason that St. Louis had avoided racial violence was because it had trees.
The lack of race riots in the 50s and 60s is something radio hosts comment about frequently. It fills me with foreboding.
Interesting maps here on St. Louis, integration and disintegration:
http://nextstl.com/2013/01/lies-damn-lies-racial-integration-and-segregation-in-st-louis-and-statistics/
The things you cite are trivial compared with past craziness. Look at the costs incurred from invading Iraq because some guys fromSaudi Arabia, sponsored by a group in Afghanistan, took down the towers. Trillions of dollars and thousands of lives. Look at the costs entailed when banks handed out liars loans. The crazy belief that you could loan out money w/o knowing if it could be paid back would work cost us even more trillions. If we get unilateral immigration laws they are temporary. Race war? Meh. How many unarmed minorities killed should it take until an effort is made to change? I don’t see it going beyond St Louis.
Steve
Dave
If that’s really why Michael left that’s a bit too self important for my tastes. But I would be lying if I didn’t say it fits. In any event it’s too bad.
because some guys fromSaudi Arabia, sponsored by a group in Afghanistan, took down the towers. Trillions of dollars and thousands of lives.
They didn’t just “take down some towers”, they murdered several thousand people. Nice glossing over that small detail.
Did Michael write that he would not be involved here again? I feel as if I’ve missed something and the suggestion of a chemical dependency is very worrying to me as I happen to like Michael and have endured said dependencies myself although they were of the prescription variety.
Also, there’s one very good reason the whole world appears in the thrall of madness. We’re all dead and this is hell.
And that run-on sentence just made me look like high.
And therein lies the essence of the problem. Do you really believe that there has been no effort to change over the last 50 years? That there has been no change over the last 50 years? That’s nuts.
The crazy change that I’m referring to is that the “demonstrators” have changed their objectives from those of Martin Luther King and Medgar Evers. They think that their purpose is to make white folk afraid. At the very least that’s counter-productive.
Insisting on an indictment is vigilante justice. Does vigilante justice work for or against black folks?
What’s your solution? That black folks not move into white neighborhoods? That white folks just disappear? That contracts should mean nothing? That police officers shouldn’t defend themselves when they see their lives in danger? that we disarm the police?
Here’s my solution: that white police officers not automatically believe their lives are in danger when they face young black men. How do implicit or explicit threats of violence in Ferguson further that?
It wasn’t that explicit but, reading between the lines, you could see he thought it was time to take a break.
@steve
… The crazy belief that you could loan out money w/o knowing if it could be paid back would work cost us even more trillions. …
The federal debt is a loan that will never be paid back, and I do not see you getting yourself worked up over it. The simple fix to liars loans is hard money, and presto, the financial system will be forced to lend responsibly.
You will need to give up the liberal welfare state, but I am sure you are willing to do what is right. It is for the children.
“The crazy belief that you could loan out money w/o knowing if it could be paid back would work cost us even more trillions. ”
When something seems so crazy you can’t believe it’s true , it’s probably not true.
Progressives are angry they lost, and they are throwing a temper tantrum. They were promised a century of Democratic rule. Republicans could not win. It was all demographics, and numbers do not lie. They are now learning that numbers almost always lie.
(A good scientist trusts variables. This is probably where people get confused about science.)
A straight line projection assumes that the college student who is a first time voter will continue to vote after living in his/her parents basement because they cannot find a job, and then even if they find a job, they still cannot afford to move out because they have been saddled with years of student debt.
One thing that will never be talked about regarding Ferguson is insurance. The rates in the area should go up, but this is why areas get red-lined. When there is the potential for the place to be burned down, nobody wants to lend money for anything being built there, and nobody wants to insure anything there.
(This was years ago, but in the part of the parish (county) where my grandfather was raised, the only reason people purchased fire insurance was because there was going to be a fire. At some point, the insurance companies stopped writing policies.)
Ben Johansson, Reynolds said something to the effect that he needs an Ambien, a hit of Scotch and three tokes of weed to get to sleep every night. He has been doing that for years. I stated that the “need every night … to function” sounds exactly like every addict I’ve ever know, as did stating a specific, presumably small, dosage. (Dad always had “two beers”, for example. Never one, or three, or several, or a few, or even “a couple” – always two beers.)
Sounds like a high functioning addict to me, but I don’t care for Reynolds at all, or addicts, so take all that with a Morton’s 1 lb. container of salt.
Ice,
I used Alprazolam and alcohol nightly for fifteen years to sleep. The problem originated in childhood, multiple lines of simultaneous, racing thoughts I couldn’t turn off; it was either drug myself or get by on two hours of sleep per night, which could go on for weeks at a time. So I can testify that it is possible to develop a dependency to a drug while it treats a real problem.
“One thing that will never be talked about regarding Ferguson is insurance. The rates in the area should go up, but this is why areas get red-lined. “
That’s what happened in Watts, CA following the riots there. Also, businesses either leave, while others just pass on filling any vacancies of services left by such violence. There are simply no winners, except maybe for the outsiders that come in demonstrate, using the area as a platform for their discontent, and then leave. It’s a no harm no foul event for them.
So I can testify that it is possible to develop a dependency to a drug while it treats a real problem.
That’s well understood. It’s also possible to use a problem, real or imagined, to excuse dependency. Not claiming that’s what you’re doing, because I don’t know. But I’ve seen that too.
I used to intentionally sleep only two or three hours a night for weeks on end during semesters in graduate school. Do it right and you can induce a state of monomania, which CAN be helpful to the pursuit of mathematics. (Paul Erdos came by that state naturally, for example.) It helps to naturally suffer from insomnia as well in that situation.