The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

Celebrating The Crowd At CPAC, vi
Remote Factors Of The Opinions And Beliefs Of Crowds

Posted on | February 11, 2012 | 4 Comments

by Smitty

Le Bon really cuts to the heart of the matter on the racism issue. This passage in The Crowd

This factor, race, must be placed in the first rank, for in itself it far surpasses in importance all the others. We have sufficiently studied it in another work (?); it is therefore needless to deal with it again. We showed, in a previous volume, what an historical race is, and how, its character once formed, it possesses, as the result of the laws of heredity, such power that its beliefs, institutions and arts–in a word, all the elements of its civilisation–are merely outward expressions of its genius. We showed that the power of race is such that no element can pass from one people to another without undergoing the most profound transformations. (Le Bon, 103)

I think that the ill-liberal Left views this as part of its gospel. The untruth of this hard-wired racism, as seen evidenced in the acceptance of people from Alfonzo Rachel to Allen West all over the country (except on MSNBC), drives home the point that the race card is played out.

Yet, in zombie fashion, the Left continues to push this tired falsehood. May God require this evil of the Left.

Mr. Pinko says it’s OK to reply to the Left’s accusation of raaaaacism: “I embrace your accusation of me being a racist under your ignorant definition. I, however, know the truth.”

Previously. . .

  1. Celebrating The Crowd At CPAC
  2. Celebrating The Crowd At CPAC, ii: General Characteristics of Crowds
  3. Celebrating The Crowd At CPAC, iii: The Sentiments and Morality of Crowds
  4. Celebrating The Crowd At CPAC, iv: The Ideas, Reasoning Power, and Imagination of Crowds
  5. Celebrating The Crowd At CPAC, v: A Religious Shape Assumed By All The Convictions Of Crowds
Category: CPAC

Chris Cassone At CPAC12 Discussing
Take Our Country Back

Posted on | February 11, 2012 | 2 Comments

by Smitty

The pro-Cassone bias of this blog is unavoidable. We go back several years with Chris, and present with pleasure a quick CPAC interview where he touts his new tome. We cover a variety of topics, including Chris’s support to me while I was on deployment to Afghanistan. Chris is truly a great patriot, and everybody should buy several copies of his book. Thanks to Mr. Pinko for running the camera.

Chris gave voice to the World’s Youngest Blogger in the most criminally unerrated blues cut of 2011, “Claustrophobic Blues”

Category: Chris Cassone, CPAC

Celebrating The Crowd At CPAC, v
A Religious Shape Assumed By All The Convictions Of Crowds

Posted on | February 11, 2012 | 1 Comment

by Smitty

Le Bon

Intolerance and fanaticism are the necessary accompaniments of the religious sentiment. They are inevitably
displayed by those who believe themselves in the possession of the secret of earthly or eternal happiness. These two characteristics are to be found in all men grouped together when they are inspired by a conviction of any kind. The Jacobins of the Reign of Terror were at bottom as religious as the Catholics of the Inquisition and their cruel ardor proceeded from the same source. (Le Bon, 94)

Yeah, those Combat Buddhists are really tearing up the joint, aren’t they? Le Bon’s cheap equation of the Roman Church with the Terror likely says more of him than of the Gospel. As a Christian, I yawn at being called a fanatic. Event the most un-Christ-like, odious members of the Westboro Baptist Church fall short of the characterization offered by Le Bon.

Fanatics are people for whom homicide bombing is a reachable conclusion. And I tolerate all people with the love Christ gave me. I do scoff at people who want to tell me 2+2=5. Does this make me intolerant? Or Le Bon an idiot?

Where the discussion of this chapter in The Crowd gets interesting is when you consider the connections between the Left and radical Islam. How contradictory is a situation where actual perpetrators are given a pass, politically and in the media, while the relatively innocent Christians are systematically demonized?

Perhaps the mainstream media is the crowd, and their anti-Enlightenment faith in Progressivism is the true object of fanaticism.

Previously. . .

  1. Celebrating The Crowd At CPAC
  2. Celebrating The Crowd At CPAC
  3. Celebrating The Crowd At CPAC, iii
    The Sentiments and Morality of Crowds
  4. Celebrating The Crowd At CPAC, iv
    The Ideas, Reasoning Power, and Imagination of Crowds
Category: CPAC

Eagerly Awaited Steven Crowder Video

Posted on | February 11, 2012 | 4 Comments

by Smitty

Here it is, as noted yesterday.

Category: Uncategorized

Mead Seems Unaware Of How Perverse Use Of Technology By Government Is Wrecking Liberty

Posted on | February 10, 2012 | 1 Comment

by Smitty

I’ve been mocking Walter Russell Mead’s series on what the next round of Liberalism will look like. Part IV could be summarized as “Ain’t technology swell?”

An inevitable question as we look at the demise of the 20th century economy is how shall we live? As the manufacturing that remains to us becomes more automated, reducing employment even as output climbs; as agriculture continues to need fewer hands; as outsourcing and technological change sweep through the knowledge guilds and the learned professions; and as government downsizing decimates the serried ranks of the bureaucrats and postal workers — what jobs will be left? What will we eat and what will we wear when few if any of us make stuff anymore?
These are natural questions and for millions of Americans they are pressing personal ones. The answers to them will do much to shape the economic structure of the 21st century and that, in turn, will heavily influence the way we re-conceive the American Dream.

What Mead doesn’t seem to grasp is that the word processor has been used to separate people from their liberty. Those who believe in some Rousseau-esque Cosmic Tit-State as the ultimate source of all good have been relentless in burying liberty in regulations.

Thus, Mead’s initial question should be answered firmly: “Absent the continuous rectal exam of the federal government.” Efficient remedies, even if only partially successful, like slugging do not require a phalanx of bureaucrats, reams of regs, and a bunch of borrowing to effect.

via Instapundit

Category: Blogging, Instapundit

It Was Almost My Pulitzer Moment Covering #Occupy, But Then It Turned Into A Madison Rising Groove

Posted on | February 10, 2012 | 6 Comments

by Smitty

I got alerted by a phone call from somebody that #Occupy was going to stage a demonstration down by Radio Row. So I hied me there post-haste, camera ready. Security was not briefed beforehand, leading to an interesting encounter:

And here is the actual cut:

Update: here is further coverage of actual #Occupy activity at CPAC.

Category: CPAC

Hands Off My Health Care Rally

Posted on | February 10, 2012 | 2 Comments

by Smitty

Americans For Prosperity are bringing it, and you should, too 27 March is a Tuesday. I will take the day off to be there and blog this, because it is Simply. Too. Important. to neglect.

Hands Off My Health Care Rally
Upper Senate Park, Washington, D.C.
March 27th at 1:00PM

March 23, 2012, marks an important and unfortunate anniversary. It will have been exactly two years since President Obama forced his unpopular health care takeover onto the American people.
As you are most likely aware, the Supreme Court will be considering the constitutionality of several elements of the President’s health care takeover. This may be our best chance to overturn this offense against our health care freedoms.
That’s why Americans for Prosperity will be hosting a Hands Off My Health Care rally for free-market grassroots activists from across the country at Upper Senate Park on March 27th. Come join us!

Category: Tea Party

Is This CPAC, Or A Mosh Pit?

Posted on | February 10, 2012 | 6 Comments

by Smitty

Steven Crowder and a friend whose name eluded me presented a rap video this morning at the Blog Awards that was wild and sure to go viral–if he ever makes the thing public so people can, you know, view the thing.

Dana Loesch was one of the presenters, in a Ramones T-shirt:
And then I caught this young student down on the exhibit floor, right when Madison Rising was about to stage a performance:
Check back for that–security was doing its job right at the edge of sanity, and nearly tossed M.R. out for looking too close to #Occupy for comfort. I shot some video that I will post Real Soon Now.
Category: CPAC
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