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, ii
General Characteristics of Crowds

Posted on | February 9, 2012 | 4 Comments

by Smitty

Le Bon, emphasis original:

The sentiments and ideas of all the persons in the gathering take on the same direction, and their conscious personality vanishes. A collective mind is formed, doubtless transitory, but presenting clearly defined characteristics. The gathering has thus become what, in the absence of a better expression, I will call an organized crowd, or, if the term is considered preferable, a psychological crowd. It forms a single being, and is subjected to the law of the mental unity of crowds. (LeBon, 43-44)

So, four experiences I’ve had being in large groups of people:

  • CPAC/Tea Party gatherings, i.e. political outings with a largely self-selecting contingent of people.
  • Rock concerts, with self-selecting fans.
  • Military gatherings, with volunteers in uniforms.
  • Religious services, where the presence of the Almighty is known among self-selecting worshippers.

I think that Le Bon must mean spontaneous, large gatherings of people not united much above the language level. Flash mobs, but without the preparation. Like the wad of people at the L’Enfant Plaza metro on 9/11.  I was there. But even then, I’m uncomftable with this ‘collective mind’ concept. It follows from the rock concert experience noted above that, in a large group of people, rationality can be repressed. Think of a crowded elevator or bar. There is plenty of room for discomfort short of a full-on attack of claustrophobia. You’re operating a little lower on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. More and varied smells are happening. You wouldn’t, say, compose a reflective blog post there. People are behaving more instinctively. I get that.

What is worrisome is Le Bon’s notion of a ‘collective mind’. Sure, you can have a flock of sheep, but where is the flockness kept? The notion of the flock is in the mind of the observer; the sheep are never more than a bunch of sheep in close proximity. Thus, much of modern political speechifying consists of talking heads engaging in wishful, projective thinking with bumper sticker ideas, as they pander to the crowd instead of edifying.

Category: Books

Stacy’s CPAC Tour

Posted on | February 9, 2012 | 4 Comments

by Smitty

Stacy and the BarbieCam in near-real time:

Category: CPAC

Celebrating The Crowd At CPAC, i

Posted on | February 9, 2012 | 5 Comments

by Smitty

Gustav Le Bon’s 1895 book The Crowd heavily informed Ann Coulter’s
book Demonic: How the Liberal Mob Is Endangering America. Thanks to Ann for the hat tip. Rather than take her route of showing the specific evil effects of the Democrat party, and then quoting Le Bon, it seems needful to go back to Le Bon’s book and explore his ideas in the book. Le Bon is subtle in his diabolical approach, I find. The Darth Vader of the social sciences, perhaps.

While I’m going to agree with Ann and argue that Progressives have abused the aspects of human nature illuminated by Le Bon, here’s what I think is important:

  1. Not wasting time getting emotional about the history involved.
  2. Avoiding seduction by the dark side of the mob force, and becoming the Left.
  3. Asking ourselves how, if at all possible, our notions of individual liberty and American exceptionalism can be bolstered to protect a post-Progressive future from going down the same road of statism and debt.

With that, this series follows the Le Bon’s table of contents, with a post on every item illuminating what I think are the key takeaways.

Category: Ann Coulter, Books

CPAC 2012: Extremely Controversial!

Posted on | February 9, 2012 | 8 Comments

Grover Norquist (right) interviewed on WMAL radio
by Brian Wilson and Mary Katharine Ham

WASHINGTON, D.C.
It is inevitable: Every year, left-wingers find something on the CPAC agenda that they can “expose” as controversial, so as to suggest that the entire conference is irredeemably tainted through this guilt-by-association method:

Following speeches from Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Rep. Michele Bachmann, CPAC is hosting the panel “The Failure of Multiculturalism: How the pursuit of diversity is weakening the American Identity” with Peter Brimelow, the founder and head of VDARE.com.

Shock! Horror! Because Brimelow and his Web site have been labeled a “hate group” by . . . the Southern Poverty Law Center! And if you know anything at all about SPLC, you’re laughing at the designation, because they have deployed the “hate” designation so promiscuously in the past 15 years as to destroy their own credibility.

Peter Brimelow is no more a hatemonger than I am, although we’ve both been smeared as such by SPLC, as have, inter alia, the Family Research Counci, the American Family Association, the Federation for American Immigration Reform. The list of the defamed is long. In 2003, the SPLC published a report in which they named such respectable organizations and individuals as the American Enterprise Institute and David Horowitz as part of a right-wing conspiracy to “mainstream” extremist views.

Being denounced by the SPLC is like the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval for conservatives: You’re nobody in the movement until you’ve been labeled a dangerous extremist by those bozos. Here are a few photos of my radical, far-right friends at CPAC:

Notorious extremist John Hawkins of Right Wing News and extremely notorious Tiffiny Ruegner of TheTeaParty.net.

Extremely controversial Pete Dingledey and controversial extremist Joseph Farah of World Net Daily.

Radical right-winger Joel Mowbray of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies and right-wing radical Elicia Huffaker of Cain Solutions.

Obviously, these people are all very dangerous — a hate crime waiting to happen. And they must be relentlessly exposed as known accomplices!

Category: CPAC, Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy

Stacy’s Future Is Grim

Posted on | February 9, 2012 | 6 Comments

by Smitty

Scenes from Stacy’s future:

We sat there in the casino and burned a stogie when Kevin, Stacy and I went to Vegas. For all I don’t mind the very occasional stogie, the thought of being so chained to any habit that I’m going through ritual abuse over it is worse than withdrawal.

Also stupid are public policies that seek people doing ‘sinful’ things like smoking for abuse. You jack the taxes, and people quit, and revenue goes to ash. Governments behave as though stupid policy is nicotine.

Via Collins

Category: humor

Separated At Birth, Robert Reich Edition

Posted on | February 9, 2012 | 4 Comments

by Smitty

It takes a special kind of gasbag to arrive at the conclusion that “Obama Has Handed The Election Over To The Super Rich” What, did #OccupyResoluteDesk somehow disenfranchise us all by playing along with the SuperPAC game?
“Good ends don’t justify corrupt means,” whines Reich. Which of Obama’s ends was the good one? <sarcasm>Isn’t ‘good’ some kind of social construct, anyway?</sarcasm>
  • I can’t figure out if Reich is really that stupid (given the lack of validation on Obama’s donation site in 2008), or
  • he’s trying to put up some sort of moral facade, or
  • this argument is a fat joke.

Ultimately, you can’t make the argument that ‘$’ => ‘negative ads’ => ‘vote control’ without implying that voters are so criminally stupid that we shouldn’t give Americans the right to vote in the first place. Two things I know:

  1. Barack Obama, whatever the reason, is no source of factual information, and
  2. The GOP candidates, overall, are only slightly better.

Everyone is on the hook for doing their own homework on candidates and their claims.

via Althouse

Category: Barack Obama, Economics

LIVE AT FIVE – 02.09.12

Posted on | February 9, 2012 | 3 Comments

— compiled by Wombat-socho


TOP NEWS
Syrian Assault On Homs Continues

Homs under fire from Syrian rockets and mortars


Lavrov’s Potemkin diplomacy proves ineffectual

Santorum Ready For The Long Haul As Hat Trick Sends Romney Reeling
Fund raising up, Romney’s aura of inevitability down

Arrest Warrant Issued For Ousted Maldives President
Facing arrest after failure of street rioting to return him to power



POLITICS
Washington Lawmakers Pass Gay Marriage Bill

Governor Chris Gregoire hugs state rep Jamie Pedersen after vote

Washington House votes 55-43 to approve bill

Gingrich Hoping High Road & New Funds Can Save Campaign

Michigan’s Governor Snyder Proposes More Money for Rainy-Day Fund


Bay Area Catholics Join Contraception Fray

House Ready To Pass Insider Trading Bill

Military To Seek More Front-Line Jobs For Women



THE ECONOMY, STUPID
North Sea Crude Tops $117, NY Crude Hovers Below $99 On Lack Of U.S. Demand
Gold Edges Back Up Amid Greek Uncertainty
California, New York Help Push Foreclosure Accord To Completion
Greek Finance Minister Heads To Brussels With Incomplete Bailout Deal
PRC Inflation Rises On Lunar New Year Splurging
Credit Suisse Slumps To Q4 Loss
Caesars Debuts With Massive Pop: Investor Trap Or True Value?
Daimler Quarterly Profit Surges On Record Mercedes Demand
News Corp Books 65% Profit On Film, TV Operations
Sprint Loss Widens On iPhone Costs
Microsoft’s Shift On Industry-standard Patents Timed To Undercut Google
Group Urges FTC Action On Google Privacy Changes
Ten Strategies To Fight Anonymous DDoS Attacks
Investor Activists See Little To “Like” In Facebook



SPORTS
#10 Duke Stuns #5 Tarheels 85-84

Duke's Austin Rivers after his last-minute shot wins it for the Blue Devils

Victory ends UNC’s record 31-game home win streak

#2 Syracuse 64-61 In OT Over #12 Georgetown

Knicks’ Jeremy Lin Becomes Overnight Sensation, Sparks “Linsanity”

Jokinen Scores Hat Trick, Leads Flames Past Sharks 4-3

Coach Rips Clippers After 99-92 Defeat At Hands Of Cavaliers

Memphis Is Final Piece For Coast-To-Coast Big East Conference

New Zealand Clinches Clean Sweep Of Zimbabwe In ODI Series

Bryce Harper Confident He Can Make Nationals This Spring



FAMOUS FOR BEING FAMOUS
Katy Perry, Russell Brand Agree On Divorce Settlement

Russell Brand, Katy Perry

No fireworks in the courtroom for this pair

“Vampire Diaries” Actors Strip Down For Trio Of Sexy EW Covers

Taylor Swift Dumped Again

“Bend It Like Beckham” Star Breaking Out Of Her Marriage

Adele Opens Up About Career-Threatening Throat Surgery

Picture-Perfect Duchess Kate Visits Art Gallery

Gary Busey Files For Bankruptcy

Ray Romano: My Wife Anna Beat Breast Cancer

Natalie Portman Sets First Post-Oscar Roles

Fresh Tail? Courtney Stodden Plays Sexed-Up Mermaid In New Ad



FOREIGNERS
Russia Defends Its Diplomacy In Syria Despite Ongoing Bloodshed
Egyptian Judges Detail Accusations Against Americans And Other NGO Workers
Karnataka Ministers Banned From Assembly Over Porn Row
Al-Shabaab Car Bomb Hits Mogadishu Cafe, 15 Dead
Canada’s Harper Reaches Pact With PRC On Uranium Exports
Prince Harry Qualifies As Apache Gunship Pilot
PRC Police Chief Visited U.S. Consulate, Suspected Of Defection Attempt
Argentina To Raise Falklands Militarization At UN



BLOGS & STUFF
Rush Limbaugh: Establishment Shocked By Santorum Sweep
NRO Corner: Santorum Fights Back Against Romney Attacks
CatholicVote.org: Compromise On Religious Freedom? Never!
National Review Editorial: Unconscionable
Lonely Conservative: White House Has No Opinion On Whether Senate Should Pass A Budget
Weasel Zippers: Steny Hoyer Says “The Fact Is You Don’t Need A Budget”
Weekly Standard: Rasumssen Poll Shows Voters Oppose Obamacare’s Contraception Mandate 50-39
Vodkapundit: Kathleen Sebelius Next Under The Bus?
Gateway Pundit: Obama Promises Dems To Keep Boot On Neck Of Catholic Church
Just One Minute: Oatmeal Later
Don Surber: Himalayas Have Lost No Ice In Ten Years
Allahpundit: Majorities Of Democrats Now Support Drone Strikes, Keeping Gitmo Open
Marginal Revolution: Whence Comes This Wave Of Economic Determinism?
Rod Dreher: Our Strange New Respect For Rick
Clayton Cramer: “The Marriage Ran Its Course”
WyBlog: NJEA Honcho Says No Vouchers For You Because “Life’s Not Fair”


SOTD: It’s Still Rock & Roll To Me

Category: Live at Five

CPAC Is Already Happening

Posted on | February 8, 2012 | 9 Comments

by Smitty

I made it up to the Marriott Wardman Park to get the conference package for CPAC12. The blogger lounge was the same room as two years ago, but they have cut down on the actual seating. This will make it harder to sit down and blog, but might make the bandwidth more reasonable for those who do find seating.

Ladd Ehlinger and Pete Ingemi were there in the lobby, along with The Lid and his wonderful daughter. Conspicuously absent was the Rarely Silent Man, but we had very studiously avoided making any plans to meet, so disappointment was impossible. Also absent: #Occupy goons. I remarked to Ladd that I thought the AFL-CIO’s trash-talk may have been a stunt; if they really wanted to make mischief, they should have shown up as a surprise.

I couldn’t hang out, needing to get home for daddy duty. Keeping the domestic peace is crucial, especially if I’m going to be flaking off significantly over the next three days.

Category: Uncategorized
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