Stomping Women
This is politics in America.
Item One: NBC's Matt Lauer asks the the California gubernatorial candidates if they will stop negative ads, and when Meg Whitman declines, she is booed by women. This is supposed to mean something, when feminists and lesbians boo a Republican woman. But feminists hate women and to the extent they are women--a debatable proposition--they hate themselves. They were looking for an excuse to boo her. What Whitman should have done is to turn the tables: "Is NBC going to end its sensationalist stories and start reporting the facts? What are the networks but purveyors of terrifying disaster stories and heart-warming human-interest, from which the viewing audience learns nothing of any importance? When is the last time anyone learned anything of significance from NBC, much less from Matt Lauer? Lauer's question is what Aristotle called a complex question, of the type: "When did you stop beating your wife?" His question assumes the candidates are guilty and that negative ads are inherently bad. What if a "bigot" ran for office. Would anyone object to slandering him? Whitman could not make this retort, because she, while less crazy Jerry Brown, is as much a victim of American education as Matt Lauer, meaning they are both incredibly dumb.
Item Two: Rand Paul volunteers pull aggressive protestor to the ground and one of them, Tim Profitt, shoves his foot on her neck to restrain her, as other volunteers are shouting, "Get the police" and telling Profitt to back off. The incident is inevitably described as a stomping and suddenly Rand Paul is guilty of violence against women. Profitt, immune to common sense or common decency, thinks he is owed an apology for attacking a frail boyish female. He does have a point: She is a MoveOn professional protestor seeking to disrupt a lawful political event. I don't know why such people are not routinely arrested. Don't like Rand Paul or Hilary Clinton? Vote against them, support their opponent, but do not attend a rally where you are not only not wanted but where you intend to make trouble for people you do not know. Rand Paul was right to dismiss Profitt, who is a typical American jerk of the New Order, but the networks, in giving Lauren Valle the chance to promote her pathetic career as leftist agitator, show once again why they should not be permitted to cast stones against politicians of any stripe.
If democracy ever existed in America, it required a responsible and informed electorate. who had some means of getting they information they need in order to evaluate issues and events. But the net effect of all American media--networks, newspapers, blogs--is to make people stupid, frightened, arrogant, and rude. As I said years ago, "Tune out, turn out, and drop in," that is, turn off the tube and the computer, tune out their lies, and drop into real life, which is too short to waste on the likes of Matt Lauer, Tim Profitt, and Lauren Valle.
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The race in Kentucky, just across the river from me, is proving to be quite ugly. I wonder Dr Fleming, what you think about Rand's decision not to shake his opponents hand after the debate a few weeks ago? My father, who is just a tad younger than you are, said to me that that is exactly what a man of any principle would do in his day. It actually boosted Paul's credibility in his eyes, and he would have done the same. That was my guy reaction as well, but I would be interested to hear your take.
Dr. Fleming,
You see, my view of the matter was much more sinister. I just assumed that Tim Profitt and the poor woman working as a MoveOn professional protestor, were simply being paid by the same syndicant for the staged play in front of the cameras. It reminded me of the staged play up in New Hampshire years ago when all the jewish kids were running on stage to prevent the Neo-Nazi, Pat Buchanan, from taking over the republcian party from decent folks like Bob Dole. You are for sure right about one thing,however, we should all turn off, tune off and drop out, before the illness progresses much further.
I have not followed the Rand Paul campaign closely enough to judge whether or not he was justified. As a general rule, one would not shake hands with anyone who was himself dishonorable, e.g. most US presidents, unless protocol demanded it, and one would never shake hands with someone who had slandered, libelled, or insulted you. An ex-Marxist once tried to broker a meeting between Sam Francis and myself, on the one hand, and the Podhoretzes. Quite apart from the disgust the Podhoretzes usually inspire in any normal human being, I refused to meet with them until they had publicly retracted the lies they had told publicly about us. I was informed that this was selfish and short-sighted, from which I concluded that most ex-Marxists retain the honor vacuum on which their movement is based/
Here is a fairly good rundown, if you care - http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1010/43741.html
I noticed the usual suspects, ie leftist media stooges, were all claiming Paul was not 'taking the high road'. Apparently, leftists no longer believe in real manners. How about I make a website with false and slanderous claims about Thomas Fleming, then suppose I were to make a trip to the Rockford Institute, greeting Dr Fleming with an outstretched hand. Why would any decent man, after being lied about in public, shake my hand ?
And what in the world would you and Sam have to talk with the Podhoretzes about?
leftists no longer believe in real manners.
Leftist have never believed in real manners. Rand Paul should know that the "have you no decency ? Have you no shame? stuff only worked against old conservatives like tail gunner Joe. It has never worked in reverse and never will. And rightly so. It is also a leading question in which the answer is already contained or inferred in the question?
The political answer to some of the questions asked of Rand Paul are to ask further questions of his own. For instance, " Well, isn't it true you too once raped and pillaged on your campus as you are now accusing me? Isn't that hypocritcial of you to accuse me of rape when you yourself were also accused of that crime?"
It is an old political trick described by Walker Percy in "The Kingfisher" when the old pol says something like "men are born into sin, so from the stench of the diaper to the strench of the shroud they also know it.... Hell no it ain't true, but let him spend some of his campaign time denying it!!!"
Mr. Maxwell, I don't mean to be intrusive but you seem to believe that politics and journalism are somehow still fair and that both professions should still be available to honest men; yet,and for the life of me, I can't imagine why or how anyone breathing today's oxygen could believe such a thing!!!
No, its just incredulous that they can accuse him of not taking the high road when leftists dont believe in manners at all.
This morning I made the mistake of turning on NPR. They were discussing the dishonesty of Dan Coats' TV ads, denouncing his rival for voting to cut Medicare and force people into Obama's health system. How these press-jackals can convince themselves that a plain truth, hyperbolically expressed in an ad, remains true would have astonished me some years back, but nothing in the media these days can cause me to raise an eyebrow. Over at First Things, they gave space to a Jewish journalist to denounce all Catholics who do not believe that the Jews have a divine right to occupy the Holy Land. I don't know if the late Dick Neuhaus knew any Catholic theology--in my years of knowing him, he never displayed the slightest knowledge or interest--but he did a somewhat better job of concealing who his masters really were.
Dr. Fleming writes:
"don’t know if the late Dick Neuhaus knew any Catholic theology–in my years of knowing him, he never displayed the slightest knowledge or interest–"
This stands to reason as this is the lefts favorite type of individual. A catholic priest who knows no theology, a proponent of the humanities like William Bennett who knows not a word of Greek or Latin, a "catholic" economist like poor liberated Mr. Woods, a political commentator on NPR like Nina Tottenberg,... I mean it really is a trail of tears, if it were not so damned mad as to be hilarious.
I feel sorry for the conservative Anglican members of Mount Calvary Episcopal Church, an "orthodox Anglo-Catholic" congregation near Maryland General Hospital, who recently voted in the undercroft to break ties with the Episcopal Church and request permission to go Roman Catholic. After reading about them and looking at their solemn liturgy, it would appear they have jumped from a sinking ship to a Pirate's ship.
"As I said years ago, “Tune out, turn out, and drop in,” that is, turn off the tube and the computer, tune out their lies, and drop into real life, which is too short to waste on the likes of Matt Lauer, Tim Profitt, and Lauren Valle."
I have no TV this election season and its been relief. Believe me I was staying in a hotel the other night after covering a sporting event and every commerical it seemed, especially on the local news broadcasts, was a political ad. Yuck! is all I can say. I'll be able to go to bed early on election night.
I wonder why Randall Paul didn't choose the simpler life of remaining a doctor and actually helping people face to face rather than this strange path of going to a legislature and passing ordinances for faceless people.
Dare I say that...he wanted the fame and money?
Just like, dare I say, his father? Who is a millionaire, by the way. A kind and gentle millionaire, of course, but one who takes the advantage of much television exposure, book sales, and high speaking fees.
I think we need to discourage Dr. Fleming from reading First Things any more; it'll only be detrimental to his blood pressure. What a ludicrous piece of agitprop that has become! Since Neuhaus passed on all pretense of that being either a serious magazine of ideas or one friendly to/conversant in Catholic theology has been stripped away; now the masters are all out in front!
I don't actually read First Things but Tom Piatak sent me a link to the article. Neuhaus was a slick operator but among his areas of total ignorance are: all things American, the ancient world, philosophy and theology, serious literature. He was, however, quite clever and although he could not speak or write correct English he did possess verbal agility. I got to know him better than I wished in our long TRI retreats back in the 1980's. He was, so I believe, evil but not despicable.
I vivdly recall when Matt Lauer interviewed Hillary Clinton shortly after L'Affaire Lewinsky bubbled surface. I call it "The Vast Right Wing Conspiracy Interview". Did ol' Matt even bother to ask Madame Hillary to name names? Noooooo! It was then that I realized that the fix was in, that there was no way Big Media was going to let The Boy Wonder suffer the same fate as their favorite villain, Dick Nixon. The fact that the public actually watch people like Lauer says more about their level of intelligence than that of Lauer (which, as Dr. Fleming suggests, is not too high).
Harrry writes, "now the masters are all out in front!"
Yes, and in more than one since of that word. Your post reminded me of that nameless reader of GKC who accused the old character of not being very up front with his readers. Chesterton retorted, "My dear sir, if you would step around to my side, you would see that I am mostly up front!!" If their health over at Last Things is as poor as their journalism, it shouldn't be much longer now.
Most religious magazines and newsletters, except perhaps for your local parish news, are dangerous to ones faith regardless of being neo con or traditional. Instead of helping improve the state of the readers or the readers families faith, the traditional newsletters are producing teenagers who care more about restoring the Holy Roman Emperor.
I was recently at a gathering of folks discussing Chesterton's Napoleon of Notting Hill; one of the attendees, whose lengthy remarks indicated he had not read one word of the book, actually further opined that he saw Glenn Beck as this era's Chesterton! Such people are out there! The modern media are feeding this hunger for celebrity politicians and "gurus", which the current issue of the magazine is now happily discussing/dissecting.
I don't know if I ever published a little essay I was asked to write on the Napoleon of Notting Hill. It was commissioned by American Enterprise, whose editor insisted on cutting every part that made it relevant to a contemporary reader. I may have put it into chronicles, though I don't remember. If I can dig it up, I'l post it as a booklog. No book is more relevant to the age we are living in, and I strongly recommend reading or rereading it.
I think we would all look forward to seeing that piece on NNH. If memory serves, I think you also felt that Trollope's "The Way We Live Now" would also be most appropriate to our age. Any reflections on that fine work would also be welcome.
#15 Daniel,
Yes, I must agree. The best advice I ever recieved in this regard is to pick a saint, any saint, and go to that saint for assistance in matters of faith and religion. Read the life of the saint, the works of that saint, the commentary,if any, of that saint, etc... Of course I picked St. Dominic, and have learned alot from his sons and daughters, as for himself, he didn't actually write much which is another hint from him that I have probably too long ignored. Enough.
"actually further opined that he saw Glenn Beck as this era’s Chesterton! "
OH, FOR HEAVEN"S SAKE and MAY GOD HELP US ALL!!
I also recieved my "patriots tool box" yesterday in the mail. A book about what I should be doing to help the TEA PARTY take back America. Once you realize the wrist bone is connected to the arm bone, and the Tea Party is connected to the GOP, it becomes quite easy to give "the patriots tool box" pride of place in the kindling stack by the fireplace. (Or if enduring a desperate moment while outdoors, perhaps nearby the outhouse!!)
@11, harry colin,
We all want TJF to live forever, but how much duller would life be without the sparks that fly when he shoves the diamond-tipped drill bit of his wit in the path of modern "culture's" careening buzz-saw?
Robert @ #20,
Yes, sadly, it appears much of what began as honest outrage of the Tea Party people has been co-opted by the Republican establishment in too many places.
This is a difficult week for all honest men - at least in the US - because all of our mailboxes are stuffed full of expensive and ridiculous fabrications by pols wanting our votes next Tuesday.
I am a proud gun owner and supporter of gun rights but if one more political piece comes to me splashed with a full-color picture of a candidate decked out in bright orange hunting gear I think I might lose my lunch. Such hyper-pandering can only indicate how lucrative even local political offices must truly be.
I'm not terribly comfortable with all these good wishes for my good health as if I were the doomed heroine of an Italian opera dying of tuberculosis. Which of you younger men walks two miles a day after lunch and who of you could keep up with me or my wife walking around Rome or Athens? I know that I could not walk as briskly or as far when I was 45 as I do now. I attribute my good health to bad living--whiskey and cigars--as well as to a growing indifference to what the future may hold for me or the world.
I woke up this morning wondering why so few of our website correspondents--apart from Red Philipps, Robert R, and Robert Peters--have ever attended one of our meetings. Many, of course, are tied up with work and family and others don't have the money, but I guarantee you that some are going off to various political conspiracies, whether third parties or Southern Nationalist groups. What we refuse to do is to tell the comforting lies that build movements and sell bumper stickers. The only political bumper sticker I like--apart from "Don't blame me, I voted for Jefferson Davis"-reads: "Vote for Cthulu, Why vote for the lesser evil?" In this connection, I have gone back to reading a little Lovecraft, a writer I admire more in the abstract than in the actual reading. "The Call of Cthulu," however, is every bit as great a story as its admirers would have us believe. I discovered in reading the notes to my excellent Library of America volume that Lovecraft made several trips to Charleston. If the impoverished creator of the "Old Ones" could make it to Charleston, shame on the rest of you--except Robert who is going.
#22 Yes, HArry Icould not agree more here are a few of my favorites :
Sportsmen for Palin, Intellectuals for George Bush, Abused Women for Clinton, Catholics for Free Choice, and my all time favorite:
Dick Cheney in full-color picture decked out in bright orange hunting gear -- SAFETY FIRST!!
#23 Not only am I attending but I am bringing my young son who will be graduating High School this spring. I fear he may never meet real teachers who love their subjects enough to speak the truth about them, if he doesn't meet Clyde Wilson, Tom Fleming, Don Livingston, Tom Landess and some of the other old guard members who stood up and acted like men against great odds when most of their colleagues were all heading for the tall grass.
Dr Fleming,
I have wanted to attend your meetings for years, but many of them are simply out of my orbit (ie too far); often the costs of lodging are very high for this 29 year old. Perhaps its about time to have another meeting in and about the Midwest/Rust Belt? I would consider a trip to Rockford, as I have relatives just south of Gary, Indiana and Rockford wouldnt be that far of a detour. I hope you dont consider those of us who have yet to attend a meeting a bunch of freeloaders; I do subscribe to the actual magazine.
Of course i don't consider you freeloaders, and at the age of 29 the only meetings I ever attended were meetings of professional classicists, where I was looking for a job. On the high cost of lodging, which is partly out of consideration for well-heeled donors who won't come if we meet at a cheap place, we can always find nearby alternatives. That would be true in Charleston, and Rome, and even Rockford. One good friend and generous donor refuses to spend money on expensive rooms, when he can avoid it, because he is giving too much to us. More than once he has spent a week in a terrible dump. This Summer School is devoted to the French Revolution, and we have commitments from Claude Polin and Fr. Barbour to speak.
As soon as I can manage it, I will definitely attend a meeting one day with my son. It will be a privilege to see and hear from all of you in person.
Interesting. I have been torn whether or not the early supporters of the non-radical phase of the revolution such as Lafayette and Jefferson were wrong to ever see it as a legitimate movement. I have read too much from both the La Ancien Regime side or the Reign of Terror apologist side to get a clear picture.
I have long lamented my inability to attend one of the many fine Chronicles events that have occurred through the years. For me it comes down to scheduling - the dates have just not worked out. As a consultant I'm too often at the mercy of client calendars. As far as hotels, I've been in so many that even nice ones are just a necessary evil for me at this point.
I'm going to re-double my efforts to get to one this year; the summer school certainly sounds exciting; the French Revolution! That's a topic that could last for months!
Jefferson was very unwise to stick his brilliant mind into a country he could view only from an intellectal perspective. Lafayette must have had good qualities, but he was one of those cautious revolutionaries who prepare the ground, stick in the plant, and are astonished when it turns out to be a poisonous herb that kills his cattle. So far as I can tell, very few of the early revolutionaries were wise enough or honest enough to repent--except for the repentant Freemason Louis XVI. Here is a simple ethical rule. Do not try any experiments without having a reasonably certain expectation that you are able to control the results or that even if all Hell breaks loose that the people are sensible enough to scrape by. Such an approach would justify our own little revolution but neither the English nor the French.
I would go to every event if I weren't in college. I was even thinking about that trip to Rome until I discovered that I might have to take a winter class in order to graduate. I did make it to your Manhattan excursion, but that was easy since I live in New York. Its a shame too, I am thoroughly enjoying my current Roman History class.
#23--I myself would go to at least the Randolph meetings if it were feasible--I'd especially like to renew my acquaintance with Donald Livingston and meet the archetype of a valorous Confederate colonel (in my imagination), Clyde Wilson. But there are good reasons why I have not done so thus far--even aside from my not being very clubbable unless I've had a few drinks, which however I regard as no way to do things, and better avoided. My model for sociality (at least now in my advancing age) is in many ways that distinguished hermit Richard Weaver. I imagine the events as being exciting and unforgettable, and as may fate to be missing out on all of it.
I would love to attend your meetings. Alas, I am one of those "tied up with work and family" -- and private school tuition, too. I hope one day not too far in the future to be able to join you.
@23, Lovecraft
Dr. Fleming, some years back my brother gave me a collection of early Lovecraft essays and articles called "Marginalia". It included
his essay on Charleston which was fine reading - written about 1931 as I recall. I havent seen Charleston since the summer of 1972, as an NROTC middie.I spent most of ny time on a sub tender but I did get to tour the historical city and the Citadel, and Lovecraft brought back a lot of good memories. He was a good travel writer -
might have been as good as Waugh had he stuck to it.
#33 KDZ,
There is a tale about Shelby Foote and Walker Percy going to visit Faulkner. Evidently Walker Percy got so nervous he waited in the car while Faulkner and Foote visited on Faulkner's front porch. I hardly spoke to Tom Fleming the first few summer schools I attended, as he was too intimidating and always surrounded by a crowd of questioners, but there was never any press to do anything but simply enjoy the talks and the atmosphere. (Which I always did to a very great and spirited degree) There are all kinds of folks at Chronicles gatherings,very much like the world itself, which makes me think if nothing else, they are at least a civilized lot to throw in with and not an exclusive club of gnostics who know the secrets of the universe. Their only equals are intelligent skeptics and those too are often present at their events. I would not worry much about attending any of their events and being bored or shy, they tend to take great care of their guests and are not at all unfamiliar with warmth of honest hospitality.
Marginalia is hard to find and costs too much for my minor interest in HPL. If you still have a copy, I would be very grateful to receive a xeroxed copy of the Guide to Charleston. Naturally, I'd be happy to pay for copying and postage.
Back in the 1980's, when I used to go to "conservative" events, it was a pleasure and an inspiration to spend time with ME Bradford, Russell Kirk, Robert Nisbet, Forrest McDonald, Thomas Molnar, and John Lukacs. I learned more from conversation with these men than I did in reading their books, and we have tried to institutionalize this informal learning process by setting up our own programs. I was fortunate, almost from the first, in having introductions from people like Prof. Wilson and Bradford, because too often at conservative and libertarian events the speakers are segregated and shielded from the hoi polloi (yes, "the," while obviously redundant, is standard English). As Robert the Okie can tell you, our policy is exactly the opposite. I should add that some of our most hoity-toity editors, Taki and Navrozov, are among the most open to strangers of all kinds. I have seen Navrozov in a bar, turn away from interesting friends who could do him some good in order to talk to a barman or salesman or, on one occasion, a woman who shopped for busy men.
A crowd of questioners? I hope this isnt true, as I had hoped if I attended a Chronicles gathering that the Rockford crew would be more accessible for more personable talk and socializing.
#38I had hoped if I attended a Chronicles gathering that the Rockford crew would be more accessible for more personable talk and socializing."
Oh yes, they are available but there are also others who attend with the same thought in mind and I was always too timid. I later discovered the best way to visit with Dr. Fleming is to offer to buy him a dry martini. Preferably Boodles (but given the right circumstances, he will drank Old Row Boat distilled from junked car radiators as well) Under this scenario, it is he who will elbow his way to the front of your line. As I said, they do not make one uncomfortable but are quite hospitable and quite available for the strong of heart.
@#37
Dr. Fleming; it was easy to find Marginalia on my dishelved bookshelves since I've always kept it in the plastic bag in which my brother sent it. The essay, apparently originally published as a brochure with a crude map, is about forty pages long, but the volume is small and I can probably copy two facing pages at once. Send me the particulars of your address at my email and I'll get it to you.
I will clearly have to reread it at leisure. I had not recalled for example from Lovecraft that the poinsetta and gardenia were named for Joel Roberts Poinsett and Alexander Garden, botanists, physicians, and in Poinsett's case, a diplomat as well. I wonder what Dr. Wilson knows about these distinguished Charlestonians? I think floral cultivation is an often unappreciated aspect of high culture.
Nor had I realized that Porgy and Bess was set in Charleston. I've listened to the songs but never seen the opera. Thank you for reminding me about Marginalia.
I often read Lovecraft stories to my grandmother every night, translating in Hindi. Now that she is staying with us again after having come back from my cousin sister's place, this ritual can resume.
I don't know how impoverished Lovecraft was, considering he had a huge personal library, unless he was giving up food and drink to buy books. And for going to Charleston.
@#41
The idea of reading Lovecraft to one's granny in Hindi is absolutely charming.
HPL inherited a fairly good library as I recall, and had access to the public and University libraries of Providence, probably excellent for their time. But he was quite poor, having a tiny private income and lodging with maiden aunts. Much of his writing
was for the alternative fanzines of the era and was uncompensated.
However he did have a knack for picking up the occasional juicy journalistic assignment. I seem to remember - though my only source
is Sprague deCamp's '70's biography - that the Charleston excursion was all expenses paid.
On What Should Be Read -- True Story (of course)
"at a cocktail party in the late ’30s a guest asked him if he had read Gone With the Wind. When he said no, the guest said, “Well, you should. It’s been out six months.” The professor then asked the guest if he had read The Divine Comedy. When the guest said no, the professor said, “Well, you should. It’s been out 600 years.”
I have to register a mild dissent from the advice to turn off the computer. I only bought my first computer in 2009. Having foolishly resisted the cyber revolution until the time had long passed for the making of easy money via e-startups, or for gaining employment from mere blogging, I find there is nothing left to do online except read. And if one sticks to the best sites and content, this is potentially richly rewarding. I am still in the beginning stage of exploring the vast resources of the web.
I think a useful distinction can be drawn between those whose education is already complete, or at least on solid footing, and those like me, whose education is characterized by yawning gaps of ignorance interrupted here and there by little atolls of knowledge. For the former, the internet would seem to have less to offer, and they may be jaded as to computer use. Another way to describe their situation vis a vis the computer is to say that the balance between what they can learn from it and what it may prevent or distract them from learning/doing is skewed toward the prevention side, while for folks like me, the situation is the reverse.
#36--Thanks for the interesting anecdote, Robert. Speaking of Walker Percy, I greatly like (and identify with) Thomas More, the protagonist of *Love in the Ruins*. It's more angst than shyness. There are three cures--God, women and alcohol. If I were a different kind of Westerner, I would add horses.
Notice that these are all mainly solitary pursuits.
KDZ
"There are three cures–God, women and alcohol."
To take a line from King Lear, "Thou art the thing itself, thou art a man.!"
Further to my comment of 4 November above: Of course, one has to have the will power to keep away from the brain candy and filth, or all bets are off as to who may benefit most from the net. There are always better options available to anyone who looks for them, but in this regard, the awareness of the incompleteness of one's education should be an advantage, providing a stronger sting to the conscience to get going on filling in the gaps.