Did I note that the No Left Turn blog ended in May? Probably not. I used to read it regularly, back when I first started graduate school and was still disentangling myself from neoconservatism/the Nationalist Myth/and the Yankee mindset. I eventually stopped reading it. I've substituted "My Blog List" and "Favorite Websites" for the "Items of Interests" posts, though I may still produce some from time to time. How many of these websites and blogs will still be relevant to me in 5 or 10 years?
I will try to finish up some posts on political theory and communitarianism and the lay vocation, but soon I will be taking a break from blogging in order to focus on more important projects. We'll see if that time away will enhance my ability to write and research.
Apparently IE8 is no longer supported by Blogger, so I've switched to Chrome as the back-up, casual browser.
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Coming home...
After a rather pleasant respite in Texas with Sarge (about which I should finish writing today), I flew home last night. I went to BJ's in San Bruno last night after being picked up at the airport, and a lot of the aspiring proles were there, wearing their Giants clothing. Do they have any cares about current events? Yesterday's SCOTUS "ruling"? It is good that they are able to enjoy the company of friends and conversation. Can't fault them for that, though they could be rather noisy and obnoxious.
Is that much attention to a professional sports team really valuable in itself? For the men it seems more a misplacement of group loyalty and affection that should be properly exercised towards an personal group. And the female sports fans... how many of them are so because they think this is how they need to behave in order to curry favor and attention from males? One sees a lot of female profiles on OkCupid proclaiming how important being a spectator and following some sports team is to them.
Links:
Thomas Fleming, Scotus v. The United States
Pat Buchanan reviews Paul Gottfried's book on Leo Strauss.
Jack Donovan, Masculinity & Master Morality
Dr. Helen, Do Boys ‘Swagger’? And What Does that Mean?
A new book wants to teach boys not to "swagger." If swaggering is a sign of rebellion, I say, "bring it on."
CH, Never Listen To A Feminist’s Opinion About Helping Boys
Peak Oil:
Commentary: America’s new energy reality - A bidding war for declining global net oil exports
by Jeffrey J. Brown
Take-home messages from ASPO 2012 conference in Europe by Christian Kerschner (EB)
Doug Hanvey, Letting go
Is that much attention to a professional sports team really valuable in itself? For the men it seems more a misplacement of group loyalty and affection that should be properly exercised towards an personal group. And the female sports fans... how many of them are so because they think this is how they need to behave in order to curry favor and attention from males? One sees a lot of female profiles on OkCupid proclaiming how important being a spectator and following some sports team is to them.
Links:
Thomas Fleming, Scotus v. The United States
Pat Buchanan reviews Paul Gottfried's book on Leo Strauss.
Jack Donovan, Masculinity & Master Morality
Dr. Helen, Do Boys ‘Swagger’? And What Does that Mean?
A new book wants to teach boys not to "swagger." If swaggering is a sign of rebellion, I say, "bring it on."
CH, Never Listen To A Feminist’s Opinion About Helping Boys
Peak Oil:
Commentary: America’s new energy reality - A bidding war for declining global net oil exports
by Jeffrey J. Brown
Take-home messages from ASPO 2012 conference in Europe by Christian Kerschner (EB)
Doug Hanvey, Letting go
Monday, June 25, 2012
SCOTUS rules on AZ immigration law
Supreme Court upholds key part of Arizona immigration law, strikes down rest
Aaron Wolf, Paesano, Go Home
Tim Stanley, Supreme Court says reducing illegal immigration remains a federal duty. But what if Obama won't do it?
Immigration, Preemption, Arizona, and Scalia's dissenting opinion
The Supreme Court upheld a key part of Arizona's tough anti-illegal immigration law in a 5-3 decision on Monday that allows police officers to ask about immigration status during stops. That part of the law, which never went into effect because of court challenges, will now immediately be enforced in Arizona. Other parts of the law, including a provision that made it a state crime for illegal immigrants to seek work, will remain blocked, as the justices affirmed the federal government's supremacy over immigration policy.
Justice Anthony Kennedy, the court's swing vote, wrote the opinion, and was joined by Chief Justice John Roberts, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer and Sonia Sotomayor. Conservative Justices Antonin Scalia, Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas partially dissented, saying the entire law should have been upheld.
Aaron Wolf, Paesano, Go Home
Tim Stanley, Supreme Court says reducing illegal immigration remains a federal duty. But what if Obama won't do it?
Immigration, Preemption, Arizona, and Scalia's dissenting opinion
The replacement for SGA
NLM: New Catholic High School to Offer Traditional, Cultural Education with the Liturgy at its Heart by David Clayton
The school's website.
How is Chavagnes doing?
The school's website.
How is Chavagnes doing?
Sunday, June 24, 2012
Sandro Magister, Religious Illiteracy. The First to Send Back to School Are the Adults
Many bishops and priests think the decline of faith is to be resolved by wagering on the very young. This is a serious mistake, objects Professor Pietro De Marco: it will be the adults who decide the success or failure of the upcoming Year of Faith. The case of Italy
Many bishops and priests think the decline of faith is to be resolved by wagering on the very young. This is a serious mistake, objects Professor Pietro De Marco: it will be the adults who decide the success or failure of the upcoming Year of Faith. The case of Italy
Augustinian Localism?
Augustinian Reflections on Love and Localism by A.J. DeBonis
I still need to read through City of God all the way through...
I still need to read through City of God all the way through...
McAllister on Robert Nisbet and Communitarianism
Ted McAllister, Toward a New Form of Laissez-Faire
At the heart of Dionne’s framing of American conservatism is a deep confusion about the meaning of community and communitarianism. Indeed, the distance between Nisbet’s and Dionne’s species of communitarianism is greater than that separating Dionne and his contemporary Republican targets—the label supplies a convenient cover to hide vast differences in meaning. Left communitarians envision communities organized by government and having as their moral justification the public crusade against private vices. At the heart of this vision of community is the protection of the individual from social forms of authority—family, church, or any number of local and face-to-face social networks—in order for individuals to stand as equal clients before the state. This liberated individual is educated by the state and toward the ideals of the state; is provided extensive protections through laws and bureaucratic regulations against any and all non-governmental institutions; and is supplied with economic and health protections by the state. The state as community becomes an expression of the will of the “people” and the individuals of this political community are supplied with the meaning of this public will through the therapeutic and coercive means of the state
If contemporary Progressives dismiss this characterization of their vision of community, it is worth noting how frequently they rhetorically conflate “society” and government and how much they think of government institutions as serving public purposes despite having no meaningful public (non-administrative) check on their function (public schools are the best example of this as government schools are responsible to state-level administrators rather than local citizens—the very people they presumably serve). Consider how often these Progressives speak of government (public) in terms of community values that private institutions threaten. For all Progressives, the attack on “individualism” is really an attack on economic systems that are insufficiently regulated or controlled on the belief that private individuals and institutions ought to be checked by public power in the service of the public good. For this species of communitarian, community really means public provision and public virtues should always be understood in contrast to private vices
Against this conception of community Robert Nisbet took his stand. Rather than the state being the remedy for individualism, Nisbet understood the state to be a major cause for that atomization of modern life. While many other forces have eroded the complex network of social institutions to which people had loyalty and in which they could develop their distinctiveness, since World War I the destruction of mediating institutions has been overwhelmingly a project of the state. The modern presumption of the ethical superiority of the state over society (as well as over more localized forms of government) has spurred a relentlessly more bureaucratic, more centralized, and a more legal-centric political community. Such a conception of community can only develop when the mediating institutions have been pulverized, leaving individuals separate and apart, equal and vulnerable. Political community is not the solution to individualism but the perverse expression of deracinated citizens
However much the rise of the political community in the West was the product of a monistic political vision that wished to transform all human relationships into equal, interchangeable, and legal or contractual relationships and sought to impose a socially just and equal distribution of goods and power on the public, the project of a political community must rest on public resources to satisfy the demands of the citizens. At some point in the development of a political community it must cease being essentially political and become administrative. An administrative state retains legitimacy only insofar as it has the economic resources to satisfy its citizens. Once the state has reached this stage it cannot easily tap into the patriotic sentiments of the people since they have largely separated from the institutions that supply them with the values, purposes, and higher goals that loyalty and patriotism produce. When disconnected from relationships that require small and regular duties and when people become undifferentiated individuals who stand equally before the administrative state, citizens turn into clients.
Saturday, June 23, 2012
Ignatius Press announces forthcoming release of the film, "Restless Heart"
Another dubbed foreign movie. Accurate with respect to the details and costumes? I have doubts about Augustine's mitre.
Another dubbed foreign movie. Accurate with respect to the details and costumes? I have doubts about Augustine's mitre.
Why shouldn't Americans read the Declaration of Independence?
WWWTW: July 4th: Reading the Delcaration
"On the 4th we celebrate our independence, and the birthday of our polity, the United States of America."
Polity? Or a group of polities, united at first only in their separation from Great Britain? After all, the Articles of Confederation were not approved by the Continental Congress until 1777 and ratified in 1781. It is precisely confusion like this about the states, their sovereignty, and the nature of the two federal governments that makes me wonder how useful reading the Declaration of Independence would be for most Uhmericans.
A bit early for Independence Day grumbling... but I may go see the fireworks this year!
M. E. Bradford, Reading the Declaration: Reconsidering the Kendall Thesis (pdf)
Is the American Experience Conservative?
More on Bradford:
Southern Cross by David Gordon
Forrest McDonald’s Remarks about Mel Bradford
Philadelphia Society 47th National Meeting
Dallas, Texas, April 2, 2011
James McClellan, Defending the High Ground: The Legacy of M.E. Bradford (pdf)
The Late, Great Mel Bradford on the Constitution
"On the 4th we celebrate our independence, and the birthday of our polity, the United States of America."
Polity? Or a group of polities, united at first only in their separation from Great Britain? After all, the Articles of Confederation were not approved by the Continental Congress until 1777 and ratified in 1781. It is precisely confusion like this about the states, their sovereignty, and the nature of the two federal governments that makes me wonder how useful reading the Declaration of Independence would be for most Uhmericans.
A bit early for Independence Day grumbling... but I may go see the fireworks this year!
M. E. Bradford, Reading the Declaration: Reconsidering the Kendall Thesis (pdf)
Is the American Experience Conservative?
More on Bradford:
Southern Cross by David Gordon
Forrest McDonald’s Remarks about Mel Bradford
Philadelphia Society 47th National Meeting
Dallas, Texas, April 2, 2011
James McClellan, Defending the High Ground: The Legacy of M.E. Bradford (pdf)
The Late, Great Mel Bradford on the Constitution
Fortnight for Freedom
Went to Atonement today; experienced the Anglican Use again. At the end of the Mass there were some prayers for religious liberty; one of the prayers seemed inspired by the Pledge of Allegiance. Were these prayers composed as a part of the Fortnight for Freedom Campaign. Does the campaign go beyond necessary political rhetoric into an actual endorsement of the errors of modern democracy and liberalism?
Fortnight for Freedom: Why Now? by José H. Gomez
Launching the Fortnight for Freedom by Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap.
Fortnight for Freedom: Why Now? by José H. Gomez
Launching the Fortnight for Freedom by Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap.
Friday, June 22, 2012
Subversive enough to be non-feminist?
Steven D. Greydanus's review of Brave. Movie Spoiler. The main character learns some lessons, but does she embrace a more traditional role and attitude at the end of the movie? It isn't merely that she starts off as an exemplar of the "kids smart, adults dumb" attitude (that SDG points out is a popular theme in children's movies), but she represents girl power.
Chet Richards, Is 4GW magnifique?
"Summary: FM writer Chet Richards (Colonel, USAF, retired) describes what our military refuses to see, that 4GW has become the dominate form of warfare in our age. That others are mastering it, while we spend vast sums preparing for wars that will not occur again during our lives. And, like all war, 4GW is Hell. See the links at the end for more information."
"Summary: FM writer Chet Richards (Colonel, USAF, retired) describes what our military refuses to see, that 4GW has become the dominate form of warfare in our age. That others are mastering it, while we spend vast sums preparing for wars that will not occur again during our lives. And, like all war, 4GW is Hell. See the links at the end for more information."
Thursday, June 21, 2012
Complementarian Loners: Death by Pedagogy: A Teacher’s Polemic Against Institutional Learning
The post provides the embedded video for the following lecture by John Taylor Gatto:
The post provides the embedded video for the following lecture by John Taylor Gatto:
In Praise of Leisure by Robert Skidelsky and Edward Skidelsky (via FT)
Bred into "us"? Seems like the authors are speaking for the few. Most were probably unwilling drones who were forced by circumstances and need to become wage slaves. Those who are the more enthusiastic participants tend to have upper middle class aspirations or higher. Without the destruction of community in the first place there would be no meritocracy of the sort lamented by the writers at FPR.
Alas, the authors remain believers in some sort of growth (which presumes cheap energy and a plentiful supply of natural resources which can be wasted):
The irony, however, is that now that we have at last achieved abundance, the habits bred into us by capitalism have left us incapable of enjoying it properly. The Devil, it seems, has claimed his reward. Can we evade this fate? Perhaps, but only if we can retrieve from centuries of neglect and distortion the idea of a good life, a life sufficient unto itself. Here we must draw on the rich storehouse of premodern wisdom, Occidental and Oriental.
Opposition to the growth juggernaut has gathered pace in recent years. Growth, say critics, is not only failing to make us happier; it is also environmentally disastrous. Both claims may well be true, but they fail to capture our deeper objection to endless growth, which is that it is senseless. To found our case against growth on the fact that it is damaging to happiness or the environment is to invite our opponents to show that it is not, in fact, damaging in those ways—an invitation they have been quick to take up. The whole argument then disappears down an academic cul-de-sac. The point to keep in mind is that we know, prior to anything scientists or statisticians can tell us, that the unending pursuit of wealth is madness.
Bred into "us"? Seems like the authors are speaking for the few. Most were probably unwilling drones who were forced by circumstances and need to become wage slaves. Those who are the more enthusiastic participants tend to have upper middle class aspirations or higher. Without the destruction of community in the first place there would be no meritocracy of the sort lamented by the writers at FPR.
Alas, the authors remain believers in some sort of growth (which presumes cheap energy and a plentiful supply of natural resources which can be wasted):
In discussing our ideas with friends and acquaintances, we find that several objections have cropped up regularly. The first concerns timing. "Now, of all moments," we are told, "is not the time to be talking about an end to growth. Wouldn't Keynes himself, were he alive, urge us to resume growth as rapidly as possible in order to bring down unemployment and pay off government debt?" We do not dispute this. But we need to distinguish between short-term policies for recovery after the worst depression since the 1930s, and long-term policies for realizing the good life.
It is rather humid in Houston! Arrived later than I expected, and it was raining when I stepped out of the baggage claim area. The downpour got worse! Had lunch at Guadalajara - ate too many chips! I will need some time to recover when I get back. Went to a Merrell outlet store after lunch; it didn't have a wide selection of shoes. I'll have to go to the store in SF and see if the wide shoes are available there. Took a nap after we came back and later Sarge and I took a walk near his apartment.
Houston seems to be a good example of Uhmerican sprawl.
Houston seems to be a good example of Uhmerican sprawl.
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Monday, June 18, 2012
Saw a lot of Father's Day greetings on FB yesterday. A lot of them were from aspiring celebs or women in a certain industry and many included greetings for single moms.
Did they do the same for single fathers on Mother's Day? I don't think so.
GL Piggy: Baggage Claim and Single Mothers Day
Rational Male: Daddy Issues
Vox on Brave
Did they do the same for single fathers on Mother's Day? I don't think so.
GL Piggy: Baggage Claim and Single Mothers Day
Rational Male: Daddy Issues
Vox on Brave
Coming to Don Quioxte's
Schedule
Windy Hill
Blackberry Bushes String Band
Windy Hill plus Blackberry Bushes String Band
Tue. July 3 at 7:30pm $10 adv./$13 door seated <21 w/parent Windy Hill: It's immediately evident at a Windy Hill show that the band is excited about bluegrass music and have big fun picking and singing. They're becoming increasingly well-known and are winning awards for their entertaining performances. Windy Hill began years ago as an idea in a wood shop class, where two 17-year-old friends sat around their workstation sanding their projects and talking about live music. They discovered a mutual love for the traditional sounds of Bill Monroe, Carter Stanley, and Jimmy Martin. The Blackberry Bushes Stringband were a big hit at the Strawberry Music Festival, selling a boatload of CDs. They hail from the rain-drenched forests of Olympia, Washington. They take a bluegrass instrumentation, draw from the deep roots of American folk music and add influences from Bluegrass, Appalachian old-time, and Indie Rock, to jazz, pop and Alt. Country. "Their blend of traditional Bluegrass and Folk elements with more contemporary sounds has an appeal not seen since Nickel Creek or The Be Good Tanyas." Joseph Kyle; The Big Takeover.
Windy Hill
Blackberry Bushes String Band
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