February 26, 2014
— Ace I'm not going to extensively quote these pieces; if you're interested, you'll read them.
Ed Driscoll summarizes a current discussion, sparked by Peggy Noonan, about the decadence of our "elites" -- our political elites, our financial elites.
Noonan's piece takes political elites -- Congressmen -- to task for using their time to film themselves repeating the most cynical and evil lines from House of Cards. She also takes financial elites for their Kappa Beta Phi secret fraternity, one meeting of which was just infiltrated by a reporter, who of course writes about it breathlessly.
She faults both groups for highlighting their cynicism about the system they serve -- Congressmen, by having great fun in speaking the evil Frank Underwood's Machiavelli-on-Bath-Salts philosophy, and the Titans of Wall Street, for putting on skits and musical parodies (sometimes in drag-- eek!) in which they make various cynical statements about just calling on "The Fed" should they get into trouble again, or dreaming of their seven-figure bonuses.
The Hannah Arendt Center explores a historical example of the Decadence of the Elites, the Weimar Republic's embrace of The Three Penny Opera. Apparently this was contrary to the author's, Brecht's, intent, as he intended it to be horrifying. Instead, it was greeted with laughs. (I have no earthly idea if this is true; I am second-hand reporting what I've just read.)
Here are some of Noonan's observations:
“House of Cards” very famously does nothing to enhance Washington’s reputation. It reinforces the idea that the capital has no room for clean people. The earnest, the diligent, the idealistic, they have no place there. Why would powerful members of Congress align themselves with this message? Why do they become part of it? I guess they think they’re showing they’re in on the joke and hip to the culture. I guess they think they’re impressing people with their surprising groovelocity.Or maybe they’re just stupid.
But itÂ’s all vaguely decadent, no? Or maybe not vaguely. America sees Washington as the capital of vacant, empty souls, chattering among the pillars. Suggesting this perception is valid is helpful in what way?
...
ItÂ’s all supposed to be amusing, supposed to show youÂ’re an insider who sees right through this town. But IÂ’m not sure it shows that.
We’re at a funny point in our political culture. To have judgment is to be an elitist. To have dignity is to be yesterday. To have standards is to be a hypocrite—you won’t always meet standards even when they’re your own, so why have them?
* * *
And all of it feels so decadent.No one wants to be the earnest outsider now, no one wants to play the sober steward, no one wants to be the grind, the guy carrying around a cross of dignity. No one wants to be accused of being staid. No one wants to say, “This isn’t good for the country, and it isn’t good for our profession.”
...
TheyÂ’re all kind of running America.
They all seem increasingly decadent.
What are the implications of this, do you think?
...
[Y]ou see these little clips on the Net where the wealthy sing about how great taxpayer bailouts are and you feel like . . . theyÂ’re laughing at you.
What happens to a nation whose elites laugh at its citizens?
What happens to its elites?
Okay so some people probably like Noonan's general anti-"elite" message. I usually respond to this kind of message-- but not this one.
Here's my problem:
I wonder if the titans of Wall Street understand how they look in this.At least they tried to keep it secret. That was good of them!
...
All of this is supposed to be merry, high-jinksy, unpretentious, wickedly self-spoofing. But it seems more self-exposing, doesnÂ’t it?
And all of it feels so decadent.
Don't they know how frivolous they look when they behave frivolously?
I don't dig this idea that we must maintain what is essentially a Corporate Rulebook Code of Conduct in our individual lives at each and every moment, including our private ones.
While Peggy Noonan gets knocked a lot for her politics, one thing I like is her actual writing style. She manages to convey a tone of seriousness while nevertheless remaining graceful and light, and she does this through (read her closely) a wonderful rhythm of her sentences.
But having praised Noonan's writing, let me say next: She has never been funny. I'm not sure she even tries. If she's attempted forays into irony, dark humor, gallows humor, or sardonic bite, I don't know them.
She is usually fairly earnest. And I like that. I like the earnest mode of expression. I use it myself. I'm using it now. To the extent I criticize people on the earnestness vs. sarcasm front, it's usually telling people to stop trying to make everything into a sarcastic one-liner, and occasionally attempt the novel innovation of the Simple Declarative Sentence.
But while I certainly respect the earnest mode of expression, I often get the feeling that those who only write in that mode do not at all respect the ironic mode of expression. I see things claimed like "You shouldn't even say that!," as if saying something with obvious ironic intent was close enough to actual endorsement as to be worthy of forbiddance.
There was a young kid, back in 2004 or so I think, who wrote a book called "The End of Irony" or something like that, basically calling the entire mode of expression worthless and ready for the rubbish bin.
Now I do think that the Wall Street guys, in their sketches, reveal some truth. Jokes -- dark jokes, gallows humor -- is often used as means of revealing a truth which would be unpalatable or unacceptable were it expressed by any direct means. People prefer a distancing lens for their harsh truths.
So when the Wall Street guys say something along the lines of having The Fed in their pocket-- I do take that as a kidding-on-the-square admission that perhaps they have far too much pull with the Fed, to the point where even they are uncomfortable with it, and have to express this discomfort through a joke.
I would say the same thing about the Congresspeople delighting in Frank Underwood's cynical lines-- I'm sure these people are fully aware of the hypocrisies of high public office, and feel that parroting Kevin Spacey's line is a "safe" way to express this.
So I'd take this all as somewhat meaningful. I'd look into it. I'd add this data to the vague pile of Things I Think I Suspect I Know.
But I hate this idea that we're all supposed to act like Boy Scouts, or Corporate Spokesman Representing an Important Family-Friendly Brand, at literally every moment of every day.
Humans are built this way. They're not made to be Feel-Good Pro-Social Messaging Machines. At least not every hour of every day, even in their private moments. Even in their stupid-sketch-revues in their secret-society-parties. Some people would go crazy if they were compelled to utter nothing but Positive and Affirming Messages all day. I think I'm one of them.
If Noonan can manage this, even in her private conversations when she thinks no one's watching, well, I guess that's... good?
But I don't want to live under this standard, where the entire world is ready, willing, and eager to patrol my private sardonic, sarcastic, obviously not seriously intended statements for any deviation away from the Corporate Rulebook Code of Proper Employee Conduct.
We have to give each other some space for humanity here, for crying out loud.
I guess what I'm saying is I'm far more worried about actual corruption and self-dealing among Congressmen and Wall Street guys than I am about them making gallows humor jokes about such things.
It's the actual corruption and self-dealing that would be a concern, not their expression about it, nor their lack of concern about "how it looks."
Doctors have a famously cynical saying:
"You're not really a doctor until you've killed your first patient."
Does that make them monsters? Do doctors despise life, and laugh about the loss of it?
Of course not. It's a dark joke they tell to cope with the unsettling fact that many patients will die under their care, and some of those patients will die because they screwed up.
Most occupations have a risk of bad outcomes if the practitioner errs. Doctors, soldiers, cops, firefighters, and EMTs are the workers whose screw-ups result in actual human deaths.
So yes, I'd expect each of these professions to have crafted some dark, cynical humor about the deadly stakes of their occupations.
And no, I wouldn't assume that every casual soldier-joke about killing someone accidentally is actually proof that the soldier is indifferent to killing someone accidentally.
I'd assume it was a joke. Gallows humor, and not the sort of thing that would play outside the profession, but within the profession, a commonplace method of dealing with uncomfortable truths.
The New Yorker article about infiltrating the Wall Street Kappa Beta Phi party contains this statement:
Whenever IÂ’d interviewed CEOs and chairmen at big Wall Street firms, they were always too guarded, too on-message and wrapped in media-relations armor to reveal anything interesting about the psychology of the ultra-wealthy.
Well! I guess now you know why they've made themselves into boring robots who won't tell you anything at all except to quote from the Corporate Guide to Media Relations. Because the moment they get a little real, get a little human, get a little raunchy, get a little I-don't-give-an-eff, you make a federal case about it.
But you already knew that, right?
I just wonder how many of these Secular Saints who push for this kind of absolutist zero-tolerance rule regarding any edgy or Non-Corporate-Approved Messaging could possibly survive under that regime if they themselves were put under this kind of scrutiny, this kind of Talmudic searching of every word, inflection, and metaphor for Hidden Evils.
Posted by: Ace at
03:00 PM
| Comments (313)
Post contains 1679 words, total size 11 kb.
Posted by: Donkey at February 26, 2014 03:03 PM (Ggh94)
Posted by: Soothsayer at February 26, 2014 03:03 PM (P9okB)
Posted by: ace at February 26, 2014 03:04 PM (/FnUH)
Posted by: artisanal 'ette at February 26, 2014 03:05 PM (IXrOn)
Posted by: Truck Monkey, Gruntled New Business Owner at February 26, 2014 03:05 PM (jucos)
Posted by: FenelonSpoke at February 26, 2014 03:05 PM (XyM/Y)
:-)
Posted by: redc1c4 at February 26, 2014 03:06 PM (q+fqH)
Posted by: garrett at February 26, 2014 03:06 PM (XK+Gj)
Posted by: Bearded Spock, ISS Enterprise at February 26, 2014 03:07 PM (aTXUx)
Posted by: Lazy Conspiracy Theorists at February 26, 2014 03:07 PM (Llc5n)
Posted by: redc1c4 at February 26, 2014 03:07 PM (q+fqH)
Posted by: gp at February 26, 2014 03:08 PM (mk9aG)
Posted by: Soothsayer at February 26, 2014 03:08 PM (P9okB)
Posted by: Adam at February 26, 2014 03:09 PM (Aif/5)
Posted by: LizLem at February 26, 2014 03:09 PM (BF+2f)
Posted by: Seamus Muldoon at February 26, 2014 03:10 PM (g4TxM)
heh.
But, I didn't care.
Posted by: artisanal 'ette at February 26, 2014 07:05 PM (IXrOn)
Was Jeff B defending the honor of Dame Peggy?
Posted by: Captain Hate at February 26, 2014 03:10 PM (FQEMb)
Posted by: toby928© embraces tribalism at February 26, 2014 03:11 PM (QupBk)
Posted by: Soothsayer at February 26, 2014 03:11 PM (P9okB)
Think what the consequences of a movie review triple post would have been
Posted by: kbdabear at February 26, 2014 03:11 PM (aTXUx)
No, the barbarians were hard working and full of energy. The barbarians now are couch-reclining, slave-owning grape-eaters. I can't say for sure what we are.
Posted by: pep at February 26, 2014 03:11 PM (6TB1Z)
What if it falls into the wrong hands?
Even if we save one child.
Posted by: Village Idiot's Apprentice at February 26, 2014 03:11 PM (DPkKe)
Posted by: huerfano at February 26, 2014 03:11 PM (bAGA/)
How about just making like you're trying to be a little more boy-scouty today? I'd happily settle for that. Of course no one can do it all day every day, but we're supposed to act like it's a bad thing, not funny.
Posted by: Wysiwyg Mtwzzyzx at February 26, 2014 03:12 PM (dVRJb)
Posted by: kbdabear at February 26, 2014 07:11 PM
The blog would have tipped over
Posted by: Rep Hank Johnson at February 26, 2014 03:12 PM (aTXUx)
Posted by: Joe (@wearalljoenow) at February 26, 2014 03:12 PM (nPdWs)
Posted by: Vic[/i] at February 26, 2014 03:13 PM (T2V/1)
Posted by: Seamus Muldoon at February 26, 2014 03:13 PM (g4TxM)
Posted by: Dr Spank at February 26, 2014 03:13 PM (hn70M)
Posted by: Sheila Jackson Lee at February 26, 2014 03:14 PM (Aif/5)
Besides, they'll have to take teh boobehs from my cold dead hands
Posted by: kbdabear at February 26, 2014 03:14 PM (aTXUx)
We’re at a funny point in our political culture. To have judgment is to be an elitist. To have dignity is to be yesterday. To have standards is to be a hypocrite—you won’t always meet standards even when they’re your own, so why have them? * * * And all of it feels so decadent. No one wants to be the earnest outsider now, no one wants to play the sober steward, no one wants to be the grind, the guy carrying around a cross of dignity. No one wants to be accused of being staid. No one wants to say, “This isn’t good for the country, and it isn’t good for our profession.”
Alfred P. Doolitle had a perfect name for it: middle class morality. And yes, nowadays it is so bougey. The trappings of the square is hip, not the values. And our country's the poorer for it.
Posted by: LizLem at February 26, 2014 03:14 PM (BF+2f)
Posted by: Soothsayer at February 26, 2014 03:14 PM (P9okB)
Posted by: shredded chi at February 26, 2014 03:14 PM (Ntnpb)
Posted by: Zombie Chester W. Nimitz, author of numerous WWII diaries at February 26, 2014 03:14 PM (3kFw2)
Posted by: Seamus Muldoon at February 26, 2014 03:15 PM (g4TxM)
Posted by: thunderb at February 26, 2014 03:15 PM (zOTsN)
Posted by: Freaked Out! at February 26, 2014 03:16 PM (JdEZJ)
Posted by: YIKES! at February 26, 2014 03:17 PM (mETGQ)
Posted by: Phillip Seymour Hoffman at February 26, 2014 03:17 PM (Q6pxP)
Posted by: CrotchetyOldJarhead at February 26, 2014 03:17 PM (60Vyp)
I do not view wall streeters as having any particular responsibility to the public at large. They are not on the public tit, so they are like anyone else in the private sector.
Posted by: Anon Y. Mous at February 26, 2014 03:17 PM (IN7k+)
Posted by: pep at February 26, 2014 07:11 PM (6TB1Z)"
====================
Beneficiaries of the scientific method and modern technology. Once the people who are capable of understanding/utilizing those tools are gone, crowded out by the sub-100 IQ crowd, the world will sink back into what it always was before, i.e. a giant pile of shit and death.
Posted by: Sudden Clarity Clarence at February 26, 2014 03:17 PM (3kFw2)
Posted by: Soothsayer at February 26, 2014 03:19 PM (P9okB)
Posted by: ace at February 26, 2014 03:19 PM (/FnUH)
Posted by: Meremortal at February 26, 2014 03:19 PM (1Y+hH)
Posted by: thunderb at February 26, 2014 03:20 PM (zOTsN)
Conflicting trends. In the next 50 years, we'll have designer babies whether the law says we can or not. It is inevitable. So that trend will fight the demographic entropy we're now seeing. Which will win? Who knows, but it will determine the fate of mankind.
Posted by: pep at February 26, 2014 03:21 PM (6TB1Z)
Where I take issue with your analysis, and it is a minor issue, is that the reason this seems so awful is because the cynicism and the irony and the entire notion of Our Betters being in charge is the rule, not the exception. Even the humor is all wink wink nudge nudge see how knowing and cynical and hip to the kids' jive we are. This isn't making fun of thinking you're the Master of the Universe, this is reveling in it.
It's not viewed as letting off steam, it's viewed as a window into the true feelings of those who are, in fact, in charge of our lives. That's why it rankles so.
There's a reason why The Hunger Games resonates so, after all.
Posted by: alexthechick - SMOD, you taunty bitch. at February 26, 2014 03:21 PM (Gk3SS)
No, the Barbarians are inside the wire. Right....fucking...now.
Posted by: tu3031 at February 26, 2014 03:21 PM (nsQhi)
Posted by: blaster at February 26, 2014 03:21 PM (e+i3Q)
Posted by: Seamus Muldoon at February 26, 2014 03:22 PM (g4TxM)
upon review, it was marked down to 4.20...
Posted by: redc1c4 at February 26, 2014 03:22 PM (q+fqH)
Posted by: toby928© embraces tribalism at February 26, 2014 03:22 PM (QupBk)
Posted by: thunderb at February 26, 2014 03:23 PM (zOTsN)
Posted by: ace at February 26, 2014 03:23 PM (/FnUH)
Posted by: toby928© embraces tribalism at February 26, 2014 03:23 PM (QupBk)
►►Doctors have a famously cynical saying:
►►"You're not really a doctor until you've killed your first patient."►►Does that make them monsters? Do doctors despise life, and laugh about the loss of it?
I would be very troubled by a doctor that told that joke to all his patients. I can appreciate humor in the trenches, by those who are in the trenches to each other. But when it comes to elected officials doing the same thing in public, I fail to see the humor.
Posted by: Anon Y. Mous at February 26, 2014 03:23 PM (IN7k+)
What I think bothers Ms Noonan is when those examples are put in context to the secrets she knows, the talk she hears that she either cannot or will not ever share with her readers
In the movie "Falling Down", it wasn't any one of those things in everyday life that he found abhorrent that blew his gasket, it was an accumulation of them in the context of a man who had lost his job and his marriage
Posted by: kbdabear at February 26, 2014 03:23 PM (aTXUx)
Posted by: LGW at February 26, 2014 03:24 PM (+BmfA)
Really ace? You used sarcasm to discourage sarcasm? Ohhhh The irony!!!
Posted by: MikeTheMoose Laughing Maniacally While Throwing Matches. at February 26, 2014 03:25 PM (0q2P7)
Posted by: Aggressive Micropenis at February 26, 2014 03:25 PM (LHgfw)
"But I hate this idea that we're all supposed to act like Boy Scouts, or Corporate Spokesman Representing an Important Family-Friendly Brand, at literally every moment of every day"
_____________________
yeah, but as someone said at least a try every once in while from our elected officials would be nice.
As far as Pegs writing style I agree with ace. It's actually really good, not to say that it means much sometimes, it has a certain smmoth eloquent flo
Posted by: The Jackhole at February 26, 2014 03:25 PM (nTgAI)
Posted by: thunderb at February 26, 2014 03:25 PM (zOTsN)
Posted by: SpongeBobSaget at February 26, 2014 03:25 PM (kxSZr)
Posted by: ace at February 26, 2014 03:25 PM (/FnUH)
Posted by: [/i]andycanuck[/b] at February 26, 2014 03:26 PM (Eiwo7)
But they develop that black humor to cope with all the horrors that they see on the job that few of us could imagine
Posted by: kbdabear at February 26, 2014 03:26 PM (aTXUx)
Posted by: Hrothgar at February 26, 2014 03:26 PM (o3MSL)
Posted by: Soothsayer at February 26, 2014 03:26 PM (P9okB)
Posted by: pep at February 26, 2014 07:21 PM (6TB1Z)
================
Obviously, I hope you're right. I agree, this is for "all the marbles" for a long, long time to come.
Posted by: Sudden Clarity Clarence at February 26, 2014 03:26 PM (3kFw2)
Posted by: AmishDude at February 26, 2014 03:27 PM (xSegX)
Posted by: Soothsayer at February 26, 2014 03:27 PM (P9okB)
Posted by: toby928© embraces tribalism at February 26, 2014 03:28 PM (QupBk)
Posted by: grammie winger at February 26, 2014 03:28 PM (oMKp3)
Besides, comedy ain't pretty, boys and girls. That's what makes it funny. Get it? No? Then, shut up.
A guy walks into a bar. Bartender says, "Hey, why the long face?"
Guy says, "I'm an alcoholic and it's destroying my family."
That's funny. I wouldn't tell it to my clients in a meeting. I'd tell it in a bar, or at my buddy's picnic, though. Doesn't mean I hate horses or drunks or anything, it's just weirdly funny.
Even funnier, get this...
Guy walks into a bar owned by horses. Bartender says, hey, why the short face?
Gawd. I can't even TYPE that without cracking up. God Bless, and Good Night.
Posted by: rick at February 26, 2014 03:28 PM (snYrg)
Posted by: ace at February 26, 2014 03:29 PM (/FnUH)
Posted by: NCwoof at February 26, 2014 03:29 PM (aUQgu)
Posted by: Dack Thrombosis at February 26, 2014 03:29 PM (oFCZn)
Posted by: ace at February 26, 2014 03:30 PM (/FnUH)
Posted by: blaster at February 26, 2014 03:30 PM (e+i3Q)
Posted by: Seamus Muldoon at February 26, 2014 03:30 PM (g4TxM)
Posted by: Niedermeyer's Dead Horse at February 26, 2014 03:30 PM (DmNpO)
Posted by: thunderb at February 26, 2014 03:31 PM (zOTsN)
Posted by: elite bill clinton at February 26, 2014 03:32 PM (WCnJW)
Posted by: ace at February 26, 2014 03:32 PM (/FnUH)
The HouseÂ’s real-life majority whip, Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) appears in the video....
Dear Kevin:
The California Republican Party is near extinction, with the Democrats holding every Statewide office, a 2/3rd majority in both State Houses, both Senate seats and a punishing majority of the state's delegation to the House of Representatives.
So if you've got the spare time to dick around, how about dealing with that instead? M'kay?
Posted by: Laurie David's Cervix at February 26, 2014 03:33 PM (kdS6q)
Posted by: thunderb at February 26, 2014 03:33 PM (zOTsN)
Posted by: Niedermeyer's Dead Horse at February 26, 2014 03:33 PM (DmNpO)
that *may* keep her deteriorating writing career
on life support.
Posted by: NCwoof at February 26, 2014 03:33 PM (aUQgu)
Posted by: Erowmero at February 26, 2014 03:34 PM (OONaw)
Let's face it: We knew these people were pretty smug about being in the catbird seat without these new inputs.
Personally, I'll just go on the record and admit this, but if I'm ever powerful, I will be smug about it. Oh I'll hide it some. I have a humble streak.
But inside? Smug.
Posted by: ace at February 26, 2014 07:23 PM (/FnUH)
I think we're actually saying the same thing. Of course they think like that. It's blindingly obvious they do. Crap like this is just rubbing our noses in it.
I still agree with your main point, I was just finding nits to pick because I love the sound of my own typing.
Posted by: alexthechick - SMOD, you taunty bitch. at February 26, 2014 03:34 PM (Gk3SS)
Then there is that doc in Kansas, challenging Pat Roberts for the Senate seat, who is being raked over the coals for posting snarkily on Facebook about his favorite pathology photos.
Then again, that chick making fun of the sign at the Tomb Of The Unknown Soldier got what was coming to her; i.e. fired.
The line is kinda hard to spot, but the third example is the one I see as over it.
Posted by: GnuBreed at February 26, 2014 03:34 PM (wNF3N)
Posted by: thunderb at February 26, 2014 03:34 PM (zOTsN)
Posted by: Dr Spank at February 26, 2014 03:35 PM (hn70M)
Posted by: ChicagoRefugee who is, in fact, a Real Woman at February 26, 2014 03:36 PM (C15wm)
Posted by: grammie winger at February 26, 2014 03:36 PM (oMKp3)
Posted by: Dack Thrombosis at February 26, 2014 03:36 PM (oFCZn)
Posted by: Carol at February 26, 2014 03:36 PM (z4WKX)
Posted by: Niedermeyer's Dead Horse at February 26, 2014 03:36 PM (DmNpO)
Posted by: AmishDude at February 26, 2014 03:38 PM (xSegX)
Posted by: joey biden at February 26, 2014 03:38 PM (Eiwo7)
Posted by: Misanthropic Humanitarian at February 26, 2014 03:38 PM (HVff2)
Posted by: Chris at February 26, 2014 03:39 PM (crkWb)
The purpose...the ONLY purpose of a corporation and its employees is to enhance shareholder value.
I don't care if they are amoral fucks who despise me.
The elected officials who mock the institutions and the people they serve by parroting an amoral fuck do a disservice to their country, they demean their offices, and they create contempt for the that which holds our country together.
So yeah...these are two very different examples.
Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at February 26, 2014 03:40 PM (QFxY5)
“I sort of shadowed [McCarthy] in the Capitol to understand and learn what it's actually like to be Majority Whip,” explained Kevin Spacey on This Week with George Stephanopoulos.
McCarthy also told 23ABC the two became good friends throughout the process. In fact, Congressman McCarthy attended the season two premiere of the show with Spacey.
Great, they're an item now....
Posted by: Laurie David's Cervix at February 26, 2014 03:40 PM (kdS6q)
Posted by: AmishDude at February 26, 2014 03:40 PM (xSegX)
Posted by: blaster at February 26, 2014 03:40 PM (e+i3Q)
Posted by: Selina Kyle at February 26, 2014 03:40 PM (WlWt+)
Posted by: Tammy al-Thor at February 26, 2014 03:40 PM (Pfvig)
Posted by: Margarita DeVille at February 26, 2014 03:40 PM (dfYL9)
Posted by: ace at February 26, 2014 03:40 PM (/FnUH)
Posted by: Lauren at February 26, 2014 03:40 PM (hFL/3)
Posted by: logprof at February 26, 2014 03:40 PM (X3GkB)
Posted by: CrotchetyOldJarhead at February 26, 2014 03:41 PM (60Vyp)
Posted by: Angel with a sword at February 26, 2014 03:41 PM (hpgw1)
Posted by: joey biden at February 26, 2014 03:41 PM (Eiwo7)
Posted by: The Jackhole at February 26, 2014 03:41 PM (nTgAI)
Posted by: ace at February 26, 2014 03:42 PM (/FnUH)
Posted by: alexthechick - SMOD, you taunty bitch. at February 26, 2014 07:34 PM (Gk3SS)
Be careful of the taller ones.
Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at February 26, 2014 03:42 PM (QFxY5)
Posted by: logprof at February 26, 2014 03:42 PM (X3GkB)
I'm not sure I understand. You are in favor of designer babies?
Posted by: grammie winger at February 26, 2014 07:28 PM (oMKp3)
===================
I would rather live in a society where designer babies are feasible than one where people think babies come from storks or magic because the complexities of the reproductive system are beyond their ken. Until the discovery of science, life was pretty grim. Even into the 19th century, there were tribes of people who had no real idea that there was a connection between intercourse and pregnancy. I definitely prefer designer babies to that.
Posted by: Sudden Clarity Clarence at February 26, 2014 03:43 PM (3kFw2)
Oh but see see see we can mock that and they'll eventually get what's coming to them (we shall see on that) and see that's the joke! We're mocking what the Right thinks of us! It's so jaded and cool!
Yuppers. That's it. That's it exactly.
Posted by: alexthechick - SMOD, you taunty bitch. at February 26, 2014 03:43 PM (Gk3SS)
Posted by: Niedermeyer's Dead Horse at February 26, 2014 03:43 PM (DmNpO)
Posted by: Chris_Balsz at February 26, 2014 03:43 PM (5xmd7)
Posted by: khan noonien singh at February 26, 2014 03:43 PM (QupBk)
Posted by: ace at February 26, 2014 03:44 PM (/FnUH)
Posted by: khan noonien singh at February 26, 2014 03:44 PM (QupBk)
Posted by: Seamus Muldoon at February 26, 2014 03:44 PM (g4TxM)
Posted by: Brother Cavil at February 26, 2014 03:45 PM (m9V0o)
Posted by: blaster at February 26, 2014 03:45 PM (e+i3Q)
Posted by: RWC at February 26, 2014 03:45 PM (MtC8f)
Posted by: Stirner at February 26, 2014 03:45 PM (l1p2K)
BTW, has anymoron seen the original BBC House of Cards series? How does it stand up vs. the U.S. version?
Posted by: logprof
The UK version is vastly better.
Posted by: Laurie David's Cervix at February 26, 2014 03:46 PM (kdS6q)
Posted by: ace at February 26, 2014 03:46 PM (/FnUH)
Posted by: khan noonien singh at February 26, 2014 03:46 PM (QupBk)
Sir Barry Eaton Hogg: I'm opening a summer camp for pale dark young boys
As part of “My Brother’s Keeper,” as the new campaign is known,
Doesn't Barry have a half brother living in a tin hut?
Posted by: TheQuietMan at February 26, 2014 03:46 PM (FE/sZ)
Compared to the UK version, the US version is Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood.
Posted by: alexthechick - SMOD, you taunty bitch. at February 26, 2014 03:46 PM (Gk3SS)
Posted by: thunderb at February 26, 2014 03:46 PM (zOTsN)
Posted by: Seamus Muldoon at February 26, 2014 03:47 PM (g4TxM)
I know this is now going to be a "thing" where people explain this to me for the next yearPosted by: ace at February 26, 2014 03:47 PM (/FnUH)
Posted by: Judge Pug at February 26, 2014 03:47 PM (6Nj7A)
Show a little respect for the position of power you hold over your patients.
This is not funny at all.
Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at February 26, 2014 03:48 PM (QFxY5)
Posted by: blaster at February 26, 2014 03:48 PM (e+i3Q)
Posted by: rickl at February 26, 2014 03:49 PM (sdi6R)
Posted by: CrotchetyOldJarhead at February 26, 2014 03:49 PM (60Vyp)
Posted by: Niedermeyer's Dead Horse at February 26, 2014 03:49 PM (DmNpO)
Posted by: steevy at February 26, 2014 03:49 PM (zqvg6)
My second Laugh-Out-Loud of the day.
The Platinum membership is worth it!
Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at February 26, 2014 03:49 PM (QFxY5)
Posted by: sven10077 at February 26, 2014 03:49 PM (TE35l)
Posted by: Judge Pug at February 26, 2014 03:51 PM (6Nj7A)
Posted by: Madamex at February 26, 2014 03:51 PM (vaWdD)
Posted by: AmishDude at February 26, 2014 03:52 PM (xSegX)
Posted by: Carol at February 26, 2014 03:52 PM (z4WKX)
Posted by: Tammy al-Thor at February 26, 2014 03:52 PM (Pfvig)
Posted by: logprof at February 26, 2014 03:52 PM (X3GkB)
Shemp likes it.
Posted by: Bertram Cabot Jr. at February 26, 2014 03:53 PM (kVfSG)
Posted by: AmishDude at February 26, 2014 03:53 PM (xSegX)
Posted by: Niedermeyer's Dead Horse at February 26, 2014 03:53 PM (DmNpO)
Posted by: steevy at February 26, 2014 03:53 PM (zqvg6)
Posted by: grammie winger at February 26, 2014 03:53 PM (oMKp3)
Posted by: Seamus Muldoon at February 26, 2014 03:54 PM (g4TxM)
Posted by: Doctor Fish at February 26, 2014 07:50 PM (nQjHM)
Barry: Reggie and I are going to celebrate with a dick shaped cake
Posted by: TheQuietMan at February 26, 2014 03:54 PM (FE/sZ)
Posted by: Brother Cavil at February 26, 2014 03:54 PM (m9V0o)
Posted by: steevy at February 26, 2014 03:55 PM (zqvg6)
Ace, I work with medical people. The difference between the gallows humor of doctors and RN's and pols quoting lines from House of Cards is that doctors and nurses, the good ones (and most are good) are, at bottom, horrified by the death and suffering of their patients. They have to joke to distance themselves, because if they don't, they'll burn out very soon. My sister is an RN and I've heard some sick jokes from her. I also have seen her in tears over some of the patients lost and the pain that she's seen. She left hospital nursing and now works in a university health center because she couldn't take it anymore.
Does anybody think weasels like Reid or Axelrod or Holder or Pelosi or numerous other pols or bureaucrats like Lerner are secretly sickened and horrified by the cynicism and corruption of DC? Of course not, they're right in their element. So yeah, their embrace of House of Cards does seem to me like just another way of saying, "Yeah, this is really what we're like. And what are you going to do about it, peon? Nothing. You can't. Up yours." Remember the testimony of that IRS dude right before he retired (with full pension). Sitting there, smiling away, spouting obvious bullshit? Yeah, he's laughing at us. He's not disgusted with the situation. Life's good for him.
Posted by: Donna and V. (no ampersand) at February 26, 2014 03:55 PM (R3gO3)
Posted by: blaster at February 26, 2014 03:55 PM (e+i3Q)
Posted by: sven10077 at February 26, 2014 03:55 PM (TE35l)
Posted by: coriolianus snw at February 26, 2014 03:56 PM (Jsiw/)
Posted by: Hollowpoint at February 26, 2014 03:56 PM (X9Mnx)
Posted by: Jean at February 26, 2014 03:56 PM (4JkHl)
Posted by: rickl at February 26, 2014 03:57 PM (sdi6R)
Posted by: Darth Vader, True Conservative at February 26, 2014 03:58 PM (aTXUx)
Me and my close friend will celebrate with a night of anal sex and a chick flick.
Posted by: Anderson Cooper at February 26, 2014 07:55 PM (nQjHM)
So...typical Wednesday, Andy?
Posted by: Anderson Cooper's BF at February 26, 2014 03:58 PM (DQ8qk)
Posted by: sven10077 at February 26, 2014 03:58 PM (TE35l)
Posted by: Tammy al-Thor at February 26, 2014 03:58 PM (Pfvig)
Posted by: DangerGirl at February 26, 2014 03:59 PM (GrtrJ)
Posted by: thunderb at February 26, 2014 03:59 PM (zOTsN)
Posted by: Judge Pug at February 26, 2014 03:59 PM (6Nj7A)
Posted by: Dack Thrombosis at February 26, 2014 03:59 PM (oFCZn)
Posted by: Decaf at February 26, 2014 03:59 PM (Bwva0)
http://tinyurl.com/mr62nl7
Not the first time Brewer's been a tool. She pushed Obamacare in AZ, remember.
If gays hadn't pushed too far with those poor bakers, this law wouldn't have been needed. Gays got too greedy with that one.
As someone (I think it was Ace) wrote yesterday, if a Muslim-owned printing company was asked to print offensive photos of Muhummad, should the law force them?
I'm of the Libertarian opinion that the Civil Rights Act was unAmerican because private businesses shouldn't be forced by gov to serve, the free market should naturally run those businesses out (and the South's mind and heart was changing on its own and would've).
What about Augusta golf course? They banned women and conservatives (and libertarians) said they should be allowed.
Posted by: Aslan's Girl at February 26, 2014 04:00 PM (KL49F)
"You're not really a doctor until you've killed your first patient."
Words I heard throughout medical school and residency. My professors and attendings were certainly not advocating homicide as a way to advance my understanding or career. Nowadays thought, it might be more accurate to say "You're not really a doctor until you've been sued."
Posted by: Conservative Crank at February 26, 2014 04:00 PM (sQ0LB)
Posted by: logprof at February 26, 2014 04:00 PM (X3GkB)
The UK version is vastly better.
Honestly, when isn't it...?
Posted by: Brother Cavil
The Office, so I hear, and The Beatles "Rubber Soul", arguably.
Posted by: Laurie David's Cervix at February 26, 2014 04:01 PM (kdS6q)
Posted by: steevy at February 26, 2014 04:01 PM (zqvg6)
Posted by: Tammy al-Thor at February 26, 2014 04:01 PM (Pfvig)
Posted by: the guy that moves pianos for a living... at February 26, 2014 04:01 PM (P/gm7)
Posted by: logprof at February 26, 2014 04:01 PM (X3GkB)
Posted by: sexypig at February 26, 2014 04:02 PM (dZQh7)
Posted by: blaster at February 26, 2014 04:03 PM (e+i3Q)
Posted by: Daily Reminder Guy at February 26, 2014 04:03 PM (6j8ke)
Posted by: grammie winger at February 26, 2014 04:03 PM (oMKp3)
Posted by: Tammy al-Thor at February 26, 2014 04:03 PM (Pfvig)
Posted by: Chris_Balsz at February 26, 2014 04:04 PM (5xmd7)
Also, further on the gallows humor topic--I suspect many families would be upset by the conversations we have in codes. When a patient is circling the drain and everyone is still trying, even though we know it is futile, we say things that would seem very insensitive to outsiders. However, no one is asking family members or friends to go back to work in 5 minutes when their loved one passes. I have a dozen other patients to take care of who won't and sometimes can't wait for me to take 15 minutes to gather myself, I have to move on, and so do my nurses and other staff.
Is the medical culture wrong for this? I'd say no, because a lot more medical people would turn to the bottle, or the needle, or a bullet if we didn't have that release.
Posted by: Conservative Crank at February 26, 2014 04:04 PM (sQ0LB)
Posted by: Carol at February 26, 2014 04:04 PM (z4WKX)
Posted by: ChicagoRefugee who is, in fact, a Real Woman at February 26, 2014 04:05 PM (C15wm)
Posted by: sexypig at February 26, 2014 04:06 PM (dZQh7)
Posted by: sven10077 at February 26, 2014 04:06 PM (TE35l)
Posted by: The NSA at February 26, 2014 04:07 PM (aTXUx)
Posted by: Tammy al-Thor at February 26, 2014 04:08 PM (Pfvig)
Posted by: logprof at February 26, 2014 04:08 PM (X3GkB)
Posted by: sexypig at February 26, 2014 04:09 PM (dZQh7)
Posted by: Seamus Muldoon at February 26, 2014 04:09 PM (g4TxM)
Posted by: Minnfidel at February 26, 2014 04:10 PM (/o+xv)
Posted by: logprof at February 26, 2014 04:10 PM (X3GkB)
Posted by: sexypig at February 26, 2014 04:10 PM (dZQh7)
Posted by: sven10077 at February 26, 2014 04:10 PM (TE35l)
Posted by: Mike Hammer at February 26, 2014 04:10 PM (aDwsi)
by: logprof at February 26, 2014 08:00 PM (X3GkB)
I read recently that it's a mystery to historians and archealogists that Roman Britain was so thoroughly wiped out after the Empire fell. The Romans just vanished and their civilization went with them. And the Dark Ages fell on Britain much more throughly than in Southern Europe. It's not like the Angles, the Jutes and all the other tribes slaughtered everyone (no evidence of that).
One historian said it's like a tribe started camping out on some Roman's property, the Roman didn't expel them, pretty soon there was 20 or 50 or 100 camping out there and they just took over, not bloodily, but because the Romans didn't have the will or numbers to resist. And that went on all over Britain.
The barbarians are camped out here. I don't mean illegal aliens. I mean the Left and the LIVs. Their numbers are growing and slowly - well not so slowly anymore - they're wiping out our civilization.
Posted by: Donna and V. (no ampersand) at February 26, 2014 04:11 PM (R3gO3)
Posted by: Decaf at February 26, 2014 04:11 PM (Bwva0)
Posted by: Boss Moss at February 26, 2014 04:11 PM (6bMeY)
What if we posit a group of actually corrupt or otherwise malicious people. Just stipulate it's 100% true.
Would they necessarily refrain from acting in a similar manner? Would they consciously avoid making light of their actions?
Somehow I think not. Somehow I believe they would be the first kind of people to make a mockery of their victims.
It's easy enough to understand that not every group that engages in dark humor is actually bad. However, we can't say every group that does so is full of good, well-intentioned people.
Oh, and about, Wall Street if you haven't read Liars Poker, do so. And further read F.I.A.S.C.O. - same vein, more recent, and more vicious.
Posted by: weft cut-loop[/i] [/b] at February 26, 2014 04:12 PM (xrX4n)
Posted by: sven10077 at February 26, 2014 04:12 PM (TE35l)
Posted by: Boss Moss at February 26, 2014 04:12 PM (6bMeY)
-------------
The guy is the kiss of death for any thing he touches.
Posted by: Mike Hammer at February 26, 2014 04:13 PM (aDwsi)
Posted by: Minnfidel at February 26, 2014 04:14 PM (/o+xv)
Posted by: thunderb at February 26, 2014 04:15 PM (zOTsN)
Posted by: [/i]andycanuck[/b] at February 26, 2014 04:15 PM (Eiwo7)
Posted by: sexypig at February 26, 2014 04:16 PM (dZQh7)
Posted by: Boss Moss at February 26, 2014 04:16 PM (6bMeY)
Posted by: soothi with justice at February 26, 2014 04:16 PM (xLvb0)
Posted by: sexypig at February 26, 2014 04:17 PM (dZQh7)
http://youtu.be/Apj6AG0saD0
It's for Turn, the AMC series about espionage during the Revolutionary War. It looks good and I know you said you were interested in that time period.
Posted by: alexthechick - SMOD, you taunty bitch. at February 26, 2014 04:18 PM (Gk3SS)
Posted by: Boss Moss at February 26, 2014 04:18 PM (6bMeY)
Posted by: kbdabear at February 26, 2014 04:18 PM (aTXUx)
Posted by: logprof at February 26, 2014 04:18 PM (X3GkB)
TheyÂ’re all kind of running America.
They all seem increasingly decadent.
I know, I just can't believe those congressman.
Posted by: Papa Doc Obama at February 26, 2014 04:18 PM (n0DEs)
Posted by: Northernlurker, moron wannabe at February 26, 2014 04:19 PM (ckwqJ)
Posted by: Carol at February 26, 2014 04:19 PM (z4WKX)
Posted by: Molly k. at February 26, 2014 04:21 PM (f8cHe)
Posted by: Carol at February 26, 2014 04:23 PM (z4WKX)
Posted by: Seamus Muldoon at February 26, 2014 04:23 PM (g4TxM)
Posted by: thunderb at February 26, 2014 04:23 PM (zOTsN)
Posted by: rickl at February 26, 2014 04:24 PM (sdi6R)
Posted by: Jack at February 26, 2014 04:24 PM (gWHwW)
Posted by: thunderb at February 26, 2014 04:25 PM (zOTsN)
Not sure why he should bother. The GOP is permanently boned in Commiefornia.
Two reasons:
-- IMMIGRATION. The elephant in the room. Remember this empirical real-world example the next time you see some well-fed member of the country club wing of the Republicans (cough) George Will (cough) talking up what a great idea amnesty would be.
-- Redistricting. Der Groppenfuhrer declared that he was going to support measures to give California more competitive districts. Ah-nuld fucked it up completely. Democrats cynically gamed the process from the get-go and hugely tightened already tight locks on a majority of state offices.
Posted by: torquewrench at February 26, 2014 04:25 PM (gqT4g)
Posted by: DangerGirl at February 26, 2014 04:26 PM (GrtrJ)
Posted by: dk70 at February 26, 2014 04:26 PM (pQUbK)
- George Washington
Posted by: George Washington at February 26, 2014 04:26 PM (lSYrP)
Posted by: Flatbush Joe at February 26, 2014 04:26 PM (ZPrif)
When I am dictator all penis-potatoe jokes will have a minimum length of 5 para|
Posted by: DaveA[/i][/b][/s] at February 26, 2014 04:26 PM (DL2i+)
Posted by: Aslan's Girl at February 26, 2014 08:00 PM (KL49F)
AACK! Meant, we thought they (Augusta) should be allowed *to ban women*. Looked at that sentence and realized you may have thought I meant women should be allowed to play. Not what I meant.
Posted by: Aslan's Girl at February 26, 2014 04:26 PM (KL49F)
Posted by: Carol at February 26, 2014 04:26 PM (z4WKX)
Posted by: soothie at February 26, 2014 04:27 PM (rTCJ6)
Posted by: Molly k. at February 26, 2014 04:28 PM (f8cHe)
Posted by: steevy at February 26, 2014 08:01 PM (zqvg6)
EXACTLY!
Posted by: Aslan's Girl at February 26, 2014 04:28 PM (KL49F)
Posted by: sven10077 at February 26, 2014 04:28 PM (TE35l)
All I know is that being in congress must be the most addictive thing ever, more than heroin, more than meth, more than methoin or herometh.
Those people just can't leave.
Posted by: Guy Mohawk at February 26, 2014 04:29 PM (n0DEs)
Posted by: thunderb at February 26, 2014 04:29 PM (zOTsN)
Posted by: Kirk at February 26, 2014 04:31 PM (GBnWt)
Posted by: Mike Hammer at February 26, 2014 04:31 PM (aDwsi)
Posted by: Tammy al-Thor at February 26, 2014 04:31 PM (Pfvig)
Posted by: AmishDude at February 26, 2014 04:32 PM (xSegX)
Posted by: Mike Hammer at February 26, 2014 04:32 PM (aDwsi)
Posted by: Minnfidel at February 26, 2014 04:32 PM (/o+xv)
Wait till you see me crash. No ejection seats _and_ no capacity to autorotate.
Posted by: The V-22 Osprey at February 26, 2014 04:33 PM (gqT4g)
Posted by: Boss Moss at February 26, 2014 04:33 PM (6bMeY)
Posted by: logprof at February 26, 2014 04:33 PM (X3GkB)
Posted by: thunderb at February 26, 2014 04:34 PM (zOTsN)
Posted by: sven10077 at February 26, 2014 04:34 PM (TE35l)
Posted by: kbdabear at February 26, 2014 04:34 PM (aTXUx)
Posted by: rickl at February 26, 2014 04:36 PM (sdi6R)
Posted by: sven10077 at February 26, 2014 04:38 PM (TE35l)
Posted by: logprof at February 26, 2014 04:39 PM (X3GkB)
Yep. Hagan was a huge backer of Mel Watt. Someone who should never have even been nominated, who Hagan called "immensely qualified". As a felon, perhaps.
And the Realtors are absolutely delighted at the thought of the government trying to blow another housing bubble. Since federally guaranteed subprime loans for minority buyers with shitty credit and lousy repayment prospects worked out SO well the last time round.
Posted by: torquewrench at February 26, 2014 04:39 PM (gqT4g)
Posted by: Carol at February 26, 2014 04:39 PM (z4WKX)
Posted by: sven10077 at February 26, 2014 04:40 PM (TE35l)
Posted by: Seamus Muldoon at February 26, 2014 04:41 PM (g4TxM)
Posted by: logprof at February 26, 2014 04:42 PM (X3GkB)
Posted by: sven10077 at February 26, 2014 04:44 PM (TE35l)
Brandon Sanderson's book, "The Way of Kings" (sequel due out on Tuesday) has an interesting line late in the book. One of the characters reflects on the recent actions of another character, and tries to figure out whether the character in question is really an honorable man, or whether he's merely pretending to be such. At the end, he comes to the conclusion that if the character is only pretending, the mere fact that he never stops pretending means that, for all intents and purposes, he should be treated as if he's honorable.
I'm seeing Noonan's piece through a similar prism. Everyone knows that politicians are corrupt. But if you can get them to at least pretend that they're not corrupt, then there are times when they will act in a non-corrupt fashion (if only because public scrutiny is involved). But if you get it wide out in the open that yes, every last one of them is horribly corrupt, and going to DC automatically makes you corrupt, then what reason do any of them have to pretend to be anything other than corrupt?
Posted by: junior at February 26, 2014 04:44 PM (UWFpX)
Posted by: rickl at February 26, 2014 04:46 PM (sdi6R)
Posted by: logprof at February 26, 2014 04:47 PM (X3GkB)
Posted by: Carol at February 26, 2014 04:49 PM (z4WKX)
Posted by: Dougf at February 26, 2014 04:49 PM (uJ4Fe)
Posted by: kbdabear at February 26, 2014 04:49 PM (aTXUx)
@302 Reminds me of the Milton Friedman quip that we don't need to elect good men to do the right thing, we just need to make it hard not to do the right thing, whether for good or bad men.
----------------
Ah, right. I remember that one now. And it works even better than my garbled bit.
Thanks.
Posted by: junior at February 26, 2014 04:51 PM (UWFpX)
---------
Late to the thread, but your response (once you figured it out) made me laugh out loud. Dark morbid humor. I was watching the World at War and a Marine was telling about a Japanese soldier that committed seppuku on Iwo Jima by detonating a small explosive charge on a wall above where some Marines were resting. The bottom side of this man landed on the knees of of a Marine with the naked buttocks exposed. The Marine said "Oh my God, am I hit that bad?" The Marine telling the story said that him and the rest of the squad were laughing so hard that they were combat ineffective for at least an hour. I don't think that they were callous towards death, it's just that it was their entire world day in and day out.
Posted by: LFW - Honorary Pointy Eared Vulcan at February 26, 2014 04:56 PM (vVSOO)
And Aslan's Girl, I agree with every word you said.
Posted by: Tammy al-Thor at February 26, 2014 08:03 PM (Pfvig)
Hi, Tammy!!Posted by: Aslan's Girl at February 26, 2014 05:02 PM (KL49F)
Posted by: votermom at February 26, 2014 05:27 PM (GSIDW)
Posted by: troyriser at February 26, 2014 08:05 PM (ptcFO)
Posted by: teapartydoc at February 27, 2014 03:09 AM (4U98b)
Posted by: I R A Darth Aggie © at February 27, 2014 06:09 AM (1hM1d)
Posted by: DefendUSA at February 27, 2014 06:27 AM (mtuMz)
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Posted by: Darth Cobalt Shiva, Sith Lord at February 26, 2014 03:02 PM (OY/SZ)