Some guy named Matt Miller has a column at the Washington Post. In today's installment, apparently longing for the days of Ross Perot, he expresses his wish that a benevolent billionaire will enter the Presidential race, unencumbered by any kind of ideological or party loyalty, and magically make our troubles go away, as only a man so wealthy that he's lost the desire for anything but good works can do.
So if the choice for a high-net-worth patriot is to (a) devote him or herself to a foundation, or (b) run for president or invest in related efforts, there’s no question that the presidential campaign is the path to greater impact.
That’s because there is simply no better vehicle for advocacy than a presidential campaign. It’s the moment every four years when the press and public are attuned to a broad discussion of the nation’s future. And with our two parties poised to run grossly misleading campaigns next year in their drive to win 50 percent plus one, the opportunity to break through with real answers and straight talk is enormous.
A high-net-worth patriot is gonna give us real answers! Straight talk!
Big Daddy Moneybags MD is gonna tell step up to the podium, wag his gold-encrusted finger and us all what’s what. He'll make us take our strong, cleansing, righteousness-making medicine: the medicine we need because cause we’ve been bad bad bad! And a firm, stern, billionaire patriot is just the kind of physician to administer it!
Blech. Again with the delusion that a President can, through sheer force of will, do whatever he wants. He'll just stamp his foot and the tough choices will implement themselves. Congress? Presumably, they’ll just fall in line, patriotically. Just like they always do when a President demands that they do.
Is there some US Civics textbook out there that say a President has such power? If not, I’m at a loss as to why so many otherwise-intelligent-seeming people would believe such pernicious nonsense.
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Matt Miller!
Move here: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Two_current_absolute_monarchy
Tonga’s a toss up? I say go for it! It’s got a fun name. Tonga!
ooh. that is fun. Tonga. Tonga.
“Swaziland” kinda swings, too. Swaaahzy-land!
I hope Swaziland rhymes with New Zealand
Yup. Can’t go wrong with a fun sounding absolute monarchy. Case closed!
Does democracy even work any more? Maybe the time is ripe for a benevolent dictatorship! Like China! Oh. OK, forget that.
What IS needed however is less power in the hands of corporations and more power in the hands of the people. But I remain pessimistic.
I try so hard to be optimistic, being a father and all. I want my kids to have some kind of future and outwardly I project confidence that they will have more chances than I did, as I had more chances than my parents, etc. But deep down I have this horrible feeling that society is in terminal decline and my children will have a much tougher life than I did. Nothing short of a revolution will change this nagging feeling that we’re all f*cked. And I blame rampant Capitalism for this mess we’re in. And no, that doesn’t make me a Communist.
But hey, I can buy a 50″ HD 3D plasma TV for £600 and The X-Factor is back on telly.
Oh, hey, I worry about the same things. But parents have been worrying about such since the invention of writing. Probably long before.
Their pessimistic concern has occasionally come true, but more often not. Civilization is not going to come crashing down, but it surely will mutate.
Don’t worry, be happy. And fight the bastards at every turn.
cleek, gentlemen, (do no women visit this site? strange)
Yesterday I was taking a Republican lady to the woodshed over climate change denial and Republican anti-science generally when she threw Ron Paul up in my face. I rubbed my hands together and was about to illustrate the folly of goldbuggery and stopped cold when I realized…I know nothing about the gold standard.
A little searching led me to a site that was leading me nicely by the hand until I got to a line about ” when its hidden bobby traps lead to our enslavement to Jewish international finance.” Oh. Thanks, crypto-antisemite.
So, does anyone know of a good short primer or essay (apart from wiki) on the topic? I realize that it is possible that I will hear gold’s siren call and be dragged into the deep and the next time you see me I’ll be brandishing a copy of Reason magazine, but I have to take that chance.
Oh, and as long as I’m here, allow me to editorialize that Dategate (Wed vs Thurs! Two shall enter! Only one shall emerge!) is the trivialest, forgettablest controversy since…something else that happened that no one gives a fuck about 2 days later. I promise you by next month if you bring up Schedulinggotterdamerung you will get the same looks that I get from my dogs when I ask them about the gold standard.
do no women visit this site? strange
we had some women regulars, in the past. i assume i’ve driven them all away with my manly manness. or something.
but, on topic: nope, don’t know of any good places to learn about goldbuggery. gold, sure. buggery, i can make an educated guess. the two together? sorry.
“Pernicious.” Nice.
Future scholars will note an earlier use of the word here: http://cleek.blogspot.com/2005/01/soy-un-perdedor.html
excellent scholarship! :)
i’d forgotten about that one. ah, the good old days…