Jonah Goldberg: real solutions for a broken America.

In this era of obscurantism from the right and waffling from the left, it's always fun to see the "true" conservatives make up some things that actually go against the fundamental wingnut principle: "Government is too big! Obama's making it bigger! Unaccountability! Bootstraps!"

Interesting, then, that Jonah Goldberg's solution to this problem is...more government! Goldberg basically states that the 435 members of the House are not enough to represent the American population. Fine. Honestly, I agree with him--his idea to expand the House, however, seems oddly 'progressive'

A Congress of, say, 5,000 citizen-legislators would change [the intransigency of congress and special interest groups' grip on congress] overnight. Would it cost more money? Yes. But today’s huge staffs could be cut, and perks and pork might even be curtailed by using the old chewing gum rule: If there’s not enough for everyone, nobody can have any.

How would the staffs be reduced? I can reasonably agree that Congressperson X would need a smaller staff since she is representing fewer people, but would that actually work? Since when has any Congressperson agreed to reduce what they have (or could be having)? Not only that, but why in the sweet lord's name would pork spending be reduced? It seems to me that the more people that are in Congress, the more ideas and pet projects are going to be brought to the table. Sure, as it is now, pet projects are often given to those with the most influence, but why could we reasonably assume that simply having more people would cause each individual person to want less? Since when has not having "enough for everyone" been a limit to government spending? Look at our deficit.

The next issue that tickled me was Goldberg's insistency that if there are more people running for office, that a more diverse spread of the population is going to be a Congressperson:

Want more minorities in Congress? Done. Want more libertarians? More socialists? More blue-collar workers? Done, done, done.

Why on earth is it rational to assume that if more positions open up, a different type of person is going to run for congress?

He closes with positing the idea that with more people in congress, more political parties will emerge, providing a "smaller political market" where politicians can be tested before running for presidency. I think I agree with Goldberg here, but I'm not sure it's a better situation politically. I do think the two-party system is bankrupt. I think most people in this country are slightly right of center (including my best "liberal" friends), but the presentation of an insane group of blithering white men screaming about personal accountability and then being found in a bathroom stall with a 14-year old boy who just thought he was going to get a lollipop drives them away from labeling themselves as conservative. I think congress could do with a shake-up, but I don't think that it's going to make government any less corrupt or morally defunct. I think good people aren't going to run for public service positions any more then than they do now.

The best.

And always 99 cents.

Volcano Choir - Unmap

Right now it's rainy in New Haven. (Surprise, surprise). Plato's dissection of Euthyphro can be put aside for the time being, since Justin Vernon's newest album, a collaboration with the instrumental band Collections of Colonies of Bees, is gracing my stereo. And it is bliss. Collections' minimalist multilayered ambience provides a really great backdrop for Vernon's now-ubiquitous voice. It makes for a really great collaboration, and an excellent soundtrack for a rainy day.

Check it here: [NPR's Exclusive First Listen]

Healthcare...finally?

Max Baucus' healthcare plan is finally on the table. There's no gov't run option. This is the worst good-bad thing ever. I wish there were a middle ground on this. I wish the republicans weren't imbued and controlled by wingnuts. I wish congress would think with their brains and not with their approval ratings.

PS-Joe Wilson is an idiot, not a racist. WTF belanie!?

Pericles, to Obama

"All who have taken it upon themselves to rule over others have incurred hatred and unpopularity for a time; but if one has a great aim to pursue, this burden of envy must be accepted, and it is wise to accept it. Hatred does not last for long; but the brilliance of the present is the glory of the future stored up for ever in the memory of man."

College, lovely college

Hello all. Haven't updated in a while--I apologize.

Just a couple of recommendations:

Movies--three things that you need to see. First is Ponyo. Shit is amazing...saw it with the brother on a bro date, and loved every minute of it. The animation is simply stunning. The general plot line works well, but there are a couple of random ramblings and tangents that simply never get resolved. But oh well! It's so pretty and cute and hilarious. Check it out.

Second is The Hurt Locker. It's an incredibly powerful film about a team in Iraq that is responsible for disarming IEDs. The cinematography is often done from the perspectives of the Iraqis, which heightens the tension and unknowningness of the Americans while allowing the viewer to empathize with the invaded and oppressed Iraqis. I can honestly say that a film has never impacted me as deeply as this one. It's a must see.

Third film is a documentary, Food Inc. It's a fascinating expose of today's food industry. It will blow your mind, guaranteed.

Next recommendation--GO TO COLLEGE! IT'S BRILLIANT.

Lu

Girl With Curious Hair - David Foster Wallace

I ordered David Foster Wallace's oeuvre as a graduation gift to myself. I'd read Infinite Jest (1996), Consider The Lobster (2005) and his commencement speech at Kenyon already. With those mere 1447 pages under my belt, I was firmly and deeply committed as a passionate acolyte. Sounds silly, but IJ has really shaped my outlook on life. 

No matter your interpretation, DFW is really fucking hard to read. He is brilliant, hilarious, and extremely thorough. He manages to pick exactly the right word for the situation (I'm sure there's a word for that). His constant self-awareness and unceasing criticism of the post-modernist school that has dominated literature for the past few decades (while being self-aware of his own allegiance and gratitude to said school) is a weirdly satisfying meta-metafictional experience. (Or non-, as the case may be.) 

Anyway, GWCH is a pretty interesting read. It's a collection of short stories (I'd call the last one a novella). You can see the author of Infinite Jest struggling to define his style (and succeeding, I'd say). His criticism of modern-day America is pretty fascinating. Some of the characters involved in GWCH include: Alex Trebek, David Letterman, a barely-concealed John Barthes, and both Lyndon and Lady Bird Johnson. As only he could say:

"These stories are 100 percent fiction. Some of them project the names of "real" public figures onto made-up characters in made-up circumstances. Where the names of corporate, media, or political figures are used here, those names are meant only to denote figures, images, the stuff of collective dreams; they do not denote, or pretend to private information about, actual 3-D persons, living, dead, or otherwise." 

(Additional tidbit from the copyright page: "ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF SUPPORT TO: the Mr. and Mrs. Wallace Fund for Aimless Children.")

It's not at all the scathing criticism most of the Europeans and South Americans love to slough onto American culture (while wearing Levis and Nikes). He's not an obnoxious yuppie ex-pat who is sighing on the banks of the Riviera; Foster-Wallace lived in Bloomington, for christ's sake. He loves modern America just as much as he loathes it. 

Still, if it's the magnificent transcendental quality of the last 50 pages of IJ you're looking for, look elsewhere. These stories almost all end on a pretty bleak note. I know it's really easy to confused Dave the author with Dave the depressed person, but c'mon. You can tell the man is struggling with issues way beyond anyone's grasp. Further, the whole meta-meta/post-post thing can get pretty tiring after a while. 

Still though. Couldn't imagine a bigger nerd-crush. 

Miss you terrible, Dave.