Hypnotists always tell their subjects to let their minds go completely blank. I think I’d hypnotize pretty easily today. I had a couple ideas for blog posts through the course of the day, but lacked the wit to write them down. They’re gone now.
I’ve read a couple criticisms of Jonah Goldberg’s recent book, Liberal Fascism, from conservatives who’ve said it’s simply uncivil and divisive to use a term like “liberal fascism” (even though it wasn’t Goldberg, but Socialist H. G. Wells, who coined it).
But in recent weeks two Democratic politicians have called for the nationalization of the oil industry.
For those of you who went to public schools in the last 25 years, and thus don’t know any history, nationalizing industry is what fascists do.
This is a troubling story:
A public school teacher taught creationism in his science class and used a device to burn the image of a cross on students’ arms, according to a report by independent investigators.
If it’s accurate it’s appalling. However, as you know if you’ve ever been involved in anything reported in the news, news stories are never accurate, especially in the first reports.
Am I trying to cut the guy some extra slack, just because he’s a believer?
Sure I am.
Please, if this guy really used an impliment to burn someone, in class, why is his keester not in a jail cell? All the “responsible” adults in this quagmire are grossly negligent if he actually harmed a child. That’s why I wonder.
This has all the earmarks of a “Hey, look at this” sort of thing that goes south and everyone, including the kids, start telling all sorts of tales to cover what is usually moronic behavior of the highest caliber.
But then I could be wrong. I know some very nice, but extraordinarliy moronic Christians.
Did the critics you mention actually read the book by Jonah Goldberg? I read it back in April and found it very good, although I thought he admired the Age of Enlightenment a bit too much. Still, he made a lot of good and well-argued (I thought) points.
I suspect many of them didn’t read it, but I can hardly take the moral high ground on that point. Heaven knows I’ve denounced plenty of books I never read.
For those of you who went to public schools in the last 25 years, and thus don’t know any history, nationalizing industry is what fascists do.
Are you sure? I thought that socialists nationalized industries, and fascists passed regulation to make privately-owned(1) industry do whatever they wanted.
(1) At least, nominally privately-owned.
Good question, Ori. Complicated by the fact that there has never been a definitive definition of what Fascism is. The Wikipedia entry on Fascism says:
So I guess I should have said nationalization is “one of the things Fascists do.” It might have been even better to add “sometimes.”
Or, maybe I’m just wrong. But I don’t think I am.