If you don't yet know who Elon Musk is, you will soon.
Elon Musk is one of the great innovative minds and entrepreneurs of the past couple decades, and he has quietly gone about changing the world without bothering to ask anyone if he could. From the founding of PayPal to the pursuit of commercial space travel to the first significant and viable electric car of the twenty-first century, Elon Musk is changing the way we think about what's possible. Elon Musk is a man who conceives an idea, and then singlehandedly pursues it to fruition. And he is determined not to fail - so much so that he personally guarantees the resale value of all Tesla cars. That, in a business sense, is crazy. Yet if anyone can break through on the sale of electric cars, it's a billionaire like Elon Musk. This guy is an intellectual and technological rock star.
Of course, some people - or even entire states and industries - aren't so impressed. Or rather they may be impressed, but are too frightened to admit it. Apparently, the state of Texas has banned the sale of Teslas. This isn't too surprising, considering the state's dependence on oil revenue. However, it has as much to do with car dealerships as it does with the car's energy source. Apparently, Elon Musk's approach to car sales - similar to the way Apple sells computers - is a threat to car dealers who fear a breaking of the franchise rules that give them control of auto sales. The reality is that Elon Musk has built a better franchise system, and he seeks to expose the flaws of the current automotive sales system.
Good luck to him. And good fortune for us.
Friday, August 23, 2013
Sunday, August 18, 2013
Great Food Truck Race Returns Tonight in Season 4
For Food Network fans coming down off the disappointing end to the Next Food Network Star reality show competition, there is hope for a more entertaining fix to fill that Sunday evening void. Season 4 of the Great Food Truck Race, hosted by celebrity chef Taylor Florence premieres tonight. The Great Food Truck Race is entertaining and enjoyable precisely because it's real world and real time with no reliance on the subjectivity of judges - which leads to the uneven choices of people like Rodney "Pie Style" Henry. Instead, the chefs and businesspeople manning the food trucks will win or lose based on their ability to successfully market - and actually sell - their culinary products.
If you have never watched the Great Food Truck Race, but you are a fan of culinary shows, then the GFTR is definitely worth your time. The premise is simple - eight food truck teams will compete in various cities across the country to sell their food, and the team that makes the least money in each city, loses and has to head home. In one season, aspiring owners were given a fully outfitted truck and were competing for the right to keep it. In other seasons, it has been established food truck businesses who were competing for cash prizes of up to $50,000 - which would enable them to upgrade and expand the business.
Like any good reality competition, there are unique challenges to each stage which give advantages and challenges beyond the normal practice of selling food off a truck. However, creating and successfully marketing quick, quality food is still at the heart of every episode. Certainly, there have been some disappointing food trucks in the past - and I do believe that on the Food Network with a high end chef like Tyler Florence, the contestants should be people who produce quality food off a truck. Food that is prepared quickly doesn't have to be fast food.
Regardless, the GFTR is an entertaining hour of culinary competition, and tonight's premiere should give us "a good taste" for what's to come.
Bring it on, Tyler.
** UPDATE:
And the first episode did not disappoint. Once again, the show features food truck novices and wannabe owners who are competing to keep their very own food truck and $50,000. While all the contestants have culinary and restaurant experience, they each have unique stories and seem like they will be successful entrepreneurs. Clearly, the opening bios created some favorites and some biases, and my early choices pretty much turned out as the winners. Not surprisingly, the Philly's Finest Sambonis, selling the classic Philly Cheese Steak were the first leg winners. A cheesesteak is not a tough sell, and I would have a hard time walking past their truck. I like their ideas and attitudes, and they will be tough competitors. The women running The Bowled and the Beautiful came in second, and their menu offerings and business savvy have served them well so far. I also enjoyed TikkaTikaa Taco and the men from Hawaii. Not only do they have great stories - like the Hawaiian guy who saved a swimmer and was rewarded by being sent to culinary school - but their menus are unique and inviting. I expect them to go far - though Aloha Plate made some bad location decisions that could cost them if they don't get into a rhythm. The Slide Show - culinary people selling gourmet sliders - are also competitive, and they have the added story of losing a business to unfortunate circumstances.
The rest making up the bottom will struggle to knock off the top four, and it was tough to see the Irish family lose over a simple mistake - not knowing how to operate their propane valve. That is so sad, but hard to feel too sorry for them. If you want to have a food truck business, operating the hardware has to be second nature. And it was amazing that they only lost by $66 when they spent day two selling a pretty weak salad offering because they couldn't cook anything. And that doesn't really bode well for the hot dog girls. The Frankenfoota truck does sort of turn me off anyway. There's nothing special about their food, they aren't serving high quality sausages, and they come off a bit crass and unsophisticated to me. I'm not impressed with the low class trash talking they started the show with. And they can't truly compete with some of the other culinary talent out there.
Overall, a fine looking cast and show, and I can't wait for them to tackle Portland. It should be a great town for food trucks.
If you have never watched the Great Food Truck Race, but you are a fan of culinary shows, then the GFTR is definitely worth your time. The premise is simple - eight food truck teams will compete in various cities across the country to sell their food, and the team that makes the least money in each city, loses and has to head home. In one season, aspiring owners were given a fully outfitted truck and were competing for the right to keep it. In other seasons, it has been established food truck businesses who were competing for cash prizes of up to $50,000 - which would enable them to upgrade and expand the business.
Like any good reality competition, there are unique challenges to each stage which give advantages and challenges beyond the normal practice of selling food off a truck. However, creating and successfully marketing quick, quality food is still at the heart of every episode. Certainly, there have been some disappointing food trucks in the past - and I do believe that on the Food Network with a high end chef like Tyler Florence, the contestants should be people who produce quality food off a truck. Food that is prepared quickly doesn't have to be fast food.
Regardless, the GFTR is an entertaining hour of culinary competition, and tonight's premiere should give us "a good taste" for what's to come.
Bring it on, Tyler.
** UPDATE:
And the first episode did not disappoint. Once again, the show features food truck novices and wannabe owners who are competing to keep their very own food truck and $50,000. While all the contestants have culinary and restaurant experience, they each have unique stories and seem like they will be successful entrepreneurs. Clearly, the opening bios created some favorites and some biases, and my early choices pretty much turned out as the winners. Not surprisingly, the Philly's Finest Sambonis, selling the classic Philly Cheese Steak were the first leg winners. A cheesesteak is not a tough sell, and I would have a hard time walking past their truck. I like their ideas and attitudes, and they will be tough competitors. The women running The Bowled and the Beautiful came in second, and their menu offerings and business savvy have served them well so far. I also enjoyed TikkaTikaa Taco and the men from Hawaii. Not only do they have great stories - like the Hawaiian guy who saved a swimmer and was rewarded by being sent to culinary school - but their menus are unique and inviting. I expect them to go far - though Aloha Plate made some bad location decisions that could cost them if they don't get into a rhythm. The Slide Show - culinary people selling gourmet sliders - are also competitive, and they have the added story of losing a business to unfortunate circumstances.
The rest making up the bottom will struggle to knock off the top four, and it was tough to see the Irish family lose over a simple mistake - not knowing how to operate their propane valve. That is so sad, but hard to feel too sorry for them. If you want to have a food truck business, operating the hardware has to be second nature. And it was amazing that they only lost by $66 when they spent day two selling a pretty weak salad offering because they couldn't cook anything. And that doesn't really bode well for the hot dog girls. The Frankenfoota truck does sort of turn me off anyway. There's nothing special about their food, they aren't serving high quality sausages, and they come off a bit crass and unsophisticated to me. I'm not impressed with the low class trash talking they started the show with. And they can't truly compete with some of the other culinary talent out there.
Overall, a fine looking cast and show, and I can't wait for them to tackle Portland. It should be a great town for food trucks.
Saturday, August 17, 2013
Suburban Hip Hop Parenting
In the YouTube era, Andy Warhol's "fifteen minutes of fame" is within the reach of anyone - even the suburban moms and dads who grew up on MTV, but are now about as cool as Crocs with socks. "The Dad Life" video is the viral video by Church on the Move that embraces that suburban shtick to great effect.
Not to be outdone, several other versions of suburban cool have also made the rounds on the web.
Of course, cool is in the mind of the beholder.
Not to be outdone, several other versions of suburban cool have also made the rounds on the web.
Of course, cool is in the mind of the beholder.
"Jobs" - Bio-pic on Steve Jobs, starring Ashton Kutcher Premiers Soon
Steve Jobs life and his impact on contemporary society is truly legendary. Now, in a promising new feature film, Steve's story is coming to theaters.
As Jobs and Apple's early marketing said, "Think Different." Some interesting thoughts from the man himself:
Of course, not everyone is thrilled about the movie, arguing that Jobs' life and accomplishments were so much more interesting than the movie makes them out to be. Specifically, we are shown the awed reverence for Jobs, without an understanding of how he got that to happen. Certainly, the life of Steve Jobs was a great opportunity for a truly compelling picture. And I am disappointed to learn the movie starts with the release of the iPod, and never progresses beyond 2006. Thus, the stratospheric rise of the company on the success of the iPhone and iPad are not part of the story. Nor, obviously, is Steve's passing. And, that's a shame.
Despite those shortcomings, Apple fans will probably still enjoy the story. And for other great films about the rise of Jobs and the tech industry, it's worth checking out films like:
Pirates of Silicon Valley
The Social Network
Computer Chess
As Jobs and Apple's early marketing said, "Think Different." Some interesting thoughts from the man himself:
Of course, not everyone is thrilled about the movie, arguing that Jobs' life and accomplishments were so much more interesting than the movie makes them out to be. Specifically, we are shown the awed reverence for Jobs, without an understanding of how he got that to happen. Certainly, the life of Steve Jobs was a great opportunity for a truly compelling picture. And I am disappointed to learn the movie starts with the release of the iPod, and never progresses beyond 2006. Thus, the stratospheric rise of the company on the success of the iPhone and iPad are not part of the story. Nor, obviously, is Steve's passing. And, that's a shame.
Despite those shortcomings, Apple fans will probably still enjoy the story. And for other great films about the rise of Jobs and the tech industry, it's worth checking out films like:
Pirates of Silicon Valley
The Social Network
Computer Chess
Wednesday, August 14, 2013
Caine Monroy's Cardboard Arcade Changes Lives
A great, heartwarming story from NBC news about a young boy's entrepreneurial dream. Caine Monroy let his imagination lead the way to great success when he created a "cardboard arcade." After some news coverage, the arcade has inspired other cardboard dreams for students worldwide.
Restaurant Impossible Changes Lives
This evening I saw an inspiring renovation of both a restaurant as well as lives on Robert Irvine's Food Network Show, Restaurant Impossible. What struck me about the show was Robert's people skills in convincing individuals to change their behavior. Notably in the show about Frankie's by the Tracks, Robert was dealing with two dual-owners - and former friends - who could barely talk to each other about the running of the restaurant. The wife of one owner was caught in the middle and devastated by the conflict. Ultimately, Robert facilitated a transformation that resulted from him asking one owner to seek a "shared vision" rather than asking his partner to "trust me [because I have] a vision for the restaurant." That simple business concept of a shared vision and collaboration was fulfilling and hopefully made a difference in the business. On his show, Robert is never just fixing a business; he is changing people's lives.
Colbert Gets Daft Punk'd
Daft Punk has emerged onto the music scene with the catchy blend of 70s funk and 90s techno, and with that the hit Get Lucky was born. This instantly made them one of the most sought after acts on the talk-show circuit. Yet, there was bound to be controversy for the notoriously reclusive artists. When they failed to reach agreement to appear on Comedy Central's show, it was bound to get interesting.
Monday, August 12, 2013
ADD/ADHD Diagnosis and Treatment
What is ADD? What is ADHD? Does my child have it? How do we treat it?
As the school year returns, and children arrive in classrooms, hopefully ready to learn, the issue of attention-deficit disorder will come front and center for many teachers, students, and families. School is often the place where a child's inability to focus and "pay attention" becomes most apparent and can most seriously impact the child's life. Of course, ADD/ADHD does not only affect young people - adults can also struggle with attention deficit issues, which can negatively impact their jobs and their lives. Regardless of age and circumstance, the challenges of ADD/ADHD must be addressed in order for individuals to lead productive lives and enjoy an improved quality of life. That said, since attention-deficit conditions were first diagnosed in the 1970s, there have been many questions about ADD/ADHD. Parents, teachers, and children may wonder what it is, how it's diagnosed, and what treatment options are available.
Among the general population, there is a great deal of misunderstanding and mis-information about the existence, prominence, diagnosis, and treatment of ADD/ADHD. Generally speaking, ADHD (also commonly known as ADD or Attention Deficit Disorder) affects 3 to 5% of children and adults in the United States today. When faced with challenges that may indicate an ADD/ADHD diagnosis, many people will struggle with the over-whelming amount of information out there. Obviously, the first stop for many people seeking more information on attention-deficit challenges is the internet. And, people will obviously also turn to friends and family. Yet with so much information - and differences of opinion - on the diagnosis and treatment of ADD/ADHD, those seeking help can quickly become overwhelmed.
Thus, it can be helpful to have a comprehensive site, such as ADD Referral providing extensive information for a variety of perspectives about attention deficit disorder. A legitimate treatment guide for ADD/ADHD should provide ample information on the basics of attention-deficit issues, as well as access to information which can help people localize their search. And in this day and age, especially with a variety of opinions and options regarding attention-deficit disorders, an effective treatment guide would offer information on both standard and alternative approaches to treating ADD/ADHD. Ultimately, the decision to pursue a diagnosis and treatment plan for attention deficit is a very personal issue for which there is no quick and easy answer. Thus, access to information is imperative for people seeking help.
As the school year returns, and children arrive in classrooms, hopefully ready to learn, the issue of attention-deficit disorder will come front and center for many teachers, students, and families. School is often the place where a child's inability to focus and "pay attention" becomes most apparent and can most seriously impact the child's life. Of course, ADD/ADHD does not only affect young people - adults can also struggle with attention deficit issues, which can negatively impact their jobs and their lives. Regardless of age and circumstance, the challenges of ADD/ADHD must be addressed in order for individuals to lead productive lives and enjoy an improved quality of life. That said, since attention-deficit conditions were first diagnosed in the 1970s, there have been many questions about ADD/ADHD. Parents, teachers, and children may wonder what it is, how it's diagnosed, and what treatment options are available.
Among the general population, there is a great deal of misunderstanding and mis-information about the existence, prominence, diagnosis, and treatment of ADD/ADHD. Generally speaking, ADHD (also commonly known as ADD or Attention Deficit Disorder) affects 3 to 5% of children and adults in the United States today. When faced with challenges that may indicate an ADD/ADHD diagnosis, many people will struggle with the over-whelming amount of information out there. Obviously, the first stop for many people seeking more information on attention-deficit challenges is the internet. And, people will obviously also turn to friends and family. Yet with so much information - and differences of opinion - on the diagnosis and treatment of ADD/ADHD, those seeking help can quickly become overwhelmed.
Thus, it can be helpful to have a comprehensive site, such as ADD Referral providing extensive information for a variety of perspectives about attention deficit disorder. A legitimate treatment guide for ADD/ADHD should provide ample information on the basics of attention-deficit issues, as well as access to information which can help people localize their search. And in this day and age, especially with a variety of opinions and options regarding attention-deficit disorders, an effective treatment guide would offer information on both standard and alternative approaches to treating ADD/ADHD. Ultimately, the decision to pursue a diagnosis and treatment plan for attention deficit is a very personal issue for which there is no quick and easy answer. Thus, access to information is imperative for people seeking help.
Sunday, August 11, 2013
Damaris Philips Wins the Next Food Network Star
Well ... that's it.
Southern chef Damaris Philips, known for her awkward shimmy and her negative and insecure attitude, was voted the Next Food Network Star. Damaris will be given her own show - in a weak Sunday morning time slot - and the country will have another overweight Southern woman cooking and promoting unhealthy food. It almost seems a bit contrived - the victory of Damaris in the aftermath of the Paula Deen meltdown. That said, thank goodness voters had enough taste not to award a FoodNetwork show to a crass and unsophisticated pie maker like Rodney Henry.
All I can offer is a very limp and ho-hum thanks to The Food Network for the blandest, weakest, most annoying and simultaneously disappointing season of #NextFoodStar ever. Those are ten or so Sunday evenings of my life that I can never get back, and they weren't impressive programming by any stretch. The sad reality is that the cast of amateurs presented as Food Network Star "finalists" were simply underwhelming. As many people have noted on endless FoodNetwork forums, the only finalist who seemed to have comfort in front of the camera and a point of view that could be immediately marketed was Nikki Dinki. Yet, she was inexplicably eliminated a few weeks ago for not knowing what a pilaf is.Truly the only interesting part of the show this week was the revelation that Nikki Dinki is six months pregnant. So, congratulations to Nikki.
In reviewing the season on tonight's episode, I was all the more baffled by how all of these people became "finalists." And my doubts about the final three - Damaris, Russell, and Rodney - were constantly reinforced. How did they make it to end with all the miserable performances throughout. It was tough to find any favorable footage of Rodney, other than his "Pie Style, Jack!" schtick. And I've learned a lot about who the Food Network thinks is watching if Rodney is who they believe to be entertaining or watchable or "a star." As I've noted before, America tuned in to this sort of low-class personality before on The Jersey Shore, but I used to believe that was because people were laughing at Snookie, not cheering for her. Now I'm not so sure. Either way, Rodney had no business on this show or the network, and Demaris will ultimately "star" in a forgettable show that should remain in the un-watched weekend morning hours. Meanwhile, the network should consider giving Jeff "The Sandwich King" Mauro a little more prime time.
Meanwhile, let's all wait for Nikki Dinki's show Meat on the Side to hopefully premiere on The Cooking Channel, or perhaps The Travel Channel, or even CNN. And, though there's not much reason to watch The Food Network these days if you don't want to watch endless re-runs on of Guy Fieri's Diners, Drive-ins, & Dives, there is some hope for entertaining commentary and reasonably good cooking next Sunday with the premiere of Tyler Florence's Great Food Truck Race. Hopefully, Tyler's show will wash away the bad taste in our mouths from the weak dish served up by Bob Tuschman, Susie Fogelstein, Bobby Flay, Giada DeLaurentis, and Alton Brown in this season's Next Food Network Star.
Southern chef Damaris Philips, known for her awkward shimmy and her negative and insecure attitude, was voted the Next Food Network Star. Damaris will be given her own show - in a weak Sunday morning time slot - and the country will have another overweight Southern woman cooking and promoting unhealthy food. It almost seems a bit contrived - the victory of Damaris in the aftermath of the Paula Deen meltdown. That said, thank goodness voters had enough taste not to award a FoodNetwork show to a crass and unsophisticated pie maker like Rodney Henry.
All I can offer is a very limp and ho-hum thanks to The Food Network for the blandest, weakest, most annoying and simultaneously disappointing season of #NextFoodStar ever. Those are ten or so Sunday evenings of my life that I can never get back, and they weren't impressive programming by any stretch. The sad reality is that the cast of amateurs presented as Food Network Star "finalists" were simply underwhelming. As many people have noted on endless FoodNetwork forums, the only finalist who seemed to have comfort in front of the camera and a point of view that could be immediately marketed was Nikki Dinki. Yet, she was inexplicably eliminated a few weeks ago for not knowing what a pilaf is.Truly the only interesting part of the show this week was the revelation that Nikki Dinki is six months pregnant. So, congratulations to Nikki.
In reviewing the season on tonight's episode, I was all the more baffled by how all of these people became "finalists." And my doubts about the final three - Damaris, Russell, and Rodney - were constantly reinforced. How did they make it to end with all the miserable performances throughout. It was tough to find any favorable footage of Rodney, other than his "Pie Style, Jack!" schtick. And I've learned a lot about who the Food Network thinks is watching if Rodney is who they believe to be entertaining or watchable or "a star." As I've noted before, America tuned in to this sort of low-class personality before on The Jersey Shore, but I used to believe that was because people were laughing at Snookie, not cheering for her. Now I'm not so sure. Either way, Rodney had no business on this show or the network, and Demaris will ultimately "star" in a forgettable show that should remain in the un-watched weekend morning hours. Meanwhile, the network should consider giving Jeff "The Sandwich King" Mauro a little more prime time.
Meanwhile, let's all wait for Nikki Dinki's show Meat on the Side to hopefully premiere on The Cooking Channel, or perhaps The Travel Channel, or even CNN. And, though there's not much reason to watch The Food Network these days if you don't want to watch endless re-runs on of Guy Fieri's Diners, Drive-ins, & Dives, there is some hope for entertaining commentary and reasonably good cooking next Sunday with the premiere of Tyler Florence's Great Food Truck Race. Hopefully, Tyler's show will wash away the bad taste in our mouths from the weak dish served up by Bob Tuschman, Susie Fogelstein, Bobby Flay, Giada DeLaurentis, and Alton Brown in this season's Next Food Network Star.
Generation X Hits Mid-life
Born in 1970, I am currently forty-three years old with a successful career and two school-age children. I am also the proto-typical example of Generation X. While much of the media coverage of generations centers on the retirement of Baby-Boomers and the rise the Millenials, the members of Generation X have calmly and quietly moved into middle age with little fanfare or enthusiasm.
Story of our lives.
Profiled this week on Salon.com in an insightful piece by Sara Scribner, Generation X is heading into our forties with little of the outrageous angst that should accompany a mid-life crisis. That's about what you would expect for the "Slacker" generation - which is what we were known as before being tagged "Generation X" by the media, following the release of Douglas Coupland's first and insightfully prescient novel of the same name. We are apparently too lazy to bother throwing a fit about getting older. We'll leave that to the indulgent - and rather whiny - generations that precede and follow us.
As it stands, the generation that represented the first of the latch-key kids continues to simply live our lives, on our own, expecting not much from the world around us. Born and raised in the waning days of the Cold War and the rise of the Reagan Era, the members of Gen X learned to simply get by and do things on our own. That was, at least, the subject of an interesting analysis that saw as "The Ignored Generation." Though, for the most part, I think we were pretty much OK with being left alone. And despite that apparent isolation and coming-of-age amidst a world that at times seemed to have outlived its potential for progress, the members of Generation X, for the most, seem to be doing OK.
In fact, some people have argued that beyond simply doing OK, Generation X is responsible for "saving the world." While I wouldn't go that far, I would say the kids of the 70s and 80s are certainly doing alright, and are far too busy working and raising kids to bother with something as cliche as a mid-life crisis.
With a Judd Nelson fist pump, I say, "Nice job."
Saturday, August 10, 2013
David Brooks, Neo-Cons, and Moderate Pragmatic Government
Would you rather live in Los Angeles or Mogadishu? And, is that the difference between the Democratic and Republican parties' visions? Is that the divide between President Barack Obama and Senator Rand Paul? OK, clearly these are false dichotomies and a gross exaggeration between the conservative and liberal visions for the United States of America. Yet, a viewing of Fox News and MSNBC often makes the choices seem that stark.
David Brooks - the liberals' favorite conservative - makes it a little easier to understand in his latest NYT column, calling for "The Neo-Con Revival." Brooks argues the neo-conservative movement represented the best thinking from the height of conservative politics, the Reagan Era of the 1980s. Certainly, there is much dissent in the GOP these days, not only about the leftward leanings of the Obama White House, but also the watered down RINOs of their own party who seek to win elections by appealing to where most Americans live - the center.
No one articulated this vision better than classic neo-con Irving Kristol who reminds us:
The kind of conservatism that Irving Kristol embodied was cheerful and at peace with modern America. The political heroes for this kind of conservatism, Kristol wrote, “tend to be T.R., F.D.R. and Ronald Reagan. Such Republican and conservative worthies as Calvin Coolidge, Herbert Hoover, Dwight Eisenhower and Barry Goldwater are politely overlooked.” These conservatives, Kristol continued, reject the idea that the United States is on the road to serfdom. They “do not feel that kind of alarm or anxiety about the growth of the state in the past century, seeing it as natural, indeed inevitable. ... People have always preferred strong government to weak government, though they certainly have no liking for anything that smacks of intrusive government.” Kristol and others argued that the G.O.P. floundered because it never accepted the welfare state. “The idea of a welfare state is in itself perfectly consistent with conservative political philosophy,” he argued. In a capitalist society, people need government aid. “They need such assistance; they demand it; they will get it. The only interesting political question is: How will they get it.”
David Brooks' leanings - which he articulates as classic Burkean conservatism - follows this vein of pragmatic controlled government. It's the same reasonable vision that George Will - before he got old and cranky - promoted in his books like Statecraft as Soul Craft. And it represented the best in society and government as understood by people like Russell Kirk and Benjamin Disraeli. Alas, the past thirty years of conservative talk-radio/television and the rise of conservative extremism found in the Tea Party have obfuscated any real talk of "governing, not government." That's the problem of people like Rand Paul and his promotion of an Ayn Rand-ian vision of the future.
Practical know Ayn Rand's "novels" for the naive and indulgent libertarian idealism that they represent. They laugh at the "Who is John Galt" bumper stickers, understanding how truly crackpot the story of Galt is. As if industrialists would literally walk away from the pursuit of more. By contrast they understand the average person's acceptance and even desire for stability provided by a moderate safety net. And American's don't panic at "nudges" of paternalism that represent good government, not tyranny. Brooks also reminds us that everyone could use a little structure and guidance. And they often look to the government to provide that.
David Brooks - the liberals' favorite conservative - makes it a little easier to understand in his latest NYT column, calling for "The Neo-Con Revival." Brooks argues the neo-conservative movement represented the best thinking from the height of conservative politics, the Reagan Era of the 1980s. Certainly, there is much dissent in the GOP these days, not only about the leftward leanings of the Obama White House, but also the watered down RINOs of their own party who seek to win elections by appealing to where most Americans live - the center.
No one articulated this vision better than classic neo-con Irving Kristol who reminds us:
The kind of conservatism that Irving Kristol embodied was cheerful and at peace with modern America. The political heroes for this kind of conservatism, Kristol wrote, “tend to be T.R., F.D.R. and Ronald Reagan. Such Republican and conservative worthies as Calvin Coolidge, Herbert Hoover, Dwight Eisenhower and Barry Goldwater are politely overlooked.” These conservatives, Kristol continued, reject the idea that the United States is on the road to serfdom. They “do not feel that kind of alarm or anxiety about the growth of the state in the past century, seeing it as natural, indeed inevitable. ... People have always preferred strong government to weak government, though they certainly have no liking for anything that smacks of intrusive government.” Kristol and others argued that the G.O.P. floundered because it never accepted the welfare state. “The idea of a welfare state is in itself perfectly consistent with conservative political philosophy,” he argued. In a capitalist society, people need government aid. “They need such assistance; they demand it; they will get it. The only interesting political question is: How will they get it.”
David Brooks' leanings - which he articulates as classic Burkean conservatism - follows this vein of pragmatic controlled government. It's the same reasonable vision that George Will - before he got old and cranky - promoted in his books like Statecraft as Soul Craft. And it represented the best in society and government as understood by people like Russell Kirk and Benjamin Disraeli. Alas, the past thirty years of conservative talk-radio/television and the rise of conservative extremism found in the Tea Party have obfuscated any real talk of "governing, not government." That's the problem of people like Rand Paul and his promotion of an Ayn Rand-ian vision of the future.
Practical know Ayn Rand's "novels" for the naive and indulgent libertarian idealism that they represent. They laugh at the "Who is John Galt" bumper stickers, understanding how truly crackpot the story of Galt is. As if industrialists would literally walk away from the pursuit of more. By contrast they understand the average person's acceptance and even desire for stability provided by a moderate safety net. And American's don't panic at "nudges" of paternalism that represent good government, not tyranny. Brooks also reminds us that everyone could use a little structure and guidance. And they often look to the government to provide that.
Friday, August 9, 2013
Why Are the Pittsburgh Pirates Sitting Atop the National League?
Though everyone knows the Chicago Cubs are the perennial lovable losers of Major League Baseball, an equally sad story for the past three decades has been the dismal Pittsburgh Pirates who haven't seen the playoffs since 1992. That was back when a young player name Barry Bonds was on the team. However, fortunes have changed in the past three years with the leadership of people like manager Clint Hurdle and player Andrew McCutchen. Granted, the past two seasons, which have started strong, have ended on the same disappointing meltdown. So, what's different now? What is the secret to the rise and sustainability of the Pirates - who have now passed the ever competitive and consistent St. Louis Cardinals.
It's the simple rule of sports - defense wins championships.
As the Pirates visit Colorado, and manager Clint Hurdle returns to his old team, the Denver Post profiles the secret to their success - pitching and fielding. No team achieves success in Major League Baseball without solid and consistent work on the mound ... and in the grass and dirt behind it. Hurdle remembers having the solid offense in Colorado, especially during the miracle Rocktober run of 2007 to the World Series. However, it's the pitching that makes the difference in the long run. Because losing games 9-7 is a standard problem in Colorado. And not being able to hold teams when the offense falters is another "hurdle."
So, Pittsburgh marches on, winning games one pitch and one groundball out at time.
It's the simple rule of sports - defense wins championships.
As the Pirates visit Colorado, and manager Clint Hurdle returns to his old team, the Denver Post profiles the secret to their success - pitching and fielding. No team achieves success in Major League Baseball without solid and consistent work on the mound ... and in the grass and dirt behind it. Hurdle remembers having the solid offense in Colorado, especially during the miracle Rocktober run of 2007 to the World Series. However, it's the pitching that makes the difference in the long run. Because losing games 9-7 is a standard problem in Colorado. And not being able to hold teams when the offense falters is another "hurdle."
So, Pittsburgh marches on, winning games one pitch and one groundball out at time.
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