http://www.wikio.com/search=Jonah Goldberg Wikio - Jonah Goldberg http://www.wikio.com/search/Jonah+Goldberg?rinfoid=63119405 No political strategist am I, but Jonah Goldberg's suggestion for the McCain campaign strikes me as wise: As many have noted, it's ironic that Obama supporters who profess to want bipartisanship are indisputably voting for the wrong guy. There's next... Sat, 05 Jul 2008 15:24:24 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Jonah+Goldberg?rinfoid=63119405 2008-07-05T15:24:24Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Jonah+Goldberg?rinfoid=62996603 Rarely have I laughed so much than I did at Larisa Alexandrovna's near-spoof rebuttal to Jonah Goldberg's USA Today article on patriotism . Goldberg had perfectly summed up the reasons why outward displays of patriotism often discomfit those who find them twee, or unnecessary: In part because liberal commentators have such a hard time grasping why patriotism should be an issue at all, and the GOP is so clumsy explaining why it's important, the debate often gets boiled down to symbols. Like so much else about Obama, his position on the lapel flag changes with the needs of the moment. After 9/11, he wore it. During the debates over the Iraq war, he stopped because he saw the flag as a sign of support for President Bush. (He started wearing it again in May.) "I decided I won't wear that pin on my chest," he added in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. "Instead, I'm going to try to tell the American people what I believe will make this country great and, hopefully, that will be a testimony to my patriotism." Read that line again: "What I believe will make this country great." Not to sound too much like a Jewish mother, but some might respond, "What? It's not great now?" This sense that America is in need of fixing in order to be a great country points to Obama's real patriotism problem . And it's not Obama's alone. By jove, he nailed it! Twice. A- Outward shows of patriotism are problematic because they suggest said showy patriot refuses to acknowledge or even denies his country's wrongdoings. B- Support of country equates support of current administration. The first is usually unworkable in the historical mind of any Leftist, whereas the second depends on administration (but really shouldn't). Alexandrovna lamely begins her Huffington Post retort by speaking words through gritted teeth: " Jonah Goldberg continues to demonstrate how the right-wing is manipulating public discourse in order to confuse and conflate patriotism with rabid nationalism." It's George Lakoff's warning about national discourse being framed according to Republican wording come to life! One can almost hear a squeal of frustration in her opening salvo. Chris Rock's standup once touched on black Americans conflicted love of their country. Paraphrasing he said, with that perfect rhythm only he has: "Black folk love America, but America is like the uncle who sexually molests you. Sure, he's your blood and you love him, and he might even help to put you through college, but he...MOLESTS you!" To which Miss Alexandrovna counters with her view of American patriotism: "A mother of a heroin addict, for example, is critical of her child's drug abuse and wants it to stop. The mother wants only the best for her child. Does the mother's criticism of the child's actions in any way illustrate that she does not love her child? On the contrary, it is because the mother loves her child and is devoted to her child that she wants her child to be better, greater than he/she is." America, the molesting uncle? The crack baby? This isn't my America, and I doubt it's how the majority of Americans view their country either. Is it a wonder that many on the progressive Left simply do not get what patriotism is, especially in the American context. No other country was formed so precariously out of a dozen different national molds than the USA. And that was just in 1776. Each immigrant who came later added yet another personalised layer of what America is, was, and would become. Through it all, there were some binding symbols which held this patchwork quilt nation together. It's not rocket science, either. American patriotism is dead simple, people. - The Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution. - The reverence for the Pilgrims, the Pioneers and Native Americans, the Founding Fathers and all their collective legacy. - The US Flag, National Anthem and Pledge of Allegiance. You have the philosophical underpinning in the first set, the historical bridge in the second, and concrete ways of showing your acknowledgement of the first two in the last set. Where other nations remember bloody battles, the chopping off of tyrants' heads, the goosestepping of murderers, America celebrates her patriotism in truly innocuous ways. We celebrate it during Thanksgiving , when we are thankful for our bounties and blessings. We celebrate it during important dates like the Fourth of July, a day which gave birth to this unlikely experiment called America. Above all, we celebrate it with an unalloyed, almost childlike belief that the country we live in is a force of good overall . And I suppose that's the litmus test which fails for so many people. Patriotism genuinely makes certain people feel squeamish, and unable to express themselves with any semblence of popular patriotism about their country. When I was driving in my car today, my radio on NPR as ever, I heard "senior news analyst" Daniel Schorr give his own views on the topic, entitled " A Reflection for Independence Day ". Listen here . "Patriots may be a good name for a football team, or a jeep or a wiretapping law. But I would submit that in politics it has become a word corrupted by misuse in 'I Am More Patriotic than Thou' epithets. Patriotism may not be, as Samuel Johnson called it, 'the last refuge of a scoundrel', but at least since 1953, when I covered the Senator Joseph McCarthy red-baiting hearings, I have come to suspect most assertions of patriotism and most accusations of unpatriotism." Even if you didn't click on the link to hear the cynicism dripping from every painfully pronounced syllable, you can feel it plainly above in his words. Look how Mr. Schorr begins his entreaty against patriotism: by saying that the very word "Patriot" is something best left to inanimate objects like vehicles (aka, gas guzzling enviro-killers), or to groups like sports teams (sport being the pastime of unthinking yobbos), and then with a clever flourish, he finishes his intro with a little dig at President Bush (Fascist). But he's not done. Oh no. Patriotism is a corrupt idea not the least BECAUSE it has been corrupted by the double-whammy of competitiveness and sanctimony! Why he sounds almost wistful when he asserts that maybe just maybe patriotism is not what good old Dr. Sam Johnson said it was, but certainly his own views on the matter were cemented during a time in American history where to be a patriot meant scoundrels were the ones who determined who was one or not. Let's put aside his immediate knee-jerk association of patriotism and the McCarthy hearings (akin to a British person remembering the signing of the Magna Carta and the treachery of the weather that day in the same breath). Instead, just concentrate on his last words. "My suggestion for this Independence Day is for our WARRING politicians and their surrogates declare a moratorium on references to patriotism. This is Daniel Schorr." Because not even on Independence Day, the Fourth of July...no wait! especially ON Independence Day, the Fourth of July, is it appropriate to be patriotic about America. Patriotism, you see, needs to be believed on the honour system. I'll have to take it on tick that Daniel Schorr loves his country, and Barack Obama loves his country, and Chris Rock loves his country, and Larisa Alexandrovna loves her country even though they'll take every opportunity to remind you of all the reasons why you shouldn't love this country. And then they'll claim they're patriotic because America should be loved despite all its faults -- indeed, to remember the faults, one suspects before long, makes them better human beings because they love her anyway. I think that's it. Always trot out the bad about America, because your love (which is never expressed by anything so gauche as patriotic shows like flag pins, or hand on your hearts during anthems, or stuff like that) will glow purer and more noble if you do. America the crack baby, and America the molesting uncle should be loved inspite of itself. Just forget the Fourth of July and celebrate really important days like May Day, and Earth Day, and January 20, 2009, the Day when Bush Left Office . Throw away those chains of patriotism this Independence Day! ...nah. Sorry, Miss Alexandrova. Sorry, Mr. Schorr. I just can't do it. I went to Home Depot yesterday, and for .98 whole American cents, I bought me two ginormous Old Glories to hang from my car window. But that's okay. I'm sure they were made in China. So with Chinese-American flags flying high, I say to all my readers on Sundries, I'd like to take this overly sentimental opportunity to wish you a very safe, and very patriotic Fourth of July. (Wait for it) May God bless America. Fri, 04 Jul 2008 08:19:00 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Jonah+Goldberg?rinfoid=62996603 2008-07-04T08:19:00Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Jonah+Goldberg?rinfoid=62965636 Courtesy of Media Girl , it looks like TEH EVIL Muslim threat is more insidious than previously imagined. Paging Jonah Goldberg/Ben Stein/Michelle Malkin/Insert Your Own Favorite Faux Patriot Here! LOL Cats are the real anti-American fifth column, and not just because Muhummad was a cat person. Fri, 04 Jul 2008 00:52:00 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Jonah+Goldberg?rinfoid=62965636 2008-07-04T00:52:00Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Jonah+Goldberg?rinfoid=62959815 epistemological flubber.... Can I just say how beautiful that is? The idea that Jonah Goldberg knows jack shit about Aristotle ("and that crowd"!) is risible. Thu, 03 Jul 2008 20:09:02 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Jonah+Goldberg?rinfoid=62959815 2008-07-03T20:09:02Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Jonah+Goldberg?rinfoid=62936130 Late last year, when I reviewed Jonah Goldberg's Liberal Fascism for the New Individualist magazine, I wrote:Goldberg does yeoman's work researching and documenting material that the American left had consigned to the memory hole since 1945. By the 1970s, this... Thu, 03 Jul 2008 19:59:48 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Jonah+Goldberg?rinfoid=62936130 2008-07-03T19:59:48Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Jonah+Goldberg?rinfoid=62933889 Here’s a slightly premature wish that everyone enjoy a safe and sane Independence Day. Since our anniversary falls right around the 4th, Mary and I have developed a holiday tradition: I write a pissy, overlong Jonah Goldberg post, then we turn the keys and the cats over to the housesitter and head down to the [...] Thu, 03 Jul 2008 18:56:58 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Jonah+Goldberg?rinfoid=62933889 2008-07-03T18:56:58Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Jonah+Goldberg?rinfoid=62918588 On Monday#39;s Verdict, Dan Abrams took offense to conservatives, namely Jonah Goldberg and Shannen Coffin, for their comments on WALL-E. An excerpt:... . . . Thu, 03 Jul 2008 17:33:31 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Jonah+Goldberg?rinfoid=62918588 2008-07-03T17:33:31Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Jonah+Goldberg?rinfoid=62896370 Conservative style patriotism, as put by Jonah Goldberg : it's a failure of patriotism if you didn't show respect to the American South in the 1920s. As Jonathan Chait remarks, if there was any time and place in America that deserved nothing but condecension and scorn, it was the quasi-oligarchical racist fiefdom that was the Jim Crow south. It's true, as Matt Yglesias points out , that much Northern scorn towards the South at this time was not matched by a similar commitment to combat epidemic racism in their own communities. But that objectively just serves to further undermine the notion that this is a failure of patriotism : if all of America was at fault, then all of America needed to have its ass kicked into gear. Thu, 03 Jul 2008 15:07:00 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Jonah+Goldberg?rinfoid=62896370 2008-07-03T15:07:00Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Jonah+Goldberg?rinfoid=62838235 Obama's real patriotism problem: He sees an America in which the cup is half-empty. Is his America the same one most Americans think of as they wave flags and celebrate the Fourth of July Jonah Goldberg...( read more ) Thu, 03 Jul 2008 06:31:02 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Jonah+Goldberg?rinfoid=62838235 2008-07-03T06:31:02Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Jonah+Goldberg?rinfoid=62832866 I realize that two Goldberg posts in one week probably breaks blogging law (as well as the camel’s back), but Jonah and I share an important and festive holiday tradition. Every year he writes something smug, tendentious, and obtuse for the Fourth of July, and I respond by getting a headache and whining about it. [...] Thu, 03 Jul 2008 05:35:28 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Jonah+Goldberg?rinfoid=62832866 2008-07-03T05:35:28Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Jonah+Goldberg?rinfoid=62821724 My standing joke about "animal rights" is: "When animals stop killing and eating each other and respect each others' rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, then I'll grant them rights." But this post by Jonah Goldberg today got me thinking: I've been thinking about doing a book on sociobiology and dogs, and I've been doing a lot of reading on dogs and evolution. And there's a case Thu, 03 Jul 2008 02:16:00 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Jonah+Goldberg?rinfoid=62821724 2008-07-03T02:16:00Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Jonah+Goldberg?rinfoid=62801121 Yeah, the description of Jonah Goldberg as "the Paris Hilton of the conservative movement" is marvelous. It's also unfair to Ms. Hilton. While she graciously helped to raise $220,000 for the victims of Hurricane Katrina, Mr. Goldberg exhorted them to "Hoard weapons, grow gills and learn to communicate with serpents." Wed, 02 Jul 2008 20:31:00 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Jonah+Goldberg?rinfoid=62801121 2008-07-02T20:31:00Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Jonah+Goldberg?rinfoid=62871662 From the "Liberal Fascism Blog," the dumbest place on Earth. An e-mail correspondent makes a suggestion to Jonah Goldberg, pointing out something that this careful scholar of fascism had not previously considered: Are you sure that it is really the... Wed, 02 Jul 2008 19:44:13 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Jonah+Goldberg?rinfoid=62871662 2008-07-02T19:44:13Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Jonah+Goldberg?rinfoid=62753443 Larisa Alexrandnova tries her hand at rebutting Jonah Goldberg's essay on Obama's patriotism problem, and hilarity ensues. First, here is a bit of Goldberg's essay, which is introduced as follows: He sees an America in which the cup is half-empty.... Wed, 02 Jul 2008 15:02:49 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Jonah+Goldberg?rinfoid=62753443 2008-07-02T15:02:49Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Jonah+Goldberg?rinfoid=62753001 Jonah Goldberg had a nifty column in yesterday’s USA Today on the subject of patriotism as it pertains to Barack Obama’s constant redefinition of the word. I neglected to link it then because I had seen it linked at a bunch of other sites and I figured it was getting plenty of coverage. Well, this [...] Wed, 02 Jul 2008 14:32:32 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Jonah+Goldberg?rinfoid=62753001 2008-07-02T14:32:32Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Jonah+Goldberg?rinfoid=62749524 Interesting suggestiopn here from Jonah Goldberg : is the rise of the imperial courts in the anglosphere not only a result of, but also a cause of, the shambolic state of anglosphere politics ? It's to be hoped not, otherwise we'd seem to be heading into a death spiral. Then again, there are few politicians out there who appear that 'checks and balances' is supposed to work both ways. The whole point of separation of powers is that each element is supposed to counteract the expansionist tendencies of the others. This is more than just bad politics. As long as MPs refuse to deal with judicial power grabs, they are utterly failing to carry out their constitutional duty. Wed, 02 Jul 2008 14:31:00 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Jonah+Goldberg?rinfoid=62749524 2008-07-02T14:31:00Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Jonah+Goldberg?rinfoid=62740691 Yesterday was an especially weird one in this year's Presidential campaign, with Jonah Goldberg once again proving he can't think his way out of a paper bag, and John McCain's surrogates shooting themselves in the foot. The media got in the act as well, milking stupid stories and trying to offer still more stupidity. Wed, 02 Jul 2008 12:49:19 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Jonah+Goldberg?rinfoid=62740691 2008-07-02T12:49:19Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Jonah+Goldberg?rinfoid=62722882 If you were wise enough to skip Jonah Goldberg’s attack on Obama’s patriotism - save your time and just check out the takedown from Jed Report : In his trademarked pseudo-intellectual style, Jonah launches a full-on smear against Barack Obama, claiming that Barack has a "patriotism problem." To make his case, Jonah digs up a quote of Barack saying "I'm going to try to tell the American people what I believe will make this country great and, hopefully, that will be a testimony to my patriotism." … So Barack Obama has a patriotism problem because...he wants to to make the country great. Obviously, it's a stupid argument -- only someone who hates America would not want to make it great, and only the world's biggest idiot (which Jonah may well be) would suggest that America is right now as great as it has been in the past. The world biggest idiot just had to respond with even more stupidity , which not only included how adding “again” makes all the difference but also this gem: But the key difference is that invoking scripture, or similar language, in order to justify shrinking government at home and liberating mankind from collectivism abroad is quite different than invoking government to justify an enormous expansion of the state into people's lives. Reagan did not believe that government was the instrument of salvation, he believed it was the obstacle to what is best in ourselves and in our nation. Credit to Andrew Sullivan for this: "An enormous expansion of the state into people's lives". What does Jonah think Bush has been doing these past eight years? But maybe Jonah is referring to Kudlow’s claim that Reagan cut government spending. Of course, other conservatives blame the Reagan deficits on an explosion of government spending. Funny thing – Federal spending as a share of GDP neither rose nor fell during the Reagan years. So when Jonah says “shrinking government at home” – he displays his world class stupidity once again. Wed, 02 Jul 2008 10:20:00 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Jonah+Goldberg?rinfoid=62722882 2008-07-02T10:20:00Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Jonah+Goldberg?rinfoid=62738649 Thoughts from Thomas Sowell HERE. And Jonah Goldberg contributes This. Wed, 02 Jul 2008 09:27:00 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Jonah+Goldberg?rinfoid=62738649 noreply@blogger.com (duvafiles) 2008-07-02T09:27:00Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Jonah+Goldberg?rinfoid=62724243 Of words. Larisa looks at how the Republicans' " linguistic choreography " sets up the field the Dems have to play on and mis- and dis-informs the American public in the process: Jonah Goldberg continues to demonstrate how the right-wing is manipulating public discourse in order to confuse and conflate patriotism with rabid nationalism. Make no mistake, this is a coordinated effort to deliberately replace substance with its symbol, meaning with an emblem, and essentially strip language down to nothing but trinkets. ... For a people to be controlled, they must first be robbed of honest discourse and open debate. Distorting language and stripping it of real and honest meaning is the first tool and the best mechanism for transforming a democracy into an authoritarian state. An informed populace is a dangerous populace. ... Patriotism is the word that authoritarians most like to distort and Goldberg demonstrates - once again - just how this distortion is created. ... And our pal Nucks finds the reason Americans are so susceptible to it. Heh ... Wed, 02 Jul 2008 09:25:00 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Jonah+Goldberg?rinfoid=62724243 2008-07-02T09:25:00Z