tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post7431971378218806875..comments2024-03-28T16:22:14.888-07:00Comments on Steve Sailer: iSteve: JournoList: Unclear on the ConceptUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger44125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-39973332702775098652009-04-27T10:17:00.000-07:002009-04-27T10:17:00.000-07:00FYI: Howard Kurtz [bless his little heart] has mor...FYI: Howard Kurtz [bless his little heart] has more on the behind-the-scenes internals of how sausage is made:<br /><br /><B>The Media Elite's Secret Dinners</B> <br />By Howard Kurtz<br />Washington Post Staff Writer<br />Monday, April 27, 2009; 7:54 AM<br /><A HREF="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/27/AR2009042700891.html" REL="nofollow">washingtonpost.com</A> <br /><br /><I>...As the journalists hurled questions and argued among themselves, Emanuel said: "This feels a lot like a Jewish family dinner"...<br /><br />...Among those in regular attendance are David Brooks and Maureen Dowd of the New York Times, Gene Robinson and Ruth Marcus of The Washington Post, NBC's David Gregory, ABC's George Stephanopoulos, PBS's Gwen Ifill, the New Yorker's Jane Mayer, Vanity Fair's Todd Purdum, former Time managing editor Walter Isaacson and staffers from Bradley's Atlantic and National Journal, including Ron Brownstein, Andrew Sullivan and Jonathan Rauch...</I>Lucius Vorenusnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-61731516666631120822009-03-30T07:29:00.000-07:002009-03-30T07:29:00.000-07:00Similarly, in the 1950s Japanese imported products...<I>Similarly, in the 1950s Japanese imported products were derided as cheap junk that broke easily. That did a U-Turn by the 1980s...</I><BR/><BR/>The problem with that analogy is it ignores the wage-slave motive behind open-borders. See, IF these people ever assimilate and trend up to American norms (not likely - Mexicans are not Japanese), <I>the Swipples and the elite won't want them anymore, and they'll import more ignorant peasants from Mexico</I> to do the jobs "Americans and 3rd generation Mexican-Americans won't do." In other words, if you free a slaveholder's slaves without outlawing slavery, he'll just go looking for fresh slaves.Svigorhttp://majorityrights.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-35330737987309280422009-03-30T07:24:00.000-07:002009-03-30T07:24:00.000-07:00These days, the main criticism of Latin immigrant ...<I>These days, the main criticism of Latin immigrant workers is that they are TOO hardworking and productive, hence employers prefer them to the native-born</I><BR/><BR/>You're confused. Employers prefer them because they cost less. E.g., they carpool (vanpool?) without car insurance, don't pay taxes, don't care about health insurance, live twelve to a house, have little to no path for redress, etc. <BR/><BR/>So they don't need what Americans consider to be a living wage. (The same Americans who DO pay taxes, and thus to educate the border-jumpers' kids, for their medical bills, etc.)<BR/><BR/>Get it now? I don't think anyone really wants amnesty. Amnesty would mean devaluing these wage slaves.<BR/><BR/>I've actually worked around these cats. They like to show up late, take a day off (Monday, usually) about once every two weeks, bum money for lunch every day (so they have enough for booze and pot on the weekends), bum rides, etc. That, and scam the welfare services and whatnot. What I find most insulting is that not being a citizen or having any documents is an ADVANTAGE to them in many ways. E.g., they have to be paid under the table, so the government doesn't get to steal the sweat of their brow every payday.Svigorhttp://majorityrights.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-36030687530681547262009-03-30T05:22:00.000-07:002009-03-30T05:22:00.000-07:00Lucius Vorenus said... And if the NYC nihilists ca...Lucius Vorenus said... <BR/><BR/>And if the NYC nihilists can do pull it off in the journalism world, then who's to say that they can't pull it off in the financial world, as well?<BR/><BR/>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<BR/><BR/>I think the JournoList is an influential group of opinion shapers that by joining forces <BR/>get more of their flavor of KoolAid<BR/>out into the marketplace for imbibing by those predisposed<BR/>and thirsty for it.<BR/><BR/>In following financial markets and reading market histories I don't find shadowy cabals pulling levers behind the scenes. There is certainly endemic, systemic conflictions engendering biases.<BR/>The source of repetitive wide scale, collective ripoffs is herd mentality. Everyone buying into the latest flavor du jour, from small private investors to big money managers to congressmen, presidents and central bankers.<BR/>And media. <BR/>Variously..dotcoms, Nifty Fifty,<BR/>earlier eras...railroads and radio.<BR/>Rationalizations for nonsensical valuations fill the airwaves and print space before the crash, the dénouement. There seems to be a pattern here, a serial bubble blowing, a 'business cycle.'<BR/><BR/> Discovering the wonder of the Web at fingertip mid-Nineties, people were predisposed to The New Economy, to believe in it, from investors to politicians. Nobody conspired it all. At the end of the dotcoms the accounting fraud was as rampant as the mania, the valuations as hyperbolic as the magazine covers, the losses and destruction of capital, savings and lives of lesser magnitude but similar to the present credit debacle. <BR/><BR/> If the immensely rich and powerful were arranging it all<BR/>then how come the American billionaire oligarchs, controlling vast real estate, media, financial empires largely lost it all, becoming poor billionaires. They stupidly leveraged their wealth betting on the smartest guy in the room, themselves, on margin, and got wiped out. At least the oft touted wealth disparity has narrowed thus mention has disappeared. And the rich who 'pay no taxes' and buy all this government won't be.<BR/><BR/> Thus the printing press, just another form of taxation, nonprogressive, as is cap & trade, collected at the gas pump, electric and heating bills,<BR/>and every consumer purchase because of the energy component. All none the wiser. The JournoList<BR/>ninnies are aiding and abetting the marketing and selling of this nonsense not because they are closet Bolsheviks but because they are ignorant, incompetent and products of the higher education system. And don't get out much.Pat Shuffnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-15707200844615054042009-03-29T22:12:00.000-07:002009-03-29T22:12:00.000-07:00The most notable thing about JournoList is how bor...The most notable thing about JournoList is how boring and pissy it is.Udolphohttp://www.udolpho.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-53460780186001309582009-03-29T21:23:00.000-07:002009-03-29T21:23:00.000-07:00What about your listserv? Any worries of leaks? ...What about your listserv? Any worries of leaks? How free is the conversation, really?TCOnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-51908476704124818052009-03-29T15:20:00.000-07:002009-03-29T15:20:00.000-07:00RKU, the stereotypical natures of the two main com...RKU, the stereotypical natures of the two main components of the Mexican population are very different. The Spaniards are reasonably intelligent, lazy, gregarious and loud. The peasant Indians are hard-working, unassertive, quiet, and clearly not as intelligent. What you see in them depends on what part of their mix you're looking at.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-36629952080146271292009-03-29T14:55:00.000-07:002009-03-29T14:55:00.000-07:00Let's!, classic post. Juicebox mafia is a new one ...Let's!, classic post. Juicebox mafia is a new one to me. <BR/><BR/>I get the same impression when I catch Rick Steve's too. He makes vast generalizations about groups of people but he's not a bigot somehow. Oh! He only disses American's. Funny how they probably buy most of his books. I'm sure he's a big hit with the SWPL crowd.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-75550265138868155672009-03-29T14:30:00.000-07:002009-03-29T14:30:00.000-07:00While they check out "siesta," they might try "man...<I>While they check out "siesta," they might try "manana."<BR/><BR/>Never put off until tomorrow, what you can put off until the day after tomorrow.</I><BR/><BR/>Aren't we getting our stereotypes a little cross-eyed here?<BR/><BR/>These days, the main criticism of Latin immigrant workers is that they are TOO hardworking and productive, hence employers prefer them to the native-born, endless laws and political pressure notwithstanding. This drives down wages for the domestic working class.<BR/><BR/>It was the OLD stereotype of Mexicans that they were lazy and "manana" oriented.<BR/><BR/>Similarly, in the 1950s Japanese imported products were derided as cheap junk that broke easily. That did a U-Turn by the 1980s...RKUnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-47936968957242027122009-03-29T08:10:00.000-07:002009-03-29T08:10:00.000-07:00Anonymous: Regarding current conspiracies, I think...<B>Anonymous:</B> <I>Regarding current conspiracies, I think the rampant fear and panic in the markets is an uncontrollable beast, the markets are larger than men or groups acting in collusion, and any concerted act would/could spin off in any uncontrollable direction.</I><BR/><BR/>Yeah, but make one small substitution in that assertion, so that it reads thusly:<BR/><BR/><I>the <B>practice of journalism is</B> larger than men or groups acting in collusion, and any concerted act would/could spin off in any uncontrollable direction</I><BR/><BR/>The entire point of this discussion is that THERE REALLY IS A STAR CHAMBER AT WORK HERE.<BR/><BR/>These NYC nihilists really do get together behind [virtual] closed doors, talk amongst themselves about what the official NYC nihilist party line is going to be, then depart and head out into the real world with a united front and an identical set of talking points to disseminate in their coordinated propaganda.<BR/><BR/>And if the NYC nihilists can do pull it off in the journalism world, then who's to say that they can't pull it off in the financial world, as well?<BR/><BR/>BTW, if you guys had read Sebag Montefiore [<A HREF="http://www.amazon.com/dp/1400076781/" REL="nofollow">Part I</A>, or <A HREF="http://www.amazon.com/dp/1400044650/" REL="nofollow">Part II, The Prequel</A> - you can also throw in a little <A HREF="http://www.amazon.com/dp/0679422714/" REL="nofollow">Chang & Halliday</A> for good measure], then you'd know that this is EXACTLY how they behaved 100 years ago in pre-Soviet Russia [right down to the Axelrods who were Mensheviks working with Joseph Djugashvili in Czarist Georgia in 1905].Lucius Vorenusnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-69848139561453739882009-03-29T07:54:00.000-07:002009-03-29T07:54:00.000-07:00Anonymous: Last thought - damn, I wish some of the...<B>Anonymous:</B> <I>Last thought - damn, I wish some of the girly-men at National Review could summon up the courage to say what Peretz said. It's hard to believe that this was the flagship publication of American conservatism just a few short years ago. These days they stand athwart history saying "Which way you headed? I'll run on ahead of you."</I><BR/><BR/>That was the funniest thing I've read at iSteve since <A HREF="http://isteve.blogspot.com/2008/08/obamas-brother-by-another-mother-found.html?showComment=1219524240000#c220548248171530249" REL="nofollow">"Oh HELL NO! OH HELL NO!!! Not in MY house..."</A>.<BR/><BR/>Man, that one still makes me laugh.<BR/><BR/><B>Anonymous:</B> <I>but they're right, noticing things about Mexico is racist.</I><BR/><BR/>Which is precisely the problem*.<BR/><BR/>BTW, speaking of questions of intellectually honest "racism" & the panty-waists at National Review, Jonah Goldberg is trying to dance the tightrope two-step in <A HREF="http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=NjAxNTAzNTJkNTlmOTMzNTc4MmVhYmMyNzQwNDkzMDY=" REL="nofollow">this morning's post</A>.<BR/><BR/><BR/><BR/><BR/><BR/>*Given our society's current working definition of the word "racist".<BR/><BR/>I'd argue for an entirely different definition, but I just spent half an hour yesterday chatting with some [otherwise pretty hot] grad student chick about the meaning of the suffix "phobe" when attached to the prefix "homo", and realized that even trying to talk about basic grammarian-semantic tautologies with these people is simply hopeless.<BR/><BR/>The religion of nihilism is just too deeply ingrained in their neurons - my impression of the phenomenon is akin to what the Darwinists would derisively dismiss as <A HREF="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epigenetic_inheritance" REL="nofollow">Lamarckism</A>.Lucius Vorenusnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-75875256159441223082009-03-29T07:39:00.000-07:002009-03-29T07:39:00.000-07:00While they check out "siesta," they might try "man...<I>While they check out "siesta," they might try "manana."</I><BR/><BR/>Never put off until tomorrow, what you can put off until the day after tomorrow.<BR/><BR/>:)Svigorhttp://majorityrights.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-58496423922063512062009-03-29T03:26:00.000-07:002009-03-29T03:26:00.000-07:00Anonymous said... Pat Shuff said:~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Th...Anonymous said... <BR/>Pat Shuff said:<BR/>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<BR/><BR/>The SF article was rather watered down compared to more explicit<BR/>articles of the time. Basically the legislators were discussing if forcing CA into default/bankruptcy would play to their advantage. <BR/>There was no apparent concern about default being a good or bad thing for CA, for the people of CA, for the future etc. I swear, at least some politicians would strangle their own grandmother or drown a grandchild if somehow politically advantageous. They also displayed no real understanding of the ramifications or long term consequences of a default, either to CA, the muni market or the nation. It had no standing amongst political priorities. <BR/><BR/> Regarding current conspiracies,<BR/>I think the rampant fear and panic in the markets is an uncontrollable<BR/>beast, the markets are larger than men or groups acting in collusion,<BR/>and any concerted act would/could spin off in any uncontrollable direction. An individual stock or narrow, illiquid market (say tungsten) can be manipulated at least temporarily for an ill-gotten gain.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-81152383916565028712009-03-29T00:31:00.000-07:002009-03-29T00:31:00.000-07:00"Anonymous said...Having typed all this, I feel li..."Anonymous said...<BR/><BR/>Having typed all this, I feel like one of those JFK or WTC conspiracy nuts, but what can I say, I really think that this was sort of, kind of possible."<BR/><BR/>I believe that Oswald, acting alone, killed Kennedy. I believe that nineteen arabs, supported by Osama bin Laden and his organization, flew airplanes into the World Trade towers, causing them to collapse. And I think that the October Surprise scenario you described is entirely plausible. It's not crazy. Just because most conspiracy theories are untrue, does not mean that all of them are untrue.Mr. Anonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-29854757451366532052009-03-29T00:20:00.000-07:002009-03-29T00:20:00.000-07:00"Anonymous said...Having typed all this, I feel li..."Anonymous said...<BR/><BR/>Having typed all this, I feel like one of those JFK or WTC conspiracy nuts, but what can I say, I really think that this was sort of, kind of possible."<BR/><BR/>I believe that Oswald, acting alone, killed Kennedy. I believe that nineteen arabs, supported by Osama bin Laden and his organization, flew airplanes into the World Trade towers, causing them to collapse. And I think that the October Surprise scenario you described is entirely plausible. It's not crazy. Just because most conspiracy theories are untrue, does not mean that all of them are untrue.Mr. Anonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-23180056159426945792009-03-28T21:42:00.000-07:002009-03-28T21:42:00.000-07:00Nick Sarkozy said...My dear husband, I am here to ...<I>Nick Sarkozy said...</I><BR/><BR/>My dear husband, I am here to inform you that despite rumors in certain, shall we say, lively corners of the blogosphere that you are in fact not Jewish.<BR/><BR/>I also want to alert you that as President of the French Republic you are free to start your own blog anytime if you do not like the comment moderation policies of Monsieur Sailer.Carla Bruninoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-49787821540573843592009-03-28T21:13:00.000-07:002009-03-28T21:13:00.000-07:00Anonymous: If Obama's folks sat around dreaming ab...<B>Anonymous:</B> <I>If Obama's folks sat around dreaming about when they'd have preferred that crash to happen, what period would they have chosen? Right, October 2008. There is a reason they don't call them April surprises. <BR/><BR/>By the way, I don't have any data to support this. Just my (cynical or realistic or crackpotty) hunch about how such things would normally work. Lots of people in Big Finance supported Obama. I remember seeing Soros on TV gushing about him, for example. Of course it needn't have been Soros...<BR/><BR/>I don't know enough about Wall Street to judge if a handful of people could have plausibly done it...</I><BR/><BR/>You know, a few months ago, I would have said that you were nuts.<BR/><BR/>But I keep seeing the same names [and <A HREF="http://lyingeyes.blogspot.com/2009/03/are-you-crazy-ass-racist.html" REL="nofollow">the same kinds of names</A>] over and over and over again.<BR/><BR/>Does anyone know anything about this alleged <A HREF="http://www.google.com/search?q=%24550+Billion+September+18%2C+2008" REL="nofollow">$550 Billion draw-down</A> at 11AM on Thursday, September 18, 2008?<BR/><BR/>Did it really happen, or is it just an urban myth?<BR/><BR/>There's no doubt that <A HREF="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1164771/Im-having-good-crisis-says-hedge-fund-manager-1billion-world-plunged-recession.html" REL="nofollow">Soros is out there bragging</A> about how much money he's making in all of this.<BR/><BR/>But I don't know whether Soros alone could have pulled it off [to time it the way it would have to have been timed].<BR/><BR/>Soros & the Saudis & the Kuwaitis & the Chicoms, maybe - acting in concert.Lucius Vorenusnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-4167749664030185822009-03-28T21:09:00.000-07:002009-03-28T21:09:00.000-07:00Mr. F. Le Mur:It's much worse than you representwi...Mr. F. Le Mur:<BR/><BR/>It's much worse than you represent<BR/>with that quote.<BR/><BR/>It's been 29 years this month since I've touched a newspaper or news magazine. Previously, I'd probably read a couple a day since I was in elementary school.<BR/><BR/>Oddly, enough, I quit reading all fiction when I was 12. Didn't have anything against it--it just seemed like a useful cut-off so I wouldn't spend all my time reading. So, I've read almost no fiction of the 20th century. Just as well--we all get enough misimpressions just living without<BR/>stuffing ourselves full of those of others, whether or not done deliberately. We (people) seem to desire entertainment to such degree that those with the will and ability can just "load us up."Gene Bermannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-25331935194580915572009-03-28T20:43:00.000-07:002009-03-28T20:43:00.000-07:00Svigor:While they check out "siesta," they might t...Svigor:<BR/><BR/>While they check out "siesta," they might try "manana."Gene Bermannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-65435091842328055722009-03-28T20:16:00.000-07:002009-03-28T20:16:00.000-07:00Why on earth would lefties need a private email di...Why on earth would lefties need a private email discussion list? I've never heard of a leftist losing a job over their beliefs.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-45804564014192730182009-03-28T19:27:00.000-07:002009-03-28T19:27:00.000-07:00Lots of heretical, anathema comments at that linke...Lots of heretical, anathema comments at that linked blog, Your Lying Eyes. There are lots of comments there that would never make the grade at the isteve blog. <BR/><BR/>Those people must be cavemen to think such thoughts and make such heretical connections concerning "the tribe". Such thoughts would never be allowed in 99.999999% of the so-called alternative press. <BR/><BR/>Doesn't open-and-shut-case "anti-semitism" include any reference to a Jewish conspiracy/cabal behavior and isn't it also extremely illegal everywhere in the Western world? Isn't it super illegal behavior? Shouldn't I/you/we be arrested immediately and then deprived of any professional career at slightest hint of this particular thought crime?<BR/><BR/>Still - whatever Abe Foxman and Morris Dees say - I have questions. Is there actually a "tribe"? Does it exist? Is "the tribe" powerful? Is "the tribe" acting in a conspiracy against anyone not in "the tribe"? Does "the tribe" seek global hegemony? Is global hegemony the basis of "the tribe's" religious literature? <BR/><BR/>Why don't you explain it all for the little people, Steve. It's so confusing for us unimportant rabble.Nick Sarkozynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-18887529526882605672009-03-28T16:08:00.000-07:002009-03-28T16:08:00.000-07:00Regarding the Mexican-American issue, some of thes...Regarding the Mexican-American issue, some of these journalist might enjoy a recent book by H. E. Baber entitled "The Multicultural Mystique: The Liberal Case Against Diversity" - http://www.amazon.com/Multicultural-Mystique-Liberal-Against-Diversity/dp/1591025532Emannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-44815079416879366952009-03-28T15:27:00.000-07:002009-03-28T15:27:00.000-07:00"I don't think the point is to have an insightful ..."I don't think the point is to have an insightful discussion, but rather to have an exclusive, members-only clubhouse."<BR/><BR/>The point is to keep up the orthodoxy by threatening excommunication. Keep that dirty business inside the church and present a unified front to the outsiders.joshnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-24546058488806578392009-03-28T14:08:00.000-07:002009-03-28T14:08:00.000-07:00"What do you have to do to pass muster with these ...<I>"What do you have to do to pass muster with these folks?"</I><BR/><BR/>Don't question the faith.Maliknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-40434279703292569782009-03-28T13:46:00.000-07:002009-03-28T13:46:00.000-07:00Pat Shuff said:Open mike picks up faction's talk o...Pat Shuff said:<BR/><BR/><I>Open mike picks up faction's talk of profiting from a crisis<BR/><BR/>http://tinyurl.com/hrau</I><BR/><BR/>I followed the link. Here' a quote: <I>"It seems to me if there's going to be a crisis, the crisis should be this year," Assemblywoman Jackie Goldberg, D-Los Angeles, said during the meeting. </I><BR/><BR/>They were talking about relatively small-scale California stuff, but it reminded me of something bigger: the current worldwide crisis exploded into the public consciousness during the Wall Street crash which happened in the <B>first week of October, 2008.</B><BR/><BR/>The Wall Street crash was always going to happen, but when? If it happened a year into Obama's term, that would have been awful for Obama. A year before the end of Bush's term - good for Obama. October of 2008 - triple jackpot for Obama. <BR/><BR/>If Obama's folks sat around dreaming about when they'd have preferred that crash to happen, what period would they have chosen? Right, October 2008. There is a reason they don't call them April surprises. <BR/><BR/>By the way, I don't have any data to support this. Just my (cynical or realistic or crackpotty) hunch about how such things would normally work. Lots of people in Big Finance supported Obama. I remember seeing Soros on TV gushing about him, for example. Of course it needn't have been Soros. <BR/><BR/>As the quote above shows (as if proof was needed), there are certainly people around who're cynical enough to want to do such things. And it would have benefited a lot of them both politically (their guy's chances of election went up) and financially (if you know when the market's going to crash, you can make a killing in shorts). For me the only unanswered question is if it was technically possible for one or for a few Wall Street operators to pull it off. The greater the number of conspirators, the bigger the chance that the plan would leak, so this couldn't have involved a lot of people. <BR/><BR/>I don't know enough about Wall Street to judge if a handful of people could have plausibly done it.<BR/><BR/>Having typed all this, I feel like one of those JFK or WTC conspiracy nuts, but what can I say, I really think that this was sort of, kind of possible.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com