http://www.takimag.com/blogs/Raimondo.xml The Online Magazine for Independent Conservatives, edited by Taki Theodoracopulos en test4@me.com Copyright 2008 2008-05-14T14:53:00-05:00 http://www.takimag.com/sniperstower/article/our_tribalism_and_theirs/ http://www.takimag.com/sniperstower/article/our_tribalism_and_theirs/#When:14:53:00Z It’s been a rather bleary morning: after last night—don’t ask—I stumbled out of bed, made myself some very strong coffee, and naturally turned to Taki’s Magazine for comfort, where I was delighted to find Bill Kauffman’s excellent piece on Ron Paul: Bill’s style is inherently sympathetic, elegant yet bereft of preciousness and down-home without being anything like Hillary mimicking the rubes. Just my cup of tea. Then, unfortunately, I turned to the “Sniper’s Nest,” and—gack!—came upon this: “Jeremiah Wright’s loony speeches were not a ‘distraction’; in fact, looking at the numbers tells us that he is a typical representative of his … 2008-05-14T14:53:00-05:00 http://www.takimag.com/site/article/mishima_postpaleo_of_nippon/ http://www.takimag.com/site/article/mishima_postpaleo_of_nippon/#When:10:00:00Z The final river of Yukio Mishima's life to swell from a stream into a rushing torrent was that of action, and it propelled him toward his fate. This was really, however, the river of ideology, which for Mishima was his own unique brand of Japanese nationalism: it might be called Japan’s version of paleoconservatism. He didn’t think of himself standing athwart history yelling “Stop!” Instead, he demanded that history must reverse course, and go back to that juncture where a wrong turn was taken.In Runaway Horses, Yukio Mishima’s portrait of a young right-winger and would-be assassin, the main character, Isao, is … 2008-05-12T10:00:00-05:00 http://www.takimag.com/blogs/article/rise_and_shine/ http://www.takimag.com/blogs/article/rise_and_shine/#When:11:53:00Z How hated are the neocons?—When even sports writers are on your case, you know the peasants with pitchforks can’t be far behind. From a piece headlined “Are the Mariners the Neocons of Baseball?”: “Should we be worried the Mariners are baseball’s equivalent of the Bush Administration? Fiscally undisciplined with negligible positive returns? Check. Marketed as veteran leadership despite any veterans with leadership experience? Check. Sloppy management reinforced with sloppy execution on the ground? Check.” Speaking of neocons—their presidential candidate is having a big fundraiser tonight (Wednesday), which is expected to drop some $7 mil into McCain’s war chest. The GOP … 2008-05-08T11:53:00-05:00 http://www.takimag.com/sniperstower/article/the_great_transcender/ http://www.takimag.com/sniperstower/article/the_great_transcender/#When:21:20:00Z The Great Transcender—I like it! Richard has coined what I think is the definitive iconic signifier, in part because it makes the Reagan analogy. Obama is a comparable figure. And I would argue that his appeal doesn’t just transcend race—it also rearranges the left-right blue-red paradigm that libertarians and paleos have found so uncongenial. While his foreign policy views are what attract antiwar paleos and libertarians, Obama is good on the vital issue of education, as well: he’s open to vouchers, charter schools, and is openly bucking the public school monopolists of the NEA, a powerful Democratic party pressure group. Richard … 2008-05-07T21:20:00-05:00 http://www.takimag.com/blogs/article/attack_of_the_reasonoids/ http://www.takimag.com/blogs/article/attack_of_the_reasonoids/#When:04:58:00Z Ron Paul’s recently published book, The Revolution, is number one on Amazon and will debut on the New York Times bestseller list at number seven—good news, eh? Not to the fake “libertarians” over at Reason magazine, no sirreee! David Weigel posts this snarky little rant, digging up the Ron Paul newsletter scandal—which I debunked here—but Weigel doesn’t have to answer any arguments, or even make any of his own. All he has to do is borrow a smear from another neocon-run sliming operation, and, Voila!: “Back in January there was a split, among friends of Ron Paul, about how to respond … 2008-05-01T04:58:00-05:00 http://www.takimag.com/blogs/article/hot_links_in_the_morning/ http://www.takimag.com/blogs/article/hot_links_in_the_morning/#When:10:30:00Z Why is this man smiling—or, rather, smirking? It took them some 23 years, but the FBI finally got around to arresting Ben-Ami Kadish, who stole US secrets for Israel—and reported to the same Israeli “controller” as Jonathan Pollard. Newsweek has some of the details—but Phil Giraldi, at The American Conservative, has the real scoop. Israeli spies in the US? Who woulda thought?! Well, readers of TAC, for one. As I wrote back in 2005, in a piece on the AIPAC spy scandal: “Like a dorsal fin poking just above the water, the Franklin spy trial promises us a glimpse of … 2008-04-24T10:30:00-05:00 http://www.takimag.com/blogs/article/at_this_ungodly_hour/ http://www.takimag.com/blogs/article/at_this_ungodly_hour/#When:13:42:00Z What, in the name of all that’s holy, is anyone doing up at 5:28 am? At this ungodly hour, one can only be up to no good. Unless you’re over 50, like me, in which case it’s simply old age: with the sand in the hourglass moving rather too quickly, we oldsters simply want to experience as much of the time we have left in a state of wakefulness as possible. That’s one explanation: here‘s another. Well, then, be that as it may, let’s get on with the day’s news, and there sure is a lot of it: Our quote of … 2008-04-18T13:42:00-05:00 http://www.takimag.com/blogs/article/the_morning_scene/ http://www.takimag.com/blogs/article/the_morning_scene/#When:13:58:00Z You Got That Right—Matt Yglesias on the arrogance of the neocons: “The attitude of thoughtless, unreflective scorn that you see from the Pollacks and Kirchicks and Goldfarbs of the world is like it comes from some weird alternative reality where their ideas have generally been deemed vindicated, rather than one where 178% of the public says we’re on the wrong track.” Was It Good For You?—Benjamin Netanyahu blurts out the truth: “The Israeli newspaper Ma’ariv on Wednesday reported that Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu told an audience at Bar Ilan university that the September 11, 2001 terror attacks had been beneficial … 2008-04-17T13:58:00-05:00 http://www.takimag.com/blogs/article/confessions_of_a_bitter_old_reactionary/ http://www.takimag.com/blogs/article/confessions_of_a_bitter_old_reactionary/#When:19:34:00Z Okay, okay, I admit it: I, too, am bitter. What else would one expect an Obama-con to be? I know we’re not supposed to be negative, at least according to Hillary, who “seems to have switched her narrative around,” as one wag put it. In the Brave New World Hillary/McCain are building for us—a world of mandatory health insurance for 20-year-olds and permanent war—we’re to go to our graves smiling, or the Powers That Be want to know the reason why. Yes, I’m bitter, dammit. And who can blame me? Look, I’m not hard to please: all I ask is … 2008-04-14T19:34:00-05:00 http://www.takimag.com/blogs/article/morning_links_again/ http://www.takimag.com/blogs/article/morning_links_again/#When:16:07:00Z Well, it’s morning—in San Francisco, at any rate—so let’s wipe the sand from our eyes and take a look at today’s links: Hey, remember the anthrax attacks? It’s funny, but practically no one does. That’s because the media—having tried, framed, and convicted the wrong man—got bored with the story, and dropped it. Also: the government seems to have done the same thing. We haven’t heard from them in regard to the anthrax mystery in quite some time, but now Fox News reports: “The FBI has narrowed its focus to ‘about four’ suspects in the 6 1/2-year investigation of the deadly anthrax … 2008-04-08T16:07:00-05:00