As balance to a 2018 gathering (see Elizabeth Warren helps another politician raise money on a “get money out of politics” platform), I recently attended an evening with Senator Tom Cotton. It pains me to say this about a Harvard graduate, but his knowledge of world history going back at least to the 1950s is impressive, especially regarding the Middle East and China. The voters of Arkansas picked a seriously bookish person to represent them. Cotton is 44 so by current American standards of cognitive excellence he won’t be ready to run for U.S. President until the year 2056.
Some of the guests (total of about 15) talked about quitting public company boards because of the pressure to jump on the social justice, BLM, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ bandwagons. I personally attribute this to the lack of competition in the U.S. European airlines, for example, are more numerous and ticket prices are lower for comparable trips. Therefore, European companies are less likely to have the extra profits to be able to indulge in non-business activities. An investor said that he thought companies waved the rainbow flag because it enabled them to recruit employees at lower wages. It wouldn’t simply be a job, but rather a mission. Senator Cotton thought that this was something that would be dealt with at the state level, e.g., California’s law to force companies to hire board members based on gender ID. From ca.gov:
Publicly held corporations were required to have at least one female director on their Board of Directors by December 31, 2019. … Who qualifies as a female director? A female is an individual who self-identifies her gender as a woman, without regard to the individual’s designated sex at birth.
Definitely a politician to watch, though I didn’t agree with some of his comments regarding China. If the mission of Americans is building a low-skill low-labor force participation society via open borders, a lavish welfare state, and tens of millions of low-skill migrants, I think we need to cooperate with, not confront, China. We’re not going to start making our own iPhones!
An older attendee, originally from the Midwest, asked why we couldn’t have bipartisan action on a range of issues that she believed to be important. None of those under 60 thought that there was any reason for Joe Biden and the Democrats to compromise.
As I was leaving, I thanked Senator Cotton for educating us on a wide range of topics but said that I wouldn’t be able to support him if he were running against Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle. He responded that he fully understood.
From the neighborhood where the gathering was held, white and Black can coexist peacefully:
And, of course, people in a full rainbow of race and gender IDs can enjoy the beach:
The adjacent playground has a sign reminding visitors that it is an “inclusive environment”:
(Not like the Playgrounds of Hate that are common elsewhere; see Harvard graduate discovers that the suburbs are packed with narrow-minded white heterosexuals in which the 2SLGBTQQIA+ minister talks about feeling excluded by the white hetero soccer moms in the playground back in Lincoln, Maskachusetts.)
An idea if you’re redoing the driveway…
“None of the young people…” ?
Fixed. Thanks!
by current American standards of cognitive excellence…. our host Phil will be ready for the presidency before Tom Cotton!
TS: Ouch! I write most of these blog posts after midnight. And the kids get up at 0700. That’s my excuse for everything 🙂
@Philg, “I write most of these blog posts after midnight”.
Great. So you have the qualification to answer the “3 AM phone call”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yr7odFUARg
In 2019 he voted “yes” to concealed carry reciprocity, which all by itself was enough reason for me to support him, at least to begin with – but I’m glad to hear about his other positive attributes from someone who has met him. Your depiction of him matches what I’ve heard about him “through the grapevine” from others – a seriously smart guy who knows history and a lot more.
Some regular readers of this blog may remember that I despise the deliberate “balkanization” of some Northeastern states like Massachusetts that do not have reciprocity with ANY other state, even their nearest neighbors. This means that if you accidentally cross the wrong line on a map because your NAV system gave you convoluted directions, if you are carrying your licensed firearm at the time, you instantly become a FELON. For example, there is no CCW reciprocity between MA and CT. Why they refuse to recognize each other’s permits is purely a matter of political and revenue calculation since their licensing requirements are similarly strict. If you have an MA LTC Class A and stumble into CT and then try to hurry back and get pulled over for speeding 5 MPH over the limit, you’re a FELON.
For example, here’s the CCW reciprocity map for MA. You can drive north to VT or NH (and kinda-sorta ME) with your MA LTC A+firearm, but you can’t go south or west. And you can’t come here with your license from anywhere else, either.
“STATES HONORED: 0”
https://www.usconcealedcarry.com/resources/ccw_reciprocity_map/ma-gun-laws/
“Definitely a politician to watch, though I didn’t agree with some of his comments regarding China. If the mission of Americans is building a low-skill low-labor force participation society via open borders, a lavish welfare state, and tens of millions of low-skill migrants, I think we need to cooperate with, not confront, China. We’re not going to start making our own iPhones!
I wasn’t sure what the China obsession with Taiwan is, or about the US obsession about China’s obsession with Taiwan, but I recently learned its related to Russia and Crimea, with getting and maintaining access to deep water ports,
“China’s coastline in the East China Sea lacks the deep-water ports needed to service its naval bases located there. Its submarines must operate on the surface until they are able to submerge and dive deep when they reach the area of the Ryukus archipelagoes. If China controlled Taiwan, its submarines would have a far easier exit from Taiwan’s deep-water ports into the Pacific.
disclaimer: this is from google and I haven’t read the entire posting
https://thediplomat.com/2015/05/taiwan-and-strategic-security/
Wondering what you think of the “New Right”. Seems to be the movement for younger conservatives as a push back against alphabet people.
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2022/04/inside-the-new-right-where-peter-thiel-is-placing-his-biggest-bets
Tom Cotton seems highly impressive. Harvard College, Harvard Law, combat service as a US Army Ranger. He would be my pick in the DeSantis administration for Sect’y of Defense or State and by 2032 the presidency. His speech at the Regan Library is worth watching. I don’t take the China manufacturing stuff that seriously because I don’t think it is really doable or sensible for a lot of reasons & I read it as political theater. Though it probably would be a good idea to diversify away from China for low cost manufacturing to places like Viet Nam.
>>I don’t take the China manufacturing stuff that seriously because I don’t think it is really >>doable or sensible for a lot of reasons & I read it as political theater. Though it probably would >>be a good idea to diversify away from China for low cost manufacturing to places like Viet Nam.
@jack sire, don’t you think that outsourcing USA’s manufacturing prowess to a commie dictatorship was a bad strategic move?
so if some of it must be diversified, at least the high-tech/end manufacturing must return back to the USA? (sure, textile & other stuff may still be done elsewhere)
I find it curious that I don’t see much push for getting back manufacturing, in the political talk points these days.
@philg – did you bring this up with tom cotton? Has USA given up on manufacturing?
A 44 year old politician sounds like a kid nowadays. He better split off into the liberal identifying republican camp to have any future. Would have been nice to know what size donation was required to gather with a 44 year old kid.
lion: I didn’t donate! A donation would become public record and therefore puts one at risk of being unpersoned. Look at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brendan_Eich (career ended by a $1,000 political donation ).
@philg, from your link, not a bad way to get cancelled:
“Eich is the CEO of Brave Software, an Internet browser platform company that raised $2.5 million in early funding from angel investors.[34] In January 2016, the company released developer versions of its open-source, Chromium-based and privacy-focused Brave web browser,[35] which blocks ads and trackers,[36][37] and features built-in TOR-connected tabs.
At Brave Software, Eich co-created the Basic Attention Token (BAT), a cryptocurrency designed for use in the Brave browser. BAT launched its ICO on May 31, 2017, and raised $35 million.”
“Dr” Phil: how can you possibly support this Ivy League elitist? I thought all good card-carrying Republicans are against the “elite.”
I know how.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/03/25/republicans-anti-elite-hypocrisy-tom-cotton/
Mike: being willing to talk to someone is not necessarily “support”, is it?
“Cotton denied that waterboarding is a form of torture.”
Sounds like a real piece of shit to me.
“In March 2016, Cotton refused to consider Obama’s Supreme Court nominee during a presidential election year”
Also a total hypocrite, how surprising!
“Cotton rejected the view that there is “systemic racism in the criminal justice system in America”
And a racist, great guy all around!
Of these, only the waterboarding comment bothers me — it incorrectly assumes that anyone who suffers this torture is in fact guilty.
I wonder more why so many politicians seem to have a law degree, followed by a military career, followed by a stint at McKinsey. Xi Jinping on the other hand has studied chemical engineering.
Why is waterboarding such a no-no? Is there an agreed upon _universal book_ on torture that *everyone* fallows?
@georgea
Waterboarding is a “no-no” because it’s torture, as defined by the Geneva Conventions.
@baz, but is there a list of allowed tortures list provided by the Geneva Conventions? I cannot find any, but I found this:
> Article 87, third paragraph, of the 1949 Geneva Convention III provides: “Any form of torture or cruelty is forbidden.”
So why waterboarding is a sensitive torture topic but not other forms of torture?
@george a
because waterboarding is what the U.S. is doing, not sealing non-combatants in iron maidens. If they were doing that, it would a topic of conversation no?
Why be deliberately obtuse to justify pain and suffering on innocent people?
George A.: I think no one in this thread has stated that other forms of torture are acceptable. Obviously in the context of this thread the focus is on waterboarding because the U.S. has used it and Cotton has defended its use.
Tom Cotton seems like a great choice for highest political office. But can he move people the way Donald Trump does? And does he have civic courage go against the headwind, not the same as courage under fire supported by command chain and public opinion at home. He may as well have both but nobody knows about it. Of course Sen. Cotton beats by a mile anyone US “Democrats” could nominate.
In the modern media age, it is tough to imagine anyone soft-spoken prevailing. Imagine Calvin Coolidge running today!
The low cost Ryanair is one of the most profitable airlines in Europe. Perhaps the reason is that they are weeding out nonessential positions.
I think in U.S. corporations the 2SLGBTQQIA+ religion has these main purposes:
– U.S. corporations are more hierarchical and are almost run in a military fashion. They need a common narrative that cannot be contradicted in order to maintain the hierarchy. Older narratives no longer work, so 2SLGBTQQIA+ fills in the gap.
– The increasing number of parasitical high priests of 2SLGBTQQIA+ (started with HR departments, spread out to incompetent middle managers and software engineers) defend and expand their turf. If you engage in 2SLGBTQQIA+, you always have activities to report on your quarterly review and are very hard to fire. Also, it increases the status in your team and gives you power.
– Millennials and later openly want to get out Gen X to get their jobs. Gen X is repelled by 2SLGBTQQIA+, so it is one of the tools in the arsenal. I have not seen a generation that openly and hypocritically intrigues against older colleagues on that scale before. Therefore, the board members mentioned above should not leave, but fight and cancel back.
– In the outrage economy, 2SLGBTQQIA+ gives free advertising to corporations. The solution is not to buy products from flag-waving companies.
– Cave in to blackmail. More and more CEOs grovel in their public struggle sessions after a 2SLGBTQQIA+ blunder, look scared and confused. I wonder if many of them have a #MeToo (real or fabricated) accusation hanging over their heads that is dragged out when the 2SLGBTQQIA+ Stasi has found a new infraction (I also wonder how many Epstein videos still exist and are being used. He taped his “friends”.).
On a more macro-economical scale, add:
– Divide and conquer. By fueling the culture wars and splitting the population into fighting subsets, the middle class does not notice scams like the 2008 housing bubble, inflation and authoritarianism.
This is spot on. Especially the scared part. Rebelling against the nature (of women seeking high-status men and men being idiots in all-out pursuit of younger pussy) has #MeToo consequences. The funniest part is that the people with FU money are the most scared. I guess that’s because they are aware of the big “Evil Capitalist” signs painted on their backs by the Marxist crowd. Not a single instance of a man with functioning balls among them… Musk may be an exception.