Matthew Yglesias » Franken FTW

Jan 3rd, 2009 at 10:01 pm

Franken FTW

Looks like Al Franken’s going to be a US Senator. I’m pretty excited about this.

Comments
101

101 Responses to “Franken FTW”

Ken Says:
January 3rd, 2009 at 10:28 pm
The inevitable O’Reilly meltdown will be epic.
Stephen Myles St. George Says:
January 3rd, 2009 at 10:38 pm
This is just awful. Someone who wrote a book insulting a public figure is now going to be in the Senate. Just bloody awful. The country is going to the dogs.
beowulf888 Says:
January 3rd, 2009 at 10:44 pm
What will the big fat idiot say?
thehova Says:
January 3rd, 2009 at 10:44 pm
“The inevitable O’Reilly meltdown will be epic.”

True. But there’s no doubt about it. I’m sure many conservative blowhards are pumped about having such a figure in the Senate.
King Crab 11 Says:
January 3rd, 2009 at 10:44 pm
Why are you excited about this?
Preston Says:
January 3rd, 2009 at 10:51 pm
I’m glad for another Democrat but judging from his Air America days Franken seems like a hothead to me and I doubt he’ll win a second term.
Tyro Says:
January 3rd, 2009 at 10:56 pm
This is just awful. Someone who wrote a book insulting a public figure is now going to be in the Senate. Just bloody awful. The country is going to the dogs.

Oh, the HUMANITY!

Let’s have a Stephen Myles St. George Flashback:

Stephen Myles St. George Says:

December 30th, 2008 at 12:15 pm

And by the way, in Britain (i.e. more liberal than the U.S.) the whole P.C. bushiness has been laughed out of the public sphere. I recall being rather uncomfortably jolted when I started reading British papers, because of their word choices were rather shattering for our nice North American P.C. guidelines.

They call it like how it is. They don’t get on the euphemism treadmill. Fat is fat, poor is poor, dumb is dumb. lazy bums are lazy bums, chavs are chavs.

And more Stephen Myles St. George blasts from the past!

I just think it is good that he doesn’t get beat up in the public sphere for being politically incorrect. David Cameron, leader of the Tories and likely the next PM, once told an audience in the poorest part of the UK (Glasgow East) that the poor and fat have to blame themselves for at least part of their afflictions. This is what I respect; telling it like it is instead of smothering the plain truth in PC-speak.
ed Says:
January 3rd, 2009 at 11:02 pm
Why are you excited about this?

A few of the reasons why a fellow would be jazzed about Al Franken defeating Norm Coleman:

1. Franken penned one of the single funniest sketches for Saturday Night Live, “The Pepsi Syndrome.”

2. Franken openly mocks Rush Limbaugh and Bil O’Reilly, two Right Wing Republican douchebags who should be openly mocked at every convenience by anyone in the Reality Based Community.

3. Franken coined the phrase “Operation Ignore” to describe the Cheney Administration’s actively ignoring multiple, serious warnings from security and intelligence experts about threats from Al Quaeda beginning on 25 January 2001.

4. Coleman is a seriously stupid Right Wing Stuffed Suit. And apparently corrupt too.

There are other reasons to be excited though.
Nigel Simon Featherstone-Chlomondely, 13th Baron Wexwarp Says:
January 3rd, 2009 at 11:19 pm
So bloody true, Stephen old boy! What’s happened to standards of politeness and all that? Gone to the dogs! Why, back in my day, this sort of thing was simply not done! Not done, I say!
danceswithgoats Says:
January 3rd, 2009 at 11:20 pm
Surely you jest. This guy has no business being a Senator. This does not speak well for our country.
Ed Marshall Says:
January 3rd, 2009 at 11:26 pm
So what does it say about Norm Coleman that he’s been ousted by Jesse “The Body” Ventura and Al Franken? Having that retard hanging around the Senate should be more embarassing.
MikeJ Says:
January 3rd, 2009 at 11:29 pm
By “hothead”, Preston means, “not a right wing shill”.
Ted Says:
January 3rd, 2009 at 11:30 pm
Josh Marshall thinks Franken is a thoughtful guy, and he’s clearly a good communicator. That’s good enough for me.
JimboSlice Says:
January 3rd, 2009 at 11:32 pm
Another Jew in the Senate … fan freaking tastic. The Zionists win again, and the Arabs continue to plot our demise.
fumphis Says:
January 3rd, 2009 at 11:35 pm
Anyone who’s paid half an ounce of attention to Franken can tell he’s a committed, passionate progressive. There’s nothing wrong with bringing a little sense of humor (and a little willingness to ridicule some of the more nutty and dangerous figures on the right) to the overpolite, self-destructively pompous Senate. Franken is one of the only politicians I trust to really galvanize Reid out of his impotence.
Charles Breznev Says:
January 3rd, 2009 at 11:35 pm
The “celebrity” knock against Franken holds no water for me — not from the party of Reagan and Shwarzenneger.

Franken has a degree in government from Harvard.

Suck it.
rapier Says:
January 3rd, 2009 at 11:39 pm
I recommend that he stays off of small planes.
ed Says:
January 3rd, 2009 at 11:40 pm
This guy has no business being a Senator. This does not speak well for our country.

Because…?
ed Says:
January 3rd, 2009 at 11:41 pm
Another Jew in the Senate … fan freaking tastic. The Zionists win again, and the Arabs continue to plot our demise.

Ah, Republicans. E’er classy.
Stephen Myles St. George Says:
January 3rd, 2009 at 11:56 pm
Franken in the Senate is worse than Paris Hilton in the Oval Office. This is just astounding. America really is going to hell in a handbasket. Good idea to start thinking about moving to Dubai, at least when I get enough seniority. I cannot stand the thought of paying a cent of tax that is going to this fool. Come to think of it, I can’t stand the thought of paying a cent of tax to a Pelosi Congress.
Gherald Says:
January 3rd, 2009 at 11:56 pm
Not to mention that Norm Coleman is Jewish
Gabriel Says:
January 4th, 2009 at 12:00 am
Not to mention that Norm Coleman is Jewish

Yeah, somebody must have been hoping for a real strong performance for Barkley in the recount.
Brad Says:
January 4th, 2009 at 12:03 am
Look,

Al Franken was a comedian who also happened to have the intelligence to play the same game Rush and O’Reilly play (mock thy enemy). He did so with aplomb. But in addition, he also happens to be committed and thoughtful when it comes to public policy, and I might add, will be a much more effective Senator than many expect. In fact, I actually like the fact so many conservatives are looking down on him, and setting the bar lower each day.
Andruw Says:
January 4th, 2009 at 12:12 am
It is truly stunning to see the GOP reaction against Franken.

The party of Reagan, Eastwod, Thompson, and Pat Boone. And of course, Arnold.
MAX HATS Says:
January 4th, 2009 at 12:20 am
Franken in the Senate is worse than Paris Hilton in the Oval Office. This is just astounding. America really is going to hell in a handbasket. Good idea to start thinking about moving to Dubai, at least when I get enough seniority. I cannot stand the thought of paying a cent of tax that is going to this fool. Come to think of it, I can’t stand the thought of paying a cent of tax to a Pelosi Congress.

In the Emirates, there’s no pesky democracy, women know their place, and a man’s home is his castle. I’m sure you’ll love it there. Bring all your conservative friends. And stay!
Stephen Myles St. George Says:
January 4th, 2009 at 12:24 am
…and a man’s home is his castle.

Have you got no familiarity whatsoever with English common law (upon which the American legal system is based) or are you just being foolish? Because the concept of a man’s house being his castle is at the very centre of the unwritten constitutional tradition.
MAX HATS Says:
January 4th, 2009 at 12:32 am
Because the concept of a man’s house being his castle is at the very centre of the unwritten constitutional tradition.

Like I said, you will love Dubai.
Stephen Myles Says:
January 4th, 2009 at 12:36 am
The constitutional tradition I speak of includes the American constitutional tradition. Yes, the very laws that govern you and your life. Good lord, come to think of it, Franken will probably share your constitutional ignorance.
MAX HATS Says:
January 4th, 2009 at 12:38 am
Sidenote: what is an unwritten constitutional tradition? I’m pretty sure that makes no sense. A tradition based on an unwritten constitution? Or something? Think you meant legal. But hey, you know where you don’t have to worry about Constitutions, written or otherwise?

Dubai

Imagine a world of skyscrapers, rich people, nice cars, and terrified huddled slaves building, building to the glory of the wealthy. And boy howdy, people got them some religion. It’s basically every republican’s wet dream. The perfect state. The weather’s a little hot, but fuck it man, they got air conditioning. And no EPA to tell you to turn it down, knowwhatimean?
ed Says:
January 4th, 2009 at 12:41 am
Bad troll or bad fake troll, bad is bad (not like good bad, but bad bad).
MAX HATS Says:
January 4th, 2009 at 12:42 am
The constitutional tradition I speak of includes the American constitutional tradition. Yes, the very laws that govern you and your life. Good lord, come to think of it, Franken will probably share your constitutional ignorance.

And how far from these traditions we have fallen! In Dubai, you can beat your wife. Fuck it, man. You can beat your wives! Suck it, Ginsburg!
ed Says:
January 4th, 2009 at 12:46 am
Aasif Mandvi covered the awesomeness that is Dubai some time ago.
Stephen Myles Says:
January 4th, 2009 at 12:50 am
Sure, unwritten legal tradition, unwritten constitution, law by custom, whatever. You get the idea. Things like the right of hunt, the absolute right to one’s house, among other things, i.e. things in English common law that is not explicitly written down as modern law, American or otherwise, but understood to be a part of the legal framework. I don’t see how you profit by obfuscating something as obvious as this. The absolute legal right to one’s house, incidentally, is not well-established in Muslim law in the same way it is in European law. You might as well own up to your error.
Stefan Says:
January 4th, 2009 at 12:52 am
What rapier said. Perish the thought of another Wellstone happening.
Stephen Myles Says:
January 4th, 2009 at 12:53 am
And DTM, there is a bloody reason it is called unwritten. It is not written in the written constitution. Good grief.
The Other Steve Says:
January 4th, 2009 at 12:53 am
One of the reasons why the recount has gone relatively smoothly here in Minnesota is because people don’t like either Franken or Coleman and so don’t care much who wins. We lose either way.
MAX HATS Says:
January 4th, 2009 at 12:53 am
I know what common law is (ps that is what is is called), and I’m telling you, it’s got nothing on Dubai.
Gabriel Says:
January 4th, 2009 at 12:54 am
Good idea to start thinking about moving to Dubai, at least when I get enough seniority. I cannot stand the thought of paying a cent of tax that is going to this fool.

Unless Dubai has a pretty healthy income tax, you don’t really have a choice. Unless you, you know, cheat.
Stephen Myles Says:
January 4th, 2009 at 1:00 am
Dubai has no income tax except for a small social security contribution. Direct personal taxation is against the law in Dubai.

However, I am not an American citizen, so the global income taxation system of IRS does not apply to me. (this absurd formulation is found almost nowhere else in the rich world). I do not think I will ever elect to be an American citizen, seeing as to the eventually tax disadvantages like, for example, this.
Benjamin Says:
January 4th, 2009 at 1:20 am
Stephen Myles, “unwritten” = Fish, barrel.

Can we get back to the Franken triumphalism?
Stephen Myles Says:
January 4th, 2009 at 1:29 am
Considering that I am better-educated than the vast majority of Americans, and that I am currently at an academic institution considered, let’s just say, superior, I will pass on your gratuitous insult, DTM.
McKingford Says:
January 4th, 2009 at 1:39 am
Stephen Myles, the most recent candidate for “stupidest fucking guy on the internet”, insists he is really smart, despite his various postings to the contrary.

Tell us some more about how car subsidies are cheaper and more helpful to the poor than mass transit, ya genius wanker.
Richard Steven Hack Says:
January 4th, 2009 at 1:47 am
“The absolute legal right to one’s house, incidentally, is not well-established in Muslim law in the same way it is in European law. You might as well own up to your error.”

Ever heard of eminent domain, numbnuts?

From Wikipedia:

The practice of condemnation was transplanted into the American colonies. In the early years, unimproved land could be taken without compensation; this practice was accepted because land was so abundant that it could be cheaply replaced. When it came time to draft the United States Constitution, differing views on eminent domain were voiced. Thomas Jefferson favored eliminating all remnants of feudalism, and pushed for allodial ownership. James Madison, who wrote the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, had a more moderate view, and struck a compromise that sought to at least protect property rights somewhat by explicitly mandating compensation and using the term “public use” rather than “public purpose,” “public interest,” or “public benefit.”

As usual, Jefferson was on the correct side – against feudalism – and Madison wasn’t. So we have feudalism – and the state can take your shit.
Stephen Myles Says:
January 4th, 2009 at 1:56 am
Richard, I am talking about comparatives here. Sanctity of property is less well-established in Muslim law than it is in European law. That, old boy, is a fact.
Fred Says:
January 4th, 2009 at 2:02 am
Another Jew in the Senate … fan freaking tastic. The Zionists win again, and the Arabs continue to plot our demise.

“Ah, Republicans. E’er classy.”

“JimboSlice” is a Republican? The anti-Israel, anti-Jew pose is usually found among Dems these days.
Dan Cock Says:
January 4th, 2009 at 2:13 am
It’s ironic that someone who claims to be ensconced in an American (apparently very prestigious!) education institution – which inherently receives lavish government spending in the form of research grants and student aid, and possibly direct state spending – resents paying taxes. If our tax system is as bad as you claim it is, you should not be making yourself dependent on our infrastructure and our social services, nor should you be enjoying the security our taxes purchase.

Additionally, “absolute” (your choice of words!) rights to one’s house is a terrible idea. Absolute rights are deeply economically inefficient and justify nuisance uses which violate the rights of others to enjoyment of their property.

You’re not learned – you’re just a prick.
Dan Cock Says:
January 4th, 2009 at 2:15 am
Oh, and Al Franken is a man with a good heart and a smart mind for policy.

He will make an excellent Senator.
MAX HATS Says:
January 4th, 2009 at 2:24 am
Richard, I am talking about comparatives here. Sanctity of property is less well-established in Muslim law than it is in European law.

In addition to being a blowhard, you’re also obtuse as hell. Legal tradition is meaningless compared to what you can get away with. It would be hilarious enough if you were simply trying to call technical foul on me punching you in the face over and over, but the fact that your precious technical is barely cogent and ultimately meaningless puts you into a whole other category of dumb. Saxon versus Arab traditions don’t actually mean much when you can in fact get away with absolutely anything in the Emirates provided you are with the moneyed class so long as it stays private versus not quite so much in America. I am blindsided and amazed by your presumption of intellectual superiority when you are so clearly retarded. But, this is all distracting me from my original point – your preference for the cyberpunk dystopia that is the UAE over the U.S. because the U.S. elected someone you don’t like marks you as a basic failure as a human being, and as an American tired of sharing oxygen with barely-closeted goose-stepping lunatics, I fully encourage to emigrate. And bring your friends!
nbt Says:
January 4th, 2009 at 2:36 am
Stephen Myles, are you a real person, writing in good faith? In all sincerity, you sound like a goofy caricature. Nobody I know in real life is so pompous (and I’ve been around some pretty good “academic institutions” myself)

As for Franken, he won an election, like it or not (assuming the recount is accurate).
Stephen Myles Says:
January 4th, 2009 at 2:39 am
Max, you don’t consider the fact that the effective personal tax rate in Dubai is, at maximum, five percent, and that Western professionals get paid more in Dubai than in their home countries, legitimate inducement and bases for preference? My friends who are going into management consultancy and other prestigious professions are all noting Dubai as a serious alternative given how much more anti-capitalist insanity Congress is going to enact, and they are Americans.
Stephen Myles Says:
January 4th, 2009 at 2:43 am
I thought “pompous” was an appellation that had been monopolised by a certain Prof. Dr. Krugman.
Stephen Myles Says:
January 4th, 2009 at 2:55 am
And by the way, if you are rather incredulous about me, you are looking at (or I guess, reading) a former liberal who has been victimised by affirmative action (or the more accurate, British description: positive discrimination), and has since vowed to make the defeat of liberal paternalism his greatest political concern. I am, quite frankly, a child of modern liberalism.
Evil Twin Says:
January 4th, 2009 at 3:15 am
How very droll. I like the mock offended tone and the affected “English.” Sadly, the schtick isn’t that funny. But it is a hard business and you are making a noble effort. The problem is that mocking conservatives without becoming a caricature is difficult because conservatism is itself a caricature of human behavior.
tomemos Says:
January 4th, 2009 at 3:35 am
Good idea to start thinking about moving to Dubai, at least when I get enough seniority.

As the Judge in Monty Python said about South Africa: “I’m going tomorrow; I’ve got my ticket. Get out there and get some decent sentencing done. Ooh, England makes you sick. Best I can manage here is life imprisonment. It’s hardly worth coming in in the morning. Now, South Africa? You’ve got your cat of nine tails, you’ve got four death sentences a week, you’ve got cheap drinks, slave labour and a booming stock market.”
Evil Twin Says:
January 4th, 2009 at 6:15 am
By the way, on topic, compared to the clown we are eliminating on Jan 20, Al Franken circa 1978 (probable drug use and all) would still have been a better President. On the other hand, considering that we are current ruled by an idiot with the moral sensibilities of a pulp vampire that’s not really saying much.

The truth is that Franken is far better prepared to be Senator than Bush is prepared – right now – to be President.
SPURIOUS Says:
January 4th, 2009 at 6:47 am
He’s good enough, he’s smart enough, and doggone it, people like him.
bob h Says:
January 4th, 2009 at 8:13 am
Senate custom presumably will require that Al tone down the lacerating ridicule he has heaped on Republicans.
El Cid Says:
January 4th, 2009 at 9:20 am
The founder of the Daily Kos had this to say about Al Franken becoming Senator:

MN-Sen: Message to Bill O’Reilly Hotlist
by kos

Sat Jan 03, 2009 at 08:33:16 PM EST

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!

Also, would the fake conservative pining for Dubai’s tax rates please just go the f*** away. God, I hate useless coward whiners who obsess about taxes and how unfair they are. I hate you all with an abiding passion, you mean, bitter, useless cowards.
jonnybutter Says:
January 4th, 2009 at 10:05 am
I am, quite frankly, a child of modern liberalism.

Take away the words, ‘of modern liberalism’, and your sentence is true. Children whine and blame, and think they are the center of the universe. It would also be correct to say that you’re the child of ancient liberalism, aka libertarianism.

I hope this commentor is a fake, but know that he very well may not be.
cj Says:
January 4th, 2009 at 10:14 am
Has to be fake. Has to be. Otherwise he would have scurried off by now. At least he’s committed.
John Emerson Says:
January 4th, 2009 at 10:38 am
Trivia: Coleman is a promiscuous bisexual with a history of drug use and a fake Hollywood marriage. In college he shared joints with one of the founders of NORML. This didn’t come out in the election.

More trivia: Stuart Smalley is not real. He’s a fictional character once played by Al Franken.

And some say that Dubai is not really the most wonderful place in the world, though I’d be glad to send St. George there if they promise to keep him.
McKingford Says:
January 4th, 2009 at 11:03 am
God, I hate useless coward whiners who obsess about taxes and how unfair they are.

Yes, Dubai’s low tax rate is *entirely* unrelated to their status as a petrocracy.

I’m a little perplexed as to how headquartering in Dubai will serve his professed greatest political goal: the defeat of “liberal paternalism” (and Dubai, btw, not paternalistic *at all*!). But then again, Stephen Myles King George III makes very little sense in anything he says because he is a profoundly stupid person.

Hey Myles: you were not a victim of affirmative action. The brown guy really is 10x smarter than you (I mean, how could he not be?)…
alli Says:
January 4th, 2009 at 12:09 pm
If Stephen Myles is real, he totally goes to Notre Dame. That’s where those arrogant, moralizing blowhards hide away, in the graduate school of theology.
Tyro Says:
January 4th, 2009 at 12:26 pm
If Stephen Myles is real, he totally goes to Notre Dame. That’s where those arrogant, moralizing blowhards hide away, in the graduate school of theology.

First, Stephen Myles is Protestant, so he probably regards Notre Dame as an institution teeming with heretics. Second, I had to admit I’ve been reading his posts and remembering them as well as I have, but the “superior” academic institution he claims to attend is Wesleyan University. I’d really love to say something snarky about that, but several good friends of mine went there, and they never had the same childish arrogance and ignorance that he has.
Tyro Says:
January 4th, 2009 at 12:38 pm
Second, I hate to admit I’ve been reading his posts and remembering them as well as I have

Fixed. Personally, I hope he’s for real. It’s the combination of earnestness and simplemindedness that makes him so entertaining.
Stephen Myles Says:
January 4th, 2009 at 12:56 pm
Someone is not perceiving the difference between cultural and actual Protestant…

And McKingford; I know this must seem terribly droll to you, but brown people are actually disadvantaged by affirmative action, not the other way around. Unless, of course, what you meant by brown is not South Asian.

And frankly, I don’t really care if dumb people get in. Big deal. Dumb people have gotten into Harvard and Oxford since time immemorial. Bush got into Yale. It’s the combination of earnest moralism with liberal rationalism that irks me. The admissions offices at top American schools are not doing admissions, they are doing social engineering. Example; College Board recently changed the SAT so that students could opt to display only their best sitting, given how f*cking stressed everyone is when every sitting counted. Elite colleges were outraged; who cares about kids facing serious stress in junior year (it was certainly my most painful school year in memory), we want to do social engineering? That’s the sort of callous liberalism which reminds me of the (lofty) goals of the U.S.S.R.

And Stephen Myles is my real name. Get over it. St. George, pretty obviously, could not have been (I am Asian); it came from somewhere else.
JimboSlice Says:
January 4th, 2009 at 12:58 pm
For those complaining about my earlier post pointing out this is another Jew in the Senate, I’ll give you some facts.

Jews in Senate: 13
Jews in America: 6.5 million

Muslims in Senate: 0
Muslims in America: 5.3 million

AA in Senate: 0
AA in America: 36.7 million

Who do you think then gets America’s support in the Israel/Palestine war – the Brown Muslims or the Jews?
Dan Cock Says:
January 4th, 2009 at 1:22 pm
This is a friendly reminder that Stephen Myles has not gotten around to reconciling his anti-tax Jihadism with enjoying the largesse of the American taxpayer directly through his participation in an American school, or more generally with the kind of social spending on education, infrastructure, etc., that made American prosperity possible.

The idea that one should be able to reap the benefits of American society without being willing to pay taxes than ensure its continual success is selfish. To deny that state spending in human development makes prosperity possible is laughable.

No one who’s ever driven on a road, attended a school, or had their life or property protected is truly “self-made.”
www.makkale.blogcu.com Says:
January 4th, 2009 at 2:23 pm
Anyone who’s paid half an ounce of attention to Franken can tell he’s a committed, passionate progressive. There’s nothing wrong with bringing a little sense of humor (and a little willingness to ridicule some of the more nutty and dangerous figures on the right) to the overpolite, self-destructively pompous Senate. Franken is one of the only politicians I trust to really galvanize Reid out of his impotence.
Adam Villani Says:
January 4th, 2009 at 5:00 pm
Max, you don’t consider the fact that the effective personal tax rate in Dubai is, at maximum, five percent, and that Western professionals get paid more in Dubai than in their home countries,

So really, that’s what it all boils down to for conservatives. Money. They’re willing to sell out democracy, Anglo-American legal tradition, real legal rights not vested in the whims of a ruling emir, the Constitution, and all the vaunted achievements of Anglo-American culture they’re so happy to extol, all for a little more cash.

And by the way, I haven’t yet figured out why ridiculing a public figure disqualifies someone from public office, especially when that public figure is a steaming pile of excrement like Rush Limbaugh who built his entire career on bad-mouthing public figures. Or should Dick Cheney have resigned the moment he told Patrick Leahy to fuck himself?

Unless, of course, what you meant by brown is not South Asian.
Welcome to the United States. Here, “brown people” generally refers to Hispanics.
McKingford Says:
January 4th, 2009 at 5:40 pm
72:

Let me understand this: as we await the horrifying evidence that affirmative action is allowing the brown hordes to undermine the learned aristocracy’s grip on power we get talk of SAT scores?

Not only is this a race neutral step that does nothing to advantage minorities, it advantages the wealthy. By allowing only the best test score to count, you encourage applicants to take multiple tests (along with the attendant prep classes). Who can afford this, if not the very people who *don’t* benefit from affirmative action?

Adam Villani is exactly right: conservatism is an exercise in the moral justification of greed.
Stephen Myles Says:
January 4th, 2009 at 8:06 pm
McKingford:

I would have preferred to move on, but I feel compelled to respond to your last post. The admissions process you went through was, frankly, a joke compared to the heights of stress college-age students today undergo today. This policy is not exactly new; College Board is simply reviving a policy that had been in force from 1993 to 2002, and only discontinued due to a raft of much larger changes in the SAT that have now have universally decried.

You can yap all you want about helping minorities; if you really want the system to help minorities, you can start by having it help me. Unless, of course, you are desirous of making the banal and minute distinctions between different shades of minorities.

I am sure you will feel compelled to refute this, but upper-middle class college-age children are today facing greater academic pressures than almost any other demographic. The whole set of affirmative action policies are intended, at the most basic, to take spots away from that demographic to give to other demographics. They face higher standards than almost anyone else, having neither the connections nor the money to buy their way, nor the favoured status of minorities.

I am happy that it is indeed race-neutral; if Plessy vs. Ferguson has taught us anything, it is that we ought strive to be race-neutral.

Another thing; it is, as a practical matter, impossible to enforce a level playing field. Any attempt reduce the level of preparation of the wealthy so as to level the playing field for the less well-off, looks suspiciously like a philosophy of “leveling down”, which, as the Soviet Union proved, is a bankrupt philosophy. This is merely alleviating the stress of those who are under the greatest stresses. I got a perfect score on the new SAT with a moderate amount of coaching in math and lots of prep books in the verbal and writing; it was hardly costly and indeed affordable for the great majority of middle-class and even poorer people.
Stephen Myles Says:
January 4th, 2009 at 8:09 pm
I intended to contrast leveling down with leveling up. The former is idiocy; the latter, advisable public policy.
McKingford Says:
January 4th, 2009 at 10:57 pm
80: I don’t even know what the point of this post was, except perhaps for you to spout off about your SAT scores.

To recap, you expressed your dismay at the inroads of affirmative action, and then, in a complete non sequitur (but intending to buttress your argument about the apparent horros of AA) cited the change in accreditation of SAT scores. I pointed out how the change in SAT scores has no apparent bearing on AA programs, and in fact would seem to benefit those outside the AA stream.

So you have left unanswered what the hell SAT accreditation has to do with AA or why you would have cited it in the first place (well, worse for you – you now concede it is race neutral).

I gotta tell you, Myles, you take the cake: a profound ignorance, combined with dead certainty, topped off with a sense of upper middle class entitlement. That’s quite a combination. But the saddest thing is you lack the modicum of intelligence to understand how deeply out of your depth you are here. Everyone else is laughing at you.
Stephen Myles Says:
January 4th, 2009 at 11:31 pm
a profound ignorance, combined with dead certainty, topped off with a sense of upper middle class entitlement.

It is called a traditional prep-school education.
Stephen Myles Says:
January 4th, 2009 at 11:32 pm
And I cited it mainly for the outrage the changed caused in elite admissions officers, which were not only unseemly but just bizarre. They were like the academic versions of the Labour Party of the 80’s. Utterly out of touch with the middle class of this country, and harbouring an arrogant, condescending paternalism towards the poor and minorities. (”Aha, folks, we are going to make sure people get in here, qualifications be damned; what good liberals we are!”)
Adam Villani Says:
January 5th, 2009 at 2:42 am
It is called a traditional prep-school education.

At least, insofar as that goes, you’re self-aware.
Mike Says:
January 5th, 2009 at 2:49 am
It’s great. I love Al Franken — was a devoted listener. The next six years just got funnier.

That said, doesn’t holding such a position require a person to come off pretending Caroline Kennedy is unqualified to be a Senator?
Edward, the mad shirt grinder Says:
January 5th, 2009 at 10:12 am
61: He’s good enough, he’s smart enough, and doggone it, people like him.

I think he’s good and smart, but people don’t really like him — at least, not yet. In a Democrat-landslide year, in which Obama carred Minnesota by a huge amount, Franken got only 43% and is ahead of a corrupt, flipflopping, Bush-embracing moral disaster by a margin that is smaller than minuscule. Many who did vote for Franken did so with their noses held tightly shut. Assuming the recount holds and Franken takes office, he will have a lot to prove as Senator. Here’s hoping he does.
Stephen Myles Says:
January 5th, 2009 at 11:42 am
Of course people don’t like him: he’s a prick.
Stephen Myles Says:
January 5th, 2009 at 11:48 am
By the way, Franken, given that he’s another run-of-the-mill Hollywood liberal, and pretty annoying one at that, will be an image problem for the Dems in 2010. Dammit, if I were the GOP I would run the entire Senate campaign on him. Who the hell would want to vote for the party of Hollywood in the middle of a deep recession? Not I.
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Matt Yglesias

Franken FTW

101 Responses to “Franken FTW”

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