Space Goat

I'm attending a week-long Cato Institute function at a posh resort in California, and the actor Jay Karnes happens to be here as well. Jay plays the nasty ex-spy turned arms dealer on Burn Notice; he also portrayed the patient on House whose illness forced him to say whatever was on his mind.

Anyway, I chatted with him a bit. That's cool in itself. But he also told me, in an upcoming episode of Burn Notice, his character will be taking on Larry the Undead Spy, played by Tim Matheson.

I said while having a geekasm, "That's awesome."

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Arik

I don't spend a lot of time reading entertainment news anymore, but I'm glad they're bringing Larry back. I don't know how much more life Burn Notice has in it, but at least it's still a fun ride.

And, I wish I had a job that would send me to a posh resort. Even a posh resort in Antarctica. Seriously.

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The writers of this post apologize for you being too stupid to understand it.

Sam Cogley

Even for a cult indoctrination?

Space Goat

Because getting legal positivism drilled into your head in law school is absolutely nothing like that.

Seriously, though, I find riveting how believers in constitutional government, sanctity of the individual, rule of law (more precisely Rechtstaat, something very different from legal positivism), government transparency, international non-interventionism, free trade, racial and religious tolerance, and rights secured and not granted by government, have achieved cult status in this country, akin to Mac users (another cult I'm in ) or Stargate fans.

But believing in things such as the following is mainstream:

• a "living constitution" whereby government can "reinterpret" the constitution to do whatever it wants rather than pursue constitutional amendments;
• Congress can pass the vaguest of outlines in a law, and allow unelected, unaccountable bureaucrats to fill them in and punish violators;
• telling citizens what products they must, or must not, buy is acceptable;
• rampant xenophobia in trade and immigration policy is patriotic;
• using the wealth of politically maladroit groups to fill the coffers of their politically skilled, and often rich, brethren (if you check out how governments in the US and the rest of the world actually spend tax money, very little actually goes to the poor -- that's a lie to make the populace more willing to part with its money);
• most of what government does, especially regarding foreign policy, can be kept secret from the public;
• we need to bomb the shit out of other countries that look at us funny, and send our young people to kill and be killed in those places;
• wiretapping Americans and snooping through their records without a warrant is okay;
• so is kidnapping and torturing people, and imprisoning them indefinitely, without so much as a trial.

Yes, what's cultish and what's not in the land of the free and home of the brave, the land of truth, justice, and the American way, is quite fascinating, indeed. If I want to leave my cult, I just need to learn how to resent my fellow citizens, hate foreigners, and embrace torture and murder. That makes me feel awesome!

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Sam Cogley

Hey, now...I worked hard for this glassy-eyed stare! In practice, though, I'm at least somewhat of a Realist.

And if we could get anyone to actually go along with any of that, it might work.

Grossly mischaracterized, in a very far-right manner. The actual theory that you're attempting to describe is a simple one - that the Framers were smart enough to leave the Constitution fairly vague and flexible. This gives the government of the people, by the people and for the people some "wiggle room" to adjust to changing conditions without wholesale re-writes. Compare this to most state Constitutions, which are very detailed, long and tend to need to be re-written every 20-50 years.
I think that's a fairly gross mischaracterization as well. If we want to cripple Congress by making them pass every little tiny procedural rule of any bureaucratic agency, nothing would ever get done. At all.
I'm not even sure what you're referring to here. If it's the current health care bill, then I agree that I don't like it. It didn't go anywhere near as far as it should have. American business is going to keep sliding backwards against the rest of the world, even the "oh so evil socialists," if our businesses keep being saddled with huge medical insurance bills that their competitors don't need to worry about.
Yeah, because demolishing the American middle class and returning to the "Robber Baron" state of affairs where there are the very few exceedingly rich controlling all of the wealth and a great mass of dirt poor people is going to do wonders for our economy.
I can't disagree there.
I can agree, to a point. Ongoing operations and sources obviously need to be protected. Playing poker with all of your cards face-up, while everyone else's are face-down doesn't work very well.
Depends on the situation. Iraq was imbecilic. Afghanistan attacked the US.
In complete agreement with you here.

Nah, that would just make you a Republican cultist.

Space Goat

I ran up against the Astrobar's character limits, so I posted my reply on Hypersyllogistic Forums.

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Arik

We call them "Corporate training sessions", but unfortunately we fly in people from New York for it.

Forgot that was there. I've disabled it.

I'm kinda surprised that this turned political so fast.

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The writers of this post apologize for you being too stupid to understand it.

Space Goat

I was hoping for more reflected glory from being in the presence of A STAR OMG WTF BBQ!!!1!! Oh, well, I can do political, too.

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Arik

I saw Wil Wheaton, Trace Beaulieu, Bill Corbett, Kevin Murphy, John Scalzi, Neil Gaiman, and Adam Savage (among others) two months ago. I'm kind of "OMG Celebrities"-ed out.

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The writers of this post apologize for you being too stupid to understand it.

Space Goat

My celebrity can beat up your celebrities.

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