[PREV - ASSIGNMENT_IN_LIBERTARIA]    [TOP]

ROOT_BELOW

                                                March 11, 2012

                             LONG_SHOT

A video on-line from back
before Lessig's "Republic
Lost" came out, shows Lessig                         http://voices.washingtonpost.com/ezra-klein/2010/02/lawrence_lessig_and_i_talk_con.html
and Ezra Klein talking about
some of Lessig's work in this                 They were discussing Lessig's
direction.                                    article in "The Nation",
                                              from February 2010:
Klein was interested in the way               "How to Get Our Democracy Back"
Lessig has some fans among the
Tea Party crowd.  He quoted a                        http://www.thenation.com/article/how-get-our-democracy-back
tea partier he'd talked to who
complained about Congress
having been corrupted by
special interests.

Though, this tea-partier was apparently even
more concerned about how Barack Obama is not
a legitmate president because he was not born
a US citizen.

    Lessig smirked
    at hearing that.   Laughing at the birthers is understandable--
                       no one could deny that they're laughable.

    Lessig wants to form           But if laughing at their
    an alliance with these         craziness is a way of
    people.  If you agree          shrugging it off, filing
    that election finance          it away as an odd quirk
    needs reform he wants          that doesn't matter
    you, he doesn't care how       much...  then we have a
    crazy you are otherwise.       problem here.

    Okay, so this is what          There is no question
    political coalitions           that the birther
    are about, right?  On a        accusation is racially     Though it could
    particular cause you           motivated: why didn't      be Obama's funny
    join forces with people        anyone worry about         name that bugs
    you may disagree with          whether Bush Jr was a      them.
    on other issues.               Real American?  (Or
                                   even a Real Texan?)        Merely parochial
    In this case though,                                      xenophobia, then.
    we're talking about a          Lessig ignores
    pretty fundamental             the obvious
    difference, a difference       here, instead         PSYCHO_REGIME
    in grasp of reality...         preferring this
                                   analysis by
        Can you really             ABC, which          (I think it shows that
        work with an               supposedly          is you ask them if
        insane racist?             shows that the      they're racist, they
                                   tea party isn't     realize they should
                                   racist:             say no.)

                                     ref   ref

                  Lessig's conceit is
                  that he's striking at
                  the root of evil.

                  Could it be that there
                  are even more
                  fundamental problems?

                                 MURDERER_IN_CHIEF



    Dave Zirin, October 26, 2011,
    _The Nation_ blog:                     http://www.thenation.com/blog/164188/memo-lawrence-lessig-tea-party-no-answer-occupy-usa#comment-894771

    "To be clear, there is nothing novel about
    Lessig's call to link arms with the radical
    right for progressive ends. When he writes,
    'the movement needs to find the common
    ground between the populists on the Right
    and the populists on the Left' he is
    attempting to resuscitate an idea best left
    in history's tomb. From the Socialist Party
    in the US opening their arms to southern
    segregationists and anti-immigrant bigots
    to the Populist movement's embrace of Jim
    Crow to broaden their ranks to the Nation
    of Islam seeking common ground with the
    White Citizen Councils, these alliances are
    toxic recipes for how powerful movements
    become disoriented and die."




                      Associations to follow:

                      o  the problem with relativism

                      o  libertarian/objectivist split:
                         coalition or principles?


--------
[NEXT - MURDERER_IN_CHIEF]