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Some Call It A Bonfire/Carnival Of Classiness...

We call it "Classiness, All Around Us."

Sheep, Sheepdogs, and Wolves... and Tribes-

Bill Whittle gives us the best essay of the year (a must-read) on Katrina:

Courage isn’t free. It is taught, taught by certain tribes who have been around enough and seen enough incoming storms to know what one looks like. And I think the people of this nation, and those of New Orleans, specifically, desire and deserve some fundamental lessons in courage.

Because we are going to need it.

You must go read this piece. It is not optional. Go. Now. Read it. Of everything I have read this year, nothing has impacted me as much.

2.

Closet Conservatives-

GOP Vixen details her experiences as a rare Republican journalist on election night:

Isn’t having a Republican in the newsroom a hoot? It’s also somewhat of a tourist attraction. One friend from the sports department stopped by later in the evening. “Did you really vote for Bush?” he asked solemnly. I confirmed his darkest fear. “You’re the only person I know who voted for Bush,” he continued, just staring down at me.

Sounds a little bit like graduate school.

3.

Weeping For New Orleans-

Cafe Hayek blog weeps for his hometown:

But damn it, isn’t it time people reject as a cruel hoax the notion that government possesses superhuman powers and is motivated by angelic intentions? That it can do things that non-political institutions cannot do?

Who can still believe that, when the chips are down and there’s no one left to count on, people can count on their government for basic help?

Katrina, in addition to stripping my hometown of life, unmasked the pretenses of government as savior.

In a hurricane, or any other disaster as broad as this, the government can't do everything. We live in a free society, and I doubt any of the critics are prepared to give the federal government more power to force people out of their homes and line up military forces any time a hurricane sniffs land.

4.

The Passing of William Rehnquist-

Right Wing News catalogues some of the more choice comments from some weirdo left-wingers on the passing of America's Chief Justice:

I don't know if that should surprise anybody given the fanatical level of hatred for all thing conservative that seems to grip so many liberals today, but it's worth noting that Rehnquist wasn't a political animal or a bomb thrower. As a matter of fact, compared to Scalia and Thomas, he was fairly low profile despite the fact that he was Chief Justice. Give that, it's fair to say that the blinding hatred you're about to see was probably inspired by little more than the fact that Rehnquist was a conservative judge.

Go read some of the comments. Some people have just lost it.

LOST. IT. It is amazing.

5.

Hugo Chavez-

Publius Pundit blog explains how Venezuela is going down the tubes because of Hugo Chavez:

...Venezuela’s housing stock is already becoming ‘Cubanized,’ and more disturbingly still, a population is becoming radicalized and communized, a formula for dead-end poverty, which, in a communist state, strips a population of the mental means of ending its misery because their anger is so misdirected.

The Cubanization of Venezuela is being accompanied by the Venezuelanization of Cuba, as Chavez props up the bearded tyrant.

6.

Our Media-

Dean Esmay notes that the backbiting about a slow response to Katrina is not warranted:

...the recriminations about the Federal response are more about a) politics, and b) the 24 hour news cycle. When this is all over, mostly we'll look back and see that the response was fast and timely and effective....

But I go back to it: in a month, most will be looking at how impressively fast the first responders were and how much good was done in so short a time period. All those claiming it was too slow will look just a little crazy--driven crazy by the 24 hour news cycle.

It is times like these that show just how influential the left-leaning establishment media remain.

7.

African-Americans and Poltical Leadership-

No Speed Bumps blog examines what was wrong with New Orleans and other predominantly African-American cities now and before the storm ever even hit:

Ironically, the most successful policy for helping the poor since the 1970s, after all the Great Society programs became fully institutionalized – is the 1994 welfare reform. This, in a way, is an anti-Great Society program. It recognized the limits of simply giving people welfare money as long as they did not earn too much. Common sense says that there is an incentive in welfare benefits to work less. The Great Society mentality had rejected this idea as being backward. The thinking was that people would work if they could – and it was nonsense to think that people would work less hard, or fewer hours, because you gave them some welfare money or other benefits (health care, food stamps, housing, etc.). Many still believe this.

Racial gaps in income, in employment, in academics, and just about every other indicator have also narrowed substantially in recent years, but one of these days, the African-American community must consider ending its exclusive contract with Democrats.

8.

Katrina Recriminations-

Red State Rant wants everyone to stop the Katrina recriminations:

What's the point of these recriminations? There is none. After the city has been evacuated and rebuilding begins, there will be time to assess the evacuation. This should be done in order to learn from our mistakes in the event of another disaster, not so we can identify the Great Satan behind the catastrophe.

I am constantly amazed how every issue can be politicized by the left. Just sad. I mean, it literally depresses me to think about how low they've gone, and how the media tolerate- no, facilitate-- their ridiculousness.

9.

Bush Calms Frantic Nagin Down-

Jim Rose notes that President Bush once again refuses to dive into the cesspools from which his critics attack him:

This is what you call confidence...a level of comfort with one's self that totally disarms a critic and helps one take control of a situation. Reagan had that ability, and it seems, so does Bush.

Bush is a better man than Ray Nagin. But he wasn't about to hold that over Nagin's head. Nor was our President about to sink to Nagin's level. Bush kills 'em with kindness, every time. And it is disarming, every time.

10.

Katrina Timeline-

Rightwing Nuthouse blog offers a lucid and reasonable timeline of the situation in New Orleans over the past several days.

It is important to get this right. It is important to stop the revisionist history, even as it happens.

11.

Proposing-

Wayne's mom of Wayne's World blog recounts her Iraq-deployed son's marriage proposal:

“Everything couldn’t have worked out more perfectly,” Wayne and Lauren agreed. “It was a memorable night we’ll treasure forever.”

A very neat story.

12.

Social Security = A Risky Scheme-

Political Calculations blog explains the risks of Social Security:

Isn't the opportunity to have true ownership of a portion of one's lifelong contributions from their work combined with the reduction of risk to the individual that comes with diversification reason enough to support having personal retirement accounts within Social Security?

We need to reduce our risk. We need to reform Social Security.

13.

The Best and Worst-

The Conservative Outpost blog notes that Katrina, unfortunately, has brought out the worst in America:

Usually, here in America, it brings out the best in people. I was here in SC when Hugo came through in 1989 and, with few exceptions, that's exactly what happened. In the face of all the terrible stories we've seen coming out of New Orleans, I note that we don't hear the same type of thing coming from Mississippi or Alabama. Those communities seem to be pulling together and dealing with the situation. Not that they've got it good or anything. Devastation, no homes, no power, etc..., but they're dealing.

New Orleans is different. But why?

Because of a failure of political leadership on the left. They've gone off the deep end.

So much of the left in this country was just waiting for this moment. They thought it would be a terrorist attack. But it was a natural disaster. But they kept the same game plan and went on the attack, ferociously, immediately, and coordinatedly.

14.

Bush and Lincoln-

In a pre-Katrina post, Mr. Snitch blog notes the similarities between media coverage of Bush and coverage of Lincoln:

There is no doubt that if our greatest historical leaders had to deal with the modern 24-hour news cycle, and the modern partisan "objective" media, one wonders how successful they might have really been.

15.

The Krugster-

The Agitator blog explains why we can't let Paul Krugman and co. win the debate:

This is important. We lost the debate after 9/11. Massive government failure inexplicably led to a massive expansion of the government. One result of that expansion -- puting FEMA under the bureaucratic nightmare auspices of DHS -- likely contributed to the futility we've seen over the last week. A government-planned Brasilia-like New New Orleans would be an atrocity. The Paul Krugmans -- or the Jonathan Alters -- simply can't win this debate.

Indeed. It is astounding that Paul Krugman is even taken seriously anymore, but he is.

Also, don't forget to check out all the old Trivia Tidbits Of the Day, the Reform Thursday series, the Quotational Therapy sessions, and the Wednesday Caption Contest (entries are due each Tuesday at 11:59 PM Central Standard Time).

Last Week's Classiness Certification from WILLisms.com:

*Aug. 30, 2005.

WILLisms.com offers a weekly classiness roundup as a weekly feature, every Tuesday, with 15 blog posts deemed classy. The criteria for submissions: incisive original analysis, quirky topics nobody else is covering, fantastic graphics, or other posts that took a lot of work. We love to spread the word on upcoming blogs, being that WILLisms.com also fits that description. If you would like to nominate a post on your blog or another blog for inclusion, email us at WILLisms@gmail.com. Write "Classy Nomination" in the subject. You can also utilize this page to make your submissions. The deadline is each Monday at 11:59 PM Central Time.

Classy.

Posted by Will Franklin · 6 September 2005 05:41 PM

Comments

Posted by: Am I A Pundit Now? at September 6, 2005 06:53 PM

Posted by: Zsa Zsa at September 6, 2005 08:07 PM

Posted by: Rob B. at September 6, 2005 11:46 PM

Posted by: Ironman at September 7, 2005 09:07 AM

Posted by: Frank Reyes at September 7, 2005 09:18 AM