Victor Davis Hansen hits another out of the park

[The Seer]

There is a tragic monotony to the latest massive human migration, this one involving Syrians fleeing their war-torn country.

Whether the migrants are from Mexico, the Islamic world or elsewhere, it is always the same: Migrants flock to the West.

Mexicans who elect to leave their country do not hop trains to Guatemala. Fleeing Libyans do not head for the Congo. And Syrians do not go to Russia or China.

Migrants -- many of them young men -- come in such numbers that Western immigration laws are often rendered null and void. Western nations tend to apply their exacting immigration laws only to the much smaller number of immigrants who obey the law.

Sometimes the exoduses are due to endemic poverty, usually brought on by the utter failure of non-Western governments to provide jobs, security and basic social services. Sometimes tribal, religious or drug wars cause the exoduses.

Yet neither the Latin American nor the Islamic world analyzes why millions of their own are fleeing to cultures that are usually criticized -- other than an occasional half-hearted whine about the legacy of imperialism, colonialism and a potpourri of other historical grievances.

Nor does the deer-in-the-headlights American or European host dare to remind newcomers that its uniquely Western menu -- free-market capitalism, private property, a free press, meritocracy, consensual government, religious tolerance, equality between the sexes, and individual freedom -- draws in people, while the antitheses repel them.

The mentalities of both the Western hosts and the non-Western migrants have become predictable.

Many ordinary middle-class Westerners oppose massive influxes of immigrants. These citizens do not like seeing laws rendered null and void. They fear that their schools, health facilities, legal systems and social services will be overwhelmed and left unable to effectively serve their own middle classes and poor.

The masses in the West have learned such caution from experience. The sudden appearance of huge numbers of immigrants -- when coupled with poverty, lack of language facility and little education -- for decades afterwards has impeded easy integration, assimilation and intermarriage within Western society.

As a result, a divisive, salad-bowl multicultural separatism often arises.

Given the challenges of facing strange customs, traditions and languages, guests naturally find it difficult to achieve rapid parity with hosts. It is soon forgotten in the first generation that being in the underclass in the West was once thought better than the alternative back home. That paradox is soon forgotten by the often disgruntled -- and less desperate -- children of migrants.

Millions of immigrants to the West soon sense that their own lack of parity and sheer numbers can translate into a powerful political constituency -- all the more so if it stays angry, unassimilated and occasionally replenished by new waves of arrivals.

Western elites in politics, journalism, academia, religion and the arts snipe at their own supposedly illiberal majorities. How dare these cruel hearts question the wisdom of accepting legions of anonymous newcomers!

Yet too many elites unfortunately are poseurs. These privileged Westerners assume that the real consequences of unchecked migration should always fall on others who are less sophisticated and who lack the elites' capital, education and influence to find everyday exemption from the real-life consequences of their own idealism.

Should Harvard or Oxford open their ample campuses to migrant tent cities, should the wealthy in Malibu and Monaco allow their beaches to become refugee campgrounds, should the Vatican turn its vast plaza into beds and soup kitchens for thousands, then a member of the elite might not be so jaded about the vast abyss between what is lectured and what is actually done.

Non-Western countries are even more two-faced about immigration. Saudi Arabia, for example, has not used its trillions of petrodollars to take in fellow Muslims from neighboring countries. But it has offered to build 200 mosques in Germany. The Saudis logically assume that unassimilated young male Muslim immigrants in Europe will be ripe for the Saudis' own brand of extremist Islamic chauvinism and resistance to Western modernism.

In the case of Mexico, it expects that the United States would never treat immigrants in the manner that Mexico deals with migrants.

Not long ago, the Mexican government printed comic-book-style manuals on how to enter the U.S. illegally. Apparently, Mexico does not want to retain its own citizens. It assumes that they cannot read and are in need of pictographic instruction. And it advises them to break its neighbor's immigration laws. How else to ensure that an estimated $30 billion in remittances each year are sent home to Mexico from its expatriates?

We all lie to ourselves about immigration. The world over seems to want what often-complacent, affluent Westerners take for granted. But no one dares to say why this is so, or why some are driving out -- and others are drawing in -- millions on the move.

[Wolfman]

Exactly. Spot on. The Vatican could free up some of their gold reserves or sell some of their treasures and provide for them. Of course here you won't see the 100K that Obama wants to bring into the US being housed in places like Martha's Vineyard or any of the golfing communities he plays on. As they say---trending.

[LTS TRN 2]

Hansen is a wind-up lunatic neoliberal cheerleader. He's robustly oblivious to the basic fact that these hordes are leaving their respective nations because the IMF and World Bank, along with the major banks that we refer to as "Wall St," have systematically undermined the economies of these nations with horrific "loan" schemes that render the nations unto perpetual crushing debt. The basic premise of neoliberal capitalism is utterly toxic and fatal to the world world economy, not just the Third World. As to the motivations of these astonishingly evil and ruthless bankers to cause terrible strife and instability, well, it's just another massive profiteering scam--like the totally manipulated "pump and dump" scam of the '08 meltdown.

Hansen is so absorbed in his own swirl of American Exceptionalism, that he makes his hero, the senile and criminal Reagan, look positively astute.

[mvscal]

He's robustly oblivious to the basic fact that these hordes are leaving their respective nations because the IMF and World Bank, along with the major banks that we refer to as "Wall St," have systematically undermined the economies of these nations with horrific "loan" schemes that render the nations unto perpetual crushing debt.

Allah hu Akbar says what?

[Jay in Phoenix]

Uh yeah, not to buy into an LTS conspiracy theory, but there is inherent evil in the World Bank, and all banking systems. The Wall Street corruption he speaks to "could" be very real and collapse could be imminent. It also could be much ado about nothing, though I am personally preparing for a worse case scenario.

Not over reacting, just ready and prepared.

Or trolling. Or poptarting. Or somewhere in between.

Meanwhile, Goober is old and obsessive and shit. Let my ANKLE go!

[LTS TRN 2]

He's robustly oblivious to the basic fact that these hordes are leaving their respective nations because the IMF and World Bank, along with the major banks that we refer to as "Wall St," have systematically undermined the economies of these nations with horrific "loan" schemes that render the nations unto perpetual crushing debt.

Allah hu Akbar says what?

'Scuse me, but your fluff boy for the Koch brothers says Hi.. (or Heil)

[mvscal]

George Soros says what?

[LTS TRN 2]

C'mon, babs, you sound like one of those bratty GOP candidates chanting "Obama's fault" at everything that comes up. Just admit it, you're a total Nazi who avidly supports the entire agenda of the plutocratic Kochs and their minions. You worship corporate power and you actually hate science and rational thought. Of course you're a fervid Zionist, and you're as racist as any KKK member, and you're as fiercely anti-intellectual as Billy Graham. What a pile of mendacious crap you've proven to be.

[Jay in Phoenix]

Confused thesaurus says what?

Come on LTS, at least make some fuggin' sense. Mvscal has always adhered to logic and science, as long as I have read his posts. While I have rarely agreed with him (at least historically speaking), he is at least honest and comes from an intellectual and well read viewpoint. You on the other hand, wring your sweaty palms together in desperation and hopes that even one person will buy into your desperate conspiriatorial claptrap.

Ya' might wanna' pm popturd and swap spit, as he is all about this sort of bullshit.

[LTS TRN 2]

Bullshit. A stonewall denial of Climate Change is the same as a Christer in terms of anti-science. And accepting the Popular Mechanics explanation of the WTC towers collapse is tantamount to believing in a flat earth theory. Believing in the the Milton Friedman school of economics is a clear sign of a mental midget, and sticking with Cheney in defending the invasion and destruction of Iraq is beyond stupid, it's crass and amoral. Anyway you look at his obdurate spewage of simplistic "libertarian" gibberish, he's been proven dead wrong on every single thing he's ever said.

[Jay in Phoenix]

Damn, you might want spread those individual topics out to individual threads, as your exhaustive hyperventilation is not just distracting, it is FLAT out stupid.

Pick a topic and stick to that one, then we can advance on to each next one in turn.

So which specific issue do you want to address here Nickole?

Climate changes make some sense, as these happen over long periods of time. That's basic Earth science and historic record. Either be more specific or engage in another topic with some semblance of substance.

Tag, you're shit.

[LTS TRN 2]

The effort of maintaining some "scientific" dissent as to the fact of man made disastrous Climate Change in the past century or so is a calculated one which is carefully funded and organized in a massive disinformation campaign. The particulars of this conniving and patient strategy are detailed at this site.

http://merchantsofdoubt.org/


As to neoliberal economic theory as developed by Leo Strauss, and advanced by Milton Friedman and Alan Greenspan among others (like Hansen), it has been proven to be catastrophic and an untenable and unsustainable nightmare of surging inequality and collapsing economies around the world.

As for the anti-physics beliefs entailed in accepting, however passively, the farcical official 9/11 Commission report, this is shameless--and right in step with any ignorant yokel who believes in a literal interpretation of the bible.

And as for insisting, like Cheney, that invading Iraq was correct, this is demented and craven.

And each of these applies to babs, and of course he can't begin to defend any of his positions at all. What a creep!

[Dr_Phibes]

Still trying to figure out where the article was going. There's no end point, it's unrelated rambling.

Was he creating a narrative moodscape?

[Shlomart Ben Yisrael]

Still trying to figure out where the article was going. There's no end point, it's unrelated rambling.

Was he creating a narrative moodscape?

You could very well be talking about Van...Just blend in a super-hot, mythical dead wife...a Creedence tape and the rest writes itself.

[Dr_Phibes]

Just trying to figure out what planet the park is that he knocked it out of. He graduated from one of those universities in the early seventies where you called your professor by his first name. Bad grades were not cool man, so don't give 'em.

[mvscal]

Just trying to figure out what planet the park is that he knocked it out of. He graduated from one of those universities in the early seventies where you called your professor by his first name. Bad grades were not cool man, so don't give 'em.

He's got a PhD from Stanford, idiot.

[Dr_Phibes]

On the strength of graduating from UC, Santa Cruz, 75.



It's cool.

[Y2K]

On the strength of graduating from UC, Santa Cruz, 75.

Banana Slug beats a Lumberjack any day.
And then there's Isla Vista and Chico State

One thing you Canucks will never understand.

[LTS TRN 2]

To understand Hansen is to understand that of course Orwell was correct in his prediction of transnational corporate fascism spreading and subsuming the earth, utilizing the robust and aggressive inversion of language and logic as its primary appeal. Notice how the "Orwellian" logic of Hansen insists that "free-market Capitalism" is why hordes of desperately poor men and women voluntarily leave their homes and countries. Notice how with cheerful enthusiasm (he's brimming in his tone) he completely ignores (and deflects from) the fact that the "free market" Capitalism is the exact reason why the various refugee exit nations are completely ruined and bankrupt in the first place. That is, just how the very "free market" policies (enforced not by reason or some natural appeal, but by military threat) have rendered these MANY nations unto bankrupt vassals of interest payments. That's right, interest payments. The clever fellows at Goldman Sachs (just to put some name to it) have connived a scheme whereby the receiving nations--of the good gracious loans from the banks--can barely even maintain the interest on the loans, let alone the principle--let alone the supposed social benefit of the massive loan in the first place.

I am behind Victor David Hansen...do you know me?


Hello, yes, I am Victor...yes, like Kissinger I'm a "doctor" .....of ultra-right wing power mad insanity....oh have you checked the news lately..?




Hansen is an utter criminal of the very highest order. His oozing Wall St journal editorial insanity is an affront to any sane and sentient human.

As for babs and his curled, fake nothing...well, he is what he is :wink:

Same with the spindly "Arty"..

Now, as for the Emmy's ...where the fuck was (or wasn't) The Brink...??

The Brink is the best comedy show in the history of the box--the "idiot tube"....

Jack Black is his best by far, and Tim Robbins is great. The others--the pair of pilots--and the Pakis!!!--are all amazing and hilarious. What a great show.

Wow, too bad there are such real (http://tarpley.net/online-books/george- ... biography/) monsters pushing big buttons in the world..

[LTS TRN 2]

Huh? ...says One-Chord Wille? Have you seen The Brink? Ever actually read Orwell? Do you know how to actually use a 13th as opposed to a 9th? Do you know who Leo Strauss was?

Oh Willers...you've shit this week's underwear...again...

[Dr_Phibes]

Ever actually read Orwell? .

He's a wanker. Hated propaganda and techniques and equated it with socialism, shame he couldn't spot the diference.

[Dr_Phibes]

On the strength of graduating from UC, Santa Cruz, 75.

Banana Slug beats a Lumberjack any day.
And then there's Isla Vista and Chico State

One thing you Canucks will never understand.

No offence comrade, I've been reliably informed that UC is diverse, but non-Californians should be told that Santa Cruz is a bit of a whack-job.

[LTS TRN 2]

Are you attempting to write English? Your basic grammar is tortured--as though you're a desperate fake....Oh...I didn't mean to embarrass you..

[Dr_Phibes]

I've got a lot to hide. Twin Towers? All me.



Keep quiet.

[LTS TRN 2]

Okay, as you're a scared and conniving sort, let's believe that you support the inside job, the New Pearl Harbor (which was in fact pulled off).Okay, so you're on board? With Permanent War? really? Let's hear you speak about why this should be.

What's that? You...don't dare say anything? you're...some quiet little whelp?...oh

[Goober McTuber]

Meanwhile, Goober is old and obsessive and shit. Let my ANKLE go!

You post this in a thread I hadn't even posted in? Ponderous.

[War Wagon]

He thought he might have had a chance to get the last word in, that maybe you might not see this thread.

Fat chance.

[Goober McTuber]

I see 'em all.

[Shlomart Ben Yisrael]

On the strength of graduating from UC, Santa Cruz, 75.



It's cool.

"...but I don't listen to them 'cause my head is like a sieve..."