Job Security In Congress

In a shaky economy, it’s those largely responsible who rest the easiest. Must be nice.

Purging The Moderates

The Article: The excluded middle in The Economist.

The Text: WATCHING television advertisements for John Barrow’s re-election campaign, it is hard to tell whether he is a Republican or a Democrat. In a studiedly folksy manner, he explains how he rejects the nostrums of both parties. He is a strong ally of the National Rifle Association, which irks Democrats. He refuses to turn over Medicare to private insurers, as many Republicans would like. He bucked both parties by voting against the “Wall Street bail-out”. He has voted at times with, and at times against, both Barack Obama and Eric Cantor, the leader of the Republican majority in the House of Representatives. “John’s independent, all right,” a grey-haired woman in a house-dress avers. “John will work with anyone to bring jobs to Georgia,” declares a jowly man in a baseball cap.

As it happens, Mr Barrow is a Democrat. As his ads suggest, he is a moderate who often goes against the party line—most notably when he voted against Mr Obama’s health-care reforms. More doctrinaire Democrats dismiss him as a “Republicrat”. His Republican opponent, meanwhile, has dubbed him “Barrobama”, arguing that his claims of centrism are mere posturing. Partisans on both sides agree on one thing about him, however: that he will struggle to win re-election. The Republicans who run Georgia’s state legislature removed a lot of Democrats when they redrew his district last year, leaving it with a decided Republican slant.

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The Emergence Of Societal Scum

And is this current layer residing in DC?

The Castles In America

The Article: Who says America doesn’t have castles? in The Economist.

The Text: THIS morning I read of the altercation in Montana that led a homeowner to shoot and kill a jealous husband. Brice Harper had a relationship with Dan Fredenberg’s wife. The wife insisted it was only an “emotional” affair, but no mind: an angry, intoxicated and unarmed Fredenberg charged into Mr Harper’s Montana garage, where Mr Harper shot him dead.

The Kalispell, Montana police are not charging Mr Harper with any crime. The reason is the “castle doctrine”, newly added to Montana law. If someone has merely “reasonable belief” that he will be assaulted, even by an unarmed assailant, in his home, he may use deadly force in response. The traditional arguments quickly flow from both sides: from the police and gun-control advocates, that this is a “license to kill”, from the pro-gun lobby, that it deters crime.

What struck me was not the usual arguments, but the word “castle” attached to the legal doctrine in question. As it happens, last night I was reading Steven Pinker’s “Better Angels of Our Nature”. As those who have heard of the book know, Mr Pinker argues that violence (both war and homicide, and assault to boot) have declined precipitously in almost all corners of the world. He sets out to explain why.

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The Reasoning Behind Wall Street’s Madness

As Noam Chomsky says, there’s low risk in investment when the potential loss is almost always socialized.