Recently in the headlines is the GOP dissatisfaction with the CNBC debate. What’s a little unusual about this is that almost everybody agrees that the debates were poorly done. To pick one example, Tod Kelly says:

The worst part wasn’t that their questions were often insipid. (Though they were.)1 Or that CNBC’s version of what issues should be important to American voters was rather bizarrely skewed. (Though it was.)2 It wasn’t even the first question of the debate, where they asked the candidates to tell everyone what their greatest weakness was, then stressed that they were going to hold them to answering the question, and then just sat there watching as each candidate (save Trump) used the question to tell the world how much more awesome than everyone else they were.

No, the worst part was that CNBC had clearly made a decision to go full Candy Crowley, and hold the candidates’ feet to the fire when they answered with false statistics or histories. Which was a noble ambition, and might have led to a truly awesome debate, but for one tiny flaw: The moderators hadn’t taken the time to learn anything about the questions they were asking. When candidates pushed back, the moderators looked lost. When asked, the moderators couldn’t recall where they got their facts. When Becky Quick pushed Trump on a point, and he asked where she was getting her facts, she began shuffling through notes with a confused look on her face, and this exchange actually happened {…}

Vox’s Marcus Brauchli argues that it’s basically American Gladiators, and we’re entitled to it:

The audiences are coming — CNBC and other broadcasters have enjoyed record viewership for the debates — because it’s a red, white, and blue American television mashup of courtroom drama, where tough questions elicit surprise answers; team sport, where even favorite players stumble; and reality TV, where every participant has a unique narrative, moderators stoke controversy, and viewers have a say in who gets voted off the island.

The GOP and Republican Party, however, don’t agree. Which has been responded to as such:

The CNBC debate was a disaster, but fucking suck it up.

— Olivia Nuzzi (@Olivianuzzi) November 2, 2015

Here’s the thing: It’s not really up to the GOP to just “suck it up.” It is not their responsibility to entertain us. They have no democratic obligation to endure whatever silly little games CNBC chooses to go forward with for good ratings and entertaining television. The debates are not a benign service to us, nor a tribute to democracy. They exist for the benefit of the party. If they do not benefit the party, there is nothing wrong with them demanding debates that do benefit the party. I don’t mean “there’s nothing wrong” in the sense that “It’s undemocratic but they’re within their Constitutional Rights”… I mean that they are doing a disservice to nobody because there is no obligation, democratic or otherwise, to even have debates to begin with.

So no, they don’t have to “fucking suck it up.” This is their show.

Now, the GOP could well screw itself over by turning the debates into a prolonged advertisement. That would make it far less interesting to the networks themselves and viewers, and a lot of people would tune it all out. More importantly, it would deprive potential primary voters of a chance to assess how the candidates do with their feet to the fire. I’ve been paying attention to the debates with a particular eye to how well Marco Rubio – a relatively untested figure – handles it. And the debates are helpful for assessing how other candidates, such as Scott Walker and Jeb Bush, might perform in general election debates over which the GOP will have far less leverage (and in that case, rightfully so).

So there is a balance to be struck here. You know who is best qualified to strike that balance? The Republican Party, that’s who. The same applies to the Democratic Party, which in 2007 decided that it would not do Fox debates. The added exposure wasn’t in their interest. That was their call, and they certainly have more stake in making the right one than does any of us.

“Yeah, but the Democrats were right because Fox is hopelessly biased while none of the rest are except for reality’s well-known liberal bias.”

Even if we accept the notion that there is no bias in media towards the left, there is inarguably a bias in favor of an entertaining shitshow, which the GOP primaries might presently lend themselves to but not to which party officials must resign themselves to exacerbating. That requires making demands.

Whether I agree with the complaints and demands is rather beside the point. As it turns out, most of the “demands” are pretty reasonable:

• Opening and closing statements for each candidate that last at least 30 seconds
• Equal time, similarly substantive, and fair questions for each candidate
• No rapid-fire “lightening rounds” (sic) in which all the candidates are limited to a few words in answering questions
• More details further in advance on what the rules, subject, production, and format will be
• Veto power for candidates over graphic and bio information that will be displayed onscreen about them

The only one I consider objectionable is that last one, and even that one is debatable. Any demands greater than that would have required a degree of consensus that would have been hard to achieve among candidates with such contrary interests.

Another thing they’re planning on requiring is that the temperature be 67 degrees. The operating temperature by the third debate shouldn’t even be an issue. Is it outrageous that they demand not to be uncomfortable? Or is it the media’s god-given right to play Egon Spengler from Ghostbusters 2 while ratcheting up the temperature to see how the candidates respond and if they can get Marco Rubio to ask for a disqualifying drink of water.

Everybody comes into debates with different objectives. For the candidates and the parties, it’s about trying to win people over. For the voters, it’s about being informed or at least entertained. For the media, it’s about drawing viewers. Arguably, at least, the parties and candidates do have a democratic obligation to the voters to inform (or maybe entertain) them. But the media? Hurm.

CNBC charged *fifty* times their normal ad rate for the GOP debate, yet the media pretends they are the ones doing the GOP a favor. Come on.

— Josh Jordan (@NumbersMuncher) November 2, 2015

Sure, candidates don't have to let news orgs run debates. And news orgs don't have to give them hundreds of millions of dollars in free TV.

— Nick Confessore (@nickconfessore) November 2, 2015

“Dance for us, clown. Or as journalists we will boycott the presidential primary of one of the two major parties. Because journalism.”

What happens when a toddler discovers magic markers…

–

Costume time!
–

In lieu of trick or treating, we went to an event downtown. That worked out pretty well because she was fascinated by the concentration of unusual activity. Also, there was a bouncy castle that she got to play in for a little while.

If you’re wondering how I dressed, I went as “Batman But You Can Call Me Bob.”

Watch a baby elephant try to bathe in a tub its outgrown.

The story.

And here’s one in a tub more appropriately sized, slipping and sliding around.

Would you support a request to the prov'l govt to make the last Sat in Oct as Halloween? I am willing to lead this campaign. Thoughts?

— Riley Brockington (@RiverWardRiley) October 31, 2015

First, the province can't legislate when Hallowe'en is. They can proclaim a provincial day of candy-begging. That's about it.

— Jonathan McLeod (@jonathanmcleod) October 31, 2015

They certainly couldn't stop people from asking for candy or giving out candy on Hallowe'en.

— Jonathan McLeod (@jonathanmcleod) October 31, 2015

But the worst thing is taking this communal event, this socially-derived experience, and deciding it's appropriately the government's domain

— Jonathan McLeod (@jonathanmcleod) October 31, 2015

It's not. Not everything we do needs to be micromanaged by a politician or bureaucrat. That *kills* community.

— Jonathan McLeod (@jonathanmcleod) October 31, 2015

We often need help or guidance from govt to facilitate community events, but we need as little as possible.

— Jonathan McLeod (@jonathanmcleod) October 31, 2015

Our lives and communities shouldn't become wards of the state.

— Jonathan McLeod (@jonathanmcleod) October 31, 2015

And of course, such a proposal completely ignores everything behind Hallowe'en. It shoves tradition aside and overly sanitized the community

— Jonathan McLeod (@jonathanmcleod) October 31, 2015

Anyway, when you were a kid, how fun was it to wear your costume to school *on* Hallowe'en? We should take that away?

— Jonathan McLeod (@jonathanmcleod) October 31, 2015

(Yes, they could wear them the day before, but it's not the same thing. There isn't the excitement.)

— Jonathan McLeod (@jonathanmcleod) October 31, 2015

I'll be really disappointed if any of my representatives choose to waste public time on this.

— Jonathan McLeod (@jonathanmcleod) October 31, 2015

(But they are free to spend their personal time on whatever cockamamie scheme they like.)

— Jonathan McLeod (@jonathanmcleod) October 31, 2015

(And yes I know the lines blur, but some time is clearly on-the-job time.)

— Jonathan McLeod (@jonathanmcleod) October 31, 2015

That's my Hallowe'en rant for today.

— Jonathan McLeod (@jonathanmcleod) October 31, 2015

Somebody will pay.” -Hillary Clinton

As a practical matter, climate change policy and resource exploitation policy should not be so closely entwined that we decline to build Keystone XL or leave oil (and money) in the ground. The goal should be to reduce our need for oil rather than the supply (on which our effect is limited.

MIT’s free online classes now have a pathway to a degree!

California has become a right to dry state! It’s a bit of a dilemma for libertarian-types as it pits ownership against contracts. I fall in favor of the former and consider it perfectly appropriate for California to say “Home ownership has to include this as a right and privilege.”… but I’m not a very good libertarian.

The Bureau of Land Management may be instigating a huge land grab on the Red River.

Some Hungarians want you to know that they are sorry about their Prime Minister.

“Are we over American airspace yet?” (They were, and an American was born.)

The most educated immigrants seem to be coming from Africa.

Sometimes I miss the Mountain West. Meanwhile, in New Jersey… and Europe!

“A former meerkat expert at London Zoo has been ordered to pay compensation to a monkey handler she attacked with a wine glass in a love spat over a llama-keeper.” –Sacramento Bee

Video game voice actors are going on strike. Game companies don’t seem too worried.

But hasn’t this guy heard of the NJ/PA minimum wage experiment?

Relatedly, regardless of the merits, that a majority of Republicans in Pennsylvania support raising the minimum wage ought to scare the crap out of the GOP.

This reminds me of when all of the guns were out to explain that there was no good reason to object to a black stormtrooper when in fact there was almost nobody actually objecting to a black stormtrooper. Except about sports.

Subversive graffiti on the set of Homeland.

This is the second part of a series on Ryan’s ascent to the Speakership. Part one is here.

There is a natural tendency – especially at Ordinary Times, but elsewhere as well – to characterize the GOP as constantly in search of a hero. Always looking for the next Reagan. Paul Ryan, arguably, was emblematic of this around 2011 and 2012. He became the first congressman to be selected on a presidential ticket in almost thirty years, and the second in well over fifty. A lot of that was his youth, energy, and what was perceived to be his unfailing conservatism. Or something.

Three years later, with Cantor knocked off, Boehner leaving, and McCarthy out, Paul Ryan is once again looked to as the Stalwart of Conservatives. Or, at least, of Republicans. Is this yet another manifestation of the Republicans looking for a hero to save them? Initially, there was some justification for this view. If the idea was that they tap Ryan, Ryan is accepted by the rabble-rousers, and justice is restored to the Kingdom of Elephants. If that was the illusion, it was disabused pretty quickly. And predictably.

It was entirely foreseeable, and I suspect foreseen, that Paul Ryan would be the subject of some immediate pushback. That the guy who was considered Mr Conservative three years ago would suddenly become Not Conservative Enough. Because of course he is. Because of course they would. They could theoretically have declared victory. “See? For all that you fellow Republicans hate us, we replaced a less conservative option with a more conservative one. This is why we fight!” But to have embraced victory would be to embrace responsibility. It would embrace being accountable to those who have no sense of what tangible victory would look like and to people whose only sense of victory is another notch in their belt.

So, it is of no surprise whatsoever that many of the same elements that lambasted Boehner immediately started in on Ryan. It is no surprise that Ryan would become the next pachyderm metamorphosed into a rhinoceros. Many of them have lost sight of who they are fighting, or what they are fighting for. The fighting has become a thing unto itself. The belt-notches have become not a means to an end, but an end unto themselves. They fashion themselves warriors, but have become nothing more than reavers for fun and profit. They imagine themselves heroes, but are more reminiscent of Charlie Sheen shouting “Winning!” and “Tiger blood!” (more…)

This is, obviously, more of an OT piece. But here it is for your reading enjoyment. Part one of two.

When Atlas says “This is not what I signed up for.”

If all goes according to plan, tomorrow Paul Ryan will be elected Speaker of the House. He didn’t especially want the job. He was nowhere in the general historical order of succession towards the speakership. But these are special times. How did we get here?

I’m not going to get into the Tea Party and PPACA and all that, because everybody knows – or think they know – the important aspects of it. Rather, the often overlooked event was the budget battle of 2011. With the threat of a shutdown and the debt ceiling, Speaker Boehner and President Obama worked out a compromise that included some immediate budget cuts and the promise of more down the line (with the threat of a sequester). Historically, compromises like this are celebrated and grumbled at by both sides and life goes on. This time, however, things went off-script. Almost immediately, Republicans were declaring resolute victory. Outsized expectations that Obama would go down in 2012 were born. But then people started looking more closely and the cuts that Boehner had extracted at the front-end were largely illusory. Then it was the Democrats who were declaring victory and Republicans who were scrambling.

There were three lasting political effects from the budget of 2011. The first – as described in Double Down – is that President Obama was extremely ticked off that what was meant to be a good-natured compromise was (initially) portrayed as such a Republican victory that embarrassed him, and he made the determination that would not happen again. The second is that Boehner lost the trust of the already ornery Tea Party and hyperconservatives in his party. The third is that it planted the seed for the Sequester.

In 2012, true to his word, President Obama did not compromise (much) in the budget process. This led to Boehner folding in order to avert crisis. That lead to more raucous cheering among Democrats. This victory was followed up on January 1st by the delaying of the Sequester, which again peeved conservatives, the Tea Party, and pretty much everyone important to Boehner’s Speakership. Shortly after newly elected congress convened in 2013, the Sequester went into effect, giving at least the illusion of a major Tea Party victory amidst a sea of losses – most specifically the presidential race, as well as senate races, both of which were laid at the door of The Dreaded Establishment. Message: Tea Party winners, Boehner loser. (more…)

I’ve decided to do the major undertaking of listening to an audiobook autobiography of each of our presidents, starting with Alexander Hamilton. (Errr, that should be “All of our presidents along with Alexander Hamilton and maybe Ben Franklin somewhere down the line.”

This is not a political post! Rather, it’s about a love letter and break up letter Thomas Jefferson sent to a lover in France. It’s framed as a discussion between his head and his heart on what to do about her and his other obligations. It’s the sort of thing I might have written in my more self-absorbed days It’s really a fascinating read:

—-

To Maria Cosway

My Dear Madam,–Having performed the last sad office of handing you into your carriage at the pavillon de St. Denis, and seen the wheels get actually into motion, I turned on my heel & walked, more dead than alive, to the opposite door, where my own was awaiting me. Mr. Danquerville was missing. He was sought for, found, & dragged down stairs. WE were crammed into the carriage, like recruits for the Bastille, & not having soul enough to give orders to the coachman, he presumed Paris our destination, & drove off. After a considerable interval, silence was broke with a “Je suis vraiment afflige du depart de ces bons gens.” This was a signal for a mutual confession of distress. We began immediately to talk of Mr. & Mrs. Cosway, of their goodness, their talents, their amiability; & tho we spoke of nothing else, we seemed hardly to have entered into matter when the coachman announced the rue St. Denis, & that we were opposite Mr. Danquervilles. He insisted on descending there & traversing a short passage to his lodgings. I was carried home. Seated by my fireside, solitary & sad, the following dialogue took place between my Head & my Heart:

Head. Well, friend, you seem to be in a pretty trim.

Heart. I am indeed the most wretched of all earthly beings. Overwhelmed with grief, every fibre of my frame distended beyond its natural powers to bear, I would willingly meet whatever catastrophe should leave me no more to feel or to fear.

Head. These are the eternal consequences of your warmth & precipitation. This is one of the scrapes into which you are ever leading us. You confess your follies indeed; but still you hug & cherish them; & no reformation can be hoped, where there is no repentance.

Heart. Oh, my friend! This is no moment to upbraid my foibles. I am rent into fragments by the force of my grief! If you have any balm, pour it into my wounds; if none, do not harrow them by new torments. Spare me in this awful moment! At any other I will attend with patience to your admonitions.
(more…)

Sean Davis looks at some myths about the state of gun control.

Here’s a way to potentially stop some mass shootings, but it’s pretty hard.

Malcolm Gladwell looks at school shootings as a contagion. Elizabeth Winkler takes objection.

Spencer Stone, one of the heroes of the French Terror attempt, was stabbed in an altercation in Sacramento. Sketches of the culprits have been released.

Matt Yglesias argues that despite appearances to the contrary, the Democratic Party is in trouble.

According to Nima Sanandaji, Sweden’s immigration strategy is reaching a breaking point.

Bangaladesh is about the get the green light on golden rice.

How the Egg McMuffin came to be. Relatedly, while I think there is something to this, I really want my all-day breakfast sandwiches.

Is it outlandish to believe that Chinese drivers are intentionally killing pedestrians due to incentives? It may have been a thing in Texas (sort of).

There was some “No more Californians” please sentiment in Deseret and Arapaho when I lived in each, but… Portland?

“One of those wrecked ships carried a cat, and the crew went back to save it. I made the cat the feature of my story, while the other reporters failed to mention the cat, and were called down by their city editors for being beaten. The next time there was a shipwreck there was no cat; but the other ship news reporters did not wish to take chances, and put the cat in. I wrote a true report, leaving out the cat, and then I was severely chided for being beaten. Now when there is a shipwreck all of us always put in a cat.”

Speaking of animals in the lost and found, here’s a nice story of a dog that went missing in Yellowstone National Park for 42 days before being found.

Not only is everyone else having trouble keeping up with rising rents in San Francisco, but the tech companies themselves are having trouble. All bleeding stops eventually, and that which cannot go on indefinitely ends eventually.

Spinal chord simulation and robotic exoskeletons.

Emmanuel Todd comes to bury Charlie Hebdo deceased, not praise them.

A French weatherman is canned after expressing doubts about climate change.

Scientists have totally found an alien satellite! Well, probably not.

Self-driving cars are coming to Canada!

Yikes. A school district in Florida is paying out a six-figure settlement due to some hypnotism gone very wrong.

While using racial slurs is wrong in most contexts, I kind of think this might be an exception.

An obstetrician and abortion doctor – previously sanctioned for performing home abortions – was found with a bunch of fetuses in his car.

Federal prosecutors are going after a Fox contributor for falsely claiming having worked for the CIA.

Hillary Clinton is apparently getting taller. I was actually under the impression that Rubio was shorter than 5’10″… roughly Paul’s height, actually. Am I wrong or has he grown taller, too?

Sometimes Jeb is cool in spite of himself. But seriously, don’t mess with the SEC.

Harry Enten is giving Ted Cruz another look. Cruz wouldn’t have much of a chance in most elections, but this is an unusual one. I think there’s a non-trivial chance that the nomination is going to come down to two Cuban-American candidates. Tom Coburn probably isn’t happy about this prospect.

For several Republican candidates, we’re approaching game time.

It looks like Justin Trudeau is about to be prime minister. Richard Nixon called it when Justin was in diapers.

Now that they no longer issue them, Maryland may take back its confederate license plates.

A surprisingly touching essay by The Voice of Richard Nixon. (or, more specifically, @dick_nixon).