Sorry, after clarification of neocon I retract my statement. It gets thrown around so much I guess I was thinking in terms of being very staunchly conservative.

thevastlane on October 8, 2008 at 5:05 PM

…the term is, as in the Ed Koch bit posted above (I always loved Koch, that self-promoting little hamster), rather like “the Bush doctrine”…can anybody, even Mr. Bush, define it…it’s been so hijacked by so many half-informed but fully-ideologically-enslaved folks that it means little besides “guys we don’t like”…or, on the Left, “guys who aren’t like us”….

…it’s sort of like “social-Darwinist” used as a label by the Left to describe people who didn’t buy into their statist party line…or, as Annie Coulter observes, like “racist”, taken to mean “anyone who wins an argument with a liberal”….

Did so-called “neo-cons” ever actually use it to describe themselves? Dave Horowitz was a raging lefty, and now is sort of a “con”…does that make him a “neo-con”? Or is he just a wacko?

Beware of labels…be especially wary of who’s using ‘em, and who they’re hung on…”fascist” is a label which’s pretty freely thrown around, so much so that it has no real meaning anymore in current, non-scholarly (and most scholarly) conversation….

Gov. Palin, in the meantime, looks pretty solidly conservative (lower-case “c”), meaning not eager leave the tried and true for the merely popular or apparently (and hopefully) salutary….

…but then, as a hunter, it’s the tried and proven which brings home the deer….

Puritan1648 on October 8, 2008 at 5:29 PM

Grue in the Attic on October 8, 2008 at 5:15 PM

*PREEEEEEEEEEEEEEN!*

…harrumph…move along…nothing to see here…harrumph….

…right back at ya…then again, I’ve come to expect quality on this blog not only from the moderators but from the regulars…even some of the trolls write well…or copy from well written talking points leaflets….

…it’s not me, though…it’s just that I’ve been very lucky to have developed a respect for the language and, while I haven’t actually acquired any common sense myself, I have been blessed with having met and lived and served with folks who’ve had it in spades…so I’ve been spoiled by having had excellent examples….

*UNSOLICITED ADVICE FOLLOWS, WITH APOLOGIES FOR EXTENDING DISCUSSION OF THIS SELF-CELEBRATORY SUBJECT*

First, have a parent, mentor or friend whose eye for the ridiculous and disdain for the pompous is apparent and practiced. They might not get around to teaching you wrong from right, but they’ll teach you silly from sensible.

Second, (and schools nowadays DON’T teach this) acquire an admiration for a well-turned phrase. Read old books. Before about 1930, people considered themselves as being judged by their self-expression, and were careful about impressions. Even Mark Twain, talking down in his made-up vernacular, showed care in brevity (something I’ve never learned) and was always clear. The English language has twice the vocabulary of any other language…it was Churchill’s strength…it’s a sign of time spent thinking….

Third, learn to appreciate smart-asses. Read Dennis Miller. Read P. J. O’Rourke. Devour Ted Nugent. Mark Steyn is great. Watch anything written by Richard Curtis. Watch anything with Rowan Atkinson in it.

Fourth, keep an eye on folks who think that they’re smart. They usually aren’t, and are an inexhaustible source of material.

Fifth, know what you believe, why you believe it, and don’t ever expect anyone to agree with you. Don’t sell your point of view…simply state it. Agreement is gravy.

Sixth and finally, find an outlet where you can have your say, and don’t expect anyone to read it. Write for yourself.

* THE PRECEEDING WAS A TRIBUTE TO THE MANY PEOPLE WHO TRIED TO TEACH ME ABOUT THE WORLD AND GENERALLY FAILED…THAT I LEARNED ANYTHING IS A TRIBUTE TO THEIR TENACITY OR THEIR FAILURE TO RECOGNIZE WHEN TIME WAS BEING WASTED. *

…a good blog is a blessing…good bloggers are gravy….

Puritan1648 on October 8, 2008 at 6:11 PM