It's all my fault.

Apparently I live in one of the most spendthrift cities in the country. It must be the temptation of all the delicious bread in Whole Foods. See also.

Point/counterpoint

Point: Julian Sanchez writes a long, thoughtful essay on "epistemic closure" and the intellectual state of the right. Reihan Salam, and Noah Millman write long and thoughtful responses. Counterpoint: today the Heritage Foundation launches a new, explicitly political arm.

Perhaps it's unfair to juxtapose these items. Yes, it's important to be able to influence legislation; I certainly hate bad legislation as much as the next person. And perhaps a group that's loosely connected to an existing think tank would have a comparative advantage at reaching legislatures. At the same time, when there's plenty of ink being spilled by very smart and thoughtful people about the hyper-politicization of the right, I'm inclined to suspect that there's some meat to their complaints. So I'm not really sure that it's wise for Heritage -- an institution that might well have some comparative advantage at standing above the political fray and serving as a quasi-university-like generator of ideas -- to get more actively involved in the nitty-gritty of politics itself.

I should add that I have some thoughts on Noah Millman's points about funders, as I worked for one of the large right-of-center foundations for about a year and change. I'm not sure it's politic to post them here. I will say that the Institute for Humane Studies does give out plenty of grants and scholarships to libertarian-ish academics just starting out on their careers. While they look for people in the libertarian-ish ballpark, they don't require the people they fund to take particular positions. Pnin and I were both, at different times, beneficiaries of their generosity. I'd encourage Millman to learn more about them if it so interests him.

Virginia Confederate History month contretemps

As a NoVa resident and member of the VA bar, let me join the chorus of naysayers saying yes, Virginia's Confederate History Month was a terrible, terrible idea. Those of you who love primary sources are encouraged to check out Jack Balkin's impressive collection of relevant documents. In any case, I'm glad McDonnell has stepped back a bit and agreed to acknowledge the role that slavery played in causing the Civil War.

I'm happy that many conservatives have come out against this particular foolishness, too. Still, while I was beaming when I read the beginning of this Powerline post, I was less pleased by the remark that "McDonnell has no problems with his base." It reads as though this might somehow be acceptable if McDonnell did have problems with the base, sort of as though this were a mere Bridge to Nowhere or an otherwise ordinary piece of pork. But... morally speaking... it really isn't.

It's also a bit odd to see a conservative blogger so readily accept the conservative base = racist rednecks stereotype. I've been known to wave my hands around and yell that no, not every supporter of the colorblind constitution/opponent of affirmative action is a crypto-racist. I would've guessed that Mirengoff was with me on this.

Things I like (yes, it happens)

1. Dave Weigel has a new blog up at The Washington Post, "Right Now" covering "the conservative movement and the Republican Party." I read a lot of Weigel's stuff when he was over at Reason and was generally favorably impressed. If you're reading this, you're also probably curious about the intellectual history, theory, and practice of libertarianism and conservatism. So check it out.

2. Here are two excerpts from posts by Ta-Nehisi Coates that I liked. The first:

I haven't seen Brooks' stats, but I strongly suspect that they don't tell us much about some people, they tell us something about most people. But if you're the kind of person who would single-mindedly devote yourself to pursuing an academy award, isn't it possible that you aren't like most people, and that stats like this are less indicative of your life? In which case, are you really crazy? Or is that your life, with all its nuances, and all its specifics, simply can't be folded into the square mind of the average pundit?

Sociology is porn for public intellectuals--or rather we seem intent on making it so.

The second, regarding Dana Perino's comment that there would be fewer sex scandals if there were more women in politics:

Let me chime in with a deep and heartfelt "Probably not." I think it's likely that a woman would like face a penalty in degree and kind that men don't. That probably serves as a deterrent. But it's not absolute. As Matt notes, there's a serious sample-size problem here.

I would suggest that the lack of sex scandals among women is more a marker of a kind of immaturity around women's issues in our politics. This nobler than thou approach is also a dangerous line of reasoning and (I hate to say this again) a kind of attack on the humanity of women.

3. It's beautiful in Washington! Unfortunately, I can barely enjoy the early summer because of my allergies. Hey, sometimes anti-histamines are the food of the gods.

This weather also makes me want to walk down the street eating ice cream cones. This is why I will never be a Leon Kass adherent.

Miscellany

1)A slight majority of the tea party movement is female. Of course, it's hard to define the scope of the tea party movement, and 55% is hardly a huge number. But it's still interesting, given that the tea partiers are often stereotyped as angry white men.

To be clear; I don't know what I think about the tea partiers. I'm with them insofar as having generally pro-limited government sympathies, though I'm not especially drawn to the populist tone of their movement. I'd love to read a long magazine piece by some well-respected centrist writer with an impeccable reputation for fair-mindedness who just followed a bunch of tea partiers around for a few months. Something New York Times magazine-ish.

2)While I'm clearing out my list of starred items from Google Reader: So this explains how I wound up in the public sector. One potential flaw: there's only a loose correlation between attractiveness in a paper facebook picture and attractiveness in real life. I feel ancient admitting that I remember the paper facebook era in undergrad, but...

3)Corporate diversity training does not actually seem to work.

Discussion question

The reason that this letter writer cannot get dates is not because attractive women his own age are dating older guys with more money and nicer cars. Rather, it is because he is an annoying and entitled whiner. See also the Nice Guy phenomenon discussed heavily on blogs a few years ago.

Notes on wedding planning

This is what I do with my precious spare time, apparently, rather than blog. So in no particular order:

1. First, there was the selection of registry items. This duty apparently falls almost entirely to me, as Pnin assures me that he does not care. It's extremely odd to pick out china, silver and fancy cooking toys with regard mainly to quality and not price. It feels like no kind of shopping I've ever done before, except possibly for shopping for educational institutions. This, alone, says much about my life as a status-income disequilibrium baby.

2. Second, there was the bridal magazine that advised naming tables at the reception after the couple's favorite books. This suggestion initially sounded kind of cool, except upon actual reflection, it isn't. At best, many of the obvious options are just kind of silly -- which of your friends are you really going to seat at Anarchy, State and Utopia? At worst, there are the choices that actually have the potential to offend. Our most socialist friends could sit at The Road to Serfdom! The conservative and libertarian civil rights people could all be at Pride and Prejudice! Does Vanity Fair work best as the table for a)our most attractive friends; b)Harvard grads; or c)legal academics?

3. I'm discovering that I have the world's lowest discount rate.

4. For about the 3,502nd time, I am wondering if I really have a second X chronosome. Not in the sense that I have Turner's syndrome -- though I am quite short, I do have an above average I.Q. -- but in the sense that I fear I am actually male, all hard biological evidence to the contrary.

5. I found a wedding etiquette book in my mother's house that advises that "business associates" of the bride may be invited, but only "if she's a career girl and will continue her work after the wedding."

6. Also, selecting readings for the ceremony. One possibility: the "Only when like marries like can there be any happiness" scene from Gone With the Wind. Also "O Tell Me The Truth About Love" by Auden and Shakespeare's 116th sonnet.