I for one welcome our new Chinese overlords.....
The Criminal Constituency. Kevin D. Williamson, National Review Online - When I say whatever follows the GOP needs to work to restore the rule of law, this is why. Because a Nation that cannot enforce, and require it's leaders to follow, it's own laws also abandons it's moral case for existing.
The Working Class Meltdown, Rich Lowry, National Review Online - As the economy has transitioned from manufacturing based to technology and service based this group has been rudderless and increasingly depressed/angry. If you want to understand the rise of Trump/Sanders, look no further.
The Conservative Intellectual Movement: Then and Now. George Nash, National Review Online - A good read despite the fact that I don't agree with everything in it. (And, yes, I'm aware that "conservative intellectual" seems at times to be an oxymoron.
What will Republicans learn from 2016? Jim Gerghaty, National Review Online - If History is any indication the wrong lessons.
Obama's Brexit Overreach is Typical of his Arrogance. Tim Montgomerie. The Spectator - Even the world is weary of Obama. A man who, despite all evidence to the contrary, still considers himself to be the smartest guy in any room.
Why I Chose Hillary Clinton. Lena Dunham, Time.com - A question she doesn't really answer. And which, to be honest, I think she's incapable of answering honestly. The reason Dunham is backing Clinton is because Clinton is a female. It's the same logic behind some Democrats backing Obama because he was black and some Republicans backing Romney because he was white. Educated voters call these people "low-information" voters which I think applies just well to Ms. Dunham.
Don't look now but, here comes the Houston Area Survey! Which means that all news stories on local issues HAVE to include mention that "Houstonians want urban, walkable neighborhoods and increased public transit despite the fact that a.) The survey results are frequently counter to reality and b.) no one in the media ever really asks why.
Of course, this would mean admitting that people are not buying into the so-called "walkable" Houtopian areas that New Urbanists, the unproductive class and Gray Matters are pimping for single-family homes in the suburbs at breakneck speed. In fact, the CITY of Houston has a population problem because most of the growth numbers you see are for the Houston Metro Region which includes suburban communities rather than within the city center itself.
Ted and John Driving off a Cliff in a GOP Convertible. John Kass, Chicago Tribune. - For all of the silly Chicago vs. Houston comparisons that have come since it was forecast that the Houston Metro Region would overtake the Windy City as the third most populace metro region in all of the land one area where Chicago kicks Houston into a cocked hat in in political punditry. Kass is a better columnist than anything Houston can throw at the wall.
Mayor Promises to Investigate the White Oak Music Loophole. Erin Mulvaney, HoustonChronicle.com ($$$) - When developing New Urbanism one of the bigger pratfalls is when things get urban. Consider this a cautionary tale on two fronts: First, be careful what you wish for because you just might get it. Second, I would think long and hard about opening a business in Houston. You never know when you'll butt-up against the Houston Way patronage system and find yourself on the outs.
College Tuition on the Rise in Texas, Far Outpacing Income Growth. Benjamin Wermund, HoustonChronicle ($$$) - In retrospect deregulating a close market and turning over the power of the purse to un-elected, unaccountable bureaucrats wasn't a good idea hey Texas Republicans?
Beyonce's beehive of Bombastic Buffoons. Michelle Malkin, National Review Online - Whatever "empowerment" movement she's leading is still being done with her cheating husband carrying production credit on these songs, and using his streaming service as a platform. Can we please stop looking to entertainers for our moral compass? Pretty please?
And finally....
Your now almost daily reminder that Houston is a stupid, ugly town ruled by stupid, vulgar people. And I don't mean aesthetically ugly. Houston's ugly is a deeper type of ugly, down to the core. Years of inattention and an adherence to the Houston Way have destroyed any sense of collective community and has resulted in one of the rudest places to live and work.
Asking a Houstonian to open up a can of care for their fellow citizens often requires the force of law. Asking a local politician to act mature is a pipe dream. I've noticed that, over the last decade, this has gotten much worse and I think I know why.
Part of the reason is the trend we're seeing Nationally of blue collar isolationism. The other part is due to the fact that people don't feel the local institutions are following the law so why in the hell should they? When you have a group of people (New Urbanists) trying to shame people constantly it decouples everyone from everyone else. Increasingly, Houston is not a city at all, it's just a loosely connected group of employment centers governed with indifference by a group of people with little sense of civic duty but a very strong sense of self-preservation.
Because of this the preferred method of living in Houston is to live outside of it. That way, if you're not part of Houston you're free to cut-off other motorists to as you cut in line for the exit lane. Who cares if everyone else suffers because Houston isn't your problem right? You're free to act obnoxious to wait-staff, retail workers and pretty much everyone in which you come into contact because, after all, you've to to look out for you and yours.
It's a problem that's gotten worse in the last decade or so and I don't see it getting better anytime soon.
