David Brooks is way way too harmless and bumbling to ever seem like much of an "asshole." I mean, this is a guy who spent the fall getting regularly PWNED by Mark Shields, of all people. On PBS. Every now and then he dredges up a sentence that can almost pretend to be incendiary, but for the most part he's a total softy, a socially-"bobo" centrist who seems almost geezery and apologetic about his actual geek-conservatism. He's like if Richard Roeper grew up Bush.
― nabiscothingy, Thursday, 21 April 2005 16:41 (8 years ago) Permalink
― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Thursday, 21 April 2005 16:44 (8 years ago) Permalink
all of whom are criminals, obv. one factor may be sufficient, but the combination seems to increase the likelihood.
― gabbneb (gabbneb), Thursday, 21 April 2005 16:46 (8 years ago) Permalink
― gabbneb (gabbneb), Thursday, 21 April 2005 16:47 (8 years ago) Permalink
― rasheed wallace (rasheed wallace), Thursday, 21 April 2005 16:51 (8 years ago) Permalink
― TOMBOT, Thursday, 21 April 2005 16:59 (8 years ago) Permalink
― TOMBOT, Thursday, 21 April 2005 17:00 (8 years ago) Permalink
― rasheed wallace (rasheed wallace), Thursday, 21 April 2005 17:05 (8 years ago) Permalink
Whereas the red states - coincidentally restricted in abortion - have more rural poverty. The rural poor didn't have as many alleviating social changes over the past decade or two. So is it any shock, say, that their rates of drug abuse (crime) stayed steady or rose?
Then there's also have the other, more disturbing facet of the reasoning (as nabisco alluded to) - lower crime is good, crime rates are highest among the poor, abortion lowers crime rates - aborting the poor lowers crime and is therefore good. It makes it easier, even unconsciously, to dehumanize and criminalize the poor.
My big problem problem with Levitt (maybe his academic research is better, but his pop-cult economics is what I've seen) is that it extrapolates a great deal from very little and then makes broad, ill-informed pronouncements from the data. ie it's the type of shit that belongs in a humor book or PJ O'Rourke column.
― milozauckerman (miloaukerman), Thursday, 21 April 2005 19:14 (8 years ago) Permalink
― elmo, patron saint of nausea (allocryptic), Thursday, 22 December 2005 17:29 (7 years ago) Permalink
― giboyeux (skowly), Thursday, 22 December 2005 17:45 (7 years ago) Permalink
― Aimless (Aimless), Thursday, 22 December 2005 18:13 (7 years ago) Permalink
Everyone loves to quote the "abortion lowers crime" blurb but no one seems bothered to actually read what the man wrote in his book.
Fuck David Brooks, why are we talking about him? Also yeah can people start reposting NYT articles? I refuse to BUY a David Goddamn Brooks article.
― Allyzay must fight Zolton herself. (allyzay), Thursday, 22 December 2005 18:24 (7 years ago) Permalink
Because you are president, you are briefed each day on terrorist threats to this country. These briefings are as psychologically intense as an episode of "24," with descriptions of specific bad guys and their activities.
This has had a cumulative effect on your psychology. While many of your fellow citizens have relaxed as 9/11 has faded into history, you don't have that luxury. Your briefings, and some terrifying false alarms that haven't been made public, keep you in a perpetual state of high alert.
You know that one of the few advantages we have over the terrorists is technological superiority. You are damned sure you are going to use every geek, every computer program and every surveillance technique at your disposal to prevent a future attack. You have inherited the FISA process to regulate this intelligence gathering. It's a pretty good process. FISA judges usually issue warrants quickly and, when appropriate, retroactively.
But the FISA process has shortcomings. First, it's predicated on a division between foreign and domestic activity that has been rendered obsolete by today's mobile communications methods. Second, the process still involves some cumbersome paperwork and bureaucratic foot-dragging. Finally, the case-by-case FISA method is ill suited to the new information-gathering technologies, which include things like automated systems that troll through vast amounts of data looking for patterns, voices and chains of contacts.
Over time you've become convinced that these new technologies, which are run by National Security Agency professionals and shielded from political influence, help save lives. You've seen that these new surveillance techniques helped foil an attack on the Brooklyn Bridge and bombing assaults in Britain. The question is, How do you regulate the new procedures to protect liberties?
Your aides present you with three options. First, you can ask Congress to rewrite the FISA law to keep pace with the new technologies. This has some drawbacks. How exactly do you write a law to cope with this fast-changing information war? Even if you could set up a procedure to get warrant requests to a judge, how would that judge be able to tell which of the thousands of possible information nodes is worth looking into, or which belongs to a U.S. citizen? Swamped in the data-fog, the courts would just become meaningless rubber-stamps. Finally, it's likely that some member of Congress would leak details of the program during the legislative process, thus destroying it.
Your second option is to avoid Congress and set up a self-policing mechanism using the Justice Department and the N.S.A.'s inspector general. This option, too, has drawbacks. First, it's legally dubious. Second, it's quite possible that some intelligence bureaucrat will leak information about the programs, especially if he or she hopes to swing a presidential election against you. Third, if details do come out and Congressional leaders learn you went around them, there will be blowback that will not only destroy the program, but will also lead to more restrictions on executive power.
Your third option is informal Congressional oversight. You could pull a few senior members of Congress into your office and you could say: "Look, given the fast-moving nature of this conflict, there is no way we can codify rules about what is permissible and impermissible. Instead we will create a social contract. I'll trust you by telling you everything we are doing to combat terror. You'll trust me enough to give me the flexibility I need to keep the country safe. If we have disagreements, we will work them out in private."
These are your three options, Mr. President, and these are essentially the three options George Bush faced a few years ago. (He chose Option 2.) But before you decide, let me tell you one more thing: Options 1 and 2 won't work, and Option 3 is impossible.
Options 1 and 2 won't work because they lead to legalistic rigidities and leaks that will destroy the program. Option 3 is impossible because it requires trust. It requires that the president and the Congressional leaders trust one another. It requires Democrats and Republicans to trust one another. We don't have that kind of trust in America today.
That leaves you with Option 4: Face the fact that we will not be using our best technology to monitor the communications of known terrorists. Face the fact that the odds of an attack on America just went up.
― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Thursday, 22 December 2005 18:39 (7 years ago) Permalink
― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Thursday, 22 December 2005 18:41 (7 years ago) Permalink
― Shakey Mo Collier (Shakey Mo Collier), Thursday, 22 December 2005 18:45 (7 years ago) Permalink
― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Thursday, 22 December 2005 18:45 (7 years ago) Permalink
― gypsy mothra (gypsy mothra), Thursday, 22 December 2005 18:49 (7 years ago) Permalink
― don weiner (don weiner), Thursday, 22 December 2005 18:51 (7 years ago) Permalink
― TOMBOT, Thursday, 22 December 2005 18:53 (7 years ago) Permalink
these "cellular" "telephones" represent a paradigm shift that our founders never intended
― älänbänänä (alanbanana), Thursday, 22 December 2005 18:59 (7 years ago) Permalink
― TOMBOT, Thursday, 22 December 2005 19:00 (7 years ago) Permalink
― TOMBOT, Thursday, 22 December 2005 19:01 (7 years ago) Permalink
Sorry everyone else asked for it. :(
― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Thursday, 22 December 2005 19:18 (7 years ago) Permalink
m.
― msp (mspa), Thursday, 22 December 2005 20:36 (7 years ago) Permalink
this reminds me of the one bloom county strip where steve dallas cries when he finds out "knight rider" is a children's show.
― hstencil (hstencil), Thursday, 22 December 2005 20:38 (7 years ago) Permalink
― elmo, patron saint of nausea (allocryptic), Thursday, 22 December 2005 20:53 (7 years ago) Permalink
― hstencil (hstencil), Thursday, 22 December 2005 21:01 (7 years ago) Permalink
“One of the things I’ve found in life is that politicians are a lot more sincere than us journalists and we are more sincere than the people that read and watch us.µ
vid here
― kingfish trapped under ice (kingfish 2.0), Thursday, 10 August 2006 22:27 (6 years ago) Permalink
On "Meet the Press," challenged on an assertion that 10,000 Iraqis will die every month if the U.S. pulls out, The New York Times columnist admits he just picked the number "out of the air."
http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003615101
― Martin Van Burne, Monday, 23 July 2007 14:51 (5 years ago) Permalink
I saw the broadcast. He also implied that it's worth losing a few hundred Americans a month if it keeps 10,00,00o,00,000,000 Iraqis from dying. For once Bob Woodward acted like a journalist and went after him.
― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Monday, 23 July 2007 14:54 (5 years ago) Permalink
As much as I hate to defend Brooks, I think this is an unfair "gotcha" slam - he was obviously using the number 10,000 rhetorically to begin with. He's just trying to argue that even more Iraqis will die if we pull out, which may or may not be true but is not exactly an assertion "out of the air."
― Hurting 2, Monday, 23 July 2007 14:54 (5 years ago) Permalink
Given that so many generals, Bushies, neocons, and "experts" have offered their own out-of-the-air assertions since 2002, I'm prepared to slap the shit out of Brooks, especially after that slavish Bush column he wrote last week.
― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Monday, 23 July 2007 15:00 (5 years ago) Permalink
xpost
But Hurting, he's inserting an exact number to make a hypothetical scenario seem like a concrete actuality. Far from the worst of his crimes, but it highlights how slippery his support for his arguments typically is.
― Martin Van Burne, Monday, 23 July 2007 15:03 (5 years ago) Permalink
In other words, I'd let this go in many other cases, but Brooks deserves to be called out on this.
― Martin Van Burne, Monday, 23 July 2007 15:04 (5 years ago) Permalink
Ok, but advocates of withdrawal say stuff like "It can't get worse than it already is" all the time, which is just as hypothetical.
― Hurting 2, Monday, 23 July 2007 15:05 (5 years ago) Permalink
Besides, how literal-minded do you have to be to think that David Brooks is claiming to know exactly how many Iraqis will die per month?
― Hurting 2, Monday, 23 July 2007 15:06 (5 years ago) Permalink
Well, he claims to know a lot of stuff that he doesn't!
But regardless, this sort of rhetoric gets those numbers out there as talking points. Soon enough, 10K and 125 become the accepted estimations that you have to argue against.
― Martin Van Burne, Monday, 23 July 2007 15:10 (5 years ago) Permalink
Should we just keep a running tally of his clueless Obama/"class warfare"/"lakefront liberal" columns that he dribbles out like so much Olean?
F'instance
Perhaps he'll finally reach the point of just doing a find/replace of "Kerry" with "Obama" on his shit from 4 years ago. It would certainly save him effort.
― kingfish, Tuesday, 1 July 2008 15:17 (4 years ago) Permalink
Methinks that lean times at the Times call for a cutback:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/03/opinion/03brooks.html
― autosocratic asphyxiation (Hurting 2), Tuesday, 3 February 2009 18:21 (4 years ago) Permalink
actually i kind of liked that column--he's right, all Ward 3'rs hate everyone in Bethesda and Potomac.
― Mr. Que, Tuesday, 3 February 2009 18:25 (4 years ago) Permalink
I grew up in Ward 3. Maybe the dynamics have changed since I lived there (due to 8 years of republican rule?) but at the time I didn't sense that there was a huge distinction seen between that and Bethesda. Also Ward 3 was full of incredibly intelligent, interesting people who could have made much more money in the private sector and felt some kind of calling to government.
"Nyah, they're just jealous" -- this passes for biting social commentary?
― autosocratic asphyxiation (Hurting 2), Tuesday, 3 February 2009 18:37 (4 years ago) Permalink
yeah i was kind of kidding--like everything else he writes about he's way over simplified everything. dude is such a goober
― Mr. Que, Tuesday, 3 February 2009 18:40 (4 years ago) Permalink
ah ok, I think I see the sarcasm now
― autosocratic asphyxiation (Hurting 2), Tuesday, 3 February 2009 18:42 (4 years ago) Permalink
as far as i can tell brooks never knows if he's kidding or not.
― call all destroyer, Tuesday, 3 February 2009 19:00 (4 years ago) Permalink
its funny how in their search for a palatable republican the times found the most inane guy in the wrold
― ice cr?m, Tuesday, 3 February 2009 19:03 (4 years ago) Permalink
"OK, fine. Let's talk about inanity."
― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Tuesday, 3 February 2009 19:05 (4 years ago) Permalink
David Brooks is the name of:David Allen Brooks (born 1947), American film and television actor who played archaeologist Max Eilerson on the science-fiction television series CrusadeDavid Brooks (author) (born 1953), Australian author of short stories and co-editor for SoutherlyDavid "Bubba" Brooks, American jazz musicianDavid Brooks (inventor), inventor who patented an innovative insulator for telegraph lines in 1867 while working for the Central Pacific RailroadDavid Brooks (journalist) (born 1961), commentator for The New York Times and other publicationsDavid "Mavado" Brooks (musician), Jamaican dancehall artistDavid Brooks (murderer) (born 1955), teenaged accomplice of serial killer Dean CorllDavid Brooks (politician) (1756–1838), United States representative in the Fifth United States CongressDavid Brooks (rugby league), Australian rugby league footballerDavid Brooks (rugby union), British rugby union footballer
― call all destroyer, Tuesday, 3 February 2009 19:10 (4 years ago) Permalink
No results found for "gayvid brooks".
― velko, Tuesday, 3 February 2009 19:15 (4 years ago) Permalink
― velko, Tuesday, 3 February 2009 19:36 (4 years ago) Permalink
He's no Dave Barry, thank Heaven.
― ça GLIS aux pays de merveilles; châteaux de loirs (Michael White), Tuesday, 28 August 2012 19:49 (8 months ago) Permalink
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/18/opinion/brooks-thurston-howell-romney.html
― s.clover, Tuesday, 18 September 2012 16:12 (8 months ago) Permalink
what a tool...he didn't know this before the secret video? and he says at the end that he really thinks Willard is a good guy deep down? FU, Brooks
― Iago Galdston, Tuesday, 18 September 2012 19:51 (8 months ago) Permalink
He was doing ok until this:
"Sure, there are some government programs that cultivate patterns of dependency in some people. I’d put federal disability payments and unemployment insurance in this category."
The vast, vast majority of people on unemployment do not want to be. They want a job.
― One Way Ticket on the 1277 Express (Bill Magill), Tuesday, 18 September 2012 20:09 (8 months ago) Permalink
It's interesting to see Brooks reach the point where he stops trying to bend over backwards to be the compassionate, moderate, open-minded conservative while still playing for team Republican and when he finally decides he has to cut Mitt loose.
― o. nate, Tuesday, 18 September 2012 20:32 (8 months ago) Permalink
those damn disabled people, always wanting a handout
― (The Other) J.D. (J.D.), Tuesday, 18 September 2012 20:33 (8 months ago) Permalink
Disability insurance is a source of moral hazard, dissuading the lame from healing thyselves.
― look at this quarterstaff (Hurting 2), Tuesday, 18 September 2012 20:37 (8 months ago) Permalink
― o. nate, Tuesday, September 18, 2012 4:32 PM (2 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
hes allowed one of these heterodox columns every so often but really compassionate, moderate, open-minded conservative while still playing for team Republican or the more succinct republican apologist is his job he knows this and will carry on starting next column
― lag∞n, Tuesday, 18 September 2012 20:39 (8 months ago) Permalink
I can't tell him and E.J. Dionne apart anymore :(
― a regina spektor is haunting europe (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 18 September 2012 20:41 (8 months ago) Permalink
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/25/opinion/brooks-the-conservative-mind.html?hp
Where do these fantasies come from?
― Fig On A Plate Cart (Alex in SF), Tuesday, 25 September 2012 12:05 (7 months ago) Permalink
x-post--In print E.J. is much more liberal while on NPR he and Brooks try to make nice.
― curmudgeon, Tuesday, 25 September 2012 13:29 (7 months ago) Permalink
http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/david-brooks-on-drugs-and-medicare
Dean Baker vs Brooks with a link to Brooks' piece yesterday on how the Romney Medicare proposal is better than the Dems because the Romney plan relies on the free market
― curmudgeon, Wednesday, 10 October 2012 15:46 (7 months ago) Permalink
http://delong.typepad.com/sdj/2012/11/todays-war-on-nate-silver-quiet-flows-the-don-edition.html
delong quoting someone else:
Brooks’ journalistic way of knowing
― j., Thursday, 1 November 2012 17:44 (6 months ago) Permalink
Ha.
I thought you were going to be mentioning Brooks' absurd reasoning behind his endorsement of Romney.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/30/opinion/brooks-the-upside-of-opportunism.html?ref=opinion&_r=0
if Romney wins, we’re more likely to get bipartisan reform. Romney is more of a flexible flip-flopper than Obama. He has more influence over the most intransigent element in the Washington equation House Republicans. He’s more likely to get big stuff done.
― curmudgeon, Thursday, 1 November 2012 18:30 (6 months ago) Permalink
get big stuff done get big stuff done get big stuff done get big stuff done get big stuff done get big stuff done get big stuff done get big stuff done get big stuff done get big stuff done
― Aimless, Thursday, 1 November 2012 18:31 (6 months ago) Permalink
if anything needs getting done, it's big stuff
― Spectrum, Thursday, 1 November 2012 18:32 (6 months ago) Permalink
America: who do you think u r?Romney: mr. big stuff B-)
― i've grown accustomed to her face tat (m bison), Thursday, 1 November 2012 22:42 (6 months ago) Permalink
'I certainly wasn't wrong about it provoking smart ass jibes.'
― Ned Raggett, Tuesday, 15 January 2013 18:08 (4 months ago) Permalink
http://www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/2013/02/your-use-of-data-for-any-purpose-but-validating-david-brookss-lazy-intuitions-infuriates-david-brooks
On Brooks' attempt to argue with Nate Silver over baseball stats
― The New Jack Mormons! (kingfish), Thursday, 21 February 2013 22:12 (2 months ago) Permalink
Spectacular column.
― the little prince of inane false binary hype (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 3 April 2013 01:06 (1 month ago) Permalink
its incomprehensible.
― scott seward, Wednesday, 3 April 2013 01:20 (1 month ago) Permalink
why isn't this guy recognized as the Murray Kempton of his generation
― the little prince of inane false binary hype (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 3 April 2013 01:28 (1 month ago) Permalink
i think the nyt is just keeping him around now because it's rumored his head is filled with nougat and they're just waiting for the right moment to crack him open.
― Spectrum, Wednesday, 3 April 2013 01:33 (1 month ago) Permalink
beautiful!
― s.clover, Wednesday, 3 April 2013 04:03 (1 month ago) Permalink
Was waiting for this to be posted. I don't remember if Taibbi made the point that marriage necessarily implies few of the constraints Brooks presumes it does.
― jaymc, Wednesday, 3 April 2013 04:44 (1 month ago) Permalink
incomprehensible yes and prematurely senile like kempton you bet and yet recognizable in the fog is a married-too-long middle age guy wondering about the "freedom" he was undoubtedly (in brooks case) too uptight to exercise/enjoy when he was single
― screen scraper (m coleman), Wednesday, 3 April 2013 10:20 (1 month ago) Permalink
haha m@rk: I was being sarcastic (I love Kempton).
― the little prince of inane false binary hype (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 3 April 2013 10:51 (1 month ago) Permalink
me too and i shouldnt have been disrespectful but those last few years in the ny post he was the oracular rambler
― screen scraper (m coleman), Wednesday, 3 April 2013 11:41 (1 month ago) Permalink
and yet recognizable in the fog is a married-too-long middle age guy wondering about the "freedom" he was undoubtedly (in brooks case) too uptight to exercise/enjoy when he was single
This. If I was Mrs Brooks I would be making a bed for David on the sofa after reading his column.
― media conglomerates are pedaling the same product (stevie), Wednesday, 3 April 2013 11:42 (1 month ago) Permalink
I'd be strapping one on.
― alternately mean and handsy (Eric H.), Wednesday, 3 April 2013 12:24 (1 month ago) Permalink
A decaying social fabric, especially among the less fortunate.
Taibbi rightly picked up on the stupidity and uselessness of this statement
― curmudgeon, Wednesday, 3 April 2013 15:42 (1 month ago) Permalink