1. I like Perlstein's opening; giving an example before tackling a difficult concept is a good beginning. George Lakoff;s premise about limiting an issue by defining it in prejudicial terms is certainly alive and well at the Times.

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2. anther detached writer, the left of today and yesterday is the same, socialist, facist, the elite left which wants to rule, rather than lead, i want to make my own way, leave the dems on the side , keep my taxes low get, govt off my bosses ass!! kill the jihadist, today, tonight , tommorow,

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3. Framing questions and diluting our language has led us to this place where reality is very rarely grasped and our ability to communicate clearly and argue merits is but a sideshow performance of freaks and fairies. Defining terms only involves good or bad and then it is bleated far and wide. Grunting is creative discourse if it's done at a high enough decibel.

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4. Is the American right now a movement of religious issues and ubernationalism, of naked class interest and traditional social authoritarianism, or something else? How does “movement conservatism” fit into the contemporary right? Charles Krauthammer and David Brooks discuss.

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5. Let them answer the real question: have you or have you not stopped beating your wife?"

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6. Rick Perlstein misunderstood the question. "Is 'economic issues' counter-posed to 'social justice'?" No. I I think they mean to say will Democrats govern like Republicans have (but perhaps without the evil?) or like the Right has caricatured the Democrats from thirty years ago. Whether something is MORE 'economics and nationalism' or 'social justice and identity politics' is, after all, only and just a matter of how you describe it.

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7. Will the LA Times ever achieve the journalistic credibility that the NY Times used to have?

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8. There is no left in America. there are only an array of people who fall at various points along the spectrum from extremist totalitarian fascist (ted) to old fashioned Bircher to corporate drone to small business/Grateful Dead enterpreneur. There is no call to overthrow the man because the man won, and the victory is unsatisfactory. THE GOP bought us out with free candy and cheap credit and screwed our children and drank all the booze, now it is clean up time and they are skulking off like rats.

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9. Great answer, Rick. "Can anyone seriously postulate that protecting the oil supply in the Middle East is not a legitimate strategic interest of the West?" K Moss: for the trillion bucks-plus this great Oedipal misadventure in Iraq will cost us we could have bought all the oil in Iraq, paid Saddam to hang himself, and bought every iraqi a flat screen teevee with free cable for life. And gotten some change. it's not about oil, security, terrorism or Israel: it's about rightwing murder junkies who are addicted to killing and maiming others. It's the only joy "compassionate conservatives" can get out of life.

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10. Did you walk to work, or carry your lunch? True, or False? The answer is blowin' in the wind.

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