tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post6901910962702049797..comments2024-03-29T02:22:59.827-04:00Comments on the daily howler: Supplemental: Announcing the death of the west!<b>bob somerby</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/02963464534685954436noreply@blogger.comBlogger30125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-4568125216220287722014-08-20T00:27:42.511-04:002014-08-20T00:27:42.511-04:00He said the book struck him differently upon rerea...He said the book struck him differently upon rereading it. What more do you want?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-82503320929283130722014-08-18T21:25:34.737-04:002014-08-18T21:25:34.737-04:00Bob raved about the book at the time. Now he's...Bob raved about the book at the time. Now he's going back and -- in the light of the new one-- possibly reconsidering.<br /><br />It was because of Somerby that I read the book myself-- and I was shocked at how much Perlstein got wrong about the post-1967 period, especially in California. I couldn't figure out why, either. Reading Perlsting you would have thought Max Rafferty was still running the state in 1971, or later! When in fact it was Bob Moretti and Jess Unruh.<br /><br />Oldtimers in Republican Pasadena were letting their hair grow long. Rock-ribbed Republicans in Burbank were crying over MLK's assassination. Etc. etc.-- which you'll never hear about in Perlstein.<br /><br />So then later I read P's old essay in Lingua Franca called something like "Who Own the 60s?" The answer was obvious-- he's a revisionist who's out to show that the 60s and 70s was not Leftist, and that anyone who thinks the Left had much influence is a sentimental fool.<br /><br />Problem is-- he relies way too much on the traditional media of the time for his sourcing-- and they were often hilariously unreliable about what was really going on.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-72986789128862675242014-08-18T14:26:19.133-04:002014-08-18T14:26:19.133-04:00Except for the elephant in the living room: Perlst...Except for the elephant in the living room: Perlstein's Nixonland came out SIX YEARS AGO.<br /><br />SIX YEARS LATER, Somerby is performing the vital task of exposing all its errors, lest his sheep run out and buy it and are rubed into believing a word of it.<br /><br />SIX YEARS.<br /><br />Sure took Somerby a long time to get around to it. Maybe one of these days, he'll finish "How He Got There."<br /><br />But then again, he's got another case of an unarmed black teen shot to death that he is now just beginning to notice.<br /><br />That should keep him busy and away from searching for more books published SIX YEARS AGO to review.<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-61417584901528605552014-08-18T14:04:27.452-04:002014-08-18T14:04:27.452-04:00Let me add, the whole Orthogonian thing came from ...Let me add, the whole Orthogonian thing came from Wills-- it is NOT a Perlstein construct. So why does P the amalgamator get all this credit?<br /><br />His professional revisionism about the 60s and 70s gets very wearying.<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-1380537175266975412014-08-18T14:01:29.182-04:002014-08-18T14:01:29.182-04:00I'm really amazed at all this hatred of Somerb...I'm really amazed at all this hatred of Somerby. You guys get paid to do this? You don't even stick to the subject half the time.<br /><br />I'm glad Bob's nailing Perlstein-- whose arrogance is almost as vast as his historical misunderstanding. P's so often wrong about these incidents that I'm wondering how he can be taken seriously. Also, hasn't anyone else ever heard of Gary Wills? Half of P's insights on Nixon come straight from Nixon Agonistes-- an apparently forgotten book.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-87630827096254770032014-08-18T13:55:58.835-04:002014-08-18T13:55:58.835-04:00I suspected that Perlstein's full of crap, and...I suspected that Perlstein's full of crap, and this proves it.<br /><br />I know for a fact that Yorba Linda is quite a nice town. It is and was in a very pretty area. and was certainly much more of a California paradise in the teens and 20s than Perlstein would ever know about. Godfersaken? Hardly.<br /><br />But whoa to the Perlstein fans. They will not allow any criticism. Sorry guys, he's unreliable.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-64560110446388419092014-08-18T13:01:48.939-04:002014-08-18T13:01:48.939-04:00Hypocrisy is always offensive to me.
Hypocrisy is always offensive to me.<br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-65097599345994510712014-08-18T13:00:25.224-04:002014-08-18T13:00:25.224-04:00Why is it so offensive for you that Bob demands th...Why is it so offensive for you that Bob demands that our discourse be based on facts? I would think that all responsible adults would want (demand?) that we stick to what is true and avoid embellishment and spinning the facts. Other than invoking free speech, how can you defend a deliberate attempt to deceive?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-41539168115549250932014-08-18T11:08:35.968-04:002014-08-18T11:08:35.968-04:00Pointing out Perlstein's willingness to shortc...Pointing out Perlstein's willingness to shortcut in deceptive ways equals "defending Nixon." <br /><br />Some people really are as stupid as Greg; just glad he's here to prove it. Represent, Greg!!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-91095396433620451342014-08-18T11:06:19.546-04:002014-08-18T11:06:19.546-04:00It's "a trustworthy indicator" that ...It's "a trustworthy indicator" that Perlstein doesn't care about embellishment, or whether "little things" are bullshit or not.<br /><br />Because that reality bothers you, focus on something else -- Why, who would bother to fill their blog with such trivia, That's The Ticket!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-7525135041199556002014-08-18T11:03:21.801-04:002014-08-18T11:03:21.801-04:00Shorter:
Rather than dispute your statement'...Shorter: <br /><br />Rather than dispute your statement's gist, I'll list some Bad People whom I'd like to imagine you must agree with.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-67121160583696679882014-08-18T09:27:05.011-04:002014-08-18T09:27:05.011-04:00Ah, the old "rubber/glue" rejoinder!Ah, the old "rubber/glue" rejoinder!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-52252905539423649312014-08-18T09:08:39.994-04:002014-08-18T09:08:39.994-04:00That describes the trolls more than Spmerby.That describes the trolls more than Spmerby.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-33959645227442959962014-08-17T23:57:50.599-04:002014-08-17T23:57:50.599-04:00Anoymous@6:19, you miss the point. If discussion i...Anoymous@6:19, you miss the point. If discussion is not conducted precisely and exactly as Bob S would have it conducted (by some set of algorithms that get lost in his repetitious prose -- so clever he is to guard his secrets -- after all, he went to Harvard and taught black kids in Baltimore for a few years!), it should not be conducted at all.<br /><br />We all want our take to be heard. But to demand that it be the only approach to speaking or listening? That's what Bob does, straining to find a "unique" perspective. (One wonders how he would have fared as a teacher of students beyond elementary.) Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-67556323467724617912014-08-17T18:19:15.747-04:002014-08-17T18:19:15.747-04:00We have serious problems that congress is not addr...We have serious problems that congress is not addressing due to partisan bickering. Voters are polarized and cannot unite to address their common interests. Perlstein's 2008 book describes the roots of our current situation. I think that makes the book and discussion of it pretty important.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-47050369167339863582014-08-17T17:31:33.087-04:002014-08-17T17:31:33.087-04:00There have been about a gazillion books on Nixon, ...There have been about a gazillion books on Nixon, why the late in the day interest in this one? Not that I mind, but it does seem an odd time to be defending Nixon now that it has become definitive that he was trying to screw around with the Paris Peace Talks. Can anybody invent something worse than that? Greghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09288008924419574934noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-9333071151351880872014-08-17T13:47:24.716-04:002014-08-17T13:47:24.716-04:00Without the excellent work of Bob Soemrby many wou...Without the excellent work of Bob Soemrby many would be unaware of the end of the west nor the marital salvation possible through the good works of yours truly. Doc U. Cacanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-77231444947743062742014-08-17T13:37:52.946-04:002014-08-17T13:37:52.946-04:00What does such childishness mean?
The west is end...<strong>What does such childishness mean?</strong><br /><br />The west is ending due to middle age children while the discourse of the nation is handed off to college kids? <br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-65833801655040439982014-08-17T13:28:21.469-04:002014-08-17T13:28:21.469-04:00Amazon review: "Perlstein is well known as a ...Amazon review: "Perlstein is well known as a writer on the left, but his historian's empathies are intense and unpredictable: he convincingly channels the resentment and rage on both sides of the battle lines and lets neither Nixon's cynicism nor the naivete of liberals like New York mayor John Lindsay off the hook."<br /><br />Is this post, digging into a 900-page book and finding some characterizations of Nixon's childhood that are questionable, a trustworthy indicator of the the book as a whole? I would say you better read the book yourself. Just recognize that there's a novel being told here, too, and sometimes filling the space for a day requires any little thing be used to advance it. urban legendnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-58357179219547094252014-08-17T13:18:54.603-04:002014-08-17T13:18:54.603-04:00Yes, the world is so much better because Bob is ar...Yes, the world is so much better because Bob is around to expose "liberal shibboleth" that is causing the demise of Western Civilization as we know it.<br /><br />After all, if it weren't for him, who would else would be telling the rubes that their lives are so miserable because a liberal like Rick Perlstein wrote a book?<br /><br />Except, of course, for Ann Coulter, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Bill O'Reilly, Bernie Goldberg, Laura Ingraham, Charles Krauthammer, Megyn Kelly, et al, conservatives have absolutely no voice in which to expose the dread "liberal shibboleth."<br /><br />Again, thank God Somerby is doing this work practically single handedly. And we will only guess what he does with the other hand.<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-43539771711738974162014-08-17T11:32:29.003-04:002014-08-17T11:32:29.003-04:00TDH don't care if you like him! "Nixonlan...TDH don't care if you like him! "Nixonland" is a liberal shibboleth -- it's wonderful, wonderful we've all agreed. But now TDH puts his teeth in it and tears big holes!? What a terrible man! <br /><br />I know, let's pretend the problem isn't how rotten and decayed "journalism" is -- let's pretend it's that TDH demands we revere the past. Got it!! urbanlegend for the win!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-79628094953325025942014-08-17T07:51:03.081-04:002014-08-17T07:51:03.081-04:00I want to use this opportunity to thank priestandr...I want to use this opportunity to thank priestandrew91@yahoo.com for helping me get my lover back after he left me few months ago. I have sent friends and my brothers to beg him for me but he refused and said that it is all over between both of us but when I met this priestandrew91@yahoo.com, he told me to relaxed that every thing will be fine and after three days of my contact with him, my lover came back with tears in his eyes asking for another chanceCara Mannnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-85252382300467256132014-08-17T07:48:23.113-04:002014-08-17T07:48:23.113-04:00I want to use this opportunity to thank priestandr...I want to use this opportunity to thank priestandrew91@yahoo.com for helping me get my lover back after he left me few months ago. I have sent friends and my brothers to beg him for me but he refused and said that it is all over between both of us but when I met this priestandrew91@yahoo.com, he told me to relaxed that every thing will be fine and after three days of my contact with him, my lover came back with tears in his eyes asking for another chanceCara Mannnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-35499122794789640952014-08-17T01:42:09.518-04:002014-08-17T01:42:09.518-04:00Back in the good old days in the heyday of the Wes...Back in the good old days in the heyday of the West, whenever those were, journalists and historians did not novelize in cartoonish ways. That is a recent development.urban legendnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-54451922929029560982014-08-16T19:54:44.406-04:002014-08-16T19:54:44.406-04:00Since the west is ending nobody much cares anymore...Since the west is ending nobody much cares anymore.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com