j.mp/YAM2WB (and well worth reading)

Fareed Zakaria is Unhappy That "The American Left" Chooses Arithmetic Over Peter Peterson Sunday, 23 December 2012 01:25 Fareed Zakaria is very unhappy that "THe American Left," by whom he means the vast majority of people across the political spectrum who oppose cuts to Social Security and Medicare, insist on taking arithmetic seriously. (( &&c. &c. ))

Comrade Frank of Kansas has crafted (sic a scribble called Pity the Billionaire:The Hard-Times Swindle and the Unlikely Comeback of the Right which struck Paddy McTammany as a tad short on actual examples of what the title advertised. So 'tis a pleasure to find Farid, zeroth Freelord Zakaria in the peerage of Foxcuckooland, complainin piteously bout how his freelordship's ClassMates™ don't get the respectful attention they used. ¡The respect they obviously ought to get all the time!

On the other hand, the shameless campaign of denigration against our predestined financial Betters seems to come down to nothing more than dear Kruggie saying "“The Peter G. Peterson Foundation is deficit-scold central." Deplorable, of course, that so misguided a sentiment as that one should be expressed by anybooby at all, yet 'tis unlikely--expressed that way, at least,--to bring out many well-pitchforked peasants to trample the stately lawns and gardens of Château Zakaria and/or Castle Concord. (Paddy was, of course, privately hoping for something really inflammatory.)

There is a little more chapter and verse than just Prof. Krugman, but not much: (A) "Some argue that Peterson has been banging this drum for years—decades" omits to specify who these noisy scum are. Moreover, "banging the drum" is only another figure of rhetoric for being a 'scold', which we knew already from faithfully reading the NYT op-ed page.

(B) "William Galston, a former Clinton official, tries to face up to the budgetary crisis being produced by demographics" is mere _pereant qui ante nos_: Freelord Galston had the impudence to write essentially this same piece before Freelord Zakaria got around to it! Well, his freelordship (of G.) is certainly guilty as charged: Paddy definitely remembers encountering the product in _The New Republicanine_, now that I'm reminded. But in between there have been several thousand rehashes by Fox-on-Fifteenth, which, by the way, is more like the true "deficit-scold central", if you ask Paddy. To be sure, the F-15 Squadron are said to be in close cahoots with Castle Concord.

So, then: after nine discouraging words from Kruggie and the faintest echo of a distant drum, his freelordship of Zakaria felt warranted to conclude, with that genteel understatement that so beautifully becomes all the ClassMates™, "Shooting the messenger doesn’t help." (One can hardly see the stately lawn of Château Z. any more, what with all those corpses of murdered emissaries lying about.)

Do you suppose his freelordship -- or possibly Peter Firstlord Peterson Himself -- is descended from that celebrated Royal Princess who had such a terrible time with a malicious pea under the mattress?

In any case, volks with skins as thin as his freelordship's appears to be should just please stay out of the kitchen. And when they are Persons of Fiscal Responsibility, ever "stern to inflict" cuts on the small people, why, a little more "stubborn to endure" on their own part than one finds _chez Fareed_ would do their freelordships' Cause no harm.

Happy days.

Progress in Pajamastan

Today (or yesterday) is !a redstatist-letter day for Pajama Junction NJ!   ¡A day that shall line in Inform-Me!

And that ¡¡On two widely separated fronts!!

(A) Grand Áyatolláh Mikey bin Ledeen -- of allvolks -- has delivered a homily  that eschews His Eminence's customary banalities bout "Spiritual Preparedness & the Native Menace" for brick-an-potatoes practicalities.

 H. E. has noticed that Information Technology ain't "the Gatling gun" of the late Rev. Neocomrade Chesterbelloc, not, that is, automatically on the side of the Whight Civilisation of the Western Race.    The international Bad Poor, that is, can use most of the I. T. whizbangs whight out of the box almost as efficaciously Massa Westy can use em ourselves.   Not only is Time no longer on the side of us whighteous, neither is Twitter, who may be a bigger player than Time, at least short-run.

"Despair now, avoid the rush latter" is probably not His Eminence's last word from the huddled bunker.  Though H. E. makes no concrete suggestions for countermeasures,  Paddy can't help guessin that the Whight Reverend Bin Ledeen will be movin on to that in next week's Sabbath School.

In any case, this binLedeenian trouvée is real an important, even if there exist no countermeasures either immediate or eventual adequate to save the Western Sieve from founderin at last, with probable adverse consequences for many Jumblies.

(B)  That, however, was there, an this is here.   Here, where Squire Roger of Simon Pajama -- ¡The World's Premiere YaleoDrama™ist! -- has finally decided to come clean  an frankly call an advertorial "an advertorial."   Only this one time, to be sure, but reflect that One is INFINITLY greater than 0.0.   (ABSOLUTELY greater, too, as it happens.)

Paddy McTammany suspects, though, that the Squire most likely did not wish to admit that they have all been advertorials all along, PJM's leadin articles --  wide-gauge advertorials for America's Otherparty or for the AEIdeology if not necessarily narrow-guage for ScroogeBank or Warbucks Defense Widget Inc. or ... lemme see ... for "Wholesale Direct Metals ."  [*]

Though the golden pony is out of the barn, yet a little damage control may still be impossible.  The Squire can at least refuse admission in future to us peanut-gallery peanuts whenever the freelordly stable hands are exercisin animals specifically classified as advertorial.

Or perhaps it would be better attuned to der Geist des Bainkapitalismus to allow us to comment if we must, but charge us a stiff fee for it.  Stiff enough to make all but the hardiest of peanuts want to do her business elsewhere.  An then if Freedame Hardy does put up the ten smackeroos, make sure the transaction is marked, an MARKED BIG, whight next to whatever silliness her freeladyship insists on spoutin.   In this manner, 'advertorial's would differ visibly from the general run of pious PJM neobaloney buy either (A) havin no grafitti on em, or (B) buy havin graffiti with PRICE TAGs ostended.

It does not matter exactly what marks the difference (thinks Paddy) as long as somethin clearly does.

Happy days.


___
[*]  As one who stands well outside the money house looking in, Paddy's instinctive reactions are probably not identical with those of  genuine wombscholars an freedummies shoppin in earnest for dogmatic slumberware.  In fact, Paddy can only regard this "Wholesale Direct Metals" break-thru apositively a ¡GOTCHA! for the good guys, goldbuggers bein almost THE kooks par excellance over on the grown-up side of the tracks.

To be sure, his freelordship might  take reference in the neminis negotium ("nobooby's business")  clause of The Kiddie Katechism (I forget which number it bears) an claim that the stable staff at Simor Pajama graciously allowed a band of gypsy goldbuggers to park their caravan & trot out & advert at this pony without any questions bein asked about what sort of beastie it may be.

Such exculpation, however, has only a limited range.   Neminis negotium notwithstandin, no Freelord or Kiddiemaster can hope to retain her reputation amongst the Party base an vile, if she makes a habit of recommendin flat-out pigs-in-a-poke to marks an dupes.   Plus naturally one knows that his freelordship of Simon Pajama would never, now that he has perverted, recommend (say) The New York Times Company to his frelordship's tenants an assorted pajamaclad forelock-tuggers even on a poked-pig basis.   Conceivably The Squire has no idea himself what is in the poke, but that is beside the real point, which is that his freelordship RECOMMENDS the product, an operation quite distinct from knowin anythin bout it.  Maybe HFL does not recommend goldbuggery very highly, but if HFL did not recommend it at least a little, there would be no advertorial here for Paddy to pick on.