Monday
It is occasionally an accolade when a person's name becomes a figure of speech, such as 'Churchillian' for example. Far more commonly however it is a sign of cultural stigmatisation: a Hitler, a Napoleon, Fisking, Dowdification, Pilgerisation... these are not saying anything nice about the source of the respective terms.
And to which must be added, to be 'a Spitzer'.
There is a magnificent article on TCS Daily called The Universal Spitzer that I strongly commend to everyone:
It is a shame that we only laugh at a Spitzer when his secret sex life is revealed to us. Instead of mocking Spitzers for their private foibles, we should be contemptuous of their public pronouncements. Whether it is "cleaning up Wall Street" or "giving everyone health care," the Spitzers are making extravagant promises that only result in expanded government power.
Great stuff. Read the whole thing. The article also links to an excellent article by Virginia Postrel about the deeply unpleasant John McCain which I missed first time around.
Folk need to becareful to not confuse "Spitzer" with "Spitzner", though - Lance Spitzner, author of the "Know Your Enemy" series of papers on black-hat society, co-founder of the HoneyNet Project and all-round sound bloke, might get miffed.
Posted by Dave Walker at April 7, 2008 10:46 PM
Thanks for linking to Kling, one of the best economists around. If you look in the Arnold Kling archive on the TCS website there is a lot of insight and original thinking in the columns. Generally most original ideas are useless,but not so here. People on this side of the pond may find his take on health care especially interesting.
Also,go to the home page for his April 7 article- I have never seen libertarianism argued this way-a real gem.
Posted by renminbi at April 8, 2008 01:07 AM
Look Mr. de Havilland, you aren't making this any easier.
Is John McCain functionally more dysfunctional than the available democratic options?
In terms of libertarian principles, yes. He is so honest about his authoritarianism that it may well be worse than whatever Hillary or Obama bring to the table.
But is it worth the lesson?
Is it really necessary to relive Jimmy Carter Part II just to reinforce the inalienable rights of the individual?
Can't we just say "free markets= free people" and move on?
What I'm trying to say is, do we have to relive politicians fucking hookers in order for us all to realize that are just fucking politicians?
DO WE?
(i thought i tied all together in terms of thread relevance rather nicely..then again, im drunk)
75 th anniversary and such..
Posted by Tman at April 8, 2008 06:32 AM
For true versatility, a word should also be a verb. 'To Spitz' could mean 'to cast aspersions by the tonne'. Then being told "Don't spitz!" would be useful.
Posted by nick g. at April 8, 2008 07:24 AM
Perry, I recommend Matt Welch's book on McCain.
Posted by Johnathan Pearce at April 8, 2008 07:59 AM
