Archive - January 31, 2012

The Florida results are in. (if anyone is awake or paying attention) and this is what I think will happen. Neither Romney or Gingrich will be the candidate. This is what I think will happen. (Remember, I write novels.) Because of this new allocation of delegates, and the fact that Ron Paul will score heavily out west, we won’t have a candidate with enough delegates when it is time for the Convention. Then the Republican Establishment will move in and after several exciting ballets (like the old days) Jeb Bush and, I also think, Tim Pawlenty, will be on the ticket for the Republicans. This gives them automatically two south states, Florida and Texas, and add to that Poleteis’ Midwest states: Minnesota, Wisconsin and Illinois.

In this morning’s New York Times, David Brooks in an Op-ed weights in on Charles Murray’s (Thailand 1965-67) new book, Coming Apart, writing, “I’ll be shocked if there’s another book that so compellingly describes the most important trends in American society.” Brooks recaps the narrative Murray lays out about our two American societies, and adds a few ideas of his own. “The word “class” doesn’t even capture the divide Murray describes,” Brooks writes, “You might say the country has bifurcated into different social tribes, with a tenuous common culture linking them.” Summing up his column, Brooks has his own solution to the dilemma facing our culture: “I doubt Murray would agree, but we need a National Service Program. We need a program that would force members of the upper tribe and the lower tribe to live together, if only for a few years. We need a program in which people from . . .