James Heaney

Opinionhaver. Articles at Law & Liberty, American Conservative, Aleteia, Crisis, Commonweal & Not one of the other James Heaneys. Acts 20:9.

[James Heaney @BCSWowbagger]

@not_so_gratian @jdflynn No one is too virtuous to be a politician!

...just too virtuous to *win*.

[James Heaney @BCSWowbagger]

@StuffForSisters And, lo, it comes to pass! One of my fun hobbies is to read Plato's description of democracies collapse into dictatorship in the Republic and compare it to U.S. politics since Inauguration Day 2009.

But democracy must always fight to sustain itself, and our era is no exception.

[James Heaney @BCSWowbagger]

@StuffForSisters It is almost impossible to overstate how much of our national debt problem is *already* caused by welfare for old people (SS/Medicare cost WAY more than defense or debt or anything else), so it looks like fiscal crisis is coming. We aren't fiscally or psychologically ready.

[James Heaney @BCSWowbagger]

@StuffForSisters That appears to have been genuinely the plan in D.C. after rejecting the Bush Plan (which would have prevented all this) and through the 2010s, but the return of inflation + rising debt service costs (which now costs more than the entire military) likely make it unfeasible.

[James Heaney @BCSWowbagger]

@JWDeChant @EsotericCD @cjscalia STID is a lot worse than TLJ, it seems to me. (And TLJ is not *good*.)

But de gustibus...

[James Heaney @BCSWowbagger]

@JWDeChant @EsotericCD @cjscalia Okay, but what's his excuse for Into Darkness?

[James Heaney @BCSWowbagger]

@davethul @mbrodkorb First reaction: it's SD 65, so, if it was a publicity stunt, it was the wrong type for his district! Oof! Not that it's possible for a Republican to win there anyway.

Second reaction: waitasec that's my district! I met Rocco at the BPOU! My sense is that he just feels strongly.

[James Heaney @BCSWowbagger]

@CheeseForEvery1 @EsotericCD @cjscalia https://t.co/T9y2wSEH2j

[James Heaney @BCSWowbagger]

@EsotericCD @cjscalia Sometimes I wonder how JJ is doing now in his post-career era, and worry about him.

Then I remember he's responsible for Star Trek Into Darkness, and my only question is why didn't someone stop him sooner?! Rise of Skywalker was a foreseeable outcome!

[James Heaney @BCSWowbagger]

@CheeseForEvery1 @EsotericCD @cjscalia He plays the Devil in a BBC audiobook of Paradise Lost and it is *chef's kiss* his Palpatine voice.

[James Heaney @BCSWowbagger]

@czlowiek_burger @tenobrus If you have a minute, please explain why you liked this book.

Context: I disliked this book so much I went on Goodreads to call it a poisonous lie and indict all concerned: https://t.co/f4vItRrCna

Not to put you on defense; I just rarely find other readers to ask about it.

[James Heaney @BCSWowbagger]

@NorthStarRight This is especially because anyone we run this year will lose, probably badly. It's a D+7 year right now & getting worse, and the GOP no longer gets midterm boosts thanks to its new coalition. I want Demuth pristine for the 2030 race, so this loss could be a blessing in disguise.

[James Heaney @BCSWowbagger]

@NorthStarRight I wasn't there, so I don't know the vibe on the floor, but is there any reason to think the final round of ballots were unfair or miscounted? Clickergate wrecked ballots 5/6 but did it wreck 9/10?

I wanted Demuth but I don't want her to break a pledge over cope. 1/2

[James Heaney @BCSWowbagger]

@Fleetwoodzac76 @shhh_theend @61Bigguns @Nover68 @amandatalks__ @Michele_Tafoya 1. More like 10% of what I want. Hardly worth it.

2. She's another in our long pattern of born losers, so I'd make the blood sacrifice and wouldn't even get the 10%.

3. We should try nominating a Pawlenty-type candidate again, our last winner, but instead we spat in his eye.

[James Heaney @BCSWowbagger]

@shhh_theend @61Bigguns @Nover68 @amandatalks__ @Michele_Tafoya (Plus, Tafoya can't beat Flanagan in a D+7 year anyway, so we would sacrifice the long term without even gaining anything in the short term.)

[James Heaney @BCSWowbagger]

@shhh_theend @61Bigguns @Nover68 @amandatalks__ @Michele_Tafoya Yes, but I will have a GOP that still fights for the unborn, thus some chance of future victory. We nominate Tafoya and there is no longer any pro-life party in MN.

This short-termism that can't see beyond the current election is ultimately self-defeating.

[James Heaney @BCSWowbagger]

@61Bigguns @Nover68 @amandatalks__ @Michele_Tafoya She's not even good. I'll vote for a good but imperfect candidate. I'll even vote for a mediocre, kinda scuzzy candidate to stop someone very bad!

But I draw the line at someone who would give up the unborn as a bargaining chip. Tafoya will never get my vote, ever.

[James Heaney @BCSWowbagger]

@NorthStarRight @walkerorenstein The weirdest thing is that it happened sort of randomly in 2000. Look at an electoral map *from* 1984 (rather than merely *about* 1984) and you're like as not to see blue for GOP, red for DEM, like normal. Still can't figure out why it flipped.

GG stopping Tafoya tonight, btw.

[James Heaney @BCSWowbagger]

@LukeLoPresto @DaddyWarpig I refuse! C-Canon can't contradict G-Canon!

[kai @ssvankai]

accidentally stumbled upon this crazy paper abstract