A Conservative Ponders Poverty
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Newt Gingrich may or may not ever get to the Republican National Convention with more than a handful of delegates, but his candidacy has started a debate that should have begun in 1964.
It was late the previous year when a single gunman, indeed acting alone, shot a patrician president from Massachusetts and gave us as president a Texan who had grown up so poor that electricity and indoor toilets were things to which his family could only aspire.
By 1964 and certainly by his 1965 inaugural, Lyndon Johnson was well on his way to crafting a "War on Poverty" in retaliation for the squalor in which he was raised.
After Johnson soundly defeated the person to whom most of my Republican generation trace their political roots, he created an image in the American political psyche: In the midst of vast national wealth, there are people who remain so ill-clothed and ill-fed that the federal government must spend its wealth creating programs to give the poor the food, shelter and medicine that capitalism has denied them.
It has now been almost a half-century since the government took over the distribution of charity. The government has taken on the responsibility for not only school lunches, but also breakfast and, in some cases, dinner, while parents receive electronic food stamps that can, in some jurisdictions, purchase Whoppers and Big Macs.
A child born in poverty today can expect to get his housing from a federal project, his food from a federal rationing card, his health care from a state Medicaid card, and his education from a government school monopoly.
But what does Newt have to do with this, other than occasionally claiming to be the only surviving model for a 1962 Alfred Hitchcock television silhouette?
Complaining about Johnson's War on Poverty is nothing new. Yet Newt, in the South Carolina debate, postulated the possibility of a conservative alternative to liberal antipoverty programs. For, to conservatives, the idea of eliminating welfare may be popular, but it seems heartless. Cutting back on project housing and school breakfasts will lead to homelessness and starvation - that has been the mantra from every liberal from Lyndon Johnson to Juan Williams. Newt, however, challenged that notion.
Newt believes that poverty is as much a state of mind as it is a statement regarding the lack of wealth. By teaching the poor the skills they need to overcome governmental dependence, Newt believes that the former poor can pay tax collectors instead of its being endowed by tax collections. By expanding school choice, the poor can choose the road out of poverty rather than a government roundabout.
Yet for this simple idea of "teaching a person how to fish," Newt is called a "racist." Condemning generations to state welfare is the true racism about which liberals haven't a clue. Indeed, it may be time to try a more conservative approach to poverty.
First, we must teach children that the greatest predictor of future poverty is a birth out of wedlock. Next, they should be told that hard work and self-discipline are necessary building blocks of success.
One may not rely on the state to allow the killing of a child in the womb to make it easier for thoughtless adolescents to cover their mistakes. The only help that one can expect from the state in this regard is to make it harder for Hollywood to sell to children the idea of sex without responsibility, because the lack of personal responsibility is yet another great predictor of poverty.
And "just one more thing," as Columbo might say. We could certainly lower the poverty rate by reducing work-force competition for American jobs. By securing our borders and keeping illegal aliens out of the work force, we would boost wages to the point that work would pay more than welfare.
Conservatives have long surrendered the question of poverty to liberals and socialists. Conservatives must not accept poverty as the unintended consequence of wealth, but must see it as an opportunity to welcome others into our prosperity.
But whether Newt Gingrich becomes a nominee or just an "also ran," it is up to all conservatives to keep his discussion going. Poverty poses many moral questions, but conservatives may have at least some answers.
Robert M. Levy is chairman of the Moore County Republican Party. Contact him at Law52@prodigy.net.
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Comments
nothingspecial 4 months ago
You're so right Mr. Levy. We all owe it to each other to support one another, but in thoughtful, dignified ways as opposed to throwing money at problems in amateur or disingenuous ways. Republicans have some of the best ideas in this regard.
Thomas Sowell is onto something very much like what you discuss in his recent series. One of his key points is, "Gross inequalities in skills and achievements have been the rule, not the exception, on every inhabited continent and for centuries on end. Yet our laws and government policies act as if any significant statistical difference between racial or ethnic groups in employment or income can only be a result of their being treated differently by others."
http://jewishworldreview.com/cols/sowell011712.php3
http://jewishworldreview.com/cols/sowell011812.php3
http://jewishworldreview.com/cols/sowell011912.php3
http://jewishworldreview.com/cols/sowell012012.php3
JER 4 months ago
Mr. Levy, first let me say that your column made me laugh. I had not thought about the fact that the Gingrich profile does, indeed, look like Alfred Hitchcock from his appearances in his old TV show. That was funny. I agree that we need to find some way of getting people out of the rut of poverty. And so I have questions about your proposed solutions. Telling people to get married before they have children and explaining how having sex comes with also having responsibilities is important. Telling people to work hard and have self discipline is also important. What is the conservatives time table for implementation? In other words, how long will you give them the talk before you expect to see results? How will the conservatives plan work? Will welfare be gradually reduced over a predetermined time frame with the hope that they took the message to heart and did all the things you said they needed to do? How long will that time frame be? What happens if they didn't follow the advise and continued to live their lives as they have been?. What will get them out of poverty as the result of following your directives? Not having children out of wedlock is not going to create a job for them. Working hard requires a job to work hard at, unless you mean working hard to get a good education, in which case a job must be available at the completion of their education. The conservatives plan assumes that many jobs are available for the people on welfare but they are currently being held by illegal immigrants. By eliminating illegal immigrants, wages for the work being done by these illegals will go up once the people currently on welfare take them over. How will that be accomplished? I know I have a lot of questions, but, like you, I am wanting to reduce poverty and the welfare handouts that goes with it and am willing to examine all options.
SH59 4 months ago
Good comments JER. If our country wants to change the welfare cycle then we need to expand our school system to include an alternative to traditional education in the way of trade schools at the High School level. Public education has become a holding tank for teenagers just passing the time and not offering a future for many children. Not everyone needs to go to college and to expect our children to take on the jobs of immigrants then they need to be trained and able to do that. Mr Levey thinks the "First, we must teach children that the greatest predictor of future poverty is a birth out of wedlock. Next, they should be told that hard work and self-discipline are necessary building blocks of success." "Telling" is not providing an opportunity, it's learning through experience that teaches the lessons.
MikeNC 4 months ago
Mr. Levy said to Teach, not tell, having children out of wedlock, significantly increases the chances of poverty. As for telling people that hard work and self discipline are building blocks to sucess: A teacher tells his pupil, work and study hard, and you have a greater chance of achieving an A. A football coach, tells his team, work hard, and you have a greater chance of winning the football game. An employer tells an aspiring employee, work hard and you will one day own this company. A parent tells his son or daughter, work hard, and your chances of fullfilling your dreams, increase. I believe this is what Mr. Levy was trying to "tell" us.
I agree that our school system needs to develop an alternative to traditional education. This is ONE area, we could learn from European countries. I feel by doing so, two things would happen: People not college oriented could develop good paying job skills and more business development would occur for a nation that is losing industries at a dramatic rate. Diane
jimt 4 months ago
see below
jimt 4 months ago
Some random thoughts regarding breaking the cycle of poverty.
-- Encourage teens who bear children out of wedlock with economic incentives to give up the child for adoption to upper middle class parents;
-- Hire retired military personnel as teachers after teaching them "how" to teach;
-- Change laws that permit children to quit school at 16. Instead, require everyone to stay in school until they graduate from High School or reach 18 years of age;
-- Increase the number of school days by making making the school year a minimum of 10 months;
-- Reduce class size to no more than 25 students;
-- Establish boarding schools for children over 12 who have a record of anti-social behavior in regular schools. Staff such schools with some of our best teachers and retired military, and focus on cooperative behavior activities and teaching conflict resolution skills. In short, break the "hood" mentality that interprets perceived "disrespecting" actions with a violent reaction.
-- Significantly increase "mentoring" and "apprentice" programs in cooperation with business.
-- Teach children how to speak English properly, both pronunciation and syntax -- Spanglish, Eubonics, and heavy Southern accents are NOT acceptable and you don't graduate until you can communicate with the population at large.
Convince Conservatives that increasing their taxes to pay for such programs is in their economic long-term interests -- it takes less money to provide a first-rate education for children aged 3 - 18 (16 years) than it does to incarcerate someone for 16 years, not to mention the court costs, police investigation costs, involved in investigating a crime, finding the accused, jail costs while awaiting trial, trial costs, and then prison costs. That means don't excoriate a candidate for proposing tax increases dedicated to improving the quality of our schools as a "tax and spend" liberal. But instead, agreeing with the premise that educational reform, on a "European" model, as Diane noted, will require increasing taxes.
nothingspecial 4 months ago
Mr. Levy may have been responding to a study that was mentioned by Santorum a week or two ago that basically found that if you have these 3 things, the likelihood that you will live in poverty is greatly diminished (I may have left one out):
1) Finish High School
2) Work full time
3) Wait until married to have children
JER, you're right with your questions, but there are a host of preventative measure that are also needed and that Mr. Levy discussed if there is to be a strategic plan for reducing poverty. The gradual breakdown of the family and use of less that effective parenting are the biggest part of that. In the meantime, our hearts go out to those among the poor, and single parents to help them have the dreams we all want.
The_AnonymusProfit 4 months ago
This is truly one of the best written editorials I have seen on this opinion section. Mr Leve has written a conscise and well articulated paper explaining the comments made by the candidate for president Newt Gingrich.
You no its funny I was sitting in a Lecture the other week and the speaker said that the race for the white house was over. I sat in my seat chuckling to myself. I stand by my predictions 3 weeks ago which have been 100% for New Hampshire and SC, lets see if they hold up in Florida.
Kuddos to you Bob, great article/
Zippy 4 months ago
I'm always interested when Conservatives want to write about poverty especially because I believe its an afterthought for them. I do think that it is true that Capitalism has denied the poor in many ways and that's too obvious to waste time discussing. The paragraph that begins, "A child born in poverty today can expect..." is a whopper. "Expect," you say, like that is a good thing, like its some kind of a real benefit rather than a mark of disdain and disgrace in a society that worships having money as practically the only hallmark of success. I'm sure babies being born in poverty do not yell, "Whopee" when they're told what they have to look forward to, and as far as "conservative alternatives to liberal antipoverty" I doubt that there are any. "Poverty is a state of mind" is true but the solutions offered, although they might work never have because we've never really been serious enough about them or tried sincerely on a large enough, committed enough scale to show any real success. If we took all the unnecessary wars we fight, in essence trade wars that protect the rich, if we took that money and put it steadfastly into a war on poverty I believe we'd succeed. The birth out of wedlock item is complicated, these days we have births out of wedlock all over the place but we only seem to want to blame the poor for theirs, and when Mr. Levy talks about "hard work and self-discipline" I can hardly contain myself. There are poor people working hard all over the place with a great deal of self-discipline for all its going to get them so what is he talking about? The essence of Capitalism, the profit motive means its my job to earn as much as I can as a "boss" and work very hard to make sure that I can pay you less so I make more. Keeping aliens out is not the issue, they're living in poverty too for the most part,and the point about work paying more than welfare, you mean barely more than welfare, we don't want to pay anymore than that. Salaries in the working and middle class are constantly being cut which is not true for the rich. The direction of our society is clear, Mr. Levy is not fooling anyone say whatever he want s to say. Finally, poverty is not an "unintended consequence of wealth" its an intended consequence, and the "some answers" the conservatives might have about poverty are little or nothing at all. Bob Katrin
nothingspecial 4 months ago
Zippy: "I'm always interested when Conservatives want to write about poverty especially because I believe its an afterthought for them."
That and your simplistic opinions about the ramifications of capitalism are gigantic misperceptions that are unfortunately clouding your analysis about solutions.
I can't talk. I've flown off with plenty of tirades about "liberals". Just saying...
The_AnonymusProfit 4 months ago
Id like to say that zippy writes a very compelling response here and many of his points are very valid.
skylinefirepest 4 months ago
What exactly is a compelling response from Zippy? That capitalism doesn't work? Hogwash! A job for "poor people" beats the hell out of a government handout...evidenced by the fact that we now have generations of people on welfare and food stamps. The only person holding you back in this land of opportunity is YOU! You can be whatever you want to be in the U.S. I'll agree with him on one point though...the babies definitely don't yell Whoopee when they're told what their share of the Obama deficit is!!
JER 4 months ago
I must assume that Mr. Levy reads these postings and I'm very disappointed that he has not taken the time to further elaborate on the points he made in his column. Or taken the time to address the questions being asked about his proposals. I think the reason might be that talk is cheap. Outlining a litany of things to teach the poor to help them pull themselves out of poverty is one thing, explaining how that will actually be implemented, the timetable for seeing the results and the penalties involved for those who don't participate is the hard part. Politicians from both parties have been giving the problem lip service for several generations. So come on, Mr. Levy, fill in the blanks on exactly how the conservatives are going to solve this poverty problem.
Zippy 4 months ago
Huh, be what ever you want to be, are you sure, are you kidding, what in the world makes you belive that? Are you also sure that you wouldn't take a govt. handout instead of a lowest of the low, with no place to go job for the foreseeable future, are you sure, I think I'd take the handout any day especially if it gave me some money for education, did welfare ever do that? Its a complex problem and even I don't have the answers but those who've accused me of simpleton criticisms of Capitalism haven't explained how I'm wrong although I'm sure I am but not to the simpleton extent of their simpleton criticism.
wdd101st 4 months ago
@ zippy, JER, dusty, harley and the other liberal lovers, at some point in time you will awaken from your liberal drug induced sleep to realize that you have fallen hook, line and sinker for some of the biggest lies ever told. For any of you to say that what has been pointed out by Mr. Levy is untrue to to deny that humans have the ability to improve their own lives. There are way to many cases of people born into poverty or lower working class families that have pulled themselves up and out of that life to become outstanding individuals and have reached for the heights.
I'll start with 2 very well known people.
Colin Powell, former Secretary of State was born in Harlem to Jamaican immigrant parents. Through hard work, studying and a desire to be something he made his way up in America.
Condoleeza Rice, former Sec. of State grew up in the South when the South was racially segregated. She worked hard and made something of herself.
There are thousands of stories of people that have come here from other countries with nothing and live proud productive lives today. And it's because they had a dream and no one or nothing was going to take it from them.
Look around this board and one will see that some of the most liberal were born, so to speak, with the silver spoon in their mouths.
Courseaire 4 months ago
Jimt's post earlier - Excellent points & ideas, I agree whole heartedly!
MooreNorth 4 months ago
Yes Zippy, all us conservatives are filthy rich. I work 10 to 14 hour days, 8 days a week, simply because I'm bored. My wife does about the same. Often, as I walk the walls around my vast estate, I wonder what it would be like to worry about money. I'm sure it must be troublesome.
Courseaire 4 months ago
im_a_harleyman - I've reviewed the history of your comments, looking for some positive comment supporting your position and guess what? I couldn't find one. You've only supplied snippy comebacks (one or two liners) to anyone that believes something different than you. Why is that? I'd like to read what your position is on something, heck anything. Please enlighten us.
JER 4 months ago
wdd101st: Please go back and re-read my posts on this subject. Where did I say that what Mr. Levy said was untrue? I was agreeing that we need to address steps that will solve the problems. My question was: Tell us HOW you are going to accomplish what you have proposed. All the proposals made thus far are the equivalent of saying that you can be a millionaire by simply having a million dollars without describing HOW to obtain the million dollars. There are people on welfare that only know welfare. It is, so to speak, their "job" to live off of welfare. My question is, what specifically are you going to do put an end to that situation? Giving them a pep talk ain't going to get it done.
Your examples of a few who have pulled themselves up leave out the facts that they had help breaking out of the barriers of poverty. It was a combination of desire, hard work and a "break" along the way that allowed them to succeed. For every example of success, there are a thousand examples of people who had the desire and worked hard but never got that break.
nothingspecial 4 months ago
JER, that is a great indirect point or place to start - if we could all try to give more breaks to folks who are trying to get ahead. My pastor said it so well the other day about Matthew 7:3 ("Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?") He said to us, remember it's the plank in our eye and the speck in their's. In other words instead of giving ourselves a break when we screw up and jumping on others when they screw up...
skylinefirepest 4 months ago
Courseair...it is true that the bike kid never contributes anything positive to any conversation but it's not his fault, as the liberals would say. He apparently was born into poverty and didn't have the chance that the rest of us had to improve our lot in life in this great country of opportunity. And he obviously isn't intelligent enough to filter the liberal bs for himself and therefore depends on his zippy one liners to silence what he percieves as criticisim from all of us independantly wealthy hard righters!
The_AnonymusProfit 4 months ago
JER, I have met Mr. Levy, he is an intelligent and articulate man, he is also a student of History. The article he wrote is very good and the fact that you cant have a decent conversation about it blows me away.
MikeNC 4 months ago
Jimt: To clarify my statement on the Education model in Europe: Many children after our level of 10th grade, go onto learn a trade and work as an apprentice or intern. Learning a trade and also getting paid to learn it. It ranges from anything from a lab technician to becoming a master plumber.
So it is more trade schools, that I think ought to be developed. Not every kid is college oriented and this would give them a chance to find a trade they love and develop their expertise in it. And I feel with the amount of money the Dept of Education is now getting, is plenty. All the Unions have to do is begin forking some of the money they are taking and invest in more trade schools some of it over for the sake of our kids. We just found out the other day, some teachers medical coverage will now be going for their Botox. Where does it end? Diane
jimt 4 months ago
"All the Unions have to do is begin forking some of the money they are taking and invest in more trade schools some of it over for the sake of our kids. "
I agree. But Diane, this comment would resonate more with me if Unions had been able to maintain the number of workers in skilled trades who were unionized. They haven't. WE could have a long back and forth for the reasons that unionized workers are far less than 25% of the skilled labor workforce, while at one time, say during the 50's and 60's the majority of skilled labor belonged to unions.
"We just found out the other day, some teachers medical coverage will now be going for their Botox." Source please?
Bflat 4 months ago
Good schools and better education are essential to the war on poverty. It's also essential to helping stabilize the economy and lead to better jobs, too. People want to live and work where there are good schools. Our community should really be pushing for the educational aspects and to make sure there is proper funding. As you know, I've spoken out about the huge multimillion dollar federal size JAIL being ramrodded through by 3 commissioners while the #1 school was closed due to to a $500,000 budget shortfall along with other projected shortfalls. Our priorities should be education as #1 , instead of making criminals more comfortable in an overbuilt facility.
The continued attacks on the rich tend to amaze me. Where do the majority of jobs come from in this country? When corporations owners and executives are threatened with more taxes and further restrictions by our government, those businesses and the jobs will move overseas as has been the trend.
It's going to take a lot of work in our communities to help eliminate poverty and break the welfare cycle. Some people just want to get all they can qualify for ("free stuff") and never have any motivation to do anything better with their lives. In the current economy it is difficult to get jobs and unemployment is high.
One of the first things we should implement is to cut out wasteful government spending on things we do not need, and putting proper funding into better education. Until we have the right elected officials that believe in that, the welfare cycle will keep going.
JER 4 months ago
The AP: I really am having a problem understanding how you can read the several posts I have made on this thread and conclude that I "can't have a decent conversation about it". (note the correct spelling of the word can't). I am interested in what Mr. Levy has put forth and I've asked for additional information. Do you think that is too confrontational? While I don't think we have ever met, so you would not know it from personal experience, but I am also considered intelligent and articulate. I don't consider myself "a student of history" but I'm good at learning from past mistakes. It has been several days now and no word from Mr. Levy. Perhaps he is simply a "big idea guy" and relies on his underlings to find a way to implement his plans. Should that be the case, would one of his underlings please respond?
MikeNC 4 months ago
Jimt, Syracuse.com, teachers in Buffalo N Y receive, Botox, liposuction, hair removal, etc. at taxpayer's expense. What would be your explanation for Unions shrinking in numbers? One example for me would be with Grocery chains. My sister in Law worked for a large chain in Cleveland, Pick N Pay. The chain was Union when she started work there in the 60s. By the 1970s, she was being paid $20.00 an hour to check out groceries. Baggers were EVEN being forced to join the Union.. Food prices were skyrocketing at the chain to keep up with Union demands. In turn, their client base was falling off, due to the high food prices to support Union demands. Finally, in the 80s,the company had enough. It was either start closing stores and shrink in size, or grandfather Union employees, but new workers were going to be non union. Diane
jimt 4 months ago
Diane, I could not find the article at Syracuse.com. It seems to be a daily paper and I have no idea when the story ran.
I don't know how the contract between teachers and the school board reads. But my mother was a teacher in Los Angeles for roughly twenty years from the early-60's until the mid-80's. This is how medical insurance was paid for during this period. The teacher kicked-in a percentage of the total cost. The cost, in turn, depended on a large number of variables; was the insurance for the individual teacher only, his/her spouse as well, children, age of children. What level of deductible, what did the insurance cover, and so on. This last item, what the insurance covered, may be key in considering what the teacher(s) in Syracuse have negotiated. In L.A., the more things covered, the higher the teacher(s) annual contribution. Their deductible level would also be affected upwards. And so on. In short, it is quite possible, isn't it, that the teachers who want their policy to cover botox, liposuction, and hair removal will have to pay more for their insurance and have to reach a higher annual deductible than teachers who don't opt for these procedures to be covered? And if the individual teacher does not reach said deductible due to very good health, it's quite possible that the taxpayers won't pay a dime for these procedures for this or that individual. It's complicated.
Oops, I forgot, life must be reduced to not a 30-second sound bite, but to a 10-second soundbite for those who rail against the powers of unions and their destruction of the "American way of life..."
Courseaire 4 months ago
im_a_harleyman - Glad you finally got around to responding. You may be correct in that a number of my post are attempts at humor (some juvenile, some witty, some stupid & a few downright funny), but in most part to get my opinion across and to lighten the mood on some of the attacks between a few here. However, you must be reviewing different comments for I have made my opinions, suggestions & feelings know, sometimes posting links in support. I do consider others viewpoints, however, I do not find them convincing enough to sway my thinking. On occasions, I've agreed with the left thinking individuals (JER, Dusty & Jimt, though not too often with Moonchild) and also disagreed with my own. For the most part, I've both socially & politically conservative and haven't found enough persuasion to change. I do try to be respectful, while on occasion making fun or light of others opinions. But I try not to be nasty or name calling.
If you would do the same along with your normal quips, I would like to hear your opinion on things. Maybe you’ll be the one that might sway me.
Your lil 8 year old buddy, Courseaire
Courseaire 4 months ago
im_a_harleyman - Very good comment. I also admire JER, DR, Jimt and a few others, but just don't agree with them. I am also honest (though far from a liberal). I can also understand lashing back at others, I did when I first started commenting, but have vowed to keep it civil. If you temper the witty remarks with actual opinions on the subject matter, it comes off a lot better. I can take & will take ribbing and sometimes do it to myself. You'll find that if you ignore the bullying and don't respond in kind, it will go away. Try it, you'll see. Chao.
jimt 4 months ago
Coursaire:"I also admire JER, DR, Jimt and a few others, but just don't agree with them"
My friend, in an earlier post about my education comment, you said you agreed with me completely. I'm confused, no, I'm totally devastated that you could turn on me so quickly.
Courseaire 4 months ago
Jimt - Totally my bad, sorry, I should have said "for the most part", not on all things. Please forgive me. I do find that on occasions, liberals do have good ideas. Keep this to yourself, I wouldn't want to ruin my rep.
JER 4 months ago
Courseaire: Being someone who enjoys humor, I appreciate your keeping things a little brighter with your postings. And I also try to keep the conversation civil. Unfortunately, I'm not always successful. With some on here, it's impossible to have a rational discussion of issues and, before long, I'm name calling just like the rest of them. I hate it when you have to scream to be heard, but sometimes that is what it takes. It's much more fun to use humor.
AbdominalDohMan 4 months ago
When will everyone learn that any politician who has climbed high enough in politics to be in the Senate or Congress in Washington DC or president, cares absolutely nothing about the everyday common man? If it won't line their pocket, it ain't gonna happen. The USA has already outlived it's life expectancy. The decline is inevitable and is quickly occuring at a faster rate than anyone could ever do anything about it now.
nothingspecial 4 months ago
Courseaire, we love you just the way you are.
Thatcher 4 months ago
Coursaire-- You are the funniest guy (tied with JER) on this site. Love your posts!
jimt 4 months ago
Thatcher, I respectfully disagree. Yes Coursaire can be funny at times. But for being consistently funny, albeit unintentionally, I have to give the nod to TAP. How can one not laugh when being subjected to what often amounts to a written filibuster by a young man allegedly with a Masters Degree from an avowed and dedicated far right-wing College who does not know the difference between "no" and "know," "their" and "there," and subjects us to a constant stream of misspellings, and then defends himself by saying, essentially, that spelling doesn't matter. At the same time, he demands that we respect his awesome knowledge of American history and political theory. Now that's funny!!