The anonymous blogger who produces Mudflats (“Tiptoeing Through the Muck of Alaskan Politics”) has an eye for the illuminating detail. Consider this prose haiku:
The Palin supporters headed over for coffee at a local coffee shop, and after the coffee was made, they found out it was a “liberal” coffee shop and took off without paying, leaving the coffee behind.
What more do you need to know about the self-righteous cruelty and contempt for the ordinary decencies at the heart of the movement that has dominated American politics since 1968? They didn’t like the politics of the coffeeshop, so they decided to punish an overworked, underpaid waiter or waitress and a small business owner. Ick.
No, of couse not all conservatives behave that way, or approve of behaving that way. But those who don’t might want to consider whom to vote for this year.
Author: Mark Kleiman
Professor of Public Policy at the NYU Marron Institute for Urban Management and editor of the Journal of Drug Policy Analysis. Teaches about the methods of policy analysis about drug abuse control and crime control policy, working out the implications of two principles: that swift and certain sanctions don't have to be severe to be effective, and that well-designed threats usually don't have to be carried out.
Books:
Drugs and Drug Policy: What Everyone Needs to Know (with Jonathan Caulkins and Angela Hawken)
When Brute Force Fails: How to Have Less Crime and Less Punishment (Princeton, 2009; named one of the "books of the year" by The Economist
Against Excess: Drug Policy for Results (Basic, 1993)
Marijuana: Costs of Abuse, Costs of Control (Greenwood, 1989)
UCLA Homepage
Curriculum Vitae
Contact: Markarkleiman-at-gmail.com
View all posts by Mark Kleiman