If someone of Loury’s caliber called your writing “brilliant” and was “blown away” by your site and signed up — you’d probably find it as uplifting as I did. But would you challenge that person on something practically baked into their DNA — knowing you’d likely to lose ’em?
On the biggest and most costly lie in modern history, Thomas Sowell flagrantly ignored irrefutable evidence of mathematical certainty. Rather than do anything remotely reflecting his claim to fame, he peddled partisan hackery.
On a matter involving war in the Middle East in a post 9/11 world — the stakes don’t get much higher. For a “Maverick” who’s worshipped for “following the facts” — wouldn’t he take the trail to where they matter most?
I did — he didn’t
Sowell is a great man because of his books. I stand by that. you want to refute his books — go ahead. I’m listening.
— Glenn Loury
Sowell sold out to sell those books you stand by — and I wrote “Water is Not Wet — And I Stand by That” with the likes of Loury in mind. You confine his record to a box of beliefs that suit you — and stand by that. How noble of you.
The same ploy that Riley pulled in writing “Maverick.” It’s just preposterous to write a biography and blatantly ignore a huge hole in its premise.
I spent $19.47 to prove a predictable point: Not one word on WMD — and fittingly, Iraq shows up only once in a footnote.
Mr. Riley — it’s just precious that you peddle his prescience — while conveniently ignoring his role in creating chaos that feeds the very polarization he predicted.
How so? It would be great if you asked questions with a sincere interest in the answers. Alas, even when you raise your hand, it’s only to swat away what you receive.
You don’t want answers — you want fodder to fuel you fix.
What specifically does him being wrong (assuming he was) about the WMD/Iraq have to do with the vast majority of his other claims?
How about helping to create the conditions for this endless bullshit below?
The Right treating Bush like the Second Coming of Christ — set the stage for the rise of the Rock Star they spent the next 8 years railing against.
I don’t understand the math in your methods. You pay untold millions to political strategists — don’t these people do any cost-benefit analysis on the long-term impact of endless lying and ineptitude?
Yeah, yeah, yeah — you got your people on the courts, but at what cost?
Look around
As a distinguished scholar once said: “The first thing a man will do for his ideals is lie.”
— Thomas Sowell: Desperate and Ugly in Florida
And then he has this trend of headlines oozing in partisan pettiness. On two of the biggest events in American history — Sowell seems pretty tribal to me:
Desperate and Ugly in Florida
And I find it interesting that with Sowell — one reason some people today would find it hard to go with him is that he doesn’t write with that tribalist sense.
Weapons of Crass Obstruction
He’s trying to be purely objective and there’s nothing in him of — here’s what we down here think. Here’s what we’ve been through.
Weapons of Political Destruction
It’s not seasoned with any of that — he’s just trying to have a white lab coat on and look at the facts.
If that’s not “seasoned” to you, Mr. McWhorter — what is?
I wouldn’t care if Sowell cured cancer:
You don’t get a pass for basking in baseless beliefs that cripple the country — and have the bottomless nerve to preach responsibility & accountability to boot.
That is a cancer of its own
The poison he pumped into the atmosphere helped destroy the internal organs of America. So we have very different standards as to what qualifies as a “National Treasure.”
I was immensely impressed by the man who had the guts to do what he did in 1984. He is not the Glenn Loury of today — or at least not the man I believed him to be.
You said that they had no argument against your [R]ebuttal to Brown University’s letter on racism in the United States.
Neither do you on your “National Treasure.”
Instead of listening and learning on things you know nothing about — you let your pride consume you.
Maybe you don’t know Sowell as well as you thought you did, and heaven forbid you hold him to the same standards pushing your popularity.
You asked them to take stock — just don’t ask you.
Got it!
The smorgasbord of sub-cultures has created another dimension of delusion in America:
Hardening minds not broadening them. . . .
America has become all too cozy with run-of-the-mill information that caters to your cravings. Some suppliers are sincere, some are corrupt to the core, and there’s a faction for everything in between.
In any case, we’ve seen more than enough and it’s not working.
Blunt instruments
In and of themselves, the discussions might be intelligent and valuable.
But they’re of negligible impact, as I don’t see a single person of prominence doing any analysis on how the problems that plague America are interrelated.
Repeatedly rehashing the same topics till the end of time is not the mark of Loury’s “looking at the deep questions.” This is not problem solving — it’s serving a market. Like Black Lives Matter, they’re just pounding away at problems without any examination of the efficacy of their efforts.
Maybe when you’re done talking race, woke, and CRT for the ten thousandth time — we can consider approaching problems in a more multi-dimensional manner?
Just a thought
This nation operates under umbrellas of interests that don’t account for complexities outside of them. Just as Will Smith didn’t think about the long-term damage his actions would do, neither do you. He wanted instant gratification and so you do — you just go about it in different ways.
And I assure you — yours are far more destructive. But that’s complicated — and who wants that when you can just seize on the simple.
When protecting your interests
You don’t listen, you don’t learn, and you never admit you’re wrong (refusing to even recognize when you are). And yet you proudly pounce on Will over virtues you employ only part time. However flawed his apologies, and to whatever degree he’s sincere about taking responsibility and accepting the consequences:
At least he did it.
How many times have you done anything of the kind or held your own accountable?
You may not worship Hollywood celebs — but you have no qualms about worshipping celebrities in the form of politicians & pundits. You condemn the elite for their standing ovation — while you blindly do the same every day to defend your own crowd.
When I took his hero to task, Glenn instantly abandoned the principles he preaches.
Had he listened — he could send a message that matters (thereby bolstering his own).
He did a cosmic disservice to the person he’s protecting . . .
A lot of that goin’ around
As my videographer perfectly put it
We finally figured out what we were doing by the end
If we don’t change course as a country — we won’t.
One Voice Became Two 