What A Total Ass

Movie critic John Simon tries to command the tide that was Return Of The Jedi. Happy Star Wars anniversary, dick! [Via Slog]

'Worst Person In The World?' She'd Like Us To Think So

A rodeo clown's job is to distract the bull while the dismounted cowboy runs to safety. If Bush is the cowboy he claims to be, then we're the bull, and Ann Coulter is his gaudiest clown. Along with nearly everyone else, I'm pissed at her for using the bad f-word, but it feels like a trap; at least twice a year, Coulter feasts on mass outrage and shits victory. And we never stop feeding her. When she mocks 9/11 widows, threatens Muslims and winds the country up with slurs, it's so easy to scorn her that it might not even count as an act of citizenship. And that's how she draws us in every time: by being no challenge to think about. She jokes about bombing a civilian, torturing an innocent, starving an urchin; we stomp and snort in her direction. Off on the sidelines, Dick Cheney and Alberto Gonzales exhale in relief, then share a wink with the world's most famous clown.

Batman's Right Wing

Washington Post, July 3:

Holy smaller government and lower taxes, Batman... "Batman Begins" has become something of a cult hit among fans of free markets, individualism and Ayn Rand, among other things... Kapow!

The Bidinotto Blog:

This Batman is the antithesis of your entire sick, parasitical, eat-the-rich, blame-the-victim-not-the-criminal, sacrifice-the-individual-to-the-collective gang view of human nature and society. In the form of a mythic pop hero, Batman Begins presents a heroic, self-assertive and unapologetic view of human potential, individual self-responsibility and larger-than-life entrepreneurship. Batman is a fantasy archetype of heroic American individualism.

Objectivism Online:

Two other less prominent, but equally positive, ideas ran through the movie. One was the necessity of judging another's character primarily by their actions... The second idea, the one that was most shocking to me, was the idea of taking pride in selfishness. The hero of the movie actually conveys pride in selfishness.

National Review Online:

The generation gap between the Wayne parents and son, Bruce, marks a transition from detached liberal philanthropy to engaged conservative crime fighting. Bruce’s generous parents live at a safe distance from the city in a protected mansion. Bruce converts to conservatism the old-fashioned way — a liberal mugged, not so much by reality, as by, well, a mugger who kills his parents.

Acton Institute For The Study Of Religion & Liberty:

Yet one of the most gratifying aspects of this film is its affirmation of the value of traditional institutions more generally, such as the family, rule of law, and private ownership of the means of production.

The Ludwig Von Mises Institute isn't buying:

Wayne Industries is presumably the largest employer in Gotham, but never once is the firm's success or failure mentioned as a determinant of economic stability. Bankrupting the company by pouring money into a monorail is hardly the best way to benefit those in need of jobs and security...

The solutions Batman Begins offers to Gotham's struggle with economics and ethics are thus 1) redistribution of wealth and 2) a violent "crackdown" on those engaging in trade deemed unacceptable. Is this a message that should excite those passionate about free markets?