Althouse: At the Auditorium Café...

July 30, 2011

At the Auditorium Café...

... we'll listen to anything.

41 comments:

David said...: Are you sure?

I have these Obama tapes . . . .; 7/30/11, 9:15 PM
traditionalguy said...: Payton Manning just asked the owner to lower his salary so he would NOT be the highest paid player in the NFL.

The League should demand that he take a test for brain damage.; 7/30/11, 9:17 PM
chickelit said...: The furniture looks European...very "mobile."; 7/30/11, 9:31 PM
David said...: Manning: $90 million over 5 years, with $69 million in the first 3 years.

Too bad the team around him is falling apart.; 7/30/11, 9:33 PM
David said...: Plus endorsements.

Johnny Unitas is trying to get out of his coffin and play just one more season.; 7/30/11, 9:35 PM
rcocean said...: Why the accent over "Cafe"? Is that required in the 21st century?

It seems un-American. Or maybe I can't spell - which is very American.; 7/30/11, 9:42 PM
Sal said...: The poor guy is struggling to be inconspicuous.; 7/30/11, 9:45 PM
1775OGG said...: If Payton doesn't get a good O line, maybe he can get some of these auditorium chairs to toss around. OTOH, these charirs might be reserved for union use during one of their many daily protests.; 7/30/11, 9:45 PM
Luther said...: "Johnny Unitas is trying to get out of his coffin and play just one more season."

Johnny was one of my hero's in my youth. So, I'm saying he'd do it for free, a preposterous proposition on my part I realize.

But it is hard now, to separate those who love the game from those who love the money more.

Though I don't have the words to define that difference. And, likely, I'm full of shit anyways.; 7/30/11, 9:47 PM
rcocean said...: Football always wins over grammar. Its why the Chinese are eating our lunch -with soy sauce.; 7/30/11, 9:48 PM
JAL said...: Rolly chairs!

What fun!

wv conspar
{Southern} to plan secretly to act illegally; 7/30/11, 9:49 PM
JAL said...: Where is Beth?; 7/30/11, 10:06 PM
A. Shmendrik said...: If you fart in an auditorium like that and no one is within 75 feet, does it make a sound?; 7/30/11, 10:12 PM
themightypuck said...: Seems low when you consider how much Alex Rodriquez makes.; 7/30/11, 10:30 PM
edutcher said...: Friends, Badgers, Meade, let's take a closer look at those...

The Blonde went to her Red Cross disaster class today and there were problems getting the 300+ slide PowerPoint to work. Tech support didn't come and the instructor was getting nowhere. She asks, "Does anyone know how to work this?"

Guess whose hand goes up?

The Blonde fiddles with it for a few minutes and the last half of the presentation disappears (crashed, my guess). She then says, "Hey, we're nurses. We can just go through the material - we know most of it anyway - so we don't need the computer".

She discards the parts on things they know, like HIPAA, and leads the class through the material in 4 hours instead of the projected 8, operating on the grounds that, like every other thing in nursing, you learn by doing (this means they'll have to wait for a disaster to see how much they really know).

Needless to say, this makes her wildly popular with the other students (one asked what other classes she's taking so she'll be there, too) and even the instructor gives her a pat on the back.

She comes back around 1 all happy and perky, saying she'd like to do a few more classes like that. Maybe she needs to be in DC...

traditionalguy said...

Payton Manning just asked the owner to lower his salary so he would NOT be the highest paid player in the NFL.

Maybe he doesn't want people in the government worried about his fair share.; 7/30/11, 10:31 PM
themightypuck said...: In other news Tom Cruise is the last movie star.; 7/30/11, 10:33 PM
MaggotAtBroad&Wall said...: Another great photo. The lighting. The shadows. The reflections. The gloss on the polished hard wood floors.

And the lost soul waiting for something special to happen.

I wish I had your eye. Awesome.; 7/30/11, 10:34 PM
Michael K said...: Mark Sanchez said the same thing to the Jets owner. Maybe it's a trend.; 7/30/11, 10:34 PM
Chuck66 said...: Nice floor. Which my house had something like that.; 7/30/11, 10:37 PM
Chuck66 said...: How can you look at those chairs when the Jew Kochs are popping balloons all across Wisconsin?; 7/30/11, 10:41 PM
Sal said...: Those chairs look relatively comfy. I bet I could sit still for 45 minutes in one of those.; 7/30/11, 10:51 PM
Almost Ali said...: These recent cafes seem awfully sterile, lacking in life, which may account for the one, maybe two customers. Don't get me wrong, those are expensive chairs, marvels in engineering. And lined up like soldiers waiting for orders.

And tonight's two attendees, the subject obviously same-sex marriage. Look for yourselves, they only have eyes for each other. But where's the women at, asks Cleveon Little?; 7/30/11, 11:04 PM
Louis said...: I saw The Adjustment Bureau tonight. A+ movie.; 7/30/11, 11:51 PM
Penny said...: Place your bets!

Is this the first guy to show up?

Or the last guy to leave?; 7/31/11, 12:05 AM
Synova said...: The chairs are tidy.

He's the first to arrive.; 7/31/11, 12:09 AM
Chip Ahoy said...: I ate the first balcony cucumber.

What? You don't like cucumbers? Fine. Here's a piece of cheesecake; 7/31/11, 12:10 AM
The Crack Emcee said...: Maybe he doesn't want people in the government worried about his fair share.

Someone recently accused me of not wanting to pay my "fair share" when I told them I was against raising taxes. When I reminded them I don't have anything, they got angry and confused about why I didn't want to confiscate someone else's money.

Obama's really done a job on some folks out there.; 7/31/11, 5:22 AM
Anonymous said...: One of the biggest problems that American Progressives and American conservatives have is a lack of communication. Nowhere is that more apparent than in the past few years with the Heath care bill and now with the debt ceiling crisis. I don't know what conservatives want and this is a big part of the problem. Over the course of the rest of the day, I will be posting this question on 100 conservative blogs as well as at media outlets in comments:

"It is 2013, you have a supermajority in both the House and the Senate and a true conservative GOP president. What are the top ten things that you would want to see come out of government in the two years you would have certainty that a conservative agenda will be carried out?"

Your options are open. You can respond at the post for this question at our blog or if you're not comfortable going to a liberal blog you can post your answers inline here and they'll be retrieved by a member of my crack staff.

Diane Valencen
Editorial Page Editor

[q c p n!]; 7/31/11, 6:25 AM
Toad Trend said...: "Obama's really done a job on some folks out there."

Well, when you look to politicians for life-guidance, this is the result. Unfortunately, many are rudderless and will fall for anything. We're talking 'shake-weight' gullible.

The Bible warned about worshipping false idols.

There really is a lot of incredibly good advice in the Bible.

And the longer I live, the more I realize how stupid people can be.

Stand, or fall.; 7/31/11, 6:41 AM
Toad Trend said...: @Diane Valencen

"It is 2013, you have a supermajority in both the House and the Senate and a true conservative GOP president. What are the top ten things that you would want to see come out of government in the two years you would have certainty that a conservative agenda will be carried out?"

I don't know who you are or what the true purpose of your premise(s) are, but I will tell you that conservatives in general are against the type of command-and-control, never-satisfied components that define progressivism. Conservatives don't look to government to 'see things come out of it'. They look to government to make sure government is not in the way of individual liberty.

Its not a 'communication' problem, unless you are the type that feels shouting your points louder and louder are effective.

In my view, conservatism does not necessarily seek to dominate via legislative/judiciary means.

I think your posit assumes that both progressives AND conservatives are struggling for ultimate 'control'. I see that true with progressivism; not so much with conservatism.

The conservatism I understand allows people to seek out their own fortune, not constrained by the control mechanisms favored by 'progressives'.

So I see your posit really as a false 'choice', a false 'opportunity', falling along lines of 'control'.

Progressives tend to be controlling, with a Munchausen-by-proxy flavor. Progressivism is the babysitter that made dinner, burned the kitchen, then charged the homeowner for the repairs completed to the babysitter's liking.

Progressivism is the nosy neighbor that doesn't like your flag or your statue of Mary in the yard.

Conservatives tend towards original intent moreso than progressives which is why they seem to be more hesitant to legislate everything from soup to nuts. Live and let live, that's why freedom of religion was a component of original intent. Not the 'freedom from religion' that seems to be so pervasive with progressives.

So I'm sorry if I haven't provided your 10 items that you ask for, thats not how conservatism works, and if you think it is, then maybe the communication problem is resident in your own mind.; 7/31/11, 7:05 AM
paminwi said...: The chairs are in the new Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery in Madison. It is a new place that was built with public and private $. The private $ were needed so certain kinds of research could be done without the constraints that federal $ may put on certain research projects.

On the day of the open house there were protesters in front of the building. We thought it had something to do with the type of research that would be done at the facility, but, low and behold it was state workers pissed off because the food facilities inside the Center were part of the "private" part of the facility. Know what that meant? No union employees!; 7/31/11, 7:12 AM
Ralph L said...: the food facilities inside the Center were part of the "private" part of the facility. Know what that meant?
The scrambled eggs were made from embryonic stem cells?; 7/31/11, 8:02 AM
Hagar said...: Wow! Teak floors and Herman Miller chairs. I thought it had to be a Law School auditorium.; 7/31/11, 8:31 AM
Michael said...: Is there only one design firm in Madison?; 7/31/11, 9:21 AM
Anonymous said...: Looks like your comment section lately.; 7/31/11, 10:14 AM
JAL said...: From the link off dianevalencen ...

http://thedisbrimstonedailypitchfork.wordpress.com/

The nature of this nativist and nihilist, to use Dowd’s words, branch of the conservative movement [ed: the tea party] is simply to destroy.

They cannot express their agenda in terms other than the us against them tussle of immigration, the us against them tussle of “looters” taking their taxes and the us against them tussle of the push for civil rights for all versus the desire to roll back the clock to a horrible dark time in American history. Fear is a powerful motivator and that is what causes the white American middle class to run to the TEA party in respectable even if small numbers. Their ability to elect members of Congress make the TEA Party as dangerous to the peace and prosperity of the United States as any terrorist organization from foreign shores. That they are being allowed free passage is a testament to liberal government. We, Ourselves, of the Collective hope it is not another pre 9/11 mistake.

And you want conservatives to explain themselves to you via ten points?

Most of us will choose not to suffer to give you an "answer."

Go read some of the stuff written by folks who have had an epiphany about the likes of Maureen Down & CO.

Qu’ul cuda praedex nihil yourself.

{Hey Don't Tread -- You're QUOTED!!}; 7/31/11, 3:15 PM
Synova said...: I think that conservatives are becoming more libertarian. Continuing to use a conservative/liberal polarity to explain political divisions is unthoughtful.

A better division, and more meaningful is a libertarian/progressive or statist polarity and that, indeed, does come down to those who want things from government and those who think "I'm from the government, I'm here to help" is cause for serious alarm.

Government as a source of things we want out of life and the community is inevitably going to result in a move toward state control (cooperation is necessary or programs will not work, if cooperation is not voluntary, and it won't be, then it *must* be coerced) and for the elevation of rulers or an elite ruling class. When government provides our answers it must be controlled by people worthy of providing our answers for us. People better than we are, wiser, better educated, etc.

"I don't know what conservatives want and this is a big part of the problem."

Because the fork in the path does not exist where you think it exists. People are more than willing to tell anyone what they *want* but if you try to fit that into a framework that is based on faulty assumptions it will all be senseless noise.

Government as a source of answers leading to government control and the need for a worthy ruling class, besides being anti-democratic, leads to a brittle system where discord and dissent is an actual and real threat.

Thus, yes, given these assumptions the Tea Party " is as dangerous to the peace and prosperity of the United States as any terrorist organization from foreign shores."

Obviously, you know, extremist rhetoric is not seen as a threat AT ALL, because that's pretty dang extremist rhetoric! But it's also correct to view the Tea Party as a threat given the assumptions you are working from. A government that provides for us is at great risk to any upset. It is fragile.

What I WANT given the opportunity to have it, is a flexible and robust system that does not look to government for answers and so does not require a worthy ruling class, enforced cooperation or fear of those with different ideas because on the whole it does only a few things and is otherwise quite weak.

The individual is paramount... think of it as distributed computing or "emergence". The more liberty an individual has to order their own life the more quickly adjustments can be made to new situations. Any individual decision will likely be sub-optimal, but it will still be better with better understanding of the situation than any government answer could ever be. Because the individual parts move freely any error is also less dire and far more easily corrected.

A weak government, limited to a few essential tasks, doesn't have to fear the Tea Party or anyone else. It doesn't have to be afraid that someone will get in power who has the wrong ideas.

A government we expect to run our business is quite different, and the statists will duke it out between them, be they liberal or conservative, while both sides work to force everyone else to cooperate with their vision of what is right.; 7/31/11, 4:37 PM
Synova said...: It reminds me of being on a home-school newsgroup and someone asked... "What curriculum will you use for drug awareness?"... and everyone sort of went, "Huh?"

The assumptions of the question itself made the question incomprehensible to those being asked.

There are too many unquestioned assumptions for there to be any meaning. It's necessary to identify those assumptions *first*.

Diane's assumptions are about the purpose and function of government.

Those assumptions make any discussion of *agenda* nothing but meaningless noise.; 7/31/11, 4:49 PM
Synova said...: Huckabee is a statist.

Huckabee probably could answer Diane's question about agenda.; 7/31/11, 4:51 PM
Synova said...: And then there was that guy who wrote the "if you're a libertarian don't read this it will only make you mad" article that stated that, "We want to gain power so we can leave you alone," was fascist because it forced the choice of being left alone on those who didn't want government to leave them alone.; 7/31/11, 4:56 PM
JAL said...: I wonder if Diane Tomlinson looks like her picture.

wv disingen; 7/31/11, 11:16 PM