monitoring Trump and relevant contemporary events

Counter-intuitive? Funny stuff from you today.

But, even if it were counter-intuitive, that would not automatically mean it was incorrect, would it?

Alright, I couldn't help liking that. Especially the new end to a very old joke.

Yeah, me too. Came across it on Facebook and couldn't help but share it here.

"My premise" is that his decision was not in keeping with someone who has something to hide. No more; no less. Obviously it might not be the case, but if you took Trump out of the equation and substituted Obama, you would agree.

Thinking that someone who is trying to obstruct an investigation would allow a key figure to testify when he could prevent same is counter-intuitive. You find this funny? Very strange.

Sometimes counter-intuitive notions are correct and this may be one of them but you are advancing a real nit picking argument.

Of course it was, he's a Muslim. It was directed at all Muslims and Sadiq Khan was duty bound to speak against it, not just as a Muslim but as mayor of London.

What is your opinion about whether or not Trump is hiding something ?

I don't know.

I tend to think he is not, but I'm not certain.

The important thing (to me at least) is that if he is hiding something and it is serious, that it be found out ASAP.

To that end, not playing around with Executive Privilege to stop Comey from testifying was an encouraging sign (not withstanding contrarian, counter-intuitive arguments)

Regardless of what Trump's decision not to attempt to block Comey's testimony may or may not indicate, I am glad Comey is going to testify. I hope he is asked about the memos in detail. I want to know if Trump sought to have Comey let the Flynn investigation go. Watching it would probably be excruciating, so I am not sure I will. Rather just catch up online I think.

Evidence of what? The Left seems to have this weird idea that calling this a Muslim ban somehow overrules the reality that it is not a Muslims ban.

We'll see what the Supreme Court has to say, but I can't see them giving much credence to such a silly argument.

Me too, the nation needs to get this thing resolved one way or the other as soon as possible

Well well well. A big freaking Bravo to the SC.
TPM

How did the individual justices vote. Interesting that this article makes no mention of this.

Thanks for taking the time and effort. My list would be somewhat different. Hoover and Taft wouldn't be included (that's an older version of conservatism). Goldwater, certainly, and Reagan (as a leader much more than as an ideologue). Strauss is something of a unique offshoot but one who ended up being influential with neoconservativism as realized under Bush 2. Hayek and Friedman also very influential as regards economic theory (I have georgeob in the Hayek camp). Then there's Buckley and he is an undeniable figure here (a little anecdote - in one of Woody Allen's early films, his character was covertly looking at the low-class porn magazines hanging side by side in a NY corner store. The camera panned across the magazine covers - "Humongous Knockers", "Swedish Slutz", "Juggs", "National Review", "Asian Babes")

But there are other key figures in this story. Robert Welch (John Birch) is certainly one even if we'd assumed his influence was merely historical. The Koch brothers (their dad was a central figure with Welch) are the modern version of this movement (though the earlier Birchers were serious anti-Semites, and though this set of notions still exists mainly in the south, I've seen no evidence suggesting it is carried on by the brothers). As founders of Cato, we can see the links between Bircherism and Hayek.

The religious right can't be ignored. Their influence on modern conservatism in the US is profound. So that's Schlafly, Falwell, Roberts, etc. But it's important to grasp that this element wasn't and isn't just Evangelicals and Southern Baptists, it is also a group of important Catholic figures who aligned with the others. Paul Weyrich is an extremely important figure in this story, coining the term "moral majority" and going on to found the Heritage Foundation and ALEC.

Richard Viguerie is another key figure, developing direct mailing for both commercial and political goals. Karl Rove was another early user of this technique and later on, its modern variants. Not very many people know about Viguerie and his influence but he's still around and still very active.

Above or aside from all that, the establishment of numerous conservative think tanks beginning mainly in the early to mid 70s (following on the famous Lewis Powell Memo) has built up a large network of allied entities designed to forward modern conservative ideas and to move those ideas into academia, media and political office and policy. The ideas, strategies and successes of modern movement conservatism can't be grasped without some understanding of this factor.

Whaddaya bet that if the courts continue to entertain those tweets as relevant and compelling evidence that the Trump dudes will say that their sacred free speech rights are being chilled and threatened.

That's guaranteed.

That was my question too. Haven't sought out other info on that yet. I'll let you know when I get it.

Note this one, folks
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/nsa-russian-hacking-election-officials

What about someone like Clare Booth Luce? Not a strategist or theorist but a long time face of conservatism, quite widely admired and culturally influential, if I remember correctly.

I doubt it.