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Peggy Noonan on the Democrat Convention

Democrats in the end speak most of, and seem to hold the most sympathy for, the beset-upon single mother without medical coverage for her children, and the soldier back from the war who needs more help with post-traumatic stress disorder. They express the most sympathy for the needy, the yearning, the marginalized and unwell. For those, in short, who need more help from the government, meaning from the government’s treasury, meaning the money got from taxpayers.

Who happen, also, to be a generally beset-upon group.

Democrats show little expressed sympathy for those who work to make the money the government taxes to help the beset-upon mother and the soldier and the kids. They express little sympathy for the middle-aged woman who owns a small dry cleaner and employs six people and is, actually, day to day, stressed and depressed from the burden of state, local and federal taxes, and regulations, and lawsuits, and meetings with the accountant, and complaints as to insufficient or incorrect efforts to meet guidelines regarding various employee/employer rules and regulations. At Republican conventions they express sympathy for this woman, as they do for those who are entrepreneurial, who start businesses and create jobs and build things. Republicans have, that is, sympathy for taxpayers. But they don’t dwell all that much, or show much expressed sympathy for, the sick mother with the uninsured kids, and the soldier with the shot nerves.

Neither party ever gets it quite right, the balance between the taxed and the needy, the suffering of one sort and the suffering of another. You might say that in this both parties are equally cold and equally warm, only to two different classes of citizens.

The entire article is incredibly perceptive and even-handed. If you read any commentary about the convention thus far, read this article. [via Drudge]

From the same Wall Street Journal article:

Democrats say the 294 public laws represent a solid record of achievement. Since the party took control of Congress in 2007, they’ve led passage of the largest expansion in college aid in 60 years, increased the minimum wage for the first time in a decade, and extended unemployment benefits. They passed the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission.

Congress has passed a $168 billion economic-stimulus package, a housing-rescue package providing as much as $300 billion to refinance mortgages for people in danger of losing their homes, and the most sweeping product-safety legislation in a generation.

These are all important issues, but I’m amazed that these are the only real legislative concerns when so many other more pressing issues loom. I’m not talking here about off-shore drilling or other recent Republican topics. There are fundamental governmental functions - like maintaining infrastructure (including replacing a 50 year old air traffic control system), spending less than we take in, etc - on which our entire government is failing. Horribly.

The problem is that these issues aren’t sexy - few votes are won by more money for fixing bridges. But history shows that nations rise and fall on these unsexy issues, and apparently our Congress (and each party) chooses issues that ease our pocketbooks and ignore posterity. It’s a dangerous place to be.

Trading Places: The beginning of the suburban exodus

Thirty years ago, the mayor of Chicago was unseated by a snowstorm. A blizzard in January of 1979 dumped some 20 inches on the ground, causing, among other problems, a curtailment of transit service. The few available trains coming downtown from the northwest side filled up with middle-class white riders near the far end of the line, leaving no room for poorer people trying to board on inner-city platforms. African Americans and Hispanics blamed this on Mayor Michael Bilandic, and he lost the Democratic primary to Jane Byrne a few weeks later.

Today, this could never happen. Not because of climate change, or because the Chicago Transit Authority now runs flawlessly. It couldn’t happen because the trains would fill up with minorities and immigrants on the outskirts of the city, and the passeng.ers left stranded at the inner-city stations would be members of the affluent professional class.

I can attest that he’s right. It would be tough these days to imagine it any other way.

The Scientific American on the science of storytelling:

A 2006 study hinted at a connection between the enjoyment of stories and better social abilities. The researchers used both self-report and assessment tests to determine social ability and empathy among 94 students, whom they also surveyed for name recognition of authors who wrote narrative fiction and nonnarrative nonfiction. They found that students who had had more exposure to fiction tended to perform better on social ability and empathy tests.

Hyde Park Progress: How an occasionally hated development company is doing good things for Hyde Park. It’s an interesting look at the other side of urban renewal and gentrification.

Since acquiring its first rental property in Hyde Park, MAC Property Management has sunk a whopping $200,000,000 in construction costs to renovate, restore, and add to the inventory of rental units to the neighborhood.

The down side is that this activity may add to the pressure for low-rent, off campus student accommodation as much as the boom for condo conversion did. K&G answered that need for many years, and it’s not clear that it was good for the neighborhood as a whole.

Delicious 2.0 is now online. Looks nice.

One of the excellent improvements in WordPress 2.6 is the addition of a “Press This” bookmarklet that allows you to post just about anything from the current page you’re viewing. It’ll make it substantially easier for me to share my favorite links, and eliminates the need for an external editor. Very, very nice.

Is Paris in decline? Who is the new Sartre or Camus?

For what it’s worth, I thought the cuisine in London was much better than Paris. I doubt the British will ever be able to kick the stereotype of bad food, though. Give me bangers and mash over the movable feast any day. (via Kottke)

I’m in the process of reconstructing the blog after the move. It’ll be back up soon!