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1. Spam has been infecting our comments section. One result is that some real comments have been getting lost. The authorities have been alerted and don’t think we hate you if something you said never appeared in the thread. Keep threading, of course!

2. Circulating among PORCHERS and AMERICAN CONSERVATIVES is the message of Alasdair MacIntyre from 2004 about the duty not to vote. The Democrats are hopeless the life issues, and the Republicans equally hopeless on the social justice front. Someone might say, though, that even for this kind of conservative things have changed since 2004. The illusions of safety-netted Christian Democracy as a program for the future have been exploded by tough economic and demographic realities. There’s no way government can deliver some “family wage,” and the global competitive marketplace insures that unions won’t be around for long. So anyone who’s actually STUDIED the policy issues can see that we’re stuck with some version of the move from DEFINED BENEFITS to DEFINED CONTRIBUTIONS across the board. We should be happy that we’re not stuck with all the unsustainable amenities of European “social justice.” The change that’s coming won’t be as hard for us. Keep in mind, of course, that I’m not some TEA PARTIER oblivious to the downsides of current trends.

3. Someone might add that the Democrats have become much worse on the life front. Read the aggressive 2012 platform. Don’t forget the HHS mandate. ETC. ETC.

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