Tocqueville in Vegas

 As you can see by reading THE REBEL YELL , I will be speaking on Alexis at UNLV tomorrow night. I won’t be going as far as Paul Cantor in saying that Tocqueville predicted Vegas, because he didn’t begin to appreciate the opulent and extravagant contribution our Italian and Jewish entrepreneurial immigrants would make to our country. I also won’t use the faux postmodern word SIMULACRA. Tocqueville, I think, did predict the possible emergence of a meritocracy that would be lacking in public spiritedness, charity, courage, loyalty, magnanimity and the other nonproductive virtues. He didn’t predict that such people would have a faux bohemian contempt for Vegas. So, let me join the rebels in yelling Vive Las Vegas!