![\"clip_image002\"](\"http:\/\/www.jerrypournelle.com\/chaosmanor\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/clip_image00236.gif\" "\\"clip_image002\\"")
<\/a><\/p>\nIn today\u2019s Wall Street Journal, L. Gordon Crovitz tells us \u201cIn 1902, Jules Verne predicted novels \u2018will be supplanted altogether by the daily newspaper,\u2019 which would \u2018color everyday events\u2019 so that readers wouldn’t need well-crafted fiction to fire their imaginations.\u201d http:\/\/online.wsj.com\/article\/SB10000872396390443294904578052991841553024.html<\/a> Actually, the novel seems to have a better future than the newspapers; Crovitz also tells us that \u201cA record more than 100,000 novels are now published in the U.S. and Britain each year.\u201d He doesn\u2019t say how many are print and how many are electronic.<\/p>\n The revolution in the publishing industry continues. And small computers continue to be the great equalizers\u2026<\/p>\n The political strategy of the two major parties continues and will likely govern what happens in the debates. The Democrats can\u2019t run on their record, and indeed would prefer that you didn\u2019t look at the economic picture. They do not seem to have a program for the future that they want to sell. The attractiveness of Hope and Change carried the last presidential election, but apparently they don\u2019t want to try that one again, nor is \u201cWe\u2019re the ones you\u2019ve been waiting for.\u201d<\/p>\n That leaves scaring the voters away from Romney and Ryan. Don\u2019t elect them, they\u2019re horrible.<\/p>\n This pretty well dictates the Republican strategy: make no mistakes, and show that our candidates are worthy and display dignitas. We\u2019re not scary people. We know what we are doing. We\u2019ve given you a broad picture of what we\u2019ll do. We\u2019ve shown you that we care. We\u2019re the good guys.<\/p>\n Given those strategies the rest of the campaign is pretty predictable. The Democrats win if the Republicans do something really frightening. Democrat strategists say they already did, with Romney\u2019s remarks about the 47% who don\u2019t pay income taxes, and they\u2019ll continue to emphasize that remark as showing that Romney is not worthy to be President. <\/p>\n Of course the frightening thing is that we have come close to the point where more people get entitlements than pay taxes. That\u2019s only frightening to old fashioned freedom advocates, of course. It has long been the goal of a large part of the political public, who don\u2019t worry much about dependences and who do not believe that the Iron Law of bureaucracy dooms the best intentioned welfare state. But we\u2019ve been through all that before. Freedom is not free. Free men are not equal. Equal men are not free. Liberty has its costs. This is a Republic, not a Democracy. And other such dull truisms, which just happen to be true, and alas are now treated as platitudes.<\/p>\n I can recommend the review of the Chester Finn and Jessica Hockett book Dazed and Gifted in today\u2019s Wall Street Journal. http:\/\/online.wsj.com\/article\/SB10000872396390444032404578010662785531602.html?mod=googlenews_wsj<\/a><\/p>\n I haven\u2019t read the book but I will order it. Finn is often worth reading.<\/p>\n The debate will be tonight. I expect there will be talk about \u201cWho is the REAL Mitt Romney.\u201d Here is one view:<\/p>\n http:\/\/cnettv.cnet.com\/doing-business-mormon-way\/9742-1_53-50123283.html<\/a><\/p>\n View 746 Monday, October 15, 2012 In today\u2019s Wall Street Journal, L. Gordon Crovitz tells us \u201cIn 1902, Jules Verne predicted novels \u2018will be supplanted altogether by the daily newspaper,\u2019 which would \u2018color everyday events\u2019 so that readers wouldn’t need well-crafted fiction to fire their imaginations.\u201d http:\/\/online.wsj.com\/article\/SB10000872396390443294904578052991841553024.html Actually, the novel \u2026 Continue reading <\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"