Ventura musta read Emanuel Todd's book

[Igor Loving]

>From: "Gerry Storm" <mesmo at gilanet.com>
>Reply-To: survivors' reminiscences about Austin Ghetto Daze in the 60s 
<austin-ghetto-list at pairlist.net>
>To: "survivors' reminiscences about Austin Ghetto Daze in the 
60s" <austin-ghetto-list at pairlist.net>
>Subject: Re: Ventura musta read Emanuel Todd's book
>Date: Fri, 21 Jan 2005 16:06:08 -0700
>
>Children born out of wedlock in this country are a rising statistic 
since we
>hippies introduced the living together out of wedlock dynamic to the 
middle
>class. Women's Lib is also a major contributor. Black people have always 
had
>lots of out of wedlock births, Mexicans very few.
>
>Americans are the most brainwashed country, changing traditions at the 
drop
>of a hat under the influence of corporate advertising, always trying to 
be
>cool instead of thinking.
>
>At the last Olympics we still prevailed in the total medal count (of 
course,
>we had one of the largest squads as well). But as other countries have 
more
>leisure time to devote to sport they are rapidly closing the gap, we are 
not
>a master race--nor even a single race for that matter so it is difficult 
to
>compare on that basis.
>
>One of our largest exports is entertainment (to which we are the most
>addicted country--not cool and not smart IMHO). But beneath the facade 
we
>grow more unhealthy each year with a highly contaiminated society that 
is
>utterly dependent upon chemicals: chemicals in the food, chemicals in 
the
>air, chemicals in the water, more chemicals in our bodies than any other
>people. Until this is recognized and dealt with we will continue to drop
>like flies under the haze of "better living through chemistry" 
propaganda
>that rules our sick society.
>
>I never liked Michael Ventura as a writer or as a person.
>G
>
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Harry Edwards" <laughingwolf at ev1.net>
>To: "survivors' reminiscences about Austin Ghetto Daze in the 
60s"
><austin-ghetto-list at pairlist.net>
>Cc: "ghetto 2" <ghetto2 at lists.whathelps.com>
>Sent: Friday, January 21, 2005 10:01 AM
>Subject: Re: Ventura musta read Emanuel Todd's book
>
>
>I know nothing of Emanuel Todd and, as I previously wrote, am no fan of
>Ventura. But I strongly question your contention that the statistics
>are either "bogus" or "contentious." You offer no 
proof for this
>contention. Attacking Todd's thinking accomplishes little. This column
>is about the average American's muddle-headed thinking that we're 
"No.
>1" in everything. As you will notice if you reread each statistic, 
each
>one is specifically (parenthetically) documented (no reference to E.
>Todd). There are a small few with vague basis in fact, but the majority
>of the statistics are solid.
>
>Oddly enough, I agree with you that they "don't add up to the 
reality
>of life in the US." This is true because this "reality" 
is the
>aforementioned No. 1 dominant paradigm in America. Don't confuse us
>with facts.
>
>Who cares if Michael Ventura has read Emanuel Todd? Quite obviously,
>the column wasn't derived from a book. None of us is "forced to 
read"
>Ventura's writing which is why I nearly missed this one and also why I
>sent it out to my Ghetto sisters and brothers with some overlapping in
>this case. These facts ought to startle all of us. If you want to write
>about the statistics, please do, but enough with the obfuscation and
>bullshit.
>
>twisty dodds
>
>
>
>
>On Jan 21, 2005, at 8:04 AM, Michael Eisenstadt wrote:
>
> > Emanuel Todd is an intellectually dishonest French
> >  sociologist whose recent book The End of Empire is
> >  available in English.
> >
> > Some of Ventura's/Todd's statistics are bogus, the rest
> > are tendentious. They don't add up to the reality
> > of life in the US.
> >
> > The basic argument is that America, compared to Europe,
> > is parasitical in the sense that Americans dont
> >  really work or have jobs. Todd "proves" this by
> >  reference to our international trade deficit. This
> >  is a bogus conclusion. Todd like so many other
> > talking/writing heads is an ignoramus about
> > economics and outsourcing. Paul Krugman whose
> >  politics we all agree with has written several books
> >  explaining international trading monetary theory. The
> >  theory itself is counter-intuitive and not easy to grasp.
> > A country's trade deficit does not make their citizens
> > parasites on the rest of the world.
> >
> > As for the rich exploiting their workers and the latter's
> > immiseration, that is a fact of life everywhere and is
> >  not confined to only rich Americans doing it.
> >
> > Ventura's retread of Todd's book belongs where
> > we actually find it: in the Austin Chronicle. He
> > writes his articles at 3am in the morning  or so he
> >  says. That is an amusing conceit which excuses
> >  much. Unfortunately most of us are forced to read
> >  him during the day
> >
> >
> >
>
>
>
>
>