The Area Code Conundrum
Drake Bennett of the Boston Globe has just published an group profile of emerging conservative thinkers for the Ideas section, and he covers yours truly alongside Luigi Zingales, Brad Wilcox, and Megan McArdle. I’ve know and admired Megan for some time now, and not just because she’s engaged to Peter, and I’m a huge fan of Zingales and Wilcox. Suffice it to say, I’m very flattered to be in such company.
Rather amusingly, Bennett noted the following from our interview.
According to those who have worked with him, Salam blends conservative political belief with a voracious embrace of contemporary pop culture in all its forms – in conversation, before the references to Russell Kirk and John Kenneth Galbraith’s “The Predator State,” he opens with a semi-profane line from the hip-hop artist Ludacris.
These days, a Ludacris reference marks you as an old fogey. To provide context, the conversation went something like this —
[REIHAN] Oh yeah, I always pick up calls from strange area codes, as I have ‘hoes’ in many area codes. And by ‘hoes,’ I mean ‘friendly acquaintances.’
Or something like that. Rest assured, I don’t refer to people as hoes as a matter of course.
I’m in Berlin and very, very excited to be here.
How many hoes you got in Berlin?
— Alan Jacobs · Jul 12, 03:19 PM · #
I got hos in my head
I got bitches on the brain
these visions of booty
are driving me insane
— cw · Jul 12, 03:57 PM · #
nice article and well deserved accolades
drop by Paris if you got the time, biyotch
— JB · Jul 12, 04:14 PM · #
You and McArdle are cosmetic surgery which does nothing for function.
Reihan, you are still perpetuating the myth that Palinism is not killing the GOP.
Look at McArdle…when she wants to say Matt Taibbi is stupid on economics she compares him to Palin.
71% of your base thinks Palin should be president.
You are going to have to burn down the Vampire House and start over.
The reason is people like me….college-educated and young. You aren’t going to scam us with a ludacris quote.
A tribe without reps cannot survive.
— matoko_chan · Jul 12, 05:35 PM · #
And remember I was an early adopter of the Reihan brand, total Salam-otaku.
Now I see you as just another GOP crack-dealer. Sure, you got flash and you’re all blinged out with savy pop culture stylings…..but u frontin’. That is surface, not substance.
n/e ways, how are you going to get the base off the Sarah Palin crack?
Got a plan , man?
— matoko_chan · Jul 12, 05:42 PM · #
“n/e ways, how are you going to get the base off the Sarah Palin crack? Got a plan , man?”
Sarongs. Palinism will be cut down like wheat in a hail storm before the mighty sarong!
— Tony Comstock · Jul 12, 05:58 PM · #
Does Megan McArdle self-identify as conservative? I have her filed under “libertarian” in my mental file cabinet.
Oh, and I thought the plural of “ho” was spelled “hos”, so as to avoid confusion with the yard implement. Certainly we can’t always rely on context to disambiguate the two.
— kenb · Jul 12, 07:36 PM · #
I wonder if he covers her not-so-beatdown beatdown of Matt Taibbi, where she concedes every factual point and conclusion but only disputes the “meta-narrative”, whatever the fuck that’s supposed to mean.
— Chet · Jul 12, 08:27 PM · #
Also, if he hasn’t already, Reihan should read The Fanciest Dive
— Tony Comstock · Jul 12, 09:23 PM · #
Instead of Ludacris before Russell Kirk I’d think one should consider a David St. Hubbins strategy: Rahsaan Kirk before Russell Kirk (or maybe in a hard place James T.), JK Rowling before JK Galbraith, and so on.
— Sanjay · Jul 12, 11:46 PM · #
Also, what’s wid the new East Asian surnames at the Corner of [NRO]Madness?
Are the mad shamans trying to find another Reihan?
It reminds meh of how my diffy-q’s professor would always include a Ramanujan-finder problem on his tests.
Foolish shamans……there can be only one!
— matoko_chan · Jul 12, 11:57 PM · #
This also;
Complexity in fire ecology: The Case of the Biscuit Fire
— Tony Comstock · Jul 13, 12:14 AM · #
Bitches and hos
bitches and hos
where they come from
nobody knows
— cw · Jul 13, 01:48 AM · #
Some people complain that my lyrics are sexist/
But you lovely bitches and hos should know I’m trying to correct this.
— KenB · Jul 13, 03:45 AM · #
Make sure to hit up konopkkes by Schoenhauser Allee Ubahn station. It’s far and away the best currywurst stand in Berlin.
— richard · Jul 13, 02:30 PM · #
Chrismastime comes
I dress up like Kris Kringle
Hook my hos up to my sleigh
and make the jingle jingle
— cw · Jul 13, 03:01 PM · #