In the meeting on Tuesday evening, Mr. Ryan demanded a change that would deprive rebel lawmakers of their most powerful weapon: the ability to make a motion “to vacate the chair” and essentially kick the speaker out of the job.
“As part of those rules changes, he believes there needs to be a change to the process for a motion to vacate the chair,” a spokesman for Mr. Ryan wrote in a briefing paper for reporters. “No matter who is speaker, they cannot be successful with this weapon pointed at them all the time.”
Enter the Age of the Outsiders
Some of these blows were self-inflicted. Democracy, especially in the United States, has grown dysfunctional. Mass stupidity and greed led to a financial collapse and deprived capitalism of its moral swagger.
But the deeper problem was spiritual. Many people around the world rejected democratic capitalism’s vision of a secular life built around materialism and individual happiness. They sought more intense forms of meaning. Some of them sought meaning in the fanaticisms of sect, tribe, nation, or some stronger and more brutal ideology. In case after case, “reasonableness” has been trampled by behavior and creed that is stronger, darker and less temperate.
.. The Democratic establishment no longer determines party positions; it is pulled along by formerly marginal players like Bernie Sanders.
.. But the big loss of central confidence is in global governance. The United States is no longer willing to occupy the commanding heights and oversee global order. In region after region, those who are weak in strength but strong in conviction are able to have their way. Vladimir Putin in Crimea, Ukraine and the Middle East. Bashar al-Assad crosses red lines in Syria. The Islamic State spreads in Syria and Iraq.
.. I only have space to add here that the primary problem is mental and spiritual.
Can the rise in tattoos tell us anything interesting about the economy?
My sense from all this is that the rise of tattoos reflects an anti-establishmentarianis
m trend. Getting a tattoo is a painful procedure that closes off potential job opportunities. It’s also closely linked with younger people who engage in riskier behaviors. Those who get tattoos make it apparent that they don’t buy into established norms set by an antiquated elite. You can expect the rise in tattoos to continue as long as Americans feel uncertain about their chances for upward mobility. You can read more about the topic on my Bloomberg View article here: What Tattoos Tell Us About the Economy