I do not use term "never" very often, but there will never be another Civil War in the United States for a few reasons:

-  The guy in front of me at the grocery store was able to buy Red Bull with his SNAP card.

-  The NHL play-offs started.

-  It might interfere with the delivery of social security checks.

-  42% of Americans are unaware Obamacare is the law of the land.

-  To whom or what does any US citizen owe any allegiance?

The last point is the perhaps the most important.  We are a fractured and distracted populace.  At this moment, I may have more allegiance to Ricochet than the US, but this could change in a few minutes when I watch the movie "Miracle."  During the Civil War, people had loyalty to State of South Carolina, the Union, etc...  Now, does anyone care?

This is probably for the best, as the next Civil War (which will never happen) would be a war of ideology; Progressive v. Conservatives.  There are no geographic boundaries or regions in that type of war.  Your neighbor could be the enemy.  This would only increase the bloodshed.  On that comforting note, Miracle awaits . . .

After a day, I am trying to understand this post.  What does it mean to "engage?"

Should I watch "Dancing with the Stars," "Survivor," and other programs on HBO that are "cool" and allow me to engage in water-cooler talk with with the young ones at the office?

Should I listen to Beyonce and the latest pop sensation in hopes of finding deeper meaning in today's cultural milieu (in full disclosure, I have yet to find deeper meaning in the Stones, the Boss, or Green Day)?

Engage to what end?  How does Pop Culture knowledge advance the cause of Conservatism and values?

Although I expect games being played by the Administration,  I am upset by my fellow citizen.  How do you avoid all news about the sequester?

Although I expect games being played by the Administration,  I am upset by my fellow citizen.  How do you avoid all news about the sequester?

To avoid any confusion on my previous post.

"EJHILL - That was the best post of the week."

Beautifully written and clearly stating what many of us fear.

This is the best post of the past week.

This comment is not meant to invoke Godwin's Law, but somewhat related, a few years ago I had lunch with a former US Army helicopter pilot.  He was stationed in West Germany in the mid-1970's.  He was friendly with a few of the locals and got to know some of the families.  On more than one occasion he was shown family photo albums, and curiously, pictures of the Nazi era were still treasured.

There is a popular perception that what happened to Germany was a one-time occurrence.  His perception at that time was that the Germans would readily return to the 1930's, if given the opportunity.  In the 1970's, even after 30 years of occupation, there was a German cultural preference to be ruled.  

His perception of Germany in the 2010's was that something had changed.  The old desire for a dictator was not prevalent.  He was hopeful that 60+ years of U.S. occupation had altered the cultural bias.

Applying these generalizations to the US, I am left with the depressing idea that we are in for a 60+ year struggle.

It doesn't sound like you have had any luck actually practicing law as of yet.  One question, is there a CLE exempt status for those not practicing law in Missouri pursuant to Rule 15?

I have to agree with genferei, the damage has already been done.

Parker, Noonan, Dreher, Buckley the younger, etc. . .  deserve nothing but scorn at this point.

I have spent the last 25 attempting to reconcile the hopeless dependency I saw on the streets of the inner city, which has not changed, with the mindless liberalism that wants to do more of it.  

How do you get to a point where you believe, despite all evidence to the contrary, that a few more dollars of tax revenue will alleviate the plight of the urban poor?  Secondly, if you are one of those poor people, how do you reconcile voting for a continuation of those policies with the waste and misery all around you?

I agree that the "war on drugs" and its accompanying militarization of polices forces is related to the events in California.  It does not speak well for our society.

To add a little more gloom, let's not overlook the fact that most police forces serve as revenue agents for the city, county, municipality, etc . . .

My brother rode along with a State Trooper a few years back and the Trooper confided that he had a ticket quota to meet.  Which was actually fairly easy to meet because in the Trooper's words, "every car on the road is violating some law or regulation."  

When the police look at us as  either (i) drug felons, or (ii) sheep to be fleeced, we have a long road ahead of us to normalcy.

Who would really like to go back to 1963 and live then?

I've been pondering this for a while.  My grandfather was 47 in 1963, and my grandmother was 45.   They had a home in Milwaukee (paid in full), and a basic cabin in northern Wisconsin (paid in full).  Their daughter, my mother, had just graduated college (no student loans).  Their other daughter and son, my aunt and uncle, would soon be starting college (no student loans for either of them).

My Grandfather was the sole provider.  He had a college degree and a masters degree, and worked as a junior high science teacher.  My grandparents came from modest means, first and second generation Americans.  Yes, they were thrifty and hard working, but they were also the product of a booming post-war economy.

Adjust for inflation and increase my salary to a level 5 times my grandfather's salary, and I could never achieve their level of financial success.  I am left to wonder whether I have done something wrong, or society has changed?  Probably a bit of both, but from my perspective in 2013, the year 1963 does not look too bad.

Did anyone else find it ironic that when clicking on this post by Richard Epstein, a pop-up Ricochet advertisement appeared with a Revolutionary War soldier with a musket appeared?  Yes, the Revolution starts at Ricochet, but make sure you are unarmed.

A few minutes before my Evidence class was about to start, I was talking to the professor (he clerked for William Rehnquist).  Somehow we  were discussing my Constitutional History class and the Federalist Papers. 

At this point, my professor began to chuckle and shook his head, "I can tell you all you need to know about Constitutional Law in 30 seconds."

"What?"

"The Supreme Court does what it wants."

"But what about rational basis tests, Commerce Clause . . " I began to inquire.

"The rest is for intellectuals to fill-in the blanks."

Most meaningful discussion I had in law school.

Peter,

Thank you for the recommendation and Happy New Year.

Peter,

I look forward to your review.  My concern is that a lot of these books take on the tone of a sociologist visiting a lost tribe, "I cannot believe the quaintness of the locals?"

For an example of this type of writing, read "The Sweet Season."  A sportswriter moves to Minnesota from California with his family, and follows the St. Johns University football team.  Some good, some really bad, but mostly condescending.

I have hope, but I will wait to purchase.

I'm sure behavior like this has happened at large insurance companies, but I have a difficult time believing it has been be so pervasive.  The Benghazi/Petraeus affair reveals a level of corruption, infighting, pettiness . . . well I am running out of words.

And now the same people decide whether I am eligible for an x-ray; how sad.