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Senator Sanders, as is well-known, is a self-described Socialist with a penchant for hard-hitting populist speech attacking the American oligarchy, by which he seems to mean rich Republicans. We libertarian types tend to think that Socialism creates its own, much more dangerous oligarchy, of the well-connected and politically powerful, who use their influence to benefit themselves and their friends and allies. While the market at least rewards those who satisfy others needs, statist economic and political systems reward those with pull.

Of course, Sen. Sanders isnt like that.

Oh, wait. TheNew York Timesreports that he pulled ranked to get his aide out of a traffic ticket:

Senator Bernard Sanders, an independent from Vermont who calls himself a socialist, was riding in the back seat of a rented blue minivan this week when his aide abruptly announced they were being pulled over by the Iowa State Police for speeding.

Hi ya, Im Senator Bernie Sanders, how ya doing? Mr. Sanders piped up, in his unmistakable Brooklyn accent, after the aide explained to the police officer that they were late for the senators appearance here. The officer issued no ticket, just a warning to slow down: No need making a headline for something silly.

Somehow, being late for a campaign appearance hardly seems like a good reason to get out of a speeding ticket. But surely if youre the officer, you know better than to ticket a driver whose passenger just introduced himself as a Senatorwho knows what consequences may follow. There was no reason for Sanders and his aide to announce hes a Senator unless they were either suggesting that hes too important to be expected to follow the traffic laws, or, worse, were not-so-subtly intimidating the officer.

Whats especially interesting about this anecdote is that Sanders and his aide did this while a reporter witnessed the whole thing. Youd think our lone Socialist Senator would at least not try to pull rank knowing that it would be in the New York Times. But our political elite, including Sanders, is so used to getting deference and special treatment that it apparently it didnt even occur to him that readers might find it improper that he used his status to get out of a ticket that would have been issued to a regular Joe.

And that, my friends, is an example of how the Pigs become the Farmers.After all, while all animals are equal, some are more equal than others.

[Post edited slightly to reflect the fact that it was Sanders' aide who initially brought up the Senator's status.]

UPDATE: See my related post about the late Frank Lautenberg, who pulled rank even as a former Senator.

See the rest here:
Volokh Conspiracy: Pigs into farmers: the case of Sen. Bernie Sanders and the foregone traffic ticket

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Editor's note: Joel Baden is professor of Hebrew Bible at Yale University. The opinions in this column belong to him.

(CNN) -- On Tuesday night, Texas Gov. Rick Perry -- long a public fan of Judaism -- marked the beginning of the Jewish festival of Hanukkah by comparing it to the Boston Tea Party, which was celebrating its 241st anniversary the same day.

There is a parallel to be drawn here -- but Perry chose the wrong tea party and the wrong lessons.

Let's back up.

The Hanukkah story, to which Perry's statement made reference, is a fairly straightforward one: In the second century B.C., a small band of faithful Jews, led by Judah Maccabee, rose up against the oppressive Seleucid Empire, which had taken control of the Temple in Jerusalem, and won a surprising victory.

The Maccabees recaptured the Temple and rededicated it to the God of Israel. They found, however, that they had only one day's worth of oil for the holy lamps, the menorah -- but miracle of miracles, that oil lasted for eight days. Hence the Hanukkah we know and love: eight days of candles.

It is this story that Perry had in mind when he said, "The same spirit of freedom that inspired the Maccabees to rise up against a foreign empire motivated our Founding Fathers to rebel against the Crown on that fateful night. They knew, as the Jewish people know, that the few can overcome the many, that right can defeat might, that faith can transcend persecution."

Now, if we're talking about the traditional Hanukkah story described above, there are some problems with Perry's analogy. The most prominent might be the definition of "freedom."

For the Maccabees, what was at stake was the very existence of Judaism: The Temple, the very seat of God's dwelling on earth, was in the hands of pagans who prohibited Jewish worship there.

See original here:
Perry really, really wrong on Hanukkah

Editors note: Joel Baden is professor of Hebrew Bible at Yale University. The opinions in this column belong to him.

(CNN) On Tuesday night, Texas Gov. Rick Perry long a public fan of Judaism marked the beginning of the Jewish festival of Hanukkah by comparing it to the Boston Tea Party, which was celebrating its 241st anniversary the same day.

There is a parallel to be drawn here but Perry chose the wrong tea party and the wrong lessons.

Lets back up.

The Hanukkah story, to which Perrys statement made reference, is a fairly straightforward one: In the second century B.C., a small band of faithful Jews, led by Judah Maccabee, rose up against the oppressive Seleucid Empire, which had taken control of the Temple in Jerusalem, and won a surprising victory.

The Maccabees recaptured the Temple and rededicated it to the God of Israel. They found, however, that they had only one days worth of oil for the holy lamps, the menorah but miracle of miracles, that oil lasted for eight days. Hence the Hanukkah we know and love: eight days of candles.

It is this story that Perry had in mind when he said, The same spirit of freedom that inspired the Maccabees to rise up against a foreign empire motivated our Founding Fathers to rebel against the Crown on that fateful night. They knew, as the Jewish people know, that the few can overcome the many, that right can defeat might, that faith can transcend persecution.

Now, if were talking about the traditional Hanukkah story described above, there are some problems with Perrys analogy. The most prominent might be the definition of freedom.

For the Maccabees, what was at stake was the very existence of Judaism: The Temple, the very seat of Gods dwelling on earth, was in the hands of pagans who prohibited Jewish worship there.

The Boston Tea Party was a complaint about excessive taxes.

Go here to see the original:
Rick Perry is really really really very wrong about Hanukkah

Russia will never suffer economic meltdown, but Ukraine can - Lavrov
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says an economic meltdown will not hit a country like Russia, added he is more concerned about the Ukrainian economy. Deborah Lutterbeck reports.

By: Reuters

Follow this link:
Russia will never suffer economic meltdown, but Ukraine can - Lavrov - Video

Ukraine #39;s False Flag Plane Shoot Down
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By: Elena Kovaleva

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Ukraine's False Flag Plane Shoot Down - Video