Latte

Back to Blogging

We have now moved back to Seattle, and are now more or less settled here. (Sorry, readers, for the two-month hiatus). So back to blogging!  When I have more time, Latte will receive a make-over since I’m no longer “Overseas Will.”  But I'll start off with some new posts in the meantime.

Latte Policy on Comments

Many political blogs do not accept reader comments.  I currently accept them on Latte because I like an exchange of ideas, even if the discussion sometimes grows heated.

Comments should be relevant to the individual post.  Substantive comments will usually be published and retained on the site, regardless of their political orientation. 

People posting racist, anti-Semitic, homophobic or other sorts of comments that I believe are offensive will be banned from commenting.

Comments that are off-topic or include personal attacks on me, the guest authors, and/or other commentators will be deleted. Commentators who persist in irrelevant comments or attacks will be permanently banned.

Decisions about which comments to retain will sometimes be subjective, and because I maintain this blog, I reserve the right to do as I please.  However, in general, substantive dialog is welcome from anyone who chooses to contribute.

—Overseas Will

Introduction

Over the last few years, a lot of people have been talking about the liberal “elite” in disparaging terms.  The liberal elite, apparently, are the people sitting on the “far left bank” of the mainstream, as the President would have it, and he does seem to know a great deal about extreme positions. 

But who are the liberal “elite,” really?

We are the latte-sipping, Mini-driving, Queer Eye-watching, sushi-eating, wine-drinking set.  We are more likely to sport Paul Smith than Paul Bunyan. We prefer Corey Flintoff to Rush Limbaugh. We don’t abuse prescription drugs (under Bush, we can’t afford them); our fix is reading publications with “New York” in the title.  If spiritual, we are not evangelical. We may speak a foreign language, and we are among the minority of Americans with a passport. We have broadband connections, with which we watch clips from The Daily Show.

We do not necessarily, however, live in a so-called “blue state.” Rather, we live in urban areas. Our favorite American cities include San Francisco, Boston, New York, and Seattle, but we could very well be living in Austin, Des Moines, Kansas City, Chicago, Detroit, or Madison.  If you are an American living abroad, you are probably one of us.

Come to think of it, the term “elite” seems like a misnomer, given that we seem to have absolutely no power in the government.

We do have values, and one of the most important is Fairness.  We despise hypocrisy and double-speak.  But more on that later.

In short, the liberal elite are far more interesting than the theo-cons who surround our current President.

Therefore welcome, fellow members of the liberal “elite,” to Latte.  While mostly political, from time to time we will talk about other stuff, such as distracting gear to buy during your four year therapeutic shopping spree, international travel tips, hot Web sites, innovative music to download to your iPod, and must-read books and articles.

Your comments are welcome, except poll-tested but logically faulty statements like “It’s better to fight them over there than here at home” or “If you tax the rich, they just hire accountants!” Actually – feel free to write things like that, but be prepared to be gleefully mocked by other readers when you do.

For the rest of you, relax, and sip that $4.00 suspension of water and coffee bean detritus.  You’ll need it - it’s going to be a long four years.

© 2004, Will Friedman, All Rights Reserved