Getting his kicks
Look who I ran into at the photocopy shop on Sunday, Bloggy -- the famous pedagogue historian Jonathan Bean -- preparing for his appearance as a witness before the Federal Financial Management, Government Information, and International Security Subcommittee of the Committee on U.S. Homeland Security and Government Affairs.Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) is holding the hearings to examine the effectiveness of the Small Business Administration, focusing on SBA programs and their financial impact on the budget and economy.
And Coburn is inviting witnesses highly critical of the SBA and all small and minority preferences -- which is pissing off some other members of the subcommittee. It's turning into a hot ticket hearing, says Bean (who is paying his own way to be heard).
For reasons stated in his book about "The Scandalous History of the Small Business Administration," Bean admits that Congress will never slay the SBA because Congress is the main constituency of the agency (small business owners couldn't care less). A Maryland newspaper has the story, and the SBA may have engaged in illegal lobbying. American Banker has already interviewed Bean for tomorrow's online edition.
The hearing will begin at 2:30 p.m. on Thursday.
Now, 3 more seconds can be added to his 15 minutes of fame in this succinct description of the Congressional method (3 second .mpg).
The hearing will begin at 2:30 p.m. on Thursday.
Now, 3 more seconds can be added to his 15 minutes of fame in this succinct description of the Congressional method (3 second .mpg).
7 Comments:
Why isn't Professor Bean a blogger, Dave? Seems like it would be right up his alley. (no pun intended) What with his forceful views on all things big governmental.
Maybe if you meet up with him again you can recruit him.
Bean is a very infrequent blogger on a group of libertarian historians (yes, we fit in a phone box -- remember those?). See "Liberty and Power":
http://hnn.us/blogs/4.html
Only written three or four blogs so far, and no young woman to write me blogs -- that might constitute sexual harassment at PC University.
Given the trouble a handout can cause, shouldn't I slink away and never be heard from again. Bosh on that.
FYI: This semester, I'm using a network newscast, instead of a handout, that says the same thing about the infamous, forgotten Zebra killings. If "they" have a problem they can talk to Walter Cronkite (who was feted on SIUC's campus to the tune of $90,000. Based on SBA's lax standards, he'd be a "disadvantaged" business owner).
Jonathan Bean
I am a blogger, sort of. Several blogs on "Liberty and Power" (a national conspiracy of libertarian historians who all fit in a small SUV):
http://hnn.us/blogs/4.html
Given the trouble a handout can cause, shouldn't I keep a low profile? Bosh on that. This semester, I am using a network newscast of the Unmentionable Historical Event. If anyone has a problem, talk to Walter Cronkite - recently feted at SIUC to the tune of $90,000. By SBA's lax standards, he'd be a "disadvantaged" business owner if he were from, say, India or that disadvantaged Third World Nation, Japan (we nuked them, so affirmative action is "reparations," right?).
I'll try to restrain my cynicism regarding Congress, famously dubbed "Parliament of Whores" by P.J. O'Rourke, one of the great recruits to anti-statist conservatism. I teach a whole course on conservative thought -- it got past the censors -- and the students like the readings on conservatism and humor. With H.L. Mencken and P.J. O'Rourke on our side, how can we lose? Look at Lenin, Stalin -- humorless bunch. All starvation, concentration camps, no "naughty" music or words. Boring...But Fidel, he's a hoot (and in bed with SIUC. I hope we aren't sending our young coeds to the "Maximum Leader." With Viagra, he may pose a threat -- not exactly, nuclear, but sexual harassment could prove his downfall....Report him forthwith to the SIU Diversity Police)....
DISCLAIMER: Although I wrote all these words, and thought (briefly) about them as I wrote, they do not necessarily represent the viewpoints of Jonathan Bean, Ph.D. and Professor, but rather the wine-soaked ruminations of Jon Bean, Carbondaley resident.
Oops, Dave. Send the second one (if you get two). Time for me to turn off the computer dial.
best,
jon bean
From what little I've been able to glean from reviews of your SBA book and from comments overheard and solicited from friends, you sound like a careful and conscientious historian, Prof. Bean. This, to me, is much more important than political labels. My father was a well-respected (though not especially well-known) historian of Colonial America,and a political liberal who nevertheless worked to get the schools in our hometown to reject history textbooks that omitted references to major religious movements and their beliefs. He was no fan of Reagan or the elder Bush, yet his most regular meetings were held in smoke-filled donut shops with a diverse group of friends, many of whom were old enough and Right enough to still think of Reagan as a Hollywood radical. He voted for Carter in '80 and was president of his CB club. (I have very distinct memories of travelling to jamborees wearing a deep blue, white-fringed club vest emblazoned with my CB handle, "little hawkeye", playing bingo and eating fried chicken at the Moose Lodge.)
I don't know about PC University, but it does seem like your department at least has lost some of the spirit my father held dear, the spirit that in my emotional attachment to him I closely associate with the professional practice of history -- a devotion to the "story" itself, and not to whether its "his" or "hers".
And speaking of stories, I hope someone (even yourself!) finds a forum for communicating your experiences in Washington to the local community. That would be a story worth hearing and telling.
Rob,
You are absolutely right: It is only a bubble of PC at SIU and you know where it is located. Faculty across campus were enormously supportive last spring -- "I'm a liberal but it was a terrible thing that happened to you" -- I heard that a LOT. I appreciate people of all perspectives and tell my young "conservative" students to look for decent people wherever they may be found, liberal, conservative, Green, None of the Above.
Since I do teach a course on conservative thought, and there are so many strands, it is important to use some label to distinguish between "brand names" of conservatism. There is a distinct difference between libertarians (small "l") and paleoconservatives like Pat Buchanan.
After I finish my book "Right on Race: Forgotten Voices of Racial Freedom" this summer, I hope to start a regular blog or radio show. You blog pros can offer me invaluable advice.
One last note: My department (and others) would benefit from holding dept. meetings in places like donut shops! Thank God I am married to a nonacademic, it keeps me grounded.
Yours,
Jonathan
After the Senate hearing, Prof. Bean wrote to say it " . . . went very well. Standing room only (these hearings are usually sparsely attended). Committee staffers were very pleased -- press was feverishly writing down stuff when I hit the government hard for screwing truly small and "disadvantaged" businesses, with my friend and co-witness John Pointer (Exhibit A) by my side. I offered a six-point plan based on the assumption that the Congress would not give this agency the death penalty it deserves.....Everyone knew there was a problem, but few dared state it and then offer solutions. The Senator has asked me to submit my six-point plan for reforming programs targeted at small and minority-owned businesses."
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