Batman writes: “Whenever you see something or hear about something from any administration, do you ask yourself how you would feel about the same thing if it were enacted by an administration from the other party?”

That’s a fair test, and one that a lot of Americans are open to.

Who’s paying for the czars?

Are the czars a vanity gig, a way to reward your friends and keep them very close?

Van is a handsome man. The halo effect protected him, I suspect, to a large extent. The czars share the halo, hailing from distinguished heights in academia and ngo-land. Such illuminati are above mere questionnaires and senate confirmation. At one time in Europe there existed the “republic of letters,” an informal society of scholars who shared learning and a scholarly language (Latin). The new illuminati share a belief in a new kind of world, something like the kind of world that really smart people like them and Mr. President could imagine.