More of the Same. Late, Too.

Gerard van der Leun hasn’t been writing much on his blog of late. When he took the gig as editor at Pajamas Media he warned us posting would diminish. However. He put a post up last Thursday that I think needs to be read. So I link…

For, lo, this word which once emblemized both race-hate and a degraded and disgraced secondary state of humanity has, through the alchemy of the asinine among us, been mystically transmogrified into something approaching a holy incantation. From a mongrel word it has be made magical. But the use of this magic word has, as the high priests of pap always assure us, been made unavailable to the many for the power of the few.

The Word is now the sole possession of the REMD (Racial Establishment of Monetized Defeatism). It is a closely held stock whose possession assures that, the more we strive to put racism behind us in this country, the more certainly it will be kept alive in order to maintain the parasite of racism's ability to feed upon the host culture and continue to enrich its stockholders.

He’s talking about people like Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, of course. He’s also calling out the hip-hop gangstas that throw “that” word around in their lyrics with a frequency that is simply appalling. Years and years ago, back in the mid-60s and waaay before hip-hop, I had a black friend who explained the terms and conditions of the N-word to me: “I can use it, you can’t. Simple as that.” I protested, to no avail. “That’s just the way it is” was the answer. Well, that answer wasn’t good then and it’s STILL indefensible. Gerard is right.

Here are two interesting op-eds, one in the WSJ, the other in the WaPo, both on Congress, both critical, both correct. First, the WSJ’s concluding paragraph:

With his party down in the polls, Mr. Bush has tried to recast the midterm election as a referendum on the war on terror. This strategy may yet save Republicans from losing Congress, both because the war is the most important issue of our time and because the Democrats are calling for retreat in Iraq and essentially for a return to the antiterror policies of the 1990s. But it is no credit to the performance of Republicans in this Congress that their best argument for re-election is the wartime flaws of their opponents.

And the lead graf from the WaPo:

After years of single-party government, the prospect of a Democratic majority in the House ought to feel refreshing. But even with Republicans collapsing in a pile of sexual sleaze, I just can't get excited. Most Democrats in Congress seem bereft of ideas or the courage to stand up for them. They clearly want power, but they have no principles to guide their use of it.

I’ve read that up to 65% of Americans have a negative view of Congress. It’s been that way ever since I can remember, and long before my time, too. Mark Twain’s famous “Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself.” is often quoted and remains ever-so-true, to this day. I’m more than dissatisfied with the Republicans’ performance in Congress over the past two years, for many, many reasons…not the least of which is their complete fiscal irresponsibility and their seeming inability to unite behind the President on key issues. As noted in the WSJ editorial, the single “good thing” the Congress has done is enabling the appointment of two well-qualified conservatives to the Supreme Court. That, and funding the war. But, damn! Is that it? You own the House and the Senate and that’s ALL you can do? And the foot-dragging on ear-marks just gets my knickers all twisted up…

Still…I’ll pull the “R” lever in November, metaphorically-speaking (because I vote absentee). I’m a single-issue voter these days, and the war is my issue. I cannot, simply cannot, imagine the Donkey Party in control of Congress during wartime. This war, anyway.

Unseasonably HOT…It’s 88 degrees as I write, on its way to 89. Yesterday we hit 90. Is this really October, or am I hallucinating?

Today’s Pic: My own personal B-57 Canberra, seen at the Air Force Armament Museum, Eglin AFB, Florida. November, 1999.