"Politics: from the latin word poly, meaning many; and ticks, meaning blood sucking parasites." -- PJ O'Rourke

Something is really starting to reek in electoral politics. I must admit I’m completely baffled by its source, but it remains nevertheless. Could someone please explain to me how it is we keep electing the dolts in Congress? With an approval rating approaching the IQ of a garden slug, we’ve not only collectively preserved the status quo, we’ve actually added to the problem significantly. Let’s review some of the more egregious examples, shall we?

John “Abscam” Murtha (D) was reelected! How on earth did that happen? His corruption has been well known since the ABSCAM sting caught him contemplating accepting a bribe on tape. That alone should have been the end of his career at taxpayer’s expense, but no. Then he publicly condemned fellow Marines as “Cold Blooded Murders” on national television. All of the accused Marines have been acquitted and one of them is suing Mr. Murtha for defamation of character. Then this bastion of public service actually called his constituents racists and followed that up calling them rednecks to boot. And yet this man was reelected. Unbelievable!

Ted “Bridge to Nowhere” Stevens (R) was nearly reelected despite his recent conviction on multiple felonies. Not just run of the mill felonies like drunk driving or robbing banks; felonies related to abuse of his official office! In spite of his obvious lack of integrity, the party backed him and he was nearly reelected. Unbelievable!

The good folks in Minnesota are working feverishly to count and recount Al Frankin, the biggest caricature of an idiotic politician since Jessie “The Body” Ventura became the governor of that state, into office. Unbelievable!  

Marion Barry was caught on tape smoking crack with a prostitute and was reelected AFTER serving prison time. Unbelievable!

Ray “Chocolate City” Nagin utterly failed his constituents during the Katrina disaster, made clearly racist remarks publicly, and was returned to his mayoral office by the voters of New Orleans. Unbelievable!

William “Cold Cash” Jefferson was caught red handed with a $90K cash bribe in the freezer of his home and was returned to office by a 57%/43% margin. Unbelievable!

How is it possible for democracy to survive if we keep supporting, enabling, and most importantly reelecting obvious rogues to office? How is it possible for people of this ilk to retain the support of honest men? Have we all become so inured to political criminality we just ignore it? Unbelievable!

Scottie

This seems to be the attitude of the Lefties in my life after the historic election of Barack Obama. It would seem a reasonable request. But it comes from a group of people that among other things:

1. 1.    Have earnestly complained for the past eight years about the 2000 election being fixed, and stolen by George Bush. I heard more often than I can count how George Bush wasn’t THEIR president. But we are now expected to silently ignore the massive voter fraud perpetrated by ACORN? Surely they can see the irony?

1. 2.    Have perpetrated memes questioning the integrity of President Bush as a liar and a puppet of Halliburton. How many times in the past eight years have I heard these absurd lies perpetuated by the same people that now want conciliation from us? Yet we are to accept as truthful the President Elect’s word that he sat in a church for twenty years and never heard any anti-American or bigoted rants from his pastor and mentor? Are we also to conclude he was being truthful when he passed off as inconsequential his abiding friendship and collaboration with an activist revolutionary?  I also seem to recall his promise to accept public funding in the election, but he didn’t. You can spin that any way you wish, but that still rings as a bald faced lie to me. As far as I can see, their man has told a lot of bald-faced honest-to-goodness lies to obtain his current position. Isn't the dissonance here almost palpable?

    
2. 3.    Have peddled the attack on our beloved homeland as a conspiracy by our own government. This has been endlessly repeated by rabidly anti-Bush zealots since the attack occurred. This nattering has continued despite every single aspect of any possible conspiracy having been thoroughly debunked. Yet now we are asked to give President Obama the benefit of the doubt when the inevitable attack his projection of weakness will provoke becomes reality? His own Vice President elect has predicted the attack in advance. Surely there is ample fodder for some conspiracy theories should Joe Biden prove prescient. It's a fair observation, isn't it?

    
3. 4.    Have trashed George Bush for doing what he deemed necessary to protect us from an avowed and implacable enemy. In that effort, he has been absolutely successful for seven years. When that enemy arrives, which in all likelihood they soon will be, will our newfound friends bind Mr. Obama’s hands with the same zeal as they did President Bush’s? Will the new President be the recipient of the same vitriol from these newfound friends of ours when things go wrong? Will they finally grow up and see that it's our war and not just President Bush's? 
    
4. 5.    Have accused President Bush of “shredding” the Constitution. Are we now to overlook Mr. Obama’s avowal to do some shredding of his own? Are we to now stand by and tolerate the shredding of our foundational principals in the name of conciliation? Are we to accept the efforts on Mr. Obama’s part to refashion the legal foundations of our society? Do we simply ignore his vow to appoint justices to the Supreme Court that will simply reinterpret and rewrite the constitution he has sworn to protect and defend? If the constitution can mean anything you want it to mean, it doesn't really mean anything, does it?

 

As I pass through my incarnations
in every age and race,

I make my proper prostrations
to the Gods of the Market Place.
Peering through reverent fingers
I watch them flourish and fall,

And the Gods of the Copybook Headings,
I notice, outlast them all.

We were living in trees when they met us.
They showed us each in turn
That Water would certainly wet us,
as Fire would certainly burn:
But we found them lacking in Uplift,
Vision and Breadth of Mind,
So we left them to teach the Gorillas
while we followed the March of Mankind.

We moved as the Spirit listed.
They never altered their pace,
Being neither cloud nor wind-borne
like the Gods of the Market Place;
But they always caught up with our progress,
and presently word would come
That a tribe had been wiped off its icefield,
or the lights had gone out in Rome.

With the Hopes that our World is built on
they were utterly out of touch,
They denied that the Moon was Stilton;
they denied she was even Dutch;
They denied that Wishes were Horses;
they denied that a Pig had Wings;
So we worshipped the Gods of the Market
Who promised these beautiful things.

When the Cambrian measures were forming,
They promised perpetual peace.
They swore, if we gave them our weapons,
that the wars of the tribes would cease.
But when we disarmed They sold us
and delivered us bound to our foe,
And the Gods of the Copybook Headings
said: "Stick to the Devil you know."

On the first Feminian Sandstones
we were promised the Fuller Life,
(Which started by loving our neighbour
and ended by loving his wife)
Till our women had no more children
and the men lost reason and faith,
And the Gods of the Copybook Headings
said: "The Wages of Sin is Death."

In the Carboniferous Epoch
we were promised abundance for all,
By robbing selected Peter
to pay for collective Paul;
But, though we had plenty of money,
there was nothing our money could buy,
And the Gods of the Copybook Headings
said: "If you don't work you die."

Then the Gods of the Market tumbled,
and their smooth-tongued wizards withdrew
And the hearts of the meanest were humbled
and began to believe it was true
That All is not Gold that Glitters,
and Two and Two make Four—
And the Gods of the Copybook Headings
limped up to explain it once more.

As it will be in the future,
it was at the birth of Man—
There are only four things certain
since Social Progress began:—
That the Dog returns to his Vomit
and the Sow returns to her Mire,
And the burnt Fool's bandaged finger
goes wabbling back to the Fire;

And that after this is accomplished,
and the brave new world begins
When all men are paid for existing
and no man must pay for his sins,
As surely as Water will wet us,
as surely as Fire will burn,
The Gods of the Copybook Headings
with terror and slaughter return!

Rudyard Kipling

Note: A copybook was a study device used in England in Kipling's time. The copybook was a book of lined pages with a heading at the top exhibiting in perfect penmanship a wise saying, or proverb, or rule of thumb. The student was expected to copy these sayings down the page as an exercise in penmanship. The wisdom of the ancients was thus inculcated in them as they practiced. Also note the italicized “They” differs from the non-italicized “They”.

Much is being made of John McCain’s seeming inability to respond to a reporter’s “gotcha” question on the number of houses he owns. When asked, the old political hand knew he was being invited to step into a pile of fecal matter and politely declined to do so. His answer wasn’t that he didn’t know, as has been widely reported. His response was that he would refer the matter to his staff for a comprehensive answer. You see, things can get complicated when it comes to real estate, trusts, and such.

As an experiment, I asked the Missus the same question: “How many houses do you own?”

She quickly and confidently replied, “One.”

I informed her that her answer was incorrect. Befuddled for a minute, she brightened a bit later and confidently answered a second time, “Five.”

When I asked her if she was certain, she assured me that she was. I then told her she was again incorrect, much to her dismay. I could tell she was piqued by this and she demanded to know what I was getting at. I told her that she was in the exact same position as John McCain and explained to her that she in fact had ownership interests in no less than six houses.

You see, she owned one house before she married me, and she still owns it. This house was represented by her first answer. But she overlooked the four rental properties I own that became partly hers through our marriage. This was reflected by her second answer. The sixth house is technically owned by her father, but due to the tax code and the rules applicable to related party transactions, she would be attributed ownership of the house/office in which our business is situated.  So even we common folks may find a question like the one John McCain so carefully parried to avoid a media “gotcha” a little harder to answer than it would seem at first blush.

I did not call my wife a liar, nor did I ridicule her for her incorrect answers as the media and the Obama campaign are currently doing to John McCain. Unlike the media, I see no benefit in “gotcha” questions like this. But it clarified the situation in which John McCain found himself for the Missus pretty well

Perhaps a few “gotcha” real estate questions could also be asked of Barack Obama. A few that spring readily to mind are:

1. 1.       How many houses do you think John McCain purchased with the financial assistance of a felon currently convicted for financial fraud? Have you purchased any houses with such an individual? Does the name Tony Rezko come to mind?

    
2. 2.       Which do you think is more important to the American people: the number of buildings John and Cindy McCain own or the number of buildings that were bombed by your longtime associate William Ayers and his unrepentant band of domestic terrorists?

    
3. 3.       How many houses have been purchased by your former pastor, the Reverend Wright, in gated communities where members of his own congregation are not welcome?

    
4. 4.       Have you reconsidered the folly of throwing stones from within a glass house yet, or shall we continue?

Food for thought; of course, the anointed One needn’t worry about such questions from those eagerly deifying him in the main stream media. But one can hope.

Scottie

The Marine stood and faced his God, which will always come to pass.

He hoped his shoes were shining, just as brightly as his brass.

Step forward now you Marine, how shall I deal with you?

Have you always turned the other cheek and to my church been true?

The marine squared his shoulders and said, “No, Lord, I guess I ain’t,

Cause those of us who carry guns can’t always be a saint.

I’ve had to work on Sundays and at times my talk was tough,

And sometimes I’ve been violent cause the world is awfully rough.

But I never took a penny that wasn’t mine to keep,

Though I worked a lot of overtime when the bills just got too steep,

And I passed a cry for help though at times I shook with fear,

And sometimes, God, forgive me, I wept unmanly tears.

I know I don’t deserve a place among the people here.

They never wanted me around except to calm their fears.

If you’ve a place for me here, Lord, it needn’t be so grand.

I never asked or had too much. If you don’t, I’ll understand.

There was silence all around the throne, where saints had often trod,

As the Marine waited quietly for the judgment of his God.

Step forward now, you Marine. You’ve borne your burdens well.

Walk peacefully on heaven’s streets. You’ve served your time in hell.

My productivity has dropped off considerably as of late here at Townhall. I feel I owe my visitors an update on what’s going on. The web site Little Green Footballs has a closed membership that only opens registration for new members for brief periods of time at the random whim of the site-master. Since LGF is one of my daily reads, I’ve been there numerous times, but as fortune would have it, I chanced to visit while registration was open recently, and promptly did so. Members of the community are called Lizards and in joining, I’ve become a Lizard in my own right in good standing.

I then began to explore the member’s only parts of the now familiar website and found the Lizard Lounge; a chat room for the Lizards to congregate and argue and swap ideas in real time. I’ve suggested this feature to the powers that be at Townhall several times in the past to no avail. Now instead of the endless sifting of threads, I can actually interact with my fellow Lizards, a community very much like the gang here at Townhall. Moonbats get sifted out fairly quickly, but it certainly isn’t an echo chamber by any means. Most evenings lately, I’ve been there chatting, arguing, telling jokes, and just being the irascible Scottie you all have grown to know. I’m sure the novelty will wear off soon enough, but in the meantime if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to see a man about a Lizard.

Scottie

   I have throughout my life dealt with every black person I’ve encountered as the individual he or she is, giving them the benefit of the doubt until their individual character could be discerned. Some I’ve met were natural leaders that I would gladly follow into the hobs of hell; others have been as close to me as my own brothers. Some have been talented coworkers and others have taught me valuable skills. Some have been hateful bigots that were discarded in short order. There is no monolithic body of black people; there is only an accumulation of many individuals that share pigmentation.

   As to the argument that I’ve been the recipient of largess from society simply because of my race, I’d truly like to know where that’s happened. I’ve been turned down for many positions I’ve applied for, I’ve been pulled over by the police when I’ve wandered into areas where I was out of place, and the education I received wasn’t some form of largess, I had to work very hard to attain it. My admission to college wasn’t because I was white, it was because I was a straight A student. My tuition wasn’t paid for me because I was white; it was paid because I’ve served my country. The benefits I have received from society are the result of hard work on my part, and sacrifice to the society first.

   I’ve taken my licks at the hands of fate without seeking to blame others for it. Sometimes you just draw the Wonka ticket and have to make the best of it. I’ve done a lot of jobs I wouldn’t wish on anyone. I know the sting of hot sand on sweaty flesh in the hot August evenings at a foundry, where I used a sledgehammer to break castings loose of their moulds to cool. I know what it feels and smells like to work all day in a pig pen shoveling matted straw and poop out of the pens. I’ve worked on roofs with my boots and pants cuffs covered with hot tar in the sweltering sun. I’ve cleaned grease traps in restaurants and shoveled rotten corn from the bottoms of storage silos. Each of these jobs built my character and provided me funds along the way. None of these jobs were at the expense of anyone else.

   In short, I have nothing to feel guilty about. I haven’t sold drugs, didn’t quit school before I graduated, and never sired a child out of wedlock. I don’t go through life with a chip on my shoulder blaming others for my misfortunes. I simply refuse to buy the premise of a hate mongering reverend that has the audacity to blame racism for the problems in the black community. That a Princeton educated lawyer with a half a million dollars in annual income and a serious candidate for president wants to tell me how bad black people have been treated is laughable on its face. Here’s a sermon that should be preached every Sunday until it soaks in. Get down off your cross; build a bridge with the lumber; and GET OVER IT! As for me atoning for my “white guilt”, I have nothing to atone for, so go pound sand.

Scottie

It seems like the anti-military and anti-recruitment zealots aren't against fighting per se. They fight quite vigorously against their fellow citizens and those that ensure their right to protest. It is people that will fight back that seem to escape their unhinged and unpatriotic attacks. If only they could gin up comparable outrage towards those intent on destroying them and their way of life.

I see that California has executed a one-two punch. First they asserted that parents couldn't object to the content being taught to their children under the presumption that the children were put into school voluntarily. Now they are told that they aren't qualified to withhold their children from those same schools to teach them themselves. So are the children's in those schools really there voluntary? Doesn't seem to matter either way, does it? It takes a village to destroy family values.

Most schools don't permit students to participate in extracurricular activities if they are failing in their regular course requirements. Shouldn't we apply the same logic to government? Until they can make the courts work, defend the country, and secure the nation's borders, why should they be given license to dabble in social engineering? I note that most of this extracurricular (and extra-constitutional) activity gets failing grades as well.

I was a capitalist when I had nothing, and although I still have very little, I'm still a capitalist. I don't resent those that have more; I resent those that would try to prevent me from attaining more by demonizing those of greater achievement. I'm grateful to have had the opportunity to steer my own life in whichever direction I wished, something very rare in the history of mankind. What I have is largely the result of my own stewardship of my life.

When you give someone the shirt off your back, that is charity. When someone takes your shirt from you at gunpoint to give it someone they deem more worthy, that is tyranny; or socialism as it's currently called.

Nothing ruins a man more than a life of unearned ease. To have succor at the expense of others without the wit, will and ability to achieve it on one's own breeds nothing but contempt for those that labor and sacrifice from those that do not. Hunger and poverty can be powerful motivators, given the chance to work their magic, when combined with the freedom to seek a cure for them by one's own efforts.

I support the idea that every vote should count; but, I do not support the idea that illegitimate votes should. Those opposed to voter ID requirements are really supporting nothing short of fraud and anarchy by implying that those that are disenfranchised by this trifling inconvenience have a legitimate franchise in the first place.