The Oddity of my Odious Extremism

I have just discovered that many of you, and certainly me, are Odious. And inexplicably, also Jewish extremists. How my jewish-ness got past me I'll never know. But I'm extremely frightened by the direction our country is moving so I plead guilty to being an extremist in that regard.

The above reference is to the description of any of us who even entertain the notion that the murderous army Major Nidal Hassan might have possibly, maybe, potentially been influenced by his interpretation of Islam to commit treason while shouting a jihadist slogan during his homicidal execution of thirteen fellow soldiers and attempt to kill scores more.

The description was given by Joe Klein of  Time Magazine when he wrote about, "odious attempts by Jewish extremists . .. to argue that the massacre perpetrated by Nidal Hasan was somehow a direct consequence of his Islamic beliefs."

I must confess that I think it possibly was "somehow a direct consequence of his Islamic beliefs."

Therefore, the list of things I (and possibly you) have become in the eyes of the leftist literary elite has thus expanded from racists (for opposing the 2000 page unread two trillion dollar healthscare reform recently passed by the U S House in the dead of the night) and "tea bag" people, to these new heights. Or depths, if you prefer.

It would be comforting on some level to merely believe that this demented imbecile went "postal" because, well, just because that sometimes happens. Then we could wait for the new season of "Snapped" on cable TV to find out what made him do it and why he deserves our sympathy in spite of what he has done.
Comfort with uncomfortable events and their consequences, seems to be the national goal in the last few decades, but I never have "been with the program" in that regard, so perhaps I'm just a slow learner.

Regular readers of the columns of Dr. Charles Krauthammer either have read or will soon read his piece concerning the motives/causes of the perpetrator of the attack and that column was the inspiration for this commentary. It is titled "Tales Of Woe No Excuse For Mass Murder"  You may read it here.  I highly recommend it.
In the mean time, you might calculate the happiness/regret ratio on your Time magazine subscription depending upon your tolerance for being insulted by the writers found there.

According to Casey, my personal book reviewer and brewed beverage expert, we live in a time when there is "a lot of awful" out there. And someone just added a heap of it to the pile. Your own perspective on the passing scene will inform you about whether it increased more by the addition of our "odious-ness", or by the quality of the writing and thinking by folks like Klein.

Now That I’m a Racist

After over four decades of experience in the financial markets, having a good understanding of profit motivation has made it fairly easy to ignore being called a racist by the usual race and poverty extortionists like Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton. But now that the media and an ex-President have jumped into the dumpster with them and the third rate actress who was already in there for reasons of insanity, it may be time to close the lid and call Waste Management.

The good thing about this situation is that it gathers the tactics, the practitioners and the ideas they champion all in one place for easier disposal. The bad thing is, we never seem to be able to pile enough clay on top of them to keep them from crawling out of the landfill every so often when people forget how bad the stench actually is.

There is an old saying that “the first one to invoke Hitler’s name in any argument, automatically loses the debate”. I’ve never believed that to be true in all cases, but the idea that associating your opponent with a vile ideology can change the subject when losing an argument is certainly not new. Lawyers and spin meisters are well acquainted with the concept and employ it all the time. You’d think more people would catch on, but once you become addicted to hopiates, you can start hallucinating that people who disagree with your dreams aren’t merely stupid after all, they are actually evil racists as well.
And since those who rode Obama’s “return to Camelot” train in the greatest number were the youngest passengers and didn’t understand it was a disastrous return trip to a dangerous illusion, they don’t have the advantage of hindsight.

At least I’m in good company now that you can be put on the racist list without actually being white. As a kid, it was my understanding that only white people could be racists. Of course that wasn’t true, but the new racism definition includes anyone who disagrees with liberal dogma on “healthcare reform” and the “failure” of capitalism and freedom. Our recalcitrance stems from a racist hatred of President Obama according to Billy Carter’s slower brother.

To stand as a fellow racist with the likes of Thomas Sowell, Walter Williams, Ward Connerly and Larry Elder is an honor. Anyone who is familiar with these luminary Americans and still utters racial epithets about others doesn’t have a problem with political correctness, they have a problem with rational thought.

I’ve been fortunate enough to have been in the same room and actually spoken with three of them (I’m still waiting for the chance to shake hands with Dr. Sowell) but until this connection was established by our rabbit fearing ex-President, the personal association ended there. They have graced the page on this blog, not because they happen to be black, (and now are fellow racists) but because they share my love for freedom and happen to be smarter and better at communicating that virtue than I am.

A few years ago I had the privilege of a short chat with Larry Elder after hearing him speak at a dinner gathering. I asked him a question which had puzzled me since I became a “born again” freedom advocate many years ago. It seemed to me, I told him, that the most natural constituency for the ideas of liberty in this country ought to have been the people to whom it had been systematically denied. That is to ask, why aren’t black people as a group the most vocal proponents of freedom in our society? After all, some of the best spokesmen for liberty today, are immigrants from Eastern European countries and various other kleptocracies around the globe. Those who have been abused the most, often defend it the best. Witness Svetlana Kunin, etal.

Larry's answer then was as honest as he is, he didn’t know. And I still don’t know. So I guess it’s only logical that as individuals, the above named people are some of the best defenders we could hope for even if the group's political leanings still have me befuddled.

Now that we have a President of color for the first time, it should have been a slam dunk for freedom based solutions to our various problems. Instead, we elected a man who dines at the statism table and seeks to re-enslave people, this time without regard to skin color. I guess the idea is that, you don’t solve servitude as if it were a problem, but instead ensure that all people are equally enslaved in the name of fairness. The slave masters this time around will be big government czars instead of whip wielding cotton farmers.

It’s the same approach these folks have on poverty and the results will be the same. I’m afraid the people who will suffer most will be the people who support this replay of the horror story with the highest enthusiasm, that is to say, the younger people. That may seem like justice, but it’s like giving petty thieves life without parole. And in this case, the innocent will get the same sentence.

So, Jimmy Carter notwithstanding, the new “racists” mentioned above, the rude "shout out" specialists, and the sign carrying protestors at Washington marches of debatable size, are our best hope to avoid jumping into the historical dumpster with the USSR and all the other failed utopian nightmares that started out as the hopeful dreams of our fathers.

Reflections on a Tea Party

Even in the blurry photograph of clueless political operatives there are some who are astonishingly visible standouts.

That’s the observation I have made in the last few days as the "intelligentsia" of the media weighed in on the most recent government protests, which have been named “Tea Parties". I attended the one in Chicago last Wednesday but I won’t bore you with all the details because everyone who wanted to know anything about them has since found out how they have been portrayed, both by the detractors and the cheering sections. If you were one of those who suspected that you would have to sort it out for yourself because the folks who masquerade as jounalists misled their customers again, you weren't disappointed.

In the mean time, as I predicted (even while the event was still under way) the events were portrayed by the poverty and race pimps as Rich White vs. Poor Black.
I'm not bragging about the correct prediction, it was a no brainer.
You can read one such screed by a third rate actress, known primarily for her far left diatribes here. http://www.washingtontimes.com/weblogs/back-story/2009/apr/17/liberal-actress-says-tea-parties-were-racist/

Another quite notable reaction, even for a Chicago Politician, was Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) when she referred to her fellow citizens as “despicable”. She has since pretended that she didn’t mean the people who went, just the people who organized it or agreed with the sentiments of those who did.
She lied about that in my opinion. I’m not shocked.

We have arrived at a very sad place when the politicians are so arrogant they have no fear of possible electoral fallout for describing people as despicable when they simply disagree with her ideological policies. Despicable is a loaded word, usually reserved for people like Hitler or John Gacy.
Their message is clear. You are not only wrong, but evil. It was bad enough when the governed were held in contempt by the governors. Now the governed are despised.
All this from the party that promissed a new beginning of civil cooperation and hope.

One can only pine for the day she gets “Unelected” because of this, but it’s probably more of fantasy daydream than a realistic possibility in Illinois. If you live in her district and vote for her next time at bat, you deserve the contempt she heaps upon those she doesn't find despicable.