An American Lion

Deadbeat Daddy Jon Voight Endorses Mitt Romney

2012-01-30T09:13:00.000+01:00

Wingnut actor Jon Voight has gone all-in for Mitt Romney, thereby solidifying his betrayal of the hard-right fans who have supported his many thoughtful and interesting op-ed pieces over the years.

His "tell me about it" quip is one worth highlighting, however. For him to suggest that he actually had an active role as a parent in the life of his daughter, actress Angelina Jolie, is hilarious. Voight's personal history is well documented. Angelina Jolie was raised in relative poverty because of his neglect.

He was yet another deadbeat daddy of the 1970s, which was a time when millions of parents basically walked away from their obligations and abandoned children left and right in this country. It took the work of family advocates and activists to establish databases that could track down these deadbeats and force them to pay child support (there's more about that here, but, please note, the laws didn't really get tough until the 1980s and are still not tough enough).

My question is, why even accept Voight's endorsement and then talk about family? How does that square with being a family values candidate and how does that contrast with Newt Gingrich in any substantive way? Why would Romney celebrate the endorsement of a man who ran out on his family obligations?

Step Back and Watch the Republican Party Destroy Itself

2012-01-29T18:39:00.000+01:00

It is somewhat amusing to hear that Allen West has been redistricted out of existence (well, something akin to that, anyway). The Republican Party establishment has a problem, and that problem is represented by loose cannons like West who have their own constituency and support (and therefore don't NEED the Republican establishment).

The GOP, like the Democratic Party, wants members who toe the line. They want members who have to swallow their pride and vote in lockstep with the party in order to get their money and their access and their seat at the table.

Getting rid of Allen West makes sense. The Democratic Party has a problem with Dennis Kucinich; they're simply two examples of the same issue.

Jonah Goldberg Cannot Handle the Fact That Bin Laden Is Dead

2012-01-28T00:12:00.001+01:00

If that doesn't read like someone's sad, sad confession into their tear-stained pillow, I don't know what would. You can practically hear the sobs coming from under the fainting couch.

Jonah Goldberg cannot handle the fact that this President kills terrorists dead. Does this mean that Goldberg wishes that Bin Laden were still alive?

The Bush Administration used the uniformed military repeatedly for visuals. At the height of the Iraq War, President Bush appeared in front of uniforms so often, you would have thought that the White House Rose Garden had been moved to Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

And so, here it is, 2012, and conservatives still cannot handle the fact that a Democrat is in the White House, killing terrorists and using our military to kill even more of them at a faster and faster rate (which won't really solve the problem, but still). It contradicts everything the conservative media has tried to establish as fact for the last forty years or so, which boils down to "the democrats are weaklings who won't defend America."

Two words for Jonah: Mars, Bitches.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard Has a Bad Day

2012-01-26T10:15:00.000+01:00

Australia Day is a little contentious this year. Part of the problem stems from the fact that the protesters weren't entirely calm or polite because they're tired of having to protest all the time.

This poor woman, who is Prime Minister Julia Gillard, had to be dragged away, and lost her shoe in the process. And this on a day celebrating the country.

Hatin' Immigrants Is Never Going to Go Out of Style

2012-01-26T08:24:00.001+01:00

The issue here is a very simple one. The Republican Party, as personified by the likes of Governor Jan Brewer, can't survive unless it demonstrates that it hates illegal immigrants
more than anyone else. Despite the fact that hating people has never really been a great vote getter in the long run, and despite the fact that the agricultural sectors in Alabama and Georgia are taking a huge financial hit, this unhinged tactic has begun to run its course because people don't think demonizing poor people will make their lives better. And Jan Brewer can't survive unless she gets the occasional photo of herself wagging her finger under the President's nose.

Her base loves this sort of thing. You can figure out the rest.

New to the Blog: DISQUS Commenting System

2012-01-25T11:01:00.000+01:00

Even though I'm not convinced that this is a good idea, the comments are now upgraded to DISQUS. Let's see how interesting it can get.

An Expert In His Own Mind

2012-01-24T22:08:00.000+01:00

Contrary to popular belief, LTG William Boykin is not really able to "speak his mind." As a retiree, he has to watch what he says and does to a degree that would probably surprise most Americans. His "crusader" rhetoric is old hat, of course. No one really believes there is a crusade going on right now; we're disengaging from the Middle East and our wars of choice didn't really turn out so well for Boykin and his ilk.

You can pass anyone off as an expert, but, really, what is Boykin an expert of? Certainly not diplomacy, common sense, or self-control.

You Have to Dance With Them What Brung You

2012-01-24T18:46:00.000+01:00

William Kristol wants to be able to push himself back away from the table at the club and look off in the distance and tell the assembled, hushed members of his enormous posse, "I knew we were going to lose to Obama, I just knew it!"

If Mitch Daniels actually was running, they'd be obsessing about his bald head (Mitt's got better hair!) and his lack of Civil War knowledge (Newt's our General Lee!) or his failure to put Indiana on the gold standard (Doctor Paul will Save Us All) or his inability to make the gays go poof! and run away (I don't know if Santorum has accomplished this yet, but he's praying to Jesus for extra powerful smiting powers). They'd be smashing his record, looking at his wife funny, or wondering why he isn't conservative and insensitive enough.

I mean, really. Indiana? Does Kristol think being governor of a small, failed state matters? I thought Bill Clinton was proof that it did matter.

The Republicans are headed for a demographic election battle that they can't win. They've demonized Hispanics for the better part of the last decade. They've insulted women every chance they get. They don't even bother pretending to hide the Confederate flags anymore. They can't get enough people who have skin that is darker than a whiter shade of psychedelic pale to even consider voting for their candidates. They are really, really good with the white, Southern males, though.

All of the traditional indicators of Presidential electability or re-electability are thrown into the air. People may not be happy with who is President but they're not going to embrace crazy and trust the country to someone who can't articulate anything past the usual dog whistle responses.

I mean, if the American people suddenly fall asleep or become collectively stupid enough to elect one of the four remaining Republicans to the Presidency, then it will be a four year ride with Mr. Toad on his Wild Ride, and nobody's getting off without skinned knees and elbows and a massive concentration headache.

No Question Anymore

2012-01-23T23:26:00.000+01:00

I'm sure that this will be written off as some nutty incident, but, really. there's no question as to what this was about. Someone, in that town, hates the idea of liberals, and hates the idea of cats even more.

Someone hated, in the abstract, no less, the idea that this liberal had a home with children and a pet, and decided to commit an unspeakable hate crime.

Someone had it in their head to do this, and write "liberal" on the side of that dead cat.

Someone decided that this would be a great way to spend their time, killing and mutilating a defenseless animal.

I don't know who that person is, but I can bet you one thing. They're in a place no one would wish on their worst enemy.

Red State Goes Straight For the Gutter

2012-01-22T22:07:00.000+01:00

These are the dregs. These are the commenters. These are the jabbering clowns who shit themselves over anything to do with liberals, liberals, liberals. These are the people who cheered when JFK was shot. These are the people who were obsessed with the fact that Bill Clinton had sex (but are shutting their traps when it was revealed that Newt Gingrich was a sex-crazed open-marriage perv). They want guns and bullets and shit going down do that they can come out on top. These are the people who know what the gun clubs were all about. These are the people who know what that dog whistle of racism sounds like.

Hey, it's all good. As the man says, keep it classy.

To them, it's about the horse race. Fine. Let's make it about the horse race. How's your side doing right now, Chumley? I guess when the possibility of taking back a seat in Congress comes around, you've got to get your jollies any way you can. But don't get all high and mighty when your side collapses and when your guys run for the exits and leave you holding the flaming bag of turds.

Never forget what this fight is really all about. It's not about finding good people who say earnest, hopeful things. It's about finding people who will fight these assholes every single day of the week and then stay up late on Sunday night and find a way to fight them smarter for another week and for the rest of the year. These bastards need to be marginalized, humiliated, broken, and scorned. They need to go back to Xeroxed newsletters passed around the American Legion. They are the scum of America. They're not worth one more comment.

Gabrielle Giffords Steps Down

2012-01-22T21:52:00.001+01:00

I Don't Care What These People Owned

2012-01-20T21:54:00.000+01:00

It's pretty clear to me that the authorities are trying to make these characters as unsympathetic as possible. Instead of a simple case of using the rule of law to go after people who are suspected--but innocent until proven guilty--of media file piracy, a complex game is being played with the facts, with the law, and with the extradition treaties of countries like New Zealand.

By making them appear in court in this manner--unkempt, wrinkled, dressed down, and sweaty--the governments of the United States and New Zealand are embarking on a campaign of destroying these men before the judge even has a chance to begin considering the case. We have been treated to stories about the property that was seized in the raids.

Who cares?

I mean, really. Who cares what these men owned? I thought that the media was supposed to serve as the gatekeeper between what they were learning from the government and what they felt it was important to tell the public. Was due process followed? Are the indictments clear and concise? Were proper procedures followed? Are the rights of the accused being protected?

It is nobody's business if they owned fancy cars or guns or anything like that right now. What matters is that their rights are not violated. Then the case against them can be heard on the merits. But the government knows that if it demonizes these men and destroys them before the judge can even issue a preliminary ruling, it will have, effectively, terrorized dozens of other "file locker" companies into shutting down.

This is what a chilling effect looks like, sweaty shirt and plexiglass and all.

The Gingrich Campaign Goes For the Swinger Vote

2012-01-19T16:57:00.001+01:00

Ethics are for the little people, of course. And 'open marriages' are just another euphemism for being forced to serve Satan while serving the American people.

Seriously, I hope Newt gets the swinger vote. Somewhere, Roger Stone is doing a jig.

UPDATE:

Rick Perry is now, officially, the stupidest politician in the history of the United States. Just as he decides to drop out of the race and endorse Newt Gingrich, he has to deal with the fact that Gingrich wanted to have an "open marriage" with his wife. Conclusion: Rick Perry endorses the second stupidest politician in the history of the United States.

Bruce Hood Uses a Phony Argument

2012-01-19T15:43:00.000+01:00

Bruce Hood seems to want to operate from the assumption that professionalism and integrity mean nothing. By using the "fight or flight" analogy, he fails to make a serious argument.

The Costa Concordia was a modern cruise liner and was, therefore, a major responsibility. Schettino demonstrated that he was an incompetent master of his ship. Not only did he take the ship into dangerous waters for the sake of vanity, he failed to ensure that he was safely passing through an area known for danger. He then failed to ensure that safety protocols were followed and lost control of his crew.

There are plenty of "captains" at sea who would have done their job properly and avoided transiting an area that has been known to wreck ships for several millennia (I wonder who his Etruscan counterpart was before there was a settlement called Rome). Hood's argument fails to merit consideration because there are a multitude of serious, sober professionals who would never place themselves in such a situation. And, if they were placed in that unlucky spot, they would have acquitted themselves properly. There will always be shirkers and bad captains; there are still plenty of goods ones who are forgotten because, well, doing your job the right way every day means you get to fly under the radar and get taken for granted.

This was not a military ship nor was it your average, run-of-the-mill seafaring responsibility. And so the real blame lies with those who entrusted such a grossly unqualified man with the Costa Concordia in the first place. This is why much of the blame and the lion's share of the vilification are being directed towards Schettino--in doing so, people forget that his employers should never have given him the job in the first place because he has done this sort of thing before. It fails to acknowledge that Schettino was likely promoted for his charisma and his ability to flatter his employers; somewhere, an Italian ship captain with far less responsibility is no doubt exercising vastly better judgement.

Hood fails to understand that Schettino was not "one of us." He was not a third-rate opinion column writer in the dying British media industry. He was not an idiot blogger living in Germany. He was not a crusty boat captain with a handful of desperate crew members. He was entrusted with the safety of several thousand passengers and over a thousand crew members. And he proved himself to be in over his head and unable to cope with a crisis that he caused in the first place.

Legal Insurrection Has Some of the Craziest Commenters

2012-01-19T08:02:00.002+01:00

Here are a pair of comments from William Jacobson's Legal Insurrection blog.

I guess I'm naive. I did not consider the possibility that Newt Gingrich should be elected president solely because he had sex as a teenager and because he's a ball buster. It simply wouldn't do any good to point out that, prior to 1995, the age of consent in George was 14, but, really, why expound on all of that? Wouldn't it be smarter to emphasize some other aspect of his candidacy?

This is why you have to scan right wing blogs. Missing this stuff would hurt too much.

Calm Down, Scooter

2012-01-18T23:18:00.000+01:00

I have to admit that this was pretty funny. But, it's really only funny to me because I make my way through all of this by trying to be up on current events. I knew Wikipedia was going dark and it didn't affect me because I don't really use it or rely on it. Shut it down for a month or two and then see if the masses rebel.

These people do rely on it, and when it was taken away, they lost their shit.

Why, though? Don't they know how unreliable it is? Don't they understand that much of what they go to Wikipedia for is copied or grabbed from someone else? And that what hasn't been stolen is usually written by someone who cannot write?

The best "meme" I've seen so far centers around people on Google+ trying to help some poor school kid (who is always called "Scooter" because he's a dope) do some project for school but he can't because Wikipedia had a sad today over censorship.

I am firmly against SOPA and PIPA, but I have a hard time accepting Wikipedia as an entity that is against censorship since Wikipedia is home to some of the most relentless and anal retentive censors ever known to man.

Rick Perry Is As Dumb As They Get

2012-01-17T21:01:00.003+01:00

Our NATO ally, Turkey, has a right to be outraged at the brazen stupidity of the Governor of Texas. Sadly, this is only the stupidest thing Rick Perry has said in a matter of days. If he understood the role Turkey plays in the security of Europe and in the region where it is located, he wouldn't say such things.

Turkey has a problem with Islamic fundamentalism, but it is not ruled by terrorists. Perry is too incompetent to know this. He would have to be fairly well versed in the leadership of that country and the difficult road ahead for the people of Turkey. The battle between fundamentalism and secularism is difficult for any country, and the United States knows full well what that means when it has to deal with the likes of Perry, Santorum, et al.

Unfortunately, this man knows nothing and he has demonstrated that he cannot and should not be President. He's simply too stupid to hold down the job. This is the year of the brutally moronic simpleton. The more drivel and nonsense you emit, the louder the claps from the brain-dead dolts who pull the levers for you. Anti-intellectualism is practically a requirement when running for higher office under the Republican banner. Yukking it up about God, furriners, and guns is your only hope.

Rick Perry yuks it up pretty well for a man like himself. And yet, he's still too slow to comprehend the fact that he was blown out of the water in Iowa and New Hampshire. In point of fact, he's just too goddamned dumb to drop out of the race; someone is going to have to hold his hand and gently lead him, smiling and waving, from the stage and into the ambulance with the padded walls and ceiling. Hopefully, he won't have any pens in his pants pockets.

Now, did he mean well? Of course. He meant to stir up anger at anyone different from us so that his tribe could select him to be their nominee for the presidency. He's no worse than any intriguing, loud-mouthed Turkish politician who is using fear and ignorance to shore up his power.

Is Rick Perry then very much a disgrace to the idea of freedom and democracy? Yes. And an ignorant one at that.

They Were Saying Bruce!

2012-01-17T18:33:00.000+01:00

I simply cannot believe that the Republicans of South Carolina were booing the fact that Mitt Romney has Mexican heritage. They must have been booing the fact that Mexico was allowed to secede from the United States.

The South Carolina Republican Party is simply too classy for such things. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to turn off the snark machine.

Stop Being Afraid of China

2012-01-17T16:38:00.001+01:00

I'm not about to join the ranks of those who fear the rise of China and who claim to see profound developments every time the Chinese government releases some new set of statistics. The world is still trying to get flatter, but the Chinese are still waiting to see what this new globalization looks like.

This means something fairly significant, however. It means the end of the peasant as the basis for China's communist revolution. The peasant is on his way to join the serfs, the farmers, and the tenants of yore. The peasant is no longer the symbol of China's present day reality. The overworked, underpaid, and unhappy plant worker is now the symbol of the new China.

China has a host of problems that undercut much of the recent developments that are coming to the forefront of world economic analysis and consideration. It is a potentially vast market, if only a company can get in there and sell and not see themselves copied or pirated. It is an engine for economic growth and progress if only it can keep its workers happy. It could be the home of the largest middle class on Earth if it can find a way to marry the rule of law to economic freedom and upward mobility.

Societies are measured by their standard of living. China's standard of living has to improve, and soon, and that won't happen unless a certain measure of freedom is granted to people. One of those freedoms has with it an inherent belief that there are competing economic theories as to how to maintain the viability of the largest middle class on Earth. That would be the choice between theory one or theory two, or the process of creating political parties. There has to be a choice because the state isn't infallible. The average Chinese citizen has to be free to choose one set of corrupt bureaucrats over another, if only for a while, so that there can be the occasional taste of what we call "good government" in this country. Progress cannot come from the current Chinese system because too many people are now completely and utterly aware of what corruption is doing to Chinese society.

That's why they need to be able to choose between one set of bums and another set of bums. There's no other way to get the bureaucracy to occasionally do the right thing once in a while.

If the average Chinese person cannot make a living wage while working in a large urban area, expect another revolution. The basis for the old revolution has shifted to the cities and has abandoned the idea of working on a farm for the benefit of others or for a a meager living. Whenever you concentrate a large amount of humanity in a manufacturing economy, social unrest and change are sure to follow. It would be a miracle if the Chinese people living in all of these expanding cities simply rolled over and accepted the exploitation that continues to create a pretty good economy from the outside that is, in reality, a hollow shell built on the misery and toil of a people who are rapidly reaching the end of their patience.

The Inevitability of Mitt Romney

2012-01-17T12:02:00.001+01:00

The only way the Republican Party is ever going to get rid of Mitt Romney is to let him run for President and lose to President Barack Obama.

This race will finish two careers. Both Newt Gingrich and Rick Perry are vying for the title of living laughingstock of the Republican Party. No two candidates had more handed to them and no two candidates did more to throw it away faster than these two did. Does anyone miss Michele Bachmann? No, of course not. She'll be the vice-presidential nominee.

Anyway, this is an interesting graph. It shows the moderate improvement in Ron Paul's support. Each and every time he spins his nonsense, another disaffected voter who hasn't been paying attention suddenly comes to Jesus and jumps on his non-bandwagon. There are many lost souls littering the American political landscape. Ron Paul is their Jesus. But he's a weird Jesus, and he won't take them to the promised land and he isn't going to do the loaves and fishes trick. He might get them to believe that he walks on water, but that only speaks to the gullibility of an uninformed electorate.

Anyway, after South Carolina, it's over. Romney will spend the rest of the year failing to adequately run for President. No one will be enthused by his candidacy. And when he's gone, he'll be gone. They'll never tolerate his nonsense again.

Representative Steve Womack Loses His Mind

2012-01-14T23:05:00.000+01:00

Meet one of America's worst Congressmen, Steve Womack (R-AK). Blue Arkansas tells us about how he deals with his constituents:

When forced to deal with the central conflict in the life of any anti-government Republican, Womack lost his shit in public. There's no other word for it--he lost his shit.

Womack attended college thanks to the National Guard. Service in the National Guard is a fantastic government program. It helps the military gain officers and it helps Americans pay for college. This is one of the best ways for our military to maintain a connection to the civilian world. And nothing strengthens a community more than an active, viable connection to its own National Guard members. So, kudos to Congressman Womack for having served.

Well, yes and no. Instead of being justifiably proud of his service, Womack became angry because Republicans are not supposed to get caught with that proverbial government teat in their mouth (yes, I'm going crude with this one). The unwashed masses who cannot get a good table at a restaurant on K Street are not supposed to point out that a government program helped a Republican; they are supposed swallow his bullshit raw and ignore the fact that he is where he is now solely because he used the National Guard to establish himself in American society after he failed to start his own intercontinental railroad and make a billion dollars.

Womack has probably built up in his mind a fantasy about pulling himself up by his bootstraps with no help from the gub-ment. And when that fantasy is shattered in public, well, that's him losing his shit in public. And his fumbling, bumbling aides were forced to try to silence the poor constituent who made the boss go off the deep end.

This is where America is really coming apart at the seams. There's nothing wrong with using the National Guard to earn a commission in the military and a college degree. This is the finest kind of service and the best kind of government program. It uses money to trade status and respectability to a citizen in exchange for meeting certain standards and serving in the National Guard. Every penny spent doing this well spent (and is repaid by producing a valuable member of society).

Representative Womack decided to drop his pants and crap on that idea. Good for him. It will make voters a little more savvy about his inherent personal contradictions and unresolved conflicts.

SPECIAL BONUS FEATURE: This video captures the emotions of the young lady who was yelled at:

The $680 Million Dollar Navigational Error

2012-01-14T17:08:00.001+01:00

The loss of life is, hopefully, not going to increase before they figure out who may or may not be trapped on board this behemoth.

Look, I can sympathize with the idea that people want luxury and fun, but this monstrosity is far too large to ignore. The problems that occurred when they tried to evacuate the ship are already being documented. There were no life boat drills (although I doubt whether they would have helped) and there were too many people panicking. This is due to the fact that the ship went black and listed badly. Looking at it now, it's a wonder people were able to get out at all. That ship is just too damned big to handle or manage in an emergency.

Someone made a massive navigational error. The waters off Italy are some of the most well-traveled in the history of human seafaring. Somewhere, a fisherman or commercial boat captain is wondering who allowed such a large ship to get that close to such a place.

A Failure of Command

2012-01-13T23:03:00.003+01:00

I've held off making a definitive comment on this incident because I really don't enjoy seeing stories like this in the media. There are always going to be examples where members of the military do things that are illegal, immoral, or just plain stupid.

You can apply all three of these things to what happened in the video. The illegal aspect is found in several areas--desecrating the dead violates the laws of war and this is a pretty clear example of conduct unbecoming of a Marine. It's immoral because this is not a video you'd show your mother (that's a wonderful standard by the way, and it should be applied each and every time you put something on YouTube). And it was a stupid thing to do. You have to ask the Marines in the video one question. What did you think would happen if this got out there?

Having said all that, there are some ridiculous ideas out there. Having served in the military but not in any war zone or in any capacity beyond occupying a chair because that was what we did (mostly) in my MOS, I can tell you that the ideas that are being perpetrated strike me as being the sort of stuff that chickenhawks bleat about when they want to act like they know something. Yes, war is hell--thanks for sharing. And bullets and blood and guts and all that really are unpleasant.

The main one that floats around out there is that these Marines are desensitized to the violence and the brutality of war and are just doing what all soldiers and Marines have done in war. There are certainly examples of this, but many of them have been enhanced by how we've viewed past wars through the popular culture. It brings to mind Robert Duvall in Apocalypse Now tossing down 'death cards' or Marines in World War II desecrating Japanese corpses as depicted in The Pacific.

However, what people don't realize is that the vast majority of soldiers and Marines have never desecrated a dead enemy's body or done anything like that. Quite the opposite--the tradition of the United States military has been to be respectful of the enemy dead and to punish anyone who engages in this sort of behavior. This is instituted at the command level and good leaders have always kept on top of incidents such as this. Bad leaders and poorly led soldiers always create problems, and this is just one example.

Repeated deployments are breaking the military--there is no doubt of that. But, on these deployments, again and again and again--good soldiers and Marines are doing their job without resorting to stupid things like this. Watching the media often enough will leave you with the idea that the military is full of loose cannons and people who are unprofessional. The opposite is true. The military is relentlessly and tirelessly professional, and that is because of the non-commissioned officers. In this video, you see an example of when the NCOs are not providing the reality check that is needed to stop things like this from happening. Nothing provides the framework of a professional military more than having one NCO keep other NCOs firmly in line. These men could have used one good NCO with the common sense necessary to stop this from happening. Officers are important, but NCOs are vital. And someone vital should have been there to stop what went on.

What you see in this video is an example of a breakdown of discipline being applied to a situation that no one was ever supposed to see. If they had had YouTube during the Vietnam War, you would have seen stupid things such as this video. It doesn't show pride; it shows contempt for the enemy. Someone had a half-bright idea and filmed it; that does not, in and of itself, mean that it's okay to desecrate corpses nor does it mean that it is a commonplace thing. I find it hard to believe that these trained snipers were operating with such contempt for their enemy. I would think that, for the majority of men who do that kind of work, the opposite would be true.

Anyway, you will hear a lot of tough guy rhetoric when it comes to this incident, and I'm not going to add anything more to it. The Marines will deal with this and that's that.

Do Not Mess With Democracy in New Hampshire

2012-01-12T23:30:00.000+01:00

I think that this about sums up where James O'Keefe is headed. Certainly not to jail or anything like that, but he is headed for obscurity because he and his associates simply cannot come up with a second act.

The reason why I don't think he faces legal jeopardy (beyond a slap on the wrist fine) is because New Hampshire is a conservative state and enough conservatives will bail him out. Someone will lend a hand and get him and his associates a scolding and probably not much else. If anyone tries to throw the book at him, they'll claim it is based on partisan politics and so I don't think much will come of it. I hope I am wrong, though. It would be fitting to see him in jail for a while.

New Hampshire is a very civic-oriented state. People know their laws and they are accustomed to the rituals of democracy. Serving on election boards and participating in the New Hampshire Primary every four years is part of the DNA of the state. People are energized by it. Culturally, they get what civics are about in most of New Hampshire. This didn't enter into O'Keefe's calculations, apparently.

If this does energize conservatives and liberals in New Hampshire to go after him, then it would be based on that civic pride that is evident in New Hampshire when it comes to things like this. Also, people don't much like seeing the names of their dead neighbors used by smartasses to make videos.

Is there anything more odious than O'Keefe, Andrew Breitbart, and Tucker Carlson snickering about how they "did it again?"

They didn't do anything this time except pull down their pants and use their ass cheeks to stir up a hornet's nest.

Scotland Sets a Referendum Date

2012-01-11T05:16:00.000+01:00

Is it wrong of me to think that Scottish independence would be a good thing? And isn't this the same thing as South Carolina seceding from the Union in 1860? Well, Scottish independence is a good thing, but it's not the same as South Carolina.

This whole idea of a "united kingdom" is laughable. It was conquered by force. It was maintained by force. So much force was used upon the Scots and the Irish that, by the time they gave up trying to fight for independence, a terrible amount of blood had already been spilled.

South Carolina was not conquered until it made war on the Federal government. After that, it was allowed to become a state again. Scotland hasn't had anywhere near the consideration.

I can envision an England, a Wales, a united Ireland, and a Scotland; four separate nations with cultural and political ties but their own governments and their own "home rule," which has dogged these poor people for many, many years.