Sunday, October 03, 2010

Don't Know Much About Christine O'Donnell

In an Op-Ed column by Frank Rich in the NY Times, titled The Very Useful Idiocy of Christine O'Donnell, Mr. Rich opined:

"O’Donnell’s value is the same as that other useful idiot, Michael Steele, who remains at the Republican National Committee only because he can wave the banner of “diversity” over a virtually all-white party that alternately demonizes African-Americans, Latinos, gays and Muslims." (Emphasis in italics mine.) Read here.

I don't know much about Christine O'Donnell, but I do know the Democrat Party is not now, nor has it ever really been, the friend of African-Americans. It took a while, about 30 minutes, but I did find a source for your perusal. Read here.

I also take issue with Mr. Rich's implication about the Republican Party representing the "Wall Street potentates and corporate titans" as if to contrast the good work of the Democrat Party to tax the rich into poverty as an essential strategy of its war on poverty.

There are a lot of points in Mr. Rich's Op-Ed column I would like to comment on, but I am but a simple man, not quite up to the intellectual level he is when discussing politics. Mr. Rich, there is a "real America" out here and it don't give a damn what you think about anything.

Scapegoat! Get your scapegoat here!

In a story about books in prisons, ACLU attorney David McGuire hits a nail right on the head. Read here.

"This is yet another case of politicians scapegoating expression as the cause of serious violent crime," said ACLU attorney David McGuire.

Now, let's replace one word with a short phrase. Replace the word "expression" with the short phrase "inanimate objects" and ACLU attorney David McGuire would still be right, regardless of the inanimate objects involved. But, I would suggest that the inanimate object or objects collectively could be firearms or a knife or a rock or a pencil or a pen or a porcupine quill.

The point made by Mr. McGuire is correct. I don't know how many times I've heard someone contemptuously parrot, "Guns don't kill people, people kill people blah, blah blah..." and so on with whatever clever ending to that soundbite they have.

The fact of the matter is politicians do a lot of scapegoating and not a whole lot of anything else.