Hola Amigos. It's been a long time since I been rappin' at you.
As would say Jim Anchower of The Onion. Speaking of slackers, I put Ruben Mamoulian in charge of this blog in my absence -- on the principal that Frank Lloyd Wright's apprentices can do the work while the master sleeps -- and on my return, what is the young man's excuse?
Writer's block, Mr. Blaska.
That's like Aaron Rodgers finally getting a chance to play and he sprains a hamstring. Oops, a note of negativity. The 2008 Blaska is feeling good (I knew that I would!) Go Pack! There is magic in the air. On to Scottsdale!
The Truth is Out There, Somewhere!
Thank you, thank you, thank you, one Janet Lalor of Oregon. Her letter in Friday morning's fish wrap gives voice to the paranoia that is plank No. #1 on the liberal platform.
It is disappointing to see that our U.S. media are not covering the real story of the New Hampshire primary. Has everyone forgotten about the debacle of the hackable Diebold voting machines?
Poor Ms. Lalor has a fur ball because every reputable scientific poll showed that young master Barack Obama must win the New Hampshire primary by 9 percentage points. And then that good work of dedicated and true sociology and political science majors is undone by the untidiness of elections. Ick!
I knew that the Diebold Corporation was complicit in throwing elections to Republicans (viz: 2004 Bush v. Kerry). But that they now have been employed by Democrats, the party of enlightenment and hanging, dimpled, and pregnant but not aborted chads is too much to bear.
Then there is that freak of nature John Nichols, whose compass can always be relied upon to point true north at the north pole and true south where the penguins live. In other words, can he ever pick a loser!
Racism, he wrote
Barack Obama lost because the Democrats of New Hampshire are racist dogs! Yes, that is Nichols' spin. It is what Nichols calls the "Bradley effect." Supposedly, former Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley was the pollsters' favorite to win as governor of California, only to be bested by George Deukmejian , a Republican.
... White voters, not wanting to be though of as prejudiced against an African-American candidate, told pollsters they were for Bradley when the had always planed to vote for Duekmejian.
People! Think about this! I know that the editorial page cartoonists' trope on this is the pollster appears at your doorstep with a clipboard. But the truth is, they telephone. Why the hell would you tell some unseen person you were going to vote for Tom Bradley/Barack Obama when you had the perfectly good intention of voting for someone else; in the latter case, another liberal Democrat? How does voting for Hillary Clinton mark you as a racist in the Roper poll?
So we've got two wingbat theories at work here: black ops (the Lalor theory of devious machines) or down and dirty racism (the Nichols theory). Both pollute our political process.
Here is my prediction.
This little episode confirms my early-on suspicion: the Far Left will mau mau Hillary Clinton before the Republicans get a chance. Just as the Peg Lautenschlagers undid the Hillary Clinton of the Wisconsin party, Kathleen Falk. In a solid Democratic election year, Falk was the one Democrat to lose on the statewide ticket. Even Dawn Marie Sass (Ruben keeps saying he'd like to see Dawn Marie's Sass) beats Treasurer Jack Voight.
The paranoid Left's favorite in this hunt is Dennis Kucinich. But if can't win (he can't) then John Edwards. And if he can't win, Barack Obama. And if he can't win ... then let's go to Fighting BobFest!
And so Dennis Kucinich has called for a recount in New Hampshire. Paging David Boies. Briefcases on the ready! Wingtips on the tarmac. Shades of Florida and the never-ending election! This is a primary, for Chrissakes!
Contrast that to the Republicans' overwhelming congressional losses of 2006 in both the House and the Senate. Consider the razor-close margin in Virginia, where one-time presidential hopeful George Allen lost his re-election bid. No recounts, no recriminations, no lawsuits, no conspiracy mongering. Just graciousness in defeat.
Moving on without the org.
That explains the beeping noise
Ron Paul, hero of Bill Moyers, the Hard Left, and the Klan. As the James Kirchick of The New Republic reports:
Paul's newsletters didn't just contain bigotry. They also contained paranoia -- specifically, the brand of anti-government paranoia that festered among right-wing militia groups during the 1980s and '90s. Indeed, the newsletters seemed to hint that armed revolution against the federal government would be justified. In January 1995, three months before right-wing militants bombed the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, a newsletter listed "Ten Militia Commandments," describing "the 1,500 local militias now training to defend liberty" as "one of the most encouraging developments in America."
It warned militia members ... "Keep the group size down," "Keep quiet and you're harder to find," "Leave no clues," "Avoid the phone as much as possible," and "Don't fire unless fired upon, but if they mean to have a war, let it begin here."
Duly noted
George McGovern has called for impeachment. As reported on January 9 in the Progressive Dane... ah, never mind.
John Kerry endorses Barack Obama. Now there is the politics of change!
