A jaundiced look at the world we live in.
From Andrew Cohen:
Former government lawyer John Yoo taking credit on behalf of the Bush administration for Sunday’s strike against Osama bin Laden is like Edward John Smith, the captain of the Titanic, taking credit for the results of the 1998 Academy Awards.
Perfect!
You should probably consult this study.
The data shows that over the past year, the private sector has added 1.7 million jobs. During that same period, the public sector has lost 404,000 jobs.
Just when we thought it was safe to go back in the (political) water….
The New York Times, American Constitution Society and other media have recently highlighted David Barton, a character I encountered back in my days at the ACLU. Barton has spent decades providing phony “historical” ammunition to the “Christian Nation” folks, the ones who populate Fox News and the 700 Club insisting that there really isn’t such a thing as separation of church and state. When it looked like the culture warriors were fading, I assumed he and the other historical revisionists had retreated into whatever strange places they inhabit; apparently, that was wishful thinking. According to the Times, Barton is the “favorite historian” of several of the current GOP Presidential aspirants.
Something tells me Barton and his ilk also have the ear of our would-be Governor, Mike Pence–a man who has never experienced humility or doubt, nor let inconvenient historical evidence shake his serenely theocratic worldview. Pence was the lawmaker who–when he wanted to strip the Supreme Court of jurisdiction over some of his favorite culture war issues–explained that Marbury v. Madison had been wrongly decided. (For those of you hazy on your history, that was the case that established the right of the Supreme Court to have the last word on whether an act of Congress was consistent with the constitution. And I won’t say it’s been established law for a long time, but the “Madison” of the caption was James Madison). Take that, all you smarty-pants law professors and judges!
With Pious Mike as Governor, Indiana can complete that trip back to the Dark Ages we just began with the most recent legislative session.
CommentsI have been heartened by the effort to get the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to retract its invitation to Donald Trump, who is inexplicably scheduled to drive the pace car at this year’s Indy 500. Granted that the invitation was extended before Trump’s most recent (successful) effort to embarrass himself, it was still baffling. Trump is one of those increasingly numerous figures known for being known, rather than for any contribution to society. (Granted, he is entertaining in much the same way a car wreck is entertaining, but I doubt that analogy was what the folks at the Speedway had in mind.)
Trump is the perfect “Ugly American,” a symbol of everything most of us teach our children NOT to be: pompous, uninformed, narcissistic, tasteless and erratic. If he has redeeming characteristics, I’ve missed them.
I hope the Speedway officials take the “dump Trump” movement seriously. Otherwise, this year’s “Greatest Spectacle in Racing” will be remembered as a different kind of spectacle.
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