Folk Logic

"Too big for one's britches" -- I love this bit of folk logic ... describing someone whose ego is so large that it is making the decisions. This Roy Moore imbroglio has exposed hundreds with this puffed-up malady... John McCain, Mitch McConnell, the Washington Post, the RNC, Mitt Romney and most of the stage prancers in Washington. The only rational voice in all this cacophony of phonies is Pat Buchanan who says, "Let the people of Alabama decide."

This is a sensible solution to a nonsensical situation. When there is a he-said, she-said stand-off, I don't believe that it should be resolved by the hysterical national media ... particularly a media so obviously biased. The people of Alabama know Judge Roy Moore and, if they want him as their senator, then the rest of the swamp should shut up and say, "So be it."

The Harvey Weinstein revelations have unleashed a firestorm of copycat accusations ... most, likely true, but some opportunistic. Human nature being what it is, sex is always the imp hiding in many garden parties. This imp can be malignant as in the Harvey Weinstein case ... or just coquettish ... which is to suggest that this imp is not always male.

I have no idea where on the spectrum of sexual by-play Roy Moore's actions fell all those many decades ago ... nor, truthfully, does the Washington Post nor Mitch McConnell ... nor certainly  Sean Hannity's advertisers. So why not let the people of Alabama ... the ones who know him best ... decide if Judge Moore is too big for his britches?

TKO

Pat Buchanan said late last night that Mitt Romney won the first Presidential debate in a walk, “If it were a 16 round boxing match, Romney won 13 rounds.” I agree and I would even expand on his metaphor … it was at least a Technical Knock Out (TKO) for Mitt. In particular Romney said three things that caught my attention … and often went against his own self-interests:

1) Reluctant as he was to provide details about his proposals to broaden the income tax base, Romney did suggest one possibility … cap total itemized deductions at something like $25,000 or $50,000. This is a brilliant solution that primarily would impact the very wealthy and does not target any specific itemized deductions (which would create a political firestorm). For instance, Romney’s million$ of charitable deductions would no longer help reduce his income tax burden as in times past. To me this shows the level of true statesmanship from Romney … showing his rabid commitment toward reducing our nation’s deficits (and mimics my previous tax proposals ... see: Taxing Ideas).

2) When discussing what was wrong with the Dodd/Frank bill, Romney said that it did not get rid of “too big to fail.” This he said was a gigantic “kiss” to the five biggest Wall-Street banks (see: Huffington Post). What?!? Romney is conspiring against the gang that couldn’t shoot straight and that did a lot to cause the financial meltdown in 2008. He, of course, was right and I think it showed great courage to dis what is some of his financial support.

3) Even though Romney said he loved Big Bird and Jim Lehrer, he said he would nevertheless stop federal funding of PBS in order to help reduce government spending. I concur. Our government now gives this network close to a half billion dollars a year and this is supplemented by private donations; annual week-long auctions of donated goods; foundation and corporate largess; and now even actual ads of increasing length. Basically PBS is now a fully commercial network and Romney (and I) think that it is now time for our government to back away. Perhaps this would mean that some of the producers and personalities on this network would take a hit to their high six-figure take-homes (see: Big Bird Dollars), but I believe that they will easily survive.

I now look forward to the remainder of these debates with greater optimism.

Judas Goat

When processing plants want to slaughter sheep, they use a goat ... a "Judas goat" ... to lead them into the killing chamber.  They then let the goat escape but not the sheep.  Let me now draw my analogy.  MSNBC has a program starting at 6 AM called Morning Joe staring Joe Scarborough (and Mika Brzezinski) which has gotten quite popular.  Joe Scarborough is a former conservative Congressman from the panhandle region of Florida and has very often been an effective foil for the litany of lefties who are the mainstay of this show.

When Joe is away, the show is virtually unwatchable with its liberal demagoguery.  (Guests like Al Sharpton, Ed Schultz, Howard Dean and Charles Schumer make my skin crawl ... and recently, when Joe returned from a week off, he jokingly ask a smirking Mika what did they do with all the hammer and sickle banners.)  However, slowly, ever so slowly, Joe is being pulled away from his rock-ribbed conservative stances and too often now will start spouting off like James Carville.  He even recently has, without knowing enough of the evidence, accused and convicted George Zimmerman of manslaughter in the killing of Trayvon Martin.  Tsk, tsk. Joe, you really know better than this.

But what has upset me even more is that Joe did not defend Pat Buchanan when he was booted off the show last fall.  I don't think Scarborough necessarily had to resign over this black-listing of Buchanan, but he clearly turned his back on his compatriot -- one of the few intelligent conservative voices on his show.  Now, in order to hear a few of Joe's right-leaning repartees, viewers are now given quadruple doses of left-wing pap.  I'm beginning to get the feeling that we, as conservative sheep, are being led into that slaughter house called MSNBC by a Judas goat whose name is on the marquee.

Political Digs

I have be criticized for the sliming of Obama on this blog (maybe justifiably so.)  However, Willie Geist took a silly hypercritical dig at Mitt  Romney this morning on Morning Joe when he asked the Governor of Michigan, Rick Snyder, how tall the trees were in his state?  This was because yesterday Romney was extolling the virtues of Michigan at a pre-primary rally.  He said, among many things, that in Michigan  "The trees are just the right height." Has Willie Geist never heard of hyperbole?  Shall we ask Garrison Keillor of A Prairie Home Companion if the children in Lake Wobegon are truly "all above average?"

Now, I have generally found Geist to be even-handed and unbiased.  However, being inculcated on MS/NBC (the cable channel that has just blacklisted Pat Buchanan... see: MS/NBC Blacklisting) for all these many moons, I guess such things are inevitable.  And I suppose that he has to read what is on the teleprompter.  It's too bad that these inane slights against both candidates will have to happen in the run-up to the Presidential election.  (I'll try to do my part here.)