op-ed

I called Cindy over to the computer to read this op-ed. But she said "no." She has had to read a lot at work lately, so she didn't want to read anything on her all too rare evening off.

I enjoyed this op-ed because the author didn't pull any punches (he did the opposite, he really laid it all out there), so I offered to read some of the more memorable parts to her out loud.

That heightened her curiosity a bit, so she walked over and read the headline, "The Ugly Side of the G.O.P."

She immediately asked, "The ugly side? Is there another side?"

I wasn't planning on posting the link, but that comment left me no choice. Plus, there's a great line in there about Clarence Thomas. Seriously, where they find that guy?? George Bush senior will die a happy man for that one. Did someone pay off Thomas' family? Or threaten to kill his family? Did some Texas billionaire put $50 million in an offshore account for Clarence so that he'd be a constitutional originalist on the Court?

their conversation probably went like this:

Texas Billionaire - Clarence, listen to me, I'll put $10 million in a Swiss bank account in your name, and dag gummit all you've gotta do is be an originalist on that Court.

Clarence - Man, I can't do that. I couldn't write some of that stuff if I tried

Texas Billionaire - You won't have to. Every August, I'll call and tell you exactly who to hire as your law clerk. They'll do all of the writing for you.

Clarence - Come on man, I'm black, everyone's gonna know that I'm not really against affirmative action. Everyone's gonna know I'm being paid off. No one's gonna believe that I'm in favor of loosening search and seizure restrictions on police officers. I'm Black!! How am I going to look at my family in the eye after writing an opinion saying that it should be ok for a Police Officer to perform a full cavity search on a black man who looked at him funny? That'll sound real convincing, 'Honey, if we can't trust our local police, who can we trust?'

Texas Billionaire - I'll make it $50 million if you say yes right now

Clarence - Yes.

Texas Billionaire - ...

Clarence - Yes sir?

Texas Billionaire - That's my boy. Now do you want me to put your wife's name on that account?

Clarence - Let's not

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Also, isn't it surprising that people in the U.S. are complaining about Columbia University allowing Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to speak?

Just because he suppresses free speech in his country, doesn't mean we should do the same in ours

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Connors just wrote me a funny e-mail just now, here it is in it's entirety, "you know what i just realized and what is really funny - the same people that are bitching about obama not being experienced/knowledgable enough about things like foreign policy to be president, elected george bush, twice."

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The funny thing is that I used to consider voting Republican because of their economics. I was completely on the middle of the fence. I considered voting Republican in 2000 until I watched what I thought was a Saturday Night Live spoof of a Republican party debate that turned out to be their ACTUAL debate.

I don't think the Republican party stands for conservative economics anymore. They might define conservative as eliminating progressive taxes, and cutting funding for social programs. But they're certainly not investing our money conservatively. Here's the $1.2 trillion article again. We could have bought a hybrid car for every family in America with that money.

It's a fun little exercise to imagine $1.2 trillion, and think of ways in which it could have been used to benefit society.

And what is that $1.2 trillion investment going to pay us in the long run? A nation full of people who hate the U.S.? Hopefully I can keep taking my shoes off before getting on a plane. Maybe in a few years, after the millions of Iraqi refugees have been trained and indoctrinated by Al Qaeda, we'll just have to strip completely naked before getting on a plane, get fully cavity searched, and remain naked until we reach our destination.

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For those of you who don’t know Connors, he is a die hard Green Bay Packer fan. He likes the Packers more than anyone I know likes any sports team. More than Darayus likes the Phillies, more than Sticky likes the Knicks, more than Spencer likes the Gators, more than Jake likes the Sox, even more than Hambone likes the Pacers. (note, I didn’t include any Notre Dame football fans, they are brainwashed in an entirely different way, so you can’t really include them in a discussion of rational people.) Connors is a Packer fan to the point that I used to think it was ridiculous to be that much of a fan of any sports team.

(When I was 4, I started cheering for the Redskins because red was my favorite color. I’d get sad whenever they lost. I remained a fan until I became a teenager. But I’m 28 years old now, and I don’t give a shit about the Redskins.)

One night Connors told me what he’d give up for another Packers Super Bowl. It sounded so outrageous to me that I said to him, “Come on man, you’re going too far now. Stop and think about what you’re saying.”

He explained the statement, and today I am a Packer fan. (not to the extent that he is, but a fan nonetheless)

Connors if you remember the conversation, post it here. If not, then you’ll have to wait until you run for office in the UP for me to repeat it. People who feel that way about a place, and its people, should serve in their government. Too bad it’s not so easy to find them.