Yes, Why?

Restaurant owner fined after
head chef videotaped
kissing and licking toads.

Yes, Why? Rachel Maddow (bless her) spent her program tonight reviewing three cases of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell situations and concluded by asking outright of Obama, if DADT is scheduled to be overturned, as everyone agrees it will, why does he not use an Executive Order to stay the proceedings in the meanwhile. I believe this is a perfectly reasonable question, Obama apparently does have the authority to stay the proceedings, there is no reason he should not do so, but it would require courage. It seems to me that if Harry Truman could integrate the U.S. Military against tremendous opposition from most of the population, because it was the right thing to do, Obama ought to be able to do the same. It is not clear to me just who it is he is afraid of upsetting, the far right (they will be upset no matter what he does about anything), Independents (I see no reason why all Independent voters would be assumed to be outraged), and certainly not his base. Strangely, it seems he is less concerned about his presumptive base than he is about Republicans who continue to spit on him at every opportunity. As every other major military force around the world has openly Gay people serving, why should the U.S. be any different? Oh, I forgot, we are exceptional. Sorry. There is a psychoanalytic concept called “identification with the aggressor.” I think perhaps Obama suffers from it when it comes to Republicans.

As utterly disgusting as our current political scene is, I think it will prove to be a most interesting election season. Republicans seem to think they are somehow going to take back the House and perhaps even the Senate. But the Republican candidates for office favored by the Tea Party are often being selected. As all of these candidates are so extreme as to be laughable it is not clear to me how any of them could possibly be elected (except perhaps in places like Idaho and maybe Nevada). And if they are elected I’m not sure what that might mean for the future. I rather doubt any of them could make serious inroads into the existing political establishment (as not everyone is crazy) but I suppose they could cause a lot of trouble. Democrats, who probably deserve to lose as they are such a spineless, timid bunch, may be saved only by the fact that their alternatives are even worse. Like I say, interesting.

I should mention the case of the vanishing sewer pipe, if only for personal interest material. When we bought this house, twenty years ago, there was a sewer hookup for a trailer located on the edge of the driveway. I clearly remember placing some boards over it and covering it up, never dreaming we would ever use it. Now, however, we have reason to want to use it and we cannot find it. I was certain I knew fairly closely to where it was. We even have old photographs that illustrate that location. But after two days of digging we have been defeated by this presumably stationary object. We simply cannot find it. It seemingly has vanished into thin air. We have no recollection of anyone moving it, or even knowing of its presence. It is a great mystery. Because it’s North Idaho I think maybe Bigfoot. I doubt it was flying saucers. Maybe the black helicopters from Canada coming for our lawn chairs? No, I bet Bill Clinton did it. Well, shucks, I guess maybe sewer pipes disappear every day. Who cares, besides me?

I am not one given to hero worship. Indeed, I am far too cynical for such things. But if I had to have a hero to worship at the moment it would have to be Rachel Maddow. Her show is the only thing I consistently watch on television as for all intents and purposes I have given up watching the idiot box entirely. I find it insulting and offensive in every way, the commercials, and the infotainment. Maddow deals only with the real nitty-gritty (except for an occasional misstep as her recent treatment of the fife and drummer nonsense), and truly confronts important issues. I believe she is now so popular and confident she may be occasionally getting “too big for her britches” (she does wear britches, you know). Tonight she presented Obama with a direct challenge, something along the lines of “are you a man or a mouse?” I think this may have been a mistake because now if he acts like a man and does away with the policy he will be accused of surrendering to Maddow, and if he doesn’t do it, he’ll be seen as a mouse. What is a President to do when surrounded by some people who can never be completely satisfied no matter what he does, and others that will never be satisfied with anything he does? Good question. If anyone has an answer please advise.

LKBIQ:
To see what is right, and not to do it, is want of courage or of principle.
Confucius

TILT:
In Asian elephants only males have tusks.