Thanksgiving Hiatus
"If marriage were outlawed, only outlaws would have in-laws." - Anonymous.
Since my girlfriend and I are not married, I guess it is appropriate to say that I will be spending Thanksgiving with my outlaws in lovely Little Chute, Wisconsin from tomorrow through Friday. Yes, I'm packing warm. In the meantime, please enjoy these new posts. I don't want any leftovers when I get back. Here's looking at you!
The Clash of Absolutes
The extreme nature of our political debate paints opponents as enemies and makes reconciliation of policy goals unlikely. But there's little hope that either side will tone it down. More...
The Real America
Republicans love to bash Democrats as the party of "urban elites," while they represent "the real America." What makes their America any more real than mine? More...
Strange Bedfellows Part II
Curiouser and curiouser. According to USA Today, the ACLU appears to have hired not only Bob Barr, but also very conservative former House Majority Leader Dick Armey (R-TX) as some kind of lobbyist/consultant. Barr might be crazy, but Armey is crazy like a fox, and ruthless as a rabid weasel. We apparently have him to thank for the Busybody Act (aka "TIPS Project") being dropped from the Homeland Security bill that Bush just signed, and despite his paleolithic views on a range of economic, foreign policy and social issues, it seems he is rather consistently libertarian on the kinds of things that the ACLU cares about. Adding Barr and Armey to the ranks can only help the ACLU fight its way back from the margins of the political debate at a time when we need their voice more than ever. Sure, Barr and Armey not my favorite politicians, but, as LBJ once said of J. Edgar Hoover, "I'd rather have 'em inside the tent pissing out than outside the tent pissing in."
As for Barr and Armey, you have to wonder what's in it for them besides a paycheck. I mean, they're Republicans - they can get money anywhere (corporate boards, think tanks, executive jobs at big oil companies, you know the drill). I'm concerned that payback will come when the ACLU files suit to protect the free-speech rights of anti-abortion protesters trying to intimidate women outside clinics. But then, they may have done that anyway.
9:00:12 AM 
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