It Takes All Kinds - Local Edition

The following actually was scheduled for 11/12/2011.  I have no idea why it was not published.  Blogger must have hiccuped.

It still applies.

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I saw something last week that gave me a bit of pause.

Stationed in front of the local Post Office were a pair of young ladies with an obvious political message.  It was a pretty cold day for early November and you had to respect their passion even if you disagreed with their politics.

One of the young ladies was white; perhaps 'European' in today's vernacular.  The other was definitely of African extraction, although I have no doubt that she is every bit the American that I am.

The posters on display showed our President, Mr. Obama.  Bearing the 'toothbrush' style mustache once popularized by Charlie Chaplin.

And Adolph Hitler.

The accompanying text suggested that these young ladies support impeaching Mr. Obama for some reason.

I am pretty adamant about opposing that sort of hyperbolic imagery.  I thought it compromised civil debate when it was applied to Mr. Bush.  The same is true now that Mr. Obama is the subject of such criticism.  Neither one was/is even close to being in Adolph Hitler's league.  People with legitimate public policy disagreements should be able to agree on that much.

I suppose the other option was the young ladies were conducting a social science experiment to see how people would react.

I didn't stop to find out which was the case.

Incivility

The talking heads are all agog over James Hoffa Jr.'s Labor Day pronouncement where he offered the services of organized labor to 'take these son of bitches out.'  The 'son of bitches' being the Tea Party and other fiscally responsible people.

This is Jimmy Hoffa's son!  Is anyone really surprised that he would threaten violence to those that hinder his agenda?

What is disappointing this lack....thus far....of comment from Mr. Obama's administration.  It wasn't terribly long ago when a terrible rampage that resulted in several deaths and serious harm to U.S. Representative Gabby Giffords prompted the same people to lecture the nation...and the right in specific...on the idea of civility and rhetorical restraint.  A simple image using a set of crosshairs within a partisan exhortation to organize voters to vote was deemed too 'extreme' for civil discourse.

One wonders what they think of 'take these son of bitches out.'

Or is this more of the 'do as I say, but not as I do' that has long been the rage among the political class.

More via the Blogfather.

This response from Sarah Palin is spot on:

When big government, big business, and big union bosses collude together, they get government to maximize their own interests against those of the rest of the country.

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This collusion is at the heart of Obama’s economic vision for America. In practice it is socialism for the very rich and the very poor, but a brutal form of capitalism for the rest of us. It is socialism for the very poor who are reduced to a degrading perpetual dependence on a near-bankrupt centralized government to provide their every need, while at the same time robbing them of that which brings fulfillment and success - the life-affirming pride that comes from taking responsibility for your own destiny and building a better life through self-initiative and work ethic. And Obama’s vision is socialism via crony capitalism for the very rich who continue to get bailouts, debt-ridden "stimulus" funds, and special favors that allow them to waive off or help draft the burdensome regulations that act as a boot on the neck to small business owners who don’t have the same friends in high places. And where does this collusion leave working class Americans and the small business owners who create 70% of the jobs in this country? Out in the cold. It’s you and your children who are left paying for the cronyism of Obama and our permanent political class in DC.

When she talks about small business owners that create 70% of our jobs, I can't help but think about Mitt Romney's attempt at socialized medicine in Massachusetts.   They allowed big business to opt out of the statewide plan.  Big businesses get huge healthcare discounts.  Small businesses need not apply.

Government continually works on behalf of big business while expecting small businesses to foot the bill.  It is all about using political power in support of large....nowhere near 'majority' large....groups at the expense of the individual.

Our New Religion

Environmentalism.

Via the National Review comes this story from the NYTimes about how schools "encourage" students and parents to use reusable lunch packing materials.

I am all for using reusable materials.  I am not so hot on recycling because it is a pain in the ass where I live.  We do use the reusable plastic/fiber shopping bags in lieu of the "plastic or paper" conundrum.

And schools do have a role to play when it comes to reinforcing morals.

However, morality begins and ends at home.  If mom and/or dad decide that plastic baggies and paper bags are what you get, then it is up to the schools to adapt.  Not the parents.

Perhaps they should consider having one bin for food, one for plastic, and one for paper so that little Timmy and Tammy can practice recycling at school and skip the sermons.

'Cause..yeah....it has become a religion in some corners of the country.