Ruminations

*Gosh, aren't you glad we didn't elect McCain, a.k.a. "Bush III"?

Why, if we had more of the Bush policies, we might be maxing out the national debt and sending our troops to fight a probably unwinnable war in a far country of no strategic importance to us.

We'd have a cabinet of lobbyists totally in thrall to the multi-national corporations.

We'd be governed by a rich boys club who think the tax code us common folks live by doesn't apply to them.

Boy wasn't that a narrow escape?

*President Obama, to his credit, maintained a consistent position on the Iraq war from the beginning. Unlike opportunists such Hillary who trimmed their sails when it appeared to be going badly.

So what's this Afghanistan thing?

Iraq is at the heart of the ancient Caliphate, rich in resources and population. Afghanistan is rough country good for hiding out in, but otherwise poor and lacking in resources.

Iraq has been conquered many times throughout history. Afghanistan eats armies.

Experience has shown Iraq can be pacified, if its people can be shown peace and security will follow.

In Afghanistan, raiding your neighbors - and those effete lowlanders, is considered manly sport.

To be fair, that could be a description of Scotland before my family came over. And Scotland was eventually pacified and civilized.

So all we have to do is to place a civilized but warlike nation, with ten times the population and resources, right next to Afghanistan.

*I see our new Attorney-General, Eric Holder has ripped aside the veil of silence and boldly tackled a subject we've been too cowardly to talk about.

"Though this nation has proudly thought of itself as an ethnic melting pot, in things racial we have always been and I believe continue to be, in too many ways, essentially a nation of cowards."

Wow, what an idea. Let's talk about race.

On second thought, how about we not talk about race for a change.

Of course I'm being sarcastic. It seems that all we do is talk about race. Like race is the single thing that defines us, more than say, character, intelligence, wit, staying out of jail...

Holder may have a point however. He went on to say, "If we are to make progress in this area, we must feel comfortable enough with one another and tolerant enough of each other to have frank conversations about the racial matters that continue to divide us."

OK, now we're talking.

Let's talk frankly about the fact that the difference in crime rates, especially violent crimes, between black people and white people is... "astronomical" is one adjective that comes to mind.

And explaining it away as a result of White oppression doesn't wash. Young black men are mostly killing and assaulting each other.

Then there's those nearly three quarters of black children being raised without a father in sight. Is this a recipe for social collapse or what?

The fact is, after every vestiege of legal oppression and discrimination has been abolished, Us White Folks are watching with horrified fascination what looks an awful lot like the mass suicide of an entire sub-culture.

Is that frank enough for you?

Thought not.

We're not ever going to "to have frank conversations about the racial matters" because white people are afraid that if they did say what's on their minds, they'd, 1) get called "racist" and lose their jobs, or 2) get assaulted.

Rumor has it that Asian people are not speaking their minds because, 1) their contempt for the both of us is really extreme, and 2) they're waiting for us to destroy our society so they can pick up the pieces.

*Dutch member of parliament Geert Wilders, currently being prosecuted in the Netherlands for his film "Fitna," was denied entrance to the UK.

An English newspaper called "Fitna" a "nasty little rant against Islam."

That's true only if you consider actually quoting the Koran as a "rant against Islam."

For nostalgia night, you might rent "Soldier of Orange," to have a look at what the Dutch used to be.

To see what the English used to be... almost anything made before and during WWII will do. Or anything with David Niven in it.