Attitude

As ever, Michelle Malkin is quite the charmer….

On one hand, she opens her column today (linked here) by addressing yesterday’s shooting at Ft. Hood by asking readers to “continue to pray for the [13] murder victims and their families, and the 30 wounded and their families” only to then launch into an angry screed—recall that Malkin is the vanguard of liberty who wailed last year about Rachael Ray’s choice in faux-Muslim neckwear in a TV doughnut ad--about how Islam is a religion of hatred, and condemns those who question her as lackeys of political correctness and multiculturalism.

What happened in Texas yesterday had nothing to do with religion, and everything to do with a deranged individual ambushing his fellow soldiers. It was a cowardly act. Yet had Maj. Hasan been a Christian, I seriously doubt that Michelle Malkin--and others like her—would be playing the “Muslims Are Evil” card today by using yesterday’s events to screech "I told you so!" in her column.

Even when taking possible mental illness into account, Hasan’s actions are brutal and inexcusable. “Attitude” had nothing to do with it.

Yet by the same token, only the most unethical among us exploits another's tragedy for the selfish aim of scoring partisan points, especially when the bodies at issue are barely cold.

But from Ms. Malkin and those like her, I have truly come to expect nothing less.

FYI

In case you were wondering, Grant Morrison's "Batman & Robin" rocks hard with a combination of smart dialog, good action, and interesting characterization.

I like it a lot...even with another tired He's Dead!/No, He's Not! plot twist via the late Jason Todd (AKA: Robin II) returning as Red Hood. It should feel lame, but somehow Morrison makes it all work.

Fort Hood

The wake of yesterday’s shootings at Fort Hood, Texas, some on the Christian religious right have taken the opportunity to use the assailant’s Islamic faith as an excuse to whitewash all Muslims as violent extremists.

However, aside from any faith (including Christianity) being vulnerable to corruption, such ideas are straight out of the tail-wagging-the-dog school of logic as ultimately people are responsible for their own actions just as US Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan was yesterday with horrific results.

Socialism is Saving My Ass

My late father always used to say that too much of anything is unhealthy.

This credo obviously applies to political structures (left and right) as well, as history has proven time and again.

As such, in the pitch battle on healthcare reform I’ve grown beyond tired of those wailing about a pubic option, much less any type of reform whatsoever – including basic, common sense measures at the Federal level barring insurance carriers from denying coverage for pre-existing conditions.

A frequent battle cry of health reform opponents is that they do not want socialism taking over the government. Fair enough. But I’ve got news for these people: the notion of a public redistribution of wealth via taxation keeps the United States alive as a nation. Not to mention, such redistributions of wealth are also what’s keeping millions of jobless Americans (including me; I marked six months out of work this week) trying to survive the worst economy since 1929 from becoming homeless.

In fact, had recent extensions in unemployment been allowed to expire on schedule this year, I’m unsure where I’d be living in the near-future.

The point is that basic socialism is saving my ass, as it is the bulk of the US economy. It is also helping those—including aged teabaggers wailing on the steps of the Capitol Building today—wringing their mitts over socialism on one hand, while with the other happily accept monthly Social Security and Medicare benefits.

Do I want a government takeover off all institutions vis-à-vis the former USSR?

No way, and I don’t fear such an incident occurring in the US either despite what House Minority Leader John Boehner, and the hair-pullers at Fox voice to the contrary. Do I also believe that current health reform legislation wending its way thru Congress as we speak is a perfect bill? No, it needs a lot of work.

But to those so loudly protesting any form of redistribution of wealth in the US—including property taxes that fund local schools, police, and fire departments—maybe you should first learn how the current system (albeit light years from perfect) has benefitted you at some time in your life when you needed it most.

Recap 2009

To sum up quickly, last night’s election outcomes were a mixed bag with a clear edge toward the GOP beginning with New Jersey governor John Corzine (D) losing to Chris Christie (R) in a race embedded in local issues including property taxes. The clear election of Republican Bob McDonnell in Virginia, however, was no surprise as he’d been polling strongly in the final weeks of campaigning.

The night’s one big win—albeit symbolic—for Democrats went to Bill Owens in NY’s 23^rd congressional district, a race in which out-of-state GOP rock stars (e.g. Thompson, Santorum, Armey) had lobbied hard for Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman, but ultimately had little effect in swaying local voters. For me, this race was the most telling, as upstate voters: a) elected the first Democrat to represent the 23^rd since the Grant Administration, and; b) apparently didn’t care much what Sarah Palin thought was best for their district – much less the future of Republican Party values.

So suck on that, Sarah Bear.

Personally, the one race last night which disappointed me was the narrow repeal of same-sex marriage laws in Maine. The final outcome was close, but as seen in the link above it’s disturbing to see anti-same sex marriage groups piously crowing the denial of legal marriage to others whose own marital status will have zero impact on their own lives beyond feeling creeped out.