Friday Desk-clearing

I worked from home Tuesday and took a break to walk Baxter and vote in California's primary. That's Baxter wearing my "I voted" sticker and waiting for our falafel sandwich outside The Moonlight Cafe.

True to form, progressive Democrats apparently stayed home in droves for Tuesday's primary, leaving the more conservative Dem voters to decide all the ballot issues. Brilliant, folks! If you think that strategy is going to win back the House and Senate this fall, you're as delusional as, well...

...as the author of this letter to Editor & Publisher, written to praise Ann Coulter (no linking to that name, ever; this is a serious blog hygiene issue) for standing up for the rights of "bullied" conservatives everywhere. The letter's author writes (WAIT! clear your mouth of fluids):

...Many of us Conservatives have felt like the schoolyard kid constantly being picked on by the aggressive bullies (the leftwing bomb-throwers) ever since the 2000 election, so we cannot help but applaud the tough kid (Ann) who comes to our aid and punches the bullies back. We are tired of being beaten up.

Ann's words about the "Jersey Girls" was harsh, but no harsher than some of their own words. Who is questioning them? Ann's right. Do these "Jersey Girls" have extra credibility just because they sadly lost loved ones? No! But it's taboo to say so, because they are widows. Ann is pointing that out in a way that makes headlines. In a time when we shy away from showing "offensive cartoons" about Mohammed, it's refreshing to let it all out.

You notice the leftwing bomb-throwers never make the front page with their daily outrageous and hateful statements. The Right is tired of always being polite. I know I am!

Such delicate sensibilities for a member of a party that specializes in hate-mongering, xenophobic, homophobic, race-baiting rhetoric and controls all branches of government and the mainstream media! Dang, if we can bully you, we are a force to be reckoned with!

It's the end of the internet as you know it. This is why they paid Mike McCurry the big bucks! Telecomms win, internet users lose... What does it mean for you? It means that more and more things like this are going to happen. Blocked access, slowed access, selected access... But I'm sure it will have no implications at all for the frighteningly effective progressive "netroots." Only a really paranoid person would think Republicans are trying to hogtie the internet just in time to affect mid-term electioneering.

Types of justice:

Poetic Justice: The slandered and smeared Dixie Chicks debuted at number one on Billboard's pop AND country album lists.

Divine Justice: Ann Coulter, who in 2000 famously referred to Florida Democratic voters as "ignorant and stupid," has had to hire Bush's recount lawyer to fight voter fraud allegations (for trying to vote in the wrong Florida district).

Cheap Justice: Kill, maim, and pay off the families. "A chilling report from the Boston Globe on Thursday reveals that the amount of cash the U.S. military has paid to families of Iraqi civilians killed or badly injured operations involving American troops 'skyrocketed from just under $5 million in 2004 to almost $20 million last year, according to Pentagon financial data.' The payments can range from several hundred dollars for a severed limb to a standard of $2500 for loss of life."