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Freak show #10

By DOUGLAS OLSON

Our partisan press

It's a safe bet that 99 of 100 American sheeple failed to notice one salient omission in media coverage of the sudden resignation of New Jersey Governor Jim McGreevey. Virtually no story included the information that McGreevy was a Democrat; his party affiliation was conspicuous only by its consistent, deliberately arranged absence. Some will claim that his confession as a cheating, closeted homosexual being blackmailed by a boyfriend whom he illegally placed on the state payroll rendered any additional party identification superfluous. But barely a month earlier, the word "Republican" was front and center in every report on ill-fated Illinois Senate candidate Jack Ryan's "sex scandal." (Only a Republican could be forced out of a race by a "scandal" over not getting sex from his own wife!)

 
How far we have come

• "You may have noted the fact that your dollar will not buy as much now as it used to. These figures show just how much it has shrunk in purchasing power in the last 26 years. In 1890, for instance, a dollar would buy 8.1 pounds of round steak; 9.3 pounds of pork chops; 8 pounds of smoked bacon; or 6.6 pounds of smoked ham. In 1915, the same dollar would buy 4.4 pounds of round steak; 5.4 pounds of pork chops; 3.6 pounds of smoked bacon; or 3.9 pounds of smoked ham. From which it is apparent that your dollar is worth today just about 50 cents." — Pearson's Magazine, August 1916

• The Tennessee Republican Party executive committee has strongly urged people to vote against GOP congressional nominee James Hart in the 8th District race, calling his views "abhorrent and outrageous." Hart advocates an end to welfare and immigration, as well as repeal of NAFTA and other "free trade" schemes; and he advocates "usury-free money," workers' rights, and a "War on Poverty Genes" by encouraging "less-favored races" not to reproduce. We may or may not buy into all those proposals, but every one of them was dead-center "mainstream" in America barely two generations ago — and now they are the mark of Cain.
 

Bitchcraft

• Olivia Watts, a "transgendered" Australian, is suing the mayor of Casey, Victoria, claiming he incited hatred against her religion when he "outed" her as a witch during their campaign for the office in 2003.

• According to the National Enquirer — which often gets there fustest with the mostest when it comes to stories Minitrue doesn't want to touch — political nitwit Barbra Streisand was invited to attend the Democratic National Convention but made such outrageous demands that she was told to stay home. It's reported that she insisted on a fleet of limousines, a platoon of hairdressers and makeup artists, hotel suites for her entourage, and an army of bodyguards; and that she even presumed to lecture the FBI on her unique security needs. She also expected the party to pay for everything. Her absence was later officially attributed to her working on her new movie, elegantly titled "Meet the Fockers" — but Enquirer sources say her part was finished long before the convention date.
 

Remember the 1992 presidential campaign, when George H.W. Bush's ignorance of the price of a gallon of milk cost him heavily in the empathy category? Why is it, then, that those touted as being the most "in touch" with "the people" are demonstrably the farthest away from any actual comprehension of the plight of Middle America? According to a recent TV Guide article, materfamilias Oprah Winfrey has spent $2,500 for a set of bed sheets and $100,000 for carpeting in her $2 million Chicago condo, and media spin-artist Katie Couric has a $3.2 million Park Avenue apartment and pays $600 for a haircut and coloring.

 
It's a free country?

• A Virginia woman has been fined $500 and sentenced to 10 days in jail for smoking around her three children. Tamara Silvius had been barred from puffing in their presence as part of a custody arrangement, and it was alleged that she violated that order last year. Her "light" sentence is predicated on a promise not to do it again.

• A Pennsylvania couple faces a $500 fine and up to two months' imprisonment for having an anti-abortion sign on their front lawn. Dauphin County says its ordinances allow signs only for "public, religious, and charitable institutions, and uses such as parks, schools, churches, and similar uses," with no individual right to free expression being recognized. Colman and Frances Wessel have refused to surrender: "Is it the pro-life words or the picture of Jesus they don't like?" asks Colman.

• By administrative fiat, the Federal Communications Commission has declared all broad-band Internet access services subject to the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA). All such systems will now have to be designed and built to allow Big Brother to easily intercept and monitor any communications.
 

The new Dixie Diet

A woman in Florida has been fired for eating bacon in the company cafeteria. CEO Kujaatele Kweli says the employee was warned twice that consumption of pork offended co-workers and clients, and admits that 99 percent of the firm's revenue comes from one Muslim client.

 
The real "threat level"

"Freedom is not defined by safety. Freedom is defined by the ability of citizens to live without government interference. Government cannot create a world without risks, nor would we really wish to live in such a fictional place. Only a totalitarian society would even claim absolute safety as a worthy ideal, because it would require total state control over its citizens' lives. This doesn't stop governments, including our own, from seeking more control over and intrusion into our lives. As one Member of Congress stated to the press last week, 'People who don't want to be searched don't need to come on Capitol grounds.' ...

"It is worth noting that the government rushes first to protect itself, devoting enormous resources to make places like the Capitol grounds safe, while just beyond lies one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in the nation. What makes Congress more worthy of protection from terrorists than ordinary citizens?" — Rep. Ron Paul (R-Tex.), August 9, 2004

August 20, 2004

© 2004 Douglas Olson. All rights reserved.
 
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