I tend to look at Washington Post columnist George Will as one of those tame 'house' conservatives who doesn't dare get too rambunctious or else he won't get invited to the D.C. swells' cocktail parties. Perhaps I'm being unfair. But nevertheless, I don't read him all that often.

But occasionally he'll line one over the outfielder's glove for extra bases. Like this column here, that I pulled out of the sidebar a day or two ago. In it, Will talks about how the liberals shifted the responsibility for JFK's assassination from an actual person to a a vague, amorphous 'culture' or 'Spiral of Hate'. And he argues that it ruined liberalism, turning it into something warped and deranged:

The bullets of Nov. 22, 1963, altered the nationÂ’s trajectory less by killing a president than by giving birth to a destructive narrative about America. Fittingly, the narrative was most injurious to the narrators. Their recasting of the tragedy in order to validate their curdled conception of the nation marked a ruinous turn for liberalism, beginning its decline from political dominance.

Punitive liberalism preached the necessity of national repentance for a history of crimes and misdeeds that had produced a present so poisonous that it murdered a president. To be a liberal would mean being a scold. Liberalism would become the doctrine of grievance groups owed redress for cumulative inherited injuries inflicted by the nationÂ’s tawdry history, toxic present and ominous future.

As the poet says, read the whole thing. The JFK assassination may have been the first time that liberals blamed a national tragedy on 'right wing hate'. And they've been getting lots of practice ever since.

Posted by: Open Blogger at 03:45 PM | Comments (373)
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Posted by: Open Blogger at 02:27 PM | Comments (163)
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What is it with democrats and guns? 84 year old Obama supporter pulls gun on conservatives protesting.

On September 28, the women were protesting on the Steve Reynolds Overpass above Interstate 85 when they said that a maroon car drove by. The driver, the women said, pointed a gun at them.

The women weren’t the only ones to see the gun, though. Police also received a 911 report from another person on the scene–one unconnected to the protest. The 911 caller also noted the license tag. That was the help police needed to track down Smith.

The elderly man, Roy Smith, said he kept a gun in his car in case of carjackers, but apparently he thought it was useful for supporting Barack Obama, too.

Posted by: CDR M at 05:58 PM | Comments (679)
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And, Open Thread.

Posted by: Ace at 11:55 AM | Comments (85)
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Purely coincidental I'm sure.

A possible glitch in a computer system upgrade was causing major problems nationwide with the Electronic Benefits Transfer System on Saturday, as a countless number of shoppers found themselves stranded at the register.

Reports from around the country began pouring in around 9 a.m. on Saturday that customersÂ’ EBT cards were not working in stores.

The glitch, however, did not appear to be part of the government shutdown...

...People calling the customer service line were being told to call back later.

The federal EBT website was unavailable due to the government shutdown.

[UPDATE] A state official in Mississippi blames it on a "power failure" at a Xerox facility.

Upgrade? Power failure? Something else? UFO's man UFO's.

Posted by: Purple Avenger at 11:56 AM | Comments (443)
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...And anything else you maniacs want to discuss.

Posted by: Open Blogger at 10:14 AM | Comments (164)
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On the road. Hope you all have a great weekend.

ALSO! Yes, I forgot, there's a political thread down there *points down*

Cheers!

Posted by: Dave in Texas at 08:19 AM | Comments (108)
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[We Politely Request That All Off-Topic or Political Comments Be Directed to the Thread Directly Below This One, Which Will Serve Officially as the Current "Active Conversation" Thread for All Discussions Not Related To This Topic.

-- Sincerely, the Fascist MGMT]

Posted by: Open Blogger at 10:15 AM | Comments (300)
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The GOP made an offer to surrender to Obama with some terms. He rejected it and wants the unconditional surrender of the GOP.

Here's where the GOP should go next...double down on the fight.

Yes, there's a price to pay for continuing to wage the fight but there's also one to pay if you give in now.

Right now the GOP is losing because within an hour or so of starting this fight they began making more and more offers, each with more concessions to Obama. Why would Obama accept anything other than unconditional surrender? He's got to figure the GOP will get their eventually.

So why not try something different?

The GOP should pass a clean 6 week debt ceiling hike and...adjourn. Leave town, go home.

And then get back to reminding people why they are doing this...ObamaCare.

In the two weeks of the shutdown people are seeing the failures and horror of ObamaCare for the first time in practice, not just theory.

No Republican, from Boehner on down to the least likely to win next year challenger in a deep blue district, should appear anywhere across the country without someone who either tried and failed to sign up for ObamaCare or someone who tried and found out their premiums are skyrocketing and/or they can't keep their doctor.

When these Republicans get asked, "What time is it?" They answer, "This is Mary. She signed up for ObamaCare and her premiums have increased by......". When they get asked, "Aren't you worried about defaulting" they answer, "This Jose. Jose tried to sign up but couldn't because the system doesn't work and now he's going to face a penalty from the IRS because the government says he has to buy something but the government can't sell it to him. And that's why......"

Will it work? I don't know.

Is what they are doing now working? Not really.

Change the dynamic. Instead of going after Obama's strength, the process, go after his weakness, the so-called "Affordable Care Act".

If you do that for a few weeks, you still may have to surrender but at least you'll take a chunk of flesh from Obama's ass in the process. It will refocus the fight and standing up for the American people against something they don't like should help their poll numbers (if you care about that sort of thing).

People think time is against the GOP but it might just be against the Democrats if the Republicans can start to turn the focus. Make the Democrats play defense for awhile. Give Obama the chance to overplay his hand.

Right now the Democrats have the upper hand because they understand that the GOP doesn't want this fight. If the GOP embraces it and makes it clear to the Democrats that the fight is about ObamaCare and not how to end the shutdown, the GOP might be able to get something out of this.

You can say they shouldn't have started it but here it is. Either fight to win or capitulate in full right away (and don't pretend that's cost free). Half measures will only bring more pain for the GOP.

UPDATE: There are so many dynamics at play here. Now the House GOP is angry with the Senate GOP's attempt to screw them.

“They’re trying to cut the House out, and trying to jam us with the Senate. We’re not going to roll over and take that,” [House Budget Chairman Paul] Ryan told reporters. When asked if he felt “double crossed,” Ryan said “you look at the facts and draw your own conclusions.”

Senate Republicans, led by Senator Susan Collins of Maine, are negotiating with Democrats on a package to reopen the government and lift the debt ceiling into next year with relatively modest concessions for the GOP.

Ryan said House Republicans only learned the details about the plan this morning, and added that he strenuosly objects to it. When asked which parts of the plan he objected to, Ryan said there are “too many to go into.”

Now the Senate GOP, which mind you is the MINORITY, is trying to screw over the MAJORITY House GOP.

Mmm....I smell a Senate "gang" in our future. That's going to be awesome.

Posted by: DrewM at 06:19 AM | Comments (402)
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Let's Move! (safely)

Posted by: andy at 04:13 AM | Comments (223)
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