Alex Massie notes another small advance of totalitarianism in Obama's America. Seriously, you don't expect this petty and ridiculous example of nanny statism to exist in the American West.
UPDATE: When I first posted this, I thought, "Is there anybody who will read it who might think that I'm serious by referring to an anti-chicken ordinance in a small Montana town is a sign of creeping Obama communism?" I thought it ridiculous, but decided to put in the "Seriously" line, as a tip-off to the few literal-minded scolds who might be out there. Show's what I know. Of the four posts on the thread right now, two of them think I'm serious as a heart attack. Here's one:
I started reading this blog with the hopes of reading an honest conservative who wrote germane posts on current issues. Note - those I consider honest guys on the left are Krugman, Delong, Juan Cole and the sort. This sort of thread if typical of what I expected on wingnut conservative blogs, and not what I expected from Rod. Just yesterday I read that Pat Boone thinks the White House is filled with vermin, and should be fumigated. Wasn't that the sort of solution from 65 years ago?ps. I don't intend to post or read this blog again. If this was meant in fun, my apologies, the author can email me and I will withdraw this post.
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Daft it is.
In my few moments of free time from working through the weekend and pulling 20 hour days, I overlooked.
My mistake Rod and my apologies.
Rod Dreher
:::points pistol at head, fires, falls forward into laptop::::::
That's the only thing you would ever have in common with Hunter Thompson and Ernest Hemmingway. Seriously
I would ask who is supposed to point what pistol at which head and fall forward into which laptop, but if you have to explain the joke a dozen times, it just wasn't funny in the first place. Ernest Hemmingway? Hunter S. Thompson? Crunchy Goodfellas?
Back in the summer (August, I think) I ran into a dear and good friend at a restaurant on a Saturday afternoon. I'm getting take-out for my brother and me, she's having her lunch. Amongst the idle chit-chat, I mentioned that my bro's property taxes were out-of-sight (the town property tax bills had just come out) to the tune of about $16K for 2 modest houses and 3 acres of land. Though we live in New England's bluest and smallest state, the town we live in is very up-scale, and, yes, the property taxes are extremely high (schools, it's "all for the children"). My friend is your classic country-club Republican right-winger. Her response to the out-of-sight tax bill?
"It's Obama's fault".
I'm struck by the clear and ubiquitous understanding that "insight" actually means "I've got that sucker in my sights, and I'm gonna shoot [his ideas] down!!"
Insight used to mean expanded understanding, the solving of riddles, mysteries and problems. If I were to pick one thing to mourn in the post-Internet world, it would be the lowering of both expectations and standards concerning the clarity of thought behind the words being posted.
There are two forms of sarcasm, both having validity within their appropriate contexts:
1) Emphasis of the point. For those who insist that sarcasm is only and ever the second form, the point is always the first casualty.
2) Derision. Admittedly, it is often difficult to draw the line between sincere expression of one's opinion of a thing and ad hominem directed at the other. I, for one, don't really care about that, because those who are stuck in this mode really are abdicating their responsibility to think for themselves.
The ego is such a fragile thing, eh Rod?
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