Rusted Sky

Let's see. If I were a dedicated Republican, I should be feeling... what?

The Associated Press: GOP Officials: Craig to Resign Saturday

Idaho Republican Sen. Larry Craig's decision to quit spares his party the embarrassment of an indefinitely prolonged scandal following his arrest during a sex sting in a Minneapolis airport bathroom.

Craig will announce his resignation, effective Sept. 30, at a news conference in Boise Saturday morning, GOP officials in Idaho and Washington told The Associated Press.

A good while back, I figured out that what goes on between two people (either of the same or opposite genders) in private is between THEM, and none of my business. Unless and until THEY decide to make it something that I have to pay attention to. Which is why I'm moderately bored and disgusted with celebrity shennanigans, and tired of sex scandals from both sides of the political board.

One thing I expect from an adult is the ability to refrain from impulsive, STUPID behavior. And also to show sufficient integrity to NOT indulge themselves in behavior that would discredit the work that they're attempting to do. If you're in a high-visibility position, you should act like you're being watched and judged 24/7/365, not go trolling in bathrooms for a quickie.

Now, if I were of a heavy political, moralistic bent, I suppose I should be up in arms about the actions of Sen. Craig. I should be so offended by his stupidity that I'd cross any Republican off my list of potential votes. This would mean, I suppose, that I'd either vote for one-off candidates from the Green or Libertarian or other No-Chance-In-Hell faction, which would give Democrats an advantage.

So, the Dems will make great political hay out of this to feed their Donkeys.

But I don't work that way. Sex scandal? Like I said - no biggie in my book. There are issues far more important to me than little bits and pieces of personal embarrasment. The issue which is of overwhelming, primary concern right now is the WoT. ALL else is of secondary importance. I'm not concerned with government support of stem cell research, I'm not obsessed with global warming and what the government should do about it, I'm not concerned about abortion or the morality and legality thereof - though after the little guy was born I'm seeing it much more as a sad thing, it's in the end a matter of personal choice.

I'm moderately concerned about a loss of freedoms - but those freedoms aren't the ones that liberals seem concerned with. I have no qualms about government tapping of suspected terrorists. I have no problems with profiling to help detect potential terrorists. I DO have a problem with the censorship of ideas - and it seems that the left (with their insistance that there be no potential cultural offense regarding Islam) is pushing hard on that.

A quick aside on that - have you noticed that there's been no real war movies in the last 5 years? It's hard to produce a war movie when you can't name the nationality, ethnicity or religion of the enemy you're fighting. After all, you don't want to offend anyone.

What the heck - this is stretching on a bit. May as well close with some song lyrics, that seem kind of relevant.

Steely Dan - Reeling In The Years

Your everlastin' summer, you can see it fadin' fast
So you grab a piece of somethin' that you think is gonna last
Well, you wouldn't even know a diamond if you held it in your hand
The things you think are precious I can't understand

(refrain)

Are you reelin' in the years, stowin' away the time
Are you gatherin' up the tears, have you had enough of mine
Are you reelin' in the years, stowin' away the time
Are you gatherin' up the tears, have you had enough of mine

You've been tellin' me you're a genius since you were seventeen
In all the time I've known you, I still don't know what you mean
The weekend at the college didn't turn out like you planned
The things that pass for knowledge, I can't understand

(refrain)

I spent a lot of money and I spent a lot of time
The trip we made to Hollywood is still etched upon my mind
After all the things we've done and seen you find another man
The things you think are useless I can't understand

(refrain)

The things you think are precious I can't understand

The things you think are useless I can't understand

As a culture we've tossed out a lot of things in the last 40, 50 years. Perhaps we jettisoned a lot of useless baggage and outmoded ideas, maybe some of the things we tossed had a utility that we're starting to realize. The older I get, the more I realize that a lack of boundaries for acceptable public behavior isn't freedom, it's anarchy.

When you have no direction, any random way is good enough. And for a politician, polls provide at least SOME direction. The endless summer of the Dems is fading - they have nothing except polls to tell them which way to go. They follow those, get a brief spike in support, and then realize their polling hasn't done them much good. Even Reid is starting to backtrack on his "The War Is Lost!" meme, which will infuriate the 'Reality-based' crowd.

The Democrats' time is fading, as is big-L Liberalism and 'Progressive' thinking - which seems much more involved in keeping a status quo of victimhood than erasing differences.

Reality can only be ignored for so long. And I'm supposed to be offended by stupid actions by a Congressman looking for love in all the wrong places...

Yawn.

J.