Patricia Marx is an Ass

You want to know why a lot of people think the east coast (read: New York) intellectual class are effete assholes? How about these opening two sentences from Patricia Marx's brief "On and Off the Avenue" piece in The New Yorker on the arts and crafts store Michael's:

New York is rich in culture, cuisine, and commerce. The suburbs have parking spots and fast food, and they also have Michael’s, the largest arts-and-crafts supply chain in North America.

I love cities. I love the east coast. Outside of its sports teams (and fans) I love New York. I live in West Texas, decidedly not an enclave of the east coast elites. But I am associated with of those folks by background, by politics, by temperament and by preference. Patricia Marx, you are the reason why a mendacious drizzlewit like Sarah Palin can plausibly differentiate "real America" from her stereotype of a segment of the east coast. I hope you drown in a yachting accident. I hate nothing more than when my own side frags me with their idiocy.

Growing Paine

It appears that conservatives who are embracing Thomas Paine may not quite understand him. Yes, I realize I'm grabbing at low-hanging fruit when I assert ignorance on the part of Glen Beck and Sarah Palin. But it's not my fault that low-hanging fruit has become the face of modern conservatism.

Phelps, Parker, and the Conservative Divide

Kathleen Parker weighs in on the silly Michael Phelps imbroglio and in the process reminds us that one of the many divisions within contemporary conservatives is that between those with libertarian inclinations (which is where Parker falls on this issue) and the insufferable moral scolds (think Sarah Palin, and frankly, too many who have held sway among the GOP for the last generation). Of course Parker became persona non grata on the right for her supposed apostasy on the Palin question, which just served as a reminder that you'll never err in underestimating the open-mindedness of most within the modern conservative movement.

The Vet Who Did Not Vet

Heh.

The Corner on Palin

I just checked what the folks at The National Review's Corner where the commentary is, natch, supportive of the Palin pick. Lots of boilerplate, but let me make one point: Anyone who thinks that being governor of Alaska is comparable in status or accomplishment with being a United States Senator from Illinois is a fucking moron. (Further, anyone who claims that being mayor of an Alaska suburb is comparable to being a state legislator in Illinois is also, well, you get the point.)

One Heartbeat Away . . .

Sarah Palin? Really? I'll let Andrew Sullivan articulate what many will feel:

The Palin pick sure will win headlines. It wasn't competely out of the blue, but it's a little mystifying for one obvious reason. If McCain's entire argument so far has been that Obama is too untested to be president, then how can he pick a 44-year-old first-term governor of a state with 600,000 people with no foreign policy experience whatsoever?

What this means, it seems to me, is that McCain has decided he cannot win without Clinton Democrats, and this is his attempt to win them over. He has decided that he cannot win on the experience card, so he is trying to pick the change card. Palin's record on climate change is certainly impressive - and she seems a charming, capable person. She is certainly a different kind of pick for a Southern-based GOP. But McCain will be the oldest first term president in history with a history of health concerns. If America is concerned that Obama isn't ready, how could anyone say Palin is?

I am giddy.

Happy 72nd birthday, John McCain.