George Will Is On His High Horse…

…here.

There has, however, been moral regression…The full garish flowering of the baby boomers’ vast sense of entitlement encompasses an entitlement to exemption from nature’s mishaps, and to a perfect baby.  So today science enables what the ethos ratifies, the choice of killing children with Down syndrome before birth. This is what happens to 90 percent of those whose parents have prenatal testing.  Which is unfortunate, and not just for them. Judging by Jon, the world would be improved by more people with Down syndrome, who are quite nice, as far as humans go.

For those of you who may not know, George Will is a very famous and highly visible conservative political columnist and author (he’s also written a couple of best-selling books about baseball–he’s a fanatic about the sport).  Will’s eldest son Jon has Down Syndrome, and Will’s written about him off and on over the years.

Will’s definitely of the Warm Fuzzy stripe, and the extent of Jon’s disability–combined with Will’s money and social connections–has meant that his son has been able to meet his full potential and then some. The difference that money and social capital has made in Jon’s life is driven home when you see the photos of Jon Will with former President G. W. Bush, former Vice President Al Gore, and Tommy Lasorda.

I wonder how George Will would feel if the money hadn’t been there.  If he didn’t have connections with some of the most powerful politicians in the US.

I had grabbed my laptop in outrage, but fortunately I didn’t have to respond, as some people did so very eloquently in the Comments section:

Mr. Will, I’m glad your son has been blessed with a loving family and dignifying job. It is also truly unfortunate that not all of the other 400,000 Americans with Trisomy 21 are able to possess the same circumstances…The other 399,999 people born with Down Syndrome are likely not collectively all as fortunate as your son. It costs significantly more to raise a child with a congenital birth defect. You said it yourself that improving outcome requires receiving “early and continuing interventions.” That costs a lot of money. You can decry the callousness of this argument, but there are countless families pitted in this very real dilemma. I can think of no crueler punishment to a family than to force them to bear a child they know they will not be able to ever adequately provide for. Having already financially strained families be forced to make even harder decisions to preserve the health and quality of life of their child doesn’t produce any winners. All I see are cash-strapped, heartbroken parents and a child not receiving the extra attention and intervention he so sorely needs. The only winner here is Mr. Will’s moral superiority… if you can call that a win

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…My wife and I were told that our second child might have Down syndrome, and for a few days we struggled with what we were being confronted with. I thank God that further tests showed that our child did not have the syndrome and we were spared the difficulty of making such a decision. I can’t honestly say I don’t know what it is I would have done had the situation been different. Because of that, knowing what it was like, I could never disparage another’s choice in this matter. I believe that abortion is wrong. I also believe that it is not for me or anyone else to make that decision for someone else. Not everyone is as strong as you in their beliefs. Not everyone has the character or fortitude that it takes to raise a child that will never be truly independent. A child that will always need watching because others might not be as kind as we would like. Others don’t have the financial means that might be necessary. All I am saying is, I admire you for the choice you made and the love you obviously have for your son. I just think that you should also have some compassion for others who may have made a very difficult decision that in your eyes is wrong, but for reasons you might never understand, was right for them.

—

While I believe part of Mr. Will’s point is people with Down Syndrome are not what many believe them to be, neither are they all what he believes them to be, not every family has the ability to offer the support that’s needed… 
 
Jon Will has had every advantage his family could give him. Not so for many, some of whom have ended up working in restaurants I’ve managed. I remember one man who knew he was going no further than washing dishes. His life was far from Mr. Will’s son–frustrated, unhappy, angry, not quite sure why he wasn’t friends with the other workers his age, but very aware that he wasn’t. 
 

… I find Mr. Will’s condenscension towards those who do not believe as he does in this matter intolerable.

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Mr. Will, I salute you and the Kennedy family for their dedication to their Down’s Syndrome children. However, you are very obviously one of the most entitled people in our country with access to the best American life has to offer. Some people are not as fortunate and cannot afford to care for someone with special needs, yet you judge them. I’m sure Democrats are the ones who funded projects to find reasons and treatments for Down’s Syndrome and other health issues. Did your son benefit from any of that funding? Yes, he and you did. So get off your almighty high horse and pay your fair share of taxes so some of the rest of us can benefit from improvements OUR taxpayer dollars made possible.

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 Does Will support the Ryan budget which cuts Medicaid and other support systems for the handicapped? Interesting that these pro-lifers want to reduce help for the handicapped and their parents, while insisting that the unfortunate parents bring to term this burden on themselves, the child and society. We can applaud Will’s celebration of his son’s life, but not his sanctimonious self rightousness that his is the proper way for all parents.

—

…Not every family has a breadwinner making hundreds of thousands of dollars a year as a celebrated columnist. Not every family has first rate health insurance. Not every family has the connections and resources to put a profoundly developmentally and physically disabled person into various therapy programs. Not every family has the connections to get his kid a job working for the Washington Nationals.  
 

Predictably, the authors are being shouted down in the Comments section.  Still, I’m glad they spoke up. People need to know that it’s hard out here for the families of people whose disabilities render them unable to progress or achieve independence.  

The Right Sees the Light. At Least, Some of Them Do.

Typically, I avoid the worst of the Neo-Conservative blogs and message boards.   Don’t get me wrong–I hate the Echo Chamber effect that’s so inherent on the Internet, so I’m all about reading opinions of folks that I disagree with.  But I decided a while back that I will only read the ones that are well-reasoned and insightful.  Too many of the far-right/neo-con blogs and message boards don’t even try to bring logic–or for that manner, facts–to the discussion (I’m looking at you, Free Republic!).

So imagine my surprise when it was pointed out on a non-political message board I participate in that LittleGreenFootballs.com, once one of the most notoriously far-right political blogs in the blogosphere, has moved to the left in the last couple of years, and now can be fairly described as a center-right blog.

For those unaware of this blog, Little Green Footballs gained fame for raising doubts about the authenticity of the Killian documents. These were the documents that 60 Minutes presented as being highly critical of George W. Bush’s service in the National Guard during the 1970s. The issues surrounding the documents eventually led to the firing of a 60 Minutes segment producer, the resignation of three senior 60 Minutes executives, and–some claim–the resignation of CBS anchorman Dan Rather.

I’m late to this particular party, because according to Wikipedia this shift occurred back in 2007. (I comfort myself with the knowledge that I’m not the only one to just now notice).  Charles Johnson (who runs LGF) says he is an agnostic and considered himself center-left before 9/11.  After 9/11 he started reading up on radical Islam and became strongly pro-Israel, anti-PLO, pro-Iraq War. 

But…he’s also always been anti-climate-change-skeptic and anti-Intelligent-Design.  In 2007 he started commenting about American conservatives being involved with neo-Nazi groups, and his disenchantment with the American right-wing has grown since then.

Johnson explains his shift in focus thusly:

Why I parted ways with the Right.

1. Support for fascists, both in America (see: Pat Buchanan, Robert Stacy McCain, etc.) and in Europe (see: Vlaams Belang, BNP, SIOE, Pat Buchanan, etc.)
2. Support for bigotry, hatred, and white suprematism (see: Pat Buchanan, Ann Coulter, Robert Stacy McCain, Lew Rockwell, etc.)
3. Support for throwing women back into the Dark Ages, and general religious fanaticism (see: Operation Rescue, anti-abortion groups, James Dobson, Pat Robertson, Tony Perkins, the entire religious right, etc.)
4. Support for anti-science bad craziness (see: creationism, climate change denialism, Sarah Palin, Michele Bachmann, James Inhofe, etc.)
5. Support for homophobic bigotry (see: Sarah Palin, Dobson, the entire religious right, etc.)
6. Support for anti-government lunacy (see: tea parties, militias, Fox News, Glenn Beck, etc.)
7. Support for conspiracy theories and hate speech (see: Alex Jones, Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Birthers, creationists, climate deniers, etc.)
8. A right-wing blogosphere that is almost universally dominated by raging hate speech (see: Hot Air, Free Republic, Ace of Spades, etc.) 
9. Anti-Islamic bigotry that goes far beyond simply criticizing radical Islam, into support for fascism, violence, and genocide (see: Pamela Geller, Robert Spencer, etc.)

The American right-wing has gone off the rails, into the bushes, and off the cliff.   I won’t be going over the cliff with them.

And much, much more.

The end result is that lot of right-wingers really, really hate Charles Johnson of LGF.  He’s not just (by their standards) a “dirty librul”, he’s a traitor to their Noble Cause.

Well, I say good for Johnson.   His list nearly perfectly mirrors the reasons why I stopped calling myself a GOP-er, only I did it towards the end of the GWB’s first term.   I would question his timing, as much of the crap Johnson references has been happening for a long, long time–since the Reagan administration at least (see points 1-5, and 9).  I mean, seriously, he only just now noticed the pro-life, anti-science, racist, bigoted bent of the GOP?!  

I suspect that the recent overtness of the neo-con hatred has gotten to the point that even a prominent right-ist blog like LGF can’t ignore it anymore.  Any GOP-ers that have witnessed the activities of the Tea Party folks in the last several months can’t help but be appalled.

LGF isn’t the only neo-con blogger to wake up and smell the coffee.   Balloon Juice, another prominent right-wing blog, started a similar shift a little while back, and the team of bloggers there has been refreshingly blunt in their criticisms of the current GOP leadership.  When you see kind words for Michael Moore’s Farenheit 9-11 on a right-wing blog, the feeling of disorientation is akin to that experienced while watching some of the better Twilight Zone episodes.

Anyway, these are two conservative blogs who, best I can tell scanning recent entries, have finally been won over by the facts.  Don’t think they are letting Obama off the hook, however.  At least their concerns with his policies demonstrate a willingness to investigate the issues and bring intelligent critical thought to them (check out this recent post on Balloon Juice about Obama and Afghanistan).  That certainly can’t be said about Hannity, Beck, Limbaugh, Palin, or any random Tea Party supporter.

 I certainly hope that these former neo-cons can make their voices heard above the cacophony being consistently delivered by the GOP  by way of the far-right crazies (If CNN’s execs were smart, they’d give LGF and Balloon Juice their own shows, directly opposite Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck).  I believe that there are many, many GOP moderates and liberals who want, nay need to know that they aren’t alone out there, surrounded by the crazies.  Those guys and gals are the hope for the future of the GOP.  Too bad the GOP is so beholden to its insane base that they scared to cultivate them.

EDITED TO ADD: My word, the Salon.com article that I linked to above has certainly got folks out there in Blogistan talking. Dennis the Peasant calls Johnson’s “parting ways” post “a complete load of bullshit” and superimposes his reasons for Johnson’s defection on the list. Robert Stacy McCain traces Johnson’s “descent into madness” to the attendance by certain right-wing bloggers at a certain not-at-all-racist-or-Islamaphobic 2007 conference in Brussels. Andrew Sullivan (currently one of my favorite conservative bloggers) calls Johnson’s post “full of emotion, but also honesty” and contributes his own list of reasons for leaving the Right back in 2003 (right about the time I did. huh.). And Metafilter (which has had its own memorable run-ins with Johnson over the years) seems to be taking an “we’re glad you’ve taken this step, but it’d be a lot more impressive if you admitted your own culpability in creating and supporting the current crazy-winger atmostphere you’re now abandoning” stance.

Having taken a little time to root through the old archives of LDF, I have to say I see what everyone’s concerned about. Johnson’s blog was a hate machine, pure and simple. He spent years calling people crazy and anti-American for debating a war and hoping for peace in the Middle East. He was a leading promoter of racist, insane ranting as a substitute for insightful political debate. Why now? Why is Johnson just now getting upset about the very things he himself was a part of?

Maybe the Peasant has a point. Johnson’s star has faded among the far-right, and with Bush’s wartime errors and crimes coming home to roost he can’t continue his warmongering. The only sane move, if he’s going to keep making money on his blog, is to start putting distance between himself and the crazies.

More and more, this episode reminds me of certain prominent neo-cons, like David Frum and Richard Perle and Kenneth Adelman, who spent ages calling for a war against Iraq despite all the best possible advice against such a move; once the shit hit the fan, they began blaming Bush & Co., while denying their own responsibility. Vanity Fair quotes Richard Perle thusly:

“Huge mistakes were made, and I want to be very clear on this: They were not made by neoconservatives, who had almost no voice in what happened, and certainly almost no voice in what happened after the downfall of the regime in Baghdad. I’m getting damn tired of being described as an architect of the war. I was in favor of bringing down Saddam. Nobody said, ‘Go design the campaign to do that.’ I had no responsibility for that.”

I’m rambling, but my point is this: if Johnson wants to be taken seriously by anybody, now that he’s abandoned the crazies, he’ll have to (a) do some serious mea culpas for the role he’s played in America’s political discourse in the past decade–he can’t pull a Richard Perle and blame someone else for his racist posts and warmongering, and (b) endorse some candidates (GOP-ers or Dems) who support his moderate-to-left views. His actions, in other words, are going to speak louder than his blog. Otherwise, he’s just a blogger than neither side can trust.

Congratulations….

Senator Al Franken, D-MN

…Senator Franken.  At long last.  I hope you don’t regret it.

Talking Points Memo has the rundown of the Neo-Con overreaction here.  I for one can’t wait for Franken to get onto The Daily Show with John Stewart.

No question that the newly-minted senator has an uphill battle in Congress.  It shouldn’t be that way, given that the GOP continues to get crazier than a shithouse rat by the nanosecond.  One would think that, given recent hijinks, even their base would be fleeing them, as rats flee a sinking ship. 

TheFoldBlog so ably sums up the last couple of weeks or so:

• “Thrice married and convicted drug dealer Rush Limbaugh blames President Obama for Sanford cheating on his wife.  Says it was so out of Sanford’s character that Obama drove him to do it.
• “Total psycho Michelle Bachman (R-MN) says the recently passed climate bill in the House was a choice between liberty and tyranny. Tyranny of course belonging to those who favored the bill
• “Former maverick John McCain, says House is almost an autocracy with Pelosi in charge. His dementia must have kicked in because he neglected to mention Republican Dennis Hastert served for 8 years.
• “Phil Gingrey, Republican representative from Georgia, compared Democratic rule of Congress to the governments of Iran and North Korea. Also compared Republican minority to that of the voices of freedom being silenced in those same countries.

And then there’s Gov. Mark Sanford’s recent hiking trip down the Appalachian Trail (I had no idea trail went so far south!).   That one really sticks in the craws of some Neo-Cons, because Sanford was one of the more vocal critics of Obama and the stimulus plan.  I imagine that, in all the spin that’s going on, there will be attempts to separate Sandford’s lying and cheating from his stand against Washington.

I swear, it’s like they’re  all paranoid schizophrenics, and they live in a world where “positions we don’t agree with” is equivalent to “assaulting children and blowing up the planet”.

I used to be a Republican.  I still want to be one.  But until the GOP remembers the values set by the likes of William Howard Taft and Teddy Roosevelt, even Eisenhower and Barry Goldwater–I’ll be over here, writing checks to MoveOn. org (who, ironically, seems to have values more in line with fiscal conservatism and the old-guard GOP than the current party does).

In Case Anyone Out There STILL Likes Sarah Palin….

I missed this story on Gawker.com when it was originally posted, because my dad had to be hospitalized that same day. Nonetheless, it’s finally come to my attention, and it’s evidence to me that the Palins are flakier than I thought:

Gawker.com’s posting of the John Coales’ Scientology memo

Who, pray tell, is John Coales. you ask?  One of Sarah Palin’s top advisors, and allegedly the driving force behind her “SarahPAC” (the organization dedicated to Palin’s future presidential ambitions).  A  Scientologist attack-lawyer and husband of Fox news anchor Greta Van Sustern, John Coales is reportedly tasked with using his political influence to advance Scientology’s agenda,  such as their war against psychiatry and psychology.  

Apparently the Powers That Be in Scientology decided that the Palins might be good recruits, because Coales managed to worm his way into the Palin camp.

To Sarah Palin’s credit, she was reportedly aghast to learn of Coale’s involvment with L. Ron Hubbard’s Ponzi scheme, and has since started to distance herself from him.   Which is a no-brainer move.  After all, few things would alienate Palin from the Neo-Con’s Christian-hypocrite base faster than thinking she’s a Scientologist (Mitt Romney already has had difficulty with acceptance within the Republican Party as a Mormon).

The fact, however, that this guy was not only in her organization but was the head of “SarahPAC” is yet another example of the stunningly bad judgement Palin and her cohorts are capable of.  

I’m sure Palin doesn’t have the resources to conduct extensive background checks on everyone that wants to help her out.  But Coales has been a vocal advocate for Scientology for decades.  Not knowing he’s a highly-placed Scientologist is like not knowing that Mitt Romney is a Mormon.

Scientology is already on trial in France, with prosecuters seeking to put them completely out of business on the grounds that the “church” is nothing but a front for criminal fraud (article in French).  In Germany, Hubbard’s scheme isn’t recognized as a religion at all (and neither should it be).  And of course, Scientology’s history in the United States  alone is uglier than homemade sin.

The United States has some of the broadest freedom of religion laws on the planet, which is why Scientology (and other cults) thrive here.   And to be honest, I like it that way.  Even as a Christian myself, I’m a strong believer that religious exploration is healthy.

However, it’s also dangerous, and Scientology is an excellent example of this.  Without question it is a criminal organization masquerading as a church, and should not be allowed to continue to operate as a church in this country.   I applaud the German government, and the efforts of the French, to once and for all bring this long-running con to heel.  And if Sarah Palin has any sense, she’ll do the same thing.