Appreciating Van Jones

Charles Krauthammer excuses all of departed Obama adviser Van Jones' alleged political sins except his charge that President Bush was involved in the Sept. 11 attacks. He even says Jones was right about the racial dynamics of the green movement:

[C]ritics are scandalized that Jones once accused "white environmentalists" of "essentially steering poison into the people of colored communities."

In fact, from a global perspective, Jones is right. Environmentalists -- overwhelmingly white and middle/upper class -- have blocked drilling offshore and in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. From where do you think the world gets the missing oil? From the poor, exploited, poisoned people of the Niger Delta, the Amazon Basin and other infinitely less-regulated and infinitely dirtier regions of the Third World.

Affluent enviros are all for wind farms, until one is proposed that might mar the serenity of a sail from the crew-necked precincts near Nantucket Sound. Then it's clean energy for thee, not for me.

Jones' genius as an ideological entrepreneur was to mine white liberal anxiety -- they are quite aware of their own NIMBY hypocrisy -- by selling them the "green jobs" shtick to reconcile class/racial guilt with environmental enthusiasm, thus making them feel better about themselves.

Sept. 11 Songs: "Grand Central Station" (2004)

Mary Chapin Carpenter

Catholic Nun Shortage Eased In Maryland

Upset over the Episcopal Church's stance on gay and lesbian people, ten nuns in Baltimore take their wimples and go home to Mother.

Just Eight Years

Monkey Business

I have been tempted to think that the age of terrorism might be coming to an end. Then I read this partisan mush by Gary Hart and was tempted to change my mind.

Suspicious George

When Sen. George McGovern visited the Nixon Library last month, director Tim Naftali gave him copies of recently opened records suggesting strongly that Nixon aides Pat Buchanan and Chuck Colson were behind revelations that McGovern's running mate in his 1972 campaign against President Nixon, Sen. Thomas Eagleton, had been treated for depression. Outraged though McGovern may have been, it's hard to imagine that his campaign wouldn't have used intelligence about, for instance, Vice President Agnew's corruption. Saying that he hadn't known before that the White House was involved, McGovern (mild-mannered and gracious though he is said to be) speculated recklessly to "Vanity Fair" that President Nixon might have been behind the attempt to assassinate Gov. George Wallace:

McGovern pointed out that if you look at elections in a certain way, you could say that Ross Perot elected Bill Clinton and Ralph Nader put George W. Bush over the top. “In 1968, George Wallace had garnered 10 million votes and we figured that, running again in 1972, he might pick up as many as 20 million votes,” McGovern said. The segregationist Alabama governor had been campaigning with the slogan “Send Them a Message,” and it was assumed that his votes would almost all come from Nixon’s base, but on May 15, 1972, an assassination attempt left Wallace paralyzed from the waist down and he was forced to withdraw from the race. I was still wondering where McGovern was going with this when he came to a shocking supposition: “You know, Wallace went to his grave thinking Nixon’s people were behind the shooting. I thought at the time, ‘Well, George is a little gaga.’ But now … you have to wonder … ”

Brea Sky

Brea, California, 7:30 p.m.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Just Ask Sen. Sumner

Bill Handel, an LA radio talk show host with a reasonable center-left perspective, could only scare up one caller this afternoon who was willing to criticize Rep. Joe Wilson for calling the President a liar during a joint session of Congress. Everybody praised Wilson because they agree with him on health care reform, don't like President Obama, or some other combination of thoroughly utilitarian arguments. I wonder what Wilson's boosters think about the support Muntather al-Zaidi, the Iraqi journalist who lobbed his loafers at President Bush last year, is still enjoying in the Arab world. Exactly the same argument: The means justified the moccasins. Al-Zaidi will be freed on Monday. Maybe he should run for Wilson's seat.

I can be as partisan as the next person, but a cogent defense of Wilson is impossible, even on the substance of his remarks. I believe the critique of the health care bill's provision denying government-funded coverage to illegal aliens is that it lacks enforcement teeth. What a surprise! How many times have legislatures, no matter which party holds sway, passed spending caps or no-deficit measures they have no means or intention of enforcing? I'll bet Wilson even voted for some of them. Basically, at one time or another, they're all liars (please forgive the fleeting misanthropic indulgence).

Second, unless we want to look foolish to our own people and the world, civility must reign during a joint session of Congress. The American head of state deserves the respect we afford to his or her office. Throw out Congress's carefully tended rules of procedure and civil discourse because you happen to disagree with what the President says, and you help ruin democracy.

Third, Wilson just gave permission to the still-to-be-self-appointed buffoon who will insult the next GOP President. On Handel's show today, I actually heard a guy justify what Wilson did because some of President Bush's critics may have secretly enjoyed the shoe incident. What are we, in kindergarten?

A Facebook reader of this post tells me that Bill Handel, having voted twice for George W. Bush, is center right, not center left. Since I don't listen to him very often, I shouldn't have tried to pigeonhole him. Sept. 12: I just realized that an alliterative flourish of which I was so proud, "the means justified the moccasins," makes no sense. "The purposes justified the pumps" would've been better. Or not. One thing about having almost no readers is that one can err in peace.

Wilsonian Principles

The President's health care speech pleases congressional centrists. Meanwhile, on the left and right, the VP and Speaker's head movement language spoke volumes after Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) called the President a liar during his speech, which he shouldn't have done, number one, because it was offensive, embarrassing, and demeaning to the dignity of the United States and, number two, because it will be used as an excuse when a Democratic legislator screams at a Republican President (or holds up a sign, wears a rude t-shirt, whatever). In this day and age, civility is all too easily forfeited to the imperative of big egos and mouths. As for Biden and Pelosi, they looked at each other (whaaa?), then joined Obama in glaring in Wilson's direction, then got out what looked like a seating chart like the principal and dean of students at a high school assembly. Perhaps a disadvantageous office reassignment is in Wilson's future.

What Israel Is Banking On

When Israel's recent hint that it would freeze West Bank settlements, followed by the more recent approval of some previously approved residences, is followed by a real freeze (whew!), the U.S. is reportedly finally coming with the goods from the Arab side:

[Obama Middle East envoy George] Mitchell is expected to convey “gestures of normalisation” from a number of moderate Arab states in recognition of Israel’s settlement freeze. These could include the reopening of interest offices and some trade and tourism ties.