Heroes?

This is a picture I took this morning at the kids' book fair. What you see is exactly how it is displayed except you can't see the sign above that says, "Heroes". Do you think someone has an agenda? Could this possibly be a coincidence? I think not.

The picture says enough, but I can't resist. Make sure you look at the subtitle to Our Children Can Soar. (Click on the photo to see a larger pic.) I Thumbed through Tales of Famous Heroes, and here's a list of some of the individuals highlighted in this book: Rosa Parks, Barack Obama, Sacagawea, Nelson Mandela, Jane Goodall, Neil Armstrong, Muhammad Ali, Florence Nightingale, Billie Jean King, Sonia Sotomayor, et al. Guess who's not in the book: George Washington or any of the Founding Fathers. Perhaps the authors would claim that this is not a book about famous Americans (a reasonable claim, in that the authors' previous book, Tales of Famous Americans, does include George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Abraham Lincoln, et al.) But wait, they do include. . . . Paul Revere? Now, don't get me wrong, I'm a fan of Paul Revere. (Who doesn't like a guy who uses a woman's underwear, "still warm from her body," to quiet the oarlocks of his boat.) But no Thomas Jefferson, founding father and author of the Declaration of Independence? I wasn't aware that Billie Jean King has had a greater, more heroic impact on the world. Also, doesn't a hero have to actually do something? Typically a hero sacrifices something to make his/her impact. Rosa Parks? I get it. Mahatma Ghandi? I'm with you. Sonia Sotomayor? What the?!! (I wonder if the authors are on the same committee that awarded our illustrious president––also included in the book––the Nobel Prize? And to think, when he got the award he had even less accomplishments then he does now; unless you count dismantling the U.S. economy as an accomplishment.) Oh, and don't overlook Robin Hood and the Golden Arrow, always at the top of my list of redistributive heroes.

As for the Kennedy books. . . . I don't even know where to begin; besides, I'm out of Pepto Bismol.

A Shot Heard Round the Republican Party

We here in Utah just sent a BIG message to Washington Republicans: Be a true, principled conservative, or you may be done.

Utah's Republican State Convention was held today and Bennett, the incumbent, failed to make the primary ballot. Bennett garnered only 27% against Mike Lee's 35% and Lee Bridgewater's 37%. Bam! In 2008 when TARP was being discussed I remember watching as Chris Dodd and Barney Frank announced an agreement on a financial bailout and standing there was Bob Bennett. I said to myself right then, "Bob, you are done! The people of this state will never forget the image of you standing silent beside Barney I-didn't-know-my-"friend"-was-running-a-male-brothel-out-of-my-basement Frank and Chris I-only-included-those-executive-bonus-in-the-bill-because-Timmothy-Tax-cheat-Geithner-made-me Dodd in support of that atrocity of a bill, TARP." (You'll notice Chuck Schumer there as well; why would you ever want to be seen in that group?) He also co-sponsored a failed bill mandating all citizens to carry health coverage. He was also a big ear-marker.

Bennett was mostly conservative, but not conservative enough. Many wanted to keep him around because of his seniority status in the senate. My response was always: nobody in Washington is so important that they can't be replaced. Besides if it takes the sacrifice of one Republican to wake the party up, than hand me the knife.

I say, "Bennett, you had your chance and you squandered it. You spoke like a conservative west of the Rockies, but somewhere between the Rockies and the Appalachians you morphed into a moderate. Goodbye and good riddance. But don't cry. I'm sure your taxpayer funded lifetime pension and premium health insurance will soften the blow. We're not interested in politicians who merely slow the march to socialism. We need people willing to stand against it at all costs. You should have worried more about what we thought of you than of what your fellow Senatorial Country Club members thought. So long, farewell, auf weidersehen, good-by."

(Look at that picture. Boy is that worth a thousand words. Looking back, he may wish he weren't so tall.)