Insane inmates; the asylum

I took some heavy flack the other night. My significant other says she felt imprisoned by an untenable ideology for the eight years of the Bush presidency. (We try heeding my grandparents and avoiding religious and ideological discussions across the dinner table at The Possum Den, but I occasionally cave to my impulsive nature and toss out provocative nuggets like croutons.)

“Flack” is a term from War II; high-velocity explosive shells aimed at Allied bombers; when they exploded, the sky would fill with lethal shards.

Pilots from that era described flack as “walking on the shrapnel.” I tiptoed through a politically correct apology for The Manchurian Candidate.

I caught a remark about “two weeks in office, and you’re writing this off. You secretly hope this turns to [crap].”

To quote Rhett Butler from “Gone with the Wind”, “Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn.”

The inmates have taken over the asylum.

I am up at sunrise yesterday, and some talking head says we’re already at “Stimulus Two.” I have used “jaw-dropper” as a past metaphor, but it never happened…until yesterday. Another trillion dollars? I slammed my jaw back into my skull, and screeched “Those people are insane!”

I have no insightful political commentary on the state of the Union. These people are insane.

I have absolutely no influence over anyone. Whether or not this doomed social engineering project lives or dies on my say-so is irrelevant. I know that collectivism has never worked, and never will. I know that my Dad was grateful to FDR for a make-work job as a forest ranger during The Great Depression, and I know Dad was more grateful he learned radio technology that prepared him for War II and brought him out of the Great Depression standing upright. He put himself through college as a master barber, because cutting hair is recession-proof.

I hope the Obama presidency fails. Don’t dare call me racist; I am blind. I hope it fails because I ask: How can socialism be good for the country? Ayn Rand said it first, and after careful consideration, I am inclined to agree. Collectivism has never worked. Inform me, please: what’s going to change? Is government by committee going to serve me any better than the collapse of capitalist enterprises that can no longer function in today’s economy? A forest fire burns clean. New growth emerges.

I’m a ground-pounder, like my dad. I have the right to disagree with my significant other. I hope this insanity fails. Socialist craziness has never served America well. I don’t worship little tin gods. If I see something significantly insane, I will not beg anyone’s pardon. No one will be well-served by the course of this government. I don’t need two weeks to see that.

Wait five minutes, and wait for the shit-storm to descend. I am no longer family-friendly; I am waiting for the apocalypse. The Manchurian Candidate rules!