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Once Again with Tony Perkins

By Dan Brooks in Public Discourse October 13, 2010 5 Comments

"Not even a little bit. Never. Not once. Why do you guys keep asking me this? Is it my lips? I know I have expressive lips."

Perhaps you’ve heard, but yesterday a district court judge issued an injunction that stops the enforcement of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, thus A) ending decades of homophobic discrimination in the US military and B) reminding everyone that Congress isn’t the only damn branch of government. Tony Perkins is pissed. The Family Research Council President and lifelong crusader against gay rights, who is definitely not a homosexual, said in a public statement that “once again, an activist federal judge is using the military to advance a liberal social agenda.” First of all, I hope this doesn’t interfere with Mr. Perkins’s research. Second—”once again,” Tony? Let’s look at previous instances of judges using the military to advance a social agenda.

“The ultimate in complete agreement:” Glenn Beck and the John Birch Society

By Dan Brooks in glenn beck October 12, 2010 1 Comment

We’ve expended more than a few words around here trying to fit Glenn Beck into history—as an heir to Father Coughlin, for example, or more broadly as a populist in the mold of that Great Commoner, William Jennings Bryan. We’ve also tried to fit Beck into history the way you fit the cat into a carrier before taking him to the vet, trying to map his peculiar understanding of the American narrative or at least figure out where it come from. Those two lines of inquiry may just converge on the John Birch Society, as this interesting overview in the New Yorker suggests. Props to Mose for the link. In June, after Beck made a presentation on Communism in America, an essay on the John Birch Society website praised it as “the ultimate in complete agreement between the Beck and JBS presentations of American history.”

Friday links: Finally! edition

By Dan Brooks in Friday Links October 8, 2010 2 Comments

Certain events so confirm our worldviews that we can’t believe they didn’t happen sooner. Their actual occurrence seems almost like an afterthought, so thoroughly have we already integrated their essential meaning into our subconscious. In preparation for a weekend we’ve been anticipating since Tuesday, today’s link roundup is about the things that finally happened—comeuppances gotten, riddles solved, and least charitable assessments confirmed. It’s Friday morning, the now is happening, and Combat! blog is poised at the place where hindsight and foresight meet. Behold, the majestic links!

Polls show O’Donnell hosed for November

By Dan Brooks in Tea Party October 7, 2010 1 Comment

Republican Senate candidate Christine O'Donnell, making that face that certain people learn to make instead of a smile

If elections in the United States were decided by comparative media coverage, Christine O’Donnell would be Supreme Overlord by now. As it is, a new poll conducted by Fairleigh Dickinson University finds Christ-Od trailing her opponent, Chris Coons, by 17 points. If the name of that university sounds familiar to you, it’s probably because it’s the one from which O’Donnell falsely claimed to graduate—you know, back when that was the most alarming thing we knew about her. God, the irony is sweet. That’s irony, right? I don’t even know anymore.

Subscription-based firefighters watch as house burns

By Dan Brooks in corporatocracy October 6, 2010 2 Comments

Obion County, Tennessee homeowner Gene Cranick called the fire department of nearby South Fulton when his house caught fire last week, but the hadn’t paid the $75 subscription fee that allows county residents to use city fire services. Consequently, firefighters watched as his home burned to the ground, only interceding when the flames spread to the yard of Cranick’s neighbor, who had paid his fire subscription. Props to Bag-‘Em Ben Gabriel for the link.