As IF Times

link Republican Congress: Good riddance to Pelosis compostable flatware at the House cafeteria – latimes.com.

This is such an entertaining piece solely on its own, no editorial needed.  It’s worthwhile to note that the author writes for the LA Times, usually a left oriented newspaper, so for an article like this to appear about the aftermath of Pelosi’s insanity is meaningful.  Rumor has it that Toyota Prius cars sold in San Francisco cater to the zealots there by offering models without right hand turn signals.  The amusing part of this article is the revelation that not only were the conservation measures not conserving anything, the emissions of methane from composting were actually more than any carbon residual.  Not only that but,

“…It turns out that the composting program not only cost the House an estimated $475,000 a year (according to the House inspector general) but actually increased energy consumption in the form of “additional energy for the pulping process and the increased hauling distance to the composting facility,” according to a news release…”

Actually, the Chinese solved this problem a while ago.  Only downside would be that everyone would have  to learn to use chopsticks.  People may want to think twice when some visionary decides it’s a good idea to make people contort their every day lives in pursuit of some quixotic green goal.  For example, the technique of imposing a tax on bottles has the desired intent of making people return these items to the recycler rather than toss them in the trash.  Sounds like a good idea, except that typically, people haul their recyclables to the depot in the trunk of their cars or SUV’s, burning gasoline and spewing emissions in the process.  For the sake of getting 4 or 5 bucks back for bottles, you spend maybe half of that on gasoline to get there (also subject to rapacious taxes ) plus having to jostle with the lineup of others doing the same thing on a Saturday.  This quickly gets tiresome and so eventually, you forsake the few dollars and just place them in the recycle bin for pick up.  Net, another tax grab in the name of green. 

The best part of the article describes the conscience assuaging descriptions of the food served during Nancy’s reign.

 “…One sign reminded you that the beef in the hamburgers was “humanely raised” and “antibiotic-free.” Other placards touted “cage-free eggs” and “rBGH-free milk…”

I guess you have to take their word for it, but never underestimate the willingness of the naive public to masturbate their conscience.  We’ve all been exposed by now to ‘free trade’ coffee, free range chickens and dolphin free tuna.  It’s only a matter of time before restaurants capitalize on these sensibilities and offer meat that has been offered by animals voluntarily.  We don’t know how Nancy structures her eating habits at home, but I would hazard to guess that a popular dish served is the Delusional Stew.   This is probably washed down by organic wine harvested from grapes by union workers.  Naturally, this will be expensive.  Not everyone can afford such indulgence.  For all the other believers, there is always Kool-Aid.

link Why is Karl Rove taking shots at Sarah Palin and Christine ODonnell? – CSMonitor.com.

The same kind of affliction that savages the left also exists on the right.  That is to say, neither side are completely monolithic in their worldviews and certainly strong personalities within the groups will differ on specific philosophies.  While the left claim to represent the common working man, the truth is, the dominant figures are unabashedly elitist and have as much to do with the common man as sweet breads have to dough. 

When you have uber rich people like Nancy Pelosi, James Cameron, Warren Buffet, Al Gore and George Soros telling people how to best conduct themselves, it’s a head scratcher as to why people who are actually working class,  would identify with them.   As if Warren can identify with paying a mortgage or feeding the kids.  As if Al burns fluorescent bulbs in his villas.

While they claim the high roads of compassion and tolerance, their most vocal proponents in the media have never travelled them.  Many couldn’t find those roads with a box of GPS’s and a guide dog.  It’s great TV to watch the insane outbursts of a Joy Behar or a  Bill Maher or the more subtle guffaws offered by nonsensical people like George Stephanopolous or Katie Couric. 

But no doubt, many saner residents of the left cringe when someone who claims to represent them spouts off with some irrational outburst; Keith Obermann comes to mind.  As well, the antics of the Black Panthers and SEIU are sure to send lefties scurrying to hiding their membership cards.

On the other side of the political fence, conservatives no doubt grimace every time Meghan Mccain, with her valley girl lilt,  deigns to speak for the right.  At the moment, there is an obvious rift between the ‘established’ right, represented by Karl Rove and the ‘new right’, represented of course by Sarah Palin.  Conservatives like Rove have to be careful because much of the elitist accusations that have been thrust at Democrats apply to the GOP as well.  I wonder how Karl felt about Ronald Reagan in his time.

Rove, while certainly a political genius, has spent all of his life in this space.  The disdain he shows for upstarts such as Palin and Christine O’Donnell smacks strongly of  elitism.  Like the other side, he is in danger of proposing that politics become a club for professionals only and that common people need not apply. 

This kind of mentality is what led to the decimation of the Republican party and which perception lingers in the minds of voters despite the reality.  Not everyone can be a professional BS’er.  Occasionally people with real lives are valid candidates.  The last thing we need are two elitist parties.