The Fitful Flog

For those who can’t be bothered with ranting: Barack Box Crease Pattern (2.5 MB)

It’s been a while since we launched into one of our trademark political rants and indeed, the evil of these times has been so oppressive that our obligation to denounce the manifold sins and wickedness of the present administration sometimes slips our mind. J’accuse, mofos.

It can be easily seen that this blog is written by one of those East Coast intellectual elitists you-all done heard tell about, down to the Wal-Mart. But now it can be told, we are descended from a long line of Indiana Republicans, at least on our mother’s side – the politics of Dad’s family are not as easily determined. Last time I was home, my father was telling a tale from the first years of their marriage, when he came home from work to find a volunteer from the county Republican party, registering my mother to vote. After introductions, the volunteer lady asked if my father would like to register. He said yes and asked with admirable naïveté, was she able to register him as a Democrat or did he have to go to the courthouse to do that? Mother was horrified, as was the party operative. After the volunteer left, my father said, “Why, Sal, you knew I was a Democrat before we got married.” “Yes,” said my mother, “but I thought you’d get over it.”

Indiana has been the reddest of red states for a very long time.  When I see Obama seven points up in Hoosierland, I have to peek outside for the Horsemen.

Anyway, my parents moved to western Massachusetts in the late fifties (the real Massachusetts, as we like to say, the pro-Massachusetts region of Massachusetts) and started hanging out with brie-eating elitist liberals, blacklisted writers and the local branch of the N.A.A.C.P. In no time, my mother was dumping the infant oschene and his brethren at the dairy farm down the road and going off to Washington DC, to march in favor of test ban treaties and civil rights and what have you. A very blue lady, but she’s still visibly embarrassed about what Dad said in front of the Republican lady.

The polls look good right now, though I am scarcely inclined to believe them. Ten days is a long time and the Dirty Tricks Team has a hometown advantage. Still, if all goes well, maybe we can get the NSA out of your browsing history and and next year at this time, you won’t have to read this blog though a proxy.

Get out there and vote! While you’re waiting in line, you can fold this groovy box. (I hasten to add, this is 2.5 megabyte file. You should only click on it if you mean to.)

Barack Box Crease Pattern