More Delicious Schadenfraude, PLZ!

Elephant with Gun Labelled McCain

Yes, I laughed out loud at a joke based on a very unfunny conceit. Is that wrong and bad?

The more I read about how horrified the Repunditans – those most ultra-strident media voices screaming from the rightmost lunatic fringes on the far side of Genghis Khan – are with McCain’s success, the more I wonder at their blindness.

Because it’s becoming evident that the folks who’ve been voting for McCain are the moderates who’ve been whipped and beaten into silent acquiesence by the social conservatives of the Religious Right, and the independents who aren’t going for the Democrats. McCain must seem like the least of many evils to them, or possibly the only stand-up guy by their lights. And there seem to be more of them than expected. Huh.

I do wonder if everyone is going to realize that the “base” is… baseless when there’s no one slobber-worthy enough for them to stop worshipping at the shrine of Reagan.

» How the Republican Blogosphere Feels About John McCain » The Adventures of Accordion Guy in the 21st Century : Joey deVilla’s Personal Blog

Group Homes for the Socially Backward

Utah has its own Lost Boys, and needs to address the problem before it gets even worse than it is now. Fortunately, there’s some group homes that help them with life-skills, because some of these kids have never thought for themselves, never had a bank account, never owned a car, never worked at a job for anyone where they got paid a normal wage, never voted, never thought about going to collage or having a career.  The programs need more funding, of course, something that Utah’s not very good at unless it’s shamed into it by one of its not-that-rare progressive legislators. Wish this guy luck.

Salt Lake Tribune – Lost Boys: State needs to help FLDS refugees

They call them the “Lost Boys,” the mostly male refugees from the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. They grow up in the twin polygamist towns of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Ariz., where young girls often have been married off to older men, and many young males reportedly are deemed expendable.
    Some are turned out by their parents, with encouragement from the church, for violating the sect’s strict rules regarding dress, movies, music, substance abuse and fraternizing with girls. Others are turned off by their religion, and leave voluntarily.
    Either way, they’re alone in a world they find difficult to navigate, or even comprehend. Undereducated, unsupervised and ill-prepared, many of the Lost Boys become delinquent, or turn to drugs and alcohol. They need all the help they can get.