Stop crowing, Democrats

I'm considering getting back into the blogging game. Actually, I'm thinking of moving over to Substack, which seems to be the place where things are happening these days. But Memeorandum used to link to my stories here on Blogger. Consider this post a test to determine if the old crawlers still notice this humble blog. 

Here's the Substack. And here is another version of this post. I'm still trying to figure out how that site works. 

I'm as happy as any other anti-Trumper about last night's win for the Democrats. But this bit of blather is going a bit far, don't you think? 

Mississippi Democrats Break Republican Senate Supermajority: ‘We Are a Battleground State’

No, Mississippi. You're not. I wish you were, but you're not. Breaking the Republican supermajority in the state senate by two seats -- while remaining the minority party -- does not automatically transform the state into a battleground. 

It's fine to smile at a win, but let's not lose our grip on reality. 

I was quite amused to see Steve Bannon blather on about whether Mamdani is a "Marxist" or a populist. Rightwingers will never admit that Marxism is a dead horse. They are addicted to applying the dreaded M-word to anyone or anything they don't like. If the dog soils the rug, call the dog a Marxist. 

Sure, there may be a few young people who fling around the M-word for shock value. But those kids would rather saw off their wanking hands than read Capital -- or any other hard book, for that matter. On the right and on the left, most people seem only dimly aware that Marx wrote about money. They seem to be under the impression that his works have something to do with trans rights or overly-woke Hollywood movies. 

Mamdani? Not a Marxist. Sorry. He just isn't. 

He doesn't want the government to take over the means of production. (Does America still produce stuff? Sometimes I wonder.) However, he does seem to want rich people to pay higher taxes. Rich people paid a lot more when Ike was president. Was he a Marxist?  

Back in the day, the John Birchers said "Yes." 

Alas, their heirs now seem to be in control of the national conversation. Finding some way to undermine Birchthink is paramount. Right now, most of the population gets its news from sources so extreme as to make Westbrook Pegler seem like Studs Terkel. 

(If you recognize those names, you'll be copping to geezer-hood. Just pretend you didn't see 'em.) 

About Bannon: I think I ran into the guy, many moons ago. We both used to patronize a now-defunct weirdness emporium called the Bodhi Tree bookstore, located in or near Beverly Hills. (I can't recall exactly where the city limit was drawn.) I'd be in one room, quietly reading about Freemasonry or some such nonsense, and from the room next door I'd hear a bizarre sound like a bull moose in orgasm. It must have been Bannon, mainlining Evola.