"What's the Matter With Kansas"

Wow. Hard to say enough good things about this book. This is no dry political book, no, this has a character in it who has been elected pope by his relatives and supporters (about a dozen) in Kansas City, which apparently is a hotbed of religious wackiness. Plus, a suburb of KC is allegedly the site of the Garden of Eden and Jesus' eventual return, according to Mormons, if this book is right. Great details.

Also, thank you, Thomas Frank, for explaining to me how Vietnam Vets, of all people, have become right wingers. They were given the ultimate betrayal when they were sent or volunteered for a fruitless, pointless war, and yet most of the vets from that war I've met are radicalized to the right. They love to be tough guys; at the beginning of this current action in Iraq I was in a house with a vet and he was all over kicking the "towel heads'" butts. And, yes, that was his word for Iraqis. His display of macho bravado was incredibly off-putting, to the point where I wanted to ask him what pleasure he derived from the murder of a bunch of civilians and defeat of under-armed, under-equipped and under-organized Iraqi forces. I kind of said, "I thought war was hell?" and he was all, "yeah, for them!"

There was an implicitness, I guess, to the fact that when it was his turn, he'd been on the losing team. The one that was under-organized, whose goals were under-understood.

I just figured he'd have reserved a little human compassion for the folks who were on that other side this go round. Even if they aren't our buddies. Of course, as you'll see below, he wasn't exactly showing human compassion to the person who I would have thought was most on "his side."

Also, he got on my nerves because he was so gleeful and his woman, whose son might have been in one of those choppers on the screens, was fighting in Iraq at that moment and she was terrified. Tears streamed down her face and she was breaking down every few minutes. I mean, for God's sake, if ever there was a moment not to act triumphalist this was it, you macho jerk. I wonder if they're still together. I think the display of bloodlust by one's partner, when one's kith and kin have their lives put on the line during the scene that is prompting said bloodlust, is a definite sign that the partner is in desparate need of being dumped.

Lest I make this one guy out to be a raver, he isn't the only one. He's just the one who had Fox news on while the war was going on and I was around to witness this crazy, red-state style drama.

Anyway, thank you, Frank, I really needed that.