Mailvox: Carnegie and the columnist

CC wants more columns on “conservatives”:

Constitution? What Constitution? I didn’t think we still had one of those…

If we do, it’s not because of people like Ben Shapiro. His WND columns are an embarrassment to actual conservatives who unfortunately get tarred with the same brush because he calls himself “conservative”. But his most recent column about the FBI’s anti-porn squad goes over the top. I have asked him to point to the place in the Constitution that gives the federal government the authority to do anything about porn. Since the Constitution contains no such authority, I expect he will now write another column whining about how un-American it is to expect that the government abide by the limits spelled out in the Constitution.

But about your column of 12 September,… Yes, we have to remain vigilant against usurpation from politicians, but we also have to be vigilant against people like Mr. Shapiro who would give away our liberty in order to work against some perceived problem. I hope you will soon do an article pointing out that side of the coin.

I tend to agree, although there’s an awful lot of self-styled conservatives who have hissy fits whenever I point out that their “conservative” darlings are still low-rent big government whores despite the flower-print Laura Ashley dresses they wear to conceal their tattoos, piercings and assorted skin ailments.

To be honest, I haven’t read the column in question. One reason that my columns often seem to be out of sync with the news cycle is that I don’t read anywhere nearly as many columnists as I used to. Most columnists, myself included, have a few basic themes on which they tend to harp. But since most of them follow the news so closely, they can begin to sound basically the same over time.

I don’t think I need a break, not yet, but don’t be surprised if my columns start getting a bit eccentric. Bush-bashing is boring and far too easy, criticizing Democrats is like pushing a button to shoot fish in a barrel and there’s so many more interesting things worth discussing.

Or maybe I’m just hitting a caffeine low and meandering….