A DECEMBER BOUILLABAISSE

A DECEMBER BOUILLABAISSE

For those unfamiliar with the word in the title, it is defined as a spicy fish stew or a mixture of incongruous things.  It is that second meaning I generally aim for in my articles, although I expect that liberals, were they ever to read me, would think the first definition with its emphasis on fishy is more appropriate.

The reason that I can’t usually devote an article to a single issue is that there simply isn’t time.  Even as often as I write, I can’t keep up with all the madness.  Instead, as is always the case with those engaged in guerrilla warfare, I have to hit and run.

As I see it, America is standing on the ledge and all the Democrats in the street below are shouting “Jump!”  As if that’s not bad enough, the President and all his cohorts, including Mrs. Clinton, are urging America to take the plunge.

•   Good news is so rare these days I nearly fell off my chair when I read that General Robert Abrams had overruled an earlier officer, Lt. Col. Mark Visger, who had recommended that Bowe Bergdahl face only minor charges that, at worst, could have landed his sorry butt in the brig for no more than a year.  Instead, Gen. Abrams has decided that Bergdahl will face a general court martial and could wind up facing a life sentence.

Because the last thing that Barack Obama wanted was to have Sgt. Bergdahl found guilty of desertion, meaning that the President had freed five high-ranking jihadists in exchange for one traitor, I feared the military would string along with he who is Commander-in-chief in name only.  But at least one Army officer has managed to retain both his own honor and that of the Army.

As for Lt. Col. Mark Visger, I suspect he figured to wheedle a promotion out of Obama by insisting that Bergdahl’s act of cowardice and betrayal barely rose to the level of a misdemeanor.  On the other hand, I predict that Mr. Visger will inevitably find a second, more suitable, career serving in Congress, where buck-passing and butt-kissing are the order of the day.

•   A friend sent me a reminder that in the aftermath of a nuclear war, the only creatures likely to survive would be roaches.  Speaking of them, I was reminded that young Obama was a stoner who smoked them, just prior to his Kafkaesque metamorphosis into one.

It’s no surprise that a great many stoners insist they only smoke pot recreationally, even if they indulge every day of the week.  It’s similar to boozers who refer to themselves as social drinkers even when they’re the only ones in the room clutching a bottle of hooch.  Frankly, I’m surprised that in a society where so many people cast themselves as victims who like to put the best face on their own questionable behavior, no matter how reprehensible, we don’t hear about recreational rapists and social pedophiles.  At least not yet.

•   Carolyn Walker-Diallo, a black female Muslim, recently swore her oath as a newly installed New York judge on the Koran.  I know that a couple of Muslims in Congress have done the same, and I don’t get it.  How can anyone swear to abide by the U.S. Constitution while holding the book that promotes Sharia law as the ultimate authority?

•   Knowing that my heart belongs to baseball, a friend sent me the following announcement: The Washington Nationals will open the 2016 baseball season against the Minnesota Twins with official Washington, D.C., in attendance.  Attorney General Loretta Lynch will be on hand to throw out the First Amendment.

•   As a rule, I don’t mind people changing their names.  Several of my relatives have done so and for a variety of reasons.  However, I do hate it when it’s done by someone like Jon Stewart because he’d be the first to call a conservative a hypocrite for doing it.  Worse yet, Stewart denies that he changed his because he wanted to conceal the fact he’s Jewish.  Instead, he had the chutzpah to say he did it because when he started out doing stand-up comedy in New York, the m.c.’s in the clubs had trouble pronouncing “Leibowitz.”  Really, Jon?  In New York City, that proved to be a tongue-twister?

Is there absolutely nothing about which liberals won’t lie?

•   At least when Republicans lie, you can pretty much assume they’re professional politicians, and lying is plainly stated on the job description.

Things have gotten so bad that when someone declares he’s running for office, it’s a safe bet he or she is doing it for all the wrong reasons.  In fact, I have long contended that in this electronic age, when people can confer, legislate and vote, without leaving the comfort of their own home, the only reason they keep gathering in Washington, D.C., Sacramento, Albany, Springfield or Boston, is for the convenience of lobbyists who can thus engage in one stop-shopping.

•   Finally, because Lt. Col. Ralph Peters (ret.) called Barack Obama a total pussy when it came to confronting Islamic terrorists, Fox suspended him for two weeks.  When Stacey Dash said Obama doesn’t give a shit about terrorism, Fox then suspended her for two weeks.

Fox thus proved itself to be an equal opportunity offender, treating male and female truth-tellers alike.

Granted, it’s not much to brag about, but as mottoes go, it sure beats “Fair and Balanced” or “The Place that Juan Williams, Geraldo Rivera, Richard Fuller, Robert Zimmerman, Bill Burton, Kirsten Powers and Alan Colmes, Call Home.”

©2015  Burt Prelutsky