So for my first post, I was intending to be high-brow and talk about the upcoming Supreme Court nomination storm. But I like to listen to Hannity and Ingraham and a few of the small-minded people that entertain for a living and pass it off as legitimate news. The topic for May 7 on all of the shows (they’re pretty good at coordinating a message) was Obama and Biden eating out, ordering burgers, and – oh, say it ain’t so – Obama asking for a “spicy mustard”, a “Dijon or sumpin’”. Elitist! Out of touch with the common man! Rolls Royce tastes! Could you pass the Grey Poupon?
What exactly is it about a significant segment of the population that takes this stuff seriously, rather than seeing it for the farce that it is? I work with a fairly educated group of individuals – engineers, economic development specialist, bankers. Their response to this bread and circus is to shake their fists at the liberal elite Dijon lovers and proclaim that the world is going to Hell. Any day now, Obama will sign a socialist Executive Order banning yellow mustard and mandating Dijon on all burgers. And we’ll all go broke because of the “Dijon tax” that is the difference in price between the yellow mustard made by French’s Foods and the Grey Poupon – ummm, made by Kraft Foods. Wait a minute, something’s not right there.
Unemployment is 8.9% – and the markets were thrilled with that unexpectedly “low” increase. Afghanistan is heating back up. Iraq is entering a new phase of violence. Health care is increasingly a privilege afforded by a few, rather than a basic human right. Piracy is on the rise, with Yemen looking like a new base of operations and the Straits of Malacca beginning to look attractive to pirates again as police patrols drop off due to collapsed economies. Global climate change is expected to have a major impact on civil unrest and world peace in coming decades as poor nations are inundated by sea water, pounded by more intense storms, and driven to famine by drought.
But, we’re worried – nay outraged! – that the President is an elitist (which is apparently a bad thing now) because he likes spicy mustard. Think I’ll get lunch at Subway on Monday. My favorite sandwich? Roast beef on Italian Herb and Cheese bread, cheddar jack, lots of veggies, salt, pepper – oh, yeah – and spicy mustard. Oh, but I’m sure you already guessed that I’m an elitist.
Tags: politics
