19 February—Readers of the Republican-American will have learned this morning that “Richard Nixon financed his early political career with money won playing poker as a soldier in World War II.” Problem is, he used his poker prowess as a Navy officer to fund his first congressional campaign, in which he somewhat unexpectedly defeated popular five-term Democrat incumbent Jerry Voorhis. (Not to minimize Nixon’s aggressive campaign, but Voorhis, besides diligently doing his duty in D.C. rather than pandering in California, lost a fortnight recuperating from surgery for hemorrhoids.)

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Staples sent out an email this morning with a “VIP OFFER” of a “$10 gift – just for you. Thanks for being such a great customer. Here’s $10 off your next online order, on us. COUPON CODE: 5180918192621104. Shop now. Expires 2/17/24.” That was Saturday. I can’t remember the last time I even went to Staples’ website. But I do remember long ago—not for well over a decade—when I went to the Staples in Torrington just about every week because it was always worthwhile.

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While on 17 February, El Liberalissimo, having digested that day’s disquisition, “Just plain Jew hating,” wrote yesterday. [And I rebut in bracketed italics.]:

“You are deceived by the banality of evil if you think there is nothing big government can do, has done effectively and should do to counter bigotry including countering antisemitism. That’s not really what you believe, is it? Or is this your usual $$$ knee-jerk hitting the SEND button? [Love “the banality of evil.” El’s nom de guerre—which I gave him, by the way, and he obviously values—pretty well explains why he believes government can solve the bigotry problem. Just to remind you, liberals naïvely believe that government can solve any and all problems. But has anti-hate-crime legislation really done anything to reduce hate crimes, for instance, or even to satisfactorily define them? Quite the contrary. And I have no idea what my “usual $$$ knee-jerk hitting the SEND button” alludes to. Anything like butt-dialing?]

“Whether new gov’t programs are needed??? — given current controversies, I understand the wish to focus new attention on these festering issues that have been complicated by an entirely new media environment over which bigotry flourishes. The issues require a nation-wide perspective. [Antisemitism—Jew hate—has in fact been festering since Abraham was allegedly the first Jew. But, as El writes, the new media environment is indeed great for metastasizing bigotry. Evidently the bigots are better at spreading their odious dogma than the good guys are at spreading the gospel.]

“Fighting bigotry is fundamental to our democratic values. Educating young people about bigotry should always be a prime mission of public education and should be promoted as a civic value. [Agreed, but why limit it to young people? Certainly it’s easier to mold young minds than old ones, but you can teach old dogs new tricks.]

“Can bigotry be eliminated? Of course not. Is there value in coordinating efforts and programs across the country, for sharing best practices and coordinating local organizations, issues and values with programs, people and legislation nationally? Shouldn’t the gov’t be a force for making bigotry, at the least, shameful?” [Government, among other entities, all for their own purposes, can make anything at all shameful or admirable. That’s precisely why we must be very careful what and whom we trust. And government certainly isn’t at the top of my trust list. Or on it . . .]