El Liberalissimo strikes again

15 April—Remember El Liberalissimo? He’s been taking it easy of late. But the weather has him hot and bothered again, most recently about my entirely accurate description of publicity-seeking Richie Blumenthal and Chris Murphy and my comments about their joint effort to force an Office of Gun Violence Prevention on the Department of Justice.

Here’s what El wrote yesterday: “They are ‘publicity seeking,’ only because you can’t understand how anyone could be against gun violence. Really nonsense. You’ve sunk to a new level. Sometimes people actually do have opinions different from your own.”

Here’s what I wrote yesterday: “New level? Not at all. The publicity-seeking charge against Richie dates back even beyond my seven-year-old essay. Keep in mind that it was liberal commentators who christened him Senator Big Mouth.

“Anyway, (ir)regardless of my understanding or lack thereof, Richie and Chris—not unlike other politicians, mind you—seize any and all opportunities to get their names in headlines. Remember when Chris made an hysterical histrionic ass of himself on the Senate floor—about guns, of course?

“If people didn’t have opinions different from my own, life would be no fun.”

Looking back, I think yesterday’s critique was El’s second or third to suggest that I had sunk to new lows—usually about firearms, as I recall, since, unlikely as it may seem, we agree on many—probably most—matters. I expect to plumb the infinite depths of El’s opprobrium yet again on other subjects, but he needs to be reminded that sometimes people actually do have opinions different from his own. And he shouldn’t take any of it personally.

So that naturally takes us back to Johnny and the Jump-Ups. Today is Purple Up Day and, as you can see in this morning’s family portrait, the little purple violets certainly appear to be upping prolifically. Purple Up Day, by the way, recognizes the children of military personnel, coming right smack in the middle of April, the Month of the Military Child . . .