at long last, decency

all the fuss about the congressman underwear photos on (twitter, facebook? whichever one it was)--

I see two sides of that.
Side one. That isn't "news." Leave people alone.
Side two. His behavior showed bad character. Too immature to be in congress. Liar.

Then, having played both sides of the "record," I read the "Liner Notes" on my (imaginary) album cover -- Why Do Congressmen Have Time For This Stuff? Why Aren't They BUSY -- WORKING -- Doing The People's Business?
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(Some readers' comments on NY Times opinion - article):

"It is no wonder the media doesn't have to do much to distract us, and our country is sinking into greater mess and why the great lies and crimes go un-punished."
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"Is there nothing else to write about in Washington? Evidently not. Never mind the homeless, the unemployed, the three wars that are bringing the country down. Never mind the bad immigration policies our clueless president has implemented. Never mind 44 millions people are Food Stamps and the foreclosue scandal. Now Maureen, that is a real scandal. And how about the $27 trillion ripped from our pockets and given to the richest criminals on Wall Street."
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"Obviously the congressman has too much time on his hands. Why? He was elected to fix problems, not cause embarrassment. Not enough to do? I will give him a list."

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That last comment struck a chord in my mind. I thought, "What a nice, crisp statement. 'Not enough to do? I will give him a list.'"
And I thought:
*****************!!
I like this. We should all be writing our congressmen and senators, all the time. And the president. Give them a list.
Give him a list.
GIVE THEM ALL A LIST.
ALL THE TIME.

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One problem with all this new technology is that things can go so fast, that the -- speed and instantaneousness of Everything can encourage thoughtless behavior. Thoughtless reactions.

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I listened to the representative in question once, on C-Span. I was impressed with his articulate case-making; at the same time that I liked him I thought maybe he was somewhat of a "smart-ass." Now what's the fine line between wit, which I appreciate, and being a smart-ass? Sometimes there's just a -- vibe.

One NY Times reader commented that this representative seemed "too clever by half." That's a funny, old-fashioned expression I had not heard in a long time. My father used to say it once in a while: "He was too clever by half."
Maybe he (congressman) imagined he was "too sexy by half."
What is that song?
(finger-snapping) I'M -- too sexy for my -- shirt,
too sexy for my dinner,
too sexy for my -- congressional committees...
----------- I don't know what it was, heard it somewhere.

Something else my father used to say -- I heard him tell this more than once, that Abraham Lincoln used to write letters to people and then leave the letters in a desk drawer, and eventually throw them away, or something ... the point being, you might feel things, sometimes, and think things, and imagine straightening someone out by writing 'em a letter and "tellin' it like it is," but it's wiser to Not Send the Letter.

Everything does not have to be Out There.
The lack of privacy which seems to now pervade our society (cameras everywhere and tracing things on the internet, whatever) -- is giving rise to a Culture Of Tattle.

Some of these media types and commenters (pundits), people with cable shows, and other politicians, seem to go into hysteria, or a frenzy, with the finger-pointing. They perform, very unattractively, in front of cameras, & seem -- I don't know -- proud of themselves.
It makes me think of what we learned in school about the "witch" hysteria in Salem, or the communist-accusations made by Joseph McCarthy in the 1950s (watch the film "Good Night and Good Luck")...["At long last, have you no decency, sir?"]

And all those comments about "men." "All men." "All men do these things."
I don't buy that bullshit.

-30-