Summary: As the Desert Sun drives a stake through the hearts of its reader blogs, John Roberts takes refuge on the impregnable island fortress of Malta, while we gear up for the silly season of politics, complete with Mitt Romney's toothpaste advertisement campaign signs. All form grist for the mill of this installment of Little Snappers.
A couple of months ago, I observed that from to time, when he was Chief Justice, Warren Burger would write short concurrences or dissents to opinions of his Supreme Court colleagues. Though most of his "little snappers," as he called them, were never filed, he wrote them to let off steam. Sometimes, we all need to let fly with a little snapper or two. These are a few of the things that have pressed my buttons were tickled my funny bone since my last collection of Little Snappers.
NO MORE DESERT SUN READER BLOGS
The reader blogs in our local Coachella Valley Gannett newspaper, The Desert Sun, went away today, with stakes driven through their hearts. As other local bloggers have noted, TDS appears to be in some degree of difficulty. And while I leave to such other bloggers speculation over the future of Palm Springs’ local hardcopy newspaper, the departure of the TDS reader blogs strikes me as no great privation. Most Desert Sun reader blogs appear to be written by the same small group of bloggers (I., admittedly, being one of them) essentially talking to one another in the echo chamber.
Indeed, some of the Desert Sun reader blogs were clearly the product of professional writers working for astroturf political organizations, while others reflected in the usual collection of bomb throwers, tinfoil-lined hat wearers, and the occasional local activist. I cheerfully plead guilty to being in the last category.
Perhaps what did in the Desert Sun reader blogs was the undeniable fact that no newspaper website (by itself almost a contradiction in terms) can ever hope to meet, let alone beat ,the worldwide reach of social networking; more people have accessed this blog through Facebook than ever did through TDS. It may well be safe to speculate therefore that Facebook killed the Desert Sun reader blogs in the same way that (with due credit to the Buggles) “video killed the radio star.”
AN IMPREGNABLE ISLAND FORTRESS
If John Roberts thought being in a 5-4 Supreme Court majority in Citizens United had brought him any lasting or ongoing street cred with the Tea Party and the American right in general, the Chief Justice can certainly think again. Their reaction was that of an angry, jilted bride. I must confess, I didn’t giggle at the abuse that came the Chief’s way after Thursday’s healthcare decision; I laughed, largely, richly, rudely, with a generous infusion of schadenfreude. After all, one would have to be grossly naïve to believe that the American right can or would tolerate any deviation from its increasingly reductionist worldview.
I also laughed, largely, richly, rudely, cynically, at Chief Justice Roberts’ comment, as he prepared to depart for a summer teaching gig in Malta that he was going to “an impregnable Island Fortress.” He’s right, of course, Malta has never been carried by siege; the last effort in that regard failed in 1565 when Suleiman the Magnificent’s Ottoman troops were unable to dislodge the Knights of Malta. An impregnable island fortress may be just the place for John Roberts to do some teaching while the dust settles, even as he contemplates the reality that when the Court reconvenes on the first Monday in October, the madness begins all over again.
THE SILLY SEASON
You can tell we are ramping up for another episode of the ongoing reality TV series known as Campaign Season, a tragicomedy in which a panel of judges, known as voters, tried to navigate its way through a sea of claims and counterclaims, promises and counter-promises, gaffes and counter-gaffes, soundbites and counter-soundbites, all seasoned with generous doses of TV and radio spots, and mailers, to say nothing of a bumper crop of bumper stickers, buttons, decals and other artifacts, some of which will probably crop up on some far distant future edition of the Antiques Roadshow. Could somebody please explain to me why the Romney logo looks like a toothpaste ad? Is the quondam Massachusetts governor really that concerned about whether I brush my teeth and floss after every meal?
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