"Stupid" corruption

There is a kind of comment that keeps popping up in corruption coverage.

The corrupt, or indecent, or illegal act is labeled as "stupid." "Stupid" is -with some people - the only pejorative they'll use, along with perhaps "inappropriate". Pay close attention to the people making a display of how offended they are at the "stupidity" of the "inappropriate" act. They're telling us something about themselves.

Can we classify folks focused on the stupidity-of-risking -detection as being of the same ilk as the perps?

I do. Without exception. Try it yourself.

p.s. I notice just now some are on a "crazy" bender. Advice to international media conglomerates: when your on-air talent (or your ink-stained wretch) declares Blago "crazy" instead of immoral mark the speaker or writer down for an expense report audit. You won't be disappointed.

Gossip mongers take the lead

The political blogs and pundits have been asleep today (probably hanging back to keep everything responsible), so this Illinois corruption reporting and analysis has fallen to gossip columnists - and it may be their finest hour. (See here, here, here and here to start.)

Tip for the political blogs and pundits: all you have to do is read an affadavit to develop your material.

Go Gawker. Thank you, Smoking Gun.

The bone-chilling voice of pragmatism

A Republican denounces conservatism:

My experience is that conservatives do not ... see that peoples ... always seek someone to offer them a vision of how and why to live. They will seek this from whatever institutions happen to exist near them. And they won't be concerned that the documents that facilitated the formation of a particular institution might not have set forth that role as being a role for that institution to perform.

A professional conservative denounces small government: "Small isn't beautiful".

Help for the dispossessed

From today's copy of The Hill newspaper, page 46, a classified ad:

Change Can Be Difficult

Psychotherapy for the Politically Displaced

By appointment only in Bethesda, MD; Completely Confidential

Aliza Lerner, LCSW-C, [telephone number]

(Capitalization as per the original.)