Champion of the Month!

Yes, it's that time again when I raise a hand in victory and declare this person to be Kayo Nelson's Champion of the Month! This month, however, I am actually raising the hands of several people because my champion is not one person, it's a group: Pussy Riot.

I don't much care for punk music, so I don't much care for the music of Pussy Riot. What I like, of course, is their willingness to take on the world, to fight for change in an oppressive society. I greatly admire their willingness to face arrests and imprisonment (and have done so!) in their attempts to change their country. Where would the world be without people like this?

The Russian government erred badly when they arrested and tried three members of the group in 2012 after their protest at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. They should have fined them a token amount and sent them on their way. By trying and convicting these women the Russian government unwittingly turned them into international stars.

Obi-Wan Kenobi to Darth Vader: "If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine."

The women were at it again yesterday in a large protest in Moscow. Look it up. Pussy Riot! Kayo's Champion(s) of the Month!

It has been a while since I have blogged. That isn't because nothing has been going on in the world. It's because too much has been going on in mine. The holiday season can be a busy time. I hope you all had a great Christmas, or whatever holiday you celebrate (Isaac Newton's birthday maybe?), and will have a happy New Year. I will post on some more thoroughly fascinating subjects soon.

The strange case of Elizabeth Lauten.

If you don't know the name Elizabeth Lauten...well, good for you. She recently was involved in a real firestorm of a mess. A mess, of course, that she made herself. After the obligatory "President Pardoning the Turkey" bit, Lauten decided to focus in not on the ceremony itself, not on the President, not on the First Lady, but on the first kids! On her Facebook page she blasted them for being classless and dressing like they were heading for a bar. The girls she was ripping into are 13 and 16 for heavens sake! Talk about classless!

This wouldn't have been so bad if Lauten had been just another goofy Facebook user, but she happened to be the communications director for US Congressman Stephen Fincher. She also happened to be a self proclaimed expert on social media. Lauten quickly took down her post and apologized, but in that typical non-apology way. She first wrapped herself up in the Bible, claiming that she had prayed for hours, and then apologized not to the people she had insulted but to the ever present "anyone I might have offended." She had no trouble directly addressing the Obama daughters in the first post, but in the apology...well...not so much.

Then came the firestorm and Lauten's inevitable resignation. Yes, if you are that bad at your job (communications and an expert in social media, remember) it is probably best that you resign.

Next, of course, there was the backlash from the conservatives rallying to...well...not so much defend Lauten, but to say it was all an overreaction, because (insert the name of a Democrat here) did something worse. (There is always someone who did something worse out there, isn't there?) And somehow it must all be the fault of the media, liberals in general and Obama in particular.

All of this misses the entire point. Why people were so angry with Lauten's post is perfectly clear and it has nothing to do with her political affiliation, be that Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, or Whig. The citizens of this country are fed up with this type of extreme partisan politics.

These days too many people don't just disagree with a politician's policies, they must hate that person's entire being: Politician A doesn't just have bad policies, but he's evil, he hates the country, he wants to destroy the county, his wife is a terrible person and so are his kids!

I think it's time we started dialing that back a little. Don't you?