The Armenian Genocide Thing

I don't know much about it, but apparently about 90 years ago there was a horrible slaughter of Armenians by Turks. The Turks are a bit sensitive about it... which means they're not proud of it. They themselves will call it things like "slaughter".

Well apparently there's been one of those oh-so-meaningful Congressional resolutions to condenm this 90 year old act as genocide, and it's been put on the shelf by the previous Republican majorities -- because it was 90 years ago and the Turks are helping us now. And like I said, it doesn't seem to me as if they're proud of that episode in their history.

The self-righteous just love to condemn. Anything they feel they can safely condemn and not be criticized for.

Kathleen Parker had a good article today on the subject of Obama's lapel pin, and I agree with her completely. But she went further, and I think this paragraph applies here:

Competitive caring is the new national sport in which the victor is judged not by acts of charity, but by the number of bracelets stacked on his wrists. We wear stickers after we vote or give blood -- and plaster yellow ribbons on our SUVs -- lest anyone doubt we support our troops.

By making symbols fashionable, we've ratified boasting as an act of redemption and elevated empathy to an existential conceit. I care, therefore I am. I care more than you do, therefore I am more than you are.

Or, say, who passed what non-binding resolution condenmning or praising what. Now when its our buisiness, like say a resolution on supporting our guys at war -- then it's our business. It's still a little petty but it does make people say where they stand.

But when it's something another country, a current important ally in the Iraq war and the War on Islamism in general.... what's going on here?

I'm just speculating here, but the Dems just failed miserably in ending the Iraq war via Congress -- due to a majority of Americans not supporting us pulling out prematurely. It was politically infeasable to get that agenda -- the defunding agenda, the timeline agenda, the condemn the war agenda -- passed. And so it did not, and they're smarting about it.

Now when France officially condemned the 90 year old genocide a couple of years ago, Turkey kicked them out. No soup for you!

Turkey's not (so far) involved in anything like that right now, as a matter of fact they're being quite helpful in letting us get supplies in to Iraq. If they say "no", things get a lot tougher for us strategically.

Which ... I'm suspcecting the Democrats would like to see.

(And they can blame the Turks ... and Bush. But they'll always blame Bush for every slight rash they get.)