Just a couple from this week's Radio Derb, now up on iTunes, playable onscreen at Taki's Magazine, and in transcript form here.
My Outrage of the Week is the appearance of celebrity illegal alien Jose Antonio Vargas before the Senate Judiciary Committee, seated two chairs away from Cris Crane, head of the ICE staff union.
Democrats on the Committee loved Mr. Vargas. The Committee Chairman, Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont, slobbered that: "In speaking on behalf of millions who cannot speak for themselves, you shed light on the human impact of our immigration system."
For sure there's some human impact here, including some that was not being illuminated by Mr. Vargas in the committee room on Wednesday. There is, for example, the Forgotten Man: the American citizen who might have had a shot at that nice plum job at the Washington Post if Mr. Vargas hadn't hustled his way to it first with a sheaf of fake documents. How's that for human impact, Senator?
Leahy also referred to Vargas as a "whistle-blower," apparently missing the point of whistle-blowing, which is a thing that law-abiding citizens do to draw attention to law-breaking. Since Mr. Vargas is the one breaking the law here, he is he is the opposite of a whistle-blower — a whistle-sucker, possibly.
Mr. Vargas commenced his testimony by asking the Senators two questions. His first question was: "What do you want to do with me?" His second question was: "How do you define American? How do you define it?"
I'll have a shot at answering those. To the first, what I want to do with Mr. Vargas is, to prosecute and punish him for his numerous crimes of fraud and misrepresentation in violation of state and federal laws, with the sentences to run consecutively for preference; then to deport him back to the Philippines.
To the second: I define an American to be a person who has acquired U.S. citizenship under the laws and Constitution of the United States.
Glad to help out there, Mr. Vargas. If you have any other questions, just give me a call care of Taki's Magazine.
On a lighter note, I record the latest fad in interior decoration:
News from across the pond: The cool new pet in Britain is the jellyfish. A firm in Southampton that supplies a special hi-tech jellyfish tank reports that they can't keep up with demand.
The little critters need a special tank, I'm reading here, because jellyfish require a current to swim. With no current, they just pile up on the floor of the tank. Yes, I can see that might be unsightly.
Well, I guess it's no stranger than keeping tropical fish; and with jellyfish, you don't have that feeling their eyes are on you. If sitting and watching jellyfish is your thing, though, you don't have to go to Britain and buy a special tank. Just tune in to C-SPAN next time they broadcast a meeting of the Republican National Committee.