Some labels are so dangerously large that they risk begging the whole question.

Robert E Lee had sworn allegiance to the United States.  But he was also loyal to the Commonwealth of Virginia.  Was standing aside the proper thing to do?  No – Lee felt – felt, not thought – that he had to take sides.  He allowed his son to make up his own mind.  Lee was appalled at the thought of the North ‘invading’ – yes, invading – his home state.  Well, Abraham Lincoln had sworn to defend and preserve the Union.  That meant applying federal force to stop secession.  If police come with a warrant to arrest me at home, I do not speak of being ‘invaded’.  That would sound silly.  Did southern states have the right to secede?  That was what the whole bloody war was about.  About 600,000 good young men died in that war.  God only knows how much smaller that number may have been if Lee had followed his oath – or just stayed out of it.

The Polish government wants to legislate against its Supreme Court engaging in ‘political conduct.’  This may remind you of those who criticised the U K Supreme Court for doing just that.  What else is to be expected of the highest court in a nation that at least professes to follow the rule of law?  And who, pray, will decide the issue of whether the court has involved itself in such conduct, and whether the prohibition is lawful?  Hitler did not blush – but he was seeking to destroy Europe, not be part of it.

Much of this kind of scattergun appears to be the response of Republicans to the impeachment process.  Look stern, spit out a dirty word, and Bob’s your uncle.  They remind me of soldiers firing a mortar – but rather than looking away and holding their ears, they block their eyes, ears and nose.  They had lost their conscience when they sold out.

Bloopers

‘The overwhelming reaction from our team, for our customers and shareholders has been positive affirmation for the way the company has behaved.’  Woolworths CEO on short paying workers $300 million.

Australian Financial Review, 17 December, 2019

Bullshit for our time – for all time.  What are the colours of the jersey of this ‘team’?  When will see a major corporate confess to the ASX that it has overpaid its workers?  When next John the Baptist plays full back for Mecca and the Sultan plays full forward for Jerusalem.