Dakota Beacon

Midterm elections passed into history on November 4 resulting in a Republican tidal wave victory. Not only did they gain control of the US Senate, but they took additional seats in the US House as well as governorships and state legislatures. Once again the pollsters were befuddled. How could they have not seen this coming?

Leftists and liberals of all stripes share a strange mindset outside the normal pattern of thinking. Their line of thinking too often produces wacky results. Maybe this mindset helps explain the far ranging Democrat defeat that the pollsters could not measure. Here are some illustrations of how liberals think.

Yale University ganged up Frances Chan, a 20-year-old history major. What was her transgression? She was too thin! At 5’2” weighing 92 pounds, Chan stopped by the Smilow Cancer Center to have a breast lump checked out. Unrelated to the breast lump, the Center initiated an intrusive investigation into her health because of her low Body Mass Index. Despite repeated assurances by her family doctor that her build was hereditary, Chan was harassed to gain weight. She finally blew the whistle by contacting the Huffington Post with her story. A Yale spokesman refused to discuss her case. Maybe this is Yale’s version of bullying.

On the other side of the country in the liberal bastion of California, the Chula Vista school district officials give high priority to non-academic challenges. According to the Associated Press, Chula Vista ranks low in state testing among California’s 200 elementary school districts. Rather than focus on academics, this district chose to calculate the Body Mass Index of every student and then create an “obesity map.” The district officials have planted gardens and plotted the kids’ activities. This is classic left-of-center liberalism on display.

IKEA, the Swedish furniture giant, has taken a step in a progressive direction. In a recent press release the company announced it plans to “lower carbon alternatives.” CNS News reports that IKEA’s in-store restaurants, famous for their Swedish meatballs, will go vegetarian. The press release states, “IKEA is a responsible company, and we believe that we can play an important role in the move towards a more sustainable society.” The Center for Biological Diversity gives IKEA high marks. “This is one of the first times a major retailer has introduced a meatless menu item explicitly to combat climate change.” Here we have Scandinavian liberalism on the march.

The National Institutes of Health is always performing research. Here is the latest song and dance. For a mere half million dollars of taxpayer money the NIH will conduct a three year study in the “war on obesity.” Here is the hypothesis as announced in the Free Beacon. “By choosing a culturally appropriate and fun form of physical activity and by engaging mothers, we will see higher levels of sustained physical activity.” So, NIH will study how African-American mothers can help reduce obesity in their kids by dancing. This is in addition to $11 million already spent since 1999 on similar studies in the “obesity wars.” Sadly, for the money invested there has been no reduction in obesity. But, who cares? It is good intensions that count.

Speaking of liberals wasting money, check out this $105 million dollar taxpayer-funded loan by the Export-Import Bank. The United States is designing and building an aquarium to be located in a remote and poverty stricken region in Brazil. The aquarium will be shaped like a crustacean and will be funded with money the US does not have. Liberals – it’s what they do.

Everyone is familiar with the US Supreme Court’s decision upholding Hobby Lobby’s position not to subsidize abortions as part of their employees’ medical insurance. The Secular Coalition for America (SCA), an atheist group, responded with anger. Its members have decided to knit bricks, yes bricks. The idea is to symbolically rebuild the “wall of separation” that the Supreme Court allegedly knocked down. As the National Review reports, the SCA’s “Knit a Brick Campaign” will “harness outrage.” The members hope to knit 1200 bricks to deliver to Obama. These folks can only be described as “knit wits.”

Liberals are liberals wherever they are found. Hopefully they are on their own endangered species list.

Dennis M. Patrick can be contacted at P. O. Box 337, Stanley, ND 58784 or (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).