Golfing for the Troops.

The Fields of Honor Foundation is a group that seeks to provide scholarships for the children and spouses of military men and women disabled, injured or killed serving the nation. The group was inaugurated in 2007. On Labor Day, the group will be holding a celebrity golf game, Patriot Golf Day, to raise money for the foundation. Former president George W. Bush will be among the notables participating in the event.

It has become customary for groups seeking to raise funds for a cause to make it as easy and comfortable as possible for celebrities to attend. Think of Hollywood fundraisers. Celebrities dress up and attend galas where they are feted and fawned over in the name of some charity or cause. They are not asked to do anything in particular for the cause. They are just asked to show up and look fabulous. Everybody wins. Celebrities get publicity and acquire a sheen of compassion and social awareness. Organizers get the satisfaction of throwing a ritzy event. The poor, the ill, and the lamed get some money raised on their behalf.

For people such as athletes and politicians whose fame does not lend itself as well to swank parties and posh events, golf is a popular method of raising money. Like Hollywood galas, in golf events everybody wins. The charity or cause hosting the event gets publicity. The unfortunate get some money raised on their behalf, and the participants, in addition to getting some publicity themselves, have the satisfaction of helping people in need while spending an afternoon on the golf course.

So on Labor Day, the children and spouses of killed and disabled troops will have some money raised to help them attend college, and former President Bush will have an afternoon on the golf course. After starting the war in which the troops whose families he is raising money for were injured, maimed, and killed, the least President Bush can do is play a game of golf for them. I mean it. It is the least he can do short of taking a nap or tending to the garden.

Many people live in a strange world where misfortune and injustice can be ameliorated through playing golf or attending a party. I wish I lived in that world.

It is in the Rules

Representative Eddie Johnson of Texas took steps to ease the controversy surrounding the revelation that she used funds from the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation to award scholarships to friends and family. She used personal funds to reimburse the foundation for what she had spent. Johnson claimed that she had no idea that the Foundation had rules prohibiting the dispersal of funds to family members. "Had I known that this was against the law I wouldn't have done it" she said. Johnson is a member of the Black Caucus Foundation. Perhaps she should get around to reading its rules sometime.

"The debt has been repaid in full" said Johnson. Perhaps it has, in a sense. By using the Black Caucus Foundation funds to help friends and family, Johnson violated the foundation's rules against nepotism. Moreover, the students who received the funds were ineligible since they did not live in Johnson's district. Repaying the Black Caucus is only a step on the part of Johnson to get out from under the controversy. While the funds have been repaid, the impropriety remains. You cannot just write a check for that.

This is certainly not the first time a member of Congress has run afoul of a rule made by a committee on which they sit. The defense of choice in those instances is ignorance: they were not aware of the rule or that it applied to them. To make this defense is tantamount to admitting to incompetence. Another popular defense is that the error was made unbeknown to them by a member of their staff. This is also an admission of incompetence, or at least mismanagement, since members of Congress are responsible for their staff. In the minds of many congressmen, it is better to be seen as incompetent than corrupt. There is a much higher tolerance for incompetent politicians than for corrupt ones. Johnson's political future depends on that remaining so.

Questionable Victory

The city of Dallas recently won a victory in court concerning its new policy of allowing cabs that run exclusively on natural gas to skip to the head of the line at Love Field. The victory was hailed as an important step towards reducing air pollution and lessening America's dependence on oil.

The problem is that many independent cab drivers and small taxi companies cannot afford to switch their cars over to natural gas or purchase new cabs that do. Their cars will continue to run on gasoline and they will have to wait in line longer to obtain a fare. As a result, cabs that contribute to air pollution and do nothing to reduce America's oil consumption will have to idle longer waiting in line for a fare and burning more gasoline and generating more pollution as they do. I suppose if the new policy is a success air quality in Dallas will improve, if only by a fraction. But its unemployment rate will rise, if only by a fraction.

14% Idiots

A recent Newsweek poll revealed some alarming news about the mind of the American electorate. In the poll, republicans were asked if they believed that Obama "sympathizes with the goals of Islamic fundamentalists and wants to impose Islamic law around the world." 38% percent believed that it is probably true. Another 38% believed it was probably not true. 14% of republicans polled believed it was "definitely true." According to the results, the majority of republicans harbor significant doubts about Obama's religion and motivation.

The most worrisome part of the poll is that people were not simply asked if they believe Obama sympathizes with Islam. They were asked if he sympathizes with Islamic fundamentalists, which are a breed apart. It is the fundamentalists that want to make women wear burkhas, impose strict Islamic law, and destroy the West, not the rank and file.

Obama is one of the most liberal presidents the United States has ever had. If he is a Muslim, he is a very poor one. He has consistently supported abortion rights. He has labored to expand rights for gays and lesbians. He has successfully nominated two women to the Supreme Court. One of those women is Jewish. On every social issue that has arisen since his inauguration, Obama has stood firmly on the left. His appointments to the Supreme Court have impeccable liberal credentials and are solidly against even the most subtle encroachment of religion upon public life. Obama could not be elected dog catcher in Saudi Arabia. Despite all this and more, a great many Americans suspect Obama might secretly be not just a Muslim, but a supporter of fundamentalist Islam. If I had to guess, I would say, if anything, he is a closet Episcopalian.

A recent Newsweek poll revealed that 14% of republicans are idiots and that the majority of republicans should keep their opinions to themselves on the subject of Obama's religious sympathies lest they appear to be idiots too.