Noonology

"Some things in life need to be mysterious," Peggy Noonan explained. Americans needed the Noon's guidance. You see, the unenlightened herd needs political elites to explain complicated and seemingly contradictory lessons in morality. Why is it okay if America tortures? Didn't we sign that Geneva Conventions thingy?

Nevermind. Aunt Peggy is here to explain away the bad thoughts. "Sometimes you need to just keep walking." Indeed.

Roger Cohen agrees, and as usual, wrote a succinct summation that would have made Hemingway blush at his own rambling oeuvre: "In a thicket of words lies plausible deniability when the time for horror's accounting arrives." Cohen translates a few paragraphs down: "I'm wary of the clamor for retribution." Oh.

Senate Democratic leaders, teaming with the Obama White House, rushed to support the study of Noonology, and said they would resist efforts to investigate the harsh interrogation methods used on detainees. (Emphasis mine).

Mr. Reid, who repeatedly denounced the use of harsh interrogation techniques when Mr. Bush was president, suggested that naming a special panel would signal an intent to exact "retribution" and he sought to paper over the disagreement with members of his own caucus, like Senator Patrick J. Leahy of Vermont, who want a commission.

Apparently, upholding the law is now a fringe issue. Those on the "hard left " want accountability, and the serious beltway "journalists" want to "keep walking" away from "retribution" so as to maintain life's sweet "mystery."

Sweeping away the government's crimes is no longer the behavior of apologist sycophants. It's called Noonology, and now you can try it at home!

Got some unpaid parking tickets? Not a problem. You march right into your local courthouse, look that mean ole' judge right in his beady eyes, and say, "I'm not paying these tickets! I'm moving forward!"

Just lost your job? Never fear! Go rob a convenient store. When the cops try to arrest you, explain they're shattering life's sweet mysteries by prosecuting you under the law.

Neighbor playing loud music? Shoot him!** If society, or "the man," starts harassing you about murdering a human being, explain that retribution is pointless, and by trying to hold you accountable for your deeds, the cops are tearing at society's very fabric.

Noonology (n):

Main Entry: noon·o·lo·gy

Pronunciation: \ˈnün-ä-lə-jē\

Function: noun

Etymology: English, creation of a smartass blogger

Date: 2008

: the study of juvenile, pathetically sycophantic individuals, who think the law was designed only for poor people, and it doesn't apply to a corrupt oligarchy.

** I'm kidding. You'll totally go to jail because you don't work for the government and so the law applies to you.

Cross-posted from allisonkilkenny.com. Also available on Twitter and Facebook.

Comments

[logologic]

This is great stuff! Thank you.

Any way we can get this to go viral??

[afgail]

Peggy Noonan thinks the Rule of Law applies to Democats only. Republican elites not so much. Toture is best not discussed by those of her gentle sensibilites. Better that it remain mysterious. The entire Republican sycophant class have just imploded under the weight of their towering hipocracy. They gnash their teeth that nobody pays them any heed but they have made themselves entirely irrelevant.

[HeartT]

Oh, how true! I can't believe how ignorant Noonan sounds.
Ed Schultz said it best on his radio talk show today, America is a country of laws. It doesn't matter who breaks them, they should be accountable.
Just think of the problems we wouldn't have if our leaders followed the laws. Immigration wouldn't be an issue. Education wouldn't be an issue.
Our leaders and their spokespeople have put us all in jeopardy because they're always changing or mis-interpreting the laws.
Noonology is now a part of my vocabulary.

[Ember]

Why isn't this definition on urban dictionary?

[bebrave]

June Cleaver! I'ts June Cleaver! Whenever I see the Noon on Morning Joe I could never remember who she reminded me of...It's June Cleaver. That far away look...that answer non answer the apron the Oh Reagan Morning in America...I just can't vote for Obama but I can't tell you why because it wouldn't be politically correct to say out loud" attitude.

Ick!

Again...she was there! So we are here! Peggy do yourself a favor..Stage Left!

[Mintcondition]

Or, how about this guy . . .

http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=youtube+mccain+flipflops&ei=utf-8&fr=chr-yie8

[Lyndependent]

This Week needs a panel makeover... Peggy - Walk Away - Noonan is a joke, George - Blue Jeans are the scourge of society - Will, and Sam - Castro did it on 11/22 - Donaldson...

They have all lost their revelance to 2009... Time to just WALK AWAY...

[RealistDem]

Well the beltway journalists and talking heads mislead America on WMD's which was only starting a war on false pretext. No biggie. They missed the biggest financial crisis since the great depression. NO biggie. They cant bother with these trivial issues, they might be late for the weekend party in Georgetown with rest of Washingtons insiders. But hey they have every detail on little Caylee, Octomom and the missing blonde of the week. The 4th estate is rapidly dying and deservedly so.

[Whatashame]

Theytried to impeached Clinton for having sex with another women but yet we can't prosecute Bush/Cheney for war crimes.

[ThesagaciousOne]

No. The impeachment was for Lying under oath.

[Citizen54]

Yeah. Sure it was.

[Gidster]

Lying as to an irrelevant consensual relationship while investigating the Whitewater situation.

Clinton's relationship had nothing to do with the investigation, yet it became the entire focus of it.

I notice no one tried to impeach Bush or Cheney for lying to Congress.
Bush violated US Laws related to Fraud and False Statements, Title 18, Chapter 47, Section 1001 and Conspiracy to Defraud the United States, Title 18, Chapter 19, Section 371.

That is an actual crime, while adultery is just unsavory.....

[roblabrousse]

It didn't have something to do with Paula what's her name and" an attraction" they shared when he was governor of Arkansa ? Or did that just come out because of the stink over Monica ?

[ThesagaciousOne]

Here is the text.

[ThesagaciousOne]

"Articles of Impeachment:

RESOLVED that William Jefferson Clinton, President of the United States, is impeached for high ...

In his conduct while President of the United States, William Jefferson Clinton, in violation of his constitutional oath faithfully to execute the office of President of the United States and, to the best of his ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States, and in violation of his constitutional duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed, has willfully corrupted and manipulated the judicial process of the United States for his personal gain and exoneration, impeding the administration of justice, in that:
On August 17, 1998, William Jefferson Clinton swore to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth before a Federal grand jury of the United States. Contrary to that oath, William Jefferson Clinton willfully provided perjurious, false and misleading testimony to the grand jury concerning one or more of the following:

(1) the nature and details of his relationship with a subordinate Government employee;
(2) prior perjurious, false and misleading testimony he gave in a Federal civil rights action brought against him;
(3) prior false and misleading statements he allowed his attorney to make to a Federal judge in that civil rights action; and
(4) his corrupt efforts to influence the testimony of witnesses and to impede the discovery of evidence in that civil rights action.

In doing this, William Jefferson Clinton has undermined ...

http://www.historyplace.com/unitedstates/impeachments/clinton.htm

[DennyCrane]

Peggy Noonan the right wing is more than happy to move on when Republicans are accused of wrongdoing. But when it's a Democrat caught cheating on his wife, she and the other right-wing nuts can't move past it.

[CitizenJ]

Well, you have to understand that it's much better politically to exploit someone of the other party rather than be prosecuted for war crimes.

[mjwca]

Unfortuantely, Obama seems to be happy to move on as well. Makes me puke.

[henrypapillon]

What about all the military people that were hung out to dry? Are we just going to ruin their lives and move on like nothing ever happened. I bet they wish they could, their lives being ruined because theu just did what they were told to do.

[dynwitch]

Many countries before us have gone through dark periods of self-recrimination, and emerged all the better and stronger from the other side of the abyss.

[TakeNoNeoConPrisoners]

So you are saying if I tortured someone in my basement and was found out, I will be arrested and go to jail for sadistic and cruel behavior and probably pyscho-analyzed as a dangerous pyschopath. But if Bush or Cheney do exactly the same thing, we should just let it go and walk on by? Because? Please explain the legal justification to me. Thanks.

[MocksNix]

What needs to b e done is have every person in, or associated with, the government during those dark years be prosecuted in a People's Court. All of them. Hillary, Pelosi, Kerry, Bush, Rumsfeld, etc.. Everyone who did *not *put their foot down and "just say NO!"

Indeed, sometimes one must kill the patient to cure the illness!

[Gidster]

Many did say no and were vilified as un-patriotic an un-American.

[dignityandhonor]

Why is it when Republicans break the law, their apologists urge us to just move on with lessons learned? When Clinton lied about his affair, the GOP stressed that impeachment was the only option as they were simply upholding "the rule of law".

[VSamuels]

There is a good and bad element to uncovering Peggy Noonan for many in the dominate culture, because at the same time she is making a case for looking the other way at things she sees as 'necessary' for the safety of the United States. The matter is more than a simple make-up of practices as much as it is the cultural self-righteous that encompasses western culture justification of its role as the 'good guy' who must do those uncomfortable things once in a while to keep things in order, even if such unmentionable things go against the rules. Noonan here is saying: He who owns the gold, makes the rules.

And, within this mental delusion is the flooring that has created colonialism; believing that at the core of one's predominance is so worthy that doing evil can be manageable for the known goodness sure to come from the stated greatness of its rule. This is such a corruptible and mentally unstable premise, yet it today underscores the last defense for those unable to play by a universal set of laws.

Who would know that holding ourselves accountable would be our grandest test?