Ah, the schadenfreude!

Y'all remember Craig Cobb, the white supremacist who found out on live TV that his DNA is 14% "sub-Saharan African", right? And then there was the news about him parading around his neighborhood with guns after his house was tagged (probably by his racist pals) with the message: "BACK IN BLACK". That was great fun.

But I didn't know that he has an odd way of speaking. I happened upon a news article about him today. First of all, it comes with a great headline: "'Part-black' white supremacist alleged target of racist graffiti". I love that and hope it sticks with him for the rest of his life: part-black white supremacist Craig Cobb. I mean, really. The irony screams.

Anyway, he was asked about the, you know, running-around-with-guns thing and this is what he said:

Cobb reportedly texted the local Bismark Tribune that he pulled off the stunt ”because of the many violences [sic] and harassments against we and the children.”

I love all of that. But "against we and the children" is my favorite part. He must picture himself as a valiant character in a faded, old book. The bible, maybe. Seriously, how does someone become this deluded?

Carry on, Craig. I look forward to your next adventure. You and your pals -- you know, guys like George Zimmerman -- just can't live in normal society. You'll burst back into the headlines any day now. Can't wait!

Craig Cobb's moment

Craig Cobb is the white supremacist who just found out -- on live TV -- that he's 14% "Sub-Saharan African". DNA tests can be so pesky.

It couldn't have happened to a more appropriate person. He's the guy who's trying to take over a town so he can establish a white-power enclave. Just what America needs, right?

It must have been a tremendously crushing moment for him. I imagine he felt like Pluto did when we tossed it out of the solar system.

I'd love to know how he's going to handle this, going forward. Is the white power town still on? And how will his fellow bigots view him, now that the truth is out? Shadenfreude is a marvelous emotion. Enjoy.

About that German word

The other day I used the word "schadenfreude" on the blog. At the time, I capitalized it -- "Schadenfreude" -- because I thought Wikipedia told me to. I'd gone there to be sure my spelling was correct -- it was -- and saw it capitalized so I did the same. But it rankled. Just felt wrong.

Today I saw the word -- not capitalized -- on Der Spiegel's website. That put the kibosh on the capitalized version for good. If Germans don't capitalize it, there is no argument.

So I headed back to Wikipedia to see what was up, and saw this:

Conventionally, Schadenfreude is capitalized, as are all nouns in written German. When used as a loanword in English, however, it is not capitalized, unless the origin of the word is meant to be emphasized. The corresponding German adjective is schadenfroh. The word derives from Schaden (damage, harm) and Freude (joy). 

Ah. I see. But I just saw it not capitalized on a German media site. Therefore I suggest we don't need the "loanword" rule. It ain't capitalized, unless you're into etymology. Just thought I'd pass this on, in case my capitalization error influenced anyone. Sorry.

Good news on the election front

I'm glad Obama was re-elected. But only because he was the lesser of two evils. The drone-killer incumbent beat the onrushing emperor of greed. Whoopee, sorta.

But of course the other election results were uplifting. Women, gays, pot and health were all winners. I'm very happy for Elizabeth Warren. Beating her male-model opponent was huge. Tammy Baldwin is another major win. And dog bless Claire McCaskill. I won't list all the uplifting wins. It's enough to say that the good guys won and the bad guys lost (with the exception of that damned idiot, Joe Arpaio, the sheriff of ugliness). Back to the good stuff: Gay marriage won a popular vote! First time ever. And hey, pot is legal in Washington state. That's going to help to turn the tide nationally. The time for viewing marijuana through a clouded rightwing lens is over.

And let's admit there's great joy when pondering some of the losses. Linda McMahon can suit up and hit the wrestling mats this morning. She's a free woman (with a lot less money). It's also gratifying to see Allen West lose his election. Sanity won out! And in a way, it's fun that Michelle Bachmann was re-elected. She's comedy gold and after all, it's only the House of Representatives. Everyone sees the House as a freak show these days. It's where she belongs.

I went to bed at 11 last night, figuring the results would still be there when I woke up. When I got up this morning, I reached for my iPad and asked Siri who won the election. She had no clue. She can tell me the score in the Giants game in a split second, but this question threw her. She asked me if I wanted her to look for an answer to that question on Google. I said no, I want you to answer it. She then asked if I wanted to look up "I want you to answer it" on the web. Oy.

But my computer revealed the truth and it was a sight to behold. As I say, Obama? Meh. But everything else was fabulous. Even the Macaca guy, George Allen, lost his election. There is a god. (Just kidding.) So how are the rest of you feeling about the election this morning? Are you watching Fox News to suck up the Schadenfreude? Mmmmmm. Smells good.

PS: And a huge middle finger to the Roman Catholic church, the greatest loser in this election. How'd all those illegal political entreaties from the pulpit go for ya? Not too good, huh? You and your evil minions, like NOM, look like cesspools this morning. How's that feel? Oh, and is the pope a little dyspeptic this morning? Good!