Over at Big Government, Stacy Swimp argues that the Tea Party is the 21st Century Civil Rights Movement.

This is a bit of a stretch. The Civil Rights Movement has a long, unbroken history of abolitionist traditions, and risked literal life and limb to organize Americans against legislated racism. The Tea Party, on the other hand, began life as a spontaneous, grass-roots reaction to governmental philosophies that increased taxation is the simplest way out of a fiscal problem. Each may have expanded in scope to take on the government, but the methods and basic assumptions are quite different.

Swimp has a better argument buried in his stirring piece: the Tea Party has not only proven to be more effective at change than civil rights groups like the Congressional Black Caucus, but has exposed them to be self-serving groups that fundamentally betray their alleged constituencies. He cites, for example, the many examples of Tea Party candidates voting to help minorities by eliminating dependency-inducing entitlements contrasted with CBC attempts to maintain handouts.

But what of the recent admission by supporters of the CBC that President Obama would receive their endorsement, acknowledging that he has been disastrous for black Americans economically, merely because he was black—and even noting that if he were white, he would be finished in politics?

Ultimately, Swimp makes a solid observation—the CBC must be committed to destroying the Tea Party in any way they can, because the Tea Party has done more—and will do more—for black Americans than any grassroots organization since the original Civil Rights Movement. All it takes is the realization by black Americans that the liberal progressive Democrats have done nothing but hold real success just out of their reach for decades.

The Czar of Muscovy

Божію Поспѣшествующею Милостію Мы, Дима Грозный Императоръ и Самодержецъ Всероссiйскiй, цѣсарь Московскiй. The Czar was born in the steppes of Russia in 1267, and was cheated out of total control of all Russia upon the death of Boris Mikhailovich, who replaced Alexander Yaroslav Nevsky in 1263. However, in 1283, our Czar was passed over due to a clerical error and the rule of all Russia went to his second cousin Daniil (Даниил Александрович), whom Czar still resents. As a half-hearted apology, the Czar was awarded control over Muscovy, inconveniently located 5,000 miles away just outside Chicago. He now spends his time seething about this and writing about other stuff that bothers him.