Himno Nacional

Drudge and Rush are all over this: Back in 1919, way before that Marxist hack wrote the offensive "Nuestro Himno", our very own State Department commissioned a Spanish-language version of The Star Spangled Banner. You can see the sheet music at the Library of Congress, and read the lyrics of four versions on the State Department web site.

Not the first time "State Department" and "what were they thinking?" have appeared in my mind together. But I guess this pre-emptive play by Foggy Bottom should at least calm this tempest in a teapot.

White Guilt

This brilliant piece by Shelby Steele is a must-read.

I call this white guilt not because it is a guilt of conscience but because people stigmatized with moral crimes--here racism and imperialism--lack moral authority and so act guiltily whether they feel guilt or not.