Last week, the Editor whimpered something about damned responsibility preventing him from getting one of those infamous leftard drinks known as a latte.

I was reminded of his 10.23am latte withdrawals when the book I’m currently reading, Kingdom Coming: The Rise of Christian Nationalism by Michelle Goldberg, mentioned them. Goldberg’s book is, clearly enough, about the rise of Christian nationalism, that is, right-wing evangelical and fundamentalist so-called Christianity. A snippet from the book’s website describes it as thus:

In Kingdom Coming, Goldberg demonstrates how an increasingly bellicose fundamentalism is gaining traction throughout our national life, taking us on a tour of the parallel right-wing evangelical culture that is buoyed by Republican political patronage. Deep within the red zones of a divided America, we meet military veterans pledging to seize the nation in Christ’s name, perfidious congressmen courting the confidence of neo-confederates and proponents of theocracy, and leaders of federally funded programs offering Jesus as the solution to the country’s social problems.

I was amused by a paragraph she wrote and I wanted to share. Writes Ms Goldberg:

[D]uring the Democratic primary season [in 2004], the right-wing Club for Growth ran an anti-Howard Dean ad featuring an elderly Middle American couple ranting against a type that populates much of the Northeast and Northwest. The man began, “I think Howard Dean should take his tax-hiking, government-expanding, latte-drinking, sushi-eating, Volvo-driving, New York Times-reading…” His wife continued: “…body piercing, Hollywood-loving, left-wing freak show back to Vermont where it belongs.” Imagine for a moment, if MoveOn had run an anti-Bush ad that called his following a gun-toting, Bible-thumping, McDonald’s-eating, gay-bashing, gas-guzzling right-wing freak show. There would have been no end of hand-wringing about the supercilious secular elite and their contempt for so-called ordinary Americans. Having defined Americanism as an amalgam of anti-intellectualism, provincialism, self-righteousness, and bellicosity, conservatives then attack everyone who finds these things repellent as unpatriotic, and few mainstream voices challenge them. (Incidentally, conservative evangelicals are the only religious faction I’ve encountered who sell lattes in church.)

It seems that even one of the bastions of right-wing rabble-rousing — the pseudo-political evangelical, fundamentalist “Christian” church — cannot resist the lure of a leftie latte.

It’s a well-researched, well-presented book, very alarming and a good record of the damage the right-wing “Christian” nationalists are doing to the good ol’ US of A. I finished reading it tonight while drinking a flat white with one sugar. Go get this book. Highly recommended.

More massive handouts promised by both the Liberal and Labor Pork Parties yesterday — not that seniors, carers and disabled people don’t deserve the extra assistance. In previous weeks there has been money thrown at marginal seats, indigenous people, and, of course, working families. However, McBec and I were talking this morning about the pork-fest and we’re angry that neither of the major parties have announced pork targeted at DINKs (Double Income No Kids) in their late 20s and early 30s. Why is our demographic being ignored? We’re being discriminated against and oppressed!

Young DINKs face challenges too, you know. The price of a latte has shot through the roof in the last three years, not to mention delicatessen goods like French cheeses and kalamata olives. I’m totally roughing it with a cathode ray tube television. Cathode ray tube! McBec’s mental state is fragile because our dining table doesn’t match our book case or our wine rack.

DINKs are people too, you know, and it’s time that our plight was recognised by politicians. There are four or five weeks left in the election campaign and it’s not too late for John Howard to visit an inner-city cafe and release a policy of DINK assistance. Then there would be heaps of time for Kevin Rudd to visit a similar cafe in Brisbane to match Howard’s policy, with extra money for latte vouchers thrown in. People like McBec and I would gratefully accept the money and then go ahead and vote Socialist Alliance anyway.