The Bottom Of The Page

 I am certain that there are people who pass by this little corner of Al Gore's Internet and find themselves immediately put off by the words they read here. Little phrases like "Al Gore's Internet," for example. This little bit of conversational ephemera is a leftover bit of sarcasm that meant so very much a decade or two ago. Now it's just sitting out there for readers to stumble over, many of whom will raise an eyebrow and move on to the next thought-provoking anecdote. 

Or not. This is by design an optional experience. Nobody stuck a keyboard in front of me and demanded that I share my thoughts with you all. I chose to sit down and craft these sentence strings and phrase parcels for your infotainment. And imagine, as I typed that last word, how confounded I was to discover that "infotainment" does not need to be spell-checked. 

Which brings me to today's curiosity: South Carolina Representative Nancy Mace wore a T-shirt to work last Tuesday with a big capital A on it. She explained, “I’m wearing the ‘scarlet letter’ after the week that I just had, last week, being a woman up here and being demonized for my vote and for my voice.” She was telling reporters about her fashion choice in regard to her tough week in which she chose to vote Kevin McCarthy out of his position as Speaker of the House. She was one of seven Republicans who joined up with Matt Gaetz to remove Speaker Kevin. 

She was the only woman to do so, which may be the connection she believed she was making to Nathaniel Hawthorne's 1850 novel that tells the story of Hester Prynne who bears a child out of wedlock and must endure the stigma of the Puritan Massachusetts Bay Colony of the 1600s. I have gone back to check the original text, but I didn't find any instances of Miss Prynne voting along America First Caucus lines. 

By contrast, I did find it interesting that after aligning with Representative Gaetz, who has been embroiled in numerous sex scandals since his arrival in Washington, she chose to don the Scarlet Letter. Is there more to be told? What about her backing of Jim Jordan for speaker? You may remember Mister Jordan from his own sex scandal with the Ohio State wrestling team. Perhaps Ms. Mace could have chosen a crimson O to make it easier to make that connection. 

Or maybe The Scarlet Letter is no longer required reading. At least not for members of Congress. Maybe reading isn't required. 

Which is why, once again, I would like to thank you for getting all the way to the bottom of this page.