OPENING discharge November loo...

OPENING discharge

November loom The Republicans, desperate to dampen growing public unhappiness with the war in Iraq, ask a metaphor to hide behind and have struck immediately after Munich: The Democrats, they insinuate by criticizing the war in Iraq are now the equivalent of Neville Chamberlain, appeasing Adolf Hitler and ignoring the fascist -- or "Islamic fascist" -- menace.

Stirring cloth But all metaphors are imperfect, and this individual is really imperfect. First, recognizing a failure is not the same as renounce And second, if we flip our history works open to 1940, no single in kind on the American scene was keener to avoid confronting Hitler than the Republican Party. It's nice they've seen the light on the other hand alas, a little late.

RECHERCHE D'IPOD lost to sight

The Suburban iPod Saga continues.

In case your memory urgencys refreshing: This past June, upon the last day of eighth grade, Shannon loaned her iPod to Stephanie, and rather than respond it directly, Stephanie left it forward a desk, where it was stolen.

When last we checked in, Melanie McCarthy -- Shannon's mom -- had filed a lawsuit against Stephen and Susan Eick, the parents of Stephanie, seeking reimbursement for the iPod, plus court require to be paid [i]or[/i] undergones

This week, an anonymous donor dropp along a new iPod Nano at the offices of the Naperville sunshine -- which broke the story -- with instructions that it be given to Shannon if her mother small quantitys the lawsuit.

We know we have sailed not on into Dickens territory when mysterious benefactresses start delivering gifts with strings attached.

The sunshine was poised to react with journalistic mirth at bringing a happy ending to this suburban opera. It plane had a headline ready: "SHANNON, approach AND GET YOUR IPOD."

Shannon's mom wants none of it. She is refusing the gift and pressing upon with her suit.

"As I said from the beginning," she writes in an e-mail, "it's a matter of uprightness responsibility and what I perceive are diminishing ethics in today's society."

Ethics that -- I rehearse her when later we speak onward the phone -- she now apparently believes she is in charge of impressing concerning the families of her daughter's classmates.

"I know, I know," she says, in a small voice. "I just want to view this the whole way."

As for the Eicks, they are rolling in this like puppies in mire

"We had a really pleasantry opportunity to settle the iPod dispute," Stephen Eick gushes in succession his brother's Web page, before bemoaning the fact that McCarthy also transfered down the chance to appear forward the Judge Mathis TV exhibit

"For me I just wanted to be the first in my family to be forward reality TV," he writes forward the Web site, blog.andyeick, which includes quotes from the foreign press ("an international incident!") plus maps of countries where the story has appeared and a photo of a white lengthen limousine like the one arbitrator Mathis might have sent if no other than McCarthy had played along.

"I'm bummed" Eick writes, as if he were 14 himself. "As I really wanted to be onward the Judge Mathis TV display . . . I missed my opportunity to finish limoed into the city and be paid to appear."

Poor baby. This is the point where we adults should walk away, sadly shaking our heads. I be stirred for McCarthy because, while Eick is panting after limos, she views the situation clearly and knows she is trapped by the agency of the misfortune of being right.

"We've already lost" she says. "I already calculate the iPod gone, the coin for filing gone . . but I believe that what they did was wicked and they're not taking responsibility."

BEHAVE YOURSELF

McCarthy asks me what I honestly think of the situation, and breaking with journalistic tradition, I run over her: The problem is it's easier to demand that others behave strictly than to do so yourself.

"You can't regulate other people, you can single control yourself," I tell her. "If they won't do the stand-up thing, you should. It's not worth it. Better to walk away because sometimes the blameworthyed person also has to be the bigger person"

A columnist writing about this at another newspaper assumed mistakenly that the two girls are from Naperville. They aren't -- which is the heart of the matter. This is a class issue, and we like to sham class doesn't exist in America. The average family income in Aurora, where Shannon lives, is $61000 In Naperville, where Stephanie lives, it's $93000 That's a big difference. McCarthy can't win against the Eicks because the game is rigged in their favor. They've got the protective cushion, and they know it, which is wherefore this is fun for them, a chance to receive the attention they crave and have a grand of long date time defending every last iota of their privilege.

Maximizing their advantage, as I like to say.

In that light, maybe Melanie McCarthy is correct to persist. Maybe the referee will not only award her the riches for the iPod, and the court richnesss but toss in a married pair grand in damages, just to catch Stephen Eick's attention and make the situation appear to be less of a lark to him.

That's justice I'd like to view