Boston uncommon

A friend of mine used to tell a long, complicated joke about a pony who wanted to be a racehorse. The damn story went on for about 20 minutes and always seemed to be headed toward resolution. Then it suddenly terminated with a puppy advising the pony on how to become a racehorse and the pony doing a double-take and exclaiming "oh my -- a talking dog!"

Anyway, I guess you had to be there, but lately that line -- or a vision of the devil ice-skating or a herd of pigs flying overhead on approach to Lambert Field -- comes to mind whenever I notice one of today's self-styled "conservatives" actually making a lick of sense. They've come so unhinged in the Age of Obama that it's an increasingly rare and noteworthy occurrence.

And that which is noteworthy should be, um, noted, right? Here's the Boston Globe's token conservative, Jeff Jacoby, making at least a little sense on immigration [hat tip -- Steve Trinward]:

You're a sensible, principled conservative. You want America to be a land of boundless opportunity and freedom, where people are treated as individuals and judged on their merits. You reject the divisive identity politics of the left -- what matters most about any of us, you would insist, is not race or class or ethnic origins: it is personal character and achievement. There are few things about contemporary politics you deplore more than the demonizing or scapegoating of entire groups ("white males," "the rich," "the Christian right," "gun owners"), as though every member of the group is interchangeable and indistinguishable, wholly defined by a single disparaging label.

But let someone mention "illegal immigrants," and your principles fly out the window.

Here's the whole thing.