Tolerant-esque

Stinging Nettle makes a good point about Jesse Helms:

Now, let's not be ungrateful for small miracles. At least Helms admits he was wrong to oppose AIDS treatment and education programs, but look at that paragraph. Implicit in that statement, despite the claim of having learned his lesson, is the reprehensible argument that had AIDS remained confined to a population of homosexuals and intraveneous drug users, it would have been nothing to worry about. Evidently, in his estimation such people deserve to suffer and die.

I don't think the old guy has learned that much at all.

Stinging Nettle also links to a very funny post at Brian's Political Donnybrook, which has this classic line about Helms' stance on racial integration:

Did he really need an entire book to say "We would've shut off the hoses eventually"?

[Via Atrios]