St. Russ The Dragon Killer

As the Senate's most outspoken critic of the domestic spying program, you may not know it, but this icon of Russ Feingold is very appropriate.
Reader paddy o. offered this icon of Russ Feingold to accompany my hagiography. Brilliant. And again the rest of you? Nothing.

Anyway, it's based on an icon of St. George. The armor, the spear, the GORG in the upper right, and the fact Paddy O. titled it St. Russ the Dragon Killer tell you so. It is very appropriate that it is.

If you are unfamiliar with the story of St. George it goes a little something like this: a village spring is guarded by a dragon so that everyday the villagers have to sacrifice someone to get their water. Everyday? Yes, everyday someone has to draw the dragon away from the spring so everyone else can get water. So, one day, it turns out the village "princess" is chosen (remember the movie Dragonslayer?) and despite the "kings" protestations, rules is rules. So she has to go. But luckily a wandering George happens by, kills the dragon, saves the princess, and the grateful villagers reject their heathen ways and each one becomes a Christian- every last one of them.

The other story is that he was a soldier who protested the persecution of Christians and refused to participate in it- no matter what the emperor thought was necessary for national security and public placation. Speaking out like this made George, or Gorg, a traitor, so the emperor ordered his torture and execution. The empress was so impressed by his martyrdom, she became a Christian herself.

Some people say that Athanasius became a Christian from his martyrdom but I don't think that would be right. Athanasius was from Africa, Gorg was from Turkey. Plus, Athanasius would've been a baby when Gorg was to have been murdered. Maybe an Athanasius became a Christian that way, but not the Athanasius.

Whatever. The point is, Gorg is a good type for Russ Feingold.

See, when Russ is quoted in The Nation as saying:
"That the government may be secretly collecting, and using data mining to analyze, the phone records of millions of law-abiding Americans, as reported in the press today, is a frightening prospect. It is time for the Administration to come clean with Congress and the American people. We can effectively fight terrorism and protect privacy, the rule of law, and separation of powers, but only if we have a President who believes in these principles."
-he's setting himself up to slay the dragon of an imperial unitary executive so we can all eventually see the light, leave the darkness of secrecy and fear-mongering behind us, and embrace a progressive Feingold presidency. Or, he'll get his head chopped off. One or two people will say, "Hey, what he was standing for is important." And that will be that.

-Dang!- I meant to inlcude a running joke in this. I came back and saw I didn't. So now I've fixed it.