Ultima Thule is a terrific new blog from a name very familiar to me as an eloquent poster on Lucianne.com, with the handle of Aussiegirl. She describes herself this way:

An American citizen of Ukrainian heritage, who washed up on these blessed shores by way of Australia, takes a look at American and Ukrainian politics, culture, literature, music and the world in general.

I have been reading the posts there and find them just excellent. Aussiegirl's latest post advances the discussion on Senator Durbin, just as blogger Matt Mayаhas done today.

Dick Durbin should know better. Below is an excerpt from a lovely reminiscence of his Lithuanian roots, describing how his mother came from a small village called Jurbarkas in Lithuania near Kaunas.

Now read what Nazis did to innocents during the war in Jurbarkas. And here is a site which describes Communist atrocities in Lithuania.

How can Durbin make the odious comparison he has recently made in the well of the Senate knowing his own roots? Only he can answer that question.

My Lithuanian Roots
by U.S. Senator Richard Durbin

My mother was born in Lithuania. She came to the United States in 1911 at the age of 2. Her family came from a small village, Jurbarkas, which is outside of Kaunas in Lithuania. And when they came across on the boat from Germany, my grandmother and my aunt and uncle and my mother came over to meet up with my grandfather who had already come to East St. Louis, Illinois.

It was a chance for economic opportunity. But there were also other things involved. One of the few things that my grandmother brought over with her that has survived to this day was a prayer book. It was a Catholic prayer book that was printed in Lithuanian. When the Russians had taken control of Lithuania, they prohibited the printing of Catholic prayer books in Lithuania, and this very simple and modest woman kept what was a piece of contraband under Russian rule to show her defiance and her commitment to her religion. She brought it with her as evidence of her belief that people should be allowed to practice their religion as they choose.

Nice work, Aussiegirl.

Thomas Lifsonаа 6 17 05