Posted on 07/17/2006 11:09:37 AM PDT by KentTrappedInLiberalSeattle
A few people wrote to ask why I linked to that shallow cup of froth on the HuffPo the other day; not a few asked why I condemned this but not that, which was the condemnable thing of the week for some. Fine. Consider it condemned. I should just come up with an all-purpose graphic of myself with my lips cinched tighter than a chicken’s rectum, with the words IF YOU THINK I SHOULD CONDEMN IT THEN I PROBABLY DO, because I am not a great fan of high-octane bile delivered via firehose 24/7. As I have said before, to no effect, I don’t believe that people who disagree with me are BAD and EVIL and want the country DESTROYED. (Which is why it’s always amusing when the courtesy is not returned. The other day at the park I had a mild little conversation with a nice woman wearing a black rubber bracelet that said I DIDN’T VOTE 4 BUSH, just in case the matter came up at this childrens’ birthday party; the moment she discovered I would be voting against Mike Hatch for governor – a man she didn’t particularly like – the temperature dropped 95 degrees, and she excused herself. Because people like me are RUINING MINNESOTA, I guess, and what’s worse is that we’re doing it intentionally. With foreknowledge of the disastrous consequences, which we want.) I think there are ideas that have unfortunate consequences, but for the most part they’re held by people who believe they will have fortunate outcomes. I’m sure most people who read this site who disagree with me have the same opinion. We want the best, and the struggle to find agreement is only fruitful if we respect each other’s motives. You don't have to respect the arguments, of course, but you have to respect the speaker, right up until the moment when they confirm your suspicions and reveal themselves as an utter diq. After that, well, have fun. (Some people in the public sphere come conveniently pre-revealed, which makes them fair game.)
I’d like to think I’m a pragmatist; I’m resigned to dying in a country much different than the one into which I was born. Resigned, and grateful; disappointed, and relieved. Some of those changes will be for the better, some for the worst. Both will the result of people with whom I agreed on some things and disagreed on others. Duh. In the end I’m an optimist about America, but maybe I just hang around too many Democracy-Whiskey-Sexy right wingers instead of the glum egg-suckers who believe we’re lost until we return to our revolutionary 18th century roots and privatize NASA. At the end of the day the average Democrat isn't going to sign on with International ANSWER anymore than average Republicans will wear pointy white hats to their national convention, and most of the overheated demonization of the Dummycrats or Rethuglicans only shouts to the choir. There are countries where the divisions are truly deep and truly fatal. This isn't one of them. If it is, then there are no words left to describe Iraq.
Anyway. What amuses me are the people who traffic in the Monolithic Them, the big scary bloc of fiends who stand in the way of perfecting America. (We’re so close!) To some, it’s the scary Christianists who want to convert everyone (Their motto: “We’ll figure out what to do with the Mormons later”) and to others it’s the mincing pink Gay Brigades who want to eliminate heterosexuality and make sure all babies are born to lesbians and delivered by buff naked doctors in leather chaps and big moustaches. This tends to make reasonable online discussions of faith-based initiatives or redefining marriage somewhat difficult, as the trolls inevitably end up manning the toll booth.
That HuffPo article was a perfect example of someone who spends a good deal of time working himself up over the image of a Hummer leaving a church parking lot.
And he did it again! His latest is called “The REAL reason Israel is going Full-Frontal on Hezbollah – NOW.” Can’t be the kidnapping or the missile attacks, after all. He thinks Israel – wait for it – might be trying to pick a fight with Iran. He wonders why Israel didn’t do an Entebbe raid to get the prisoners back – “dropping in special ops behind Hezbollah lines, giving the commandos some air cover, and then rescuing their two soldiers.” The phrase “behind Hezbollah lines” is amusing enough – as if there’s a red dotted border in south Lebanon beyond which no Hezbollah soldier passes. (“Sir, request permission to take the prisoners, melt into a suburban Beirut apartment complex, and take refugee in the bunker underneath the parking lot.” “Permission denied! We have rules, you know. Stay here, in the tent with the glow-in-the-dark logo on the roof!”) You can see his point; after all, Idi Amin never attacked Israel again after the Entebbe raid. Just go commando! It’s so simple, and the only reason governments don’t solve their problems with stealthy bands of men in face-paint is because something else is afoot – either that love of war, that whole boys-with-their-toys thing, or Devious Plots. See, if Iran tries to run an Israeli naval blockade, and Israel sinks the Iranian ship, Iran might fire a missile at Israel, and Israel might use that as a pretext to take out the Iranian nuclear facilities.
So far it’s grade-Z armchair wargaming, notable only for the forum on which it appears, additional proof that the intellectual bar for posting at this particular site has been set lower than a storm drain. But here’s the best part.
Just a final thought - although I doubt it, is it totally beyond the pale that these two Israeli soliders were instructed to allow themselves to be kidnapped in order to foster the chain of events I have just described?
Mind you, he doubts it. But somehow the machinations of the Iranians and Syrians are less worthy of public contemplation. Is it totally beyond the pale that Iran and Syria kidnapped the soldiers to force the confrontation? Is is, like, obvious? Then there mus be something else going on.
It takes a certain kind of person to see a liberal free society attacked by Islamicists, and find himself wondering: what are those crafty Jews up to now?
PING! ;)
"It takes a certain kind of person to see a liberal free society attacked by Islamicists, and find himself wondering: what are those crafty Jews up to now?"
I believe the term is, "Judenfresser"
Bump
Great post, enjoyed the comical part too
(“Sir, request permission to take the prisoners, melt into a suburban Beirut apartment complex, and take refugee in the bunker underneath the parking lot.” “Permission denied! We have rules, you know. Stay here, in the tent with the glow-in-the-dark logo on the roof!”)
Hmmmm. Mocking Libs and quoting them with a Bolshevik Red font color.
Funny stuff, with a deeper message about the state of politics today. Thanks for the ping!
"Jew-eater?"
That's the literal translation. Rabid anti-semite would probably be more accurate.
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