Posted on 11/04/2005 4:59:39 AM PST by InDissent
In Dissent - Number Two Hundred Eight Friday, 04 November 2005 750 words
Malkin does mention Right-wing zealotry in her book, and on her website: Ill probably have to say this a million times, and those predisposed to attack the book (without reading it) will ignore it, but I do not argue that we on the Right have never gone overboard in political word or deed. The book is about turning [the mainstream medias] conventional wisdom on its head and showing that the standard caricature of conservatives as angry / racist / bigoted / violence-prone crackpots is a much better description of todays unhinged liberals than of us.
There are angry, racist, bigoted and violence-prone conservatives, of course, but none of them perform on conservatisms main stage. (Michael Savage may be the notable exception. Hes a kook, but he may have just enough listeners and has probably sold more than enough books to make some legitimate claim to that stage.) By and large, conservatisms bad apples arent all that dissimilar from most of the Lefts bad apples, in that theyre relegated to writing columns no one reads and blogs no one sees which sounded a lot like me when I thought about it. So I began thinking about the worst things Ive ever said about the Left, wondering whether those things, when gathered together, make me unhinged.
Before going any further, you should know Ive always suffered from Ann Coulters Disease, an affliction that renders useless the part of my brain responsible for self-censorship. Coulters Disease is why those close to me cringe when they hear relevant media has been looking at or speaking to me; theyre genuinely afraid Ill end up on television or radio and ruin everything. (By the way, Coulters Disease tends to be much less charming when youre not Ann Coulter, as my former editors at IntellectualConservative.com will tell you.)
For example, the last time I was invited to appear on a radio show, I was asked about the Abu Ghraib prison photos. If anything more sinister ever came to light I would scream for those responsible to be imprisoned and insist they never see another blue sky, I said, but what we had seen to that point was no worse than a fraternity pledge clenching a Bing cherry between his butt cheeks and dropping it into a shot glass. Good thing Media Matters wasnt around back then. (Or was it? Who cares?)
The worst thing Ive ever said about another public figure, in public, was about Bill and Hillary Clinton at a January 1999 round table impeachment debate. I explained: My Al Gore in 98 campaign wasnt so much about sex or lies as it was about the 25th Amendment. How so? asked the moderator. Well, I doubt anyone as mentally ill as Bill Clinton can ever really be fit to serve as president. Not even in this political climate can we expect the Clintons to admit theyre swingers, though I think sophisticated people know it when they see it. Clinton wouldnt have had to tell the grand jury theyre swingers, but he didnt have to build complicated lies around Monica Lewinsky, either. Thats a tip-off; somethings wrong with him.
Combine this with some things Ive written in this space Arab terrorists only understand being blown to pieces and dogs barking at their crotches (ala Abu Ghraib); if Scott Peterson had performed a partial birth abortion on his wife and killed his unborn son, the worst charge NOW would have agreed to levy against Peterson would have been practicing medicine without a license; no one in their right mind would buy a stock if its dividend were based on action born from outrage in the Arab street and I start hoping not to turn up in someones Conservatives Unhinged.
Many thanks.
*Zing* ;)
:)
FMCDH(BITS)
Great Video!!! Shows why Ann is so respected by the "real right".
Malkin was born, I believe, in Philly, in 1970. Because she was born to Filipino parents, she is technically a duel-citizen under Filipino law, explained here: http://www.philcongenla.org/content.asp?FileName=%5Cconsular%5Ccitizenship_faq.ini#3
Relevant quote: "Dual citizenship is the status of a person who is a citizen of two or more states. For example, a child born in the United States of parents who are Filipino citizens is both a Filipino (since his parents are Filipinos at the time of birth) and an American (since he was born in the United States)."
She would need to file an "Express Renunciation of Citizenship" to no longer be a duel-citizen, and as best as my research could gather, she hasn't.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Savage_%28commentator%29
I am not a listener to MS, ( I would, were he on at a reasonable time in the early pm) but it seems he garners 8 to 10 million viewers, depending on whom you would believe.
Yes - as I said before (I realize some people have a problem reading follow-up posts), 8 million is a higher number than I remember him having and, also as I said above, the fact he has that many makes matters even worse.
I was not attacking you, by the way. I just realized the tone of my last message was a little snarkey - please see the above column re: Ann Coulter's Disease. ha ha
No, I didn't think that you were. I was simply backing my "8 million" with some kind of "evidence".
Checking the Ann Coulter url now.
I downloaded the Coulter thing, will get to it in a bit. But now I see completely what you mean. Your reasonably paced brain (as opposed to my irregularly paced brain) won the point, and I know what you mean about Wikipedia. Looking forward to the Coulter vid ...
Boy oh boy ... you can say that again!
I find that statement so very true, and I am not even a writer, I just have a big mouth. (An American birth right, I believe.)
I loved that line when I wrote it ... I don't think a lot of people are seeing this column as lighthearted as I thought it was when I wrote it. Oh well ...
Don't be disheartened. We, all of us, are suffering fools (politicians) in these gut wrenching times. Like the large mouth bass that is on her nest, we will strike at anything that comes near. ;)
Thanks for the kind words. One day I may get it right ... or retire, which is closer, actually.
By the way, for anyone who hasn't watched this clip, it's a must download-and-keep. Our Girl Ann at her absolute best.
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Oh, please. She's still an American. Your statement was misleading.
My statement was correct. Sorry to take your "Zing" away.
Isn't Malkin an American?
Regardless, "Fillipino" is spelled with an "F." It's one of those quirky things.
SD
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