Categories
Political

Spot of shame on Blogspot

I’ve been reading some of the postings of Glenn Reynolds, aka InstaPundit.com, a law professor — of constitutional law, no less — from Tennesse who comes out with the most hate filled, war mongering, bullshit I’ve ever had the displeasure to read.

Since when did racial bigotry — of any kind — become patriotic? Since when did the talk containing the most flammable hyperbole, such as a recent post where Reynolds suggested that what we needed to do was attack the Saudis, first become the sayings of a wise man?

What particularly pisses me off is that Reynolds categorizes those demonstrating for peace as being pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel, and hence Anti-Semitic and hence a Blackshirt. Think I’m exagerating? Read today’s postings.

I am very much for a lasting peace in the Middle East, with the rights of both Israelis and Palestinians respected and enforced. I think any behavior associated with racial or religious bigotry should be treated for what it is: hatred of that which is different; hatred of that which is feared. Any rational, thinking human being should reject all of it — all of it!

Yet my desire for peace, my growing activism for peace, labels me pro-Palestinian, Anti-Israeli, and therefore Anti-Semitic and a Blackshirt.

Welcome to the USA — home of free speech and even freer hatred. The land of name calling and vicious labeling.

I would like to say that I can practice my freedoms by choosing _not_ to read Glenn Reynolds and the other warbloggers. However, these people live and speak in my country; if I don’t pay attention to what they’re saying, and counteract it when I can, someday their voices will be the only ones heard. And that thought scares the hell out of me.

Oh and by the way — Mr. Reynolds brags about how many hits he gets to his weblog — hosted at blogspot.com. Those of you running weblogs on blogspot, you might want to send him a note of thanks next time the server goes down.

Categories
Political

Which side are you on?

There was a pro-Palestinian march on Friday in downtown San Francisco. The marchers made their way to the Israeli consulate, where they were met by a pro-Israeli protest.

Both sides met across a space separated by metal barriers. Each side threw words of hatred at the other, as if the words were a weapon that could penetrate the other side’s absolute belief that they were right. The Pro-Israeli side screams out that the Palestinians are murderers and terrorists. The Pro-Palestinian side screams out that the Israelis are murderers and terrorists.

Take away the flags and the pictures of Arafat and Sharon and you wouldn’t be able to tell which side was which.

Categories
Political

Just cuz you’re paranoid…

Y’all remember the posting last week with pictures of the National Guard trucks that have been sitting in the Caltran work lot next to the Bay Bridge?

The trucks had been parked in the lot close to a month, I think, maybe more. However, within a couple of days after that post, the trucks were gone.

I’m sure it was just a coincidence.

 

Categories
Political Weblogging

A gentle thank you

Sometimes things just don’t go the way you want. When I’m in a pissy mood, and need cheering up, I find myself going out to visit my favorite weblogs, looking for glimpses of humor, beautiful writing, and interesting and unique personal perspectives. And my favorites never fail me. A gentle thank you from me to you. In particular, I wanted to thank the following friends for their postings:

— Jerry posts another one of his wonderful photo essays this one on the New England mud season.

If you haven’t lived in rural New England, than you probably don’t understand why most country homes in the region have what they call a “mud room”. I found out the necessity of a mud room when I lived in Vermont for a year.

Hey Jerry — there’s a reason I moved to San Francisco 😉

— Shannon’s in an absolute manic writing mood, of which this posting,Shannon Campbell Meets Blair Witch, is just one example.

Shannon, I’m also terrified of spiders. When I lived in Seattle (I’ve moved around a lot, haven’t I?) we would get these spiders about the size of a tennis ball — and they were the small variety. I knew that the spiders (except for the Brown Recluse) were harmless, but I’d still run from the room when I spied them. Run quickly I might add.

Did you all know that Seattle and vicinity has more spiders per square meter than any other place on Earth? More interesing if useless facts: Folks in Seattle also eat more Hershey chocolate and read more books than any other place in the US.

I’m sure there’s no connection between any of these facts.

— On a more serious note, Mike Golby was forced to, yet again, defend himself from the label of “Anti-Semitic”. A weblog reader tells Mike the following in a comment attached to one of Mike’s posts:

    • Just a little feed-back from a sporadic reader. You do come off as anti-Semitic and especially anti-Meryl. I know neither of you, and I’m from the midwest of the US (read cornfields and Bible Belt) and I thought your post a month ago or so directed towards Meryl was heartless. I wanted to say something then, but didn’t, but here you go again, so I just thought I’d give you some disinterested feedback.

What a foolish comment. And what a thing to say to a person — hello, I don’t read you that often, but you seem Anti-Semitic to me. Anti-Meryl, too. However, I’m disinterested so don’t take it personally.

All together now folks: Airhead alert!

Mike took the reader’s comments personally; most people would. And he responded, accordingly, in a manner that was both eloquent and passionate.

Mike, I guess it’s my turn to ask if you’d like one lump or two with your tea?

Categories
Political

Deconstructing Sullivan

I read with intense interest Eric Grevstad’s take down of Andrew Sullivan. He starts with the post title of “Andrew Sullivan is a big svelte idiot” and then continues on wonderfully from there.

I, too, wonder about the Sullivan links we see sprouting like calla lilies to quote Eric. I’ve tried reading Sullivan and find his manner bellicose, inaccurate, and inflamatory. Bottom line, the man is an idiot.

Consider a choice morsel from this week. Of the Saudi Ambassador’s frustration that Israel won’t consider the peace plan, Sullivan writes:

    • So this guy, who represents a country which has financed Islamo-fascism, gave us the citizens who killed over 3000 people in New York City, now threatens that there will be more suicide bombers, if Israel doesn’t capitulate to terror. And he claims that he and the dictatorship he represents were “sticking their necks out” to offer Israel a plan that would effectively destroy that country’s security. Are we on the same planet or what?

Here’s a little tidbit for you all to gnaw on, Sullivan — there has been extremist elements in Saudi Arabia that have wanted the US out of that country for two reasons: the first is because we represent all that is evil to them, but we knew that; however, the primary reason they want us out is to overthrow the current regime in order to put one in that adheres to a stricter Islamic code. Similar to that of the Taliban. Other leaders in other Arab countries are faced with the same problems of extremists within their midst.

Did the Saudi government and the other Arab countries that participated stick their neck out? Believe it or not, they did.

This plan was not unfavorable to Israel, as even the Israeli government admited at first glance. However, the plan included the repatriation of the Palestinian refugees, something the Israelis refuse to consider. And it is this issue that will remain key to the conflict.

Regardless of his opinion of the plan, instead of taking a few minutes and a little effort to consider each individual aspect of it, Sullivan takes his usual lazy, irresponsible, and vitriolic approach and just blasts away with his 20-gauge shotgun mouth.

I used to think that Sullivan took this approach because he gained more buzz. I now think he takes this approach because he doesn’t have the brains for any other.

However, I believe in free speech and if the jerk wants to talk, let him talk. And if webloggers want to read him and link to them, cool. But I wonder how many link to him because they read him, or if they link to him because it’s the thing to do. That he’s become part of a “who’s who” list that webloggers feel must be on their blogroll to be in style.