GIN AND TACOS

Happy Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week! I've been celebrating the same way as most Americans: by asking questions like "Why isn't David Horowitz pumping gas for a living in rural Alabama?"

There are so many things that are idiotic about this spectacle, I don't even know where to begin. Let's start with D-Ho's complete lack of understanding of the term "fascism."

I believe his original intent was simply to combine two words that most people think are bad things. Islamo-Fascism sounded a lot better than Islamo-Herpes. On that end, mission accomplished. Fascism is bad. While it lacks a universally agreed-upon definition, according to folks like Roger Eatwell, Roger Griffin, Ernst Nolte, Robert Paxton, Juan Cole, and Stanley Payne, fascism is:

(an) authoritarian political ideology that considers individual and other societal interests subordinate to the interests of the state. Fascists seek to forge a type of national unity through oppression and coercion, usually based on (but not limited to) ethnic, cultural, or racial attributes.

They argue that fascism is related to, but distinct from, concepts like nationalism, populism, xenophobia, and totalitarianism. Just for kicks, Webster defines it thusly: "a political philosophy, movement, or regime that exalts nation and often race above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition."

Now please tell me, does that sound like Osama bin Laden's philosophy? Or anyone in al Qaeda? Or any Islamic terrorist in the world? Does Horowitz's application of that term to Islamic terrorism make you wonder whether or not he has ever read a book? Yes, truly D-Ho has a magnificent grasp of the nature of terrorism in the Islamic world. Clearly what Osama and his buddies want is intimately tied to a state or national interests. Issues of national identity motivate them. They quite obviously subordinate all other interests for the good of….whatever nation or state they're nationalistic about.

I could go on to point out that schools such as Yale, Harvard, and even Falwell's Liberty University have threatened legal action against Horowitz for claiming that they are participating in his pathetic week of attention-seeking. I could point out the number of schools who were shocked to find out that Horowitz was claiming that they were participating. I could note that the folks over at Blackfive (an excellent albeit very right-wing blog staffed mostly by military folks) mocked his opening event and think he's a total ass clown. I could point out that David Horowitz is a mental infant whose sole purpose is to promote himself and pander to the Republicans that all the other Republicans hate. But pointing out any of that would be redundant, as 5 minutes spent reading his nonsense are plenty to tell you all of this and more.

While reading Stanley Fish's latest rant about how College Professors Are the Dirty Liberal Enemy, I was struck by two things.

So are you all watching Frisky Dingo? I'm pretty convinced it's the greatest thing ever.

The Season 2 plotline – Killface and Xander running against one another for President – culminated with the Haggar Pants ™ Presidential Debate live from Haggar Pants Arena.

Killface's fund-raising plan is codenamed "Operation Meth Nazis." I think more of you need to be watching this. Season 1 is (mostly) available online gratis.

Pardon today's entry. I am preoccupied. The mighty TremFu is buckling down in preparation for the two McLusky shows next weekend.
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If you live in Bloomington, come. I'm getting older, and that fact requires celebration. Of secondary importance (note sarcasm), I have to defend my dissertation proposal on Monday. Of tertiary importance (no sarcasm), I have to start teaching a course on Monday evening – with 2 hour, 50 minute class periods.
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Hold on while I swallow my tongue.

Huzzah!

OK. I'm going to try to say this while avoiding, to the greatest possible extent, coming off like I live in a compound in the Bitterroots.

Ann Coulter's latest book (not dignified with link) is in the shitter; for reasons that strike most of us as self-evident, no one's buying it. Under those circumstances it should be absolutely no surprise that Coultergeist's latest tour of the talking head shows would feature some bat-shit insanity. Because really, that's all she is. She's a shameless self-promoter, and her only goal is to one-up herself and think of increasingly idiotic and "shocking" things to say so she can get 10 seconds of attention to plug the Ann Coulter Brand Name. The media, to its eternal shame, enables her. They bring her in under the guise of being a Serious Pundit when they're really just grasping for the same 10-second high of attention that her stupidity brings.

So it is within that context and with an enormous grain of salt that I take the flap over her "Jews should be perfected" rant. It's no different than any other Coulter-on-TV moment. Camera rolls, Ann suggests killing a particular group of people, and cut to commercial. But this one was a little different. All of the sudden, Very Serious Media Types are having earnest "Gosh, has she gone too far?" talks and self-reflective "Gee, are we in some way enabling her by constantly inviting her onto worldwide television?" Even Tucker Carlson is using her as a punching bag and mocking the overpowering stench of desperation that cloaks everything about her. And vacant blow-dried types like Meredith Viera are starting to complain.

My question, and I put this as delicately as possible, is "Why now?" Don't get me wrong, what she said is obviously offensive, racist, and idiotic. But….well, when wasn't she? To be blunt, I find it equally offensive that feet are being put down now that the issue is anti-Semitism. It was OK when she said we should invade every Muslim country, kill their leaders, and forcibly convert them. It was OK when she slandered the 9/11 widows. It was OK when she called John Edwards, Bill Clinton, and every other male Democrat on Earth a queer. It was OK when she said women shouldn't be allowed to vote, everyone at the New York Times should be killed, and so on. None of that precluded a return invite onto the talk shows (several hundred appearances on every network according to Media Matters). But now….apparently she's finally said something offensive.

It's idiotic, and what's worse is that it plays directly into the worst backwoods Aryan Nations-type "theories" about New York, The Media, and The Establishment (which are codewords for Jews, Jews, and Jews, respectively). If Coulter's saga, and what's happening to her at the moment, are indicative of anything it's that talking about converting Jews is apparently far worse and more despicable that advocating genocide against Muslims.

It's good to know that there are limits.

A few years ago (forgive me, I lack a link) the FBI caused a minor flap by announcing that it was easing up on the Ku Klux Klan. Specifically, they no longer planned to devote resources to regular undercover stings, surveillance, and so on. Their rationale – and let's face it, they needed a pretty good one – was simple. At any given KKK rally, they found that somewhere betwen 1/2 and 3/4 of the attendees were either reporters or undercover state/local law enforcement agents.

The actual Klansmen were badly outnumbered by impostors looking for A) evidence or B) a snarky story for the kind of newspaper that you pick up free at bars.

While perusing the fantastic Fundies Say the Darndest Things (FSTDT)* or other spectacles of the unhinged like Conservapedia, the KKK anecdote pops into my head pretty often. Conservapedia has "real" content – that is, content written by people who sincerely believe it. I have no doubt about that. But I find it hard to believe that there's not a decent amount of articles contributed by ringers masquerading as Young Earth creationists. It is not hard to imagine, for instance, a bunch of college sophomores sitting around a dorm room late at night and deciding to play "OMG! Let's see how ridiculous an entry we can get accepted!" Members of the Conservapedia community have explicitly blamed this sort of behavior for some of their more outlandish entries. On that, they probably have a point.

With respect to FSTDT, it's tempting to assume that more of the content is "real" because we all know there are plenty of people capable of posting such nonsense around the Internet. But I'd also like to remind you that former ginandtacos author Mike liked to use an online persona called "CultureOfLife" to litter the internet with mock-sincere nuggets of Fundamentalist commentary. Could that account for all of it?

No way. But it could account for a good chunk of it.

I don't know about you, but I'd be some combination of depressed and humiliated if I realized that intelligent people writing the dumbest shit they could think of was indistinguishable from my actual belief system. Then again, I suppose that things like shame or reality get in the way among the home-schooled creationist crowd.

*I think this has to be my all-time favorite from that site. And it fits very well with today's post….it's just insane enough to be real, and just ridiculous enough to be fake:

"I am a bit troubled. I believe my son has a girlfriend, because she left a dirty magazine with men in it under his bed. My son is only 16 and I really don't think he's ready to date yet. What's worse is that he's sneaking some girl to his room behind my back. I need help, God! I want my son to stop being so secretive!"

Um….yeah…….

If there's any humor to be found in 4000 dead Americans and untold tens of thousands of dead Iraqis, I'm the kind of person who will find it. Since none of what has happened in Iraq is the slightest bit funny, I have to take my knee-slappers where I can get them. And nothing cracks me up quite as much as "journalists" going on the Department of Defense approved, Army-chapperoned gawking tours in Iraq…and then breathlessly reporting just how swell everything seemed like the obedient stenographers they are.

Victor Davis Hanson, come on down. VDH, as he's known around the frathouse, is a self-described "conservative military historian" affiliated with the Hoover Institute. He's made a long career out of dropping editorials into objective, serious media like the National Review (where he now has a weekly online column). Fine. Good for him. What I don't understand is why newspapers like the Chicago Tribune dignify him with column-inches, as they did with his latest comedy routine on Friday.

Hanson's obliviousness to the fact that he's just been taken on a carefully-coreographed, PR-managed dog/pony show borders on willful ignorance. Can you even imagine writing crap like this for a living? If this column were one of mine, I'd be far too busy punching myself in the face to write another. To wit:

Over the last 90 days, there has been newfound optimism, as Iraqis are at last stepping forward to help Americans secure their country.

Stop me if you've heard that one before.

I spent last week touring outlying areas of Baghdad and American forward operating bases in Anbar and Diyala provinces, talking to Army and Marine combat teams and listening to Iraqi provincial and security officials.

Well, if you spent the week at American forward operating bases, that puts to rest any questions we might have had about the thoroughness of your research and the objectivity of your sources! I'm surprised that the military gave you such an upbeat impression.
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I would have thought for sure they'd say "Wow, are we ever fucked in the ear."

On this recent trip to Iraq, I rode on highways that just a few months ago were nearly impossible to navigate without being blown up by improvised explosive devices. Soldiers now train Iraqi security forces as often as they fight terrorists.

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So you just hopped in a rental car and drove "the highways" solo because they're so safe, right? Any chance you were in an armored vehicle, defended by a gaggle of heavily-armed Marines? And while the last four years of "training Iraqi security forces" hasn't amounted to a hill of happy horseshit, I'm sure the training you observed will do the trick.

I spent last week touring outlying areas of Baghdad and American forward operating bases in Anbar and Diyala provinces, talking to Army and Marine combat teams and listening to Iraqi provincial and security officials. Whether in various suburbs of Baghdad, or in Baqubah, Ramadi, or Taji, there is a familiar narrative of vastly reduced violence.

I wonder if….nah, there couldn't have been any selection bias regarding which Iraqis the author was allowed to speak with by his military escorts. "Provincial and security officials"….check. Civilians….um, they're not mentioned in the article but I'm sure he spoke to dozens of them. Hundreds, maybe.

If Victor Hanson (and his editors…let's not let them off the hook) honestly can't tell the difference between reporting and what Hanson did, I assume they're the same people who think pro wrestling is real well into adulthood. A reflective person might ask "I know what I saw, but what didn't I see?
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" after coming back from the DoD Press Junket tour. Then again, one doesn't secure regular gigs at the NRO by being reflective.