The following is a fine rant I posted at linkfilter.net. I'd like to share it here as well. No? You no like for me to share here? I share anyway. Links to sources below rant. One of my favorite rants in a while.
Oh joy...
Posted by gnosis23 on Jan 26, 2004 08:29am
...yet more ad hominem attack nonsense disguised as opinion for simply questioning the same old uber-ultra-patriotic jingoistic horseshit.
Even more amusing is when no-name reporters try to fan the flames of alleged controversy disguised as political opinion to further their careers. I wonder if 'reporters' like her spend that much time wondering whom is famous enough for them to attack to garner recognition?
*yawn*
What an easy target, anyway. People expect thespians to have concise, well rounded opinions that fit neatly into sound-bites? When in all of the known history of this good Earth did any complex issue ever boil down to a soundbyte, much less one from a harried, hounded, and dim-witted actress? What, are these actors and actresses all minoring in political science whilst at film school or something? You're telling me that these political views and opinions are so fragile and hollow that it matters what she or any other airheaded actor/actress says?
What an insane world this is. Where's the goddamn reset button? It's time.
"Ooo! Look! I'm smarter than a scatterbrained actress! Ooo! Ooo! Lookitme! Attack! Attack! I can't think of anything constructive to say, so I'll just pick an easy target! Ooo! Look! See? Attack! I told you all those people questioning the motive and authority of the Federal Government (though it has been wrong before, it can't possibly be again! What are the odds? SHHHHH!) are all weirdo scatterbrained hypocritical losers! See! I have an example! Since her opinion parrots this other persons opinion, they must all be equally scatterbrained!"
*beleaguered sigh*
Is it too late to go back to the fucking trees yet? Yes? Whattya mean you burnt them down for cattle grazing land? McDonald's?!? What the fuck is that? Eww! And you eat that shit and willingly call it food? Right. I'll just keep moving. There just has to be some nice trees with some nice fruit to go hang out in somewhere. I hope.
I'm so sick to death of all this incredibly foolish and wasteful assgrabbery. (It's not even *fun* assgrabbery. At least if it were fun it would have purpose and not be wasteful. Go fly a kite for fuck's sake. Go bowling. Go take a flying fuck at the moon!)
So much jingoistic bullshit on all sides of every fence. So much semantic bullshit. Linguistic "framing". Ad hominem attacks a go-go. Semantic incivility.
What an insane pother of wasted breath, this fearful and juvenile questioning of every single quirk and nuance of any and all humans around them who might just possibly think about or see things differently.
God forbid we allow anyone the freedom to be different. We all know that just leads to terrorism. "Oh Dear GOD! Are you questioning the God-granted authority of our dear President? HE MIGHT HEAR YOU! YOU'LL JINX US FOR SURE YOU FILTHY COMMIE BASTARD!"
We're all complicit, every single one of us, of allowing a pervasive culture of unqualified fear, loathing and doubt to fester and swell beneath our very feet and threatening the fabric of (western) society itself. The rarely questioned ideals of the nearly invisible "social contract" itself is threatened in the process.
Wherever there is pervasive fear and suspicion, violence follows shortly after.
Whatever. I'm pretty sure we're fucked. Maybe I should just save my breath, err, keystrokes.
Pissing upwind in a blizzard has never been a good idea, anyway, unless you savor piss-cicles.
Article in question is here, and I doubt it is a permalink, but the major points can also be found at the second link: http://www.jewishworldreview.com/michelle/malkin.html
Full linkfilter blog article and comments are here: http://linkfilter.net/?id=38428