I have noticed, to my continuing delight and fascination, a string of newly minted trolls rolling off the assembly line like some defective product of Lucy and Ethel's day at the candy factory. RMCobb is and especially illustrative example. Reciting transparently revisionist history, cloaked in reasonableness and faux knowledge of "the fog of war," this one-letter wonder apparently dropped in here out of the blue, read the post, and wonder of wonders, turned out to be an "expert." And unlike those who actually believe his provably false claptrap, happened to be possessed of relatively acceptable writing skills and no obvious mental illness. Unfortunately, since the righties were too busy getting blown by oil executives and MCI operatives all this time (literally, it turns out...) they overlooked investing in the advance work necessary to give their new team members a few weeks or so to establish a record. Nobody told them, apparently, that those mysterious intertubes have a pesky feature called archives.

Real trolls ought to be pissed off, having invested so much time doing for free what these newbies only do for a price. (What are you Shooter, some kind of Commie?)

I too would like to extend my gratitude to one real troll who has shown an ability to think and reason beyond mere partisanship and mud-wrestling; thanks, Tiberius, for your letter to Hume at Fox. Sadly, since you were writing to an Us vs. Them propaganda outlet, your assertion that you're not one of the bad guys will inevitably be assumed to be just more harassment from a lying Liberal S.P.....

The problem with liars is that they assume everyone else lies too, and therefore cannot spot the truth if it drops on their heads.

Please make a note of it.

...Rolls another one. This one is preternaturally concerned about "censorship." Well, it's a darn good thing I have more fixin's for the drink I just spilled over that. If ever a wever a site that was, less prone to censor, well, I'd never be there, because, because, it would take too long to read the damn thing.

Now that "Greenwaldian" has become an adjective, I can expect we'll see a lot of this, and I guess I say, "Bring 'em on."

No matter how crowded the party is, there's always room for one more nincompoop.

So, (anybody ever see "Singing in the Rain? If so the following line in Lina Lamont voice...).

"I am the shimmering, shining star, of the (Texas) firmament... says so, right here."

This is the mirror image of Fox News' little trick of mentioning a right-wing talking point and, in lieu of any actual attribution, saying, "Some say......" There's a great montage of this in Robert Greenwald's "Outfoxed."

I guess the next logical step, which Bush has used with numbing frequency throughout his disastrous tenure, is to set up a straw-man argument, once again attributed to the pithy and loquacious Mr. Some, to shoot it down. "Some people think we should surrender....." Clearly, this trick has rubbed off on reporters. And it's certainly easier, too. Just call one righty blabbermouth, get their quote, and then ask for a "liberal" quote, too, all in one phone call, and head for the barbeque.

Kudos to Atrios for pointing this out.

"More often than not, though, they're people like you." --GG

Wow, did that ever produce a boozy spray around here.....

I commend you, Glenn, for taking the time and trouble to refute the dizzying and pointless arguments of the estimable Ms. Trent. I was still rubbing my eyes in amazement when you popped in. Anyone who uses the epithet "liberal" with the word "media" is clearly a blithering idiot, and Anyone who thinks MoDo is a liberal has serious reading comprehension issues.

Tina obviously has both, but boy, can that girl type.

Thanks for the laugh, but I shamefully admit that no pity was induced in me.

Kitt... Whether or not you've ever been abroad, I never thought you were a broad. But enough with the Palin jokes.

Bystander... I'm always reminded of one of my favorite Oscar Wilde quotes, when I read a GG response like that. "There are times when it is more than a moral duty to speak one's mind; it becomes a pleasure." I'm glad it pleases the reader, too. ;)

Heru-ur... Do you have the link to that post about the LAPD "ceremony?" I found that fascinating and disturbing, and would like to know more.

Lordy, what a world. Time was, I thought art guerilla was cute, entertaining, and sometimes even profound. Sadly, anger and capslock have joined hands to render this voice a bore and a chore. Censorship? I'm against it. Scrolldown? I'm all over that.