since when does anyone give a rip what Hitchens has to say about something like this? Save him for when you want that rapier-like intellect repeating his favorite talking points about Islamo-fascism or when you want that lone dissenting voice on a panel of lefties who actually think torture is illegal and an elected American administration should be held accountable for upholding democratic ideals. Otherwise, he's quite useless.

I too am more than a little chagrinned that K.O. would capitulate to this phony posturing and caterwauling of the tender-minded minions in the media who LOVE to pretend to be outraged.

I'm glad she said what she said. And I'm glad people like Joan are willing to stand up for her.

...but not all of it.

as I usually expect Camille's pieces to posit some purposefully contrarian nonsense in order to stir the pot, I was somewhat taken aback by the opening to her latest and find myself nodding in agreement with her basic premise; that right-wing rhetoric had assumed a very dangerous tone since the election and was using the general miasma of grassroots discontent to inflame the public in ways that went far beyond the usual Punch and Judy theatrics into something bordering on pure mania.

The money quote for me is, "In a harried, fragmented, media-addled time, there is an invigorating simplicity to this political fundamentalism. It is comforting to hold fast to hallowed values, to defend tradition against the slackness of relativism and hedonism. But when the tone darkens toward a rhetoric of purgation and annihilation, there is reason for alarm." This is absolutely spot on.

She also adeptly describes the simplistic characterization that the right has of it's own sense of righteousness as compared to the skewed caricature that it constantly reinforces of the Left which has become the ultimate straw man for attaching all of your fears about a world that is IN FACT changing in fundamental ways well beyond our control whether we like it or not.

But I find her a little late to the party because this is not new. This has been going on for some time, often promoted by none other than her favorite "personality", Mr. Limbaugh. This is of course where we part company. I don't find Mr. Limbaugh to be harmless, like a mere carnival barker on the sidelines offering his simple "opinions". He is directly responsible for helping foment this derisiveness and petulance which mistakes sheer bombast for moral rectitude and equates lowest common denominator vulgarity for wit. His direct descendant is Glenn Beck who appears like a hapless loon but just happens to casually spew half-digested notions of a dangerous world sliding into a fascist police state at the behest of our president. What's dangerous about this and the talk radio Camille professes to love, is indeed this oversimplification of complex issues which doesn't demand an examination of one's cherished notions, (even if they are a result of prejudice born of fear), but gives the casual listener a sense of righteousness in embracing them. This is a serious issue and deserves to be addressed, (combated even),in a consciously crafted way because we have reached a point where intelligent discourse doesn't hardly exist any more, where consensus cannot be reached, where simply stating a falsehood vigorously enough suffices and where language and meaning itself itself is being raped and tortured. This may be our biggest battle, in reclaiming our collective belief in the need to actually communicate as a nation. ...also a little integrity wouldn't hurt either.

But as per her usual gnat-like attention span, she barely scratches the surface of this debate before it's off "to cultural issues", (which means Madonna, or some facsimile thereof).I honestly wish she would force herself to focus once in awhile because i would love to hear more what she thinks about real issues because honestly, I don't give a rat's ass about her latest crush.

The big pile of blubbiness needs to be taken down a peg or to. He has for too long presided without recrimination regarding his usual inflammatory rhetoric and hyperbole. I hope this is only the beginning. I see that he's started targeting MSNBC - a sign that perhaps their slings and arrows are actually starting to sting a bit. good. He is a perfect example of everything that's wrong with our modern political theatre, complete bullshit hiding beneath the first amendment as soon as someone criticizes the fat boy. He's just an entertainer don't ya' know...

Pity the poor rich white boy. His lot in life is so hard. He can't get what he wants through simple bullying and mega-watt bellyaching to the choir. So sad.

I was afraid to watch the exchange after reading the hand-wringing intro you posted earlier, (I really don't want to see good people willingly walk into this Fox shooting gallery where pre-fab arguments are built into the questions that are asked), I was afraid you'd have been run over by the O'Reilly ego-machine. But Jason Linkins' review of it on HuffPo changed my mind and I must say, you were great; not only did you unapologetically call Dr. Tiller a hero, but you simply called O'Reilly on the carpet for his part in helping egg on these borderline cases which left to their own devises would probably just continue on in their frustrating, inconsequential lives, harming no one. It is the disgusting fact disguised within all this First Amendment crap that these cowards are hiding behind, that these "acts" were partially "legitimized" by the likes of Mr. Bill and his ilk. Freedom of speech does not protect screaming, "Fire!" in a crowded theater. Well the world we live in has become that theater and some of these jerk-offs are doing their best at stoking that fire.