Alex was far too nice to this simpleton. All Goldberg has proved is that any moron can come up with a vacuous thesis and base a total-waste-of-time book on it. Revisionist history? I have three degrees in history and I don't think it's either revisionist or history. It's just stupid.

Jonah typifies the highly intelligent, but-not-as-well-informed-as-he-thinks person. Fascism essentially becomes whatever he (or someone else?)says it is. And many of us who have criticisms of what often passes for liberalism believe it's a stretch to call it totalitarian. Interestingly, the sociologist Talcot Parsons called fascism "radicalism of the right" in 1942. Finally, Nazi Germany outlawed abortion, and Spain wasn't really fascist, but traditional rightist authoritarian. The fascist party (Falange)there was kept in check by Franco and the boys. John George

this increasingly weird thought attempts to lead fragile unsuspecting minds to utter confusion about right and wrong. i don't get it. it's like a hollywood writer trying to come up with a new screenplay. these people throw random odd combinations or apply reverse spin topics, and then see what happens. i'd humbly say this has all become too jewish for prime time. pure perversion.

I wish Koppelman had pressed home his points a bit more forcefully; every time he pointed out a contradiction in Goldberg's thesis, Jonah showed how little he has actually thought about the issues on which he holds forth. In each case, Goldberg was first forced to concede Koppelman's point, then launch into a semantic salsa to try to recover his position.

Essentially, Goldberg wants to define fascism, liberalism, or any other politically loaded term he uses, in whatever way suits his thesis. Thus, he talks about "right-wing Progressivism" with a straight face, completely oblivious of the oxymoron he's just coined. Or his characterization of Nixon as being in the "liberal wing of the Democratic Party" as "measured by today's standards and today's issues."

In Goldberg's usage, "liberal" is a catchall term for anything with which he disagrees or that frightens and confuses him. The complete incoherence of his semantic formulation is summed up in his statement "O]ne of the biggest distinctions between what I'm calling liberal fascism ... and classical fascism, is that classical fascism was masculine and violently oppressive and today's liberalism is feminine and not oppressive but smothering with kindness." In other words, "liberal fascism" is the same as "classical fascism" except for those instances in which it is the polar opposite. Jonah as much as admits that his own argument has no internal consistency or logic. He'd be perfectly at home attending the Mad Tea Party.

Read a book, for crying out loud. He's dying to use the word "fascist" as an insult, because it's a bitchin' insult. People on the right hate being called fascist, christo-fascist, neofascist, etc. It hurts their feelings, or at least the overactive bile duct where feelings would be in a normal person. He's hindered by the fact that fascism is a product of the political right, which happens to be his suckling teet, so he does a revisionist history so he can have his way. Typical right-wing douchbaggery.

Funny how when Howard Zinn tells history in a way that isn't always popular, guys like call it "revisionist" as an insult. I don't take no crap from no Lucian Freud-looking pussies like Jonah Goldberg.

already hired by tv or hollywood. his brothers in arms. oops. these folks - and we know who they are - relentlessly manifest novelty for profit. they believe this is legitimate work. they get up early and diligently mine possiblities high and low -- for exploitation -- in the name of, "entertainment".

Charlie Chaplin.

...would John Podhoeretz wear Bates boots?

John Podhoeretz has a plan for Sunni males between the age of 15 and 35.

So we're agreed, no bad thoughts ideas expressions theories let alone the exercise of those words and thoughts has ever issued from the Unicorn's ass of any liberal ever.

You folks remind me of the people I found on research project to Austria 25 years ago when we went looking for civilian Austrians who had knowledge of their neighbors collaborating with the SS. Do you know what they all told us?

"No one here was a Nazi, we never worked with them. The people you want are in that village over there."

Similarly half the East German population at one time or another worked for the Staasi spying on the other half of the population. But of course no one, even to this day admits that it ever happened. Sure it might have been a broken down socialist bad dream but oddly, all the people in it view themselves as heroes.

You're all heroes. I'm sure of it. It's all those people you don't like who are evil.

"Fascism is definitely and absolutely opposed to the doctrines of liberalism, both in the political and economic sphere."

—Benito Mussolini, The Doctrine of Fascism, 1935

'nuff said.

Pantload. Pantload. Pantload. Pantload. Can't be said often enough. Between him and Paglia I am losing interest in subscribing to Salon.

teh goldberg is: You can prove any thesis if you can make up your own definition of words.

"Me and my pal Benito Mussolini have read this Goldberg book. The Pantload is wrong about fascism. He wouldn't know fascism if I locked him in a small cell with it and threw away the key.

------------------ Adolph Hitler

See I just proved him wrong much like he wrote his book.

So, Jonah say America is bad to you Jew, too. If Holocaust translates as burnt sacrifice to a vengeful G_d, preeze to exprain incindiery weapon such as bomb and napalm. Fahrenheit 451 says the first casualty of WAR is truth, if you care to remember.

This has been a right wing meme for several years as the right wing continues to try to demonize everyone else, especially the "left" who is pretty much anyone who can think clearly and isn't greedy.

The arguments he is positing are downright dumb but they are not created for our benefit but rather to continue to try to solidify ignorant right wingers against everyone else.