Why is it so hard for these bozos to realize that the REAL enemy is religious fundamentalism? Islamic AND Christian.

And why can't they seem to realize that the more strident their words and actions become, the more they actually strengthen their mortal enemy?

Check out Dr. (In)sanity in the Blog Report for another example.

I suppose that part of the implied critique is that there is no monolithic Muslim movement. Just as the Communist movement quickly devolved into several political power centers, the Muslims are divided into two main groups - Sunni and Shi'a - and those groups are subdivided into tendencies and personalities, such as Al Qaeda (Sunni) or the Al Sadr (Shi'a) groups. Then there's also the minor Sufi tradition. If there's a Caliph among them, he (and, of course, it must be a "he") has yet to demonstrate his authenticity.

It's similar to the Fundamentalist Christian "movement". They were able to wallpaper their differences for two national elections. Already the power that they gained has created the typical centrifugal forces. The new Pope has already started to call back the "evangelical" wing of his church from too much intimacy with the lesser Christians.

Some say that democracy is too messy, and authoritarianism will win out in the name of order and security. I think that democracy is a recognition of the need to give an audience to, and then to reorganize a response to, all of our competing interests. Of course, we have to defend it, but it has a compelling logic and aesthetic that helps it to survive.

...Glenn, you don't know the half of it.

I had a brief conversation with someone last Saturday, a man I've never met before. Nice fellow, probably mid-50s, ex-military, drives a big pick-up truck. Not a stupid man. I had a little deal to do with him.

Everything was going fine, when the subject of the Iraq war came up. He admitted he'd voted for Bush twice, but was very sceptical of him now. I commented that if Al Gore had been elected twice, things would be very different.

In all seriousness, this fellow looked at me and said "oh, no, no. If we had elected him, we wouldn't be able to build anything."

I said "huh?"

He said "he wouldn't let us cut down a single tree..and, by the way, I think global warming is a lie." and he went on to tell me just why it's a lie.

This fellow had a completely false view of both Al Gore, and the world he lives in. It could only come from listening to right-wing radio, and watching Fox News.

Multiply this by millions, and you get GW Bush elected twice.

Probably the worst thing Congress ever did in the 90s was repeal the fairness doctrine. I'm convinced the Fairness Doctrine is what kept our public square relatively lie-free.

Because every time the right-wing noise-makers lied about something, they had to be refuted by facts, right then and there, or soon after. So, it was tougher for the lies to get traction.

I think right-wingers understood this well, and that is why they worked so hard to get the fairness doctrine repealed.

It may be impossible to put that demon back in the bottle, but if we could somehow re-institute the fairness doctrine, maybe facts could begin to get a toehold over lies.

The conversation with this man ended amiably enough, I just quit talking. We concluded our business, and he roared away in his giant pick-up, sure that HE wasn't contributing to the destruction of our climate.

I'm Pakistani-American, my family is Muslim. I find these fears of the crazy Islamists taking over and destroying I'm Pakistani-American, my family is Muslim. I find these fears of the crazy Islamists taking over and destroying Western civilization to be quite ridiculous. Most Muslims (at least the ones I know), think these Islamists are loony and antithetical to the true ethos of Islam. What's more, most Muslim countries are decades behind Western countries in terms of technology, science, civil institutions, and literacy, so they hardly pose a threat to the Western way of life.

Yes, fundamentalism and extremism are a big problem for the Muslim world. Muslims need to rediscover the interior spiritual development of their faith (exemplified by Sufism) instead of focusing so much on exteriors and legalities. This inward turn of self-awareness and purification (known as the “greater jihad”) will also help root out the true causes of terrorism and fanaticism.

Western intellectuals and friends can help the Muslim world in its spiritual and cultural maturity by supporting the constructive elements in Islam. Denigrating an entire diverse culture comprising of over a billion people will not help anyone and will only exacerbate the "clash of civilizations."

Apologies, this is OT, a belated love letter of sorts. I have been lurking here in GG's rigorous and inspiring Salonspace for months now, never needing to add my own two cents because Glenn's got such a smart, articulate, and thorough Standing Commentariat (not to mention a few bleakly amusing if utterly predictable trolls). I am extremely thankful every day for Glenn's posts and for the sharp extensions and debates that go on here in the letters section. You are collectively the only reason I still subscribe to Salon. Keep doing what you all do!

There was a time in my life when I actually did some modest bit of political/cultural commentary for a living, but I quit that kind of work about 2 years into the Bush presidency...A cop-out, perhaps, but honestly, I just felt started to feel out of my depth. The alt-weekly newspaper column I wrote was called "Underwhelmed" but I couldn't maintain that blase, world-weary stance anymore...since OVERWHELMED is what I'd started to feel, and continue to feel almost every day. Once again, I am grateful that there are a few highly qualified and extremely stalwart people out there, Glenn among the very best, to make sense of the world for those of us who still believe in something call Reality.