The REAL conspiracies that we have to be aware of involve Jews and their riches.

Read the Vanity Fair article Canuck posted a bit ago. The claim is that the US State Department fomented an attempted coup by Fatah against Hamas. Very interesting.

I disagree about Glenn completely. He's one of the smartest, most important civil libertarians with a voice in media today. I've bought two of his books, and they were both excellent. His critique on the systemic right wing biases and base impulses of the elite American media are indispensible.

I don't presume to theorize what motivates his pathological reaction to Israel, but his logic and arguments on the issue are pathetic, biased and predetermined at all times. He searches for polls and facts to support the narrative he wants to hear. When confronted, he has to backtrack to some totally disingenuous claim that he's only concerned because America spends "all of its resources" defending Israel. The 3 billion a year (same as Egypt + Pakistan, or two weeks of military occupation in Iraq).

And I do wish Glenn would critically examine how his writings so fire up the same old classic anti-Semitic conspiracy theories about hidden global financing networks and Jewish control of Washington among a few of his more unhinged fans (not most, just a few). The two or three anti-Semitic loons on this board haven't started to get into Jewish control of academia and Hollywood to brainwash Christian children (the old republican Joe McCarthy subtext), but I'm sure that's next.

But, as always, anti-Semites genuinely don't believe they're anti-Semitic. They just play the "some of my best friends are Jewish..." card, then play the "people play the anti-Semitism card to silence me!" card. And then, amazingly, they find the "facts" and "evidence" which lead them where they always want to go. In their world, Palestinian nail bombers are "justified" because of the occuaption. Hamas is "understandable," and a desire to wipe Israel off the face of the earth is "what oppressed people do." Even though it's not what many suffering cultures have done. Many cultures choose peace. The palestinians choose mortar fires and nail bombs and hiding terrorists in civilian neighborhoods, daring Israel to bomb them.

Glenn said:

It's certainly possible to support the Israeli offensive despite the deaths of these civilians, to truly lament the suffering of innocent Palestinians but still find the war, on balance, to be justifiable.

How can you read that and then say this?

His notion that because blood-thursty [sic] neo-con cowards cheer the murder of Palestinians that this therefore invalidates the morality of the attack itself is inane logic. Pro-war lunatics and anti-Muslim racists will cheer every military attack, right or wrong. That does not mean every attack is automatically wrong. Attempting to discredit an issue by citing guilt-by-association is an intellectual con game.

EDIT FEATURE = BOOO!

Once you hit publish, it's published!

There's no going back, baby!

That's one of the things that make this comment section interesting. No backtracking or edit button tomfoolery.

Interesting you'd choose those two as examples of who you think Mr. Greenwald should emulate. I read both, but JM in particular does not have nearly as much integrity as Mr. Greenwald (see JM's wormy justification for taking the Pro Prop 8 ads).

I personally don't understand why anyone would have a problem with someone being passionate about life and death issues. Something is wrong if you don't. You are absolutely wrong that Greenwald's passion for justice sways him in an inappropriate way. I do not see him critiquing people's motivations, but rather their actions. You are misreading or not understanding what he writes to say what I quote below.

--Ron

Winsmith sez: "Unlike the actually dispassionate Josh Marshall and Matt Yglesias, your entire writing style is infused by emotional sway. You critique the motivations of those you write about using words like "craven," "base," "pathological" and numerous other discriptive words that are essential to emotive response."

Listen Winsmith, my wife tells me I gotta write a business letter or our soles will be repossesed, so I've got work to do.

Tell me again about how great we Jews are when we can actually breed enough of our own to replace ourselves, or even increase. Call me again when the story of Judaism isn't the story of the Exodus- the Exodus of Jews away from Judaism.

And tell me how it will redound to our credit when we prove our "distinctiveness" by killing a couple of thousand more people.

All of which you, of course will have no direct part in. But you will revel in vicarious bloodshed. Real Jewish, pal real Jewish.

Gop ahead, belike your heroes, the Goyim.

@Whinesmith

"For hundreds of years people have tried to figure out why when Jewish people assert their distinctness, their refusal to play by the rules you want to impose on them, when they refuse to acquiesce to a Christian framework of normativity, passivity and meekness, they enrage the Christians who claim to "love" them. As Benjamin Disraeli famously said, Jews are right to be a skittish, insecure people, because 2000 years of Christian love has made them that way."

Well whaddayouknow! Scratcg a Zionist and you find a Jewish Supremeacist! Every time. I'm sorry you find it so bad for your "distinctiveness" to play by the same rules as anybody else. So that's your opinion of non-Jews, Winsmith? No wonder they persecute you, it's self defense!

Winsmith, the tough Jew! What putz!

Please explain how your abusive rant in any way responded to what WinSmith wrote.

He thought he was one of our "protected buddies" that had free reign to do what he wanted in the region. Boy was he wrong.

Things didn't turn out too good for Rumsfeld's old friend Saddam either.

Are you trying to prove that you have liberal "street cred" or something?

Uhm, no. I'm explaining that I'm not a troll. People like you are why Markos avoids the issue. Because people like you rage away in the coffee shops and accomplish nothing.

And you call yourself a "liberal" all antiwar and pro civil rights and whatnot

I am anti-war. I opposed the Iraq War 100% from the start. I supported the two state solution, the right for a Palestinian homeland, the need for Israel to dismantle the settlements and the rights for Palestinians to live free and with part of Jerusalem as their capitol.

Boy, I sure am anti-war!

that is until someone brings up the Occupation and/or Israeli foreign policy, then you are no different than Bill Kristol and Fred Barnes, who were on Fox News Sunday parroting off the exact same talking points you have been parroting here over the past few days.

Why is that?

Because I'm not a reflexive follower who assumes that an issue must be wrong if it's supported by assholes. I think you're an asshole, but I'm sure we agree on many issues.