A Wild Stab

"And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not
the beam that is in thine own eye?"
                                     Matthew 7:3

"Experience should teach us to be most on our guard to protect liberty
when the government's purposes are beneficial. The greatest dangers
to liberty lurk in insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well meaning
but without understanding."
	                      Justice Louis Brandeis
					       
"Go ahead, make my day."
                          Inspector Harry Callahan

A few days ago I read an article by Jonathan Chait titled "The Case for Bush Hatred". It was so juvenile I must respond childishly.

The Case for Chait Hatred
You About Mad
by G. H.

I hate Jonathan Chait. There I said it. I think his article ranks him among the worst columnists in U.S. history. He reminds me of a kid in grade school who screamed at anyone who disagreed with him. If I knew how he walked and talked, I'm sure I'd hate that as well.

I abhor the way he justifies hating Bush because all his pompous pals hate Bush. And since some people hate Bush more than he does, his hatred is reasonable.

I loathe his portrayal of Bush as a dope and Clinton as a genius. So Bush doesn't know who Pollard is, if you'd asked Clinton what a hummer was his first response wouldn't have been "General Purpose Military Vehicle". And if he thinks a mediocre Yale graduate is stupid, what would he think of my Community College degree. If it takes the likes of Chait to lead us dolts into the light, I'll stick with darkness.

I foam at the mouth when he relies, not on facts, but on other media sources to bolster his arguments. You know: "According to the Times, a senior Church official has confirmed that President Bush did indeed spring from the loins of Satan". Columnist Chait goes further, citing other columnists such as Joe Klein, James Traub, Byron York, Bob Novak, and even cartoonist Tom Toles. Novak and Toles? Why not Ren and Stimpy?

But why I really hate columnist Chait, what makes my eyeballs bleed from fury, is that in order to write this I had to read his entire IRS-Code sized screed, six pages single-spaced, nineteen paragraphs, and four sections. Four freaking sections! I've got seven words for Columnist Chait: Strunk and White's "The Elements of Style". He should read it. It's not much longer than his article.

There, that feels better. Well, not really.

Of course, I don't actually hate Jonathan Chait. I don't even know the guy. What bothers me about Mr. Chait's article is that this sort of factless attack is almost becoming the norm in the media. It seems that reasoned debate is being abandoned for SmackDown journalism. It's crude, insulting, and fake. It serves no one, and, in the end, discourse lies crumpled on the floor.

Now I feel better.