Quotes Of The Day -- Winners And Losers

 

"Before Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine, some U.S. officials privately warned their Russian contacts against hubris. It would be easy to start this war, they cautioned, but difficult to end it successfully. All of the United States’ modern military history, from Vietnam to Iraq and Afghanistan, told this humbling story. But the Russians didn’t listen.

"Now, nearly a year later, we see the devastating results — for Russia, Ukraine and the whole world. Putin miscalculated what military strategists call 'the order of battle' — overestimating his country’s strength and underappreciating Ukrainian and U.S. resolve. He’s caught in a trap of his own creation, which makes him desperate and dangerous but ultimately doomed to failure..." -- David Ignatius, Washington Post, on "What a year of war has revealed of three leaders."

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"...Ukraine’s armed forces have admirably adapted in each phase of this fight, learning lessons from training they received over the past decade, and from the scars earned on the battlefield itself. And Russia has repeatedly demonstrated an inability to do the same.

"It will remain difficult for Russia to change — simply because it can’t. A nation’s army is drawn from its people, and a nation’s army reflects the character and values of the society. While equipment, doctrine, training and leadership are important qualities of any army, the essence of a fighting force comes from what the nation represents. Putin’s autocratic kleptocracy is thus far proving no match for Ukraine’s agile democracy." -- Gen. Mark Hertling, USA (ret.), also in the Washington Post, on "Why Ukraine will win the war."

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"...Putin can win only by Ukraine’s allies choosing to lose by not maximizing their moral and material advantages. He is counting on Western publics’ support for Ukraine being brittle, and especially on the multiplication of Josh Hawleys.

"This freshman Republican senator and probable presidential aspirant exhorted the Jan. 6 mob moments before he did what it demanded, trying to block some states’ electoral votes. Now, continuing his pandering to the most primitive portion of the GOP base, this Missouri Metternich is opposing what no one is proposing — giving Ukraine a 'blank check.' He evidently has not noticed the excruciating incrementalism of NATO allies’ aid to that valorous nation. Perhaps Hawley, advocate of nanny government “conservatism,” has been too busy promoting his plan to make the federal government not Big Brother but Big Parent, taking over parenting with a law against children under age 16 using social media.

"Hawley, a caricature of a (rhetorically) anti-Washington demagogue, is a human windsock, responsive to gusts of public opinion. An Associated Press poll shows that public support for aiding Ukraine militarily has declined from 60 percent last May to 48 percent today, and to 39 percent among Republicans. So, Hawley says the U.S. policy of supporting Ukraine’s survival 'has to stop.'” -- George Will, on "Josh Hawley-esque" Putin caucus Republicans.  "Human windsock."  That describes lightweight Hawlin' Ass Hawley perfectly.

Fire On The Right

As is often the case, some of the harshest critiquing of dimbulb autocrat Donald "#BunkerBoy" Trump, especially following his recent malicious antics, is coming from never- Trumpers on the right.  (Ed. note: featuring these writers doesn't mean we're ignoring their significant contributions to building the party they now excoriate.)

George Will

This unraveling presidency began with the Crybaby-in-Chief banging his spoon on his highchair tray to protest a photograph — a photograph — showing that his inauguration crowd the day before had been smaller than the one four years previous. Since then, this weak person’s idea of a strong person, this chest-pounding advertisement of his own gnawing insecurities, this low-rent Lear raging on his Twitter-heath has proven that the phrase malignant buffoon is not an oxymoron. [snip]

... The measures necessary for restoration of national equilibrium are many and will be protracted far beyond his removal. One such measure must be the removal of those in Congress who, unlike the sycophantic mediocrities who cosset him in the White House, will not disappear “magically,” as Eric Trump said the coronavirus would. Voters must dispatch his congressional enablers, especially the senators who still gambol around his ankles with a canine hunger for petting. [snip]

... Senate Republicans must be routed, as condign punishment for their Vichyite collaboration, leaving the Republican remnant to wonder: Was it sensible to sacrifice dignity, such as it ever was, and to shed principles, if convictions so easily jettisoned could be dignified as principles, for . . . what? Praying people should pray, and all others should hope: May I never crave anything as much as these people crave membership in the world’s most risible deliberative body.

Jennifer Rubin

Nothing could be more representative of the dangerous narcissism of a president in over his head, resorting to threats of violence against a country he ostensibly is supposed to lead. The deliberate instigation of violence for his own photo op tells Americans how deeply twisted and deformed his character is.

His stunt was designed to play to the most rabid white evangelicals, who inexplicably have always seen themselves — not African Americans — as the true victims. The invocation of a religious institution to justify an assault on peaceful protesters was as great an abuse of religious symbols as anything Trump has done. Surely, he never heard of the “Blessed are the peacemakers” passage from the Christian bible. He worships not peacemakers but instruments of brute force. [snip]

It does not take much imagination to conclude Trump is attempting to escalate violence around the country so he can deploy the military. This is the conduct of a tin-pot dictator — someone resorting to violent suppression of our most closely cherished rights.

More than ever, we should all recognize that, as former vice president Joe Biden put it, this is an election about the soul of our country and the survival of peaceful self-governance.

Michael Gerson

Every crisis the United States now faces has been made worse by Trump’s limits as a leader and a man. We needed a president who could imagine what the American experiment looks like from the perspective of those who find its promises fraudulent. We got someone incapable of empathy. We needed a president who would be data driven in matters of public health policy. We got someone driven by irrational enthusiasms and the advice of cronies. We needed a president who could calm destructive passions. We got someone who now urges the militarization of his fight against the left. We needed a president capable of speaking across differences. We got someone whose only authentic public communications are expressions of rancor.

This is the main (and rather obvious) lesson of Civics 101: If you elect a politician who is professionally incompetent and emotionally unwell, you will pay a price. [snip]

A man of Trump’s character, background and talents is the answer to precisely none of the great challenges of our time. His election in 2016 was an act of irrationality and folly by a powerful, noble and indispensable nation. It has made us more pitiable, more degraded and more replaceable than before. And this likelihood was obvious to anyone with a single grain of foresight.

It's 154 days until the election.

Unfit Trump And His Unfit Party

We didn't have to stray from the op/ ed page of our hometown paper, the Washington Post, for reactions from left, right and middle to destructive moron Donald "Rump" Trump's attempt to put on his presidential pants (h/t Steven Colbert) following the shootings in El Paso and Dayton, the core appeal of the Republican Party that suits him so well, and how to effect real change.

Catherine Rampell writes about fear as the core appeal of Republicans:

Trump and allies urge us to cower in trepidation from helpless parents and children seeking asylum, a threat so grave they needed to be separated from one another and caged. We must also fear the supposed Muslim and Latino hordes, who threaten to wipe out Anglo-European culture and displace white babies with their own.

These are hardly the only foreigners who should inspire existential dread, according to right-wing fever dreams. Rogue nations should, too, thus justifying enormous increases in our defense budget. Of course, all the nukes and jets in the world won’t protect us from the assault our enemies abroad are currently waging against us, and that Republicans resist confronting: the one on our electoral system. [snip]

The best effort Republicans make to address American fears of gun massacres involves appeals to mental health improvements. Or, as Trump put it in his speech Monday morning: “Mental illness and hatred pulls the trigger, not the gun.”

But even this suggestion rings hollow, given that Republican officials across federal and state governments are actively working to reduce access to mental health care. A federal suit brought by 20 red states and supported by the Trump administration seeks to strike down the entire Affordable Care Act, which extended behavioral health coverage to millions through Medicaid and the essential health benefits required in individual market plans.

Republicans thrive on imagined menaces. Yet when a real-life menace demands action, they dismiss it. What, pray tell, is the party so afraid of?

(Spoiler alert:  losing power.]

 Former Dumbya speechwriter Michael Gerson on Trump's lack of moral standing:

Never in my political lifetime has an American president had less moral standing to address a national threat. Nearly every phrase of President Trump’s televised response to the El Paso and Dayton shootings could be matched with some discrediting contrast in his own voice.  [snip]

Throughout his career, Trump has given permission for prejudice and, in extreme political need, permission for hatred. Faced with electoral headwinds near the end of the 2018 midterms, Trump did not turn to economic populism, or even anti-elitism. He warned that a group of brown people was invading the country and entertained the prospect of shooting them at the border. This is what Trump views as his secret weapon, his political ace in the hole. “People hate the word ‘invasion,’ ” he once said, “but that’s what it is. It’s an invasion of drugs and criminals and people. . . . And in many cases, and in some cases, you have killers coming in and murderers coming in, and we’re not going to allow that to happen.”

Gerson also notes the complicity of evangelical "Christians" and the corporate world:

That is exactly what many in the corporate world, and many conservative Christian leaders, are doing in their devotion to Trump: honoring swagger, bluster and force, and excusing a leader who constructs his political success on the cultivation of contempt and slanders against the weak. By their nearly blind support, such leaders are complicit in Trump’s rule by resentment.

Paleo- conservative George Will says Trump doesn't just pollute the environment, he is the environment;  he also critiques the pharisees who support Trump:

It is one thing to have a president who, drawing upon his repertoire of playground insults, calls his alleged porn-star mistress “Horseface .” Polls indicate that approximately a third of Americans, disproportionately including religiously devout worriers about the coarsening of America’s culture, are more than merely content with this. It is quite another thing to have a president who does not merely pollute the social atmosphere with invectives directed at various disfavored minorities; he uses his inflated office not just to shape this atmosphere but to be this atmosphere.

When Gerald Ford became president after Richard M. Nixon’s resignation, he told the nation: “Our long national nightmare is over.” Today’s long — and perhaps occasionally lethal — national embarrassment will continue at least until Jan. 20, 2021. If it continues longer, this will be more than an embarrassment to the nation, this will be an indictment of it.

Karen Tumulty on why Trump could never pull the nation together:

Given what a narcissist our president is, you wouldn’t think he would find it so hard to look in a mirror.

It tells you how low our expectations have sunk for Donald Trump that when he addressed the nation Monday in the wake of the horrors that occurred over the weekend in El Paso and Dayton, Ohio, it was considered commendable that he could bring himself to actually utter the words “white supremacy” and “domestic terrorism.”

But in calling upon “our nation” to condemn these poisonous forces “in one voice,” he only underscored how unwilling he has been to do that on his own.  [snip]

... Trump has brought racism into the mainstream. He has glorified intolerance, even made it sound like a form of patriotism.

Whether this kind of toxicity is what exists in the president’s heart, or is merely a cynical play to gin up his base, is irrelevant. What is important is that Trump has proved himself incapable of changing. He is not the person to pull a shattered, bewildered country together and unite it behind a renewed sense of purpose.

Eugene Robinson says Democrats need to retake the Senate and sweep the malignant obstruction of Moscow Mitch/ Massacre Mitch aside:

Even when Trump’s presidency is reduced to a nightmarish memory, nothing will change as long as McConnell and the Republicans control the Senate. Even as minority leader, McConnell would have considerable power — but much less than he has now. The Senate’s arcane rules would allow him to delay and obstruct. But the Republican senators who are crying crocodile tears over El Paso and Dayton could at least be forced to go on the record as opposing common-sense gun laws that the American people, including those senators’ constituents, overwhelmingly support.

Now for the hard part. It will not be easy for Democrats to win the Senate in 2020, given which seats are being contested. But for the party to have a fighting chance, it needs to run its very best Senate candidates — several of whom are instead running for president. They need to reconsider.

He names names;  the same names we'd name.

Dana Milbank runs through the "thoughts and prayers" mantra that cowardly Republicans offer after every mass murder, then concludes:

Trump, who previously said white nationalism is not a growing threat, announced that “our nation must condemn racism, bigotry and white supremacy.”

Trump, who said nonwhite lawmakers should “go back” to other countries, asserted that “hatred warps the mind.”

Trump, who last week shared the sentiment that “DEMOCRATS ARE THE TRUE ENEMIES OF AMERICA,” said “now is the time to set destructive partisanship aside.”

Eventually, disgusted Americans will force Republicans to act. Until then, here’s a thought: We don’t have a prayer.

Correction:  "Eventually, disgusted Americans will force Republicans out of office..."  Fixed it.

Tweet And QOTD

Paleo- conservative George Will today on a "sad, embarrassing wreck of a man:"

Americans elected a president who — this is a safe surmise — knew that he had more to fear from making his tax returns public than from keeping them secret. The most innocent inference is that for decades he has depended on an American weakness, susceptibility to the tacky charisma of wealth, which would evaporate when his tax returns revealed that he has always lied about his wealth, too. A more ominous explanation might be that his redundantly demonstrated incompetence as a businessman tumbled him into unsavory financial dependencies on Russians. A still more sinister explanation might be that the Russians have something else, something worse, to keep him compliant. 

The explanation is in doubt; what needs to be explained — his compliance — is not. Granted, Trump has a weak man’s banal fascination with strong men whose disdain for him is evidently unimaginable to him. And, yes, he only perfunctorily pretends to have priorities beyond personal aggrandizement. But just as astronomers inferred, from anomalies in the orbits of the planet Uranus, the existence of Neptune before actually seeing it, Mueller might infer, and then find, still-hidden sources of the behavior of this sad, embarrassing wreck of a man.

In the meantime, a lifelong conservative Republican, has an awakening, 22 months late:

This Republican Congress has proven incapable of fulfilling the Founders’ design that “Ambition must ... counteract ambition.” All who believe in this country’s values must vote for Democrats this fall. Policy differences don’t matter right now. History has its eyes on us.

— James Comey (@Comey) July 18, 2018

After The "Venomous Charlatan" There Won't Be A "Curative Experience"

Setting aside all that he has done in his 40- plus year to get us to this point, we offer George Effing Will on the Republicans' "venomous charlatan:"

Today, however, Trump should stay atop the ticket, for four reasons. First, he will give the nation the pleasure of seeing him join the one cohort, of the many cohorts he disdains, that he most despises — “losers.” Second, by continuing to campaign in the spirit of St. Louis, he can remind the nation of the useful axiom that there is no such thing as rock bottom. Third, by persevering through Nov. 8 he can simplify the GOP’s quadrennial exercise of writing its post-campaign autopsy, which this year can be published Nov. 9 in one sentence: “Perhaps it is imprudent to nominate a venomous charlatan.” Fourth, Trump is the GOP’s chemotherapy, a nauseating but, if carried through to completion, perhaps a curative experience.

Likewise, Michael "Mushroom Cloud" Gerson, former speechwriter for Dumbya and obtuse moralist, has a few questions for those in his party not enthralled by neo- fascist banana Republican Donald "Rump" Trump:

To many people outside the talk-radio hothouse, I can attest, Trump’s debate performance was appalling, contemptible, shameful, squalid, vile. Do we really want a president who views the rule of law as a means to imprison his opposition? A president who dismisses talk of sexual assault on the theory that boys will be boys? A president who urges a foreign power to hack his opponent, then excuses that power when it is caught? A president who accuses his opponent of killing American soldiers based on a position he actually took himself? 

As one might expect, though, Gerson pins the blame on Republicans "devaluing the calling of public service."  Really.  How about those 40- plus years of enemies lists, Southern strategy, welfare queens, Willie Horton, Whitewater, yellow cake uranium, Swift boating, birtherism, 47 percent takers, Citizens United, Voting Rights Act gutting, Benghazi!!, etc., ad nauseam.

Since they can't bear the truth, that "curative experience" Will talks about?  Not gonna happen.

BONUS:  Driftglass sticks it to Parson Gerson for his endless dissembling.

Wankers Of The Week - George Will And The Competitive Enterprise Institute

This week, as we celebrated Earth Day, the once great Washington Post Bezos Bugle has chosen to cede valuable space on its op/ ed page to the likes of Sam Kazman and Kent Lassman (Kaz and Lass, man!), of the Competitive Enterprise Institute who are claiming Oppression! at the hands of environmentalist gummint.  It appears Attorneys General in 16 States have subpoenaed the Institute's funding records to show the extent to which they were/ are paid shills of the fossil fuel industry and associated right- wing plutocrats;  more specifically, the Institute's role in disseminating cooked disinformation about global climate change over the past decade or more in order to delay action. (What is the Competitive Enterprise Institute?  It's a libertarian rats nest that's been funded by the Koch brothers, other right- wing crank wankers like the Scaifes and, of course, completely uninterested parties like Exxon/Mobil and Texaco.)  OK, so we know where those grifters are coming from.

Well, in what appears to be a coordinated attack, Fox "News'" and once great Washington Post Bezos Bugle columnist- for- sale George "Effing" Will just happens to have pooped out a column that joins the shills in decrying the gummint's attempt to smoke out the weasels "shut down debate" on climate change.  Never one to miss an opportunity to take a shot at his bete noire, the sneering Will (who seems to have been in full backpedal mode on climate change recently, along with the rest of his reactionary party, btw) blames it all on "authoritarian" progressives:

Authoritarianism, always latent in progressivism, is becoming explicit. Progressivism’s determination to regulate thought by regulating speech is apparent in the campaign by 16 states’ attorneys general and those of the District of Columbia and the Virgin Islands, none Republican, to criminalize skepticism about the supposedly “settled” conclusions of climate science. 

Supposedly settled.  Hmmm.  Well, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to know, yeah, it's settled -- but go ahead and ask rocket scientists.  Remember, Will's not a climate scientist!  He's a skeptic because Progressivism!  Also, Al Gore!  Also, delay, delay, delay!

Finally ("Is it irresponsible to speculate?  It would be irresponsible not to!"-- P. Noonan), we wonder if opening the books of the Institute would cause some discomfort among certain shall we say bow- tie- wearing columnists who may have received remuneration for disseminating the Institute's non- fact- based "skepticism" on climate change over the years?

(h/t P.E.C.)

Point(head), Counterpoint(head)

Wow.  These two are really going at it (meow!):



Yay Freedumb!  Yay Constitution!  Yay Bill of Rights!  Yay "Ayn" Rand Paul!

Here's adolescent adult Rump Trump's counterpoint(head):

Rand Paul is doing so poorly in the polls he has to revert to old footage of me discussing positions I no longer hold. As a world-class businessman, who built one of the great companies with some of the most iconic real estate assets in the world, it was my obligation to my family, my company, my employees and myself to maintain a strong relationship with all politicians whether Republican or Democrat. I did that and I did that well.

Unless you are a piece of unyielding granite, over the years positions evolve as they have in my case. Ronald Reagan, as an example, was a Democrat with a liberal bent who became a conservative Republican.

Recently, Rand Paul called me and asked me to play golf. I easily beat him on the golf course and will even more easily beat him now, in the world in the politics.
Senator Paul does not mention that after trouncing him in golf I made a significant donation to the eye center with which he is affiliated.

I feel sorry for the great people of Kentucky who are being used as a back up to Senator Paul’s hopeless attempt to become President of the United States--- weak on the military, Israel, the Vets and many other issues. Senator Paul has no chance of wining the nomination and the people of Kentucky should not allow him the privilege of remaining their Senator.  Rand should save his lobbyist’s and special interest money and just go quietly home.

Rand’s campaign is a total mess, and as a matter of fact, I didn’t know he had anybody left in his campaign to make commercials who are not currently under indictment!

 What "talent"!  How "well-qualified"!  What a "deep field"!

BONUS: Unbiased pundit George "Effing" Will, whose wife is on Scott "Koch Head" Walker's payroll, joins in the Rump roast.

Sunday Reading: The Sublime And The Asinine

Carol Anderson, associate professor of African American studies and history at Emory University, has a must-read piece in this morning's once great Washington Post Bezos Bugle, "Ferguson Isn't About Black Rage."  Anderson tells us that, rather than black rage being the culprit in incidents such as the killing of an unarmed black teenager in Ferguson, MO, it is white rage at the progress being made by blacks in this country that's fueling the latest "wave of fear and anger:"

It’s more subtle — less overtly racist — than in 1865 or even 1954. It’s a remake of the Southern Strategy, crafted in the wake of the civil rights movement to exploit white resentment against African Americans, and deployed with precision by Presidents Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan. As Reagan’s key political strategist, Lee Atwater, explained in a 1981 interview: “You start out in 1954 by saying, ‘N-----, n-----, n-----.’ By 1968 you can’t say ‘n-----’ — that hurts you. Backfires. So you say stuff like ‘forced busing,’ ‘states’ rights’ and all that stuff. You’re getting so abstract now you’re talking about cutting taxes, and all these things you’re talking about are totally economic things, and a byproduct of them is blacks get hurt worse than whites. And subconsciously maybe that is part of it. I’m not saying that.” (The interview was originally published anonymously, and only years later did it emerge that Atwater was the subject.) 

Now, under the guise of protecting the sanctity of the ballot box, conservatives have devised measures — such as photo ID requirements — to block African Americans’ access to the polls. A joint report by the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund and the NAACP emphasized that the ID requirements would adversely affect more than 6 million African American voters. (Twenty-five percent of black Americans lack a government-issued photo ID, the report noted, compared with only 8 percent of white Americans.) The Supreme Court sanctioned this discrimination in Shelby County v. Holder , which gutted the Voting Rights Act and opened the door to 21st-century versions of 19th-century literacy tests and poll taxes.

The disproportionate effects of the recession and the right-wing's efforts to weaken social safety net programs and the public sector in general are also part of this pattern, as Anderson points out.  (And to be sure, the right is also fighting advancement and enfranchisement of Hispanics, women, LGBTs, and anyone who might be considered a potential Democratic voter).  The election (and re-election) of Barack Obama was simply the most recent cause for the unleashing of the white right's rage.

While we're on the subject of white rage, look no further than the same once great Washington Post Bezos Bugle for the latest rage-gasm from George "The Man With No Mirrors"  Will.  Will's op/ed (here's the link, but you're just going to waste several minutes of your life that you can't get back if you read the whole thing) is yet another stab at perpetuating the image of Rep. Paul "Lyin'" Ryan (Galt-WI) as a giant intellect of conservatism (well, considering the comparative brainpower on the right, maybe he has a point).  In the process, though, Will shows that he's still (white) enraged at the way President Obama dealt with Ryan's 25-watt intellect in an incident from over 3 years ago. Then, he took a personal swipe at the President:

[Obama] demonstrated the self-­destructive nature of his now-evaporating presidency by his contemptuous, and contemptible, treatment of Ryan on April 13, 2011. After he loftily aspired to teach Washington civility, the White House invited Ryan to sit in the front row at a speech in which Obama gave an implacably hostile and mendacious depiction of Ryan’s suggestions for entitlement reforms [ed. note: bullshit]. Obama thereby repeated his tawdry performance in his 2010 State of the Union address, when, with Supreme Court justices in the front row of the House chamber, he castigated them for the Citizens United decision, which he misrepresented [ed. note: bullshit again]. 

Both times, Obama’s behavior bespoke the insecurity of someone who, surrounded by sycophants, shuns disputations with people who can reply. Ryan, however, has replied with a book that demonstrates Obama’s wisdom in not arguing with a man who has a better mind and better manners.  (our emphasis)

A "better mind and better manners?"  Asinine on many levels.  We seem to recall Joe Biden already did a beautiful job of popping Ryan's deep thought balloons.  But that was one white guy schooling another white guy, so no multi-year umbrage from Will.  So are we the only ones who detect more than a whiff of condescending plantation racism in Will's wording?  To us, that wasn't even dog whistling, that was a siren.  Should the twice-elected President of the United States not presume to challenge his white betters?

If the once great Washington Post Bezos Bugle had a soul, this would be Will's last column for them.  Unfortunately, they don't and it won't.  But, we'll add this to the bulging "George Will is an ass" file anyway.

BONUS:  If you're still not convinced there's a problem in the Ferguson, MO, police force, check this out.

BONUS II:  Still not convinced there's a discrepancy between police treatment of whites and blacks? Remember this?  And we won't even get into Cliven "Hoof" Bundy and his band of armed thugs.

Today's Profiles in Nuttery

First, Charles P. Pierce, who provides a sketch of the increasingly sketchy George "Quill" Will (whose latest scratchings attempt to justify voter suppression):

"In his heart, George Effing Will now is one of those cats who dresses up in camo, runs around upper Michigan with their Bushmaster .223s, pops off a few dozen rounds at an unfortunate oak tree, and then goes home and broadcasts on their shortwaves about how they will be the last redoubt against the tyranny of the UN when it descends on the U.P. to shut down all the deer camps. The guy who spent most of his career fashioning a phony image of erudition is dead set on spending his declining years fashioning a phony image as a wingnut know-nothing, Glenn Beck in a bowtie..." (our emphasis)

Pierce goes on to flay Will's "analysis" of low-versus-high turnout elections (spoiler alert: the elitist Will prefers that only people who agree with him should vote). Will is truly what a stupid person thinks a smart person sounds like (also: see Newt Gingrich).

Second, courtesy of Crooks and Liars, here's what believing what you hear on Fox "News" will get you (spoiler alert: 20 years):

An Indiana man convicted of setting fire to a mosque in Ohio told a judge on Wednesday that he committed the crimes because Fox News and conservative talk radio had convinced him that "most Muslims are terrorists."

Randolph Linn, 52, accepted a plea deal in which he pled guilty to all charges in connection to setting a fire in the prayer room at the Islamic Center of Greater Toledo on Sept. 30. Under the deal, Linn is expected to serve 20 years in prison instead of 40.

Linn explained to the court that he had gotten "riled up" after watching Fox News.

"And I was more sad when Judge [Jack] Zouhary asked him that, 'Do you know any Muslims or do you know what Islam is?'" one mosque member who attended the hearing recalled to WNWO. "And he said, 'No, I only know what I hear on Fox News and what I hear on radio.'" (our emphasis)

(Image: "Glenn Beck in a bowtie," standing in front of a - you guessed it - Fox "News" banner.)

Sunday Morning Reading - Dumb and Dumber

Dumb: Dana Milbank, back in his Beltway Kids snark mode, has a sad that Obama hasn't met his lofty expectations and saw "worrying signs" at the convention. Really? You might want to get a glass belly button so you can look out at reality and still keep your head up your ass. As for Milbank's assertion that Obama is "narrowly favored to win," he might want to check out Nate Silver's numbers.

Dumber: Apparently George "Quill" Will, now completely off the rails, is having Glenn Beck write his columns now.

Letters We Wish We'd Written Dept.

From today's Kaplan Daily "Letters to the Editor:"

"Oh, the rich irony of George F. Will bemoaning the increase in health-care costs for a company whose very business model contributes to so many health problems in this country ['Indigestion over Obamacare,' op-ed, Dec. 8].

How about we agree to let CKE Restaurants peddle its less-than-healthy Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s fast food (if people want to eat themselves to death, so be it) and it agrees to provide reasonable health-care coverage for its employees?

Thank you for the good, if unintentional, laugh, Mr. Will.

Richard N. McGlothlin, Washington"

The thesaurus-thumbing, right-wing shill "Quill" Will, busted again!

Letters We Wish We'd Written Dept.

A while ago, the Sultan of Smug, George "Quill" Will, wrote an op/ed in the Kaplan Daily using a baseball analogy to whine that President Obama (as "Alibi Ike") was blaming the economy's woes on Dumbya's Rethuglican administration (as do most Americans, by the way). Here's a letter to the editor in response to the shitstick that we wish we'd written:

"I don't know what baseball game George F. Will was watching ['The race to take on Alibi Ike,' op-ed, July 7], but to make his analogy of challenging President Obama's record a bit more realistic, imagine relief pitcher Obama's team is down by a historic 13-0 in the fourth inning, the bases are loaded, and there are no outs. Mr. Obama comes in, picks a runner off first base and proceeds to strike out the next two batters.

As Mr. Obama trots off the field, Mr. Will is in the stands booing loudly, calling Mr. Obama a bum and berating him because his team is 'still losing.' If Mr. Obama bothers to explain that he just pitched out of a very difficult jam and that it could take a few more innings to come back from a 13-run deficit, Mr. Will rolls his eyes and refers to him as another 'Alibi Ike.' -- Bob Hirshon, Takoma Park"

Chevy Volt: Motor Trend Hits Back at Limpballs, Will

The hybrid Chevy Volt has been a favorite target of far-right polemicists like Oxycontin Rush Limpballs and George "Quill" Will, primarily because 1) it's a GM product and therefore is tainted by the (successful) gummint bailout, and 2) the Obama administration is providing a $7,500 tax credit for purchasing the Volt, and therefore is tainted by any association with Obama. Sadly for Limpballs and Will, Motor Trend magazine recently named it its 2011 Car of the Year. So that necessitated a characteristically nasty, silly rejoinder from Limpballs on his radio shew.

Well, Motor Trend didn't exactly take the partisan hackery from the right laying down. Check out Todd Lassa's blog on the kerfuffle with Limpballs. Here's a few quotes from the blog to pique your interest:

From Jonny Lieberman on Quill Will: "A bit of flag waving is in order -- but instead, [George] Will chooses to be a partisan clown and gets everything wrong." (Ed. -It certainly isn't the first time, nor will it be the last.)

From Lassa on Limpballs: "If you can stop shilling for your favorite political party long enough to go for a drive, you might really enjoy the Chevy Volt... Just remember: driving and Oxycontin don't mix." (Ed. - Hee-hee)

A Blind Squirrel Occasionally Finds A Nut, cont'd.

We were somewhat surprised to hear George "Quill Pen" Will on ABC's "This Week" gabfest stating that the Rethuglican criticism of President Obama's measured response to the Iranian regime's crackdown on opponents to be "foolish criticism."

As we've noted, the mullahs would like nothing more than overt U.S. support for the demonstrators to justify a harsher crackdown and to delegitimatize the demonstrators as "American lackeys." As Will said, the people demonstrating know full well what our attitude is toward Ahmadiddledoo and Co., even if the Rethugs don't.

Dayum! Foiled by Reality Again!

It didn't take long for George "Quill Pen" Will's Sunday column to be debunked by. . .HIS OWN SOURCE!!

Quill Pen declared "what, me worry" regarding climate change data based on "data" he cited allegedly from the University of Illinois' Artic Climate Research Center. Oops, not so fast, Quill Pen. Problem is, the Arctic Climate Research Center is saying, "we do not know where George Will is getting his information. . ."

From where the sun don't shine maybe?

(photo: ["And that crap was so painful to extract. . ."])

Quote of the Day

The unintentional humor award goes to George "Quill Pen" Will, the prissy pundit of the right, who writes in his syndicated column today:

"On Nov. 3, 1774, [Edmund] Burke, an intellectual founder of modern conservatism. . . ."

That's right. Modern as the 18th century. Hee hee.