A few days ago a commenter at my own blog brought something astonishing to my attention: I'd been cited by Peggy Noonan as an example of how The American Left is always trying to shut down different views. (She cites me as a "blog critic", apparently gleaned from this Howard Kurtz article. She also misquotes me in a minor way.) Peggy's argument is all about how American leftists can't stand dissenting views and try to silence them at all costs.
Just one problem. I'm Canadian.
As for the substance of Noonan's charge, my original post was simply asking why CBS had put some raging fundie on national television to speak about the tragic school shootings in Pennsylvania.
Conservatives would normally be the first to concede that a) CBS is a private broadcaster, and b) no one has a positive right to be put on the air. (That is, CBS is not legally required to put anyone on.) Therefore, someone at CBS must have made the specific editorial decision to put someone who blamed school shootings on abortion and the teaching of evolution on the public airwaves. My original post simply asked why CBS would do something like that, given that it was guaranteed to offend people.
On the broader argument - that it's the Left that wants to silence dissent - I would simply point you to Glenn Greenwald.
There's really no excuse for the Crazy Dolphin Lady to have cited me as an American leftist, unless you count serial laziness as an excuse. There was plenty of information in Kurtz' original article to find my blog, read the original post, and realize that I am not an American blogger, all with about 15 seconds of effort via Google. Seeing as her entire piece refers to "the American left" over and over and over, this isn't a minor detail. But given how badly Noonan embarassed herself writing about global warming, I think I'll count myself lucky.
5 comments:
I've been cited as an example of American disident, as a leftist reactionary, as a rightwinger, and most recently on backseat blogger I was included in the Fiberal-Lefty blog pile just because in the same sentence that I said I was non-partizan, I also refered to Israel as the "Zionist regime". Well that last part is true, but I also call the Southern nation the "Bush regime". I am the farthest thing from a Liberal supporter one can possibly get.
I learned a long time ago that people try to pigeon-hole your blog into categories that fit a characiture of the ideology they want you to be. My advice? Don't let them do it. I manage this by staying open-minded, quoting statements I agree with from the right, left, centre, far-right, far-left, and every other part of the spectrum not mentioned here.
If it makes sense to me, I support it. But just because I say President Bush is a terrible leader, or that Prime Minister Harper doesn't understand the basics of Science, does not make me a leftist.
I find it amusing how the criticism of a "National" brodacaster for basicly pulling a publicity stunt, turns into the attempt (or "neglect to") "silence" the right wing in america. The whole article smacks of sour grapes, like can't have an honest debate. Personally, I don't think using two high-profile celebrities as examples of being "silenced" as logical, considering one set of people paid to be hear it, and the other could change the channel. The fact that they are "High profile celebrities" means a lot of people are going to listen to what they have to say, wether or not they agree. It's not being silenced, it's encouraging the debate. Hell, she wrote the article about it!
I also find it fairly hypocritical of how she uses her medium to bring in her politics, criticize and illegitimize the others view, calling the left "Bullies" and "Dim dullards" ,wich is pretty much the equivelant of streisand sitting on stage "trying to educate the masses". Atleast Striesand stood up for herself and gave the guy the finger, instead of whining about being bullied in some high-profile article.
OH, and don't worry, i won't tell them you have an american citizenship and spend some summers in new yourk state....whoops
Yo Bro
John,
Regardless of your citizenship, you're clearly a card carrying member of the radical left-wing US intellegensia.
I mean, case in point: was it not you who actually opposed the Iraq war, making you pro-Saddam by default.
You're the worst of the worst, and I'm glad Peggy "outed" you.
Almost any Canuck posting on U.S. sites wouldbe viewed as a dangerous radical these days. Seems like a long time when I heard "God Bless the Canadians" on U.S. radio when we wouldn't join the stampede to oust Saddam ( without leaving him a bolt - hole ! ) via the most ill-advised method available.
Harper is sinking in the polls for salaaming to the Fourth Reich.
In the height of the Cold War there was always the restraint that security had to work on some basis and pissing people off was not smart strategy. These days we have troops in the graveyard of foreign invasion forces ( Afghanistan ) - made more so quite energetically by the U.S.A. these many years - at a time when machine gun equipped craft cruise the Great Lakes.
Could be I would prefer our troops home to form the base of resistance to a U.S. invasion and not playing footsie with Pakistan. It would be a lot easier than this crap the U.S. is pulling in the Middle East : and a twofer : oil and water.
Noonan is even lazier than you give her credit for. She merely lifted your quote from a commentary by Howard Kurtz.
Kurtz didn't identify you as any particular nationality.
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