No, this isn’t a new Fox entertainment special, although the thought of, say, Lt. Smash pre-emptively striking Atrios does have its charms. [Would it look like the “Crimson Permanent Assurance” segment of Monty Python’s Meaning of Life? Probably, except that Smash would have a younger crew and an armor-plated building with night scopes — Ed.]
Yesterday, I wrote a post about the Iranian Pashtun-service radio report that claimed Osama bin Laden had been captured by American troops “a long time ago” and that he was being held secretly until the election. To me, this ludicrous piece of propaganda — even their one named source claimed he’d been misquoted — was yet another example of a clumsy attempt by Iranian hard-liners to influence an American presidential election. They had tried in 1980 to claim that they would never negotiate with a Reagan administration, to no effect; and a couple of weeks ago, tried to claim that the Kerry campaign would have much more effective diplomatic results in the Middle East and produced an e-mail, supposedly from the Kerry campaign, to prove it. My point was not that Kerry had really sent the Guardian Council an e-mail or that Kerry loved Iran more than the US; it was that the Iranians had a deep interest in getting George Bush out of the White House in order to turn our national policy on terrorism from war to law enforcement.
However, and perhaps predictably, once Instapundit linked to it (and thanks for the link, Glenn!), a left-wing blogger linked it and characterized my post as an attack on Kerry’s patriotism. (The blogger also impugned my intelligence, and if I had feelings, they’d be hurt, I assure you.) I replied in kind in an update on the original post. I’ve received several comments from readers of his blog, and I thought I’d respond to them here. A couple of them contained substance and actual argument — perhaps Quicksauce more than any — and those readers are always welcome. I may not agree with the argument, but at least it’s honest debate.
Some of the rest, however …
Me: And here I thought it was the Republican party who had the history of dealing with the Iranian government to rig elections.
Hee hee! Me — who couldn’t be bothered to use his real name or give an e-mail address — also doesn’t bother to provide any evidence for the thoroughly debunked “October Surprise” story to which the Carterites have been desperately clinging. Get over yourself, pal, and reread the post. I’m not claiming Kerry has anything to do with Iranian machinations.
Jesus: You are an intellectual midget.
It’s nice of Jesus to take some time off of his publicity tour for his new film, but anyone whose e-mail is jesussaysyousuck@hotmail.com, whether real or not, is not a very reliable source on anyone’s intellect. Great debate method, too. Don’t argue the facts or the conclusions — just toss an insult. Very convincing.
We have two people who love photography:
photoshop Tennis: i’m waiting for the vets against kerry authentic photo of kerry and osama playing shuffleboard together on the deck of the USS Arizona, while in the background john mccain gives bill clinton a blowjob.
instapundit rules! [I agree with this much, anyway.]
Pat Fornler: When Osama is captured, I hope Bush makes the announement in his flight suit. He’s awesome in the flight suit. Did you know he personally pulled Saddam from the spider hole? They keep it quiet, he’s modest. But if you look at the pictures, you can see Bush is the guy on the right.In an Army suit, not the flight suit.
Again, thanks for advancing the debate while demonstrating your keen abilities to grasp the concepts. It’s good to know the Iranians aren’t completely wasting their time by spinning lunatic conspiracy theories. At least Pat had the guts to put his/her real name and e-mail address on the post.
But one of the commenters nailed me — and I deserved it. Here’s the one that found the stupid weak spot I left in my response when I was irritated by the “patriotism” red herring:
Carleton Wu: No one doubts that John Kerry loves America, although he sometimes doesn’t seem too fond of Americans. But his inconsistent stands on the war and his track record of opposing military spending reflects bad judgement, not a lack of patriotism. Why do Kerry supporters screech about his patriotism every time his voting record and policies get debated?
Wow. Most conservatives wait at least a paragraph before contradicting themselves in such a painfully obvious manner.
I mean, the rest of your BS is just the party line (eg does the fact that Kerry voted against a specific Defense appropriations bill mean that he wanted to abolish the Armed Forces?), but if your going to get all weepy about how you’re being accused of questioning Kerry’s loyalty to Americans, you ought to remember to edit out the dumbass joke about how Kerry doesn’t like Americans…
Smarter monkeys, please.
I’ll own that one. To be honest, I was trying to be funny. I was reminded of a Peanuts cartoon where Lucy tells Linus that he would be a lousy doctor because he doesn’t love mankind. Linus responds, “I love mankind — it’s people I can’t stand!” So, Carleton Wu, you were right and I was wrong. I don’t have any proof that Kerry doesn’t love Americans, and in fact I’m sure he does. The Captain accepts the 10 lashes with the whip, held in the left hand, and promises not to do it again, or if so, to at least write something funny.
Finally, Mark wrote and actually asked me a direct question:
Where did you hear about this story? And what do you have against Kerry? Or has Bush really fought to improve your way of life? I’d like to hear from you Ed.
I heard about the Iranian radio report from several news sources. I read a number of on-line news sources every day (and no, not Fox News except on occasion). The rest is my opinion. As for what I have against Kerry and why I support Bush — that I will address later today, directly. It’s a fair question and you deserve an answer.
I hope you will return to read it.