[Allan from Fallbrook]

drunkle: Fair enough. Rather than pen some overlong response citing chapter and verse, I will confine myself to just hitting the high notes.

In her new book, Wolf uses two extremely preposterous examples as America’s new “fascist drift” and supposed totalitarian repression of “free speaking” individuals. These are Lynne Stewart, who was convicted of aiding and abetting the work of Sheikh Rahman (a convicted terrorist of some note and dedicated anti-American), as well as Adam Gadahn, the self-professed American “voice” of al Qaeda. According to Wolf, the US government’s case against both of these individuals was nothing more than a thinly veiled attempt to silence dissent and “free speakers”. She completely ignores the facts of both cases, as well as failing to note that both individuals were convicted by properly empaneled juries under the watchful eye of both journalists and academics, who would have been the first to cry out if anything untoward were to take place.

She also compares certain safety measures in place at various airports as being in line with security measures practiced by Mussolini’s secret police. These include random checks of baggage and verification that items are what they are represented to be. According to her, Mussolini’s police used similar methods as a means of repression and keeping the populace in line. She attempts to conflate the TSA (Transportation Security Administration) with Mussolini’s secret police, as well as drawing parallels between the use of the word “heimat” (homeland) by the Nazis during the 1930s and 1940s, and America’s creation of a Department of “Homeland” Security. Apparently, our use of the word Homeland and the Nazi use of the word Homeland is not a coincidence. Rather it points to our drift into fascism. I guess it is good we didn’t name it the Department of Fatherland Security.

Her scholarship is sloppy in the sense that she inaptly draws her conclusions between present day US and Hitler’s Germany and Mussolini’s Italy. Simply saying that modern America is “like” fascist Italy or Nazi Germany does not constitute a completed argument. Nor does her hysteria when it comes to implying that somehow the government will come after her personally once it gets wind of her book.

There are quite a few other examples as well. Her book “The Beauty Myth” was shredded by a large number of reviewers (who were largely non-partisan on the issue of feminism), and again largely for the same reasons.

[Allan from Fallbrook]

drunkle: Fair enough. Rather than pen some overlong response citing chapter and verse, I will confine myself to just hitting the high notes.

In her new book, Wolf uses two extremely preposterous examples as America’s new “fascist drift” and supposed totalitarian repression of “free speaking” individuals. These are Lynne Stewart, who was convicted of aiding and abetting the work of Sheikh Rahman (a convicted terrorist of some note and dedicated anti-American), as well as Adam Gadahn, the self-professed American “voice” of al Qaeda. According to Wolf, the US government’s case against both of these individuals was nothing more than a thinly veiled attempt to silence dissent and “free speakers”. She completely ignores the facts of both cases, as well as failing to note that both individuals were convicted by properly empaneled juries under the watchful eye of both journalists and academics, who would have been the first to cry out if anything untoward were to take place.

She also compares certain safety measures in place at various airports as being in line with security measures practiced by Mussolini’s secret police. These include random checks of baggage and verification that items are what they are represented to be. According to her, Mussolini’s police used similar methods as a means of repression and keeping the populace in line. She attempts to conflate the TSA (Transportation Security Administration) with Mussolini’s secret police, as well as drawing parallels between the use of the word “heimat” (homeland) by the Nazis during the 1930s and 1940s, and America’s creation of a Department of “Homeland” Security. Apparently, our use of the word Homeland and the Nazi use of the word Homeland is not a coincidence. Rather it points to our drift into fascism. I guess it is good we didn’t name it the Department of Fatherland Security.

Her scholarship is sloppy in the sense that she inaptly draws her conclusions between present day US and Hitler’s Germany and Mussolini’s Italy. Simply saying that modern America is “like” fascist Italy or Nazi Germany does not constitute a completed argument. Nor does her hysteria when it comes to implying that somehow the government will come after her personally once it gets wind of her book.

There are quite a few other examples as well. Her book “The Beauty Myth” was shredded by a large number of reviewers (who were largely non-partisan on the issue of feminism), and again largely for the same reasons.

[Allan from Fallbrook]

drunkle: Fair enough. Rather than pen some overlong response citing chapter and verse, I will confine myself to just hitting the high notes.

In her new book, Wolf uses two extremely preposterous examples as America’s new “fascist drift” and supposed totalitarian repression of “free speaking” individuals. These are Lynne Stewart, who was convicted of aiding and abetting the work of Sheikh Rahman (a convicted terrorist of some note and dedicated anti-American), as well as Adam Gadahn, the self-professed American “voice” of al Qaeda. According to Wolf, the US government’s case against both of these individuals was nothing more than a thinly veiled attempt to silence dissent and “free speakers”. She completely ignores the facts of both cases, as well as failing to note that both individuals were convicted by properly empaneled juries under the watchful eye of both journalists and academics, who would have been the first to cry out if anything untoward were to take place.

She also compares certain safety measures in place at various airports as being in line with security measures practiced by Mussolini’s secret police. These include random checks of baggage and verification that items are what they are represented to be. According to her, Mussolini’s police used similar methods as a means of repression and keeping the populace in line. She attempts to conflate the TSA (Transportation Security Administration) with Mussolini’s secret police, as well as drawing parallels between the use of the word “heimat” (homeland) by the Nazis during the 1930s and 1940s, and America’s creation of a Department of “Homeland” Security. Apparently, our use of the word Homeland and the Nazi use of the word Homeland is not a coincidence. Rather it points to our drift into fascism. I guess it is good we didn’t name it the Department of Fatherland Security.

Her scholarship is sloppy in the sense that she inaptly draws her conclusions between present day US and Hitler’s Germany and Mussolini’s Italy. Simply saying that modern America is “like” fascist Italy or Nazi Germany does not constitute a completed argument. Nor does her hysteria when it comes to implying that somehow the government will come after her personally once it gets wind of her book.

There are quite a few other examples as well. Her book “The Beauty Myth” was shredded by a large number of reviewers (who were largely non-partisan on the issue of feminism), and again largely for the same reasons.

[Allan from Fallbrook]

drunkle: Fair enough. Rather than pen some overlong response citing chapter and verse, I will confine myself to just hitting the high notes.

In her new book, Wolf uses two extremely preposterous examples as America’s new “fascist drift” and supposed totalitarian repression of “free speaking” individuals. These are Lynne Stewart, who was convicted of aiding and abetting the work of Sheikh Rahman (a convicted terrorist of some note and dedicated anti-American), as well as Adam Gadahn, the self-professed American “voice” of al Qaeda. According to Wolf, the US government’s case against both of these individuals was nothing more than a thinly veiled attempt to silence dissent and “free speakers”. She completely ignores the facts of both cases, as well as failing to note that both individuals were convicted by properly empaneled juries under the watchful eye of both journalists and academics, who would have been the first to cry out if anything untoward were to take place.

She also compares certain safety measures in place at various airports as being in line with security measures practiced by Mussolini’s secret police. These include random checks of baggage and verification that items are what they are represented to be. According to her, Mussolini’s police used similar methods as a means of repression and keeping the populace in line. She attempts to conflate the TSA (Transportation Security Administration) with Mussolini’s secret police, as well as drawing parallels between the use of the word “heimat” (homeland) by the Nazis during the 1930s and 1940s, and America’s creation of a Department of “Homeland” Security. Apparently, our use of the word Homeland and the Nazi use of the word Homeland is not a coincidence. Rather it points to our drift into fascism. I guess it is good we didn’t name it the Department of Fatherland Security.

Her scholarship is sloppy in the sense that she inaptly draws her conclusions between present day US and Hitler’s Germany and Mussolini’s Italy. Simply saying that modern America is “like” fascist Italy or Nazi Germany does not constitute a completed argument. Nor does her hysteria when it comes to implying that somehow the government will come after her personally once it gets wind of her book.

There are quite a few other examples as well. Her book “The Beauty Myth” was shredded by a large number of reviewers (who were largely non-partisan on the issue of feminism), and again largely for the same reasons.

[Allan from Fallbrook]

Irish: The Republican slime machine? Is that like the “vast right wing conspiracy”?

Hillary Clinton is a vicious, well-trained political in-fighter. Don’t kid yourself about her motives, either. She is here for the power. Ask anyone involved with her run at senator in New York.

The idea that she is some kind of well meaning vestal virgin is downright absurd.

She makes the Republicans look tame when it comes to smear tactics. Just wait till she gears up and goes after Obama. His greatest worry is not the Republicans coming after him, it is her coming after him. And, make no mistake, she will – with a vengeance.

[Allan from Fallbrook]

Irish: The Republican slime machine? Is that like the “vast right wing conspiracy”?

Hillary Clinton is a vicious, well-trained political in-fighter. Don’t kid yourself about her motives, either. She is here for the power. Ask anyone involved with her run at senator in New York.

The idea that she is some kind of well meaning vestal virgin is downright absurd.

She makes the Republicans look tame when it comes to smear tactics. Just wait till she gears up and goes after Obama. His greatest worry is not the Republicans coming after him, it is her coming after him. And, make no mistake, she will – with a vengeance.

[Allan from Fallbrook]

Irish: The Republican slime machine? Is that like the “vast right wing conspiracy”?

Hillary Clinton is a vicious, well-trained political in-fighter. Don’t kid yourself about her motives, either. She is here for the power. Ask anyone involved with her run at senator in New York.

The idea that she is some kind of well meaning vestal virgin is downright absurd.

She makes the Republicans look tame when it comes to smear tactics. Just wait till she gears up and goes after Obama. His greatest worry is not the Republicans coming after him, it is her coming after him. And, make no mistake, she will – with a vengeance.

[Allan from Fallbrook]

Irish: The Republican slime machine? Is that like the “vast right wing conspiracy”?

Hillary Clinton is a vicious, well-trained political in-fighter. Don’t kid yourself about her motives, either. She is here for the power. Ask anyone involved with her run at senator in New York.

The idea that she is some kind of well meaning vestal virgin is downright absurd.

She makes the Republicans look tame when it comes to smear tactics. Just wait till she gears up and goes after Obama. His greatest worry is not the Republicans coming after him, it is her coming after him. And, make no mistake, she will – with a vengeance.

[Allan from Fallbrook]

Irish: The Republican slime machine? Is that like the “vast right wing conspiracy”?

Hillary Clinton is a vicious, well-trained political in-fighter. Don’t kid yourself about her motives, either. She is here for the power. Ask anyone involved with her run at senator in New York.

The idea that she is some kind of well meaning vestal virgin is downright absurd.

She makes the Republicans look tame when it comes to smear tactics. Just wait till she gears up and goes after Obama. His greatest worry is not the Republicans coming after him, it is her coming after him. And, make no mistake, she will – with a vengeance.

[Allan from Fallbrook]

drunkle: I never said I like Ann Coulter. I said she was great entertainment value. As to attacking liberals: I have no issue with liberals. I do, however, have an issue with Lefties. There is a big difference.

As to Naomi Wolf: Her scholarship is a joke, the examples cited in her book are downright laughable, and she has been routinely castigated by her more capable peers for pandering to the extreme elements in the feminist movement. With this new book, she is apparently trying to do the same with the Loony Left.

Is that an ad hom attack?

[Allan from Fallbrook]

drunkle: I never said I like Ann Coulter. I said she was great entertainment value. As to attacking liberals: I have no issue with liberals. I do, however, have an issue with Lefties. There is a big difference.

As to Naomi Wolf: Her scholarship is a joke, the examples cited in her book are downright laughable, and she has been routinely castigated by her more capable peers for pandering to the extreme elements in the feminist movement. With this new book, she is apparently trying to do the same with the Loony Left.

Is that an ad hom attack?

[Allan from Fallbrook]

drunkle: I never said I like Ann Coulter. I said she was great entertainment value. As to attacking liberals: I have no issue with liberals. I do, however, have an issue with Lefties. There is a big difference.

As to Naomi Wolf: Her scholarship is a joke, the examples cited in her book are downright laughable, and she has been routinely castigated by her more capable peers for pandering to the extreme elements in the feminist movement. With this new book, she is apparently trying to do the same with the Loony Left.

Is that an ad hom attack?

[Allan from Fallbrook]

drunkle: I never said I like Ann Coulter. I said she was great entertainment value. As to attacking liberals: I have no issue with liberals. I do, however, have an issue with Lefties. There is a big difference.

As to Naomi Wolf: Her scholarship is a joke, the examples cited in her book are downright laughable, and she has been routinely castigated by her more capable peers for pandering to the extreme elements in the feminist movement. With this new book, she is apparently trying to do the same with the Loony Left.

Is that an ad hom attack?

[Allan from Fallbrook]

drunkle: I never said I like Ann Coulter. I said she was great entertainment value. As to attacking liberals: I have no issue with liberals. I do, however, have an issue with Lefties. There is a big difference.

As to Naomi Wolf: Her scholarship is a joke, the examples cited in her book are downright laughable, and she has been routinely castigated by her more capable peers for pandering to the extreme elements in the feminist movement. With this new book, she is apparently trying to do the same with the Loony Left.

Is that an ad hom attack?

[Allan from Fallbrook]

bsrsharma: The GOP has been hijacked by the Religious Right, as evidenced by the swoon over Mike Huckabee who, in my opinion, is damn near unelectable. He shares a similar history to that other boy from Hope, namely some significant skeletons in his closet.

I might be a jaded arch-conservative, but I did really enjoy Obama’s speech, as well as watching him energize the younger vote. We have yet to see the Hillary machine go into full attack-dog mode, but you can bet this will happen shortly. How well Obama handles that will be predictive of his overall chances.

On another note entirely, it is interesting to watch McCain’s resurgence after being written off for dead just a few short months ago.

This will be a very interesting race. Even more interesting is the response of the American people: Not apathy, but energy.

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