P.J. hits some homers in his latest Atlantic piece. Money quote:
[Ann] Coulter begins her book thus:
“Liberals have a preternatural gift for striking a position on the side of treason. You could be talking about Scrabble and they would instantly leap to the anti-American position. Everyone says liberals love America, too. No they don’t. Whenever the nation is under attack, from within or without, liberals side with the enemy.”
Now, there’s a certain truth in what she says. But it’s what’s called a “poetic truth.” And it’s the kind of poetic truth best conveyed late in the evening after six or eight drinks while pounding the bar. I wasn’t in a bar. I was in my office. It was the middle of the day. And I was getting a headache.
Ah, yes. Modern populist conservatism. O’Reilly is another case. When I listen to him blather on, I’m reminded of a drunk Irish uncle at Christmas, who can’t shut up and cannot be argued with. Switch him off.
WRITERS’ BLOCK: A lovely Joan Acocella essay in the current New Yorker. I certainly think “writer’s block” is essentially b.s. But then I have written a quarter of a million words on this blog this year alone. I’m sure there are plenty of you out there who wish I had a bit of writers’ block. Sorry, guys.
EMAIL OF THE DAY: “The email you got about mini bottles in South Carolina was absolutely incorrect. I lived in SC, too, and can tell you that, ironically, the use mini bottles there originated with the intent to limit free pours. It was the temperance crowd that wanted them. The great irony now is that the same folks want to get rid off them because, as the emailer pointed out, mixed drinks are so strong in SC since entire mini bottles are used in them, effectively meaning much more alcohol than usual in, say, your black russian. You can find this history easily with a quick search, but here’s one source.
Anyway, the laws were NOT designed to protect the drinker, but to limit consumption. Why the bother over the details? Well, I went to Bob Jones University and the attending the school practically drove me away from Christianity. I know how much the religious right affects things there, having lived there for a good 15 years.
I lived in Greenville, SC, which I believe is still the only city in the United States which denies its county employees the right to celebrate MLK day.” – more feedback on the Letters Page.
The Dish 