I don't care about Ann Coulter. That doesn't mean I don't find her beneath contempt. But basically she's a comic foil for World O'Crap and TBogg, and a target for vitriol on a dozen other blogs I read, and that's sufficient. She's not just the voice of aggressive stupidity, she's the voice of an aggressive stupidity which takes pride in its own stupidity, and if I need to hear that I know a number of people who can provide it without my having to pay them a book royalty or further their celebrity.
No, the big problem with Ann Coulter is the "news" culture, and the larger entertainment culture which has subsumed it, which rewards loud-mouthed loutishness with little concern for content. Ann Coulter eats bugs on teevee for the chance to win fabulous prizes. I'm old enough, and conservative enough, to believe that public discourse ought to be conducted with the proper gravitas. I also believe that there's a place for outlandishness in that discourse; it just shouldn't be allowed to drown out serious debate. So yes, there's bug eating and then there's bug eating.
Ann's impinged herself on my resisting consciousness twice now in recent days. The first was when I noticed a low-level rebranding operation going on. "Oh, she's not really serious about the things she says," was the new line. The idea is simply breathtaking. In what way is that not a greater condemnation of the woman than taking her seriously would be?
The second, of course, is Time putting her on the cover along with a piece which would have given a professional fluffer TMJ, one week after naming her one of its "100 Most Influential People". I have no concern about Time's reputation (apparently, neither do they), but they might want to rethink sending John Cloud out to reveal that massive chip on his shoulder. Shoddy journalism is a much bigger threat than some pathological attention seeker who's too crazy even for the National Review.
3 comments:
Fluffer, I know and endorse the use of here. But TMJ? I've no idea. I suspect it's not family friendly though. Little help?
Family friendly, at least partly genetic.
It's a disalignment of the jawbones, temporomandibular joint disease, that causes, among other things, headaches, earaches, tooth-grinding, arthritis, screaming, whining for muscle relaxants, and doctor and dental bills.
It can also be caused by having your jaw broken, or that sort of thing. There's really no evidence that bjs cause it, but they sure can cause flare-up episodes.
On the other hand, I don't think anyone's actually studied TMJ among fluffers, so who knows.
One of the genuinely entertaining things TMJ can do is cause your jaw to "lock" in the open or closed position. Makes you feel rather like an incompetent snake. (And, frankly, the notion of getting anywhere near a naked Ann Coulter is enough to lock mine closed.)
They used to do a lot of surgery for it where they'd break the jaw in various places and then rewire it in the hopes it'd heal properly.
They don't do this much anymore, since it pretty much only made things worse.
More than you wanted to know, I'm sure. But, look at it this way, since you didn't know what it is, I'm guessing you can eat bagels and chew gum without expecting to spend the night contemplating self-decapitation.
Oh yes, it also causes rather a lot of gratuitous self-pity. Ah, well.
Once saw on "Real Time" , Richard Belzer call her "party doll for the fascist party" , right after a memorable performance she gave Bill Maer. That stuck with me and now I have a whole set of GOP mouth pieces that correspond and no doubt, respond to that name!
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