Jonah Goldberg, Lying Sack of Shit

Girlyboy Jonah Goldberg, once again doing his research with one hand on his mouse and his brain on idle, is the latest dolt to misquote and distort -- that is, lie about -- Barbara Kingsolver.

Bat boy "quotes" Kingsolver as follows:

"Patriotism threatens free speech with death... It despises people of foreign birth. It has specifically blamed homosexuals, feminists and the American Civil Liberties Union. In other words, the American flag stands for intimidation, censorship, violence, bigotry, sexism, homophobia and shoving the Constitution through a paper shredder. Whom are we calling terrorists here?"

Here's the full paragraph:

Patriotism seems to be falling to whoever claims it loudest, and we're left struggling to find a definition in a clamor of reaction. This is what I'm hearing: Patriotism opposes the lone representative of democracy who was brave enough to vote her conscience instead of following an angry mob. (Several others have confessed they wanted to vote the same way, but chickened out.) Patriotism threatens free speech with death. It is infuriated by thoughtful hesitation, constructive criticism of our leaders and pleas for peace. It despises people of foreign birth who've spent years learning our culture and contributing their talents to our economy. It has specifically blamed homosexuals, feminists and the American Civil Liberties Union. In other words, the American flag stands for intimidation, censorship, violence, bigotry, sexism, homophobia, and shoving the Constitution through a paper shredder? Who are we calling terrorists here? Outsiders can destroy airplanes and buildings, but it is only we, the people, who have the power to demolish our own ideals.

If you read the entire Kingsolver article, you'll see that she's referring to specific incidents, including the death threats that Barbara Lee received for voting against a bill giving Bush wide authority to use military force in response to the 9/11 attacks, and the death of a Sikh man whose killer proclaimed that he was an American. The reference to patriotism blaming gays, feminists and the ACLU is patently a reference to the statements of Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell made after 9/11. In short, Kingsolver is describing and criticizing how other people have defined (or demonstrated) patriotism, as is clear to any literate person.

Bat Boy isn't satisfied with distorting the meaning of the quote, however. He's got to rewrite it to fit his thesis. Without indicating the omission, Goldberg eliminates the reference to foreign-born persons "who've spent years learning our culture and contributing their talents to our economy." And he omits the question mark at the end of the second to last sentence, which demonstrates that Kingsolver is questioning how others define patriotism rather than offering her own definition. Because to leave it in would reveal Jonah's fraud.

There are two explanations here: Either Bat Boy read the article and deliberately misquoted Kingsolver, or (my guess) he lazily trawled the sewers of his mother's racist bulletin board (or freerepublic, clownhall, etc.) and stole the misquote from some other fraud.

Goldberg could have gotten the quote right had he spent 0.23 seconds on Google. Hell, he could have even found the accurate quote, with link -- albeit accompanied by an equally dishonest commentary -- on the National Review website. But that would require some integrity, and effort.

Not all of Jonah's statements are nearly so moronic or ill-timed, but... Ah, screw it.... All of Jonah's statements are equally as moronic and ill-timed.