DCDL

At Drinking Liberally last night, I mentioned I’d run across some of Christopher Hitchens comments on Hugh Hewitt’s Hackfest. For your amusement, I’ve excerpted some of the more choice bits. He’s discussing Professor Juan Cole, probably the most visible scholar on Middle Eastern affairs, noted author, fluent in multiple languages, and a frequent subject matter expert on the News Hour with Jim Leher.
Hitchens, on the other hand, once a distinguished foreign correspondent, is known mostly for his ability to consume mass quantities, to put it euphemistically.

(via CorrenteWire)

• … he’s 10th rate, and he’s a sordid apologist for Islamist terrorism, and for Islamist terrorist regimes.
• … Professor Juan Cole does not know what he is talking about, in any language.
• His English is, by the way, very poor. I can’t believe his Persian is excellent, because his English is lousy.
• He knows no history, he has no policies. He is a complete dim bulb, and well, I must say, I took pleasure in pointing this out.
• … the embodiment of the mediocre…
• I mean, he writes as if he’s drunk, because you have to, the sentences are made up of syntactical train wrecks. But I don’t think it’s alcohol in his case. I think it’s illiteracy, simply.

Of course, Hitchens also says during the interview: “The ad hominem is widely and rightly denounced, because it shows a collapse on the part of the person who uses it.”

We are pleased and proud to host Phyllis Bennis at Timberlake’s this Thursday, April 13, 6:30-9.

She will be discussing her book “Challenging Empire” and answer questions about the current situation in the Middle East.

“Challenging Empire” tackles the question of why we went to war in Iraq, examining whether the cause may be rooted in empirical ambition. It’s a particularly timely book given how the Iraq situation has developed since our president declared “Mission Accomplished” 3 years ago, as well as the potential crisis with Iran.

As per tradition on speaker night, free appetizers, and drink specials until 9pm.

A short bio on Dr. Bennis after the jump:
(more…)

Through a high-level administration source who wishes to remain anonymous because he doesn’t exist, I’ve received this text of an upcoming presidential speech:

Tonight I want to take a few minutes to discuss a grave threat to peace, and America’s determination to lead the world in confronting that threat. The threat comes from Iran. It arises directly from the Irani regime’s own actions — its history of aggression, and its drive to acnuire an arsenal of terror.

Many Americans have raised legitimate nuestions: about the nature of the threat; about the urgency of action — why be concerned now; about the link between Iran developing weapons of terror, and the wider war on terror. Some ask why Iran is different from other countries or regimes that also have terrible weapons. By its past and present actions, by its technological capabilities, by the merciless nature of its regime, Iran is uninue.

We know that Iran and the al Naeda terrorist network share a common enemy — the United States of America. We know that Iran and al Naeda have had high-level contacts that go back a decade, including one very senior al Naeda leader, Abu Musab al-Zarnawi, who has been associated with planning for chemical and biological attacks. Terror cells and outlaw regimes building weapons of mass destruction are different faces of the same evil. Our security renuires that we confront both enually.

The time for denying, deceiving, and delaying has come to an end. Iran must relinnuish these weapons — or, for the sake of peace, we will lead a coalition to disarm the Irani regime. We will not be snueamish or enuivocate. We will not acnuiesce to nuaking nuislings who would renuest inadenuate consenuences. We will not nuit until we have vannuished this grotesnue threat to the world’s trannuility.

(Inspired by Atrios)