Brent Nyitray
Fairlington Blade
Let the mutherfuker burn!
jnc4p
Kevin S. Willis
Michigoose
lmsinca
markinaustin
Arcanaut
novahockey
quarterback
ScottC
yellojktReason recently published a list of the Top 5 Worst Op-Eds of 2012. I’m pleased that I actually recall all off them.
5. Eric Posner, “The World Doesn’t Love the First Amendment,” Slate.com (Sept. 25). Free speech is too dangerous.
4. L.Z. Granderson, “Don’t Be Nosy about Fast and Furious,” CNN.com (June 27) Some things are better unknown
3. David Brooks, “The Follower Problem,” The New York Times (June 11) Don’t you know your place? Genuflect before your betters and STFU.
2. Maureen Dowd, “The Loin King,” The New York Times (Nov. 3) Honestly, I really don’t know what Down is talking about.
1. Tom Friedman, “Obama’s Nightmare,” The New York Times (Nov. 13). America needs fall to on the grenade in Syria, like it did in Iraq.
I actually found the Slate article to be the worst of the bunch. Or maybe Brooks. That one really chapped my ass too. Hmmm, let’s go with Brooks.
Filed under: Morning Report |
All Things in Moderation 
nova:
Love the link at the end of the piece to He-who-must-not-be-named’s “Synthesize Tom Friedman” contest.
[added a link: NoVa]
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nova:
I’m voting for Dowd. I’m guessing there must have been a rule against nominating more than one column by the same contributor, otherwise she probably could have filled out the top 5 herself. In all seriousness, she may be the single worst writer to ever be given a regular column in the NYT.
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Someone in the comments found a late nominee: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/31/opinion/lets-give-up-on-the-constitution.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1
“AS the nation teeters at the edge of fiscal chaos, observers are reaching the conclusion that the American system of government is broken. But almost no one blames the culprit: our insistence on obedience to the Constitution, with all its archaic, idiosyncratic and downright evil provisions.”
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That’s a tough list.
I’m not going to chew up my monthly NYT quota with Brooks. I generally find him a sensible mainstream conservative, so I doubt I’d find him irritating.
Dowd seemed utterly incoherent. Then again, I don’t find her terribly readable.
I wonder if Granderson would have written that column in 1974. Idiotic theme. Let them do whatever they think, legal or not.
Posner’s thesis is dangerous. A lot of Americans fought and died for those freedoms and I’ll be damned if some mob in Uzbekibekibekistan thinks they have any say over it.
Syria? Really. There was a terrific column this week in the Post regarding Syria. A key paragraph early on:
The idea that Syria was anyone’s to win or lose, or that the United States could significantly shape the outcome there, is typical of the arrogant paternalism and flawed analysis that have gotten this country into heaps of trouble in the Middle East over the years.
The Syrian people have fought and died and will win this revolution. I’ve no idea of the endgame or aftermath, except that many more will die. Our job should be to STFU (and provide quiet assistance).
For sheer dangerousness of ideas, I’m going to award the bronze medal to Granderson. Although falling on our sword would cost dearly in terms of American blood and treasure, handing away our fundamental rights is the biggest howler in this group. So, Friedman gets the silver medal and Posner takes the gold medal for the stupidest idea I’ve read from 2012.
Congrats or something.
BB
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Chutzpah – The NYT Editorial page taking France to task for raising taxes and not doing enough to address economic growth or unemployment.
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In all seriousness, she may be the single worst writer to ever be given a regular column in the NYT.
How quickly we forget the tenure of William Kristol. The corrections to the factual errors in his columns were a regular feature.
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Over 20 years ago I had a Syrian Muslim coworker who I used to debate a lot with. One of the very new-to-me points he used to make was that freedom of speech is not valued in his homeland. Societal harmony and avoidance of blasphemy trump the right to say what is on your mind. As a First Amendment Absolutist, I found those views abhorrent, but as the Posner article points out, they are still very prevalent.
We also used to debate his views on the territorial ambitions of Zionists as opposed to the simple goals of reuniting Greater Syria to its natural and historic borders.
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