NPR For Dummies

Just when you hope for at least one reasoned outlet in the political discourse, along comes the most faux-intellectual of them to remind you that there is no such thing. NPR's weekend game show, "Whad'Ya Know" interviewed New York Times columnist Frank Rich on his new anti-Bush book, "The Greatest Story Ever Sold on Earth." Between Rich and the host of the show, Michael Feldman, the discourse went from bad comedy to freakish delusion.

I occasionally like to get a true glimpse of what the other camp believes, and this show played that out in spades. Take for example, one of Feldman's openers.

"Also, that 'Islamofascism' thing they keep saying, which is so annoying, first of all because none of these governments are fascist, really. But the government is acting in a way which is quite fascistic, really, because it’s corporate, it’s authoritarian, it’s you know, it’s anti-liberal. That’s the definition of fascism, but they’re using this, this is a phrase they’ve decided to use."

Although many would likely take the learned and scholarly Feldman at his word, I decided to go to that dusty old dictionary for the definition of fascism. Call me old fashioned. What I found was...

a governmental system led by a dictator having complete power, forcibly suppressing opposition and criticism, regimenting all industry, commerce, etc., and emphasizing an aggressive nationalism and often racism.

Although the paranoid fantasies of the left might hold that this does in fact represent our current government and some tin pot dictatorships the U.S. might support, I think for those of us not high on mescaline at the moment, well perhaps even those people, the U.S. doesn't easily fall into the above definition. Certainly the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the former government of Iraq (which I'll give them credit for half-mentioning), the current government (and most definitely the leader) of Iran, Syria, Egypt, and Pakistan all easily meet that definition. Jordan might be a little lighter and Lebanon I'd say not really. However, controlled economies, tyrannical rulers, and lack of any freedoms whatsover are stereotypical of what you would find in the Middle East and I think you would find.

Fascism is not a new phenomenon to the Middle East either. The fascists controlled the officer corps of the native armies during WWII. Most had to be jailed by the British for fear that they would side with the Nazis and possibly plot a coup. After the war, surviving Nazis, including Otto Skorzeny, better known as Hitler's favorite commando, trained the first PLO terrorist groups. The Baath party in Syria and Iraq is textbook fascist and is described as such by just about anyone to the right politically of Mao.

And our government is authoritarian? Someone needs to start taking their anti-depressants again. That or they really need to reinstate butterfly-net asylums. And regimenting and controlling the economy? That's another knee slapper. If anything, the Left side of the aisle has been instrumental in their attempts to control and convert the economy over to socialism. You literally have to stand in awe of such brazen ignorance.

The rest of the commentary was just as assinine. If you really must, Newsbusters has compiled the jist of it. One has to wonder if these two are saying such things for comedic value or if they actually believe them. Regrettably and from past experience, I believe they do.

And here's the kicker. These represent the cream of the Left. A Times columnist and although only a game show host, an NPR game show host. My final comment on them is, thank God they're on the Left's side.