Mommy! Mommy! And About Michelle

The Anchoress has a few distinct advantages over most bloggers. First and foremost, she's smart.

Now, there are lots of smart people out there, you say. True- but there is smart and there is smart. The Anchoress is of the latter variety smart. The way to discern a really smart blogger is to gauge how well any one blogger really understands what it is they are talking about. If a blogger can effectively use humor, well, that is the best tool a smart blogger can employ to get a message across.

The NY Times Illustrates Cartoon Story is a sharp, dry and sublime look at the NY Times coverage of the Danish cartoon story. It is also a look at how an organization, so self absorbed, can be totally oblivious to spectacular hypocrisy even as it contemplates it's own standards.

The Anchoress post takes the form of an imaginary editorial meeting at the NYT. Three very important Timespersons are in attendance- each, understanding that their words are profound:

Editor A: What to do…this story is HUGE, and by any ethical journalistic standard, we should be showing our readers what the fuss is about. We’d do it if the cartoons were about Christians, or Jews, of Buddhists…but…but…MOMMY! I scared!

Editor B: I’ve got it! Let’s re-print the picture of Chris Ofili’s Virgin Mary! The one with the elephant dung, that’s the ticket! We’ll illustrate the POINT of the riots, without actually risking the wrath of anyone.

Editor A: That’s BRILLIANT! Haul out the so-called Virgin Mary and let her act as a stand-in for Muhammed! It’s not like that painting is REALLY offensive, anyway! The Catholics always get their panties in wads, until the bars open!

There's much more, of course, including the more than oblique to references to gays, genitalia, priests, celibacy and George Bush (The Anchoress doesn't say so, but we think one of the imaginary editors in her post is Modo clone). The humorous part of her post is as sublime as a James Bond martini, 'shaken, not stirred.' It is on target and delivers the punch.

The Anchoress gets serious: Up to now, the only silencing of the press has been by their own editing pencils.

Today - this very day - the media are finding themselves facing a true “chill wind.” They are getting the smallest taste of what President Bush has had to live with every day - a “damned if they do, damned if they don’t” world of seemingly few options. Bush has shown real fortitude in living on that tightrope for the last 5 years, trying to balance freedom with safety, and responsibility with tremendous risk. Now, the press - if it is going to remain free - will have to do the same. This is the line in the sand for them - where they stand or fold.

One must recognize that their decision, in this climate, could well mean their lives. It could mean their homes, their children. The cacophony that has resulted from the brouhaha has begun to obscure the real issues. Slowly, the debate has become about the cartoons themselves and offending certain 'sensibilities.' The Anchoress post re centers the real issues we need to be discussing- issues that define us and who we are. They are also issues that will define the future of our nation.

Like we said, she's smart.

Now, a few words about Michelle.

No, not our Michele- the other Michelle- Michelle Malkin.

Now, Michelle Malkin certainly doesn't need us to defend her. She is perfectly capable of doing that by herself. Nevertheless, as of late, there has been nothing less than what appears to be a concerted effort by some to smear and deliberately obfuscate what Ms Malkin has to say, and as such, we will put in our two cents. In fact, we are obligated to do just that. Principles are meant to be acted on and not just kept in drawer, out of sight, referred to in allegorical terms.

The efforts to attack Ms Malkin include tactics that originate in the Michael Moore School of Political Expression- deliberate deceit, personal attacks and a smear campaign crafted to destroy as opposed to criticize.

There have been may bloggers that have come to Ms Malkin's defense and as we have noted, she herself is perfectly capable of taking care of herself. We have no need to defend Ms Malkin. We do feel that we need to aggressively address her detractors- in other words, we will take an offensive posture.

Michelle Malkin has done what many of her fiercest detractors have proved themselves incapable of doing. She is among a very few bloggers that have made a difference and in doing so, she has served notice that the status quo is dead. The dissemination of news and opinion has been wrestled away from the MSM and is now shared with bloggers like Michelle Malkin. In fact, when the history of the blogosphere is reported on or written, Michelle Malkin's name will merit more than passing mention. Her detractors- all of them- will not even merit a footnote. She along with a few select others have changed the world we live in. They have established a momentum in the free market exchange of thoughts and ideas.

They say if you want to make an enemy, propose change. A look at the kind of enemies Ms Malkin's has amassed is enviable. They are not unlike the Islamic protestors that want to stifle those things The Anchoress speaks about. The shrill and frenzied voices that scream 'Hate! Conspiracy! Evil!' directed at Ms Malkin are not unlike the shrill and frenzied voices directed at the Jews of Germany, circa 1939.

Think about it.