The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

In Which Charles Johnson Belatedly Discovers We Can Fact Check Your A$$

Posted on | January 23, 2011 | 22 Comments

The Diary of Daedalus guys caught the LGF Grand Wizard trying to disavow the term “St. Pancake” as a reference to anti-Israel protester Rachel Corrie, resulting in Patterico’s conclusion: “In short, Charles Johnson is a sanctimonious, lying hypocrite.”

This brings up two issues:

  1. Why disavow what was, in fact, a brilliant meme? I’m not sure which LGF commenter coined “St. Pancake,” but it was perfect. I used it last year in describing the Left’s “Rachel Corrie Death Cult.” People whose misguided idealism leads them to destruction deserve all the mockery we can heap on them. The purpose of that mockery is to discourage others from imitating their folly, to say to them, “Don’t be such a fool.” Conservatives naturally are averse to breaching the civilized custom that one should not speak ill of the dead. But what shall we say of amoral monsters who have devoted their lives to the destruction of civilization? If Ted Gold, Diana Oughton and Terry Robbins do not deserve respectful remembrance, neither does Rachel Corrie, whose “pacifism” made her a stooge of terrorists. She is forevermore “St. Pancake” and Charles Johnson is an idiot for attempting to disavow that.
  2. Will Patterico mend the breach with Jeff Goldstein? The blogosphere never forgets and, when I linked Patterico the other day, Joy McCann commented: “I’m amused at your linking Patterico, Stacy … but then, that’s me.” And I knew to what she referred. While I’m willing to let bygones be bygones, there is still the matter of Patterico’s past offenses against Jeff at Protein Wisdom. Patterico would no doubt deny that he was at fault, but each man is the the judge of his own honor. Jeff was my friend in the hour of need, and if Patterico offended Jeff, it is incumbent on me to insist that my friend must be made whole or there can be no rapprochement.

No blog is an island, as I say, and when you’re a Jet, you’re a Jet all the way. It would be dishonorable of me — a betrayal of Jeff — to make a separate peace with Patterico for my own convenience.

“You have to answer for Santino, Carlo.”

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