Hopefully Not Misplaced

Earlier this month in my Newsletter I wrote this:
On just the topic of begetting wrong results Bill O'Reilly has a new book, Culture Warrior. Being of Irish descent, he fancies himself a modern day "warrior". I'm putting that in quotes because Conan was a warrior, Romans were warriors, samurai (see Clint Eastwood's new movies they're great -- Flags of Our Fathers and Letters from Iwojima), military men/women and athletes are warriors. O'Reilly just exploits the weak, disenfranchised, and defenseless. While he has a remarkable story of "success" he admits he really means financial success. Making a pile of money is pretty much all that he has done. Success for him has come at the expense of truth. He tells the regular American guy what he wants to hear: "liberals" gays and godless activist judges are changing the world and not for the better. This is the new "sexploitation" scam. Sex sells, crime sells, so hey! What's better than jumping on sex criminals and godless judges, and while they're at it throw in "liberal" lawyers, gun-haters, and gays and baby-killers? This is the conservative, religious, right-wing formula for success in action. Too bad the Iraq war intervened and now the Democrats get to check the health of their own agenda. Hope they don't blow it.

The only thing I would add now, reading a bit more before I have to return the book to the libary (I'm so glad I didn't buy it!) is that maybe hopefully O'Reilly has not been and is not exemplary of the "conservative, religious, right-wing" -- after reading the NYT Magazine's piece about the "Right's conversion" I have found new hope. I hope it is not misplaced. In fact, maybe the "conservative" "religious" and "right-wing" are really very different, but all found some expression in the form of a spirit with a body named O'Reilly?

By the way "Chinese guy" is not a pejorative term, just descriptive okay? He does have a name and all you have to do is click the link (it's yesterday) to find out (he may already be a dead Chinese "guy" okay? In which case, very much, RIP; if not, may you all and he live a long and prosperous life, and Happy -- Chinese -- New Year!).