I haven’t been doing much blogging with final exams, but now that they’re over, I figured that I would get back to doing what I enjoy. The issue that got me writing today was SunTV’s Theo Caldwell and his guest Michael Coren, the host of ‘The Michael Coren Show’, bashing Sarah Palin during a discussion about the Middle East. Thanks to SDAMatt2 for the video clip.
How do Coren’s comments about the history of the term “blood libel” prove that he is smarter than Sarah Palin? It doesn’t. This doesn’t show anything but their political leanings, but let’s humour these two twits for a few minutes.
Stupidity is defined as “a lack of intelligence, understanding, reason, wit, or sense.” The lack of understanding is what we’re looking at here, particularly the context in which the term “blood libel” was used. Following the shootings in Tucson, Arizona, Sarah Palin, along with Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Mark Levin, etc were blamed for the actions of Jared Lee Loughner. After numerous statements by members of the press that Sarah had “blood on her hands,” she responded and correctly stated that her detractors were manufacturing a “blood libel” against her. Why was she correct? Let’s take a step back to examine the term itself.
As Coren stated, “blood libel” is a term that originated in 12th century Europe, but it has evolved overtime. Now, as liberal Havard Law Professor Alan Dershowitz pointed out, it’s used to characterize any false accusation that relates to the killing of human beings.
…The term blood libel has taken on a broad metaphorical meaning in public discourse. Although its historical origins are rooted in theologically based false accusations against the Jewish people and individual Jews, its current usage is far broader. I myself have used it to describe what I believe to be false accusations against the state of Israel by the Goldstone report. The fact that two of the victims are Jewish is irrelevant to the propriety of using this widely-referenced term…
…Sarah Palin was accused of being responsible for the death and wounding of multiple human beings. She reasonably believes that accusation to be false in fact and politically inspired. She is entitled, in my view, to use the term “blood libel” in the context of an accusation of responsibility for bloodletting, without regard to the religion or ethnicity of the perpetrator, the victims, the accusers or the accused…
The question is whether or not Coren truly understood the context of Palin’s comments. Surely he couldn’t be so petty as to constantly find excuses to assert his belief that the former Alaskan governor is an intellectual inferior, could he? I have sent him a few e-mails in the past, one with a link to Alan Dershowitz’s article, but he hasn’t replied to me nor made an effort to apologize for his mistakes on his show. I guess Michael isn’t the courageous intellectual he would have his audience believe.
As for Caldwell, what can I say? He spent a part of yesterday’s show admitting his mental deficiency, so I don’t see the point in spending anymore time to prove his stupidity. I’m not a fan of Caldwell nor his politics. It’s only been two days the start of his show, ‘The Caldwell Account’ on SunTV and I have lost interest in anything he or his guests have to say. Be it his childish antics when introducing guests, his inability to maintain composure, or his uneducated and ill-conceived opinions on issues like American politics, he isn’t worth watching. It’s almost like he and his show are the personification of the myths and lies spread by the left about Fox News. Even on their worst days, Bill O’Reilly and Sean Hannity are far more professional than this twit.
In the end, this nonsense not only speaks volumes about Theo Caldwell and Michael Coren, but it also says a lot about SunTV. The left is always criticized for its dedication to a group of intellectual elites, but that doesn’t mean the right is lacks a similar intelligentsia. These are the pseudo-conservative pundits, like David Frum who believe themselves better than anyone who doesn’t share their educational pedigree or upbringing. This is where this hatred of Sarah Palin and other like her comes from on the right. People like Sarah haven’t achieved fame and political power as these elites have, and their ability to connect and rally the conservative base scares them. Instead of emulating Palin, instead of sticking to core conservative principles, they would prefer to brand her and others like her as “stupid” and “radical” to appease their left-leaning colleagues. That demonstrates real stupidity.
If SunTV wants to claim it speaks for the average Canadian, Caldwell and Coren aren’t helping them. Such ill-informed pseudo-conservative nonsense demonstrates a complete lack of understanding of their audience. That’s real stupidity.
UPDATE: I want to add this video from uffdamega52. It’s a clip from Glenn Beck’s radio show discussing another book smearing Sarah Palin, but it’s the last minute of the segment which I want my modest readership to pay attention to.
It isn’t just Beck saying this. Mark Levin as well as many other conservative pundits have pointed out that Palin and others like her are a threat to their political power. This is the exact same nonsense we see when Theo Caldwell and Michael Coren take cheap shots at the former Alaskan governor.
I’m hoping this nonsense won’t be common as SunTV goes forward. If it is, I won’t be wasting my time watching it.
[...] Having been critical of Michael Coren previously for his jabs at Sarah Palin and her supporters, I wasn’t impressed by his assertion that Palin’s following is similar to the cult-like following those like Barack Obama have. I was also not impressed with Ann Coulter comparing Palin’s followers to those of Ron Paul, followers who, in my opinion, are very similar in their blind loyalty to Obama’s supporters. Considering Coulter’s loyalty to Chris Christie, despite his ever growing list of political faults, it’s almost like the kettle calling the pot black. Truthfully, I’m an adamant supporter of Sarah Palin, and while I would like to see her in the race for Republican presidential nominee, my fear is that she may split the conservative vote between her and Rick Perry to the point where a non-conservative like Mitt Romney gets the nomination. [...]