My First DDN Rejection

Back in March, I read one of Jonah Goldberg's syndicated columns pertaining to his take on the rioting of French students over a proposed major shift to France's social and labor paradigms (hyperlinked in my response below). I aptly titled the submission "Fermez votre bouche, Johah!"...it roughly translates to "Shut Yer Yap, ya Meddling Right-Wing Blowhard!"

Is it just me or does the sight of Jonah Goldberg's smug face in the DDN op/ed section cause others to groan audibly in anticipation of more GOP talking point 'ilk'???

Like a driver drawn to the sight of a horrendous accident along the roadside, I just had to look at his latest column in yesterday’s paper (titled “Vive la sloth!”) addressing the recent French rioting over an internal economic/social issue. For a man who is one of the current poster children (and representative of the future) of a political party that routinely bashes one of this country’s staunchest allies for exhibiting the foresight to steer clear of one of history’s greatest military/geopolitical fiascos—one that we started in Iraq three years ago this week, he takes pride in introducing such salient points as Prime Minister Villepin’s hair (“the most important hair in Europe”) and resorting to name-calling (“the crapulent French Au Pair State”) to support his side’s ‘informed’ take on an issue that does not personally concern him or the American public in general.

Why does he write about such things? Isn’t there enough to attract his attention within our own borders/government? I’m guessing ridiculing the French (as he did Hollywood in a column from earlier this month) is a much easier assignment than trying to constantly defend illegal wiretapping, a pre-emptive war waged to ensure continued US access to Middle Eastern oil, or the general incompetence of the Bush administration. France does have its own problems, but it is up to the French to fix them—no ‘coalition of the willing’ necessary (unless oil is discovered in the Alps or along the Riviera). Apparently there aren’t many 'Star Trek' fans in the White House and Pentagon. That is rather obvious since there aren’t many explanations they could generate about why the lessons of that show’s ‘prime directive’ have been repeatedly ignored over the past five years.

On a personal level, why does this foreign issue concern him at all? He and his wife are living the ‘American dream’ (both have comfortable jobs/incomes, live in a nice neighborhood, have routine access to political power). Why be concerned with the plight of ‘brown-skinned and lower-class slobs’ across the Atlantic when the GOP ignores the same kind of people within our own borders (remember Katrina)?

I truly do not see any benevolence in any of his words—only sycophantic phrases posted solely for the enjoyment of his ‘enlightened’ followers and continued financial support from his political/corporate sponsors.

The wife of a guy I work with practically adores everything this guy says so I couldn't pass up the opportunity to share my opinion on this column with him as well as the DDN editor...neither one of them cared for it very much.