Daniel Pipes Loses Control of His Facilities (James Wolcott)

[Scurrilous]

<snip>

"Ever since President Bush made nice-nice with Muhammad Ali*, Daniel Pipes and his beard have been brooding upon the darkness looming behind the flickering flames of the satanic mills of Halliburton and Bechtel. The end of the old year and the prospect of the new are a traditional time to take inventory, and as Pipes tallies the positives and negatives of the global picture, item after item is stacked in the loss column. First Bush let him down, and now the American people themselves are proving an acute disappointment. Bitten by the spirit of Festivus, Pipes starts early with "the Airing of Grievances," and he has a lot of problems with you people. The promising momentum of 9/11 has been fumbled at midfield as the dumbkopf fans make like lumps in the stands, feeding their faces.

"The attacks of September 11, 2001, made me feel more secure, unlike most Americans," Pipes writes. "Finally, the country was focused on issues that had long worried me.

"'The FBI is engaged in the largest operation in its history," I wrote in late 2001. 'Armed marshals will again be flying on US aircraft, and the immigration service has placed foreign students under increased scrutiny. I feel safer when Islamist organizations are exposed, illicit money channels closed down, and immigration regulations reviewed. The amassing of American forces near Iraq and Afghanistan cheers me. The newfound alarm is healthy, the sense of solidarity heartening, the resolve is encouraging.'

"But I agonized whether it would last. 'Are Americans truly ready to sacrifice liberties and lives to prosecute seriously the war against militant Islam? I worry about US constancy and purpose.'

"And right I was to worry , as the alarm, solidarity, and resolve of late 2001 have plummeted lately, returning us to a roughly pre-September 11 mentality."

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[Straight Shooter]

1. What the hell is Pipes saying with that "pre September 11 mentality"

Are the neocons getting ready to MIHOP an attack so he can scream, "I told you so!"

Daniel Pipes is one seriously creepy individual.

[comradebillyboy]

2. even israel is letting him down

how dare they want a more peaceful and less stressful life. i suppose a lot of secular jewish army reservists are getting tired of protecting whackjob religious nuts and fanatic settlers.

[AlCzervik]

3. I saw him on Charlie Rose one night, charlie had the nice non shouting

debate set up between him and i'm sorry to say i can't remember who from the sane side. So thewhole time Pipes is talking he sounds like a total Bushbot and then the debate got a little heated, as heated as it gets on Rose's show and i have to tell you i was clinching by the end of the hour listening to the sane side and then hearing Pipes dismiss him.