Confessions of a Useful Idiot

USEFUL IDIOT: (YUSE-fuhl IH-dee-oht) pl. S. Someone whose stand on the War on Terror is diametrically opposed to your own, but holds views based on (a) pure emotion, (b) "information" that is clearly false or (c) ideas that are quite clearly not their own.

My name is J. Edward Tremlett... and I am a useful idiot.

For those of you who haven't been privy to my history as an op-ed writer, it may come as some shock to hear that a somewhat left-leaning centrist such as I was a vocal supporter of the Iraq War. But I was.

(Full article here.

Burger Wars: What part of the cow, Jack?

As a Veteran of the Burger Wars, I find this hysterical:

LOS ANGELES - The parent company of the Carl's Jr. and Hardee's fast food chains sued rival Jack In The Box Inc. on Friday to stop TV ads that it says suggest Carl's Jr. and Hardee's use cow anus to make Angus beef hamburgers.

CKE Restaurants Inc. sued Jack In The Box in U.S. District Court on Friday over an ad in which executives laugh hysterically at the word "Angus" and another where the chain's pingpong ball-headed mascot, Jack, is asked to point to a diagram of a cow and show where Angus meat comes from.

"I'd rather not," the pointy-nosed Jack replies

...

CKE claims the ads create the misleading impression that Jack In The Box's new 100 percent sirloin burgers use a better quality of meat than the Angus beef used by Carl's Jr. and Hardee's. CKE claims the spots confuse consumers by comparing sirloin, a cut of meat found on all cattle, with Angus, which is a breed of cattle.

(from the story here)

I don't see how they have a case. Remember the old Wendy's commericals that tagged their competitors for not having any beef, or the "pieces parts" that went into their chicken? They don't name their competitors, which, at this point, could be Hardees OR Burger King OR McD's, so it's fair game, quite frankly.

Besides, if there was a way to make burgers from a cow's asshole... we'd already be eating them. And for all we know we probably already are.

How Frontpage Magazine Does(n't) Work

This is just too delicious for words.

About a year ago, David Mills called foul on Frontpage Magazine's publishing articles by race-baiting author Lawrence Auster. He fired off an 11 page letter providing Horowitz with information about Auster's apparent racism. In response Dr. Ho said "I think it's a persuasive argument for not running Auster unless he publicly repudiates these positions which are racist and offensive."

And all was well, at least until May 3rd, when Frontpage ran something by him, again. David Mills, rightfully appalled, fired off another email asking what they were thinking, and - perhaps worried of further negative publicity - Dr. Ho has broken off all connection with Auster, again (maybe this time for sure!) and fired off some intriguing emails with the man.

Lawrence Auster reprinted the email exchange verbatim here. Check them out: if you ever wonder what goes on behind the scenes at Dr. Ho's flagship publication, I think you'll find those naked missives illuminating. (Be sure to check out the comment trail below from Auster's true believers.)

Just another victim of the PC police? Maybe. But then, this is the same Dr. Ho who Didn't go off on Mel Gibson over his anti-semitic comments, wanting to talk instead about Jimmy Carter and anti-christian bigotry. And the same Dr. Ho who Gets upset when others call him a racist, but still lets Coulter have her column there even though she calls people "ragheads".

I don't know that the man, himself, is racist. But he has a bad habit of surrounding himself with people who are. Is this a sign of not watching what's going on in his own backyard, or is he so desperate for friends he'll let anyone on board?

France: "Scum" for President

Sarkozy's win could be good or bad for France. This is the same guy who called the protesters "scum" that should be cleaned out with a fire hose in 2005. But some of his opening statements give me hope that he might bring a much-needed repair to France's economy, which is what helped fuel those riots in the first place.

Count me... cautious.