The Obama administration has had shifting explanations for the attack on the US consulate in Benghazi, Libya that resulted in the death of US diplomats. After initially claiming that it was the result of spontaneous anger over the Innocence of Muslims film, it then said that it was a planned attack by al Qaeda that used a demonstration generated by that anger as a cover. It now appears that there was no demonstration at all.
The opening question to Joe Biden in the vice-presidential debate dealt with this question and had the potential to cause him the most difficulty, though he was able to pivot away from it.
But Mark Steyn over at the National Review knows what the ultimate cause of the attack was, irrespective of the proximate cause.
Unlike Mitt [Romney], I loathe Sesame Street. It bears primary responsibility for what the Canadian blogger Binky calls the de-monsterization of childhood — the idea that there are no evil monsters out there at the edges of the map, just shaggy creatures who look a little funny and can sometimes be a bit grouchy about it because people prejudge them until they learn to celebrate diversity and help Cranky the Friendly Monster go recycling. That is not unrelated to the infantilization of our society. Marinate three generations of Americans in that pabulum and it’s no surprise you wind up with unprotected diplomats dragged to their deaths from their “safe house” in Benghazi.
These right-wingers just love to live in fear and really, really hate Sesame Street and all that it stands for. The idea of teaching children to get along with each other seems to drive them wild. I just don’t understand it. They probably throw up when they hear my favorite song from that show with its message of tolerance, diversity, inclusion, friendship, harmony, and universality.
That is not unrelated to the infantilization of our society.
Right. Because believing that the world is black and white; believing that the universe is divided into good and evil, that we are on the side of good and everyone else is incorrigibly evil; believing that solutions to problems are always simple, and usually involve threats of overwhelming violence;
that’s totally not infantilization.
Funny and convenient how the evil monsters are “out there” “at the edges of the map.”
Wonder if Mark Steyn would acknowledge the existence of monsters closer to home.
Steyn is angry at Sesame Street because Oscar the Grouch lives in a garbage can and not under his bed and Cookie Monster eats cookies instead of Steyn’s feet.
Wut?
Gee Sracy, didn’t you know that monsters lurk under the bed at night and will attack your feet if you set them on the floor next to their ravenous mouths lined with razor sharp teeth. I used to leap out of bed so that my feet would be as far away from the monsters as possible when getting up in the dark. The success of my strategy is evident by the soundness and wholeness of my feet today.
Forget about toothy critters. I saw the original version of “The Blob”, in original release, when I was a kid. Scared me sleepless for days.
We all needed one of these:
http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2917532240095242359HggYgx
Sesame Street has got to go.~ How can we bring our kids up to be good little Republicans, raising them on all these subversive messages of “sharing” and “cooperation”?~
“… for example, A Prairie Home Companion would be greatly improved by having Garrison Keillor digitally replaced by Paul Ryan.”
So, one day down in Lake Wobegon, my hometown, Powdermilk Biscuits was having a tough year. So, some financial experts from the big city did a leveraged buyout, and helped them get profitable again by shutting down the biscuit factory to move it overseas…