Meanwhile, in the Land of Punditry

So, apparently, a few weeks back, our old friend Tucker Carlson on his MSNBC program The Situation listed off a few reasons he likes the French. In response to Chirac's ill-considered remark that the British are terrible cooks, Carlson announced: "You know, I am going to defend France again, Max. And that`s heartfelt for a couple of reasons. You`re going to say the French are cowards. Of course, they`re cowards." He continued, "But let me just tell you a few things you may not know about the French. The French, above all, are proud of their own culture, their own language, their own food, and they`re willing to defend it. They love their own culture. We can learn something from them in that regard. They love dogs. They allow their dogs on subways. They allow them in restaurants in cafes. All civilized nations ought to love dogs. The French do." (Sorry, aerobil--I know you don't ever want to agree with the man, but apparently he's a dog lover.)

And for the coup de grace, Carlson declaimed, "Third, they [the French, not the dogs] blew up the Rainbow Warrior. Twenty years ago on Sunday, they blew up the Greenpeace ship, the Rainbow Warrior, in Auckland Harbor. It was a bold and good thing to do."

Bold? Good? A man died. It was an offense against New Zealand sovereignty. In the rhetoric of the current US administration, it was state-sponsored terrorism. The French were forced to apologize and pay reparations.

Does Carlson honestly think he's amusing?