> Eric Margolis, as some googling will show, was a supporter of the CIA
> backed anti-Soviet mujahadeen in Afghanistan in the 80's. Some
> exemplar of political judgement, eh?

I don't google, and I didn't know his background, and I don't see that
it matters--it probably would be relevant if the piece were serious
political analysis , but as satire it stands on its own.

> Bush is a thug. Sharon and Saddaam too.

yes, that was the point of the joke, at least as I read it.

> In the psywar for public opinion, unless one is satisfied reaching
> those already convinced of the evils of the Us Empire, pieces
> like the glib Margolis will convince no one.

I heartily agree that preaching to the converted is a waste of time,
but I wasn't trying to convince anyone, just to share what I saw as
amusing satire. Satire can be an effective way of making a point to
people who haven't hitherto realized it, but that wasn't my intention
here; this list is the last place I would try to convince those who
honestly believe in the US political system of how rotten that system
is--everyone here already understands that (except for a few right-wing
ideologues who have already made it clear that they have no interest in
honest debate anyway, and whom I choose to ignore).

>   From Dobkin's p.s. I gather he thinks there was a virus in
> the URL in the, "Chomsky Sucks, " piece?

I was referring to something I initially said in a post which never made
it to the list, as Wilson decided (reasonably enough) to simply forward
the piece in question as text.

My point was not that the URL had a virus, but that no sensible person
would open a URL or an attachment that comes with no message at all--or
for that matter, with a generic text which could be generated by a virus
or worm. I don't have a "virus-check" (and I wouldn't put my faith in it
even if I did).

> Do you even watch The Simpsons?

yes, of course; not because of any political content which it does or
(more likely) doesn't have, but simply because it's very funny. I also
watch any show with "Star Trek" in the title (yes, even though the
quality of the episodes is much less consistent than in the case of The
Simpsons). As for abstract ideological analysis, it usually bores me
to tears. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go finish my critique of
the capitalist oppression manifested in the economic exploitation
by the hegemonic military-industrial complex of third world unskilled
labor, as symbolized by the parrot on the telly in Monty Python's
Flying Circus...