Heads up, folks. This is yet another "damn, just when you think Charles Johnson has gone as loony as humanly possible, he just doubled down again on crazy" pieces. Proceed at your own risk.
This might be a good time to buy stock in Patterico.
You see, he's just become the latest target of choice for Charles Johnson and his (rapidly-diminishing) gang of rump-swabs, bum-kissers, and other sycophants. And if history is any lesson, that means he's going to be one very hot property. (This is becoming known as the Robert Stacey McCain principle.)
It all apparently started when Charles (who's spent the last couple of years frantically scrubbing his web site of any proof he can find that he ever held any different beliefs, banning those who dare question him, and in general out-Queeging Captain Queeg) took the moral high ground and pronounced in The Guardian that referring to the late, largely-unlamented Rachel Corrie as "Saint Pancake" was wrong, hateful, mean-spirited, and he opposed it.
(A quick aside: here's my chance to cost Charles a few more hours of time. He's currently using England's "Guardian" as his mainstream outlet of choice. I wonder if his new buddies there know how many times he sneeringly called that paper "Grauniad"
Which struck a lot of people as curious, as a lot of people (including me) clearly remembered the term getting started at LGF -- to the point where Charles listed it in his LGF Dictionary. (Which he took down shortly after I pointed out how many "hateful" and politically-incorrect terms it contained.) And some of those people went digging through LGF's archives to see just how common the usage was.
Now, Charles had done a good job scrubbing his archives, An extremely good one, as we should expect -- Charles puts the old Stalinist airbrushers to shame when it comes to erasing history. But not quite good enough. Some of those who Charles has scorned and smeared started digging, and they found proof Charles missed.
This was good for a few sneering laughs, and actually forced Charles to admit that "yeah, it's an awful and terrible and racist term that I would never use and never did use, except a few times, and it started on my site."
That's when Patterico apparently got under the lizard's skin. He and Charles got into a Twitter fight that Charles didn't do so well in. And making Charles look bad (usually by letting him do all the heavy lifting on that front) tends to provoke Charles and his legion of sycophants. Charles decided that it was time to go after Patterico's job.
Patterico's co-blogger, Aaron Worthing, found it amusing and made a casual reference to the whole thing in the context of an entirely different topic. That casual reference was enough for Charles to latch on to and proclaim that Patterico, through his co-blogger, had threatened his life.
Here's the part Charles quoted:
That gave Charles his excuse to give Patterico the full Robert Stacey McCain treatment. He listed Patterico's full name and place of employment (he's an LA prosecutor) and talked about just how awful he was. That's the cue for the lickspittles who live on Charles' every word, and they turned their feeble wits on finding something that could cost Patterico his job.
The first noble hunter to shoot himself in the foot was "rightwingconspirator," who quoted a comment from Patterico's site that was quite violent and talked about shooting people. The problem is, the comment itself was posted by a critic of Patterico's, and was quoted from another site. Which brings to mind the actions of Charles' trusted right-hand lizard "Kilgore Trout," who chose to expose Hot Air's "racism" by posting several comments there using "nigger" in the middle of the night, and used the fact that they were not deleted in minutes to show how racist they were. (Kilgore is still Charles' trusted aide-de-camp.) Which makes me wonder if the "jim" commenter who posted the comment "rightwingconspirator" found so scary was another of Charles' minions, which would make it a rather entertaining "green on green" firefight.
Now, stroll through the comments on Charles' piece. Is there any doubt that the commenters are doing their level (well, off-level) best to get Patterico fired?
Remember, despite Charles' official, published policy, he enforces a very strict orthodoxy on his comments section. Nothing is allowed to stand there that does not meet with his approval, or at least his tolerance. And he tries to impose that same standard on other blogs that discuss him -- if you don't remove comments that he sees as attacks, then you're endorsing the attacks and are therefore his enemy, too. So if Charles didn't approve of the move to get Patterico fired, then he would shut it down -- or, at least, express his disapproval. Instead, Charles let it go on, and occasionally dropped a comment to keep the fires stoked.
Now, Charles, this is a threat. You're encouraging people to get Patterico fired from his job for the things he has said online. Actually, for the things others have said on his site, to be precise, but that didn't keep Patterico from hitting back in the only appropriate way -- mockery.
I probably shouldn't keep kicking Charles as he circles the drain, but it's hard not to. LGF was one of the first blogs I discovered, and it was a major influence on me. I never did much commenting there, but it was a must-read and served a hell of a valuable role. Right up until Charles decided to systematically and methodically tear down everything he had built, burn every bridge he'd built, and turn on anyone who had agreed with him as he turned to the psycho left. I still occasionally try to use his archives for some of his older material, but it's getting tougher and tougher as Charles throws up more and more walls between LGF and the rest of the internet, protecting himself and his dwindling list of toads from reality. I fear the day when I can no longer plumb his archives for things like "Car Swarm" and "Palestinian Child Abuse" examples.
But it should be noted that being the subject of Charles' wrath can be quite good for one's blogging career. No one really knew or cared who Robert Stacey McCain was until Charles decided that he MUST BE DESTROYED, and now he's a leading right-wing blogger. The attention Charles is bringing Patterico could also give him a boost, as more and more people go and look for themselves at what he has to say that Charles found so heinous.
Hey, Charles, can I be your next Mortal Enemy? We could use the traffic!
You see, he's just become the latest target of choice for Charles Johnson and his (rapidly-diminishing) gang of rump-swabs, bum-kissers, and other sycophants. And if history is any lesson, that means he's going to be one very hot property. (This is becoming known as the Robert Stacey McCain principle.)
It all apparently started when Charles (who's spent the last couple of years frantically scrubbing his web site of any proof he can find that he ever held any different beliefs, banning those who dare question him, and in general out-Queeging Captain Queeg) took the moral high ground and pronounced in The Guardian that referring to the late, largely-unlamented Rachel Corrie as "Saint Pancake" was wrong, hateful, mean-spirited, and he opposed it.
(A quick aside: here's my chance to cost Charles a few more hours of time. He's currently using England's "Guardian" as his mainstream outlet of choice. I wonder if his new buddies there know how many times he sneeringly called that paper "Grauniad"
Which struck a lot of people as curious, as a lot of people (including me) clearly remembered the term getting started at LGF -- to the point where Charles listed it in his LGF Dictionary. (Which he took down shortly after I pointed out how many "hateful" and politically-incorrect terms it contained.) And some of those people went digging through LGF's archives to see just how common the usage was.
Now, Charles had done a good job scrubbing his archives, An extremely good one, as we should expect -- Charles puts the old Stalinist airbrushers to shame when it comes to erasing history. But not quite good enough. Some of those who Charles has scorned and smeared started digging, and they found proof Charles missed.
This was good for a few sneering laughs, and actually forced Charles to admit that "yeah, it's an awful and terrible and racist term that I would never use and never did use, except a few times, and it started on my site."
That's when Patterico apparently got under the lizard's skin. He and Charles got into a Twitter fight that Charles didn't do so well in. And making Charles look bad (usually by letting him do all the heavy lifting on that front) tends to provoke Charles and his legion of sycophants. Charles decided that it was time to go after Patterico's job.
Patterico's co-blogger, Aaron Worthing, found it amusing and made a casual reference to the whole thing in the context of an entirely different topic. That casual reference was enough for Charles to latch on to and proclaim that Patterico, through his co-blogger, had threatened his life.
Here's the part Charles quoted:
"we just chopped off Charles Johnson's head and mounted it on a pike on our collective front lawn..."Here's the full quote, for context:
Okay so metaphorically, we just chopped off Charles Johnson's head and mounted it on a pike on our collective front lawn, so why not go for Andrew Sullivan next?Here's where Charles could use a little grammar lesson. A "threat" is the declaration to do a certain action. "To do," as in "in the future." Aaron used the past tense -- "we just did this." If anyone was threatened, it was Excitable Andy. And if Charles is still able to whine about what Aaron said, it's pretty self-evident that the action was entirely metaphorical. I have to wonder if Aaron had said "handed Charles his ass," Charles would talk about the grave threat to his buttocks.
That gave Charles his excuse to give Patterico the full Robert Stacey McCain treatment. He listed Patterico's full name and place of employment (he's an LA prosecutor) and talked about just how awful he was. That's the cue for the lickspittles who live on Charles' every word, and they turned their feeble wits on finding something that could cost Patterico his job.
The first noble hunter to shoot himself in the foot was "rightwingconspirator," who quoted a comment from Patterico's site that was quite violent and talked about shooting people. The problem is, the comment itself was posted by a critic of Patterico's, and was quoted from another site. Which brings to mind the actions of Charles' trusted right-hand lizard "Kilgore Trout," who chose to expose Hot Air's "racism" by posting several comments there using "nigger" in the middle of the night, and used the fact that they were not deleted in minutes to show how racist they were. (Kilgore is still Charles' trusted aide-de-camp.) Which makes me wonder if the "jim" commenter who posted the comment "rightwingconspirator" found so scary was another of Charles' minions, which would make it a rather entertaining "green on green" firefight.
Now, stroll through the comments on Charles' piece. Is there any doubt that the commenters are doing their level (well, off-level) best to get Patterico fired?
Remember, despite Charles' official, published policy, he enforces a very strict orthodoxy on his comments section. Nothing is allowed to stand there that does not meet with his approval, or at least his tolerance. And he tries to impose that same standard on other blogs that discuss him -- if you don't remove comments that he sees as attacks, then you're endorsing the attacks and are therefore his enemy, too. So if Charles didn't approve of the move to get Patterico fired, then he would shut it down -- or, at least, express his disapproval. Instead, Charles let it go on, and occasionally dropped a comment to keep the fires stoked.
Now, Charles, this is a threat. You're encouraging people to get Patterico fired from his job for the things he has said online. Actually, for the things others have said on his site, to be precise, but that didn't keep Patterico from hitting back in the only appropriate way -- mockery.
Charles Johnson, you are a hypocritical, dishonest lowlife punk. This post of yours guarantees that I'll be doing a new post about you every single time I find out about another lie of yours.
Every. Single. Time.
In doing so, Charles Johnson, I will metaphorically crush you. I will metaphorically disembowel you and eat your innards. But I will not do a single physical thing to you. Nor will I encourage others to.
I will simply laugh and laugh as your reputation continues to shrink into nothing.Bravo, Patterico.
I probably shouldn't keep kicking Charles as he circles the drain, but it's hard not to. LGF was one of the first blogs I discovered, and it was a major influence on me. I never did much commenting there, but it was a must-read and served a hell of a valuable role. Right up until Charles decided to systematically and methodically tear down everything he had built, burn every bridge he'd built, and turn on anyone who had agreed with him as he turned to the psycho left. I still occasionally try to use his archives for some of his older material, but it's getting tougher and tougher as Charles throws up more and more walls between LGF and the rest of the internet, protecting himself and his dwindling list of toads from reality. I fear the day when I can no longer plumb his archives for things like "Car Swarm" and "Palestinian Child Abuse" examples.
But it should be noted that being the subject of Charles' wrath can be quite good for one's blogging career. No one really knew or cared who Robert Stacey McCain was until Charles decided that he MUST BE DESTROYED, and now he's a leading right-wing blogger. The attention Charles is bringing Patterico could also give him a boost, as more and more people go and look for themselves at what he has to say that Charles found so heinous.
Hey, Charles, can I be your next Mortal Enemy? We could use the traffic!
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Comments (21)
LGF was one of my early "go... (Below threshold)1. Posted by RB | January 26, 2011 7:48 AM | Score: 7 (9 votes cast)
LGF was one of my early "go-to" blogs...once. Great stuff on the "Palestinian child abuse" theme, as well as his work--for which we will be forever grateful--on Rathergate. But I dropped him from my RSS feed 2+ years ago...he's gone off the deep end.
1. Posted by RB | January 26, 2011 7:48 AM |
Score: 7 (9 votes cast)
Posted on January 26, 2011 07:48
2. Posted by mpw280 | January 26, 2011 8:11 AM | Score: 4 (6 votes cast)
I quit reading it a while ago, after my second banishment (second offense was a dig at the kilgore racist deal). Since then it has gone into the fetid swamp and isn't worth the read anymore, unless you are looking for a sad joke. mpw
2. Posted by mpw280 | January 26, 2011 8:11 AM |
Score: 4 (6 votes cast)
Posted on January 26, 2011 08:11
3. Posted by Aaron Worthing | January 26, 2011 8:47 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
As one of the participants in this I have to say you got every point exactly right, and amusingly so.
Btw, click on my link to see my latest missive, talking about the most offensive line in the SOTU.
And really, you need to insult Chuckie's mother or something.
And, btw, here is a golden oldie, which i am quite proud of, smacking chuckie for saying, more or less, "who are you going to believe, CBS news or your lying eyes?"
http://patterico.com/2010/10/31/charles-johnson-shreds-the-last-of-his-credibility-discussing-the-stewart-rally/
Finally, as for why Chuckie turned, you know, hard to say. now what i am about to say is wild speculation, not based on any facts that specifically point in this direction, but... i wonder if someone bought him off? like i said, no evidence that anyone did, but how surprised would you be if that turned out to be the truth? and on the other hand, how much of what he has done would suddenly make sense if that was the truth?
3. Posted by Aaron Worthing | January 26, 2011 8:47 AM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on January 26, 2011 08:47
4. Posted by WildWillie | January 26, 2011 9:15 AM | Score: 3 (7 votes cast)
I quit visiting quite awhile ago. JT, I had no idea there was so much "behind the scenes" intrigue on the blogosphere. Wow!
Stand your ground buddy. ww
4. Posted by WildWillie | January 26, 2011 9:15 AM |
Score: 3 (7 votes cast)
Posted on January 26, 2011 09:15
5. Posted by Wrella | January 26, 2011 9:41 AM | Score: 4 (6 votes cast)
LGF was the first blog I read that dealt with political issues. Within a few months it was completely off my list as he slid into delusion and paranoid fantasies.
Why does 'Conservative Blog Advertising' still link to his inane and unhinged rants? I've become expert at guessing the headlines that belong to LGF to avoid them. Makes me furious when I guess wrong and give him a click he so richly does not deserve.
5. Posted by Wrella | January 26, 2011 9:41 AM |
Score: 4 (6 votes cast)
Posted on January 26, 2011 09:41
6. Posted by Timmer | January 26, 2011 10:43 AM | Score: 0 (4 votes cast)
Prediction: At some point in the next five years, CJ will swing back to the far right, and all of a sudden he'll be a "somewhat extreme" genius again. I didn't understand the attraction when he was right wing, and I don't understand the surprise when he switched tracks.
6. Posted by Timmer | January 26, 2011 10:43 AM |
Score: 0 (4 votes cast)
Posted on January 26, 2011 10:43
7. Posted by rodney dill | January 26, 2011 11:00 AM | Score: 3 (5 votes cast)
7. Posted by rodney dill | January 26, 2011 11:00 AM |
Score: 3 (5 votes cast)
Posted on January 26, 2011 11:00
8. Posted by jim m | January 26, 2011 12:01 PM | Score: 4 (4 votes cast)
It never ceases to amaze me that people still read his blog. Once upon a time I read LGF daily, but when he started his free fall into lunacy it quickly slid down my bookmarks list and eventually dropped off.
Where once he had a blog that was interested in truth and was justifiably praised for the Rathergate work, LGF is now more interested in trooth. If rathergate were to occur today Charles would find himself on the other side of the argument defending Dan Rather.
8. Posted by jim m | January 26, 2011 12:01 PM |
Score: 4 (4 votes cast)
Posted on January 26, 2011 12:01
9. Posted by Jay Guevara | January 26, 2011 12:05 PM | Score: 3 (3 votes cast)
Same story here. I started reading LGF in response to Rathergate, but haven't been there in years. Literally.
9. Posted by Jay Guevara | January 26, 2011 12:05 PM |
Score: 3 (3 votes cast)
Posted on January 26, 2011 12:05
10. Posted by Andrew X | January 26, 2011 2:55 PM | Score: 2 (2 votes cast)
LGF is a fascinating psychological story. I too, used to be a big fan and commenter there, and I remember vividly his standard, by the numbers, reasonably thoughtful conservatism. He remains a blogging pioneer, no one can take that from him.
I also remember the first cracks of the tectonic plates, when I actully tried in my own feeble commenter manner to mediate in a weird and almost explosively sudden feud between LGF and 'Gates of Vienna' + 'Brussels Journal', both solid blogs covering Euro-Islam issues, that Charles thought danced to close to the crazy Euro-right and it's Nazi tint. Maybe CJ had a point, though I am not unsympathetic to Europeans horrified by the sqandering of their nations and culture by their leftist elites eternal groveling before Islamic immigrants. But his weird absolutism and determination over the issue caught a lot of people off-guard.
But something obviously went seriously awry over there in Lizard land soon thereafter, and now, here we are.
It is extraordinary in that it is one thing to say, "I am not down with the right anymore", hey whatever. But the fact is I don't think there is one, not even one, issue, that LGF is not all in, full stop, with the most shreiking crazy moonbats of the left. And that is a difficult transition to make while maintaining that it is based on a genuinely thoughtful and dispassionate foundation.
I'm sorta reminded that some of the German SS most ferocious fighters were Scandinavian and French, obviously because once they were in that far, they were IN full stop, and there was NO going back. Such is the deal with idealogues. Maybe newly converted evangelicals and their fervor is a better analogy.
(CJ is not a Nazi, I just use the example because it comes to mind first. But I am on the right. My sympathy for anyone on the left whining about being compared to Nazis is, shall we say, less than robust anyway, so... wahh.)
10. Posted by Andrew X | January 26, 2011 2:55 PM |
Score: 2 (2 votes cast)
Posted on January 26, 2011 14:55
11. Posted by Jim Addison | January 26, 2011 3:07 PM | Score: 0 (4 votes cast)
CJ had some sort of mental breakdown. It hasn't been pretty, and it isn't getting any better on its own. May he get the help he needs.
Concerning TOM, I'm sure the lizardoid attacks brought Stacy some attention but, for my money, it was Rule 5 Sunday that made him a star.
11. Posted by Jim Addison | January 26, 2011 3:07 PM |
Score: 0 (4 votes cast)
Posted on January 26, 2011 15:07
12. Posted by Stoltz | January 26, 2011 3:18 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Heh, I too am a former LGF reader. Watching CJ sink into the depths of psychosis has provided me with more smiles than I ever got while reading his blog. Isn't this just a simple case of a lefty who got scared by 9/11 simply returning to his lefty roots?
St. Pancake is actually kind of funny to me since I'm not related to the poor confused young woman and seems to fit the situation quite well.
12. Posted by Stoltz | January 26, 2011 3:18 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on January 26, 2011 15:18
13. Posted by Gmac | January 26, 2011 4:02 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Same here, I just don't even bother any more.
I was there because of Rathergate information but left when it got weird.
13. Posted by Gmac | January 26, 2011 4:02 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on January 26, 2011 16:02
14. Posted by locomotivebreath1901 | January 26, 2011 4:55 PM | Score: 3 (3 votes cast)
Far too much attention is paid to Charles anytime he plays with his little green johnson.
14. Posted by locomotivebreath1901 | January 26, 2011 4:55 PM |
Score: 3 (3 votes cast)
Posted on January 26, 2011 16:55
15. Posted by song_and_dance_man | January 26, 2011 4:58 PM | Score: 3 (3 votes cast)
Jay,
If I may, there is a slight error in the post, and innocuous at worst.
The LGF Dictionary was not ‘his’ but rather ours- that is those of us who created it. It was started by zombie who employed a few of us(pro bono) to expand on its foundation, which was the LGF FAQ’s page. Charles was well aware what we were doing, and being the lead editor behind zombie, I had access to the archives as well as help from Charles when needed.
I made the point at Diary of Dadelus a few days ago that by virtue of Charles making a thread of the launch of the LGF Dictionary and our accomplishment lends to the fact that he approved of it. And that would include all of the rhetorical terms being employed by many of us at that time at LGF.
15. Posted by song_and_dance_man | January 26, 2011 4:58 PM |
Score: 3 (3 votes cast)
Posted on January 26, 2011 16:58
16. Posted by dunce | January 26, 2011 9:04 PM | Score: 1 (1 votes cast)
Repeatedly going to johnsons site is a sick masochistic activity. Please get help.
16. Posted by dunce | January 26, 2011 9:04 PM |
Score: 1 (1 votes cast)
Posted on January 26, 2011 21:04
17. Posted by Dustin | January 26, 2011 9:15 PM | Score: 1 (1 votes cast)
Jay, this post is a thing of beauty. It's a very entertaining walk down another sad episode of Charles practicing character assassination.
17. Posted by Dustin | January 26, 2011 9:15 PM |
Score: 1 (1 votes cast)
Posted on January 26, 2011 21:15
18. Posted by Pat in Michigan | January 27, 2011 8:25 AM | Score: 1 (1 votes cast)
...and they call me crazy... HA!
18. Posted by Pat in Michigan | January 27, 2011 8:25 AM |
Score: 1 (1 votes cast)
Posted on January 27, 2011 08:25
19. Posted by alan | January 27, 2011 8:41 PM | Score: 1 (1 votes cast)
It was LGF that got me started at Wizbang.I don't remember exactly how that link came up, but I visit here daily and over there, not in years.
19. Posted by alan | January 27, 2011 8:41 PM |
Score: 1 (1 votes cast)
Posted on January 27, 2011 20:41
20. Posted by zaugg | January 27, 2011 9:27 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Chuckles is an interwebs joke. I visit Wizbang daily and will not give LGF a measly click.
20. Posted by zaugg | January 27, 2011 9:27 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on January 27, 2011 21:27
21. Posted by Aaron Worthing | March 31, 2011 9:35 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Yes, I am THAT Aaron Worthing, commenting here. This post and story is old but I thought I would add a little more to it. I don't know about Patrick's history with Johnson, but he and I go back. I lay out my experience with him, here:
http://patterico.com/2010/10/31/charles-johnson-shreds-the-last-of-his-credibility-discussing-the-stewart-rally/
I admit, I was really proud of that post. And to me the most heinous example of how johnson has prostituted himself is this. in 2006 he denounced Yusef Islam, aka Cat Stevens. in 2010 he has no problem with Jon Stewart inviting him on stage at a "rally to restore sanity." i mean if he was there as a person whose sanity needed to be restored, that would be one thing, but he was there as the supposed voice of sanity against Ozzy Ozborne's craziness.
21. Posted by Aaron Worthing | March 31, 2011 9:35 AM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on March 31, 2011 09:35