Since 9/11, Charles Johnson has taken on Muslim extremism in his Little Green Footballs blog, said David Weigel in The Washington Independent. In the Obama era, though, his site has become better known for picking fights with its former “fellow travelers” and protegés, including Pam Gellar (Atlas Shrugs) and Robert Spencer (Jihad Watch). The “‘anti-jihadist’ blogosphere” appears to be in full “civil war.”
Johnson “deserves credit” for denouncing the “lunatic fringe of the far-right blogosphere,” said Kathy Kattenburg in Liberty Street, which he attacks for sinking into racism, paranoia, and general looniness. But he’s hardly blameless. Building an entire “anti-jihadism” movement because of one horrendous attack is a “recipe for craziness.”
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
No, the “flame war” being waged against Johnson by Geller, Spencer, and company is what hurts the conservative movement, said Michael van der Galien in PoliGazette. Conservatives need more great bloggers who can eviscerate Islamic extremism—all extremism, really—in a “rational, tolerant, and calm” manner.
-
Eel-egal trade: the world’s most lucrative wildlife crime?Under the Radar Trafficking of juvenile ‘glass’ eels from Europe to Asia generates up to €3bn a year but the species is on the brink of extinction
-
Political cartoons for November 2Cartoons Sunday's political cartoons include the 22nd amendment, homeless camps, and more
-
The dazzling coral gardens of Raja AmpatThe Week Recommends Region of Indonesia is home to perhaps the planet’s most photogenic archipelago.
