October 14, 2009

And Santa Claus is, also

Local "right-wing guy" Patrick McIlheran shills for Dennis Prager, a self-ordained "cultural warrior" who rails against "secular leftists" and who McIlheran evidently admires for his "clear thinking."

"Clear thinking is coming to town," announces McIlheran of Prager's visit to the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Lest you think Prager is just another right-wing AM radio buffoon, McIlheran emphasizes that Prager is "yeshiva-trained," whatever that's supposed to mean.

Presumably Patrick McIlheran's enthusiasm might be tempered somewhat were the UWM guest speaker "daar-ul-uloom-trained," which Dennis Prager most certainly is not.

Mr. Prager, it might be instructive to recall, filled up several pantloads to overflowing when Keith Ellison, a member of the U.S. Congress from Minnesota and a Muslim, declared that he would take his oath of office whilst swearing on a Qur'an.

On Thomas Jefferson's personal copy, as it turned out.

Prager, apparently forgetting that America was founded on a premise of religious freedom, was incensed. Wikipedia has a very thorough and entertaining account of the controversy, which was rather embarrassing for Mr. Prager and revealingly indicative of his "clear thinking" methodology, not least by dint of his risible ignorance of American history but especially of certain provisions of the United States Constitution, in particular its "No Religious Test" Clause.

Dennis Prager is "not what you'd expect," gushes Patrick McIlheran, at once approvingly reproducing Prager's characterization of the Nobel Peace Prize committee as "moral idiots."

Yes, that's exactly what you'd expect.

Earlier: McIlheran, tinpot philosopher

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