Scott spoke too quickly — there will NOT be any birthdays without photos of Ann Coutler on my watch!
So, enjoy this one of Ann with her Jewish counterpart, Pam Geller.
Ann and Pam Arm Wrestle for the Title of “Skankiest Dimwit of the Right”
Coincidentally, this weekend the NY Times ran a feature on Pam Geller: Pamela Geller — Blogger, Provocateur, Lightning Rod, Bigot, Wingnut, and Idiot. And as I was reading it, I was thinking that Pam is the anti-Anti. Pam came from a good, loving family and had a comfortable upper-middle-class upbringing. Despite never finishing college and not being all that bright, she had a good job — which she quit after marrying rich. After her divorce, she got nearly $4 million, and when her ex died “there was a $5 million life-insurance policy benefiting her four daughters, ” and “she also kept some proceeds from the sale of Mr. Oshry’s $1.8 million house in Hewlett Harbor.” She lives in “a modern full-floor unit in a high-rise on the East Side of Manhattan that could belong to a socialite or the editor of a lifestyle magazine.”
She was a frequent commenter at Little Green Footballs, and eventually spun that into her own blog, based on the premise that Islam itself is our enemy, all Muslims are terrorists, Obama is a secret Muslim, every loony rumor about Muslim terrorists coming to YOUR house to kill YOUR kids are true, etc. And now she is the major force behind the “Building a mosque anywhere in NYC is spitting into the faces of the 9/11 victims” movement. She is raking in thousands and thousands of dollars for her “cause,” gets invited to be on TV all the time, and now has a NY Times feature about her. Here’s a quote from it:
Her writings, rallies and television appearances have both offended and inspired, transforming Ms. Geller from an Internet obscurity, who once videotaped herself in a bikini as she denounced “Islamofascism,” into a media commodity who has been profiled on “60 Minutes” and whose phraseology has been adopted by Newt Gingrich and Sarah Palin.
And when Sarah Palin is stealing your phrases, you know you’ve arrive in the wingnut world.
And like I said, as I was reading this, I was thinking about AC. About how she triumphed over a horrific childhood and tragedies and obstacles that would have defeated most people. And how life still is hard for her, due to health problems, other bad breaks, and the difficulty of surviving in today’s America when you’re not middle-class and well-connected. And about how AC is a frequent commenter at various blogs, and started her own blog — and how, if life was fair, SHE should be the one getting the donations and the TV appearances and the acclaim, because despite all the adversity she has faced, she is a compassionate, caring person who has reached out and given of her time, energy, and limited funds to help others facing difficult times. And she helps even the total outcasts of the world, the feral cats. And how AC is smart and well-read and funny — everything that Pam is not.
Anyway, Happy Birthday, Joanna. I hope it’s a good one. And know that when I control the world, you will be getting the breaks that should be yours, along with Pam’s lovely East Side high-rise.
