New Google Search Terms

...are of course Dreher mongoloid. Here are some hits:

Ace of Spades. Excerpt:

Insult, incidentally, Hanson didn't intend, as the professor is obviously quite a bit more highbrow than the blogger Dreher. It is simply a descriptive term, intended to neither slander nor flatter. Dreher obviously considers himself among the cultural vanguard; Hanson is merely attempting to explain to Mr. Sophisticate what it is that his analysis misses; but Mr. Sophisticate needs no instruction on this whatsoever for, while lowbrows obviously need the guidance of highbrows, ultra-accomplished blogger elites like Dreher can learn nothing at all from the lowbrows. Their input unnecessary, as they're fucking retards anyway.

Fucking retards, I mean, in the Ignatian sense, meaning "brain damaged mental defectives."

If there's any insult here, it's to actual highbrows, chagrined to see their cachet diminished by the naming of Dreher as one of their cohort.

Too funny. Read the whole thing. No punches are pulled.

Creative Minority Report. Excerpt:

Ignatian sense? Yeah, ummm?. No. I do not suspect Mr. Dreher of any malice but rather of a deplorable cluelessness especially for a Christian supportive of the culture of life. The use of this term in any context helps no one, least of all Dreher.

To be fair, the post does accomplish its objective. Mr. Dreher used this unfortunate term in his own defense from Victor Davis Hanson 's jab at certain "highbrows." After reading this lamentable post it is quite clear that the term highbrow does not fairly apply to him. Well done, Mr. Dreher.

Meanwhile, Athens & Jerusalem provides an insightful analysis of what's wrong with Confederacy of Dunces and how Dreher's love of the book is probably what got him into trouble. One of the comments links to this review of Crunchy Conservatives which I'm not sure I had seen before.



UPDATE: Midwest Conservative Journal chimes in. Liked this comment from Christopher Hathaway:

Dreher is a great case study of moral obtuseness and intellectual pinheadedness. Responding to a woman’s criticism that it’s disgusting to call one’s opponents idiots while using that term, and claiming the intellectual high ground at the same time, Dreher finds it appropriate to respond thus:

“Clearly, you suffer from a lack of knowledge of geometry and theology.”

Now, if you haven’t read A Confederacy of Dunces lately, or at all (I never managed to stomach past the first chapter) or if you have nothing better to do than to investigate it (guilty), you wouldn’t know that Dreher isn’t being merely incomprehensibly insulting again but that he is (possibly?) referencing (ironically?) the character of Ignatius Reilly who regularly disparages the world this way. Apart from the incredible conceit that references to what is obviously a favorite book of his, obscure though it is to most of the world, should be as clearly understood as Scripture quotes in a Fundamentalist church (I use that term in the Ignatian sense. Ignatius of Antioch, of course) Dreher obviously thinks it sensible to respond to legitimate criticism of his manner of discourse by impersonating the behavior of an unpleasant character from a deliberately loathsome story.

And he’s calling other people idiots.

I think Mr. Hathaway nails it in that Rod kind of wants to be Ignatius Reilly the way my 4-year old wants to be Batman. They both get to beat up "bad guys", except the "Ignatian" way to beat people up is via vituperative language rather than Ninja chops.

Kathy Shaidle's blast at CoD. I love the word treacly. So apro-freaking-pos.

Also, Riehl World View wieghs in briefly.