Speaking of desi hustlers…

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Who said this?

“There is no way to restore the culture without winning the war on terror. Conversely, the only way to win the war on terror is to win the culture war. Thus we arrive at a sobering truth. In order to crush the Islamic radicals abroad, we must defeat the enemy at home.”

Ann Coulter? Rush Limbaugh? Bill O’Reilly? Sean Hannity? Nah.

The “sobering truth” in question is that arrived at by our illustrious co-ethnic Dinesh D’Souza, in his new book The Enemy at Home: The Cultural Left and Its Responsibility for 9/11, which is to appear in January. Blogger and Vanity Fair writer James Wolcott received a galley copy, and offers an advance review, of which here are some choice bits:

It’s one thing when Michael Savage or Ann Coulter denounce liberals as heathen traitors. One spouts halitosis on the radio, the other is an exhibitionist hag; both cater to their fan base. But D’Souza isn’t some low-grade, high-volume performance artist. He’s a research scholar at the Hoover Institution at Stanford, which he thanks in the acknowledgments “for providing me with the institutional support to do my work.” D’Souza writes, speaks, and thinks like something hatched in a think tank–a careerist toady.

The theme of the book is quite simple, and vile.

“In this book I make a claim that will seem startling at the outset. The cultural left in this country is responsible for causing 9/11.”

Then the qualifiers begin multiplying. The term ‘cultural left’ doesn’t refer to the Democratic Party, nor to all liberals. (Peter Beinart presumably gets a pass.) Nor is he saying that cultural lefties actually brought the towers down. He isn’t so rash as to suggest Molly Ivins piloted one of the planes, parachuting to safety before impact. So what is he saying?

“I am saying that the cultural left and its allies in Congress, the media, Hollywood, the nonprofit sector [profiteers are always patriots, of course], and the universities are the primary cause of the volcano of anger toward America that is erupting from the Islamic world.”

Note well: the primary cause. Not the treatment of the Palestinians, the caging and starving of those on the Gaza Strip, the hundreds of thousands of clusterbomb droplets left behind in Lebanon, the U.S. military bases on Arab soil, Abu Ghraib, the Mideast tyrannies propped up by American money and influence–these are secondary. Muslims are angry, D’Souza concedes, but they are mostly angry because their anger has been fueled and fanned by the cultural left.

“Thus without the cultural left, 9/11 would not have happened.”

I like that “Thus,” as if he’s actually proven something.

“I realize that this is a strong charge,” D’Souza writes, “one that no one has made before.”

The reason it hasn’t been made before is that it’s a sleazy, shameless, ignorant, ahistorical, tendentious, meretricious lie, one that was waiting for the right brazen liar to come along to promote it, and here he is, and his name is Dinesh D’Souza…

The most excellent evisceration continues at some length, with examples, details, and specific debunkings; check it out. And in the spirit of fairness and balance, you can pre-order your copy of The Enemy Within for $17.79 here.

120 thoughts on “Speaking of desi hustlers…”

  6. Why do you hate freedom? Because it’s on the march… through my living room.

    Hater!

  8. I saw D’Souza speak on campus last year- I was actually impressed. Yes, ME. A snippet of my review of his talk below…

    I am now convinced that it is ok to invade other countries to spread democracy, freedom needs to be enforced by force, we shouldnÂ’t pull out of Iraq until democracy has been built, and if they vote to not let women vote in Iraq, it is cool. Ok, not really, but it was interesting how he used the same arguments that I would use to push for the flip side. […] I will say this, in the end, he seemed more the libertarian than the conservative. And I highly doubt that the Bush regime would support the DÂ’Souza “truth” that we are in Iraq for the oil, not for the fake Weapons of Mass Destruction. I highly doubt the Bush regime would be ok with a democratically elected government that votes against liberalism, which DÂ’Souza is fine with. I highly doubt that the regime would approve of the sound bites that we are not in the business on spreading democracy but only interfering in countries where we have a personal stake in the issue. To me, it was refreshing, because he was truthful, and he was not beating around the bush, (OÂ’Reilly style) as to why we were involved in the War in Iraq.

    I think I’m going to read this new book of his.

  10. There is some truth to what Desouza is saying. The corruption of american culture by the porn-laden hollywood (and similarly that of Indian culture by porn-laden bollywood) has made muslims the world over resentful of america (and similarly India) and it’s attempts to force feed the world its corrupt culture. Only when we return to more decency, will we get the respect we deserve.

  11. I’m totally having deja vu. Didn’t Hitchens or someone like him say this exact same thing and get a similar treatment from, say, Berube or some such a few years back?

  12. Siddhartha and Pied Piper – How do you know they are hustlers? Did you read their minds to divine the insincerety of their beliefs?

    Dinesh D’Souza is a ‘Desi Uncle Tom’, his writings are best ignored at best.

    And I suppose Jain Man is our desi Malcolm X. How about this as the new desi raised fist pose equivalent.

  14. Oh, their sincerity is rather palpable. But it also is a bit beside the point — from Merriam-Webster:

    b : to sell something to or obtain something from by energetic and especially underhanded activity c : to sell or promote energetically and aggressively
  15. DÂ’Souza writes, speaks, and thinks like something hatched in a think tank…

    Well he tanks more than he thinks.

    And “Hoover” is just about right, given the vacuum of moral intelligence D’Souza is.

  17. Saurabh — I’m having deja vu as well. A trip down memory lane….

    [from The 700 Club, September 13, 2001] JERRY FALWELL: … I agree totally with you that the Lord has protected us so wonderfully these 225 years. And since 1812, this is the first time that we’ve been attacked on our soil, first time, and by far the worst results. And I fear, as Donald Rumsfeld, the Secretary of Defense said yesterday, that this is only the beginning. And with biological warfare available to these monsters; the Husseins, the Bin Ladens, the Arafats, what we saw on Tuesday, as terrible as it is, could be miniscule if, in fact, if in fact God continues to lift the curtain and allow the enemies of America to give us probably what we deserve. PAT ROBERTSON: Jerry, that’s my feeling. I think we’ve just seen the antechamber to terror. We haven’t even begun to see what they can do to the major population. JERRY FALWELL: The ACLU’s got to take a lot of blame for this. PAT ROBERTSON: Well, yes. JERRY FALWELL: And, I know that I’ll hear from them for this. But, throwing God out successfully with the help of the federal court system, throwing God out of the public square, out of the schools. The abortionists have got to bear some burden for this because God will not be mocked. And when we destroy 40 million little innocent babies, we make God mad. I really believe that the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the lesbians who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle, the ACLU, People For the American Way, all of them who have tried to secularize America. I point the finger in their face and say ‘you helped this happen’. PAT ROBERTSON: Well, I totally concur, and the problem is we have adopted that agenda at the highest levels of our government. And so we’re responsible as a free society for what the top people do. And, the top people, of course, is the court system. JERRY FALWELL: Amen. Pat, did you notice yesterday? The ACLU, and all the Christ-haters, the People For the American Way, NOW, etc. were totally disregarded by the Democrats and the Republicans in both houses of Congress as they went out on the steps and called out on to God in prayer and sang ‘God Bless America’ and said ‘let the ACLU be hanged’. In other words, when the nation is on its knees, the only normal and natural and spiritual thing to do is what we ought to be doing all the time- calling upon God. PAT ROBERTSON: Amen.

  18. The corruption of american culture by the porn-laden hollywood (and similarly that of Indian culture by porn-laden bollywood) has made muslims the world over resentful of america (and similarly India) And yet Middle East continues to be one of the biggest markets for Hollywood / Bollywood porn.

  19. The NON PROFIT SECTOR? He’s actually blaming the WHOLE NON PROFIT SECTOR?

    Wtf is wrong with people. . . .and these are supposed to be our sharpest, most insightful conservative thinkers?

  20. Yes. I have many talents.

    Me too, I can smell a blog fight across the internets 🙂

    14 Ah good, atleast you now shifted from questioning his motives to his methods. And pray what is underhanded about his activities? Are you saying that aggresively promoting ones own work is worthy of contempt? You must hold the whole publishing industry in contempt then.

  21. Saying he’s an uncle tom is putting it quite lightly. His self-hatred and blind worshipping of the west is sad given his superb analytical brain. Tim wise has cleaned his clock repeatedly.

  23. Beige Siege —

    Ah good, atleast you now shifted from questioning his motives to his methods. And pray what is underhanded about his activities? Are you saying that aggresively promoting ones own work is worthy of contempt? You must hold the whole publishing industry in contempt then.

    I actually haven’t questioned or held anything in contempt in anything I’ve written in this thread. And if I were going to, it certainly wouldn’t be any of the things you note here (but nice try with the straw man argument) — rather, it would be the substance of what these two authors have to say. But that’s amply been done already.

  24. DidnÂ’t he start his literary career by enlightening us all on whatÂ’s wrong with Black America? Fair enough- definitely problems to be addressed there. WeÂ’ve all of poverty pimps – however I wish that the “right” could be big enough to acknowledge that they engage in the same thing in reverse… (my career is to shine the light on all those other people who make a career out of shining the light on racism etc)

    From the link to the review- it doesnÂ’t look like heÂ’s done his homework.

  25. They love her because like D’Souza, she can make all sorts of racist and ignorant statements which are apparently no longer offensive once they come out of the mouth of a minority.

    i thought it wuz cuz sheez hot.

  26. i thought it wuz cuz sheez hot.

    I am guilty too. I always make an effort to like pretty republicans.

  27. i thought it wuz cuz sheez hot.

    For Skeletor’s bride, but hey, people are into far more kinky stuff.

  28. The reason it hasnÂ’t been made before is that itÂ’s a sleazy, shameless, ignorant, ahistorical, tendentious, meretricious lie, one that was waiting for the right brazen liar to come along to promote it, and here he is, and his name is Dinesh DÂ’SouzaÂ…

    I like the way this is written 😛

  31. ok, multiple references to Mr. DoubleD’s “keen analytical mind” – both here in the comment thread and elsewhere. Question is, REALLY?

  33. What a jackass. Its sad to see these prominent Indian-American politicians are well, wacko right wing nutjobs.

    And whoever said that “he has a point” abotu American culture – way off. You realize these terrorists have attacked their own people, right? Its about power and a dream to establish a global Islamic caliphate.

  34. Razib And Beige Siege: Why do you hate yourselves?

    My Mummy dint feed me this. I have suffered from low self esteem since then.

  35. “I am saying that the cultural left and its allies in Congress, the media, Hollywood, the nonprofit sector [profiteers are always patriots, of course], and the universities are the primary cause of the volcano of anger toward America that is erupting from the Islamic world.” Ha ha ha, ho ho ho. A very funny man. Let us all put our hands together for the very funny … no, wait, he is serious!

  36. DD was also the idiot who wrote ‘why British Rule was good for India’.
    He is a true self-hater pretending he was not born in a 3rd World Country as a brown boy.

  37. DD on Coulter/O’Reilly/Hannity et al, in the words of the illustrious Jay-Z:

    “Wasn’t born hustlers/I was burpin’ em.”

    (I mean, he didn’t really say that, but wouldn’t be hilarious if he did?)

  38. A plane just crashed on my street (york ave) 10 blocks away from me so I’m heading out to check it out but i’d like to say a quick word in defense of brutha Dinesh.

    I haven’t read his new book, unlike you genius’, but i loved illiberal education and i think the title shows you where he’s coming from. Dinesh is a liberal who criticizes the illiberl left that “hates” freedom, or values equality over it (yes, some very sophisticaed political thinkers did not value freedom). This stems from the censorship he experienced at the hands of such illiberals when they tryed to censor the darthmouth review.

    i’ve often thought that some on the left like chomsky have enabled terrorism by feuling radical islams already vaulted sense of their own victimization.

    anyway, off to the plane crash.

  42. that “hates” freedom, or values equality over it

    Just when I thought that the “hating freedom” rhetoric was the most nonsensical thing I had heard in the last five years, you’ve gone and topped it – valuing equality over freedom. I don’t think I can take any more of this enlightened libertARYANism!

    some on the left like chomsky have enabled terrorism by feuling radical islams already vaulted sense of their own victimization.

    Don’t forget those crazy Bolivarians!

  43. Its about power and a dream to establish a global Islamic caliphate.

    Yup, if the ideologues and self appointed experts who are giving analysis on the ‘root cause’ of such problems pulled their heads out of their arses (and stuck to fields in which they are actually know stuff), we’d wouldn’t have so much crap floating around (regardless of right or left).

    Salafist thought predates all the people practicing it today. It is a compelling and seductive platform on which men who seek power in their own communities coopt populations. It is men who seek to control the center of gravity of an exteremly diverse group of muslims, where Arabs aren’t the majority, but do hold religious sway ( can anyone say South, South East, Central Asia and Africa. Large linguistically and culturally diverse population).

    I like what the Freakonomics dudes say about experts and their analysis throughout their book and how they use the information advantage to push their agenda first. These blowhard righties or bedwetting lefties are using their information advantage for purposes of furthering their own vision, thought, and selling a boat load of books filled with diversionary analysis and simplistic conclusions.

    Seriously, what makes the likes of Dsouza, Chomsky, or anyone else actually good at the analysis they provide, beyond their own fields of concentration (US politics and linguistics respectively). But hey, if they’re smart and sharp in one field, I’m sure they can come up with answers in another!

    I don’t know, most of these guys are selling books to their own audience anyway and I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express.

  44. Seriously, what makes the likes of Dsouza, Chomsky, or anyone else actually good at the analysis they provide, beyond their own fields of concentration (US politics and linguistics respectively). But hey, if they’re smart and sharp in one field, I’m sure they can come up with answers in another!

    I wouldn’t place D’Souza and Chomsky in the same category. Chomsky’s arguments, from what I have seen, are sound. In fact, his is exactly the sort of expertise from the outside we need. D’Souza’s is the sort of expertise from the inside that has corrupted the system.

  46. In fact, his is exactly the sort of expertise from the outside we need. D’Souza’s is the sort of expertise from the inside that has corrupted the system.

    This is a completely different argument, but I don’t buy Chomsky’s or Dsouza’s arguments. Maybe elements of what they collect to support their conclusions deserves merit, but as a whole, their conclusions are already drawn before they even sift through the data (whatever it is).

    Chomsky has a political agenda, so does Dsouza. Neither are ‘exactly’ the type of expertise we need.

  47. An interesting note I read on the Amazon review of his earlier book What’s So Great about America

    I am constantly surprised by how much I hear racism talked about and how little I actually see it,

    And then I read the latest blog here about the plane crash in New York by Ennis

    ItÂ’s times like these that I wish I lived in a large city on the coasts, and not a smallish conurbation in the midwest where I encounter enough racism even on a regular basis

    Wonder if D’Souza would change his thinking if he lived in a small town in the midwest.

  48. Maybe elements of what they collect to support their conclusions deserves merit, but as a whole, their conclusions are already drawn before they even sift through the data (whatever it is).

    Maybe you can point me to some of Chomsky’s body of writing that you find entirely unsubtantiable.

    The way I see it, Chomsky has clarified the theoretical standpoint from which he is arguing (libertarianism + socialism), and his job is an academic philosopher. He is not a politician. He is not in the business of making policy. I think we probably both agree that Chomsky does not offer any ready-made answers in terms of policy. I think, however, that it is valuable to pay careful attention to his opinion because he points out holes in the system (and every system has holes) and backs up his arguments with careful, painstaking analysis.

  49. Neither are ‘exactly’ the type of expertise we need. I notice that I have qualified the word ‘exactly’ with the use of the phrase ‘from the outside’.

  50. Chomsky has a political agenda, so does Dsouza. Neither are ‘exactly’ the type of expertise we need.

    True but,

    Chomsky’s arguments – logical, sound and appeals to intellect

    D’souza’s arguments – unsubstantiated and appeals to the basic instincts rather than the intellect

    The wiring is completely different, though I would not try to conclude what is better.