NP: Boy Kill Boy, Civilian

Once again, I got stuck watching Glenn Beck at the gym the other night, and if I'm going to chastise him for being a moron, I feel obligated to give him credit if he says something reasonable. Tuesday it was a defense of incoming congressman Keith Ellison and the boomlet of conservative outrage from Rep. Virgil Goode over Ellison's intention to take his swearing-in photo-op with a copy of the Koran.

Beck was pro-Ellison on this, which on the one hand, made me slightly revise my opinion of him. On the other hand, I get this feeling that this is a really cheap and easy way for right-leaning pundits to seem tolerant, as all the facts are against Goode on this one. Especially now that Ellison is going to be using a copy of the Koran previously owned by Thomas Jefferson.

It's a weird little microcosm of how bars get set so low with regard to expectations and "political debate" these days, I think. And makes me wistful for the days they're showing Rob and Big or Beauty and the Geek on the big screens in front of the elliptical machines.