Napoleon Hymanite

IDIOT!!!

Our guess is that’s what Napoleon Dynamite would say about Mr. Hyman after his latest silly fabrication in his "Short Takes" segment.

Once again failing to make any mention of Sinclair or his association with said broadcasting company, Hyman suggests that Kerry campaign officials who brand “Stolen Honor” as disingenuous are claiming that the POWs in the film didn’t actually suffer in their captivity.

Of course, these men may have actually been held captive but still be liars when it comes to John Kerry. No one has suggested these men are lying about having been POWs. We just suggest that having been POWs doesn’t mean that they can say whatever they want and have it accepted at face value as the truth. This is particularly true when many of their claims are self-contradictory and demonstrably false.

Hyman knows all of this, but as usual, he counts on his audience being uninformed and incapable of critical thinking. Even to those who agree wholeheartedly with his politics, Hyman’s condescension can’t help but rankle.

Hyman also notes that military families tend to support Bush more than the rest of the country (according to a recent Annenberg study). Two things: 1) this isn’t saying a whole lot, and 2) if a family member of mine was stuck halfway around the world and getting shot at daily, I’d cling to every last ounce of faith I could possibly muster for the Commander in Chief, no matter how misplaced it was. And by the way, Annenberg also showed that despite support for Bush in general, the same group feels the military was sent into Iraq undermanned and spread far too thin.

In the meantime, Mark, go make yourself a quesa-dilluh! We’re off to tame a wild Election Day stallion.

And that’s The Counterpoint.

[Apologies to readers who haven’t seen Napoleon Dynamite and are no doubt baffled by the references to the film.—T.R.]