Another reason why I gave up on Kaus is his recent entry about the possibility of violence from the left, spurred on by Paul Begala and MediaWhoresOnline. It's not so much that Kaus thinks that "the left" may cause violence, it's that he makes the same mistake of lumping "radical environmentalists or fringe anti-globalists" with Begala and MWO. I've had this argument before, and I maintain that the problem is in trying to force the same label on the loony fringe as the mainstream. I find such practice, which Kaus engages in here, to be disingenuous at best. I'll say it again, and I'll type slowly so even Mickey Kaus can understand me: The loony fringe is not the same as the mainstream. Applying the same label to both makes the label meaningless. Using that meaningless label to draw parallels between the loony fringe and the mainstream is dishonest. Is that so hard to understand?

Even if you accept Kaus' lazy labelling, he's still off base. Last I checked, fringe anti-globalists were quite busy throwing rocks at Starbuckses during the Clinton administration, when all us "leftists" were supposed to be fat and happy. EarthFirst! was founded in 1979, and the Earth Liberation Front started setting fires in 1998. So why the sudden fear that we're about to be hip-deep in violent "left-wing" protest?

I don't know who's been peeing in his Wheaties lately, but as noted, I no longer care. Happy blogging, Mickey. Hope your new permalinks work better than your buddy Sullivan's do.

Anyway, O-Dub, Atrios, and Kevin Raybould all give Kaus the business as well. Check 'em out.

(Note: Edited to note the fixed permalink on Lean Left, and to correct the spelling on Kevin Raybould's name. Sorry, Kevin!)