Ann Coulter - Idiot Without Boundaries

Yesterday, the United States Senate - which would have better things to do, if the Democratic majority could locate its spine - took the time to draft, consider, and pass a resolution condemning a newspaper ad recently taken out by MoveOn.org. The ad referred to General David Patraeus, US commander in Iraq, as "Betray-us" and argued that his forthcoming Senate testimony would present a less than realistic picture of the situation in Iraq (guess what - it did!). The ad's widely been regarded as stupid and unduly strident, even among anti-war folks. But it's well within the wheelhouse of the kind of political speech that the First Amendment is designed to protect. And the United States Senate has condemned it. It sends chills down my spine (partly because the resolution passing was a bi-partisan event).

But, as long as the Senate is getting into the habit of condemning the speech of extremist political hacks, I expect they'll render judgment on Ann Coulter any day now. Lords know, she's got plenty of in her past upon which they could rely. But how about some fresh material? In this column over at Human Events, "Legal Affairs" writer Coulter goes on and on with the usual big business talking points about plaintiff's lawyers. That's nothing new. In the process, however, Ann makes one of her trademark factual errors and/or lies:

She [Ann's college room mate] was going to Johns Hopkins for yet more medical training while I was skiing and following the Grateful Dead. Now she vacations in places like Rwanda and Darfur with Doctors Without Borders while I'm going to Paris.

Has anyone else noticed the nonexistence of a charitable organization known as 'Lawyers Without Borders'?

Well, no, Ann, nobody's ever noticed that because there is such an organization. In fact, there are two!

First, there's Lawyers Without Borders, based on Hartford, Connecticut, who:

provide legal support to Rule of Law projects and initiatives in the human rights and nation building sectors at low or significantly discounted cost.

Next, there's Avocats Sans Frontieres, based in Belgium, that has a whole list of goals related to providing legal service to the indigent across the world.

So, while MoveOn.org slandered, at best, one high-ranking politically involved General, Coulter slandered an entire profession - one of which she used to be a part. Certainly sounds worth of Senatorial censure to me.