Red State.org:

For all the stupid junk Maher says (clearly from reading too much NYT) I don’t have such a problem with his assertion that the low-hanging fruit has been recruited. Obviously, when the military is reviled in much of the country, you end up with shortages of troops. Hard to come up with quality officers when elitist Ivy League colleges refuse to permit ROTC recruiting on campus. (Better to let those dumb slouch hicks go fight our wars, right?) Add to that an environment where the Army is accused of covering up fratricide and ordering dumb Lyndie England to “torture” soldiers, no wonder recruiting is challenged.

So strangely, Bill Maher complains about the very problem he has helped create. How ironic. Perhaps if he showed any clue about what maintains the freedom to talk like an idiot and get paid millions to do it, he might show enough respect for soldiers to actually encourage his flag-burning audience to sign up, pick up a rifle, and make some use of their sorry lives. He deeply respects the military because he builds his career upon their spilled guts. Gee, thanks Bill!

After reading the comments of the Alabama legislator and comments like these, certain conclusions can be drawn:

1) If you’re an obscure legislator because you’ve never offerred noteworthy legislation, the way to make your name known is to attack a celebrity.

2) Attacking a humorist is even better, as it demonstrates a patriotic commitment to unfunniness.

3) If you’re a Red State.org blogger, the more mythical facts you can fit in two paragraphs, the greater likelihood your doctor will increase your anti-paranoia meds. Reviled soldiers “in much of the country”? “Hard to come up with quality officers” via the military academies? Who knew?

“Dumb slouch hicks”? Maher never inferred that. ‘Low lying fruit’ means easily reachable, a reference to economic need (Ms. England and her cohorts were from a poor area of West Virginia.) Jumping to the non-sequitur assertion that Maher helped create the problem, without any explanation of how, he accuses the audience of flagburning (also with no evidence) and states that Maher built his career ‘on their spilled guts.’ If he means ‘upon confessions of military troops’, he aparently is confusing Maher with someone else. If he means ‘upon gutshot soldiers’, again he’s just making shit up.

I sometimes wonder if there’s a karmic balance at work here. Could it be that for every child with an imaginary friend, there has to be an adult with an imaginary enemy? For those so eager to excoriate Maher, I’m just glad the military isn’t recruiting fermented fruits like them.

Addendum: It’s interesting to see, out of 78 entries, how much media coverage this story was given. For the Alabama attorney-turned-representative in his 7th term - who served 2 years in the Guard long ago - this had to be the best pressgasm he’s ever achieved.