Rule #1 Of Fight Club

Okay, I only have one thing to say about the latest imbroglio featuring Ann Coulter, which is that this is the last time I shall ever mention the name Ann Coulter in this column. I the unlikely event that she actually ever does anything newsworthy, I will refer to her, in honor of her intellectual and inspirational cohort, as She Who Shall Not Be Named.

Look, her whole raison d'etre is to find marginally reasonable things to say, figure out how to say them in the most offensive fashion possible, then say them as such. The logic behind this is quite simple: this way, people will glance at what she has to say, react in the over-the-top fashion which is exactly what she is aiming for (Oh My God! This is unparalleled! We must protest!), and yet the thing that she said has a kernel of truth, or sense, or whatever to it so that she can then come back and defend it in a much more reasonable tone that is acceptable to, at the least, her supporters. It's the same damn script every time.

As with this case: look, at the base of it, what she is saying is true. Christians, kind of by definition, believe that Jesus is the path to salvation, and that those who don't believe in Jesus' divinity (Jews, Muslims, Zoroastrians, Spaghettarians) are wrong, and doomed to hellfire and brimstone for the vast majority of their eternal existence. Those who say otherwise are, in all likelihood, soft-pedaling their beliefs, or at least the beliefs of their church.

But, of course, she can't just say that; she has to use inflammatory language about Jews needing 'to be perfected' and the like. Whatever.

Unfortunately, as always, this has led to the usual number of 'has she gone too far this time???' stories, including on the Today show which I just turned off. Of course she hasn't. She's gone exactly as far as she went all the other times. And, like a 3-year old acting out in order to get your attention, she's not going to go away until, well, we stop giving her attention, inviting her in for commentary, and such.

So, as I said before, until she does something actually newsworthy, which by definition means something more interesting than her usual modus operandi, this is the last mention she will ever warrant on this blog.