Andrew Sullivan Calls For Calm—With A Post Headed "The Poison Of Limbaugh"
01/12/2011
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Having endlessly "live-blogged" the Arizona shootings, Andrew Sullivan now is calling for a calm, rational, impersonal, civil discussion of the bigger issue, namely:

The Poison Of Limbaugh11 Jan 2011 04:31 pm Very very very few people have contributed more poison and hatred and extremism to the culture than Rush Limbaugh.

To understand Andrew Sullivan, you have to read his long article in the NYT Magazine in 2000, "The He Hormone," in which he explained the powerful impact his prescription testosterone cycle has upon his judgment:

"Soon after I inject myself with testosterone, I feel a deep surge of energy. My attention span shortens. My wit is quicker, my mind faster, but my judgment is more impulsive. ...
"Then there's anger. I have always tended to bury or redirect my rage. I once thought this an inescapable part of my personality. It turns out I was wrong. Late last year, mere hours after a [Testosterone] shot, my dog ran off the leash to forage for a chicken bone left in my local park. The more I chased her, the more she ran. By the time I retrieved her, the bone had been consumed, and I gave her a sharp tap on her rear end. "Don't smack your dog!" yelled a burly guy a few yards away. What I found myself yelling back at him is not printable in this magazine, but I have never used that language in public before, let alone bellow it at the top of my voice. He shouted back, and within seconds I was actually close to hitting him. He backed down and slunk off. I strutted home, chest puffed up, contrite beagle dragged sheepishly behind me. It wasn't until half an hour later that I realized I had been a complete jerk and had nearly gotten into the first public brawl of my life. I vowed to inject my testosterone at night in the future."

Trying to compete with Sullivan makes me feel like Ichiro Suzuki must have felt like trying to compete with Sammy Sosa.

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