Professor Cole has a talent for making his complex area of expertise interesting and understandable. But when he's pissed off he's very funny and--with apologies to the estimable Professor--extremely entertaining.
He first gives us an inkling of the mood he's in with this comment about the non-news of how dangerous the road from Baghdad to the airport is:
The supposed American manufacturers of Reality in other peoples' countries at the US embassy cannot travel it and have to be helicoptered in and out.
And then this gem:
Earth to the Kansas City Star: They don't speak Arabic in Afghanistan.
But he saves his best for his scorching smackdown of Matthew Haughey's dangerous threat to stop reading blogs that use the term "mainstream media." Juan Cole to Matthew Haughey:
A news flash for Matt: We don't care.
We don't care if you read our web logs.
Professor Cole gives a sharp lecture to Matt, pointing out that, unlike the mainstream media, web blogs are not written with a corporate bottom dollar in mind. One more quote:
If we were the mainstream media as Ashley Banfield was, our careers would be over if we mentioned a little thing like the replacement of journalism with patriotism in the coverage of the Iraq War.
Read all of "Mainstream Media and Bloggers" here. Does anyone have other favorite quotes showcasing Professor Cole's wicked humor?