Not to be outdone

Gerard van der Leun is a legend in this parts, being the man who started the internet tradition of Knowing All Internet Traditions by betraying his lack of clarity on the concept of abridgement. In an earlier career he was a contributor to Penthouse magazine, a role in which he crystallised the conventions of the "I-never-believed-this-would-happen-to-me"-letter and brought it to its present acme of literary perfection.

He also deserves credit for this interview in which he describes his politics as "neither right nor left but is, in its elemental nature, draconian". In conjunction with his first career, I can only interpret this as an aspiration to die in the same manner as Draco the Lawgiver, i.e. suffocated under a pile of his admirer's knickers.

James Wolcott brings Van der Leun's biography up to date:

Only last year this refugee from Pajamas Media was announced as the editor-in-chief of the hapless, hopeless QOR Club, a right-leaning private membership club started by some foolish papa bear in which rubes were invited to pay $19.95 a month (!), to read such witty Restoration fops as James Lileks and Jeff Goldstein limbering up their fingers at the Liberace keyboard. [...] Last time I looked, The QOR Club was a shuttered ghost town, and Jeff Goldstein is still doing monthly blegs to pay for the capital letters required to proclaim OUTLAW! at the end of his sporadic posts. So I guess QOR's limping fade into the sunset left Van der Leun with time on his hands to curate this agitprop installation.

The "agitprop installation" in question being RightNetwork, one of these right-wing websites with one of those lists of contributors that tries to wear out the phrase "the usual suspects". Van der Leun is Editing-in-Chief RightNetwork now that Pajamas Media and QOR are reduced to smoldering ruins in his trail.

One of his editorial responsibilities is to carry water* for Republican electoral candidates, including Christine O'Donnell, spokeswoman for the Munchausen-American community and member of a prominent family of clown understudies.** Thanks to the vagaries of American politics, O'Donnell is a candidate for the senate election in Delaware. Since her main policy platform appears to be her crusade against masturbation, inquiring minds wonder how enthusiastic his support will be; and how she feels about accepting support from a man who has possibly done more to promote and to document masturbation than any other American.

This is going to be the worst odd-couple buddy movie EVAH.


* I hope that's water.


** This explains a great deal:

"To be an official Bozo, you had to go to a special school in Texas," explained Mr. O'Donnell.