The Post account was correct, but don’t you find it mysteriously symbolic of something or other?

Yeah, it’s symbolic of the fact that the Washington Post is a reliable news source and the Washington Times gets every single thing wrong.

Does Ledeen accuse the American team of cutting and running from the tournament because of their early exit?

I clicked the link, and searched for “location”. Odd, there aren’t any “Lone Star Steakhouse” in the Lone Star State.

this guys a fucking idiot. italy’s players win because they play up every “injury” on the field. they did against the u.s. and against germany. they roll around on the ground moaning until a ref comes out with a card and then they jump and are ready to play again. actually, sounds a lot like conservatives, really. maybe that’s what mr. ledeen likes about them.

The Italians suck so hard and their game is so boring to watch. Catenacchio my ass. Still, you could tell they weren’t going to penalties as soon as the ET started. After as ape shit as this country went after Friday night’s game, it was very depressing to see people drinking beers in sorrow rather than ecstasy.

Oh, and if you told the Italian at my office that his team sucked, he’d flail on the floor and cry and wait for the boss to give me a rote karte.

Yeah, his take is mysteriously symbolic. This little paragraph may live on long after millions of others written about current events have been forgotten, to symbolize the right’s smugness, self-justification, and above all their blockheaded obliviousness in the early 21st century.

I think it should be framed and bronzed, frankly.

Shorter Ledeen: “The lefty view was correct, and the righty view was wrong, but that’s an irrelevant footnote we can dismiss in search of a broader point.”

Symbolic? Absolutely.

WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS GUY TALKING ABOUT?

Seriously. None of those words makes sense in the order they are currently in. All of this talk about “national character” is really fucking weird too. Who are ascribing these traits to Italians and misapplying them to Germans?

Does this make sense to anybody?

Now, people, no one, I repeate, no one, should be surprised that Italians are drama queens.

However, being part Italian American, I must insist that we are not like conservatives at all. We do not whine — we emote with drama!

Conservatives whine, often in horribly annoying WASPy sort of way. Think of Cheney or Rumsfeld or Rove — they whine. But they do not emote!

What bullshit. The Italians won because they *could* take chances, the Germas lost because of their discipline and sticking to their style of play. I told my husband as we were watching the game that the Italians were far more likely to just go crazy in the end and win because they would try something outrageous, and they did.

At least we are spared the prospect of a Portugal-Italy final which would have had so many players falling to the ground for no apparent reason, that people would suspect that the DNA of the Players and that of a Tennesee Fainting Goat had been mixed in some bizzare gene splicing experiment.

And what does is say, oh RW wackos, if France wins? Eh?

Hey! I was the one who thought of the comparison between the American Right and the Italian Soccer Team!!! (It’s cool that you decided to use that joke, though, ’cause I woulda been too lazy to work it in anywhere ;-))

Unable to reason, unable to draw conclusion from fact (or to disregard irrevelent facts) the right is left to nothing but spewing nonsense – which the other wingnut wack-a-doos then take and reassemble into an even greater mountain of jibberish.

While the Post may have been correct on the narrowly factual matter of which foot was used, the Times’ version corresponds more with the big picture. Pirlo passed the ball to the right, and Grosso shot from the right side.

Hey… isn’t that picture of a so-called Italian player really one of the All Blacks? Like… New Zealand? Like… rugby union?

Um, yeah, it’s Umaga. Lemme go fix that…

Not to mention the fact that the best player in the tournament might be a Muslim Berber (Zidane) that’s gotta really piss the RW off, or at least it would if they knew it. Oh and just cause it bears repeating Ronaldo goes down more often than a whore when the fleets in town.

Jonah is such a wanker! The study didn’t say bullies grow up to be conservatives. Young WATBs grow up to be conservative WATBs. But that is too effeminate for Jonah, so he distorts the study to flatter himself. Moron.

Wait a minute this Italian soccer = American Right Wing thing might be even deeper than whining, I mean you have corruption (Serie A) and Fascism (Lazio) as well, they just need to make up some false reason to hate the French and it’ll be like Dubya’s on the field with them.

p.s. Apparently they both like flashly things (see the flares everytime Italy scores).

Hey don’t be so harsh Shargash Jonah bullied um (well not Video games I can’t imagine Jonah not getting Bitchslapped in anything he’d play) well mayabe he was BMOC wha with going to a girls school and all… ok really, though I’m sure Jonah pwns the cheetoes.

While the Post may have been correct on the narrowly factual matter of which foot was used, the Times’ version corresponds more with the big picture. Pirlo passed the ball to the right, and Grosso shot from the right side.

Brilliant parody.

I do give them credit though, they played clean vs. Germany once it became clear that the pussy shit wasn’t going to cut it. on a side note rough couple of weeks for Germany: Dirk getting jobbed in the NBA finals, Jan Ullrich getting banned from the Tour de France, and now this– man you add in the freak injury the Hoff suffered and its a not a new dawn for Deutchland. (Seriously though if those things all go the other way, how long would it have taken for a RW nut to put out some Germany on the rise, Europe must be put down column out?)

Er… The right is reduced to drawing conclusions from the world cup to justify its world view?

OK then. What’s next, concluding that we have the terrorists on the run because they can kill them easily in splinter cell?

And I also agree with Bob3, what if France wins? Does it prove the World Cup’s referee’s have a liberal bias?

I told my husband as we were watching the game that the Italians were far more likely to just go crazy in the end and win because they would try something outrageous, and they did.

What’s so outrageous about a corner kick?

I like this game.

The U.S. must have lost because like our political culture, they were overhyped and, in reality, sucked.

Mexico must have lost because half the squad tried to cross over to Switzerland.

England must have lost because they’re a bunch of whiny, repellent thugs who honor and worship inbred idiots. (hmmm….)

Ledeen obviously didn’t watch the game. He also obviously forgot about the 2,800 or so German troops in Afghanistan. Dickhead.

Moonbiter, Afghanistan doesn’t count. It’s all Iraq, all the time. Didn’t you get the blastfax? It explains everything: Mexico lost because they didn’t send troops to Iraq either. And Canada didn’t even qualify for the World Cup because they refused to send troops to Iraq. Now the Italians have a short window of opportunity, because they’re going to withdraw their troops soon. So if they withdraw their troops by Sunday, then they will have to lose too, but if they can hold on until Monday, then Leeden’s scheme will work.

And the USA is the only team to have scored on Italy is the entire World Cup, so clearly having a presence in Iraq did them good, especially in comparison to Mexico.

Oops.

moonbiter said,

Ledeen obviously didn’t watch the game. He also obviously forgot about the 2,800 or so German troops in Afghanistan. Dickhead.

Jesus Christ. Which reminds me of one of BushCo’s all-timers. Remember, just before/after Mission Accomplished, the administration coming out and saying that any big contracts for the reconstruction would only be awarded to those in the Coalition of the Willing.

And then somebody had to remind them to include, at least, Canada, seeing as how it was only the sheer number of Canadian troops in Afghanistan that freed us up to even invade Iraq.

There is not a scintilla of nobility in the administration. None.

Oh, and Ledeen, I suppose, would credit the Iraqis with the moral fiber the Germans lack? It comes from character. You obtain character by being one of those countries we ‘throw up against the wall’ every so often. Right, Mikey?

What Bob3 said. If the final had been Italy v. Portugal, the winner wouldn’t have just won possession of the trophy but also all of Greg Louganis’s medals. Thank God for small mercies.

Don’t you guys get it?

France are in the final because they’re the most dogged, dedicated, kickass war machine on the planet.

England and the US are out because they talk a good game, but when push comes to shove they couldn’t pour piss out of a boot if the instructions were written on the heel.

That’s what he meant, right?

England must have lost because they’re a bunch of whiny, repellent thugs who honor and worship inbred idiots.

Careful, buddy, unless you want to feel your nads flattened like grapes in a vineyard by Wayne “Sack Attack” Rooney. Don’t piss off the Ballstomper!

I am reminded that Italy always beats Germany in the World Cup…

Sadly, No! The two almost never meet in group play, usually being assigned to different groups. On two occasions, they played to scoreless ties (1962 and 1978).

Shorter Ledeen: as a friend of Italian fascists, I support the azzuri. Also, bomb Iran.

In short: allez les bleus.

the USA is the only team to have scored on Italy is the entire World Cup,

Um, that was an own goal. And I’m just cursing the fact that the Aussies didn’t pile on after they went a man up in the second half.

It’s hard work to feign injury

Sadly Yes, Manno. Italy at least beat Germany (the western version then) in the World Cup final in 82

Remember the Italy v Australia round of 16 match? The Italians made shit up, got a penalty and invaded the Australian net. Mission accomplished!

Hopefully the end result for Italy at the world cup will be similar to America’s in Iraq… lots of dead Italian players, a distinct lack of a victory, but with far fewer spectator fatalities.

And I say that as a half sicilian-Australian

Sadly Yes, Manno. Italy at least beat Germany (the western version then) in the World Cup final in 82

What part of “always” are you having a problem with?

Stop bashing Italia! Please?

Sadly, No, Michelino:

Italy’s new (non-scuzzbucket) government has started to pull all (2,700 of) it’s troops out. Complete withdrawal by Primavera 2006.

Sadly, No, Sadly, No! :

Ze Germans – disciplined, fast, brutal, and utterly without imagination

Gli Azzurri – sneaky, dramatic, clever and skillful

Did you see those two goals for Kraut’s sake? Una bellezza.

Eat it, Krautbagz. Uno!!1!

Funny how he didn’t mention exactly how many Italian troops there are in Iraq.

And I’m wondering if he mentioned the French troops in Afghanistan? I mean, that’s kind of relevant, seeing how they are also in the Final Game, just like Italy.

But we mustn’t expect too much in the way of relevance or fairness from conservatives or we shall surely be disappointed.

Ledeen is a confirmed italophile — waxing rhapsodic on all things roman (and milanese, florentine etc). He is a great fan of some former regimes.

I, for one, am not going to eat at Lone Star anymore. I didnt know Ledeen was a part owner.

Tommy Lasorda is a part owner too, and he’s also a fucktard. We get it, Tommy, you’re fat and you like pasta. Now STFU.

Ledeen is a confirmed italophile — waxing rhapsodic on all things roman (and milanese, florentine etc). He is a great fan of some former regimes.

And a member of some of its most exclusive secret societies.