SOME PEOPLE ARE UNHAPPY with my earlier linkage of a Mark Steyn quotation about the left and East Timor. (Here’s one post, and here’s another). But I have to say that those Australians worrying that Osama will make them targets because of Iraq do seem uninterested in mentioning that one of his big complaints was the liberation of East Timor.

If the complaint is that Steyn paints the entire antiwar left as stupid and dishonest, well, that’s a pretty broad brush, and I’m certainly willing to agree that there are plenty of exceptions. That’s why I’ve been offering those parts of the movement advice. I have to say, though, that a brief dip into the hatemail (accusing me of getting money from Exxon and — this is rich — Shell) that it’s produced has convinced me that the “stupid” part is large indeed. Or at least vocal.

UPDATE: On the other hand, Max Sawicky has managed to draft a response that doesn’t contain the terms “instacrap” or “instacracker,” so I guess I should be pleased.

ANOTHER UPDATE: You can see what Steyn was talking about here and here. I was too lazy to run down these posts, but reader Michael Levy wasn’t.