Let's Give Breivik And Bin Laden Equal Time

The point has been made, here as well as elsewhere, about the hypocrisy of those on the Left who decried the assumptions of the Right that Islamist extremists were behind the Norway terrorist attack, when they jumped to accuse Palin, the Tea Party and others of being the inspiration for the Giffords shooting.

Michael Rubin draws attention to two other double standards--one of them the Breivik/bin Laden double standard:

First, while Breivik cited a number of right-of-center analysts and some other pundits who are, in my opinion, too Manichean in their analysis, there was no similar lynch mob when Osama bin Laden, for example, provided Americans with a reading list of authors (Stephen Walt, John Mearsheimer, Tony Judt, Jimmy Carter, John Perkins, etc.). I disagree with the arguments made by these authors, but free speech should be sacrosanct. No single madman’s actions should justify muzzling intellectual or policy debate.

To date, no one has accused Osama bin Laden of having been a liberal democrat for that matter.

But who knows?
They are still going through those computer files.

Hat tip: Challah Hu Akbar

Technorati Tag: Anders Breivik and Osama bin Laden.