The Cat Was Already Out Of The Bag

Skeptical Notion makes the important point that despite what the right wing hacks say, the release of the pictures didn’t change perceptions among ordiary Iraqis because they already knew:

I often wonder how stupid Kaus really is. Then I read his blog, and I remember: Very.

Today he’s joined the Goldberg “Sixty Minutes II should never have printed those pictures, and we should never show any more” bandwagon, using the logic that “Because they showed the pictures, now the Iraqis know — on a visceral level — what we were doing, and now they’re really pissed.” and suggests that they should have done a verbal story (yes, that Red Cross report got so much attention) instead.

I’m still shocked by the unspoken assumption that the Iraqis — and the rest of the Arab World — are fundamentally stupid. I’m not sure why, but it appears to be an article of faith that “If you don’t speak English, it’s because you’re retarded” among a great many of the movers and shakers.

News flash for you, Kaus: The Iraqis already knew.

Yes they did.

The 38cm sculpture with the words “We are living American democracy” inscribed on its base was fashioned two months ago.