The rightie excuse for Malkin’s publishing of names and phone numbers (see previous post for background) is that the names and phone numbers were on a press release (see Joe Gandelman, who is a nice guy, for an explanation). If they hadn’t wanted their names and phone numbers made public, why were they on a press release?

And the answer is, press releases always come with the name and contact information of someone responsible for the press release, either above or below the text of the news release. This is so journalists can call that individual for more information or to confirm the relase is legitimate. Without such contact information most news desk editors would pitch the release into the famous round file. But anyone who has worked in a newsroom for more than ten minutes understands that the contact information itself is not “released” unless it appears in the text of the release.

The other excuse: “Lefties do it too.” As I’ve said many times, the foundation of all rightie moral standards is Billy hit me first and variations thereof. I regret that there are some people who lack the common sense and impulse control to not stoop to the level of sending Malkin obscene email. However, that doesn’t excuse what Malkin did.

The outrage over Michelle Malkin’s unethical and un-American behavior is growing. From around the blogosphere:

The Peking Duck: “The Badness of Michelle Malkin”

Not that there was ever any doubt, but the fire-breathing Ms. Maglalang once again proves that she’s purely bad news, a reckless bullying demagogue who has abandoned even the pretense of human decency. And I mean it. She represents the worst of the worst of the right-wing Wurlitzer.

Roxanne: “Send her a pair of toenail clippers.” OK.

TBogg: “Mickey & Mallory Malkin Go To College”

Really now. Did anyone expect any less of Michelle and Jesse Malkin than to use her C-level fame to launch her chromosomally damaged readers after some college students at UC Santa Cruz? C’mon, it’s not like she wants to limit her career options to three minute appearances on Fox with O’Reilly (did you know Bill never wears pants when she’s on? You can look it up) and book signings at Young Fleshy Slightly Damp College Republican conventions. Not when a horse-faced Ann Coulter is pulling down $30K an appearance to blurt out post-9/11 Andrew Dice Clay-isms in a voice that is about two octaves lower than Clays. Michelle is cute (and crazy)! And perky (and crazy)! And her soul is deader than Bob Dole’s dick (…and she’s crazy!). She deserves the big bucks and if she has to write like a tweaker with a raging yeast infection to get some attention, well, deal with it. She’s not going to be ignored! No slight to America is too small for Michelle not to fake a back-arching ragegasm guaranteed to engorge her loyal one-handed readers as they alt-tab back and forth between her site and bukakebitches.com.

PZ Myers, Pharyngula: “I’ll Take Anger Over Sleaze Any Day”

I don’t quite understand this etiquette thing. So Maryscott O’Connor is angry about war and corruption and our incompetent administration, and that’s bad. Naughty leftist, she should be better mannered and respectful to our president, no matter how badly he screws up.

Meanwhile, Michelle Malkin sics her mouth-breathing minions on some college-aged peace activists, and they get swamped with death threats from right wingers. And she does it twice, even after learning what kind of sewage her pals are spewing.

Hmmm. Decisions, decisions. Angry denunciations of political actions vs. vicious but infantile threats. Unstinting demands that our leaders do right vs. outrageous extortion. Which side do I want to be on?

I’ll pick the door on the left, Bob. Without hesitation.

Phoenix Democrat at Kos: “Michelle Malkin Is a Nazi”

She posted the phone numbers and E-mail addresses of activists who belong to Students Against War (SAW) in response to their campaign to have military recruiters removed off the University of California – Santa Cruz campus. She did this with every intent to have her fans contact and bombard them with hate, intolerance to free speech and death threats.

Yet, the fascist hypocrite cries that she gets hateful E-mail sent to her. I’m willing to bet that all the “hate mail” she cuts and pastes on her stupid site was typed by none other than HER, so she could say “look at what the liberals sent me, waaaaahhhhhh …” [UPDATE: Let’s assume Malkin really did get the nasty email she posted. I don’t doubt she does get some nasty email from lefties. I know I get plenty of it from righties, although I usually don’t whine about it.]

This is the tactic that ALL conservatives employ in an attempt to stifle free speech and turn the United States of America into a fascist dictatorship. More recently, Democratic congressional candidate Nick Lampson, running for Tom DeLay’s congressional seat, had his press conference disrupted by DeLay’s goon squad. There was pushing and shoving, a member of Lampson’s campaign was physically assaulted by a DeLay supporter and the police just stood there and made no arrests.

Chris Bowers, MyDD: “A Modest Proposal: The ‘No Death Threat’ Litmus Test For Bloggers.” Tongue in cheek, this:

Since I know that the WaPo is hot in search of a new conservative blogger in order to balance out original commentary and / or reporting with plagiarism, I would like to propose a simple “no death threat” litmus test for them as they conduct their search. For starters, don’t hire any blogger who posts private phone numbers of college students. Perhaps more importantly, don’t hire any blogger whose readers call said phone numbers and issue death threats to said college students. I would take this a step further, and suggest that the Post doesn’t hire anyone who blogrolls the death threat issuing blog, but that would exclude around 90% of the conservative blogosphere from consideration. Malkin, is the second most blogrolled conservative blog in the country, with 4,947 conservative blogs giving her a permanent link.

I, for one, can proudly say that the MyDD community has never posted private phone numbers and then had our readers call those numbers and issue death threats via said phone numbers. I plan to continue our no death threat policy, even though I realize that we now live in an era when issuing death threats to legal protesters has become commonplace. I know that there is debate about this in some circles, but I believe that issuing death threats to private citizens is, generally speaking, opposed to the principles of democratic discourse. I know that some say death threats help create balance in our contemporary political discourse, in order to counter those commentators who do not issue death threats. After all, how else can we make certain that those people who issue death threats are properly represented in our non-death threat issuing liberal media?

Peeking Under the Rock: “Michelle Malkin v. the Central Coast” (blogging from Santa Cruz):

She’s not the first person to disparage us: Ronald Reagan called my alma mater a “cross between a hippie craash pad and a whorehouse,” while I was there (or maybe the year before I got there,I forget). And don’t forget, the Homeland Security folks, whoi can’t be bothered to investigate or prosecute the right-wing militia types who actually murder people, have called these kids a “credible threat.”

Brad R., Sadly, No: “Michelle Malkin Does Not Live by the Same Code of Ethics as Normal Human Beings”

Yep, Another Goddamned Blog:

Apparently, Malkin herself is becoming even more unhinged as last night wore on. Now she’s posting her hate mail in an update of her own, resorting to the usual name-calling, blah blah blah and posting the very few comments from Kos that don’t outright condemn her.

Feel the love, Little Lulu. You earned it.

Updates —

Upper Left:

My beliefs about the assault on free speech by the UC Santa Cruz Students Against War are a matter of record. Even if you thought my crack about brown shirts and peace symbols was over the line perhaps you’ll share my observation that Ms. Malkin and her minions have added the colorful arm band and lightning bolt collar tabs to the ensemble.

Malkin’s inciting to a virtual riot, and the risk of the entire episode resulting in potentially tragic consequences in meat world is very real. Ezra is too kind, extending pity to a pundit whose only effective rhetorical tool is hatred. No, her act was informed, deliberate and viscious. As misbegotten as their behavior may have been, I don’t doubt that the students were acting from a misguided idealism. They thought suppression of speech was a reasonable trade off against stopping the war. They were wrong.

Malkin has no such idealism to claim. Her motive is calculated malice.

Carla, Preemptive Karma:

Malkin’s inability to muster up even basic scruples here is astounding–especially for a woman of her age. Anyone with even a rudimentary set of life experiences and maturity would know better than to put other people’s lives in danger this way.

Those who are threatening these students may be little more than keyboard cowards, hiding behind their pixels in an effort to compensate for a case of shriveled dick syndrome. But it only takes one whacko to do serious damage.

Steve Gilliard:

You would think Malkin wouldn’t have to stoop to encouraging the stalking of college kids to make her point.

Here’s a woman with a marriage, a child and a good job. Why would she think this was OK? I don’t know anyone who would post her personal information online. It just isn’t done. Does she think she wouldn’t bear any legal responsiblity if someone is harmed. Even if a case is tossed, that’s one ruined reputation and a large legal bill, at a minimum.

Another update: Ms. Shakes —

The heir-apparent to the heinous little niche of unhinged hatemongering which Ann Coulter has carved out for herself, Michelle Malkin, is really making moves to unseat the queen these days.

Georgia10 —

Malkin’s sustenance is hate–without it, she wouldn’t have anything to write about. She thrives on the misery and pain of others as she peddles in racism and inflammatory rhetoric. And her readers eat it up.

Dr. Atrios:

If Malkin had pulled down their phone numbers after being asked it wouldn’t be a big deal. They did put it on their press release. When I post press releases I usually try to remember to pull out the contact information, though I probably haven’t always remembered to do so. But if someone asked me to pull it down I would. The fact that a number has been made public somewhere on the internets does not mean that number should be posted on this blog as an encouragement for my readers to call it.

Taylor Marsh:

But phone numbers on the web reach a lot of people. It’s an invasion of personal privacy that could put people in further danger. For that act she received some pretty testy and profanity-laced emails, which she also shows on her blog.

Sticks and stones, baby, words are not going to hurt you. Yes, phone numbers can always be changed. One wonders how fast Malkin’s lawyer would whip into action if someone put her private number on the web.