Polly Toynbee wrote a really dumb column, even for her, in which she posits that George Bush is responsible for Nigerian email spam.

The Birdman of Iowa (who has finally, belatedly, come up with archives for his site) is celebrating by running a contest.

Check out the two previous posts as well. He has the scoop on the latest humiliation of Saddam and the Arab world, and laudable efforts by the government to ensure that public education isn't sullied by Christmas.

Toynbee's claim that the Nigerian scammed her because the "Third World" was led astray by evil Western capitalist ways is, at heart, racist.

Underlying her assertion is the belief that members of the "First World" do the leading (even astray) while the everyone else can only follow. That absent Western influence, Nigeria and the rest of the "Third World" would be an idyllic land without greed, envy and strife.

Criminality knows no boundaries of race or culture. Nor, as Toynbee demonstrated, does silliness.

Is it just me or is the loony left entering the zone of self-paradoy?

Entering? Seems they've been there a while.

Hasn't anyone told Polly that Nigerian scams are, what, at least 20 years old?

Considering that Polly Toynbee said that only the State can make people happy, I can't say I'm surprised at her latest rant. People like her won't be happy until the walls of Western civilization crumble and poverty and serfdom are inflicted on everyone outside of her circle of "elites."

As a .gov employee, if Polly (wanna cracker?) thinks the 'State' is ever going to make her happy she either:

1) Has an astoundingly low threshold for joy, much like Sheen's Apocalypse Now quote: "Charlie didn't get much USO. He was dug in too deep or moving too fast. His idea of great R&R was cold rice and a little rat meat."

2) She is trying to provoke sub-freezin tempatures in a region Dante wrote extensively about.

Also, who is she kidding when she says:

The line between honest and dishonest business is easily blurred. We point fingers at Nigeria, this richest and best-educated country in Africa that should be a mighty power had it not been so catastrophically misgoverned, with legendary corruption.

Turns out their literacy rate is 68% (which is better than Egypt's). In comparison, South Africa has a literacy rate of 86%, Libya has a literacy rate of 83%, and Kenya has a literacy rate of 85%. GDP isn't so wonderful: $112 billion. Compare that to Egypt's $290 billion or South Africa's $428 billion. At a glance, South Africa has Nigeria beat on all fronts with a quarter the population.

Sorry, wrote the previous message.