Shocking Discovery: Water Still Wet!

News articles like this one have been popping up all over the place.

The gist of it is that Al Qaeda isn't ready to make nice yet even though we elected Barack Obama who totally has a Muslim name and isn't white and is handsome and funny and erudite and not a boob. What a shocker.

Also the second in command at Al Qaeda used an ethnic slur.

Here's the thing. Al Qaeda is, literally, an evil terrorist organization bent on our destruction. We've laughed at George Bush and the conservatives for tarring all its enemies with that black-and-white designation, but for Al Qaeda it fits. Al Qaeda murders people. Its stated aims are both ludicrous and horrible. It's a bunch of bad bad fellows (and ladies.)

So why is it news that Al Qaeda doesn't like Barack Obama? The right wing may have accused him of palling around with terrorists, but they weren't radical Muslim terrorists, and only the truly insane thought he had anything but animus towards Al Qaeda. Barack Obama has stated that he will make it a priority for the U.S. to capture or kill Osama Bin Laden, leader of Al Qaeda. Of course they aren't going to like him.

What's the news here? The ethnic slur? Al Qaeda is a group of unrepentant murderous terrorists. They murder as a matter of course. Is it really shocking that they use nasty language? Especially considering that in the part of the world from which they hail there's a lot less political correctness than there is in the West. They still won't let women drive in Saudi Arabia, and Al Qaeda hates the Saudi government because it's not fundamentalist ENOUGH.

Now I realize that Al Qaeda is our enemy and any big statement from them needs to be covered as legitimate news, but what I don't get is the tone of a lot of these pieces, implying that it's noteworthy that Al Qaeda would use an ethnic slur and that there was any other possible reaction they might have to Obama. Is the implication that Obama is so wonderful that he might win over Al Qaeda even though he openly talks about his desire to arrest or kill the group's leader? Seems unlikely. Are we offended by the term "House Negro" used by those responsible for the blowing up of buildings and ships and trains? It seems like a fairly minor crime in comparison.

Zawahiri's statement is a very minor news event, especially in a time when major important stories are not in short supply. Al Qaeda still hates America. Obama isn't getting a Christmas card from the world's premier terrorist group, nor will they offer him any suggestions about the type of puppy he should pick out for his daughters. In other news water is still wet and Glenn Beck remains batshit crazy. Nothing to see here.