L.A. Times art critic beyond parody

OK, when he makes Michelangelo's study of classic Greco-Roman statuary analogous to Alma Thomas copying Henri Matisse, you know Christopher Knight is full of crap. But then there's this:

And if the Obamas had chosen a Michelangelo for the Lincoln bedroom, the right-wing screamers would still have yelled. Because for them, it isn't about the art; it's about scorched-earth politics -- about not giving the president an inch, and about lying or fabricating or just pretending to be knowledgeable if necessary. And with Google and the great, bubbling Internet swamp at their cloven fingertips, they can fantasize all kinds of foaming fictions about art.

Via Brian Ledbetter at Snapped Shot. Don't feel bad if you're tempted to believe that "Christopher Knight" is a pseudonym for Charles Johnson.

In an age of unfathomable madness, sometimes the craziest hunches make more sense than "reasonable" explanations.

UPDATE: The world gets crazier. Most days, Memeorandum doesn't even link Ace of Spades HQ. As of 8:58 a.m.? Top of the page, baby. And 500+ comments.

And notice Allahpundit links Ace's takedown of LGF with a reference to "my moral superiors in the blogosphere." That's just it, you see? What Mad King Charles is doing -- the exposé of Rush's supposedly "secret" racism -- is an assertion of moral and intellectual superiority.

The crusading "anti-racist" accuser in such a situation is in fact proclaiming a message about himself: "Not only am I not a racist, but I am endowed with the superior insight and laudable courage to identify and denounce the hidden racism of others. Admire me!"

Charles Johnson: Philanthropic Humanitarian? Laughably implausible, which is your big clue that CJ is actually doing Something Else.

If you really want to understand this "liberal crusader" mentality, go read The Vision of the Anointed: Self-Congratulation as a Basis for Social Policy, by that notorious hater, Thomas Sowell.