"I take every loss as a new beginning"

“It’s definitely not a setback,” said 19-year-old Maria Sharapova of Russia, the 2004 Wimbledon champ who, according to her website, "suffered her fifth Grand Slam semifinal defeat in succession when she lost 6-3 3-6 6-2 to the world number one on Centre Court but refused to be downcast . . . 'I take every loss as a new beginning. It teaches me a lot.'" We like her attitude, and following her lead decided to give our sluggish blog stats a lift by shamelessly linking to one of Google's "Zeitgeist This Week" top search queries. SpongeBob did it for us a couple of years back. This time around we bypassed the top three -- Star Jones, Tour de France and Wimbledon -- and went for Maria, whose beauty and spirit won our heart and mind.

"I can't reproduce the typical assaults that have been directed at him over the Internet, because they are so laced with profanity and ugliness," writes David Brooks. Available to subscribers only, his NYT op ed on the blackballing of Joe Lieberman is excerpted for our convenience by the folks at The Raw Story [via Daily Kos], who note that "Brooks suggests that many Democrats silently fear and 'despise' the netroots." You think? As the WSJ editorial board wrote last week [subscribers only], "if Democrats drive Mr. Lieberman from their ranks, they will be sending Americans a message that George Soros and MoveOn.org dominate their party." Brooks gets the picture:

They are ginned up by ideological masseurs who salve their followers' psychic wounds by arousing their rage at objects of mutual hate . . . What's happening to Lieberman can only be described as a liberal inquisition . . . over the past few years he has been subjected to a vituperation campaign that only experts in moral manias and mob psychology are really fit to explain.

If you're too proud to link Google's top search queries to improve your Site Meter stats, you could do as University of Arizona [Thanks for the correction, Teresa] psych professor Deborah Frisch did by stalking A-list blogger extraordinaire Jeff Goldstein of Protein Wisdom, leaving vile ad infantum comments that David Brooks would not have been able to reproduce in the Times. Her bile caught the attention of Michelle Malkin and her Army of Davids, who were soon sendiing off outraged emails to the good professor's bosses at U of AR. Within a day, Frisch had preemptively submitted her resignation. Note sudden spike yesterday and today in Prof. Frisch's stats, above. Like a good Jihadi, she had sacrificed herself -- in her case, her reputation -- for the cause. What moonbat equivalents of Muslim virgins or white raisins await her on the other side?

Enter stage left a troubled soul dubbed by Michelle Malkin "Unhinged Academic of the Year," University of Arizona psychology professor Deborah Frisch, whose idea of political debate appears to be to fantasize about sodomizing and murdering her opponent's little boy. Writes Michelle:

He [Jeff Goldstein] -- and his toddler son -- have been the subject of abuse and harassment from a nutball leftist troll, who appears to hold a prominent teaching position at the University of Arizona (clarification: she is/was an adjunct faculty member, not regular) and seems to have a history of abusing and stalking blogs.

When we first heard of the case and its apparent denouement yesterday, we almost felt sorry for the woman, trying to imagine how exposed and vulnerable and remorseful we would have felt had we -- perhaps in some unimaginably drugged or drunken state -- behaved in so unseemly a manner. But no. The old girl sees nothing wrong with what she did and continues to blame the other:

It is unbelievable that a comment saying I would not care if harm came to your child is such a crime to the rightwingnuts when they've been happy as clams to send American dupes to murder, maim, rape and torture (yup folks -- depriving people of electricity and clean water is a form of torture!) Iraqi children for four years.

Oh, yah. We forgot. It's Bush's fault™, or as the professor herself wrote last year, gushing with praise for the the now rightfully disgraced Ward Churchill's "brilliant, but veiled reference to [Hannah] Arendt":

We're all little Eichmanns. Only the far left is willing to admit it.

As more than one of the commenters at her blog suggests, this sad little puppy needs help. Let's give Jeff himself the last word in his latest post, "A few words on the Frisch matter, presented in convenient list form," and we quote:

1) I don’t feel victimized.  Debbie Frisch is as nutty as the ring inside a squirrel’s crapper, but I don’t think she’s a threat.  She’s more of an object lesson in having too many cats.

Too many cats? Let's say we'll agree to disagree with Jeff on that one.

Comments

[goomp]

It is frightening that Academia has run amuck in so many cases. Appointing to professorships and giving tenure to the likes of Ward Churchill and Deborah Frisch. Overpaid second rate people are in command of faculty appointments in much of Academia. This is what happens when power is corrupted and those appointed Trustees are filled with hubris and take money without exercising responsiblity.

[Tara]

That long march through America's institutions and universities is a march leading to insanity for Leftists.

I can only assume that this horrible woman is crazy with Bush Derrangement Syndrome ten-fold.That she taught at the University of Arizona doesn't surprise me at all. There are hundreds more just like her.

What really troubled me is this woman was on a panel attended by the FBI to discuss the behavior patterns of terrorists. Didn't the FBI check out her credentials beforehand? I understand from reading various blogs about this sordid affair the woman has a track record of cyber stalking conservative blogs leaving comments that are just outrageous.

That she was on a panel giving the FBI advice about terrorist behavior is ..well..terrifying, considering her own unhinged mental state.

[miss kelly]

Sharapova is a great competitor and a delight to watch. She's strong, never gives up, plays so fiercely. Apparently she grew two inches in the past year or so, so she's having to adjust to that. Her semifinal against Mauresmo was a terrific game. She'll be back winning Grand Slams again pretty soon.

[Teresa]

On Sharipova - she lost this year, that doesn't mean she won't have a shot in the coming years. If this was her last hurrah - so to speak - I could see being downcast. Considering it's the Wimbledon final... and she's one of 2 to make it there - I don't know that there's much to be in angst about.

On Frisch. I've read through her comments. Just the style of the writing (we won't even start with the abhorrent content) is incredibly appalling. The fact that this woman supposedly imparts knowledge to college students when she can barely create a rational sentence in online comments, is incredible. I know - her blog entries are marginally better - but only marginally. Just the style of her writing should have made the University consider others before hiring her. If she's the best they could do - the University system is in worse shape than I thought.

BTW - isn't it University of Arizona? I could have sworn Froggy (at blackfive) posted U of AZ yesterday in his post and in Jeff's comments.

[hNAV - 'We are the President']

"What moonbat equivalents of Muslim virgins or white raisins await her on the other side?"

LOL

Ms. Willis, that was so fun...

The left seems deeply troubled, perhaps insane.

Is it being spoiled growing up in a FREE, Wonderful, Prosperous, Decent Country called the USA?

[Sissy Willis]

Eek. Arizona it is, Teresa. Correction made.

[Michael Andreyakovich]

hNAV:

Of course the Left's been spoiled. Their grandparents made the mistake of spoiling their parents (the Greatest Generation's one big error), and now their parents spoiled them. So when millions of kids of Woodstock attendees grow up and find that the world is a lot tougher outside their home, they can't hack it; instead of adapting to a harder world, they demand that the world adapt to softer people.

[hNAV - 'We are the President']

'instead of adapting to a harder world, they demand that the world adapt to softer people.'

very well stated Mr. Andreyakovich...

it is sadly true...