Florida Sun Sentinel Senior Editorial writer Nicole Brochu yesterday published what I generously call a poorly-written rant worthy of print only on a bathroom wall. It’s embarrassing that this was treated as a serious editorial and published under the newspaper’s masthead. Surely the Sun Sentinel‘s standards for publication have yet to sink so low that hysterically bitter diatribes insulting the service of an American veteran and sitting congressman are considered acceptable for publication. It is the single most embarrassing newspaper column from a “senior writer” I’ve ever seen in print. That’s quite a feat.

Brochu writes:

Someone really needs to put some duct tape over Allen West’s mouth.

Not only is the man embarrassing himself as an American, and as a military veteran who supposedly fought for the U.S. principles of freedom and equality, but for an elected leader to spout the kind of anti-Muslim invective constantly streaming from West’s mouth is an embarrassment to our country.

Someone needs to bind Brochu’s fingers with duct tape to prevent her from further assaulting the art of writing a balanced sentence, to say nothing of her deliberate obtuseness with regard to fact.

It’s also rather amusing that Brochu didn’t link to or quote West’s remarks in her piece. Don’t you think referencing his actual remarks would have helped her readers? She seemed too preoccupied with her rage to bother with due diligence.

How exactly is West an embarrassment to our country? Brochu doesn’t say; she manages to write seven paragraphs of absolute nothing.

We don’t need to fear those who worship Islam, Congressman. We need to fear bomb-strapped radicals who use their religion as an excuse to inflict their hate, and more often than you’ll ever understand, there’s a big difference between the two. Just as there’s a difference between the Timothy McVeighs of the world who would twist the teachings of Christianity to suit their evil tendencies.

Did Brochu actually do any research before publishing her piece? What has she been doing these “20+ years in journalism?” A simple Google search yields the truth: McVeigh was not a Christian. “Science is my religion,” wrote McVeigh.

West doesn’t get that, and why should he? Too many close-minded apologists are celebrating him as a hero for feeding into their own fears …

Just as too many close-minded partisans perverting the practice of journalism celebrate their own uneducated, anti-Christian, bigoted missives as fact thereby reinforcing their perceived stereotypes.

West and his dangerous rhetoric are exactly what this country doesn’t need at this solemn moment in our nation’s history. If only duct tape would be enough to shut him up.

This coming from a woman who smeared an entire faith due to prejudice and a worship of zeal rather than knowledge. Guess who Tweeted it?

Dangerous rhetoric, indeed.

(h/t/ Lisa Graas)