Duh

Jesse at Pandagon makes a connection that I should have noticed before.

I read a good four to five pieces each week declaring that academia is a cesspool of fermenting liberalism, from which spouts the bitter wine of postmodernist humanism. However, they're all from conservatives who, themselves, have expressed no desire to work in academia. If the situation were different, they would still be the $100,000 a year op-ed columnist who gets to be on MSNBC and CNN five times a month and only has to copy think-tank studies from the Heritage Foundation and call it a day. Or, you know, they simply cut out the middleman and work for the think tank itself.

Note to my regular readers: "four to five pieces each week"? Obviously my punditry addiction is not really as bad as I thought, in comparison.

And if you're interested in a long, thoughtful essay following up this point, check out what Juan Cole has to say.

Update: If you're interested in a very silly essay following up this point, check out what Bérubé has to say.