(LILEKS) James : the Screed: Notes from the Olive Garden

You know, bashing The Guardian is about the easiest thing in the world. They're so vehement in their anti-Americanism sometimes that you just want to wander over to England and bait them. This, of course is an entirely unwholesome impulse and should be avoided.

But sometimes, they make it SO easy. And some people do it SO well!

For the record, I came to an almost complete halt in the original article at the very idea of trying to judge anything about this country based on the Olive Garden.

I also get the impression that some hostile encounter that didn't reflect well on the Guardian guy (like something could?) got edited out between the first and second paragraph, because it makes absolutely no sense otherwise. Also, the guy gets the "playground rhyme" wrong. It's not "I see [something] in her underpants", it's "I see So-and-so's underpants!" I mean, seeing something IN the underpants ... ew.

Texas is a "hinterland". Texas. One of the most populous states in the nation. OK. Whatever. Illinois is a "hinterland." Yep. Right. Sure.

I just hope that when that article zapped into the mailbox, the Guardian's editor wrote back, "We pay you for this crap?"