Last week Keith Olbermann delivered a whithering verbal assault on the New Jersey nutjobs accused of plotting a terrorist attack on Fort Dix. These brain surgeons took a video of their training exercises to a Photo Mat for duplication. Olbermann succinctly articulated what everyone else was thinking about these jerks:

Olbermann: “In other words, the FBI has arrested six morons.”

But for some reason, Glenn Beck is offended by Olbermann’s insult. Beck is upset that the reputations of these fine, young, upstanding terrorists are being belittled and he is coming to their defense. [Transcript / YouTube]

Beck: “…and then it’s six morons, huh, Keith? Is that really what we’ve come to? We can`t even take one night to applaud law enforcement or the FBI for protecting us and our soldiers that are here and they’re saving lives without launching into insults and politics?

How dare you, Keith! These are some the best terrorists America’s broken borders have to offer, and all you have to say is that they’re dumb. Show some respect for heaven’s sake.

To be fair (not that Beck would recognize fairness if he saw it), Beck’s pique actually appears to stem from the notion that apprehending stupid terrorists is a less worthy acheivement than were they Mensa terrorists. Beck would prefer that the plotters be characterized as masterminds of evil so that the FBI heroes could be lauded as mighty dragon slayers who shielded civilization from certain doom. Olbermann, by merely pointing out the obvious, let the air out of that fable. That’s what irks Beck.

This would not be the first time that tales have been woven to craft an idealized version of history. There have been far too many instances of over-hyped, hero-worshiping, morality plays being thrust on the public as if we were children over the past half dozen years. The fabricated legends of Jessica Lynch and Pat Tillman stand as evidence of how far our government, in concert with a compliant media, will go to deceive and manipulate us. And shills like Beck encourage the dissemination of falsehoods in the service of propaganda.

The truth is that the heroism of patriots like Lynch and Tillman is evident in their character and their pride of service. It does not need to be embellished by the lies of self-serving promoters of war. And when law enforcement professionals in the FBI and elsewhere do their jobs with dignity and skill, I couldn’t care less about the IQ of the perp. In fact, I presume that most captured criminals are less than brilliant. First of all, they chose crime as their profession. Secondly, they weren’t good enough at it to avoid being caught. For me, that does nothing to degrade the value of good police work, as it does for Beck.

But beck takes his condescension even further by depreciating the contribution of the FBI in the Fort Dix affair:

“…we the people, are the best and sometimes only defense against terrorism. Remember, if it wasn’t for one alert Circuit City employee, we might be talking about a completely different situation right now.”

I think the FBI might take issue with that statement. I doubt that they view an untrained and distracted populace as the best and/or only defense against terrorism. And while they are surely grateful that an observant, concerned video store clerk brought a suspicious activity to their attention in this case, that doesn’t mean they believe that they would not have uncovered and foiled the plot had this citizen not come forward.

So while Beck pretends to be supporting law enforcement, he is actually insulting them. And when Olbermann insults terrorists, Becks rises to their defense. Could he possibly have got this more backwards? Or is he just this desperate for a reason to attack his TV rival?