LOS ANGELES—Rolling Stone columnist Matt Taibbi is renowned for not suffering fools well, and Wednesday showed just how adamant he can be when he needs to let the world know that someone did something that insults his sense of fair play. The target yesterday was New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman, a frequent subject.
The impaling took place on Twitter in reaction to Friedman’s April 30 column, “It’s a 401(k) World,” which offended Taibbi for being “the 17th such column since 2004” that appears to recycled material from Friedman's own previously published columns. It’s an oft-repeated complaint that Gawker memorialized in January.
At 1:07 p.m., however, in what appeared to be his fifth tweet on the subject in less than half an hour, Taibbi decided to have some fun with Friedman, challenging his followers, “Okay, contest time. What would a Tom Friedman porn film be called? I nominate ‘Something Really Big Is Happening,’” referencing a phrase used by Friedman in his Tuesday column and probably many times before.
A little while later, he tweeted, “Friedman-porn entries so awesome/numerous, will have to make giant list for blog tomorrow. Prize for best entrant: bit.ly/12o1ja6”
Okay, the porn star mug gift is pretty damn funny. We’re still waiting for the “giant list,” though. A few can be found here, with more probably on the way.
UPDATE
The man came through. Matt Taibbi followed up Tuesday's tweets with a full-blown article on the Thomas Affair, complete with a sampling of the best Thomas Friedman porn titles submitted to him. He's also considering upping the prize beyond the porn mug because some readers thought is was a "poor reward." We disagree; it will bring back happy memories every time it is used. But sure, throw a few bucks into it for good measure. A little cash never hurts.
Image: Matt Taibbi, left, and Thomas Friedman
