Who is this guy?

I was browsing through the books section of Amazon today and came across a book that was number one on the "Hot New Releases" list in the "Social Sciences" section. The title suggested that it was something about the end of American dominance. I was interested, because that is no doubt an interesting topic, but I didn't recognize the author...some guy named Mark Steyn.

Anyway, I looked him up on Google and it turns out he's a Canadian-born radio talking head that blames most all of the world's ills on Obama and the "Pelosi Congress."  He's also known for guest hosting the Rush Limbaugh show.  Quite a sterling resume.  Interestingly, he dropped out of school at age 18 and was a DJ for 6 or 8 years before going into "journalism." 

This made me wonder, why is it that so many of the right-wing blow-hards (and politicians...like Rick Perry with his sterling 2.2 GPA and no post-graduate degrees) are so undistinguished in their educational careers?  And more importantly, how is it that when they write books...they get classified as "social science" or "economics" rather than "drivel" or something else more appropriate?  It's sad that so many people eat this misinformation up and craft their entire worldviews around it.

One thing that is both good and bad, I think, is that people who are educated and knowledgeable enough to write valuable and informed commentary don't because they realize just how much they don't know.  So, there's a void in which the vitriolic hacks prosper.  Like I said, it's sad...