One of the things I like about Calblog is the consistent quality of the authors’ posts. Another is the usually consistent quality of the comments. I’ve noticed, however, that as traffic increases, the overall quality of such comments drops precipitously. Case in point: this entry by Justin Levine about the monsters who videotaped themselves decapitating Nicholas Berg has brought in more traffic through Google than an Instalanche. Here are a few comments from the peanut gallery^*:

• Michael thinks the beheading of an innocent is no big deal, and besides, it’s all America’s fault anyway.
• Krakaboo, who at least has the good sense to us an alias, and Irfiano Faridini, who doesn’t, are both convinced the whole thing was staged by the U.S. miltary to divert attention from the “real” story, Abu Ghraib.
• Bill Lumberg thinks it’s no big deal. People get their heads chopped off every day. Quitcherbellyachin.
• Sodid Eye! came late to the party, and doesn’t know what the discussion is about, so he/she/it threw in an irrelevant question about why “Americans” say God Bless. I hereby nominate SE for an honorary membership in the Non Sequitur Society. Our slogan: “We may not make sense, but we do like pizza.”
• Tom-Eric Halvorsen is a little unclear on the concept of why the U.S. objects to Saddam Hussein’s Iraq (allegedly) having WMD, but isn’t bothered by the fact that the U.S. itself has them too, and has even used them in self-defense. He also hasn’t figured out what’s so bad about mass murderers like Joself Stalin, Mao Tse-Tung, Nicolae Ceaucescu, or Pol Pot.
• Johny supports mass murders in Iraq and hopes the U.S. will go running scared so Iraq can degenerate into even more chaos than exists there now.
• Tommy, who is deaf, blind and really, really, dumb, still thinks the war in Iraq was all about ooooooiiiiiiiillllll. I guess he hasn’t filled up his tank lately.
• Mal thinks the civilized world are the “real” terrorists, and that all Muslims would live in peace if we’d just get out of “their” land, and if America – yes America – hadn’t been the one to install Saddam Hussein’s government. He does have a point, though; after all, Muslims never kill other Muslims. He also coined a new word, FCUK.
• Gav wants the world to know that he is British, and that it’s fellow commenter Rick’s fault that he is.
• Irish Guy Again worries that the U.S. is turning “facist.” I’m not sure what all the precepts of “facism” are, but I presume they do not allow wearing hoods while hacking an innocent man to death.
• Barney can’t tell the difference between lethal injections for murderers and the beheading of innocents, and argues that Jesus would have preferred to see Saddam Hussein remain in power.
• Nuke_004 blames George Bush for the fact that a group of terrorists decapitated Nicholas Berg.

^*What the hell is a “peanut gallery,” anyway?