Oh, my. When I read that article last week, I had precisely the same reaction as you: I kept waiting for the punchline, and was astonished when there wasn't one. I'm planning a post on it as well for later this week (needed to let my righteous indignation settle down a bit).

Funny enough, the Times posted an interview with Linda Heasley from The Limited (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/04/business/04corner.html?_r=1&amp;ref=business), and her position is the polar opposite of Cloutier's.

Sadly, in OpEds, vituperation sells.