Oh, I'd say that's definitely inappropriate, obviously. I wouldn't call Sarah Palin a bitch either. I haven't seen any of that in this case, actually, but I know the kind of criticism you're referring to (I've seen it in other contexts). However, the majority of the posts I've seen have ranged from anger with a great deal of eloquence to thoughtful parsings of the issues at hand. So I wouldn't dismiss all the criticism concerning this particular fail--the majority of what is being linked around is very, very, very good and not misogynistic at all. tevere's post, for instance.

I don't know, to me it's pretty simple. Attack, comment on, discuss the content of the story, not the gender of the person who wrote it. It's not a particularly complex separation.