Does Silicon Valley have dilettantes like Sarah Lacey? Sure. But these people are everywhere. Does it have figures whose estimation of their own importance is over-inflated? Absolutely. Again, they're everywhere. Can you find some events here that cost more than the value they'll provide to the median attendee? ... You get the pattern.
The thrust could have more profitably culminated in "TechCrunch is the last place I'd go for information on the Valley." This conclusion could be reasonably supported by the argument. I still wouldn't altogether buy it, but it wouldn't be crazy.
I'm just not sure you can write off an entire region because of the behavior of one publication.
As a Valley transplant, the value I see for founding a business here is tremendous: A huge pool of extraordinarily talented technical professionals. Bigger, perhaps, than anywhere else. It's about people. And it doesn't stop with having fellow hackers. You'll discover investors, of course, plus a lot of senior people who can give you good advice from their hard-won experience.
There are people who annoy you in the Valley - big deal. Speaking from experience, I'd rather have bickering neighbors like Arrington, Dave McClure and Ron Conway instead of, for example, the kind of people who cherish a certain skin color, superstition, and pickup trucks.
For me, it's a culture thing. And it's priceless.