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Présenté Sans Commentaire
From “A Conservative Summer: An NRO Symposium on Books“.
If there were only one book on conservatism you could recommend to a newcomer, what would it be and why?
The Complete Poetry of Robert Frost. Not very detailed at the policy level, but lots of reality. (Richard Brookhiser)
§
Is there any recent book that’s made you want to buy copies for everyone you know and love?
I sent out a number of copies of America Alone. (Mona Charen)
§
Are there any summer movies you’re looking forward to?
No. Maybe Hollywood is past its heyday, but can’t they at least make comedies as good as My Cousin Vinny? (Dinesh D’Souza)
§
Are there any summer movies you’re looking forward to?
No. But I do think conservatives should start organizing — and big time — in Hollywood. Imagine, the head of the Screen Actors Guild making it all the way to the presidency and to this very day failing to attain the industry’s “life-time achievement award.” I recommend that conservatives even thinking of going to the movies, take the $10. they would have spent on movies and send them to the Reagan Ranch Foundation. (Alvin S. Felzenberg)
§
Is there any recent book that’s made you want to buy copies for everyone you know and love? Did you actually make the purchases?One of the most important books of the century: My Grandfather’s Son, by Clarence Thomas.
You know what would have made a great graduation gift? I just dusted off an old copy of Peggy Noonan’s public-speaking book. For gals who are naturally shy or men expected not to be — it’s a skill and a good read, as Peggy always is. (Kathryn Jean Lopez)
§
Is there one book that you’d recommend to uplift and inspire depressed conservatives this summer?
I should probably say the Bible. In fact . . . maybe I will. (Jay Nordlinger)
§
What’s the best political novel you’ve ever read? Why is it the best?
The best remains George Orwell’s 1984. Through it, fiction becomes a vehicle for expressing truth, namely, the bleak, moral wasteland of communism and Stalinism’s relentless attack upon individual liberty. The collectivist system inexorably grinds down the dignity of each person, or, in the novel’s case, its two leading protagonists. “Do it to Julia!” shouts Winston, in 1984’s macabre conclusion. In their final, pathetic meeting, Julia confesses a similar transgression to Winston: “Sometimes they threaten you with something — something you can’t stand up to, can’t even think about . . . You want it to happen to the other person. You don’t give a damn what they suffer. All you care about is yourself.”
To my mind, we can never read enough Orwell. His essays and books are like intellectual depth charges, detonating the smug operating assumptions of large swaths of our cultural elite. His masterpiece, 1984, written 60 years ago, is relevant today. “Newspeak,” the sterile official language of Oceana, anticipates the politically correct, sanitized idiom of our time, when the Department of Homeland Security has instructed its officials to refer to men like Osama Bin Laden and Khalid Sheikh Mohammed as “the dangerous cult leaders that they are,” but not as “jihadists,” “Islamists” or “holy warriors.” According to the Orwellian DHS press release accompanying its new guidelines, “Words matter.” George Orwell would agree, which is why, if he were writing today, he would call these fanatics exactly what they are: radical Islamic terrorists, sanguinary butchers, evil murderers.
Thankfully, elements of Western culture are starting to see Orwell’s vision more clearly; his worldview has been reflected in recent works of art, literature, and theater, including a Broadway revival of Shakespeare’s Macbeth that excoriates Stalin, a production recently reviewed by Andrew Stuttaford, NRO’s indefatigable critic of the desolate legacy of the Soviet dictator. (Joseph Morrison Skelly)
Me said,
July 3, 2008 at 17:38
Imagine, the head of the Screen Actors Guild making it all the way to the presidency and to this very day failing to attain the industry’s “life-time achievement award.”
Yeah, just imagine. The poor sod had to settle for being a two-term President of the United States.
There’s absolutely nothing they won’t kvetch about, is there?
InsaneInTheCheneyBrain said,
July 3, 2008 at 17:39
I never realized one could so painfully misread 1984.
Something tells me young Joey Skelly got an “Unsatisfactory” mark on many, many book reports.
El Cid said,
July 3, 2008 at 17:47
Yes, surely if Orwell were alive today he’d be just like Hitchens pre-waterboarding realization, jumping up & down and insisting we all commit ourselves to a war to exterminate Islamic extremists and demanding we use exactly the names for them he preferred.
(I guess the whole thing of Orwell having modeled Newspeak on the British government’s wartime broadcasting restrictions on permitted vocabulary use in broadcasts to colonial areas kind of escaped them.)
D.N. Nation said,
July 3, 2008 at 17:48
From “Provide, Provide”:
Better to go down dignified
With boughten friendship at your side
Than none at all
Provide, provide.
I’m not going to just come out and say it sounds like a warning to the denziens of America’s Shittiest Website, but…oh, wait, I did just say that.
Because he was a B-list star, maybe? Just maybe. He got the “lifetime achievement award” (that is, ever-present adulation from dittoheads) in the field he had more success in.
Man, these people whine.
I’ve gotten to where I can’t mock K-Lo anymore. I just don’t have the heart.
Yeah, mom and dad, whip out some Peggy Noonan for the grads to enjoy. Noted hipster Kathryn Jean Lopez said so!
plus C said,
July 3, 2008 at 17:48
Hey, just because he was a self-declared Socialist who fought with the POUM in the Spanish civil war doesn’t mean… hold on (sniffing more glue)… doesn’t mean that he wasn’t really a conservative at heart.
Bill said,
July 3, 2008 at 17:48
Wow, that interpretation of 1984 just makes my head spin. Only a crazy neo-con could spin 1984 into a rejection of political correctness. Any freshman in high school who read the book would point to propaganda and lack of free thought as two of the most important points in the book.
Plus, for someone who claims that one can “never read enough Orwell,” he’s obviously not touched Politics and the English Language.
Dragon-King Wangchuck said,
July 3, 2008 at 17:52
Hey, you know what book is too long? 1984. Pfft, I’d rather have read 984 or maybe just 84.
Also Fahrenheit 451? Too long. Next time try Fahrenheit 45 or so.
Dreamweasel said,
July 3, 2008 at 17:52
We have always been at war with
Iran… er, Eastasia!Dragon-King Wangchuck said,
July 3, 2008 at 17:52
Slaughterhouse 2 and a half!
Blue Buddha said,
July 3, 2008 at 17:53
Could it be that the SAG didn’t hand out awards until 1995? Could it also be that Reagan was a lousy actor?
Dragon-King Wangchuck said,
July 3, 2008 at 17:54
I sent out a number of copies of America Alone. (Mona Charen)
Shouldn’t you only have had one copy of that book? I guess I’m unclear about this whole Alone thing. Oh wait – one is a number!
nolo said,
July 3, 2008 at 17:55
If conservatives want to concede that Reagan’s presidency was an acting job, then maybe I can see SAG giving him some kind of award for it.
zeppo said,
July 3, 2008 at 17:57
Mankind’s ability for self-deception is apparently unlimited.
Animal Farm was a book about nice friendly animals who got along with everyone but didn’t like being told what to do by those nasty evil liberals who lived up in the house.
Rufus said,
July 3, 2008 at 17:58
“But I do think conservatives should start organizing — and big time — in Hollywood.”
Sounds like a Commie to me. I think the HUAC may have some questions for Mr. Alvin S. Felzenberg. I bet the “S” stands for Socialist. Or Stalin.
spencer said,
July 3, 2008 at 17:59
Was Ronald Reagan in one single movie that was even remotely memorable?
I ask this in all sincerity, since I know nothing at all about his filmography (but I assume that if there were anything worthwhile in there, I’d have heard about it ad nauseum).
Bill said,
July 3, 2008 at 18:01
Well, we did get the “Win one for the Gipper” speech from his movie about Knute Rockne, I’ll give him that.
Ann Hussein Althouse's Surprisingly Revealing Burqa said,
July 3, 2008 at 18:04
His big “Where’s the rest of me?” freakout scene in King’s Row is memorable.
El Cid said,
July 3, 2008 at 18:07
Capsule Review: 1984 was a good book about how Stalinists were evil and how we have to kill Muslims.
MzNicky said,
July 3, 2008 at 18:08
Animal Farm was a book about nice friendly animals who got along with everyone but didn’t like being told what to do by those nasty evil liberals who lived up in the house.
And Lord of the Flies told the totally non-allegorical tale of a bunch of sweet schoolboys camping out on an island and discovering how well libertarianism works.
MzNicky said,
July 3, 2008 at 18:09
Was Ronald Reagan in one single movie that was even remotely memorable?
You seem to forget the classic “Bedtime for Bonzo.”
roy edroso said,
July 3, 2008 at 18:10
I have a more sympathetic interpretation of the Brookhiser thing. He has at other times tried to remind his dimwitted colleagues that some things precede politics, and I think here he was trying to induce the literature-averse toads to read a real work of art and perhaps blow some dust out of their skulls. Calling it “conservative” might be the only thing that would do it.
Or course Brookhiser’s usually a complete asshole, so either way is okay by me.
kiki said,
July 3, 2008 at 18:10
“it’s a skill and a good read, as Peggy always is”
Peggy’s book is a skill?
Peggy is a skill, and a good read?
That’s a retarded comment and fat, as K-Lo always is.
D.N. Nation said,
July 3, 2008 at 18:10
Kings Row was nominated for Best Picture and Reagan’s performance is contextually iconic.
Add that to the Gipper stuff, and what do you have? Not a lifetime achievement award. It’d be if we gave one, based on performances just up to now, to….oh…James McAvoy or someone.
Dragon-King Wangchuck said,
July 3, 2008 at 18:12
Shorter Alvin S. Felzenberg: There are books written by people other than William F Buckley?
sophronia said,
July 3, 2008 at 18:13
I don’t think the wingnuts allow themselves to like Reagan in Kings Row, because he was still a Democrat then, and he was playing a cad who shacked up with Ann Sheridan.
I think they prefer to pretend that Reagan somehow had Jimmy Stewart’s career.
Scott said,
July 3, 2008 at 18:13
And “The Handmaid’s Tale” was about women needing to shut up and breed.
kiki said,
July 3, 2008 at 18:14
Oh, and the name of the fictional nation in your favouritest most favourite book ever ever is Oceania, you ignorant fuck.
Garrigus Carraig said,
July 3, 2008 at 18:14
What would Orwell have called the Department of Homeland Security?
kiki said,
July 3, 2008 at 18:17
What would Orwell have called the Department of Homeland Security?
Well, seeing as it has nothing to do with protecting the homeland, I guess the Party, which always names everything the opposite of what it is, would’ve called it… um… the Department of Homeland Security.
Principal Blackman said,
July 3, 2008 at 18:17
And Lord of the Flies told the totally non-allegorical tale of a bunch of sweet schoolboys camping out on an island and discovering how well libertarianism works.
Ha! That is awesome. I believe America’s Shittiest Website would like to hire you as the in-house book reviewer.
Flappy McScrotum said,
July 3, 2008 at 18:20
“The Trial” lays out the perfect blue-print for prosecuting modern terrorism cases.
Dragon-King Wangchuck said,
July 3, 2008 at 18:21
EWwww, ewww, eww. Yuck. I got it in my brain, and now you’ll all have to suffer too:
Rightwingsnarkle said,
July 3, 2008 at 18:22
That’s an impressive group of culture vultures.
What do you call a group of vultures?
A clutch? A gaggle? A Malkin of vultures?
pedestrian said,
July 3, 2008 at 18:24
Yeah, yeah, and Donald Rumsfeld thinks that young people should study history.
MzNicky said,
July 3, 2008 at 18:25
Principal Blackman:
Thanks, but my current job is already Orwellian enough. Around the office we regularly call each other “Winston.”
MzNicky said,
July 3, 2008 at 18:30
“And she thanks Ed Meese for saving her life in it”
It’s as though with every single thing she pens K-Lo TRIES to write as bad as she can. In it.
tigrismus said,
July 3, 2008 at 18:31
Can’t argue with Frost as a recommendation. I’d say they could maybe read a little Wilfred Owen next, but the Orwell reader convinces me it wouldn’t take.
Dragon-King Wangchuck said,
July 3, 2008 at 18:34
It’s as though with every single thing she pens K-Lo TRIES to write as bad as she can. In it.
K-Lo’s answer to the first question What’s the best political novel you’ve ever read? Why is it the best? is a list of four authors. Normally I’d just let this go as wingtards aren’t particularly good at reading comprehehnsion (see rest of this thread) but she wrote the fucking questions.
Dragon-King Wangchuck said,
July 3, 2008 at 18:38
Granted, for three of the authors she provides links to individual books, but not for the name at the top of the list. Let’s not even consider how she addressed the question of Why is it the best?
Oh, and for bonus EWWWwwwww, the last of the four is the Scooter Libby bestiality novel.
BlackBloc said,
July 3, 2008 at 18:40
>>And Lord of the Flies told the totally non-allegorical tale of a bunch of sweet schoolboys camping out on an island and discovering how well libertarianism works
Oh yeah? And where do the hobbits fit in your analysis, smart ass?
The right-wingers are incapable of reading 1984 as anything but a conservative book, because they are incapable of imagining that people might have politics that are similar in many ways yet NOT agree with each other. Even worse, attacking each other instead of uniting together with unsavory people on your own side of the aisle to bust your political opponents.
“Orwell attacks Stalinism, so by extension he must be attacking the entire Left, because leftists and liberals are just Stalinists in disguise. Just like us conservatives are fascists in… err, no, no, wait. We’re NOT projecting. YOU Lieberals are the *real* fascists actually. This is central to my point.”
Jake H. said,
July 3, 2008 at 18:40
That’s a retarded comment and fat, as K-Lo always is.
This is just awful and needlessly cruel. The worst part is that it made me laugh out loud. I’m a bad person and I hate you for proving it.
Rightwingsnarkle said,
July 3, 2008 at 18:41
Was Ronald Reagan in one single movie that was even remotely memorable?
Aside from the two highlights already mentioned, plus ‘Bedtime for Bonzo,’ and not forgetting teh immortal ‘Hellcats of the Navy,’ it’s a career most notable for its relentess craptacularity.
Zifnab said,
July 3, 2008 at 18:42
If you don’t study history, how will you repeat it?
Jake H. said,
July 3, 2008 at 18:45
So what would be the modern equivalent of a Reagan presidency? Steven Weber from Wings? Michael Rappaport? Sean Williams Scott? I need to know these things.
Zifnab said,
July 3, 2008 at 18:46
If liberals are Facists and Stalinists and Marxists and Islamists and Atheists and Ivory Tower Elitists and Dirty Fucking Hippies and Militant Vegans and Welfare Queens, what does that leave for conservatives? It appears that liberals have consumed the entire ideological space. Perhaps this is why Michael Moore is so fat.
Zifnab said,
July 3, 2008 at 18:47
They did try to run Fred Thompson.
mikey said,
July 3, 2008 at 18:47
Man. I’d REALLY like to know if these asshats are stupid or lying.
Can they REALLY not see it? Do they actually, somehow, not get it?
I mean, even if you thought they were the bestest decisions ever, you’d STILL have to acknowledge that it was the bush/cheney administration that brought us indefinite detention without due process, wiretapping without warrants, the end of habeas and the aggressive and unprovoked invasion and occupation of a sovereign nation. These are dictatorial acts, and to act as if the threat of fascism comes from the left exclusively HAS to be either disingenuous or blindly stupid.
I’d just like to know which it is…
mikey
Jake H. said,
July 3, 2008 at 18:48
They did try to run Fred Thompson.
Gah! How did I not get this one?? Sometimes it’s just too easy I guess.
Vizzini said,
July 3, 2008 at 18:48
Yeah, yeah, and Donald Rumsfeld thinks that young people should study history.
Never get involved in a land war in Asia!
Dragon-King Wangchuck said,
July 3, 2008 at 18:50
It appears that liberals have consumed the entire ideological space. Perhaps this is why Michael Moore is so fat.
Awesome.
Jake H. said,
July 3, 2008 at 18:52
I mean, even if you thought they were the bestest decisions ever, you’d STILL have to acknowledge that it was the bush/cheney administration that brought us indefinite detention without due process, wiretapping without warrants, the end of habeas and the aggressive and unprovoked invasion and occupation of a sovereign nation. These are dictatorial acts…
But those things were awesome and freedom-y, so when you call them dictatorial acts, you’re engaging in what George F. Buckley Orwell would call “newspeak.”
Given that McCain is such a weak candidate and conservatives are so lukewarm on him, it’s a shame that we haven’t figured out how to clone dead cells yet. Then, we could have the dream conservative ticket of Martin Luther King Jr. and George Orwell! I know you’d have to amend the Constitution to make Orwell the veep, but it would be worth it.
Dragon-King Wangchuck said,
July 3, 2008 at 18:53
Some more K-Lo-tastic battling of against grammar-fascism for you:
Reading this would make my brain and I hurt, considering a recent bagel and I, inspired started though.
fadegeophile said,
July 3, 2008 at 18:55
AAAAAI Teh Stupid! It Burnssssssssseseses!!!!!1111!!!!√121!!!
Rugosa said,
July 3, 2008 at 18:56
Could someone tell these guys that no one supports Stalin anymore? I don’t think he even got any write-in votes in the last presidential election. Or are dead horses the only ones they find satisfaction in beating?
fadegeophile said,
July 3, 2008 at 18:56
Doesn’t K-Lo edit something?
Sad.
fadegeophile said,
July 3, 2008 at 18:58
I’m going with indefatigably stupid
Zifnab said,
July 3, 2008 at 18:58
Actually, he’s still very big over in Putin’s Russia. But, you know, George Bush looked into Putin’s eyes and saw his soul and blah blah blah that doesn’t count.
MzNicky said,
July 3, 2008 at 19:00
it was the bush/cheney administration that brought us indefinite detention without due process, wiretapping without warrants, the end of habeas and the aggressive and unprovoked invasion and occupation of a sovereign nation.
Which is of course central to their point(ed heads), mikey! You lament the loss of such liebral-fascism as if it were a bad thing.
Zifnab said,
July 3, 2008 at 19:01
Ultimately, the wingnuts aren’t bothered by Stalin’s authoritarian government or his massive military crusades or his nuclear weapons or his brutal murder of millions of his own citizens. What bothers the wingnut about Stalin was that Stalin took things from rich people. And – property rights being the most important thing in the history of the known universe – this sin made Old Joe the worst human being since Karl Marx, who originally came up with the idea of taking things from rich people.
Matt said,
July 3, 2008 at 19:01
#
Blue Buddha said,
No. But I do think conservatives should start organizing — and big time — in Hollywood. Imagine, the head of the Screen Actors Guild making it all the way to the presidency and to this very day failing to attain the industry’s “life-time achievement award.”
Could it be that the SAG didn’t hand out awards until 1995? Could it also be that Reagan was a lousy actor?
The reason SAG hasn’t honored Reagen with any award, is that he sold the union down the river many times. During his first SAG presidency (1947-51), he was an informant for the FBI, (his number was T-10, read “City of Nets” by Otto Friedrich, among other books) and he secretly informed on many actors during the blacklist period to the bureau. Reagen’s second term, (1959), had him structure the “resiudal” deal that to this day allows the studios and corporations to screen any pre 1960 film in any form and not pay SAG or the actor’s residuals, fees or anything of any sort. The SAG board of trustees and directors will take a long time to forgive him for his actions. The irony is that Reagen is the only U.S. president ever to head a union or guild and he’s hated by the very organization that catapulated him into his political career.
FuriousGeorge said,
July 3, 2008 at 19:02
I haven’t seen WALL-E yet and am curious. I’ve enjoyed Pixar and the controversy has me intrigued. I’d like to see for myself
Somebody’s going to have to fill me in on this one. Isn’t it a movie about an adorable robot who likes to play with trash? Meant for kids?
Itchy Brother said,
July 3, 2008 at 19:04
How is it possible that someone could invoke Orwell, cite Newspeak and the Department of Homeland Security, and get it all so wrong. We’re doomed.
Jonah Pantload Goldberg said,
July 3, 2008 at 19:09
What no love for the very serious, thoughtful, argument that has never been made in such detail or with such care? Well, not to worry, you’ll all be delighted by my next book. It’s a biography called Joseph Stalin: Founder of the ACLU. All I need now is another advance check and some volunteers to do a little research for me.
Dragon-King Wanchuck said,
July 3, 2008 at 19:16
Somebody’s going to have to fill me in on this one. Isn’t it a movie about an adorable robot who likes to play with trash? Meant for kids?
In the future, everyone is fat. Suggesting possible consequences for over-indulgence and consumption is Anti-American.
Gerald Curl said,
July 3, 2008 at 19:16
What would Orwell have called the Department of Homeland Security?
That was my favoritest part. Skelly’s level of unawareness is breathtaking.
I also love that you can’t mention the cinema among a group of conservatives without at least one of them saying “We need to make our own movies!” Aaaaahhh, just do it already and quit talking about it! Hit up some sources of wingnut welfare, buy a DV camera and start your little masterpiece. I’m sure NRO et al. would gladly promote whatever shit you film.
Dragon-King Wangchuck said,
July 3, 2008 at 19:16
Wordpress bit the end off my Wang.
Susan of Texas said,
July 3, 2008 at 19:19
I hate it when that happens, and I don’t even have a wang.
pedestrian said,
July 3, 2008 at 19:20
What would Orwell have thought of his name being used do do the same fucking things he was trying to warn against? I don’t think that he would have been very surprised.
Susan of Texas said,
July 3, 2008 at 19:21
He would have to say that it’s Myselfian.
PaminBB said,
July 3, 2008 at 19:28
” I recommend that conservatives even thinking of going to the movies, take the $10. they would have spent on movies and send them to the Reagan Ranch Foundation. (Alvin S. Felzenberg)”
There be some mean wurd skilz. These people get paid for this shit?
Jason said,
July 3, 2008 at 19:29
My Cousin Vinny. Are you serious Souza.
Principal Blackman said,
July 3, 2008 at 19:31
So what would be the modern equivalent of a Reagan presidency? Steven Weber from Wings? Michael Rappaport? Sean Williams Scott? I need to know these things.
I say Ted McGinley.
El Cid said,
July 3, 2008 at 19:32
The Davinci Code: This book was okay, it was about this professor talking about some pieces of art, and then there were these other people who fought about what he said.
Moon Dragon said,
July 3, 2008 at 19:35
When it comes to 1984, I’m reminded of what makes warrantless wiretapping so insidious. When the government knows what you love and fear, they can control you. Plots and plans against the state (which they will only catch sporadically and inconsistently) are much less threatening to them than a free citizenry. It isn’t what they know about what you want to do that’s important. It’s what they know about you that gives them the edge.
FuriousGeorge said,
July 3, 2008 at 19:37
” I recommend that conservatives even thinking of going to the movies, take the $10. they would have spent on movies and send them to the Reagan Ranch Foundation. (Alvin S. Felzenberg)”
I like the non sequitur nature of the response. “Instead of buying toys for your kids this Christmas, which were made in Godless China, make a donation in their honor to Focus on the Family.”
Jake H. said,
July 3, 2008 at 19:37
I also love that you can’t mention the cinema among a group of conservatives without at least one of them saying “We need to make our own movies!” Aaaaahhh, just do it already and quit talking about it!
They would, but they’re incapable because talent has a liberal bias.
Jake H. said,
July 3, 2008 at 19:40
” I recommend that conservatives even thinking of going to the movies, take the $10. they would have spent on movies and send them to the Reagan Ranch Foundation. (Alvin S. Felzenberg)”
If you were thinking of going out tonight and having fun, don’t! That is all.
Dhalgren said,
July 3, 2008 at 19:42
Shit, how can you mock answers like these when they are real? They say they reject Hollywood while we all know they pay their bloody $11 like everyone else. They say 1984 is a rejection of political correctness, while in the same breath spew today’s newspeak regarding Islamofascism. Peggy Noonan is a skill and a good read. And Robert Frost, a very closeted gay author, is the best poet for a Wingnut. This shit is priceless.
Jay B. said,
July 3, 2008 at 19:43
To my mind [sic -- ed.], we can never read enough Orwell. His essays and books are like intellectual depth charges [because they blew his mind?], detonating the smug operating assumptions of large swaths of our cultural elite. His masterpiece, 1984, written 60 years ago, is relevant today [because of Stalin, right?]. “Newspeak,” the sterile official language of Oceana, anticipates the politically correct, sanitized idiom of our time, when the Department of Homeland Security has instructed its officials to refer to men like Osama Bin Laden and Khalid Sheikh Mohammed as “the dangerous cult leaders that they are,” but not as “jihadists,” “Islamists” [Because we've always been at war with Islam?]or “holy warriors” [Many Christians ALSO consider themselves such] According to the Orwellian DHS press release accompanying its new guidelines, “Words matter.” George Orwell would agree, which is why, if he were writing today, he would call these fanatics exactly what they are: radical Islamic terrorists, sanguinary butchers, evil murderers.[The government hasn't said these things?]
You know, dangerous cult leaders is probably what an atheist would call them, especially an atheist who famously wrote that to be absolutely clear in language and meaning one must use the language which the audience best understands. Therefore, “jihadists” would be an absolute no-no-. Fanatic, sure. Murderer? Sure. Cult leader? Sounds pretty direct for someone who, in rejecting religion, would think any religion is a cult. Words matter you fucking idiot.
Thankfully, elements of Western culture are starting to see Orwell’s vision more clearly; his worldview has been reflected in recent works of art, literature, and theater, including a Broadway revival of Shakespeare’s Macbeth that excoriates Stalin, a production recently reviewed by Andrew Stuttaford, NRO’s indefatigable critic of the desolate legacy of the Soviet dictator. (Joseph Morrison Skelly)
???
Hating on STALIN = Brave truth telling in 2008??!?!
Literal insanity. Profound stupidity.
You know, and this is a big secret evidently, Leon Trotsky — a fairly well-known Marxist — shared in Skelly’s mistrust of the Man of Steel. So did Harry Truman. If only someone other than Orwell had shared this with us earlier!!
Dhalgren said,
July 3, 2008 at 19:43
Where on the political spectrum were those who fed over $100 Million to The Passion and Apocalypto? 24? All those kids movies? We ultra liberal fascists don’t have any friggin’ kids.
Pinko said,
July 3, 2008 at 19:44
RE: Skelly… this has got to be one of the most bizarre mis-readings of any book I’ve ever come across…
“The collectivist system inexorably grinds down the dignity of each person, or, in the novel’s case, its two leading protagonists.”
Perhaps someone needs to tell him that 1984’s two leading protagonists are NOT O’Brien and Syme…
Jay B. said,
July 3, 2008 at 19:45
Now if the National Review would finally come out against Franco, we’d know they reject authoritarianism altogether.
ignatov said,
July 3, 2008 at 19:47
“Was Ronald Reagan in one single movie that was even remotely memorable?”
“That Hagen Girl” (1947). Reagan romances a decades-younger Shirley Temple, who might be his daughter. Terrible but memorable.
Jay B. said,
July 3, 2008 at 19:52
He was sinister good in his last flick The Killers. Very good film from the pitiless Don Siegel.
Duros Hussein 62 said,
July 3, 2008 at 19:53
Maybe Hollywood is past its heyday, but can’t they at least make comedies as good as My Cousin Vinny? (Dinesh D’Souza)
May I just add, Bwahahahaha!!!
So what would be the modern equivalent of a Reagan presidency? Steven Weber from Wings? Michael Rappaport? Sean Williams Scott? I need to know these things.
Isn’t it painfully obvious? Guttenburg.
stryx said,
July 3, 2008 at 19:58
I’m sure NRO et al. would gladly promote whatever shit you film.
It worked for that one guy who Bush never met.
Red Scorpion!
Ken Lowery said,
July 3, 2008 at 19:58
Hit up some sources of wingnut welfare, buy a DV camera and start your little masterpiece.
they did. It was called Expelled, and was made by a company that was in many ways a response to Participant.
To tally:
CONSERVATIVES: Expelled
LIBERALS: North Country, Syriana, Good Night and Good Luck, An Inconvenient Truth, etc, etc…
You tell me who wins.
Gus said,
July 3, 2008 at 19:58
There are just not enough ways to express how fucking stupid these people are.
Gerald Curl said,
July 3, 2008 at 20:07
Skelly quotes a passage from Dick Morris’s book: “In the entire year 2007, the House of Representatives worked only three five-day workweeks.” But when I went on the Library of Congress’s THOMAS website, it showed that the 2007 House was in session for 13 full weeks. And according to my calculations, that’s ten more than three.
A little more research found that the last Republican House in a non-election year (2005) had 44 fewer session days than the 2007 House. So where did they find these 44 extra days if they didn’t work more than 3 Fridays? [Additional fun fact: when Rep. Ray LaHood and 8 other House Republicans retired at the end of 2007, LaHood said the new five-day workweek played a big role in all of their retirements.]
Who would have thought that Dick Morris is a lying asshole?
Sarcastro said,
July 3, 2008 at 20:08
Could it also be that Reagan was a lousy actor?
He was as good an actor as he was a politician.
So yes, it was that he was a lousy actor.
MajorKong said,
July 3, 2008 at 20:09
George Orwell is banging on the lid of his coffin and screaming “1984 was a cautionary tale, not a how-to manual you freakin’ idiots!!!!!!”
Duros Hussein 62 said,
July 3, 2008 at 20:15
Andrew Stuttaford, NRO’s indefatigable critic of the desolate legacy of the Soviet dictator.
Hold on, is that a staff position?
tigrismus said,
July 3, 2008 at 20:17
When the government knows what you love and fear, they can control you.
I’m afraid of, among other things, fresh cherries straight out of the fridge, dark chocolate, and all sorts of alcoholic beverages. I love paying a lot for a muffler.
MzNicky said,
July 3, 2008 at 20:20
I’m sure NRO et al. would gladly promote whatever shit you film.
Now I’ve got this “Be Kind Rewind” meta-meta-movie in my head, with Doughy in the Jack Black role gettin’ all magnetized (actually, that’s not a bad image at all) and the whole lot of NRO-ers running around in cardboard costumes doing remakes of Ronald Reagan movies. I have to go lie down now.
Spiders Everywhere said,
July 3, 2008 at 20:24
Soooooo, the essence of collectivism is not giving a damn about other people, and only caring about yourself? Someone dig up Ayn Rand, she’s got some revisin’ to do.
OneMadClown said,
July 3, 2008 at 20:27
If we could hook up a generator to harness the power of Orwell furiously spinning in his grave, we’d have this whole fossil fuel problem licked. Need more power? Have Skelly write another book report. The only pollution is the residual stoopid.
Dragon-King Wangchuck said,
July 3, 2008 at 20:32
Need more power? Have Skelly write another book report. The only pollution is the residual stoopid.
Not worth it. That’s toxic waste we’re talking about there.
g said,
July 3, 2008 at 20:32
Somebody’s going to have to fill me in on this one. Isn’t it a movie about an adorable robot who likes to play with trash? Meant for kids?
I think it’s because somewhere in there is a joke about George Bush. Which means, of course, that Wall-E is a lying, liberal propaganda film bent on indoctrinating children.
another jim said,
July 3, 2008 at 20:33
Mockery pales compared to simple reporting of these notions.
Orwell – who actually fought on the side of the leftist Anarchists against Franco in Spain – is a prophet of conservative political correctness.
People’s reality tunnels are quite fascinating.
Piggy said,
July 3, 2008 at 20:35
“To my mind, we can never read enough Orwell. His essays and books are like intellectual depth charges, detonating the smug operating assumptions of large swaths of our cultural elite”
Hmm….
“The inefficiency of private capitalism has been proved all over Europe. It’s injustice has been proved in the East End of London”
“It is very necessary that industry should be nationalised, but it is more urgently necessary that such monstrosities as butlers and ‘private incomes’ should disappear forthwith”
“Patriotism has nothing to do with Conservatism. It is actually the opposite of Conservatism”
“We need… limitation of incomes on such a scale that the highest tax free income in Britain does not exceed the lowest by more than ten to one”
-’The Lion and The Unicorn: Socialism and the English Genius’ by George Orwell
tigrismus said,
July 3, 2008 at 20:39
Well, Piggy, I guess, being depth charges and all, those go off below the level of his understanding, just too darn deep for him to notice.
OneMadClown said,
July 3, 2008 at 20:39
Not worth it. That’s toxic waste we’re talking about there.
True, but we can always turn the executive offices of NRO (Lucianne’s basement) into a fortified landfill.
Jay B. said,
July 3, 2008 at 20:40
Except that stuff, Piggy, sheesh
.
Gerald Curl said,
July 3, 2008 at 20:40
the whole lot of NRO-ers running around in cardboard costumes doing remakes of Ronald Reagan movies
I’m thinking of a remake of “The Big Chill” where they’d all be gathered around Buckley’s corpse. Instead of a soundtrack of 60s classics, there’d be an endless loop of burps and farts.
OneMadClown said,
July 3, 2008 at 20:42
Instead of a soundtrack of 60s classics, there’d be an endless loop of burps and farts.
Recorded on the cheap in Jonah’s cubicle.
Doctorb said,
July 3, 2008 at 20:44
I like the Orwell generator, but Skelly produces weapons-grade stoopid, so there’s a security issue.
Rightwingsnarkle said,
July 3, 2008 at 20:45
I’m thinking of a remake of “The Big Chill” where they’d all be gathered around Buckley’s corpse
Oooo, ooo – I wanna shoot the intro, with a Marvin Gaye soundtrack playing in the background.
That would be awesome.
Dragon-King Wangchuck said,
July 3, 2008 at 20:45
Hey Piggy – Shucks to your ass-mar. George Orwell was a conservative hero, just like George Carlin. George is a conservative name and you’ll not be saying no mean liberal stuff about it.
</winger>
Doctorb said,
July 3, 2008 at 20:46
Also, it’s a shame — and positively Orwellian — that DHS officials aren’t allowed to say that Osama bin Laden is holy.
D.N. Nation said,
July 3, 2008 at 20:49
Got off of work a couple of hours ago for the holiday, been drinking and watching backlogged MythBusters episodes with the ol’ TiVO since, and I can say pretty confidently that I still have a better grip of the fucking English language than K-Lo at this juncture.
Hoosier X said,
July 3, 2008 at 20:54
Have you ever seen any of the Brass Bancroft movies? Reagan played a Secret Service pilot and had all kinds of crazy adventures.
(Supposedly he was a booster of the “Star Wars” weapon system because of the plost of one of the Brass Bancroft movies.)
They are hysterical. They are not, on aevrage, any worse than the typical film series of the 1930s and 1940s. (Which means some of them are pretty bad.) I love ‘em.
Supposedly, the second one, “Code of the Secret Service,” was so bad that Reagan begged the studio not to release it in L.A. because he was afraid it would hurt his career. The studio complied, and just a few years ago, TCM showed it, and they called that its “L.A. premiere.”
It wasn’t good, but I didn’t see that it was any worse than the first one. (They are both funnier than Hell.)
(For the record, I love the action film series of the period. I have several Charlie Chan and Mr. Moto films on DVD and I watch them over and over. Ronald Reagan is no Peter Lorre or Sydney Toler.)
BlackBloc said,
July 3, 2008 at 20:57
>>this sin made Old Joe the worst human being since Karl Marx, who originally came up with the idea of taking things from rich people.
Certainly .I mean, before the Bearded One, there was no such thing as, say, the Diggers, the Levellers, or the Paris Commune.
>>Orwell – who actually fought on the side of the leftist Anarchists
He fought with the POUM who were, I believe, Trotskyists. Or at the very least, Marxists who didn’t agree with the (Stalin-controlled) Communist Party that they needed to wait until after the republic was restored to be militantly in favor of the revolution.
He didn’t agree with the POUM (or Anarchists) either on the political front, but he was politically suspect just because he had happened to fight on their side on the front and thus knew some of them personally as dedicated revolutionaries rather than the retconned ‘Trotsky fascist 5th column’ that the Stalinists tried to paint them as.
Hoosier X said,
July 3, 2008 at 20:57
If they didn’t want people to ridicule the president, they shouldn’t have offered up such a ridiculous fart bubble for the presidency.
Be nice?
I AM being nice!
ohioans everywhere said,
July 3, 2008 at 21:01
Does Joseph Morrison Skelly want DHS to refer to al-Qa’ida and assorted terrorists as “holy warriors”? In what twisted worldview is it bad to call bin Laden a dangerous cult leader, but good to say that he’s fighting for God?
pedestrian said,
July 3, 2008 at 21:08
If they didn’t want people to ridicule the president, they shouldn’t have offered up such a ridiculous fart bubble for the presidency.
It’s like when rightwingers go crazy over a villain who resembles Dick Cheney. I mean who was it that picked The Penguin for Vice President? Not us. Next they are going to nominate Baron Sinister von TwirlyMustache and ruin a whole slew of old cartoons for themselves.
Piggy said,
July 3, 2008 at 21:14
Oh…. you reckon…
How about…
“Every line of serious work I have written since 1936 has been written, directly or indirectly, against totalitarianism and for democratic Socialism”
- ‘Why I Write’ by George Orwell
…or perhaps by cultural elites he means Jonah Goldberg…
“the idea underlying Fascism is irreconcilably different from that which underlies Socialism”
- ‘The Lion and The Unicorn’ by George Orwell
“The word Fascism has now no meaning except in so as it signifies ’something undesirable’”
- ‘Politics and The English Language’ by George Orwell
Baron Sinister von TwirlyMustache said,
July 3, 2008 at 21:14
Alas I regret that I can not accept the Republican Vice-Presidential candidacy. I only engage in schemes that are surefire successes if it weren’t for the meddling of those damn nosy kids and their dog. Now if you’ll excuse me, there are some young ladies that need to be tied to the railroad tracks.
Doctorb said,
July 3, 2008 at 21:18
Andrew Stuttaford, NRO’s indefatigable critic of the desolate legacy of the Soviet dictator.
Hold on, is that a staff position?
Yeah dogg he’s one of the guys standing athwart history all yelling stop. It’s kinda everyone’s job there but they do it in rotations. Peter Robinson for example is slated to write a scathing critique all up in Oliver Cromwell’s treatment of the Irish and K-Lo is cold composing a fiery tirade against Philip II of Macedon yo.
Christopher said,
July 3, 2008 at 21:27
Conservatism, in the NRO sense, is a self-contradictory collection of opinions whose only common thread is that they all revolve around protecting the powerful from the predations of the weak.
I don’t get how these people can be so detached from art. When they say, “Why aren’t people making conservative movies?” they really mean, “Why aren’t people making movies where powerful men effortlessly crush their weak, sniveling enemies?” and the answer to that question should be self-evident.
Or to put it another way, once you’re decrying the horrible bias Wall E shows by having fat characters, maybe it’s time to ask if your standards are too high.
"Oh Stewardess, I Speak 'Nut" said,
July 3, 2008 at 21:28
“Orwell – who actually fought on the side of the leftist Anarchists against Franco in Spain – is a prophet of conservative political correctness.”
Was it not in Homage to Catalonia where Orwell wrote that the police are the natural enemies of the common people? Also, that fascism sucks. Or is that central to their point?
FuriousGeorge said,
July 3, 2008 at 21:30
Well, what they really mean is, “why aren’t there more movies about, dedicated to, or starring, Jesus?”
Tim (The Other One) said,
July 3, 2008 at 21:34
In honor of those NRO kids I’m just going to watch I Love Lucy and Three Stooges episodes all summer long !
gainsayer said,
July 3, 2008 at 21:40
Andrew Stuttaford, NRO’s indefatigable critic of the desolate legacy of the Soviet dictator.
Do they have more jobs like that? Seems like easy money being an indefatigable critic of dictators who are too dead to respond.
Matt T. said,
July 3, 2008 at 21:40
My Cousin Vinny.
Wherein a smartass yankee lawyer goes to the heart of redstate Alabama to make sure justice is done properly and the “obviously guilty” pair of young men get their day in court, instead of railroaded by “local justice”. Hell, Vinny even takes the extra effort to learn how to do the deal properly, all the rules and regulations. Guy has no idea what he’s talking about again. Man, I’d get fired from myjob (prep cook) if I was the equivalent stupid.
But Marisa Tomei is distractingly hot, so who knows.
FuriousGeorge said,
July 3, 2008 at 22:03
But Marisa Tomei is distractingly hot, so who knows.
Watching “Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead”:
Pros – Marisa Tomei gets her kit off.
Cons – Philip Seymour Hoffman sexes Marisa Tomei. From behind.
Verdict – Some things you can’t unsee.
Jake H. said,
July 3, 2008 at 22:09
I’m thinking of a remake of “The Big Chill” where they’d all be gathered around Buckley’s corpse
Oooo, ooo – I wanna shoot the intro, with a Marvin Gaye soundtrack playing in the background.
Why not? As a dead person who is generally admired, Marvin Gaye is automatically a conservative. Remember, he sang the national anthem once, which means he would reject the rabid America hatred of Michelle Hussein Obama X Zedong Krishna Travolta gabba gabba hey fist jab reparations drool….
Baron Sinister von TwirlyMustache said,
July 3, 2008 at 22:11
via Indiana University School of Law.
Doctorb said,
July 3, 2008 at 22:12
The problem with “why aren’t there more movies about, dedicated to, or starring, Jesus?” is that you make a movie about some middle easterner getting railroaded by petty political enemies into a tribunal run by an occupying imperial power, and then he gets tortured and killed, and they’ll be all why do liberals hate America and shit.
Jake H. said,
July 3, 2008 at 22:17
Andrew Stuttaford, NRO’s indefatigable critic of the desolate legacy of the Soviet dictator.
Do they have more jobs like that? Seems like easy money being an indefatigable critic of dictators who are too dead to respond.
I think there’s an opening at the Herod the Great desk…
Danny Guam said,
July 3, 2008 at 22:17
Just read this comment over at digby’s:
You can find me hanging around Sadly, No! most days.
Ah, the most retarded insiders-chattering-amongst-themselves site in the blogospshere. That explains your stupidity. Hey, throw up a fake Gary Ruppert post for me, wouldja? I mean, that shit just never gets old! It’s teh awesome!
anon | 07.03.08 – 4:11 pm | #
I would like to get that on a t-shirt.
stryx said,
July 3, 2008 at 22:18
As a dead person who is generally admired…
Which means we could use Judy Garland
Some day I’ll wish upon a star
And wake up where the clouds are far behind me
Where troubles melt like lemondrops
Away above the chimney tops
That’s where you’ll find me
It is a national anthem of sorts, after all.
Flying Fox said,
July 3, 2008 at 22:18
My favorite part:
“What’s your favorite political movie and why?
In the early 1960s, Billy Wilder made perhaps the only Cold War comedy, One, Two, Three. It starred Jimmy Cagney as a Coca Cola executive working in Berlin just before the wall was built. Hilarious, with plenty of digs at the Soviets and excellent use of The Saber Dance by Aram Khachaturian.”
Mona Charen missed Dr. Strangelove apparently. Or assumed that it was a gung ho blast those reds to hell action movie, as Slim Pickens’ iconic scene would suggest.
mikey said,
July 3, 2008 at 22:22
Holy Shit!
I’m an INSIDER????
I have NEVER been an insider before.
This is SO cool…
mikey
Danny Guam said,
July 3, 2008 at 22:25
I thought calling people retards was a nice touch too. And using the name “anon”.
May be it’s ace.
Jay B. said,
July 3, 2008 at 22:27
That makes me want to kill myself. I love One, Two, Three.
But if she wants to think that’s the only Cold War comedy…she’s a jabbering idiot.
The President’s Analyst is a great, great one, for example.
And The Day After had its moments.
Tim (The Other One) said,
July 3, 2008 at 22:31
“That explains your stupidity”
bastards are on to me…………….
Doctorb said,
July 3, 2008 at 22:39
Also The Mouse that Roared
Spies Like Us
The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming
Top Secret!
Hot Shots! and Hot Shots! Part Deux
but aside from that there probably weren’t a lot of other ones, I’m sure.
Christopher said,
July 3, 2008 at 22:43
Speaking of Digby, this comment by Hullabaloo blogger dday (about Obama’s defense of faith-based initiatives) knocked my sox off:
What the fuck is that?!
Did that guy just defend Obama by accusing liberals of Bush Derangement Syndrome?
Seriously, what the hell?
jim said,
July 3, 2008 at 22:55
Gotta go with the “All Of The Above” option yet again on that one. If they were SMART liars, they wouldn’t be getting caught so damn often, would they now?
Now now – I thought his glowing praise of dead Waffen-SS soldiers at Bitburg was sheer boffo – & who can forget “we begin bombing in 5 minutes” … Bush tries, but he can’t possibly hold a candle to Ronnie “I too am a Contra” Reagan for sheer screwball wackiness – ohhh, you mean in MOVIES! Well, yeah, he was pretty much a big overstuffed bucket of pure suck.
Yeah, the world is just crying out right now for another tasteful evocative masterpiece of cinema like “Red Dawn” or “Rambo” … let alone such works of art as “EXPELLED” … but the REAL reason the neocon POV isn’t bigger in Hollywood is that so many of those “creative types” are Teh Ghey, & they’re afraid of being “converted” if they’re in too-close proximity to all those IslamoHomoLiberals & their queer-cooties.
Bravo, Comrade Skelly – with this statement, we know that you have now completely internalized the glorious victory over the degeneracy of individual thought which The Party has bestowed upon us in the form of Doublethink, & can begin the process of becoming a Goodprole! The Minstry Of Truth is proud of you.
FuriousGeorge said,
July 3, 2008 at 22:56
Up is down, black is white, cats sleeping with dogs and all that. But Larry Johnson still looks like a Fisher Price Man, so all is still right with the world.
Kathleen said,
July 3, 2008 at 23:03
Name one book we’re going to be shocked you read.
Dracula. (Mona Charen)
why would anyone be shocked by this? What am I missing?
Kathleen said,
July 3, 2008 at 23:04
unless there are some inside jokes we would like to talk about instead.
CREED SUCKS
Jay B. said,
July 3, 2008 at 23:07
But that suggests no faith-based charity ever got taxpayer funds from the government prior to big bad George Bush.
What the fuck is that?!
Did that guy just defend Obama by accusing liberals of Bush Derangement Syndrome?
Seriously, what the hell?
No. It means that many liberals have their panties in a wad over a program that has roots in the Great Society — government has long given money to “faith-based” charities in an effort to strengthen the social safety net.
First, Obama, in his speech, says he wants it to go back to the footing it had under Clinton while he credits his approach to what Al Gore suggested in 2000 — both of which PRE-DATE the Bush Administration.
Second for all the Hullabaloo over his announcement (which, IMO, is smart, principled AND progressive — if anyone bothered to read it as Obama said it, not as the AP puked it out), Obama in his second best-seller Audacity of Hope wrote about supporting a program nearly exactly like the one he proposed.
What Bush did was to elevate the bullshit of “faith-based” while funneling money toward the right-wing mega-churches bullshit Abstinence programs and crap like that. But things like Catholic Charities and many Jewish charity organizations have gotten federal funds for decades. Look it up.
These are simple facts.
Reacting hysterically and wailing about being thrown “under the bus” is to wildly overreact and purposefully misconstrue what Obama was talking about.
Realist said,
July 3, 2008 at 23:32
Imagine, the head of the Screen Actors Guild making it all the way to the presidency and to this very day failing to attain the industry’s “life-time achievement award.”
Gee, it’s almost like his acting was just as shitty as his Presidenting.
Christopher said,
July 3, 2008 at 23:38
Jay B:
So… to summarize, he IS accusing them of Bush Derangement Syndrome, but it’s okay because they actually are suffering from it.
All right, then.
Julia Grey said,
July 3, 2008 at 23:42
I’m sure NRO et al. would gladly promote whatever shit you film.
Or whatever film you shit.
zeppo said,
July 3, 2008 at 23:43
I made an absolutely hilarious post about Bedtime for Bonzo, before anyone else mentioned it, and Wordpress frikkin’ crashed my browser!
Asshat Wordpress.
It will probably do it again. Watch.
I agree, Creed sux. And the drummer’s bass drum pedal is all rusted out now, too.
W.E.B. Adamant said,
July 3, 2008 at 23:56
Is there one book that you’d recommend to uplift and inspire depressed conservatives this summer?
I should probably say the Bible. In fact . . . maybe I will. (Jay Nordlinger)
Well, be sure to skip the parts that will give you indigestion. Like that whole “New Testament” thing. Although you might like to reread Revelations and give you hope that God will smite the lib’rals. Lawd, don’t they try the patience!
stryx said,
July 4, 2008 at 0:00
Is there one book that you’d recommend to uplift and inspire depressed conservatives this summer?
I should probably say the Bible.
Yes. The Bible. Definitely The Bible.
Doctorb said,
July 4, 2008 at 0:19
Ja ja, my beloved put in his hand by the hole of the door, and my bowels were moved for him.
So… to summarize, he IS accusing them of Bush Derangement Syndrome, but it’s okay because they actually are suffering from it.
Erm, not so much. I think it’s more like “just because Bush got involved in this doesn’t make it the worst thing ever”, and that “faith-based charity” doesn’t actually have to mean “funneling public funds to Crisco-haired con-men”.
Sort of like how nature reserves are still nice even though Hitler liked them.
needed: a collective noun | a crank’s progress said,
July 4, 2008 at 0:28
[...] [From Sadly, No! » Présenté Sans Commentaire] [...]
Matt T. said,
July 4, 2008 at 0:38
Sort of like how nature reserves are still nice even though Hitler liked them.
Tom Tomorrow had a cartoon dealing with this way back in 2001 over the level of mercury allowable in drinkable water. Bush lowered levels and everyone had a kitten, forgetting that Clinton had only raised levels on his way out the door. Or something like that, I don’t fully recall and I don’t friggin’ feel like looking it up. And I’m stoned, so there’s that.
Anyhow, I’m with Jay B., more or less. While I yearn for the day all the silly little fairy tales people tell themselves so they can avoid having to take any sort of responsibility for their actions because there’s really nothing actually behind reality – be it religion or crystals or whateverthefuck – that’s in the far future, and there’s shit to fix right now. Government and religion are both tools, and they don’t neccessarily have to be used to smash folks’ nuts. Tools can build, too.
Personally, I think the wingnuts are missing out on some prime fear & loathing in all of this. Think, what if Obama delivers money to Angry Black Preachers! They’re Angry and Black! They’ll use Our Tax Dollars to Hate Whitey and America!
Maybe I’m missing it.
J— said,
July 4, 2008 at 0:40
Have you all read PrestoPundit? His take on Obama’s service speech in Colorado Springs:
He has a powerful grasp on European and U.S. history.
Via a laudatory cite (though no link) by Jonah Goldberg, who also has a powerful grasp on European and U.S. history.
One brief addition. From “About the Author”:
Yes! I’ve felt such a void since Mona picked up her satchel of Hayek books and stormed off.
atheist said,
July 4, 2008 at 0:58
Yes! I’ve felt such a void since Mona picked up her satchel of Hayek books and stormed off.
I still feel embarrassed for having insulted her.
Kathleen said,
July 4, 2008 at 1:00
So… to summarize, he IS accusing them of Bush Derangement Syndrome, but it’s okay because they actually are suffering from it.
how about he is just explaining why he thinks they are wrong?
is that too difficult for you?
atheist said,
July 4, 2008 at 1:03
THIS IS SERFDOM. National service mandated by the state is what Europe had for centuries. It was called serfdom. For example, in France, citizens were required to perform public service building and repairing roads and other public projects for hundreds and thousands of hours a year.
So, doing work to keep society together is a form of “Serfdom”. Wow, I always thought it was “work”, or even “public service”.
Because in the USA, roads magically repair themselves while you sleep!
GoatBoy said,
July 4, 2008 at 1:18
So what would be the modern equivalent of a Reagan presidency?
Lance Henriksen or Ronny Cox.
Blue Buddha said,
July 4, 2008 at 1:19
THIS IS SERFDOM. National service mandated by the state is what Europe had for centuries. It was called serfdom. For example, in France, citizens were required to perform public service building and repairing roads and other public projects for hundreds and thousands of hours a year.
Ummm… except serfs weren’t paid shit. I’m sure today’s average construction worker gets paid a fairly decent wage.
Mr. Wonderful said,
July 4, 2008 at 1:24
“Wordpress bit the end off my Wang.”
Dragon King, Susan of T–
You’re forcing me to recall the time, years ago, when Charlie Rose was a host on the CBS am show. By way of intro to a piece (about the early word
processor) he read from the Prompter:
“If you work in an office–and especially if you’re a secretary–you know
what a Wang is…”
True story.
MzNicky said,
July 4, 2008 at 1:27
Blue Buddha:
Perhaps it is a stipulatable truism that whenever wingnutters have to reach back and pull anachronistic terms and phrases out of their asses, it means they’re talking out of the source from whence come their words.
MzNicky said,
July 4, 2008 at 1:34
Yeah, that’s right, I said “stipulatable.” That’s the archaic form of “stipulable.”
Snorghagen said,
July 4, 2008 at 1:38
More Reagan movie reviews….
Reagan was in Santa Fe Trail, a fun Errol Flynn swashbuckler set in the pre-Civil War West. It’s historically ludicrous, but Raymond Massey has a great time playing John Brown as a deranged psychopath. Reagan’s role (as a young George Armstrong Custer) is mercifully small.
Overall, Reagan sucked as an actor IMO. King’s Row seems to be regarded as the pinnacle of his acting career, though it didn’t do much for me. I’ve heard good things about The Killers but I’ve never seen it. I believe that Reagan was the first choice for the male lead in Casablanca, but he turned it down and Humphrey Bogart got the part instead. Thank God.
Speaking of movies:
K-Lo’s reading up on the porn industry? Is she planning a career change?
mikey said,
July 4, 2008 at 1:42
“stipulable”
Hmm. Oh yeah. My mom had one of those.
She used it on her legs when she cut herself shaving.
Said it would sting like hell…
mikey
Doctorb said,
July 4, 2008 at 1:42
Ooh yeah so if Kathryn Jean Lopez decides to go into porn could someone let me know because I will need to splork my eyes out with an x-acto knife okay thanks.
dim-witted badger said,
July 4, 2008 at 1:43
fucking orwellicans
Mr. Wonderful said,
July 4, 2008 at 1:46
“Newspeak,” the sterile official language of Oceana, anticipates the politically correct, sanitized idiom of our time, when the Department of Homeland Security has instructed its officials to refer to men like Osama Bin Laden…”
He gets Newspeak completely (and self-servingly) wrong. It has nothing to do with being “politically correct” or “sanitized.” It’s less subtle than that. It refers to an institutionalization of official mendacity–e.g. (sigh–I know we know this) “Clear Skies Initiative,” “No Child Left Behind,” etc. I.e., lies, in the form of official terminology and usage.
In fact, using “Newspeak” to mean something other than what it actually means is, um, an example of…uh…
Doctorb said,
July 4, 2008 at 1:54
Ah, good old Dinesh D’Souza:
Pascal’s Pensees. The best apologetic for Christianity, and not so well known.
It’s pretty obscure, but apparently there’s something about a wager in there.
Name one book we’re going to be shocked you read.
John Milton, Paradise Lost.
Shocking! A guy who won’t shut up about religion read a book based on religion? And which is also classically important to the Western Canon?
He’s like a somewhat bright undergrad who thinks he’s absolutely brilliant.
About which Samuel Johnson wrote, “None ever wished it longer than it is.”
That’s what she said.
MzNicky said,
July 4, 2008 at 1:57
Re: Reagan’s filmography:
Love Is on the Air
Swing Your Lady
Hollywood Hotel
Accidents Will Happen
Boy Meets Girl
Girls on Probation
Naughty but Nice
Juke Girl
Stallion Road
That Hagen Girl
The Girl From Jones Beach
She’s Working Her Way Through College
Cattle Queen of Montana
Tennessee’s Partner
Hellcats of the Navy
Is it just me, or is this highly selective list of Bonzo’s stellar movies suggestive of primo pr0n titles? Knowing really nothing (really) about pr0n, it’s probably just me.
Doctorb said,
July 4, 2008 at 2:04
I’m looking at that awful, Orwellian DHS paper:
They reason (correctly, I’d say) that using terms like “jihadist” and “holy warrior” kind of legitimizes and glamorizes terrorists, suggesting religious legitimacy, and should thus be avoided. One major theme is we do not want all of the Muslims in the entire world to hear us say we are fighting against all of them, because that would be a good way to give our enemies more popular support. There’s actually some worthwhile thought in there, like in the idea that, while it might seem a great idea to use the term takfir to denounce terror groups, it would actually be better to leave that to people with recognized religious authority because some outside guy claiming so-and-so is a heretic isn’t gonna fly.
Of course, a lot of the wingnuts want to be fighting a Glorious War Against All One Billion Muslims (or more accurately they want someone else’s kids to be fighting that war) so you can see why they’d be upset about this kind of terminology.
Doctorb said,
July 4, 2008 at 2:08
Sorry, I meant paper.
mikey said,
July 4, 2008 at 2:10
I can help here:
Love Is on the Air
This is a porn film about stewadesses getting it on with the passengers
Swing Your Lady
This is a porn film about suburban swingers and swappers
Hollywood Hotel
Porn film about struggling actresses trying to get that big break
Accidents Will Happen
This one’s a fetish pic about peeing
Boy Meets Girl
Duh
Girls on Probation
Double Duh
Naughty but Nice
Yep. Twins…
Juke Girl
Small town girl gets a job in the local nightclub, makes good by banging, well pretty much EVERYONE
Stallion Road
Porn film featuring this year’s not yet dead crop of huge penii
That Hagen Girl
Oh the things she’ll do…
The Girl From Jones Beach
Surfing and Porn. This may well be the BEST one
She’s Working Her Way Through College
And you’re going to LOVE her
Cattle Queen of Montana
Beastiality porn. I’m amazed these things actually sell.
Tennessee’s Partner
Tennessee is a sweet young girl new to chicago. She gets help from her “partner”, a gorgeous black hooker called “Cadillac”….
Hellcats of the Navy
The USO never looked quite so good… or so bad!
mikey
Candy said,
July 4, 2008 at 2:32
Was Ronald Reagan in one single movie that was even remotely memorable?
He had a small part, IIRC correctly, in Bette Davis’s Dark Victory. He had a scene where he was quite inebriated, sitting at a bar, and he did a fairly amusing job with it. Other than that, I’ve never seen him in a movie. I wouldn’t watch that Gipper thing unless forced at gunpoint, and even then I might prefer to be shot.
Candy said,
July 4, 2008 at 2:32
dur, can’t type today.
IIRC correctly
Snorghagen said,
July 4, 2008 at 2:45
Reagan as a porn star? I can see it. He’s got the lascivious Peter North smile down.
Tim (The Other One) said,
July 4, 2008 at 3:02
“K-Lo’s reading up on the porn industry? Is she planning a career change?”
Don’t want….
Rugged in Montana said,
July 4, 2008 at 3:31
Hey, don’t forget my favorite Reagan movie “Bedtime for Democracy” (or was it “Holiday in Cambodia”?), where he talks at length about the pelican menace in the USA of America!!
Matt T. said,
July 4, 2008 at 3:34
John Milton, Paradise Lost.
Shocking! A guy who won’t shut up about religion read a book based on religion? And which is also classically important to the Western Canon?
Well, it’s long. And a poem.
mikey said,
July 4, 2008 at 3:50
Spent one of my birthdays in Cambodia.
Never saw a pelican…
mikey
El Cid said,
July 4, 2008 at 3:58
The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire: Dude goes on and one and on moaning about how this great country was falling apart, but for all that, he didn’t stop it from happening. Typical.
OTB said,
July 4, 2008 at 4:01
What has everybody got against Wellingtons?
owlbear1 said,
July 4, 2008 at 4:11
Myth: A reasoned debate based upon evidence and honest exchange will result in the most beneficial outcome.
Reality: Oh Yeah? A WISE guy,ehhh? Nyuck! Nyuck! Nyuck!
Twernt Nuthin said,
July 4, 2008 at 4:20
Never saw a pelican…
Oh, but the pelicans saw you.
owlbear1 said,
July 4, 2008 at 4:21
Mikey, I hope some day that list makes it into the Reagan Library.
Twernt Nuthin said,
July 4, 2008 at 4:22
What has everybody got against Wellingtons?
- Got a light, mac?
- No, but I’ve got a dark brown overcoat.
Frosty said,
July 4, 2008 at 4:36
But I have promises to shit-can,
And miles to go before I bomb Iran,
And miles to go before I bomb Iran.
mdh said,
July 4, 2008 at 4:41
I recommend that conservatives even thinking of going to the movies, take the $10. they would have spent on movies and send them to the Reagan Ranch Foundation. (Alvin S. Felzenberg)
I prefer Bacon Ranch. Reagan was just too chewy.
franco said,
July 4, 2008 at 4:47
I actually saw Reagan do a really good job in one film: “The Killers”, directed by the basically unknown Donald Siegel.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Killers_%281964_film%29
It was Reagan’s last film. Siegel had the genius to cast Reagan as the heavy. Reagan’s oily, fake charm covering a real inner mean streak totally shows through.
Sammy said,
July 4, 2008 at 5:30
Actually, when I read that Mona Charen sent out copies of America Alone, I was thinking she meant this one. I recommend it.
Probably not quite what Charen had in mind, though…
Terrorist Fist Jab said,
July 4, 2008 at 6:00
Fucking terrorist liberals, please die. This is Patriot Day when we recognize the men who keep us free. You are biased against them and love hippies, so you are fags.
Doctorb said,
July 4, 2008 at 6:07
Hey some of those hippies are hot.
Doctorb said,
July 4, 2008 at 6:08
http://thepaincomics.com/weekly040609.htm
Monkay said,
July 4, 2008 at 6:17
For my money, 1984 is not Orwell’s best, I read it as more of a horror novel than a political novel; Animal Farm is more fun and makes a better point about authoritarianism. Homage to Catalonia is quite good, if anyone is seeking a recommendation . . .
ifthethunderdontgetya™²³®© said,
July 4, 2008 at 6:20
The photos they won’t let us see.
mario said,
July 4, 2008 at 6:22
IIRC correctly
Nope, you didn’t.
Michael Harrington said,
July 4, 2008 at 6:34
Judging by her skin tone, I think Mona read Dracula hoping to see her name mentioned.
In addition to her Run Through Babel Fish From English To French To Polish To Serbo-Croatian Back To English prose style, KLo has a delightfully inept vocabulary, as well.
“Gals”…indeed.
Candy said,
July 4, 2008 at 6:41
Dark Victory
But I did.
J-Bob said,
July 4, 2008 at 7:05
So Brookhiser recommends Robert Frost… would this be the same Robert Frost who considered himself a lifelong Democrat and read at JFK’s inauguration?
Kathleen said,
July 4, 2008 at 7:19
I’d pay $10 to publish Mikey’s list in the Reagan Library.
stryx said,
July 4, 2008 at 7:23
Can we now make “Unidentified Iraqi, John Ashcroft (?)” a new internet traditions?
Who do I talk to about that?
Snorghagen said,
July 4, 2008 at 8:50
I agree. Or try Down and Out in Paris and London.
purvis ames said,
July 4, 2008 at 9:28
Ronald Reagan starred in the epic “Bedtime for Bonzo” and for that alone he should have received a Lifetime Acheivement Award. And Joan Crawford deserves one too, not for her movies, mind you, but for being on the board of Pepsi Cola.
kiki said,
July 4, 2008 at 10:39
I also love that you can’t mention the cinema among a group of conservatives without at least one of them saying “We need to make our own movies!”
Shorter wingnuts on Hollywood: “We’re tired of this bias towards plucky rebels who just want peace. Why can’t the evil empire win for once?”
Just Alison, without Qetesh said,
July 4, 2008 at 13:18
Flappy McScrotum said,
July 3, 2008 at 18:20
“The Trial” lays out the perfect blue-print for prosecuting modern terrorism cases.
The Trial is one of the most disturbing books I’ve ever read in my whole life ever. Ever. Totally ever-ish ever, with lashings of ever on top.
That Kafka was one disturbed dude.
Mind you, I can’t imagine the likes of Dinesh D’Souzaphone reading it: I don’t think he’d have the intestinal fortitude, nor would he be able to endure the uncomfortable feeling of the whole world drifting slowly awry.
Turned me into the complete headcase I am, perhaps.
Just Alison, without Qetesh said,
July 4, 2008 at 14:00
Hey, don’t you badmouth Lance Henriksen! He helped make Near Dark the gem that it was. And he was a great android in Alien. I’d vote for him, if I was American.
What?
Just Alison, without Qetesh said,
July 4, 2008 at 14:01
Hey, where’d everybody go? Hello? Hello?
Sheesh, I might as well put the chairs on the tables and turn out the lights.
Terrorist Fist Jab said,
July 4, 2008 at 14:46
This is the 4th of July.
NO USA HATE TODAY, LIBERALS! Salute the flag or shut up and stay home.
Dragon-King Wangchuck said,
July 4, 2008 at 15:01
Hey, who turned out the lights?
<i.Hey, don’t you badmouth Lance Henriksen! He helped make Near Dark the gem that it was. And he was a great android in Alien. I’d vote for him, if I was American.
Being Bishop ruined him as “you know, that guy” guy.
Terminator
Pirhana 2: The Spawning
Actually, just about anything he was in before Alien.
Although he still did those kinds of roles, including apparently one episode of something called Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go which is the awesomest fucking name EVAR.
kiki said,
July 4, 2008 at 15:04
How can you tell if I’m saluting the flag or not over the internet?
What if the flag is in my home?
Can’t I salute the flag and shut up? And stay home?
So many questions, so many flag-humping morons to ask…
Dragon-King Wangchuck said,
July 4, 2008 at 15:05
NO USA HATE TODAY, LIBERALS! Salute the flag or shut up and stay home.
Ahh, can’t you just smell the Freedom and Independance.
Terrorist Fist Jab said,
July 4, 2008 at 15:14
Salute the flag or swim to cuba, morons! You leftists live in the best country efver and don’t know or care. Please find out the facts and logic of this, and not the left bias version. Homos are gay.
Dragon-King Wangchuck said,
July 4, 2008 at 15:23
TFJ,
That’s pretty good angry ranting you got going on there, but it’s hard to pretend it’s real when you comment under such an obvious parody troll name. How about Patriots don’t Fist Jab or Hamas <3’s Dappers?
MzNicky said,
July 4, 2008 at 15:24
Homos are gay.
Well, you got that right.
MzNicky said,
July 4, 2008 at 15:25
Flagpole-sitting is a time-honored patriotic activity, Jabber. I suggest you try it out.
MajorKong said,
July 4, 2008 at 15:27
Hey, don’t you badmouth Lance Henriksen! He helped make Near Dark the gem that it was. And he was a great android in Alien. I’d vote for him, if I was American.
Don’t forget Millenium.
Susan of Texas said,
July 4, 2008 at 15:56
He was great in Millennium.
slippy hussein toad said,
July 4, 2008 at 16:39
More and more, conservatives are acting like spoiled-rotten children who simply want things their way RIGHT NOW!!!!
Maybe, if you wanted to receive an industry’s life-time “achievement” award, you want to try to be something better than a blow-dried hack in that industry. Reagan was successful as a politician. He was eminently forgettable as an actor, and if he hadn’t gone into politics, he would have remained a fucking nobody.
ifthethunderdontgetya™²³®© said,
July 4, 2008 at 17:11
Red Red Wine.
Dragon-King Wangchuck said,
July 4, 2008 at 17:20
Red Red Wine.
You make me feel so fine.
WashPost, on the cutting edge of news.
ifthethunderdontgetya™²³®© said,
July 4, 2008 at 17:31
AHEM.
That’s a FREEDOM paradox.
/Little Richie Cohen, self-described funny guy and liberal.
Blue Buddha said,
July 4, 2008 at 18:02
Yes, but could he squirt a full quart of jizz fifty feet?
D.N. Nation said,
July 4, 2008 at 18:03
Happy 4th, everyone.
I see The Google has a patriotic theme on its front page today. I don’t know what K-Lo will do with herself.
Smiling Mortician said,
July 4, 2008 at 18:21
Probably what she always does. And no, I don’t want to think about it.
Dragon-King Wangchuck said,
July 4, 2008 at 18:26
I don’t know what K-Lo will do with herself.
Read more about Traci Lords and proclaim does not disappoint.
Speaking of NRO your boat gently down the stream, Pantload’s forgotten what day it is. Nary a mention of Patriots, Washington, BBQ’s, fireworks or big big sales. He has remembered his craptacular style of Reductio ad Chewbacc-ium.
Susan of Texas said,
July 4, 2008 at 18:28
She was just reading about girl porn for her job. Really.
Although if you add this up to the Hannah Montana incident, one begins to wonder. The thought of teenage girl sex seems to incite her to new peaks.
Legalize said,
July 4, 2008 at 18:29
“Homos are gay.”
That’s possible. But are gays homo?
owlbear1 said,
July 4, 2008 at 18:37
OH Bang that Drum louder too Jughead!
http://www.votesmart.org/voting_category.php?can_id=53270
Dragon-King Wangchuck said,
July 4, 2008 at 18:42
OH Bang that Drum louder too Jughead!
Heh, indeed!
Erik Pontoppidan said,
July 4, 2008 at 18:55
It would be nice on this Forth of July to truly honor this Great Nation upon which Almighty God has bestowed innumerable Blessings and to honor the Great Heros which have defened her from her enemies both foreign and domestic.
One of those Great Patriots has sadly passed away this morning, the Great Senator Jesse Helms who was a Great Stalwart of Conservative values and principles. A man who never wavered despite being surrounded by spineless politicians from his own party who would routinely compromise in the unholy name of “bipartisanship.”
Jesse Helms never compromised any of his beliefs and was one of the few honest men of principle left in government. May he rest in peace in the loving arms of his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, he has earned it.
May prayers go out to his family and friends.
D.N. Nation said,
July 4, 2008 at 19:02
Having once hailed from the Tar Hell State, I’ll at least give Sen. Helms that one.
It does, however, lend itself to the whole wrong side of history thing.
g said,
July 4, 2008 at 19:05
Jesse Helms never compromised any of his beliefs
that’s right. he was a die-hard racist asshole right down to this dying breath.
ifthethunderdontgetya™²³®© said,
July 4, 2008 at 19:07
May prayers go out to his family and friends.
Burn in hell, bigoted piece of shit.
Erik Pontoppidan said,
July 4, 2008 at 19:08
Jesse Helms along with Ronald Reagan and Barry Goldwater was one of the leaders of the Conservative movement and a true visonary.
He along with President Reagan fearlessly stood up to the evil of global communism by supporting the arms race, opposing President Carter’s hand over of the Panama canal to the Chinese, supporting our ally and fellow warrior against communism Augusto Pinochet of Chile and supporting the Conservative government of El Salvador against the Cuban backed communist rebels.
He will forever be rembered as one of the Great Patriots responsible for the fall of communism and Eastern Europe. A man resposible for freeing millions living under tyranny and oppression. A Great man who will be missed. Another politician of principle like him is a long ways away it seems.
owlbear1 said,
July 4, 2008 at 19:10
Gonna miss you. Jesse.
Dragon-King Wangchuck said,
July 4, 2008 at 19:11
In an effort to not speak ill of the dead, I have this offering:
It is sad that Jesse Helms didn’t live long enough to see Barack Obama elected POTUS.
Flying Fox said,
July 4, 2008 at 19:13
I think another Kafka short story wingnuts would like is “The Penal Colony,” with its Machine, an elaborate engraving machine used for executions. When someone is found guilty of a crime in the colony (which is always, under the logic that an innocent man would not be accused) they are placed in the Machine, which carves the broken law into the condemned’s back over twelve hours.
Erik Pontoppidan said,
July 4, 2008 at 19:14
I’m not surprised that you liberals would stoop so low as to speak ill of such a Great man and Patriot.
Conservatives would never do such things to their political enemies. In fact my prayers also go out to Senator Kennedy that his brain tumor may be healed.
Even though he is a leftist and wrong on every issue I still don’t wish death upon him.
owlbear1 said,
July 4, 2008 at 19:15
sniffle, Erik your trauma is SO touching.
ifthethunderdontgetya™²³®© said,
July 4, 2008 at 19:17
Dumb ass spamming trool:
He fought the Panama Canal give away and now we see the Chinese controlling the ports.
Over and out…
Texaschilibean | 07.04.08 – 11:59 am | #
He will be forever remembered as a sleazy right-wing bigot. Like yourself. Now please fuck off and die.
Erik Pontoppidan said,
July 4, 2008 at 19:22
He was well loved in his home state of North Carolina. A very Conservative state by the way. He was relected by wide margins every six years.
I imagine he will be remembered quite fondly there.
Snorghagen said,
July 4, 2008 at 19:27
No, but Ed Meese could.
owlbear1 said,
July 4, 2008 at 19:27
Yes, North Carolina’s voting history certainly indicates that.
Susan of Texas said,
July 4, 2008 at 19:29
As a bigot, by bigots, for bigots. There’s one less Old South creep around, halleluila. A man whose greatest achievement is the intensity of his hatred of his fellow human beings.
Erik Pontoppidan said,
July 4, 2008 at 19:31
No Susan, my poor niave liberal friend. His greatest achievement was participating in the fall of global communism.
No go call your mommy and have her pour you another glass of Kool-Aid.
stryx said,
July 4, 2008 at 19:34
Thanks to whoever it was that first linked to The Pain.
Spend some time there, it’s like an illustrated S,N! thread.
For example, this.
D.N. Nation said,
July 4, 2008 at 19:35
Erik-
I’m glad you’re so pleased with your infallible heroes of the right. I’m sure your deification of Jesse Helms, Ronald Reagan, and Barry Goldwater will have a great effect on voters under 40.
Erik Pontoppidan said,
July 4, 2008 at 19:36
Owlbear, I don’t know if thats sarcasm I detect in your post or not but North Carolina elected President Bush by wide margins in both 2000 and 2004 it has been trending Republican since the 1960s like the rest of the Old South and John McCain enjoys a comfortable lead over Obama in all polling done there.
Snorghagen said,
July 4, 2008 at 19:36
The saddest thing about Helms’ death is that we’ll have to put up with several days of pundits praising someone they know was a swine.
D.N. Nation said,
July 4, 2008 at 19:37
Actually, Erik, McCain’s lead on Obama has wavered in NC. As we speak, he’s currently losing to Obama in Virginia.
Trending Republican? No. Solidly Republican but losing that trait? Yes.
ifthethunderdontgetya™²³®© said,
July 4, 2008 at 19:40
Did you know pontoppidan spelled backwards is nadippotnop?
P.S. I add my hearty recommendation to Teh Pain.
Erik Pontoppidan said,
July 4, 2008 at 19:45
Most polling is done by leftwing pollsters with an agenda. The last time Virginia voted for the Democratic candidate for President was in the 1964 landslide election of Lyndon Johnson. Virginia is still solidly Republican especially southwestern Virginia and it will remain so for a very long time. And North Carolina shows zero signs of trending Democrat. Quite frankly I don’t trust polls, at this time in 2004 most polls showed John Kerry winning by a landslide. Also most polling done of Southern states usually overrepresents blacks disproportonate to their actual numbers. Blacks tend to vote Democrat anyway and will be out in larger numbers this election than usual considering who the Dem nominee for President is. Wait till election day and see if Obama’s numbers in these states hold, highly doubtful.
g said,
July 4, 2008 at 19:47
North Carolina. A very Conservative state by the way.
Yeah, how’s that been working out for Liddy Dole? I hear her campaign is faltering lately.
D.N. Nation said,
July 4, 2008 at 19:48
Ahh. The reason why polls show McCain in trouble is because of…poopy. Got it.
Happy 4th, Erik. That’s quite a foreign-sounding name you have.
Erik Pontoppidan said,
July 4, 2008 at 19:50
g, read my post at 19:45. The same goes for congressional elections.
mikey said,
July 4, 2008 at 19:53
In the beginning, there were the Rupperts. Occasionally funny, always annoying, and the responses generated were well worth reading.
Now we find ourselves with what, twenty five or so fake trolls. Every thread several of them appear. The same schtick, the same lameness, even the clever miss-spellings have lost their luster.
Now it’s just old. Well beyond stupid, overworked, not interesting. It’s not the content thats annoying anymore, its the volume. The quantity of pretend stupid.
Gallager’s smashing melons with a hammer got old all by itself. Can you imagine if twenty or thirty other dorks all started doing it as if they alone had invented the art form?
Gawd.
Now, most, if not all of you are fake trolls. Why don’t you collectively take a vacation for a week or a month or something. Honest, it’s just not amusing or entertaining, and frankly, we’re just not that into you…
mikey
Terrorist Fist Jab said,
July 4, 2008 at 19:54
Yeah polling always gets more Blacks, why we are so biased in the media towards them and the gays
g said,
July 4, 2008 at 19:56
g, read my post at 19:45.
You’re so intellectually bankrupt all you got is a repeat of the crap you just said.
D.N. Nation said,
July 4, 2008 at 19:56
Erik- You have yet to address the fact that your name sounds foreign.
Righteous Bubba said,
July 4, 2008 at 19:58
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erik_Pontoppidan
Mr. Wonderful said,
July 4, 2008 at 20:00
Please don’t snark Erik. He has decided to go through life as a middle-school valedictorian.
And who can blame him? When so much wingnut spew comes to us as delirious, drunken Swankism or dutiful, semi-literate K-Lo drivel, Erik’s well-constructed, manuscript-form recitations of a 14 year-old’s world view transcends mere shtik and attains the status of a style. He is to be applauded and commended and presented with the Rotary Club’s Young Leader of the Year award.
atheist said,
July 4, 2008 at 20:03
Reality?! What has reality ever done for me?
Erik Pontoppidan said,
July 4, 2008 at 20:05
Look, you liberals, McCain’s gonna win huge in November. Glenn Reynolds and Gateway Pundit told me so, and they’re way more accurate than stupid polls of stupid black people, who hate America and I need my blankie.
ifthethunderdontgetya™²³®© said,
July 4, 2008 at 20:14
Great moments in Jesse Helms history:
Helms (R-N.C.) seemed somewhat shocked when the caller from Alabama said, “Mr. Helms, I know this might not be politically correct to say these days, but I think you should get a Nobel Peace Prize for everything you’ve done to help keep down the niggers.”
“Oh, dear,” guest host Robert Novak said.
“Whoops,” said Helms. “Well, thank you, I think.”
~
Miss Beasley said,
July 4, 2008 at 20:16
Amazing, Erik. You comment on a liberal website and basically say that everything we think is wrong, and then are surprised when people aren’t nice to you?
Incidentally, how can you believe that liberals are the only ones who make jabs at dead politicians that they don’t like.
Miss Beasley said,
July 4, 2008 at 20:18
There should have been a question mark at the end of the last sentence on my previous post. I’m sorry.
atheist said,
July 4, 2008 at 20:18
An excellent question Miss Beasley.
Also, can “Terrorist Fist Jab” possibly be for real? I’m betting parody troll.
Blue Buddha said,
July 4, 2008 at 20:20
MC Steve Hawking is sure celebrating Helms’s death.
http://www.mchawking.com/mp3_files/JesseHelms.mp3
Susan of Texas said,
July 4, 2008 at 20:56
Cute. Conservatives go around for decades saying communism is unworkable and will fail, and when it does they say, “Look what we did!” Up next: Conservatives praise themselves for forcing the sun to rise and set every day.
Stupid, boring trolls. No wonder they hate artists. They wouldn’t know creativity if it cut off their ear.
SamFromUtah said,
July 4, 2008 at 21:10
In the beginning, there were the Rupperts. … Now it’s just old. Well beyond stupid, overworked, not interesting.
Seconded. Even with the pie filter it’s a huge waste of space.
Snorghagen said,
July 4, 2008 at 21:14
Yeah, pretty clearly I think. And Terrorist Fist Jab seems to be a reincarnation of the slightly earlier Republican Security Mom (or whatever that nym was). Same phrases, same style.
ifthethunderdontgetya™²³®© said,
July 4, 2008 at 21:22
I go with the Highlander Parody Troll theory™, meself.
“There can be only one”.
~
Mary Jones said,
July 4, 2008 at 21:27
Methinks Skelly confused 1984 with Ayn Rand’s Anthem. Not that I’m surprised or anything.
centaur said,
July 4, 2008 at 21:43
A Conservative Summer:
An NRO Symposium on BooksNRO Symposium of BoobsFixed your typo.
a different brad said,
July 4, 2008 at 21:56
So…
where does the line start to piss on Jessie Helms’s grave?
I know, don’t speak ill of the dead, but fuck him.
ifthethunderdontgetya™²³®© said,
July 4, 2008 at 22:02
So…
where does the line start to piss on Jessie Helms’s grave?
I know, don’t speak ill of the dead, but fuck him.
It’s like waiting for Dead tickets, back in the day. Line’s five blocks long now, ADB.
BlackBloc said,
July 4, 2008 at 22:08
Today Jess Helm did the most patriotic act he could think of. He croaked. Thus removing the stain of his existence upon his nation.
Redleg said,
July 4, 2008 at 22:13
Wasn’t Orwell a democratic socialist? Perhaps Orwell would be disgusted with the terrorists and despots but I doubt he would embrace the neo-con principles and methods to deal with them.
mikey said,
July 4, 2008 at 22:15
I dunno.
Evil just gets pathetic when it gets old, incontinent and helpless.
The stain isn’t a drooling old man in the twilight of his existence.
In reality, the stain isn’t even really what he was, did or believed.
The stain is that people thought enough of those beliefs and actions to put him in a position of power. Just another item on the very long list of america deciding not to live up to its own values…
mikey
GoatBoy said,
July 4, 2008 at 22:24
I didn’t mean to disparage Henriksen’s work, just that he’s a relatively famous actor whose milieu has been, for the most part, B movies.
Rutger Hauer would have worked as well but there’s that whole He’s Dutch thing.
Harry Dean Stanton would be Bizarro Reagan!
MzNicky said,
July 4, 2008 at 22:37
In other news, Chimpy got heckled at a new-citizens ceremony at Monticello today. July 4th is also the Pretendizent’s birthday.
Happy fucking birthday, motherfucker. And happy fucking 4th of fucking July too, fucker.
Susan of Texas said,
July 4, 2008 at 22:45
Will Farrell as Reagan. He has the right mix of gullibility, joviality, and cunning.
The only time I regret being an atheist is in times like these. Helmes ‘isnt burning in hellfire, he’s parked in a grave, too pickled to rot, no doubt.
Here’s to you, Jesse. If hatred were a drug, you’d have been a strung-out old streetwalker, trading yourself for a tiniest bit of coke or pills.
Me said,
July 4, 2008 at 22:47
where does the line start to piss on Jessie Helms’s grave?
With me. I’m going to piss on it, take some diuretics, wait awhile, then piss on it every 5 minutes until I’m out of piss. Then I’m going to take some Ex-Lax so I can squeeze off a mighty log or two, right into the puddle of piss.
You might wanna bring something to read while you wait your turn.
ifthethunderdontgetya™²³®© said,
July 4, 2008 at 22:56
While working on the primary campaign against Frank Porter Graham, Helms helped create an ad that read, “White people, wake up before it is too late. Do you want Negroes working beside you, your wife and your daughters, in your mills and factories? Frank Graham favors mingling of the races.” Another ad featured photographs Helms doctored to illustrate the allegation that Graham’s wife had danced with a black man. (FAIR 9/1/01, The News and Observer 8/26/01)
The University of North Carolina was “the University of Negroes and Communists.”
The d00d was a complete pile of shit, as is still the rethuglican party for which he stood.
Smut Clyde said,
July 4, 2008 at 23:01
Around the office we regularly call each other “Winston.”
Another glass of Victory Gin?
cowalker said,
July 5, 2008 at 0:42
Gerald Curl said:
This reminds me of the creationists’ constant whining about how much their “theory” of creationism has to offer the world of scientific inquiry. Well, OK, come up with the antidote to SARS based on your “theory.” Develop a unique solution to controlling mosquitoes who carry disease based on goddidit. Come up with new treatements for people with multiple sclerosis and cystic fibrosis based on creationism. Shut up and do it! THEN you’ll get respect and standing in the scientific community.
g said,
July 5, 2008 at 1:03
The stain is that people thought enough of those beliefs and actions to put him in a position of power. Just another item on the very long list of america deciding not to live up to its own values…
Damn, mikey. Just when I was about to make some snarky remark about Jesse Helms needing asbestos underpants where he’s going, you put it all in perspective in such an eloquent way. My hat’s off to you.
MajorKong said,
July 5, 2008 at 1:07
I didn’t mean to disparage Henriksen’s work, just that he’s a relatively famous actor whose milieu has been, for the most part, B movies.
How about Bruce Campbell then?
kobie said,
July 5, 2008 at 3:27
Erik Pontoppidan said,
July 4, 2008 at 19:45
Most polling is done by leftwing pollsters with an agenda.
And most trolling is done by rightwing hacks who don’t know dick. Happy 4th! Now get the fuck out.
unree said,
July 5, 2008 at 4:45
Ms. Nicky, the Pretendizent’s birthday is Sunday, not today.
Strangefate said,
July 5, 2008 at 6:25
Thankfully, elements of Western culture are starting to see Orwell’s vision more clearly
No shit. Thanks to the rightwing, we’re experiencing much of it first hand.
Oh, and I’d love to read a Skelly review of Catch-22. “An ultra-conservative novel that perfectly captures the whimsical fun of war.”
Strangefate said,
July 5, 2008 at 6:32
Or maybe Dr. Strangelove: “A serious, conservative drama depicting the extreme depths a liberal president will sink to in order to undermine our military’s efforts to defeat the communists/terrorists. If only this nation had more men with the courage of a General Ripper, we’d all be much safer.”
GoatBoy said,
July 5, 2008 at 18:21
How about Bruce Campbell then?
I actually like some of the movies that Campbell has done, whereas Henriksen is usually doing journeyman’s work in horrible, horrible films. Henriksen wins the Reagan role on quantity and quality.
I have thought about this more than anyone should. I think I’m gonna go play Mario Kart.
InsaneInTheCheneyBrain said,
July 5, 2008 at 23:44
You’re wrong. Chimperor’s bday is tomorrow, July 6.
MzNicky said,
July 6, 2008 at 5:14
Oh yeah? Well, Ringo’s birthday is July 7, so it’s all good.
4jkb4ia said,
July 6, 2008 at 6:22
Mr. 4jkb4ia: “What part of the Bible? Joshua? Judges?”
Also there was someone who commented about “elitist Wimbledon” before the raucous U.S. Open atmosphere of Murray-Gasquet. That is all.
4jkb4ia said,
July 6, 2008 at 6:24
Today’s Haftarah was from Judges for those not paying attention. Jephthah brings a legal claim from the parsha.
bernarda said,
July 7, 2008 at 13:35
Book: Howard Zinn’s “Peoples’ History of the United States”
Recent book: “Nickel and Dimed” by Barbara Ehrenreich.
Film: The new zombie movie by George Romero.
A book(not recent) that I would like to give to everyone? “Journey to the End of the Night” by Céline.
Book for depressed conservatives: “Revolution for the Hell of it” by Abby Hoffman.
jurassicpork said,
July 7, 2008 at 17:22
“To my mind, we can never read enough Orwell.”
Why doesn’t this surprise me one bit?
I’m surprised this person also didn’t endorse Franz Kafka’s The Trial while he was at it.
AG said,
July 7, 2008 at 22:30
I’ve always doubted that vacuous, smugly pious, overtly-posturing gasbagging such as this could induce projectile vomiting just by reading it. But in fact . . . maybe it will.
(Also, c.f. “Bittergate.” I think someone just told folk to go cling.)
paul said,
July 9, 2008 at 8:15
This works for me:
Howard Roark said,
March 6, 2009 at 18:48
Hey, My Cousin Vinny’s a good film. Not a classic to outlive the ages or anything, but a good film.