Surrender

white-flag.jpg

So I stupidly assumed that because Atrios gave up so quickly in our last skirmish that he’d be a pushover this time. I was wrong. Drastically, horribly wrong. The musical stylings of Rick Wakeman were so appalling that they broke our damn website, and we haven’t been able to recover since.

So you win this round, Atrios. When next we meet, I shall make sure not to underestimate your strength.

And now, here is my official surrender anthem, sung by a Japanese Cheap Trick cover band:

 

Comments: 76

 
 
 

Cut and run…that’s all you Dhimmicrats know how to do, isn’t it?

 
meltimate warrior
 

brave effort d00dz, but ur no match for the master of the meniverse!1!!111!!

 
 

I told you this wouldn’t work. Why didn’t you listen to me?!

Blood, and Cheeto dust, is on your hands.

 
 

That was horrible. You may have ruined that song for me forever.Truly, as the great moral philosopher Sting wrote, there is no such thing as a winnable war.

Clearly, the seeds of our own destruction were sown at Budokan.

 
 

I have to hand it to Atrios for that opening salvo of “Yes.” Mildly bad, it set up the rope-a-dope with Rick Wakeman.

 
 

Jeremy’s- no kidding. I took the bait, completely unaware of what he had in store.

 
 

Dammit, we would have won had our arms not been tied behind our backs. All we had to do is use our stockpiles of John Ashcroft singing in the nude, and Atrios would have crumbled from the pounding. But no, that’s a “war crime.” Instead we leave the field of battle in the hands of the dark tyrant lord Atrios, free to inflict the pain of Wakeman amongst the millions of people he has enslaved.

 
 

the moral relativist in me insists that the video be considered within the context of ALL Japanese Cheap Trick cover bands, in which case it doesn’t fare too poorly…plus the bass player is kind of hot.

 
 

So the Moderate Wife got me an iPod for Festivus, and I’m sitting here listening to Springsteen’s “Born to Run” while surfing the internets. I turn that OFF so that I can hear the off-key stylings of the Cheap Trick cover band surrendering to Atrios.

Sweet Jesme, you people are evil.

 
 

You’ve left this world fit only for cockroaches and roving gangs of Mel Gibson look-alikes. Damn you, sir.

 
 

You give in too easy. You should have smacked him with Clint Eastwood the singing cowboy.

 
 

Nahhhoooo! Please tell me this is some kind of elaborate ruse (a double rope-a-rope-a-dope or some such) and you’re about to delight us all with a surprise blasting-apart of the loathsome, prematurely-jubilant Atrios.

 
 

The real pain…the war crime…was in last nights comments, especially when someone unleashed Celine Dion covering AC/DC. My hearing still hasn’t come back. I think I need to go to the doctor…and the shrink…

Whoever you are, the Hague is coming for you.

(ps that’s not the worst cheap trick cover i’ve ever heard, sad to say…)

 
 

Sorry to interupt the misery, but he who lives by the crappy video…Well, you know.

Just wanted to say that 2006 has been a large bucket of fermenting human excrement, blood and pus, truly a biohazard of a jaunt around old Sol. So as I make ready to party like it’s 1999 (Breakin out the best leathers, black fedora, darkest shades, and I’m pretty sure I’ve got some X stashed around here somewhere, rollin north into the big city to toast the new year and meat chix), I wanted to make a special point of wishing you all the best in 2007. May you have a peaceful, healthy and successful new year in ’07.

‘Cause honestly now, children, if it turns out worse than ’06, we’re all in big trouble.

So tear it up tonite, watch out for the two-tone cars, they’re the bad guys, purify in the blood of the loud rock n roll, and so be ready to survive the harsh times ahead, ano domini 2007…

mikey

 
 

What?!

Giving up without unleashing Mrs. Miller?! You’ve shamed your Cheeto dust, Soldier! General Patton would have given you a swift kick in the backside!

 
Smiling Mortician
 

Back atcha, mikey, and a hearty concurrence: Here’s wishing every one of you a 2007 of good friends, good food, harmony in your personal space(s), continued wisdom and humor, and the planets aligning in such a way that your efforts to improve the one we live on stand a decent chance of success. Oh. And sex. Plenty of sex.

 
 

How did they decide that guy should be the singer? Did his parents buy the PA or something? I may never be able to listen to that song again, and I love Cheap Trick. And yes, the bass player is very cute.

Also, Atrios is a man without conscience. And devious as hell. As Jeremy’s Iron points out, he totally punked you.

I wish all Sadly, Nosians the Happiest New Year you can have under the circs.

I will be downing some Ozzie chardonnay, and will toast you all at midnight CST. If I can stay awake that long.

My leathers-wearing and clubbing days are all behind me, alas! The first thing I said when I got my MS diagnosis was, ‘Damn, I should have done more drugs.’ The Yale neurologist was nonplussed. He said no one had ever reacted that way before.

Love,

GW, Ganesh Bengal Cat, and Scampers, Evil Limb of Satan

 
 

It’s a quiet day here at the g residence.

The geriatric skull-deformed rottweiler and the geriatric deaf malamute got into a scuffle over a doggie toy and the malamute put a tooth into the Rottie’s muzzle. A little neosporin works for dogs, I hope.

Now that dominance has been established, we hope things will settle down.

Anyway, New Year’s festivities are low key here.

 
 

Here’s some Tick for 2006:

The human mind is a dangerous plaything, boys. When it’s used for evil, watch out! But when it’s used for good, then things are much nicer.

Villains always have antidotes… They’re funny that way

Oh, what a goofy work is man!

Y’know, evil comes in many forms, whether it be a man-eating cow or Joseph Stalin, but you can’t let the package hide the pudding! Evil is just plain bad! You don’t cotton to it. You gotta smack it in the nose with the rolled-up newspapaer of justice! Bad dog! Bad dog! And you don’t do it for money. No! You do it for love! You know, I’ve learned something this week… on justice and on friendship, there is no price. But there are established credit limits.

And a couple for 2007:

I don’t know the meaning of the word ‘surrender’! I mean, I know it, I’m not dumb… just not in this context.

Don’t make us bite you in hard-to-reach places!

Roof-pig! Most unexpected.

We’re sworn to protect The City. And we’re just going to have to face it, that includes the sewers

Remember, play it LOUD, even if it’s Dio. Cuz it bothers the straights.

 
Mehitabel the Abyssinian
 

It is morning here but the house-apes are still in bed making that funny noise that’s their way of purring. I am sure that if they were up, they would be wishing you all a happy and constructive 2007; and more importantly, they would be opening a tin of offerings for me. I will sit on the hairy one’s face, that usually works.

 
 

Weapons of Mass Bad Taste haven’t been surpassed quite yet.

Introducing the Tampon Shooter Blowgun.

Oh you bet there’s video. Video!

 
 

That’s nothing. I’m so gooned out on nitrous and cough syrup right now, I just spent the last 90 minutes quacking like a duck. Happy New Year everbody!

 
 

As they say, when giants quarrel, it is the ants who are crushed. Help!

 
 

My New Year’s Eve has been a mixed bag.
Church was cool (yeah I actually attend services – my sister’s the music director, and the “contemporary” service is 75 percent music). I went to the gym, then got a call from the ex.
One of my six year olds (twins) had a gash on his forehead.
Six stitches later I’m home and done
Here’s wishing a great 2007 to all Sadly Nosians and a positive vibe directed towards a new Congress, one that will reverse some negatives (slow pullout in Iraq) and push some positives forward (universal health care, anyone?).
And a good year to all.
Even Marie, Michael, Rush, David, Joseph, Kaye and the rest.
We are inclusive, damnit.

 
 

I’m still new to the left. Do you know our native language? Reddition maintenant! J’aime des hippies.

Hoist the white flag!

Does anyone know of someone new we can surrender to? Tell them ‘I give up. I’m a progressive, for Christ’s sake!’ That should set the proper tone.

 
 

Yet again Gavin has stolen my work to make a silly point. Taking my rendition of the French flag and putting it in some snow is blasphemous! Ney, it’s dégout.

Quit stealin’, Gavin. Take your crazy hate for the hippies at atrios and shove it up your rear! Using the photoshop skills of your betters will not impress the ladies. You’re already operating at a deficit by being named ‘gavin’. Don’t exacerbate it by being a thief.

I’m just sayin…

 
 

Jesus, why did we ever fight a war to keep the fucking South in the United States? Today, if a redneck shithead like Kevin announced he wanted to secede from the U.S., my response would be, “Godspeed, Cletus, the sooner the better.”

 
 

But then , your mother, who would you be able to imagine that you are better than? You’d have to create a whole new scapegoat to stereotype! That’s more of a pain than it’s worth, I reckon. And don’t call us Cletus. That’s almost as embarassing as being called Gavin! Them’s fightin’ words, maw.

Laissez les bon ton roulez! Aiii! Happy New Year my crazy liberal friends! Two thousand seven years since the life of… someone… I don’t want to get too specific because it may force you to stop celebrating the holiday.

 
 

So “your work” consists of recycled French jokes from 2002? No wonder you’re blogwhoring.

 
Herr Doktor Bimler
 

In all fairness, we should admit that “defeat in Vietnam” does sound better in the original French.

 
 

Man, I knew I should’ve brought out the Star Wars Holiday Special…

 
 

Fuck, now “Surrender” is stuck in my head. For this, you will pay.

 
 

‘So “your workâ€? consists of recycled French jokes from 2002? No wonder you’re blogwhoring.’

Not my work. My fun! But recycled from 2002? My dear Jade, that is a joke recycled from 1940. Still funny if you add tiny twists (such as ‘white stars on a white background’, or containing the entire spectrum of colors that give up).

Here’s another oldy but a goody. Do you know what Isaac Newton said when the apple fell on his head? “Ouch! Damnit, there oughta be a law!” Three hundred years old, yet still funny! Some jokes are just timeless.

I resent you calling me a blogwhore though. ‘blog’ is such a nasty word.

 
 

Has anyone used lil’ markie yet? If thats not already in the dustbin, perhaps a sneak attack is in order-

 
 

Dear Fellow Internets Bloggers:

I know, deep down, that I am a vile beast of a human. Fortunately, I fit in rather well at the RNC, but I digress. What I really wanted to say is that watching those Rick Wakeman videos are a perfect demonstration of why there will always be a need for people like Herr Rove and I.

Regards,

Reinhard

 
 

Let’s see vat’s shaking in ze fatherland!

 
 

Dammit, screwy youtube link- copy and paste and enjoy ze snappy tunes and peppy music!



 
 

Oh no! Even hippies are getting wise! I smell trouble for the appeasement loving left. Sadly, No can surrender if it wants, but even many liberals aren’t completely willing to accept defeat. I bet that a few of you were actually happy that islamofascism was defeated in Somalia today. Don’t worry, you won’t have to hear about the deaths of innocent people that were required to accomplish this goal. America or Israel didn’t kill them, so who cares? Not the liberals at the NYT, LAT or MSNBC for sure. Only America and Israel are not allowed to fight the bad guys. For any other country, it’s open season.

 
 

Hey, Kevin, stop tossing my arguments around like they grow on trees or something. Keep it up and we’re gonna run out of them entirely. And where will that leave Rush and O’Reilly? Did you ever think about them?.

 
 

“Not the liberals at the NYT”

hahahahahahaha you think the New York Times has liberals hahahahahaha

Just because they like limousines and lattes doesn’t mean they’re LIBERAL ELITISTS, bro.

 
 

“Just because they like limousines and lattes doesn’t mean they’re LIBERAL ELITISTS, bro.”
Yeah, it pretty much does. Kruggman and Dowd are the poster children for liberalism. They just don’t know any better. People who are born rich tend to be liberal because they don’t understand things like working to make money, or what truly makes a poor person poor. And of course lawyers love liberalism, because they like the way liberals make laws to help them get rich without working too hard. It’s freaky to here them speak as if they are more obviously intelligent than you, because their daddy is rich. Or to see people lap up actor’s words because they can lie well onstage. Or to think people who can’t even spell, like Barbara Streissand’s words mean anything simply because she has a pretty good voice. Or to hear John Edwards talk about his concern for the poor, after making $50 million off of their plight. These are some of the many reasons that it’s tough to even open a dialogue with liberals.

The majority of the paucity of conservative rich tend to be self made men. This cannot be said of rich liberals. There is a reason, but unfortunately, you have to learn it on your own. If someone tells you why, you will not accept the idea to continue living in denial. But work hard, and you will learn the reason for conservatism, or at least libertarianism. And once you do, don’t leave your money to your children. It seems like a nice thing to do, but it will force them into a world of vaccuous liberalism. That’s no way to live.

 
 

“The majority of the paucity of conservative rich tend to be self made men. “

Is that Right?

I got Three words for you brainiac…

George Fucking Bush

 
 

Kevin–parody troll, or nicely rotted, maggoty actual troll-meat?

Discuss.

Or not…

 
 

“The majority of the paucity of conservative rich tend to be self made men. “
Is that Right?I got Three words for you brainiac…
George Fucking Bush

Don’t you know what ‘majority’ means?

 
 

“…paucity of conservative rich…”

LOL

Are you actually attempting to suggest that the majority of rich people are Liberal?!? (Jeez I wish I could figure out that interrobang)

oh, that’s good.

But it’s not all bad news fer ya Kev. You’re right in that George W, by his own cowpoke self, does not negate your statement.

He is, however, all too representative of the conservative rich. Born on third base and convinced they hit a triple.

 
 

Oh, the chewy irony.

It’s freaky to here them speak… Or to think people who can’t even spell,

 
Smiling Mortician
 

The only person I ever deliberately made cry in public in my entire life was an obnoxious douchebag named Greg Something in seventh grade who liked to pontificate about things he knew nothing about, primarily by spewing the same bullshit his Nixon-loving father jawed about incessantly, open-mouthed, at the dinner table. He parroted Daddy’s baseless crap asserting, among other things, that movie stars are born rich (?!) and that’s why they’re liberal — never realizing that actors, like most artists, tend to be liberal because being educated in the arts makes people empathize with their fellow humans. And that most actors, like most artists, are not rich.

Anyway, I made Greg cry one day because he really, really needed it. Can’t imagine what made me think of that just now.

 
 

The majority of the paucity of conservative rich tend to be self made men. This cannot be said of rich liberals.

Dipshit, you mention John Edwards and Barbara Streisand 2 seconds after this. They weren’t born wealthy. Stop pulling “facts” out of your zitty ass.

 
Herr Doktor Bimler
 

If I may interrupt the incivility for a moment —
Kevin, your unsupported claims about the privileged backgrounds of the sort of people who hold liberal views — assuming for the moment that your claims were correct, do you really see these as being relevant in any way to the accuracy of those views? Do you really expect that someone will read your comment and think “OMFG, I see now that I only ever supported liberal social policies because my parents were successful… Kevin, you have opened my eyes… I henceforth renounce my elitist background, and resolve to vote conservative”…?

I can also ask non-rhetorical questions, but they cost more.

 
 

Not my work. My fun! But recycled from 2002? My dear Jade, that is a joke recycled from 1940. Still funny

1940? Interesting… Are you a Nazi sympathiser? Looks that way.

 
 

“Kevin–parody troll, or nicely rotted, maggoty actual troll-meat?”

Dumb meat…

 
 

This video sounds like my New Year’s Eve party location. Which will soon be a smoking hole in the ground, if they Democrats have their way.

heehee

 
 

BEGIN DIATRIBE (looooong diatribe. Don’t read it if you have a closed mind)

Tc Said, “Are you actually attempting to suggest that the majority of rich people are Liberal?!?”

No, I would never suggest such a thing! Liberal media has worked hard to make this idea counter-intuitive, so I’m going to have to prove it. If you are not satisfied with data that shows that the craziest liberals in Congress are also strangely the richest, maybe you could check the data? It’s old (2003), because the media tries to keep this a secret (my guess only. Data like this would be broadcast every day of every year if conservatives were in fact the rich fat-cats). Or, you could look at overall statistics that show that liberals (even when combined with those poor souls who have no job yet ignorantly vote Democractic) make more money per capita than conservatives. Statistics here, but you have to buy the book :(. In the interest of knowlege, I strongly suggest you buy it. An open mind will be amazed.

Yes, liberals care, but only in a ‘you should do more to help the poor’ way. Not in a ‘I should do more’ kind of way. When it comes to personal income, it’s best to hide it, if you are a liberal. THAT money they keep for themselves… but they DO care. Trust ’em. IMO, you can continue trusting them if you want, but I won’t be in your ranks. I’m not a fan of liberals, but I am an avid hater of rich liberals. I am unable to understand how you buy into their rhetoric.

It appears so easy to lie to your side with some touchy-feely statement of BS. “We have to raise taxes to help the poor” says another poster boy for the left, George Soros. But he conveniently hides his money in the Cayman Islands, so he won’t have to pay those taxes he promotes. Yes, like most liberals, he wants other people to contribute their money while he hides his own. He is the classic neo-liberal. The ‘peace at every cost’ spokesman. The fact that you guys don’t shun him at every chance is confusing. Perhaps you just want his money? Hope not, because that is scumbaggery at it’s scumbaggednest.

Jade said:
“Are you a Nazi sympathiser? ”

Yes, yes, yes! In the sense that I sympathise with those who are ashamed that we didn’t end Naziism in 1935-1938. By us (i.e. every western power) not doing that, we made sure that 10’s of millions would die. I sympathise will all who died because we sucked so badly when naziism appeared. I sympathize with all of the western world who want to stop the crap going on in Darfur, while we as a civilization are willing to ignore their deaths, and not lift a finger. Guess what? I’m ok with unilateralism there! Are you?

Mr. Doctor said:
“your unsupported claims about the privileged backgrounds of the sort of people who hold liberal views — assuming for the moment that your claims were correct, do you really see these as being relevant in any way to the accuracy of those views?”

I have supported my claims now, though no doubt you knew the truth already. But your question is excellent on so many levels (I’m horribly sarcastic, but in this case I mean it). To answer your question that I quoted, “Sadly, I don’t know”. Does the fact that because Barbara Streissand is largely uneducated mean that her opinions should be subect? It seems like they should, much like (strawman warning!) an ape’s opinion should be questioned because it doesn’t know any better. She’s certainly (ad hominem warning!) not an inteligent person. But in the end, it’s not enough to convict her ideas to be the garbage that they are, simply because she’s not one of our great minds. It’s a question you have to ask yourself often. “Does Susan Sarandon’s opinion matter to me, since she is an actress?” “Does Natalie Maines speak for me, since she sings with a pretty voice?”

I used those as examples, but you can extrapolate mr. doctor. To answer the rest of your question, paraphrased as “can speaking truth to idiocy make a difference?” I have to say that yes, it can. I myself am a case in point. Long I had thought that Bush would end illegal immigration, forcing companies to pay realistic wages to it’s employees. Time and talk has shown me that I was wrong. Bush seems to not give a sh*t about poor Americans. He’s not conservative, he’s Republican. I’ve no respect for him anymore, and less for his Dad. So yes, I think someone may say ‘Kevin, you have opened my eyes… I henceforth renounce my elitist background, and resolve to vote conservative’.

We can all learn the truth Doc. I learned that Bush isn’t a conservative. I don’t support him. Can you learn not to support actors and actresses because they make just about the same amount of sense?

In my opinion, your answer will be, “Sadly, No!”

 
 

I, like most liberals, do not give a fuck about what some actor thinks. If they agree with me, that’s nice. If they don’t, it doesn’t matter a damn. I hate Barbra Streisand. I still watch Arnie and Bruce Willis movies. Amazing, isn’t it? Don’t think about it too much — it’ll blow your mind.

In the sense that I sympathise with those who are ashamed that we didn’t end Naziism in 1935-1938.

Really? In that case, you’d better stop snickering about the fact that France got occupied.

People who are born rich tend to be liberal because they don’t understand things like working to make money, or what truly makes a poor person poor. And of course lawyers love liberalism, because they like the way liberals make laws to help them get rich without working too hard.

People who are born rich tend to be conservative because they don’t understand how important the safety net is, and that social mobility would be much more difficult without it. And of course trust fund babies love conservatism, because they like the way conservatives make laws that help them inherit money without working at all. There — just as plausible as your version, and with exactly the same standard of proof.

Half the country is left of center. Pretty big elite, huh?

 
 

You realize, of course, that by surrendering you now have shown the blogoverse that you CAN be beaten! Now you will be fighting them here instead of there…or there instead of…oh, hell, just click the link.

http://marceau.blogspot.com/2007/01/youtube-rocks.html

 
Herr Doktor Bimler
 

Whoa, Kevin, your argument turns at the end into a wild goose chase. Or another kettle of red herrings, or something like that. Let’s not get side-tracked into who agrees or disagrees with actors and actresses. I would be surprised if many readers of S,N were talked into their views on abortion or the minimum wage or whathaveyou, simply by listening to the cogent reasoning of Barbra Streisend. They may have been convinced by particularly witty lines from the Simpsons, of course.

Here and in your comments on previous threads, you have been suggesting that the Sadly,Nocracy tend to hold liberal views because of their own sheltered, elite backgrounds (nothing to do with the sheltered backgrounds of politicians, or of the Hollywood illiterati). We can afford to offer condescending, impractical solutions for the problems of the poor, because we have never experienced those problems ourselves.

So I could look back nostalgically to my earlier incarnation as a printer… would that convince you of my blue-collar credentials? That would involve long paeans of praise to the elegant beauty of Heidelberg sheet-fed presses. For sure, offset printing has its place in the modern world, but I will always prefer the mechanics of letterpress. The amount of brain-rotting organic solvents we were inhaling in those days doesn’t bear thinking about. One smell of methyl-ethyl-ketone brings the memories flooding back; printers don’t need no poncey Proustian madeleines. But I digress.

Anyway… that whole privileged-background-vs.-authentic-experience approach reminds me of the Maoists I used to know, who would dismiss arguments they didn’t like, by saying that the unwelcome arguer was merely a mouthpiece for his or her class consciousness.

I’m not saying that anyone here is going to change their minds if you come up with the right counter-argument, but stranger things have happened.

 
 

Tc Said, “Are you actually attempting to suggest that the majority of rich people are Liberal?!?�

No, I would never suggest such a thing! Liberal media has worked hard to make this idea counter-intuitive, so I’m going to have to prove it. If you are not satisfied with data that shows that the craziest liberals in Congress are also strangely the richest, maybe you could check the data?

Do you have some standard for measuring “crazy liberalism”? Is there likewise a metric for “sane liberalism”? And even if you did, how does the liberalism or illiberalism of Congresspeople relate to your claim that the majority of rich people are liberal? The entire House of Representatives and Senate is 535 people (plus one non-voting Puerto Rican representative). How does that constitute a majority of the wealthy, unless wealth is way more concentrated in America than anyone, even the most left-wing critics of capitalism, claims?

In short, you’ve proven nothing because your evidence is simply not relevant to your claim.

 
 

If you are not satisfied with data that shows that the craziest liberals in Congress are also strangely the richest, maybe you could check the data?

The data being: 40 millionaires among them — 22 Republicans and 18 Democrats? Oh, sure, the handful of the richest are Democrats, but you provide no evidence of insanity. Kerry married the widow of former Pennsylvania Republican senator John Heinz, who was wicked rich(one of the two richest at the time but not obviously insane) so perhaps Kerry’s only crazy like a fox. The people that spring to mind as the “craziest liberals” aren’t on the rich list(survey says Conyers and Kucinich) and the craziest congresscritters sure as hell aren’t on the liberal list(Inhofe, Stevens, Coburn, Cornyn… I could go on, but you get the nutty drift),but are, as you say, strangely rich. In short, not satisfied.

BTW, more up-to-date figures here.

 
 

Jade said:
“I, like most liberals, do not give a fuck about what some actor thinks. If they agree with me, that’s nice. If they don’t, it doesn’t matter a damn. I hate Barbra Streisand.”

It’s ‘Barbara’, but regardless, you have no idea how happy that makes me to hear you say that. I had assumed that this was another koskidz (the ‘z’ is ’cause we won’t bow to theman’s laws of grammar!) type of website. I’m not sure why you expect me to be amazed that you watch smart actor’s movies, because many of them are good actors. I watch hippie actors very often. I just don’t put any weight behind what they say. In Louisiana terms, “they ain’t brilliant, but they are fun to watch.” It’s so important that both sides of the aisle completely ignore everything they say, unless they get a job in politics, like Arnold. At that point you have to take them seriously, because they have slight control on our future.

In the sense that I sympathise with those who are ashamed that we didn’t end Naziism in 1935-1938.

Really? In that case, you’d better stop snickering about the fact that France got occupied.

Au Contraire. France didn’t get occupied, they gave up. I sympathise with Poland who put up a good fight after France and England abandoned them. I have sympathy for the civilians in France who were let down by their government. I have little sympathy for the government that talked sh*t and ran way during the invasion. I have sympathy for FDR who knew this evil b*st@rd was coming, but could not convince liberal America to nip it in the bud. I even have sympathy for those Americans who could not believe that Hitler was a very evil person back then. There is no ‘snickering’ here. I’m just not willing to believe that France will protect us… from anything. We all know they suck, so let’s let them get on with their lives and not enter world politics. Fair enough?

I’ve no sympathy at all for people today who don’t understand that islamofascism is trying to destroy the world. You hear it from al-Sadr’s mouth. You hear it from Ahmedinijihad’s mouth, you hear if from al-qaeda, the taliban, palestine, imams in Egypt, Saudia Arabia, Yemen. And yet you CHOOSE to believe it is bravado. Let me tell you, you chose wrong.

People who are born rich tend to be conservative because they don’t understand how important the safety net is, and that social mobility would be much more difficult without it. And of course trust fund babies love conservatism, because they like the way conservatives make laws that help them inherit money without working at all. There — just as plausible as your version, and with exactly the same standard of proof

Yes, tell that to the Kennedy’s, the Boxers, the Kerry’s, Pelosi’s, the Reed’s, the Kohl’s, the Rockerfellers, the Feinsteins, the Grahams… The list is almost endless. And trust-fund babies? Good Lord, they are the most liberal of all! Look at the poster child for trust-fund babies… Paris Hilton. Oh yeah, she’s smart, and chooses to be a Democrat! Smart people like Paris Hilton ALWAYS choose to be Democrats.

*sigh* I’ll reply to the rest of you tomorrow. I have to take out the garbage and do the dishes now. I blame liberals.

 
 

It’s ‘Barbara’

Jesus, for someone whose URI is Google, you’re sure wrong about a lot of shit. Kohl born rich? Google when he was born and when the first Kohl’s opened. The rest may have been born into wealth or may not have: Pelosi seems to have married wealth(as does Kerry-not including his formerly Republican wife’s Republican Heinz family wealth knocks him WAY down the list, and he did sign a pre-nup, you know), Graham’s not even in office anymore but doesn’t seem to have been born into great wealth, in fact his father worked his way up from poverty, a real American success story, and I can’t see Reed on any rich list. So that’s, what, four left out of your original nine? So if we look at the folks who inherited the most wealth support, let’s see… Du Ponts, Waltons? Republicans. The Rockefellers are mixed, can’t tell about the Upjohns, but the company gives Republican, Kochs give Republican, Mars and Getty lean Republican though Getty seems remarkably even-handed, I could go on, but hell, the figurehead of your movement is a trust fund baby, “born with a silver foot in his mouth,” and he’s at least as “smart” as Paris(Democrat? I doubt she’s anything) You might just be wrong about pretty nearly everything. Probably that’s the fault of liberals, too.

 
 

Hmm, perhaps I misspoke, tigress. When I say ‘Born into wealth’, I mean ‘made wealthy through no fault of their own’, or ‘wealthy because someone else earned their money’. My mistake for assuming the phrase meant the same thing to everyone, since, grammatically, it doesn’t. The list of inherited wealthy in America is insanely long, so a list of five or ten rich families will teach us nothing. I was limiting the discussion of our 500+ main politicians as a microcosm of our insanely rich.

You are mistaken on all political accounts though, at least from my perspective. The Rockerfellers are not a mixed bag. They are to a person liberal, though some are Republican (like Bush Sr is liberal though Republican) . Before Kohl was 18, he was rich, through no effort of his own. Pelosi and Kerry were born rich, and both married into ridiculous wealth. Graham and Reed had very hard working parents who were not born rich… but they aren’t part of the problem I’m discussing. Their kids are, and they were given wealth. Taking them off the list would be a mistake.

With the exception of Edwards, who made his money taking percentages from the poor (class action lawsuits don’t make the downtrodden rich, they make lawyers rich), and maybe a few others I don’t know about, the richest Democrats in politics were somehow given their wealth without earning it. This is true on the right too, with Bush as a notable example, but it is a magnitude more rare.

Mister Doctor (who also calls Barbara Streisand ‘Barbra’. Geez, why do you coddle these people? Do you also call John Stewart ‘Jon’? You’re not helping them.)said:

Here and in your comments on previous threads, you have been suggesting that the Sadly,Nocracy tend to hold liberal views because of their own sheltered, elite backgrounds (nothing to do with the sheltered backgrounds of politicians, or of the Hollywood illiterati). We can afford to offer condescending, impractical solutions for the problems of the poor, because we have never experienced those problems ourselves.

Ok, so Mr. Doctor gets me, kinda. More below.

So I could look back nostalgically to my earlier incarnation as a printer… would that convince you of my blue-collar credentials? That would involve long paeans of praise to the elegant beauty of Heidelberg sheet-fed presses. For sure, offset printing has its place in the modern world, but I will always prefer the mechanics of letterpress. The amount of brain-rotting organic solvents we were inhaling in those days doesn’t bear thinking about. One smell of methyl-ethyl-ketone brings the memories flooding back; printers don’t need no poncey Proustian madeleines. But I digress.

You had me until the end. Blue collar workers don’t discuss Proust. After all, he’s French. And there’s something else about him that’s significant, but I can’t put my finger on it. MEK does smell good though!

Heh, just kidding. I’ve no doubt you, like many others on the left have worked your way into wealthy/well-off positions, and I salute you. You have reasons for being liberal that we haven’t discussed Being born with a silver spoon in your mouth is not the only way to become a liberal, it’s just one of the ways that is all but guaranteed to do so.

But when you say that I “…dismiss arguments [I don’t] like, by saying that the unwelcome arguer was merely a mouthpiece for his or her class consciousness”, I have to disagree with you. I don’t dismiss flawed arguments because of where they come from, Mr. Doctor. I discuss and then dismiss them on their merits, and then try to explain why the person believes the argument in the first place. The first discussion[1] is about the argument. The seond one[2] should be about how the argument came about. Both are worthy of discussion, right? Here’s a great, yet made up example!

Person A: “I hate black people because they are idiots!”

[1] This is an absurd statement, since black people are no different than people of any other skin tone. What kind of fool would say such a thing? After doing some digging, it turns out that [2] David Duke’s kid is person A. Is [2] important? I think it is. We aren’t always offered the opportunity to do this type of analysis, but it seems to me that when we can, we should.

I hope you do the same, and two commenter’s disdain for Babs fills me with hope. After you realize that her arguments are weak (if there is an argument at all. Usually it’s just name-calling), it’s important to realize that she’s kind of an idiot, so her views don’t come to exemplify your party’s views. We had to do that with crazies like David Duke, and still have work to do on that front with Pat Robertson, Pat Buchanan and that guy from the Moral Majority. Your list is… much longer.

Man, you guys force me off on tangents here. All I wanted to say was check out this hippie video (It’s not really hippies, but I’d hoped that word would entice you to watch it) and mention that Gavin stole my photo (he did steal the photo, but he stole it from the same guy I stole it from… I was hoping someone would notice that), and suddenly we are talking about silver spoons and Proust!

Still, I’d like to emphasize the fact that I believe you guys think clearly, and that’s no small compliment. If tigress can lose the hate, she’ll be an intellectual force to reckon with. Doc already is, and I applaud you.

Sadly for both of you, it’s going to force you to become conservatives! Come over to the dark side Doctor and tigress!

Good Lord, I type too much.

 
 

Tristram said:

Do you have some standard for measuring “crazy liberalism�? Is there likewise a metric for “sane liberalism�?

Do I have a metric for the craziness of liberalism? Sadly, No. I can merely offer examples. Cindy Sheehan: crazy. FDR: Not Crazy. The E.R. guy: crazy. JFK: not crazy. JFK’s relatives: crazy. Truman: not crazy. Any liberal who want peace at any cost: crazy. Frank Warner, not crazy (though I disagree with him vehemtnly on most things). I’m unable to put into words the definition of crazy vs. sane liberalism. Maybe, sane liberalism is filled with great ideas that just don’t work, and insane liberalism is filled with ideas that obviously won’t work. I’m not sure that’s accurate, since even communism sounds great on paper. Crazy liberal ideas usually don’t even look good when written down.

…how does the liberalism or illiberalism of Congresspeople[sic] relate to your claim that the majority of rich people are liberal? The entire House of Representatives and Senate is 535 people (plus one non-voting Puerto Rican representative). How does that constitute a majority of the wealthy, unless wealth is way more concentrated in America than anyone, even the most left-wing critics of capitalism, claims?

There are more non-voting Congressmen than that, but interesting question. What does ‘ Representative’ mean to you? To me, it means they are representative of myself. My feelings, my beliefs and my opinions. These are the wealthy people that WE chose to send to congress to represent us. The fact that WE chose these people should tell us something. It tells me something. It doesn’t speak to you?

 
 

Au Contraire. France didn’t get occupied, they gave up.

WTF?

I sympathise with Poland who put up a good fight after France and England abandoned them.

WTF???
Care to opine on Hungary?

You had me until the end. Blue collar workers don’t discuss Proust. After all, he’s French. And there’s something else about him that’s significant, but I can’t put my finger on it.

I am a gay man. I am a blue-collar worker. I have read Proust.

Go fuck yourself.

I hope you do the same, and two commenter’s disdain for Babs fills me with hope. After you realize that her arguments are weak (blah blah blah)

WTF??????????

Barbra Streisand is some elderly, has-been singer or other who sometimes lends her name to political causes. YOU LOT ARE THE ONES WHO OBSESS ABOUT HER.

I don’t know why, but my guess is that it’s because you have no self-awareness, no judgment, and no perspective whatsoever.

On the grounds that you think that 50% is an elite.

 
 

I can’t explain TF jade 🙁

I do not care to opine on Hungary, other than to say that hungarians rock, and always have.

“I am a gay man. I am a blue-collar worker. I have read Proust. Go fuck yourself.”

I’m glad that you are a happy blue collar person who’s read Proust. You may stand be the solitary member in that club, except for the other flagrantly happy men. They pretty much dig him. Can I go **** myself? Sadly, No. I can offer some advice though. If you learn to use regular English words and refrain from cursing, people will think more highly of you. Just a FYI.

Barbra[sic] Streisand is some elderly, has-been singer or other who sometimes lends her name to political causes. YOU LOT ARE THE ONES WHO OBSESS ABOUT HER.

Again, you make me happy that you realize she’s an idiot. But much like it is our duty as conservatives to discredit idiots like David Duke, it is your job to discredit Babs, lest you be seen as a supporter of her craziness. Just a head’s up, but you should probably distance yourselves from Michael Moore, Cindy Sheehan, Rosie O’Donnel [probable sic], Maureen Dowd, Pol Pot, Paul Krugmann, Jesse Jackson, PETA, every fool that misunderstands the cause of global warming, Mao, Harry Reid, Karl Marx, etc. The world does not suffer fools for long.

Jade continues:

I don’t know why, but my guess is that it’s because you have no self-awareness, no judgment, and no perspective whatsoever.

How can a speaker be not self-aware? No judgement or perspective? Geez, I’m judging you as we speak! Being that this statement makes no sense, I’m forced to say…OMG, we agree! I don’t know why you think that either! What great fun it is to agree, huh?

When you say, “On the grounds that you think that 50% is an elite”, I’m forced to say, “huh?” I thought my inability to comprehend this sentence was because of your own inability to use paragraphs, but even if I make it part of the last paragraph, it makes no sense. I live in Louisiana though, so liberalism will force you to say, “Oh. Well, that’s understandable then. He just doesn’t know the facts” or something. Liberals crack me up.

Lastly, Jade is a girl’s name. It’s not designed for excessively happy men. If you are indeed flamboyantly happy, you should change your name to ‘sexual jade’, or ‘rock hard jade’, or even ‘the male jade who likes other men’. Perhaps ‘manlike-jade’? It’s just not right to mislead people.

 
 

IGNORE THE REST OF MY COMMENTS IF YOU LIKE, BUT PLEASE READ THIS ONE.

It would be interesting (to me at least) to compare the beliefs of the traditional conservative/libertarianism to liberalism/socialism. Could you guys convince Gavin to host such a study? He’s pretty evil, so I’d bet it would be hard. I suspect, as do most clear thinkers, that we all want the same thing, but we disagree on how to accomplish this.

Sadly [No!], I would not be able to participate until next weekend, but if it’s not a UN style hatefest, I’ll bet we agree on more than we disagree.

 
 

I do not care to opine on Hungary, other than to say that hungarians rock, and always have.

Okay, you are exactly as pig-ignorant as I suspected and I am afraid I have no further interest in anything you have to say.

Look up “Horthy” in the encyclopedia, take two aspirin and go to bed. And sorry for cursing at you. A dollar in the swear-box.

 
 

When I say ‘Born into wealth’, I mean… You are mistaken on all political accounts though, at least from my perspective

Well, Kevvinn, you did misspeak, and now you are moving the goalposts, and yet you still present NO evidence that the majority of unearned wealth is liberal, nor why that would discount liberal ideas even if it were true.

. The list of inherited wealthy in America is insanely long, so a list of five or ten rich families will teach us nothing. I was limiting the discussion of our 500+ main politicians as a microcosm of our insanely rich.

Which is why you brought up noted liberal political figure Paris Hilton? Look, YOU said the richest of those with unearned wealth were liberals, while a quick perusal of the topmost families in the Forbes list shows that more of the wealthy inheritors give predominantly to the Republican party, Republican individuals and conservative causes. I’m sorry if that teaches nothing to you, but as it refutes your statement I think it should. Of course, as the original question you were attempting to answer was “Are you actually attempting to suggest that the majority of rich people are Liberal?” limiting the discussion NOW to “500+ main politicians” (while ignoring that your own link showed that the majority of millionaires in Congress were Republicans) is a teensy weensy bit disingenuous, isn’t it?

BTW, I find your counsel to me to “lose the hate” pretty funny considering that just about every post you made from your first on (on a jokey YouTube video war thread, for Christ’s sake) was sneering and hostile. But you keep on thinking I’ll come to my senses and become a conservative. Back when I was one I might’ve told someone the same sort of thing. I blame liberalism.

hugs and kisses,
tig

 
 

I take it you didn’t bother to lose the hate, huh tigress :). You don’t like all Hungarians because of a single one of them? Man, you must hate quite alot of people! “But you keep on thinking I’ll come to my senses and become a conservative.” I was wrong. You contain way too much hatred to ever become conservative :(. I mistakenly thought you might be able to let it go. I blame liberalism too. I suspect you are destined to remain a liberal and say things like “This is not fair! What about the[insert ridiculous minority here, i.e. gay-homophobic-Swedes]? Doesn’t anybody else care?

The list of inherited wealthy in America is insanely long, so a list of five or ten rich families will teach us nothing. I was limiting the discussion of our 500+ main politicians as a microcosm of our insanely rich.

Which is why you brought up noted liberal political figure Paris Hilton?

No, I brought her up for an entirely different reason. Remember, we were discussing Hollywood and the music industry? Try and keep up with us please, miss tigress. And contrary to your previously stated views, she is indeed a Democrat. When asked her views on the Democratic party, she opined, “that’s hot.”

Thanks for the hugs and kisses tigress! Once they are through my de-hatification machine, I look forward to receiving them!

 
 

Oh, Kephin, though I don’t care for your attitude, I don’t hate you. I’m just being condescending to you because, well, sauce for the goose and all. Interesting that you perceive it as hate only when you’re on the receiving end, isn’t it? BTW, the Hungarian statement wasn’t mine, though, so try to keep up, please.

Oh, Paris wasn’t even registered to vote as of 2004, nor did she vote in the 2004 election, so I’m guessing she’s nothing, no matter how hot she thinks anything is. I found that via your website while searching unsuccessfully for proof that she finds any party where she doesn’t end up passed out naked “hot.”

No, I brought her up for an entirely different reason. Remember, we were discussing Hollywood and the music industry?

Silly me, I seem to recall the whole thing came up because you claimed “People who are born rich tend to be liberal because they don’t understand things like working to make money” and “The majority of the paucity of conservative rich tend to be self made men. This cannot be said of rich liberals,” and you brought up self-made Streisand and later apparently apolitical Hilton as examples proving your wacky assertions. They don’t prove it anecdotally, nor do the links you provided prove it factually, but you keep swinging, slugger.

Warmest regards,
tig

 
 

Mmm… goose sauce.

Tigress mentioned (with a rowrl!, I might add)

the Hungarian statement wasn’t mine, though, so try to keep up, please.

I shall attempt. But I’m just a hick from Louisiana. Can’t you give me a break? Like the islamofascists you are trying so hard to ‘understand’, we hicks just don’t know any better. You are being way to hard on me because of my racial background. Yes, I’m crying racism. You pick the race, and I’ll cry opression. Or perhaps I’m gay. Or better yet, a woman, trying to raise children on my own, without help from anyone, except of course the government. They owe me… or something. No, I’m part of the bow-tie wearing coalition, and you are discriminating against me because of my bow-tie wearingness! Whatever. You pick the ridiculous minority that I’m part of, and I’ll say you are discriminating against me because of it. Fair enough?

Oh, Paris wasn’t even registered to vote as of 2004, nor did she vote in the 2004 election, so I’m guessing she’s nothing…

You are a bad guesser. She’s Democratic through and through, because, and I quote, “that’s hot.” Still, it is refreshing to hear liberals distance themselves from the crazy elements of their constituency, much like we have to do with our craziest of supporters. Perusing Kos led me to believe that you guys embraced them (Ned Lamont… Good Lord!).

Silly me, I seem to recall the whole thing came up because you claimed “People who are born rich tend to be liberal because they don’t understand things like working to make money� and “The majority of the paucity of conservative rich tend to be self made men. This cannot be said of rich liberals,�

I still claim this thing. I’m guessing you didn’t buy the book I linked showing you who cares about our poorest citizens? I recommend you don’t, since it will be disheartening. Or maybe you should, since it might help to bring you over to the dark side!

…you brought up self-made Streisand and later apparently apolitical Hilton as examples proving your wacky assertions. They don’t prove it anecdotally, nor do the links you provided prove it factually, but you keep swinging, slugger.

I brought them up as examples of the liberal elite who just don’t understand reality, not as examples of the uber-rich who inherited there wealth (even though half of those two did). We can play ‘he said she said’ all week if you want, but the fact of the matter is that the richest people in politics are Democrats, and in terms of total wealth, Democratic polititicians own. Democrat politicians are MUCH more wealthy than their Republican counterparts, yet they tell you that Republicans are just trying to get their friends rich. Doesn’t that strike you as odd? Again, I should say that most Republican politicians are self made men, and most Democrats aren’t. Is there a rational explanation for this, other than the rich Democrats are taking advantage of you, filling you with anger at the fall guy (Conservatives) so they can continue to get richer? It’s like a macrocosmic union for Christ’s sake. I’m shaken that you buy into it.

Yet your disdain for Babs and Paris fills me with hope. There may be a future for us yet. So I’m shaken, yet stirred.

Kevin. Mr. Kevin.

 
Herr Doktor Bimler
 

Kevin,
What with wild goose chases, and sauce for the gander, there seems to be a poultry theme emerging here.
Yet your disdain for Babs and Paris fills me with hope. There may be a future for us yet.
We’re not quite at the Group Hug stage yet, but getting there.

I’ve no sympathy at all for people today who don’t understand that islamofascism is trying to destroy the world.

Now there, I suspect, is where you will find most difficulty in convincing the average Sadly,No readers to change their minds. There is the problem, first of all, with the word ‘islamofascism’, which most of us on this end of the spectrum try to avoid, on account of the way it lends itself to circular reasoning. And the implication that there is much of a connection between “crazy islamic extremist bastards” and ‘fascists’, this being something I disagree with, apart from “crazy islamic extremist bastards” and ‘fascists’ both being evil scumbags.

Now if you are using ‘islamofascism’ in the technical sense of “crazy islamic extremist trying to overcome Western civilisation”, then your statement is true, but in a circular-argument sort of way. We are more interested in the question of whether crazy islamic extremists are in a position to overcome Western civilisation. And I’m more worried about meteor strikes and dangling italic tags.

But no doubt the question will arise in future comment threads, so we will have further opportunities to be incivil about it.

 
 

You pick the ridiculous minority that I’m part of, and I’ll say you are discriminating against me because of it. Fair enough?

Conservative? Seems to be a minority, and a rapidly shrinking one. Weep and gnash those teeth!

You are a bad guesser. She’s Democratic through and through, because, and I quote, “that’s hot.�

And still no proof. Look, Cevin, I’ll explain something for you, because you’re just a Conservative and we all know what you people are like 😉 : just cuz you say it doesn’t make it true or mean that anyone’s going to believe it. Of course I should also point out that I’m just arguing this for shits and giggles; if some of the proponents of a political belief system happen to be unintelligent or wealthy, it says nothing about the system itself. This is even true of Conservatism, so I wouldn’t hold you, for example, against it as a belief system but would rather judge its ideas on their own merits.

again, I should say that most Republican politicians are self made men, and most Democrats aren’t. Is there a rational explanation for this

Yes, there is. You are wrong. Otherwise PROVE that “most Republican politicians are self made men and most Democrats aren’t.” I will accept as proof a survey of the wealth and the means by which they made it of the entire Congress and the top members of the Bush administration, at least to the cabinet-rank officials. Or you may post your standard of proof, and if I agree to it and you meet it we will then consider the matter proven. Then you can show how it would have some sort of deleterious effect on the validity of Liberalism instead of just being ad hominem. So, have at it!

And no, I didn’t buy your linked book, because any author who claims that he can tell Conservatives are the “real” compassionate folks because married folks, religious folks, and the employed give more (or, based on an interview in which he discussed his research methods, say they give more when surveyed…) is not someone to be taken seriously, unless he also proves that being married, going to church or temple or whatnot, and having jobs are inherently politically Conservative traits that Liberals lack. I know you think that’s the case, but an open mind will find otherwise-you can use your marvelous site to look up all sorts of things like divorce rates, illegitimacy rates, unemployment rates, poverty and welfare rates, among other things. Some of your findings may fit your preconceptions, some will not. As a lagniappe, here is some evidence that blue staters may not be as stingy as you’d hoped.

Your sister in $religious_figure,
tig

 
 

[…] I almost hesitate to look at Sadly, No these days for fear of what those strangely lovable little scamps have been up to now but it seems to be safe at the moment after Atrios’ valiant bombardment of their lair with the bunker-busting Rick Wakeman On Ice. However, they are not dead, they are merely sleeping. Beware. But…. hmmm, I wonder if now, while their powers are weak, might not be a good time to taunt them with two-faced kittens ? […]

 
 

I would love to hear more about this topic.

 
 

(comments are closed)