Friday Hindenfreude Annex
I went back to Powerline musing on whether I’d been unfair to poor old Hinderaker. Perhaps he’s genuinely as dull as a wad of Play Doh, and his stupidity. . .you know, only coincidentally reaches a crescendo every time he finds himself in a rhetorical cul-de-sac, as it were. Perhaps it’s brought on by emotional stress, as with The Hulk.
[insert graphic of Hinderaker wearing nothing but purple shorts]
Actually, let’s skip that graphic.
[…]
“The majority of Sen. Levin’s and Rep. Hoyer’s constituents, along with a majority of the country, and a majority of Democrats in Congress want a quick and responsible end to the occupation in Iraq,� said Eli Pariser, the executive director of MoveOn.org Political Action.
“Occupation”? Good grief. MoveOn may turn out to be the Republicans’ best friend, but it certainly isn’t the country’s.
No, see? He’s totally losing control of himself. He’s like, “Good grief,” and the next thing you know, he’s rampaging around all like, “Occupation!? The wacky doctors game? Ooh, those surrender-eating cheese monkeys! Everyone knows that Iraq is a. . . it’s a slow war that happens in the same place all the time. Occupation, my left eye! Well, I never. This helps Republicans. I blame Clinton. Ack, get these bugs off me. Tunafish. Heliotrope.”
Friday vids:
Swell Maps — ‘Let’s Build A Car’ (3:00).
(From the album, Jane From Occupied Slow War That Happens In The Same Place All The Time Europe.)
Bo Diddley — ‘Road Runner’ (1:26).
“Occupation�? Good grief. MoveOn may turn out to be the Republicans’ best friend, but it certainly isn’t the country’s.
That’s so 2004 thinking.
In 2004, if I remember correctly, he had similar reactions to the term, ‘insurgency.’ Reading Hindy is like time travel, in a way. Except the Tardis is stuck in the shape of a port-a-toilet instead of a police box.
Last throes and all that.
I can’t comprehend the insanity. How is calling an occupation an occupation going to supposedly help Republicans, or hurt the country?
Does he say it will take another six months?
Isn’t it required for all wingnuts to say it’ll take another six months to ‘turn the corner” so the “last throes” wil fade and then “stand down as the Iraqis stand up”?
If you take a shit in the (Re)TARDIS, does it goes back in time and plop on a Dalek or something?
I do think (Re)TARDIS is the official vehicle of Powerline, but i could be wrong.
I think it has long been established that the War in Iraq is won or lost with semantics.
“Occupation�?
Continuing help with the chores?
Ongoing cuddling?
Extended visitation?
Custodial playtime?
Vacation a la depleted uranium?
Non-stop imperial partying?
Hmm, he may have a point. Lets think this through. We invaded Iraq with overwhelming military force. Their military resisted our invasion. We fought them, defeating most of their frontline units and captured their capitol. Whereupon we removed their government and disbanded their army, substituting first our own people for leadership and security.
Now, what’s an occupation?
Whoopsie. Y’know, Mr. Rectal Rocket, it appears that once again, you’re not only wrong, you’re – oh, how can I say this? – you’re a fucking idiot…
mikey
I seriously wish my copy of Jane From Occupied Europe came with “Lets Build A Car”
is this a new cd re-issue version?
Yeah, it’s been out for a couple of years. It includes the video.
b : the holding and control of an area by a foreign military force
Maybe the TushieRocket is quibbling with this part of the definition, mikey. I mean, the U.S. isn’t exactly demonstrating a great deal of control in Iraq. And everybody knows that Americans aren’t foreign — everybody else is, silly.
More Bo from the Big TNT Show (1966).
And a Bo update.
[insert graphic of Hinderaker wearing nothing but purple shorts]
A true masterpiece, Gavin. On par with da Vinci’s [ Paste in pic of myself in drag with a curious smile here ] and Kandinsky’s epic [ Insert colorful image of shapes and stuff that kinda looks like a face if you squinch up your eyes a little ].
Un triomphe artistique!11un!11onze1!!!!
Oy, broken tags. WHY DOES MARKUP SYNTAX HATE AMERICA???
athesist, the idea is that MoveOn.org is so crazy that it makes liberals look bad. Kind of like how Fred Phelps makes Christian homobigots looks bad, except not in this case.
athesist, the idea is that MoveOn.org is so crazy that it makes liberals look bad.
I got that part. But what I don’t get is, what does Hinderaker consider bad or crazy about calling the occupation of Iraq an occupation. It seems kinda straightforward to me. Americans are not Iraqis. Many American troops are stationed in Iraq, and Americans have control of the Iraqi government. Therefore, American troops are occupying Iraq. I mean, right?
I love the imagery in “standing down as Iraqis stand up”. It conjures up some magnificent Buster Keaton-esque routine with a long line of sojer boys, sitting and standing in a continuous rippling effect, all carefully calculated according to a complex mathematical formula that turns slapstick comedy into ballet.
Marvellous image, just marvellous. Probably accompanied by a tinkly music hall piano. Confusion amongst the sitters/standers, glances at their neighbours, uncertainty, moustaches, lovely red uniform jackets with gold buttons, cavalry trousers and boots.
Don’t mind me, I’m just indulging in a bit of DIY mental cinema. Carry on.
Jeezus, Qetesh, you triggered a six hundred mic flashback.
Um, wait, it’s a pretty good one…
Never mind, proceed. I’m gonna groove for a minute…
mikey
all carefully calculated according to a complex mathematical formula that turns slapstick comedy into ballet
I reckon Qetesh has been reading a lot of Thomas Pynchon lately. Or watching Triumph of the Will too many times. Just guessing.
It’s not an occupation? What is it? A classic rock comeback tour? A circus? A travel caravan?
Hahahaha, wrong on both counts, Herr Doktor. Just a mathematician who’s on psychoactive drugs.
Mikey, groove away, my man.
G, you made me laugh immoderately.
I love the Swell Maps! I saw them play once, in London in 1998. It was at a memorial for their drummer Epic Soundtracks, who was the singer Nikki Sudden’s brother. A bunch of other people played the show, but the best part was the end, when the three (then) living members of the Swell Maps played together for the first and last time since they’d broken up in, I think, 1982. One of the best rock shows I ever saw.
Totally appropos of nothing, but there was a story on NPR yesterday that did a powerful job of explaining just why the quality of reporting from Iraq is sometimes less than optimal. I listened and was put instantly in mind of the people who think the coverage of the Iraq war reflects some kind of “bias” – and just how profoundly stupid such people are.
Yeah, there are all kinds of minor, little “biases” that go on in any news coverage – mostly because bias is impossible to avoid completely – but the sorts of accusations that get made sometimes are just ridiculous.
listen, if you like.
Qetesh at 2:33 is describing a Jacques Tati movie.
I wish I had that sort of reverie when I think about the USA’s occupation of Iraq.
mikey, as usual, is correct. Hinderaker is a fucking idiot.