>> ^Gabe_b:

>> ^deathcow:
What is the deal with this guy? Why is anyone particularly interested in his escapades? Are these talks somehow linked to his profession?

He's best know (AFAIK) as The Onion AV Club sex columnist.


I think he got his start in Seattle's "The Stranger" newspaper. He's still there and lots of others, too, by now.

>> ^deathcow:

What is the deal with this guy? Why is anyone particularly interested in his escapades? Are these talks somehow linked to his profession?


He's best know (AFAIK) as The Onion AV Club sex columnist.

The left is shocked---SHOCKED I TELLS YA----about any suggestions of media-promoted VIOLENCE!

To wit:


A new low in Bush-hatred

by Jeff Jacoby
The Boston Globe
September 10, 2006

SIX YEARS into the Bush administration, are there any new depths to which the Bush-haters can sink?

George W. Bush has been smeared by the left with every insult imaginable. He has been called a segregationist who yearns to revive Jim Crow and compared ad nauseam to Adolf Hitler. His detractors have accused him of being financially entwined with Osama bin Laden. Of presiding over an American gulag. Of being a latter-day Mussolini. Howard Dean has proffered the "interesting theory" that the Saudis tipped off Bush in advance about 9/11. One US senator (Ted Kennedy) has called the war in Iraq a "fraud" that Bush "cooked up in Texas" for political gain; another (Vermont independent James Jeffords) has charged him with planning a war in Iran as a strategy to put his brother in the White House. Cindy Sheehan has called him a "lying bastard," a "filth spewer," an "evil maniac," a "fuehrer," and a "terrorist" guilty of "blatant genocide" -- and been rewarded for her invective with oceans of media attention.

What's left for them to say about Bush? That they want him killed?

They already say it.

On Air America Radio, talk show host Randi Rhodes recommended doing to Bush what Michael Corleone, in "The Godfather, Part II," does to his brother. "Like Fredo," she said, "somebody ought to take him out fishing and phuw!" -- then she imitated the sound of a gunshot. In the Guardian, a leading British daily, columnist Charlie Brooker issued a plea: "John Wilkes Booth, Lee Harvey Oswald, John Hinckley Jr. -- where are you now that we need you?"

For the more literary Bush-hater, there is "Checkpoint," a novel by Nicholson Baker in which two characters discuss the wisdom of shooting the 43rd president. "I'm going to kill that bastard," one character fumes. Some Bush-hatred masquerades as art: At Chicago's Columbia College, a curated exhibit included a sheet of mock postage stamps bearing the words "Patriot Act" and depicting President Bush with a gun to his head. There are even Bush-assassination fashion statements, such as the "KILL BUSH" T-shirts that were on offer last year at CafePress, an online retailer.

Lurid political libels have a long history in American life. The lies told about John Adams in the campaign of 1800 were vile enough, his wife Abigail lamented, "to ruin and corrupt the minds and morals of the best people in the world." But has there ever been a president so hated by his enemies that they lusted openly for his death? Or tried to gratify that lust with such political pornography?

As with other kinds of porn, even the most graphic expressions of Bush-hatred tend to jade those who gorge on it, so that they crave ever more explicit material to achieve the same effect.

Which brings us to "Death of a President," a new movie about the assassination of George W. Bush.

Written and directed by British filmmaker Gabriel Range, the movie premieres this week at the Toronto Film Festival and will air next month on Britain's Channel 4. Shot in the style of a documentary, it opens with what looks like actual footage of Bush being gunned down by a sniper as he leaves a Chicago hotel in October 2007. Through the use of digital special effects, the film superimposes the president's face onto the body of the actor playing him, so that the mortally wounded man collapsing on the screen will seem, all too vividly, to be Bush himself.

This is Bush-hatred as a snuff film. The fantasies it feeds are grotesque and obscene; to pander to such fantasies is to rip at boundary-markers that are indispensable to civilized society. That such a movie could not only be made but lionized at an international film festival is a mark not of sophistication, but of a sickness in modern life that should alarm conservatives and liberals alike.

Naturally that's not how the film's promoters see it. Noah Cowan, one of the Toronto festival's co-directors, high-mindedly describes "Death of a President" as "a classic cautionary tale." Well, yes, he says, Bush's assassination is "harrowing," but what the film is really about is "how the Patriot Act, especially, and how Bush's divisive partisanship and race-baiting has forever altered America."

I can't help wondering, though, whether some of those who see this film will take away rather a different message. John Hinckley, in his derangement, had the idea that shooting the president was the way to impress a movie star. After seeing "Death of a President," the next Hinckley may be taken with a more grandiose idea: that shooting the president is the way to become a movie star.

I found Ricky to be very funny, witty, topical and on the ball.

I don't know where the negative reports are coming from, they are all over the internet but all I can see is headline-hungry columnists who are jumping on the bandwagon in a smear-campaign.

Yes, Ricky Roasted a bunch of Stars, most of which I saw laughing as he joked.
The example I posted above enforces my point. The column tries to come off as if Philip Berk is upset at the performance but in fact, Phillip seems (to me) to be defending the performance, at least a little bit.

The columnist even leaves a few words out of the quote to make it sound negative, which in fact it wasn't.

I'm not saying someone couldn't be offended, I'm just saying (so far) I haven't found any actual (complete) quotes from the actors themselves condemning Ricky for his sense, or lack of humor.

"Grain of Salt" when the tabloids get involved, I suppose!

Do you realize that you are reinforcing the thesis of this video with these poor examples? >> ^quantumushroom:

How is exposing failed government programs, wasted tax dollars and ignoring the Constitution "violent rhetoric"?
OH THOSE PEACEFUL LEFT-WING LIBERALS.

I want to go up to the closest white person and say: ‘You can’t
understand this, it’s a black thing’ and then slap him, just for my
mental health — New York city councilman Charles Barron

It's good (Michelle Malkin's) in D.C. and I'm in New York. I'd spit on
her if I saw her. -- Geraldo Rivera

I have a good news to report; Glen Beck appears closer to suicide - I'm
hoping that he does it on camera; suicide is rampant in his family, and
given his alcoholism and his tendencies towards self-destruction, I am
only hoping that when Glen Beck does put a gun to his head and pulls
the trigger, that it will be on television, because somebody will capture
it on YouTube and it will be the most popular video for months. -- Mike
Malloy, radio "personality"

"It's about time that we have an intifada in this country that changes
fundamentally the political dynamics in here. And we know every --
They're gonna say some Palestinian being too radical -- well, you
haven't seen radicalism yet." -- U.C. Berkeley Lecturer Hatem Bazian
fires up the crowd at an anti-war rally by calling for an American
intifada

The Iraqis who have risen up against the occupation are not
'insurgents' or 'terrorists' or 'The Enemy.' They are the REVOLUTION,
the Minutemen, and their numbers will grow -- and they will win." -- Michael Moore

In Vietnam, our soldiers came back and they were reviled as baby
killers, in shame and humiliation. It isn’t happening now, but I will tell
you – there has never been an army as violent and murderous as our
army has been in Iraq. -- Seymour Hersh

“I hope his wife feeds him lots of eggs and butter and he dies early like
many black men do, of heart disease.... He is an absolutely
reprehensible person.” -- USA Today columnist and Pacifica Radio talk
show host Julianne Malveaux on Justice Clarence Thomas, Nov. 4, 1994,
on PBS’s “To the Contrary.”
"This administration is waging war on poor children," said "The
reality is that they are steadily and surely trying to turn the clock back
on all of the programs and supports that working families and their
children need and deserve. --Hillary Rodham Clinton

OH THOSE PEACEFUL LEFT-WING LIBERALS.


I want to go up to the closest white person and say: ‘You can’t
understand this, it’s a black thing’ and then slap him, just for my
mental health — New York city councilman Charles Barron


It's good (Michelle Malkin's) in D.C. and I'm in New York. I'd spit on
her if I saw her. -- Geraldo Rivera


I have a good news to report; Glen Beck appears closer to suicide - I'm
hoping that he does it on camera; suicide is rampant in his family, and
given his alcoholism and his tendencies towards self-destruction, I am
only hoping that when Glen Beck does put a gun to his head and pulls
the trigger, that it will be on television, because somebody will capture
it on YouTube and it will be the most popular video for months. -- Mike
Malloy, radio "personality"


"It's about time that we have an intifada in this country that changes
fundamentally the political dynamics in here. And we know every --
They're gonna say some Palestinian being too radical -- well, you
haven't seen radicalism yet." -- U.C. Berkeley Lecturer Hatem Bazian
fires up the crowd at an anti-war rally by calling for an American
intifada


The Iraqis who have risen up against the occupation are not
'insurgents' or 'terrorists' or 'The Enemy.' They are the REVOLUTION,
the Minutemen, and their numbers will grow -- and they will win." -- Michael Moore


In Vietnam, our soldiers came back and they were reviled as baby
killers, in shame and humiliation. It isn’t happening now, but I will tell
you – there has never been an army as violent and murderous as our
army has been in Iraq. -- Seymour Hersh


“I hope his wife feeds him lots of eggs and butter and he dies early like
many black men do, of heart disease.... He is an absolutely
reprehensible person.” -- USA Today columnist and Pacifica Radio talk
show host Julianne Malveaux on Justice Clarence Thomas, Nov. 4, 1994,
on PBS’s “To the Contrary.”

"This administration is waging war on poor children," said "The
reality is that they are steadily and surely trying to turn the clock back
on all of the programs and supports that working families and their
children need and deserve. --Hillary Rodham Clinton

How is exposing failed government programs, wasted tax dollars and ignoring the Constitution "violent rhetoric"?

OH THOSE PEACEFUL LEFT-WING LIBERALS.


I want to go up to the closest white person and say: ‘You can’t
understand this, it’s a black thing’ and then slap him, just for my
mental health — New York city councilman Charles Barron


It's good (Michelle Malkin's) in D.C. and I'm in New York. I'd spit on
her if I saw her. -- Geraldo Rivera


I have a good news to report; Glen Beck appears closer to suicide - I'm
hoping that he does it on camera; suicide is rampant in his family, and
given his alcoholism and his tendencies towards self-destruction, I am
only hoping that when Glen Beck does put a gun to his head and pulls
the trigger, that it will be on television, because somebody will capture
it on YouTube and it will be the most popular video for months. -- Mike
Malloy, radio "personality"


"It's about time that we have an intifada in this country that changes
fundamentally the political dynamics in here. And we know every --
They're gonna say some Palestinian being too radical -- well, you
haven't seen radicalism yet." -- U.C. Berkeley Lecturer Hatem Bazian
fires up the crowd at an anti-war rally by calling for an American
intifada


The Iraqis who have risen up against the occupation are not
'insurgents' or 'terrorists' or 'The Enemy.' They are the REVOLUTION,
the Minutemen, and their numbers will grow -- and they will win." -- Michael Moore


In Vietnam, our soldiers came back and they were reviled as baby
killers, in shame and humiliation. It isn’t happening now, but I will tell
you – there has never been an army as violent and murderous as our
army has been in Iraq. -- Seymour Hersh


“I hope his wife feeds him lots of eggs and butter and he dies early like
many black men do, of heart disease.... He is an absolutely
reprehensible person.” -- USA Today columnist and Pacifica Radio talk
show host Julianne Malveaux on Justice Clarence Thomas, Nov. 4, 1994,
on PBS’s “To the Contrary.”

"This administration is waging war on poor children," said "The
reality is that they are steadily and surely trying to turn the clock back
on all of the programs and supports that working families and their
children need and deserve. --Hillary Rodham Clinton

I agree with everything said. I just want to know what the difference between a "war criminal" is and a man who makes "rape/aids camps" and "gasses jews" and such, and what George Bush is? He is classified exactly the same as those, "war cimimals," so what is the difference?

(And yes, he is classifed in the exact same way... So even if you do not classify him that way, you do purport the same information...)

>> ^radx:
The Institute for Public Accuracy published a comment, co-signed by Daniel Ellsberg, on the current WikiLeaks situation and quoted this Pravda article, a quote I'd like to copy:

What WikiLeaks has done is make people understand why so many Americans are politically apathetic … After all, the evils committed by those in power can be suffocating, and the sense of powerlessness that erupts can be paralyzing, especially when … government evildoers almost always get away with their crimes. …
So shame on Barack Obama, Eric Holder, and all those who spew platitudes about integrity, justice and accountability while allowing war criminals and torturers to walk freely upon the earth. … the American people should be outraged that their government has transformed a nation with a reputation for freedom, justice, tolerance and respect for human rights into a backwater that revels in its criminality, cover-ups, injustices and hypocrisies.

In reply to this comment by radx:
The Institute for Public Accuracy published a comment, co-signed by Daniel Ellsberg, on the current WikiLeaks situation and quoted this Pravda article, a quote I'd like to copy:

What WikiLeaks has done is make people understand why so many Americans are politically apathetic … After all, the evils committed by those in power can be suffocating, and the sense of powerlessness that erupts can be paralyzing, especially when … government evildoers almost always get away with their crimes. …

So shame on Barack Obama, Eric Holder, and all those who spew platitudes about integrity, justice and accountability while allowing war criminals and torturers to walk freely upon the earth. … the American people should be outraged that their government has transformed a nation with a reputation for freedom, justice, tolerance and respect for human rights into a backwater that revels in its criminality, cover-ups, injustices and hypocrisies.

The Institute for Public Accuracy published a comment, co-signed by Daniel Ellsberg, on the current WikiLeaks situation and quoted this Pravda article, a quote I'd like to copy:

What WikiLeaks has done is make people understand why so many Americans are politically apathetic … After all, the evils committed by those in power can be suffocating, and the sense of powerlessness that erupts can be paralyzing, especially when … government evildoers almost always get away with their crimes. …

So shame on Barack Obama, Eric Holder, and all those who spew platitudes about integrity, justice and accountability while allowing war criminals and torturers to walk freely upon the earth. … the American people should be outraged that their government has transformed a nation with a reputation for freedom, justice, tolerance and respect for human rights into a backwater that revels in its criminality, cover-ups, injustices and hypocrisies.

No, but how about this: no welfare for unmarried breeders. Let them pay for their bastards; they might actually think twice about being responsibly active.

>> ^shponglefan:

>> ^quantumushroom:
Men and women are not interchangeable. As Dennis Prager puts it: "Ask anyone who supports same-sex marriage this: Do you believe that a mother has something unique to give to a child that no father can give and that a father has something unique to give a child that no mother can give?

So... you support mandatory abortions for pregnant single women?

>> ^quantumushroom:
Men and women are not interchangeable. As Dennis Prager puts it: "Ask anyone who supports same-sex marriage this: Do you believe that a mother has something unique to give to a child that no father can give and that a father has something unique to give a child that no mother can give?


So... you support mandatory abortions for pregnant single women?

Downvote judicial activism.

I'd be thrilled if an activist judge suddenly legalized marijuana against the will of the people, but that's not how the system works. Gay "marriage" was voted on and lost. We already have too much tyranny in the name of "goodness."

Gay "marriage" is a NEW "right" that heretofore never existed. Even child marriage has a longer history than gay "marriage".

Men and women are not interchangeable. As Dennis Prager puts it: "Ask anyone who supports same-sex marriage this: Do you believe that a mother has something unique to give to a child that no father can give and that a father has something unique to give a child that no mother can give?

One has to assume that most people -- including supporters of same-sex marriage -- would respond in the affirmative. How, then, can they support same-sex marriage? The left's trinity -- compassion, fairness and equality -- is one reason. And "studies" and "facts" are another."

@Doc_M, I noticed you didn't take on my central point about loyalty. What you're talking about is actually something I have always believed -- there aren't really independents who are truly independent in any large number in America. Left-leaning independents vote for Democrats as often as self-identified Democrats, and right-leaning independents vote for Republicans as often as self-identified Republicans, and true independents make up a very small share of the electorate. There's actually data to back that up.

But I'm talking about something much deeper than voting patterns -- I'm talking about "epistemic closure." I'm referring to the way conservatives get all their "facts" these days only from a select number of outlets that distort, misrepresent, or outright fabricate facts to vindicate their ideology, and treat all sources with different views as "liberal", and therefore "ideological", and therefore equivalent enough to say "opinions on the shape of earth differ," when in truth the "facts" cooked up by the right-wing media empire often have little or no connection to reality.

My example was "tax cuts increase tax revenue." That has zero basis in fact. Zero. It's not "that's too complicated an issue for us to know who's really right and wrong", it's just plainly, demonstrably false. If you cut taxes, it adds to the deficit. It can produce a small stimulative effect on the economy as a whole, which makes them slightly less expensive than a simple back-of-the-envelope calculation would indicate, but it never raises growth so much that the net effect is an increase in revenue.

Not to cross too much into your back & forth with rougy, but I would definitely say that there is no left wing equivalent of the "far right" -- at best, there is an actual American Socialist party, but they don't really have a voice in the mainstream liberal movement, and they certainly don't have 1-hour opinion shows on cable news networks, and hundreds of radio shows across the country. The real problem the left has is that 90% of the Democratic party seems to be to the right of their base. People who're in line with the Democratic base (e.g. Sherrod Brown, Anthony Weiner) are perpetually labeled "far left", not just by Republicans, but by Democratic leadership.

As for the 9/11 thing, again, it's a big difference. You don't have Democratic politicians saying "9/11 was an inside job", you don't have left-wing columnists continuing to speculate publicly that 9/11 was an inside job, and certainly you don't see left-wing people who say that getting invited on Sunday talk shows to talk about foreign policy.

Our conspiracy theorists get systematically frozen out, while the Republicans are happy to repeat every crackpot conspiracy theory on the floor of Congress, including trivially disproven stuff like "Obama was really born in Kenya."

A double agent sets up an elaborate sting operation on a terrorist that ends up being another double agent who is in the process of carrying out his own elaborate sting operation? Text book example of irony.

Just like a finding black fly in your glass of chardonnay at a party celebrating the successful fumigation of your vineyard. Or like rain on the wedding day of two meteorologists. Or like meeting the man of your dreams and then meeting his beautiful wife, who turns out to be the relationship advice columnist that encouraged you to get out of the house and meet the man of your dreams. Or like a no smoking sign on a cigarette break in the executive lounge of Philip Morris.