Miss Him Yet?

This picture of a billboard in Minnesota has been making the rounds lately:



And I thought, yeah I sure do!
You know the new guy has been in office for over a year and has yet to invade a single country? He still hasn't declared any of our Constitutional rights optional. He hasn't, as far as I know, authorized any new forms of torture, or any warrantless wiretaps. He still hasn't claimed the ability to declare US citizens "enemy combatants," or any other made-up term and decide that habeus corpus will just not apply to them. I mean, what the hell? What has he been doing all this time? He certainly hasn't been clearing brush or reading My Pet Goat, the book so important that national crises will just have to wait until you're finished.

But anyway, I figured that this billboard just represented the viewpoint of one nutty Minnesotan, and no respectable person would share this opinion.
Apparently, the New York Times does not consider respectability to be a prerequisite for appearing on its op-ed pages, cuz look:

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Do You Miss Him Yet?

By STANLEY FISH

I know you’re not supposed to, but I just love to say I told you so.

What I told you back on Sept. 28, 2008, was that within a year of the day he left office George W. Bush would come to be regarded with affection and a little nostalgia.

Yeah, if you had said that he would be regarded with affection and nostalgia by some nut in Minnesota, then you'd be within your rights to gloat, but most people have the same low opinion of Bushie as they did when he left office.

Well it’s a bit more than a year now and signs of Bush’s rehabilitation are beginning to pop up. One is literally a sign, a billboard that appeared recently on I-35 in Minnesota. Occupying the right side (from the viewer’s viewpoint) is a picture of Bush smiling genially and waving his hand in a friendly gesture. Occupying the left side is a simple and direct question: “Miss me yet?”

Like a said, some nut in Minnesota. Do you have any polling data that says that people in general are feeling more forgiving of Dubya?

The image is all over the Internet, hundreds of millions of hits, and unscientific Web-based polls indicate that more do miss him than don’t.

Oh, well if the polls are unscientific AND Internet-based, they're bound to be relevant!

Oh, and you know who else has millions of hits? Charlie.

I know you said"hundreds of millions" of hits, but I don't believe you.

A perhaps more substantial sign incorporates a sign famous (or infamous) in the Bush presidency. The March 8 cover of Newsweek reproduces the famous 2003 photograph of Bush on the flight deck of the U.S.S. Lincoln. The president is in the left of the picture, striding away from the famous banner proclaiming “Mission Accomplished.”

Wow, the cover of Newsweek. He can now join the exalted ranks of those who have graced the cover of Newsweek, like:

Johnny Depp,

The I-Pod,

Facebook,

and a guy with autism.

It is a story that intersects with another, the story of the precipitous decline in Barack Obama’s support and of a growing suspicion, found on the left as well as on the right, where it is much more than a suspicion, that the politics of change may have been a slogan with less promise in its future than “Mission Accomplished.” (The imminent passage of a health care bill keeps being predicted, but so far no “victory at last.”)
Meanwhile, Bush’s policies came to seem less obviously reprehensible as the Obama administration drifted into embracing watered-down versions of many of them.

No, they still seem just as reprehensible, that's partly why Obama's approval ratings are down.
Are you really arguing that people are starting to miss Bush because Obama is doing a lot of the same things as Bush? And also, that people are disillusioned with Obama because he's too Bush-like?

How do you come up with this ridiculous argument? People are mad at Obama for being like Bush, whom they hate, and Obama's similarities to Bush make people miss Bush. If people miss Bush, wouldn't Obama's popularity increase in proportion to his similarity to Bush?

And now, right on schedule, Bush has resurfaced (just as I imagined him doing a year ago last September ) to join Bill Clinton in a humanitarian relief effort. He is officially a member in good standing of the ex-presidents club

So was Nixon.

and the longer he lives the more his reputation will be burnished. To be sure, his post-presidency resume is still thin, but we can expect it to be beefed up by good deeds, ceremonial appearances and the activities that will surround the building and opening of his library at Southern Methodist University.

Good deeds? Where the hell would you get that idea? When has Dubya ever done anything for anyone but Dubya or his cronies? What would you consider a "good deed?" Taking a few minutes between collecting 6-figure speaking fees from wingnut organizations to ask people to contribute to Haiti? You wanna see an ex-president doing good deeds? Watch Jimmy Carter build houses for Habitiat. Making nice for the TV cameras after a tragedy doesn't really compare. That's not a good deed, that's PR.

We’ll see Bush the tour guide and Bush the patron of historical scholarship and, perhaps, even Bush the seminar leader.

Tour guide? What the hell? Where would he be giving guided tours? You think if you go to his presidential library, he's gonna be showing folks around?
And patron of historical scholarship? That would be the death-knell of history in America. Seriously, no one, even the most ardent Bushie has ever used the words "Bush" and "scholarship" in the same sentence.

And the judgment of history? He will not go to the top of the list, but neither will he be the figure of fun and derision he seemed destined to be only a year ago.

Oh, hey, don't sell the man short! Let's start clearing some space on ount Fucking Rushmore! Squeeze over, Lincoln!
Of course he will still be the figure of derision he is now. What, is he going to get any less stupid or corrupt in the near future?

You heard it here.

Which is why I will never come here again.

At this point, I'd say I miss Corey Haim more than George W. Bush

Ratchetting up the Crazy

Glenn, Glenn, Glenn. Shoulda seen this coming.

See, the problem with building a movement around paranoia, is that it's just a matter of time until the paranoids turn on you.

Case in point:
Pamela Geller's Latest Screed:

I swear, this is her picture from her website!

Glenn Beck, think before you preach

Something very disturbing happened today on FOX. Glenn Beck, who has, for the most part, steered clear of jihad, sharia and Islamic supremacism, put his toe in the water, and for the first time since I started fighting the long war, I got nervous.

Okay, Glenn, I don't know what you said, but something convinced Pam Geller that you are flirting with jihad, sharia, and Islamic Supremacism. What did you say? "Allahu Akbar?" "Death to America?"


Beck just called Wilders a fascist, and far-right.

Okay, I didn't know who that was, either, so I looked it up.

From the London Daily Telegraph:

Geert Wilders, the far-right Dutch politician, has used a visit to London to launch an attack on Islam.

And the Guardian refers to him as:
Geert Wilders, the Dutch far-right anti-immigrant maverick

According to his Wikipedia page, Wilder has proposed:

Replacement of the present Article 1 of the Dutch constitution, guaranteeing equality under the law, by a clause stating the cultural dominance of the Christian, Jewish and humanist traditions.

A five-year ban on the founding of mosques and Islamic schools; Foreign imams will not be allowed to preach.

So, referring to him as "far-right" or even "fascist" doesn't seem like a real radical departure from other mainstream views of Wilder.
So, what's the problem?

What is he doing?

Why would he stigmatize Wilders this way? Wilders is the embodiment of what our founding fathers extolled. Individual rights. Freedom of speech. Not sharia law.

Freedom of speech. Except for foreign-born Imams. Individual rights, except the right to build a house of worship of your choosing. Sounds just like John Adams!

Beck is out of his depth in this. You cannot get up to speed on Europe in one crash course. The Islamic/left-wing fringe is everywhere, but what right fringe is he talking about in Europe?

Really! I don't think there is any right-wing fringe in Europe!


Russian Skinheads / British Union of Fascists-flag


Polish neo-fascists, here with Rafal Trytek


Neo-fascists greet election of Gianni Alemanno as Mayor of Rome in 2008


Far-Right activists give Nazi salutes to speakers arriving at the meeting in Milan


Aaaanywayy. . .
You think it's just one crazy lady?
Here are some of the comments readers have left on her blog:

Haven't you heard Pam? Glenn has taken the blood money and changed sides on us. He now works for the Elites as their newest little bitch. He is spreading all types of lies these days.

He is paid by a muslim so he must make his masters happy. He also now believes in global warming. So defending islam is not even a stretch for him.

I regard both Beck and O' Rielly as sell outs along with Fox.

Glenn Beck is a fraud and a traitor. He scorns those who question Obo's eligibilty.

I'm completely disgusted with Beck. . . what good is he in fighting socialist infiltration of our government if only to pave the way for an islamic takeover?

Since Murdoch and Saudi strengthened their financial ties, Fox News has gone the way of CNN. It's over for Fox News being "fair and balanced." It's going to hell along with Murdoch, Beck, and O'Reilly, who've all sold their souls to the devil.

That's right, Glenn. The DEVIL! You made one criticism of some Dutch nutbag, and in their eyes, you've sold your soul to the devil.
Hell, even inflatable hate doll Michelle malkin has turned on you: http://www.politicususa.com/en/malkin-beck-eric-massa

So, maybe that's why you felt the need to ratchet up the crazy?

Glenn Beck Urges Listeners to Leave Churches That Preach Social Justice

On his daily radio and television shows last week, Fox News personality Glenn Beck set out to convince his audience that "social justice," the term many Christian churches use to describe their efforts to address poverty and human rights, is a "code word" for communism and Nazism. Beck urged Christians to discuss the term with their priests and to leave their churches if leaders would not reconsider their emphasis on social justice.

Damn! You know how to bring the freakin' insanity! I can't believe I underestimated you! That is just head-spinning, pea-soup-spitting, cut-your-ear-off-and-mail-it-to-a-hooker CUH-RAZEE!

Churches who try to, say, help the poor, feed the hungry, you know, all that Jesus-y stuff, are really Commu-Nazis? Well, bark at the moon, my friend, you have kicked it up another notch!

"I'm begging you, your right to religion and freedom to exercise religion and read all of the passages of the Bible as you want to read them and as your church wants to preach them . . . are going to come under the ropes in the next year. . . I beg you, look for the words 'social justice' or 'economic justice' on your church Web site. If you find it, run as fast as you can. Social justice and economic justice, they are code words. Now, am I advising people to leave their church? Yes!"

So, if you want the freedom to read the Bible as your church wants to preach it, LEAVE YOUR CHURCH!?!? How do you even manage to wrap your weird little Mormon head around an idea like that? Oh, Mormons. I get it. Leave your church and go to one that doesn't give a crap about social justice, like the Mormons! It's just a marketing ploy for the Mormon Church?

God damn it, Glenn! Now you've got me thinking like a conspiracy nut.
Anyway, attacking churches is probably not going to get you back into the good graces of the lunatic fringe of the far right, but I admire your chutzpah! I believe in football, that sort of play is known as a "Hail Mary." There's a pun in there somewhere, but I can't quite seem to grab hold of it.

Can't We Just Put Alan Grayson in Charge of Stuff?

Alan Grayson is my favorite member of Congress.

Limbaugh sinks to a New Low

So someone called in to the Oxycontin Follies show yesterday asking about Eric Massa's replacement in Congress.

Since Massa resigned mid-term (also known as "pulling a Palin") his replacement will be appointed by sorta black governor David "I fucked everybody" Patterson.

Here's what the bloated sack of contemptuousness had to say on the subject:

"Let's assume you're right," Limbaugh responded. "So, David Paterson will become the massa...who gets to appoint whoever gets to take Massa's place. So, for the first time in his life, Paterson's gonna be a massa. Interesting, interesting."

A "massa" Joke? Seriously, a joke about slavery?
This:
is funny to you?


It will be interesting to see how the dittoheads twist this into their "Rush is not a racist" narrative.

To avoid any confusion, let me state for the record. Rush Limbaugh is a RACIST.
And an idiot.
And impotent (The Smoking Gun)




Oh, and I stumbled on to this a minute ago. Not germane to the subject at hand, but pretty much sums up the axis of arrogance and ignorance that is Limbaugh:

What are you, high? Oh, right!

From the New York Post:

Lindsay Lohan wants $100M

over E-Trade ad

This ad:

Lindsay Lohan is suing the financial company E-Trade, insisting that a boyfriend-stealing, "milkaholic" baby in its latest commercial -- who happens to be named Lindsay -- was modeled after her. And she wants $100 million for her pain and suffering, The Post has learned.

Not pain and suffering! I said Cocaine and Huffing!

And what is the basis for this lawsuit? Besides needing coke money, I mean.

The girl at the end of the ad is named "Lindsey."

Really.

Lohan's lawyer, Stephanie Ovadia, said the actress has the same single-name recognition as Oprah or Madonna.

A ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!!!!!!!
Oh my God, you're killing me! Oprah and Madonna! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!!!!
Oprah, Madonna and you? Ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!!!!!

Seriously, do you have any idea how many gold records Madonna has hanging on her walls? Do you have any idea how many Emmys Oprah Winfrey won before she became "Oprah?" And you were, what, in "Mean Girls?" Oprah was in The Color Purple. And she was nominated for an Oscar. And she still wasn't "Oprah."
Madonna, of course had a head start since she only has one name.

But anyway, let's pretend your accomplishments were actually on a par with these two superstars. Your first name is Lindsey. That's a fairly common name. If you want to have single-name-recognition, you need to have an unusual first name, like, say Oprah. Or Elvis. Or Cher.

Let's take the Beatles for example. There has probably never been abigger star in the music world than Sir Paul McCartney. Besides being a Beatle, he has had an extremely successful solo career. The man is a living legend, but if you say, "I'm listening to a song by Paul," the response is going to be "Paul who?"
On the other hand, if you say "I just got Ringo's new record," Everyone knows who that is, except these damn teenagers, and to hell with them! Ringo was never as big a star as Paul. Either as a Beatle or as a solo artist. But he has an unusual first name. See how it works?

"Many celebrities are known by one name only, and E-Trade is using that knowledge to profit," Ovadia said.

"They used the name Lindsay," Ovadia said. "They're using her name as a parody of her life. Why didn't they use the name Susan? This is a subliminal message. Everybody's talking about it and saying it's Lindsay Lohan."

Oh, yeah. Clearly it's E*Trade's fault that people think of you whenever they see a tragic, underaged drunkard.

Ovadia said E-Trade has violated Lohan's rights under New York state civil-rights law

Civil rights? Violated her civil rights? There is a civil right to not be made fun of? Are you referring to the landmark case of I'm Rubber v. You're Glue?
Seriously, what civil rights could possibly be violated by this law? Even if the drunk baby really is based on Lindsey Lohan, is there some right to not be parodied? Get ready for the case of Everybody Who's Ever Been Famous v. Saturday Night Live!

The lawyer said that since the spot was seen by hundreds of millions of people watching the Super Bowl and Winter Olympics finals, the firm has garnered great profits.

honest to God, if E*Trade's profits went up because of this particular stupid talking baby commercial, If this annoying talking baby commercial was even marginally more successful than all their other annoying talking baby commercials, I will eat my foot!
(For legal purposes, the term "my foot" shall be assumed to be understood as meaning "a ham sandwich")

She says Lohan is owed $50 million in exemplary damages, plus another $50 million in compensatory damages.

E-Trade could not be reached for comment.

They were laughing too hard to hear the phone ring.