Harry Reid, "Negroes" and False Equivalency

This morning, on the right wing talk radio program (Morning Source with Alan Stock), the topic--this being Nevada--was still Harry Reid's comments from the political gossip book Game Change. And for the gazillionth time, I heard right-wing jabberers making a false equivalency. "Can you just imagine," the line goes, "if a Republican said the same things Harry Reid said?" Well, yes, we can imagine it, which kind of proves my point.

Reid has worked for many years for minority rights, and has no history of malice toward black people or anyone else. That is called "context," and I know that some Republicans have difficulty understanding why this is not the same thing as Trent Lott wishing that segregationist Strom Thurmond had won the 1948 presidential race, so that we wouldn't be having "all these problems" now. So let me help you out.

Suppose you heard that "Larry the Cable Guy" had called Britney Spears an inbred, white trash, trailer slut. Given his accent and delivery, you'd probably laugh or possibly not even react at all. Now, imagine Barack Obama said exactly the same thing. Yeah. It's not the same is it?

Leave Rush Limbaugh Alone!

Hee hee hee!



Found at: AmericaBlog

Leave Bobby Jindal Alone!!!

Hahahahahahaha!!!

McCain's "The One" Targeting Left Behind Readers?

As noted here in several posts, John McCain has had a series of back-to-back attack ads, all attempting to portray Barack Obama in a negative light. In large part, they are all based on Obama's perceived image (or at least that which the right wishes to portray). Like the PUMA Hillary Clinton supporters, they are projecting the way that Obama is talked about in the press, and the behavior of some of his more ardent supporters onto Obama himself.

They are doing so with a lot of distortions, out-of-context quotes, and sometimes outright lies. But that isn't the point of this post. I'm more interested in what McCain hopes to illicit from these ads. In the recent Paris Hilton/Britney spears ad (seriously), bloggers and cable news speculated that the intent was to portray Obama as an empty, airy celebrity. Famous for being famous and nothing more. And a hint of race-baiting with two hot white chicks and a black man.

But what about the new ad, "The One?" This ad--stealing Rush Limbaugh's current theme--casts Obama as a self-proclaimed messiah. His supporters are his adoring flock, and Obama will deliver us. Is the ad trying to paint Obama as conceited and self-important now? Or is there a more insidious aim, as with the race-baiting?

Then I got to thinking about the fabled Republican base. Family values. God, guns and (no) gays. The Heartland. Left Behind readers! In that apocolyptic Christian fiction series of books, a charismatic, self-proclaimed messiah captures world adulation. On his charisma (and help from the Devil), he changes the world--and ushers in the rapture and the tribulation! Is this what McCain is getting at? Is he trying to portray Barack Obama as the Anti-Christ?

Just wonderin'! Here's the ad again. Make up your own mind.




Turns out, I wasn't the only one wondering. From Daily Kos: McCain's Left Behind Attack

John McCain "Proud" of Britney Spears/Paris Hilton Ad

Yesterday, I posted a couple of pieces on the ludicrous (heh) John McCain attack ad, featuring Paris Hilton and Britney Spears alongside Barack Obama. The ad is nonsense, and could even be seen as subliminally racist, without having to pull your tinfoil hat down very hard.

Surprisingly, when asked about it, John McCain says he's proud of it. Really?



[Excerpt]

McCain: 'We're Proud of That Commercial'

ABC News' David Wright reports: Who knew Paris and Britney would ever be a campaign issue???

The McCain campaign's decision to feature the women in a 30-second spot accusing rival Sen. Barack Obama of being a shallow celebrity has consumed the campaign debate today. . .

Read more (with video) at: ABC News

More on the McCain Obama/Paris/Britney Ad

Photo from source, AOL News

Because I was too stunned to write much about it. . .

[Excerpt]

McCain Math: Paris + Britney = Obama

In one of the more puzzling uses of celebrity in a campaign ad that we can recall, John McCain is trying to cut down Barack Obama's rock star-like popularity by likening the Democratic presidential candidate to Paris Hilton and Britney Spears. . .

Read more at: AOL News

New McCain Ad: Barack = Paris + Britney?

Sometimes, you just don't know what to say. In his latest attack ad (in a long string), John McCain is likening Barack Obama to. . .celebutards Paris Hilton and Britney Spears. Yeah, I know, I don't get it either.

This is a stunningly bad ad.

UPDATED: Britney Spears' Train Wreck

Yeah, I know. What's she doing here? I rarely have any use for the "celebutard" (™ The Stephanie Miller Show) stories, no matter how sordid. But when it's funny. Well, that's another story. In any event, I'm quite sure Viacom will pull this YouTube video before long anyway. So catch it while you can.

UPDATE: I replaced the video with another source that is more likely to stay put.

UPDATE II: Nope, that one's gone too. Boy, Viacom is serious, ain't they? I can't even embed the video they GAVE me the code to? Weird. If you didn't manage to catch it before it was pulled, try the official site: MTV.com

UPDATE III: An excellent dissection of the problems bloggers had posting this clip is featured here: Machinist.Salon.com. And Viacom actually has a direct link to the video, if you still haven't seen it, here: http://www.mtv.com/overdrive/?id=1568788&vid=173440.

Britney Spears' "comeback" at the Video Music Awards.

YouTube: Britney and Petraeus Fans

Everyone has seen this first clip, of the crazy "girl" (actually a guy) who defends Britney Spears' awful performance at the MTV Video Music Awards:



But, have you seen the parody, with "President Bush" defending General Petraeus? Yeah, it's silly, but it is kinda fun!

Behind the Blogger, Part Seven: The Age Thing

It's been awhile since I've posted a "Behind the Blogger," where I tell you the reader a little more about me. Age has become more of an issue for me lately. Not my age so much, as how I relate to the younger crowd.

I'm 41 years old, but have usually found myself surrounded by older people. Most of my friends are older than I am, so is The Other Half. Increasingly however, I am no longer the youngster in the room. My brother recently discovered that he has an 18 year old daughter. She could conceivably conceive, and make him (15 months younger than I am) a grandfather when he himself is 41. No rush though, girl! That realization, that you are grandparent age can come as something of a shock.

I'm pretty comfortable in my age bracket. It doesn't hurt that The Other Half breaks in each age for me, and it's like a comfy old shoe by the time I get there. No surprises. I look back on my younger self--as little as five-years ago "me"--and cringe. I wouldn't go back for anything, unless I could retain the brain of the me I am now. I've always been considered mature for my age--my brother called me a 40-year-old 12-year-old years ago--but I find that very hard to believe when I look back. Like the Indigo Girls song, "Watershed" says, "every five years or so, I look back on my life, and I have a good laugh."

What I'm saying in a somewhat disjointed way is, don't be afraid of any future age you might be. It is far less scary to hit the big 4-0 than you think it is. The biggest problem is dealing with the younger set. Many twenty-somethings seem to have no knowledge whatsoever about what came before them. They don't even seem to know what's going on right now. All that information at their fingertips, and they just can't be bothered.

One observation about getting older is the realization that time moves much more quickly the more of it you burn up. When you're a freshman in high school, three years means the difference between 6th and 9th grade--a tremendous change. Three years at my age happens in a blink of an eye. I have the same job, same house, same relationship, same cat, same truck. Actually, most of those things have remained the same since the turn of the century and before. I couldn't tell you what year I went to England, or precisely when we got the "new" TV or couch.

Songs from three years ago are still "new songs" to me. Maroon 5 went five years between albums, and I still think of their first hit ("Harder to Breathe") as recent. I'm often stunned that a TV show I've never watched (The King of Queens, for example) is wrapping up their run of eight years. To me, it's been a very short time since the beginning of Lindsay Lohan's and Britney Spears' careers, and they're effectively over now. I've got a very good memory for many things, but don't ask me what year Tina Fey left Saturday Night Live.

I couldn't tell you the highlights (or lowlights) of 2004 versus 2005--I can't distinguish the two! I've considered starting a journal, separate from this blog, if only to distinguish 2007 from 2009 in the future.

So in conclusion, young folks, enjoy your youth, and maybe start a diary. It'll all start to blur together, and sooner than you think. Oh, yeah, and read a book! Open the newspaper! Pay attention! Your generation is starting to look bad. I'm not sure if that is because it is, or because the older generation always thinks that of the younger. I'm thinking, a little of both. And respect your elders! Heh-heh.