Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Palin in the Cross-Hairs

Let me start this off by saying that, yes, of course Sarah Palin is an idiot! Among a lot of other things, the woman has basically degenerated into this mean-spirited and divisive perpetrator of hackneyed commentary (bullshit perhaps is a better term)/imagery (the targeting of vulnerable congressmen/women via those stupid little cross-hairs only the most blatant example), etc.. But a) A)!! the individual (not to mention the "right", in general) is hardly alone in utilizing these tactics and b) there isn't a single iota of evidence that those stupid little cross-hairs of hers had ANYTHING....WHATSOEVER to do with this tragedy in Arizona. Nada. And, yes, me-buckos, for hacks like Paul Krugman and Keith Olbermann to have come out ALMOST IMMEDIATELY and try to make some hay over this, I'll admit it, I find that pretty damned contemptible, too. I'm sorry, but I do.

22 comments:

Doc Häagen-Dazs said...

There’s an instinct among some to say now, in a tragic moment, is not the time to talk about solutions. That to me is a prescription as to how not to learn from unnatural, human-caused disasters. I’m reminded of Adam Gopnik’s New Yorker commentary shortly after the Virginia Tech shooting, in which he compared that sentiment to the idea that
“the aftermath of a terrorist attack is the wrong time to talk about security, the aftermath of a death from lung cancer is the wrong time to talk about smoking and the tobacco industry, and the aftermath of a car crash is the wrong time to talk about seat belts.”

Rather than talk about political discourse, I think it's time to talk about our American gun culture.

Will "take no prisoners" Hart said...

There is one thing that I think that we can all agree upon, Doc. We really need to keep these weapons out of the hands of lunatics - whatever it takes.

Mordechai said...

With Palin, it is actually about the money and how she can get as much as possible from those she thinks will fork it over, hence her disdain for any common sense humanity in her words or actions.

Ditto for Beck.

Will "take no prisoners" Hart said...

I think that she should pose for Playboy. But that's just me.

Dervish Sanders said...

Keith Olbermann didn't say Palin's crosshairs directly influenced the shooter. I'm not positive, but I seriously doubt Paul Krugman said anything of the sort either. I suggest that instead of being sorry you stop finding people "damned contemptible" for things you've imagined they've done.

Will "take no prisoners" Hart said...

wd, I didn't say that Krugman and Olbermann blamed Palin directly; just that the 2 of them jumped upon the tragedy almost immediately and tried to make political hay over it. They underscored the right's vitriol/violent rhetoric but totally ignored the left's; the Huffington Post, the Daily Kos, Mike Malloy, Slate.com, etc..

Dervish Sanders said...

Violent rhetoric on the Daily Kos and The Huffington Post? Maybe KO "ignored" it because there wasn't any?

Unless you're referring to violent rhetoric in the comments section that stood for a short period of time before the moderators found and deleted it. I don't think either organization can be held responsible for every comment left on their respective sites.

As for Mike Malloy, certainly he says things that are quite inflamatory, but I don't know of anything "violent" he has said. I hardly ever listen to him though, so I can't say for certain that you're wrong. In any case, I doubt KO listens to him.

Doc Häagen-Dazs said...

Take down some names and numbers of your prisoners, Hart. Name me some violent writers on the Huffington Posts.

Will "take no prisoners" Hart said...

Less than 2 hours after the shootings in Tuscon, Markos Militsos wrote in the Daily Kos, "Mission Accomplished, Sarah Palin". That's not taking advantage of the tragedy?

Will "take no prisoners" Hart said...

A fellow by the Name of David Bourgeois wrote an article in the Huffington Post entitled, "Obama Better Break Some Knee-Caps". The normally mild-mannered Roland Martin used similar imagery on CNN.com; of how Mr. Obama needs to channel his "inner Al Capone".......Why do you gentlemen always have to insist that the other side is more evil than you? It's childish! Did you frigging not learn anything form Mr. Obama's speech?

Doc Häagen-Dazs said...

Markos Militsos does not cross the line. However David Bourgeois, of whom I have never heard of, does. Rowland Martin is not on Huffington.

One out of three, Broker.

Will "take no prisoners" Hart said...

Slightly after the Tuscon tragedy, Mr. Moulitsos endorsed a T-shirt with Sarah Palin's face in the cross-hairs of a rifle. He subsequently scrubbed it but you can see the original on freerepublic.com

Will "take no prisoners" Hart said...

freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2655436/posts Why is it so hard for you to fathom that evil is a universal thing?

Dervish Sanders said...

Obama "breaking kneecaps" is a metaphor. The advice wasn't that Democrats should break Republican kneecaps, the suggestion was directed at one person. Is Obama going to take the advice literally? I doubt it.

In my mind there is a hell of a lot of difference between fighting metaphors and gun and shooting metaphors. Mostly because it's a lot easier to kill someone with a gun.

"Mission Accomplished, Sarah Palin" is violent? How? According to what I found on Google, Markos Moulitsas tweeted that -- it wasn't an article. As such, I'd say it was simply his initial reaction (because of Palin's gun sites target map, and the fact that Giffords herself had said the Palin map troubled her), not something done for "political advantage".

Dervish Sanders said...

The Left is saying that gun metaphors MIGHT influence a mentally unstable person, and even if they didn't in the AZ case (and most likely they did not) they are still innappropriate and should not be used.

You're saying that using a gun/shooting metaphor means you're "evil"??

I think Sarah Palin is an idiot who sees nothing wrong with gun/shooting metaphors. I think she's a dishonest greedy b*tch who doesn't give a damn about anyone but herself and her family (which is why she quit her governor job and is pretending there's a chance she could run for president - to make lots of money). I don't think she's evil.

According to the link you provided Markos said... Wow. This makes STARK mockery of the Palin "surveryor's mark" spin...

(1) The picture is of Palin's face with a SURVEYOR'S mark over it -- which is what it says directly beneath the picture.

(2) What Markos tweeted doesn't qualify as an "endorsement", not by any stretch of the imagination.

My conclusion, based on this link, is that your conclusions regarding Markos Moulitsas being "evil" are utterly ridiculous.

Also, after reading some of those comments at NewRepublic I have to say, WOW, they devolve into gay bashing pretty quickly, even though MM isn't gay (or doesn't acknowledge that he is). Check out comment #27.

Another comment says that if Obama declares a gun ban it will be "open season on the Democrat party" (a hunting metaphor).

Will said... Why do you gentlemen always have to insist that the other side is more evil than you?

Because they're the homophobes using the gun/shooting/hunting metaphors.

Will "take no prisoners" Hart said...

Why do you constantly defend the indefensible? I don't. I have fully condemned Palin for her verbiage/imagery.....A violent metaphor about braking knee-caps (and channeling your inner Al Capone - Capone used guns, too, as I recall) isn't as bad as a violent metaphor about guns? THAT'S....the best that you can come up with here? Be consistent, for crying out loud.......And I didn't say that Mr. Moulitsas' statement, "Mission Accomplished, Sarah Palin" was violent. I said that he was shamelessly trying to make political hay over a tragedy.......And if that add about the Palin T-shirt wasn't such an obnoxious thing, then why did Mr. Moulitsas scrub it? Could it possibly be that ultimately thought the better of it? That it possibly made him look like a hypocrite?......Whether that new republic web-site is itself despicable is totally immaterial. Is what they posted about the Kos accurate or not? Without a denial coming from Mr. Moulitsis himself, I'd have to assume that it is.......Comments? I thought that comments didn't count.

Dervish Sanders said...

Will said... A violent metaphor about breaking knee-caps ... isn't as bad as a violent metaphor about guns? THAT'S....the best that you can come up with here?

No it isn't as bad and yes it is "the best I could come up with"

There is a reason why the AZ shooter was stopped when his gun ran out of bullets. Apparently it didn't occur to him to continue his rampage by punching people to death.

I didn't say that Mr. Moulitsas' statement, "Mission Accomplished, Sarah Palin" was violent.

You said, "[KO & PK] underscored the right's vitriol/violent rhetoric but totally ignored the left's; the Huffington Post, the Daily Kos, Mike Malloy, Slate.com, etc..".

Then you brought up the MM tweet. My conclusion was that you were saying the MM tweet was "violent" (and also evil).

I said that he was shamelessly trying to make political hay over a tragedy...

I disagree. I think it was an honest initial reaction, which yes, he may of later reconsidered.

if that ad about the Palin T-shirt wasn't such an obnoxious thing...

I didnt' say that. I said he didn't endorse it.

Is what they posted about the Kos accurate or not? Without a denial coming from Mr. Moulitsis himself, I'd have to assume that it is.......Comments?

I have no idea. Not that I really care either way.

I thought that comments didn't count.

I never said that. I referred to inappropriate comments being removed by moderators -- which they clearly were not on the NewRepublic. I didn't see anyone disagreeing with that homophobic comment either.

Doc Häagen-Dazs said...

Broker, you haven't learned to deliver a clean HTML link yet. I ask for proof and you send me to Twitter? I wanted to see it on Huffington You clown! You really piss me off.

Will "take no prisoners" Hart said...

It wasn't on Huffington, Doc. It was on Kos. And the increasingly vulgar Moulitsos scrubbed it.

Will "take no prisoners" Hart said...

Olbermann, Krugman, Moulitsous (and the rest of that insane progressive clown posse), within hours, and without even ONE SCINTILLA OF EVIDENCE tried to pin this tragedy on people who they disagree with politically. That, to me, is absolutely loathsome and something that, had a Republican done it, you'd be going absolutely ballistic over.......wd, do you even know who Al Capone is? He killed people, and he killed these people in a variety of ways (very often with guns). Roland Martin wanted President Obama to be more like him. Pretty violent imagery, no?......Mr. Moulitsos allowed that T-shirt ad to run on his web-site. That is tantamount to an endorsement

Doc Häagen-Dazs said...

You are not even an 'honest' broker. An advertisement is not tantamount to an endorsement, but a desire to derive an income from a blog.

Will "take no prisoners" Hart said...

So, Mr. Moulitsos would have shown an ad that had President Obama's face in the cross-hairs? If in fact the price had been right? Get real, partisan.