In the Washington Post today, humor:
Tierney, of the Institute of World Politics, identified five groups: ANSWER, Not in Our Name, Code Pink, United for Peace and Justice, and MoveOn.org. He said these groups “come from the Workers World Party” and are an “umbrella” for smaller groups, such as the “Communist Party of Kansas City” and the “Socialist Revolutionary Movement of the Upper Mississippi.” Of the last two, he said, “I’m just making these up.” [oh, that’s all right then–ed.]
Tierney singled out Sheehan, whose son died in Iraq and who camped out at President Bush’s ranch this month to protest the war. “I’ve never heard of a woman protesting a war in front of a leader’s home in my life,” he said. “I’ve never heard of anything quite so outrageous.”
Wow, that’s funny, because I’m sure I’ve heard of at least one or two things more outrageous than that, in the history of humankind, ever…wait. Did he say “a woman”? Fuck it: it’s on now, commie. Don’t mess with American Pride.
Unrelatedly, for those who wanted to re-enter the fray, a new post at John and Belle Have a Blog about who, exactly, is a big pussy. Bonus vagina dentata action! (Teeth not included.) Speculations as to my anxiety about how anonymous men on teh intarweb will no longer find me attractive welcomed! (If by “welcomed”, you mean “I’m laughing about the probable size of your penis.”) Post away, kids!
{ 37 comments }
abb1 08.31.05 at 7:32 am
Interesting. By apparently linking capitalism with war Mr. Tierney Jr. may be providing bad service to his employer, Heritage Foundation. Isn’t it a more or less typical Trotskyist assertion?
jet 08.31.05 at 7:43 am
Poor Cindy Sheehan, being the front man for the anti-war movement was never going to be easy. Having “…no animosity” for her sons killer, calling Bush the biggest terrorist in the world, calling the US form of government a “morally repugnant system” that’s “not worth dieing for”. Calling the extremely popular Afghan war just as wrong as Iraq, and then mixing her “Israel out of Palestine” rhetoric with her “US out of Iraq” rhetoric. What tops it off is that her son believed in the attempt to install Democracy in Iraq enough to reenlist and then die for it.
And to think that any American would have the nerve to mock her. Why I never!
Steve 08.31.05 at 7:43 am
how in the world did you get married?
Ray 08.31.05 at 7:46 am
Wow, jet, I’d write in and complain. Those talking points should have been in your mail _weeks_ ago.
John Isbell 08.31.05 at 8:08 am
It struck me that the right stays right on message calling Moveon, etc., extreme left while left-wing talking heads (I’ve seen some) don’t return the favor. It’s time to refer to a whole swathe of mainstream GOP orgainzations as extreme right, by any decent standard they are.
jacob 08.31.05 at 8:16 am
I don’t get it–just as I don’t get the absurdity of David Horowitz. Red-baiting is so old fashioned. It’s so 1950s. (And 1920 and 30s and 40s and 60s and 70s and 80s, I guess, but especially 50s.) “We” won the Cold War! Enough with beating the dead Communist horse already! It just makes people looks silly.
jet 08.31.05 at 8:48 am
John Isbell,
They can’t return the favor, they’re too busy making shit up. Janeane Garofalo on Air America said last night that a mere 12 million dollars spent on levies could have saved New Orleans but that Bush only gave them a million and spent the rest on the war.
jacob 08.31.05 at 8:52 am
Jet-
The equation of Janeane Garofalo (a comedian) with John Tierney (Heritage Institute) may be more revealing than you intend.
jacob 08.31.05 at 8:52 am
Sorry. Heritage Foundation.
jlw 08.31.05 at 9:01 am
Funny, Mr. Tierney’s memory.
I recall a group of right wing protestors outside the vice president’s residence during the 2000 election heist. And by any metric, that was more of an outrage than anything Mrs. Sheehan has done.
Procrastinator 08.31.05 at 9:15 am
I’ve been going over and over this piece for the tell-tale signs of humour, or even humor but likely not Homer, in Tierney’s comments. But no, he was being entirely serious… fruity, seriously fruity…
… oh, well, someone else to add to my list of ‘People to Slap Before I Die’; just above Peter Hitchens; somewhat below Alistair Campbell.
abb1 08.31.05 at 10:24 am
Could someone name one left-wing American talking-head, please; that is not a liberal but anarchist, communist, maoist, trotskyist or at least a social-democrat who is to the left of Blair’s ‘Third-Way’.
Thanks.
The Navigator 08.31.05 at 10:38 am
Procrastinator,
Nice. Reminiscent of that alien in The Hitchhiker’s Guide – in fact, that might be easier, just going around insulting all of them rather than having to get close enough for the slap.
Here’s a start:
“You’re a jerk, Jet. A complete knee-biter.”
And Garofalo’s general point was right on, even if her specific facts were off – money to complete the levees was diverted to the war in Iraq: see here.
Belle Waring 08.31.05 at 10:39 am
OMG, Steve, was comment #3 meant for me? this only ocurred to me on re-reading. that’s some funny shit, y’uns! hint: there aren’t actually any teeth down there. you might want to look into some time, if you get the chance.
Procrastinator 08.31.05 at 10:48 am
Black… Jet? You’re a pillock, a complete and utter waste of skin… hey, wait a minute, I’ve done you before… oh, well, let’s not waste an opportunity.
Out of interest, what’s Tierney’s stance on Brian Haw? At least he’s not female, but then again it’s only one of Bush’s lackies he’s tormenting. For all Blair’s cowboy-fetishes, he don’t mount up to a hill of beans in this crazy world…
a different chris 08.31.05 at 10:54 am
Sadly, being on the “list of ‘People to Slap Before I Die’” is probably pretty safe when the commenter’s nom-de-internets is “procrastinator”.
So everybody to try to remember to slap a few of those people for procrastinator if they come near to hand… I certainly will.
PS: Did you mean “Chris” Hitchens?? I’ll slap both just to be sure….
Procrastinator 08.31.05 at 11:08 am
It takes an intense clarity of mind not to be bewitched by the beguiling beauty of Chris’ arguments. I have no such difficulty with Pemwish.
==> there aren’t actually any teeth down there.
One of these anti-rape devices from South Africa?
==> Sadly, being on the “list of ‘People to Slap Before I Die’†is probably pretty safe when the commenter’s nom-de-internets is “procrastinatorâ€.
Curses, you got me, I… oh, I can’t be arsed finishing this post…
jet 08.31.05 at 12:23 pm
Procrastinator,
Did you just call me a Polock? Damned racists are everywhere. And how rich is this, someone named “Procrastinator” on a comment thread who history will probably never note, saying the Prime Minister of England doesn’t “mount up to a hill of beans in this crazy world…” That’s frig’n rich.
Like being made fun of by a retard.
Procrastinator 08.31.05 at 12:40 pm
No, I called you a “pillock” which a cognate of the Norwegian word for “penis”.
>> saying the Prime Minister of England
Sic.
>> doesn’t “mount up to a hill of beans in this crazy world…â€
*I* said nothing of the sort. Go back and re-read my post, then report on whose voice I was speaking in.
Procrastinator 08.31.05 at 12:44 pm
Besides, ‘polock’ is a fish related to the cod. I think you meant ‘polack’.
Hooray for Solidarity! Hooray for Gdansk!
Nada 08.31.05 at 1:39 pm
Even better:
“I’d never send my son there! It’s a dumb war!” Oh, your son went there because Bush lied about the reasons for the war, and he died, and now you’re mad? You’re obviously a communist! Anyone who protests the war isn’t anti-war, but anti-American!
Matt Weiner 08.31.05 at 2:06 pm
Jet, what makes you say that Garofalo was making shit up? I grant that we can’t know if New Orleans would’ve been saved by spending more money on levees. But…
Yet after 2003, the flow of federal dollars toward SELA dropped to a trickle. The Corps never tried to hide the fact that the spending pressures of the war in Iraq, as well as homeland security — coming at the same time as federal tax cuts — was the reason for the strain. At least nine articles in the Times-Picayune from 2004 and 2005 specifically cite the cost of Iraq as a reason for the lack of hurricane- and flood-control dollars….
The Newhouse News Service article published Tuesday night observed, “The Louisiana congressional delegation urged Congress earlier this year to dedicate a stream of federal money to Louisiana’s coast, only to be opposed by the White House. … In its budget, the Bush administration proposed a significant reduction in funding for southeast Louisiana’s chief hurricane protection project. Bush proposed $10.4 million, a sixth of what local officials say they need.”
Local officials are now saying, the article reported, that had Washington heeded their warnings about the dire need for hurricane protection, including building up levees and repairing barrier islands, “the damage might not have been nearly as bad as it turned out to be.”
So, $50 million rather than 12, and this is a case of hindsight as 20/20. But there’s a serious case that Bush skimped on necessary hurricane-safety measures because of the Iraq war.
abb1 08.31.05 at 2:34 pm
Jet, stay away from Garofalo’s vagina dentata, you little pillock.
Procrastinator 08.31.05 at 2:48 pm
>> So, $50 million rather than 12, and this is a case of hindsight as 20/20. But there’s a serious case that Bush skimped on necessary hurricane-safety measures because of the Iraq war.
Talk of the sheer scale of military spending is always going to be beyond the comprehension of many people; confusing millions with billions, not even knowing if a billion is 1,000,000,000 or 1,000,000,000,000; but a mere 50 million? That’s a pitance. It would take crass stupidity, and momumental levels of dogma to skimp on… oh, wait…
Procrastinator 08.31.05 at 2:52 pm
>> “I’d never send my son there! It’s a dumb war!†Oh, your son went there because Bush lied about the reasons for the war, and he died, and now you’re mad? You’re obviously a communist! Anyone who protests the war isn’t anti-war, but anti-American!
I had to go back a re-read the piece because, although I remember the quote, still I could not trust myself. Oh, lord, how I’d like to strip Tiernan naked and rub him up and down with steel-wool. Then slap the sore bits.,
jet 08.31.05 at 5:54 pm
Abb1, I fear no dentata and would gladly brave them to be near Garofalo’s vagina. She is the r0x0rz (while being a bit politically unpalatable).
And I have to wonder what exactly 60 million in New Orleans would have bought you. Given that a foot of highway can often cost a million dollars, I seriously doubt that 60 million would have made the levies into SuperLevies®. Either way we can only hope their is something akin to the 9/11 commission to figure out why this happened.
a different chris 08.31.05 at 6:28 pm
> It would take crass stupidity, and momumental levels of dogma to skimp on… oh, wait…
Hey, I think we’ve got a winner in the “What The Hell Do We Title The History Of the Bush Years” book naming contest:
“Crass Stupidity and Monumental Levels Of Dogma”
Yup, works for me. Your reward will be seeing civilization last long enough to publish it. If it doesn’t, well, no book no reward, which I think is fair.
okthen 08.31.05 at 10:51 pm
Red-baiting is so old fashioned. It’s so 1950s.
But Nazism and fascism is eternally relevant, no? I think Communism occupies a position in the righty firmament similar to that which Nazism occupies on this blog — a murderous, incomparable evil that must be memorialized and denounced so as not to repeat it.
Having close relatives who’ve escaped Communism, I tend to agree with them.
Ragout 09.01.05 at 2:54 am
Uh, isn’t Tierney’s claim about ANSWER being a communist front just unarguably correct? I’d guess he’s right about Not In Our Name too.
Of course, saying that MoveOn and United for Peace and Justice are run by communists is ridiculous.
abb1 09.01.05 at 5:28 am
The communists come out against the war – good for them, they’re on the right side of this one. Along with conservatives like Pat Buchanan, libertarians like Ron Paul and liberals like …uh… OK, Howard Dean, for example.
What seems to be the problem?
Max 09.01.05 at 7:25 am
Matt Weiner — according to this article (via MeFi) the threat posed by a hurricaine was already being discussed in 2001.
Uncle Kvetch 09.01.05 at 8:02 am
Could someone name one left-wing American talking-head, please; that is not a liberal but anarchist, communist, maoist, trotskyist or at least a social-democrat who is to the left of Blair’s ‘Third-Way’.
I don’t know if Barbara Ehrenreich gets enough air time to qualify as a talking head, but she is most emphatically a social democrat. But your point is well taken, abb1.
Ragout 09.01.05 at 9:10 am
Abb1, the problem with the sectarian communist parties is that they have awful views and awful methods. Just their support for Saddam and North Korea (by the Workers World Party) and the Shining Path (by the Revolutionary Communist Party) ought to be enough to cause decent people to shun them.
Protests organized by these guys have speakers spouting noxious views, like the charge that Israel organized the attacks on 9/11 and warned Jews ahead of time. In general, they see the anti-war movement (or whatever issue they hijack) as way to get resources and recruits for their organizations, rather than actually caring anything about the issue. You might want to read something about the destruction of SDS in the 1960s at the hands of these kind of sectarian groups.
Although the WWP and RCP are fringe groups, they ended up playing a major role in the US anti-war movement. The United for Peace and Justice coalition was set up specifically as a non-communist alternative.
abb1 09.01.05 at 10:21 am
Ragout, it’s hard for me to imagine more than a handful of hard-core stalinists among all those people who come out to protest with ANSWER and other left-wing organizations. And it’s only natural that when moderates fail to lead, radicals will fill the gap; there’s nothing wrong with that (or unusual). And who cares if they see the anti-war movement as way to get resources, the movement has its own dynamics, as, for example, with this Sheehan woman.
Also, they may be supporting N.Korea as an entity confronting Western imperialism, but are they really working to install N.Korea-style regime in the US? Probably not. Well, what about reputable media organizations like FoxNews and MNBC who routinely give voice to all kinds of equivalent right-wing extremists who actually are trying to implement their fascist ideas, and often succeed?
I guess, what I am trying to say here is that to me at this point in time evil Stalinists seem about as dangerous as evil Martians.
Matt Weiner 09.01.05 at 11:05 am
Jet–I’m not an engineer, I don’t know how much the extra money would have done. I absolutely agree about the commission, though I’m not positive we’ll get a good one (it took a lot of fuss to get the 9/11 commission itself).
But underfunding the levees, on the evidence we have, isn’t looking like a good decision.
Matt Weiner 09.01.05 at 11:06 am
And I can’t read–Navigator had already made my point in comment 13.
Procrastinator 09.03.05 at 3:37 am
ABB1 >> I guess, what I am trying to say here is that to me at this point in time evil Stalinists seem about as dangerous as evil Martians.
North Korea springs to mind, and Karamov certainly meets the requirements in irrationality and paranoia and brutality.
>> Jet, stay away from Garofalo’s vagina dentata, you little pillock.
At least the young ‘uns are laughing #with# me, as opposed to screaming and running away in terror.
RAGOUT >> Although the WWP and RCP are fringe groups, they ended up playing a major role in the US anti-war movement. The United for Peace and Justice coalition was set up specifically as a non-communist alternative.
A good comparison can be made to that which happened in Leftpondia with certain creepy sub-Leninist sects. I could just about appreciate how the anti-war protest could be expanded to encompass the Palestinian issue, but it befuddlefied me completely how the fire-brigade strike was considered relevant; not to mention (in Scotland, at least) the Scot Nats. They’re adept at waiting until a grassroots organization is set up, then sideling along to offer their “help”. Then one will make a “suggestion” and lo!, there’ll be a ready-made cabal of volunteers.
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