Sunday, May 25, 2008

Settle Down, Everyone

Hello everyone!

Have you ever heard of Liz Trotta? If you're reading this within a few minutes of me posting it, probably not. But I predict everyone will know who she is soon. Why? Only because of this:
Fox News Contributor Jokes About Bumping Off Obama

Fox News commentator supports assassinating Obama

Fox News contributor jokes about assassinating Obama

Fox commentator slams Clinton, jokes about killing Obama

Liz Trotta: …as a suggestion that someone knock off Osama, umm, Obama, well both if we could

FoxNews Jokes About Obama Being Assassinated
Wow. Joking about assassinating Obama? Aren't jokes supposed to be funny?

It was bad enough when Hillary Clinton brought up the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy, a young, charismatic presidential candidate who had locked up the Democratic Party nomination just before being shot--and whose similarly young and charismatic brother John was also shot a few years earlier after actually being elected president--oh, and whose other brother was diagnosed with a potentially life-threatening ailment the same week she made the comment--not to mention Obama himself, who had secret service protection earlier than any other presidential candidate due to death threats beginning the day he announced his candidacy almost a year and a half ago.

Wait, where was I?

Oh yeah, some Fox News host made a joke about assassinating Obama. That's messed up! What did she say? According to the Daily Kos:
"and now we have what ... uh...some are reading as a suggestion that somebody knock off Osama ...uh..um..Obama [after being prompted by the FNC anchor]....well both if we could [laughing]"
Ha-ha! Somebody should "knock off" Osama and Obama! I mean, their names sound the same, am I right? But only "if we could!" Hardy-hardy-har-har-har!

Sheesh, that's messed up. Let's watch the video:



Hmm. Did I hear that right? I don't know about you, but it sounded like she said, "well both, which we could."

Well that doesn't matter--"if" and "which" mean the same thing, right? Well, "if" is a subordinating conjunction and "which" is a relative pronoun (Who says you can't learn anything from my blog?). But that's just a bunch of stupid grammar talk, isn't it? Really, Liz Trotta, an experienced journalist who was apparently one of the first women to cover the Vietnam War, just decided to go batshit on national TV and make a joke about the assassination of a US Presidential candidate.

At first, I was cynical enough to believe it, particularly since it was Fox News. Yes, this is how bad our government and news media has gotten--that it's completely believable that someone would go on national TV and joke about killing someone, especially a Democratic candidate who is inspiring record turnout.

But then there was the grammar tutor section of my brain that kept going back and forth:

If.

Which.

If.

Which.

And I couldn't stop going back to that quote and thinking, "Both, which we could."

Wait, does that mean they could assassinate both Obama and Osama? Who does this lady work for? Who the hell is "we"?

None of this made any sense.

Don't get me wrong, I'm sure there are organizations that could assassinate both of them within a few hours notice if they wanted. But I doubt some has-been journalist working on Fox Cable News during Memorial Day weekend is part of any of those. And if she was, I'm sure she'd know well enough to shut up about it.

Let's look at the whole quote again, this time with "which" instead of "if":
"and now we have what ... uh...some are reading as a suggestion that somebody knock off Osama ...uh..um..Obama ....well both, which we could."
"We could" what? Where else is there a "we" in that quote?
"we have what ... uh...some are reading as a suggestion that somebody knock off Osama ...uh..um..Obama"
Hmm.

How about this. Perhaps she's suggesting that "we could have what some are reading as a suggestion that somebody knock off both." But I have no idea what that means. It's too convoluted.

What else is it that "we could" do?

Maybe we could read what Hillary said as "a suggestion that somebody knock off Osama ...uh..um..Obama."

Let me repeat that without the name screw up: We could read what Hillary said as "a suggestion that somebody knock off Obama."

Here's the quote one more time with "which":
"and now we have what ... uh...some are reading as a suggestion that somebody knock off Osama ...uh..um..Obama ....well both, which we could."
Maybe she just felt like an idiot for confusing "Obama" with "Osama," and so she tried to cover but only made things worse. It would be nice if we had the full segment to get a bit of context. Hey, look:



What do you know, she's being very critical of Hillary, especially for her even bringing up RFK's assassination. In fact, besides the name screw-up, she didn't even mention Obama at all other than in the context of what Clinton said.

After the fact, the other guy, whatever his name is, says, "Talk about how you really feel." This could be because he thinks she wants Obama to be assassinated. Or perhaps, maybe he was simply referring to how critical of Clinton Trotta was. But we don't get to see that in the short clip, do we?

Look, I'm the last person to defend Fox News, but I think this thing is blown completely out of proportion. As of 1:19 am PST (wow, I need to get to sleep) there were 1337 comments on the original Daily Kos post about this. I didn't read them all, but there was no sign of anyone saying, "Settle down, everyone." So I'll say it here, "Settle down, everyone!"

After seeing both clips multiple times, I am convinced that this woman was not advocating, nor was she even joking about the assassination of Barack Obama. Yet I have not come across another single person on the Internet during the past six hours who is saying that. That scares the crap out of me. Is there something wrong with my hearing, or is everyone else hearing what they want to hear?

Our country has a nasty history of assassination, yet we bury our collective heads in the sand, saying, "It can't happen here." Think about this: there are piddly ass countries, such as ones in Africa, where there are no natural resources to speak of, where it's almost impossible to grow crops because each year it rains for three months straight and then doesn't rain again for nine months, where AIDS and starvation run rampant, but people are still willing to kill each other in order to take charge of that shithole. Yet somehow we think it's impossible that someone might entertain the notion of committing murder in order to take charge of the most powerful country on Earth? Hell, there are some neighborhoods where people are willing to kill you for the rims on your car. There are even areas will people will kill you because you're gay. So really, is it that much of a stretch to think someone would kill (or hire someone to kill) in order to become President of the United States?

It's natural to get emotionally charged whenever someone brings up assassination, particularly when it's directed toward someone we're rooting for. But when we start seeing things that aren't there and we get all wound up over it--well, that's dangerous. We become hysterical and reactionary.

Of course, that's the whole point, isn't it? That's when you get people posting this reporter's home phone number and address on the YouTube message boards, and well-meaning people suddenly look like crazed lunatics to those who don't share their beliefs. If you can blame a candidate for his pastor's words, surely you can blame a candidate for his supporters' actions.

I'm not offended by what Liz Trotta said--I'm offended that a news show dedicated a whole segment to discuss the implication of one presidential candidate insinuating that she should stay in the race in the event that the other candidate is assassinated. No, actually, I'm offended that one candidate even mentioned the word "assassinated" in the first place.

I don't blame Liz Trotta for this. I don't even blame Fox News for this. There's only one person I blame for starting this whole conversation. One person who needs to do a whole lot of repenting or she will never, ever get my vote for anything, ever:


Rob

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Colbert Comments on Papa Bear

Hello everyone!

One more update: Stephen Colbert has commented on the O'Reilly temper tantrum tape. Take it away, Stephen:



Yes, wearing Dickeys is a lost art. However, some arts are better lost.

Rob

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Saturday, May 24, 2008

Sometimes They Get It Right

Hello everyone!

After my post about Bill O'Reilly a few days ago, I thought it would be appropriate to point out that while he is typical of the corporate media, occasionally one of the talking heads on network TV gets it right:



Granted, Olbermann is no Any Goodman, nor even a Jon Stewart, but these days I'll take what I can get.

Heck, even Chris Matthews jumped in on the act:



Here you have a guy who keeps repeating the same right-wing talking points without even knowing the history behind them. This is nothing new, but a TV host calling him on his ignorance is pretty rare these days. I like it!

By the way, I personally discussed Neville Chamberlain and his appeasement in a post right here on Rob Dow's World last November. Wouldn't that make me more qualified to host a radio talk show in the second largest radio market in the country than this chump, Kevin James? I'm just saying...

Rob

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Friday, May 23, 2008

The Complete Concession Speech

Hello everyone!

Well, videos of the entire concession speech were finally posted on them YouTubes, so now I can post them here. First off, here is the introduction from former Governor John Kitzhaber:



Next, Steve talks for a while. This one is everything that was on the last one, but continues where the other left off:



This next one is mainly him thanking others. If you weren't involved with the campaign, there's no reason to watch beyond the first minute or two because the rest is just a bunch of names and clapping:



Last, here is the emotional closing.



Rep. Steve Novick? I just might have to move to Portland so I can vote for him!

Rob

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Wednesday, May 21, 2008

He Conceded, But He Isn't Conceited

Hello everyone!

Well, here's the concession speech:

I'd rather the other guy be the one to make the speech even though I know it would've been a snoozefest. But as the saying goes, you win some, you lose some.

Either way, I know I worked for the better candidate.

On the bright side, it looks like I'll have lots of free time, now.

Rob

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Tuesday, May 20, 2008

The Big Day and Bill O Snaps

Hello everyone!

Today is the big day: the last day to turn in your ballot here in Oregon, no later than 8pm PDT to be exact.

For those readers who live in another state, Oregon has this fantastic mail-in ballot system, and here's how it works. Basically, the state mails you a ballot. You then have three weeks or so to fill it out, and you can do so wherever and whenever you want (I recommend the handicapped stall in the IHOP bathroom after a night of heavy drinking). Then you can either throw a stamp on it and mail it, or you can drop it off at one of the strategically placed official ballot dropsites around town (or at an unofficial dropsite, but your vote may not be counted). It's a really convenient system, though I do remember one of my former political science instructors pointing out that Oregon's voter turnout rates are no higher than in the rest of the nation.

Anyway, as I'm sure all of you are aware, I've been spending the past two months or so shilling for Steve Novick. It's been a lot of fun, even the time when I ended up talking to the nutcase who told me about his idea to put satellites up in space that would vaporize people who cross the border illegally, and about how he killed a bunch of people Vietnam.

But all that work comes down to tonight--whether or not Steve wins the primaries. The polls are showing it to be neck and neck, so who knows. Tomorrow, I'll either be stoked or bummed. If he wins, I'll continue shilling for the next 5 1/2 months until the general. However, if he loses, I'll have to go find a job. There's no way I could go work for Steve's opponent, Jeff Merkley. Seriously, how could I work for this guy?

In the meantime, I've been keeping myself busy with homework avoiding my homework. I wonder if my poli-sci instructor would let me copy and paste this blog posting and turn it in as an assignment?

Something else that I'm sure you're all aware of is my intense disliking of Bill O'Reilly. I've never met him, so I can't say anything bad about him personally, although if I did meet him, I imagine he would come across as a pompous, arrogant, insecure dickwad. But since I've never met him, I won't say what I just said.

However, what I can't stand is the damage he and people like him do to our political discourse. He peddles bullshit and propaganda disguised as news. I don't have any problem with his opinion, but I do have a problem that he backs up his opinion with more opinion and/or falsehoods. If he's simply making mistakes, then he should retract his statements once they're proven wrong like they teach you to do in Journalism 101. But he rarely if ever retracts anything, and that tells me his falsehoods are deliberate lies. These lies are so bad that there are even websites dedicated to documenting them all.

I also abhor his "debating style," which consists of nothing more than shouting over the other person and/or calling him or her a "pinhead," and that's only on the rare occasion when someone on his show who disagrees with him actually gets more than a few seconds to make a point. And if he's having a off-day and a guest is able to say something reasonable, he'll shout that person down or even cut off the person's microphone. He reminds me of a high school bully who, on the first day of his senior year, would find the weakest-looking freshmen kid to beat up to impress his knuckle-dragging football buddies who would then jump in if the kid put up any kind of a fight.

He's scum of the worst kind. I wouldn't care, but he has way too much influence on the public debate.

The fact that he's scum is the reason he ended up with so much influence. He was willing to be scum for the highest bidder, and as a result, the highest bidder gave him a format to shill for them. Sure, I shilled for Novick, but I didn't get paid to do so. I did it because I honestly think this country would be a better place with him in the Senate. And by "this country," I mean regular people like you and I, not News Corporation executives and their CEO buddies. You know, the real elitists, the ones O'Reilly shills for, the ones who apparently think we're stupid enough to buy it. So we end up with bogus debates about orange juice or whether someone pointed out that bitter people are bitter and nonsensical metaphors because they don't want us thinking about our real problems, unless we're busy blaming them on each other. But that's what usually happens, and we're all worse off because of it.

As a result, I find myself feeling pleased every time I come across something that exposes O'Reilly for the ass-napkin he truly is. Last week I came across an instant classic on "The YouTubes." This is footage from the early 90s when he was the host of Inside Edition, a celebrity tabloid show, and I doubt it was much of a leap for him to go from tabloid to his current gig. Anyway, during this taping Bill O apparently forgets how to read a teleprompter and flies into a rage over it. Too much cocaine, perhaps? Hey, if he gets to make unfounded claims on his show, why can't I? Warning: the clip contains naughty, naughty language, so anyone too young or sensitive might want to leave the room after clicking on it:



Ah, I must have seen that twenty seven times, and yet I still laugh each time.

Of course, it's clear he was angry, but the question was why? What was going on in his mind during all this? Well, when O'Reilly wants to spin better understand what other people are thinking when they speak, he brings in a "body language expert." That's exactly what Keith Olbermann did:



Of course, this wouldn't be complete without a DANCE REMIX:



Greatest. Song. Ever. This is the one I want for my cell phone ringer!

Anyway, I'm going to get back to my routine of pacing and chewing my fingernails while waiting for the results to come in. If Novick loses, at least I can cheer myself up by listening to the O'Reilly dance remix!

Rob

Monday, May 12, 2008

Return of the Hope Guy

Hello everyone!

Barack Obama came back to Eugene last Friday. He did an outdoor gig at UO. Before they started letting people into the gated off speech area, I spent my time talking to people in line about Steve Novick while my friend Kate held a spot for me.

Eventually, they started letting people inside and we found a great spot off to the side on a little hill where we could see the stage just fine.


The problem with having a good spot, however, is that everyone else thinks it's a good spot.


It still wasn't that bad, though. When the picture taking, hat-wearing ponytail lady didn't have her hands in the air, I could see just fine between her and leather jacket dude. That is, until hat guy moved in.


What is it with people wearing hats? They always want to stand right in front of me--the bigger the hat, the more in my way they like to be.

But even hat guy ain't got nothin' compared to hoodie-boy and Ohio Buckeye head who decided at the last minute to squeeze between hat-wearing ponytail lady and leather jacket dude and me.


Incidentally, there was no room between hat-wearing ponytail lady and leather jacket dude and me to fit any more people. But that didn't stop them from trying.

Eventually, it got dark and some of the people in front of me either left or found another short person to stand in front of. But then it was dark, so I still couldn't see much. Anyhow, there's Obama:


I'm sure nobody tuned in to look at the back of people's heads, so here's a video clip of the speech. And if you look closely at about 0:58 remaining, you might see my friend Silver in the crowd. He's the one wearing a UO cap.



Well, that's about it. He came, he said some inspirational stuff, and then he left. If he comes to your town, do yourself a favor. Go hear him speak. He's definitely worth having one of your friends wait in line for three hours so you can get in.

I'm going to be busy up through the May 20 primaries, and then I'll have 3 papers due the Tuesday after Memorial Day. So I might not be blogging very much for the next couple of weeks. But that's a good thing, though. You should go outside and enjoy the nice weather we're supposed to be having. I'll be back soon enough, and I'm planning a posting about men with large trucks and small penises.

Until then, don't forget to vote for Steve!

Rob

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Monday, May 05, 2008

Happy Fifth of Mayonaise!

¡Hola todos y feliz cinco de mayo!



Today, don't forget to celebrate the true meaning of Cinco de Mayo: eating tacos and unlimited chips and salsa, chugging Mexican beer with lime, and pounding shots of tequila--the cheaper the better!


We Americans love any holiday that gives us an excuse to drink. We also love Mexican food. We're just not fans of Mexican people. We think they're all illiterate.


Actually, we're just paranoid they're talking about us when they speak Spanish to each other.


Cinco do Mayo. It's like a Mexican St. Patrick's Day.


Rob

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