Monday, December 29, 2014

Politicians, Ugly Buildings, Whores, and Wingnuts

If your stomach is much stronger than mine, feel free to read the softball profile of Erick Erickson in the Atlantic. Otherwise, I'd advise you to stick to the snarky takedown of said profile.

I can't improve on what Kaili Joy Gray has to say about this, but I'll just add that it's another example of something our Gracious Host is often pointing out: there is no right-winger so loathsome, so vicious, so extreme, or so corrupt that they cannot find rehabilitation in the Village.

29 comments:

Victor said...

You can spray a whole can of deodorant on a festering and oozing pustule near an @$$hole.

But, eventually, it will still smell like a festering and oozing pustule near in the near vicinity of an @$$hole.

I guess there's nothing a conservative can say or do, that will make our DC MSM Villagers turn on him/her.

But let someone left of center make ONE tiny boo-boo, and it's curtains!

Oy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Nefer said...

I have a really stupid question. What is this Village that I so often see references to?

It is often referred to in a somewhat disparaging tone by people who are not part of It, but at least (unlike a rube like me) know what It is.

I have tried the google machine, but I only get references to Greenwich Village, which I don't think is the same thing.

Please pardon my ignorance. I have never been one of the cool kids. Sniffle.

Victor said...

Nefer,
Read this piece by Sally Quinn of the Washington Post - it explains the definition very well:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/clinton/stories/quinn110298.htm

Also, almost everything written by the late David Broder.

Victor said...

Also, too -
"This Town:"
http://www.thenation.com/blog/175359/town-book#

petrilli said...

Digby explains really well:
http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2009/10/le-hameau-de-la-potomac-by-digby-i-have.html

Nefer said...

Well, thank you! Those links were very helpful, especially the Sally Quinn one.

It certainly explains the mainstream media and the Sunday morning gasbag shows.

I'm not sure the Village would notice (or care) if the rest of the country just went poof and disappeared into an alternate universe. For that matter, the Village may well be in an alternate universe, only incidentally in contact with this one.

Ten Bears said...

I'm not sure the rest of the country would notice (or care) if the Village just went poof and disappeared into an alternate universe.

Like "God" and football... no even a flying fuck.

Ken_L said...

Erickson did concede that lots of conservatives are consumed with toxic, mindless rage, which should be a useful thing to quote to a mindlessly furious, poison-spewing conservative every now and then in future.

Grung_e_Gene said...

Erickson is the epitome of the conservative American male; puffy-faced, expansive derriere, bulbous belly, wide waisted, giant jowled dilettante uttering inane statements.

Anonymous said...

First, a handsome thank you to Mr.Hilton for pointing me towards the very interesting Mr.Erickson, a man of whom I knew nothing until today. Also, an extra thank you to him and the commenters above for demonstrating, yet again, the near hysteria of American political discourse. Quite apart from the lack of good manners, I do think that given your predilection 'over there' for guns and shooting each other that it might be an idea to tone down your foul-mouthed abuse of each other.

In the meantime, having read that entire article I would say that Mr. Erickson is a very interesting political phenomenon. Unlike some people not a million miles from this blog (and others on lip-foaming Right-wing blogs) he appears to have grown up and thereby adjusted his political views/tactics without dropping his profound beliefs. Not the least of his virtues is his willingness to apologise for youthful verbal infelicities.

An interesting man and I will seek out his website.

David Duff

Tom Hilton said...

Yes, he's totally matured since his callow youth, when he used to call Wendy Davis "Abortion Barbie". Yesterday was practically eons ago.

Anonymous said...

What's wrong with "Abortion Barbie"? She is fervently in favour of abortion and is no dissimilar to a Barbie doll. Rather witty, I call it!

Tom Hilton said...

I wouldn't expect you to see it as anything other than "witty".

By the way, how's that "scientists predicted an ice age in the '70s" line working out for you?

Anonymous said...

"By the way, how's that "scientists predicted an ice age in the '70s" line working out for you?"

Not too bad, Tom, thank you for asking:

"However, it is projected that man's potential to pollute will increase 6 to 8-fold in the next 50 years. If this increased rate of injection... should raise the present background opacity by a factor of 4, our calculations suggest a decrease in global temperature by as much as 3.5 °C. Such a large decrease in the average temperature of Earth, sustained over a period of few years, is believed to be sufficient to trigger an ice age. However, by that time, nuclear power may have largely replaced fossil fuels as a means of energy production."

From the Wiki entry for the late, 'great' Dr. Steven Schneider. I grant him the honorific of 'great' because unlike most of the current crop of lab technicians (none of them are what I call proper scientists) he at least had the guts to change his mind. The fact that he changed it to an equally daft notion is unfortunate but we must at least give him 'E' for Effort!

Unknown said...

Erickson tweet from last year: "That lefties are accusing the new pope of handing over lefties to the right wing junta for execution makes me adore the new pope."

Tom Hilton said...

I see. Well, if you're unable to distinguish between the opinion of a single scientist and scientific consensus, then I guess that explains a lot about how you arrive at your opinions.

Ten Bears said...

Must. Not. Feed. Trolls.

Actually, no-sense is (somewhat) right: eventually, when the weather inevitably swings back in the "cooling" direction, there will indeed be another ice age, the ice age we were headed toward before the warming atmosphere overwhelmed it. Simply physics: every action has an equal and opposite reaction.

That it would take three hundred years to get to that point, if we stopped doing everything we do right freaking now, is moot in the generally accepted sense of the word.

Fear me, I've forgotten more than you'll ever know.

Never Ben Better said...

Ten Bears is spot on, as even this reasonably informed layperson knows. But it's pointless, really, to try to explain the nuances of climate science to the troll-minded; they seize on one shiny bit that appears to support their preconceptions and trumpet it as Holy Writ.

Anonymous said...

Ten Bears, pour yourself a large whisky and be prepared for a shock - we are close to agreement! Yes, I know, I know, appalling, isn't it? But if you and the comrades could only manage the art of conversation instead of merely slagging off anyone who has the temerity to disagree with you, you might find that our views are closer than you think.

So, yes, the earth has always and forever had cycles of heating and cooling which has been going on for zillions of years prior to Mankind crawling forth. Some are short term decadal cycles like the 'heating' that fooled all you 'Warmers' and which has now been replaced by a 12-17 year stasis - which none of you forecast!

However, one thing is now certain and based on real-life experience not, er, 'models', and that is that Man's influence on global temperatures is minute. For the past 25 years the Asians have been pumping out CO2 on scales never before reached even in the dirtiest of Victorian times and the result has been nil, null, zilch and nada! And, per-lease, don't tell me it all fell in the ocean!

David Duff


Glennis said...

She is...no [sic] dissimilar to a Barbie doll.


How is Ms. Davis not dissimilar to a Barbie doll? Please enlighten us.

PS - believing other people should be allowed to choose a legal medical procedure for themselves is NOT "fervently in favor of abortion." It's fervently in favor of letting other people make their own medical decisions, you condescending, pompous, sexist ass.

Anonymous said...

Auntie, Auntie, please don't excite yourself! Remember, this is just a conversation in which different people express different views. If all you are going to do is jab me with your knitting needles (so to speak) then we will not get very far.

Ms. Davis is blonde and female and to liken her to Barbie is a mild witticism. Also, in her recent - and failed - election attempt she was *fervently* in favour of abortion. Fair enough, it's her opinion and she offered it to the voters. The voters, in turn, offered it back!

Sorry if I irritate you, Auntie, but both our countries have some way to go before we emulate the, er, People's Democratic Republic of North Korea where everyone agrees absolutely with everyone else - or else! So in the meantime we disagree to pass the time but hopefully in a polite and pleasant manner.

David Duff

Dark Avenger said...

Sorry, Duff, but supporting the right of women to have an abortion isn't the same as being in favor of abortion itself.

Of course, for you, nuances are something to mock, not to think about.

What J.S. Mill said about conservatives:

I did not mean that Conservatives are generally stupid; I meant, that stupid persons are generally Conservative. I believe that to be so obvious and undeniable a fact that I hardly think any hon. Gentleman will question it.
John Stuart Mill, in a Parliamentary debate with the Conservative MP, John Pakington (May 31, 1866). Hansard, vol 183, col 1592. Pakington was referring to Footnote 3 to Chapter 7 of Mill's "Considerations on Representative Government"..

Anonymous said...

So, DA, is Ms. Davis in favour of abortion or is she not? I can understand your probable uncertainty given this other example of her, shall we say, less than crystal clear political principles:

"her admission this week that she faked her position on open carry (the ability of Texans to wear firearms visible to others) in order to get elected, even though she doesn’t believe it is the right policy, will require some contortions:

"Former Texas gubernatorial candidate Wendy Davis, in her first interview after losing by 20 points to governor-elect Greg Abbott,admitted she only claimed to support an open-carry gun law in order to win votes."

'Whodathunkit?'

Read more: http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2015/01/wendy_davis_comes_clean_on_her_fake_gun_rights_election_position.html#ixzz3NaXlceJW

Dark Avenger said...

I'm gob-struck. A politician claiming to change their views for political support?

Davis – who publicly supported open carry during her gubernatorial campaign – said she had regrets about her position on the issue, because it “strayed” from her actual view, according to the Express News.
In the last legislative session, Davis supported legislation to allow college students with concealed handgun licenses to keep weapons in their cars. Many Democrats disagreed with those stances.
However – as a Fort Worth City Council member – she supported gun show background checks, and – as a Senator – she opposed allowing guns on college campuses outright.


http://kxan.com/2014/12/30/wendy-davis-not-done-with-texas-politics/

Thanks for pointing out the first example of this ever taking place on Earth, Duff.

Nice avoiding the question about abortion as well.

You're not very smart, are you?

Anonymous said...

"You're not very smart, are you?"

No, alas, in neither the American or English meaning of the word 'smart', as my wife will aver! There, does that make you feel better, DA?

Of course, a man blessed with your perceptive intelligence will have noted that I made no attempt to imply that Ms. Davis was alone amongst politicians in her tendency to lie to the electorate. It was ever thus, Right, Left & Centre!

As to your 'question/statement' - "supporting the right of women to have an abortion isn't the same as being in favor of abortion itself" - I simply did not wish to embarrass you by pointing out the obvious illogicality of such a statement.

And by the way, do feel free to use my first name, you won't catch anything!

Ten Bears said...

I like George Carlin's take: conservatives want live babies so they can grow up to be dead soldiers.

Glennis said...

Ms. Davis is blonde and female and to liken her to Barbie is a mild witticism.

Oh, I disagree. There is not a bit of wit about it. Malice, sexism, condescension, an incredible sense of male privilege, yes, but wit? No.

Anonymous said...

Ah, well, dear Aunt Snow, you say potatoes, I say spuds! Shall we call the whole thing off?

Dark Avenger said...

Well, Duff, any reliability of your wife's opinion vanished the day she married you, so there's that.

You are basically a chav with the vocabulary of a ruffian and all the political understanding of a jackdaw.