« Well, it's not the Rolling Stone.... | Main | why can't we be friends »
These are just words and words are okay
by anna at 07:41 AM on July 27, 2004
Chris Rock used to have a wickedly funny routine wherein he riffed on the silly notion that Tupac Shakur and Biggie Smalls were assassinated. "Those niggaz was shot," he'd exclaim.
I caught a little of Bill Clinton addressing the Democratic convention. I was reminded of what it's like to hear a masterfully delivered speech again. But I couldn't help but think that there were those in attendance who wouldn't mind too terribly if W got assassinated, or shot ,or whatever. And hey, it can happen. Just ask Abe Lincoln, William McKinley or JFK.
Then it occured to me that that would mean Dick Cheney would assume the position of Leader of the Free World. You internationalists think the so-called "international community" holds the US of A in utter disdain now? What if we were led by this arrogant, taciturn, Jabba the Hutt-looking recluse holding forth from his undisclosedd hideout as is his wont? Perish that thought. (Though the fat cats of Halbutrin who're cleaning up competition-free in the Iraqi rebuilding effort would like nothing better. In fact, they'd be the prime suspects.)
By contrast, the equally bland John Kerry has tapped a dynamic, good-looking trial lawyer with an endearing southern accent and charm galore as his running mate. So if Kerry got assassinated, shot, or whatever, we'd still be in good shape. God knows what John Edwards' policies are, but She also knows it would have to be a far cry better than Mr. Go Fuck Yourself.
Vladamir Putin: You really need to rethink this ongoing occupation of a sovereign nation. It's a disaster and everyone knows it.
Jabba the Hut: Go fuck yourself.
comments (7)
I caught a little of Clinton's speech on the radio, and found myself laughing when he was talking about Kerry's critics doubting his ability to uphold national security. Clinton mouthed slowly and masterfully, "Strength and Wisdom are not opposing values...", and the implication, of course, was that W uses strength and decries heady approaches ("I think in black and white. I don't do subtlety."), whereas Kerry could do either or both. Something I strongly dislike about W and Chenney is that they seem to think leading and being dogmatic are the same thing (i.e. they don't give a fuck if you understand their point of view - e.g. Chenney's recent insistence on contacts between Iraq and Al Qaieda after the 911 commission found otherwise - Chenney simply held to his point of view WITHOUT OFFERING EVIDENCE to various commentators, and it was clear he didn't care to enlighten them. His word IS your enlightenment).
by chris at July 27, 2004 1:59 PM
Well they say W is more like Reagan than his more pragmatic pappy. And Reagan was the one who pointed out that facts are silly things. But I do wonder to what extent the puppeteer Cheney is already running the show without the need to have his ostensible boss shot.
by anna at July 27, 2004 6:52 PM
I thought it was an excellent speech. However, it won't convince anyone to change their minds about anything. That is the unforunate thing about politics today. Anyone who cares about it is so pedantic as to be unchanged from their opinion by any ancillary issue besides their own. While Clinton did a great job preaching to the Dem core, he undercut everything he said, and everything that will be said at either convention, debate, or stump speech with these remarks:
We all want good jobs, good schools, health care, safe streets, a clean environment. We all want our children to grow up in a secure America leading the world toward a peaceful future. Our differences are in how we can best achieve these things.
...
Democrats and Republicans have very different and honestly held ideas on that choices we should make, rooted in fundamentally different views of how we should meet our common challenges at home and how we should play our role in the world.
He then went on to say that the way John Kerry and the dems do things is better... just because. While I understand this was supposed to be an energizing sort of speech, saying you are right because you are right doesn't work for me. It doesn't work for me when Clinton or Kerry say it. It doesn't work for me when Bush or Cheney say it. As already mentioned, I'm waiting to be convinced by Kerry, but I need something more from him than "We're right because we say we're right" from the dems before I'm willing to switch sides.
by mg at July 27, 2004 9:33 PM
I may disagree with W's (or perhaps Cheney's, as per your suggestion) polcies, and, by extension, those that support him and his policies, but at least I know what he stands for and have a reason to dislike him.
It pisses me off so much to hear people say, "Kerry and Bush are practically the same." It didn't make any sense in 2000 when they said it about Gore. Sure, they undoubtedly share the same view on some issues, but it is incredibly ignorant to say that they are even remotely close to agreement on so many others.
Chris Rock also said, there's nothing you can't do on Wednesday because you're guy didn't win, and he was pretty close to being right. Society won't desolve (at least, not right away) because we elect the wrong guy, but people need to do a better job educating themselves about what exactly the differences between the candidates are.
They might find, for instance, that if they want to get their Alzheimer's cured on Wednesday, it's not going to happen because no one had developed a cure yet. Unfortunately, there will be a lot more Wednesday's where they aren't going to be cured, in part, because the current president shot down federal funding for stem cell research.
p.s. I'm not sure if it was a typo or if it was intentional, but I like you're misspelling of Haliburton. It makes it sounds like a new drug: Do you have misgivings about your horrible foreign policy decisions? Talk to your doctor about Halibutrin.
by Mike Sheffler at July 27, 2004 9:53 PM
Hahaha I love that last line, Mike.
by jean at July 28, 2004 2:49 AM
I love that word "pedantic." Can't say why. And Mike you're giving me too much credit. I can't spell Halibrutin any more than I can pronounce cimanin. You know, the stuff you put on toast.
by anna at July 28, 2004 7:54 AM
Vladimir Putin: You really need to rethink this ongoing occupation of a sovereign nation. It's a disaster and everyone knows it.
Dick Cheney: You'll be pulling your troops out of Chechnya when?
Jacques Chirac: You really need to rethink this ongoing occupation of a sovereign nation. It's a disaster and everyone knows it.
Dick Cheney: You'll be pulling your troops out of Côte d'Ivorie when?
Hu Jintao: You really need to rethink this ongoing occupation of a sovereign nation. It's a disaster and everyone knows it.
Dick Cheney: You'll be pulling your troops out of Tibet when?
Yes, I would pay money to see those exchanges.
by John "Akatsukami" Braue at August 8, 2004 2:33 PM