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You are here: Home / Politics / Media / More evil JournoList activity!

More evil JournoList activity!

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From the Politico:

Well now, long-time “Klein Klub” critic Mickey Kaus has posted a leaked JList exchange where members of the group discuss whether former and current TNR owner Marty Peretz is racist, as well as, if Olbermann is insufferable.

Check out the thread here, and follow the back-and-forth from JList regulars like Eric Alterman, Jonathan Chait, Katha Pollitt, Matt Yglesias, and Brad DeLong.

How presumably intelligent people could differ on the issue of Marty Pertez’s racism — we all know Marty would be rounding up Muslims and marching them into the ocean if he could — is beyond me.

But other than that, how the hell is this a real story?

Reader Interactions

138Comments

  3. 3.

    sgwhiteinfla

    I caught the story and I was thinking the same thing. What Kaus publishes is akin to something I would expect from some co-workers emailing inane stuff throughout the day just to fight boredom. Nothing about the exchanges looks even remotely important or earth shattering. In fact by publishing the exchange Kaus destroys his whole argument about the JournoList being some kind of vast left wing conspiracy. Unless he has something more exerpts that look more like coordination than just simply silly back and forths common to most people who use email Kaus should come out of this one looking like the world’s biggest tool. Of course even before this he wasn’t far off.

  5. 5.

    DougJ

    What Kaus publishes is akin to something I would expect from some co-workers emailing inane stuff throughout the day just to fight boredom.

    Wait til he sees the cute pet pics they’ve been emailing each other!

  6. 6.

    LaurenceB

    Not just Muslims, Marty has lately been referring to the "tropical working habits" of Mexicans and warning of "cross-breeding" if we don’t guard the border.

  8. 8.

    Gus

    He can overdo it a little sometimes, but for the most part I tend to agree with him.

    Yeah, I actually like him in small doses, but his schtick wears thin rather quickly. I usually agree with him politically, but that doesn’t mean he can’t be extremely annoying. The faux Murrow thing gets old.

  9. 9.

    Zifnab

    Well now, long-time “Klein Klub” critic Mickey Kaus has posted a leaked JList exchange where members of the group discuss whether former and current TNR owner Marty Peretz is racist, as well as, if Olbermann is insufferable.

    They were HAVING A DISCUSSION! On a NEWSGROUP! The horror. The horror.

    The Politico was never about news, it was about D.C. gossip. If you’re shocked that you’ve been reading gossip in a gossip rag… I can’t help you.

  10. 10.

    Jay

    Didn’t you get the memo that now that we’ve elected a somewhat black president, the only racism left is anti-Semitism?

    Olbermann is an arrogant ass, but any direct counterpart to O’Reilly would have to be.

  11. 11.

    August J. Pollak

    Later, Mickey finds Kelly’s slam book and totally xeroxes the pages about where she said Amanda is a total slut who stuffs her bra and OMG how hot is Trey I KNOW right? and then tapes them up in the girls’ gym locker room.

    Jesus Christ.

  12. 12.

    kid bitzer

    peretz a racist?

    oh man–when he starts foaming at the mouth, david duke sounds like the voice of reason. i remember that time marty and david were at a party, and the more peretz started going off, the more duke was just crying and saying, "people, can’t get we all get along together?"

  13. 13.

    bootlegger

    Didn’t you guys read that thread?! The libs are conspiring to put all us patriotic conservative americans in concentration camps! It says so right between the lines!

  14. 14.

    Incertus

    @Jay:

    Olbermann is an arrogant ass, but any direct counterpart to O’Reilly would have to be.

    I don’t see Olbermann as a direct counterpart to O’Reilly, mostly because O’Reilly is so often wrong on the facts. Also, I’ve never seen Olbermann pull that whole "sneak attack with a camera" bullshit O’Reilly is so fond of these days.

  15. 15.

    NonyNony

    What’s up with Kaus? Is he mad because he’s not in this particular "club" or something?

    I find myself unable to get worked up over a mailing list shared by a handful of liberal bloggers, op-ed writers and policy wonks when I think back to that BBQ at John McCain’s house where actual journalists being paid to cover his campaign were being swung around on a tire swing and gorging themselves with ribs. Frankly, if that’s acceptable behavior for a reporter, I’m not sure why I’m supposed to be worked up over a group of people slamming Olberman and Marty Peretz on a mailing list.

  17. 17.

    John Cole

    I’m sure signatories of the Online Integrity Act will be rushing to publish these private email conversations, because if I learned anything the last few years, it is that irony needs to be bitch-slapped every single day.

    Also, I don’t know if Marty Peretz is racist, but I do know that both he and Mickey Kaus are total assholes.

    One final though- Mickey Kaus does present a problem to anyone who wants a “liberal” email list, doesn’t he? Do you invite him, and then have him freely blab the contents of the list whenever he thinks it suits his purposes, or do you not invite him, and wait for him to blab the contents because he is a malicious twerp?

    Also, goat sex.

  19. 19.

    bootlegger

    @NonyNony: Because the fete at McCain’s cabin was video recorded and thus they couldn’t be accused of planning to take away my guns and make my kids gay, which is obviously what they are planning to do in any secret liberal discussion. They can’t talk about it publicly because they would be exposed for the fascists they are, so they do in secret.

    I know what you’re going to say, "if its secret how do you know its going on?" Simple. I know this is what liberals do and since they are not doing it publicly they logically must be doing it in secret. It’s logical dammit.

  20. 20.

    someguy

    I hear Marty Peretz does the TNR gig for cover, that he actually is in charge of the international monetary system, and most of the U.S. government. Plus he makes a mean pastrami on rye, but if you ask for cheese on it he’ll totally kick your ass all to hell.

  21. 21.

    SGEW

    [H]ow the hell is this a real story?

    Because we get to read an off-the-record thread written by well known bloggers who "stop being polite . . . and start to get real!" It’s quasi-demi-semi-celebrity "reality" voyeur bait.

    Watch Brad DeLong get snarky and snippy! Observe Eric Alterman’s archival rebuttals! Gasp as you realize that Spencer Ackerman might be a jerk, sometimes, maybe! Ogle the catfight between the Juicebox Mafia and Marty Peretz’s MInions!

    It’s hot gossip for the navel-gazing Memeorandum crowd. It’s not a real story, but it passes for a "real" story at GawkerPolitico.

    Oh, and Kaus is an asshole. But that’s not a story.

  22. 22.

    bootlegger

    @John Cole: They should construct a phony thread where they plot to take away everyone’s guns, ban the cross in public, and make all the kids gay. Then they leak it to Kaus and see if he’ll publish it.

    Hilarity will follow. Better than goat sex I should think.

  23. 23.

    August J. Pollak

    If I recall correctly, Kaus is one of the guys who loves taunting Klein and his friends for being young (I think he was the one who started the "juicebox" moniker but not entirely sure)

    There is something very unpleasant about a bunch of middle-aged DC politicos becoming more and more open about their spite toward a group of younger, and by most accounts smarter, political pundits and their lack of inclusion into their circle of friends.

    And I don’t mean unpleasant in a "I disagree with Kaus" kind of way. I mean physically repelling. The irony of Kaus and Calderone’s desperate wails of jealousy here are that if they were saying what they were writing verbatim at some DC cocktail party they’d very quickly find themselves standing on their own with the shrimp platter as their only friend.

    I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything as directly analogous to "Heathers" as the "reportage" on JournoList in the last two weeks. There are a bunch of journalists, talking to each other about journalism, and a group of outside "cool kids" have decided the big story is how hard they can make fun of them.

  24. 24.

    bootlegger

    @August J. Pollak: Worse, its the old cool kids losing their status to hipper and smarter whippersnappers. It always happens, the bloom fades and new blood replaces old. It also always happens that at lest some of the previously-relevant will resist their slide into oblivion with a fierce round of "hey you kids, get off my lawn!"

  26. 26.

    kid bitzer

    @20
    someguy, what, now you’re going to say that criticism of peretz is anti-semitism?

    i’m going to buy that about as much as klein, yglesias, and alterman do.

  27. 27.

    itsbenj

    Politico eees a-so a-crappy! Thems ees no making the sense. Do not leeessen to thee Poleeteeco!

  28. 28.

    John Cole

    This is completely OT, but didn’t we have a pregnant commenter (and not Krista) who was about to give birth? What happened to her?

  29. 29.

    Kevin K.

    Am I the only person who had to Google Katha Pollitt? I guess it’s because I haven’t really read The Nation since I canceled my subscription in ’89.

  30. 30.

    Jim

    I thought Keith Olbermann was a key figure in the great Journo-List conspiracy? Obviously, this is a clever ruse to distract Mickey Kaus and the fourteen people who still read Slate.

  31. 31.

    valdivia

    @Kevin K.:

    did you know she had her own ‘sharing too much info’ moment a few years back when her husband (the ethics guy at the NYT Mag) left her for someone else and she wrote a whole article about stalking him and the new woman on the internet? I think maybe her book ‘Learning To Drive" is about this, partly. That is intellectual gossip. And self disclosed at that.

  32. 32.

    vacuumslayer

    I like Olbermann. Oh, I think he has a very, um, healthy ego and a style that sometimes skirts around over-the-top, but I also think he’s right most of the time and actually cares about being accurate, which I appreciate. I also appreciate the fact that he seems to have a sense of humor re: himself. He seemed pretty cool with that rather scatching, spot-on [hilarious] imitation Ben Affleck did of him on SNL.

  33. 33.

    kid bitzer

    hey, i’d be cool if they got ben affleck to imitate me, too.
    i wouldn’t be offended with cary grant, either.

    what bothers me is that they’d have to use danny devito, and put him in a fat suit, too.

  35. 35.

    Ash

    It’s a story because Politico says it’s a story, dammit! John Cole how dare you question them.

    And Olbermann is an egomaniacal, pompous jackass. But he knows it, thus making it less insufferable.

  36. 36.

    Brad DeLong

    Let me, for one, say that you really should read Katha Pollitt. Even though she sent me to the Reeducation Camp for saying that Ross Douthat was a good choice, she is very smart and very articulate indeed…

  37. 37.

    lutton

    I mentioned this before, but the reason it’s a story is two-fold.

    First, although many of us consider blogging to be an informal, ‘say what’s on your mind’ type of thing, for some people being brutally honest could have a negative effect on their jobs. So the ‘tell us how you really feel’ comments can sometimes only take place in a (semi) private realm.

    Second, dirty fuckin’ hippies.

  38. 38.

    Violet

    Meh. It’s just gossip for political geeks. They probably don’t care about Brangelina. But they do care about what’s going on behind the curtain in the left leaning blogosphere.

    It’s no more "news" than if Brad left Angie and went back to Jen. But that sells a lot of magazines. Hence Politico posts this stuff. Same principle.

  39. 39.

    bayville

    It would be news if E.J Dionne and Broder were a part of that thread.
    As for Marty being a racist, doesn’t Alterman highlight Peretz’s racism in every other blog posts he writes.

  40. 40.

    kid bitzer

    @vacuumslayer–

    what can i tell you? there’s just a resemblance, and people have commented on it.

    though i have somewhat coarser facial features, and i lack his elfin grace and girlish figure.

  42. 42.

    DougJ

    Look at the top of the page
    Michael Calderone’s Blog

    Have you ever tried linking to Mickey Kaus’s blog? The thing is so weirdly organized, it’s impossible.

  43. 43.

    bootlegger

    @Paul L.: Then you’ll have to do your peep show somewhere else because nobody here cares.
    I mean, I care about those marines killing innocent civilians in cold blood. But I also blame the buffoons who ordered them into that situation in the first place. The problem isn’t that the marines are being prosecuted, its that the Bushmen are not being prosecuted.

  44. 44.

    Laura W

    @John Cole: R-Jud. Believe she had a girl a few weeks back. I asked for the gorey details in a relatively dead thread. Don’t think she saw it.

  47. 47.

    R-Jud

    @John Cole: That would be me. Baby was almost three weeks late, and there was some unexpected drama during labor, but all is now well. Other than the fact that the kid refuses to nap during the day, but that’s newborns for you: more hormonally wacky than a teenager, even.

    Edit: Actually she fell asleep while I was writing this comment. Balloon Juice: it puts babies to sleep.

  48. 48.

    John S.

    This is completely OT, but didn’t we have a pregnant commenter (and not Krista) who was about to give birth? What happened to her?

    If all went according to plan, she gave birth to a healthy baby.

    Which means we probably won’t see much of her for a while. The "fourth trimester" is a blur of baby milestones, feedings, diaper changes and a whole lot of sleep deprivation. It doesn’t leave much time for posting on blogs – or anything else.

    R-Jud: CONGRATULATIONS!

  50. 50.

    bago

    Keith Olbermann, resting on his laurels. Stretches 20 minutes of material out into 46 minutes. Half of it related to Bill O. However, some of the quirkier rants and interviews sometimes make it quite worthwhile. Eugene Robinson this week? Comedy Gold. Howard Fineman, ever? Padding. Like "I don’t want to write anymore and have already covered the subjects in my show in the intro" padding. Like seriously, I have used numbers to indicate that my show IS progressing, despite dancing with the lede in the show intro" kind of padding.

    Seriously, I downloaded this shiz for my workout and 20/45 minutes of the show was a repeat of your intro? Damn.

  51. 51.

    bootlegger

    @R-Jud: Oh no doubt dear, I feel your pain….er, well, the not sleeping part, the other pain not so much.

    Congratulations and may the Juice of the Balloon provide many hours of nap.

  52. 52.

    Mazacote Yorquest

    Why won’t people just acknowledge they’re jealous of Mickey’s looks? He’s trying his best not to be taken as a piece of meat, but for some people they just see beauty first.

    As for KO, I only watch Worst People. Does anyone get anything out of his interviews anymore?
    KO: Eugene doesn’t this make the GOP look stupid?
    ER: Um, yeah, I’m afraid it does Keith. I mean, look, …
    KO: And isn’t it the case that Eric Cantor is emotionally disturbed?
    ER: Well, Keith, I don’t know about that, but it certainly is a little harder to deny that than before…

    Not to mention the comedian from Chappelle’s "Real World," whose purpose and jokes escape me.

  54. 54.

    rock

    Worse, its the old cool kids losing their status to hipper and smarter whippersnappers.

    Good point. This is like the bitter high school janitor finding Kelly’s slam book and posting the pages in the girls locker room..

  55. 55.

    Cris

    @R-Jud: some unexpected drama during labor

    True knots! Holy cow, your baby is a topologist. Frabjous day to you and your family. Get as much sleep as you can whenever you can.

  56. 56.

    Laura W

    @bago:

    Stretches 20 minutes of material out into 46 minutes

    I long ago stopped watching his show in full after the first commercial break. I flip over to CNN and XM music till Rachel comes on. I hate the Oddball/Worst Persons crap. Much like I hate Rachel’s last few minutes of contemporary culture, or whatever she calls that fluff.

  57. 57.

    Persia

    @DougJ:

    I stopped reading Kaus about the same time the goat-blowing revelations came out, so no, I haven’t.

    Edit: Congrats, R-Jud!

  60. 60.

    kid bitzer

    @45, 46–

    meh, devito was okay-looking as the penguin.

    but a little too waif-like–he needed to put on another 30-40 pounds to be truly *smoking* hot.

    just ask me.

  61. 61.

    Dennis-SGMM

    R-Jud, congratulations! All the best to you and your family. May you learn to sleep standing up.

  63. 63.

    El Cid

    I am more than happy to put up with Olbermann’s over-the-topness, because he was there on the TV screen and being necessarily loud and bold denouncing the Emperor for having no clothes back when the Bush / Cheney / GOP triumvirate ruled the universe and screamed about the permanent Republican majority and when it in no way looked inevitable that they’d ever be stopped.

    Olbermann stood up when it counted. If he’s a bit doofy now, well, I hope he finds a different way, but when it really, really mattered, when nearly everyone else was either screaming in Glorious War! mode or shrinking in fear of King Bush Jr. and the Mysterious Fourthbranch, he didn’t shrink and he didn’t back down.

  64. 64.

    harlana pepper

    Totally OT but I just have to share. I just received my Furminator!! Can’t wait to try it out. I have three cats so I’ll see y’all in a coupla days. :)

  65. 65.

    Charity

    Gene Robinson’s new glasses have made him feisty! "Dude, you totally got owned," and "Obama made him his companion." Outta the park.

    I have a bunch of online gal pals who have completely inappropriate crushes on Mr. Olbermann. I go back and forth, but cannot deny the allure of the man’s way with a necktie, the mellifluous voice, and his unabashed geeky love of cartoons.

  66. 66.

    harlana pepper

    @KCinDC:

    Thank you for my first genuine laugh of the day as I have been in a foul mood. I’m so glad they have finally "come out" and can now wear their blankies openly w/o fear of being mocked. /s

    Tucker looks downright cuddly and ready for his binkie.

  68. 68.

    El Tiburon

    For the Politico, this is Pulitzer-Prize worthy.

    Otherwise, reading that proves the progressive-elite-types are as silly and inane as we are here on our on little BallonList.

  70. 70.

    camchuck

    Erickson’s on the Journo beat over at RedState:

    they hate Marty Peretz, considering him a racist, which we all know is code for “Jewish” among this group of typically America haters who, many of them at least, tend to not exactly like Jews when they are being candid.

    He does admit, however, that Olbermann is not on the list.

  71. 71.

    camchuck

    Olbermann used to bother me until I saw his interview with Bill Moyers.

    BILL MOYERS: Quote, "I have long had mixed feelings about Keith Olbermann. While it’s nice to have a cable anchor how doesn’t obsequiously parrot Republican National Committee talking points, I struggle with the fear that angry histrionics on both sides create more of the ugly polarization that paralyzes our institutions and prevents Americans finding common ground. How does Mr. Olbermann differentiate his ad hominem attacks from those we see on the other side?" What do you say to Jesse?

    KEITH OLBERMANN: Well, they’re better written. The first– no, I hate to– I– it’s the most vulnerable point because it bothers me, too. It do– it’s the one criticism that I think is absolutely fair. We’re doing the same thing. It is– it becomes a nation of screechers. It’s never a good thing. But emergency rules do apply. I would like nothing better than to go back and do maybe a sportscast every night. But I think the stuff that I’m talking about is so obvious and will be viewed in such terms of certainty by history that this era will be looked at the way we look now at the– at the presidents and the– the leaders of this country who rolled back reconstruction // I think it’s that obvious. And I think only under those circumstances would I go this far out on a limb and be this vociferous about it.

    And that answer was good enough for me. Been a big fan ever since.

  73. 73.

    Libby

    Filed under: Why I no longer click on Politico "stories." It only encourages them to print more of this kind of tripe.

  74. 74.

    Punchy

    Speaking of nuttiness, Notre Damn wants to make itself even less relevant than ever!

    Amazing, but not surprising:

    As of 2 p.m. Thursday, The Observer, the student newspaper, had received 612 letters about Obama’s appearance — 313 from alumni and 299 from current students.

    Seventy percent of the alumni letters opposed having Obama giving the speech, while 73 percent of student letters supported his appearance. Among the 95 seniors who wrote letters, 97 percent supported the president’s invitation.

    All the old, racist, rich fucks don’t like him. All the young’ens love him and understand policy differences are not a biggie. And in other news, man bites dog.

  75. 75.

    Mike in NC

    Devito as The Penguin was just hot. Period.

    Nobody bites the heads off fish better!

    Saw a YouTube of Dick Cheney biting the head off a live chicken. Now THAT was awesome!

  76. 76.

    Cris

    @camchuck (quoting Erick Erickson): considering him a racist, which we all know is code for “Jewish”

    *blink* what?

    Does it seem like the right-wingers have been reflexively accusing their opponents of anti-semitism with increasing frequency? Erickson’s little snippet exemplifies the weirdness — they’re willing to interpret anything as anti-semitism, even when it makes absolutely no sense.

    "Neocon?" That’s code for Jewish. "Racist?" Code for Jewish. "Wingnut?" Jew. "Christian Right?" Jews.

  77. 77.

    InflatableCommenter

    But other than that, how the hell is this a real story?

    It’s not. But the world you are peering into, through the blogapalooza window, and then through the MSM window, is all self-referential.

    Which is why its relevance is low, and declining, not rising, and why the real relevance is in the information loops between the people and the info stream as they exist, not as the denizens of the IntertubesNutfarm want them to exist.

    It’s why the info stream could never catch up with the political reality last year. If you watched all the streams, you would have concluded that Hillary Clinton was the sure nominee of the Democratic Party, that Rev Wright was the end of the Obama campaign, that Obama couldn’t talk without a teleprompter, and that McCain scored a bullseye when he picked that exciting new Sarah Palin.

    Meanwhile, the people flooded Obama with money and support and he won by nearly ten million votes.

    The old lens doesn’t work any more. A sea change has happened. 911 did, ironically, change everything. It gave Americans the chance to see reality in a new way. That and Katrina. The world has changed.

    Sooner or later, even the blogs will catch up to this. But not soon. I think it will take another 2-3 years.

  78. 78.

    Little

    Kaus’ article starts with this:

    Michael Calderone’s article on the large, secretive liberal media email group…

    A "secretive" email group? Like the one I have with my family?

    I don’t see how this doesn’t end badly for Kaus. Aren’t there laws protecting private emails?

  79. 79.

    The Moar You Know

    @KCinDC: As usual, the conservatives have formed their cult around the shittier and less awesome alternative. They can keep their stupid snuggies.

    The Kool Kids wear Slankets!

  80. 80.

    Napoleon

    Kraus is one of those people I just can not understand why anyone would bother reading or take the least bit seriously, like Megan Mcardle.

  83. 83.

    eemom

    Congrats R-Jud!

    For most of my mothering life I’ve believed that the newborn sleep deprivation thing was hands down the absolute worst part of the entire deal. Now that I have a teenager, I’m not so sure.

    But never mind that…..lots of cute fun years in between where you do get to sleep…!

  84. 84.

    Jay B.

    they hate Marty Peretz, considering him a racist, which we all know is code for “Jewish” among this group of typically America haters who, many of them at least, tend to not exactly like Jews when they are being candid.

    These are some of the people he is referring to: Eric Alterman, Jonathan Chait, Katha Pollitt, Matt Yglesias, and Brad DeLong.

    At least three of those people are Jewish. Why is Erick, son of Erick, so racist against Jews?

  86. 86.

    harlana pepper

    What worries me is, what, if anything, is JTP wearing underneath that Snuggie?

  87. 87.

    eemom

    as for Olbermann, the dude over at Daily Howler does a continual hatchet job on him which I confess I find entertaining……though I agree with El Cid that he was really indispensable back in the dark days when teh Stoopid and teh Evil reigned supreme.

    I also enjoyed him during that neverending nightmare of a primary season last year.

    Lately though, I just find him tiresome, in a "schtick’s gotten old" kind of way.

  89. 89.

    Dennis-SGMM

    @Lee:
    The hilarious part is that SadlyNo’s followup sez that they are disputing which one’s column should stay up.

  90. 90.

    Throwin Stones

    @R-Jud: Congrats!
    Mrs. Stones had an emergency c-section (opposite of our ‘plan’) back in July, as lil’ Pebbles flipped to feet-down after 16 hours of labor.
    I was freaked out at the time, but looking back, getting the little bugger out healthy was the most important thing.
    Glad everything worked out for you.

  92. 92.

    Mazacote Yorquest

    @Lee:
    Jonah Goldberg and K-Lo both authoring "Big Bedfellows" — I mean…Mother of God, that just– of all the possible article titles…and all the possible NRO columnists…maybe the intelligent design people have a point, I really don’t know what else to say. Some larger force is trying to make us go insane.

  93. 93.

    Zifnab

    @Dennis-SGMM: I’m going to have to assume that was SadlyNo poking fun. I can’t believe anyone would honestly have that back-and-forth conversation.

  94. 94.

    geg6

    @El Cid:

    Olbermann stood up when it counted. If he’s a bit doofy now, well, I hope he finds a different way, but when it really, really mattered, when nearly everyone else was either screaming in Glorious War! mode or shrinking in fear of King Bush Jr. and the Mysterious Fourthbranch, he didn’t shrink and he didn’t back down.

    Exactly. And I will never forget that. And I’ll always cut him a break because of it. KO was heroic back then and that counts for something even now.

  95. 95.

    Punchy

    @Lee: Whoa. That’s not like two no-name publications. Fatberg is ostensibly writing for the Post. Fatpez is the head editor for a national rag.

    There’s some serious journalistic malfeasance going on.

  96. 96.

    TenguPhule

    But other than that, how the hell is this a real story?

    It advances the anti-liberal agenda of the Republican party.

    That’s all the excuse they need.

  98. 98.

    TenguPhule

    Didn’t you guys read that thread?! The libs are conspiring to put all us patriotic conservative americans in concentration camps! It says so right between the lines!

    Shhh Comrade. The Revolution will not be televised.

  99. 99.

    InflatableCommenter

    It advances the anti-liberal agenda of the Republican party.

    Heh. Yeah, how’s that going?

    Unless I am missing something, they are still trying to build an agenda around getting rid of Social Security, or at least privatizing its assets.

    The CATO institute marches inexorably into oblivion. Zillions of us start getting our Social Security checks just about the time Obama starts his second term.

    The anti-liberal agenda is dead. They need a new agenda.

  101. 101.

    geg6

    @Punchy:

    They probably got it from their secret wingnut email list. You know, the one where they cook up all those clever GOP talking points…like that slam dunk budget Boner put out yesterday. I mean, where do you think the Pub congresscritters get their marching orders? I think we need Mickey Kaus to look into this immediately!

  102. 102.

    scruncher

    I like Katha Pollitt very much. And the biggest problem I have with Olbermann is that he spends too much time talking about himself. His Worst Persons segment almost always involves some Fox or NY Post related attack on him. Seems to me there are plenty of candidates that are worse.

  103. 103.

    TenguPhule

    The anti-liberal agenda is dead. They need a new agenda.

    I encourage their continued advance into the sausage maker.

  104. 104.

    harlana pepper

    Re: Olbermann – No, I don’t always go along with his style and I don’t always get my panties in a wad about the same things he does, but as far as the teevee msm, he spoke for me before anybody else on msm teevee would. Also, I feel he played a role in getting Rachel Maddow her own show and I gotta love him for that. His support and respect, even affection, for her appears to be genuine. I have to give Dan Abrams props as well for giving her teevee exposure in the early days.

  105. 105.

    TheHatOnMyCat

    His Worst Persons segment almost always involves some

    That segment is clearly about entertainment, clearly schtick.

    Don’t tell us that you take it seriously?

    Unless you think that their goal is to actually identify the worst person in the world?

    I’m afraid the staffing on that would be awfully expensive.

    ( rolls eyes )

  106. 106.

    TheHatOnMyCat

    @TheHatOnMyCat:

    Just a quick follow up … the worst person in the world is actually Henry Kissinger. So you see, repeating that every day just wouldn’t have the sizzle you need to keep the viewers coming back.

  107. 107.

    scruncher

    @TheHatOnMyCat: My complaint still stands. The show is too much about him. Can you think of any other news host who routinely talks about himself as much? His special commentary is all ego most of the time.

  108. 108.

    Dennis-SGMM

    @Zifnab:
    Yeah, I should think that any fight would involve who was going to take the blame for writing the piece. Neither one of them will ever be anthologized, or even cited, in anything not published by Regnery.

  112. 112.

    TheHatOnMyCat

    @scruncher:

    Yeah, it’s schtick. It’s a routine, comedy.

    But you know, I can see how that can go over somebody’s head.

    Olbermann has always traded on a self-deprecating style of humor and schtick, going back to his ESPN days. He just brought the schtick with him to MSNBC.

    It is very entertaining, and allows for skewering people and things with humor … the whole point of it.

    But I hate to break it to you, he isn’t really trying to find the real worst person in the world. He’s trying to get you to laugh at something.

    Okay, not you, but some people.

  114. 114.

    scruncher

    @TheHatOnMyCat:
    Why do you have to be insulting? I’m hardly the only person who finds him insufferable and I’m entitled to an opinion. Why so defensive about him?

  119. 119.

    TheHatOnMyCat

    Why do you have to be insulting?

    Because you are such a good target.

    Which I appreciate greatly, I don’t get that many good straight lines around here.

    Are you busy on the weekends?

    And, I know most people around here will back me up … you haven’t seen me be insulting. You’ll know when you do see it.

  120. 120.

    Dennis-SGMM

    @Little:
    Most likely although that would involve having far more respect for the intellects of the two parties than I’ll ever muster.

  124. 124.

    TheHatOnMyCat

    @scruncher:

    Oh no, it’s just one of many. But when I see a damned fool post, I just give it my best and funniest shot. At your expense, hopefully! That’s my job.

    If you have an actual argument, bring it forth, otherwise, I am forced to just keep lobbing mushy fruit at your head.

    "Fizzing with putrification" is the phrase that comes to mind. The fruit, I mean. That’s part of a Dame Edna routine that just puts me on the floor.

  128. 128.

    AhabTRuler

    @scruncher: Oh, no. This is mild for Teez. He can be far more insulting, almost rising to the level of art.

    The other thing to keep in mind is that it is only the intertrons, and, therefore, not very important.

  130. 130.

    TheHatOnMyCat

    @AhabTRuler:

    Blush.

    But anyway,

    This person has skin so thin, it’s like parchment. It’s like that spray on bandage stuff you use on kids’ skinned knees.

    I hope (s)he sticks around, I see a lot of comic material coming. It’s been just a total drought around here lately.

    Meanwhile, I am writing Olbermann and asking him to quit clowning around and tell us who the actual Worst Person in the World is. And if it’s Marvin Hamlisch, just say so. Just get it out there.

    That’s a riff on an old Al Franken joke, so take it with a grain of kosher salt.

  132. 132.

    MR Bill

    Why do you have to be insulting?

    CatOnMYHat, it sounds like a Marxist line:

    Starlet: I’ve never been so insulted!

    Groucho: The night is young….

  134. 134.

    Krista

    Congrats, R-Jud! I’m so happy to hear that Bean is healthy and that everything turned out okay. And yeah…the best-laid plans and all that, right?

    By the way, I have to compliment you on your writing. Your account of Bean’s birth was so vivid, I felt like I was really seeing things through your eyes. You’ve got a real talent, darling.

  135. 135.

    R-Jud

    @Krista:
    Thanks madam. I was pleased to read on another thread that your 20-week scan looked good. I hope it continues to go swimmingly right up to and through B-day for y’all. Enjoy your pregnancy: eager as I was to have Bean out at the end, in the days following her arrival I did miss feeling her moving inside me.

    Also, they’re self-cleaning when they’re in there. Once outside they are a little bit higher-maintenance.

  136. 136.

    Paul L.

    @bootlegger:

    I care about those marines killing innocent civilians in cold blood.

    @bootlegger:
    So You and Murtha believe the worst about them despite any contradicting evidence.
    All but one of the Marines slandered by Murtha have had the charges against them dropped

  137. 137.

    TenguPhule

    All but one of the Marines slandered by Murtha have had the charges against them dropped

    Considering how the military loves to drop charges that make the institution look bad, this isn’t saying much.

  138. 138.

    geg6

    Dude knows nothing about Murtha but GOP talking points. If he believes this, I do, too. Now, if we’re discussing his district pork? Fugeddaboudit. I’ve never seen Murtha be anything but golden when it comes to military issues and no one has better sources in the military.

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