Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Baby steps, because the Republican Party is full of angry babies.

’Where will you hide, Roberts, the laws all being flat?’

Republicans got rid of McCarthy. Democrats chose not to save him.

Boeing: repeatedly making the case for high speed rail.

… gradually, and then suddenly.

Red lights blinking on democracy’s dashboard

There is no right way to do the wrong thing.

Republicans choose power over democracy, every day.

These days, even the boring Republicans are nuts.

Republicans: “Abortion is murder but you can take a bus to get one.” Easy peasy.

These are not very smart people, and things got out of hand.

An almost top 10,000 blog!

Technically true, but collectively nonsense

They were going to turn on one another at some point. It was inevitable.

It’s all just conspiracy shit beamed down from the mothership.

Museums are not America’s attic for its racist shit.

Dear elected officials: Trump is temporary, dishonor is forever.

Speaker Mike Johnson is a vile traitor to the House and the Constitution.

Optimism opens the door to great things.

It’s easy to sit in safety and prescribe what other people should be doing.

Quote tweet friends, screenshot enemies.

Fuck these fucking interesting times.

Rupert, come get your orange boy, you petrified old dinosaur turd.

Live so that if you miss a day of work people aren’t hoping you’re dead.

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Reader Interactions

233Comments

  2. 2.

    Cain

    Note that the union soldier is hiding his face in shame! Some stars shine brighter than others? Fuck you dude!

  5. 5.

    DougJ

    Note that the union soldier is hiding his face in shame! Some stars shine brighter than others? Fuck you dude!

    I think that’s a Supreme Court judge.

  6. 6.

    Xecky Gilchrist

    Agreed it is the Sistine Chapel, but no way is it peak wingnut.

    I know not how they will top it, but they have not yet begun to wingnut.

  7. 7.

    MikeJ

    Where is Sarah Magdalene?

    Look at the schoolteacher, just to the left of the mother holding her hand up and to the right of the marine in dress blues.

  9. 9.

    DougJ

    The picture alone doesn’t do it justice. Not only do you need the original with captions, but you need the snark.

    You can’t connect, tho — too many hits.

  10. 10.

    sunsin

    Jesus looks awfully white for a guy who spent his life in the Middle East before the days of sunscreen.

    Just sayin’……

  20. 20.

    SiubhanDuinne

    The Capitol, of course I meant. But I still think it’s interesting that the artist omitted the architectural symbol of an entire branch of government. Wouldn’t have anything to do with the current occupants now, would it?

  21. 21.

    Martin

    Where’s the White House?

    They sent it out for fumigation before baby Clint Eastwood Jesus moves in.

  23. 23.

    mistersnrub

    Farmers are truly the backbone of society, not those rootless, cosmopolitan, money-grubbing lawyers, bankers, academics, hollywood moguls and media people…

    Modern Conservatism = Stalinism

  24. 24.

    Penfold

    Okay, I mentioned this in an earlier thread as it was dying, and I just felt the urge to again:

    I really think we should team this guy up with the ace political cartoonist and “artist” Erin Bonsteel so astutely profiled by Sadly, No!

  25. 25.

    McGeorge Bundy

    Take a look at the book the college student is holding: The Five Thousand Year Leap by W. Cleon Skousen. Glenn Beck’s second bible.

  26. 26.

    Fulcanelli

    A’fore long this’ll be on the back of durn near every airport restroom bathroom door to drive out the sin! Praise the Lord’s wide stance!

  27. 27.

    Nicole

    I liked that there were explanations for all of the figures except for “Business Woman.” Is she good? Is she evil? You decide!

    I noticed the Sarah Palin teacher, too. So… state supported public education good, but private college bad? Unless eeeeeevil college professor was from a state university. Really, it’s a very deep picture.

  28. 28.

    RSA

    I like the contrast between the salt-of-the-earth school teacher and the arrogant, Darwin-believing college professor. I guess no one needs any more book-larnin’ than is needed to read the Bible.

  30. 30.

    raff

    Aww yeah! I saw this earlier — check out the ‘mouse-over descriptions of almost every character in the “painting”… it’s teh awesome! Ironically, the “politician” character represents a generic republican (has a “patriotic tie” & “American flag lapel pin” even though he only cares about his own self-interest before his country).

    Seriously, go now & check out the roll-overs… minutes of fun!

    I particularly like the depiction of Jebus as a towering, latern-jawed action figure when in reality (?) Jebus would be only a foot taller than the kid fondling the constitution (that apparently Jebus wrote).

  31. 31.

    Tattoosydney

    What I want to know is where, o where, are the hommosexuals and other perverts cowering before our lord jesus like they should be?

  32. 32.

    Nicole

    @MikeJ: Oh my Goddess, the snark was a sack full of win. Thanks for the link. Heh. The Jeebus DOES look like Aaron Eckhart!

    But even in the snark version, no Business Woman love.

  34. 34.

    Ben JB

    I do like the “if you’re black, go to the back, unless you like Skousen’s Five Thousand Year Leap” system they’ve got going on.

    If only more conservatives would spend their time painting these painting and de-liberaling the Bible, imagine how much work the rest of us could get done.

  35. 35.

    SpotWeld

    If you think this is it, I’m sorry to say you are mistaken.

    Tradition demands that this is the central panel of a triptych.
    Given the internet popularity that has arisen you can be certain that a pair of flanking images will come up for this.

    Since this central image is past/present the two new images will be a “good” future and an “evil” future.

    (The one where the True Republicans get elected and the one where they don’t)

  40. 40.

    gizmo

    And why isn’t the entire front page of Balloon Juice devoted to a celebration of the glorious Minnesota Twins victory tonight?

  41. 41.

    Patton

    Remember that farmers are “[t]ruly the backbone of America.” Given that the agricultural sector made up a whopping 0.9% of the US’s GDP in Jan. 2005, how could it possibly be otherwise?

    /snark

    As the descendant of countless generations of farmers, as a Christian, and as a history major, I would just like to say that that man is so full of shit he could open his mouth and manure five fucking fields.

  42. 42.

    Xenos

    You could call it peak kitsch, but as a clearly Mormon piece of work it does not really represent wingnuts as a whole. Whoever came up with the bald eagle with a tear that is gazing at the smoking World Trade Center – that has yet to be improved upon as an aesthetic and moral sin.

  46. 46.

    SiubhanDuinne

    Go into the artist dood’s website http://www.mcnaughton.com, if you dare. He . . . what’s the word I want? . . . expounds. Plus and, he shares this tender autobiographical moment:

    When I was very young I would imagine that someone would hang one of my paintings on their wall and a person from across a crowded room would say — “That’s a McNaughton!”

    That is nothing but win. Is there room in these parts for a new tag? ‘Cause I think “That’s a McNaughton!” is a prime candidate.

  47. 47.

    Penfold

    @freelancer:

    No, she sucks. This guy actually possessed some minuscule amount of artistic skill.

    That’s true. Though I still think it would be sweet if the lesbian lizard people from her “high art” had cameos in the chapel.

    You should also see her play guitar. Someone, I think in the original S,N! comments, posted a link to her appearing on some 12th-rate imitation of American Idol for instrumental musicians on YouTube…it’s everything ou could wish for.

  49. 49.

    Midnight Marauder

    You know, I came across that page a few hours ago, and I just froze in astonishment and disbelief. I tried to read a little of the text, but my eyes kept drifting upward and fixating on that picture. And especially looking at Lincoln. Just…kneeling there, arms extend like a presidential Tobias.

    And then I saw George Washington, with his hand gently placed on Lincoln’s shoulder, with a random, modern day soldier…and he was black? And then I saw that he was standing next to Reagan…Reagan? Why is he so far back? Why isn’t St. Ronnie right next to Jesus, tussling that blessed little white child’s hair as he touches the Constitution AS IT WAS MEANT TO BE?

    In the end, it just left me feeling like that union soldier in the far left corner. Weaping uncontrollably, unable to turn my eyes towards this catastrophic defeat–NAY, this holiest of holy tribulations.

    What hath God wrought?

  50. 50.

    freelancer

    @Penfold:

    I saw that thread. That vid link of her playing was gawd awful. Just for comparison, whoever linked it, I believe, also linked to Rodrigo y Garcia just to contrast how the guitar is a musical instrument and not some hobby to dick around with like a Nintendo Wii.

    In fact, I think I’ll link to them right now, Cover of Metallica’s Orion.

  51. 51.

    Zach

    I don’t understand why they can’t include MLK Jr. but can include a black soldier who’s named King as a tribute to MLK Jr. I guess the point is that people look up to King for noble reasons only because they don’t know he was a godless (but ordained!), whoring, plagiarizing, Communist? Frederick Douglas is most definitely the modern wingnuts favorite kind of negro, though.

    Also, there’s some incredible tension between the inclusion of Alexander Hamilton and the selection of tragic, antifederalist Supreme Court decisions below the weeping Justice.

  52. 52.

    Morbo

    @SiubhanDuinne: That is a damn good idea, or at least an entry in the lexicon. Something to describe Wingnutty attempts at cultural significance. For example: “Remember An American Carol? That was quite the McNaughton!”

  54. 54.

    Svensker

    @Xenos:

    Whoever came up with the bald eagle with a tear that is gazing at the smoking World Trade Center – that has yet to be improved upon as an aesthetic and moral sin.

    That’s when I started to get the sinking feeling that something was really wrong with this country….

  56. 56.

    The Sheriff's a Ni-

    I guess the point is that people look up to King for noble reasons only because they don’t know he was a godless (but ordained!), whoring, plagiarizing, Communist?

    You can skip the whoring since Ben Franklin and JFK are included. Obviously the big J’s A-OK on extra-marital relationships.

  57. 57.

    FoxinSocks

    “Fifty stars shine in the sky representing the states of the Union — some stars shine brighter than others”

    That means you, Massachusetts!

  58. 58.

    Ash Can

    When I was very young I would imagine that someone would hang one of my paintings on their wall and a person from across a crowded room would say—“That’s a McNaughton piece of crap!”

    Amended to add a touch of realism.

  59. 59.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Morbo 10:52 pm

    Yes, that’s exactly the context I had in mind. And An American Carol is a primo example, thanks.

  62. 62.

    Bubblegum Tate

    My friend emailed me this earlier. I was damn near convulsing with laughter in my cubicle. Poe’s Law definitely applies to wingnuttiness and not just fundamentalism.

  63. 63.

    Scott Rock

    Restated, you need the parody, if only to rehabilitate your eyes. On the black soldier King (because MLK was, like, totally down with the military-industrial complex):

    Represents the modern American Soldier. With “King” written on his body armor, he also fills in for Martin Luther King, Jr., because we can’t have two black guys right next to each other. That’d be a mob.

    This made me spit up.

  65. 65.

    Dr. Squid

    Ever notice that the white people claiming how the white race is so damn perfect are some of the ugliest fucks in existence?

  67. 67.

    Cain

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    That is nothing but win. Is there room in these parts for a new tag? ‘Cause I think “That’s a McNaughton! McNaughty!” is a prime candidate.

    Fixed!

    cain

  68. 68.

    Cain

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    That is nothing but win. Is there room in these parts for a new tag? ‘Cause I think “That’s a McNaughton! McNaughty!” is a prime candidate.

    Fixed!

    cain

  70. 70.

    jon

    @anonevent: Return of the King! That’s the tree of Gondor on his tunic, but where is Anduril? Where is the crown of Mithril? Why am I such a freaking nerd?

  71. 71.

    kommrade reproductive vigor

    The black soldier named King to represent Dr. King is … well … words fail, really.

    When I was very young I would imagine that someone would hang one of my paintings on their wall and a person from across a crowded room would say—“That’s a McNaughton!”

    And then everyone would whip out flame throwers and torch the house and surrounding area.

  74. 74.

    soonergrunt

    I cannot load the mcnaughtonart page–since there’s no art on the painting (which I can load for some reason) I’m probably not missing much in the actual category of ‘art.’ I wonder what other awesomeness, besides the whole “that’s a McNaughton!” thing I’m missing.

  75. 75.

    General Winfield Stuck

    Aunt Millie Whitehead of the Kansas Church of the Pentecostal Jesus Beavers says that Dirty Fucking Hippie needs a hair cut.

  77. 77.

    Original Lee

    Why is everybody talking about Jesus holding the Constitution? Don’t you know that it’s up to the critic to explain what it is that the artist is actually depicting??!!

    Clearly, it’s Thor with Yggdrasil on his chest, holding the Long Form Birth Certificate.

  78. 78.

    General Winfield Stuck

    @Original Lee:

    Why is everybody talking about Jesus holding the Constitution? Don’t you know that it’s up to the critic to explain what it is that the artist is actually depicting??!!

    I just want to know if that kid wiped his booger on it.

  79. 79.

    Nutella

    The first person so crazy that he was judged not guilty by reason of insanity was a McNaughton. See McNaughton Rule in Wikipedia.

    Am I the only one who thought of that when I saw “That’s a McNaughton!”

  80. 80.

    Sarcastro

    This just raises more questions than it answers.

    Who’s Jefferson gonna brain with that shillelagh? Why’s the reporter chick interviewing the back of pregnant chick’s melon? Will John Jay ever admit his love for Abigail Adams? Does anyone but the judge know the time?

  83. 83.

    Raincitygirl

    Hmmm, I can see a grand total of two black men, plus one generically Asian “immigrant” man. Apparently there are not now nor ever have been any black women living in America (gosh, old Tommy Jefferson will be sad), nor any “immigrant” women. No WONDER the consumers of this type of picture are so against black and immigrant men: it’s clear that they have no choice but to seek out white women if they ever want to have kids!

    So basically, everybody in this picture is white except for a grand total of three men. And never mind that Jesus would be more accurately portrayed by drawing a picture of an Ay-rab fella. No South Asians at all, and hardly any East Asians (also, the one East Asian portrayed is singled out as a heathen, even though in my city there is a Korean Methodist church, a Vietnamese some-kind-of-Protestant Church, and a Chinese Presbyterian Church all within walking distance of each other. And never mind the Catholic Churches in my area that have Masses in Tagalog and Vietnamese).

    Even more strikingly, there doesn’t appear to be a single First Nations individual represented. Duh, it’s everybody ELSE who’s the immigrants, not them, and yet they’re not in the painting. I thought at first that the generically Asian “immigrant” guy might be First Nations, but then I discovered the caption that made it clear he was an “immigrant” (but not the good kind) and a heathen to boot. Maybe the artist is one of those people who thinks the *real* earliest North Americans all looked like Patrick Stewart (see: Kennewick Man) , possibly because the Solutrean Hypothesis was true. Trufax, honest!

    http://crosscut.com/blog/crosscut/19027/

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solutrean_hypothesis

  84. 84.

    OriGuy

    @Zach: The King estate has been rather aggressive about the use of MLK Jr.’s image. For the most part, they have gone after people who were trying to make money with t-shirts, posters, etc. From what I’ve read, they haven’t gone after people who used his photo for political purposes, not even a group of white supremacists. However, I can imagine a wingnut meme of “don’t use King’s picture or the family will sue you.”

  85. 85.

    MikeJ

    Hmmm, I can see a grand total of two black men, plus one generically Asian “immigrant” man. Apparently there are not now nor ever have been any black women living in America

    Harriet Tubman is in there, and there are at least the black men. (Student, Frederick Douglas, King soldier)

    Even more strikingly, there doesn’t appear to be a single First Nations individual represented.

    Seqouyah.

  86. 86.

    General Winfield Stuck

    @Raincitygirl:

    So basically, everybody in this picture is white except for a grand total of three men

    In other words, your basic GOP tea bag unit.

  89. 89.

    General Winfield Stuck

    Raincitygirl:

    Geesh, I must be dyslexic, I saw that as Rancitygirl and thought what a hot handle. Or, maybe it’s just my mind lives in the gutter.

  92. 92.

    Violet

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    Yes, please. New tag. New Lexicon entry.

    This is the funniest thing I’ve seen in ages. I wish the original site would load for me. Shall try again later.

  93. 93.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Nutella #80:

    This is . . . actually unsurprising. But perfect.

    @Raincitygirl #84:

    Well, Harriet Tubman is there. But she’s way in back, in the dark shadows, kind of hard to make out, if you know what I mean.

  94. 94.

    Brachiator

    @Raincitygirl:

    Maybe the artist is one of those people who thinks the real earliest North Americans all looked like Patrick Stewart (see: Kennewick Man) , possibly because the Solutrean Hypothesis was true. Trufax, honest!

    First time through, I read that as the Soul Train Hypothesis.

  96. 96.

    Roger Moore

    @Raincitygirl:

    So basically, everybody in this picture is white except for a grand total of three men.

    Nah, they have Sequoya, Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass, and a black Union Soldier hidden at the back of the bus picture.

  99. 99.

    soonergrunt

    What is this book, “the five thousand year leap”?

    Never mind. I just read the Amazon blurb.
    Wow. Just fucking wow.

  100. 100.

    Mrs. Peel

    So has anyone figured out why he has Lincoln singing “Mammy”?

    Dude should stick to painting Elvis on black velvet and dogs playing poker.

  107. 107.

    Raincitygirl

    Okay fine, good point. But they don’t exactly make those other non-Aryan types easy to pick out in a crowd. And if you’ve got three black men (one shoved to the back), one black woman (ditto) and one First Nations man (ditto also, too), in comparison with a whole herd of Aryan looking folks, it’s still kinda pathetic. I mean, where’s Bobby Jindal? Or they could beef up the East Asian representation iwth a hot Chinese geisha chick in a hanbok. That’d be totes authentic.

    Geesh, I must be dyslexic, I saw that as Rancitygirl and thought what a hot handle. Or, maybe it’s just my mind lives in the gutter.

    I’m sorry, Gen. Stuck, but I’m either very tired or extraordinarily innocent, because I just can’t figure out out why that would be gutter-worthy. I know it’s never funny after some slow person insists that you explain the joke, but I’m intensely curious now!

  108. 108.

    Reason60

    My favorite is the Asian representing Buddhism, looking- how did the artist put it- “with awe at Christ holding the Constitution”

    Take THAT, 1st Amendment! BOO YAH!

  109. 109.

    Reason60

    Tattoosydney

    What I want to know is where, o where, are the hommosexuals and other perverts cowering before our lord jesus like they should be?

    Did you not clearly see the College Professor and Hollywood Producer??

  112. 112.

    Citizen_X

    @jon:

    Return of the King! That’s the tree of Gondor on his tunic

    Actually, I thought it kinda looks like Cthulhu.

  113. 113.

    DougL

    The only thing missing is the portrait hanging on the wall with young George Washington having just chopped down the cherry tree as the family’s pet tyrannosaurus rex looks on approvingly.

  114. 114.

    Chuck Butcher

    @soonergrunt:

    Never mind. I just read the Amazon blurb

    Oh no, that barely touches on Skousen. He was such a loon that even the hard right dumped him. If you didn’t know Glenn Beck was crazy finding out about his favorite author would convince you. These people are…I don’t know…such clowns. (think Steven King…and then think that as inept)

  115. 115.

    cs

    Was trying to find a painting I once saw as a kid but sadly Google has failed me. The painting dates to the late 80’s and proves that peak wingnut has always been with us.

    The image was of Christ on the cross, blood copiously flowing from his wounds. The blood flows across the painting, becoming an ocean, and across the ocean the blood becomes the red and white stripes of the American flag. And, springing to life due to the power of the blood, in one corner of the painting, there are 20-30 conservative christian leaders, such as Falwell and the LaHaye’s, and various Republicans, including RR of course.

    Used to have a print of this but probably got lost 2 or 3 moves ago.

    If anyone’s ever traveled to Eureka Springs, Arkansas, and visited the Christ of the Ozarks complex, you’ve probably seen it.

  121. 121.

    fliegr

    My ex-girlfriend sent me a McNaughton postcard of Aaron Eckhart Jesus leaning between a clean-cut, suburban-looking couple and chatting with them, a hand on each of their shoulders. Her added caption: “So, you guys up for a threesome?” I needed some new undies after that one.

  123. 123.

    cs

    @Chuck Butcher:

    Growing up in Arkansas in a religious family meant I would go there nearly every summer for the Passion Play and to visit Eureka Springs itself.

    Don’t make it back to Arkansas very often but when I do, I try to go to Eureka Springs every chance I get. Despite the 5 story Christ on the horizon, the town itself is one of the most laid-back tolerant places in the state, if not the country.

    And the Christ of the Ozarks is the perfect place to take your new girl/boy and snog for a while. Makes the sinning a little extra lovely.

  124. 124.

    General Winfield Stuck

    @Raincitygirl:

    I know it’s never funny after some slow person insists that you explain the joke, but I’m intensely curious now!

    You do realize your asking an idiot to explain himself. To my juvenile mind, rancity is sorta like down and dirty as it is close to rancid, like the music group. Kind of wild and uninhibited, if you will. Or, hot. Gutter is a relative term to placate, in case baby jeevus reads Balloon Juice and gets weepy from sex talk. Never hurts to cover all your bases, just in case:-)

  128. 128.

    Chuck Butcher

    @cs:

    Makes the sinning a little extra lovely.

    Ah, I see

    I’m afraid Mike Huckabee is just about all I need to know about Arkansas, that and a pass through back in the mid-70s that encouraged me not to do such a thing again. (1959 Suburban, very long very much hair, very not Confederate Party of Republicanism attitude – you get the idea)

  130. 130.

    Brett

    The geography’s a little weird, but it looks like they are standing in the ashes of the Library of Congress.

  131. 131.

    cs

    @Chuck Butcher:

    Things are different there now, sorta. Depends on where you go.

    At any rate, I highly recommend a weekend trip to Eureka Springs. The place reminds me, both in architecture and in culture, of a version of San Francisco put under a shrink ray. The town is almost entirely victorian buildings dotted across several incredibly steep hills, and is full of bars, galleries, bookstores, and ghosts. The place is rather gay friendly and full of eccentrics of any and all sexualities.

  134. 134.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @MikeJ #124:

    Okay, I’m seeing Baseball Jesus, Soccer Jesus, and Football Jesus. I am not finding Synchronized Swimming Jesus. Please fix.

  138. 138.

    arguingwithsignposts

    Oh. My. G0d. thanks for the link to the snark. this so much reminds me of the mormon paintings I saw in SLC in their “history” center a few years ago.

  141. 141.

    Ash

    Wait, did you guys know that it was Brown v. Board of Education that actually started that whole separation of church and state thing? Gosh darn, wingnuts teach me something new and wonderful every day!

  142. 142.

    arguingwithsignposts

    Listening to Maddow interview Rick Berman. My esteem for her as a journalist grows every day.

  143. 143.

    Martin

    I thought I would touch up a birther version.

    I got the long form and Orly in there. I’m thinking cheerleader Malkin where Lincoln is, and crying Beck instead of Ben Franklin.

    This painting really isn’t nearly wingnutty enough.

  146. 146.

    arguingwithsignposts

    @Chuck Butcher:

    agreed. I wish KO would spend more time actually confronting the opposition in interviews, although I’m not sure they would agree to go on his show. Maddow has her facts ready at least. I wish she would be a tad more confrontational, but that would probably drive the wingnuts away.

  149. 149.

    arguingwithsignposts

    BTW, I think Maddow provides an excellent example of “fair treatment” and also an unfailing viewpoint. She has a great way of standing for her viewpoint and yet allowing the opposition to have their say. I wish more journalists would do that instead of the constant “he said-she said” reporting.

  150. 150.

    Chuck Butcher

    @arguingwithsignposts:

    tad more confrontational

    I don’t think so. Her style works because it exudes reasonableness and still gets to the point of the issue. They don’t get to slide their crap unchallenged, even if it is low-key rebuttal.

    I do fire and rock throwing on my blog because I want to get people worked up, but that only works with the choir. If you want to persuade the undecided or unsure you don’t go all hammer and tongs – you’ll just scare them. Oddly, my wife who is nearly as left as I am won’t watch Rachel.

  151. 151.

    RedKitten

    @freelancer (itouch): He’s doing great. He’s pretty much sleeping through the night now (tonight notwithstanding). I’ve got a few new photos of him at my url, but will continue to periodically send John photos to post, to complete the Tunch/Lily/Samuel cuteness trifecta. :)

  154. 154.

    arguingwithsignposts

    @Chuck Butcher:

    Her style works because it exudes reasonableness and still gets to the point of the issue. They don’t get to slide their crap unchallenged, even if it is low-key rebuttal.

    I agree. My main qualm was that she doesn’t stand up for herself as strongly as she could. It’s a judgment call, obviously. Sort of like Obama. I wish she’d push back harder, but that doesn’t mean it’s the right decision. I do like her use of awesome facts and the use of a lot of time on topics nobody else on TV is spending time on (like ACORN).

    It is an American tragedy that Wolf Blitzer or others can’t seem to spend the same amount of time on these topics (although Ratigan is starting to get there).

  155. 155.

    MikeJ

    She is, to me, one of my few personal heroes.

    And yet the villagers will tell us there is no difference between Maddow and Limbaugh.

  156. 156.

    freelancer (itouch)

    @MikeJ:
    yeah well every self-described dittohead claims rush as the same save for the complete lack of critical thinking skills and all-encompassing void of history and/or logic and logical fallacies

  158. 158.

    Jacob Davies

    Hmm, that’s Thomas Jefferson standing behind Jesus, the same Thomas Jefferson who wrote The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth AKA the Jefferson Bible, a version of the New Testament that omits all supernatural elements from the telling of the story.

    I’m sure he’d be just fucking thrilled to be depicted standing behind a deified Jesus.

  160. 160.

    freelancer (itouch)

    @Original Lee:

    Clearly, it’s Thor with Yggdrasil on his chest, holding the Long Form Birth Certificate.

    hahaha!

    Via danielewski:

    Yggdrasil
    What miracle is this? This giant tree.
    It stands ten thousand feet high
    But doesn’t reach the ground. Still it stands.
    Its roots must hold the sky.

  161. 161.

    Peter J

    I liked that there were explanations for all of the figures except for “Business Woman.” Is she good? Is she evil? You decide!

    There’s no explanation for the handicapped child either. Maybe the painter feels that the two are alike?

  166. 166.

    MikeJ

    Now I finally have a companion for my portrait of Jesus opening up a can of Rapture on everyone’s asses.

    Who would have thought religion would crash planes into buildings?

  167. 167.

    freelancer

    @MikeJ:

    Hoocoodanode?

    Also, Google is a barcode today. Kind of appropriate considering Cole’s post earlier, and Taibbi’s timeless prose on the Peasant Mentality:

    This new Holy Trinity of right-wing basket cases has been pushing all sorts of crazy hallucinations of late, from Bachmann warning that the Americorps program would eventually be turned into a regime of forced re-education for American youth, to Beck’s meanderings about Obama creating FEMA-run concentration camps to warehouse conservative dissidents, to Norris and Beck stirring up talk of secessionist movements. And a lot of people are having fun with this, because, well, it’s funny. It’s like a Farrelly Brothers version of right-wing political agitation. But it’s also kind of sad.
    After all, the reason the winger crowd can’t find a way to be coherently angry right now is because this country has no healthy avenues for genuine populist outrage. It never has. The setup always goes the other way: when the excesses of business interests and their political proteges in Washington leave the regular guy broke and screwed, the response is always for the lower and middle classes to split down the middle and find reasons to get pissed off not at their greedy bosses but at each other. That’s why even people like Beck’s audience, who I’d wager are mostly lower-income people, can’t imagine themselves protesting against the Wall Street barons who in actuality are the ones who fucked them over. Beck pointedly compared the AIG protesters to Bolsheviks: “[The Communists] basically said ‘Eat the rich, they did this to you, get ‘em, kill ‘em!’” He then said the AIG and G20 protesters were identical: “It’s a different style, but the sentiments are exactly the same: Find ‘em, get ‘em, kill ‘em!’” Beck has an audience that’s been trained that the rich are not appropriate targets for anger, unless of course they’re Hollywood liberals, or George Soros, or in some other way linked to some acceptable class of villain, to liberals, immigrants, atheists, etc. — Ted Turner, say, married to Jane Fonda.
    But actual rich people can’t ever be the target. It’s a classic peasant mentality: going into fits of groveling and bowing whenever the master’s carriage rides by, then fuming against the Turks in Crimea or the Jews in the Pale or whoever after spending fifteen hard hours in the fields. You know you’re a peasant when you worship the very people who are right now, this minute, conning you and taking your shit. Whatever the master does, you’re on board. When you get frisky, he sticks a big cross in the middle of your village, and you spend the rest of your life praying to it with big googly eyes. Or he puts out newspapers full of innuendo about this or that faraway group and you immediately salute and rush off to join the hate squad. A good peasant is loyal, simpleminded, and full of misdirected anger. And that’s what we’ve got now, a lot of misdirected anger searching around for a non-target to mis-punish… can’t be mad at AIG, can’t be mad at Citi or Goldman Sachs. The real villains have to be the anti-AIG protesters! After all, those people earned those bonuses! If ever there was a textbook case of peasant thinking, it’s struggling middle-class Americans burned up in defense of taxpayer-funded bonuses to millionaires. It’s really weird stuff. And bound to get weirder, I imagine, as this crisis gets worse and more complicated.

    In this time of national crisis though, it is imperative, our presidents have said, to go on vacation. Take out that home equity loan, but above all else, keep shopping and buy more shit. Your great-grandchildren will thank you for it.

  168. 168.

    Tattoosydney

    @Reason60:

    Indeed. Silly me. I also have my doubts about that LIEberal media reporter… she looks a saucy wench who’d give most things a go.

  169. 169.

    Xenos

    @Mouse Tolliver: That is truly awful. It is also wrong – raising the dead and the rapture are supposed to be separate events a number of years apart. You would think these people could get their own religion right once in a while.

  170. 170.

    Ambergris

    I sure hope it’s not peak wingnut, I have pre-ordered several tons of popcorn for the 2012 primaries.

  172. 172.

    Calouste

    When I looked at that first I though “Mr. Hollywood” was Todd Palin.

    And btw, 18 people in the foreground, and all but two of them non-Hispanic whites. In the reality of the United States, that ratio is about 12-6 rather than 16-2.

    No Hispanics in the picture at all.

  173. 173.

    aimai

    God -damn. How did I miss this thread? I went to bed last night at eleven and got up at six and I still didn’t log on until the the thread was 174 comments long.

    I’d like to advance a new theory (perhaps one day to be as well understood as Godwin’s law)–freelancer up above sucessfully puts into block quotes the same Taibbi post I did on an earlier thread. I’m not sure what causes this and it definitely may be occuring in threads shorter than infinity. But perhaps it is the case that in any thread on the slavish stupidity of the right wing, as the topic of peak wingnut is raised, the potential that any commenter will need to resort to Taibbi on the peasant mentality gets very high?

    aimai

  174. 174.

    AkaDad

    Oddly, my wife who is nearly as left as I am won’t watch Rachel.

    Has she ever explained to you why she hates gay people?

  176. 176.

    kay

    Is that a judge in the foreground with his head in his hands and his papers spread all over?
    Or is he a minister?
    Maybe a member of the church choir?
    I can’t tell my black-robed players apart.
    That’s a little creepy and disturbing, in any event.

  177. 177.

    Svensker

    @cs:

    I shoulda been more persistent with the Google thingy. Here it is:
    Travail of the Flag

    A pastor friend of mine says that the Christian Right has devolved to biblical idolatry with its U.S./flag worship. That’s a pretty potent Exhibit A for his thesis.

  178. 178.

    geg6

    @kay:

    According to the “artist,” it’s a Supreme Court justice holding his head in his hands in shame at the activist rulings he’s made.

  180. 180.

    Woody

    I predict that, by a 5-4 margin, the mackerel-snapper majority on the “Opus Dei” SCROTUS will uphold the “right” of the State to impose Xian religious symbolatry on “public” spaces, AND deny standing to those offended by the symbols. Which will mean the only to cleanse the secular State of those ‘preferred’ images will be with dynamite or backhoes…

    Case to hear oral arguments today…

  181. 181.

    p.a.

    Peak wingnut is just a theoretical concept; it’s not like absolute zero, where there is some sort of limiting factor. There’s always room for more stoopid.

  182. 182.

    Bob (Not B.o.B.)

    @p.a.:

    Peak wingnut is just a theoretical concept; it’s not like absolute zero, where there is some sort of limiting factor. There’s always room for more stoopid.

    Unfortunately, I think peak wingnut will have arrived when a bunch of people get blown up.

  183. 183.

    ppcli

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    When I was very young I would imagine that someone would hang one of my paintings on their wall and a person from across a crowded room would say—“That’s a McNaughton!”
    That is nothing but win. Is there room in these parts for a new tag? ‘Cause I think “That’s a McNaughton!” is a prime candidate.

    Ooooh! That’s a great idea. “That’s a McNaughton” is such a great tagline that I already can’t believe the blog went years without it.

  184. 184.

    Surly Duff

    So much awesomeness is one photo it is hard to even take it all in.

    I do love the list of Supreme Court decisions the judge is shamed by. Glad to see Plessy vs. Ferguson isn’t included. Hate for anyone to be shamed by the institutionalization of slavery. That isn’t nearly as bad as Congress regulating interstate commerce.

    Also, notice how the lawyer greedily counting money while the businesswoman is simply praying. Jesus also gave us capitalism and we should all be thankful.

  185. 185.

    R. Porrofatto

    Standing behind Mr. Hollywood, Satan is obviously pitching him an idea for a screenplay, while swearing that he’s only working the Prince of Darkness gig for media exposure — he really wants to direct.

  186. 186.

    El Cid

    A minor thing on Taibbi and the “peasant mentality” — it’s only applicable to a few of the peasants. Karl Marx famously dismissed the peasantry as a “sack of potatoes”, but it doesn’t mean that that’s what peasants actually end up doing. Mao seemed to be able to accomplish quite a lot with peasants, and it was later peasants who would pay the maximum price for the political needs of the cities.

  187. 187.

    jibeaux

    I loved the snark one, where the Founding Fathers’ quotes about religion are in the front (I mean, Thomas Jefferson?!?) and tiny faces in the back are “wait, he’s an actual real live Trinity-believing Christian, what’s he doing way back in the back with the black people?” I lol’ed. Also the one about the pregnant woman pointing at the father of her child, who’s trying to pay her off. I think it was on this very blog that someone described something, it was probably a troll, as having lots of layers — “like a retarded onion.” So apropos!

  188. 188.

    kay

    @geg6:

    Thanks. I always feel the War On Judges is one of the scariest aspects of religious fundamentalism.
    It’s disconcerting that they’re portrayed as “lawless” by all the various fundamentalist religious sects. Ya know, to the non-fundamentalist world-wide majority, it’s just odd.

  189. 189.

    Comrade Darkness

    @MikeJ: because, optimally, all school teachers should have barely made it through college. After all the professors are the dark lord’s servants.

  191. 191.

    r€nato

    OK, if there is anybody here who thinks this same sort of “mythologization” that’s being done to the Constitution and FF here, did not also happen with the Bible and Jesus… please raise your hand.

  192. 192.

    Comrade Darkness

    @Brett: i was noticing that the smoke hadn’t quite cleared yet. Destroying the past, especially the documents, so you can rewrite anew is a grand tradition in this artist’s neck of the woods, so that symbolism works well.

    Well, I guess I’ll have to give the artist credit for leaving *something* for the viewer to discover for themself. Someone needs to explain “art” to this guy, in general.

  193. 193.

    JenJen

    You know how I know we’ve reached Peak Wingnut?

    Because ever since I first saw this thread last night, all the way until five seconds ago, I still haven’t been able to witness Peak Wingnut Theorem: Exhibit for myself. Not even once. So it must be true!!

  196. 196.

    ppcli

    @Nutella:

    Excellent observation. Maybe there should be a dialectal variant of the tagline for artwork that is truly peak wingnut (or perhaps I should say: within epsilon of peak wingnut, since peak wingnut is unreachable): “That’s a M’Naughton!”

    Reserved only for material so wingnutty that you question the artist’s grip on even the most rudimentary aspects of reality.

  197. 197.

    celticdragon

    That is nothing but win. Is there room in these parts for a new tag? ‘Cause I think “That’s a McNaughton!” is a prime candidate.

    Hear, hear!

    Motion seconded!

  199. 199.

    celticdragon

    Glad to see Plessy vs. Ferguson isn’t included. Hate for anyone to be shamed by the institutionalization of slavery. That isn’t nearly as bad as Congress regulating interstate commerce.

    Exactly.

  200. 200.

    celticdragon

    The only thing missing is the portrait hanging on the wall with young George Washington having just chopped down the cherry tree as the family’s pet tyrannosaurus rex looks on approvingly.

    FTW!

  201. 201.

    matoko_chan

    I think Peak Wingnut is going to be when mormon doctrine completely colonizes the evangelical christian doctrine that is the current platform of the GOP….it has to be a stealthy colonization, because a lot of evangelicals hate mormons worse than satan.
    Mormon Glenn Beck’s 912 Project is wholly informed by Cleon Skousen’s pamphlets.
    The mormons are some seriously crazy mo’fos.
    Their rituals and liturgy are stolen from the Freemasons that stole them from the Egyptians.
    Beck is a stealth mormon….but the best thing that could happen for us is if civil war breaks out between the mormons and the evangelicals.
    So the sane half of America should encourage mormon infiltration of the GOP, so that the GOP devolves into religious civil warfare.
    It should be Epic.
    ;)

  203. 203.

    matoko_chan

    Yessss….my theory is that we will reach Peak Wingnut sometime during the 2012 election campaign.
    Either the mormons and evangelicals will be able to unite behind a single candidate or a religious war will break out between them over control of the party and the presidential nom.
    I predict religious war.
    ;)

  204. 204.

    Bubblegum Tate

    Welll, I had all afternoon and evening to laugh at this painting, and I did just that. So I wake up this morning, and guess what? It still cracks me up. This is really something above and beyond the usual crazy.

  206. 206.

    geg6

    @Bubblegum Tate:

    I have to agree. Just when I’m pulling out the razor blades to kill myself over our fucked up economy and those who fucked it up, I think of this and just laugh my ass off. Thank FSM for wingnut unintentional comedy.

  207. 207.

    GranFalloon

    Not even sure where to start. This has some interesting implications, given the infallibility of Christ versus the myriad amendments. For example, the 3/5 Rule? That’s got Christian love written all over it.

    Other odd inconsistencies . . . Like the farmer being the “backbone of America” while also being the group that receives, per capita, more government handouts than any other group by far. The college student eager to attend college to learn of the great advances in America society – presumably to be taught by the liberal professor who dare reads The Origin of Species? Moreover, re: the above, how does he reconcile the infallibility of Christ with the fact that Susan B. Anthony – also featured on the dais – fought against the injustice inherent in the Constitution that refused to allow women the right to vote?

    I also like Ronnie elbowing John Jay out of the way. More of a patriot.

  208. 208.

    matoko_chan

    This is very emblematic of Mormon iconographic style.
    It shows the increasing influence of mormonism in the GOP.
    Beck is a mormon, and possible even more influential than Rush.
    The 912 Project is wholly informed by the pamphlets of crank conspiracy theorist Cleon Skousen, a mormon too crazypants for even the LDS leadership…so we are seeing increasing Mormon influence.

    Dr. Manzi told me that winning elections in America is a process relying on coalition building…that is how the libertarians, socons, and neocons hooked up. The GOP is now wholly a white christian party, and we will either see the mormons and the evangelicals form an alliance, or the party will spectacularily selfdestruct.
    ;)

  209. 209.

    Comrade Darkness

    @Comrade Scrutinizer: They are less far off than you think. Right down to the guiding alien planets. You know the place where you wake up after dying and are married to all those wives you would have married while living (in order to make you holy enough for heaven in the first place) but someone changed the rules mid-stream, so you can’t, so you get them later, if you qualify, which you qualified for by spirit marrying them, or something.

    That’s what I honestly like about this painting, it captures not only the blunt-force revisionist fervor, but also the inevitable circular logic traps. The earnest naïveté of the execution is just icing.

  210. 210.

    ChrisB

    @MikeJ: Can you replace Baseball Jesus with a Catholic priest? It would seem a perfect fit.

    Also, is there a MMA or wrestling Jesus?

  211. 211.

    kay

    @matoko_chan:

    Glenn Beck promoted Romney heavily back before Beck was a huge hit, during the GOP primary. I haven’t seen it mentioned, but it happened.
    I thought it was odd and a little risky for Beck’s “brand” at the time, that he would so transparently back one GOP candidate while ostensibly presenting himself as an “independent” and ant-government.
    I’m curious if he’ll reiterate that support in 2012 now that he’s the leader of the 9/12 groupies, and what that might mean for Romney, as far as forcing Romney far right to appeal to Beck’s followers.
    Should be interesting.

  212. 212.

    matoko_chan

    The earnest naïveté of the execution is just icing.

    Beautiful! Yes, they are so…….gormlessly sincere. I could envision a devils handshake between the scientologists and the mormon/evangelicals, just like between the libertarians and the socons.

  213. 213.

    Shell

    t for “Business Woman.” Is she good? Is she evil? You decide!

    But she’s standing on the right hand of Jesus. So maybe there’s hope for her.

  214. 214.

    matoko_chan

    kay….i don’t think a lot of Beck’s followers have realized that he is mormon yet. It should be very interesting. Tpaw is an evangelical xian, and it sure looks like he is running.

  215. 215.

    Cain

    @Scott Rock:

    Meanwhile, enjoy this McNaughton. Google!

    Oh boy. On the other hand, the guy definitely has talent. I like the good use of colors and the expressions on all their faces. If he was less wingnut I’m sure he could easily be a pretty good commercial painter.

    So in other words, I did like the picture.. go figure. :-)

    cain

  216. 216.

    kay

    @matoko_chan:

    What got my attention was that Beck was promoting Mitt Romney. Romney is just a classic “say whatever it takes to get elected” weasel, so I thought it was interesting that Beck (or anyone, really) would go out on a limb for him. Beck/Huckabee is a much better fit. Flat tax, populism, religious fervor, etc.
    Who the hell feels passionately about Mitt Romney? Almost no one, right? Well, Glenn Beck did. It didn’t make sense to me, at the time.
    If the connection between Beck and Romney is whole or partly Mormonism, it starts to make sense.

  217. 217.

    scarshapedstar

    I see I’m not the first to bring this up, but I was honestly surprised that I couldn’t find a smoking World Trade Center & crying eagle anywhere in the picture. Maybe I have to cross my eyes? It’s gotta be there somewhere…

    Also, I think it would have been better to have Osama standing next to the professor instead of that weak-looking Satan figure.

  218. 218.

    matoko_chan

    kay….yeah.
    That also explains why Beck hasn’t gone all out gaga on Palin and and why Doughy Pantsload is defending Beck.
    The Corner on Madness is all about Mitt for prez.
    K-lo deplored the evangelical attacks on Mitt last year.
    What’s their game?
    a Palin/Romney ticket of Jesus Synthesis?
    How is the GOP going to create an alliance between evangelicals and mormons in time for 2012?

  219. 219.

    Surly Duff

    Where are the lines indicating where to fold this picture so it turns into a smiling Barak Obama holding a Koran?

  221. 221.

    Comrade Darkness

    @tamied: comment 3 has the two links you will want for this. Definitely worth the exploration. Both versions.

  222. 222.

    Catsy

    @General Winfield Stuck: I dunno, personally I find “rain city” a lot hotter than “rancity”. But then, I love rain.

    There’s a reason I live in the PNW, and it ain’t just the high sanity:wingnut ratio west of the Cascades.

  223. 223.

    gocart mozart

    @Surly Duff:

    Glad to see Plessy vs. Ferguson isn’t included. Hate for anyone to be shamed by the institutionalization of slavery. That isn’t nearly as bad as Congress regulating interstate commerce.

    Don’t mean to nitpick but Plessy = institutionalization of segregation. I think you meant Dredd Scott, but point taken.

  225. 225.

    gocart mozart

    Also, why is Lincoln doing an Al Jolsen impression? Mamie, how I love ya, how I love ya Mamieeeee.

  227. 227.

    Surly Duff

    @gocart mozart:
    Nope good nitpicking point. My rage and sarcasm clouded my brain and I mixed both of those cases up, but you still got my point. Of course, I think both are representative examples and should both be included.

    I need to make points after I get my coffee, not before.

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