This is just asinine:
Jesse Taylor deals with this nonsense, but I think it is important to single out Savannah Guthrie for starting all this crap:
NBC White House correspondent Savannah Guthrie asked him that earlier this week. She asked him if his preference for all-male hoops sends the wrong signal. Or as she put it, “Some people might look at it and say, ‘Gosh, there’s the old boys club again.’”
Well done, Savannah. Next to the #dickwhisper’s question about Obama’s bathing suit, this is the biggest waste of time by a reporter with access that I’ve seen. And, with an assist from the insiders like Tapper who want to stir things up even when there is no there there, all of a sudden we have PUMA’s and wingnuts running around screaming that Obama is a sexist. Because he plays basketball with Reggie Love instead of Anita Dunn.
The endgame of this is so obvious. This isn’t about sexism. This isn’t about Barack Obama. This is another beltway game where the press sees how much they can make the administration jump. Are they really proposing that Janet Napolitano come out and do some half court with Obama, the UNC guys, and secret service agents? Do they want Lisa Leslie on retainer?
No. This is about power and control, and this is about driving traffic to their respective website/network. They want to make the WH squirm and if they get really lucky over-react, and what better way to do it than pointless allegations of sexism? They’re just asking questions that matter, you see. “Some say it’s an all boys club,” or “Some say this looks bad” or “some say you have a problem with women.” And then what they want is for Obama to stage an all women’s game or a mixed game for the cameras, and they can say “See, there was a problem, and our focus on this issue corrected it!” Who says investigative journalism is dead! And they will pretend they have accomplished something, while ignoring the Republicans blocking everything on health care and the robber barons on Wall Street continue to rape main street and the taxpayers and so on.
There’s your liberal media. Assholes, all of them. Seriously- go read David Brock’s
*** Update ***
I should probably add that what makes Guthrie’s effort so awesome is that she took Candy Crowley’s “some people say” to a whole new level. She didn’t just use the hoary old “some people say,” she kicked it up a notch and used “Some people might look at it and say.” I mean, how f-ing awesome is that? Some people might say just about anything, so if you want to stir shit up as a reporter, you can just make up any old bullshit, because SOME PEOPLE MIGHT SAY IT! Somewhere, Savannah Guthrie’s j-school professors just hanged themselves.
Pangloss
Questions have been asked, some say.
dmsilev
If (when) any reporters ask Robert Gibbs about this nonsense, he *really* should reply that there are rumors about the reporter having sexual relations with goats, and that now that the question is “out there”, it would be irresponsible not to speculate.
I probably wouldn’t be a good choice for White House Press Secretary.
-dms
soonergrunt
Some people say that Savannah Guthrie likes to strangle cats during sex. We wonder what her answer is to people who look at that and think “she’s fucking wackaloon?”
Face
All guys have problems with women. If there was pure harmony of the sexes, 98% of stand-up comedians would be outta biznazz.
valdivia
not to cast aspertions but the main source for the original NYT article was Dee Dee Meyers. Why she is out there accusing Obama of sexism? Hmm.
I guess Lily Ledbetter means nothing.
slag
As someone who looks at it that way, I still completely agree with your point, John. And there’s no way you can look at Barack and Michelle Obama and their two girls and their, coworkers, friends, and relations and conclude that Barack’s “not comfortable with women”. It’s absurd on its face. And the way these people use serious problems in our society as play things pisses me off to no end. I would say that all of these people need a good bitchslap, but that has unnecessarily sexist overtones.
geg6
It’s because these people are shallow and care for nothing other than surface impressions. Obama hates women because he doesn’t play horse with any and only golfed with one once. Pay no attention to Lily Ledbetter or ending the prohibition on funding for African assistance programs that provide abortion or pregnancy prevention information and services or how many women he has appointed. It’s all about who he chooses to play sports with.
Fuck this. Between this kind of shit and the assholes who are telling me how I should react to gang banging fantasies in another thread, I’m about to put a gun to my head and be done with it.
Punchy
He wont convince me of his bisexualship until he actually plays hoops, cards, and showers with all his female staffers.
Until then, just another sexist pig.
Sasha
This is the kind of shit we saw with Clinton . . . and didn’t see with Bush.
Liberal media, indeed.
PhoenixRising
I would sell tickets to the President, Robert Gibbs and Rahmbo going 3 on 3 against Janet Napolitano and her choice of any two Senate-approved appointees of her same persuasion. That would be a good game, because no way is Rahm risking a boo-boo going after a loose ball.
Good thing all Americans have access to the kinds of preventative health care that saves money and lives…and we’ve brought peace to the Middle East with a brilliant mix of ending the occupation plus diplomatic work…and…oh wait, we still have problems? Damn.
James Hare
You’re especially right about the controversy for the sake of web traffic angle. For awhile I used to get angry at the nonsensical things that would make it onto the Kaplan Daily News op-ed pages but I’ve lately realized that’s exactly what those pieces are written for. The Kaplan Daily News is basically the newspaper equivalent of an internet troll. They pay people to say off-the-wall shit and then put the most inflammatory headlines possible on it. Then they just wait for the predictable outrage.
Those of us engaging in political watching need to stop feeding these trolls. Posts like this are the first step: recognizing the problem. I’m not sure what action can be taken — a “media troll” already has undue influence and a heck of a microphone; however, it does us no good to draw any extra attention to them. Well that and nobody’s figured out a foolproof way to deal with internet trolls.
MacsenMifune
I forgot that all profession sports were coed, and there aren’t any other real examples of sexism to write about, Cough “Women pay more for health insurance.” Cough. How exactly are really reporters better than bloggers?
IndieTarheel
The really relevant question here, of course is, “What does Candy Crowley have to say about it?”
slag
I do have one tiny correction to make:
Not true. They want him to do this so they can say, “See, he is a big girly man after all. We knew it! No real man has a bowling score that low.” And then, Maureen Dowd has her next column in hand. Go team!
Rekster
Savannah is pretty HOT and gives me a boner but I think I would have to figure some way to prevent her from talking.
Why are we even listening to these idiots? Chuckie, Jake, et. al. don’t have 3 IQ points between them. Where is Jeff Gannon when we need him?
syl
@MacsenMifune:
How exactly are really reporters better than bloggers?
Shut up. That’s how.
Mrs. Tarquin Biscuitbarrel
Some people say, according to sources.
Punchy
For tomorrow’s outrage de jour…
Countdown to a Bill Donahue CNN interview, RedState explosion, and Home Despot boycott in 3…..2…….1…..
The Moar You Know
@geg6: Dare I suggest that a far more useful response to the situation is to put a gun to the heads of one of the people playing the Eternal Game Of Gotcha and “be done with it”.
If you’re gonna go down, go down swinging.
The Grand Panjandrum
The Black Jesse Helms!
So Obama is the black Jesse Helms, the black Jimmy Carter, Hitler, Stalin, Mao, and a secret Manchurain Muslim … Goddammit if the nutters keep this shit up I’m going to have to get a scorecard. I despise scorecards.
Cat Lady
Anyone who has seen Barack and Michelle together – and who hasn’t – just sees this as the high school kewl kidz lunch table crap that it is. I’ve seen those movies, and the kewl kidz all end up old, fat and lonely. This stupid press stuff worked when we had the luxury to pay attention to nonsense, when we had relative peace and a normally functioning economy. It’s not that time anymore, and they all look idiotic.
Maude
@geg6: Wrong head. Put the gun where it belongs. The only thing is that those heads are hollow.
Maude
@Maude: Forgot an is in there. Must have forgotten about Bill Clinton and the meaning of is.
drillfork
The stupidest part of all this? Barry’s hooped it up with chicks:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/04/28/obama-plays-basketball-wi_n_192135.html
bago
Please note that this crap is not restricted to politics. Here is someone actually complaining that a video game about metal with a facemelter solo might melt videogame faces. Or something.
lurkergirl
Oh honestly. The man has two daughters and a wife he clearly regards as his equal, he’s appointed plenty of women to his cabinet, including the woman who ran against him for president – he does not have a problem with women. I think the comparison you’re looking for here is the infinite monkeys with infinite typewriters – except they throw sh*t at the wall first, then type up the report before anyone can check if it actually stuck. Apparently the merde du jour is sexism…
Cerberus
Nngh, I’m a feminist and this shit pisses me off. Not a damn one of them is actually interested in investigating sex-segregation in sports or the boy’s club atmosphere of the whole damn DC culture, especially the Village, or tackling issues of sexism like how a terrorist campaign against women’s health in the form of the anti-choice movement is given a free pass entirely because they claim “religious beliefs”.
Hell, maybe tackle the inane biology of Oklahoma’s illegal “fetus personhood” law or how much more women pay for healthcare or how undervalued women’s health is in this country to the point republican senators were actually fighting earlier to remove benefits for pregnant women. Or maybe the whole rape culture that leads to things like 20 people gleefully contributing to the gang rape of a high school girl.
But noooo, let’s pull this shit out of our asses like we know what the fuck we are talking about. It’s a democratic man and we have no idea what sexism is, so let’s throw some shit around and see what sticks with no idea or interest in what he has done for women cause “who cares?”
Fuck them.
Makewi
So is it your contention that the president of NOW is just looking to get viewers for the MSM? How do you explain her criticisms, and further how do you explain the POTUS taking a woman golfing immediately after O’Neill made them?
That organization seems to think it IS a story.
Leelee for Obama
@PhoenixRising:
This is the heart of the matter. If these schmucks spent as much time focusing on the REAL issues as they do on ridiculous BS controversies, we’d have had health care done six months, or maybe even 16 years ago. We wouldn’t be wondering if or when or how many more troops are/aren’t needed in Afghanistan, we wouldn’t be in Iraq trying to get the HELL out, and the Lily Ledbetter Act wouldn’t have been necessary, ’cause her problem wouldn’t have existed in a country with investigative journalists holding the powers-that-be to account.
A Free Press is necessary to the function of a Democracy, a brain-free Press, not so much.
Can we just fire them-at least in the sense that we pay no attention to their crap?
I still have a button from the late sixties that asks, “What if they gave a war, and nobody came?” To paraphrase, “What if _________________ said something inane and stupid, and no one paid attention?” (Think of all the needless suffering we could avoid! Fill in the blank yourselves, there are too many to list!)
Anoniminous
When is the Fourth Estate going into probate? The corpse has stopped twitching and it’s dead. We need to stop grieving and move to acceptance.
Also.
Too.
Ella in NM
Yes, folks this is a really important issue you MUST weigh in on in the ongoing war to prove Barack Obama is REALLY the antichrist.
Meanwhile, please don’t pay attention to the “issue” behind the curtain…
“Got Perfect Credit? You Could Be Charged For It!
Bank Of America, Citigroup First To Try Out Idea, Which Will Undoubtedly Alienate Many Who Follow The Rules”
http://wcbstv.com/consumer/credit.card.fees.2.1272124.html
gopher2b
Obama should stage an all women’s game. And when the first one attempts to shoot the ball, he should block the shit out of it. Send it right at the cameras. AND THEN he should say something witty and sexist about balls.
Cerberus
@bago:
…
Wow, talk about not getting anything. Violence in culture is actually MORE acceptable the more cartoonish it becomes because the less it resembles actual acts (that’s even accepting the contention that culture inherently influences behavior in a direct manner, which is hardly proven yet). So a face melting attack is better than if you just shot someone.
Can we deport every Village expert and import people who know what the fuck they’re commenting on. Imagine how much better this all could have been if instead of “we have women here” bullshit, we had a handful of actual feminists with an understanding of sexism in the culture and thus some actual clue of what the Lily Ledbetter Act and the repeal of the global gag rule meant.
kay
@drillfork:
“My girls look at the TV when I’m watching ‘SportsCenter’ and they see women staring back,” Obama said of the ESPN program, a personal favorite. “That shows them that they can be champions, too.”
Well. There’s a shocker. Our media. Not only stupid but wrong.
asiangrrlMN
@geg6: Holy shit. I am glad I did not read the gangbanging thread. I would have gone ballistic.
Anyhoo, it’s all about glitz and manufacturing interest, no matter how momentary in order to drive up readership/viewership/whatever.
Personally, I would like one of the women on Obama’s admin (like, say, Hillary Clinton) to step out to these assholes and say, “Look, asshole. I’m the motherfucking Secretary of State. That ought to tell you something about how Obama feels about women.”
I also agree that watching the way he is with Michelle indicates a high level of respect for her (in that he actually looks at her and listens when she talks) and his love for her.
I am so fucking tired of this shit. Really.
geg6
@Makewi:
Yes.
SATSQ.
And before you say it, I am a member of NOW. But not much longer, unless she sees fit to apologize for being as stupid as you are.
asiangrrlMN
@geg6: Damn you. I had to read Makalakaweewee after I read your response, but you were spot on.
4tehlulz
I’m just surprised that Geraldine Ferraro hasn’t been asked her opinion yet.
RW_Gadfly
Er, but Bonnie Erbe is a liberal editorialist — and openly, at that. Sure, it’s a ridiculous column on her part. But most of them hit me that way (unsurprisingly).
I’m not sure why we’d look at a liberal columnist writing a dumb column about a Democratic President to be evidence countering the right’s arguments of liberal media bias.
That would be akin to conservatives reading a George Will column that’s critical of Sarah Palin and saying “Liberal media bias! Liberal media bias!”
I’m sure some of the more shrill of my ilk would do that or something like it, but you shouldn’t want to follow their lead.
freelancer
@Punchy:
That dude is a grade A moron. The creator of the UNIVERSE’s plan apparently included having one of his followers get shitcanned from a hardware store.
*Facepalm.
comrade scott's agenda of rage
Savannah used to work for CourtTV and did nothing but Michael Jackson coverage. Is a lawyer by training.
And now she’s a WH correspondent? Kinda makes you wonder how many people she slept with to get the job. Of course, one could say that about any of the Beltway media these days regardless of gender.
4tehlulz
@comrade scott’s agenda of rage: ESPN has a White House correspndent?
Makewi
@geg6:
Yes, she is just acting as pimp for the MSM? You believe she doesn’t really think this is an issue?
Jack
Yes, it is “the media.” Which is shorthand for very large business operations competing with each other in a relatively closed system, for control of information and entertainment dollars.
But, it’s not “the media” in a vacuum. National level politicians feed this cycle. Deliberately. With planning and coordination.
Because it serves a very obfuscative purpose to pretend that the governing of a global empire is about minor details like this, or Hilary Clinton’s penchant for folksy quips and New Testament allegory (the real deal), or Olympia Snowe’s relevance to anything except her re-election in increasingly urban and liberal Maine.
There’s complicity here. Giant entertainment, oil, banking, insurance and manufacturing combines benefit from dollar hegemony, which is in truth American military hegemony.
This is their class they’re protecting, the class which governs a continent, can project force at near will in nearly every region of the earth, and directly rules three hundred million
captive consumerspersons.This is manufactured Spectacle, and it serves Barack Obama and Democrats as much as it serves the bottom line of the Disney leviathan, Newscorp and General Electric.
As long as Barack Obama, President™ is a brand with brand loyalty, he is well served by minor media scuffles which re-inforce those loyalties.
It serves any politician’s to be attacked when the attack is easily deflected or explained away as a triviality. Because those inclined to stickiness (damn HuffPo for putting that word into circulation, recently) self-reinforce.
A politician, in short, without adversaries is a politician out of office.
slag
@kay:
True. Though there is an argument to be made that we, as a society, take sports way too seriously. And I don’t think it’s a coincidence that it happens to be a male-dominated field. Even if women have made some inroads.
Scuffletuffle
I want to shower with O, how do I get a White House job?
Jack
@comrade scott’s agenda of rage:
With respect, that’s an overtly sexist sentiment. If she were a he, would you have gone directly to “slept [his] way” into a position of influence?
Llelldorin
@Sasha:
That’s really the key point here. It would be one thing if the media always played low-level BS games like this–it would mean that we have a tabloid media, and be depressing, but we could live with it. It’s something entirely else again when it’s only directed at Democratic administrations. With Bush we got endless “grownups back in charge” stories until 9/11, followed by full-throated groveling until Hurricane Katrina.
Sputnik_Sweetheart
I’m really tired of this notion that Obama has to be all things to all people. As a woman, I could care not less if he plays hoops with women. What I care about is hearing his policies on issues. What is wrong with our media?
AJ
The most stupid question?
Worse than this one?
“(Mr. President) What is your reaction to Alex Rodriguez’s admission that he used steroids as a member of the Texas Rangers?” – Washington Post reporter Michael A. Fletcher
tomvox1
Asinine but this meme has persisted since before the election, with a lot of supposed disaffected Hillary supporters–PUMA, The New Agenda and the most vitriolically anti-Obama feminist blog, the Reclusive Leftist–displaying an almost obsessive hatred of the Big O and often a seemingly counterintuitive enthusiasm for Palin. Like it or not, there is a small but hardcore group of women who are not all classic GOP/DAR-types or Tea-baggers who hate the Prez’s guts and believe he’s a secret misogynist . Hell hath no fury like a Primary loser, perhaps?
The Dangerman
Assholes, the lot of them.
Perhaps one can enjoy golfing in “mixed company” or bowling in “mixed company”, or maybe even playing touch (yeah, baby) football in “mixed company”.
But serious Balling (ahem) in “mixed company” sucks; maybe folks are confused because of the quality of the women’s game (there ARE some good players at their level) and the completely incorrect notion that basketball is a noncontact sport…
…but I’ve run with some high level women players. A good boxout sends them flying. Then you have to stop the game, bring out the first aid kit, maybe even call an ambulance.
Serious ballers know this story is shit.
comrade scott's agenda of rage
ESPN has a White House correspndent?
I hear Chris Bermann was originally offered the job but felt the press corpse wasn’t up the the professional standards of most sports beat reporters.
bago
Speaking of Grade A WTF…
A picture that says a thousand words.
kay
@slag:
Oh, I don’t care about sports, so to a certain extent I agree with you. People absolutely love sports, so I’m happy about that, for them, and they do serve a purpose, because they keep kids busy after school so they have less time to get each other pregnant.
Other than that, I’m not interested.
If I had to pick one to follow, it would be baseball. I like how it sounds. I’m waiting until I’m old. I plan on listening to it on the radio.
comrade scott's agenda of rage
With respect, that’s an overtly sexist sentiment. If she were a he, would you have gone directly to “slept [his] way” into a position of influence?
Note the second half of what I said. It implied everybody in the Washington Press Corpse has slept its way to where it is today, including [his].
My over-the-top point here is that NBC Fucking News plucked somebody with, quite frankly, no journalistic chops to be its WH Correspondent? I wonder how many actual working journalists there are out there who, I’m sure, could do a better job? No, instead we get another vacuous talking head from cable teevee landing a notable gig.
Zifnab
@Sputnik_Sweetheart:
Policies? Fuck that shit. That’s what we bring the lobbyists and Republicans on to discuss. News anchor reporters don’t touch policy with a ten foot poll when they can avoid it.
Shawn in ShowMe
Depends on if the guy was cute.
shoutingattherain
@Rekster:
Sorry I’m feeling juvenile today but HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA that’s funny as all get out.
Boner.
bago
@Zifnab: Are you trying to say that Chuck Todd is a Poll Smoker?
slag
@kay: I actually enjoy playing many sports. But I don’t see any compelling reason why doing so should be considered any more of a serious venture than say…gardening or home decorating. Playing sports is a great hobby. But it’s one that has attained an imprimatur of national importance that I don’t really understand.
DB
The first time I ever noticed Savannah Guthrie was after McCain picked Palin. She was dispatched to Alaska where she chimed in every 10 minutes or so with a huge grin and yet another report from some greasy spoon where everybody was just soooo happy(!!!!)
There was zero newsworthiness in any of her reports, just 100% fluff for Palin. Over and over. I can’t even look at Guthrie anymore.
comrade scott's agenda of rage
“(Mr. President) What is your reaction to Alex Rodriguez’s admission that he used steroids as a member of the Texas Rangers?” – Washington Post reporter Michael A. Fletcher
Fletcher, too, must have slept his way to where he is today. Oi vey. He’s indicative of *every* Post political beat reporter of the last decade: Romano, Murray, Bacon Bits, the asshole who went to Politico and now works for some right-wing group (I can’t remember his name), and the 30-something woman with the slight overbite who came down from first the Boston Globe, then the NYT, just to name a few. Every time I hear em bitch and moan about the state of newspapers these days, I’m astounding that they never look in the mirror and think “hmmmmmmm”.
They all come out of the same axolotl tank. Let em all drown.
licensed to kill time
Some people say that wasting time on non-issues like this is why important things like trying to pin down Bin Laden/terrorism back in the 90’s got labeled as “wagging the dog” and feeble attempts by Clinton to divert attention from the Blow Job That Shook America and Poisoned the Minds of The Children.
Gotta stay focused on the important stuff, media fluffnuggets! Heckuva job!
asdf
I got to “dickwhisperer” and laughed so hard I couldn’t go on.
OK, let compose myself. Back to the article.
Damn, that was funny.
geg6
@Makewi:
Yes.
LD50
@Makewi: Funny how Makewi will believe pretty much anyone if it seems their statements reflect badly on Obama.
Max
Michelle Obama on Glamour Cover photo here.
I’m sure in the article she goes on to talk about how oppressed she is and how B-Rock can’t stop telling her to get back in the kitchen and fix him a sandwich.
Calouste
Of course president John “you cunt; drop your disable wife to marry a heiress; sexist jokes; serial womanizer;” McCain would have been so much better towards women.
comrade scott's agenda of rage
The first time I ever noticed Savannah Guthrie was after McCain picked Palin. She was dispatched to Alaska where she chimed in every 10 minutes or so with a huge grin and yet another report from some greasy spoon where everybody was just soooo happy(!) There was zero newsworthiness in any of her reports, just 100% fluff for Palin. Over and over. I can’t even look at Guthrie anymore.
She reminds me of another reporter from earlier in the decade who worked for MSNBC, had another cutesy, stoopid first name as well. I can’t remember it now for the life of me. She was simply godawful and didn’t even rise to the level of “news porn” that one sees paraded nonstop over at Faux “News”. Dunno where she ended up, hopefully in a 4th-rate market doing the nightly local news.
Again, I actually know a WH reporter and I’m appalled that somebody like Guthrie got that gig. Oh, wait, perhaps it reflects how NBC feels about that position, ie., it’s worthless but they have to have somebody there.
comrade scott's agenda of rage
I’m sure in the article she goes on to talk about how oppressed she is and how B-Rock can’t stop telling her to get back in the kitchen and fix him a sandwich.
When does she say “Whitey”? We all just know she’s dying to.
Zifnab
@comrade scott’s agenda of rage:
Sports journalists really are the last line of decent reports left in the business.
LD50
@geg6:
Exactly. Conservatives are prone to obsess with style over substance anyway. Since they have no arguments that make sense, that’s why you get morons like Makewi here babbling about how Obama using the word ‘sweetie’ Makes Him A Rapist Just Like Clinton, evidently completely amazed that we think Leadbetter is more important than Sweetiegate.
But as annoying as they are, they’re just jerking off. See how well screaming about symbols served them in ’06 & ’08.
Cat Lady
Only because they can’t make shit up about winners and losers.
comrade scott's agenda of rage
Sports journalists really are the last line of decent reports left in the business.
I totally agree. As a DC native and lifetime reader of the Post, I see it every day. Their sports reporters and columnists actually do real journalism every day. Their counterparts on the political side suck hind tit every day. The contrast is remarkable…and sad…and depressing.
handy
But the sports “pundits” are just as bad as the political ones, particularly the baseball ones.
kay
@slag:
I used to wonder about that, but people love sports so much that you just have to eventually go along with it.
Completely and hopelessly outnumbered.
I did bitch for a while that my school district was spending too much money on sports programs, but it’s absolutely true in my experience that those programs keep kids out of trouble, so I’m “for” now.
They can do jousting or interpretative dance, for all I care, as long as they’re required to be somewhere, doing something.
gwangung
And even THEY are pretty piss poor at it. For example, nearly all baseball beat reporters have no feel for sabremetrics or the proper use of statistics. Yet the best teams are very savvy on their use. That’s a disconnect there…
Max
So, Obama will soon be signing the M. Shepherd / J. Byrd hate crimes bill.
This confuses me because Americablog told me that Obama hates the gays and won’t lift a finger to help their causes.
Cain
@comrade scott’s agenda of rage:
What is the difference? I mean, covering Michael Jackson probably as much crap as covering politicians. Why do you assume she slept her way? Maybe her dad is sleeping with the head of NBC or something?
cain
Demo Woman
I have this mental image about how the MSM would react if Pres. Clinton played basketball or golf with a group of females.
It seemed like just yesterday they were complaining about the number of females on his staff.
geg6
@Max:
You haven’t seen him playing b-ball or golf with any have you? I’ve made my case, then.
mk3872
Bravo, Juan. I had similar thoughts about the WH press on this one, but you nailed it.
File this one away with the other asinine WH press obsessions like teleprompters and lapel pins.
LD50
@Max: That’s an easy feat for a man who manages to be Hitler and Stalin simultaneously.
Max
@geg6: touche’.
geg6
OT, but can I just say that isn’t it interesting that I really don’t see any of the rape fantasists or she-wanted-it-apologists on this thread?
4tehlulz
@LD50: And Nixon. Even liberal NPR says he’s Nixonian.
Evinfuilt
@drillfork:
This is turning into a Monty Python act.
But outside of Lilly Ledbetter, African aid and playing hoops with a female college team what has Obama done for us??
slag
@kay:
Probably true. And I’m completely behind programs that use it to teach kids about hard work and cooperation. And keep them out of trouble. Not sure if you’ve seen this movie about the Hobart Shakespeareans, but it’s pretty awesome. It’s about a guy who uses Shakespeare to do the same things that someone else might use basketball for. All good stuff.
Cat Lady
@Evinfuilt:
Can we all just agree that in order to have any understanding of what is actually going on in the world, and to develop a sense of proportionality and perspective, one can’t consume any of the MSM’s product? If we don’t kill it, it’s going to kill us all.
Mayken
@drillfork: Thanks for the link. Money quote:
bemused
@geg6:
Obama’s mistake was not inviting the elite press to a cozy barbecue with him & providing tire swings.
Jack
@comrade scott’s agenda of rage:
But it’s just not because of sex. That’s a one liner that conceals more than it conveys.
People get promoted in that industry for conformity, first, last and most of all.
Serve the narrative, or grind out HI pieces from Poughkeepsie…
Svensker
@Makewi:
Do YOU believe Obama is a sexist, Makewi? Please defend your answer. Thank you.
slag
@Max: Possibly one of the funniest xkcd strips ever.
Jack
@Demo Woman:
Has the “MSM” meme re-entered the liberal lexicon, after a long time lost in the wilderness of conservatarian agitation?
For what it’s worth, there is no “the Media.” It isn’t an It. It doesn’t act as a single entity, with the attributes of people.
Treating the various competing outlets and firms as an It is an invitation to the trap of movement conservatism, that of personifying and reifying a multitude of disparate human choices and interactions into a Singular Entity.
There is no “MSM.” There are people organizing themselves into businesses, often hierarchical, with a lot more money and power than most, defining any number of narratives, to serve that money and power, the retention of it, and the expansion of a preferred market.
Their choices reflect their class, and there are general class markers, yes. They tend to follow one another, and mimicry is definitely one of the hallmarks of the trade.
But they are not a “single MSM.”
Treating them as such is an invitation to seeing wrongly, and therefore act against our own interests.
Jack
should read “with the attributes of a singular personality.” Self-edit fail on my part.
IndieTarheel
@Zifnab:
In your honor, I’m now channeling my inner Wilbon and telling Erbe to “Get that junk OUT OF HERE! JUST GET IT OUT!”
Mayken
@slag: Geek humor FTW!
Will
Who on earth is Bonnie Erbe? Am I supposed to have heard of her or give a damn what she thinks?
geg6
@Will:
PUMA, dude. PUMA. That’s all you really need to know.
smiley
@comrade scott’s agenda of rage: Is right. She’s a graduate of Georgetown Law. Believe or not, Chip Reid is a graduate of Columbia Law. Chuck Todd never finished college.
Bob K
This just in – “Barack Obama kicks his dog”.
The right whingers will stop at NOTHING. The shriller they get the more I think of the McCarthy witch hunts where finally Joseph Welch said:
“”Until this moment, Senator, I think I never really gauged your cruelty or your recklessness.” When McCarthy tried to continue his attack, Welch angrily interrupted, “Let us not assassinate this lad further, senator. You have done enough. Have you no sense of decency?”
It’s only been ten months – I don’t think the thermometer’s ready to pop up on this bird yet.
Praise God and pass the popcorn : ^ )
Mark S.
@geg6:
Whether it’s a right-wing, left-wing, feminist, Christian, whatever blog, anytime there’s a discussion of rape, you can count on two or three apologists to come forward and start screaming about the Duke case. Feminists are right when they say there’s a rape culture.
tess
The first time I saw Savannah Guthrie doing actual political reports for MSNBC, I was pretty surprised–she covered the Michael Jackson trial for MSNBC, or at least for Countdown. I thought she was a garden variety entertainment reporter, so when I saw her in Alaska after Palin was chosen, it didn’t seem like a stretch. But broadcasting from the WH lawn? Really?
I do not understand journalism career paths at all.
Elie the Amateur
Geg6
“Fuck this. Between this kind of shit and the assholes who are telling me how I should react to gang banging fantasies in another thread, I’m about to put a gun to my head and be done with it.”
I have made several comments about how we get drawn into the uber negativity and that its a hook to get people to post often and that the anger and hysterics stimulate frequent participation. In reality, this shit is made into artificial issues not just by people as lame as Bonnie Erbe, but a host of others including our own sites.
Live with it, I’m afraid. This is modern “journalism”. When you need a break, step outside and get a breath of fresh air and take a walk. It isnt truly for real reality. You are just being played.
Keep it away from your core. Walk away as necessary.
Just my advice
gopher2b
@Mark S.:
Its really unfortunate those damn lacrosse players fucked up your narrative. Assholes.
Tom Hilton
Joe Conason and Gene Lyons. Minor point, I know, but Lyons was on the story long before Conason.
ed
I enjoy watching Ms. Guthrie participate in conversations on “Morning Joe.” Kind of like Forrest Gump taking a third podium during the Lincoln-Douglas debates.
Never hire straight A students. They are only good at school.
Davis X. Machina
Is Bonnie Erbe the next Mara Liasson, or vice versa?
It’s so hard to keep track of NPR people’s second jobs. If NPR’d just pay a living wage they wouldn’t have to walk the streets for Murdoch and Mort Zuckerman on the side.
Anne Laurie
@geg6:
Good point — a large part of why the Media Village Idiots are so obsessed with “appearances” is that being seen is the most important thing in their universe. Given a choice between a universal cure for cancer that they couldn’t take credit for, and a 10% uptick in their overnights… not only would every single one of them choose the uptick, they’d have great difficulty understanding why somebody might pick ‘actually helping people’ over ‘getting more exposure’.
Mark S.
@gopher2b:
You’re right, because of that Duke case, it is irresponsible not to speculate:
I’m sure she also consented to being beaten and robbed.
Shane
And some people might say that Savannah Guthrie has no respect for married women…and they’d be right.
Ranger 3
And this is so bizarre because, for those of us who do in fact hate women… Obama has been a real disappointment.
Hillary as SoS? Dude, I voted for you to put that bitch in her place. Honestly, I feel betrayed.
gopher2b
@Mark S.:
(1) Because of the Duke case (and basic common sense and the U.S. Constitution) you should wait until actual facts come out before lynching a guy accused of rape. But, hey, you agree with feminists so you must be right because they know everything there is to know about rape.
(2) If you had basic reading skills, it would be fairly obvious to you that I was not speculating. I posted that scenario as an alternative explanation of how she could have initially ended up in critical condition (i.e. alcohol poisoning) and not been raped. I, unlike you, do not purport to know what happened in Richmond and would prefer to wait until there is something that resembles actual facts before I introduced these guys’ necks to a noose.
Makewi
@Svensker:
Not generally. There have been things that have come up since he came onto the radar which could be concerning if there are more examples in the future. It appears as if O’Neill has made the decision that the sweetie/Clinton-Palin comments/ and now this do represent something to be concerned with.
My point was that it seems a less manufactured issue than one in which NOW has made a point to comment on. You will notice that the administration reacted to that comment, so obviously they took it to heart.
Ranger 3
@Makewi: All snarking aside (And I REALLY hate being serious for two seconds) but NOW is totally out of control. There is no evidence Letterman did anything other than fool around with people at work. I don’t think any sex actually occured at the worlplace, so this is actually less of a big deal than the Clinton impeachment. And, oh yeah, Letterman is an entertainer… not the POTUS. They were all grown, they all consented, I’ve seen no evidence they were pressured or harrased.
The National Organization of (Wealthy Middle Aged White) Women): Making sure no man gets laid. Ever.
geg6
@gopher2b:
I hope you have no women in your life. You really are a total fucking asshole.
There is a reason women know more about rape. We get raped much more often. 1 in 6 women are sexually assaulted compared to 1 in 33 men. And without feminists, none of these numbers would be gathered, let alone disseminated.
Fuck you.
geg6
@Ranger 3:
And thus why today I emailed my resignation after 30 years of dues paying membership. All thanks to Makewi’s support.
Makewi
@geg6:
Glad I could be of assistance. It’s important to help people.
Comrade Dread
You know, if any president looked at that reporter who just asked that question and replied, “Well, that’s very interesting, Savannah, and some people might say, ‘Fuck you.’ Next question?” I would consider voting to make him President for life.
If he followed it up by punching said reporter in the face, I would give him the Teddy Roosevelt award for Presidential Badassery.
gopher2b
@geg6:
Well, that’s persuasive. I guess you win.
gopher2b
@geg6:
And have feminists gathered and disseminated the statistics on false accusations and how lives those have destroyed or is that not important enough?
BDeevDad
Well, I actually did count the top paid staffers of the admin. Top staffers for Obama make 172k There are 24 and 9 are woman. An additional 13 women make up the next 26 spots and 25 make up the 50 after that.
I am going by names though, so I could be wrong, but seriously, do these reporters not live their lives like the rest of us. My wife goes out with the girls and I with the guys to take a break, doesn’t the pres deserve the same type of atmosphere?
BethanyAnne
@gopher2b: In general, are you saying that it’s incumbent on people concerned about a crime to be equally concerned about false accusations of said crime?
geg6
@gopher2b:
You really are stupid, aren’t you? First, I never said feminists were the ones who gathered and disseminated sexual assault statistics. But they are responsible for making sure that governments now do. Second, if you think there is such an epidemic of false accusations of sexual assaults, perhaps you should do what the feminists did and gather hundreds of thousands of compatriots to agitate for such statistics to be gathered. Third, good luck with that.
NorthernMNer
I think it should also be noted that the standard definition of an “old boy’s club” is a group of privileged men (usually white) that works to exclude and prevent women from rising up in the professional/work sphere.
I doubt that anybody’s definition of “old boy’s club” would include basketball. How Guthrie made a leap from the standard understanding of the club to the people that Obama plays sports with is pure fabrication.
By the way, did anybody note for Guthrie that we have a female Secretary of State, Homeland Security, Health and Human Services, Labor, and Surgeon General (nominated)?
gopher2b
@geg6:
You are so articulate and insightful. I’m in awe of your ability to start literally every reply with name calling.
If you need to believe that I’m stupid, you go right ahead. You clearly need the boost. And keep ignoring those facts out there that mess with your world view. You’re beyond hope. You know, old dog, new tricks and what not.
gopher2b
@BethanyAnne:
Yes, I do. Especially cops, judges, juries, and lawyers.
As for special interest groups, I think if they want to be intellectually honest, then they should seek the truth and not just try to reinforce their preconceived notion of things (whatever that might be).
BethanyAnne
@gopher2b: I don’t have good data on the false accusations. I do know that 90% of the women I know have either been raped or molested. I know that the plural of anecdotes isn’t data, but it’s really changed my perceptions to find that my own circle of friends has had that many bad experiences.
Darkrose
I don’t ask this often, but…is there any change of banning gopher2b? I’m not a survivor and the constant rape apologia is disturbing; I can’t imagine what it’s like for people with strong triggers.
gopher2b
@BethanyAnne:
I’ve read decent studies that put the number at 10-15%. The respective fringes put the number of false accusations at 2% and 50% respectively. I imagine you could safely throw out both those numbers.
I’ve two guys that were false accused of rape. They could demonstrably show their innocence and did not have to rely on their own credibility in a he said/she said situation. It was the worse experience of their lives and there are people who still think they are sex offenders. They lost their jobs, many friends, and had to tell their parents they were accused of rape.
My problem is with criminals. Period. I think rape is a horrible, terrible crime. But I think falsely accusing someone of rape is equally terrible.
gopher2b
@Darkrose:
Oh Jesus. Grow the fuck up. Where have I once been a rape apologist.
Can we been ban Darkrose for being infinitely stupid. I find this level of ignorance offensive and should not be subjected to it.
Tuxedo Slack
Our host (whom I knew back before he was sane) skrev:
And she wasn’t the first. Remember, Weepy insisted he wasn’t actually telling Keith Ellison “Prove to me you are not working with our enemies”, he was just pointing out that the noise machine’s old friend Some People might say that.
Darkrose
@gopher2b:
Maybe it’s just me, but I’d say that if your first reaction to a story about a woman getting raped is to ask what she might have done to deserve ending up in the hospital and to suggest that she’s a lying slut, you’re a rape apologist.
Darkrose
Silly me. I forgot to update my pie filter. Much better now.
gopher2b
@Darkrose:
How in god’s green Earth do you know what my first reaction was to this story.
That post was in response to someone’s assertion that she MUST have been raped BECAUSE she was in critical condition. The article, however, does not say why she is in critical condition. I offered that alternative, not because I believed it, but because it was a possibility; a possibility that would undercut the likelihood that she was raped. This is a nuanced point that I’m sure you will not understand but that is your problem, not mine.
Also, I never said she was liar or a slut. The fact is, and I’ll say this slowly for you, no…one…here…knows…what…happened. I did, however, think that the article (as it was written) was strangely vague. The cops statements were weird (e.g. “spontaneous statements from the defendants”…WTF does that mean), the reason she was in critical condition was not given (if it was been from the beating, I’m sure they would have reported it) and no mention of where her father (who, according to the article was waiting for her in the car) was for 2 1/2 hours. Based on this, I decided to not join the lynch mob until I heard more.
I NEVER said that she was NOT raped. I clearly said: I do NOT KNOW what happened. My response was measured. Learn how to read and learn how to think.
Two weeks ago, on this very site, everyone was (rightly) in a tither over the fact that Texas likely put an innocent man to death. You, Darkrose, are no different from the people I’m sure you purport to loathe. You’re just as stupid, bloodthirsty, and reactionary as that bunch. It’s just a different crime, and a different defendant.
cj
When did men and women play basketball together anyways? Or even golf?
Incertus
Sorry, but no. Not even remotely close. I say this as a rape survivor–you need to rethink that statement. No crime you survive is as invasive as rape, and no false accusation can come anywhere near that feeling.
Ranger 3
@Incertus: There’s a guy in prison somewhere right now, who was falsely accused and then convicted, who is getting raped for the 37th time, who might not agree with you.
I have no doubt you went through hell. None at all. But whatever happened to you was over that day. People who have serve time for crimes they didn’t commit endure much more than a day of unjust suffering. Even those who escape conviction can lose their careers and families over it.
However awful your trauma is, I doubt your family questions your integrity because of it. People aren’t afraid of you. You can overcome it, as difficult as it may be to move forward. Victims of false accusations don’t always get a chance to make themselves whole again.
I think you should stop and consider what people in these cases go through. They’re human beings, and they didn’t do anything wrong. It’s a horrible thing to endure.
Darkrose
@Ranger 3:
…seriously? Seriously?
Chuck Butcher
It is about pathetic to watch a thread about stupidity in regard to Presidential sports degenerate into a poo fling about rape.
RememberNovember
People seem to forget him shooting hoops with a college girls b-ball team.
Guess that means they’re boys.