Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

We’re not going back!

… gradually, and then suddenly.

Perhaps you mistook them for somebody who gives a damn.

The party of Reagan has become the party of Putin.

Bad people in a position to do bad things will do bad things because they are bad people. End of story.

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

Putin dreamed of ending NATO, and now it’s Finnish-ed.

“woke” is the new caravan.

Anyone who bans teaching American history has no right to shape America’s future.

Jesus, Mary, & Joseph how is that election even close?

Hot air and ill-informed banter

At some point, the ability to learn is a factor of character, not IQ.

Only Democrats have agency, apparently.

Bark louder, little dog.

My years-long effort to drive family and friends away has really paid off this year.

Technically true, but collectively nonsense

Pessimism assures that nothing of any importance will change.

I did not have this on my fuck 2024 bingo card.

Every reporter and pundit should have to declare if they ever vacationed with a billionaire.

Whoever he was, that guy was nuts.

Motto for the House: Flip 5 and lose none.

But frankly mr. cole, I’ll be happier when you get back to telling us to go fuck ourselves.

Sadly, there is no cure for stupid.

It’s the corruption, stupid.

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Reader Interactions

147Comments

  1. 1.

    cleek

    third blogger on the top list: The Scared Monkeys.
    how apropos.

    i suppose it would’ve been better if Obama had throw up on him?

  2. 2.

    General Winfield Stuck

    And once again Dan Reihl brings the right wing class.

    The Boy King: Where Do O Bow Now?

    When not making gaffes due to a sputtering teleprompter, it seems boy king O-Bow-Now’s handlers simply point him at the latest thug king or emperor with instructions to bow down as low as he possibly can. It’s a good thing O-Bow-Now didn’t face the challenges of coming up through the ghetto as, unfortunately, too many blacks do. If he ever had to do time, his flexibility in being able to bend over so far would have gotten him on any jail’s ten most wanted and taken list.

    There was a recent headline claiming O-Bow-Now was America’s first Pacific POTUS. I stop short of that, simply referring to him as our first un-American head executive. Obviously O-Bow-Now doesn’t have a clue what it means to be one, let alone its president.

    Good to know the Sewer Trout are reproducing nicely.

  6. 6.

    Max

    Sadly, it isn’t much different on the PUMA sites and many left-leaning sites.

    ODS is strong with a lot of people.

  7. 7.

    licensed to kill time

    “Where do O bow now?” Where do Dan Riehl learn to write? Why do he think funny? Tortured syntax do not funny make.

  8. 8.

    BR

    Back during the campaign I wrote an email to Malcolm when he was pushing a NewsMax story on the LA Times blog about Rev. Wright.

    Here’s my email to him:

    Hi,
    I’ll be brief, but I’m emailing to ask if you can add a factual
    addendum to your post that echoes the article by NewsMax (which, by the way, is a highly disreputable source) claiming Obama’s presence on July 22nd at his Chicago church.
    A simple search shows that both Obama and Clinton were attending the La Raza conference in Miami on that date:
    http://www.nclr.org/content/news/detail/47475/
    And here’s the corresponding video:
    http://video.aol.com/video-detail/barack-obama-at-la-raza-convention-in-miami-fl-07-22-07/737349854
    In the name of providing facts, I feel that it is important as a
    reputable news source, you (and by extension the LA Times) should addthis simple fact as opposed to leaving the matter as a “he said shesaid matter”, which it clearly is not.
    Thanks for your good reporting.
    Sincerely,

    I went out of my way to praise him so that he might take my email seriously. Which was pointless, because he just went on to reply, defending NewsMax (!) and didn’t change the post:

    Thanks for your note. The item does note that the campaign says he was in Miami that day, which of course doesn’t preclude him also being in Chicago that day. But we do provide that info.
    I understand the disdain of Obama supporters for Newsmax, which broke the embarrassing church award to Farrakhan story. But we don’t have the luxury of writing off websites we might disagree with politically.
    Thanks again for your information and taking the time to pass it on to us. Also for reading, of course.
    Andrew Malcolm

    Convenient that Malcolm never posts anything from sources with which he disagrees politically.

    It’s amazing to me that he still has a job at the LA Times.

  9. 9.

    ThatLeftTurnInABQ

    Truly the end is near, now that we have been so disgraced. Tough neighborhoods are now America’s last advantage.

  11. 11.

    Midnight Marauder

    @licensed to kill time:

    “Where do O bow now?” Why do he think funny?

    He was really trying to force that one, wasnt he? Kind of like when Kobe try to give himself a nickname a few years ago and started referring to himself as “Black Mamba.” But even that half-assed attempt is still light years better that “O-Bow-Now.” Fail, thy name is Dan Riehl.

  12. 12.

    Anonymous visitor from Sadly,No!

    He could have sent Akihito an iPod, but that would have been disrespectful.

  13. 13.

    dhd

    Reading the comments on that LA Times story makes me feel like the “23-year-old intern” on the Daily Show the other night.

    I thought that even wingnuts knew about the stereotype of Japanese people perpetually bowing to each other at every possible opportunity.

  14. 14.

    FlipYrWhig

    So, if these questions of protocol don’t pertain to Americans, why was it a Very! Important! Story! that Michelle Obama touched Queen Elizabeth?

  15. 15.

    beltane

    Clearly Obama is at fault for not engaging with sexual innuendo with the Japanese Emperor the way Sarah Palin did with the Pakistani president. That was some real class there.

  16. 16.

    FlipYrWhig

    @General Winfield Stuck:

    Am I getting this right? Dan Riehl pivoted from “Obama bows to foreign leaders” to “A ghetto Obama would be a great prison bitch”?

    These people’s minds are so goddamn frightening.

  17. 17.

    ET

    It’s called politeness. I know Republicans are unfamiliar with that concept but he is President of the United States and he was apparently raised better than them. Of course I wouldn’t be surprised is some of those morons didn’t know that was a way to greet people in Japan.

    Seriously though, this is just weak.

  19. 19.

    Ash

    I saw that video and all I thought was that it’s amusing that they really do all bow to each other like 10 times.

    I fail to see some nefarious secret sign that Obama’s about to sell us all into slavery in Japanese internment camps or something.

    But hey, at least he didn’t vomit in the emperor’s lap liek Bush I. Progress?

  21. 21.

    ThatLeftTurnInABQ

    So after they were done bowing, did Obama ask him for any advice on how to deal with this pesky real estate bubble / zombie bank problem?

  22. 22.

    kay

    @FlipYrWhig:

    Great point. Because it was an opportunity for rabid right wingers to portray Michelle Obama as a stupid lout who didn’t know how to act around royalty?
    In that instance, right wingers were outraged on behalf of the Queen.

  23. 23.

    steve

    Personally, I think it’s something to celebrate that a man is knowledgeable about another country’s culture. Our relationships with other countries are too often one way, so it’s smart for him personally and for the country that he show respect and knowledge of Japan. Also, having grown up in Hawaii where the largest ethnic group is Japanese descent and the largest percentage of tourists who visit here are from Japan, for him not to know something about Japan would actually reflect negatively on him. Green tea ice cream and “shave ice” (we don’t say shaved ice over here) is available in almost every store, so it’s hardly surprising that he enjoys that.

    The right is breathtaking in either 1. their lack of ability to think beyond their own noses or 2. their ability to make insipid superficial attacks against their opponents. What’s that? It’s both you say?

  24. 24.

    Dr. I. F. Stone

    People should give Obama a break; where he grew up, bowing and kowtowing was a fixed part of life. It probably takes a little while for him to adjust to regular folk life and to learn to act like a real American.

  25. 25.

    Ash

    @steve:

    Personally, I think it’s something to celebrate that a man is knowledgeable about another country’s culture.

    I thought it was common knowledge that you bow when greeting a Japanese person, in Japan? Do people seriously not know this? I mean, even people in Bumfuck, Oklahoma must know this simple shit, RIGHT?

  26. 26.

    kay

    @ET:

    I don’t know anything about it, but Obama has clearly decided he doesn’t care what they say, because they went crazy last time.
    I support that general approach. In all things. Broadly.

  27. 27.

    General Winfield Stuck

    @Ash:

    I saw that video and all I thought was that it’s amusing that they really do all bow to each other like 10 times.

    A number of years ago, I rented an acre of ground to store trees for my landscape business at the time. It was on a golf driving range and one winter day when it was closed a group of Japanese men, maybe 7 or 8 of them showed up wanting to hit some golf balls. Well, no one was at the range, so they came over to me, I guess to ask what gave, but since none of them spoke English and I didn’t speak Jap, things didn’t proceed all that well. Then they all started bowing profusely over and over, and I guess from not knowing WTF to do, So I started bowing back the same. Finally, I couldn’t take it anymore and started LMAO, then they started to laugh likewise and we had a grand old time.

  28. 28.

    dmsilev

    As I said yesterday, I give it a roughly even chance that they’ll attack Obama for being soft on crime when he pardons the Thanksgiving turkey in a week or two.

    -dms

  29. 29.

    Corner Stone

    @steve:

    “shave ice” (we don’t say shaved ice over here)

    Why do you hate Real Americans ™, you damn exotic furriner?

  30. 30.

    Justin

    My best friend is Korean. When he introduced me to his grandparents, he instructed me on how to formally bow to them, which amounted to getting down on my knees and touching my forehead to my hands, crossed on the ground in front of me. They nearly shit themselves, they were so pleased. His grandmother hugged me and his grandfather shook my hand and put his arm around me (my friend’s sister complained “I didn’t get a hug when I did that!”).

    A show of excessive deference is considered a very generous offering of respect in Asian cultures, and in no way implies a lower station. This was a deft move by Obama, but the wingnuts are too blinded by their need to have everyone bow down to the United States to recognize that.

  31. 31.

    Nick

    @steve

    Personally, I think it’s something to celebrate that a man is knowledgeable about another country’s culture.

    That’s terrorist talk, all other countries’ cultures are beneath ours, we do not need to know anything about them. America, fuck yeah.

  32. 32.

    licensed to kill time

    @dmsilev:

    As I said yesterday, I give it a roughly even chance that they’ll attack Obama for being soft on crime when he pardons the Thanksgiving turkey in a week or two.

    Snort! Good one. Maybe not, though, if he does it Palin style in front of Slaughterhouse Five.

  34. 34.

    kay

    @Nick:

    I sorta wondered what Japanese in Japan thought about it, but I guess we don’t give a crap about what the hosts think, because the real issue is, as always, what former Bush staffers think. They’re the diplomacy experts!

  35. 35.

    Wannabe Speechwriter

    Oh My God! This can only lead to horrible things! Next thing you know, Americans will be driving Japanese cars and watching TVs made by Japanese companies and our supermarkets will be filled with Japanese foods like sush…oh…wait!

  38. 38.

    Little Dreamer

    @ET:

    Right winger’s idea of a POTUS being polite is to treat a female German chancellor like she’s a customer going to an appointment with a masseuse.

  39. 39.

    FlipYrWhig

    @Little Dreamer:

    Hey, you’re right, I hadn’t thought of that — these “bowing” kerfuffles have involved sovereigns-of-color. Let’s see how Obama fares in the ultimate test: how to treat Prince Albert of Monaco!

  40. 40.

    phoebes-in-santa fe

    There is absolutely NOTHING Obama can do that these lunatic wing-nuts would approve of. NOTHING. It is so disheartening.

    Look, I’m a rabid Democrat. I didn’t vote for Reagan, but he was MY president. I didn’t particularly care for him, but he was MY president. Same with HW Bush. And, I started off the same with W Bush in 2001. I didn’t vote for him, but he was still MY president. Most Dems I know felt the same way. It was only the beginning of the Iraqi war and the lying that turned me against him. By 2004 I was in a full-scale lather.

    But these people – these insane wingnuts – are so upset by having a nigger-in-the-White House that they can’t think straight. And that’s exactly what it is. “Where has MY country gone”, moans the middle age white woman when at a Tea Party. Well, “her” country is gone with the changing demographics of the 21st century. We now have a wonderful black man, voted into office in free and fair elections, by a majority of Americans, most of whom didn’t care what color his skin was.

    I was at the Inauguration with my three adult children and looked at the races, ages, genders of those I was standing with. Where are we all today? Why aren’t WE in the streets supporting Obama? Why?

  41. 41.

    Zifnab

    When do you think they’ll stop bothering to even couch all the whining in current events? Can’t they just post the phrase “OUTRAGE!” in fifty point font, throw a few dozen red sirens on the page, and call it a day?

    He’s too polite. He’s too rude. He’s too personal. He’s too aloof. He’s a chicken eating witch doctor limosine elitist. Up, down, left, right, B, A, Select, Start. :-p

    Save us the explanation. You don’t like [insert Democratic politician]. You’ll be voting Republican in the next election cycle. And you’re very, very angry.

  42. 42.

    General Winfield Stuck

    The pic of Bush french kissing the Saudi prince or whatever trumps all this shit, in spades, hearts, and diamonds. And as usual, wingnuts gave this nary a thought before freaking out. Rinse and repeat the stoopid.

  44. 44.

    Svensker

    It’s a good thing O-Bow-Now didn’t face the challenges of coming up through the ghetto as, unfortunately, too many blacks do. If he ever had to do time, his flexibility in being able to bend over so far would have gotten him on any jail’s ten most wanted and taken list.

    He didn’t really just say that, did he? Really? Good grief.

    You know, this country has some very serious problems. Bad schools, failing families, no jobs, crumbling infrastructure, a horrendous health delivery system, not to mention a whole bunch of messed up wars. We really could use a sane opposition party that would talk about these problems, discuss possible solutions, offer credible alternatives — even if I didn’t agree with them, a good discussion can often bring about new solutions and options. But no, these guys want to talk about Obama’s bowing style and how he would have been butt-fucked in prison. Wow. Just wow.

  45. 45.

    Emma

    They don’t mention the Queen anymore because it turned out that the lady was so taken with Mrs. Obama that when she went back to London with her girls they were invited for a private visit. So, that one doesn’t fit their narrative.

  48. 48.

    Comrade Kevin

    If Obama had not bowed, these same assclowns would have attacked him for committing a horrible, unforgivable breach of protocol.

  50. 50.

    sloan

    This pic will be Drudged all weekend and the rage puppets will be on it like a fly on sh*t.

    They’ve got no self-awareness, no clue how bloody predictable they are. Like yesterday, the KSM announcement was when Palin’s biography fan fiction was leaked to the AP. I swear the White House timed it that way on purpose, knowing full well that the Right wouldn’t be able to keep it in their pants long enough to concentrate on two things at once.

    I love the fact that Obama did this knowing that the Right would freak. He won’t be bullied by small men. He just gives them the brush off.

  51. 51.

    Little Dreamer

    @Svensker:

    I don’t see them going away anytime soon. Even if they split ideologically and can’t build enough support to win any seats in the next few elections (and ultimately will be pretty much done for a while if that is the case), they still have loud mouths, bad attitudes and no fear of acting like victimized martyrs. I’m sorry to inform you, we’re sort of stuck with them for a while. I’m hoping the rapture is coming sooner rather than later these days.

  53. 53.

    AngusTheGodOfMeat

    @Svensker:

    these guys want to talk about Obama’s bowing style

    It’s the behavior of losers. These people, who have always been losers, found themselves thinking they were in charge for 20 of the last 28 years, and they can’t adjust to their present situation.

    They are going to be back in the Losers class for most of the next couple of decades, IMO. So just enjoy their antics.

  56. 56.

    AngusTheGodOfMeat

    @sloan:

    Yes, well stated. The right at this time is very small, and Barack Obama is very large, and very cool. Life is good.

    I think if we play this correctly, the next seven years could spell the permanent end of whatever the GOP and “conservative movement” thought it was recently.

    I think the tipping point was seen in 2005, when Bush the Goofy went out and decided to hitch up his “political capital” and enact the Cato Institute’s plan to destroy Social Security, and got met with guffaws and rotten fruit. It’s been downhill for them since.

    Of course, there is always the DougJ theorem, which holds that the potatoheads will come roaring back and destroy the Western World.

  57. 57.

    DBrown

    I still feel that the American Head of State should not bow to anyone, ever. At least the despot Saudi was a head of State – unlike this guy. Ajj this joler is is a so-called, self-styled Emperor (what a laugh that title is) is a joke of a figurehead that even the Japanese had only created to be a powerless figurehead long ago. Today, the clown was shown to be a figurehead by the US forces after WWII and the worst part is that, maybe, a few million Japanese might have died if we had let this fiction stand). Why should anyone, much less an American President, bow to these phony losers that have dildos so far up their ass’s that they expect other people to bow to them?

  59. 59.

    asiangrrlMN

    Yes, because heaven forbid that Obama show respect to a head of another state with proper protocol for that nation. Teh horrors!

    Yawn. They are boring me now.

  61. 61.

    DBrown

    I still feel that the American Head of State should not bow to anyone, ever. At least the despot Saudi was a real head of State – this guy. A so-called, self-styled Emperor (what a laugh that title is) is a joke of a figurehead that even the Japanese had only created to be a figurehead long ago. Today, the clown was shown to be a figurehead by the US forces after WWII and (maybe millions of Japanese would have died if we had let this fiction stand). Why should anyone, much less an American President, bow to these phony losers that have dildos so far up their ass’s that they expect other people to bow to them?

    (I’m lost how MS Word failed to copy my correct post … well, so much for the edit feature.)

  62. 62.

    kay

    @DBrown:

    Well, okay, but then why all that outrage about not enough deference to the Queen?
    I think we have to get our stories straight here. We like the Queen better?

  63. 63.

    Corner Stone

    @DBrown: It’s like a handshake in Western culture, or a polite greeting some Europeans perform. It means nothing except acknowledgement.
    The US head of state shouldn’t recognize anyone not American?

  64. 64.

    Corner Stone

    @kay: Well, I like “Queen” better. I’ve never met the Queen but she seems like a terribly nice person.

  65. 65.

    Corner Stone

    @Corner Stone: Bah! Why’m I bothering? Anyone who feels intimated by a bow, or other recognized symbols of polite culture isn’t worth questioning.
    Check your panties DBrown, they may be in a bunch.

  66. 66.

    Vincent

    DBrown:

    You seem to be saying that American Presidents should never bow to other heads of states but if they must do so then they should only do it to actual heads of states and not figureheads. So who exactly determines who is a ‘legitimate’ head of state that should be given respect?

    I still don’t get what the outrage is. To the Japanese and many Asian cultures, bowing is the equivalent of shaking hands!

  68. 68.

    Vincent

    Or in other words, you might have cause to complain about bowing to the Queen of England because nobody else in that country has to be bowed to, but in Japan everyone bows to each other!

  69. 69.

    Mister Papercut

    @DBrown: No, it’s still gibberish. Should have accepted the help when Clippy said “I see you’re being overdramatically butthurt…”

  71. 71.

    bemused

    Did the rightwingers have anything to say about George Bush holding hands with the Saudi king? I must have missed their comments.

  72. 72.

    sloan

    @smiley: Ha ha ha ha ha ha!

    I’ve had this picture on my fridge for years. Hadn’t seen the other one before.

    Africa: “Zoo animals come from here”

  73. 73.

    Maude

    @DBrown: Because it’s what one does. The president follows the manners of the country he is in. The foreign leaders fo the same when they come here.
    Educate yourself.

  75. 75.

    Gwangung

    @bemused: They’re reacting like all those US businessmen who wonder why the hell they can’t crack the Asian market despite a competitive product and think this protocol jibberish should be left between a man and his doctor.

  76. 76.

    Brick Oven Bill

    Pythagoras lived from 580 to 500B.C. on an island on what is now western Turkey. Pythagoras was an inspiration to Socrates, and in turn Plato. By extension, he is thus partially responsible for the Enlightenment, and our Founding.

    This was not a humble man and was reported to have a saying:

    “There are men, gods, and men like Pythagoras.”

    Anyway, Pythagoras established the five regular solids, as well as the theory of proportion. Using Pythagoras’ theory and this photo of Bill Clinton and Kim Jung Il, we estimate that Kim Jung Il is:

    Five feet, one and one-half inches tall.

    Now this will be a State visit to look forward to. Our President would be wise to stretch and limber up before visiting North Korea.

  79. 79.

    kay

    @Corner Stone:

    See how different we are? I liked the Japanese fake-monarch the moment I laid eyes on him. Not so the Queen.
    To each his/her own.
    I would think if we’re going to make the figurehead-head of state distinction, the figurehead bow would be less problematic, not more so.
    I googled though, and former President Bush got into trouble with Christians when he was in Japan because he visited a temple, and thereby disrespected Jesus.
    Now that’s a thorny head of “state” issue.
    Who is…..GOD?

  81. 81.

    kay

    @bemused:

    That was different. That guy stayed regularly with the Bush Family.
    Family friend. Lil George had some incredible sleep overs. Bush came from nothing, you know. Just a hard work’in oil man who made good.

  83. 83.

    Mark S.

    Man, when people were pointing this picture out yesterday, I figured a few bottom feeders would rant and rave and that would be it.

    I do get tired of being wrong about how stupid the mouth breathers are.

  85. 85.

    The Very Reverend Battleaxe of Knowledge

    @Brick Oven Bill:

    Yeah, I assume this is when President Clinton got those two detained journalists released? I loved it when one of them said that when she was brought in and saw the Big Dog sitting there, she knew everything was going to be all right. It’s killing you small, pathetic wankers, isn’t it, Skippy? Anybody ever felt that way about Chimpy McFlightsuit?

  86. 86.

    Mnemosyne

    @DBrown:

    We get visitors from Japan pretty often since I work for a Giant Evil Corporation that has offices all over the world. I was unaware that I shouldn’t return their bows because they’re stupid for having an emperor as their head of state. Or is your argument that our head of state shouldn’t return the bow of their head of state but it’s okay for us non-heads-of-state to bow to each other because we’re not heads of state? So confused.

  87. 87.

    bemused

    @kay:
    It’s always different for republicans.
    We know the Bush family is tight with the Saudi royals, rightwing bloggers must know but choose to ignore inconvenient stuff like that but I doubt few if any of the low information base is aware of the decades long relationship between the two families.

  88. 88.

    General Winfield Stuck

    @bemused:

    It’s always different for republicans.

    Well, yeah, the first three chapters of their political handbook is to paint any dem president on down as weak, traitorous, un American and the whole gaggle of related synonyms. They think nothing of it, like going to the grocery store, and then are genuinely shocked when confronted with the shit pit nastiness of these tactics. Like it’s common law or something. Top of my list on why I deeply hate the soulless motherfuckers. The ones who practice this tack, anyways.

  89. 89.

    Mike in NC

    We know the Bush family is tight with the Saudi royals, rightwing bloggers must know but choose to ignore inconvenient stuff like that but I doubt few if any of the low information base is aware of the decades long relationship between the two families.

    And when WW2 came along, who did (Prescott) Bush and the Saudis have cozy relationships with? Hitler!

  91. 91.

    Donald G

    Ah, the latest daily nontroversy from the WATBs.

    My dear DBrown, Akihito succeeded to the throne in November 1990 and had nothing to do with World War Two. His father, on the other hand, was a mere boy when he took the throne. We’ve were pretty gracious to Hirohito in the post-war years. Even Douglas MacArthur bowed to him in 1945 after we nuked two of his cities to end the war.

    Diplomatic displays of respect cost victors nothing.

  93. 93.

    Hob

    @licensed to kill time: The humorous element in Mr. Riehl’s verbal styling is clear if you consider this: Barack Obama is a black guy. Black guys are known to do things like talking funny and not being able to spell or do grammar; for instance, to frighten people on subways they may say “that McCain wasn’t chit”. This kind of (technical) “thug talk” is associated with other thug behaviors, such as bowing and being excessively respectful — at least toward other uncultured thugs, such as the Japanese.

    (Aieeugh, sometimes I miss the days when there was no Internet to deliver all this insane Bircher bullshit straight into my eyes over breakfast every morning…)

  94. 94.

    Mike G

    Diplomatic displays of respect cost victors nothing.

    Wingnuts want a Preznit who would swagger into the palace, spitting out his chewing tobacco in the moat and shout, “Howyadoin’, Aki-ack?”
    Cuz that’s what a real Texan does.

  95. 95.

    slightly_peeved

    The president of Russia has no problem bowing to Japanese men of no rank whatsoever; see this video. Well, no diplomatic rank at least; they’re probably both several dan grades up.

    In Japan, bowing is what you do before, and after, you fuck someone’s shit up. Sorry to go all bloodthirsty for a sec, but it’d be nice to see some of these columnists tell any martial artist that bowing is an act of submission.

  96. 96.

    Kyle

    I still feel that the American Head of State should not bow to anyone, ever. At least the despot Saudi was a head of State – unlike this guy.

    Emperor Akihito is the official Head of State of Japan, douchebag.

    I know Sarah Palin gets away with it, but you need to actually do some research and know what you are talking about before you write things where other people can see them. Also.

  100. 100.

    Martin

    @Mike G:

    Mongol General: Hao! Dai ye! We won again! This is good, but what is best in life?
    Mongol: The open steppe, fleet horse, falcons at your wrist, and the wind in your hair.
    Mongol General: Wrong! Conan! What is best in life?
    Conan: To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentation of their women.
    Mongol General: That is good! That is good.

    Obama is weak because he is a member of the transnational left and doesn’t appreciate what is best in life: to crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentations of their women. Sarah Palin understands this. Well, at least Arnold does, but nobody could possibly ask him to be president now with that whole birth certificate thing going on, so Sarah it will have to be.

  101. 101.

    Annie

    Since when does showing respect for another country’s leader and customs spell disaster for the US???

    Particularly when we are trying to keep them on our side in diplomatic/security negotiations. I have sat through hours of classes on customs and cultures before going to another country and believe me nothing helps makes friends and partners better than showing you have taken the time to learn their history and customs.

    I have wanted to crawl under the table and disappear when one more stupid American contractor in Bosnia asked a Minister a stupid question about the war (showing complete ignorance) and the Minister patiently explained while looking at his watch the basics of the conflict. Those negotiations went extremely well! Not…

    We know that Bush/Cheney arrogance worked so well. Iraq is a marvelous place catering to all types of tourists and business investors; that holiday in Iran is sure to make any family want to visit again on their next vacation; Afghanistan is great for those Americans wanted an out-of-doors type of experience; and etc., etc., etc.

    Unfortunately, government officials in other countries expect Americans not to take the time to learn about the country, and when it does happen, the reaction is so immediate and the dialogue so positive, that nothing says “American interests and leadership” better than basic respect and a few hours learning customs and history that matters.

  102. 102.

    Cain

    @Mike G:

    Wingnuts want a Preznit who would swagger into the palace, spitting out his chewing tobacco in the moat and shout, “Howyadoin’, Aki-ack?”
    Cuz that’s what a real Texan does.

    Is the codpiece optional or not? I’m confused.

    cain

  103. 103.

    Martin

    Since when does showing respect for another country’s leader and customs spell disaster for the US???

    Because we should be able to kick them in the junk and get away with it, with Mk-83s having our back. If we can’t kick anyone in the junk and still get them to say ‘thank you, can we still buy some of your wonderful fighter jets?’ then we are weak.

    See, the only true measure of our own self-importance is how much we can get away with mistreating others. Any piece of shit country can bow…

  105. 105.

    pcbedamned

    And Americans wonder why the rest of the world doesn’t take them seriously anymore…
    Mind you, say that to a rabid right-winger, and you get the cursory “WE DON’T CARE WHAT ANYONE ELSE THINKS ABOUT US BECAUSE WE ARE THE GREATEST NATION ON EARTH!!!”
    Whatever :)

  107. 107.

    PhoenixRising

    I know Republicans are unfamiliar with that concept but he is President of the United States and he was apparently raised better than them.

    Yeah, in addition to having better home training, as his MIL might put it, he was raised in Asia. By an anthropologist. Who ate, and fed her kids, the local foods–from Hawaii (get a map if you haveta) to Indonesia.

    If you understand who’s holding the majority of our (unpayable) debts, you get that a President who can behave properly around Asians is a valuable asset in renegotiating for terms our kids might like better.

  109. 109.

    Jacquelyn

    @DBrown:

    Not only is Akihito the Japanese head of state, he is the 125th Emperor of Japan (the counting started in roughly 600B.C.)

  110. 110.

    PaulW

    What was Obama supposed to do, kick the Emperor in the balls?

    At some point the media and 90 percent of the damn country has to realize, these idiots are gonna whine and bitch about ANYTHING Obama does just for the sake of whining and bitching. There is no substance to the criticism, no basis, and no respect for either the man or for the audience they’re trying to bully into submission (Us).

    STOP LISTENING TO THESE F-CKERS.

    End of line.

  111. 111.

    The Very Reverend Battleaxe of Knowledge

    @Jacquelyn:

    This “figurehead” business is pure crap, too. The Emperor was a figurehead in the Tokugawa era, when the shogun was running things, but go back and tell the Emperor Meiji he was a figurehead!

    And, contrary to popular mythology, Hirohito was one of the architects of the war. He chose the “Southern Strategy” favored by the Navy—attacking the French, British, and Dutch colonies to seize their resources—over the “Northern Strategy” favored by the Army—conquering China and dividing it into satrapies.

    Hardly the decisions of a “figurehead”.

  112. 112.

    DougL (frmrly: Conservatively Liberal)

    Did the rightwingers have anything to say about George Bush holding hands with the Saudi king?

    Nope. Why? Because wingers like the idea of two guys holding hands but it has to be their guy doing it.

    If teh gheys do it then it is wrong.

    Obama should have stuck with what has been proven acceptable to wingnuts and vomited all over the emperor, then followed that up with a happy ending neck rub.

    Now that’s diplomacy!

  115. 115.

    Pug

    I’ve worked for two large Japanese companies, one of which was one of their five big trading companies, and have had years of interaction with them. When they come to America, they adapt US customs and do not bow or expect Americans to bow. With each other, however, they are bowing all the time. It’s what they do instead of shaking hands. They don’t equate bowing with groveling, but with simply being polite.

    Japanese are always polite, considerate and never confrontational. They don’t really like touching, though. In Tokyo they always bow and they never shake hands with each other. They do make exceptions for Americans, though, because they know we are a bunch of inconsiderate, self-centered assholes who won’t adopt their customs and won’t learn to speak their language because we think we are better than anybody else in the fucking world. That’s just who we are. And they know it.

  116. 116.

    Pug

    Holy fucking shit! Green Tea Ice cream?!

    It’s good. You should try it. The Japanese don’t eat sweets and ice cream comes basically in green tea and plum. I prefer plum, but the green tea ain’t half bad.

  117. 117.

    Kyle

    What was Obama supposed to do, kick the Emperor in the balls?

    John Bolton: “Fuck, why didn’t I think of that?”

  119. 119.

    Tattoosydney

    @Corner Stone:
    @Jacquelyn:
    @Mnemosyne:

    Um. Isn’t DBrown pretty clearly spoofing?

    I still feel that the American Head of State should not bow to anyone, ever. At least the despot Saudi was a real head of State – this guy. A so-called, self-styled Emperor (what a laugh that title is) is a joke of a figurehead that even the Japanese had only created to be a figurehead long ago. Today, the clown was shown to be a figurehead by the US forces after WWII and (maybe millions of Japanese would have died if we had let this fiction stand). Why should anyone, much less an American President, bow to these phony losers that have dildos so far up their ass’s that they expect other people to bow to them? (I’m lost how MS Word failed to copy my correct post … well, so much for the edit feature.)

    If nothing else, the change in tone between the main post and the postscript to the repost suggests as much.

  120. 120.

    Yutsano

    @Tattoosydney: I sorta took that as either a spoof or pretty classic snark. Either way I thought it was total bullpuckey.

    Howdy there other espoused! Coming up for air from all the prep work?

  122. 122.

    4jkb4ia

    This is the proper thread for it. The emperor DOES NOT HAVE ANY POWER. Therefore treating him in the proper ceremonial manner is meaningless. The end.

  124. 124.

    General Winfield Stuck

    @4jkb4ia:

    This is the proper thread for it. The emperor DOES NOT HAVE ANY POWER. Therefore treating him in the proper ceremonial manner is meaningless. The end.

    Yes, thank you. The Emperor to the Japanese is not unlike Bush bowing to the Pope. The connection between him and the Japanese people is largely spiritual in nature. As it now stands.

  125. 125.

    mk3872

    @ppcli:

    Yes, apparently to right wing nut jobs, holding hands with the Saudis and kissing them is quite appropriate for cowboy presidents, but bowing to show respect is un-American … when performed by a Dem prez, of course.

  126. 126.

    Yutsano

    @4jkb4ia: Hey dumbass, neither do most of the royals in Europe, and our leaders have consistently bowed for them. Not to mention bowing is a sign of deep respect in Japan. So let of your pearls there Alice, a lotta oysters gave up their guts just so you could clutch them.

  127. 127.

    mk3872

    @scarshapedstar:

    “scarshapedstar : Do these dumbshits not realize that people bow in Japan?”

    IMHO, I think they do know that. They are just taking political cheapshots.

    Any chance they get to show Obama as being weak, the righties pounce.

    And to the William Kristol / Sarah Palin crowd, American presidential protocol calls for slamming a hammer on the head of other heads of state because America should rule the world.

  128. 128.

    General Winfield Stuck

    @mk3872:

    Yes, apparently to right wing nut jobs, holding hands with the Saudis and kissing them

    Fossil Fuel Eroticism

  131. 131.

    Yutsano

    @General Winfield Stuck: It’s either good snark or massive stupidity. He’s not necessarily wrong, but at the same time just try and disrespect the Emperor in Japan. Hell even when the shoguns were in charge they still need imperial approval to rule. In fact half the time that’s what they fought for.

    (cool side note: shogun is in Firefox’s spellchecker. Awesome.)

  133. 133.

    Little Dreamer

    @Pug:

    That whole bowing thing actually seems quite a bit more hygienic. Our custom of shaking hands really needs to be reconsidered.

  134. 134.

    ruemara

    @Pug:
    green tea, raspberry sherbert and chocolate ice cream. It’s like Emperor Akihito and Pres. Obama got gay married during middle east peace accords in your mouth.

  136. 136.

    Mnemosyne

    @Tattoosydney:

    Um. Isn’t DBrown pretty clearly spoofing?

    Possibly. If so, I think s/he needed a third draft, ’cause the first two were just confusing.

  137. 137.

    Chuck Butcher

    @4jkb4ia:

    The emperor DOES NOT HAVE ANY POWER. Therefore treating him in the proper ceremonial manner is meaningless

    This post assumes that the emotional connection to the people and government of Japan are meaningless.

    Despite our clear willingness to do so, the Japanese suffered a second atomic strike messing around trying to decide if they would accept the loss of an emporer.

    There has been discussion as to the neccesity of the strikes, what is not in doubt is that they knew the first was coming as something horrific and the second was a known catastrophy.

  141. 141.

    Yutsano

    @Tattoosydney: Oh man yuck, yeah definitely not fun. Eat a lot of chicken soup and drink tea with lemon and honey it should help some things. If nothing else it’ll make your soul feel better.

  143. 143.

    Phoebe

    Idiots. Obama’s pretty tall, and he’s bowing to a short guy. To get low enough, he practically has to fold in half. Idiots.

  144. 144.

    Phoenix Woman

    @The Very Reverend Battleaxe of Knowledge:

    @Brick Oven Bill:

    Yeah, I assume this is when President Clinton got those two detained journalists released? I loved it when one of them said that when she was brought in and saw the Big Dog sitting there, she knew everything was going to be all right. It’s killing you small, pathetic wankers, isn’t it, Skippy? Anybody ever felt that way about Chimpy McFlightsuit?

    It is. It really is.

    And just to send the racist guys trolling this site into chasing their own tails some more, I have to remind them that a SKINNY BLACK GUY with a FUNNY NAME is now THEIR PRESIDENT:

    “I, Barack Hussein Obama, do solemnly swear…”

    Eat it raw, wingnuts.

  146. 146.

    pablo

    Just after the last comment, I liked my mind’s image, and I thought I would search for an picture of someone praying at the wailing wall, and pop Barack’s head on it with a snarky comment. Then low and behold I found THIS Too good to pass up!

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