Obviously, we can’t hold Congressmen to the same high standards as late night comedians:
On the House floor last night, Media Matters points out, Rep. John Shadegg (R-AZ) made his case against holding trials for 9/11 suspects in New York City, directing a question to Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
“I saw the mayor of New York said today, ‘We’re tough. We can do it.’ Well, Mayor, how are you going to feel when it’s your daughter that’s kidnapped at school by a terrorist?” Shadegg said.
I’m kind of surprised they haven’t used the “if it was your child strapped to that ticking bomb” argument in favor of torture more, to be honest with you.
soonergrunt
Wow. Government by “24” episode.
These guys have really jumped off the deep end. And now 24 has jumped the shark so much as was pushed over it.
Of course, I haven’t watched since the second season so I don’t even know if it’s still on.
thomas
WATB
I don’t think anything else needs to be said.
Short Bus Bully
Moral relativism FTW.
Except of course when it comes to teh gheys and abortion. In the meantime let’s hunker down and have a good hard panic.
Dork
I bet Onion writers have some sads today. Mockery is now self-inflicted. Satire is dead. Nobody writes better farce than the GOP.
Lets organize a Erick-esque mass-mailing of diapers to She-degggggggg
MattF
Lookie here, boys and girls–Shadegg is obviously hoping for a terrorist attack because it would prove that he’s right. Even though, by the way, it plainly wouldn’t. Doesn’t anyone have a problem with that?
John Cole
This makes even less sense than usual. Have a lot of people’s daughters been kidnapped by swarthy terrorists and I just missed the news? The last I checked, the concern was about terrorists blowing shit up.
Notorious P.A.T.
I see what you mean, but I’ve found satire to be much stronger when Republicans are worked up than when Democrats are the main story. Compare the rather lame “Bill Clinton likes french fries/Bill Clinton gets written up by supervisor/etc” stories of “The Onion” with their skewering of, say, Glenn Beck.
Notorious P.A.T.
Just when you think the bar couldn’t get any lower, here comes the mole machine.
Col. Klink
Well Shaddegg, what’s gonna happen when your district elects a complete idiot to Congress to represent it. Oh wait…
Pangloss
Maddie here doesn’t like terrorist trials, and Maddie just crapped her pants. So did I. Thanks, Maddie.
El Cruzado
I must have missed the part where Al-Qaeda is a supervillain group, since that’s how they are treated by the GOP.
DougJ
I should have made my lede sentence “what a mess, this town’s in tatters.” Oh, well, sometimes you eat the bar, sometimes the bar eats you.
Zifnab
???!
What fantasy world are these people living in? When has anything like this ever even happened.
We get a terrorist bombing like 9/11 once every decade or so, and now this pants-wetter is fearmongering about some shit he saw in a Lethal Weapon movie.
I want to know how this jackass voted on SCHIP. “Think of the children” my white puckered ass.
Svensker
@John Cole:
It was in a MOVIE, Cole. That’s realer than reality.
bemused
Interesting how these tough talking macho men don’t care at all about looking like terrified wusses.
Notorious P.A.T.
Here’s one very good reason to hold lawful trials. You know, like civilized people do:
Ex-Islamic radicals on what motivates — and impedes — extremism
Clip:
Clip two:
bayville
Shadegg’s point is there are a lot of brown-skinned people in NYC and everyone knows they are all related and friends. Thus, this trial will ignite a Muslim Revolution in the city much like the Rodney King trial caused riots in LA– only times a million.
Very sensible reasoning. And I look forward to further debate on this issue this afternoon on Glenn Beck’s highbrow television show.
Keith
@soonergrunt:
Naa, now they’re mining classics such as “Die Hard With A Vengeance”
Cat Lady
@John Cole:
It only makes sense to a bedwetting wingnut. Now you know you’re not, if you had any doubt.
PeakVT
Damn Bloomberg! Without the trial, the terrorists would have totally forgotten about the possibility of targetting NYC.
Some needs to tell Shadegg to stop huffing glue before stepping on the floor of the House.
AnotherBruce
NYC should know better than to try Super Villains, who can melt handcuffs with their laser vision, knock over court room walls and fly across the city to kidnap the Mayors daughter.
dmsilev
Again, and I hate to be the one who has to keep telling the GOP this, Al Qaeda is not comprised of Magneto, Lex Luthor, and The Joker. Ordinary high-security prisons and courthouses will work just fine.
-dms
cleek
Depends should start a line of GOP-branded adult undergarments. put little elephants on them, or pithy slogans about Freedom and Christianity.
that way, the rest of us can stop worrying about our perpetually self-soiling Republican friends leaving stains on our couches.
Singularity
And then Bloomberg was all, “Well that would be cool, ’cause then Sean Astin and Wil Weaton would join forces with Lou Gosset, Junior, and take back the school through a combination of ingenuity and pluck! And Jerry Orbach would have Khalid Sheik Mohammed whacked in prison when Wil Weaton got accidentally killed by one of the al Qaeda minions. Which would totally end the whole controversy.”
MattR
@John Cole: If I remember my Tom Clancy correctly, trying to kill the President’s daughter was the next attack after a Japanese pilot flew a plane into the Capitol building. That’s my bet for Shadegg’s inspiration.
Also makes me wonder if Bloomberg’s reaction was “why would my 26 year old daughter be at school?”
Sloegin
Still waiting for a national figure to reply to one of these clowns to “Man up!”.
Variants of “I can smell your piss stained-slacks all the way over here” would work also.
kommrade reproductive vigor
Funny, I could have sworn a Bloomberg win was good news for conservatives.
Chadeggs got his nightmare scenarios crossed up. Teh Ghey and/or pornography is the threat of choice for school children. Terrorists want to paddle over here on Zodiacs and blow up the local water tower.
AngusTheGodOfMeat
In order to understand Shadegg, you have to understand this:
This guy is a veteran righty whore, raised up by righty whores who used dirty local politics to get Barry Goldwater elected to the US Senate while nobody was really looking.
BTW, don’t know if this has been mentioned here, but did you catch the MSNBC tribute to Rudy Jewelliani’s insistance that terrorists should be tried in New York City? Uh, insisted it in 1993 or so, after the WTC bombing. I thought that was pretty funny.
The Moar You Know
@John Cole: Can’t believe you can’t hear the Atwater dog whistle. Let me translate:
BLAACKITY-BLACK TERRIST RAPIN’ UR DAUGHTER
That’s what’s Shaddegg is saying.
Mark S.
I like the 2nd paragraph, where he is concerned about the little people:
The jailer? Is this like Mayberry, and the only guy watching the jail is Barney Fife? What if they use Otis as a human shield for their daring escape?
Persia
@John Cole: Swarthy men going after our nation’s precious, innocent white girls has been a staple of our moral outrage for generations. Don’t let the sheer stupidity blind you to the dog whistle.
Persia
@The Moar You Know: Beaten by three minutes!
kay
Hmmm. The school thing sounds familiar.
Like all things stupid and false, I think this originated with Glenn Beck.
“NTARC) This week, Glenn Beck is running a series on CNN called “The Perfect Day” and he’s talking about it on his radio show. Anyone who is truly concerned for the safety of this country and it’s children needs to watch and listen.
So what is “The Perfect Day”
It’s the day that Americans are killed on an unprecedented scale. It’s the day that no one, not even our children sitting in their classrooms at school, are safe. It’s the day that seemingly isolated incidents all converge into the greatest threat this country has ever experienced or imagined. It’s the day that the Islamist jihad against the West begins in earnest. It’s “The Perfect Day” – and it’s only perfect if you’re a terrorist.
Glenn Beck is focusing on one part of The Perfect Day theory: the threat of massive, coordinated attacks against our schools and school buses. Last night on television, Lt. Col. Joe Ruffini, a counterterrorism expert, told us about some of the evidence and suspicious incidents that have occurred recently – both overseas and right here in America.
Glenn Beck is right on the money: America must acknowledge, prepare for, and, most importantly, work together to prevent Al Qaeda attacks against our schools. “
Tropical Fats
I particularly like the idea that their escape from police custody is so obviously inevitable that it need not be discussed. If only the police had any experience in keeping dangerous people who would like to break out of prison from doing so.
When did the NYPD become Barney Fife in the eyes of conservatives?
Violet
@John Cole:
Dog whistle. Fear of dark men doing things to young white women is a rightwing staple. Has worked for centuries.
Persia
@Tropical Fats: About the time they started opposing armor-piercing bullets, IIRC.
gocart mozart
Why is this political correctness?
Sentient Puddle
@kay:
OMG! And we thought flying airplanes into buildings was devastating! I just peed my pants in fear.
The Populist
“I
This is all sorts of dumb. Mr. Shadegg should stick to schtick involving holding babies and playing the Look Who’s Talking game.
Ok…talk about left field. This even further out than LEFT FIELD. All sorts of dumb, now I need to go read a medical journal or something smart to bring my IQ back up.
Persia
@gocart mozart: Because political correctness is when we try to treat those swarthy people like human being, that’s why. Also.
Bob In Pacifica
Moral relativism. I bet the good Representative eats shellfish too.
kay
@Sentient Puddle:
It was back when Beck was on CNN. I saw it, and really, really laughed because he had this poor unsuspecting school security person on as the expert guest who had no idea what he was talking about.
He said something like: ” our buses are secure”.
Really funny. Anyway. It started with the “17 school buses stolen in Houston” story, but the whole theory didn’t hang together real well.
The plot was to steal school buses and then hijack them. I missed the connection there, because they would have to run a school bus route, in the stolen bus, presumably, and knock off the real driver, or something.
Or. Alternately. A terrorist becomes a school bus driver and hijacks his own bus.
Maybe that’s the dog whistle. It was a real popular conspiracy theory in 2007.
Comrade Dread
Oooo, I like this game. I want to play…
“Well, Congressman, how are you going to feel when it’s your daughter who gets denied coverage for a potentially fatal medical condition because she had a yeast infection she failed to report on her application?”
“Well, Congressman, how are you going to feel when it’s your dad who has to come out of retirement and work menial jobs until he drops dead just because some greedy investor assholes dumped his promised pension on the government so they can pocket billions?”
“Well Congressman, how are you going to feel when it’s your son who has to work his entire life to pay off your spendthrift giveaways to corporations, defense contractors, and lobbyists.”
“…or go and serve yet another extended tour overseas where he might bleed out and die for a corrupt foreign government that rigs elections and has ties to the drug trade?”
I can do this all day.
winguts to iraq
i do like the idea of raising money to send diapers to republicans.
Tell me where to send the money.
arguingwithsignposts
OT, but in Palinopalooza news, media is barred from her speech at the College of the Ozarks.
Comrade Dread
Is it just me, or does anyone else now want to see a parody show of Glenn Beck’s Justice League with Rush Limbaugh, Sarah Palin, etc.?
kay
@Sentient Puddle:
I didn’t understand why they would steal a bus, and then run an existing bus route. They’d have an extra bus.
The Populist
I propose we hold a national day of telling anybody who claims to be Republican that you need to STFU.
We call it national WIMP day. No, it doesn’t involve a cartoon character begging for hamburgers but it involves men who claim to be MEN whining about fearing terrorists, the black man and other things.
See, libs get a bad rep. Many I know don’t spend their days cowering in the corner and whining about taking on terrorists. The right are filled with pussies. Let’s count the ways shall we:
— The right pushed for the Patriot Act after 9/11. See they need to feel in control because that is how wimps handle their outsized insecurities.
— On 9/11 Cheney cowered in the basement of the WH and Bush disappeared for hours.
— George Bush kisses foreign leaders on the lips and holds their hands because he is scared.
— The right fear homosexuals. Why else are they so afraid to support them in their quest to have their God given right to fall in love and have a family?
— Righties can’t handle losing like men. Case in point: NY-23.
— Righties are afraid to discuss an issue.
I could go on and on but the fact is that liberals are real men and right wingers are nothing but quivering cowards. See, Ben Franklin did say something about those who would sell out their freedom for the perception of “safety” but heck, who listens to wise people anymore? They sure as hell don’t.
Joseph Nobles
That whole special order was a sight to behold. Louie Gohmert and the gang essentially took over the House floor to give the terrorists a briefing on how to terrorize New York during the years of a KSM trial.
Liberty60
So what are the Fox News/ denizens of Wingnuttia going to do/ say when KSM DOESN’T fly up to the ceiling and start shooting death rays with his eyes, and Magneto DOESN’T swoop in and whisk all teh guns away with his power, and teh illegal aliens/ Black Muslims DON’T go on a rampage raping and abducting the white girls?
Joshua Norton
They’re aware that “24” isn’t a documentary. Right?
The Populist
Funny how none of these pansies on the right even remember that we sentenced a bunch of the guys who tried to bomb the WTC the first time to long prison sentences.
Man, these people DO hate America. Scary that I would even be in agreement with the likes of Grover, Barr (who sometimes DOES say smart things relating to the rule of law) and the other con whose name escapes me at the moment. THEY are real men. The right is full of pansies.
Ash
@gocart mozart:
Because to the GOPtards, “political correctness” is basically just about treating humans with some small shred of decency. Like getting fair trials and all that stuff.
Liberty60
@kay:
Heh- The Perfect Day is a good title.
Beck and his type have wet dreams of terrorist attacks; their perfect day would be that videogame fantasy of playing John McClane sayin “yippee kayaaa mutherfuckers”….
Until Mom calls them to wash up and come to dinner.
MattR
@Liberty60: They will say we got lucky. And if we go through this 100 times, they will say we were lucky each time.
gnomedad
If we refuse to be intimidated by the terrorists, the terrorists win!
Jim C
@Svensker:
That movie being Beslan: Three Days In September, right?
That does lead one to wonder when Shadegg began to believe New York City was in North Ossetia, though I doubt anyone believes Shadegg even could begin to place North Ossetia in the right hemisphere of a globe.
The Populist
SO if Bill Kristol is ever accused of a crime can we just skip to the punishment and cut off a finger or send him immediately to the gas chamber? I mean using his logic, people have no right to trial in this country anymore.
I loathe these people. They do not love America. They want us to be the Christian version of Pakistan or Afghanistan. Yuck and no thanks.
Seanly
@John Cole:
Don’t you watch movies? Not only that, but the planet Vulcan was blowed up I hear, giving old man Spock the sadz. Though maybe it didn’t happen based on which reality we’re in?
Scuffletuffle
Sombody get Alan Rickman on the phone… he’d make a great swarthy terrorist. And I’ll get my schoolgirl outfit drycleaned…
The Populist
Keep in mind that on planet rightwingnuttia they believe that if you are accused your planet deserves to be blown up in retaliation.
camchuck
@John Cole:
Jack Bauer’s daughter was kidnapped.
Q.E.D.
The Populist
My suggestion for a new terrorist actor: Jason Isaacs. He was quite swarthy in The Patriot. I bet the right cheered him on as he killed Mel Gibson’s movie son.
R-Jud
@Scuffletuffle:
Careful. You’ve said the magic words.
Alan
I think we’re all missing the real danger posed by conducting terrorism trials within the U.S.’s borders. We’ve all been so concerned about the threat of rising ocean levels due to global warming. But no one’s stop to consider that the oceans might rise much, much faster as a result of the torrential flood of Republican pee that will wash over our cities and stuff before finally reaching the coast. It is essential that we banish our terrorism suspects forever lest we be washed away in the Great Yellow Deluge!
The Populist
Kidnapped a bunch of times.
Outran a killer cougar.
Unwittingly was used to make Jack free Tony.
Met a weirdo in a cabin who wound up coveting her (I think that guy was based on Newt Gingrich).
The Populist
I have a feeling he’s busy playing Snape in the Potter films. I suggest Jason Isaacs of the Patriot and numerous other films where he plays the heavy.
The Populist
It’s not pee, my friend, it’s crocodile tears. Beck alone must flood the Fox studios everyday with his whining.
camchuck
@The Populist:
How will Bloomberg feel when he’s being chased by a killer terrorist cougar?
Bubblegum Tate
Birch Barlow: Mayor Quimby, you are well known for your lenient stance on crime, but suppose for a second that your house was ransacked by thugs, your family was tied up in the basement with socks in their mouths, you try to open the door but there’s too much blood on the knob–
Mayor Quimby: What is your question?
Birch Barlow: My question is about the budget, sir.
Jon O.
@Comrade Dread: Hey man, you can’t say that. That’s class warfare.
/IOKIYAR
socraticsilence
Man sure is manly of a guy who lives in Arizona to question the nerve of a man who undoubtedly lost friends in the 9-11 attacks (let’s see a Billionaire Financier- yep, Bloomberg lost some friends when the WTC went down). Funny, how the people who would never get attacked are the ones who get to question the courage and committment of those who actually suffered. No, wait not funny annoying.
kay
@Liberty60:
I thought it was just wrong, because it turns their kids into fear-addled ninnies, so a second generation.
Getting on the school bus is the first real step out. Let’s make sure we ruin that too, as a preemptive measure.
I keep imagining this horrible “safe world” they’re seeking and wondering who would want to live in it.
BlueDWarrior
The Mind Boggles at how obtensibly high-school educated people can even allow Shadegg to RUN for a major party, let alone get elected in a district.
While I get on the Democratic party in other places about their inability to do anything coherent, it’s really quite hard to expect anything coherent because all the Sane Republicans left the party decades ago…
(Why do you think we have so many Blue Dogs now?)
theturtlemoves
Reminds me of an old SNL sketch with, I believe, Dana Carvey. Manly Man, the manliest man in the mountains. “Would you ever kill a moose? Even if it was molesting your wife?”
El Cid
BUT WE’RE SCAAAAAAAAAARED!!! THEY GON’ KILLUS!!! HAAAAAAALP!!!
Also, we conservativoids are really really ruf & tuf. SHUT UP.
Punchy
Shadegg wants the terrorists to be set free. Cuz it’ll make Obama look bad. Who gives a shit what it does to America’s safety, the GOP scores a win!
Omnes Omnibus
@camchuck:
Is that anything like a PUMA? Or are we talking about Desparate Housewives here?
Kyle
Somebody ask this dumbass Repig — if a terrorist would kidnap a politican’s child to demand KSM’s release from a NYC jail, what’s stopping them from doing the same to get him released from Guantanamo?
geg6
@Jim C:
That was exactly the first thought that came to my mind. And then I thought, “Well, I don’t really think you can compare Manhattan to North Ossetia, can you?”
Great minds and all that.
Mike G
Before Glenn Beck goes on the air, Fox building engineers fire up the basement pumps to prevent flooding.
Darkrose
@The Populist:
I know I did, but that’s because Jason was the only good thing about that movie. Also, he made that stupid hat look good.
Interesting, though, that the uber bad guy in a Mel Gibson vehicle was the Jewish guy…
Comrade Dread
@Jon O.
Yeah, yeah. I know I’m shrill. And unserious.
Belafon (formerly anonevent)
@The Populist: Except Jason Isaacs is busy in the same movies, playing Lucius Malfoy.
R-Jud
@The Populist:
I believe he is also doing Potter. What about Javier Bardem? I know really evil people all have English accents, but he can make a bowl haircut look downright infernal. And he wouldn’t have to be spray-tanned. We’re fiscal conservatives, remember.
Darkrose
@The Populist:
Well, at the moment, Jason’s busy with Potter as well, since Lucius Malfoy is in Book 7.
kommrade reproductive vigor
@Mark S.: Piffle. Every ReaLAMErican knows the decadent fiends of NYC don’t have children. They abort them between Crisco parties.
JackieBinAZ
In the same way that they’re aware “Atlas Shrugged” isn’t a textbook on economics.
Punchy
Those 50 year-old hawt Muslim women with knives and C4 in their purse are soooo the dangerous.
rea
Wasn’t that Michael Dukkakis’ daughter whow as kidnapped by terrorists? And President Dukkakis got all touchy-feely over it? I seem to remember that from the ’88 campaign. :(
ericvsthem
Perhaps Shaddegg has some information that Al Qaida terrorists, taking a page from the Symbionese Liberation Army, plan to kidnap one of Bloombergs two daughters, brainwash her, and send her out with a machine gun to hold up a Bloomberg newswire office?
Years from now, after she’s been tried and convicted of armed robbery, a future President will grant her a pardon.
comrade scott's agenda of rage
John lost the ability to hear in that range when he came over from the Dark Side.
still liberal
A quick Wiki check finds that the Mayor’s youngest daughter was born in 1983. It is quite likely that the New York school system will not need to be locked down on her account. Also.
Dr. Loveless
@The Populist:
Grand Moff Tarkin, neocon military strategist.
The Populist
Okay good point on Isaacs, guys. For some reason I thought his character wasn’t as prevalent in the final movie as his movie wife’s will be. I guess I am a fan, so one can hope :)
ajr22
I think on a national level, your department of law there in the White House has this kidnapping thing under control.
Roger Moore
@Scuffletuffle:
I think you’re going to get a fight from AsiangrlMN about who gets to be the schoolgirl in that scenario. I guess he could kidnap both of you…
The Populist
That makes me think who the biggest pussies are in conservatard circles. The people who live in small southern towns of maybe 1000 or less people.
They really think the evil dark man is gonna come kill them for allah? Now using logic, one could argue they’d be the targets of these terrists (spelling on purpose, fyi) since they are the biggest cheerleaders for war and destruction. Problem is, the big cities are but good luck convincing these scared little people that even the terrists see no point in wasting time on shitstain little towns full of scared, ignant morons.
(DISCLAIMER: Unlike idiots who play in rightwing world, I do not want harm to come to any American. My snark is designed to attack weak people and make a point, not wish harm even if they want me to die for their purposes seeing I live near a big city).
jibeaux
@kay:
Blockquoting fail, but I knew it was ol’ Glenn Beck and not good old kay as soon as I saw the “it’s children”.
The Populist
Oh and here’s a suggestion to all righties and blue dogs pushing this ridiculous meme about having unelected panels decide where to cut the fat in the national budget.
Simple: Start calling these buffonish small town tea baggers on their b.s. and close un-needed military bases. If these buffoons cry a river about it being the death knell for their shithole town, TOO FUCKING BAD.
Guess what rubes? YOU IDIOTS are calling on Obama to cut spending. Well….unless you can accept a shaving of the Pentagon budget, bases should be on the list. It’s welfare in the worst possible way and these idiots don’t even see it as that.
If your town can’t survive without a handout from US tax payers, too bad…move…it’s what you tell autoworkers in Detroit to do as if it’s so fucking easy.
soonergrunt
@rea:
No. The issue of Dukkakis’ oposition to the death penalty was brought up during the debate with the question to him along the lines of “if your daughter were raped and murdered, wouldn’t you want her killer to get the death penalty?” and he fumbled around and floundered on it.
He should’ve just said “Of course I would you ignorant ass. I’d want to kill the bastard myself, but that’s why our justice system takes the verdict and sentence out of the hands of the victims, you stupid fuckwit. Jesus H. Christ on a popsickle stick! What are you? Some kind of Bush/Reagan fanboy bitch? Why don’t you just come up here on the stage and suck his cock while you’re at it save everyone some time? Stupid paste-eating shit-for-brains numbfuck, bastard, you better get the hell out of here right quick or I’ll run you over with my car in the parking lot, and just to make sure, I’ll back up and run you over again! Did your parents have any siblings who lived?”
But, being Dukkakis, he just kind of floundered there, in a dull monotone.
shoutingattherain
@Tropical Fats:
I hear Charles Manson is looking for a roommate. Bunking KSM with him would make everybody happy.
David in NY
I am getting really, really tired of the “concern” these guys from places like Arizona and Paris (Texas, that is, in NYTimes letters today) have for New Yorkers’ welfare. The help of such idiots, we don’t need, thank you very much. They seem to think that the Mahattan MCC is like the county pokey, federal prosecutors from the SDNY as inept as their local DA’s, and the NYPD as inexperienced with terrorism as their county sheriffs. Screw them, the ignorant, offensive jerks.
LD50
@gocart mozart: I think he means that due process is now, to Republicans, just another example of ‘political correctness’.
GregB
Clearly the terrorists have won in getting into the weak and mush filled minds of most American conservatives.
-G
Stefan
Somebody ask this dumbass Repig—if a terrorist would kidnap a politican’s child to demand KSM’s release from a NYC jail, what’s stopping them from doing the same to get him released from Guantanamo?
You want to know what’s stopping him? Shut up, that’s what’s stopping him.
Skepticat
The people most in danger of being hurt by this foolishness are the terrists, who are laughing so hard at these wusses that they may fall off their chairs.
GregB
Guantanimo is magicland!
-G
Skepticat
@soonergrunt: Precisely, with the minor caveat that the question was asked about his wife, Kitty.
benjoya
i remember shadegg from a hearing in the 90s. he berated the head of DEA (former NYPD), who mentioned that he (DEA guy) had actually been shot at. Shadegg responded that he (shadegg) was a grandfather. That makes him tougher than all the cops, corrections officers, and millitary combined. wow, what a pussy.
licensed to kill time
BJ is porpoising again – the site is up and down like a Circus McGurkus.
These pantywaists like Shadegg create their own reality and it’s populated by scary “It” clowns straight outa Stephen King. What a sad way to live. Whatever happened to “If we (fill in the blank) the terrorists have won!” ?
In these guys world, the terrorists are sitting in the driver’s seat, turning around to tell us “we’re going to kill you, ya know”. And they tremble in fear. Way to win, Al-Q!
ericvsthem
@licensed to kill time: Baby Blue Cherub linked to this thread. The Balloon Juice hampster can’t handle the traffic. Happens every time.
El Cid
@The Populist: When during Bush Sr’s Presidency they initiated a round of closing old bases and underused facilities after the USSR collapsed, this was then blamed eternally on Bill Clinton and for George H. W. Bush’s base closings program Clinton was denounced as “hollowing out the military”.
PhoenixRising
But wait–there is a connection!
Nadia is an Arabian.
KSM is an Arab.
So. Scoff away, but Georgina is in danger! Islamofascist plotting!
Mark S.
@soonergrunt:
Wow, if Dukakis had said that, he’d be on his sixth term by now. Everyone would be too scared to tell him that he could only serve two terms.
The Populist
I live near Los Angeles and it cracks me up how often these people are the first to wish the harm on big cities because they preach tolerance and rights for others.
Now they feel fear for NYC because the big bad terrist is coming for trials. Please…America is best when we live up to the ideals of our bill of rights. These idiots would be wise to pull out a copy of the Constitution and read it before commenting any further.
licensed to kill time
@ericvsthem: Ah, so that’s it. General Winfield Stuck has a lot of hamsters, maybe John could borrow a few dozen ;-)
The Populist
EL Cid:
Agreed. Funny how the same conservatards like Judd Gregg are insisting we cut the fat out yet I dare these idiots to repeal the Bush tax cuts, cut the fat out of the pentagon budget and close useless bases in small towns that are essentially welfare from rich states / municipalities to poor rural areas.
Randy P
@soonergrunt:
To survive in our political climate, you’ve got to be ready for the Stupid. It’s fair to say that Dukakis was not, so he was caught short with how to respond to such an idiotic question.
That is one of the many reasons why Obama is such a good politician for our times. He has the ability to face the Stupid and keep a straight face, and come out of it with his dignity intact, PLUS give a thoughtful reasoned answer that makes sense.
Simple intelligence is not enough. I was an early Hillary fan, and I still think she’s brilliant. But I’m not really sure she could have handled the Stupid as well.
slag
@soonergrunt: West Wing. Also.
@Mark S.:
Hilarity ensues.
I’ve just now determined that mom was right. Teevee rots your brain. Or at least, it seems to have rotted Rep Shadegg’s brain.
geg6
OT, but I saw this on Countdown last night and think people should see it. Say what you will about KO, but he puts his money where his mouth is and uses his megaphone for good and not just wingnut bashing:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036677/vp/33978589#33978589
The text of the producer’s piece about his experience:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33975919/ns/msnbc_tv-countdown_with_keith_olbermann
carlos the dwarf
In the midst of all this, has anyone bothered to point out that Mayor Bloomberg doesn’t actually have any kids?
The Populist
Did anybody catch Shadegg’s baby holding antics when on the floor of the house a couple weeks back?
It was far from hilarious even though Mitch McConnell kept laughing. The baby was so annoyed she kept grabbing for his mike. Maybe she realizes he’s a complete buffoon. I mean, if he thinks that the baby is a counterpoint to Alan Grayson’s brilliance, then he needs new schtick.
Maude
What size were the oysters that these pearls came from?
What’s next?
The Populist
Saw it. I agree 100%.
My point on Olbermann is simple to all those who find him grating or frustrating (mostly righties): Show me one instance where he made something up. You can’t, so he adds a bit of over the top humor to his points (that isn’t always funny)? In the end, he’s a lot more truthful and informative than anything the right trots out there.
If you wanna argue he’s a pinhead, do it but those with a brain on the right could learn a thing or two even if they don’t fully agree 100%.
Legalize
I keep imagining the Joker airlifting a bunch of masked super-villains out of an old stone jail somewhere in teh countryside, sirens wailing, German Shepherds barking, the warden passed out in his office because one of the Joker’s minions snuck a sleeping potion into his huckleberry pie. And you know what I really fear? The Joker’s clowns dressed up as courthouse security guards. You just know that under their uniforms, they have little flowers that shoot out acid.
gwangung
This. Squared, cubed and tessaracted.
Sentient Puddle
@carlos the dwarf: The great font of inaccurate and unreliable knowledge, Wikipedia, says that he has two daughters from a previous marriage.
Believe me, that was the first thing I checked. I was hoping for another Applebee’s salad bar.
Nutella
@The Populist:
Maybe Baby Maddie was trying to stop him from saying something stupid about Bloomberg’s daughter.
Draft Baby Maddie for Shaddegg’s seat!
slag
@geg6: Thanks for the link! That piece was quite moving.
Stefan
When during Bush Sr’s Presidency they initiated a round of closing old bases and underused facilities after the USSR collapsed, this was then blamed eternally on Bill Clinton and for George H. W. Bush’s base closings program Clinton was denounced as “hollowing out the military”.
The base closings happened in 1992. Since everyone knows Clinton was elected in 1992, of course it was his fault. (The fact that though elected in 1992 Clinton didn’t actually take office as president until 1993 is merely a detail).
JenJen
David Shuster tweets that he’s interviewing Shadegg at 4:00 pm today. Could be interesting; Shuster seems to think so.
R-Jud
@Randy P:
“It’s not getting any smarter out there. You have to come to terms with stupidity.”
–Frank Zappa
Martin
@geg6:
My only criticism is that Olbermann misses the same opportunity that most HCR supporters miss – many, perhaps most of the people that are seen at these clinics qualify for Medicaid. We already have a system to catch the neediest. It’s different in every state, so someone caught in California won’t necessarily be caught in South Carolina, and that’s a problem. It’s not easy to work through. It’s not fun to have to go and sign up for these kinds of programs (I still remember my mom crying when she went to sign us up for food stamps). The biggest problem with Medicaid is the 5 year look-back – if you lost your job 3 years ago you’re probably not eligible under the look-back, but odds are you’re still screwed if you haven’t been able to find work after that long.
Yes, the clinics shouldn’t exist in this country, but the people pointing that fact out with the megaphone also have the opportunity to educate the public to look into Medicaid opportunities. It would also be beneficial if they know the clinic attendees are not eligible to document that fact for the public so that people can better understand where the gaps in the safety net are. Drives me crazy when they let these good opportunities go to waste.
Darkrose
@The Populist:
Well, Jason would make a good swarthy terrorist. Get him out in the sun and he tans up quite nicely.
J.D. Rhoades
@Persia:
Criminal defendants in custody are rarely treated like human beings.
J.D. Rhoades
Batshit raving: the quick n’ easy way to get top billing from our “liberal media.”
soonergrunt
@Skepticat: You are of course, correct. Thanks for the clarification.
handy
@The Populist:
My problem with KO is that he’s too much of a cheerleader. All his guests follow the script, just watch all those leading questions he asks them.
Ash Can
@Scuffletuffle: I really, really like the way you think.
As for Shadegg, Michael Bloomberg ain’t perfect but I’m willing to bet he could kick Shadegg’s simpering, sniveling ass with one hand tied behind his back. I’d love it if he came back with a well-aimed and very public zinger in reply to this asininity, but he’s probably too busy and/or too highbrow to bother.
Ash Can
@J.D. Rhoades:
Hey, I’m all for it if Shuster uses it as an opportunity to hang Shadegg’s shit out to dry.
Alan in SF
Everything I know I learned from Fox TV. And I’d like to know just what do the Democrats propose to do about that tribe of yellow-skinned miscreants in Springfield? They’ve been causing trouble for years now, and they never seem to age!
R-Jud
@Alan in SF:
The Dems are clearly in the pocket of the nuclear power industry.
Rathskeller
@soonergrunt: Jesus Christ, that was good. I still remember groaning at the answer he actually gave.
Comrade Darkness
Why is this even up for discussion!? Are we a constitutional democracy or f*cking not? Bejsuss
OT, but sorta related. NY-23 did I call the 3 months it would drag out before it was certified or did I call it!
Sentient Puddle
@Comrade Darkness: From the link:
Oh Jesus.
See to me, the best part of this all is that concessions and “unconcessions” don’t make a damn bit of difference. Owens still gets to sit in the House as long as absentee ballots are being counted. Hoffman just ends up looking like a douche now.
Of course, that’s exactly what the teabaggers want. So…bleh.
Svensker
@kommrade reproductive vigor:
Please. CRISCO parties? How declasse. Real New Yorkers only use plusgra butter churned from lightly fermented organic Jersey cow cream. Crisco. Sheesh.
"Fair and Balanced" Dave
What if there were no hypothetical questions?
JenJen
@J.D. Rhoades: And now Shuster tweets that Rep. Shadegg is in a “meeting” (Shuster used the quotation marks) and might not be available for the interview after all.
Bwaaaak bwaaak bwaaak…
The Populist
Apparently we are not.
Seanly
@gwangung:
win for mentioning a tessaract.
soonergrunt
@Rathskeller:
I remember watching the presidential debate episode of the West Wing and thinking “that’s how it’s done. Be smart and be a dick about it. Take any chance to show that your opponent is a lightweight and don’t hesitate to go for the throat.”
Americans SAY they want someone to be “presidential” but they mostly don’t even know what that means. What they want is someone who they can very easily pick as the better man (person, hopefull within my lifetime) for the job.
gwangung
@Seanly: Only because I don’t remember the shape for five dimensions…
Glenn Hauman
Mr. Shadegg is an even bigger idiot than contemplated.
Consider: Mr. Bloomberg is a billionaire. His children are already targets for kidnapping for ransom demands. To think that he is more concerned about the hypothetical threat of a terrorist kidnapping vs. the threat he and his children live under every single day is ridiculous.
gf120581
Shadegg’s overdosed on 24 or something, which is not suprising (I’m surprised he didn’t add that Bloomberg’s daughter might be attacked by a cougar). But more than that, the GOP seems to be overdosing on comic books and superhero movies, because they seem to think KSM and crew and all the rest at Guantanamo are supervillains with scary powers. I’d just like to send them this message, in big bold letters:
GUYS, THEY ARE ORDINARY PEOPLE. THEY HAVE NO SUPERPOWERS. THEY WILL NOT STAGE A BREAKOUT LIKE MAGNETO IN X-MEN 2 OR THOSE GUYS WHO BROKE OUT OF LEVEL 5 THANKS TO SYLAR ON HEROES AND DEVASTATE THE COUNTRY. AN ORDINARY JAIL CELL WILL KEEP THEM. SUCK IT UP AND GROW A SPINE, YOU WIMPS.
Ash Can
@JenJen:
Shadegg’s handlers must have tipped him off that Shuster wasn’t with Fox News.
gopher2b
Because trying these guys in NYC is really going to be the straw that broke Al Queda’s back. Idiots.
DJMurphy
Why are Republicans so emotional?
It’s really over the top.
ericvsthem
@Glenn Hauman: Wingnuts have redacted the Watergate years from their history books. Therefore the Patty Hearst kidnapping never happened.
Mithi
what if the only way to get the intel is to torture your child, what then
SiubhanDuinne
@thomas:
Every time I see WATB I think it’s a reference to a radio station’s call letters. So I decided to do a search and find out if there’s actually a station in the U.S. unfortunate enough to have those letters as a call. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that not only is there such a station, but it’s right down the road from me, in Decatur, GA, 1420 on the AM dial. Mind you, it’s a big ol’ 1000-Watt daytimer, drops to 51 Watts at sundown, but it exists. I’ve never heard it and judging by the coverage map I probably never will. But I can still be amused.
justcorbly
What conservatives really want to do is skip all the formalities and just lynch people on the Cuban shores. From their perspective, American principles protect only those with the proper gentic code.
Xenos
@gopher2b: Who said anything about al Qaeda? We should be trying them in New York because our legal system works that way. Whether it is good or bad for a bunch of scumbags out in the mountains of western Pakistan is not that knowable, and not relevant.