Last night, commentor Soonergrunt said:
9/11 is wingnut christmas. It was everything they ever dreamed of, and the fact that most of the victims were liberals from the east coast and New York City only makes it all the more important to them.
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If you go back to 2005-2006 timeframe, and re-read the stuff they were saying, especially in the lead up to the mid-term elections in ‘06, you’ll notice an almost wistful quality to some of it, and posts, particularly at Red State and other wingnut gathering places that borders on hoping for another attack.
__
There is something seriously wrong with these fuckers.
Jack Stuef at Wonkette had a similar idea:
… Sadly, this has become such a commercialized holiday, and it’s important to remember the little things that make 9/11 so special. The true meaning of 9/11 is that it handed George W. Bush a second term as president, and that’s easy to forget in the hustle and bustle of the season. Tonight, when you put your children to bed and they wait in fevered anticipation for that giant fat white-haired man, Dick Cheney, to come down the chimney and give them weapons, read them this simple poem.
__
The Night Before 9/11
Twas the night before 9/11, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, according to public statements by P. Goss.
The Abu Ghraib hoods were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that Dick Cheney soon would be there…
I think I will try to persuade the Spousal Unit that we should ‘celebrate’ the way we urban nonbelievers celebrate that other dicey Heartland American(tm) holiday (when almost all retail establishments are closed) by going to our favorite Chinese restaurant…
MobiusKlein
Gads, the east coast is a strange place.
Out here on the west side, we’re not so much into the 9/11 porn. It sits in our minds like Pearl Harbor Day, but no crazed obsession.
Talkingpoints memo is a 9/11 orgy today, but west coast blogs are just, you know, doing stuff. Can ya’ll get a grip?
elmo
Nothing to do with 9/11, but I’m in shock. I’m an out lesbian living with my partner of 20 years in East Tennessee, and today, via the GOS, I learned about a lesbian couple in Vonore, TN, whose house was just burned down. Lest anyone suspect that it was yet another sad example of the bad wiring that seems to be endemic to this area, the word “QUEERS” was also spray-painted on their garage.
Vonore is a little community about a half-hour from me. It’s also the same general area where the gunman attacked a Unitarian Universalist church.
Fuck me, but I’m actually getting scared.
Anyway, the local PLFAG (Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) is collecting donations of money and household items, and apparently one of the women is my size. I am thinking that an entirely new wardrobe is in my future.
And maybe I need new kitchen appliances too.
sparky
@MobiusKlein: no. next question?
thanks, AL, for that link. in a somewhat perverse fashion it gives me a bit of hope, since satire, that hardy perennial, has reappeared amidst the frothing.
Betsy
@elmo:
That’s horrendous.
Lemme guess, no one in the local media is calling it “terrorisim,” because the perps are unlikely to be nonwhite or nonchristian.
The Republic of Stupidity
One of BJ’s resident trolls made a comment the other day in response to someone’s question as to WHY do nutters feel such a need to make a big deal of 9/11, ala Glen Beck…
And I believe the gist of his answer was something to the effect, “Because it pisses of liberals”.
I have to say, I’ve seen THAT EXACT rationale for nutter behavior used dozens, if not hundreds, of times over the last few years…
“Because it pisses off liberals”???
WTF…
Is ‘modern movement conservatism’ really made up of hundreds of thousands of PO’d little brothers who finally feel entitled to act out endlessly?
Is that really a good reason and way to run the world – because it pisses off someone else?
elmo
The local media has barely covered it. Like I said, I heard about it at DailyKos, not locally. There is one local headline on WATE: “Lesbian couple in Vonore says house fire is hate crime.”
That’s what those lesbians say, anyway. Who could really know?
Fuck. I like Tennessee, I really do, but sometimes not so much, you know?
Omnes Omnibus
@elmo: Seriously fucked up.
Omnes Omnibus
@The Republic of Stupidity: Pissing off liberals is one motivation. Posturing as tough guys is another.
Mnemosyne
@elmo:
It’s all of a piece. Hatred of “illegal immigrants” moves to hatred of Muslims moves to hatred of gays and lesbians and just keeps going. After the past few months, I think anyone who’s not white and straight has good reason to be looking over their shoulder, because the target group just keeps growing.
And yet you still see people on the left saying it’s no big deal that a nutty preacher in Florida is threatening to burn the Koran on 9/11 because it’s just a book and therefore it has nothing to do with xenophobia or racism. Talk about missing the point.
elmo
@Mnemosyne:
I think you’re right, definitely.
sparky
@The Republic of Stupidity: actually, yes, if it causes said “liberals” to either cave to irrational demands or to respond by overreacting.
as shorthand, “the ends justify the means” and “the people are a beast” are not exactly new conceptions. marry those notions with mass media and…profit AND policy!
jeffreyw
We tried to maintain the Spirit of the Holiday in much the same way.
trollhattan
Every anniversary they dive into 9/11 like a new class of BYU freshmen diving into somebody’s p0rn collection. It’s become…unseemly. Not that they’ll ever notice.
I’m already dreading the Big Ten-Year Gala in a year. As to the victims, I can only say: rest in peace. Honest.
Ruckus
@The Republic of Stupidity:
Small minds need something to live for.
@Omnes Omnibus:
Are these the same guys who ride a harley on the weekends with a bennie helmet, sleeveless t-shirt, vest, mom tat, goatee, straight pipes and a Princeton license plate frame?
elmertfudd
I’ve tried to treat this day as just another day since 2002. I just found out it’s a friend’s birthday-now the day has some meaning.
Omnes Omnibus
@Ruckus:
You have seen such a thing?
Mnemosyne
@elmo:
Also, advice-wise, if you don’t already have a large dog with a scary bark and you have room for one, now might be a good time to visit the shelter.
Davis X. Machina
I (not unlike Ms. Ann Elk) have a theory concerning wingnut 9/11 fixation, and the need to go a-Crusading, which got EPU’d on a seriously derailed thread, here.
The short version some people went crazy over 9/11 because the alternative was going mad.
Ruckus
@Omnes Omnibus:
That’s a compilation but it is descriptive. I was going to add that he is a dentist in real life but sticking your hands in mouths all day is more than I want to do so I’m not going there.
And yes I have seen way too many that fit this description. Their related to the guys that have a jacked up 4 wheel drive pickup. I don’t mean a 2 inch rise, I mean 6-8 inch rise, big whoya-whoya tires, 4 inch exhaust pipe, never a speck of dirt from off roading and most likely a teeny, tiny little…
MobiusKlein
@Ruckus: brain.
Karen
I’m so glad that I visited my folks (on Long Island) last week instead of this week. Long Island lost a lot of people since so many commute to NYC to work. 9/11 is just as devestating now as it was then and it’s disgusting how people who probably didn’t lose anyone use it to justify all their hatred. I suppose that if there was any thing good in this, it’s that they have to justify that they villainize the “other.” Before, no excuse was needed. They have to go through such hoops now to override the average American’s tendency to see racism and xenophobia as shameful.
Omnes Omnibus
@Ruckus: Then, yes, that is one iteration of the kind of person I meant.
Ruckus
@MobiusKlein:
That was reptile snake brain.
Triassic Sands
Actually, I think “the fact that most of the victims were liberals from the east coast and New York City” really works against this being the perfect day for Wingers, who fancy themselves the world’s most down-trodden victims. No one has it worse than a conservative, unless it is a Christian conservative. Worse still is the plight of the wealthy white Christian conservative and among them the men have it the absolute worst.
I can barely hold back the tears…
GregB
I’m tired of the pea-brained knee jerk wingnuttiness of it all. One of my distant associates had a FB post about how many people have forgotten what 9/11 means.
I love these psychic wingnuts who are able to determine what is in a persons’ mind.
It’s also the reason why I want to treat 9/11 as just another day, other than respecting those who lost their lives and those especially who lost their lives as first responders.
But making it into such an enormous event is exactly the intention of the attackers.
Carry on with your lives, it’s the best thing to do.
Betsy
@Ruckus:
I grew up in texas. My friends and I, being very mature, referred to such vehicles as “big dick trucks.” Because the people driving those trucks tended A) to act like big dicks and B) to believe that driving said trucks would make people think they had big dicks.
ETA: As a teenager driving home, I once almost got intentionally run off the road in broad daylight by some (probably drunk) assholes driving a beat up white pickup with a gun rack (seriously, can you get more cliched?). It was scary.
Anne Laurie
@trollhattan:
Thanks for the LOL!
inkadu
@elmo: Jesus H. Christ in fishnets, Elmo, that’s terrible. And what’s almost worse is that the news media isn’t covering it. The Google-search headlines are, “Lesbians feel fire was a hate crime; arson suspected.” So they’re not even saying it was a hate crime. They’re just feeling it.
Hate crimes are for white people, terrorism for brown.
Betsy
@efgoldman:
I’m sure that has nothing at all to do with the ethnic and national background of the people responsible for that particular horror.
pablo
Jes ‘nuther xcuse for a party!!
Yutsano
@efgoldman: U haz an extra @ symbol in ur commented.
I came back to fix some lunch and check to see how Obama has failed me two days before he’s my new boss. I’m thinking I might just go back to playing John Galt until dinner. And no I’m not gonna finish unpacking my kitchen, because I don’t wanna!
Davis X. Machina
@efgoldman: Keep banging away at it. It is a mitzvah to pass the wisdom of our fathers onto our children. I for one do not want to live in a world where our hovercrafts are no longer full of eels.
Omnes Omnibus
@Davis X. Machina: My nipples explode with delight at your message.
Ruckus
@Betsy:
Xactly.
elmo
@Mnemosyne:
Thanks. I have eight. And a shotgun.
We’re the local rescue coordinators for three different Great Pyr rescue organizations, including National. So we’ve always got at least two of those. Plus my three German Shepherds. And three assorted small mutts.
I did once have occasion to take the shotgun out onto the front porch, at one in the morning to scare off two men idling a car in my driveway. But that’s the only scare we’ve had.
Yutsano
@Omnes Omnibus:
I have no idea how we’re going to explain that to your wife.
Oh and as far as mitzvahs go: they were doing a fundraiser for Planned Parenthood out in front of the grocery store this afternoon. I chipped in ten bucks. I feel like a good DFH now.
The Dangerman
@GregB:
I’m just tired of the Wingnut jerks…
… and have a modest proposal (with all due apologies to Jonathan Swift).
Is the Alaska Independence Party still in existence? Can we motivate them to seced? It would be Wingnut Eutopia. Lady Sarah would be the first Queen, no doubt. They wouldn’t pay any taxes (though when the federal Oil money stopped flowing, they’d all be in deep shit). All the dumb fucks could move there and shoot shit all day long (and all night long, too, in the Summer). Sadly, once all the fucking crazies moved to Alaska and converted it to Somalia North, Russia might feel threatened and feel the need to invade, but, this is a feature, not a bug, as these fuckers have wanted to play “Wolverine” for years.
JAHILL10
Here’s what I don’t get about the annual scab picking that takes place every 9/11 anniversary: This notion that this horrible attack came out of the blue, taking everyone by surprise. Terrorists had been trying to blow up the Twin Towers since the early 90s. Our government had warning that OBL was planning an attack within our borders. And then…an attack happened at the Twin Towers! A horrible attack where 3000 lives were lost, but it was something, honestly, we should have seen coming. Those who lost their lives or gave them heroically during this tragedy deserve our pity and respect, but I don’t know how you can have a memorial every freakin’ year without asking ourselves how did we let this happen and who was asleep at the wheel when it did. And if we did ask those questions, I think the joy of 9/11 celebration would be pretty muted in Wingnutopia.
elmo
@efgoldman:
About two hours, give or take. My partner (Army veteran) used to go to the VA hospital there from time to time. Awful place (Mufreesboro, not the VA hospital).
Omnes Omnibus
@Yutsano: She is working on Econometrics right now. I doubt she will notice.
elmo
@efgoldman:
You are doing God’s Holy work.
Unlike those miserable Psalms, which are so depressing.
chaseyourtail
I don’t understand how the GOP can alienate just about every demographic other than hetero, white Christians and still be electorally viable. They hate gays, blacks, hispanics, women, Muslims, the unemployed, unions and union workers (I’m sure I left out somebody)….How in the hell can they supposedly be poised to take over the House of Representatives? I know, $$$…but still.
The Dangerman
They hate gays, blacks, hispanics, women, Muslims, the unemployed, unions and union workers…
Because people that hate gays, blacks, hispanics, women, Muslims, the unemployed, unions and union workers:
a) Vote (see Miller, Joe, and the effect of Parental Notification proposition)
b) Try to prevent gays, blacks, hispanics, women, Muslims, the unemployed, unions, and union workers FROM voting.
PurpleGirl
efgoldman: It is an old NYC saying that you can tell how Jewish a neighborhood is by the number of Chinese restaurants.
(This does not include Chinatown or central Flushing.)
Hmmm, sesame beef… hmm… good idea for dinner tonight, thank you JeffreyW.
BC
Well, the GOP fucked up on all the domestic stuff, so the only thing they have going for them is the “war on terror.” This explains why they get so hysterical when Obama doesn’t talk about the “war on terror.” They think that the “war on terror” is what gives them national security bona fides — there is nothing else they have. Zip, nada. Bush was successful in using it to get re-elected in 2004 and the GOP thinks they can use it in 2010 and in 2012. I’d just love for there to be a good retrospective on all the activities leading up to the 9/11 attacks, including that infamous “you’ve covered your ass” from the president and the lack of action on terrorists from Cheney. We’ll never get that -unless it happens in the year 2051 – because these people have so much invested in 9/11 as being the time when they shined.
HE Pennypacker, Wealthy Industrialist
This whole thread is just part of the War on Wingnut Christmas.
PurpleGirl
@JAHILL10: If you say that to the wingnuts, they call you a traitor and unpatriotic. My sister changed churches because the Presbyterian minister said some things along those lines. She began to attend services and joined a nice conservative Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod congregation. When I made a comment about the Missouri Synod being conservative and all, she retorted “the minister doesn’t talk about politics and he’s patriotic.” I told her I meant intra-church politics, the internal politics of the Missouri Synod. The stuff I could say about the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod and their being hidebound jerks.
Mnemosyne
@elmo:
I knew someone here did Great Pyr rescue but I didn’t remember that it was you. One Great Pyr would be intimidating enough for an attempted arsonist, so I think your herd of them will be helpful in chasing off any idiots.
Maybe that couple could use one to help them feel more secure? :-)
Yutsano
@Omnes Omnibus:
That word just made me shudder, and I have zero idea what it even is! And yes I refuse to Google. Ignorance shall just have to be bliss in this situation.
I just realized I could make Thai chicken peanut noodles for dinner if I wanted. I now haz a new happy.
@Mnemosyne: I forget if he does actual rescue, but burnspbesq at least owns one of the great beasts. Dammit. I was totally happy with the new place until that moment. I WANT MY BIG DOG DAMMIT!!
chaseyourtail
@The Dangerman: Yes, you’re right…but all us hated folk MUST VOTE dammit. Time to get our shit together.
The Dangerman
…but all us hated folk MUST VOTE dammit.
True, though it seems to me as most House Districts are safely red or safely blue, so it really only matters in those limited swing districts. Same applies to Senate, generally. This just keeps reminding me the game is rigged (Citizens United, etc).
Omnes Omnibus
@Yutsano:
If this helps, she came out of the office a while ago to see if I could show her how to get a calculator to figure out the 6th root of some number. It turns out that the iPhone calc does it easily.
And as a definition: Econometrics is concerned with the tasks of developing and applying quantitative or statistical methods to the study and elucidation of economic principles.
Yutsano
@Omnes Omnibus: So she’s auditioning to be the next Paul Krugman? Good for her!
Omnes Omnibus
@Yutsano: Marketing strategy PhD candidate. It turns out that marketing strategy at the PhD level slots between economics and sociology.
kay
It’s just so clearly a political rally.
I know this is obvious to everyone here, but I’m a little shocked at the blatancy. I assumed they would try to cover it with some semblance of solemnity or memorial, you know, because it actually is 9-11.
It’s an anti-Obama rally. There are signs attacking Pelosi, for God’s sake. Are we really going to pretend this is “about” memorializing victims or a tragic event?
Looking at (still) photos of Michelle Obama and Laura Bush appearing together in Pennsylvania and then looking at the photos of the New York rally is really jarring, and disturbing. These two groups of people are doing two entirely different things. One of these is not a memorial.
Maybe NY looks less like a mid-term election rally on television? I hope so.
Mike in NC
@JAHILL10:
It’s pretty simple. They blame Bill Clinton for 9/11, just like they blame him for the “need” to invade Iraq.
elmo
@Mnemosyne:
The sick, scary thing is that they were in Nashville when it happened — two, two and a half hours away. My dogs are all house dogs. If somebody firebombed my house while I was gone…
I can’t even think about it. I also have a dusky conure and an African Grey in the house, and goats, chickens and a mule outside.
Gaaaaaah. Back to happy thoughts, happy thoughts. Nice Chardonnay on the desk next to the laptop. Brisket has been slow-roasting in the oven since 11 am, and twice-baked potatoes (with spinach and roasted garlic) just went back in the oven. Happy! Thoughts!
fasteddie9318
So, and I’m just guessing here, is it safe to say that the irony of a misogynistic sign attacking Nancy Pelosi as the tool of radical Islam is probably lost on the person holding it?
Yutsano
@efgoldman: “That’s not ironic it’s just stupid”
Quoth the Bender
Mike G
.
WHY do nutters feel such a need to make a big deal of 9/11, ala Glen Beck…
Using fear to demand obedience and conformity is the right wing ethos. They are nostalgic for a time when they could shout down and bully non-rightards almost with impunity.
LanceThruster
I think the beginnings of “the great purge” are going on right now at The Huffington Post. I just got an immediate ban after commenting to former Amb. Marc Ginsberg that he was just tacking on a new enemies list to get more mileage out of 9/11 blood.
see: 9/11/10 — Unfinished Business Take #9 — huffingtonpost.com/amb-marc-ginsberg/91110—-unfinished-busin_b_712982.html
Svensker
@LanceThruster:
Yay you — sorry you got banned but your comment is excellent. I’ve had it up to HERE with these scummy motherfuckers. Seriously.