I really like the idea of Politifact fact-checking politicians, but now they are really going in over their head:
They are going to need to hire about 1,000 new researchers if they are going to start fact-checking wingnut blogs and even make a dent. Half those researchers could work nonstop fact-checking just Malkin and Hot Air. Although, in fairness, it’s probably an easier task than doing the same to Fred Hiatt’s op-ed page at the Washington post.
Allah help Politifact if they ever stumble across Townhall.
lllphd
hey, wish them well; buy them coffee coupons. they’re gonna need ’em. and the education would do them good.
Mnemosyne
Don’t worry, our new chew toy Lorna will be here any minute to insist that Politifact is run by people from the Annenberg Foundation, and a different branch of the Annenberg Foundation once gave money to Bill Ayers, so clearly they’re just covering for Obama’s clumsiness.
ruemara
Look at it this way, they’re going to be working for the next hundred years on just the past 4 years alone.
dmsilev
I dunno, I think it would be fairly easy. Just make up a template:
“Wingnut blog makes wild claim. Claim status: false”.
There’s probably just a Perl script generating these debunkings.
dms
Comrade Javamanphil
Some anonymous Daily Kos blogger made an error and apologized for it when it was discovered so it is the same thing! But both sides do it! (I humbly propose this as a new tag, btw.)
ronin122
On the bright side, since wingnuts all pretty much pool in the same talking points and use them altogether, they can just debunk the granddaddy of them; not like the smaller variants are going to be too big an issue (think most thinking Obama’s a Muslim, with a few thinking he’s a member of the Nation of Islam….yeah on second thought, they’re over their heads I agree).
cmorenc
@John Cole:
This illustrates a corollary to the ancient Chinese saying:
“a fool can ask more questions than seven wise men can answer”.
The corollary is that the same core principle also applies to a fool’s declarative statements.
Mnemosyne
G just reminded me why the righties are probably so convinced it was all Obama’s doing: “Mission Accomplished.”
The answer is always projection. Always.
Mike Kay
I hate all this unity.
Can’t we start calling each other names again?
Please, someone call me a cultist or obot.
Gordon, The Big Express Engine
@Mike Kay: Heh.
Genine
Job creation, bitchez!
sukabi
They are going to need to hire about 1,000 new researchers if they are going to start fact-checking wingnut blogs and even make a dent.
And there’s your new jobs sector… it would bring the unemployment rate down by at least 2 percentage point
Gordon, The Big Express Engine
And… sukabi loses the fastest finger competition….
BombIranForChrist
Man, when I first heard that the wingnuts were freaking the fuck out over the t-shirt, I immediately took a look at it, hoping the t-shirt had a picture of Glenn Beck’s decapitated head fellating the shriveled and orange …
I’m sorry, that was very uncivil of me. Let me rephrase.
When I first heard that the wingnuts were freaking out over the t-shirt, I thought it might have something inflammatory on it. When I saw it, though, I honestly couldn’t figure out what was wrong with it. And I am still not 100% sure.
Was it because it was blue?
I mean … wow. WOW.
I really, really, really hope that a lot of our moderate independent brother-en and sister-en who are tempted in their fever dreams to vote for Republicans because they want their tax rate to fall 1.3% will pay really close attention anytime Malkin says something. It could do nothing but good for our country for the Serious People to see how truly whack the Right really has become.
Mike Kay
@Comrade Javamanphil:
sadly some parts of the liberal blogosphere have engaged in conspiracy theories.
the one about Obama slashing social security during the state of the union address is distressing because some readers have bought into it and are unnecessarily stressing out and it comes after the already debunked CT that obama and pelosi would slash social security during the lame duck session.
I really thought we were better than this. I’m sure most who have peddled the crap do so out of misplaced emotion, but there are a few who do it to raise money.
PaulW
That’s through the St. Pete Times, one of the few newspapers left that actually does a good job of investigating… They’ve been doing that fact-checking for awhile and they know what they are getting themselves into.
Violet
Anyone wanna bet the wingnuts will start own fact checking organization? Conservacheck? Teafact?
me
How long will it take before she writes a missive overflowing with invective aimed at Politifact. My guess, –6 hours from now.
beltane
Sarah Palin is doing an hour-long interview with Sean Hannity on Monday. This is going to so break that Truth-O-Meter.
General Stuck
Ha! good luck with that. In a world where all facts are liberal lies.
emily
Just try fighting the low level wingnut meme that Barney Frank was at the Medal of Honor ceremony for SSgt. Giunta.
It’s unpossible. I’ve had people I contacted tell me that they watched the video of the ceremony and have seen the president shake hands with Barney Frank.
The truth-o-meter doesn’t mean shit when you already have you mind made up.
I have also tried to get — in a descent way — one of Malkin’s linkers to confess she didn’t know what she was talking about to no avail.
Restrung
my liberal sensibilities are basically shut down by my cats’s fucking mean fucking… cruel…. ow. They have their..
sukabi
@emily: can’t argue with a psychotic delusion.
SFAW
Sez you! I argue with mine all the time! And I win almost 50% of them!
You liberals think you got ALL the answers.
Mike Kay
@me:
been there, done that.
She’s been bashing politifact for a long time.
emily
@sukabi: true, but when they defend this weird video, then I know they are not being honest.
The Facebook page where all of these lies are getting promoted is here.
Mike Kay
@beltane:
I feel so sorry for the people who have to transcribe the show.
Mark S.
Michelle Malkin and facts do not get along.
hilts
h/t http://www.mediaite.com/online/radio-host-mark-levin-challenges-chris-matthews-threatens-to-sue-any-msnbc-host
beltane
@Mike Kay: The interview will need to be translated from the original Palinese before it can be transcribed.
hilts
Rep. Peter King: If Arizona Shooter Had Been Muslim, “It Would’ve Been A Total Defense Of Islam”
h/t http://www.mediaite.com/online/rep-peter-king-if-arizona-shooter-had-been-muslim-it-wouldve-been-a-total-defense-of-islam
Mnemosyne
@emily:
I know this marks me as not sufficiently delusional, but do they explain why we’re we supposed to care one way or another whether or not Barney Frank was at the ceremony?
Belafon (formerly anonevent)
@emily: Facebook is being weird: Because I have a friend whose last name is Guinta, it takes me to her page instead of whatever you are linking to.
J. Michael Neal
@Mnemosyne: Because he’s gay! Duh!
Or Jewish. I can’t tell them apart sometimes, but I’m sure that he’s one of those things.
Or liberal, I guess.
Scott
Rep. Peter King: If Arizona Shooter Had Been Muslim, “It Would’ve Been A Total Defense Of Islam”
Rep. Peter King: If Arizona Shooter Had Been a Robot, “It Would’ve Been A Total Defense Of Destroying All Humans”
Rep. Peter King: If Arizona Shooter Had Been a Vegetarian, “It Would’ve Been A Total Defense Of Corn”
Rep. Peter King: If Arizona Shooter Had Been Megan Fox, “It Would’ve Been A Total Defense Of Boobies”
Rep. Peter King: If Arizona Shooter Had Been Batman, “It Would’ve Been A Total Defense Of Kicking the Joker’s Ass”
Rep. Peter King: If Arizona Shooter Had Been Cthulhu, “It Would’ve Been A Total Defense Of Driving the World Insane with Eldritch Non-Euclidean Angles”
Thoughtful Black Co-Citizen
So if the mark of the
BeastDemocratic Party are the colors blue and white, we might soon see fReichtards shouting at clouds. (Well, the whole sky, really. Except at sunrise and sunset. When there is sufficient Republican Red to calm them down a bit.)Mike Kay
Jon Stewart is hammering the wingers, right now.
beltane
@Thoughtful Black Co-Citizen: That is beautiful; it reads like poetry. Does this mean that the teabaggers will start attacking the blue waters of swimming pools now? I sense an impending Darwin moment.
@Mike Kay: That is a violent statement, like Genghis Kahn leaving a wake of death and destruction across Asia. Why are you hate Sarah Palin and America?
TR
@beltane:
She really is so very brave. Coming out of her mountain hideaway and dueling wits with a bold interrogator like Sean Hannity.
TR
@Mike Kay:
The slam on Malkin was nice, but the shots at the media in general were just as good.
The Dangerman
@TR:
I sincerely hope she runs for President; it will be fascinating to see how far she can go without being interviewed by anyone other than Fox (or very friendly newspapers).
J. Michael Neal
@The Dangerman: I’m looking forward to the backhanded compliments that all of the other candidates will offer her.
emily
@Mnemosyne:
If you look at the youtube link, then you will understand. It’s a claim that Barney Frank and not the SSgt.’s family were in the front row at the ceremony.
@Belafon (formerly anonevent):
I’m no expert on Facebook, but I think if you just search “Giunta” you should see some sort of aggregate page. But it is Facebook, so your experience perhaps will never be tha same as mine, even with a link.
sigh
Thoughtful Black Co-Citizen
@beltane: The truth-o-meter can’t be affected by what it can’t understand.
And you heard it here first folks: “Oh, but I love Israel, also!” will be her response to any questions about her inappropriate use of the term blood libel.
WarMunchkin
@Mike Kay: I heard nary a peep from anyone about the extended interview he did with Pawlenty last night. With the lone exception of knowing jack about social security, he absolutely destroyed a lot of wingnut arguments and brought up the bloggers not equal to republican party leaders argument, it was great. And when Pawlenty argued that Obama ran as a centrist and governed as a socialist, he got stopped immediately by the no single payer argument.
FYWP.
Buck
Won’t do a damn bit of good. They’ll start their own fact-checking site to debunk Politifact’s work.
Just remember, teh stoopid – it burns brightly.
Thoughtful Black Co-Citizen
Eeee! Gay man checking out the soldiers!
TR
@The Dangerman:
Me too.
Honestly, if she ran, I’d probably donate to her campaign, just in hopes that she gets the nomination and leads her party to an epic ass-whipping.
hamletta
@J. Michael Neal: “I applaud the good gentlelady from Alaska’s taste in accessories.”
The Dangerman
@TR:
Up through this week, I figured the nomination was hers to lose; after this week, I don’t think she has a chance in hell even at the nomination. Hucks is toast, Palin is toast, Romney is Mormon toast. Shit, McCain might want to try again at this rate.
Edit: In the interest of an interesting race, I look forward to Obama/Palin about the same as I look forward to the Steelers taking on a peewee team.
Cacti
@hilts:
No matter what the situation, you can always count on the right from some gratuitous bigotry.
sukabi
@emily: well I watched that “video” and my opinion is that it’s a pure propaganda piece… I don’t think he used any imagery from the actual ceremony… you could send the people bitching about the ceremony the video from the actual ceremony... there’s nothing in it that’s disrespectful to the ssgt or his family…
you might get a few of them to watch the real thing. mostly I think they’re addicted to the outrage, so a 12 step program might be in order.
gnomedad
@Buck:
ConservaFact — We are entitled to our own facts!
mr. whipple
@Mike Kay:
Can I mail you a pony? :)
Calouste
@hilts:
Isn’t that $100,000 to Matthews on account of Julian Assange? Or was that someone else who said he should be exterminated?
Besides that, I really doubt that Lady Blahblah has consistently used “deserves the death penalty” when referring to Bin Laden, the underwear bomber and people like that.
handy
@hilts:
Yeah, but oh my God who cares it’s Tweety. Is this supposed to be some kind of master gambit against teh ebil librul lies to them?
sukabi
@hilts: she murders the english language every single day.
where can I collect the $100,000?
Marc McKenzie
I abhor violence and am a pretty calm guy, but after reading this…I really would like to find these people and, one after the other, just unscrew their heads against the threads and s**t down their necks.
There, glad I said that. I feel better now.
James K. Polk, Esq
Are they starting a live blog or something? How the hell can you debunk a constant stream of lies?
Martin
@Violet: They have that. It’s called The Bible.
Bubblegum Tate
@Violet:
They already have one–
Dr. Zaius’sBrent Bozell’s Media Research Center.handy
@Marc McKenzie:
SEE! BOTH SIDES DO IT!
Parallel 5ths (Jewish Steel)
@Violet:
Teafact®. It’s not a fact until it’s a Teafact®.
jeff
Theme music for the BJ libertarian overlords:
Master of Puppies:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_z-hEyVQDRA&feature=related
It’s also the most libertarian message I could come up with.
Cat Lady
One hour of Palin on Hannity? One whole hour? It took her eight minutes of a video that she produced herself – no Katie Couric in sight – to immolate with her own words. Why does she think talking for one hour, even with that nitwit Hannity, will help her? Hannity is as delusional as she is. This is gonna be cringingly great. Also, too.
KG
@The Dangerman: If Palin is toast, and Romney is toast, then by default it’s Huckabee. If it’s none of the above, then I’d put my money on Gingrich… GOP voters will pick him as the next guy in line.
In more important news, the Heat lost to the Clippers last night and are getting blown out by the Nuggets right now (down about 30 with 3:00 to play).
Mike Kay
@KG: Palin is more like scrambled eggs than toast.
jl
@hilts:
This King quote from the link in your comment is priceless:
“The first statement [from the left after past instances of Islamic terror] was we have no right to judge an entire community by one person. This is a deranged gunman who in no way reflects what Islam stands for, and it would be terrible if Americans tried to even look at Islam as being responsible for this. It would have been a total defense of Islam, a total isolation of this person as an individual acting by himself, and an implied attack on anyone that would even question whether or not his religious beliefs were involved.”
So, is King saying that, yes, Laughner is part of the crazy right wing currency gold bug sovereign citizen extremist (edit, I typed ‘violent’ first, which is not what I meant) community, and that community shouldn’t be judged by his actions? (Actually, I think we agree with King here, since 99.99% of that community won’t run out and shoot people either).
Or is King saying that the vast majority of mentally disturbed people should not be judged by the shooter’s actions? (again agreeing with us liberals)
And who ever asserted anything like “It would have been a total defense of Islam, a total isolation of this person as an individual acting by himself, and an implied attack on anyone that would even question whether or not his religious beliefs were involved.”?
If we are going into booby land, I will stick with ‘ Rep. Peter King: If Arizona Shooter Had Been Megan Fox, “It Would’ve Been A Total Defense Of Boobies” ‘
piratedan
@Mark S.: Michelle Malkin, providing the example that you shouldn’t screw anyone crazier than yourself.
asiangrrlMN
@Mike Kay: Heh. I like that. I may have to swipe it.
@dmsilev: I’m with you. “Michelle Malkin said X.” “BZZZZ! Wrong.” “Erick, son of Erick said Y.” “BZZZ! Wrong.” Not hard at all.
@piratedan: I actually have that as a motto. I’m the crazy one in any friendship/relationship, thankyewvery much.
jl, snort. You said boobies.
jl
@asiangrrlMN: You think Peter King’s boobies are funny?
Have you no shame?
Cat Lady
I think Palin’s mindset is to make sure she creates as much chaos as she can now, since I’m sure she senses that something has changed. She’s too stupid to understand what or why since she lives in a bubble, but since lashing out is her default position and since she’s incapable of just shutting up and going away, she’s going all in. It’s all she knows. It’s going to be the end of the movie Carrie.
hilts
Tucson Tea Party doubles down on stupid
h/t http://thinkprogress.org/2011/01/12/tucson-tea-party-blames-gifford
Suffern ACE
@hilts: Perhaps. If he wants to be equated with Anwar al-Awlaki, then fine by me. Its strange that he would want those comparisons made.
jl
@Cat Lady:
“It’s going to be the end of the movie Carrie.”
Wonderful thing to read right before I go to bed. Less horrifying images, please.
Nellcote
@TR:
You know who else had a mountain hideaway with a stone fireplace…
Cat Lady
@hilts:
Shorter teafucktard: bitch deserved it.
Which is what Erickkk Erickkkson said liberals would say if Sparkle Palin was threatened. It’s always projection with them.
asiangrrlMN
@jl: Oh my god! That’s just too damn funny. And, kinda icky. Ew.
@hilts: Instant rage on my part. Words fail me. Or rather, I am trying to let words fail me for once.
hilts
@Cat Lady:
Nice touch with the spelling of Erickson’s name. That guy is unwatchable on CNN.
@asiangrrlMN:
We have to remember though that the left’s rhetoric is much worse. Tonight, Bill O’Reilly commenting on the lack of civility in the country, said “the left started it.”
The Dangerman
@KG:
I could see Gingrich; he’ll lose, but he could win the nomination. Huckabee has no chance because of the Seattle shooter. Romney has not only Mormonism but Romneycare; the latter is a DQ. Palin? Shit, they aren’t THAT crazy.
asiangrrlMN
@hilts: Oh, I know. It’s always the left’s fault, isn’t it?
What you posted shouldn’t affect me so much, but she was motherfucking shot in the head. That this asswipe would think such a thing, let alone say it out loud just sickens me.
@The Dangerman: All I know is that it DAMN WELL better not be Ratface Pawlenty.
Suffern ACE
@jl:
And if there were liberal leaders calling for rounding up conservatives and sending them home, I’d probably be defending them in similar ways. But since the “open season” on conservatives hasn’t actually been declared, and lord knows Conservatives have plenty of opportunity to speak collectively in their own defense, I think I’ll sit this one out.
Mnemosyne
@jl:
The extra-funny part (in a dark humor kind of way) is that we already have experienced what King is theorizing about: the Fort Hood murders. And I don’t recall seeing a single person try to claim that guy had no ties to radical Islam or that he did not act out of his (twisted) religious beliefs.
Of course, that’s the difference: we realize that different Muslims believe different things, and that lumping a Wahhabist in with a Sufi makes about as much sense as lumping together a Baptist and a Catholic and insisting that makes the Baptist responsible for child molestations.
Mark S.
@hilts:
So it’s political gamesmanship, except it wasn’t since she should have had security. But why would she need security if she had nothing to fear with her political opponents putting gunsights on her?
I hope this guy gets a lot of attention. A lot. Like the media hounding him everywhere he goes. To the point that he has a nervous breakdown and blows his fucking brains out.
Figuratively, of course. I don’t want anyone to get the wrong idea.
johnny walker
I’m baffled as to how this isn’t “Pants on Fire.” The summary paragraph even extends a tiny bit of credit for Malkin potentially believing her own lies:
“She may believe she sees the handiwork of the White House at play, but there’s no evidence to back that up. ”
Because apparently there’s a way to be a bigger liar than by making a claim with no basis in reality. I like Politifact for the most part, but the inconsistency of their ratings can get pretty ridiculous and they’ll occasionally slip into while there is no evidence that Malkin’s claims are true, there were in fact T-shirts distributed at the event so we rate this claim Mostly False territory.
KG
@The Dangerman: I know anything can happen, but I just don’t see any Republican that can legitimately challenge Obama in the general. Something I find interesting is that assuming an Obama win in 2012, that would be three consecutive presidents two serve two complete terms, been a long while since that happened, maybe FDR, Truman, Eisenhower?
jl
@johnny walker: I think that is an example of dry ‘politifact humor’, which apparently is like ‘math humor’ and ‘economist humor’.
asiangrrlMN
@Mark S.: You know, this is what really pisses me off about the conservative memes. Words don’t matter, unless the liberals say it. She should have had security, but there was no reason for her to fear. They are such goddamn gutless cowards. SHE GOT SHOT IN THE HEAD, you dickwads!
Man. I was in a deep sorrow for the first few days after the shooting. Now, I’m getting in touch with my anger.
Yutsano
@The Dangerman:
Umm, I beg to differ. Yes they are that crazy, because remember in their world she can really do no wrong and only she is good enough to rightfully take the throne. Remember how we’re all askeered of her?
Mark S.
@KG:
Truman didn’t quite serve two full terms. Looking at a list of the presidents, I think it only happened once: Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe.
johnny walker
@jl: Hmm, maybe. If it was rated Pants On Fire then I’d say that’s almost certainly the case. It’s the fact that they say this claim has no factual basis whatsoever but still refrain from giving it their worst rating that makes me wonder, and in general they’re a little inconsistent from piece to piece. Sometimes the actual claims are all that gets analyzed, other times credit is given for what the person probably meant to say or etc.
They’re good at what they do, but still occasionally maddening.
edited: For instance, one time I emailed them about some particular poll that showed that a significantly-higher portion of the population favored a public option than the one they were citing. They wrote back, and I shit you not:
“People who responded in favor of a public option may have been responding in favor of the choice of having a public option or not rather than in support of the public option itself.”
They felt that it was safer to assume that people who said “yes” when asked if they suppored a public option were actually saying that they supported the option of a public option. Or something.
KG
@Yutsano: There are only two ways I see Palin winning the nomination… either the field is cleared, or there are so many candidates that she wins with no more than 20% of the vote. If the first happens it’s because Obama’s numbers will have rebounded and the establishment will figure “let Sarah have the nomination, get blown out, and we can tell the crazies to STFU”
KG
@Mark S.: Truman missed by 82 days. But the first term was an FDR win, so it probably shouldn’t count.
Yutsano
@KG: That’s assuming the Republican powers that be can control the teabaggers, and right now the jury’s decidedly out on that fact. We know she will win at least 35% of the vote and more than likely would break 40, the issue is can she try to make race trump the fact that she basically has no ideas beyond empty platitudes?
asiangrrlMN
@Yutsano: Please. Can we not talk about her running? It’s making me break out in hives.
Villago Delenda Est
@hilts:
Shorter Tuscon Tea Party: Unless you brandish automatic weapons at us at one of your rallies, we’ll take that to mean that you’re perfectly OK with us gunning you down along with as many innocent bystanders as we can manage.
Yutsano
@asiangrrlMN: Well since I seemed to have killed TaMara’s open thread with frank discussions about overseasoning, I decided to stay topical for once. It could just be because I’m tired and cranky also.
@Martin: WOW. The return of an actual juvenile justice system??
Martin
Ooh, progress, perhaps. Brown’s budget proposal calls for closing all of the youth prisons in the state of California.
Uloborus
@hilts:
Ah, the favorite game of any domestic abuser. ‘Blame The Victim’.
Suffern ACE
@Mnemosyne:
My response was pretty much the same as it always is in mass shootings, which is stay calm, don’t jump to conclusions, let’s wait to see what the police say…whatever.
But you do bring up a point that makes me feel less than charitable. I would be willing to grant Palin the role of Marilyn Manson in the Columbine massacre. The semi-mainstream act that people knew about, Farrah can be the underground gothic music that people, and the tea party can be the goth kids and as it turns out, none of this goth music had anything to do with anything. Heck, Palin can even be “Collective Soul” and Farrah can be “Park Chan-wook movies.”
But the charity kind of stops there because of the way certain right wing semi-underground media outlets attempted to tie the Fort Hood shooter directly to the Obama administration in their wild conspiracy theories (He attended a seminar!!!!!) and paint the administration as having ties to “Islamofascism”. And since there are already these same “nebulous forces” implying that there is a cover up so that the administration won’t be embarrassed by the guy’s ties to liberalism, I’m not feeling very civil.
So having watched a few Park Chan-wook movies myself, I just don’t feel the need to say “Keep Calm and Wait for the Facts to Come Out.”
asiangrrlMN
@Yutsano: Well I’m pissed off and cranky. Sorry to take it out on you. Peace offering.
Martin
@KG: That’s not how primaries work. 30% turnout for a primary is pretty decent. If she can keep the teaparty dialed up to 11 and they turn out as they did for O’Connell in DE, she stands a decent chance of winning the nomination.
The biggest thing working against her is that she probably won’t trust a decent election team to do their job, so she’ll be surrounded by idiots.
Uloborus
@Martin:
Ask McCain’s election team. Even if she GETS good advice it’s even odds she’ll ignore it and do something moronic. Come to think of it, she rehabilitated her image by never doing anything but giving stale speeches at Tea Rallies, right? Everything else was messages from handlers in her name. The moment she stepped out onto a reality show – bam, outdoorswoman cred snuffed out. Something happens she insists on speaking out about? She flubs it so badly even the MSM is looking askance, and most of them wish she was a man so they could have her babies.
The woman is a dimbulb. A two bit hustler who isn’t functioning in the big time – she’s being propped up by very rich people who might just drop her any minute now. And she’s so dumb *they’re having a hard time propping her up*.
Crusty Dem
Catching the West Coast timed Daily Show, Jon Stewart just compared Michelle Malkin to a nematode. A bit too kind, given that nematodes actually serve a useful purpose, ecologically speaking. I’d go with more of a parasitic wasp, but YMMV..
Yutsano
@asiangrrlMN: Awww. Teh cute, it is too much. Plus that kinda looks like fun.
@Uloborus:
That used to be true. Now she’s tapped into a lizard brain contingent that will still stand behind her even if the monied powers drop her like a hot potato. She will only fade when she stops appealing to them, and there is a direct corollary to her success and her looks. They start to go, so will she.
asiangrrlMN
@Yutsano: I know! Otters FTW! And, you are right about Palin. Once her looks go, her success will, too. Then, no more sugar daddies paying escort her about town.
Martin
@Uloborus: I feel compelled to point out that all of that was also true of O’Donnell, and she won the nomination. Paladino was even worse what with the porn and racism, and he won the nomination as well.
I’m not disagreeing with any of your points, just that things that should not happen seem to happen once the tea party arrives.
gwangung
Dr. Who Nerd alert.
KG
@Martin: It depends on how crowded the field is… But in early polls she’s not even breaking 20% in crowded fields. I really don’t think she had much of a chance to begin with. I think if she declares that there will be no more than one or two challengers, and she’ll still have a hard time winning convincingly
freelancer (itouch)
@gwangung:
First ep of S2? I just recently got into that show and Torchwood.
Suffern ACE
@KG: What if Bachmann runs?
asiangrrlMN
@Suffern ACE: I will poke my ears out with my rusty pitchfork. I will not follow politics at all. I will renounce my membership to the human race and just go play with the otters for the rest of my life.
Yutsano
@asiangrrlMN: And teh otters will wuv you and feed you lots of fish. And lets you play in their snow.
And Bachmann will get destroyed before she gets off the ground fortunately. She doesn’t quite produce the starbursty reaction in the old Republican pervs. I think it’s the crazy batshit eyes.
Suffern ACE
@asiangrrlMN: Nah. I don’t think she’ll do that, but if I were a republican who wanted to be seen as the “sensible choice” – say Jeb Bush – I’d be trying to split up that tea party primary vote as much as I could.
gwangung
@freelancer (itouch): Somewhere around there….And it was irresistable for folks like Peter David.
FlipYrWhig
@jl: Sounds like another variation of “the only group the left finds it acceptable to (hate|blame|profile) is us conservatives.”
jacy
@gwangung:
Just saying it’s Doctor Who and not Dr. Who. Because I’m a whopping Doctor Who nerd.
You may now pelt me with the projectiles of your choice.
:)
asiangrrlMN
@Yutsano: That’s my idea of paradise. I’m going to go play with the otters. That’s my version of going Galt.
You’re right about Bachmann’s eyes, but she seems to give plenty of starbursts to many men–and not just Republicans. However, I do think the fact that she’s a true believer is a negative for her. Palin is just a damn grifter with no true beliefs. Bachmann is ready to get Raptured.
@Suffern ACE: There’s speculation here that she’s seriously considering it, or Amy Klobuchar’s seat.
And, Jeb Bush? You’re determined to give me nightmares, aren’t you.
@jacy: How you feel about lemon meringue pie?
Ailuridae
@Martin:
That made my day
jacy
@asiangrrlMN:
Ooh, lemon. I like lemon. Let me get some napkins.
asiangrrlMN
@Martin: That would be most excellent. I hope it passes.
@jacy: I’ll hand you a cup of tea, too. The real stuff. None of that Lipton Tea Bagger shit.
Suffern ACE
@asiangrrlMN: Aren’t you supposed to be in bed anyway?
Yutsano
@asiangrrlMN: I’d suggest chocolate cream pie, but I would never waste good chocolate like that. The staining potential though gives it some merit. I guess shoo fly pie would work in a pinch if you were looking for some good staining potential. Molasses FTW!
And Bachmann has nowhere near Palin’s name recognition. And in order for her to gain it she’d have to reveal who she truly is. And a true believer ain’t toughing 1600 Pennsylvania after Dubya for a long ass time.
jacy
@asiangrrlMN:
Egads, Lipton is swill. Currently liking the either the Twinings Lady Grey or the Stash lemon/ginger with hibiscus.
Shoot, now I’m hungry.
Ailuridae
A longish (fluffy) piece on closing down the youth prisons in CA.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/imani/detail?entry_id=80924
asiangrrlMN
@Suffern ACE: What are you? My mother? You would think I asked people to remind me to go to bed. Sheesh. No. It’s only 2 a.m. I have another hour. I will think happy thoughts (well as happy as I get) until then so the specter of Michelle Bachmann and/or Tim Pawlenty and/or Mitt Romney does not haunt me in my sleep.
My happy place. (Warning to Steeplejack if you’re reading this. It’s that video).
asiangrrlMN
@Yutsano: That’s why I suggested lemon meringue. I like it, but it’s not my favorite.
And, I know there is no way Bachmann would win; I just do not want to have to endure a campaign by her.
@jacy: I know Lipton is swill. That’s why the ‘baggers can have it. I’m taking back the real tea, though.
Yutsano
@asiangrrlMN: Otters. Think of yourself as a happy playful fun-loving otter. Cousin of the weasel but twice as smart with nummier diets.
jacy
@asiangrrlMN:
Yeah, I hate it when people give good stuff a bad connotation. Why couldn’t they have been the Tab Party or something like that?
I’m trying to convince the dog to go brew me a cup now, but she’s not buying it. She pulled her bed up near the space heater under the desk. Soon we’ll be all aflame, but at least we’ll be warm.
Mike Kay
DougJ would love this.
Chubby Brooks is on charlie rose insisting wingers have never use violent rhetoric, and……. wait for it….. both side do it.
piratedan
well my guess is that all of these early “challengers” will allow us Dems to become complacent and then the Republicans will unveil their secret weapon for 2012…. John Thune outta SD. He hasn’t said too many stupid things in public yet (after all, he’s got Palin and Bachmann and Foxx and Gohmert et al out there doing it already) and he’ll look like the voice of reason in comparison. Plus he’s so white he squeaks and he already has corporate hair and none of the baggage of those folks who were already found wanting in earlier cycles. He’ll look young and vibrant in comparison to the present holder of the position, especially after two more years of polite scorched earth tactics courtesy of Mitchy and the Secret Hold Five and their opening act Boehner and the Blechs.
Suffern ACE
@Mike Kay:
So both sides never use violent rhetoric?
MikeJ
Yea! Just home from Pablo. He could walk down the street and girls not resist his stare.
As much as I love him, I’m not a huge fan of SAM. I don’t think it was the best curated show I’ve ever seen. Fortunately the material that was there was great. I just thought there were some holes.
asiangrrlMN
@jacy: Or the Fruitcake Party. More apt as well.
Your dog: That’s hilarious–as long as she doesn’t actually burn down the house.
@Yutsano: That’s a good image to have. I will try.
@Suffern ACE: Bwahahhahahhaa! They tie themselves up in knots, don’t they?
Yutsano
@MikeJ: IIRC most Picassos are the possession of the Spanish government, so they get a little strict about their loans. Plus negotiation with the private owners as well. I’m sure the curators tried to get as much of a representative sample as they could.
PS I go by the SAM every day on my way to and from work. I catch the bus through the tunnel at Benaroya Hall. So cool to listen to the Seattle Symphony rehearsing when I pass by.
sukabi
@Crusty Dem: tapeworm… but for reals she reminds me of a candiru
Mark S.
@Mike Kay:
I don’t believe you.
Nobody watches Charlie Rose.
Warren Terra
I admit that I skimmed the thread quite quickly, so maybe I missed comments where other people commented on the page design, but from the screen shot John posted I’m actually quite pissed off – with Politifact.
Seriously, what assholes designed that web page? The claim under question is presented twice at the top in HUGE type, once as a flat statement (as made by its proponents), and once in the form of a question; in form, the question is superficially neutral, but it works quite well as an insinuation. That the claim is FALSE only shows up as a rather undersized (it’s only about six times the size of the adjacent Facebook button, for FSM’s sake; the part actually saying “False” is actually smaller than the Facebook button) and off-center graphic that is easily overlooked. And, of course, the claim is debunked in the small print. Someplace in the small print. Starting in the sixth paragraph in fact.
Actually, go back and look at that screenshot: reading from the top, it literally says:
And there’s another graphic more prominently placed and about as large as the easily overlooked “False” reading: Michelle Malkin’s smiling face. The piece also looks like she’s being credited with writing it; certainly, you have to explore the page to discover that Robert Farley wrote it, instead.
This is supposed to be recognized as a debunking at a casual glance?!
Studies show that debunking is hard to do. When you repeat an accusation, even to demonstrate its utter falsehood, the accusation tends to stick. The nincompoops at Politifact – 2009 Pulitzer Prize winners, FSM help us! – have managed to create a “fact-checking” website that could almost have been purpose designed to reinforce the false accusation they’re showing to be untrue. Shame on them.
asiangrrlMN
@Yutsano: Disgusted otter is disgusted, and so am I.
(Second link is my reaction to the above link to the Tucson Tea Party dude, posted at ABL’s place).
sukabi
@Warren Terra: it’d be interesting to see if their page layout changes depending on who’s claim is being checked…
Zuzu's Petals
@WarMunchkin:
I wish I had seen that particular exchange. Even though Stewart didn’t let him get away with the “protesters are mean too!” argument, it seemed like he let him weasel out of any explanation of the rationale for wingnut rhetoric generally. And boy, is Pawlenty ever a weasel.
Yutsano
@asiangrrlMN: Rage, correctly placed, can change our world. Even if the change is just personal.
And remind me to stop listening to songs that remind me I said no to the Dawg.
asiangrrlMN
Bedtime pour moi. The link to my piece over at ABL’s place again because it looks like one link above. Again, my rage at Mr. Tea Bagger, Tucson.
@Yutsano: Thanks, hon. Aw. You miss your Dawg, don’t you? Get some sleep. It’ll help. So I hear. Night.
Warren Terra
@sukabi:
Oh, I’m not suggesting that they’re trying to smear Obama, that they will treat claims about the Republicans any differently, or anything of the sort – just that there’s some combination of incompetence and sensationalism at work. The incendiary claim will always be a better source of excitement (and page views) than the assessment of its truthfulness – so show the claim twice in huge letters, and bury everything else.
Mike Kay
@Suffern ACE: logic and consistency as they have a well known liberal bias.
Mike Kay
@Suffern ACE: he pleaded two simultaneous defenses, that they never use violent rhetoric and that both sides used violent rhetoric (or shorter: both sides do it).
Jesse
@gwangung: But Harriet Jones was awesome, and Sarah Palin is totally not.
Malron
Here’s a suggestion to help liberals project some semblance of a spine when so-called “controversies” like these arise. Instead of the usual snark, mockery and “ZOMG LOOK WHAT THEY”RE CLAIMING WE DID NOW!! handwringing we’re notorious for on our side, how about we start responding to this lying and bullshit bullying with three simple words (you may omit word 2 if you like):
SO
FUCKING
WHAT?
Seriously. IF the White House decided that “branding” the event and passing out free T-shirts were a great way to uplift the people at the event and a great way to remind others in the state not to be discouraged or let hateful sacks of shit like Malkin divide them, why is that supposed to be a bad thing? Because Malkin said so? Are we still so punch drunk from * years of getting our asses kicked under Bush that the only thing we know how to do nowadays is go on the defensive as soon as these idiots on the right open their mouths?
I bet wingnuts and independents would probably stop thinking of us as cowards and “knee-jerk liberals” if we, um, stop having these knee-jerk defenses every time Drudge/Malkin/Beck/Palin/Limbaugh cast a glare in our direction.
gypsy howell
Mission accomplished by Malkin et al;
Front page news story this morning on Yahoo by AP:
“Some Question Pep Rally Atmosphere at Obama Speech“
evinfuilt
@asiangrrlMN:
I’m putting my money on Pawlenty. Look how he lied to Stewart the whole time, while smiling and looking reasonable. That’s all the republicans want, a good face they can trust (facts be damned.)
Barkley G
There was a Corner post the other day already attacking Politifact as being partisan (Maybe because facts have a well known liberal bias) over its tracking of Promises the GOP made to the so-called Tea Party.
I guess we can expect more of this.
AxelFoley
Why are the cute/pretty GOP chicks so damn nutty?
Mnemosyne
@Malron:
This is my response — when they say that the White House made the t-shirts, they’re lying. They lie all the time. Why are we supposed to let their lies pass by unchallenged? I know it’s hard to keep up with the volume, but I do think that the bigger issue really is the content (death panels!) more than the tone per se.
I really wish that prominent Democrats could bring themselves to use the “L” word, but that would be uncivil, I guess. :-p
New Yorker
I think I finally figured out what makes Michelle Malkin tick: she’s a variation on the self-hating gay who becomes a minister in a far-right church and spends his life railing against sodomites while secretly having affairs with multiple gay hookers. They really, really want to be something they’re not, so they viciously attack their own identity
In Malkin’s case, she rails against immigrants and defends the Japanese internment because she really, really wants to be something she’s not: a brown-haired, blue-eyed southern belle, instead of the daughter of Filipino immigrants. She hates who she is, so she rails against it with an unhinged ferocity.
You kinda have to feel sorry for someone that fucked up in the head.
sukabi
@Warren Terra: I wasn’t trying to suggest that was the case, just that it would be an interesting experiment to see if the page layout changed depending on what was being “fact checked”… kind of a checking the checkers.
Moonbatman
SWIFTBOATERS!!!!
Theme of “Together We Thrive” T-shirt came from Obama’s Organizing for America
asiangrrlMN
@evinfuilt: Gah. That would be worse than Bachmann. He’s evil. She’s just batshitcrazy.
@New Yorker: True. Very much true. However, she’s inflicting her warped crap on everyone else and making it easier to say, “Hey, look, the Asian woman says it, so it must be not racist”, which is why she is my personal nemesis.
AxelFoley
@asiangrrlMN:
Bingo.
I feel the same away about certain black conservatives who do pretty much the same things Malkins does, and, as New Yorker says, most likely out of self-hate.
Lu Frank
@ruemara:
Amen! . . .Like measuring the sand in the Sahara with a teaspoon.
AAA Bonds
@hilts:
Well, shit.
xian
@The Dangerman:
and Obama had no chance because he was blackity-black.