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You are here: Home / Open Threads / Death march

Death march

by DougJ|  January 20, 20113:26 pm| 98 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads

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Michelle Obama is being blamed for a miniscule rise in pedestrian deaths.

The Governors Highway Safety Association says pedestrian deaths increased in the first half of 2010 and the First Lady’s program to get Americans to be more active could be partly responsible.

James Joyner ably cuts through the stupidity.

I wonder if Darrell Issa’s going to investigate this one.

Update. From commenter wobblybits:

Turns out the Governors Highway Safety Association never said that, rather it was the Daily Caller and the Examiner that made that claim.

No one could have predicted…

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Previous Post: « Reanimating the Horse and then Beating It Again
Next Post: Shameful? I’ll Show You Shameful! »

Reader Interactions

98Comments

  1. 1.

    wobblybits

    January 20, 2011 at 3:28 pm

    Turns out the Governors Highway Safety Association never said that, rather it was the Daily Caller and the Examiner that made that claim.

  2. 2.

    trollhattan

    January 20, 2011 at 3:30 pm

    They really, truly hate her, just for being Michelle, don’t they? The only thing I held against Laura Bush was her terrible taste in spouses.

    NPR did an Issa piece this morning that included his decade of being a criminal investigation target. Nice to see a riches-to-suspect-to-riches story for once.

  3. 3.

    WereBear

    January 20, 2011 at 3:34 pm

    And don’t forget, the First Lady encouraging gardening has increased the mud tracked onto floors!

    Nationwide!

    Even in places that don’t have mud!

  4. 4.

    jibeaux

    January 20, 2011 at 3:35 pm

    And yet the right wing blogosphere will never be called out for their role in the potentially lethal complications from long-term cheeto dust inhalation.

  5. 5.

    mikefromArlington

    January 20, 2011 at 3:35 pm

    TEH STUPID!! IT BURNS!!111!!ELEVEN!!

  6. 6.

    hueyplong

    January 20, 2011 at 3:36 pm

    The GOP operatives just don’t care. They crank out something new every day, knowing that only a small percentage of any of it has to be believed.

  7. 7.

    david mizner

    January 20, 2011 at 3:36 pm

    I don’t believe for an instant that more kids are walking because of Michelle’s prodding.

  8. 8.

    slag

    January 20, 2011 at 3:36 pm

    Cars don’t kill people. Walking kills people.

  9. 9.

    freelancer

    January 20, 2011 at 3:36 pm

    This sounds just like Bataan when my great-Uncle wasn’t supplied with a Hoverround by the Japanese.

  10. 10.

    Rosalita

    January 20, 2011 at 3:37 pm

    @WereBear:

    and sunburn/cancer from gardening, read that somewhere this morning…

  11. 11.

    New Yorker

    January 20, 2011 at 3:38 pm

    Do ya think that (if by some miracle) deaths from heart attacks, strokes, and diabetes decline, they’ll credit it to Michelle Obama’s efforts to get people to exercise more? Naaaah.

    By all means, let all the wingnuts go on the Twinkies, Pepsi and “Days of Our Lives” diet. The more of them croak from heart attacks, the fewer of them will vote.

  12. 12.

    Ija

    January 20, 2011 at 3:38 pm

    @wobblybits:

    They might not have blamed Michelle directly, but they did say this:

    “A focus on liveable communities, or ‘get moving’ health and fitness programs may
    increase walking and pedestrian-vehicle conflicts,” the report reads.

    And it is a stupid organization anyway because:

    Harsha also noted that the GHSA has no data to show that more people are walking — it’s just a theory.

  13. 13.

    wobblybits

    January 20, 2011 at 3:41 pm

    @Ija: Even a ‘stupid’ organization should not be blamed for what it did not actually say.

  14. 14.

    Ija

    January 20, 2011 at 3:43 pm

    @wobblybits:

    Agreed. Just pointing out that they are not all that innocent in the misunderstanding.

  15. 15.

    kdaug

    January 20, 2011 at 3:44 pm

    Remember the Proton Packs from Ghostbusters? The right filled theirs with shit and lies, and it doesn’t matter if they cross the streams.

    Just keep sprayin’, day in, day out.

  16. 16.

    slag

    January 20, 2011 at 3:44 pm

    @Ija:

    “A focus on liveable communities, or ‘get moving’ health and fitness programs may
    increase walking and pedestrian-vehicle conflicts,” the report reads.

    Does not compute. A focus on livable communities means decreasing “pedestrian-vehicle conflicts”. That’s what the word LIVABLE means. More people able to LIVE in healthy, sustainable ways. Who are these people?

  17. 17.

    Mark S.

    January 20, 2011 at 3:44 pm

    pedestrian-vehicle conflicts

    Well, that’s one way to put it.

    A 0.4% increase? Why bother giving theories for something that’s completely random?

  18. 18.

    PhoenixRising

    January 20, 2011 at 3:44 pm

    Um, did anyone consider that 20% functional unemployment in states with mostly car-based transit (I’m looking at you CA) plus gas prices going up or staying at historically high levels MIGHT have more impact on whether folks can drive everywhere they want to?

    Nope, it was the First Lady pushing pedestrians under Islamic Radials.

    I am dumber for having typed this.

  19. 19.

    Mojotron

    January 20, 2011 at 3:45 pm

    In more detail (from TBD):

    Well, the folks at GHSA were awfully surprised when they read this morning’s paper. In fact, Harsha tells us, she didn’t tell the Examiner that at all. “It’s ridiculous,” she says. According to Harsha, the First Lady’s fitness campaign never even came up in her discussion with McCabe. “Absolutely not,” she says, adding that she actually supports the “Let’s Move” campaign.

  20. 20.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    January 20, 2011 at 3:46 pm

    The Daily Caller. O, Tucker Carlson, if the word Douchebag hadn’t been invented, we’d call douchebags Tucker Carlsons

    @trollhattan: The only thing I held against Laura Bush was her terrible taste in spouses.
    I always felt some sympathy for her till Coretta Scott King’s funeral, when she was giving the Barbara Bush Evil Eye to Joseph Lowry.

  21. 21.

    comrade scott's agenda of rage

    January 20, 2011 at 3:46 pm

    No one Anyone outside of the Faux “News” audience could have predicted…

    Fixited.

  22. 22.

    freelancer

    January 20, 2011 at 3:48 pm

    Frankly, I love stories like this. They are a fantastic Shibboleth with which to discern if you’re talking to an unredeemable damned fool or just someone who’s a little misinformed who could benefit from your input.

  23. 23.

    harokin

    January 20, 2011 at 3:49 pm

    Wait, it went from 1,884 deaths to 1,891? And somebody is trying to explain that?

  24. 24.

    slag

    January 20, 2011 at 3:49 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    O, Tucker Carlson, if the word Douchebag hadn’t been invented, we’d call douchebags Tucker Carlsons

    I like this! Only I’d shorten it to “Tuckers”. As in: Who are these Tuckers?

  25. 25.

    David

    January 20, 2011 at 3:50 pm

    Gatewaypundit of The Great Closed Captioning Conspiracy of 2011 also reported this startling rise in the statistics.

  26. 26.

    Sentient Puddle

    January 20, 2011 at 3:51 pm

    I also like the note in TPM about how the Daily Caller handled a correction:

    (The Daily Caller has now added Harsha’s objections to the story and added a question mark to the end of its headline.)

    Cavuto mark! Fixed!

  27. 27.

    J.A.F. Rusty Shackleford

    January 20, 2011 at 3:51 pm

    The only way the First Lady is causing traffic/pedestrian accidents is if she’s walking down the street in this dress.

    Wow! She’s smokin’!

  28. 28.

    daveNYC

    January 20, 2011 at 3:54 pm

    Good God, it looks like she’s wearing a bonfire.

  29. 29.

    SenyorDave

    January 20, 2011 at 3:56 pm

    I live in the DC area, moved here 15 years ago. When I first came here WMAL seemed to be right wing, but actually had some moderate and even the occasional liberal (Bill Press was part of the morning team at one point). Now its as extreme right as a DC area station can be (DC won’t tolerate outright racism, the station did fire Michael Graham over his anti-Muslim comments).

    They now have what I call 9 hours of hell, Hannity, Limbaugh, and Levin for nine hours straight. They also have Fred Grandy on the morning drive show. He used to almost seem like a moderate Republican, apparently he lost his shit once a black man occupied the White House.

    When Obama used his lipstick on a pig analogy during the campaign, it seemed to me that Grandy acted like Obama had insulted all white women.

    These days WMAL is basically 24/7 we hate Obama, so it doesn’t surprise me that yellow journalism of this type would originate here.

  30. 30.

    Tonal Crow

    January 20, 2011 at 3:56 pm

    So, being as Republican psyops agents continually spew lies to nudge the Overton Window rightward, why aren’t we pre-emptively telling the truth continually to nudge the Overton Window leftward?

    I don’t mean reacting to what the Republicans say, as in this blog entry or most others here. I mean getting the truth out pre-emptively, so that it has some chance of being discussed before the next wave of Republican lies.

    Shouldn’t we have some organizations devoted simply to repeatedly raising the many truths that could push political discourse — and thus policy — in a more progressive direction?

  31. 31.

    jl

    January 20, 2011 at 3:56 pm

    They have arrived at depths of stupid and dishonest that should be documented and recorded.

    Is anyone making a list of these whoppers.

    In my mind, the day that the wingtards rolled out the dullard ‘the captions were announcements’CHANGED EVERYTHING.

    Some one needs to make a list. The captions nonsense should be the first on the list, and Michelle Obama’s health promotion mass killing spree should be close behind.

    Edit: Actually the list itself will be dangerous, it might tip vulnerable unstable people over the edge into madness. This project is like diving down into one of those oceanic abysses. Special equipment, safeguards and protocols will be needed.

  32. 32.

    Mike in NC

    January 20, 2011 at 3:57 pm

    The Daily Caller. O, Tucker Carlson, if the word Douchebag hadn’t been invented, we’d call douchebags Tucker Carlsons

    Another winner from the 2010 “50 Most Loathsome” article. Take a bow, Tucker.

  33. 33.

    mikefromArlington

    January 20, 2011 at 3:58 pm

    Hoft @ gateway pundit might have made this idiotic claim first.

    http://gatewaypundit.rightnetwork.com/2011/01/michelle-obamas-get-up-get-moving-program-linked-to-increase-in-pedestrian-deaths/

  34. 34.

    Calouste

    January 20, 2011 at 3:58 pm

    Not to mention that the 0.4% increase is less than the population growth, which is estimated at 0.977% for 2010.

  35. 35.

    JD Rhoades

    January 20, 2011 at 3:59 pm

    Governors Highway Safety Administration spokesman Jonathan Adkins told 630 WMAL that Michelle Obama is “trying to get us to walk to work and exercise a little bit more. While that’s good, it also increases our exposure to risk.”

    Wait, aren’t the wingnuts always moaning about what wimps we’re being and how we’ve lost our edge because of regulations that seek to cut the risk of things like unsafe toys, playground equipment, power tools, etc? So now, the risk of getting out and WALKING is a bad thing?

  36. 36.

    gwangung

    January 20, 2011 at 4:00 pm

    Oh, cripes….

    A 0.4% increase? Baseball statheads can tell ya that this is pretty much a statistically insignificant number….

  37. 37.

    Alex S.

    January 20, 2011 at 4:00 pm

    So the number of pedestrian deaths increased by 0,4% Well, the US population grows by about 1% per year. So it’s even a relative decline in pedestrian deaths.

  38. 38.

    Pangloss

    January 20, 2011 at 4:01 pm

    How did we get to the point in this country where being a lazy, deluded fat-ass is a political statement?

  39. 39.

    Anne Laurie

    January 20, 2011 at 4:01 pm

    @daveNYC:

    Good God, it looks like she’s wearing a bonfire.

    … magnificently!

    Seriously. It’s a bold choice, but Michelle Obama has the presence (and height. and body) to carry it off.

  40. 40.

    tPirate

    January 20, 2011 at 4:02 pm

    I used this on my FB wall as a way of educating my friends (those who are not regressives) about how the RW creates a lie and spreads it.

  41. 41.

    Violet

    January 20, 2011 at 4:03 pm

    Heard Rush Limbaugh make this claim on his show today. It’s all over the wingnut jungle telegraph today.

  42. 42.

    Loneoak

    January 20, 2011 at 4:03 pm

    @gwangung:

    Baseball statheads? Try 4th grade arithmetic students.

  43. 43.

    chopper

    January 20, 2011 at 4:04 pm

    michelle should come out and call this whole association a ‘blood libel’ against her and get the wingnuts’ heads to really blow.

  44. 44.

    Mark S.

    January 20, 2011 at 4:05 pm

    @gwangung:

    Exactly. If some player went from .290 one year to .294 the next, he’d hardly be in line for Most Improved.

  45. 45.

    El Cid

    January 20, 2011 at 4:05 pm

    __

    Turns out the Governors Highway Safety Association never said that, rather it was the Daily Caller and the Examiner that made that claim.

    Those, of course, are more reliable sources than Big Government numbers, even if you believe in states’ rights. Because shut up.

  46. 46.

    gwangung

    January 20, 2011 at 4:06 pm

    @Loneoak:

    Baseball statheads? Try 4th grade arithmetic students.

    Well, probably not for public schools in red states….Budgetary priorities, you know…

  47. 47.

    JD Rhoades

    January 20, 2011 at 4:07 pm

    @Anne Laurie:

    How long before someone goes apeshit over the fact that it’s Red?

  48. 48.

    gwangung

    January 20, 2011 at 4:09 pm

    @Mark S.:

    Exactly. If some player went from .290 one year to .294 the next, he’d hardly be in line for Most Improved.

    Though, if he played for the Seattle Mariners….

  49. 49.

    Southern Beale

    January 20, 2011 at 4:10 pm

    In other news, “Police Seize ‘Large Amount’ Of Weapons From Blogger Who Praised Gifffords Shooting: ‘1 Down And 534 To Go’ “.

    Nobody could have anticipated THAT either!

  50. 50.

    freelancer

    January 20, 2011 at 4:11 pm

    @Pangloss:

    How did we get to the point in this country where being a lazy, deluded fat-ass is a political statement?

    When Conservatives looked around and saw that being a deluded fatass actually represented a loud minority constituency that they could play up. “Libruls want you to get off your couch! Michelle wants you to turn off your TV and play with your kids! You don’t need a nanny state govenment to tell you to do that. That’s what your ex-wife is for, and fuck her anyways! Big Gubmint Lesbo Janet Napolitano is gonna confiscate your guns and your cheetos. You tell her, HANDS OFF! Sign the Petition and contribute to CheetoPAC here.”

  51. 51.

    Pangloss

    January 20, 2011 at 4:12 pm

    @SenyorDave:

    They also have Fred Grandy on the morning drive show. He used to almost seem like a moderate Republican, apparently he lost his shit once a black man occupied the White House.

    He just thinks that Black people should know their place–behind a bar on a ship.

  52. 52.

    Suffern ACE

    January 20, 2011 at 4:13 pm

    @harokin:

    Wait, it went from 1,884 deaths to 1,891? And somebody is trying to explain that?

    I for one want to know why it isn’t higher.

  53. 53.

    morzer

    January 20, 2011 at 4:13 pm

    @Southern Beale:

    The guy’s views are not wildly distinct from some of Loughner’s rantings either….

  54. 54.

    JGabriel

    January 20, 2011 at 4:14 pm

    The number of pedestrian deaths went up from 1,884 to 1,891.

    Shouldn’t the headline have been: Pedestrian Deaths Rising More Slowly Than Population Growth?

    .

  55. 55.

    fanshawe

    January 20, 2011 at 4:15 pm

    I heard Sarah Palin already released a facebook video condemning Michelle Obama for irresponsibly encouraging real Americans to engage in reckless exercise.

    “By intentionally and directly killing all these joggers,” Palin said, “Michelle Obama is turning each one of our nation’s beautiful running trails into a Trail of Tears.”

  56. 56.

    slag

    January 20, 2011 at 4:15 pm

    Pedestrian deaths are a big deal. Increase or decrease, it’s good to look for causes. But when you get to the point that, not only are you blaming the victim for walking, you’re blaming the people encouraging (successfully or not) the walking, you’ve gone so far off the rails that it’s just not even worth discussing anything with you anymore.

    Even that Joyner piece pisses me off exceedingly as its focus is on anecdotal pedestrian misbehavior. Fucking Overton window. Where do you even start with these assholes?

  57. 57.

    geg6

    January 20, 2011 at 4:16 pm

    @J.A.F. Rusty Shackleford:

    She looked totally fabulous in that dress. I love, love, love that dress. The Today Show tried very hard this morning to create a controversy over the dress this morning. Seems it’s by the design house of Alexander McQueen. And he’s not a REAL AMERICAN! He’s one of those dirty, scheming Brits and, get this!, he’s dead!

  58. 58.

    geg6

    January 20, 2011 at 4:22 pm

    In somewhat related news, Wonkette tells me that the WaPo newsroom is askeered of large black boobs:

    http://wonkette.com/435664/washington-post-newsroom-upset-because-black-lady-with-boobs-hosts-wapo-webcast

    They’re worried about their journalistic integrity, doncha know?

  59. 59.

    Southern Beale

    January 20, 2011 at 4:22 pm

    Daily Caller’s latest Tweet:

    DNC announces new executive director associated with #ACORN

    Holy dog whistle, Batman! Well, at least they care. The only news we’ve been hearing is about the RNC’s new director.

  60. 60.

    Rosalita

    January 20, 2011 at 4:22 pm

    Anyone read Tbogg’s take on this story?

  61. 61.

    El Cid

    January 20, 2011 at 4:23 pm

    @harokin: Just to make sure, I too looked up the GHSA news release.

    WASHINGTON, D.C.—A report released today by the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) reveals that pedestrian fatalities increased during the first six months of 2010. While the increase is small – 0.4 percent – it is notable because overall traffic fatalities during this period were significantly down, and this comes on the heels of four straight years of steady declines in pedestrian deaths.
    __
    The new report – Spotlight on Safety: Pedestrian Traffic Fatalities by State – is the first state-by-state look at pedestrian fatalities for 2010 and was completed by Dr. James Hedlund, an independent researcher, formally with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Dr. Hedlund surveyed GHSA members, who reported preliminary fatality numbers for every state.
    __
    For the first six months of 2010, pedestrian fatalities increased by seven, from 1,884 to 1,891. If the second six months of 2010 also show no significant change, this will be the first year of increase or no progress after four years of decline. Pedestrian traffic fatalities dropped from 4,892 in 2005 to 4,091 in 2009, an average decline of 200 each year.
    __
    While the slight increase may not seem particularly alarming, it is a concern given that during this same period overall traffic fatalities declined eight percent, according to the preliminary estimate from the NHTSA. A growing national focus on walkable communities and “get moving” health and fitness efforts may cause pedestrian exposure, and thus risk, to increase…
    __
    …Looking at the early data from 2010, GHSA’s report notes that 28 states experienced a pedestrian fatality decline, while 18 saw an increase and five were unchanged. (For purposes of this report, Washington D.C. is considered a state).
    __
    Significantly, eight states had an increase of at least ten deaths. Interestingly, one might expect the increases to be in the large states with big cities and lots of pedestrians such as in California, New York and Texas. However, these three big states experienced reductions in pedestrian fatalities.
    __
    States with increases include: Arizona (up 21), Florida (up 36), Oklahoma (up 16) Oregon (up 18), and North Carolina (up 17).

    Get it? The figures for the first year aren’t of course out yet ‘up’. They’re tiny, not yet significant, and the greatest impact they might have is that there may be no decline.

    7 people. 7 fucking god-damned people.

    Trying to make a news story about the rise in pedestrian deaths WHEN THE DIFFERENCE IS SEVEN PEOPLE and 28 STATES HAVE CONTINUED TO SEE THEIR NUMBERS DECLINE.

    And we’re supposed to think Michelle Obama’s advice to walk more had an effect on Arizona, Florida, and Oklahoma? Are they fucking kidding?

  62. 62.

    Zifnab

    January 20, 2011 at 4:23 pm

    /salute
    To the seven brave but foolish Americans who gave their lives for this country in the mad pursuit of the diabolical commands of our nation’s most feared and loathed High Priestess of Cardiovascular Exercise.

    May you remain stiller in death than you did in life.

    Amen.

  63. 63.

    JGabriel

    January 20, 2011 at 4:25 pm

    fanshawe:

    “By intentionally and directly killing all these joggers,” Palin said, “Michelle Obama is turning each one of our nation’s beautiful running trails into a Trail of Tears.”

    “In the space of a year,” Palin continued, “the administration has taken us from Death Panels to Death Marches. Will no one rid us of these Communist Death Marcher Nazis?”

    .

  64. 64.

    Montysano

    January 20, 2011 at 4:25 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    The only thing I held against Laura Bush was her terrible taste in spouses. I always felt some sympathy for her till Coretta Scott King’s funeral, when she was giving the Barbara Bush Evil Eye to Joseph Lowry.

    And said Evil Eye had a tremendous effect no effect at all on Dr. Lowry. The true definition of big brass cohones is to slag the POTUS…. while he’s sitting behind you.

    I heard Dr. Lowry speak in Selma once. That was a good day.

  65. 65.

    morzer

    January 20, 2011 at 4:27 pm

    Well, I for one demand a Congressional investigation into the claims that the reason more people died was because numerous drivers swerved in shock and disgust when they heard of the attempted re-emergence of Rick Santorum into public life. We need to expose those who are truly responsible for this epic slaughter on our sidewalks.

  66. 66.

    El Cid

    January 20, 2011 at 4:28 pm

    @Zifnab: Exactly. You know that Oklahomans suddenly chose to wander out blindly through the streets and highways because Michelle Obama suggested it. Also, Arizona, because which other state does as much of what Michell O. tells them to do like Arizona?

  67. 67.

    Southern Beale

    January 20, 2011 at 4:28 pm

    I’m having too much fun today wasting time. Here y’all will love this:

    Lobbyist Tells Congress To Listen To Lobbyists

    “These are people who knows things. Many of them worked on the Hill. They’re experts. These are relationships that can be important to you.” So says Vic Fazio, former member of Congress and current big-shot lobbyist.

    With the constant cutbacks on staff salaries, office allotments, and support agencies in Congress–including the recent 5 percent cut–congressmen may not have too many people to talk to who know the issues other than lobbyists. As my colleague Daniel Schuman noted recently, staff salaries have remained stagnant, staff members have fewer policy roles, and staff numbers have fallen. This has occurred at the same time as an explosion in the number of lobbyists occurred.

    Is feature, not bug! Drown the beast so we can turn it all over to Corporate America!

  68. 68.

    daveNYC

    January 20, 2011 at 4:29 pm

    Pedestrian deaths are a big deal. Increase or decrease, it’s good to look for causes.

    When the increase is that small there’s no good reason to look at a reason for the change. It might be useful to look at the overall causes of pedestrian deaths, but that small a change is basically noise.

  69. 69.

    MikeJ

    January 20, 2011 at 4:29 pm

    @Suffern ACE:

    I for one want to know why it isn’t higher.

    Laura Bush doesn’t drive much anymore.

  70. 70.

    slag

    January 20, 2011 at 4:37 pm

    @MikeJ: Hey-Laura killed only one person. Our First Lady’s body count is apparently higher. Do we win a prize?

  71. 71.

    Loneoak

    January 20, 2011 at 4:38 pm

    @MikeJ:

    Neither does Robert Novak.

  72. 72.

    MonkeyBoy

    January 20, 2011 at 4:42 pm

    The right-wing noise machine does not care about making sense, not even about being logically consistent from one sentence to the following one. Only about making statements that have strong emotional resonance (OMG Michelle Obama wants to kill Americans).

    The right wants to shift political discourse to strongly emotional sense lacking statements so that people think that that is normal and and to be expected. This fits in with the notion that all (political) discourse is just propaganda – that anything somebody (on the left) says that they don’t like is comes from a conspiracy of propaganda – be it health care, global warming, minimal wage, hate speech, or whatever.

    The discourse of the right is not meant to change the minds of people on the left. Its purpose it to increase the solidarity of the base and attract low-information “independents”.

    It doesn’t matter if a bunch of people on the right don’t agree with some noise bursts. As long as one has fired up some on the right it has done its job. Some on the right who consider themselves smarter than most will repeat a noise burst, not because they believe it, but because it is good for the party as a whole.

    For similar along these lines see Wolcott’s: That’s Political Entertainment!.

  73. 73.

    Ash Can

    January 20, 2011 at 4:44 pm

    Turns out the Governors Highway Safety Association never said that, rather it was the Daily Caller and the Examiner that made that claim.

    According to Joyner’s article, it was the GHSA spokesman himself who made this claim, on right-wing radio, with said radio station only too happy to propagate it. Maybe he was trying to be funny or maybe he’s just an asshole (or both), but according to the reaction of the GHSA executive director herself, I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if Mr. Spokesman found himself suddenly out of a job.

  74. 74.

    Southern Beale

    January 20, 2011 at 4:45 pm

    @morzer:

    The guy’s views are not wildly distinct from some of Loughner’s rantings either….

    Or as Sarah Palin would say, “left-leaning.”

    :-)

  75. 75.

    El Cid

    January 20, 2011 at 4:52 pm

    @daveNYC: Also, as quoted above, 28 states experienced decreases while in 18 states there were either no decreases or increases. Surely if there were a trend to be suggested, it would only apply to those 18 states.

  76. 76.

    Annelid Gustator

    January 20, 2011 at 4:53 pm

    @harokin: seriously. The death rate remains steady at 1.2 per 100,000. So, THE SKY IS FALLING. ON PEDESTRIANS.

    ETA: The “if there are no significant changes for the rest of the year” is also ridiculous. Look, they show the full year ’09 result is just a hair over 4,000, and the first six months was 1,890. So there was obviously a significant change there from the front half of the year to the back half of the year.

    The association that did and released the review should be ostracized. The nastys flogging it as saying something about the First Lady should be ostracized. Pathetic.

  77. 77.

    asiangrrlMN

    January 20, 2011 at 4:54 pm

    @J.A.F. Rusty Shackleford: Oh, hell yeah. She is rocking that dress.

    As for Tucker Carlson, what a piece of shit he is.

    ETA: My brother has been following politics for about a year. He said to me last night, “The Republicans lie about everything. And I don’t use the word everything lightly.” This is a man who voted for W. twice. I told him he’s right.

  78. 78.

    Montysano

    January 20, 2011 at 5:02 pm

    @mikefromArlington:

    Hoft @ gateway pundit might have made this idiotic claim first.

    In a competitive field crowded with idiot wingnuts, Jim Hoft is making a serious play for the top of the heap.

  79. 79.

    catclub

    January 20, 2011 at 5:07 pm

    I blame the “Let’s go walking, Mississippi” program, which is endorsed by Haley Barbour and sponsored by Blue Cross/Blue Shield.

    Plus us Mississippi lardasses have a harder time dodgin’ those cars.

  80. 80.

    slag

    January 20, 2011 at 5:11 pm

    @daveNYC

    : It might be useful to look at the overall causes of pedestrian deaths, but that small a change is basically noise.

    Yes it is. It’s statistical and all otherwise noise that now has people here seeming to minimize pedestrian deaths. Which I find unacceptable. That’s not where the conversation should go, but it is where the conversation has gone because that’s where the conversation was framed to go. And who did the framing?

  81. 81.

    catclub

    January 20, 2011 at 5:15 pm

    “Michelle wants you to turn off your TV and play with your kids!”

    Never mind that, so does Mississippi, and so does the NFL
    (their PLay60 program).

  82. 82.

    SFAW

    January 20, 2011 at 5:17 pm

    Hoft @ gateway pundit might have made this idiotic claim first.

    OK, so because you put a linky, I headed over there. Many of you are doubtless, at this point, saying something along the lines of “Idiot!” or “Are you f’ing stoopid?”

    To which I respond:
    1) mikefromArlington: I curse you thrice for my lack of willpower!
    2) The comments over there are, as might be expected, a combination of “I/we hate Osamabama and Lieberals” and wingnut attempts at what they think of as “humor”. Also.

    But the most interesting thing was:
    3) One of the commenters, DigitalTroglodyte (who apparently is unemployed, since he seems to have plenty of time to type most of the comments there, much like our late, unlamented Clowna), is apparently trying to play the [CLOSED CAPTIONING] fiasco as if it were intentional satire by Hoft. I didn’t have the stomach to see if the rest of the morans there were agreeing with him. But it’s always nice to see a wingnut break with reality writ, uh, large.

    But the whole episode is enough to re-affirm that Hoft is, in fact, a strong contender to wrest Doug Feith’s title from Feith’s “brain”.

  83. 83.

    J

    January 20, 2011 at 5:19 pm

    @PhoenixRising: ‘Islamic Radials’ very well-coined indeed!

  84. 84.

    Brachiator

    January 20, 2011 at 5:32 pm

    Michelle Obama is being blamed for a miniscule rise in pedestrian deaths.

    Let’s see now. The goobers blame Democrats (and the Obamas specifically) for anything and absolve the Republicans (and Sarah the Divine Palin in particular) for everything.

  85. 85.

    Mike Kay

    January 20, 2011 at 5:32 pm

    poor Tucker – he’s such a loser.

  86. 86.

    SFAW

    January 20, 2011 at 5:42 pm

    ‘Islamic Radials’ very well-coined indeed!

    That tired phrase?

  87. 87.

    El Cid

    January 20, 2011 at 5:56 pm

    @slag: As for myself, I’m not minimizing pedestrian deaths at all. I am minimizing the significance of 7 as indicating a trend.

    The seriousness of avoiding pedestrian deaths has been addressed at many different levels, from local governments and businesses and even up to automakers.

    Automakers (at this point mainly from coordinated efforts of the NHTSA or other countries’ regulations) have begun to address the thoroughly established truth that a major cause of vehicle collision pedestrian deaths passenger cars’ hoods & underlying structure design (like engine mounts).

    It turns out that such deadly effects can be mitigated by designing more shock absorbing hoods and other energy absorbing structures.

    Also, unless things have changed in the last decade, the most dangerous times of the year for vehicle-pedestrian deaths are Halloween and New Year’s Day. [NHTSA, PDF.]

    Between 1978 and 2002, the three deadliest days for pedestrians were January 1, December 23, and October 31 (Halloween). While these three days (see Table 3) were not always on the top-ten lists as the data were displayed in 5-year increments, January 1 and October 31 had been the top two deadliest days for the recent 10-year period (1993-2002). All the top-ten deadliest days except January 1 were in the last three months of the year, and more than half of them were in November and December.

    These holidays involve pedestrian factors and vehicle factors greatly different from day-to-day risks, and would require very different solutions.

    So it’s not inconsistent to dismiss as a claimed trend an increase of 7 people in 6 months as a significant statistical increase while understanding that those 7 people were important as human beings, or that we can do a lot more to reduce pedestrian fatalities in both the states continuing to reduce their numbers as well as the states whose numbers are increasing.

  88. 88.

    PhoenixRising

    January 20, 2011 at 5:57 pm

    @SFAW: You prefer Anti-Whitewalls?

  89. 89.

    El Cid

    January 20, 2011 at 5:57 pm

    @SFAW: Witty people can belt those jokes out on a regular basis. But they shouldn’t let their egos get over-inflated because of that.

  90. 90.

    Jeanne ringland

    January 20, 2011 at 5:59 pm

    @JD Rhoades: Someone did in a comments section on Yahoo News, but that place is thick with idiots.

  91. 91.

    piratedan

    January 20, 2011 at 6:01 pm

    more than likely the uptick in pedestrian deaths is caused by people having to sell their FREAKING cars because they’re out of work and are now having to hoof it in order to get where they need to go.

  92. 92.

    The Moar You Know

    January 20, 2011 at 6:21 pm

    In other news, “Police Seize ‘Large Amount’ Of Weapons From Blogger Who Praised Gifffords Shooting: ‘1 Down And 534 To Go’ “.

    @Southern Beale: Guns aren’t cheap, and even if he’s innocent of anything – which seems to be the case as they haven’t charged him with anything – well, it’s Massachusetts, good luck getting your guns back, asshole.

  93. 93.

    Jeanne ringland

    January 20, 2011 at 7:12 pm

    @asiangrrlMN: He’s been following politics for about a year. That explains how he could vote for W twice.

  94. 94.

    Nellcote

    January 20, 2011 at 8:23 pm

    @MikeJ:

    Laura Bush doesn’t drive much anymore.

    That’s it! I was thinking last night that every weird claim the goopers make has some sort of revenge/bizarro world analog to the Bush Years. It’s like they have a check list of everything that was said about the Bush’ and they look for something the Obamas do that fits the topic.

  95. 95.

    billy

    January 20, 2011 at 8:59 pm

    @freelancer: @freelancer: That’s hilarious! Tell that one to your uncle – he’ll love it!

  96. 96.

    SFAW

    January 20, 2011 at 9:59 pm

    PhoenixRising and El Cid –

    You guys are slick.

    Best wishes for a good year!

  97. 97.

    Anne Laurie

    January 20, 2011 at 10:12 pm

    @The Moar You Know:

    well, it’s Massachusetts, good luck getting your guns back, asshole

    Here in the Commonwealth, we’re a little jumpy about aggrieved nerds with guns.

    Mucko McDermott didn’t kill as many people as some, but his accuracy level was unusually high.

  98. 98.

    lovable liberal

    January 21, 2011 at 9:03 am

    Michelle Obama linked to huge increase in bullshit.

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