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You are here: Home / Humorous / Americans Trust Obama More than Romney to Deal With Alien Invasion

Americans Trust Obama More than Romney to Deal With Alien Invasion

by Imani Gandy (ABL)|  June 27, 20123:44 pm| 118 Comments

This post is in: Humorous, Looks Like I Picked the Wrong Week to Stop Sniffing Glue

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Take me to your Dear Leader

I think we all know that in case of an alien attack, it’s better to have a black president. Didn’t you see Deep Impact? Sure, that wasn’t about aliens, but rather some other extinction level event, but if aliens show up, I’m pretty sure it’s going to be some serious extinction level shit. They’re not coming down here to stock up on Reese’s pieces or to compare mac and cheese recipes, mirite?

Well, a new poll conducted for the National Geographic Channel shows that when it comes to alien invasions, Americans would rather have President Obama handle it.

[ABLC]
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Reader Interactions

118Comments

  1. 1.

    Steve

    June 27, 2012 at 3:47 pm

    Americans aren’t necessarily sure where Obama was born or what religion he subscribes to, but they’re pretty confident (aside from Maureen Dowd, who thinks he’s a Vulcan) he’s a human and would be on our side if the aliens came. Romney, on the other hand, might have been in the same graduating class as Xenu for all I know.

  2. 2.

    MikeJ

    June 27, 2012 at 3:47 pm

    Depends on if the aliens are from Kolob.

  3. 3.

    r€nato

    June 27, 2012 at 3:47 pm

    so yesterday, I finally figured out that those “Navy SEALS 1, Bin Laden 0” bumper stickers aren’t merely celebrating the excellence of our special forces; it’s a passive-aggressive “Obama had fuck-all to do with it” statement.

    Of course, special forces always work completely independently of any supervision, and just because the president is the commander-in-chief, it doesn’t mean he has anything at all to do with determining the missions our military is sent to accomplish.

    Unless, of course, that C-i-C is a Republican. In which case, all glory goes to him.

  4. 4.

    Brachiator

    June 27, 2012 at 3:47 pm

    Well, a new poll conducted for the National Geographic Channel shows that when it comes to alien invasions, Americans would rather have President Obama handle it.

    I think the correct term is undocumented extra-terrestrials, not aliens.

  5. 5.

    Soonergrunt

    June 27, 2012 at 3:48 pm

    Since you brought up “Deep Impact”, I thought I’d just note for the record that the President in that movie had something in common with our current real world President.

    I’m talking about the cool voice. What the hell did you think I was talking about?!? Sheesh.

  6. 6.

    r€nato

    June 27, 2012 at 3:50 pm

    as a side note, I have a treasure trove of email addresses of far-right assholes who love to pass around tinfoil-hat conspiracy theories about Obama in email. Of course, they believe every word of it. Because if someone who agrees with your politics sends you something in an email, it must be true.

    I welcome any ideas on how to punk these fuckers and mess with their heads. One idea I had was to send stories from The Onion to these douchenozzles and see if they can get into wide circulation.

  7. 7.

    General Stuck

    June 27, 2012 at 3:50 pm

    ’cause you know, sometimes worlds have two meanings.”

  8. 8.

    Citizen_X

    June 27, 2012 at 3:50 pm

    @Brachiator: Ah trust Romney more, if them aliens is stealing our jerbs.

  9. 9.

    Citizen_X

    June 27, 2012 at 3:51 pm

    @r€nato: Please, no, my dad is confused enough as it is!

  10. 10.

    ABL 2.0

    June 27, 2012 at 3:52 pm

    @Brachiator: hahahahaha

  11. 11.

    Litlebritdifrnt

    June 27, 2012 at 3:53 pm

    I get the impression that Romney would be in quiet rooms negotiating with the aliens to sell them the children of poor people. Think of “Torchwood Children of Earth” type of thing.

  12. 12.

    General Stuck

    June 27, 2012 at 3:55 pm

    Yea, but Obama is no President Nicholson

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLpCkGFff5I

  13. 13.

    r€nato

    June 27, 2012 at 3:56 pm

    @Litlebritdifrnt: get out of my head LOL

    he would be ‘right-sizing’ the human race

  14. 14.

    MikeJ

    June 27, 2012 at 3:57 pm

    @r€nato: My next door neighbor asked me to fix his computer after he became unable to send email. The ten different adware toolbars on his ie couldn’t have anything to do with his problems, it *had* to be because Obama was blocking his mail because he didn’t like the stuff he sent.

  15. 15.

    NonyNony

    June 27, 2012 at 3:58 pm

    So if you dig into it enough, you can fine this bit from the Press Release about the poll:

    if aliens attacked our planet, more than one in five (21%) would most likely call on the Hulk to deal with the havoc. Far fewer would most trust Batman (12%) or Spiderman (8%) to step in.

    Frankly I’m shocked that Batman didn’t score higher. I have to assume that people are thinking about Christian Bale’s Batman (who I agree would be woefully inept at the task of stopping an alien invasion) and not Adam West’s Batman (who would have a can of handy Bat-alien Repellent and be done with them after the cliff-hanger).

    Also – where’s the love for Superman? He’s got a movie to promote coming out soon – what does DC Comics have to pay to get a line added to that poll for Superman?

    (And as amusing as this poll is, digging in I find that it’s actually an ad for the National Geographic Channel’s new TV show about UFOs. Because apparently National Geographic wants me to think “crazy unsupportable conspiracy theories buttressed by bad science” when I think “National Geographic”. That’s brand management in action, folks!)

  16. 16.

    MikeJ

    June 27, 2012 at 3:59 pm

    @Litlebritdifrnt: If somebody is going to sell earth’s children to space aliens, don’t you want it to be the businessman who will get a good price instead of the mushy liberal?

  17. 17.

    BGinCHI

    June 27, 2012 at 4:01 pm

    @Brachiator: Let’s just go with rug-pissers.

  18. 18.

    r€nato

    June 27, 2012 at 4:01 pm

    @MikeJ: see, it’s stories like yours that absolve me of any guilt I might feel about punking these dumb fuckers.

  19. 19.

    Belafon (formerly anonevent)

    June 27, 2012 at 4:03 pm

    @MikeJ: Well, maybe they realized that all Mitt would do is ensure that the aliens would come back 50 years later looking for more kids to get high on.

    Damn you, Jack Harkness.

  20. 20.

    rlrr

    June 27, 2012 at 4:04 pm

    Romney can always get advice from his favorite novel when it comes to dealing with aliens.

  21. 21.

    batgirl

    June 27, 2012 at 4:05 pm

    @MikeJ: I had a library patron the other day tell me that Obama would put you in jail for using “proper English.”

  22. 22.

    rlrr

    June 27, 2012 at 4:06 pm

    @batgirl:

    Considering Obama speaks English better than his predecessor…

  23. 23.

    MomSense

    June 27, 2012 at 4:06 pm

    I am suspicious that Romney IS the alien invasion.

  24. 24.

    4tehlulz

    June 27, 2012 at 4:08 pm

    @NonyNony: Batman with prep time > Hulk > Superman > Batman no prep.

    Also, it’s nice to know that NatGeo is adopting the History Channel’s business model.

  25. 25.

    Chris

    June 27, 2012 at 4:10 pm

    @NonyNony:

    Batman is just a detective. The world’s greatest, sure, but not someone who’s capable of taking on an invading army, not with no superpowers.

  26. 26.

    r€nato

    June 27, 2012 at 4:10 pm

    @rlrr: it truly is not a joke, but the truth: Conservatism is for whatever pisses off liberals, updated daily.

  27. 27.

    middlewest

    June 27, 2012 at 4:10 pm

    People need to understand there’s a difference between abduction and offplaneting.

  28. 28.

    Brachiator

    June 27, 2012 at 4:10 pm

    @ABL 2.0:

    hahahahaha

    Thanks.

    OT but semi-related is this absolutely amazing (I promise) video about the upcoming NASA Mars Mission.

    Challenges of Getting to Mars: Curiosity’s Seven Minutes of Terror
    __
    Team members at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory share the challenges of the Curiosity Mars rover’s final minutes to landing on the surface of Mars.

    What they are attempting is both awesome and crazy.

    Who needs to be afraid of space aliens when our space engineers are eager to attempt such outrageous feats?

    And given some of the previous downbeat threads, I guarantee that this will lighten your mood.

  29. 29.

    Maude

    June 27, 2012 at 4:11 pm

    @rlrr:
    Bush spoke English?

  30. 30.

    Belafon (formerly anonevent)

    June 27, 2012 at 4:11 pm

    @r€nato: My thought is a simple one: Go to snopes, and copy out the header of all of the Obama conspiracies. And all over the email, put links that point right back to the snopes article.

  31. 31.

    rikyrah

    June 27, 2012 at 4:13 pm

    ok, this was just funny.

    my very apolitical friend talked to me about POTUS a couple of weeks ago.

    in her words

    He fucking got Bin Laden..what the fuck else do they want from him?

  32. 32.

    rlrr

    June 27, 2012 at 4:13 pm

    @Maude:

    He spoke a pidgin language derived from English…

  33. 33.

    MikeJ

    June 27, 2012 at 4:14 pm

    @Belafon (formerly anonevent): That’s why the wingers now pass around stories that George Soros owns Snopes.

  34. 34.

    r€nato

    June 27, 2012 at 4:16 pm

    @Belafon (formerly anonevent): Unfortunately, those bastards at Snopes make it impossible for one to copy-paste the text on their pages. Not sure what sort of web-fu allows them to do that, but that’s the way it is.

    I could do a View Source and copy from there, but it’s a PITA. I’m more diabolically subtle than that, anyway. I really want to make fools of these people. I’m thinking of not only forwarding Onion articles to them as if they are true, but also working with some of Colbert’s material to create original messages to circulate to them.

  35. 35.

    redshirt

    June 27, 2012 at 4:17 pm

    Fools! Obamer is proven to be a Reptilian in disguise, and everything he does has been to lay the groundwork for the immanent Reptilian Invasion.

    Wake up sheeple!

  36. 36.

    r€nato

    June 27, 2012 at 4:18 pm

    @MikeJ: yep. That’s why just passing them links to Snopes won’t work. Like any good conspiracy nut, facts and evidence which refute their pet theories merely serve to reinforce their belief that there’s A Grand Conspiracy.

    Nope, these people have to be made to look like the utter fools that they are. They need to be made to feel deep shame and embarrassment. That’s one of the few ways one can make someone reconsider their deeply-cherished beliefs.

  37. 37.

    joes527

    June 27, 2012 at 4:19 pm

    @MomSense: robot != alien.
    Keep your genres straight.

  38. 38.

    Belafon (formerly anonevent)

    June 27, 2012 at 4:19 pm

    @MikeJ: I had a coworker complain about snope be biased, and pointing out that a conservative runs the site did nothing to change that. When facts aren’t on your side, pound the table.

  39. 39.

    MikeJ

    June 27, 2012 at 4:19 pm

    @r€nato: Yet another job for noscript. copy/paste works fine for me, but I don’t let snopes run javascript.

  40. 40.

    Martin

    June 27, 2012 at 4:21 pm

    @joes527: Well, he is an awfully advanced robot. Who’s to say he wasn’t send down here by an alien species to take over?

  41. 41.

    KG

    June 27, 2012 at 4:21 pm

    @4tehlulz: I do love those shows. and there’s just something about his voice that makes me think, “hmm, yeah, I could see that”… of course, when I’m thinking that I’m usually +alot.

  42. 42.

    joes527

    June 27, 2012 at 4:21 pm

    @MikeJ: Yeah well if Snopes IS a brain-stealing scam, where could you go to look that up? Did you ever think of that, Mr. smarty-pants?

  43. 43.

    Citizen_X

    June 27, 2012 at 4:24 pm

    @Brachiator: I had seen that descent video before, and thought, “Holy cats, this is insanely complicated & risky!” Hearing the engineers describe the actual events? Even worse, but my hat goes off to them.

  44. 44.

    KG

    June 27, 2012 at 4:25 pm

    @rikyrah: I’m going to go with “ponies”

  45. 45.

    Belafon (formerly anonevent)

    June 27, 2012 at 4:25 pm

    @r€nato: Well, for me at least, sending out snopes links ended them sending me the emails.

  46. 46.

    Litlebritdifrnt

    June 27, 2012 at 4:26 pm

    Slightly OT but I love this recent tweet from Dave Weigel

    daveweigel ‏@daveweigel This Romney plan to extend the WaPo story into ever more news cycles is brilliant

  47. 47.

    JPL

    June 27, 2012 at 4:28 pm

    @Litlebritdifrnt: OT or not, that is great.

  48. 48.

    shortstop

    June 27, 2012 at 4:29 pm

    This thread is a big old bag of verbal candy.

  49. 49.

    Ash Can

    June 27, 2012 at 4:29 pm

    This is fun and all, but really? Doesn’t the National Geographic Channel have better things to do? This is more like something Cracked would run (which, by the way, I have learned — through links courtesy of the commenters at LGF — features some pretty darned good humor writing).

  50. 50.

    SGEW

    June 27, 2012 at 4:29 pm

    “Who would you rather have as President during First Contact?” was one of my talking points when I was trying to convince some pseudo-libertarian nerds to vote for Gore in 2000. Truth.

  51. 51.

    rlrr

    June 27, 2012 at 4:29 pm

    @joes527:

    Maybe Andrew Schlafly should start a conservative alternative to Snopes.

  52. 52.

    r€nato

    June 27, 2012 at 4:30 pm

    I think one of the best conservative-punking ideas would be to circulate the meme that the whole birther thing was really a liberal plot (instigated by OBAMA!) to make conservatives look stupid and unserious.

    Unfortunately, I think it was Donald Trump who – in all earnestness – advanced that theory.

  53. 53.

    redshirt

    June 27, 2012 at 4:31 pm

    @4tehlulz: I’ll grant that “Batman with prep time” can beat almost anyone. But The Hulk? You can’t beat him, you can only hope to contain him.

  54. 54.

    rlrr

    June 27, 2012 at 4:32 pm

    @Ash Can:

    Interesting how what started as a cheap knock off of Mad magazine has evolved into one of the premier humor sites on the internet.

  55. 55.

    mclaren

    June 27, 2012 at 4:32 pm

    New campaign slogan:

    OBAMA — WHEN THE GIANT OUTER SPACE LIZARDS ATTACK!

    This poll has as much to do with America’s real problems as any of the other campaign issues this electoral season.

  56. 56.

    redshirt

    June 27, 2012 at 4:33 pm

    @4tehlulz: Also too: I ranted about the degradation of all the so called “Educational channels” the other day, using that very picture!

    http://redshirtlament.blogspot.com/2012/06/history.html

  57. 57.

    Martin

    June 27, 2012 at 4:33 pm

    @Belafon (formerly anonevent): I just tell them to stop sending me their stupid fucking racist retard bullshit.

    And yes, I did that to my mom once, so all friends/family are fair game.

  58. 58.

    shortstop

    June 27, 2012 at 4:33 pm

    @Belafon (formerly anonevent): It worked for me, too, but they just took me off the in-laws’ list and kept it up without me. Now they ask me at my sister’s family’s parties if I’m still a “militant liberal.” I’ve never discussed politics with any of them; all I did was email snopes links without comment, and I’m a fucking radical.

  59. 59.

    r€nato

    June 27, 2012 at 4:33 pm

    @Belafon (formerly anonevent): oh, I can vouch for that. Send them a link to snopes.com which refutes their bullshit, and if all they do is shitcan your email address (rather than flame you with extreme prejudice), that’s amazing.

    No, I got these emails from a relative who used to have to work with these cobags. Like the fucking idiots that they are, they don’t send to a blind list so now I have quite a long list of right-wing cobag email addys. I also got sent an email by accident which provided me with a few more addresses.

    (I am fairly certain that these morons have never heard of a blind email list, because I’ve never ever seen such emails where the recipients were blind-copied)

  60. 60.

    Martin

    June 27, 2012 at 4:35 pm

    @redshirt: You mean hunting for sasquatch isn’t solid history pedagogy?

    Fucking liberals…

  61. 61.

    Southern Beale

    June 27, 2012 at 4:35 pm

    Wow, well that makes sense since Romney seems so much like an alien from outer space in the first place. He’d probably hand the whole fucking planet over to the Commander General from Ezho Xuw or something.

    Geez.

  62. 62.

    Martin

    June 27, 2012 at 4:38 pm

    @Southern Beale: Omicron Persei 8, actually.

    Which of our news assholes is really Morbo in disguise?

  63. 63.

    redshirt

    June 27, 2012 at 4:39 pm

    @Martin: Even the normally OK Animal Planet channel is getting in on the act, as they have a big special coming up about Mermaids. Yep! They’re out there!

  64. 64.

    danielx

    June 27, 2012 at 4:42 pm

    Aliens, fine, but how will Obama do with zombies? Speaking of which, have you seen Mittens’ latest live (sorta) appearance? He’s managed to fix the appearance problem presented by decaying flesh, hence he actually looks like a living, breathing human being.

  65. 65.

    shortstop

    June 27, 2012 at 4:42 pm

    @redshirt: oh, that channel has been trash for years. Hopeless.

  66. 66.

    Ash Can

    June 27, 2012 at 4:43 pm

    @shortstop: Your response being, of course, “Sure I am — can’t you tell from my camo fatigues, Mao cap, and ammo belt?”

    Kids nowadays. Pffft. They don’t know from militant liberal.

  67. 67.

    Patricia Kayden

    June 27, 2012 at 4:46 pm

    ABL 2.0,

    It’s because Obama IS an alien!! A communist, socialist, Kenyan, gangster, anti-constitutionalist, anti-White, Marxist, Leninist alien. Doncha know?!

    Makes perfect sense.

  68. 68.

    Linda Featheringill

    June 27, 2012 at 4:46 pm

    @Soonergrunt:

    Hot enough for you?

    My employer is located in OKC and sometimes weather there affects me so I kind of keep an eye on it through weather dot come.

    I’ve been watching the 100+ days march by. Ouch.

  69. 69.

    MomSense

    June 27, 2012 at 4:48 pm

    @joe527 and Martin

    No way the robot software is that good yet. He is an alien!!

  70. 70.

    redshirt

    June 27, 2012 at 4:48 pm

    @shortstop: Animal Planet? They still show quite a few programs about animals – a low bar, to be sure. But compared to the laughably named History Channel, that’s pretty good.

  71. 71.

    gelfling545

    June 27, 2012 at 4:49 pm

    @Martin: It does seem to conform to the Texas GOP platform on education so it’s probable ok as no critical thinking involved.

  72. 72.

    r€nato

    June 27, 2012 at 4:49 pm

    Here’s something I thought up (to send to the right-wingers whose email addresses I have):

    “Have you ever wondered why Obama seems to have no major scandals in his presidency? No ‘bimbo eruptions’? Why was he never indicted with regard to Gov. Blagojevich? Why has he never been investigated for bribery and corruption?”

    “BECAUSE HE HAS SUCCESSFULLY INTIMIDATED OR KILLED ALL THOSE WHO KNEW ANYTHING ABOUT IT!”

    “Think about this: Obama’s grandmother died just before the 2008 election. The last person who knew the truth about his birth certificate, and she conveniently dies just before his ‘election’ to the presidency!”

    (insert here a list of Obama acquaintances who have died since 2008)

    “Write your congressman and DEMAND that Obama be investigated and impeached IMMEDIATELY for treason and murder!”

    Hehehehehehe… I think I’m onto something here…

  73. 73.

    J.D. Rhoades

    June 27, 2012 at 4:51 pm

    @Ash Can:

    The “conversation” at my family’s gatherings usually goes something like this: My Dad or my uncle spout the latest Fox News inspired, whipped up phony scandal or begin railing about how the Mexicans are destroying Medicaid (based upon my father working one day as a relief pharmacist in a rural area where a lot of Mexicans showed up). I begin pointing out, calmly, that what they’re saying simply isn’t true. Whereupon my mother and aunts start yelling at ME: “No politics! No politics!”

    I then spend the next few hours grinding my teeth. Or I just leave, but they get pissed at me if I take my kids with me.

  74. 74.

    redshirt

    June 27, 2012 at 4:53 pm

    @J.D. Rhoades: I just had a very similar experience with Dad AKA The Colonel, and I am now pondering playing emotional hardball: Choose me or your insane politics. You can’t have both.

    Don’t know if this is a good idea or not, but I’m sick and tired of the nonsense pouring forth from an otherwise intelligent man.

  75. 75.

    shortstop

    June 27, 2012 at 4:54 pm

    @redshirt: Yes, but the quality of their animal shows is abysmal. No argument about the History Channel.

  76. 76.

    J.D. Rhoades

    June 27, 2012 at 4:57 pm

    @redshirt:

    We actually did have a falling out in which we didn’t speak for about a year one time, but that was after he publicly disowned me and my wife via a letter in the local newspaper for which I write a column.

  77. 77.

    r€nato

    June 27, 2012 at 4:59 pm

    @J.D. Rhoades: I sincerely hope you demanded that he publicly apologize for his disowning you, seeing as he chose to do so publicly in the first place, before your reconciliation with him.

    I am no longer on speaking terms with my sperm donor, but it has to do a lot more with his sociopathic treatment of me rather than his neo-Nazi, wishing-death-on-the-gays, woman-hating, Neanderthal, fuck-the-entire-world-I-got-mine politics.

  78. 78.

    Arclite

    June 27, 2012 at 5:00 pm

    Since a lot of Americans don’t believe Obama was born in the USA, I guess they figure an alien would be better able to negotiate with/handle other aliens.

  79. 79.

    shortstop

    June 27, 2012 at 5:00 pm

    @r€nato: I swear I read exactly that theory on the “conveniently” dead granny just the other day. Can’t remember which psycho said it.

    @J.D. Rhoades: EXACTLY the pattern at my sister’s house. Her dumbass father-in-law says something demonstrably untrue about Obama/Clinton/anydem, the third baseman gently corrects him, and everyone starts screaming, “No politics!” at US, the militant libbies.

  80. 80.

    Ash Can

    June 27, 2012 at 5:00 pm

    @J.D. Rhoades: I’d say, “Fine, I won’t talk politics if you don’t.” If that doesn’t work, I’d just let all the crap go in one ear and out the other, ignore the conversation, refuse to participate if asked, maybe leave the room. And I’d make darned sure to brief the kids on the way home afterward, and make sure they understand what was wrong about what those folks were saying and why.

  81. 81.

    redshirt

    June 27, 2012 at 5:00 pm

    @J.D. Rhoades: Sad. Sounds like he’s got a full infection of the Fox Virus.

    Wish I had better advice. But I think all we can do on a personal level is try and influence our family and friends. The stakes are high, and as in your case, there are consequences.

  82. 82.

    ericblair

    June 27, 2012 at 5:00 pm

    @redshirt:

    Animal Planet? They still show quite a few programs about animals – a low bar, to be sure. But compared to the laughably named History Channel, that’s pretty good.

    Welcome to network decay. Every network, including the Science channel and the Green channel, turns into a cavalcade of boneheaded reality shows about gap-toothed rednecks either killing animals or wrecking heavy equipment. I think the weather channel is well down this road as well, but am not inclined to inflict it on my beautiful mind just yet.

  83. 83.

    Mnemosyne

    June 27, 2012 at 5:01 pm

    For a short time, NatGeo was doing this kinda cool thing where they would run shows like “Does Bigfoot Really Exist?” and definitively answer, “No. No, he doesn’t.”

    But I guess those weren’t getting enough eyeballs, because now they’ve gone over to the credulous “no one can really know for sure!” model that all of the other crappy cable “reality” shows us.

  84. 84.

    Sly

    June 27, 2012 at 5:02 pm

    You can’t defeat an alien invasion with UNLIMITED CORPORATE CASH?

  85. 85.

    redshirt

    June 27, 2012 at 5:02 pm

    @shortstop: I hope you’re not dissing The Puppy Bowl, for that rocks.

    I don’t watch enough TV or the AP channel to know for sure, but I saw a few episodes of a series recently about wildlife in Yellowstone NP that was quite good. Small sample size though.

  86. 86.

    r€nato

    June 27, 2012 at 5:02 pm

    @J.D. Rhoades: how about you start yelling back at them?

    Maybe that’s just how I roll. I am very polite, I am slow to blow my cork, but when certain douchebags conclusively and repeatedly prove that they think their opinions are the only ones that matter and the only ones that are permitted to be voiced in “polite company”, I got no problem getting up in their shit over it.

    And you know what? IT WORKS. Try it sometime.

    Bullies only respect you when you pop them in the nose good and hard.

  87. 87.

    MikeJ

    June 27, 2012 at 5:04 pm

    @J.D. Rhoades:

    Or I just leave, but they get pissed at me if I take my kids with me.

    This is where you point out cause and effect. If they don’t want to talk about politics, that’s fine. If they do start talking about politics, that’s fine too, as long as they know that you will join in. And if you aren’t allowed in the conversation, you’re leaving and taking your kids.

  88. 88.

    Studly Pantload, the emotionally unavailable unicorn

    June 27, 2012 at 5:05 pm

    @MomSense:

    “I am suspicious that Romney IS the alien invasion.”

    Ah, that would explain his book, “To Serve the Poor and Middle Class.”

  89. 89.

    redshirt

    June 27, 2012 at 5:06 pm

    @ericblair: Thanks for the link. That was precisely the phenomena I was describing.

    If it continues, all channels will show wrestling/pawn/reality shows only.

  90. 90.

    J.D. Rhoades

    June 27, 2012 at 5:07 pm

    @Ash Can: Oh, don’t worry about the kids. The Boy’s 20 and a full blown socialist. He thinks I’M the one who’s too moderate. The Girl’s 17 and amused by politics when not bored by it. They both love their grandparents and steer clear of politics when visiting.

  91. 91.

    jl

    June 27, 2012 at 5:09 pm

    @NonyNony:

    ” Also – where’s the love for Superman? ” on extra terrestial invasion?

    Because Superman is an illegal undocumented extra terrestial alien himself.

    Don’t get me wrong, Superman is tops for evil earthly supervillains, but on the extra terrestial invasion, he might hava conflict of interest. But, IANAL. So, take that IMHO with grain of salt.

  92. 92.

    J.D. Rhoades

    June 27, 2012 at 5:10 pm

    @r€nato:

    how about you start yelling back at them?

    At one time, I did, but they’re in their 80’s now, and not in good health, and yelling at them kind of makes me look like a dick.

  93. 93.

    Paula

    June 27, 2012 at 5:11 pm

    [wrong thread]

  94. 94.

    shortstop

    June 27, 2012 at 5:11 pm

    @redshirt: I am a Yellowstone fanatic, so I’ll check that out, but I just don’t have high hopes based on past experiences with AP.

    Related: been watching the Planet Earth/Blue Planet stuff again on DVD. My god, they’re good.

  95. 95.

    Soonergrunt

    June 27, 2012 at 5:12 pm

    @Linda Featheringill: Well, it’s not going to go below 100 any time soon, but it’s not as bad as last year when we had already had almost two weeks of 100+ weather by this time. As of today, we’ve only had three days. The real issue is that electricity shoots up to 51 cents/kwh during the hottest part of the day, when of course, you have to use a lot of electricity to cool the house.
    Here’s hoping my new solar attic fan is helping.

    Besides which, I’m going to San Diego for 10 days next Saturday, so that will be nice.

  96. 96.

    r€nato

    June 27, 2012 at 5:13 pm

    @J.D. Rhoades:

    Or I just leave, but they get pissed at me if I take my kids with me.

    boo fucking hoo, you hurt their fee-fees by standing up for yourself instead of being a doormat.

    You know what? This shit matters. It matters that you bark back at these shitheel relatives of yours.

    Not because anyone in power cares what you or they (or I, for that matter) thinks about politics. None of us, as far as I know, have our hands on the levers of power.

    It matters because these people notice and talk to one another about how liberals are pansies. They go to work and talk amongst themselves about their weekend and what they did. When you let them bully you like this (and that is exactly what they are doing), it just reinforces the meme.

    Do you want them talking about how they walked all over their “militant liberal” relative that they humiliated, or do you want them talking about how you started an argument with them?

    Read some Machiavelli. It’s far better to be respected than liked. “Like” can follow “respect”; far less often does “respect” follow after “like”.

    When you bark back, when you stand up for yourself… not in an over-the-top, personally-insulting way but in an I’m-going-to-stand-up-for-myself-because-I’m-a-man-dammit way… you do us all some good by proving that liberals will stand up for what they believe in. We won’t be the first to punch, but if the other guy chooses to punch, we’ll punch back hard and make him think twice about doing so again.

    When you stand up for what you believe in, people respect you. When you go along to get along, you might win some temporary points for being ‘nice and polite’, but you don’t get any respect.

    Last week I was at a bar watching the Italy v England match. The entire bar was full of England fans except for me and my Italy soccer shirt. When they played the Italian national anthem (“Fratelli d’Italia”), some guy said, “ahhh you don’t even know the words.”

    I got up on the barstool, towering above the crowd, and belted out that fucking song word for word. I can’t even sing very well but that day I somehow found a voice and I sounded like fucking Pavarotti.

    I got some glares but at halftime when I was hanging outside, several of these blokes came up to me and shook my hand and complimented me for being bold and standing up for my team and my country. We shook hands and had a couple laughs about whatever after that while we drank our beers.

    Thus endeth the sermon.

  97. 97.

    jl

    June 27, 2012 at 5:13 pm

    @Studly Pantload, the emotionally unavailable unicorn:

    ‘ Ah, that would explain his book, “To Serve the Poor and Middle Class.” ‘

    If Romney issues a campaign cookbook, we need to get the word out.

    And I finally need to get around to seeing that episode of Twilight Zone, which I read about but have never watched.

  98. 98.

    J.D. Rhoades

    June 27, 2012 at 5:13 pm

    @r€nato:

    I sincerely hope you demanded that he publicly apologize for his disowning you, seeing as he chose to do so publicly in the first place, before your reconciliation with him.

    I wish. But my mom engineered the truce (I won’t think of it as reconciliation until he apologizes) when he was undergoing cancer treatments.

  99. 99.

    Soonergrunt

    June 27, 2012 at 5:14 pm

    @redshirt: There is nothing wrong with explaining in no uncertain terms that you will not put up with that shit because you have better things to do.

  100. 100.

    r€nato

    June 27, 2012 at 5:19 pm

    @J.D. Rhoades: I understand…

  101. 101.

    ABL 2.0

    June 27, 2012 at 5:19 pm

    @Litlebritdifrnt: yes! i love torchwood.

  102. 102.

    Ash Can

    June 27, 2012 at 5:20 pm

    @J.D. Rhoades: Heh! Sounds like you should start developing a sniffle/cough when these family gatherings come along, and hand the kids the car keys.

  103. 103.

    ABL 2.0

    June 27, 2012 at 5:20 pm

    @Brachiator: right on. i’ll check it out. i love space shit.

  104. 104.

    MGB

    June 27, 2012 at 5:21 pm

    OT but this is cool. President Obama is likely to lead the Bud Billiken parade here in Chicago.

    http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-obama-to-lead-bud-billiken-parade-20120627,0,3496151.story

  105. 105.

    Yutsano

    June 27, 2012 at 5:23 pm

    @ABL 2.0: Ianto is cuter than Jack. There I said it.

  106. 106.

    Brachiator

    June 27, 2012 at 5:26 pm

    @J.D. Rhoades:

    The “conversation” at my family’s gatherings usually goes something like this: My Dad or my uncle spout the latest Fox News inspired, whipped up phony scandal or begin railing about how the Mexicans are destroying Medicaid (based upon my father working one day as a relief pharmacist in a rural area where a lot of Mexicans showed up). I begin pointing out, calmly, that what they’re saying simply isn’t true. Whereupon my mother and aunts start yelling at ME: “No politics! No politics!”

    You could try being the one shouting “No politics” when the crap starts to roll, and turn the topic to something else.

    Sorry to read about the other situations in which your were ill used. It’s gotta be tough. Hope they are nicer to your kids.

  107. 107.

    shortstop

    June 27, 2012 at 5:27 pm

    @r€nato:

    “Do you want them talking about how they walked all over their “militant liberal” relative that they humiliated…”

    Let’s not confuse our characters and story lines. I’m the militant liberal and my sister’s in-laws don’t humiliate me or my husband. They start the politicking, we push back politely but quite firmly, they get flustered and call us radical and shrill as they hastily exit the conversation. They may be telling the story later with themselves as heroes, but they know in the moment they’re losing and that’s why they’re nervously demanding that we shut up. They’re going to mistell the story no matter how it goes down; that’s what these people do. Sounds like Rhoades’ visits go much the same way.

  108. 108.

    Loneoak

    June 27, 2012 at 5:29 pm

    I’d trust Romney more if the aliens end up being Ferengi.

    (How am I the first to make this joke? I thought ya’ll were nerds.)

  109. 109.

    Tony J

    June 27, 2012 at 5:58 pm

    @Chris:

    Batman is just a detective. The world’s greatest, sure, but not someone who’s capable of taking on an invading army, not with no superpowers.

    Woah, back up a step there. Why don’t you tell it to the White Martians? Oh, that’s right, you can’t, because after they whupped the rest of the Justice League it was the Goddamn Batman who took them down singlehanded.

    Just a detective my hairy backside, sir. Pluck that!

  110. 110.

    Brachiator

    June 27, 2012 at 6:04 pm

    @Loneoak:

    I’d trust Romney more if the aliens end up being Ferengi.
    __
    (How am I the first to make this joke? I thought ya’ll were nerds.)

    Because everyone knows that Romney wrote the First Rule of Acquisition: Friends can always be outsourced. Family too, if they don’t bring enough profit.

  111. 111.

    ruemara

    June 27, 2012 at 6:10 pm

    @J.D. Rhoades: I hate to support a fractous holiday gathering, but if he wants a fight, he gets a fight and I’d have to tell those telling me no politics that they can either shush him or stay the hell out of my way. Respect for thee but not for me? Blood don’t cover that.

    @Tony J: Nerd.

  112. 112.

    Villago Delenda Est

    June 27, 2012 at 6:39 pm

    I believe we have established that Rmoney is a Ferengi Synthezoid.

    Alien, avaricious, and artificial. All in one package.

  113. 113.

    Canadian Shield

    June 27, 2012 at 6:46 pm

    @Litlebritdifrnt:
    I, for one, welcome our new insect overlords. I’d like to remind them that as a trusted candidate I could be helpful in rounding up others to toil in their underground sugar caves!

  114. 114.

    Tony J

    June 27, 2012 at 7:25 pm

    @ruemara:

    Nerd.

    And proud of it. (does a little dance)

  115. 115.

    ABL 2.0

    June 27, 2012 at 7:52 pm

    @r€nato: um… you realize the “obama killed his grandma” meme has been alive and well for several months now, right?

    funny how you think you’re coming up with crazy shit only to find out that the crazies have already outcrazied your fake crazy.

    there’s no outcrazying this mofos.

  116. 116.

    cckids

    June 27, 2012 at 8:04 pm

    @shortstop:

    I swear I read exactly that theory on the “conveniently” dead granny just the other day. Can’t remember which psycho said it.

    I’m fairly sure Limbaugh came up with this right after she passed, assclown that he is.

  117. 117.

    Hob

    June 27, 2012 at 8:51 pm

    The part of Deep Impact that I thought was totally unrealistic, but weirdly inspiring, was that when the defense plan broke down, the President actually went on national TV and calmly told everyone that they were now 100% fucked.

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