Can a too-tight hatband cut off circulation to the brain, causing the wearer to babble stupid things uncontrollably? Two influential wingnut race-baiters may need to adjust the fit of their trademark fedoras. Here’s a screen shot of the current front page of The Drudge Report:
These assholes have such a boner for racially tinged violence that they’ll just flat make shit up if protests are mostly peaceful, and from what I gather on legitimate news sites, they were, aside from a handful of arrests here and there. It’s hardly “America in Flames!”—to the palpable disappointment of many.
Here is Roger L. Simon, another fedora-sporting douche-barge:
By injecting himself in a minor Florida criminal case by implying Martin could be his son, the president of the United States — a onetime law lecturer, of all things — disgraced himself and his office, made a mockery of our legal system and exacerbated racial tensions in our country, making them worse than they have been in years. This is the work of a reactionary, someone who consciously/unconsciously wants to push our nation back to the 1950s.
Yeah, I’m sure Barack Obama wants to go back to the 1950s so his parents can get arrested for miscegenation, he can use the separate bathroom facilities and not eat at the Woolworth’s lunch counter. Simon probably tries to fit the fedora on his ass and elbows every morning before remembering that it goes on his empty head.
[X-posted at Rumproast]
Linnaeus
Well, you see, the problem for Simon isn’t that these things were happening in the 1950s, it’s that there were “racial tensions” about it.
Alexandra
Have never seen anyone argue that Trayvon Martin should have been armed in order to protect himself. It’s odd.
Leo Artunian
Am I the only one who remembers Nixon “injecting himself into a . . . criminal case” by declaring Charles Manson guilty while his trial was still in progress? I don’t remember the Right declaring Nixon “disgraced himself and his office, made a mockery of our legal system and exacerbated racial tensions in our country,” although, oddly enough, he did in fact do all those things.
a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)
It’s a shandah, the whole fucking thing. I’m with the commenter who’d like to send Zimmerman a skittle a day for the rest of his life. I’d like to send them to O’Mara, West, and the idiot brother as well. As I recall, her son suggested Zimmerman be inundated with Skittles and she improved the idea to an unending stream.
@Leo Artunian: Hell the right still doesn’t really believe Nixon did all those things with his Watergate behavior.
gocart mozart
It’s always projection with these people.
Villago Delenda Est
Both Drudge’s and Simon’s fedora clad heads would look MUCH better on pikes than they do on their shoulders.
Just sayin’.
Zifnab
@Alexandra: It seems the “guns solve everything” crowd neglected that point. Strange.
If Zimmerman had been shot by Martin, instead of the other way around, I wonder if anyone would be saying anything different? If Martin had been acquitted, would there be white people rioting right now? Ah, but to have a time machine…
Mnemosyne
I was living at USC — ie in the middle of South Central LA — during the 1992 riots. Idiots who think that these protests are even on the same planet as 1992 should be systematically punched in the throat.
Citizen_X
You will be shocked, shocked, to learn that Jim Hoft, the Stupidest etc etc, posted a video claiming to be of black rioters in Miami that was actually of a previous riot in freaking VANCOUVER, perpetrated by angry Canucks fans. There are mountains visible in the background.
Hoft has since removed the video, without any comment.
Hunter Gathers
White vigilantes must be allowed to gun down whomever they deem to be ‘fucking punks’. Because Freedom.
quannlace
“Thousands pack Times Square.” ? Uh, I think that happens pretty much every day. So that line at least is true.
beltane
I just read that one of the jurors has a book deal and so stands to make a good deal of money from her vote to acquit. Sorry to burst Roger Simon’s bubble, but this case and reactions to it such as his, show the United States to be more of the armpit of the world than a beacon of liberty and hope.
Punchy
Why is the lady in gray hiding bowling balls under her shirt? Is she on “strike”?
Rosalita
@Mnemosyne:
This! I lived in Pasadena at the time
Redshirt
This fits with the Republican strategy of actually trying and heighten racial tensions in order to motivate lazy whites to get to the polls to stop… them.
Thus, the Repukes get their 90% of the white vote and a 1000 year Reich. Or so the Wingnut theory goes.
Redshirt
@Mnemosyne: I was an actual, real victim of the LA Riots – in Middletown, CT, of all places. Fun times.
c u n d gulag
Beautifully put, Ms. Cracker!
Mike in NC
This is a bit ass-backwards, given that every Republican in office is dedicated to returning the country to the golden days of the 1950s.
Amir Khalid
I was asking you about this the other day; now I have my answer, and it’s what I’d have hoped for in the event of Zimmerman’s acquittal. I notice from this Washington Post photo gallery that the outrage at the verdict cuts across racial lines, as it should.
As for violence at these protests, the right-wing pundits must be disappointed. I, and they, have seen worse in American cities where people were celebrating a Super Bowl or NBA title.
Jerzy Russian
@Citizen_X:
Florida is known for its long ski seasons.
Davis X. Machina
@quannlace: Shake Shack burgers are that good.
sherparick
Roger just wants to get into the rightwing grift to supplement his income in his old age.
beltane
@Mike in NC:
Only the more moderate factions of the Republican party want to do this; most of them will not be satisfied until we return the country to the golden days of the 1850s.
Matt McIrvin
The worst incident of violence I’ve heard of was a crazed white woman attacking an aged black musician who dedicated his performance of “People Get Ready” to Trayvon Martin:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2013/jul/15/lester-chambers-trayvon-martin-attack-beyonce
Belafon (formerly anonevent)
This sentence is being read wrong. “This” refers to Simon, not Obama.
Simon’s just ashamed that Obama won’t go back to a time when blacks took bullets like they were supposed to.
JCT
@Mnemosyne: My late father’s law office was right there – I called him in an absolute panic and his comment was that there were already neighborhood guys out front watching out for him (he was a criminal defense attorney).
These racist motherfucker web jockeys need to STFU about “riots” before some of their gun nut readers (who, judging from some of the gun forums are really VERY jealous of Zimmerman since he got to experience their greatest goal in life) decide to get involved.
Just disgusting.
Scott S.
@Mike in NC: More like the 1850s.
(Mike in NC beat me to it…)
Joey Maloney
Off topic, but perhaps a smidge of good news will be welcome after the last couple of days. From The Richmonder:
Redshirt
Radio Rwanda has been updated for the 21st century! It’s now “The Drudge Report” and its ilk, and AR-15’s are way superior to machetes.
gwangung
@Mike in NC:
Minor fix.
NotMax
@Mike in NC
More like the 1890s.
Social Security, the income tax, and direct election of senators (to give just three obvious examples) existed during the 1950s.
eemom
dunno if it’s been linked already, but Ta-Nehisi Coates’ piece on the trial today is totally spot on perfect. Just says it all.
burnspbesq
The usual suspects on the left are alleging that the NYPD used excessive force against demonstrators. I have no view on the subject.
The LAPD always uses excessive force against demonstrators, especially demonstrators who block a freeway. That’s just how that department rolls, and has since at least the 1940s.
max
Here is Roger L. Simon, another fedora-sporting douche-barge:
Are we winning in Iraq? I was promised we would totally win in Iraq and crush Al-Qaeda that way.
max
[‘Anyways, I totally thought Simon dug torture and violence, so riots should be completely awesome in his book.’]
Steeplejack
@Joey Maloney:
Discussed briefly last week.
gelfling545
I suspect that their definition of “riot” is any gathering of people who are not wearing tricorn hats and which includes people of color.
gene108
@Mike in NC:
I think it’s more in line with the 1890’s, before unions, labor movement, etc. played a part to deprive the wealthy of their hard earned money; and if blacks and women get hurt in the process, BONUS!
Betty Cracker
@Joey Maloney: That is welcome news! I’ll be glad to see McDonnell go firstly because he’s a retrograde crook, but also because I’m relieved to see him removed from the GOP bench as a future candidate for national office.
muddy
@Mike in NC: Except for the tax rates.
Jay
@Mnemosyne: in my view, not enough people get punched in the throat. I’d like to start with those who compare homosexuality to bestiality. You can take the people who compare the Martin protests to the ’92 L.A. riots.
Deal?
Redshirt
We’re living the 1850’s right now in many ways – specifically, the function of the Federal Government. The South played many of the same games with obstruction and hostage holding back then. Turned out OK in the end.
Comrade Dread
“Johnson, I just don’t understand why minorities aren’t voting for us.”
“It’s probably our messag-”
“Messaging? Alright, fine. Get someone from Marketing on the line and see how we can else we can say “The gangbanging, gun running, reefer head deserved it because we all know that Negro hordes are coming to hunt you for sport and take your women.”
Higgs Boson's Mate
@Mnemosyne:
Amen.
Ted & Hellen
In his role as President, Obama really shouldn’t have said ANYTHING about the trial, let alone identify with the possibility that TM could have been his son. WTF? Way to taint the jury pool and insert yourself where your opinion doesn’t belong.
Any semi rational person here knows this.
Southern Beale
Ed at Gin and Tacos nailed it today:
I think his analysis is spot-on.
Mnemosyne
@Redshirt:
My cousin told me a pretty horrifying story about a guy in Appleton, WI, who was a victim of the LA Riots (or was murdered shortly after the video was on local TV — she was a little drunk at the time and the timeline got garbled). So, yeah, it’s bullshit to claim that a bunch of peaceful protests are in any way equivalent to that.
@Jay:
Works for me! Line ’em up and we’ll start some teamwork punching.
Redshirt
@Mnemosyne: Indeed. That was an intense period of time. Cities across the US were on high alert. My little incident almost precipitated a thousand person riot between college kids and folks living in the low income housing nearby.
This is nothing compared to then. Zip, zero. But oh, how they want it. I’ve been wading into the cesspool that is Freerepublic and they are just begging for the riots to start, so they can finally start shooting. That is, if they could navigate their Hoveround to a convenient location.
Mnemosyne
@burnspbesq:
To me, the ne plus ultra of LAPD-generated riots was when they overran a TV station’s tent that was broadcasting from MacArthur Park after one of the (peaceful) May Day marches and started shoving the on-air reporter around while he was speaking.
Poopyman
@Southern Beale:
I just disagree that this is in any way the endgame. I see too many ways this can devolve even further.
Violet
@beltane:
This should not be legal. The fact that it is calls the impartiality of the jury into question. A juror could be thinking, “What verdict will make my book more interesting?” and choose that verdict based on their own self-interest, not on what’s right.
Mnemosyne
@eemom:
I suspected from the first that Florida’s completely fucked-up laws would lead to this result. In a thread yesterday, aimai was talking about how their self-defense laws are set up so men can defend their “honor” and don’t have to back down if they get into a beef with someone. Their SYG law is bad enough, but it looks like their “normal” self-defense law is set up the same way: you can pick a fight with someone, kill them, and claim that you were in fear for your life during the fight even if you started it.
muddy
@Ted & Hellen: My son was beaten by cops in NC, not because he was black, but he was wearing a hoodie and carrying a backpack, walking where they didn’t think he ought be walking at that hour. They had been trying to roust a lot of homeless people and probably thought he was one of them.
I mean, a hoodie! A backpack! That’s licence to fuck with anyone I guess.
In more recent years we have joked that he fits the description on all the Crimestopper ads here in VT, white guy, black hoodie, buzz cut.
If I were president I would say that I could see Trayvon being my son regardless of what color I am. Any parent with sense could. Why should he have to be mealymouthed and not have an opinion? Clearly he did not taint the jury pool.
Higgs Boson's Mate
@burnspbesq:
Those with the most influential voices in a community get exactly the kind of police force they want.
jamick6000
lmao
anyone who wears a fedora is a HUGE tool.
jamick6000
@Ted & Hellen: a lot of people here dump on your posts, but I admire your craft.
FlipYrWhig
@Mnemosyne: It kind of seems like the Fred Phelpsians and abortion-clinic protesters can easily capitalize on this — deliberately piss people off to the point where if they take a swing, the provocateur can pull a gun and fire based on fearing for his (worthless) life.
Kay
God almighty, but they’re terrified. They are not going to make it through this. How long are these rigidly conventional, inflexible, pampered bores planning on indulging in this latest nervous breakdown?
We’re right at the start, so we still have to make it through “complete media screeching freak out” and then on to “embarrassing statements” and then, finally, “blame someone else because we lost our shit AGAIN”
I feel like I could plot it on a line.
Let me know when they’re at “waking up hungover, looking around, and realizing they’ve been on another bender”.
Betty Cracker
@muddy: Obama was asked about the case at a press conference, and he was careful not to say anything that would taint the jury pool. He called the incident a tragedy and said it was important to get to the bottom of how it had occurred, which anyone who isn’t a wingnut idiot should instantly recognize as an uncontroversial statement.
I think any statement Obama makes that in any way references his blackness just infuriates some people. The reasons aren’t hard to guess.
Ted & Hellen
@jamick6000:
You will now be condemned as a pedophile/racist/shit stain apologist.
Welcome aboard! :D
muddy
@Betty Cracker: Indeed.
EconWatcher
@Joey Maloney:
Thanks for the tidings. I assumed Gov. McDonnell’s goose was cooked as soon as I heard about the Rolex. There is no conceivable excuse for his failure to disclose that gift, and it’s just heaven-sent for a prosecutor to take in front of a jury. But it’s good to get confirmation.
Ted & Hellen
@Betty Cracker:
Oh Betty, your deliberate obtuseness act is a thin one.
Claiming the deceased in an ongoing investigation as someone who could have been his son put Obama in a position of emotional connection to the alleged victim; and if you’re going to deny that doing so didn’t also imply an emotional antagonism toward the alleged perp, then you are being flat out dishonest…
…oh wait.
That’s your thing. Never mind.
Johnnybuck
@Mnemosyne:
Well, if that wasn’t the actual intent of the law, this jury certainly codified it.
Anya
I don’t understand why it’s so bad that Barack Obama said what he said. Trayvone was not on trial. He was a 17-year old victim who was shot by a cop wannabe coward. Obama didn’t say Zimmerman should be charged and convicted. Some people just want Obama to be neutral about everything. He should not voice an opinion about anything. That’s ludicrous.
Ted & Hellen
@muddy:
Ummm…he can have all the opinions he wants to have. But he sometimes should keep it to himself because he is the president of the united states and his opinion isn’t always something that should be shared, as it can have a huge impact on situations where it shouldn’t be a factor.
Such as on a trial in Florida in which he has no role to play.
Kay
I almost envy the perspective of people who live in the places where this is supposedly happening.
What’s that like?
“I didn’t see any ‘rage’! Where was that?”
You start to think the disconnect can’t hold, that it all will be completely dismissed as presumptively made-up bullshit.
Ted & Hellen
@Anya:
So next time there’s a white racist republican in office and a black person is charged with the murder of a young white person, you’ll have no problem with the president publicly claiming the deceased as his or her own.
Because it doesn’t mean anything after all, and is entirely appropriate blah blah blah…
Christ.
Chyron HR
I see our resident Zimmersplainer is still in sore winner mode.
boatboy_srq
@NotMax: @Mike in NC: The problem is that the Reichwing wants to go back to Ozzie and Harriet, and the Dems have to keep reminding them that Mississippi Is Burning was simultaneous with that.
Though I think @beltane and @gene108 are pretty much on-target here.
RE: 1992: I was part of the emergency response my employer put together – for Northern California. It was needed: I remember it well. The current protests are nothing.
RE: Mountains in Florida. Clearly you’ve not been on the ski slopes at Mount Dora. (/snark) How geographically iggerant do they think their viewers are? Never mind, I don’t want to know.
Johnnybuck
@Betty Cracker:
Some people around here anyway
Johnnybuck
@Ted & Hellen: Obviously the jury didn’t much care what he had to say…. like they would.
Kay
That’s just classic douchebag.
If it isn’t conscious, it’s unconscious. Obama may deny it, but the idiot pundit can see into his mind. It’s there!
Gin & Tonic
@Ted & Hellen: Sure tainted the jury, didn’t it? They convicted Zimmerman in no time flat.
Betty Cracker
@Ted & Hellen: Jesus, you’re thick (and probably a fedora wearer). If you read the statement, which is widely available online, you’ll notice Obama didn’t say dick about Zimmerman’s guilt or innocence — just that everyone should be focused on getting to the bottom of what happened.
A white Republican president wouldn’t have to make such a remark because the court system historically does take the killing of white people seriously. That’s all Obama was saying — let’s take the tragic death of this kid seriously.
I don’t know why you’re bothering to bitch about tainted juries now anyway: You got the outcome you wanted.
Redshirt
Why anyone responds to that thing – other than to insult/mock it – is beyond me. It’s an interesting dynamic though.
A Ghost To Most
@Ted & Hellen: glad to know you’re actually paying attention.
Kay
I knew it was going to be ultra-horrible and shameful for all of us when Donald Trump jumped in. He only lends his name to the dumbest of the dumb.
Ted & Hellen
@Betty Cracker:
Classic Botsplaining:
Then he should have said let’s take this case seriously, and respect the verdict when it comes. Instead he claimed the deceased as someone who could have been his son. Which of course has no emotional overtones and does not in any way inflame or melodramatize the situation.
Dishonest Obtuseobot, thy name is Betty.
Don’t worry, Betty, I’m choosing my words carefully so as not to upset your Delicate Southern Belle Sensitives, for offense of which I was timed out last week. I hope you have your smelling salts handy, but I shall endeavor to not the the cause of your need for them.
Ripley
Cosmic Irony Alert.
A Ghost To Most
@Ted & Hellen:
She may, however, require an air freshener.
Howlin Wolfe
This is a bit ass-backwards, given that every Republican in office is dedicated to returning the country to the golden days of the
1950s1390s.ftfy.
FlipYrWhig
@A Ghost To Most: Sulfur IS a strong smell.
burnspbesq
@jamick6000:
I am getting old, but my high-frequency hearing isn’t completely shot. I can still hear a racist dog-whistle.
“Admire [his] craft?” Did you really think you were going to slip that one by?
gbear
@A Ghost To Most: A delousing comb might come in handy too.
FlipYrWhig
@burnspbesq: Going by previous comments from jamick, I thought he meant “admire his dedication.” Not whatever it is he’s dedicated to.
Ted & Hellen
@burnspbesq:
You’ll have to help me out here: Is “admire your craft” a white supremacist dog whistle?
Wow. How so?
I’d like to be up to date before tomorrow’s Klan meeting down the street…
Betty Cracker
@Ted & Hellen: It’s not “botsplaining” — it’s called “reading what was actually said.” As I said, the statement is widely available online.
As for your insinuation that I was somehow responsible for your being temporarily banished, that’s 100% bullshit. In fact, I was snickering over it because I figured you tattled to Cole about what Cassidy said to you (again — restock your own smelling salts shelf, Aunt Pittypat) and that Cole just happened to see one of the misogynistic turds you drop on just about everything I post while investigating your claim of wounded humanity and ended up giving you both time-outs.
Ask him yourself if you don’t believe me, not that I give a shit, and not that I think anyone should bother Cole over something this stupid, particularly with what he’s had to deal with recently. You were either hoist with your own petard or someone else got sick of your stinking up every thread and reported you, but it wasn’t me.
Villago Delenda Est
@Ted & Hellen:
Shut the fuck up, racist shitstain.
Ted & Hellen
@Betty Cracker:
Ah…”mysogynistic…” so very original. You give yourself away, Betty. Mysogynistic is the fall back when you got nothing.
Can you detail what was so “mysogynistic,” delicate one?
Ted & Hellen
@Villago Delenda Est:
Likewise, Bumble Tumbrel.
Oh, and fuck off.
Ted & Hellen
@Villago Delenda Est:
Well, STFU is an improvement over your usual weak bullshit, Bumble Tumbrel.
jamick6000
@burnspbesq: you are pretty poor at your craft on the other hand
Betty Cracker
@Ted & Hellen: Wade through the sewer that is your commentary here at Balloon Juice in search of the sexist nuggets you pinched off? Uh, okay. As soon as you apologize for falsely claiming I ratted you out to Cole.
Ted & Hellen
@Betty Cracker:
Go back up and read my original comment, Betty. Nowhere do I state or imply that you ratted me out.
But you’re not very smart, so I’m not surprised at your misreading.
And no…wade thru my comments in the relevant thread and tell me which were mysogynistic. And no, merely being addressed to a woman does not make an unflattering comment anti-woman, as you’re so fond of claiming.
Your replies are becoming as unhinged from the comments they allegedly address that I’m mistaking you with crazy ass Memnosyne.
Redshirt
@Betty Cracker: Betty, you should know by now there’s no point in arguing with a troll. Or, only for sport.
Betty Cracker
@Ted & Hellen:
So I’m supposed to believe that your citing my “Delicate Southern Belle Sensitives” [sic] and making references to my needing smelling salts, etc., aren’t an implication that I caused you to be banned? What a load of horseshit.
Betty Cracker
@Redshirt: You’re right, of course. Ignoring the braying ninny is the only sensible approach.
Tone in DC
@Citizen_X:
And I though that gas-hole O’Keefe was full of shit.
“Hey, Vote for Wingnutz!! We Make Shit Up!”
Tone in DC
@Southern Beale:
Damn straight. Ed nailed it.
Anna in PDX
@Ted & Hellen: How can a person who died in an encounter not be a victim?
Plantsmantx
Consider this- the supposed “provocation” that the right is using as an excuse to defend and celebrate the murder of Trayvon Martin is much less- I don’t want to use “defensible”, but for lack of a better word- “defensible” than the excuses their ideological ancestors used to defend lynchings of blacks. Back in those days, generally speaking, “He was walking down the street in my neighborhood” would have been seen as too outrageously callous and evil to work as an excuse for murder- even the murder of a black person. But in 2013, it’s widely acceptable. Think about that, black people.
Older
@Mike in NC: It’s always projection.
Older
@muddy: As I’ve said previously, I raised a bunch of kids, and most of them were boys. I had observed since before I had any kids that the police and the codger-hood really hated and seemed to fear teen-age boys, so I started warning each one of my boys about the situation when they were about twelve. It was a shame to have to rain cold reality on their cheerful boyhood, but it had to be done.
I suppose it’s because of this background that I’m now old, and not afraid of teen age boys. Even though I live across the street from a teen-age-boys’ housing development (dorms, apartment houses, associated with a college) and often refer to them as remittance boys. You know, their folks pay them to stay away.
A Humble Lurker
@Ted & Hellen:
I would have no problem if a white racist Republican (‘scuse the redundancy) said what Obama said which was, and I quote: “If I had a son, he’d look like Trayvon.” I don’t see why I’m supposed to be upset by that. It didn’t impugn or glorify either Martin or Zimmerman, or suggest one or the other was guilty so…?
El Cid
‘Cause if a white President saw a white kid’s photo who had died and said that the kid looked like his/her kids or how his/her kid might look, he/she would be expressing a completely neutral, non-race-infused statement, because white is the default human color.
A black President who saw a black kid’s photo who had died and said that the kid looked like his/her kids or how his/her kid might look is expressing clear and aggressive racial bias, because clearly a black President should recognize that his/her skin color is de facto exotic, bizarre, and threatening, and he/she should recognize that expressing familial impulses toward a black child will make white people think that the black President intends to frighten them.
Ted & Hellen
@A Humble Lurker:
Nice try, Botsplainer.
So you’re telling me that by identifying emotionally with the victim and not the accused, the president showed no preference one way or the other?
He should have kept his mouth shut. You already know this.
g
Thousands of people are in Times Square? When has that ever happened before?
g
So you’re telling me that by identifying emotionally with the victim and not the accused, the president showed no preference one way or the other?
Yes. The president identified emotionally with the parents of the dead victim. In what kind of sick mind is that a problem?
Would you also be unhappy if the president mentioned what a heartbreaking shame Cayley Anthony’s death was? Or the deaths of the Newtown children?
Ted & Hellen
@g:
You’re lying to me and, what’s worse, yourself.
Hmmm…for some reason he didn’t claim the Newtown kids as his own, now did he?
Could it be because he is a…RACCCCCCCCIIIIIIIIIIISSSSSSSSSSSSST?
Ted & Hellen
@El Cid:
Take your meds.