I would like Mr. Spencer to provide some examples of how the Clinton administration engaged in “whining.” Just what is this ubiquitous verb/adjective shorthand for?

Who cares what he says? He’s toast. We Noo Yawkas loooove us some Hillary.

Why won’t anyone opposing Bush or his ilk just post that photo more often?

That’s not a president. That’s a child lost in a mall.

Whenever some conservative douche says something stupid like “this aids and abets our enemies,” Bin Laden smiles a little more broadly. This is the mind-sucking hysteria he always hoped for.

That is of course, if we continue to believe Bin Laden is a real person…I’ve been having doubts lately.

I’ve been having doubts lately.

Careful, man. The way to fight wingnuttery isn’t with more wingnuttery 🙂

How dare you!
Bill doesn’t need hookers- he can get all the ‘tang he wants for free, natch…

This clown’s name is really John Spencer? The same as the late actor who played the beloved Leo on “The West Wing?”

Oy.

I think I’d watch that sitcom, though it’d depend on who they got to play al-Rag’hed.

As for this Spencer guy, how on earth is he not going to get his lunch totally eaten? Picking on the Clinton Admin?? Bill’s more popular than Bush, and that’s in nationwide polling; forget about the more liberal New York. And that’s so totally old school.

Then again, they probably know they’re going to lose, but just want a guy who can beat her up for any presidential campaign. But they tried that with the Keyes-Obama match-up and it didn’t do anything for them but make them look freakier.

“Playing politics” is one of the most disingenuous phrases to worm its way into the buzzword-lexicon. Of course you’re playing politics! That’s what you are trying to get paid for.

You sit in an ivory tower and oversee real problems that actually affect living people and boil them down into “issues” that you solve by deciding what is more likely to get you elected or satisfy your base. The world is your Monopoly board, your best friend is playing the banker, and the poor are the thimble.

If you aren’t playing politics, you aren’t doing what you call your job. It’s like a goalie saying “I’m not here to play soccer.”

Sidenote: Oh, and Reagan bolsterred Saddam and Osama to beat the reds. Duh.

C’mon, guys. You wouldn’t use other ethnic slurs, I’m sure, but “raghead” is just fine? Leave the ugliness to the other side. You’re better than that.

You wouldn’t use other ethnic slurs, I’m sure, but “raghead” is just fine?

It was more a commentary on the stupidity of American television than an intended racial slur.

And for the record, we aren’t better than that. Whatever that is.

Somehow, I think I might be more offended by the implication that I was a “Camel Wanker” than someone semi-accurately describing ethnic headwear with mean intentions.
And Brad’s right- we aren’t better than “that”.

I mean, I have no prob with changing it if people are really that offended. But it was more a play on the general retardation of ethnicity in American entertainment (y’all remember “Perfect Strangers,” right?).

Don’t- please…
One just gives the words power if people go ape over ironic use.

If it helps: Cracker. cracker-ass cracker. I am a god-damned lazy mick, redneck backwater raised cracker.

My problem with this particular term is that it seems to be viewed by many Americans as much more acceptable than other ethnic slurs. By way of comparison, consider this: if you had been making a joke about African-Americans, would you have named a character in your hypothetical show “Nick N****r”? I doubt that you would consider that funny.

And puh-leeze do not lecture me about the evils of “political correctness”; I’m simply talking about treating people with respect. For the record, I do not believe that Brad intended any disrespect. That’s what I meant when I wrote he was “above that.”

See- it’s not making a joke about Arabs so much as making a joke about media portrayal of ethnicity.
That’s why it’s funny. I haven’t seen Raghead to be more acceptable in mainstream American society than any other ethnic slur- that the wingnuts use it more often is due to their particular focus. If it had been an Asian group that had been the terrorists, then they would use them.

Considering al-Rag’hed’s line, it sounds as though you could rename him “Qu’entin al-Qrisp,” though that’d open a whole, new can o’ worms.

I think that the term ‘raghead’ is viewed by many to be more acceptable than other ethnic slurs, but that this fairly widespread hypocrisy only serves to further legitimise Brad’s parody.

[Y]’all remember “Perfect Strangers,” right?

NOW I do. Thanks a fucking lot.

STH, I took the use of the slur ‘raghead’ to be ironic. And yeah, it is viewed as appropriate in your more virulent righty circles. Think about what happened at the Conservative Politial Action Caucus recently, where Ann Coulter said “I think our motto should be post-9-11, ‘raghead talks tough, raghead faces consequences,’â€? which received a boisterous ovation. Substitute ‘nigger’ or ‘kike’ for raghead, and would the audience have still applauded? God, who am I kidding, they probably would have.

What? Nobody lacked the good taste to come up with “Dhun ibn Qoon”? Well let me be the first, ‘cos you know, Ann Coulter’s kinda stealing our thunder here…

Can you be a Mick AND a Cracker at the same time?

oooh! I like this game…

I’m a Coon-Ass Cracker…and damn proud of it!

Gumbo anyone?

Can you be a Mick AND a Cracker at the same time?
Actually, you can – sort of. Many of the poor southern whites in the US are descendents of Irish (or Scottish) immigrants.

Re: Raghead. Y’all see Three Kings? There’s this whole scene about what constitutes acceptable slurs for the Iraqis “sand nigger” was unacceptable, but “raghead” and “camel jockey” were OK.
It was a pretty funny scene.

Oh yeah… that’s a sweet movie, gotta go rent that sometime.

You guys kill me, your politicians are doing a great job fucking things up…it’s worth being stuck in a CIA safecave in Pakistan.

In 3 Kings, which was a great movie, the irony was that Ice Cube didn’t want them to use dune coon or sand nigger because they include derogatory terms for black people unlike raghead or camel jockey which were acceptable.

You should definitely use Raghead, just so Michelle Malkin can get all sanctimonious about race baiting, which has got to be one of the funniest things evah.

http://michellemalkin.com/archives/004539.htm

My head hurts after reading that…

Especially considering that The Cartoon Jihad in Ohio was her previous work.
The dissonance is astounding- nay, mind-blowing

Oh, and technically- “cracker” is not necessarily a geographical pejorative (though it is most frequently used in the South; redneck is the geographical specifacation), but a socio-economic descriptor of a working or lower middle class rural white person (which I am), presumambly one who is conservative in adapting their personal habits to the prevailing society (which I probably also am), though “honkey” might be more catch all.
I’m also of Irish decent- hence “Mick”- and a Kraut, for that matter, since I’m also 3/8th German… though technically, since my family controlled lands on both sides of the German-Poland border, I could be called a “Polack” as well, I suppose.
While not accurate, I actually have been called a redneck (even if, as a midwesterner, I’m technically not one) repeatedly by suburban types at my college, so I included it for the sake of completeness.

Many points for the Quentin Crisp reference, Marq. I didn’t think anybody remembered him anymore but me. Is he still alive? I think he would be about 300 now . . . .

Just to push the etymology: “cracker” is not derived from the whiteness of saltines. It is from “craiq,” which is Gaelic for talking a lot, or jabbering.

So it is really a limey term signifying loud-mouthed rednecks.

Quentin Crisp died back in 1999. He was 91. PBS’s “The Naked Civil Servant” was one of many things I saw growing up that terrified me in that I was beginning to realize that I was gay and didn’t want to wind up like… that. Fortunately, one doesn’t have to be that swishy or femmy. Phew!

I know what you mean, Marq. I’ve been doing this whole woman/femininity thing for 41 years now, and I’ve never managed to get anywhere near that femmy. Thank God! Poor guy sure paid the price for being himself–if I recall the book correctly, he got beat up constantly. Gotta respect that (the honesty, that is, not the pummelling).

I find your site very Informative