You missed Atlas Pam. That’s gotta be Photoshop’d, unless she
really does have great tits and a cape.

you often here us in the right blogosphere. Usually after they have made several “whither the Left” posts.

Ace should be on the first list. You basically challenged him to a photoshop contest, and his response seems a pretty obvious concession.

I, for one, think it’s unfair of you to make Dan Riehl beg off on a Photoshop Duel Challenge just to prove his abject cowardice.Hasn’t he provided us ample evidence already? Must he do more? Where is the humanity?

The fact is, Republicans will ultimately dominate any and all photoshop efforts because we are favored by God, and because we hate teh gays. If you lefty-photoshoppers persist, you will be consigned to the dustbin of photoshop history.

Dudes, it’s not like we’re asking you to enlist!

Speak for yourself.

Ours not to reason why, ours but to do and die-cut …

Have you seen the below from Tom Watson’s crapfest of a blog? (‘Scusy if you’re a fan.)

My reading of this brouhaha boils down to this:

Tom is asking, is FDL on the same level of critical discourse as Daily Kos, or is it a lefty fratboy fest like Sadly,No?

I think Tom here is probably confused because he had grown used to a level of discourse on FDL that isn’t compatible with calling DINOs like Tauscher whores and worse. If FDL wants to turn into Sadly,No then that’s fine, and Tom can go somewhere else. Or if FDL is trying to be eclectic and embrace may different styles of posts, that’s fine too and Tom can learn to skip posts with Pach’s byline. There’s no law written down that a blog has to only be one thing or another.

As far as the PC/Word Police crapola, haven’t we already had this conversation? Didn’t Victorianism die out in 1999? Why do we still get the vapors when someone uses harsh language? He didn’t even use one of the Seven Words You Can’t Say On Television.

Posted by: liberalrob | Nov 28, 2006 12:02:02 PM
http://www.typepad.com/t/comments?__mode=red&id=25859911

See….I don’t get a fratboy vibe from this here blog, but I could be wrong.

liberalrob is probably remembering that unfortunate episode, a little while back now, when a jammed interTube or something turned Sadly, No! into “Da Honger.”

Totally off-topic, but does anyone know what happened to The Editors?

Pepper,

liberalrob is anti-Tom.

Tom’s bloggo ain’t no crapfest. I don’t like language police actions, but I 100% agree with Tom on this one, and even if I didn’t I would massively agree with his right to say it and not be called a “cunt” for doing so.

And that is what happened. FDL commenters went nuclear over some mild criticism, including one who likened FDL crossing the line type language with S,N! I have expressed that S,N! tolerance of aa, even though it causes some big problems for a lot of people is one of the reasons that I like S,N! It is mich easier to actually comment here when you don’t agree than it is at some of these other places. I mean you get boot-stomped at FDL for saying “I don’t appreciate the c-word.” And that is their right to boot stomp ya, I just am not into that.

I read the comment thread, pinko. In fact, under my cunning alias “pepperdo” I commented that using the word “cunt” has a long and venerable tradition in queer/left circles. Now, I do think that some excellent points were raised by the commenters about how you must tailor your language to your audience, i.e., not everyone reading TRex’s post is going to be someone whose best galpal since high school was a punky lesbian type who screamed “cunt” at her friends in a loving way. However, Watson’s laughable assertion that any man who uses the word “cunt” cannot call himself a feminist inspired me to call his blog a crapfest, and I haven’t, while reading his responses, seen any reason to change this judgement. He reads like a sheltered, boring white dude who never quite got that the world is a complicated place. But, I’d never call him a cunt for that…the word’s too special to use on a dude as ordinary as him.

……

the “e” in “judgment”…so horrible.

Personally, I can’t read the comments at FDL. While I enjoy some of the front page material, how many times do I have to wade through one word posts with enough exclamation points to fill up a l33t5p34k dictionary.

And again, my offer of the antitroll greasemonkey script stands for anyone who wants it. Tweaked it today to make it a bit more comprehensive.

I’m no insider. I read FDL a couple times a week, and I’ve never heard of Tom Watson before. But I’m just hangin, so I checked it out. The thing that leaped to mind was “Jeezus, peeps, lighten the f*** up”. Smart people can use salty language, and sometimes colorful words work better than beige ones, regardless of what your catechism teacher told you. To see all that energy wasted arguing over words, not concepts, not positions, not ideas, just words – well, it’s something other than interesting. Not surprisingly, I like the Sadly, No approach, which Brad regularly demonstrates with the boyishly charming phrase “cum guzzling ass twat”. I do not buy the theory that words can make you mysogynistic or racist. A mysogyinist or a racist will use words as weapons, see michael kramer whathisface, but the words themselves only contain the power you give them. There’s a place to clean it up and a place to let it fly, and you can’t be one on monday and the other on tuesday.

Pinko – whatup? You get your hands on some rational pills? Like it….

mikey

You’d think with the way the Pentagon thinks it can win in Iraq by propagandizing that they’d had plenty of use for Photoshop wizards. Still probably too close to the action for Mr. Owens though…

Totally off-topic, but does anyone know what happened to The Editors?

Dunno; we’re on the outs with him as of late summer/early fall or something. He has his own thing going.

Hm. Do you wanna talk about it, Gavin? Let me pour you a drink.

Oh why did you link to IMAO?

I had to click it, and they made me read a post about killing arab children. Ya see, it is funny because they are ARABS! GET IT!!

Someone help me, do you have to have a low IQ and be drunk to get this “conservative” humor? Or is it just me?

Apparently, the only thing they are trying to conserve are laffs. As well they should, laughing at conservative humour is indeed in short supply.

in addendum to some points made above, when i worked in a bar outside London a few years back i think ‘cunt’ only came behind ‘the’ and ‘and’ in frequency of use by the staff, both male and female. everyone could be a cunt, no matter what gender. i think used judiciously and in a most egalitarian manner, we could learn something from the cunts i used to work with.

bloody Pom wankers.

pepsi-

I don’t have to 100% agree with Tommo, but I’m all the way in his camp regarding the response he got. It’s like you can totally say “I don’t agree with what you said and here is why.” What you will notice is nobody said that. Everybody just said “STFU, stupid c*nt.” And I gots PROBS with dat, and I didn’t insult anyone over that. I would add that Erasmus is kind of an emu. And check zuzu’s point about the c-word- people can use it however they want but it is hard to say, even for gay males, that their usage is “reclaiming.” The one thing about gay males is that they have peepees. That means in the patriarchy they still are above women on the totem pole. I think this is where Tom was going with his “whore” bit.

The dealio with certain words is that everything is not black and white and you go into the misogynist pile or the feminist pile 100% for ever, however your words go into those piles and how you defend your choices for word usage determines whether you are an a-hole or not. Tom should have said “this usage is not pro-feminist usage. is it possible that you could construct the same sentence without sexist baggage?” And Pach could say “yes, I could but I won’t so eff you.” And then Pach would be an asshole. Or Pach could say “I don’t agree, and here is why.” Instead of dropping all your baggage on someone for criticising you like “I’m sick of the f****** language police, so go eff yourself Tom,” you could say “well, sometimes I think criticism like this from Tom goes to far, but I will address his specific comments on this issue as if he were an individual and not everyone else in the world that ever complained about my potty mouth.” But Pach didn’t. And TRex didn’t. This suggests to me the possible whiff of flatulent emus.

The serious pants…they are chafing…and restrictive…must wriggle out…can’t escape…too many…bad arguments…prick not same as c*nt…so tight…tapered leg…serious pants…

See, mikey and I can disagree, but I appreciate where he’s coming from and I don’t treat him like a cobag. (I hope pepper and mikey don’t think I am treating them like cobags).

The Editors are back, I was there a while ago. No new posts, though. At least there weren’t when I was there.

Tom Watson is a good blogger. I understand, but do not agree with, his assessment of Pach’s post. To me, a corporate whore is a gender-free epithet. I do not wish to be called a cunt myself, but I understand its camp usage.

However, that said, I no longer read FDL unless someone I do read daily links to it. It got sorta…crazy over there. And I don’t mean just the Lieberman blackface thing.

They do some great stuff, the Sunday book thing, Howie Klein’s Blue America, and any of Christy’s posts. Also, the labor posts are super, too. I’m sorry I can’t remember the guy’s name, Jordan somebody, I think.

They have some good commenters, too. I’m really having a hard time explaining why I don’t go there much any more. Maybe it’s the ‘you’re with us or you’re against us’ attitude you get from some of the commenters.

I dunno. I just know FDL is not a regular stop for me any more.

Like dan b sez, in Britain and Australia, “cunt” is almost a completely different word than it is in the United States. Tom Watson and many of his commenters are displaying a tremendously Yank-centric attitude in assuming every use of the word “cunt” is the American version.

That kind of American exceptionalism is what got us into the Iraq bloodbath in the first place.

Gentlewoman-

I know what you mean. As a kid I grew up with both “gay” and “lame” meaning what I supposed to be “dorky” or uncool, different from calling someone a “faggot” or a “cripple.” The problem is that is not where the words come from. People don’t say “corporate slave” or even “she might as well work for that company” when it would mean the same thing (“owned by a corporation”) as “corporate whore” I think it is because sexual ownership is seen as more degrading than just the usual ownership. And part of the reason society thinks of “whore” as degrading is probably the general association of sexual submission/degradation with women, or at least that is where I truly believe where the word comes from. I can hear both definitions and I knew exactly what Pach meant by his statement, but does my acceptance of “corporate whore” suggest I am enlightened or does it suggest that I am in denial. I think this is the issue. I do not know the answer, but I know the general FDL response suggests that they don’t get the benefit of my respect like the people on this board do.

FDL is still a regular stop for me. Act Blue was a huge part of that. It actually got people to pull together and do something about the thugs ruining our country (and some others).

Gentlewoman, it’s Jordan Barab.

Maybe the right-wingers know that all you have to do is pull out the satanic cat photos and it’s game over.

I think the IMAO link is broken. I clicked it and got some site full of advertisements, including one post whose entire text was:

Please Patronize our Sponsors

So I did. I turned to them and said “Don’t concern yourself with the grown-up stuff, you’re just a sponsor.”

I missed teh funny.

Pinko – Nice comment. Twisty would be proud.

When TRex told a black blogger who had criticized Jane (Liza from Culture Kitchen) to stop “assailing her betters”, that was pretty much it for me with FDL.

And a big ba-dum-bum-crash! for UtahBoy. Nice.

I used to read FDL pretty regularly. I stop by there now on rare occasion when there’s nothing new posted here or at Tbogg or alicublog or Billmon or Digby . . . I guess, looking at the list of sites I prefer to frequent, one reason I’m not a regular visitor to FDL is that it’s missing that immediate, fresh quality, y’know? I mean, here (and on my other favorites), the proprietors say something topical, they say it in a funny way, and then they shut up and let the commenters build it. FDL goes on a bit long, it’s a bit too serious, and — oh yeah, I’m with whoever said it up-thread (too lazy to look): way, way, way too many hysterically punctuated one-word comments.

I think most of the blog comment playpens have the “with us or against us” thing happenin but FDL more so than most. The Atrios comments are pretty much the same and as of late I seem to coming here for that very reason.

First time commenting. Wish it was profound or something.

I can never look at Atrios comments anymore. There are just too damned many. They make some 3 sentence post with a link, and next thing you know there are 700+ comments, nearly all of which are slight variations on “ditto!!!”. It’s just dull. So, I check Atrios every now and then, click on the links sometimes, but never bother with their comments.

On the other hand, the comments here are the best thing about this blog. Bring the snark!

Chug, you fucking maggots! All of it! You chug that Chardonnay and you chug it now!

Somebody please get Danny G a lei and welcome him/her to our Thousand Islands of Fantasy! 🙂

Yes, by all means, welcome, Danny. Profound, shmrofound. Just be glad you didn’t leave a tag open, what with the whole Dingo-ate-my-preview-button thing that’s been going on.

Anyway, yes, I think part of the problem with FDL is that “with us or against us” vibe. I mean, if it offends me when Bush does it, why shouldn’t it offend me when people I generally agree with do it? One of the many, many things I like about Sadly, No! is that unless someone seems to be posting for the express purpose of pissing everyone off (not lookin’ at anybody in particular, mind you), people here are pretty good about disagreeing without going nuclear.

Of course, it helps that most of the regular posters here exist within the same philosophical zip code, if not the same neighborhood — but witness the lighthearted banter that ensues when even, say, the guys from IMAO stop by . . . Kumbaya, people. Kumbaya.

welcome him/her to our Thousand Islands of Fantasy!

Umm, I really prefer the Ranch. Or the Green Goddess…

mikey

Green Goddess? Does that still exist? Seriously, I thought there was a constitutional amendment some time back requiring all former GG lovers to switch to either honey mustard or balsamic vinaigrette.

I dunno. I just know FDL is not a regular stop for me any more.

Go Ned go! GO GO GO!

Huh? What?

So which one is it, Danny Guam. Are you with us or against us?

Dennis Prager straps on his clown skates and demonstrates the art of self-parody, with double axel (difficulty level 6.5):

Forgive me, but America should not give a hoot what [Muslim Senator-elect] Keith Ellison’s favorite book is. Insofar as a member of Congress taking an oath to serve America and uphold its values is concerned, America is interested in only one book, the Bible. If you are incapable of taking an oath on that book, don’t serve in Congress.

Smiling Mortician, need I remind you that FDL hasn’t lied us into a war (at least not yet)?

Anyone remember July, or August? When certain people were throwing up their hands in despair, or looking for a foreigner to marry so they could leave the country?

At least they weren’t being too serious.

I dunno. I just know FDL is not a regular stop for me any more.

Huh? What?

Heh, nailed that one, Righteous Bubba. FDL is still a regular for me, but the Ned-focus had me looking elsewhere for more diverse coverage.

Smiling Mortician, thanks for the big ba-dum-bum-crash!

America is interested in only one book, the Bible.

First congressman to swear on the Da Vinci Code will be from…

It looks like Sadly, No! accidentally convened a Blogger Ethics Panels.

They shoulda known that Captain Kirk would do it, steve_e.

Some here might be interested in following this link to a You Tube video. Some might not. The Sadly, No! part starts at 4:23.

“Now, everyone at the weekly meeting will feel like the turd in the punch bowl has a name [Marshall Wittmann],” one colorful Senate flack told Roll Call.

FDL is a fine blog. When a politically-oriented friend asked for “a couple of” blogs she should be looking at, FDL and Sadly, No! were the links I sent her… but I warned her against reading the commentors at FDL. Over here the commentors are an almost equal part of the fun; at FDL, not so much. But Reddhead, Jane, TRex, Jordan, Emptywheel et al have done and are doing yeoman work in the non-pixel political universe, and if you read the posts you will be rewarded with gems like the one above.

as a former frat guy myself I gotta say I like the frat boy stuff here. Don’t read FDL much, prefer Pandagon and Pam’s House Blend…

Oh, and Sig’s rule, Fiji’s drool…….

It’s a fair cop on the illogical Bush comparison, ITTDGY. My bad. As for the mad rush to emigrate — that was commenters, not proprietors. I was really addressing the tone of the initial posts that get everything else rolling. In fact, now that you’re forcing me to actually think (damn you and your pernicious influence!) maybe it’s the weird relationship between the typically earnest tone of the original FDL posts and the rather vapid tone of the comments (at least the first 70 or 80, who all like to declare themselves “First!!111!1!1” or, often and weirdly, “Frist!!11!111!”).

Or maybe it’s just, y’know, personal taste, and therefore I have no rational explanation for liking it here better than there.

Meh.

I still cruise by FDL pretty often, though that’s waned a bit as the Plame thing died down. Different people will like different sites and the community norms will vary. One size never fits all.

Its depressing, though. I had kinda hoped that 6+ years for hardcore right-wing cobaggery and the damage that its done had maybe put the brakes on nominal Liberals’ efforts engineer society by managing language. Shunning assholes for assholish language doesn’t stop them from being assholes, it just gives them the “proper” words to say/avoid to disguise their assholishness.

If you look at comment 13, you’ll find one of those boring FDL commenters.

And here’s John Hall now:

“I already met a couple lobbyists from Raytheon during orientation in Washington, and I just told them what I think is wrong with their missile system. Maybe they’ll write checks to my next opponent. I don’t care. I got into this race because my wife told me to stop yelling at the TV.”

TRex annoys the hell out of me and the commenters at FDL are too cliquey. I love it here though, even though I usually don’t comment, and I have never really felt a post was misogynist here or at Tbogg though other feminists seem to disagree. However Trex can be unbelievably uncool with the feminine metaphors (like that time he got mad at the people who were criticizing the clinton thing for being too white and he told them “not to talk to their betters” or something like that – oh god what a patronizing jerk). And this latest guy just took that “whore” metaphor too FAR. Like, it went on and on and on and it was, in fact, about a woman. It was pretty tasteless and I thought it was tacky. I do not get offended when people say “corporate whore.” I am an American muslim and have to have pretty thick skin these days.

I never felt that vibe at sadly, no though. Never. I always found the commentary here just plain ol’ funny.

Smiling Mortician, I like it here and there. I am trying to make the point that the overly earnest folks there (and at Kos, about whom I’ve heard the same rebukes) are the ones who donate money they don’t have, and time they don’t have, to help people like John Hall and Jerry McNerney into the House.

And as we look at the Democratic party we have, (not the one we wish we had), it could use a few more like Victoria Wulsin and Robert Rodriguez. Maybe in 2008.

FDL has been excellent on the Scooter Libby trial, and other legal issues. I like the posts from Christy and Jane, and Howie Kleing (not to mention the musical stuff from donita Sparks. fanboy w00t!)

I still go by for harde, mor in depth and pretty timely topics.

They can’t keep up on the snark tho. As PP note, the Serious Pants, they chafe.

And the commenting is hopeless, as it is on the other mega-blogs. The repetition reminds me of windmills….

Like most of the Biggs, they got to the point where they’ve started to believe their own press. Took longer than most (americablog set a Blog Speed Record) And I hoep they might be able to pull it back down.

If it ever gets like that around here, I’m gonna go all AA on yer azzes…

ifthethunderdontgetya: If you look at comment 13, you’ll find one of those boring FDL commenters.

Yeah, that’s what I don’t get. FDL has helped recruit activists, is a voice to help spread the word about Liberal/Dem books, helped raise some decent coin for some good candidates, has funded/is funding original research, etc., etc., and and so the best thing to do is… attack them over matters of language? Stupid and counter-productive.

Totally agree with the good side of FDL being the Democratic activism. I just don’t like reading their snide posts about lesser-than-them bloggers and the commenters can be really annoying. I appreciate what Kos does and don’t read him either (the women’s studies comment plus other stuff). sometimes the people who do a lot of net-activism are different folks from the people who can write well or persuasively (and precisely because they ARE activists they can get really defensive and nasty towards criticism that comes from non-activists). Like e.g., my favorite writer on the internet is probably Arthur Silber and he will never do anything besides write.

An exception who sort of does both would be Steve Gilliard, I guess.

Oops, kingubu, I actually meant comment 17 (meself), Howie Klein @ 13 being the guy who wrote the post.

Don’t worry, omgcouldmynickgetanylonger, I figured it out.

My feeling, kingubu, is that words are words. They are neither good nor bad. They’re just words. If somebody uses his words to be a complete flaming asshole, then the non-assholes in the vicinity should probably tell him what he is. I think you’re dead right that the Post-PC crowd has put entirely too much energy into policing people’s word choice as if doing so held out any possibility of doing anything positive. As if by suppressing the use of certain words, they could eradicate whatever thoughts they think the words represent. Chumps.

ITTDGY, I agree that FDL has been instrumental in promoting good people for public office. I agree that the FDLers are on the side of the angels, for the most part. I don’t mean in any way to denigrate their political influence. I appreciate all the FDLers donating money and time they don’t have in order to achieve positive change in government — just as I appreciate all the people here who do the same. And for the record I think John Hall is in fact quite cool — but that doesn’t change my eye-rolling reaction to the majority of commenters at FDL. For every John Hall there’s a dozen knee-jerk groupies. I really like that S,N! has a different ethos.

Hmm, how’s this?

How about instead of cunt we all say twunt?
I’m with mikey here, words only have the power you give them.
That said, i’m not running around screaming nigger nigger nigger, partially because i don’t want someone to show me how white my ass is by shoving my face in it. Without bothering to read everything he’s said, i have to wonder how much Tom W is basically jealous that others feel ok doing something he doesn’t. I’m ok with not being able to say nigger, if he chooses not to say cunt why is that anyone’s problem but his?

N yeah, FDL is too much of a cult. There’s some interesting people there, but the pack mentality takes over way too often.

The best they can do is Paintshop Pro for Windows 3.0.

Ok, show of hands now, how many of you guys swelled up a little bit with pride and smiled at Anna’s comment that, as an American Muslim Woman, she felt comfortable here. I know I try real hard to walk the walk, not just talk the talk, but when somebody says “yep, I get it, no (very little?) hate here, I feel awfully good about the choices I made, intert00bz wise. You ARE welcome here, Anna…

mikey

Correction, ITTDGY. My penultimate sentence in that last post should have read: “For every John Hall or ifthethunderdontgetya, there’s a dozen knee-jerk groupies.” I blame it on the preview button, which I understand is sipping umbrella drinks in Rio or somewhere.

Speak to me of this Goddess! I denounce her as an unworthy rival!

Also, if you engage readers with “if you don’t like it here anymore, don’t come” at the BEGINNING of the day, you are not trying your hardest to deal with family spats. If at the END of the day you haven’t worked anything out, there you go, and that’s life.

I think Gary Ruppert kidnapped and drugged the Preview Button, and is forcing it to turn tricks in some small town in Missouri.

Anna – I love Silbur also.

Silber is tops.

Harsh and beautiful truth.

Smiling Mortician, agree totally, but “the non-assholes in the vicinity should probably tell him what he is” breaks down in practice.

Everyone acts like an asshole sometimes, but rather than recognizing that and offering correction and moving on, many language cops immediately cut off the dialog and jump directly to shunning. “OMG I can’t believe he wrote that I’M NEVER GOING THERE AGAIN!” followed by “Don’t read his stuff! He’s a (racist|sexist|cobag)!” Self-righteousness, pure and simple.

adb, just read through the entire painful thread. The dynamic is not so much about his initial comments, it is about the backlash. That is the deal. Backlash. And the fact that every argument made against the existence of non-physical sexual harassment in the workplace has been “suck it up/make your own choices/different strokes for different folks.” All words you can say. Some you probably shouldn’t, some you probably could but wouldn’t be blamed for choosing not to. Everyone has a different line. You decide where yours is, but if knowing somebody else’s is somewhere else, do you keep on keeping on? In some cases, like “cobag” the answer is yes, I keep on using it. In other cases, like even our Sadly, No! fave “cum guzzling monster twat” I shy away, but brother, I ain’t shy.

Mr. Rourke, what is your opinion of Shelly DraculaCunt Gibs?

As they say, it Counted.

ifthethunderdontgetyasnickcouldgetalotlongerletsjustseeherenow®©™

I like it. Can you hold a wet towel up with it like that?

Where is the thread Mr Rourke? The link above takes me to liberalrob’s blog.

Tom Watson’s bloggo.

They really counted that vote? Were the ballot counters all “Ah ah ah, one, ONE vote for Shelley Draculac*nt Gibs!”

Mr. Rourke Brand Salad Dressing does admit to laughing that they counted such a vote. Perhaps that the adjective “dracula” puts it so far over the top? Probably not. What can MRBSD say, but that MRBSD is human too. He/she/it/bird just tries for some decency, except for Erasmus the Cucumber. That dude is a total baloney cucumber assface.

I don’t know, kingubu. Them wet towels can get pretty heavy. And cold.

This is plenty long, however!

Apparently Cadet Happy has accepted your challenged to IMAO. We are awaiting your pathetic response.

Jeezus, people, are we so desperate for keyboard fodder that we have to glom onto another blog’s comment section and hyperanalyze it to beyond the grave? I admit, I haven’t been a major contributor here lately (if ever), so maybe I shouldn’t complain, but it seems to me that the proper place to discuss the linguistic content and the depths to which people may or may not have inserted sticks in their rectum with regard to a comment thread at FDL might be… the comment thread at FDL.

C’mon, people, we need to keep this space clear for the anticipated flood of conservative entries in the photoshopathon.

OK, now here’s something relevant to something that actually has some substance:

Dennis Prager reportedly says: Insofar as a member of Congress taking an oath to serve America and uphold its values is concerned, America is interested in only one book, the Bible. If you are incapable of taking an oath on that book, don’t serve in Congress.

I wonder if Dennis could identify where the following comes from: The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the members of the several state legislatures, and all executive and judicial officers, both of the United States and of the several states, shall be bound by oath or affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.

Why does the Constitution hate America?

Dan, I’m sorry, but I think I’m going to have to require you to spend a lot more time here. Don’t make me ask Gentlewoman and Mehitabel to kick your ass….

mikey

A recent dispatch on the Photoshop war: Two new images are up at IMAO. Of course, they both suck.

Hahahaha!
“some credible experts have said that the artifacts that I thought may be evidence of photoshopping may have been the result of JPG compression, and that any resemblence to the President was purely coincidental. I can live with that.
What I do have a harder time living with is the foul language of our left wing guests. As a result, comments are closed, and the most offensive comments have been removed.”
Read: “I don’t mind being proved wrong on one of my un-founded and poorly researched tyrades, but what I can’t handle is people telling me I’m wrong every single time that I do.”
Ahhh, Confederate Yankee. What a tool.

Mr. ROURKE BRAND SALAD DRESSING ALSO ACCEPTS THE PHOTOSHOP CHALLENGE.

or does it?

Two new images are up at IMAO.

The imams one just confuses me.

Okay, how to win? Maybe some sort of FAIL PASS GOOD ratings system on

Chops
User Time Spent
Newness
Topicality
Simplicity

I am funnier than that photoshop.

The next challenge should be Ace’s logo. We got that one in the bag.

Mikey, I spend plenty of time here. I check in frequently, often several times a day. I just haven’t seen much to comment on lately. I am on a troll-feeding moratorium, so all of a certain someone’s “look at ME ME ME ME ME” threadjacking has kind of left me cold.

But I think the biggest problem I have is that, despite the Democratic victories on November 7, I am suffering from outrage overload, to the point where I can’t even work up a decent head of steam any more. Every time I turn around, it seems, the BushCo administration and its adherents, sycophants and disciples have perpetrated some new stupidity, or the catastrophes resulting from their old stupidities multiply and expand. And the sheer volume of stupidity, combined with the fact that (a) most of the people around me just don’t seem to give a crap and (b) I’m basically a middle-aged suburban dad who just wants to be left alone, is paralyzing. Sometimes I want to march through the streets grabbing people by the collar and waving the New York Times under their noses, yelling “WHY AREN’T YOU PISSED OFF ABOUT THIS???” But most of the time, I just turtle up, go to work to support my family and hope that things are not irretrievably bad, and that the world will improve by the time my kids start heading out into it. Which I guess makes me as bad as the people I secretly want to slap around for being apathetic.

So, um… that’s why I haven’t posted so much lately. Uh… how are you?

I can’t make it through all that self-righteousness, MRBSD. oy. (and the following is a general rant, not directed at you, just to be clear.)
one’s position on the appropriateness of the word cunt does not determine whether you’re a feminist. i’m not going to try and define feminism, but i’d say a good first step towards it is recognizing the equality of women. the word cunt has nothing to do with it, despite the attempts of some to try and use feminism as an excuse to say they should never ever be offended and you’re the devil if you do.
the beauty of foul language is its egalitarianism. that homeless guy on the subway was a cunt, and so is laura bush. (not to pick on the homeless) cunt isn’t like nigger, no one could call laura bush a nigger, tho it might be funny to see her reaction if someone did. and while there’s no way to say women haven’t faced hardships in the past, i’m gonna go out on a limb here and say it wasn’t as bad as being a slave, not generally.
you know who else makes cents on the white man’s dollar? everyone, including poor white men. and many fewer cents than the i’m guessing middle class white women who have mostly been chiming in there do. if watson didn’t have a penis i’d say this whole ‘controversy’ smacks of a desire to feel the cleansing righteousness of victimization. that watson does have a penis makes me wonder why he feels the need to make a stink. if women are equal can’t they stand up for themselves? does he want a medal for his chivalrous and gallant acts? ifso, where’s my parade for recognizing running around shouting nigger might be insensitive?

i tried to comment on tom’s blog, but i doubt he’ll let it post.
ways to tell if you’re a cunt:
1. you think the word cunt is as offensive as nigger and anyone who uses it is a misogynist
2. you are this guy i know in another forum
now back to opening salvos in the photoshop wars

Dan. I know the malaise of which you speak. One can burn out, despite strongly held feelings. But also, as with everything, I go back to the crucible that made me, well, me. In June of 1970, we were operating in The Belly. Every day we humped and fought. Every night we set up a perimeter and fought. After a few days, we were exhausted. Burned. But the sergeants wouldn’t let us give in. They didn’t tell us bullshit stories. They told us that we OWED it to our friends to fight to keep them well. They told us that we couldn’t quit, ’cause that would be letting our friends down. And later that night, when we had to fight our asses off to stay alive and hold the perimeter, it was the sergeants that kept us from running. And we fought. Why? ‘Cause the alternative was not acceptable. And that’s why we have to continue to stand up…

mikey

Apparently Cadet Happy has accepted your challenged to IMAO. We are awaiting your pathetic response.

A picture tells a thousand words, and in Cadet Happy’s case they’re:

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Oh, and this is probably the craziest shit I have ever read:

http://maineindymedia.org/newswire/display/3286/index.php

I am on a troll-feeding moratorium, so all of a certain someone’s “look at ME ME ME ME ME� threadjacking has kind of left me cold.

That script John Galt made (uh, yeah, John Galt) works pretty sweetly and I am indebted. You should give it a shot. Or I’ll pass it along if you want it.

Bubba, I can’t find the email address. Hook me up, wouldja?

mikey

DA is back in the house!

adb, very few people are the platonic ideal of feminist. However, refusing to recognize that “cunt” has baggage, while other words do for other oppressed people is kind of missing the point. In general, I think using the word is anti-feminist, so you probably do lose feminist points if you throw it around, but then again we’re not women, so the number of points we score doesn’t change stuff. The words we use can, or at least our understanding of what they really mean. I’m done with this topic, because DA is in the hizzay!

When I got to the part where Robert Fripp was involved, I pooped my pants. (DA’s linky above)

Is that really a thousand sucks? I’m too tired to count.

Oh, and this is probably the craziest shit I have ever read:

http://maineindymedia.org/newswire/display/3286/index.php

When I was working at a TV network some guy would keep sending in weird postcards with math problems on them and “THIS IS NOT BORING!!! SIGNED, THE HERETIK!!!”

If that stuff about Robert Fripp is true he’s just as bad as that Kramer guy.

Mr. Rourke, how did you make it past the first “sentence”? I tried three times and my eyes kept crossing. I need a drink now.

OK. Went back and tried again. Made it all the way to Fripp. But . . . I mean . . . Ming Na Wen? Seriously? Who is this guy?

Hook me up, wouldja?

Hooked via your blog e-mail.

SM, 1014. Copy paste into Word, Word Count.

LMAO did, technically, I suppose, respond to the PS challange, but I think we should send them home to try again.

I more or less agree MRBSD, except that use of the word means nothing me, it’s all about intent. If someone says it meaning, even unconsciously, that to be called a woman is an insult in some way, yes, it does subtract from your feminist score. But if it’s just one bad word among many used without referent and merely to avoid being repetitious in your insultin n cussin, i don’t think it reveals anything.
And inre: that crazy man link, check crank.net. seems to not be updated anymore, but a great listing of the kookiest kidz on the interwebs.
This is probably my fav.

Hey man, I contribute so little to the community that keeps me sane. Learning javascript seemed like a small sacrifice. A couple shitty diaries on Kos over the last 3 years, some stupid troll-baiting over on balloon-juice and a stupid greasemonkey script leaves me with a pretty sorry legacy.

I’m thinking there will be no half-billion dollar library named after me in my future.

adb,

but you are a dude, so it is possible we just can’t understand what it is like to not have a wee wee. Although mine is pretty huge. Maybe that makes me understand less.

DA-

This is a citizen’s report on the circumstances surrounding new evidence being found in John Lennon’s murder during an investigation into the origin of the AIDS epidemic. This material was found in Pittsburgh, in a Jewish Holocaust Survivor community but was not sworn in as testimony until the U.S. District Court of the State of Washington established Case No. CO2-623; ruling, “unable to establish jurisdiction”. The tragedy of this crime is described in the following pages, extracts of testimony, focusing on the accomplice role of Paul McCartney, Bill Clinton and Ringo Starr. It is my belief that the evidence, which was planted on my home at a time when I was tortured as a child, was written by Reagan, Bush and Schwarzenegger. This accounts for the cruelty, and deranged false witness program by the U.S. Government, led by Oliver Stone, attempting to dismantle my ability to submit this material to you.

This was as far as I got. It gets wierder?? I should probably start drinking first.

I’m going to need a squeegee to keep wiping the crazy off my monitor.

Iffy, thanks a bunch, Jordan Barab is the guy. He’s super on labor issues.

And welcome Danny Guam! There are no initiations, don’t let anyone make you chug anything, OK?

As I said in my first comment, there are some first-class people posting over at FDL on important issues, and I still read them occasionally, but I find that whenever they do something I need to read, Gilliard or someone links to them, and that’s when I read them. FDL has done some fine work with organizing and fundraising. I actually participated in some of their projects: fundraising, the Rubber Stamp Project, etc. However, I was sorta busy working for Claire McCaskill here in Missouri (thanks again, Brad R. and Sadly Nosians! Almost 3K for Claire from your post and ActBlue account), so I didn’t really have time to do much more with FDL.

Whoever brought up the Atriots commenting hit it right on the nose, I think. There are some super-nice Atriots, I used to comment there occasionally, and they were very kind and welcoming. I still see some of them in comments elsewhere (including here!), and I am always happy to see them.

But comment threads of 800+? I just can’t do it. I can’t wade through that many comments. The comments at Glenn Greenwald’s are starting to get unreadable, too, but that’s mostly because so much time there is wasted refuting the egregiously stupid trolls he’s managed to attract. He’s banned some of the worst, which I know was very hard for him to do, as he really believes in free and open dialogue. It’s a shame, because he has some really insightful commenters over there, and when they are not overrun with trollage, many of the threads are well worth reading.

As for DKos, I find their diary system so confusing (I am easily confused) that I have pretty much given up on trying to read DK, again, unless someone links. I never read their comments anyway. I did read DK on Election Night, though, they and MyDD were very helpful.

Two asides:

mikey–Mehitabel, Teh Supermodel of The Cat World lives with Herr Doktor Bimler and Frau Dokterin Penny. I am casa-mono to Ganesh Bengal Cat, Remover of Obstacles.

diffbrad–Black women were slaves, too.

Yes, they were. But ask them how well represented they feel, and have felt, by feminism.

This was as far as I got. It gets wierder?? I should probably start drinking first.

Oh, it gets weirder. It kind of hits a fever pitch of nutiness pretty early, then all that’s left is the introduction of new random celebrities to the twisted plot. Some samples:

“Having accompliced the men who released AIDS, the Kings are determined to force me to embrace the men who raped my beloved Jeannie. Ringo Starr is to blame.”

“I am deaf. I am impoverished and it takes stamina in the face of hardship to write these warnings. I was tortured. When I reported the abuse to AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL, Peter Gabriel attacked me ferociously and executed the rape of my retarded deaf girlfriend. I am deaf from my injuries a fact about which Gabriel mocked me.”

It’s amazing that the guy can write as clearly as he can, with all the crazy flying around in his head. Also, him and his deaf retarded girlfriend seem to have been in a permanent state of being raped by celebrities since 1978.

I’m not trying to be anti-feminist by any means with that probably too flippant reply.

Sorry DA, I can’t go any further…

In all honesty, mocking wingnuts is one thing. Laughing at the genuinely insane kind of feels like pelting tomatoes at the village idiot or something. This guy is, no kidding, honest-to-god crazy. He needs help more than I need to laugh at him.

Now, if he throws Jesus into the mix, well… no, I just can’t.

adb, i believe is alluding to women of color feeling marginalized by white, upper class feminism. this is a whole humongous other ball of wax when i think the issues of today were:

1) naughty language followed by obtuse and ridiculous defensiveness by Pach and TRex, so dittohead behavior a la FDL and my calling some total choad a cucumber.

2) Photoshop contest

And I think Three B has delivered the winner.

throwing around terms like “mau mau” and accusing others of being politically correct language police, I think these are the low road of responses

With croutons!

As a long-term vagina owner, I feel impelled to point out that men who use the word “cunt” around women are greatly, greatly reducing their chance of getting any. Positive attention, I mean. Insisting on your right to use the word “cunt” will further decrease your chances. This is hardly a problem for TRex or Pach, but those XY holders with a more-than-social interest in the XX possessors may wish to balance this negative appeal against their utmost devotion to the farthest limits of freedom of expression. Because, whatever may be said about the history of feminism, feminists, and African-Americans, most women find it time-saving to assume that 98.6% of the men using the word “cunt” are just dicks, and tiny flaccid inadequately-experienced dicks at that.

Teh crazy, it burns so good…

Of course we’d turn down a photoshop duel… We don’t have to cheat to write a good story… such as some… uh… photoshoppers… Hell the best a Conservative has done as a photoshopping scandal is a cropped off banner on an aircraft carrier that any three year old would have understood as wide screen formatting… Hell, you guys do fake smoke, multiple levelings of the same building… on different days, turn Palestinian rockets into Israeli death squad killings, uncharred ambulances that get blown up by secret Israeli chemical warheads that explode but leave vehicles intact, turn people black (from the chemicals) and then evaporate without leaving a trace that they were used… wailing Palestinian women that burst into tears when their fourth vacation home is bombed… Michelle Malkin in a bikini… How can we compete with that

Ringo Starr is to blame

Well, when you’re right, you’re right.

Anne, your experience and mine are kinda not in agreement. Sure, many women think any guy who’ll say that word isn’t worth being with. Thing is it’s nowhere near as many as you think, at least not in my 20 something age group, n the ones who feel that way are the ones i at least want nothing to do with either.
I know many gals who use the word cunt. I’ve gone out with some of em. I find it’s better to date women who have a sense of humor, personally.

twunt??? WTF??

Twunt. noun, a twatty cunt.
See also; twuntie mcmeatcurtains.
(that name is my legal property via trademark, so no stealing her for a feminist mascot.)

[…] There was some debate here at the Buffet whether we should rise to the bait put out by Sadly No. Right-wing sites of similar traffic that are not yet proven abject cowards, and have not yet begged off on our Photoshop Duel challenge, despite sucking: […]

If the above picture is representative of your photoshop skills, I strongly suggest you don’t challenge anyone to a duel, much less SMB. Just a head’s up: you can type {ctrl}-T with the head selected and then you will be able to move it into a realistic position. You can even tilt it!