Word of the Day
Month: November 2003 (Page 3 of 7)
The One Where I Channel “Futurama’s” Bender
Memo to Mrs. du Toit: Bite my shiny metal ass.
Sorry – couldn’t resist. If you’re looking for something more thoughtful, John already has it covered.
Heard this great retort on some lefty site (if I could remember which one, I would link to it) about how to respond if the Republicans try to use gay marriage as a wedge issue next year, especially against Howard Dean:
“Why does Karl Rove hate Dick Cheney’s daughter so much?”
I hope they use it.
As an aside, I sure have been posting a lot today. I guess my brain has been running a little hot lately.
The other day my horoscope said not to give in to temptation when considering a large purchase. And now today, it advises that I shouldn’t wait for that thing I want to go on sale – I should get it now!
Oh, fickle planets. How you vex me.
President Bush is visiting Britain this week.
-There will be 14,000 police on the streets to manage expected huge protests. All police leave during the visit has been cancelled.
-The price tag on security for Bush’s visit is estimated at 19 million pounds.
-A no-fly zone has been established over London.
-Bush backed out of a planned speech to Parliament; the British press says it’s because the administration was worried about being heckled by anti-war MPs, who are much less cowed over there. (Wonder what Kim du Toit thinks of this scaredy-cat move.)
Not exactly a warm welcome for England’s staunch and steadfast ally, now is it?
Anecdotes
I hate anecdotal evidence. “Statistics” aren’t much better, but I hate anecdotes even worse. When I first got car insurance, the agent sat me down and tried to convince me to get things like a policy that would pay off, no joke, if my eye was poked out in a car accident. When you would try to argue that you didn’t need this sort of insurance, he always had a story. “Well my cousin Mabel’s mother-in-law had her eye poked out last year, and thank god she had this coverage.”
When my father and I would have an ideological disagreement, his way to solve it was always to suggest that we poll five people around us on the street and ask *them* for the answer.
Now Dean Esmay is on the anecdote train, mad about the Washington Post poll that said 70 percent of Americans believe Saddam was personally involved in planning 9/11. He’s mad, of course, because the implication is that the administration’s constant conflation of Saddam and 9/11 caused this wildly erroneous perception.
Dean’s argument is two-fold: first, that no one he knows believes this, so the poll is bunk. Are people so gullible that they believe this because Dick Cheney said it? Well, Dean, hate to break it to you, but endless repetition of marketing messages is what drives this country’s economy (and its politics). It’s worked well for decades, for both war and toothpaste.
What’s even more amazing is Esmay goes on to say, well, it’s probably true anyway! Damn Saddam! (This is a variation on the “When did you stop beating your wife” argument, as in, “If you can’t prove it didn’t happen, it probably happened.” See also MDT on gay marriage: “If you can’t prove it won’t harm the society, it’s dangerous.” Reactionaries must just exhaust themselves sometimes.)
Dean felt his post was a rousing success because no one could give an example of someone they knew who thought Saddam planned 9/11 (although he probably did! Damn him!). Lowered expectations are a conservative’s best friend.
Quote of the Week
“Five weeks in rehab isn’t going to make me an idiot.”
-Rush Limbaugh, back on the air today
Feel free to write your own retort to this in the comments. Shooting fish in a barrel, I know. But it’s still fun.
A simple request
If I ever use the term “blogosphere” on this site (other than just then), I want someone to pledge that they will come to my house and beat me senseless with a bag of oranges. Please. I beg you.
The Station Agent
This is one of the best movies I’ve seen this year. When you look just at the plot synopsis (“A dwarf inherits a train depot and finds friendship, and maybe love!”), it sounds like one of those dreadful foreign films where people laugh and cry and run through fields, hugging, loving and learning. Ugh.
Instead, this is the funniest movie I’ve seen that doesn’t contain a single joke. It’s a drama about a dwarf that avoids all the obvious situations. It’s incredibly sweet-natured without being cloying.
In some ways it reminds me of “After Life,” because it’s a movie with a high-concept plot that plays out in an extremely naturalistic, low-key way. The three leads are all outstanding, making you believe that these people (an anti-social dwarf, an effusively friendly hot dog vendor, and a prickly artist) could become friends.
Plus, as my friend Susan said after the movie, it includes the best scene ever about beef jerky. What more can a moviegoer ask for?
Highly recommended.
Saw Wesley Clark on “Meet the Press” this morning. He gave a uniformly impressive performance, I thought, batting back just about all of Tim Russert’s shots. I was thrilled at how smart, thoughtful and well-spoken he was, and there’s no doubt that a decorated general’s perspectives on war are hard to dismiss out of hand. The contrast between Clark and Bush is razor sharp.
I still think Dean is the man to head the ticket, but my dream lineup for ’04 would definitely be Dean/Clark.