● The End Is Extremely F*ing Nigh. . . Let’s start with the Republicans. This weekend saw a report that the superdelegates are starting to support Romney en mass. Most are still waiting to officially announce because they don’t want to be seen as deciding the race, but more and more are coming out for him each day and almost none support Ricky. In fact, Ricky has almost no endorsements of any kind. Romney, on the other hand, is racking them up, including several in Ricky’s home state -– where Romney now leads in the polls. The sudden flood of endorsements indicates that the party thinks it’s over. The RNC has even taken the hint and has begun fundraising with Romney.
Newt too is making conciliatory noises and sounds like he may endorse Romney. According to Newt, Romney “will run as a conservative” despite Newt’s prior claims to the contrary, and he dismissed all that unforgivable stuff Romney said about him (i.e. “he slimed me”) as just part of the campaign. Now they’re buds.
Even the Religious Right is starting to have doubts. Southern Baptist leader Richard Land stated this weekend that Ricky “ought to seriously consider leaving the race now.” Imagine that! “I said, NOW MISTER!” Will Rick listen? Probably not, but it’s clear the MSM is done with him –- so he can’t do any more harm.
● They’re Digging In The Wrong Place. . . Obama continues to show he has no idea how to run a campaign. Now he’s buying $12.3 million worth of internet advertising so his smiling mug will show up every time you use the following search terms: “Obama singing,” “Obama birthday,” and “Obama bracket” (for basketballers), “Dream Act,” and a couple more. Notice anything wrong with this? The only people who would enter these search terms already support Obama or hate him, and neither group will be moved by internet ads! That’s $12.3 million down the Biden.
Along similar lines, Obama is now planning to “tailor” his campaign to attract “working women”. . . as compared to “slacker moms.” To do this, he plans to talk about contraception, his opposition to male-only golf clubs, and extending family medical leave for the families professionals don’t have (see Idiocracy). He will not, however, make promises about equal pay because he wants to save something for his third term. But again, here’s the problem: Obama already has these voters in the bag. He got 56% of them in the last election and he’ll get the same this time. This is like spending money to advertise to your friends and family. It’s stupid. And stupid is no way to go through life, Mr. President. Actually, who am I kidding, it’s the only way liberals go through life. So swing away Mr. President, swing away. And enjoy your retirement.
Oh, and excuse me while I whip this out: Obama is now attacking Romney by trying to tie Romney to Paul Ryan’s budget. Good luck with that McFly! Tying Romney to the budget of the sanest and most responsible man in Washington is a LOSER of a strategy.
● We’re Mad As Hell And We’re Not Going To Take It Anymore. . . It’s been a bad month for the media, particularly the leftist media. First, we had poor Keith Olberman fired by Algore’s network “Current TV,” which was named after a sour red berry. Keith and CommieBerry are now locked in a titanic death struggle as they lob charges of childishness at each other. Excellent!
Oprah also admitted her little network (“OWN” or “Oprah’s Worthless Network”) was not entirely successful. Perhaps going political and endorsing Obama was a clusterfudge of the highest order? And hiring (now fired) nasty leftist turdette Rosie O’Donnell didn’t help.
Then this weekend, Media Matters finally had to fire MJ Rosenberg because of his anti- Semitism, which I discussed HERE. And then NBC fired an anonymous producer in an effect to cover its rear in the Trayvon Martin disaster (what NBC did is explained HERE). But this will not be the end for either group. By not releasing the producer’s name, NBC is shielding the person who set out to create a national race riot, and all they will do is keep the scandal going until they fire someone else. Media Matters, meanwhile, must now explain why it kept a rabid anti-Semite on staff for so long. Cowabunga!
Finally, National Review fired John Derbyshire for putting out a racist article. I have nothing good to say about Derbyshire, but what I find interesting is that the public response to this seems to be that Derbyshire deserved to get fired BUT they want to know why black racism is allowed to go unchallenged. Sound like a bit of anger out there? Let’s hope Obama steps into this one too.
Anything I miss?
110 comments:
good to stay focused. The lame streams will continue to try and make this campaign about racism, sexism, and oppression rather than a president whose economic policies have failed so miserably. I hope little Ricky doesn't try and poison the well for some evangelicals. There was an interesting article about bigotry against Mormonism in the most recent National Review. I can see Ricky continuing to have his tantrum.
Nice roundup.
Their new motto should be "we have not yet begun to fail." I got the Blazing Saddles reference, but missed the others.
Does this mean we are also nearing the end of quasi-unhinged anti-Santorum rants?
Yes indeed, Rick is over, he just needs to formalize things, and we can get about fixing the mistake of ’08.
Side note: Prayers go out to the Santorum’s three year old Bella, she’s back into the hospital.
Barry is having trouble rallying his own troops, this the reason for Fluke & Zimmerman, “divide & conquer.”
I think a dual at dawn is in order for the Olberdork & Owlgore, that’s great stuff.
Media Matters is a 501-3-C organization, right? If so that needs to change.
Movie references, Animal House, Blazing Saddles, The Simpsons.
So, if I’m reading this right, Republicans are just starting to begin to show early signs of getting ready to prepare to back Romney?
I wouldn’t say that Newt and Mitt are buds. Newt used an interesting turn a phrase while he was discussing the Romney campaign, saying Mitt had done “a good job of building a very substantial machine.” That’s a lot like calling someone’s wife is a “sturdy” woman—and maybe a bit worse.
Ms. Ingraham threw up an interesting piece of cover for herself this morning. She said she has no respect for any Republican politicians who could have beat Obama but didn’t run. Now, maybe I’m reading too deep, but I wouldn’t be surprised if in the future she throws more conservatives under the bus using that claim as justification.
28 days later. Tootsie. GhostBusters. Raiders of the Lost Ark. Animal House. Back to the Future. Network. Mutant Ninja Turtles.
I can't think of any more.
What a salute to the power of the new media... and quite a preview of things to come. Election 2012 is going to be something quite different! Watching the desperation to get people divided and amped up, has been interesting but it turned on the baiters. The more they try to engage in the streets the more determined we the people will be to do battle at the ballot box!
One thing you did miss. Legal Insurrection covered it. Drudge Report kept up a new internet meme over the weekend. NEO-NAZI's were patrolling Sandford, Florida. [Trayvon Martin was killed in Sandford.] Sandford Police reported that there were NO large groups, Neo Nazi's New Black Panthers or Star Fleet Security for that matter, patrolling. Just regular cops, regular security and neighborhood watch. Nothing peculiar.
Despite numerous notifications, including from moi, Drudge Report kept it up until this morning. It makes me wonder if Drudge wants a Race war.
"Ms. Ingraham threw up an interesting piece of cover for herself this morning. She said she has no respect for any Republican politicians who could have beat Obama but didn’t run."
I can totally understand where she's coming from. This is going to be one of if not THE most important election of our lifetime, and that means those that truly cared about the future of this country should have risen to the moment. We all know about the party machines, but this time in our history calls for every one to rise up and do their part to save the republic, and secure freedom and liberty for our posterity. THAT means, shame on those that have held back due to the usual party machinations. It's time to stand up and be counted!
Joel, there's also Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, Signs, and Blazing Saddles.
Thanks Joel! Notice any movies? ;)
Jed, You're welcome. We do need to stay focused and I think that's going to happen because it's just not possible for Obama to yank Romney into those issues -- Ricky yes, but Romney no.
Moreover, I think their recent efforts have all blown up on the Democrats. Fluke looked horrible until Rush stepped in. Attacking the church is still blowing up on them. Trayvon Martin is blowing up on them as well. None of this has gone according to plan for the left.
Lawhawk, This will be an interesting campaign because everything tells me Obama is using the wrong playbook. He seems intent of appealing to his base, when he needs moderates. And it sounds like he's trying to go after Romney for fringe issues which can't be linked to Romney and when he really needs to focus on his base.
T-Rav, I have not yet begun to rant.... if he doesn't go away. And if he tries to come back in the next election, then it will start to get ugly. ;)
Stan, I love the idea of a duel! Duel with El Diablo! :) Seriously, what a bunch of jerks.
I think the Fluke and Zimmerman thing are part of their attempts to excite their base. That's why they go with the "war on women" garbage because it turns out single women, and they go with the Zimmerman thing because it turns out blacks. If those would have worked, then they could safely turn to trying to get moderates. But they didn't work, so they need to risk a more left-ward general election campaign -- which NEVER works.
I don't know how Media Matters keeps their nonprofit status, but it needs to be revoked.
Let's not forget the Obama "Blame It On Bush" tired strategy for the GSA idiots who made their Greatest Hits video.
What a great way to start a week. :)
AlleyKat, Ingraham might have a point if she hadn't joined in with the MSM attack dogs against Herman Cain over a non-political issue that has never been substantiated.
This election has caused me to become very cynical about many of the most prominent right-wing media figures, Ingraham especially. For months now she has attacked Romney, but before that, she was singing the inevitability song.
Andrew has pointed out several times that Santorum lacks true conservative credentials, yet Ingraham and others claim he is. Andrew has also predicted that Paul Ryan will find himself on the wrong side of RWR soon, and I agree that is very likely coming.
The White House is not the only place where a conservative is needed. Those already in a place of influence need to retain that influence while more conservatives move into additional places of influence. Otherwise, we're just shuffling around the same handful and gaining nothing.
tryanmax, I don't think Newt is anyone's friend, nor will he ever be able to swallow being rejected by those silly voters. But he's smart enough to realize that there won't be a brokered convention and if he stands around waiting for one, he will look like a villain or a fool. So he's going to grudgingly throw his support behind Romney, probably even campaign for him, and then be ready to stab him in the back if he wins.
I think you're right about Ingraham. It sounds like she's pivoting her tantrum. It's no longer about the evil establishment forcing RINOs unlimited on us.... because the voters have spoken, not the establishment... it will now be about the cowardly lions who failed to throw their hats into the ring. We already lamented them months ago. And while I wish a Ryan would have run, I can't honestly blame him for deciding it's not something he wanted for his family.
I think she had to do this because the "the establishment chose Romney" line just doesn't wash.
P.S. Yes, this is when the establishment begins to kind of sort of firmly support the person they've always supported sort of from a distance all along.
Basically, this is the point where people who were too afraid to pick a candidate smell a winner and start to "bravely" endorse the candidate so they can claim they were there before the public.
Writer X, That was a thing of beauty! Classic "blame-Bushism"! It did my heart good that they went with such a laughable defense! :)
Joel, Tootsie? That one wasn't intentional. Which line?
DCAlleyKat, That's the truly hilarious thing. All the usual race baiters turned out to lynch Zimmerman and the Republicans, and yet the anger is all on the side of the non-baiters. Everywhere I look, I'm seeing more and more people getting upset by this and they are determined to throw out Obama and his ilk for engaging in race baiting.
I think the days when liberals could scream racism and conservatives ran and hid while liberals turned out at the polls are over. This time it blew up in their faces and I think that's the way things are going to be now. The public ain't buying it anymore!
Andrew,
Could it be that this IS the way Obama would have campaigned if left to his own devises? In other words, Obama really didn't run his campaign, just sat back and let others run it for him.
Uh, film talk was yesterday, guys. Just saying. ;-)
I suggested to some friends last night that the best thing ever would be to see Keith Olbermann and Rosie O'Donnell in a fight-to-the-death cage match. Whoever loses, we all win.
Sorry, I was thinking of the exchange between Dustin Hoffman and his manager. I was wrong. Faulty Memory. “I said, NOW MISTER!”
Joel, I think Drudge probably isn't around much (if at all) on weekends. I've noticed that he often sticks with stories all weekend even when bigger stories come up.
That said, I don't think Drudge wants a race war, but I'm sure he does want sensationalism. That drives page hits and page hits are money for him.
"I think the days when liberals could scream racism and conservatives ran and hid while liberals turned out at the polls are over. This time it blew up in their faces and I think that's the way things are going to be now. The public ain't buying it anymore!"
I think Eric Holder's DOJ decision not to prosecute the voter intimidation case really woke a lot of people up to the evil's of 'reverse rascism'...bottom line most Americans have a sense if justice in this country and that was so obviously a decision by a JUSTICE department NOT interested in justice! I think that is what set the stage, and now when the ususal actors appear on that stage most of America gets that sick feeling. When the New Black Panthers came up with the 'bounty' business it caused many to shout 'whoa'.....The same old liberal playbook just isn't going to work this time around, and that's going to make the 'counting' of the votes even more appealing, if you know what I mean!
DCAlleyKat, I agree for the most part, except I can see why people don't want to run for President. That's a grueling process which is incredibly harmful to families and friends, and then the job itself is extremely exhausting and thankless. So while I agree that anyone who doesn't do their part this time really should be condemned, I don't think anyone should be condemned for not running for President.
I wish some people had run, notable Paul Ryan, but I can't blame him for not doing so.
Andrew,
Drudge may get some page hits, but if he doesn't start to have someone update his page on the weekend to correct such an egregious error, then people will stop going to it.
tryanmax, True! And more! I count 15 different movies.
tryanmax, I've been growing more and more cynical of RWR over the years. They were once very thoughtful and did a great job exposing the MSM and spreading conservatism.
But in the past several years, they've gotten shrill and went for easy rather than smart, they've pandered to the mob, and they've said very little that was conservative. The best they've achieved is anti-liberal, and even that only worked until the left learned to play them.
This election (and the post-2010 response) really highlighted it with many of them as they were played by the MSM like puppets and where they have done considerable harm to conservatism in the name of ratings.
Ingraham in particular has been bizarre. She has flopped around from candidate to candidate, mindlessly repeated MSM tropes, and each time she's done so with incredible zeal.
No, I think Drudge usually takes the weekends off. Most of the time, his page doesn't update much between Friday and Monday morning. Which I often don't mind; if he can take the weekend off from politics, so can I (though I frequently don't).
Joel, That's a good question. I don't think Obama has ever run his own campaigns and I doubt he's running this one. But what he's relied upon in the past was being the empty suit "clean-black guy" as the people around him imploded. Basically, he's been the blank slate who lets everyone see him as what they want him to be, and his opponents have all exploded in scandal or incompetence. This is the first time he actually has to run on a record and he has no idea how to do it. Moreover, Romney will not implode like McCain or Hillary or a half dozen more. So this is Obama's first competitive campaign.
And the problem he's having is that he has never willingly dealt with people who aren't like him, i.e. conservatives. So he doesn't know how to appeal to anyone who isn't a fellow traveler. And since his base is all upset at the moment, that is where he's putting his efforts in any event and he stays there because that's his comfort zone. The result will be that he never will make a good appeal beyond his base because the only thing he had to offer -- the blank slate, is gone. Plus, his record is indefensible.
If he were smart, he would have dumped Axelrod and the rest long ago and brought in the Clinton people. But he's too arrogant to do that. So he will do what he always did and try to appeal to his base in private and act like a blank slate in public.... except that doesn't work when you're a President with a record and an anger problem.
T-Rav, Everyday is movie day! Fine... next time I'll do song titles. But you may hear a lot of Michael Bolton.... just saying.
A cage match between Olbermann and O'Donnell would be great. Heck, let's do a liberalRoyal and toss in Algore, Madcow and Sharpton. That would be fun to watch!
Joel, That could be from Tootsie, I'm not sure, but I was thinking of another movie... involving cops. ;)
Michael Bolton? Michael Bolton? Rick Santorum wouldn't stand for this, and neither will I!
In the five-way you mention (shudder), I think the real contest would be whether Gore or O'Donnell manages to eat everyone else first.
DCAlleyKat, I agree. Obama came to office promising to be the first post-racial president. And then he appointed Eric Holder and Holder made everything about race. He dropped the Black Panther case which was obviously a racist decision and then they claimed that the civil rights laws only protect blacks and not whites. Then you have things like the Boston professor and the Trayvon Martin case. Then you have the CBC claiming racism to hide their crimes. And then the biggie was when they tried to call the Tea Party people racist and made up instances of racism.
I think the public's mood has changed because of this and they no longer accept any of it from the left/race lobby. The Martin shooting really shows this as the public has not responded like they ever did in the past and I think the game is over for the race baiters.
Joel, I'm not sure why he doesn't have someone on staff the whole time... or if he does? But weekends are always low traffic times to begin with and there is usually very little news. So he probably doesn't worry about it.
T-Rav, For what he earns, I'm surprised he doesn't have a full-time staff to update the page. I don't personally mind though. Weekends are very slow all over the net and I don't mind taking a break.
T-Rav, How can Keith and Algore be lovers if they can't be friends? How can they start over when the fighting never end? Whoaaa. ;)
In that kind of cage match, frankly, I would hope for no winner... except the public!
Andrew, I love the case you are making that Obama doesn't know how to campaign. He really doesn't have a clue does he?
More films: Saw in the title, the 40 year old Virgin in the photo, and Idiocracy is mentioned straight up!
Doc, I think the evidence is there that Obama is in serious trouble. Not only is his record indefensible, but he doesn't know how to run against it.
Well, the special prosecutor decided not to send the Zimmerman case to the Grand Jury. My guess is she couldn't trust the Grand Jury to return an indictment.
Joel, I just saw that. It doesn't surprise me in the least. But it will no doubt give Sharpton et al., their last chance to get upset.
Andrew, I get 15 even without "I said, NOW MISTER" (still can't figure it out).
1. 40-Year-Old Virgin (photo)
2. Saw or possibly Night of the Comet (Let's play a game)
3. Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure (Circle K)
4. 28 days later (F*ing nigh)
5. GhostBusters (he slimed me)
6. Raiders of the Lost Ark (digging)
7. Idiocracy (freebie)
8. Animal House (stupid is no way to go)
9. Signs (swing away)
10. Blazing Saddles (whip this out)
11. Back to the Future (McFly!)
12. Ace Ventura (LOSER)
13. Network (not going to take it)
14. The Simpsons (Excellent!)
15. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Cowabunga!)
Andrew, I just saw that Hillary will not be skipping the Democratic convention. It sounds like she wants to avoid being associated with President failure!
Doc, That's excellent proof too - when people's supporters become scarce. I think Hillary sees the writing on the wall and wants to avoid being associated with Obama so it doesn't risk the future for the Clinton name for when Chelsea runs.
tryanmax, "excellent" was actually unintentional. "Now, mister!" is Police Academy.
Fun article for a Monday morning! Well done.
Thanks Ellen! I'm glad you enjoyed it!
Andrew,
I might be unfair with this. It could be she won't allow anything to happen until people's emotions simmer down. Then choose either way.
You mean the prosecutor? I doubt it. Speaking as a lawyer, I can tell you that this case is a real loser. I doubt she would even get it to trial. And it's better to reject it now than it would be to take the case to trial and get it thrown out and then have to explain why you lost the case.
Also, she probably has a time limit -- speedy trial rules. So she probably has to act now (though I'm not sure what the rules are down there -- it's usually that you need to be charged before the end of the current judicial term).
RE: Network I think the movie is finally coming true! The fact that so many media firings have gone on lately evidences that more and more people are getting their news away from traditional sources. Would you have even imagined the media firing anyone like this as recently as ten years ago? (Mary Mapes was only eight years ago.)
tryanmax, I think that's true. A decade ago, they would have just ignored the furor and told everyone that no one cared about it. Now they can't ignore it because there are too many other outlets for people to learn the truth and to let each other know that they do indeed care. So now the media needs to be more responsive to the public. And that has resulted in firings, and more are yet to come.
For the first time in probably 100 years, the media is not longer a monopoly and that means significant changes.
Joel, I just read the story. There are two ways someone can be charged. The prosecutor can file their own indictment or they can go with the grand jury. There are legal differences between the two in terms of the procedures.
What she has done is refuse to present it to a grand jury (because the case stinks). She could still file an indictment herself.
I would say that her not sending it to the grand jury is proof that the case is doomed. But her taking it away from the grand jury likely means a political decision is about to be made.
Andrew, I just read that this Special Prosecutor often does not send cases to the Grand Jury when she is clear there should be an indictment. And she did not want to send it out because she did not want the GJ to come back with a first degree murder indictment on this case. From all indications Zimmerman will clearly be indicted but the charge is pending more investigation.
Bev, Getting an indictment out of a grand jury is really very easy because you get to present a one-sided case (there's no defense presentation) and if they agree, then they issue an indictment. Not asking the grand jury strikes me as fear that they would refuse to indict.
From what I've read, I suspect she is planning to indict him. And she will lose badly because this case stinks. All the evidence and witnesses point to self-defense. All she has is that someone was shot and that is not enough to sustain a conviction. It probably isn't even enough to survive a motion to dismiss the indictment.
I guess we'll see though.
My guess is that she will charge him with murder and then hope like mad that he pleads to something like manslaughter.
Oh, and James O'Keefe has done it again. In his ongoing Project Veritas video expose on voter ID fraud, he went to Eric Holder's polling place and has a young white guy asked for a ballot for the name "Eric Holder". No ID was asked and he got the ballot. Of course Holder is spinning it all. He says that the whole issue is "manufactured" to look like voter fraud. Well, uh, yeah - how could they know that it was fraud if they didn't ask "manufacture" the evidence in the first place. That's kind of the point of voter fraud...they get away with it and no one knows sometimes because the person won't be coming to the polls 'cause they are dead. Dead people generally don't complain about this kind of identity theft...
Bev, I saw that and I thought it was great. People are very concerned about voter fraud because (1) we know it's real, (2) it helps the bad guys, i.e. the Democrats, and (3) the Democrats are the ones who keep being put in charge of investigating it. So of course no one believes that voter fraud is insignificant.
And while this is indeed a stunt, it exposes the problem with the system. Holder should be outraged. The fact he isn't is very telling and should trouble people a lot.
Andrew, there actually was a great editorial in the NY Post today about all the places and activities requiring id including entering the DOJ and all other Washington govermnent office. Furthermore, other groups that are protestin voter id laws also require photo id to enter THEIR DC offices! What is wrong with these people??
Speaking of creating vaporware protests and using them for political gain with the aid of a compliant press, this seems on topic from the mighty Iowahawk 4 years ago:
http://iowahawk.typepad.com/iowahawk/2008/10/a-vote-for-obam.html
Bev, Clearly they are all racists?!
I think it's amazing that the Democrats would pretend that somehow it's an imposition to demand that voters show an id? People show ids for so many other routine matters that it's almost second nature. How in the world can it suddenly become a problem for voting... unless your goal is to make voter fraud possible.
K, Thanks for the link! Nothing says "civility" and "pro-woman" more than describing Sarah Palin with the c-word. Nice. And yet, they think they're the good guys?
Here's your link: LINK
K, I am in possession of a top secret state-of-the-art technology that allows me to decipher the thoughts of photographic subjects from the precise moment their pictures were taken. The results are often very revealing. OBSERVE
I believe you've got it! ;)
Actually, my guess is, these smug fools are thinking this (both of them):
"I don't know who Sarah Palin is, but I was told she was evil and I believe what I'm told. And since she's evil, I can say what I want about her without sounding sexist or racist or whatever."
Andrew, that may have also crossed their minds. I couldn't say. While it is a fascinating technology I have, it does have it's limitations. ;)
Andrew,
Doesn't Zimmerman get a hearing?
tryanmax, I'm just going with prior public utterances. Either way works, they are both threats to the gene pool.
Joel, Not until he's charged. And then he gets arraigned and he can enter a plea. After that he could ask for a hearing to dismiss the charges, but you don't usually do that right away.
He has no right to be heard until he actually gets indicted. And he has no right to appear before the grand jury, though they can ask him to appear if they wanted evidence from him.
Andrew,
Ben Shapiro is being stupid again. He thinks his opinions about these songs are universal. Sheesh. He reminds me of the kid who begs to be beaten up each week for his allowance.
Joel, I saw that and didn't even open it. It's a gimmick meant to pull people in. People love lists. . . they can't resist pointing out the things you forgot and the things you wrongly included. And the more obnoxious you are about making a list, the more people feel compelled to toss in their two cents.
By the way, and not to keep beating what is starting to feel like a dead horse, but PJTV has an interesting video on just how hard it is to "accidentally" edit the tape of Zimmermann's 911 call--in other words, this was done very deliberately by NBC. If any further racial violence occurs in the area, the network ought to be brought up on charges of some sort. (Which, of course, they won't be. But they should.) LINK
T-Rav beat away on it some more. I like to hear the sound of NBC people squealing!
T-Rav, It's basically impossible to do it by accident. If it was done by accident, then it's a one a million coincidence that it ended up producing a coherent, pro-racism summary. This is a lie NBC is telling to try to hide the truth, that they edited this thing to incite people.
I think before it's over, they will be forced to fire someone else and admit that there was wrongdoing.
Joel, Agreed. This is something that people should not let die because a message needs to be sent that the MSM no longer has the power to do these things and cover them up.
I must be a sucker for the list gimmick; Cracked is one of my favorite websites. I couldn't help but graze Shapiro's subheadings. That was enough to make it patently obvious that he is only trying to annoy as many people as possible. Most males pass through that phase in junior high.
Lists play on the human brain's natural function of categorizing the world. Posting lists is a psychological trick. It's a form of manipulation which you find all over the web.
The author probably doesn't even believe or care what they are writing, they just want to upset people because that is what generates "buzz." -- the more outrageous the list (within reason), the more people get upset, the more comments they post and the more successful the article/blog appears to outsides, which drives readership in the future.
And if you overreach on the outrageousness of the list, and you get called on it (which happens a lot), then you try the old "I was just trying to spur debate and didn't really mean it" claim which lets the author act like they were just testing you.
Most importantly, for these lists to work, you need to use subjective descriptions (best, worst, most overrated), and you need to list only famous things which people recognize -- plus you need to sleight some obvious choices so they feel compelled to defend their favorites, and include a couple outlandish ones to make yourself sound like an expert. Hence, a list of "Top 3 best science fiction" would include: (1) Star Wars, (2) 2001, (3) Unknownseries. This lets the Trekkies get outraged, the Warsies/2001ies get smug, and it makes you sound like you really know your crap because you know obscure stuff and you're too cool to just list the obvious ones.
It's all marketing.
tryanmax,
I too like the Listverse. I end up at spending hours at this site.
Joel, That's like list-addiction on steroids!
Come on boys. Squeal like a pig!
"Squeal like a peacock, boy!"
At least Cracked bucks the trend. Rarely do they title their lists with subjective qualifiers and they are mostly devoted to esoterica. (Isn't that a great word? Sounds sexy!)
Andrew, you should write "Ten Ways List Articles Suck You In."
The Top 10 Worst Things About Top 10 lists!
BTW, I did do an article on this last March
Top 10 Best Link Ever
tryanmax, I think you have that confused with "erotica." Not that there's anything wrong wit--oh, who am I kidding? Of course, I'm going to say there's something wrong with it.
T-Rav, And here I thought tryanmax had uncovered a new form of literature!
*smirks*
I missed the comment about "esoterica", so, when I saw T-Rav's "erotica" comment, I glanced up the thread to see what I had missed - first thing I noticed was try's comment about "Ten Ways List Articles Suck You In."
yeah. ok. moving on now.
rlaWTX, You had to be there. ;)
Andrew's long night of agony is at an end. Based on what I presume are reasons having to with his daughter's illness, Fox News has just confirmed that Rick Santorum is dropping out of the race.
T-Rav, Andrew, it's a shame that it takes something of that magnitude to get Santorum to step aside. The writing on the wall just wasn't good enough.
I don't know why this comes to mind, but I expect the religious interpretation of events to be split. One side will attribute his daughter's illness to Satan, while the other side will call part of God's mysterious plan.
tryanmax, to clarify, I don't know if that's why. I suspect that's a part of it, but it may also be due to his dropping numbers in PA. If you want to preserve any future political viability, it's best to get out before you get defeated in your home state.
T-Rav, It's about time. He should have left the race a long time ago.
I do feel bad about his daughter, by the way, even if he is a rotten person.
tryanmax, Personally, I think his daughter had nothing to do with it. His falling numbers showed that he would lose Pennsylvania. And with that, he would have ruined his chance of winning a future nomination. And with even Newt making nice this weekend with Romney, it was simply too late to stay in the game and still think he would have a chance in the future. Add in drying up funding and it was time to leave.
I suspect this will increase the pressure on Newt to make a quick exit. This is the de facto end of the primaries.
Well, congratulations, Andrew. You got what you wanted.
You guys are probably right. Still, in spite of the numbers and whatever he might say, you know his supporters will point to his daughter's illness and I don't think Ricky will dissuade that.
So he didn't endorse anyone? Hmm.
Oh, and lest anyone think I'm callous (not that anyone here would), I have a 4-year-old daughter with autism. So there.
T-Rav, Whether I got what I want will depend on how this plays out over the next couple years. Is Rick really done? Will the Religious Right come to realize that they need to back people like Paul Ryan who don't scare the hell out of people on these issues? Or will they just double down?
tryanmax, You aren't callous at all. You are correctly cynical, as am I. And I think you're right. I think his followers will play this as divine intervention despite the fact this was a well-known issue long before he even entered the race.
I am also cynical enough to suspect that Santorum (who loves playing the victim) will try to play into that.
I just heard his full speech. He's delusional. His speech was littered with "I'm going to be the nominee next time" and suggestions that the Republicans don't represent groups he would not name.
Oh jez! Newt just said that he's happy to finally get the chance to go one on one with Romney. Huh?
Rush is pulling excerpts from the speech rather than play the whole thing. (I may slug a beer and listen to it later.) Predictably, he's patting Ricky on the back for a good run--which I suppose is the gentlemanly thing to do in this moment. Still, my preferred reaction is "it's about damn time!"
Andrew,
I don't think Santorum is even going to be close next time. You have nothing to worry about.
DUQ, LOL! Wonderful.
Joel, I think you're right. Next time, Rick will hopefully have to run against people like West, Ryan and Rubio, who should all blow him away. But I will still hold my breath. Santorum is bad for everything -- conservatism, Republicanism and Christianity. And he clearly has no plans to quit. His speech is just packed with "I am not done" statements.
tryanmax, This is a good turn for Rush because it lets him act like he was the last true conservative while now fully endorsing Romney while still having an out that "his guy" would have done everything Romney doesn't. It's the best of all worlds.
Post a Comment