brainwagon

Comment from mneptok
Time 12/10/2004 at 7:15 pm

Gash Limbaugh

Comment from Julian
Time 12/10/2004 at 7:33 pm

After watching that, all I can is.. wow. Hey, if Ann Coulter hates Canada, we must be doing something right. Go Canada! I’m glad that she gets to spread the view that Canada is not a safe haven for right wing nutcases like herself, because – well, frankly, we just don’t need right wing nutcases like her. Oh well, I guess I’ll have to go dogsledding when I visit my sister in a couple of weeks, since apparently all Canadians dogsled.

Editor’s note: Yep, after we get through with Iraq, and Iran, and North Korea, the next power on the Axis o’ Evil list are your dog sleddin’, French luvin’, maple syrup drinkin’ asses.

You know, I’m pretty intimidated by Ann Coulter. From her talk, I’m pretty sure she has a larger penis than me.

Comment from D’Arcy Norman
Time 12/11/2004 at 8:02 am

Wow. Only 2 words for that. Holy. and Crap.

Is she typical of the American right wing? Or is she just trying to be ubercontroversial so people will listen to her? And Tucker – wow. Didn’t learn a thing from Jon Stewart’s seminar on Crossfire…

I guess the more meaningful question: Is there any rational media left in the states? Fox never fell into that category, but CNN still tries to label itself as rational (although that no longer applies). PBS doesn’t have the viewership to count…

Editor’s note: While Fox News does qualify as “media”, it simply doesn’t count as “journalism”. It is quite simply the media arm of a political agenda. It doesn’t report, it reinforces. It does debate, it argues. It is television for the lowest common denominator, and judging by its content, that’s pretty low here in the U.S.A. As was mentioned on Jon Stewart’s Daily Show recently, people seemingly want their television news to reinforce their world view, no matter how twisted. I say if you want to reinforce your own world view, create a blog and do all the heavy lifting yourself. 🙂

Oh, well… I’ve got to get back to waxing my dogsled. There’s 80 words of snow outside of my igloo, and it won’t be long before the HumVees start rolling across the border (you know, once it’s been decided to no longer allow those freeloading Canadians to exist…)

Note to Ann Coulter and Tucker Carlson: Canada isn’t our country. Perhaps you should look up what sovereign means. Perhaps we will roll over someday and squash Canada, but if so, that’s a tragedy, because it will mean that the U.S. has gone completely off the deep end. I used to think it was impossible. After your idiocy yesterday, I’m not so sure.

Comment from D’Arcy Norman
Time 12/11/2004 at 9:24 am

I’ve thought about it some more, and I’m thinking they have to be just whoring for ratings. I mean, Ann was flashing a coy smile through most of her comments – she thinks she’s being clever… Same with Tucker. He’s likely got a mandate from The Boss to keep stirring stuff up to keep the ratings up. Gotta keep the ratings up, man. Credibility be damned! We’ve got to pay the bills!

When “journalism” is moderated primarily by economics (i.e., ratings), and secondarily by political agendas, it’s a bit hard for rationalism to survive. If only there was some way for Everyperson to publish their thoughts and critiques without worrying about the economics of ratings nor pandering to the lowest of the low… You know, some way to self publish, in a truly democratic Press. Oh, wait! That’s what blogs are for! And that’s why the Traditional Media is doing everything it can to discredit weblogs before they get some real traction in the Public Eye…

But, in a nation where political dissent buys you a one way ticket to Gitmo (btw, the only way for Americans to legally visit Cuba…), it’s not realistic to expect the average citizen to stick their necks out. Even Traditional Media doesn’t want to rock the boat for fear of being blackballed (hence planting questions for grunts to “ask” for them).

I’m pretty darned proud to be Canadian. Land of the Free, home of the rational.

Comment from mneptok
Time 12/11/2004 at 2:58 pm

Is she typical of the American right wing? Or is she just trying to be ubercontroversial so people will listen to her?

The latter, but not for that reason. Like Free Software has Richard Stallman, whose views are so fringe on software licensing he’s considered a semi-freak, the American right has people like Ann Coulter that serve as the touchstones. They’re the (ahem) lead dog in the sled team. They pull strongly right. That in turn moves the right-wing base slowly in that direction. The left has Al Franken and Norman Mailer. Their views, if adopted, would radically change America into a nanny-government state. But that’s not what they want. They want to drag the left in the direction of the left.

For the record, I’m a Libertarian. I think Ann Coulter is Hitler with better hair and Al Franken is a pompous, self-important blowhard. I’m not defending either of them. But that’s why they exist. They serve as magnets for their side of the political fence.

I’m pretty darned proud to be Canadian. Land of the Free, home of the rational.

Nothing like becoming what you behold. Feel insulted by Ann Coulter? Insult every American as irrational. Great strategy.

If you want to give the appearance that Canadians are, indeed, more rational on the whole than Americans, I suggest you start by ending such petty vitriol.

Comment from D’Arcy Norman
Time 12/11/2004 at 7:49 pm

Point taken. But how do you expect people to react when this is the message being sent out by your media? The middle ground doesn’t get a very loud voice, so this is what the rest of the world sees. But you’re right – I shouldn’t have painted all Americans with the same brush.

Comment from mneptok
Time 12/12/2004 at 3:40 pm

But how do you expect people to react when this is the message being sent out by your media?

The same way you react to Muslims. The moderate Muslim community is completely drowned out by their lunatic fringe. And (may I add) the majority moderates. The radical Muslim fringe is just that, a minority fringe.

But you’re not hurling epithets at all Muslims, are you? I suspect not. You seem far more … rational … than that to my eyes. 😉

Ann Coutler gets her airtime. So does Al Franken. The messages out of American media are not 100% neo-conservative freakishness. So what the rest of the world sees is dependent upon on what they choose to focus. If you want to get whipped up into a frenzy, by all means, watch Ann Coulter. But you have alternative voices here in the USA. You could watch them and look for the commonalities instead of the differences. But that’s not encouraged in these days of rancor and dischord, sadly. These days people seem to like to look at the chasms rather than the bridges. Ann Coulter and her ilk certainly do.

Thanks for the mea culpa. I greatly appreciate it. Honored to have you as a neighbor. I stand on guard for thee. 🙂