October 22, 2007

Andrew Sullivan's inane attack on me.

Let me repeat the update I added to this post of mine: Andrew Sullivan really needs to make some effort to understand my sense of humor before posting another inane attack on me. I already gave him The Andrew Sullivan Award (for humor deafness) that one time. Get a damn clue, man.

ADDED: You know, if he had comments, someone could nudge him when he does this. Maybe that's why he doesn't have comments. The embarrassments would show.

AND: In the comments, several readers have questioned whether Sullivan's new post is really properly called an "attack." At least one suggest Sullivan himself is trying to be funny. If I had reason to think Sullivan really read and liked this blog, I could believe that, but this is a case of Sullivan picking up something that's already being linked and misunderstood on other blogs where I am portrayed as a mindless right-winger — not that Sullivan hat-tips any other blogger as the source.

99 comments:

Palladian said...

No, he just has un-sourced emails and letters from his "readers".

Email of the day:

"Andrew, I'm a life-long Republican who is disgusted by torture and Bush and agree with you 100% about Ann Althouse..."

No wonder he likes Greenwald so much; I sometimes think that Andrew sockpuppets his own blog.

rhhardin said...

I don't understand the exchange.

Is it that one side is saying there are some things you can't joke about?

Obviously not true!

An older fellow came into our office cubicle long ago, and told my cubicle-mate that he couldn't make the meeting Friday because his mother-in-law had died, and my cubicle mate replied, ``I wish my mother-in-law would die.''

So he didn't look for sympathy there any longer.

Those were the old days, when you couldn't so easily get something for any old personal problem you thought up.

Always remember the quote : it's funny until somebody gets their eye poked out ; and then it's still funny, just not around that person.

Mr. B. said...

No comments, no cojones...

Whoops...

Well you know what I mean, Prof. Althouse.

Ciao, Bonzo

Anonymous said...

That Imus ad above your picture is scaring away the children.

The best thing to do with AS is to ignore him as he transforms into Sid Blumenthal.

Bilby said...

I notice Andrew Sullivan is on your blog roll, but there's no Think Progress, Crooks & Liars, Media Matters, Atrios, etc.

Lately he has more in common with those places than with blogs like yours.

rcocean said...

Less of an attack then a smear. Trying to fool others into thinking Althouse was advising Hillary! to talk to Ellen G.

BTW, thanks for the link. I haven't read Sully in years, and from what I saw, I don't plan to start again.

Gary Carson said...

That was an attack?

Wow.

J. Cricket said...

Earth to Ann. Earth to Ann. There is no "attack." Are you really that paranoid? Or do you think calling it an attack might generate more traffic? Either way = lameness.

Fred said...

*sends Ann a hug.* :)

That's why I don't read very many blogs, they just get me mad. Raar!

Ann Althouse said...

Yes, it is an attack, and it is based on complete misunderstanding of my point. He's saying I'm offering "bad advice," when it's not real advice. It's a joke (mocking Ellen and the journalist who attacked Hillary). Why did he bother to do a whole post about that? It is obviously to hurt me and diminish my reputation.

Ann Althouse said...

Thanks, Fred.

Sullivan has been pissed at me ever since I chided him for throwing the word "Christianist" around.

MadisonMan said...

Careful. You are close to entering the Sullivortex.

Palladian said...

Hey look, it's our old friend AJD, with a new name! Talk about nipping at your nose! Given his persistent, stalker-like creepiness, I'd be afraid the nips would be like love bites from Hannibal Lecter.

Bilby said...

It's just as much an attack as when other sites, that specialize in such tactics, deliberately quote someone out of context and then scream that something awful was said. What Sullivan is doing is similar because he took a bit of text and presented it out of context hoping people would roll their eyes but not bother looking at the link.

rcocean said...

"Yes, it is an attack, and it is based on complete misunderstanding of my point"

You should stick the word "deliberate" in there.

XWL said...

Damn you Palladian!!!

(I was going to come up with a fake Andrew Sullivan "Email of the day")

Add to that his Ron Paul lurrrrvv, and you've got a blog not much worth visiting anymore.

Ann Althouse said...

If it's deliberate, he's only playing humor-deaf. But I actually do suspect that he doesn't pick up humor somehow. Maybe it's a British/American thing. I once went to a Woody Allen movie in London, something I and my companion laughed at a lot, and the Londoners were silent, then laughed noisily when Woody suddenly stepped into an open manhole. The slapstick, they got.

Ruth Anne Adams said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Maxine Weiss said...

The Althouse/Sullivan relationship:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kovsZZw0LwU

Freder Frederson said...

Yeah Ann, you're just a laugh riot.

Gedaliya said...

Sullivan is an ass.

Joseph said...

You call that an attack designed to diminish your reputation and then accuse Sullivan of humor deafness?

quimby10 said...

This is really not an attack.

rcocean said...

"You call that an attack designed to diminish your reputation and then accuse Sullivan of humor deafness?"

Its called defending yourself.

blake said...

If it's not an attack, it's a joke.

It's hard to tell which would indicate less of a sense of humor.

Peter Hoh said...

I saw that on Sullivan earlier today and thought, "He just doesn't get Ann." He doesn't get baseball, either.

KCFleming said...

I remember when I used to read Sullivan. Years ago now.

It's like little parts kept falling off his little Dodge Dart of thought until all he had left was the frame up on blocks. He still sits in it and goes Vroom VROOM, and may even believe it's goin' somewheres.

Poor little guy.

blogging cockroach said...

well the reason people like andrew sullivan can write semi nonsense
is because he's a pundit and pundits can write anything they like
and people will pay attention to them and say yas yas so true

the reason i got into blogging or at least writing comments on blogs
is because i used to read all the pundits in the nyt and other newspapers
that made it to the dumpster and think geez this is crap
i could write better stuff than this and i'm a cockroach

so i learned to type and befriended a kid with a computer and here we are
only people don't say yas yas so true to the things i write
being a family blog and all i won't quote what's been written about me
yes my problem is that i'm not a pundit

it's hard to become a pundit as we all have learned
first you have to write some things that people want to hear
then you have to mix in stuff that makes some other people crazy
but you can't just pander
you have to manufacture controversy and get everybody a little mad
at you sometimes so they keep coming back to check if their pet
ideas and manias are being properly massaged
or whether they will have to stay angry with you until tomorrow
of course you have to write relentlessly as an insect every day
something i could never do and i'm an insect
pay no attention to how bad it is because quantity always beats quality
and make stuff up if you have to
because even with the internet or maybe because of the internet
facts have gone from being stubborn to pretty loose and easy
like my old friend jane who always had an excuse whatthehell

it's pretty clear that my karmic punishment for being a bad composer
was to come back as a roach which has taught me humility among other things

now if you believe in reincarnation
what do you think a pundit should come back as...

Heywood Rice said...

It's a joke (mocking Ellen and the journalist who attacked Hillary). Why did he bother to do a whole post about that? It is obviously to hurt me and diminish my reputation.

So you can mock other people but if someone dares to mock you they’re not playing fair. Oh dear.

Titus24 said...

I used to read Sullivan when he was a reliable conservative but now that he has questioned the bush foreign policy and is not conservative I have no time to read him-it is really a shame.

Also, I wouldn't excactly call this an attack.

Calm down and get over it Mary. You only want to promote some drama when there is none there.

Now, back to me.

I am in Boston this week at my company corp offices and absolutely loving it. Boston is fabulous. The gays are hot, the women are thin and gorgeous and the city is very cosmo. I stopped in Burberry today to pick up a little number for a meeting tomorrow. Can you say fierce? I am staying at my company corporate apartment on Comm Ave. with my rare clumbers and the city is alive with color. I am surrounded by designer clothes, thin waists and big tits on women and men in fabulous suits and grungy artsy Emerson College students. Boston is the educational and healthcare capital of this country. But still it is liberal and for that I am not happy. The gays seem to fit right in and that makes me sad. I miss my venture in Kentucky where being gay was a very underground, bathroom, Larry Craig scene. Here, the gays don't give a shit. They are proud, hot and buff-bitches.

How are all of my republican friends doing tonight?

KCFleming said...

"Boston is the educational and healthcare capital of this country."

Ha! Good one!

Titus24 said...

Althouse, you laughed at a Woody Allen movie? That sounds liberal to me, better watch it.

Now back to me. I am taking Yoga Classes this week at Barron Baptiste in Boston and the class is competitive. The place is packed and the queens are taking off their shirts as soon as they enter the studio. It's war in here and we are all throwing downward facing dogs like there is no tomorrow. This one queen parked it right next to me and went into the widest second I have seen since I did a quatemalan (sp) in Steamworks in Chicago. I was like bitch don't even come over to me and show me your third eye without saying hi. We talked afterwards, she was a Business Development Director at Fidelity and I said fabulous and I told her what I did and she said fabulous and I invited her back to the corporate apartment and we did it while the rare clumbers watched. But first I showed her my closet and she inspected the names on the clothes and of course approved. Once we were done I called the rare clumbers over to clean up. I call them the cleaning ladies because they clean up the splooge after my sexual adventures. Isn't that cute?

blogging cockroach said...

oh but pogo
there's harvard and bu and bc and northeastern and tufts etc etc
not to mention mass general hospital
mgh--man's greatest hospital
and of course beth israel and brigham and women's
then there's always my favorite--
angell memorial hospital
boston is a great place to be sick

Titus24 said...

A little Boston nugget for my fellow republicans. Boston area has 64 colleges and 5 of the top 10 hospitals in the country.

Titus24 said...

And Dana Farber, The Floating Hospital, and Boston Medical Center and Mass Eye and Ear,

And Harvard, MIT, BC, BU, Northeastern, Emerson, Simmons, Brandeis, Wellesley.

You can't swing a cat here without hitting a university.

But I completely get your drift Pigo. They tend to be liberal and for that it is absolutely disgusting. All those liberal colleges in such a small area promote an awful, liberal agenda.

But they do have the largest number of universities in the smallest area Pigo-that is a fact-sorry Ginger.

Titus24 said...

George Bush went to school here so it can't be all bad.

Also, all of the high school academies around here is amazing. Again, Bush went out here so it can't be so bad.

Titus24 said...

A couple more:

Berklee
Boston Conservatory
Clark
Holy Cross (yay Clarence)
Emmanuel
Hampshire
Radcliffe
Stonehill
Suffolk
Wentworth
Wheelock.

But Pigo is right Boston is definitely not the educational capital of the US. I would say that Tulsa is.

blogging cockroach said...

and titus is personally doing his bit
for public health in boston

Titus24 said...

Pigo what is the healthcare and educational capital of this country?

It has to be some red state. It can't be an evil blue state so educate us, please...........

Titus24 said...

I do, that is correct blogging cockroach.

My health is important and I am checked thoroughly every three months. My doctor has seen the inside of my ass and penis. He told me I have a tight prostrate and I am very proud of that. I am a top so I don't have to worry about my ass. I don't even let a finger up there.

blogging cockroach said...

yes it's always better to give
than receive

Titus24 said...

I have something to admit fellow republicans. I went out in Boston on Saturday night and met a guy on the dance floor but was not totally into him. I let him think that he was going to get it but then I ditched him. I then walked to the Fens which is a notorious meeting place for homosexuals. After that I barely remember what I did. I guess I met a guy named Henry and gave him my cell. Well, needless to say, he called me today and I pretended he had the wrong number. Is that mean? He barely spoke English on the phone and from I remember he was very small. I do remember he kept telling me he loved me as I pumped his ass but that is all. I walked part of the way home and fell asleep in a bush. I couldn't walk the rest of the way and hailed a cab and he asked to come up to my apartment for a blowjob. I declined because he wasn't hot.

Titus24 said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
john said...

blog.cock.:

I think its "better to pitch than catch". Go Sox!

Actually, titus, I hope the Rockies cream them, with apologies for the splooge reference. I'm a westerner, and we have to root for our region.

Regards,

Titus24 said...

I also let a guy blow me who was driving his car in the hood.

He pulled over and did me in the street while I put my peepee in the car while he stayed in the drivers seat. I splewed all over the steering wheel of the car and then ran home like Madonna in the Justify My Love video. Laughing and pulling my halter up.

Titus24 said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Titus24 said...

Go Sox!!!!

Titus24 said...

You got to admit "Shipping off to Boston" is a great song.

Titus24 said...

Red Sox owners are a bunch of liberals.

So are the Patriots owners.

john said...

I guess this comment thread should steer back to the AS attack on our dear hostess.

Regards,

blogging cockroach said...

john
i'm a baseball fan and ordinarily would have said that
but somehow i was just thinking about christmas tonight
and how i'm going to explain to little tommy
that he is getting squat from me this year

blogging cockroach said...

john henry for president
yay
the u s might have a winning season or two

john said...

blog.cock.:

What sort of calendar are you on? Is it the year of the Blattodea? And I was just buying the kids halloween pumkin, how time flies.

Did you make some scatological reference there? Sometimes this humor really gets away from me.

Regards,

Gary Carson said...

Ann,

His post read like a joke to me.

I think you're reading too much into it. Or you're just anticipating an attack so strongly it's impossible for him to mention your name without your interpreting it as an attack.

I thought your post was clearly a joke, I thought his post was clearly a joke.

blogging cockroach said...

john
i plan early especially as i have a limited income as a cockroach
all my christmas shopping is done before thanksgiving
i don't want to be distracted from those leftovers when the time comes

no scatalogical intent at all
john henry is the red sox owner
who finally finally after a century of losing
put the team on a winning track
great guy
unfortunate name

john said...

Got the John Henry part, and ur right about his name. Should have been in football tho, then he could have been a Steeler drivin' man.

Regards

Cyrus Pinkerton said...

It's a joke...

It doesn't quite meet the standard of a joke.

Why did he bother to do a whole post about that? It is obviously to hurt me and diminish my reputation.

Now that's a joke!

hdhouse said...

Advice to Ann ... not defending Sullivan one bit, but sometimes your "humor" is a bit obscure.

Not suggesting that you write knock-knock jokes so the likes of Sullivan won't go crazy, nor do I suggest any lessening of the standards...just keep in mind that (thankfully) not everyone is a lawyer.

KCFleming said...

"Pigo what is the healthcare and educational capital of this country?"

Titus, sometimes your midwestern roots show through that cosmopolitan dye job of yours.

the XYZ "capital" of the country? That's just so much like having the "biggest twine ball" or being the Sinkhole Capital of the USA", (Fountain MN!).

It's what little towns do to brag, so I found it rather funny to say about Boston. Are you running for mayor?

As for your question: The capital?
There isn't one.

Ann Althouse said...

Titus... don't mention names.

Ann Althouse said...

And keep it reasonably clean...

Titus24 said...

I am sorry. I won't mention any tricks by name anymore.

I'm Full of Soup said...

Titus said :

"Now, back to me".

You crack me up.

lawroark said...

Ann, you're on Sullivan's blogroll (called Blog Love)--I think he might actually like you.

blogging cockroach said...

this thread did veer into the gutter
when titus showed up but
whatthehell
he did liven things up after my very dull
unreadable and over long bit on punditry
sorry i've got to edit and boil down
and use shorter line lengths
which takes some extra effort
but not as much as it once did

pogo--
you'll find that boston is very good
at promoting itself even when
the emperor has no clothes
and things are done better elsewhere
boston has been doing this forever
back to the days of the city on a hill etc
those puritans got people thinking
boston was important and that pattern
goes on to this very day
anyway it is true that there are all these
hospitals etc around here so i'm wondering
if maybe in this case there isn't a little truth
to what titus says although one suspects
that isn't the case generally

KCFleming said...

blogging cockroach,

You are quite correct about the excellence of Boston's schools and hospitals. I do not suggest otherwise.

I was more struck by the odd juxtaposition of Jaycees Main Street boosterism within Titus' story of decadent psycho-sexual self-exaltation. A bit surreal, it seemed to me.

Come to Boston: The Best Schools, Best Hospitals, and Best Bushes to fall asleep in after anonymous shagging.

Trooper York said...

Mothershead: Sir! I don't quite... I don't quite understand why it is you allow that sort of people in there.
Dr. Frederick Treves: Why? Because he enjoys it, and I think it's very good for him.
Mothershead: Yes, but, sir, you saw the expression on their faces. They didn't hide their disgust. They don't care anything about John! They only want to impress their friends!
Dr. Frederick Treves: I think you're being rather harsh on them, don't you, Mrs. Mothershead?
Mothershead: I beg your pardon!
Dr. Frederick Treves: You yourself hardly showed him much loving kindness when he first arrived, did you?
Mothershead: I bathed him, I fed him, and I cleaned up after him, didn't I? And I see that my nurses do the same. And if loving kindness can be called care and practical concern, then I did show him loving kindness, and I am not ashamed to admit it!
(The Elephant Man 1980)

marklewin said...

Apparently I have the humor deafness that you speak of. Ann, I can't recall a single entry in your blogs or when you comment that I have found remotely humorous. Some of your commentators crack me up. As I have noted before, I often find your thought processes consistent with those of bigoted individuals. For example, you seemed quick to explain your humor deafness allegation as a British/American thing. Talk about a tendency to quickly over-generalize.

Trooper York said...

Fat Bastard: [to Felicity] Of course I'm not happy. Look at me, I'm a big fat slob. I've got bigger titties than you do. I've got more chins than a Chinese phonebook. I've not seen my willie in two years, which is long enough to declare it legally dead.
[on the verge of tears]
Fat Bastard: I can't stop eating. I eat because I'm unhappy, and I'm unhappy because I eat. It's a vicious cycle. Now, if you'll excuse me, there's someone I'd like to get in touch with and forgive... myself.
[Farts]
(Andrew Sullivan, green room The Chris Matthews Show 2007)

Ann Althouse said...

Mindsteps: Obviously, you are not on my wavelength. This isn't for you. So why bother with it? Life is full of choices. Pick something you like.

Trooper York said...

Michaleen Flynn: Is this a courting or a donnybrook? Have the good manners not to hit the man until he's your husband and entitled to hit you back
(The Quiet Man)

Jim Howard said...

You, a law professor, that that was an attack????

former law student said...

When I saw that the Sullivan post's URL contained "not-so-great-ad", I was expecting it to be about the hairy scrotum ad, I mean, Don Imus picture at the upper right hand column of the blog page.

JohnAnnArbor said...

Andrew Sullivan gives preening narcissism a bad name.

Trooper York said...

Reverend Rosenkrantz: O Almighty God, hear us, we beseech Thee, and bring succor and guidance to those we are about to bring to Your divine notice. First we are thinking of Mary Walaber. She is only 16 years old, but she is keeping company with a soldier from Fort Dayton. He's a Massachusetts man, and Thou knowest no good can come of that.
(Drums Along the Mohawk 1939)

Dust Bunny Queen said...

"A little Boston nugget for my fellow republicans. Boston area has 64 colleges and 5 of the top 10 hospitals in the country."

But didn't Boston also produce Matt Damon and Ben Afleck? I think that counterbalances :-)

Cyrus Pinkerton said...

Obviously, you are not on my wavelength. This isn't for you. So why bother with it? Life is full of choices. Pick something you like.

Don't encourage Mindsteps to leave. If Mindsteps goes, I go. If I go, you might as well close up shop, lady.

Brian Doyle said...

Oh my God! That Sullivan is just merciless, isn't he?

Let me ask you, are you surprised when you look at your hands and don't see stigmata?

Titus24 said...

Hello all of my little doves?

How is everyone?

Sorry for all the gorry postings about sex and my love of Boston.

What can I say. I think it is a fabulous little gem in this country. Biotech, high tech, health care, education, expensive housing (sign of a fabulous city), fabulous brownstones, an hour to Maine, 2 hours to Ptown, 1 hour to the Berkshires, fabulous beaches and a thriving economy. Walkable city, great sports teams, hot men, women with nice tits and clothes and tiny waists, very euro.

The only downside it is liberal.

Cambridge is also fabulous.

Titus24 said...

Now lets get back to me.

Today for my strategic very important senior level meeting I chose Prada head to toe. Very understated. Of course compliments were flowing my weigh and I just responded thanks, Prada.

enough said.

Trooper York said...

Gay men: We're here. We're queer. Get used to it.
Lisa Simpson: We are used to it. You do this every year.
Gay man: Aww, you take all the fun out of it.
(The Simpsons)

Titus24 said...

sorry I meant my "way"-not fabulous saying "weigh" but I am always thinking about my weight and keeping a 30 inch waist. My lunch is organic popcorn, unsalted and unbuttered and a carrot wedge for today.

The rare clumbers eat much better than me. They eat organic vegetables, chicken and yogurt.

Titus24 said...

I am actually not out at work, believe it or not.

Titus24 said...

My outfit costs approximately $2500 today.

My rare clumbers were $3500 each.

Brian Doyle said...

I'm still weeping over the unfairness of Ann's being portrayed as a mindless right-winger.

People can be so cruel.

Titus24 said...

OK, I have to go throw up now and return to work.

Same time same place tonight my little lepchuns.

Trooper York said...

Mr. Burns: I'll keep it short and sweet -- Family. Religion. Friendship. These are the three demons you must slay if you wish to succeed in business.
(The Simpsons)

Ralph L said...

Titus, I imagine they've got your number, but are showing you their well bred manners by respecting your privacy.

Considering what she left, I'm curious what she deleted.

JohnAnnArbor said...

I wonder how many mirrors Andrew has around his house.

marklewin said...

Ann Althouse said...
Mindsteps: Obviously, you are not on my wavelength. This isn't for you. So why bother with it? Life is full of choices. Pick something you like.

Why bother with anything that does not conform to one's existing point of view?

I will try not to let the door hit me on my way out.

Roger J. said...

Titus: lepchuns sounds like some saxon-celtic little person--perhaps you mean liebchen? That said, you are my absolute fave republican! keep UP the good work--wink wink...

Trooper York said...

Leprechaun: I'll take it from you, homie, you'll see, cause you know the Leprechaun is the real O.G.
(Leprechaun in the Hood 2000)

Cyrus Pinkerton said...

I will try not to let the door hit me on my way out.

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

Dammit Althouse, what the hell are you thinking?

I insist that you ask Mindsteps to return. Make sure that you mean it too.

I'm A Feline said...

Prof. Althouse,
Love your work, but am new to this blog. So maybe that's why I'm so puzzled as to why you:

(1) Let AS get to you...

and/or

(2) Gave him the satisfaction of knowing about it.

Brian Doyle said...

Dorothy -

I can help you out with that one. Prof. Althouse has what some have called a "persecution complex" in which she is at the center of a very large group of nasty people, liberals mostly, who are constantly launching partisan attacks on her.

She just raises questions and challenges assumptions, but they hate her so.

Cyrus Pinkerton said...

It's been almost three hours and Althouse hasn't issued an apology to Mindsteps yet.

You can run but you cannot hide
This is widely known
And what you plan to do with your foolish pride
When you're all by yourself alone
Once you tell somebody the way that you feel
You can feel it beginning to ease
I think it's true what they say about the squeaky wheel
Always getting the grease.

Better to shower the people you love with love
Show them the way that you feel
Things are gonna be just fine if you only will
Shower the people you love with love
Show them the way that you feel
Things are gonna be much better if you only will


(James Taylor, "Shower the People")

rcocean said...

"I wonder how many mirrors Andrew has around his house."

If he has any self-respect - none.

Larry Sheldon said...

Cut me some slack, I am not a lawyer, I have not been a formal student for long time (got a BS in Management which is redundant at age 55 15 or 20 years ago), and I have other alibis.

but I do have a question: Why does anybody know what Sullivan says?

I mean I see him quoted in places I wasn't expecting (or would have avoided).

What sane person reads him?

Methadras said...

Andrew Sullivan could never have comments set up on his blog. Simply because he would get mired in trying to comment on every other comment where his effite, smarmy homosexuality would bleed through rendering him useless. And as we know, no homosexual, republican or otherwise ever, never, ever wants to become useless.