Althouse: "I feel your pain. And have you ever seen The Wizard of Oz?"

March 7, 2009

"I feel your pain. And have you ever seen The Wizard of Oz?"

"It’s about this sweet little nobody who gets to pay a brief visit to the glittering Emerald City before being swept back to the reassuring familiarity of the poor thing’s broken-down windswept economically devastated monochrome dustbowl. You’ll love it!"

112 comments:

Gahrie said...: Well come on Alpha Liberal.

Come and tell us how this debacle, (coupled with Hillary's gaffes around Eurasia) are so much better than what President Bush did the last eight years.

Or is it going to be, "it's too early to Judge Pres. Obama".

Or "your comments are racist and reactionary"?; 3/7/09, 4:17 PM
SteveR said...: Well written, exactly right and depressing as hell.; 3/7/09, 4:19 PM
BJM said...: To quote ole "Tingly-leg"

"Oh God."; 3/7/09, 4:28 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: “Why Obamania Isn’t the Answer,” which might more usefully have been published before the Obamessiah held his big Berlin rally.

Before we could have foreseen the selling out of Europe to Putin in exchange for HELP... yes boys and girls .. help with Iran.

In his wildest dream Putin never had it .. lo even Imagine it so good.; 3/7/09, 4:34 PM
KCFleming said...: Stop the U.S., I want to get off.; 3/7/09, 4:39 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Putin - "You mean All I have to do is play ball with Iran?.. (or seem to)
Let's see wahtelse we can get from this guy..

Never waste a crisis?; 3/7/09, 4:40 PM
Jason (the commenter) said...: The movie was based on a musical based on a book. Read the book if you ever have a chance. Full of violence and sly political humor; much better than the movie.

There was an entire series (classics all); but don't expect a sequel to be filmed. The second book has transgendered children and deals with sex rolls and feminism.; 3/7/09, 4:45 PM
blake said...: In no universe is the book better than the movie. Not even yours.

The books are fun, haphazardly written, and ridiculously over-interpreted.; 3/7/09, 4:49 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Obamas foreing policy ... an offshoot of his domestic policy.

Id love to change the world..
But I don't know what to do
So Ill leave it up to you; 3/7/09, 4:51 PM
TitusIsReadyForTheDayLetsBegin said...: I am more outraged, disgusted, furious than anyone ever.

Now we really care about what those Europe fags think too.

I say fuck em. Thay wanted Obama now they got him.

I am moving and ready for the world to end and am fucking mad too.

And Liberals suck.

I talked to someone today who voted for Obama and now he said it was a big mistake and everyone he spoke to who voted for Obama has said the same thing and they are all very remourseful. What have you heard?; 3/7/09, 5:00 PM
TitusIsReadyForTheDayLetsBegin said...: Now I have to get ready for a birthday party and I don't even want to go because I am so pissed. I may post something in the bathroom while I am at the party if there are any liberals there happy because America is dieing.; 3/7/09, 5:02 PM
KCFleming said...: Keep the hope alive, Dr. Strangeloaf. Obama's stock is falling, and he is completely responsible for how this is playing out.

He's in over his head and all his appointeess are just as overwhelmed. But enjoy, Titus, your last few months of carefree bliss. You'll remember these as the good times.; 3/7/09, 5:06 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: I'm just waiting for the day when Althouse says "I was wrong to vote for Obama" and I will die a happy man.

So waht they are going to have to beg, borrow and steal to burry me since my savings along with the family will have been redistributed in effect... but I will have the consolation of Althouse saying that she erred in her vote ;)

You see.. I'm not asking for much ;); 3/7/09, 5:06 PM
Rose said...: TitusIAmWithYouTodayOnThisOne!; 3/7/09, 5:08 PM
Rose said...: You may like this one Titus - Hugo Chavez Tells Obama To "Wash His Ass" (Video)

Not sure how the Obots are going to handle this one - Chavez - Obama, Chavez - Obama, how do you choose?; 3/7/09, 5:10 PM
KCFleming said...: Or should I call Titus .Captain Craptastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy, in homage to Elton John?; 3/7/09, 5:11 PM
Wince said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 3/7/09, 5:12 PM
Wince said...: Do you detect any parallel between the ballyhoo printed on Professor Marvel's wagon in the Wizard of Oz and Obama the candidate?

"Acclaimed by the Crown Heads of Europe - Past, Present and Future."

Dorothy: Oh please, Professor, why can't we go with you and see all the Crowned Heads of Europe?

Professor Marvel: Do you know any? Oh, you mean the... thing. Yes.; 3/7/09, 5:17 PM
Jason (the commenter) said...: blake : In no universe is the book better than the movie.

The book has real emotions and humor and it isn't afraid to look at grinding poverty or misery. The movie is just shininess and glitz.

"When Aunt Em came there to live she was a young, pretty wife. The sun and wind had changed her, too. They had taken the sparkle from her eyes and left them a sober gray; they had taken the red from her cheeks and lips, and they were gray also. She was thin and gaunt, and never smiled now. When Dorothy, who was an orphan, first came to her, Aunt Em had been so startled by the child's laughter that she would scream and press her hand upon her heart whenever Dorothy's merry voice reached her ears; and she still looked at the little girl with wonder that she could find anything to laugh at."; 3/7/09, 5:19 PM
Curtiss said...: Titus: I am moving and ready for the world to end and am fucking mad too.

So Titus, if the world is about to end, where will you move?

***********************

Anyway, it's been a tough week for Obama and friends. It this continues, people may take notice. Lord knows, the Europeans have. And the Russians. And the Iranians.

It can't be "too early to judge" for much longer.

(I'm being kind, here, in a most bi-partisan way).; 3/7/09, 5:19 PM
blake said...: Mmmm. That's some stuff about the dried up ol' farmer's wife. Kids eat that up.

Just shininess and glitz? Unforgettable music, unforgettable dialogue, a cinematic icon that even after 70 years is as popular as it ever was?

The Oz series is like the Friday The 13th of kidlit: Each book contradicts the last.; 3/7/09, 5:45 PM
Revenant said...: In no universe is the book better than the movie.

Not only is the book better than the movie, but so was "Return to Oz". It did a much better job of capturing the spirit of the books.

Don't get me wrong; "The Wizard of Oz" is a good children's movie. But even if you don't credit the symbolism in the book (and I'm skeptical myself) it was still a darker, scarier, and all around *weirder* place than is depicted in the film. The Tin Woodsman, for example, is made of tin because his entire body was gradually chopped off by his axe. That's an image that makes an impression on a kid, and that's the Oz books in a nutshell: the world of Oz is a frightening and inscrutable place, just like a child's world is. Happy singing and dancing is what most adults THINK a child's world is.

The book also benefits from not having that atrocious "it was all just a dream" ending.; 3/7/09, 5:51 PM
Revenant said...: I'm just waiting for the day when Althouse says "I was wrong to vote for Obama" and I will die a happy man.

We went through this in 2000 and 2004. "The President is doing an atrocious job" does not automatically imply "I should have voted for the other guy".

It is possible (although it does not in my opinion happen to be the case now) for the current President to be both (a) horrible and (b) better than the alternative.; 3/7/09, 5:54 PM
Peter V. Bella said...: Mr. Steyn hit the nail precisely on the Head. He showed the Obama administration for what it really is- empty cheap suits run by infantile, juvenile, tyros who have no concept of protocol and decorum.

First they slight Mr. Brown by treating him like a second class tourist, then to make matters worse they give him a thoughtless, cheap, and meaningless gift. Nice, real nice.

Then, that paragon of buffoonery, Hillary Clinton gives the Russians a cheap plastic button with a mistranslated word on it. Clowns. This administration is run by clowns.

I heard the next Presidential press conference will be announced thusly:
“Laaaadies and Gentlemen. Children of all ages. Bozo’s Circus is on the air.”; 3/7/09, 6:12 PM
Chennaul said...: I prefer to call Titus-

Docteur Folamerde.

I actually always saw The Wizard of Oz as a conservative movie-but you either get that or you don't.

[which is the point of the movie-no one can really do it for you]; 3/7/09, 6:16 PM
CarmelaMotto said...: I adore Mark Steyn.

I am going to get tired of saying, "I told you so," to my co-workers as they lament their choice.; 3/7/09, 6:22 PM
Pastafarian said...: I like Mark Steyn too, but I'm going to have to disagree with him on this one.

Obama and his administration are not incompetent -- I don't think that any of this is an accident. They're torpedoing the economy on purpose; they're driving wedges between us and our strongest allies deliberately.

I know that this sounds insane and paranoid; but I'm not given to paranoid delusion. These people are all too smart -- too smart to believe that it's a good idea to humiliate Great Britain. Too smart to think that funneling $4 billion to ACORN and wasting hundreds of billions of dollars on make-work projects is somehow going to improve the economy.

They know that it's going to prolong and deepen this recession, maybe even driving us into depression. They'll let no good crisis go to waste, and they'll do all they can to make this crisis as bad as possible.

People like Althouse, who voted for Obama on the hope that he was actually a conservative pragmatist, could not have been more wrong.; 3/7/09, 6:40 PM
BJM said...: Pastafarian, ironically, the Brits have a saying that applies rather well:

"Cock-up before conspiracy."

I find it difficult to credit this crew of assclowns with the ability to run the take down you've described, however that doesn't mean the outcome won't be similar.; 3/7/09, 6:53 PM
Pastafarian said...: Post script -- I was in a gun shop today, for the first time in almost a year. Needed some .270 ammo to get ready for groundhogs. (Someone has to keep the subterranean menace in its place).

I shit you not: I've never seen that place busier that that. They've added several new employees -- I guess those are jobs that Obama can really take credit for saving/creating.

There were at least 50 customers in this one small gun shop -- it was beyond belief. Prices on "assault weapons" (semiauto rifles with 20 rd magazines) were about 50% higher than I've ever seen them. They were sold out of many entire calibers of ammunition -- not just one brand, but all the Federals, all the Winchesters, all out.

I suppose these people in these gun shops all across the country could all be overreacting. But consider just how accurate Intrade is at forecasting future events. Imagine how accurate it must be at forecasting an event whose occurrence depends solely upon the future behavior of those doing the voting. That is, how could all of these people preparing for civil unrest be wrong, when they'll probably be the people initiating it?; 3/7/09, 6:58 PM
The Dude said...: Yeah, Ann is never going to admit that voting for Obama was a mistake. That's just not going to happen, regardless of what occurs.; 3/7/09, 6:59 PM
Baron Zemo said...: My dear lady. Why is everyone so upset.

You must know that black people do not like to give gifts. They are much too cheap.

They do not tip either.; 3/7/09, 7:01 PM
Eric said...: So, you're saying giving a guy from Great Britain 25 Region 1 DVDs is just a mistake? The president isn't all on his own here - there are people working for him that take care of this kind of thing for a living.

Oh, and did everyone know Brown is blind in one eye and has impaired vision in the other? Would you give a DVD set to a blind guy?; 3/7/09, 7:02 PM
Michael Haz said...: People like Althouse...

Of course they do. Otherwise why even bother to stop at her blog and post a comment of two?

If you are someone who doesn't like Althouse, then what's the point of spending time here? It's like television or radio - if you don't like it then turn the dial.; 3/7/09, 7:03 PM
Pastafarian said...: BJM -- you could be right, this could just be a collection of incompetents.

But Rahm Emmanuel, Larry Summers, Holder, Geithner, Obama himself -- these seem to me like very, very smart people. It is interesting how many obvious dunderheads (Biden, Browner, Napolitano) they've also mixed in, possibly to concentrate all real power in a smaller core of insiders.

Certainly Obama is too intelligent to think that raising taxes on businesses (most of those "rich people" making $250K or more are actually S corps) and imposing some cap-and-trade scheme to drive up energy prices, while shutting down the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste depository, and fighting new oil exploration tooth-and-nail, is a good idea just as the economy teeters on the brink of depression. And let's compound that while we're at it, with profligate spending designed to trash what's left of our currency; laws that will make unionization easier; and make-work projects (one guy digs a hole so the next can fill it in) that will artificially "employ" people and prevent businesses from even enjoying the marginal benefit of a recession, a deep well of potential employees.

He's not that stupid. No one is. (Well, maybe Michael.)

If we're forced to choose between stupid and evil when describing people like Emmanuel and Obama, I'm choosing evil. I could be wrong, and I hope that I am.; 3/7/09, 7:19 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: We just need Roy back ;)

The other night Althouse asked us to talk about our our dreams.. I said something about the red sox and it seemed to blow the professors sails in the wrong direction.

So tonight I thought I make it up to her.

I'm sorry profe I let you down.; 3/7/09, 7:27 PM
Clyde said...: @ Eric

You're right. Obama should have given him the audiobook set of Dreams of My Father and The Audacity of Hope. He could even have autographed it.

/sarc; 3/7/09, 7:30 PM
The Dude said...: I haven't bought any ammo since before the election. Talked to a friend the other day - he said that it is getting real difficult to find. I was hoping to buy more, if only for trading for food later.; 3/7/09, 7:31 PM
Pastafarian said...: Michael Hasenstab said: "Of course they do."

...in reference, I think, to my sentence "People like Althouse, who voted for Obama on the hope that he was actually a conservative pragmatist, could not have been more wrong."

So I wasn't actually saying that people are fond of Althouse. They are; I respect and admire her. I was stating that she, and people like her, really fucked up big time last November. And the respect and admiration that I hold for her just added to my disappointment.

fcai -- I agree, I don't think that she'll admit it. She'll contend that McCain (who was admittedly no Reagan, but who voted against the spendulus) would actually have been worse. If what we're witnessing here is just incompetence, then maybe (just maybe) she was right. (Still unlikely, though, because he did vote against the spendulus). But if what we're witnessing here is a treasonous sabotaging of the American economy and of America's standing with her allies by a cabal of Stalinists, then I'd say her vote and her defense of it is an epic fail.; 3/7/09, 7:31 PM
Peter V. Bella said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 3/7/09, 7:34 PM
Peter V. Bella said...: But Rahm Emmanuel, Larry Summers, Holder, Geithner, Obama himself -- these seem to me like very, very smart people.

Smart, intellectual, or intelligence have nothing to do with competence. Competence comes from proven, demonstrated, experience over period of time; something sorely lacking in this administration from the President on down.; 3/7/09, 7:38 PM
Chennaul said...: Lem-

Do not call up people tonight that make you feel bad.

I'm just sayin'.; 3/7/09, 7:42 PM
Trooper York said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 3/7/09, 7:43 PM
joewxman said...: Post script -- I was in a gun shop today, for the first time in almost a year. Needed some .270 ammo to get ready for groundhogs. (Someone has to keep the subterranean menace in its place).

I shit you not: I've never seen that place busier that that. They've added several new employees -- I guess those are jobs that Obama can really take credit for saving/creating.

There is only one stock on the NYSE that is trading at 52 week high and guess what business that company is in.

And Smith and Wesson which trades over the counter has gone from 2 to nearly 4 in the last 5 months.; 3/7/09, 7:50 PM
Trooper York said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 3/7/09, 7:51 PM
Gahrie said...: Guys-

I haven't picked up my weapon yet. It will be my first gun.

Double barreled shotgun or Garand?; 3/7/09, 7:51 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Lem-
Do not call up people tonight that make you feel bad.

Too late.

I just got off the phone with my tia Any in Fla.

She is the one crazy in love with Julio and still does I think.. she was in the middle of a bingo game so we could not talk much.; 3/7/09, 7:54 PM
Trooper York said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 3/7/09, 7:57 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: We have our song for tia Any..

Any Any Any; 3/7/09, 8:06 PM
Trooper York said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 3/7/09, 8:06 PM
JAL said...: Pastafarian -- I went to shoot the other day -- first time in months and months (last time pre-Obama). *Small* gun shop that has an indoor range.

A Friday afternoon at 2:30 pm.

It was full of people. Probably 10. (Small floor space.)

Range not so many -- 4 t0 6 of us in the half hour I was there.

I had heard things were busy.

Now. If I can just decide which handgun to buy ....; 3/7/09, 8:11 PM
The Dude said...: Gahrie said...

Double barreled shotgun or Garand?
...

Odd choices, but if you are not familiar with the safe operation of firearms, you need to get some training.

A double barreled shot gun is good for 2 shots before it has to be reloaded. Think about that. An M1 is a very nice rifle - used in in military school. But I have more modern long guns.

I have a single barrel pump action .12 guage for home security. It holds 6 rounds.

I have a nice Beretta 9mm carbine for longer distance shooting, a .45 caliber carbine so that I can load clips with hollow points and use them in both my (relatively) long gun and my sidearm. These are each good for about 10 or 12 rounds before reloading.

I have a small 5 shot .38 that I carry at all times. That is not good for much, in reality, but I'd rather have it and not need it than the inverse. It is not accurate over about 5 feet, and with only 5 rounds, one has to be thinking of escaping before firing the first round.

I live near a section 8 housing development in a town full of democrats and other criminals and moochers. I will not give up without a fight. I am not a liberal.

I cannot state, however, how important firearm safety is - both for you and anyone who might encounter the guns in the house. If you have children around, you must secure the weapons. There is no room for laxness, no second chances.

I was raised around firearms, have been trained to handle guns and shoot safely, and I go to the range every chance I get. I can still nail a bullseye shooting from a bench, and even with all that, I have the utmost respect for firearms. They are not toys, and they are nothing to be casual about.

If you decide to purchace a weapon, be smart and be safe.; 3/7/09, 8:12 PM
JAL said...: Is Lem pinting again?; 3/7/09, 8:13 PM
JAL said...: fcai --

I think you're probably talking to both Gahrie and I. (Or you should be ;-) )

I took a day long class. I need to shoot more frequently and handle more hand guns as I figure out what feels good.; 3/7/09, 8:19 PM
Chennaul said...: Damn it Lem!

Well at least don't to the Bermuda Triangle of Downers-

The guilt trippers-or whatever they do, and the sad songs and booze.

Put on the happy music!; 3/7/09, 8:23 PM
Chennaul said...: That should be don't *do*-

I'm being nagged by the real world...but -

btw my favorite saying for being drunk is I think the Brit's

Are you takin' the piss?; 3/7/09, 8:25 PM
lowercase said...: Yes, but I feel all right about it because my "Prisoner" from Orin Swift Cellars arrived today. I recommend it for the label/ marketing alone. Pay the extra, and bring the BIG bottle to your next dinner party. You will not be sorry.; 3/7/09, 8:26 PM
Trooper York said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 3/7/09, 8:26 PM
Trooper York said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 3/7/09, 8:27 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Is Lem pinting again?

Its better to suffer alone.

NUNCA SUPE LA VERDAD (I never knew the truth); 3/7/09, 8:28 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Se que me engañaste un dia (I know you cheated on me)

Google translation.. is not that good.

I think that will be very easy if you're crying, you must convince me that I know well, I want you soon that whole play, is something that I never get is that one day tricked me with that friend, it is otherwise he was always there, I left you, your engallaste I, your humble me, want me again just for that.

I am going far away is my destination, if only my Estina can speak, I am going away and maybe on my way, other hands will find another love, I am going away even when I am coward, I got scared and the only reason that do not miss me you know I leave everything alone and go with your love

I think that will be very easy if you're crying, you must convince me that I know well, I want you soon that whole play, I never get over me, was my best friend and you knew that you cared little laugh entonses me, kisses in the night, in the afternoon laughing, crying in the morning, I do not know how you atrevez back to me.

I am going far away is my destination, if only my Estina can speak, I am going away and maybe on my way, other hands will find another love, I am going away even when I am coward, I got scared and the only reason that do not miss me you know I leave everything alone and go with your love; 3/7/09, 8:39 PM
Issob Morocco said...: I asked my neighbor, who voted for Obama and sported an "Obama" bumper sticker since last April on his van, what had happened to it as it no longer was on it. He sheepishly said the election was over and he wanted to clean up the vehicle.

Voter's remorse is growing.; 3/7/09, 8:42 PM
Methadras said...: Caliga Vix est bardus quod ego operor non tutela quis quisquam reputo.; 3/7/09, 8:42 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Solo (Alone)

Even though I'm alone.. today when I go out.. nobody will notice that I cry..; 3/7/09, 8:51 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Put on the happy music!

I cant promise anything.. but maybe.. since you asked.; 3/7/09, 8:57 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: The only jesture is to believe.. or not

Oh que será (What it could be)

Yo creo en muchas cosas que no he visto, y ustedes también, lo sé.
No se puede negar la existencia de algo palpado por mas etereo que
sea. No hace falta exhibir una prueba de decencia de aquello que es tan verdadero. El unico gesto es creer o no. Algunas veces hasta creer llorando. Se trata de un tema incompleto porque le falta respuesta; respuesta que alguno de ustedes, quizas, le pueda dar.

Es un tema en technicolor para hacer algo util del amor. Para todos nosotros, amén.

Oh, qué sera, qué sera
que anda suspirando por las alcobas,
que se oye susurrando en versos de trova,
que anda combinandonos preguntas locas,
que anda en las cabezas, anda en las bocas,
que anda ascendiendo por hartos huecos,
que estan hablando alto en la bodega,
y grita en el mercado, qué cosa es esa?
Es la naturaleza, sera, que sera,
que no tiene certeza y nunca te da,
que no tiene concepto, y nunca tendra,
que no tiene tamaño.

Oh, qué sera, qué sera
que vive en las ideas de esos amantes,
que cantan los poetas mas delirantes,
que juran los profetas emborrachados,
esta en la romeria de los mutilados,
esta en la fantasia de los infelices,
esta en el dia a dia de las meretrices,
en todos los bandidos y desvalidos,
En todos sus sentidos, sera qué sera,
que no tiene decencia y nunca tendra,
que no tiene censura y nunca tendra,
y le falta sentido.

Oh, qué sera, qué sera
que ningun aviso podra evitar,
que tampoco los presos puedan desafiar,
que todos los caminos tendran que cruzar,
donde todos los signos van a consagrar,
y todos los niñitos a investigar,
y todos los destinos van a encontrar,
y el mismo Padre eterno que nunca fue alla,
al hombre nuevamente lo bendeciran
apagando al infierno su llama final,
porque no tiene caso volver a rodar
por la falta de juicio.

Ohhh, qué sera
Ohhh, qué sera
Ohhh, qué sera
(Ohhh, qué sera)
Que jura el profeta, canta el poeta, y estan gritando en la maqueta,
Oh, qué sera
(Ohhh, qué sera)
Que me despierta por la noche, y me hace temblar, me hace llorar,
(Ohhh, qué sera)
Son fantasmas, son los fantasmas, siento la puerta tocar tres veces,
Oh, qué sera
(Ohhh, qué sera)
Van suspirando por las alcobas y susurrando versos de trova,
ponte a escuchar!

(Ohhh, qué sera)
No tiene tamaño, y es naturaleza, anda en las bocas y en las cabezas,
(Ohhh, qué sera)
Todos los niñitos lo investigaran y ningun aviso lo podra evitar,
(Ohhh, qué sera)
En toda campana repicara, y el que esta dormido despertara,
(Ohhh, qué sera)
Son fantasmas, son los fantasmas, siento la puerta tocar tres veces,
Oh qué sera!!!

(Ohhh, qué sera)
Son fantasmas, son fantasmas, son fantasmas, son fantasmas
oigo la puerta tocar, ay, la puerta tocar
(Ohhh, qué sera)
Lo vive el bandido, el desvalido,
las meretrices, los infelices,
el reverendo y el bombero,
el presidente, el zapatero,
y las maestras y el carpintero,
la ciudadana y el extranjero,
también el juez y el farandulero,
la enfermera, el timonero,
el santero, el marxista,
el bodeguero y el masoquista
Oh, qué sera!!!

A lot of waht Althouse post here is in this song - sadly it would take too long to translate properly.; 3/7/09, 9:14 PM
garage mahal said...: Obama and his administration are not incompetent -- I don't think that any of this is an accident. They're torpedoing the economy on purpose; they're driving wedges between us and our strongest allies deliberately

Oh, for fuck's sake.; 3/7/09, 9:34 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: OK.. Let's play something for our anglo brethrens ;)

Oh, the things that have become unforgivable.; 3/7/09, 9:37 PM
Ralph L said...: Who invited Menudo over for a couple of numbers, and can we get him fired?; 3/7/09, 9:38 PM
Anonymous said...: Garage votes for incompetence! We knew you'd wake up eventually.; 3/7/09, 9:42 PM
Michael Haz said...: Pastafarian said: "I was stating that she, and people like her, really fucked up big time last November. And the respect and admiration that I hold for her just added to my disappointment."

I don't understand why people expect an apology from Althouse for her exercising her right to vote for the candidate of her choice.

It was entirely her prerogative to vote for Obama, and she owes no one an apology.

Is there any issue here beyond your expectation that Althouse will somehow validate your decision by apologizing for hers?

Please.; 3/7/09, 9:46 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Who invited Menudo over for a couple of numbers, and can we get him fired?

An while we are in the subject of children..

When I heard this song for the first time (looking back on it) it was a religious experience.; 3/7/09, 9:57 PM
Chip Ahoy said...: My dad sat us on the sofa and had us all watch a movie. It was the Wizard of Oz. The witch who tossed the ball of flame on the scarecrow, and those horrible little flying monkeys wearing embroidered vests who kidnapped Dorothy and Toto scared the living piss out of me.

Much later after I recovered from the fear I read all the L. Frank Buam books. They're scary too.

One of the scariest opens with little robot people on one wheel that are hogging all the apples or something. Dorothy has to negotiate with them. I think they were irrational and possibly dangerous, at least that's what I remember. Later, they have to cross the burning desert to get to a fortress. They're traveling in a group on a carpet that unrolls before them and rolls back up behind them. If they step off the carpet they get burned to cinders so they must be disciplined about it.

At the fortress the bad guy turns all Dorothy's friends into tchotskis, or nicknacks. I visualized salt and pepper shakers because my mum had a collection of them. Dorothy had to guess which tchotskis were her friends from thousands of them on shelves in a basement warehouse. If she guessed wrongly her friends remained nicknacks, forever!

I was just a little kid so I might not be remembering it perfectly, but it left a lasting impression on my life nonetheless. I still have this thing about monkeys with vests, and I'm not big on traveling through deserts.; 3/7/09, 10:13 PM
davod said...: No quite the Wizard of Oz but this is appropriate:

Nothing is new:

Make Mine Freedom: A new release from the Moving Picture Institute: A 1948 cartoon extolling the virtues of freedom and capitalism over statism. Somehow, the film seems eerily appropriate today. (Although it condemns "isms" of all stripes -- such as fascism, socialism, and communism -- clearly libertarianism is an label that was later formulated to describe the pro-freedom view of this film.)*

PS: Progressivism is missing as well.

Change you can believe in.

*http://volokh.com/ (Randy Barnett, March 6, 2009 at 1:22pm]; 3/7/09, 10:21 PM
Peter V. Bella said...: I have flying monkeys and I am not afraid to use them.; 3/7/09, 10:34 PM
Jason (the commenter) said...: It was entirely her prerogative to vote for Obama, and she owes no one an apology.

Why would anyone have to apologize? Obama was running against McCain, remember. I'm not convinced that McCain would be doing any better than Obama, we'd just have different mistakes to deal with.; 3/7/09, 10:37 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Chip says..

..and I'm not big on traveling through deserts.

DESERT SONG

I think this song will be very scary to some people here.. if they can even stand to play it all the way ;); 3/7/09, 10:46 PM
davod said...: "I'm not convinced that McCain would be doing any better than Obama, we'd just have different mistakes to deal with."

Well, maybe McCain would not socialize the economy and use fairytails to reduce the deficit by three trillion dollars (make believe the surge will last two 2019 deduct The funds ($2.6 trillion) and voila.; 3/7/09, 10:52 PM
davod said...: PS: I doubt McCain would reduce the defence budget to less a percentage of GDP than before WWII.; 3/7/09, 10:53 PM
Jason (the commenter) said...: I voted for McCain and donated to his campaign, but I am more optimistic and energized with a pathetic Obama in office than I would be with a pathetic McCain as president. Thank you Althouse for your vote, if anything we who voted for McCain should apologize to you. The only thing we can say for ourselves is, we kept Obama from being able to claim there was no opposition to his ideas.

I hope in future we can get politicians to clearly articulate conservative ideas. I also hope that Obama stays as incompetent as he is right now for the rest of his presidency.

I have no fear in writing any of this because I know Obama is too bigoted to read blogs or expose himself to possible "contamination" with the ideas of ordinary people by reading anything other than what he sees printed in newspapers. He's nothing more than a silly Mandarin who likes getting his picture taken and having people tell him how much they love him.; 3/7/09, 11:08 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Well said Jason...

and as far as I know (very little btw) I think you are the commenter ;); 3/7/09, 11:18 PM
DaLawGiver said...: McCain wouldn't have been any better than Obama. He would have just drawn it out longer. We're fucked.; 3/7/09, 11:27 PM
DaLawGiver said...: "My monkey is hungry." That's what the whores in Matamoros used to say. The government is our monkey, it flies at taxpayer expense, it wears a vest of many colors and it's very hungry.

I'm going to have another rum and coke.; 3/7/09, 11:32 PM
DaLawGiver said...: The article is very funny though.; 3/7/09, 11:33 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: I'am a Christian.. and as a Christian I dont believe in Wizards nor Witches and much less in Obama.. the latest thing out of Holywood.; 3/7/09, 11:34 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Pavarotti - Ave Maria - Schubert.

Not that I have to show my papers or anything..; 3/7/09, 11:38 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: I want to go the Althousian Cafe.. but she has not opened it lately..

Something must have happened, something bad..

You know this is not right. somepeople f__up and we are made to suffer ;)

Thats it I'm leaving the republican party ;); 3/7/09, 11:48 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Wait a minute.. Lets not Rush out of things.

I like Palin .. she needs me.. she is a babe.

Palin 2012.; 3/7/09, 11:53 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: that was close.; 3/7/09, 11:53 PM
blake said...: Chip--

Your recall is quite good! Those scenes you mention are from, I think, Ozma of Oz.

Look, I like the Baum books, but the movie is one of the greatest movies of all time, and in the top 3 or 4 for most culturally influential.

There's no comparison.; 3/7/09, 11:53 PM
reader_iam said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 3/7/09, 11:59 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: MaCain?

Could you all just please just move on .. Mac is one of 100 senators...

I dont mean to "burst your bubble" to coin an economic phrase.

But Palin is where my money is at. Sure you say long shot.. waht was the Obama shot in 2004?; 3/7/09, 11:59 PM
blake said...: Yes, and what's the matter with it?

Heh. That's rich.; 3/8/09, 12:00 AM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Waht was the Clinton shot in 1988?

waht was the Bush 41 shot in 1976?; 3/8/09, 12:03 AM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Palin is going to be the president of the US!; 3/8/09, 12:06 AM
Maggie Goff said...: Lem, here's another beautiful Ave Maria

http://tinyurl.com/ck6ban

I just hope you haven't passed out before you can listen. ;); 3/8/09, 12:09 AM
reader_iam said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 3/8/09, 12:12 AM
Revenant said...: Look, I like the Baum books, but the movie is one of the greatest movies of all time

There's no disputing tastes, I guess. I find it overrated -- largely, I admit, because it was in my view a mediocre adaptation of a much more interesting story.; 3/8/09, 12:17 AM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Palin 2012

Nobody shall sleep!...
Nobody shall sleep!
Even you, o Princess,
in your cold room,
watch the stars,
that tremble with love and with hope.
But my secret is hidden within me,
my name no one shall know...
No!...No!...
On your mouth I will tell it when the light shines.
And my kiss will dissolve the silence that makes you mine!...
(No one will know his name and we must, alas, die.)
Vanish, o night!
Set, stars! Set, stars!
At dawn, I will win! I will win! I will win!

maggie45 says..
I just hope you haven't passed out before you can listen. ;)

O ye of little faith ;); 3/8/09, 12:19 AM
reader_iam said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 3/8/09, 12:19 AM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Maggie45 that is a very very good redition of Ave Maria.

I love that song.

Thanks.; 3/8/09, 12:31 AM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Still Callas is the Ave Maria por excelencia..

Its a matter of refinement ;); 3/8/09, 12:40 AM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: As long as we are playing the good shit.. why dont do we let Count Basie have a shot.; 3/8/09, 12:56 AM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Lets live large.. set it loose and why not?

It's Dexter Gorgon..

This is as good as it gets!; 3/8/09, 1:03 AM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Those base solos allways sucked.. but who was going to tell them .. you know. they played for us not the other way around ;); 3/8/09, 1:09 AM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Cry me a river..

Cry me a river.. you cant cry any harder if you saved it up for 100 years.; 3/8/09, 1:14 AM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: While we all crying..

I cried for you.

I cried for you
Now its your turn to cry over me
Every road has a turning
Thats one thing youre learning
I cried for you
What a fool I used to be
Now Ive found two eyes
Just a little bit bluer
Ive found a heart
Just a little bit truer
I cried for you
Now its your turn to cry over me; 3/8/09, 1:21 AM
Chennaul said...: Lem-

Good music but no crying-look up a new thread for insomniacs....; 3/8/09, 1:33 AM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Everytime we say goodby..

I was looking for the Anny Lenox rendition but its not on You Tube.

Anny sings the life out of that song .. for us!

Simply Red is second rate.; 3/8/09, 1:36 AM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: I've stumbled on to this looking for something else..

Close to you (1971); 3/8/09, 1:48 AM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: This is a nice song to call it.. to call it a night.

call it a night.; 3/8/09, 3:12 AM
Tibore said...: Wouldn't it be funny if they were all Region 1 DVDs?

Just sayin'...; 3/9/09, 3:15 PM
Gahrie said...: Wouldn't it be funny if they were all Region 1 DVDs?

According to every account I know of...they were.; 3/9/09, 5:00 PM