Andrew Sullivan curls up with a book. He's "gone silent," he says.
There is a possibility here of such a huge scandal that we would be crazy not to take our time either to debunk it or move it forward for further examination.Huh? What's up? What "new data"? Just the book itself? The book is pablum. How long can it take to digest?
ADDED: This is pure speculation, but I wonder if Palin has threatened to sue Sullivan for defamation.
Posts
106 comments:
I think he confuses rigorous with vigorous.
"The book is pablum."
Too bad Drudge isn't a lib, the headline is so ripe.
Palin Pablum.
Sullivan is a disgusting perver Ann. You should stop linking to him. Doing so is explotive of whatever mental illness he is suffering. And it is also really gross of you as a woman. You may be jealous of Palin because she is better looking and more successful than you. You may dislike her views. You may think she is an idiot. But no woman deserves to be subjected to the crap that Sullivan puts out about Palin.
If Palin were my wife or my sister, I would have long since beaten that pervert to within an inch of his life. He is just a disgusting human being. You should be above linking to him.
The un-ironic self-negation of that quote pretty much sums up Sullivan since he lost his man crush on Bush.
I am pretty sure Sullivan's review of Sarah Palin will involve attempted spatchcocking.
Scandal? I think the HIV has gone to Sullivan's brain. He's sounding extremely paranoid and delusional. He's lost all grip on reality. At worst Sarah Palin decides not to bother running in 2012, but run for the Alaskan Senate seat in 2014. Big fucking deal.
specifically her fantastic story of her fifth pregnancy
OMFG. Who is unhinged here?
Perhaps it would be helpful to note that Mr. Sullivan is “doing the best [he] can with what [he] has to work with.”
So it goes.
Hey! This is fun!!!
So it goes.
Sully's breathless statement about how vital it is for him to get his review of this book "right", at the same time that he's presciently declaring it fraudulent and flawed, is a chuckle.
Sullivan, dude, you must put down that bong BEFORE you post, not after.
1jpb:
Too bad Drudge isn't a lib, the headline is so ripe.
Palin Pablum.
Yes, and people who can't spell "pabulum" can lecture us about what a dunce Sarah Palin is.
Sullivan lives in his own creative world of alternate "Facts" and is not worth the time reading him takes. In fact he resembles Major Hasan's sticking to an alternate reality in a way because all he says is based upon a wrong belief that he cannot ever let go of, but which makes him lash out at others who are not in agreement with him. it is a mental condition based upon a wilfull refusal of belief in the truth, which makes them both psychotics.
Sullivan is the "Baghdad Bob" of the blogsphere. Good for being the butt of jokes and what not.
Well the good part is Sullivan will be very objective and fair in his review.
Well at least that other Andrew Sullivan in some other parallel universe. Our Andrew Sullivan...well I would not expect that.
To be fair... pablum or pabulum is sort of what the book was billed as (even if no one would use that word except to be critical.)
It was presented as a biography and review of the campaign.
It wasn't presented as a shocking tell-all of personal secrets nor as a dense policy tome.
"Yes, and people who can't spell "pabulum" can lecture us about what a dunce Sarah Palin is."
Ann can. She is smart. She went to Yale and voted for Obama.
You have to understand conspiracy theorists. I grew up in a family that were 100% believers in the whole UFO conspiracies and they could go on for hours at a video of some fuzzy lights.
It won't be what the book says but what it doesn't say. What it hints at. If you combine what she said on page 243 with the anecdote on p 97 and hit yourself in the head with a hammer for a day or two, you will clearly see Palin is admitting to being a Reptilian alien!
Pablum is the trademarked brand name for a cereal product. Pabulum is a Latin word.
Reptilian alien...
That show is on hulu and I haven't watched it yet.
And a new episode of Castle, too!
I am hoping that further discussion in the comments will refrain from name-calling about Sullivan's sexual orientation or attributing his morbid fascination with Palin to his HIV status. AIDS-related dementia is a lot less common than it used to be, and you can't possibly know enough about the intimate details of his health to assert that he suffers from it.
After all, presumably straight people not suffering from AIDS go off the deep end too. Let's give him the benefit of the doubt.
He doesn't allow blog comments, so I'll take the liberty of posting my email to him, in response to his post titled "The Odd Lies Of Sarah Palin: A Summary Before The Next Round":
If any post begged for a fisking, it's that one.
But it won't happen for three reasons:
1. Screaming "Liar!" at a politician is like screaming "Filthy!" at a garbage truck. You were expecting something different? And who wants to waste time responding to the howlings of people with unusual obsessions over pedestrian phenomena?
2. Your obsession with Sarah Palin smells a lot like the odor coming from the 9/11 truthers. Their "facts" have the same stench as your "facts"; their earnest ardour for the "truth" matches yours. And arguing with crazy people gets boring really quickly.
3. Your blog is still popular, but you continue to waste your capital as an opinion leader on your morbid obsession with Sarah Palin, among other things. You have apparently lost your ability to pick the fights that matter, which only serves to build you a reputation as an intellectual flyweight. It would be unusual to see any major blogger respond to your strange Palin family posts, other than to note their strangeness.
It was probably a waste of time to write this. Have a nice life.
--Scott
I'm speechless.
John...It would be helpful to you to distinguish between #1) a criticism that can be a help, and #2) a false fact based attack designed to hurt a reputation. The Professor has done #1 once about Palin. But you have repeatedly done #2 about her as a retaliation. Get with the big tent theory and see reachable friends everywhere. Sarah can handle her enemies, if you don't go making more of them for her.
Ann and Andrew both know Palin sells-if they were selling anything. Lots of Palin-centric traffic on this
blog as well.
Psychologist call this projection
AP on Hot Air is doing a Palinpalooza too.
"John...It would be helpful to you to distinguish between #1) a criticism that can be a help, and #2) a false fact based attack designed to hurt a reputation. The Professor has done #1 once about Palin. But you have repeatedly done #2 about her as a retaliation. Get with the big tent theory and see reachable friends everywhere. Sarah can handle her enemies, if you don't go making more of them for her."
I doubt I am going reach Ann. Further, Sullivan is a disgusting pervert and not because he is gay. His posts on Palin are both deranged and profoundly misogynistic. If Althouse wants to link to Sullivan, I am going to call her out for linking to a misogynistic pervert who spends his time trying to read the medical records of strange women.
Is it actually possible for a 'grip on reality' to be unhinged? Isn't 'unhinged' idiom for someone who has lost their grip on reality?
Further traditional guy, Ann has yet to write anything but junior high snark about the book. I was hoping she might read it and have something funny or interesting to say. Instead, she just puts out snark.
mariner,
WTF
I don't know what you're trying to say re what I wrote.
Please expand on your thoughts.
@Patrick: Maybe he lost his grip.
Or perhaps the pin fell out of his hinge.
@John: Or perhaps Ann likes to stir up a little controversy to make life interesting. In which case, she's certainly got you nailed, sir.
"@John: Or perhaps Ann likes to stir up a little controversy to make life interesting. In which case, she's certainly got you nailed, sir."
In which case I am glad to play the part.
"Yes, and people who can't spell "pabulum" can lecture us about what a dunce Sarah Palin is."
I've been through the whole pabulum/pablum thing on this blog before. Interestingly, I've changed my opinion. The "baby food" meaning, based on the brand Pablum, should be lower-cased: pablum. "Pabulum" is a more general word for food.
How about "farina"?
Farina... I'm in love with a girl named Farina...
Look, I'm reading the book, but I am very busy, and haven't really sat down with it yet. However, I'm recording a bloggingheads about it tomorrow, so I intend to power through it today and tomorrow morning.
Talk about judging the creative writing...
He says the same thing about her all the time. Unhinged grip on reality, deeply disturbed, fantastic story about her fifth pregnancy... yes, yes. Will there be anything new?
I continue to visit his blog (judge me as you will), and it's becoming sad, but I notice a few things...
For example, reality is a particularly big concept for him. Objective reality, reality checks, version of reality, actual reality, current reality. You can find all reality cliches all over the place. I just checked, the word appears 10 times on just the first page of his blog. He seems to write and quote reality in equal measure.
(Compare that to Althouse where reality appears once [to talk about Andrew Sullivan, and as part of the a magazine named "Unreality"] or Instapundit where it currently appears twice.)
Not sure what it reveals, but I can't help but notice. And it does intrigue me.
Reality is just one example.
The captcha is "prouse"!
"Interestingly, I've changed my opinion."
and
"Digress only to be funny/interesting."
Well, I guess the bar is pretty low for what qualifies as 'interesting.' Hopefully, the 'funny' hurdle is a little higher.
Alex said...
Scandal? I think the HIV has gone to Sullivan's brain. He's sounding extremely paranoid and delusional. He's lost all grip on reality. At worst Sarah Palin decides not to bother running in 2012, but run for the Alaskan Senate seat in 2014.
You're probably right on both counts. Of course, if Miss Sarah makes it to the Senate, that's the end of the White House for her. After Barry's tenure, it will be at least another 48 years before people elect someone from Congress to the Presidency.
Scott said...
I am hoping that further discussion in the comments will refrain from name-calling about Sullivan's sexual orientation or attributing his morbid fascination with Palin to his HIV status. AIDS-related dementia is a lot less common than it used to be
Can we focus on Andy's unhinged grip on reality, because he did a Pat Buchanan about 5 years ago.
I might also add that my wife can give you an argument on that last point.
@chuck b.: That's a hell of an astute observation.
Remember when Matt Yglesias coined the expression, "reality-based community"? It became the cliche of the day for the self-stroking lefty blogosphere; and Andrew latched on to it as well.
(Captcha phrase: anessist)
@edutcher: Put your wife on then.
(Captcha phrase: bationov)
"ADDED: This is pure speculation, but I wonder if Palin has threatened to sue Sullivan for defamation."
@Ann Althouse and libel lawyers: For a public figure like Palin to sue, isn't the bar pretty high, like actual malice vs. reckless disregard for the truth for us mere mortals?
Also, he hasn't commented much on the book yet. If Palin was going to sue, she would have to do it based on Sullivan's earlier posts, wouldn't she?
(Captcha phrase: balsoen)
Sarah is going to sue the internet. This is bogus!
I intend to power through it today and tomorrow morning.
Go for it!
Blogger Ann Althouse said...
Look, I'm reading the book, but I am very busy,
Yes, we know. So, is Titus. As is The Real Barack. I am too for that matter.
Farina... I'm in love with a girl named Farina...
How do you solve a problem like Farina?
...and don't forget Semolina.
What kills me is that Sullivan was once a brilliant writer. I am not talking about his love then hate Bush routine. I first read an article by Sullivan in Reader's Digest. The article was not on a political topic. It was exceptionally interesting and well written. What the heck happened to Andrew Sullivan?
Farina... I'm in love with a girl named Farina...
How do you solve a problem like Farina?
Ave Farina ...
(Captcha phrase: spollyt)
"This is pure speculation, but I wonder if Palin has threatened to sue Sullivan for defamation."
Well, there's this:
http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2009/11/palin-wanted-to-sue-the-dish.html
And this
http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2009/11/sarah-palin-obsessive-daily-dish-reader.html
Scott said...
@edutcher: Put your wife on then.
She hates turning on the computer, much less commenting, but, with 42 years' experience in medical surgical, communicable disease, and oncology, she still complains that the HIV patients are among the most deranged.
Someone like Greg Louganis(sp?) may get top tier treatment, but, in the trenches, it's still ugly.
@Robert: Yeah, it's sad. Whatever is causing him to drift, he needs to take the time to take care of it.
DOMA & DADT & Bush "No Same-sex Marriage" happened, that's what.
@edutcher: That's a "my daddy can beat up your daddy" kind of argument. If you're going to claim expert authority, she really needs to be the one making the case.
My partner died of AIDS in 1994. Up until the last day, he had a sharp mind. The fact that he was at times an asshole had nothing to do with dementia.
(Captcha phrase: ditilic)
John...Thanks for supporting Palin with zeal. She is the best candidate. So long as Todd doesn't wear shorts, the professior will likely support her. But hearing good criticism and correcting blind spots is exactly what Sarah needs from her friends now. When I did jury trials I learned after the trial that many non-commital looking jurors were always on my side, but they wore poker faces so as not to reveal their positions too soon. So I learned to go easy criticising a lack of open support as if it meant opposition.
He (they?) is (are) crazy.
Really.
The Atlantic needs to announce that he has left blogging to spend more time with his family.
Pablum?
I realize there is no celebrity gossip to interest you, no movie gossip, no fashion stuff. And I realize that when she gets into the fierce budget negotiations and the fight for the gas pipeline and the Petroleum profits tax, it gets complicated. Maybe too complicated for a law professor or columnist such as Sully to understand.
Maybe you should try reading the book before calling it pablum or her dumb.
@chuck b.: Palin suing Sullivan would be one that only the lawyers would win. (Check out the Wikipedia article on Westmorland vs. CBS.)
(Captcha phrase: foryopyr)
Further traditional guy, Ann has yet to write anything but junior high snark about the book. I was hoping she might read it and have something funny or interesting to say. Instead, she just puts out snark.
I’ve been assuming from the posts that she hasn’t read it yet. Your complaints will be more appropriate then. (although I am not at all opposed to snark)
Look, I'm reading the book, but I am very busy, and haven't really sat down with it yet. However, I'm recording a bloggingheads about it tomorrow, so I intend to power through it today and tomorrow morning.
Unfortunately, I also have no time, and won't have until the weekend.
But I'll tell you what -- were I in your shoes, I wouldn't have agreed to do a Bloggingheads review on it, a mere 2 days after it came out. That's awful. When I reviewed Clinton's book, it took me a whole month to do so.
And you're already calling it pablum, too. I already know what to expect.
Cheers,
Victoria
Ok, I had to go the link about suing. Here’s what he says:
I've heard it before from a source very close to her - a source who also told me that Palin was obsessed with this blog for much of the campaign.
I might be obsessed, or at the very least trainwreck fascinated, by some crazy loon on the internet who was actually in a real publication who made up insane stories about the birth of my child.
It is not libel to ask a politician to verify a public claim relevant to her campaign that seems weird on inspection
To think that a 40 something woman might have a down syndrome child seems weird only to ONE person. And that person is clearly insane.
@Triangle Man:
I eat antipasto twice, just because she talks so nice, Semolina...
(Captcha phrase: modalbin)
One little kiss and Farina, good-bye!
ADDED: This is pure speculation, but I wonder if Palin has threatened to sue Sullivan for defamation.
This would be absolute folly on her part. Mohammed Al-Fayed has called Prince Philip every evil name under the sun, and alleged infinite amount of things about him, regarding the death of Princess Diana. No lawsuit. And our libel laws are MUCH stricter than Americas.
The only time a British monarch has taken someone to court for libel is in 1911, if memory serves. King George V sued a newspaper owner obsessed with the story that the King, in his youth, had contracted a legal marriage and fathered three children, thus making his legitimate marriage, bigamous. He devoted edition after edition to this subject, until the King was advised to take him to court (where the journalist lost). Strange that it happened to be about a matter very similar to the one Sullivan is obsessed by -- birth and legitimacy.
Cheers,
Victoria
My partner died of AIDS in 1994.
So sorry for your loss. I don't usually say anything about it, but I don't like the "aids dementia" comments either.
To think that a 40 something woman might have a down syndrome child seems weird only to ONE person. And that person is clearly insane.
Not only that, Shanna, but though I knew that Heather, Palin's sister had an autistic child (and two cousins too), but Palin's autobio reveals a very interesting fact.
Todd Palin has a cousin with Down Syndrome.
Of course, for deranged people like Sullivan, that doesn't weaken the argument that Todd raped his own daughter Bristol and Palin gave birth to it, to cover up the infamy.
Cheers,
Victoria
o sorry for your loss. I don't usually say anything about it, but I don't like the "aids dementia" comments either.
No one likes those comments, and it's one of the GREATEST trials of being on Ann's blog, that she doesn't/can't get rid of well-known trolls.
The problem arises when ALL of us are slammed unfairly as accepting what is written here, without protestation, by people who do not understand the dynamics of Blogger.com.
Cheers,
Victoria
@Shanna: Thank you for your kindness. Virtual hugs.
(Captcha phrase: framp)
@victoria: The ones who excoriate the Althouse blog for troll comments are themselves trolls in the larger blogosphere.
(Someone over on reason.com called it the "bloviosphere." I love that!)
(Captcha phrase: droutpl)
Very philosophical, Scott, very nice.
I feel shy saying this to anyone I don't know online, but I must give you my condolences on your loss too.
Cheers,
Victoria
I was trying to imagine Andy reading the book with a yellow highlighter, looking for Secret Clues, but, having only glancing contact with the Da Vinci Code, couldn't really make it work. Echoing mariner at the top of the comments, I don't think "rigorous" means what Sullivan thinks it means...
Vbspurs: I'm not sure that the analogy between Prince Phillip not suing someone who defamed him and Sarah Palin is at all apropos. Sarah Palin is not royalty. Perhaps when she was still governor of Alaska it would have been foolish of her to sue Andrew Sullivan, but now she is a private citizen, and Sullivan really has no grounds for his bizarre obsession. On the other hand, he's so obviously, pathetically insane about the matter that maybe a more proper response to his outbursts would be some sort of restraining order. He sounds like only the thought of having to endure Alaskan weather is keeping him from stalking her physically.
He is kind of sad now. I watched an episode of the dog whisperer once where when the dog was a puppy the family played with the dog by having him chace a laser light on the floor. The dog loved it. Then he got so used to chasing it that he would roam around looking for the laser when it wasn't even on. The dog ended up trapped in a state of paranoia where his whole life he was searching the ground for this one little laser light. He couldn't live an ordinary life. It was sad. The dog whisperer came in and cured the dog (as he always does) within 10 minutes. But it took somebody to snap the dog out of the trance from searching from something that he was overly obsessed with so that he could live a normal life.
Andrew mentions in an email posted on Politico that Palin did not sue him, and that her claims that he posted that Trig was Bristol's baby are untrue. However, he undercuts himself by then saying that she's the leader of the Republican Party. Who knew?
He also falls back on the standard defense of all conspiracy theorists: "I'm just asking questions."
How do you solve a problem like Farina?
Prunes?
I totally understand your point, Andrea, but Sarah Palin is a politician with a future not just a private citizen.
She needs to think of her image as someone who can take the many many shots that will be levelled at her as a potential President (or let's just say for now, Senator). If the American public sees that she is complaining about this, how ever legitimate most normal people think it to be, they will lose confidence in her ability to take a punch.
Disastrous for any potential high office holder.
Cheers,
Victoria
Remember when Matt Yglesias coined the expression, "reality-based community"? It became the cliche of the day for the self-stroking lefty blogosphere; and Andrew latched on to it as well.
Does anyone use that term non-ironically anymore? Every time a lefty says something stupid, like Al Gore's million degree lava, my friends and I roll our eyes and joke about the "reality-based community". I haven't heard it used any other way in years.
If the American public sees that she is complaining about this, how ever legitimate most normal people think it to be, they will lose confidence in her ability to take a punch.
Very good advice. She should rise above this ridiculous man. Treat the entire topic as being beneath consideration and move on to topics of policy and substance.
I'll bet Palin is just O2 for Sullivan's page views.
I'd like to see a plot of Dish page views vs. his Palin blurbs over a significant stretch of time. Probably a direct correlation.
Call it the art of Palinography or the science of Palinology.
Unhinged grip on reality...
Umm...
Obvious retort is obvious?
Can I ask everyone to join the Sully Book Club? It's a very special club: each day each member sends him a new book in the hopes that he'll go silent anew.
vbspurs: it would be one thing if Sullivan were attacking just her. But he's attacking her family as well. (He's not just claiming Trig is not her son, but that he's really her daughter's child, and so on. A lot of Americans don't like children being used to get at a parent, so she'd probably get a more favorable response if she sued based on that fact. On the other hand, he's so obviously a buffoon now that suing him would be like punching a mime: satisfying, maybe, but rather pointless.
Just ignore that unclosed parenthesis in my last comment. Pretend it's not there. Pretend it's Andrew Sullivan nattering on about Trig Palin and the comment is Sarah Palin, rising above his petty obsession!
Sullivan better have something more than an elaborate game of she said X previously and in her book, she said Y.
Maybe reading it with Levi.
Look, I'm reading the book, but I am very busy
So quit the general milling about and give us a real post, no more pablum. Kashi see we must have your opinion first to have a thread that's special, 'kay?
The WSJ reported last week that Palin considered a libel suit against Sullivan.
Sullivan better have something more than an elaborate game of she said X previously and in her book, she said Y.
Maybe reading it with Levi.
>>>>>
Horrible mental image: Sully reading it with Levi sitting in his lap. They turn the page together, smile at each other.
Sully: I bet I hate her more than you!
Levi: No wai! I hate her WAY more!
Sully: Okay you win now give me a snuggle!
Levi: ... I'm getting paid for this right?
I think even Levi is smart enough to get the money up front.
These are junior high snark infested waters, for sure
Here's my theory:
Trig Palin, not Sarah, should sue Andrew Sullivan for defamation.
Trig is not a public figure.
The scope of Sullivan's discovery is likely to be much more limited.
Sullivan's claims of illegitimacy have damaged the reputation of this vulnerable child in the community.
No, you all are children! You underestimate the towering mind of the Great Andrew Sullivan:
What will come out from Andrew's seclusion is the following-
1. Trig is Sarah's child by Levi!
2. Tripp is Bristol's child by Todd!
Titus was somewhere in Alaska at the time. But that's for him to say!
Trust me: Andrew will not let us down. Unlike, say, Levi let down Gay America during his photoshoot for Playgirl.
Someone will come on here and all backassward-like, accuse the Palins of being "Althouse Hillbillies". You get the picture.
It is oh-so public knowledge that Sully has been infected with H.I.V. for what seems like decades now. He has admitted to abuse of steroids resulting in steroid-induced rage. And he is a well-known user of illegal psychoactive drugs--indeed, having recently been subject to federal arrest (but inadequate prosecution) on that very account.
How he has a shred of credibility is beyond me. How a formerly prestigious publication like THE ATLANTIC can host him I know not. Because it is clear that he has taken leave of any good sense he ever had. Whether it's the H.I.V. or the steroids or the pot, it hardly matters at this point. He is a wreck of human being and his brain is toast (or a fried egg, if you will).
I must admit that I'm not a neurologist but I'm just asking "factually verifiable questions" about Queen Mary Jane Milky Loads's mental state.
@nomilk: Those are all ad hominem arguments, and as such, they reduce you to Sullivan's level. You have nothing to complain about.
Those are all ad hominem arguments
I'm not criticizing him for being openly homosexual, or pseudo-Catholic, or British, or a scofflaw--as repugnant as all those thing are. On the contrary, my questions are all about the level of Her Sodomistic Majesty's competence to comment on public affairs. He has admitted to using several kinds of mind-altering substances and he quite possibly suffers from HIV encephalopathy. Surely political correctness does not extend so far that we should be required to listen to the ravings of a mad man?
In fact, I would pity him the spectacle he has made of himself--if he weren't so vile.
we should be required to listen to the ravings of a mad man?
I was unaware that Sullivan was so all-powerful that you are required to listen to him.
You can ignore him, you know.
Sullivan is now sounding truly unhinged. It appears to me that he is clinically metally ill, with a diagnosble psychiatric disorder.
lonewacko @ 4:46
Good ideaaa. {evil grin}
So Dark, you liking "V" ?
You can ignore him, you know.
And the White House could ignore Fox News. Instead they declared "war" on them.
A very weak retort, Madison Man. Your second in one thread.
Cheers,
Victoria
"I'm not criticizing him for being openly homosexual, or pseudo-Catholic, or British, or a scofflaw--as repugnant as all those thing are."
My God, what a load of repugnant disingenuous horseshit you speak.
I'm not sure about Sarah suing Sullivan, but wouldn't she have standing to sue on Trigg's behalf? Where is that Professor? I'd like my question answered.
Dust Bunny Queen said...
" She should rise above this ridiculous man. Treat the entire topic as being beneath consideration and move on to topics of policy and substance."
Gal darn. Is that Russia?
Ya'betcha!
hd
Stick to giving tax avoidance advice. The phrase is this: "Ya, you betcha."
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