Althouse: I'm so mad at you, I'd boycott you....

May 28, 2008

I'm so mad at you, I'd boycott you....

.... but I don't patronize Dunkin' Donuts anyway, so ... uh... stop it — right now! — and maybe I will.

82 comments:

bill said...: Terrorist? No.

Drug dealer? Anthony Bourdain says yes:

"She's got a magazine, a television empire, all these bestselling books—I'm guessing she's not hurting for money," Tony will say, his voice rising. "She's hugely influential, particularly with children.

"And she's endorsing Dunkin' Donuts."

A pause.

"It's like endorsing crack for kids! I'm not a very ethical guy. I don't have a lot of principles. But somehow that seems to me over the line. Juvenile diabetes has exploded. Half of Americans don't have necks. And she's up there saying, 'Eat some fuckin' Dunkin' Donuts. You look great in that swimsuit—eat another donut!' That's evil."; 5/28/08, 7:58 AM
rhhardin said...: I'd suggest borking.; 5/28/08, 8:07 AM
Ralph L said...: So who's the lame party? DD, Erin Vest getting worked up about apparel, or Malkin, who didn't call for a boycott, or Rachel Ray for wearing a big scarf with a summer blouse?; 5/28/08, 8:18 AM
Triangle Man said...: If Rachel Ray or Dunkin Donuts were icons of left-wing ideology I would chalk Malkin's comments up to simple political hackery. Calling a silk paisley scarf a keffiyeh is par for the course if it is worn by one's political foe. However, Malkin says she likes DD's politics, and I don't recall any political posturing from Ray. Malkin has really made herself out to be a hypersensitive whiner.; 5/28/08, 8:26 AM
rhhardin said...: Dog wearing scarf a few minutes ago. Not posed.

She gets under any blanket she can find. (This is done with successive nose flips. The grain of Doberman fur moves whatever it is further downstream each time.)

Nobody tell Malkin. (An Oberlin graduate.); 5/28/08, 8:45 AM
Automatic_Wing said...: Rachel Ray is not a terrorist but she is pretty annoying with her constant perkiness. Just chill out Rachel, and stop showing so much unwarranted enthusiasm for your damn ruben sandwich and potato salad recipes.; 5/28/08, 8:46 AM
Ralph L said...: Quite a snout on that doggie. I don't see where the rest of her body is.; 5/28/08, 8:54 AM
Roger J. said...: What Maguro said--Rachel Ray reminds me of the Mary Tyler Moore character in Minneapolis and Lou Grant's comment: I hate perky.; 5/28/08, 9:02 AM
Simon said...: I'm minded to agree with TriangleMan - this is an overwrought fit of vapors over a scarf. If it was actually a keffiyeh, maybe there'd be something to it, but so far as I can tell, it's just a scarf. Michelle so often seems angry, and more and more, some people - mainly on the left, but a few on the right - are resorting to anger as an identity.; 5/28/08, 9:03 AM
former law student said...: It's a scarf, not a keffiyeh -- apparently, sadly, Michelle and her commenters all rode the short bus to school.

Speaking of keffiyehs, for years we had a dish towel that looked exactly like the one on Arafat's head. What would Michelle's minions think of us?

Finally, Dunkin' Donuts tried but failed to crack the California market, even before the rise of Starbucks. People get their fried doughball fix from independents unwilling to pay franchise fees, often Vietnamese immigrants who open up by 5 am.; 5/28/08, 9:30 AM
KCFleming said...: The keffiyeh has achieved an iconic negative status much like the swastika, so much so that even things that merely resemble it are found viscerally repugnant.

Is oversensitivity to fascism a problem, or a warranted defense mechanism?

Sticks, stones, words, and symbols do hurt you. The keffiyeh deserves condemnation and repudiation. It has become a symbol of absolute evil. Items that resemble it get smeared, but you can thank the Religion of Peace for the problem in the first place.

People still freak out whenever the swastika is encountered, as if having totemic significance. I don't blame them, however, I blame its founders.; 5/28/08, 9:39 AM
John Burgess said...: Pogo: I'm sure every Arab male, east of Suez, appreciates your identifying them with terrorism.

The keffiyeh--or shmagh--has been worn traditionally long before Palestine ever became a political issue. Black/green/red-and white or all-white, it doesn't really matter.

What it does, is a decent job of keeping the sun off your head.

Let's cast anyone wearing a ball cap as a terrorist. Seems ball players are always hitting something, after all...; 5/28/08, 9:55 AM
Anonymous said...: Eh. This isn't a big deal, although it is interesting that when someone attacks a successful woman the attacker is more often than not another woman.

Tony Bourdain is an interesting guy. He riffs on other TV chefs, but it's usually in good humor. You get the feeling that they all know each other and the comments are insider jokes.

Bourdain's comments about Dunkin' Donuts are hilarious, coming from a guy who regularly eats snoots boiled in lard, or other similar artery killer fare in his travels. The specialty of his NYC restaurant, Les Halles, is "American Beef Prepared French Style". Most of the menu is large pieces of beef covered in bearnaise sauce or other similarly fat-intense entrees.

Rachel Ray is a good chef whose show has gone a great distance to reach an audience that fears food and cooking. The recipes are simple; her presentation is fun. If she can make a few more bucks doing a commercial for Dunkin' Donuts, good for her. You're free to not watch if she annoys you, or to scrape up your own TV show.

I'm not into the details of the kinds of scarves worn by muslim women, so the scarf Ray wears on the commercial leaves no impression with me. It could be a Jewish prayer shawl, for all I know. Malkin needs to dial her anger regarding this item down a bit, I think.

I like Dunkin' Donuts. I like their cake-style donuts and their coffee. I like that the Dunkin' Donuts I frequent isn't filled with power moms hammering on their laptops, salesmen waiting to depart on their next appointment and pajama clad students who have forgotten the route to the library. I like that it is a bit seedy. Seediness keeps the hoity-toity away.; 5/28/08, 9:59 AM
Richard Fagin said...: Freedom Fries. Indeed. Apparently during WW I sauerkraut was callled "Liberty Cabbage" in defiance of Germany.

Dunkin Donuts is about the only decent donut and coffee place in Belfast, Maine, so lay off, Michelle.; 5/28/08, 10:13 AM
Anonymous said...: This is absurd. Of course, Michelle Malkin is absurd, and will do anything to make money and attract attention to her sorry, bigoted, and nasty self.; 5/28/08, 10:17 AM
KCFleming said...: "Pogo: I'm sure every Arab male, east of Suez, appreciates your identifying them with terrorism.
The keffiyeh--or shmagh--has been worn traditionally long before Palestine ever became a political issue."

Then they might take it up with Hamas. Too bad terrorists have screwed up a seemingly benign scarf. But it has gained an extremely negative symbolic meaning because of Arabist islamofascists.

If indeed every Arab male, east of Suez is upset by this, the fix is clear: stop letting all those guys named Mohammed from blowing themselves and innocent folks up in the name of Islam.

But it doesn't seem to bother them as much as me criticizing them bothers them.
Strange, that.

The swastika is an ancient symbol, as a geometrical motif or a religious symbol. It was long widely used in major world religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism.

Then that Nazi stuff came. Such stains are hard to get out, though.; 5/28/08, 10:19 AM
Trooper York said...: Actually summer scarves are "in" this spring and I sold a bunch of them this weekend. And there is nothing better then a dozen Dunkin' Donuts and the big Box of Joe to start your morning off with a bang. Something I would suggest to hysterics like Michele Malkin.; 5/28/08, 10:42 AM
Trooper York said...: That's not to say that Anthony Bourdain isn't a douche of the highest magnitude. He is the epitome of the faux-hipster doofus who is a pain in the balls to normal people. Just sayn'; 5/28/08, 10:44 AM
KCFleming said...: The hysterics and the anti-hysterics hysterics are off-putting.

My own reaction to the scarf kerfuffle is "meh."

Plus, Dunkin had free WiFi in Chicago, but Starbucks charge 3 times as much for a cuppa joe, had terrible "pastries" (i.e. sawdust with a piece of brown frosting atop) and had the gall to charge for WiFi. Wha?

Tell Hamas and pedophile Arafat to doff the keffiyeh and we'll get back to high calorie morning goodness.; 5/28/08, 10:49 AM
Palladian said...: "Rachel Ray is a good chef"

No.

Rachel Ray is not a chef. She's a TV personality who eats things on camera. Have we dumbed down every vocation to the point that Rachel Ray can be called a chef?; 5/28/08, 10:59 AM
Trooper York said...: Well being a sexist, I settle my view of disputes among women based on the combatant’s fuckablity quotient. Rachel Ray a chubby brunette with some meat on her bones who smells like food and is very oral vs. a skinny scold who is always upset about something. No contest for me.; 5/28/08, 11:08 AM
bill said...: Rachel Ray is not a chef. She's a TV personality who eats things on camera. Have we dumbed down every vocation to the point that Rachel Ray can be called a chef?

To be fair to Rachel Ray, she has always been clear about NOT calling herself a chef. It isn't her fault that most people tend to use chef and cook interchangeably.; 5/28/08, 11:16 AM
titustheresnoplacelikehome said...: John Mccain's daughter wore the same stupid scarf.

I am more upset about how ugly the thing is.

Palady when are you going to make me a good meal? Something special and intimate and juicy?; 5/28/08, 11:34 AM
titustheresnoplacelikehome said...: Dunkin Donuts is not about their donuts it is about the coffee.

I never see anyone buy any donuts at Dunkeys. It's all about the coffee.

There are Dunkeys everywhere on the East Coast but the one Dunkeys in Madison closed. What's up with you inlanders?; 5/28/08, 11:35 AM
Trooper York said...: Regular people buy the donuts Titus, not fabulous people. Plus the Dunkin' Donuts closed because those college people are dirty commie hippies who probably eat rice cakes and tofu. I am sure the regular people in Madison have great homemade donut shops to get a bear claw or a Boston crème. (Very different that the Boston crème you talk about by the way). Just sayn’; 5/28/08, 11:42 AM
titustheresnoplacelikehome said...: I rarely see people buy Dunkey donuts. Maybe the donut holes but not the donies.

Does Madison have any Donut stores?

I can't think of any. I am sure they do.

Where my dindin invite Palady Malady?; 5/28/08, 11:47 AM
titustheresnoplacelikehome said...: I do love Boston Cream.

Especially if it was coming from Jacob Ellsbury. Love those Red Sox.

And what about those Celtics.; 5/28/08, 11:49 AM
Anonymous said...: "silk paisley scarf"

I do not know what material it is made of, but it is not paisley. It is undeniably a keffiyah. Make of that what you will, but don't lie and call it a "silk paisley scarf."; 5/28/08, 11:51 AM
Trooper York said...: It's a knit scarf that was crocheted with fringe. A popular item this spring. Lot's of people are wearing them as they were popularized by Olsen twins waif/bag
lady look. Now it might not be you cup of tea, but it's not worth this level of asshattery. Seriously
sometimes we can take it too far.
Next thing you know, they are going to protest my offical Davy Crokett coonskin cap which is so politically incorrect on so many levels.; 5/28/08, 12:06 PM
titustheresnoplacelikehome said...: Fake outrage. I thought that was liberal territory?; 5/28/08, 12:12 PM
titustheresnoplacelikehome said...: Now I am thinking of Jacob Ellsbury.

Him stealing bases in hi fi def makes me really horny.

You can see his hog bouncing back and forth from side to side if you run slow mo. I bet he shaves his balls.; 5/28/08, 12:13 PM
Beth said...: Have we dumbed down every vocation to the point that Rachel Ray can be called a chef?

She grew up in a family that owned and managed restaurants and she's worked in the food industry most of her life. It's not entirely dumb to call her a chef, but only because there's a lot of room in defining what it means to be a chef--as with journalism, I resist any attempts to institutionalize that title.

It doesn't appear, from what I've read, that she's ever run a kitchen as a chef, but then, neither did Julia Child. But then, I wouldn't reach so far as to compare Ray with Child.

She's a personality, in a personality-driven part of the food industry. So is Bourdain. I'd say he was once a chef, but now he makes his nut off of mugging for the camera. The script is almost always the same: Tony goes abroad; Tony goes to a few holes in the wall with a local guide and eats exotic dishes only the locals know about. Tony waxes philosophical with local (or more often, with British or American expatriate living in exotic locale). Tony smokes and drinks. Close up of Tony's stubble and red-rimmed eyes. More waxing philosophical on the meaning of it all and Tony walks away from camera in well-worn boots and jeans. He's just as much a personality as Ray is; they just play to different audiences.; 5/28/08, 12:17 PM
Palladian said...: "He's just as much a personality as Ray is; they just play to different audiences."

I don't like him, either!; 5/28/08, 12:35 PM
Christy said...: Let me see if I understand this. If it didn't have fringe, it would be what we call a rock star scarf?

Dunkin' Donuts rules because that's the only place to get an egg on a croissant if one rolls out of bed too late to make it to any of the other fast food places. That and the strawberry and banana smoothies.

In a world where most people eat fast food, (see above) a lively personality that shows us how to fix quick and cheap Bas Cuisine isn't to be disdained.; 5/28/08, 12:42 PM
Trooper York said...: Plus you could roll her in flour and go for the wet spot. She would giggle and you could both have a yabba-do old time. Just sayn'

Michele Malkin, not so much.; 5/28/08, 12:46 PM
MadisonMan said...: Madison has donut stores, yes, but no chains. No Dunkin' Donuts. No Mr. Donut. No Tim Hortons. No Bess Eaton. The closest one to my house is Greenbush Bakery, or the Dunk and Die as I call it. (It used to be a VERY greasy spoon called the Dunk and Dine -- now it's a Rocky's and a donut store).; 5/28/08, 12:58 PM
Trooper York said...: See, I knew when we talked to a regular guy we could find out where the good places to eat are in Madison. Thanks.; 5/28/08, 1:01 PM
Simon said...: I think Trooper's got the best (or at least most aesthetically-pleasingg) angle nailed, but still:

Pogo said...
"Is oversensitivity to fascism a problem, or a warranted defense mechanism?""

The last eight years of the leftosphere suggest an answer...; 5/28/08, 1:01 PM
Simon said...: MM - does it have an Einstein Bros.?; 5/28/08, 1:02 PM
Richard Fagin said...: At least the dirty commie hippies couldn't keep Krispy Kreme Doughnuts (how pretentious to spell it correctly seeing that one one else does) afloat in the face of brutal competition from Shipley Do-Nuts here in Houston. I swear Krispy Kreme is a cult.

I walked the dog around the neighborhood in my Davy Crockett coonskin cap once. No one noticed. then I looked in the mirror and saw the hair on my head was the same color as in the cap - mousy brown with a crapload of gray. Sickening. Otherwise I save it for family dinners, where I tell my in-laws they make me feel like Davy Crockett at the Alamo - surrounded and outnumbered by the Mexicans 20 to 1.; 5/28/08, 1:19 PM
Trooper York said...: Hey Richard, if you wife starts humming the De Guello as you are cleaning up the dishes, I might think about sleeping on the couch and not teasing her mom. Just sayn'; 5/28/08, 1:38 PM
Trooper York said...: Plus you are never alone if you have Frankie Avalon and Chill Wills with ya.; 5/28/08, 1:39 PM
Anonymous said...: Hey Trooper - I watched this DVD last night.

http://www.shoppbs.org/sm-pbs-doo-wop-51-dvd--pi-1402814.html

Then I had a grilled steak (NY strip, medium), a baked potato with the usual toppings and a tumbler of bourbon and branch water.

The world seemed better.; 5/28/08, 1:55 PM
knox said...: He is the epitome of the faux-hipster doofus who is a pain in the balls to normal people.

Thank. you. I used to like him ... then one day, it became so clear: what an asshole. As for RR, equally irritating, but he's clearly jealous.; 5/28/08, 2:01 PM
Beth said...: I don't like him, either!

Palladian, I respect that you are an equal-opportunity curmudgeon. Under duress, I'd choose to watch Bourdain over Ray, but only because I'd be assured of not hearing the phrase "EVOO."; 5/28/08, 2:03 PM
Trooper York said...: Nothing beats do-woop and some red meat and a cocktail. I remenber in the early eighties we were in Vegas sitting at a black jack table and Speedo and the Cadiallacs were in the lounge that we could see from the table. It was a double bill with Little Anthony and the Imperials. Good times.; 5/28/08, 2:10 PM
rhhardin said...: When are Hitler shirts coming back?

They connect to the common man by being baggy, but still make you look like a dictator.

This came up just the other day.; 5/28/08, 2:14 PM
MadisonMan said...: You can get Krispy Kremes in town, at the local Open Pantrys (or the Stop-n-Gos?) -- I'm not sure where they ship 'em in from, probably Milwaukee.

There are Einstein Bros -- and Brueggers and Big Apple -- for bagels, chain-wise, but we're talkin' donuts here Simon. Donuts! Besides, the best bagels in town are from Bagels Forever.; 5/28/08, 2:16 PM
Trooper York said...: Bourdain is a self important douche who is way too impressed with himself. He's the kinda guy that if you told him you just met Jesus, he would tell you he knows his father.; 5/28/08, 2:26 PM
Anonymous said...: That may be so, but I used to find his shows at least mildly entertaining, which is more than I can say for most. I haven't seen one in at least year or more, however.; 5/28/08, 2:58 PM
Beth said...: Ray and Bourdain both are more entertaining than Malkin. Malkin's a moron. A few times a year I find myself looking at her blog, and every single time she's pointing her finger at someone and yelling terrorist! traitor! immigrant! What a twit.; 5/28/08, 3:08 PM
Simon said...: Beth, anything's possible, but I'm willing to bet she's never criticized immigrants, since she herself is the daughter of (legal) immigrants. You'll find criticism of illegal immigrants, perhaps, and criticism of those supporting amnesty for illegal immigrants, but the keyword there is illegal not immigrant. There is a hardcore nativist sentiment abroad in America, but it is confined to a very small number of people, and it's unfair and inaccurate to paint (casually, tacitly, or explicitly) anyone who's opposed to illegal immigration with that brush.; 5/28/08, 4:31 PM
Beth said...: Simon, you're far too precise in responding to a post where the main gist is "she's a twit." I don't think Malkin's thoughts on immigration are any more sophisticated than "I've got mine, fuck the rest of 'em." Maybe I'm wrong and she's published thoughtful, meaningful discussion on how to upgrade our out-of-date and broken immigration policy. But if so, it's buried underneath the daily gush of idiocy that is Hot Air.; 5/28/08, 4:44 PM
Anonymous said...: I know a lot of very important people read this blog so I am going to offer an idea. I hope someone high up in the coffee-and-donuts industry runs with it.

Here it is:

You know those gi-normous, freshish, glazed donuts you used to be able to get at church? Coffee shops should sell those. I'm talking to you, Starbucks and Dunkin.; 5/28/08, 5:07 PM
titustheresnoplacelikehome said...: There is a great bakery in Lodi Wisconsin called Webers Bakery.

They have amazing carmel donuts and cream filled long johns.

It is swiss or norwegian or something like that.

Also, there hamburger rolls are fabulous.; 5/28/08, 5:26 PM
Anonymous said...: Simon: What is really ironic is that Malkin might be an anchor baby. ROFL!

Beth: I've had the same experience, probably about as often, and share your opinion:

A few times a year I find myself looking at her blog, and every single time she's pointing her finger at someone and yelling terrorist! traitor! immigrant! What a twit.; 5/28/08, 5:41 PM
Ann Althouse said...: Doughnuts in Madison? Greenbush Bakery!; 5/28/08, 6:09 PM
Trooper York said...: Seriously, you know you don't eat donuts. It's beignets all the way.; 5/28/08, 6:23 PM
ron st.amant said...: Gee Malkin getting her knickers in a twist over something completely ridiculous and then using it to heighten her blog traffic??

I'm shocked, SHOCKED, to find gambling occuring in this establishment...

I should've seen that evil Rachel Ray for what she was when she made that Death to America Poundcake.; 5/28/08, 7:59 PM
Trooper York said...: I am eating a sausage and peppers hero tonight for dinner as we prepare the store for a trunk show. With a little wine. Hey it's not donuts, but it's pretty good.; 5/28/08, 8:04 PM
Ann Althouse said...: You're right. I don't eat doughnuts, but I do know where to get good doughnuts in Madison.; 5/28/08, 8:27 PM
blake said...: I think Malkin can be--is strident, bordering on shrill, but I confess to having read this and when she first talked about it and not thinking anything of it one way or the other.

I don't see how this constitutes shrill:

I’m hoping her hate couture choice was spurred more by ignorance than ideology.

Fair enough. If Ray was wearing it to make a political statement, sympathizing with America's enemies* there's nothing wrong with calling that out.

*OK, that's far-fetched and would be really stupid of Ray. But it's not impossible.

Nor does this strike me as being fire and brimstone:

Is Ray’s blunder worth boycotting DD over? I’ll be interested to hear the company’s take. At this point, I’m going to give the management the benefit of the doubt.

So, which of these questions isn't it all right to ask? Can we not ask if Ray's scarf is meant to express sympathy for terrorists? Can we not ask if DD approves of that message? (They don't, and pulled the ad, right? Hardly the first time unintentional symbols were the undoing of an ad campaign.)

As for Malkin on illegal immigration, I'm an open borders guy and she made (or showcased) far better arguments than anyone on the open border side.

If you're really into open borders, you'd just have to read her site to know exactly what to do to get popular support for it.

What did the open borders side say? "Anyone who disagrees with us is a racist!" Securing the border "Can't be done!" And then when effective steps were taken "It's too effective!" "Rotting produce!"

Lame.

I think the vast majority of bile directed Malkin's way is that she's a minority and a woman and she dared to stray off the liberal plantation.; 5/28/08, 9:00 PM
Trooper York said...: Hey I generally agree with the conservative point of view (as if you needed to hear that) but the problem with that skinny skank Malkin is that she dissed that cute little dumpling Rachel Ray. That's like kicking a puppy. She's got spunk. Or she would have spunk all over her if I weren't married and had anything to say about it.; 5/28/08, 9:22 PM
former law student said...: I think the vast majority of bile directed Malkin's way is that she's a minority and a woman and she dared to stray off the liberal plantation.

Oh yah. Subtract her liberal views, XX chromosomes, and her Pacific Island ancestry she's a real delight:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=tt_YcQlYxyY; 5/28/08, 9:52 PM
Joan said...: Blake beat me to it -- I don't see how anything Michelle Malkin said in this particular case is so deserving of all the opprobrium people are heaping on her. Kind of scary how everyone believes that Erin Vest is 100% accurate in her characterization of Malkin's post. We all know how scrupulously fair and impartial the HuffPo is, right?; 5/28/08, 10:57 PM
Ralph L said...: I swear Krispy Kreme is a cult.
Hot Donuts Now!
They were much cheaper (and the stores were charmingly seedy) before the company went public.; 5/28/08, 11:06 PM
blake said...: FLS,

I think this is where I say "Thank you for making my point for me."

The problem for some people as far as Malkin is concerned isn't that she's shrill, it's that she's conservative.

All that video does is say what (most of) the Reps have been saying about (most of) the Dems since the Iraq war wasn't over in 60 days.

Look at those comments, too! Great stuff: vile, sexist, one commenter suggesting she's an MK ULTRA subject.

Nope, she's just a righty. She just has the audacity to be a female, Asian righty.; 5/28/08, 11:41 PM
Beth said...: I think the vast majority of bile directed Malkin's way is that she's a minority and a woman and she dared to stray off the liberal plantation.

Really? That strikes me as condescending, both to Malkin and her critics. My bile is directed at her immense idiocy. She's a big yapping maw filled with hot air. She'd be an idiot in any color and with any set of genitals. She never lived on the "liberal plantation" so I have no idea why you say she's strayed from it. I think that's just a catchy little phrase you've learned.; 5/29/08, 12:14 AM
Joan said...: She never lived on the "liberal plantation" so I have no idea why you say she's strayed from it.

Beth, quit playing dumb, it's beneath you. You know there is a certain class of people which expects every member of every minority group to be liberal or at least Democrat. Malkin's not just conservative, she's a heretic, which explains quite a bit of the vitriol. "Her reputation proceeds her" isn't enough of an excuse to explain what's going on with this story, which apparently hangs the credit for DD pulling the ad on Malkin -- why? I read the links, she basically defended the corporation. But everyone is jumping all over her for calling Rachel Ray a terrorist-supporter when she did no such thing.

The only explanation that makes sense is that the writers who are twisting Malkin's words know that their readers are already so set against Malkin that they can say whatever they want about her and no one will ever click through to verify that the links actually support their arguments.; 5/29/08, 12:30 AM
Beth said...: You know there is a certain class of people which expects every member of every minority group to be liberal or at least Democrat.

Right, like all those Cuban Democrats in Miami?

Pfffft. That's bullshit. It's the usual rightwing meme relying on a catchy little phrase - "liberal plantation." It's a hell of lot more lazy to reduce criticism of Malkin to racism and sexism than it is to actually read her and realize what a yammering idiot she is.; 5/29/08, 1:24 AM
Beth said...: Joan, let me be a little more specific. When I see bumpersticker arguments, directed at the least-common denominator in a position, I write them off as bullshit. I don't care if they're rightwing (liberal plantation, Bush Derangement Syndrome) or leftwing (mean people suck, and so on.); 5/29/08, 1:55 AM
Bissage said...: I try to practice random kindness and acts of senseless beauty.

I really don’t know if that makes be an irretrievable hard core lefty or an irretrievable hard core righty.

But I’m pretty sure it makes me a cornball loser sap.

Oh well.

And by the way . . . mean people suck.; 5/29/08, 6:50 AM
former law student said...: FLS,

I think this is where I say "Thank you for making my point for me."

Blake, I'm sorry I misunderstood your preferences in sophisticated debate and compelling argument. Based on your reaction to the MM video, I will adjust accordingly:

Blake, you are a loser.

L-O-S-E-R

Chicken squawk, Chicken squawk, Chicken squawk

Hooray!; 5/29/08, 9:32 AM
knox said...: FLS,

you have the weirdest tendency to seem normal then to go utterly apeshit. Chill out, and blake's cool so shut it; 5/29/08, 11:50 AM
Fatmouse said...: Beth, I can't help but think that your definition of "idiot" translates to "anyone who disagrees with you."

And once they become an "idiot" you can tack "racist, hatemonger, vile, shrill" as you wish.; 5/29/08, 5:34 PM
blake said...: Really? That strikes me as condescending, both to Malkin and her critics.

No, just to a subset of her critics. I'm one of her critics. I know she ignores positive stories about illegal immigrants, for example. (And I know her justification is that that sort of story is covered in the MSM amply.)

I even agree that she's hypersensitive to perceived slights--something she has in common with he left--but I don't see it in evidence here or in the clip posted.

As for the "liberal plantation", I am, of course, referring to the notion that all minorities must hew to liberal ideas, lest they be considered race traitors.

Obviously, I can only report on what I've seen, but it's not the political right photoshopping Malkin's head onto someone else's bikini-clad body and claiming she was a girl-gone-wild, or painting blackface on Michael Steele, or referring to Judge Thomas or Sec. Rice as "Uncle Tom" and "Aunt Tomasina".

If you disagree with the Left and you're part of a minority, you're a race-traitor.

Malkin's got a whole book of this sort of stuff, but you only have to check the comments under the YouTube clip that he posted, and how many comments are racist or sexist (or both).

Even in this very thread, there's the idea (probably spurious) that she's the beneficiary of illegal immigration, as if that should somehow mitigate her point or as if she is expected to--yes, I'll say it again, stay on the liberal plantation, and agree with some approved mantra on this and all topics economic, social, and global.

I realize, to a certain mindset, all opponents must be painted as either stupid or evil (or both), but Malkin is neither. She writes clearly, thinks on her feet, and advocates fiercely for her point of view.

And I don't have to agree with her to see that the attacks on her are particularly sexist and racist.; 5/29/08, 5:38 PM
blake said...: Blake, I'm sorry I misunderstood your preferences in sophisticated debate and compelling argument. Based on your reaction to the MM video, I will adjust accordingly:

My reaction to the MM video:

"Hey, she looks pretty good for a 30-something mother of 2."

"A little stiff, though. Cheerleaders must work pretty hard to stay in the kind of shape they do."

"Huh. That's a little embarrassing. Would've been funnier if they'd had a whole squad."

"Hey, remember when everyone was saying Iraq was lost?"

"I wonder what it is that FLS finds so offensive about this?"

"It is sort of awkward."

"Is it that he agrees that the war was lost in 2006?"

I'm sorry, FLS, if I don't feel the necessary outrage (OUTRAGE!) at this clip. It's kinda-sorta dumb political theater, which I see (writ large) from the left all the time.

It's clap humor for the right. Like Jon Stewart does for the left.

My ultimate reaction: [shrug]

Sorry if that makes you crazy.; 5/29/08, 5:46 PM
Trooper York said...: What does this political bullshit have to do with the fact the Rachel Ray is a cute little dumpling has a nice little hot pocket if you know what I mean?; 5/29/08, 7:45 PM
TitusWhat'sthatinyourpocket? said...: I cant stop watching the Michelle Malkin video where she is in a cheerleader outfit and spells out LOSER with her body and has two white flags and a chicken is clucking.

That is some amazing Avant Garde Art.; 5/29/08, 8:03 PM
Hector Owen said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 5/29/08, 8:59 PM
blake said...: Troop,

I think they both have aesthetic merits--though I gotta admit, I prefer a more, eh, mellifluous voice than either of them has.

Nonetheless, I respect your position on the subject.; 5/30/08, 2:36 AM
Anonymous said...: "I don't think Malkin's thoughts on immigration are any more sophisticated than "I've got mine, fuck the rest of 'em.""

You apparently don't think at all, which is no doubt why you ended up in education. That is where the dullards do degrees.; 5/30/08, 5:17 AM