Althouse: Adolf Hitler, Robert Mugabe, John McCain... and in sequence #2: John Lennon, Al Gore, Mahatma Gandhi, and Barack Obama.

August 23, 2008

Adolf Hitler, Robert Mugabe, John McCain... and in sequence #2: John Lennon, Al Gore, Mahatma Gandhi, and Barack Obama.

With flashing images, Madonna is trying to tell you something.

88 comments:

Simon said...: Madonna follows the trends, and brainless lack of perspective is in, this season.; 8/23/08, 10:36 PM
Beth said...: Letters spelling BAD MEN highlighted .... Simon and Ann are trying to tell you the same thing, in reverse.; 8/23/08, 10:40 PM
Ann Althouse said...: What percentage of people in her audience would recognize Mugabe from a photograph?; 8/23/08, 10:40 PM
Beth said...: Just spotting trends - nothing personal, Simon!; 8/23/08, 10:41 PM
Ann Althouse said...: Beth, I thought my video was relatively pro-Obama.; 8/23/08, 10:41 PM
Beth said...: Yes, I agree. Just kidding, Ann. Madonna's list jumped off the page as "bad men" and "good men" so I couldn't resist.; 8/23/08, 10:44 PM
Beth said...: I'm guessing the A-Rod thing wasn't enough for ticket sales so she's reaching for more controversy.; 8/23/08, 10:46 PM
Trooper York said...: Hey Beth you still haven't explained the women's softball thing, and I just put up a couple of dimes on women's Olympic field hockey. Let's keep our eye on the ball for crying out loud.; 8/23/08, 10:52 PM
vbspurs said...: Beatles, Gandhi, Gore, hitler, John Lennon, Madonna, McCain, Obama

When put through the anagramme maker I mentioned, it spat out this:

Talentless no account pimps and hos who only want to do they thing

Wow! I'm throwing away my Magic 8 Ball.

Cheers,
Victoria; 8/23/08, 10:53 PM
Beth said...: Trooper, what am I missing? Did you ask me something on another thread?

Field hockey? Not in my working class experience, sorry! But softball is hot.; 8/23/08, 10:57 PM
vbspurs said...: But softball is hot.

I was filling up my car today, when a cute Indian-looking chap bought some Skoal chewing tobacco ahead of me. The cashier, a guy called Mohammed, tut-tutted him, asking why are you buying this sh*t? Sports or what?

Yes, the hottie said. Baseball.

(I love how men use one word answers and it's enough, don't you?)

Mohammed said, "Baseball?! That's for girls. You should play soccer."

The kid looked upset, so I put my oar in:

"Baseball is tougher than cricket, which is tough enough. He might be thinking of rounders. I've played all three, and you have to have a lot of balls to face a 90-mile ball coming toward your head."

They both looked at me like I admitted to eating fish tacos.

BTW, the baseball thing was a lie, but I'll be damned if anyone is going to slag off baseball in my presence, especially with shades of anti-Americanism and misogynism.

Cheers,
Victoria; 8/23/08, 11:07 PM
Trooper York said...: Beth you missed the comment where I asked you how the hell the USA could lose the women's softball gold medal to the Japanese.

I thought we had the best lesbians. Youse guys made lose a four way parley.

I want you to bring this up at the next meeting!; 8/23/08, 11:09 PM
Simon said...: Beth, as much as I dislike Obama, he's not even remotely in the league of Robert Mugabe. Bad men on a different scale and in different ways.

On the other hand, I take your reaction as proof that that graphic HAS to be cafepressed. It's a meme. ;) Every time I see that Obama/Biden logo now, I see those letters highlighted.; 8/23/08, 11:09 PM
Trooper York said...: And Beth, Jacklyn from NOLA just called and she will be in Vegas tonight. Look out Las Vegas, you are in big trouble now.; 8/23/08, 11:11 PM
Trooper York said...: I mean if you told me there was going to be a problem, I would have loaned you A-Rod.; 8/23/08, 11:20 PM
Simon said...: Beth - Velma in the cartoon, or Velma as played by Linda Cardellini in the movie? Because there's very different ways to react to that scenario based on the answer to that question.; 8/23/08, 11:21 PM
Beth said...: Simon, go forth and build a cafepress empire. That's put McCain right over the top -- Republican voters love a meme.; 8/23/08, 11:22 PM
Beth said...: Simon, it was contemporaneous with the cartoon, so that's my reference.; 8/23/08, 11:23 PM
Beth said...: Trooper, hold onto your Rod. We'll get by.

By the way, I don't if you've noticed, but we're three games into pre-season and no sign of Shockey. What a little hothouse flower!; 8/23/08, 11:24 PM
reader_iam said...: (This response is to the subject of the post and linked articles, not previous comments.)

Oh, for fuck's sake.

(Having read the comments, to be clear, I'm going to leave it that, so as not to be a buzzkill, because you all are on a [different] roll, and thank goodness for that, seeing--and feeling--the option.); 8/23/08, 11:30 PM
Trooper York said...: Well Beth, you can call Schockey a wet gaping pussy, and not in a good way.; 8/23/08, 11:30 PM
Anonymous said...: If you haven't already, check out the picture of Madonna on Drudge.

Not sure what to say……… really. Just……uh………amazing……I guess.; 8/23/08, 11:31 PM
vbspurs said...: Not sure what to say……… really. Just……uh………amazing……I guess.

Wow, indeed. A cross between Sarah-Jessica Parker and Flo-Jo.; 8/23/08, 11:33 PM
Simon said...: Victoria - she's just jealous of Helen Mirren. ;); 8/23/08, 11:38 PM
vbspurs said...: Simon, a toast. The Queen!.; 8/23/08, 11:46 PM
Beth said...: Simon, so true! Madonna lacks everything that makes Helen Mirren a great beauty.; 8/23/08, 11:54 PM
Icepick said...: Not sure what to say……… really. Just……uh………amazing……I guess.

I saw the picture on Drudge and had simultaneous thoughts:

(1) "Madonna's been replaced by an ugly Brazillian transsexual."

&

(2) "Oh, she really is A-Rod's type now."

The real question to ask, though, is this: Exactly how much money does Madonna spend on steroids? She's starting to look too scary for an old East German women's swim team.; 8/24/08, 12:20 AM
chickelit said...: @Ann Althouse:
Did you realize that Madison is an “ideopolis” along with San Francisco? I’m reading the print version of the Economist and it says so right here (well actually several paragraphs in, just above the header “His Best Trump Card”. The whole article is worth a toke for the politically obsessed.

@vbspurs “They both looked at me like I admitted to eating fish tacos”

Nice deployment of your new vocabulary. And:

“I'll be damned if anyone is going to slag off baseball in my presence, especially with shades of anti-Americanism and misogynism”

bravo- you put American women to shame!; 8/24/08, 12:23 AM
Icepick said...: I thought we had the best lesbians.

It's possible that some of the players weren't lesbians. A lesbian friend back in college explained it this way: All lesbians play softball, but not all female softball players are lesbians.

In other words, maybe we're not sending our best players, like when we used to send college players for Olympic basketball. The remedy is clear: We're going to have to send our All-Star Lesbians to the 2012 Games in London - a Wet Dream Team if you will....; 8/24/08, 12:27 AM
Anonymous said...: I love the fact that an Indian kid can go into a gas station and buy a can of Skoal from a Middle Easterner and a Brit can join in the fray when they discuss it at the counter.

What a country, man. Fuckin-ay.; 8/24/08, 12:28 AM
Beth said...: All lesbians play softball, but not all female softball players are lesbians.

Can we get a Venn diagram, please?; 8/24/08, 12:31 AM
Anonymous said...: Too much information about me: a weirdly high number of the women I have liked, loved, crushed on, whatever have been or turned out lesbian or bisexual.

None have played softball, though. One played tennis. One played soccer.; 8/24/08, 12:32 AM
XWL said...: All-Star Lesbians to the 2012 Games in London - a Wet Dream Team if you will....

Sorry, Outis, if they arrive in London, they won't have any games to play, Softball and Baseball have been yanked from the Games (some suspect a bit of anti-americanism from a single powerful Euroweenie at play).

Although, if we send an all-star team of lesbians, just to hang out in the Olympic Village, then that could spice up people's viewing options should the London Olympic Committee adopt my modest proposal.; 8/24/08, 12:36 AM
Zachary Sire said...: I love it. I can't wait to see the show when it comes to Dodger Stadium. Not even Madonna thinks that McCain is akin to Hitler, but she knows it'll earn her a blog post on Althouse. Thanks for playing along, Ann!; 8/24/08, 12:38 AM
Anonymous said...: That Madonna. Always angling for the prestigious Althouse entry.; 8/24/08, 12:43 AM
Icepick said...: Sorry, Outis, if they arrive in London, they won't have any games to play....

Who said anything about playing softball?; 8/24/08, 12:44 AM
Icepick said...: What a country, man. Fuckin-ay.

Dude, it's South Florida. Hardly any Americans live down there any more. (Up here in Central Florida it's only about half American.); 8/24/08, 12:47 AM
Anonymous said...: P.S.: Madonna is calling the 2008 election. Hitler and Mugabe are individuals who achieved the highest executive power. Lennon, Gore, and Gandhi either didn't try or failed.

If you are on the first list, you will become an executive leader. Second list? No executive position for you.; 8/24/08, 12:47 AM
vbspurs said...: What a country, man. Fuckin-ay.

I am proud of having added the roast beef to this melting pot.; 8/24/08, 12:48 AM
Icepick said...: Can we get a Venn diagram, please?

Not in a comment section.; 8/24/08, 12:48 AM
Icepick said...: Can we get a Venn diagram, please?

Besides, I don't know the ratio of lesbian to non-lesbian softball players.; 8/24/08, 12:49 AM
vbspurs said...: All-Star Lesbians to the 2012 Games in London - a Wet Dream Team if you will....

BTW, the beach volleyball will be played at Horseguards Parade. HEE!

It was revealed by BoJo* during an interview.

*Our delightful, wispy-haired Mayor of London, who will receive the Olympic torch Sunday night.

This I will not miss. Althouse London 2012 meetup?; 8/24/08, 12:51 AM
Icepick said...: Madonna is calling the 2008 election. Hitler and Mugabe are individuals who achieved the highest executive power. Lennon, Gore, and Gandhi either didn't try or failed.

Worse than that. Two of the three on the second list were assasinated. (And the third had his political career assasinated by Hanging Chad, a notorious South Florida Criminal.) Madonna is saying that Obama is too good for us and will be assasinated as well.; 8/24/08, 12:54 AM
Cedarford said...: Trooper - Beth you missed the comment where I asked you how the hell the USA could lose the women's softball gold medal to the Japanese.
I thought we had the best lesbians

We do, but they have decided that tennis, the LPGA, exciting careers as prison guards, and becoming Family Court judges and lawyers pays better.

Seems a small pack of them also veered off and aspire to be on the Top Chef show.; 8/24/08, 12:58 AM
vbspurs said...: bravo- you put American women to shame!

I asked for a receipt for my fill-up, too. $61. That really put his nose out of joint.

It's one thing to defend baseball and America by extension. It's quite another not to be able to avoid the taxman.; 8/24/08, 12:58 AM
vbspurs said...: She's starting to look too scary for an old East German women's swim team.

Remember?

Having said that, most men have an on-hard for Katharina Witt. I never understood that, myself.; 8/24/08, 1:03 AM
Anonymous said...: I just googled Katharina Witt. She looks great. Especially nude.

Victoria, perhaps you don't understand the male mind. We're not super picky. To us, there are millions and millions of hot women out there. In fact, most women at least go through a hot phase in their lives. Hugh Hefner was the first person to really realize this and he made a mint.; 8/24/08, 1:09 AM
Zachary Sire said...: Videos for Madge's "Sticky and Sweet" tour are now popping up on the you tube. so exciting. the setlist is amazing.

borderline
vogue
4 minutes
into the groove
like a prayer
ray of light
human nature

the list goes on.

i haven't seen the one with her and mugabe and gore yet. that's a hot threesome idea for her btw.; 8/24/08, 1:09 AM
vbspurs said...: I just googled Katharina Witt. She looks great. Especially nude.

Ah, 7M, never saw the nudies. But it's true that most (straight) women look at another woman's face, first and foremost. Then maybe her shoes, and how she's done her hair. Hotness, however fleeting, doesn't enter into it.

Unfortunately, Witt fails on all counts, for me. She looks like a good girl to have in your corner in a honky tonk fight though.

In fact, most women at least go through a hot phase in their lives.

Well, that's true. Have you seen Kerri Strug of late?; 8/24/08, 1:20 AM
Zachary Sire said...: a fun comment from the usa today article that ann linked to:

"Moldonna proves again that she is a low class bimbo. The world is corrupt, seedy and profane now Ms. Nodonna, aren't you satisfied enough; isn't this what you wanted?"

i love the word 'bimbo.'

Nodonna! Nobama!; 8/24/08, 1:25 AM
Chip Ahoy said...: Music is chiefly brainless. At its best it's emotionally evocative. Musicians are generally emotional people. I don't look to them for reason. Madonna would most likely fail the analogy section of LSAT or GMAT. That's OK with me, I still like her music.

What would an analogy on American politics be without Hitler? Incomplete, that's what. Right off, it's the signal the individual doesn't know what they're talking about and everything that follows isn't worth paying attention to.

Apologies for ending on a preposition, but frankly, I no longer care.; 8/24/08, 1:47 AM
Anonymous said...: Chip -- Neither the LSAT nor the SAT (nor the SAT) has analogies.

I don't like Madonna much. For the record, though, she's certainly an intelligent person.; 8/24/08, 2:06 AM
Anonymous said...: Nor the GMAT, for that matter. ;o; 8/24/08, 2:06 AM
Chip Ahoy said...: The practice verisimilitude tests by various publishers I played with had sections that went,

This is : to that

They were wonderful thick puzzle books that could keep a person entertained for weeks. I recommend them.

Thread jack alert. Apropos of absolutely nothing.

Bustamante is a well-known Mexican artist out of Tlaquepaque Mexico, a suburb of Guadalajara. Actually, Guadalajara grew outward to abut Tlaquepaque which has it's own unique sense. If memory serves, Bustamante's work appeared briefly in a single shot in the Bond movie License to Kill where the Dalton Bond wakes up in drug king pin Sanchez's guest bedroom, woozy from having been drugged and the first thing he sees (the camera focuses on) is a large statue of a cartoonish pastel-colored fish with multiple sets of eyes apparently staring at him. This is the art of Bustamante of the time. Creatures, humans, and sun faces with multiple sets of eyes like this. I own a few of his pieces, odd as they are, they're among my favoritestest objects. The sun face I own has only one set of eyes. :-( I get a little nervous whenever the housekeeper dusts it because she's a bit careless and it's not obvious it's in two pieces. It'd break my heart if she trashed it.

So anyway, the actual living four eared-cat featured on Drudge Report last week reminded me of Bustamante. He would have loved that cat. The photo of the cat, adorable in every way but weird with extra vestigial ears veritably screamed to be animated. So I did.

That is all.; 8/24/08, 2:24 AM
blake said...: Victoria,

I never thought much of Witt till she got older. Her last non-competitive entries into the Olympics showed a lot of warmth where the earlier ones weren't so appealing.

Kerri Strug definitely blossomed.; 8/24/08, 2:52 AM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Ana Alta (al opuesto de Ana baja) es una diosa terrenal.

Ana es tan especial, yo creo que ni la misma Ana tiene idea.

Ana usa la lojica aparente en contra si. Resultando un truco fenomenal - el llevar a su aparente contricante a pensar.

Una ves que piensas, ya Ana te tiene en sus garras.... comodamente.; 8/24/08, 2:54 AM
blake said...: Maybe I'm the only one, but I thought Katarina Witt nude was anti-climactic.; 8/24/08, 2:54 AM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Blake I have the Katarina Witt Playboy nude.

La mujer es hermosisima.; 8/24/08, 3:01 AM
blake said...: Hmmm. My spanish is a little rusty.

The woman is very...sisterish?; 8/24/08, 3:12 AM
rhhardin said...: Everybody on the second list drinks their own urine.; 8/24/08, 4:32 AM
Anonymous said...: Yes, I'd say Katarina Witt is hermosa, not hermosisima. I, too, have seen the nude pix from some years ago. She looks reasonably good if you like athletic German women. In fact, put a helmet on her, give her some stage armor, and she would look about like what Brünhilde should look like. Too bad she can't sing.

Like Seven, I, too had the misfortune to be attracted to women who turned out to be lesbian or bisexual. Believe me, it's no fun when your girlfriend has a girlfriend.

Guys, forget those threesome fantasies.

When my first bisexual girlfriend was in the Sapphic mode, the LAST thing she wanted was some guy (e.g., me) around. I used to call her "hot and cold running Kelley," because, of course, her name was Kelley, she was a distance runner, and would get seriously chilly toward me when she was in the mood for female companionship.

I wound up in several other relationships with bisexual women, and they were all equally but differently no fun. The common element was the recurring disguist that would periodically and unpredictably come over them. La donna é mobile doesn't even begin to cover it.

Anyway, Lem, people say all sorts of things about Althouse. But an "earthly goddess?" And that last sentence? Althouse is well-known to have a vortex, not claws.; 8/24/08, 4:36 AM
TitusStagLeap said...: I love Madonna and where would she be if she wasn't courting controversy.

By the way Frank Rich and Maureen Dowd nail it today-as usual.

Frank Rich is so upper west side it hurts. I love him more than the trick from Bayonne that worshipped my hog tonight.; 8/24/08, 5:09 AM
TitusStagLeap said...: Whatever you say Madonna I will obey.; 8/24/08, 5:20 AM
Anonymous said...: What, no Che?; 8/24/08, 5:55 AM
The Drill SGT said...: Can we get a Venn diagram, please?

Imagine three concentric circles

label the outside = Women
label the middle = softball players

label the inside = Lesbians

done; 8/24/08, 6:42 AM
The Drill SGT said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 8/24/08, 6:43 AM
The Drill SGT said...: In defense of Katarina Witt, here are two nude Witts that are clearly NSFW. no links, so you'll actually have to intend to peek :)

Soviet Realist Witt
http://sinoby.com/sport/katharina_witt/9.shtml

Tropic Witt
http://sinoby.com/sport/katharina_witt/1.shtml; 8/24/08, 7:06 AM
Ann Althouse said...: People will be googling their way to this post and leaving dissatisfied for years.; 8/24/08, 7:50 AM
hdhouse said...: Chip Ahoy said...
"Music is chiefly brainless. At its best it's emotionally evocative. Musicians are generally emotional people. I don't look to them for reason."

Tell that to Bach.; 8/24/08, 7:51 AM
Richard Fagin said...: "What percentage of people in her audience would recognize Mugabe from a photograph?"

Substantially zero. They probably wouldn't recognize Hitler, either. It's so much more fun to equate Republicans with Nazis than to actually read about who the Nazis were.; 8/24/08, 8:19 AM
rhhardin said...: Tell that to Bach.

Common knowledge that happens to be wrong.

real audio (modern real players may ask to download old sipr9 codec); 8/24/08, 8:28 AM
TMink said...: Why would anyone care what she is trying to say?

Trey; 8/24/08, 8:28 AM
rhhardin said...: Paglia likes her.; 8/24/08, 8:36 AM
Spread Eagle said...: I coached a women's softball team for 10 years. Overall, the very best players were het, not lesbian, but the lesbians were the meanest and most ruthless.; 8/24/08, 8:40 AM
Swifty Quick said...: Music is chiefly brainless. At its best it's emotionally evocative.

That's not necessarily true. Correlating aptitudes for math, programming, and music are fairly common. The Vadge is not a musician. She's a performer.; 8/24/08, 8:53 AM
Meade said...: Theo/Seven Machos@ 5:03; 8/24/08, 8:59 AM
Anton said...: Why would anyone post on, much less debate anything Madonna says or does? Her only asset, and I mean her ONLY asset, is her firm-for-her-age buttocks and thighs. And that's it...; 8/24/08, 9:07 AM
Anonymous said...: I agree with Trey. Madonna lost me at coke bottle.; 8/24/08, 9:38 AM
Anonymous said...: Since the lesbians are playing softball in Peking, should that be a Zenn diagram?; 8/24/08, 9:48 AM
vbspurs said...: Frank Rich is so upper west side it hurts. I love him more than the trick from Bayonne that worshipped my hog tonight.

*hits head against monitor*

STOP IT! Stop it now, you big liar. God, it's so painful to read Phony-Titus' posts. It's like drinking paint stripper after having sipped Chateau Petrus.

PHONY.; 8/24/08, 11:34 AM
Icepick said...: Like Seven, I, too had the misfortune to be attracted to women who turned out to be lesbian or bisexual. Believe me, it's no fun when your girlfriend has a girlfriend.

I've never had the misfortune to be involved with a lesbian or bisexual woman, but I have seen it happen. My best friend in grad school was a woman who couldn't decide if she was a lesbian or bisexual. After knowing her well for a little while the whole lesbian fantasy thing was ruined for me. For straight males lesbians are much better as a fantasy than as a reality. (Presumably lesbians are better as a reality than a fantasy for other lesbians.); 8/24/08, 11:34 AM
amba said...: Ah, she's so subtle!

Now just add Joe Stalin to sequence #2 . . .; 8/24/08, 11:37 AM
William said...: It's possible that attractive women are attracted to sports that make them look more attractive. The sports that are most complimentary to a good looking woman are gymnastics, figure skating, diving, tennis and soccer. In any event the babe/dog ratio in these sports is much higher than in others. Some of the sprinters were hot but not because of the sprinting. Pole vaulting for some dark Freudian reason also attracts a fair number of babes. There were some good looking girls on the softball team but the uniform is not flattering. Figure skating is probably the most popular because they can wear make-up and cute outfits.; 8/24/08, 12:33 PM
Simon said...: William said...
"The sports that are most complimentary to a good looking woman are gymnastics, figure skating, diving, tennis and soccer."

The problem with gymnastics and skating is that neither work if you have a womanly figure. Tennis is a borderline case, although it can have quite sexual overtones.

"Pole vaulting for some dark Freudian reason also attracts a fair number of babes."

Isn't there a Paraguayan javelininst that the male universe has been collectively dribbling over for the last couple of olympics now?; 8/24/08, 12:57 PM
blake said...: Leryn Franco. As Jim Norton quipped on "Red Eye", hot as she is, she's the last woman you'd want a hand release from.

Then there was (figuratively) poor Allison Stokke who became an unwitting Internet sensation due to the linked picture.; 8/24/08, 2:44 PM
Bruce Hayden said...: "Adolf Hitler, Robert Mugabe, John McCain... and in sequence #2: John Lennon, Al Gore, Mahatma Gandhi, and Barack Obama."

Godwin's Law strikes the campaign trail already. I had lost touch with Mike almost a decade ago when he left the EFF. But we connected up last week - he is apparently general counsel for the Wikimedia Foundation, which brings us Wikipedia, which I used for the above link, which is nicely circular.; 8/24/08, 3:07 PM
From Inwood said...: Comparing Mugube to Hitler? That's racist.; 8/24/08, 4:58 PM
Anonymous said...: Madonna looks like she's in pain. As in "my thigh muscles are in spasm."; 8/24/08, 6:37 PM