Althouse: "This just reinforces my ongoing impression that we've been living out a satire for the past year or two."

October 9, 2009

"This just reinforces my ongoing impression that we've been living out a satire for the past year or two."

"We elected a callow nobody as President on the strength of a few vacuous speeches. The healthcare debate — driving trillions of dollars in anticipated future expenditures — got turned around by comments someone scrawled on Facebook, and now the Nobel Peace Prize committee has decided to award prizes for good intentions. It's like no one's even serious about anything anymore. None of it matters. It's the Society of the Spectacle."

49 comments:

John said...: Engineers may recall a term from mechanics: virtual work.; 10/9/09, 9:47 AM
Jason (the commenter) said...: Give people lots of money and no real consequences and what do you expect?

Thank you social safety-net.; 10/9/09, 9:52 AM
former law student said...: This flurry of posts indicates that the professor is really exercised by this choice, for some reason.; 10/9/09, 9:53 AM
Rialby said...: FLS - for some reason???

Dude, don't defend it. It's fucking ludicrous.; 10/9/09, 9:55 AM
LouisAntoine said...: OH YEAH IT WAS SO MUCH MORE AWESOME when we elected the silver spoon alcoholic party boy scion of a wooden WASP family who had no interest in the world outside of Texas oil country and who was an evangelical christian with no uncertainty about God's role in guiding his plans which included INVADING AND OCCUPYING a country in the middle east on a doctrine of "Prevention" who drove the US economy to the BRINK OF EXTINCTION after 8 years of irresponsible fiscal policy.

You know what? Eat it.; 10/9/09, 9:56 AM
Choey said...: I sear I went to bed one night and woke up in Bozo World. The world is standing on its head....; 10/9/09, 9:57 AM
Rialby said...: It is satire but it's already been made into a movie from a novel. It was called "Being There". Perhaps a remake is due for 2009?; 10/9/09, 9:58 AM
Derve Swanson said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 10/9/09, 9:58 AM
LouisAntoine said...: Shorter me: EAT IT, ALTHOUSE

XOXOXO; 10/9/09, 9:59 AM
Henry said...: Nobel Prize Committee to Montagne Montaigne: Who's this "we" you mention?

* * *

Obama is Gresham's Law reified.; 10/9/09, 10:00 AM
Rialby said...: I will quote from VDH's piece posted yesterday:

Nemesis has caught up with him in oh so many ways. From what we can tell, he was not a serious student, but rather a glib and politically astute observer, who rode affirmative action, identity politics, and campus trends (I am now gleaning this from his own autobiography) right through Occidental and Columbia to Harvard Law—without much scholarship. He was given much more attention at Chicago Law School for what he represented than what he accomplished. He arrogantly thought he could glide into the racist cauldron of Trinity Church, and glide out as an authentic African-American organizer of the Jesse Jackson sort.
His Senate career was similar—long on soaring rhetoric, in perpetual campaign mode, predicated on white liberal guilt and ease with a charismatic “other”—and short on actual accomplishment.; 10/9/09, 10:01 AM
garage mahal said...: Holy shit Althouse. 3 posts an hour. Deep breath.; 10/9/09, 10:01 AM
Automatic_Wing said...: In other surreal news, the DNC has declared that when you criticize Obama's Nobel prize, you're siding with terrorists!

Everyone shut up and genuflect before dear leader or else you're unpatriotic.; 10/9/09, 10:01 AM
lucid said...: @montagne
It is HILARIOUS watching some of you obamis mindlessly trying to defned this. You are just reinforcing some of Althouse's posts. Even you should be able to figure out which ones.

wv: etlyclk--involuntary visceral reaction to reading obamis. often followed by laughter.; 10/9/09, 10:02 AM
John Borell said...: Montagne Montaigne said...

"OH YEAH IT WAS SO MUCH MORE AWESOME when we elected the silver spoon alcoholic party boy..."

Um, what does that have to do with Obama winning a Nobel Peace Prize on the whole "hope" thing?

Why does it all come back to Bush? Bush is not in office anymore. This is about Obama, not about Bush.

Do I want Obama to succeed? Sure. But does he deserve a Peace Prize? Seriously, no.

Guess we're back to hope. I hope he does something in the future to deserve the award he is going to get.; 10/9/09, 10:04 AM
Scott said...: @former law student: Maybe the professor is dismayed that when a venerated institution trivializes itself by recognizing the unworthy, it threatens the value of the honors conferred by other highly regarded academies -- like colleges and universities.; 10/9/09, 10:05 AM
former law student said...: who rode affirmative action, identity politics, and campus trends ... to Harvard Law—without much scholarship.

Yes, somehow Obama managed to defeat HLS's anonymous grading system, and AA his way to scoring a GPA in the top ten percent by typing like a Negro.; 10/9/09, 10:07 AM
MadisonMan said...: Why does it all come back to Bush? Bush is not in office anymore. This is about Obama, not about Bush.

I disagree. You cannot view the Obama Peace Prize without thinking about Bush. They are very much linked.

Europeans hated Bush because he didn't care what they thought. Now Obama has replaced him and Europeans want to celebrate by giving awards.; 10/9/09, 10:07 AM
Hoosier Daddy said...: Why does it all come back to Bush?

SQUIRREL!!; 10/9/09, 10:08 AM
Rialby said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 10/9/09, 10:09 AM
former law student said...: Maybe the professor is dismayed

Dismay is worth one or two posts. This reaction is more appropriate to a bad case of shingles.; 10/9/09, 10:09 AM
Rialby said...: Maguro - that statement from the DNC will go down in the annals of American history as one of the stupidest things ever said about one party by the other. I hope the American people wake up and realize what nonsense this all is.; 10/9/09, 10:10 AM
LouisAntoine said...: Some conservative jerkoff discovers we live in the Society of the Spectacle. Please alert the people of 1953.; 10/9/09, 10:11 AM
Rialby said...: Democrats love grabbing their ankles for the international community. Congratulations on being loved! Let's see how that works out for our country.

When Iran and Israel start exchanging nuclear weapons, this is going to make Barack Obama look worse than Chamberlain.; 10/9/09, 10:12 AM
Balfegor said...: I think Obama is legitimately a highly intelligent man, probably one of the more intelligent Presidents we've had, up there with Hoover and Nixon. He may have had undistinguished grades at Columbia -- we don't know -- but I'm inclined to suspect that even if he had, it was more a result of laziness and experimentation with drugs than any lack of intellectual capacity. We're not talking about Al Gore or John Kerry here, struggling earnestly for their gentleman's C's.

It's just that beyond a certain level, intelligence doesn't really seem to do all that much for leaders. I know people who I think are smarter -- probably a lot smarter -- than Obama, and more knowledgeable to boot. That doesn't mean I'd vote for them if they ran for President. The Presidency is not an IQ test.; 10/9/09, 10:14 AM
Titus said...: Let's guess how many Obama and Nobel Prize posts there will be.

I say 20.

What say you?

Today I am wearing Topaz.; 10/9/09, 10:15 AM
Balfegor said...: Some conservative jerkoff discovers we live in the Society of the Spectacle. Please alert the people of 1953.

Oh? I thought the phrase originated with Debord in the 60s. Well, no matter. I'm not a Marxist, after all -- just think some of Debord's insights have become suddenly hilariously relevant.; 10/9/09, 10:16 AM
Peter Hoh said...: This is the latest in a long string of stupid. We've been living out a satire since 2000, if not before.; 10/9/09, 10:17 AM
Rialby said...: Balfegor - no doubt that Obama is smart. Is he one of the most intelligent? I would be hard pressed to agree with you there. He has never proven capable of being anything other than an empty vessel for the ideas and stances his elders, his academic peers and his policial allies want to pour into him.; 10/9/09, 10:17 AM
Balfegor said...: This is the latest in a long string of stupid. We've been living out a satire since 2000, if not before.

Fair enough. In 1999, if someone told you the United States would suffer a deadly attack plotted by a plutocratic madman from his desolate mountain fortress, people would have thought you were talking about the next James Bond movie. And the whole 2000 election thing was pretty silly too.; 10/9/09, 10:19 AM
Balfegor said...: Balfegor - no doubt that Obama is smart. Is he one of the most intelligent? I would be hard pressed to agree with you there. He has never proven capable of being anything other than an empty vessel for the ideas and stances his elders, his academic peers and his policial allies want to pour into him.

You don't have to be a strong personality to be highly intelligent. You just have to be, uh, highly intelligent. I don't think they're the same thing.; 10/9/09, 10:22 AM
Eli Blake said...: if someone told you the United States would suffer a deadly attack plotted by a plutocratic madman from his desolate mountain fortress, people would have thought you were talking about the next James Bond movie.

That's what I thought when they said the name of the mountain fortress was Tora Bora, like something right out of Hollywood.

The difference of course being, that James Bond always did get the bad guy in the end, while we (who won't learn from history) are repeating the lessons of chasing and never catching the last guy who declared war on the U.S. (Pancho Villa) all over again.; 10/9/09, 10:25 AM
Eli Blake said...: And this just in:

There was a mistake in naming the winner of the Nobel Chemistry prize award.

They meant to give it to 'Mr. Wizard' for all those shows that inspired kids to study science.; 10/9/09, 10:26 AM
Joe said...: I think Obama is legitimately a highly intelligent man

I don't. I've seen no evidence whatsoever of even average intelligence. Why do people keep making this claim? (Perhaps its all those lawyers who are under the illusion that good grades in law school and on exams is reflective of anything more than good memorization skills. I hasten to add that we have little idea how Obama actually did in school academically--everything he did can be explained by the following.)

I see a person who has the talent of becoming whatever the people who can give him what he wants. This has nothing to do with intelligence. (I once worked for a man who had this ability. He was the dumbest human being who wasn't actually retarded that I've ever personally met. Watching him deflect actually being intelligent was perversely fascinating and it really impressed upper management [i.e. people who aren't very smart.].); 10/9/09, 10:28 AM
Automatic_Wing said...: The difference of course being, that James Bond always did get the bad guy in the end, while we (who won't learn from history) are repeating the lessons of chasing and never catching the last guy who declared war on the U.S. (Pancho Villa) all over again.

Egads. You mean that real life isn't just like James Bond movies? How terribly disappointing.; 10/9/09, 10:32 AM
former law student said...: Perhaps its all those lawyers who are under the illusion that good grades in law school and on exams is reflective of anything more than good memorization skills.

Uh-oh. Somebody here didn't go to law school.; 10/9/09, 10:47 AM
DADvocate said...: MM is in full fury. An orthodox believer showing his rage at the heretics. Repent or burn in Hell, you sinners!!; 10/9/09, 10:48 AM
Chennaul said...: Oh my!

[*clutches pearls*]

The little fella unloaded his full wad of caps...; 10/9/09, 11:02 AM
Chennaul said...: The full fury on a Peace Prize thread no less!!!; 10/9/09, 11:03 AM
Hoosier Daddy said...: while we (who won't learn from history) are repeating the lessons of chasing and never catching the last guy who declared war on the U.S. (Pancho Villa) all over again.

Until I see a video of Osama holding a current newspaper and spouting off his usual Islamofascist bullshit, I'll adhere to the belief that he ended up as brown stain on some cave wall in Tora Bora.; 10/9/09, 11:04 AM
bagoh20 said...: "Uh-oh. Somebody here didn't go to law school."

Well, he's not the only one who missed that Cool-Aide kegger.; 10/9/09, 12:28 PM
bagoh20 said...: Nobel: Another great institution sacrificed.

other victims:

higher education,
journalism
capitalism
freedom
liberalism
reason
etc.; 10/9/09, 12:37 PM
Joe said...: Uh-oh. Somebody here didn't go to law school.

I wasn't dumb enough.; 10/9/09, 12:50 PM
Triangle Man said...: I nominate "callow" for the Althouse blog / comments insult of the year.; 10/9/09, 2:31 PM
miller said...: You have to admit it's hilarious: without even trying Boy President has destroyed the US economy, GM, AND the Nobel Peace Prize Committee.; 10/9/09, 3:01 PM
traditionalguy said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 10/9/09, 3:45 PM
traditionalguy said...: The amazing Mr Obama seems to keep his head in the game without any worries that one notices as he blithely runs thru speech after speech that have not one true statement that can be found. Now that is a talent. Alice in wonderland seems an apt analogy. But where are his goals??? The basketball player continually head fakes his opposition...the only way to understand his play is to see where and how he always scores from, and not believe his head fakes. That is the reason I seldom say Obama is anyones fool, but always say that I believe that he has a plan. So far his plan appears to be to cripple the American economy, demoralize and shrink the American military, and encourage all those who seek to do the USA any harm from Chavez/Castro to Putin and Amadinghad. The next step in his plans are clear.They are to bind the USA to UN treaties that forever end our independence. From 1776 to 2009 was 233 years and Obama wants to see that ended in one year in office. That cat has either got no clue how dangerous this world is...or he is the real danger himself? If there is a 2012 election permitted, Palin will win. But will it be too late? We need a national intervention to end our addiction to the Smile of Obama.; 10/9/09, 3:50 PM
Anonymous said...: Wow, Balfegor. Sublime insight. Just flooring.; 10/9/09, 11:18 PM
Skipper50 said...: The award is ludicrous if you assume it is given for extraordinary achievement. But it is perfectly logical if one concludes the Nobel committee has political agendas which they try to advance withthe Peace Prize. That would explain Jimmy Carter, Al Gore, perhaps Yassar Arafat.; 10/10/09, 11:48 AM