July 11, 2019

This is totally effective to anyone with a right-wing orientation, but if you're a person of the left, it's spooky propaganda.

That's my assessment, from my cruelly neutral perspective:

I don't know why I — of all people — can stand back and observe. I experienced physical chills at 0:23 — "I am honored to call him President Trump" — even as I know, intellectually, it makes no sense. From there on, I looked at that face in front of a brick wall — The Wall!! — and thought this is exactly what propaganda is. I admired Voight's delivery and the weird but simple text, even as I thought about how bizarre it is that human beings drink this up. Once it's over, I wonder, what the hell was that?! What did I just hear? It slipped in below the conscious level. I had to go back to find the place where I'd felt the chill, and I'm struck by its emptiness. What is the rest of it? Something about God. God... Trump... God... ???!!!

304 comments:

1 – 200 of 304   Newer›   Newest»
Jersey Fled said...

Get a grip, Althouse.

LYNNDH said...

Well Ann, your thoughts are in line with you being a Progressive Democrat.

Danno said...

Meade, are you taking some of the poppies we saw the other day and using them to get Althouse in a state of getting high?

Inga...Allie Oop said...

OMG.

This is hilarious, it’s a parody. It cannot be for real.

The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...

You're high, Althouse. And don't say that's unhelpful or off topic. Sometimes the radioactive green spiders are all in your head.

readering said...

Teleprompter fail?

Ann Althouse said...

"Get a grip, Althouse"/"Well Ann, your thoughts are in line with you being a Progressive Democrat."

Thanks for telling me I nailed it, right-wingers!

tim maguire said...

A bit too much of God for my tastes. While I don't necessarily disagree with any of his assertions, this clip would be far more attractive to moderates if he gave one quick example of each one--low unemployment, rising wages, fewer foreign entanglements, fewer regulations, returning respectability to the 9th circuit, etc.

Even when it sounded like he was about to give some specifics, he didn't.

Marcus Bressler said...

Now do The View.

THEOLDMAN

The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...

And, my God, we of right-wing orientation know all about propaganda. The Left has bombarded us with it from every nook and cranny of the culture for the last 50 years.

Lucid-Ideas said...

Trump owns John's car. John bit Trump and infected each other. Now Voight is a Trump vector and will pump Trump in 2020 subconsciously while Donald drives to LaLa land. Voight is high. Voight does LSD.

Voight is a high-powered mutant. Like Dr. Gonzo. Too strange to live. Too rare to die.

Robert Cook said...

Atta boy, Trump!

Ralph L said...

Greatest Great!
Gobbledeegook!

rehajm said...

I guess we're just used to lefties doing this creepy shit.

Celebrities creep out America pledging their allegiance to Barack Obama

Celebrities creep out America with Their Obama worship

Lucien said...

Can’t wait to see how professional journalists twist that to say it is a message seething with hatred.

Danno said...

Otherwise, the TDS has claimed another citizen.

Propaganda excites the viewer. The video clip was rather boring but only was the statement of an opinion by Jon Voight.

Ralph L said...

Documentations!

Nonapod said...

I've never particularly enjoyed political messages from celebrities even in the rare event that they're conservative ones. But I understand that I'm in the minority on that, for whatever reason.

That said, I've always had a lot of respect Voight for being one of the few open conservatives in modern Hollywood. It can't be easy. I'm certain he's gotten a fair amount of venom spewed his way from his peers over the years and has probably lost his fair share of work opportunities.

Robert Cook said...

"And, my God, we of right-wing orientation know all about propaganda. The Left has bombarded us with it from every nook and cranny of the culture for the last 50 years."

Yep! I remember so vividly the commie propaganda of Coke's "I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing" campaign.

Wince said...

I did not see it as “effective” or ineffective “propaganda”.

It was a celebrity endorsement, unique perhaps because it is so severely outnumbered by its more tendentious counterparts on the left.

gerry said...


I don't know why I — of all people — can stand back and observe.


Really? Your observations are usually simply verbose. And exhausting.

Best regards.

rehajm said...

Thanks for telling me I nailed it, right-wingers!

This is a very juvenile response. There are other reasons for their reaction besides 'you nailed it'. I would encourage you to explore what those could be.

Work harder.

Hagar said...

Mirror image.

M said...

Did he just wing this? He should have had a speech writer. I have gone from changing parties to vote against Trump in the primaries to a solid Trump supporter who would crawl over broken glass to vote for him in 2020 and even I think this was rambling and odd. I don’t mind anyone referencing God. I don’t mind talking up the USA or Trump (though the weird levels of adoration that you usually only see on the Left for a living President is unsettling to me). But this was just not a good piece of propaganda. Who was he talking to? The early Dementia set?

Hagar said...

Equal opposite reaction.

Robert Cook said...

"I guess we're just used to lefties doing this creepy shit."

Celebrities creep out America pledging their allegiance to Barack Obama

Celebrities creep out America with Their Obama worship


OMFG, I never saw those videos before. UGH! Talk about creepy and appalling!

Beasts of England said...

Seems rather innocuous to me. Interesting that it triggers the lefties. Or maybe not...

rehajm said...

I'll help you get started: consider the asymmetry of the reaction to this type of propaganda left vs right.

Birches said...

The Right's Obama.

gspencer said...

"I experienced physical chills at 0:23"

You'll get over them. Have some warm tea.

rhhardin said...

Superficiality needs a flag. Six of them in the background.

Gahrie said...

OK..so Althouse says that this video is fine to the Right, but spooky to the Left. Then she points out where she finds it spooky. Then she freaks when we point out that she's a Lefty?

Jake said...

All marketing is propaganda.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIGLNVyTCaY

"You make the lie. You invent want."

Anonymous said...

Seriously Cook, you never saw the "I Pledge" video? Next you're going to tell us you never saw one of the hundreds of artfully-framed photos of Obama with a golden light behind his head just so.

Temujin said...

I love Jon Voight the actor. He's a great, great actor. But I could not get through to his 3rd sentence on this one (I had to cut it off at 'wiser').

I'm truly over all politicos. All of them. We elected Trump because most of us are TIRED of all of the same old tired words being mouthed. That's all. We voted Trump in to shake things up. Shake off the blanket. Shake up Washington.

I think we've done that. But we're not wiser as a nation. Look around you.

Ken B said...

You felt a chill with the Sanders “America” ad — the Paul Simon Song one. That was pure propaganda. I do not recall you calling it so.

Jake said...

"Can’t wait to see how professional journalists twist that to say it is a message seething with hatred."

It was so... dark. /s

rhhardin said...

Presentation of the American zinger award to Trump would mean something.

Overthrow the rule of the media and their soap opera women audience.

buwaya said...

Propaganda and counter-propaganda is the nature of this conflict.
This must happen, or one side is disarmed.
We can call it ugly or “creepy”, but so is real war.
The problem with most “civilized” people is that they don’t understand the necessity of this.
Winners are not “civilized”.

And this of course goes back to my favorite example, Salamanca, 1936, when the philosopher Unamuno met that child of Mars, Milan Astray. Our hostess would have sympathized with Unamuno, but Millan Astray understood what was actually taking place on rocky Spanish hillsides.

Mr. D said...

OMFG, I never saw those videos before. UGH! Talk about creepy and appalling!

I believe you. But you weren’t the audience, Mr. Cook.

jnseward said...

Ha ha. Yup, that was a lotta empty calories, even though I am in total emotional agreement with it.

Shouting Thomas said...

One of my closest FB friends is a graduate of the University of Chicago law school and a very busy and prosperous literary agent in NYC.

Her father was murdered by the Red Guards.

She argues quite convincingly that the Democratic Party is now an unabashed and proud communist party. All of the Democratic candidates for office openly advocate the seizure of private property for "redistribution."

She's quite interesting to read.

Althouse isn't truly "cruelly neutral." She tolerates Marxism. She's a Marxist feminist. Robert Cook is an admitted and outspoken communist.

My lawyer friend does indeed see Prez Trump as the last best hope of the U.S. to defeat the communist Democratic Party.

rhhardin said...

The serious is a subgenre of the frivolous, not its opposite. This would be an example.

Big Mike said...

even as I thought about how bizarre it is that human beings drink this up.

@Althouse, would it be okay for for some of us right-wingers to spend the rest of this comment thread listing some of the weird and bizzare things we’ve seen you drink up over the years?

Tommy Duncan said...

In the liberal echo chamber this is radical propaganda. For others outside that chamber it is a welcome message that is infrequently heard.

Gahrie said...

@Althouse, would it be okay for for some of us right-wingers to spend the rest of this comment thread listing some of the weird and bizzare things we’ve seen you drink up over the years?

We could start with Phillips and CBF.

rehajm said...

UGH! Talk about creepy and appalling!

I shall take this moment to recognize total agreement with Cookie on this point...

rhhardin said...

You'd think people who like language would like Trump. All his best stuff is literary effects. It changes the context that the opposition exists in, and throws sand in their gears.

Since they stopped teaching English lit nobody in the academic world can deal with it.

Wm. Empson "The Structure of Complex Words" gives a good background.

Michael Fitzgerald said...

"This is totally effective to anyone with a right-wing orientation"

Ha ha. No, it isn't. But you know that, troll

Inga...Allie Oop said...

This didn’t spook me out, it immediately struck me as so hilarious I couldn’t believe it was real. How can even the most severely affected Trump Cultist see this as something positive? Do you people really think this way? Something that will help Trump? Are you people really that far gone? Now THAT is spooky.

Robert Cook said...

"Seems rather innocuous to me. Interesting that it triggers the lefties. Or maybe not...."

It's creepy for anyone have this kind of reverence for any president. We hire them to manage our national affairs. Our attitude should always be one of skepticism and critical oversight. If they do a good job, well...they've done what we hired them to do. If they've done a bad job, they warrant criticism. This is the thinking of a child or idiot, not of a thinking adult.

reader said...

It didn’t appear real to me, instead it seems like he’s just playing a part. Also, people who sound like that are usually the bad guys in movies and that is the impression I’m left with. So it’s not very effective.

Robert Cook said...

"Robert Cook is an admitted and outspoken communist."

Really? How come no one told me? When did I admit this? Please cite your reference so I can be sure you're correct.

buwaya said...

Inga’s comment reveals her lack of historical knowledge and general perspective.
I have often recommended reading Cicero’s Rhetoric, as a start.

Sebastian said...

"from my cruelly neutral perspective"

Sorry, you forfeited that long ago. Any reassertion is just your own bit of propaganda now.

Inga...Allie Oop said...

“Inga’s comment reveals her lack of historical knowledge and general perspective.”

How so? Explain yourself.

Drago said...

Phil: "Seriously Cook, you never saw the "I Pledge" video? Next you're going to tell us you never saw one of the hundreds of artfully-framed photos of Obama with a golden light behind his head just so."

Are you kidding? The left actually denied the existence of 100 million dead in commie mass graves in the 20th century for 60 years!

Inga herself called my recitation of 100 million in lefty mass graves "propaganda".

So, yeah, its not surprising that the lefties who recite their Pledge of Allegiance to Obama would have missed many lefty cult events.

Robert Cook said...

"One of my closest FB friends is a graduate of the University of Chicago law school and a very busy and prosperous literary agent in NYC.

"Her father was murdered by the Red Guards.

"She argues quite convincingly that the Democratic Party is now an unabashed and proud communist party."


So, despite her bona fides and accomplishments, she's a crank. Sad.

Beasts of England said...

'This is the thinking of a child or idiot, not of a thinking adult.'

Is that comment directed at me, Cookie? I'd like to offer you a mulligan, if so.

Michael K said...

If they do a good job, well...they've done what we hired them to do. If they've done a bad job, they warrant criticism.

Except that no Republican ever deserves credit for a good job, especially Trump.

Ken B said...

I suppose I count as having a “right wing” orientation in your scale of things. i am an atheist, who favors abortion rights and gay marriage. But I also support free speech, personal liberty, a strong military, a free market, free trade, and due process, standard pronouns, and enforcing immigration law. The third sentence marks me as “right wing” in today's parlance , and as no admirer of any of the Democrats running. But the ad did nothing for me. I knew Voight was abit of a religious nutter already.

Propaganda though is really the wrong word. It is a sincere statement by a sincere man. (I think he's silly but he is certainly sincere.) Sincerity is not usually the hallmark of propaganda.

Drago said...

Robert Cook: "It's creepy for anyone have this kind of reverence for any president."

Could you point to a single comment of this type that you made during the period of Jan 2009 thru Jan 17 of 2017?

Thanks in advance.

Doug said...

Althouse, substitute some lesbian woman of color for Voigt, and substitute "Barack Hussein Obama" for "Trump", and you'll get it.
Or - you will get why conservatives have and had such a visceral loathing of zerobama.

Drago said...

Robert Cook: "So, despite her bona fides and accomplishments, she's a crank. Sad."

The Communist Party USA agrees with her, not you.

Gahrie said...

Robert Cook is an admitted and outspoken communist."

Really? How come no one told me? When did I admit this? Please cite your reference so I can be sure you're correct.


Wait..Comrade Marvin is now denying that he's a Communist? Maybe he finally read Das Kapital and changed his mind.

Inga...Allie Oop said...

“Inga herself called my recitation of 100 million in lefty mass graves "propaganda".”

I’ve found that when Drago becomes obsessed with one particular commenter, he’s on the offensive. Try not to be a creepy as Jon Voight, poor Drago. Or is your goal to be the Jon Voight of the Althouse blog comments sections? Try not to be such an obvious Cultist.


Robert Cook said...

"Phil: 'Seriously Cook, you never saw the "I Pledge" video? Next you're going to tell us you never saw one of the hundreds of artfully-framed photos of Obama with a golden light behind his head just so.'"

I certainly saw quite a number of the Photoshopped Halo Obama photos. It was both ridiculous and horrifying. But, no, I never saw these videos before. I was no fan of Obama--another tool of the ruling elite--so I didn't pay attention to such material.

Drago said...

Inga is still embarrassed that Phil posted Inga's actual comment that I referenced on another thread which Inga denied having made.

Inga doesn't like it when her lies are that exposed.

For obvious reasons.

Robert Cook said...

"Wait..Comrade Marvin is now denying that he's a Communist? Maybe he finally read Das Kapital and changed his mind."

No, I've never read Das Kapital.

Drago said...

Per that other thread where Inga has denied lefties knew about Bill's activities for years, here's another quote which disproves that from Bill Maher:

“Hillary’s emails? I want to see Bill’s: Hey Epstein, gas up the plane, let’s go to Sex Island! I want to be balls deep in Russian whore soon!” Bill Maher said March 5, 2015.

So is it any surprise that Cookie and the other lefties pretend not to have noticed the over-the-top messiah praise of obama for 8 years?

Robert Cook said...

BTW, who is Comrade Marvin?

Rick said...

Robert Cook said...
"And, my God, we of right-wing orientation know all about propaganda. The Left has bombarded us with it from every nook and cranny of the culture for the last 50 years."

Yep! I remember so vividly the commie propaganda of Coke's "I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing" campaign.


It's so appropriate Cook substitutes "commies" for "left" in the very same thread he denies his leftism has any association with communism. Apparently he thinks they are both the same and completely different in different circumstances. The circumstances being whichever is useful to attack others.

Inga...Allie Oop said...

I saw the Obama pledge video. It was stupid and whoever posted it was even stupider. Not one Obama supporter I knew thought it was anything but stupid and creepy.

rcocean said...

A little too much "God talk" for my tastes, but i appreciate the sentiment. Single-handed Trump has delayed the inevitable ruin of the USA by about 4 years. So, we can be thankful. But the President can only do so much, and between the moronic Amoral Left, and the greedy stupid Conservatives this country is doomed. Its fated to go the way of California. The Selfish Bourgeois who think they will float about it all, are in for a big surprise. AOC is just the start.

Nancy said...

Ann, you're mistaken. I have a right wing orientation, and even believe (am certain!) that reality is more than material, but I found this clip simply embarrassing.

Robert Cook said...

"...is it any surprise that Cookie and the other lefties pretend not to have noticed the over-the-top messiah praise of obama for 8 years?"

Oh, I knew Obama's supporters were deluded and out of their minds...I just never watched any of this material.

Henry said...

"of love" -- Sounds like Marian Williamson

Anonymous said...

Drago, I've never actually seen the mass graves, I've only read about them. The hagiography for Obama was everywhere. You would have had to hibernate to miss it; or have been blind to its obsequiousness because you felt it was appropriate. I don't much like Cook, but I think he has a certain perverse intellectual integrity and I don't think he ever worshiped Obama.

Stephanie Delmonico said...

I often think that wwww and Inga are just sock puppets of rhardin.
I guess that'd be easy enough to figure out for someone with l33t computer skills.

Gahrie said...

BTW, who is Comrade Marvin?

Comrade because you're a Marxist, and Marvin from Hichhiker's Guide to the Universe because you're such a pessimist and downer.

Char Char Binks, Esq. said...

It's political puffery, and so what? It's persuasive and encouraging speech for those who want or need it. I'm sure it's spooky to some, by they're already spooked by ORANGE MAN BAD.

Inga...Allie Oop said...

“Per that other thread where Inga has denied lefties knew about Bill's activities for years...”

Lie again. What is wrong with you Jon boy? You are becoming a parody of the previous Drago who was already oddly obsessive. Get a grip.

PM said...

Complete devotion through incomplete sentences.
But ya gotta love his dead-eye delivery.

Robert Cook said...

Rick,

You read way too much into what was just my taking the piss regarding the commenter's silly statement.

Kevin said...

even as I thought about how bizarre it is that human beings drink this up.

What he's lacking is the CNN logo in the corner and some reference to a doctorate from Harvard or a teaching position there.

That's how you feed propaganda to the masses in 2019.

MikeR said...

"This is totally effective to anyone with a right-wing orientation" To me it was completely content-free. Didn't say a thing.

Michael K said...

Ann prefers brave Democrats who flip 180 degrees at the least pushback.

War heroes !

Amy McGrath, a Democrat challenging Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R.) in Kentucky, quickly reversed herself Wednesday after an interview was published in which she said she'd "probably" have voted to confirm Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

McGrath, a former Marine aviator, made her comments during an interview with the Courier-Journal on Wednesday:

CJ: Did you think Dr. Christine Blasey Ford's accusation was credible?

McGrath: Yeah, I think it's credible. I think this is — I think many Republicans thought it was credible. And —

CJ: That wasn't disqualifying then?

McGrath: Well, I mean I think again, I think it's credible but given the amount of time that lapsed in between and from a judicial standpoint, I don't think it would really disqualify him.

CJ: So you would have voted for him to be on the Supreme Court?

McGrath: You know, I think that with Judge Kavanaugh, yeah, I probably would have voted for him.

The Courier-Journal published the story online at 4:02 p.m. and McGrath was widely criticized on the left. By 7:30 p.m., she had reversed her position on Kavanaugh, who was confirmed by the Senate last year but remains a target among the Democratic base.


Another lefty war hero. She might have kept her integrity for all then good it will do her. She has no chance.

Otto said...

Let's get one thing straight, you are not neutral. You are an atheist and classical 60s cultural progressive liberal who shows flashes of reality especially when it comes to finance and ambition but make no mistake about it you are a progressive in your inner core.

Inga...Allie Oop said...

This video makes me think of those creepy round table conferences where Trumps cabinet members had to make adoring comments about trump before the meeting started. Son of them even thanked God for Trump, IIRC.

Rick said...

You read way too much into what was just my taking the piss regarding the commenter's silly statement.

I understand. Like the other lefties you're just here to be as much an asshole as you can be.

Jersey Fled said...

Didn't Chris Matthews get a chill looking at the crease on Obama's pants?

Earnest Prole said...

I suppose it’s less creepy than children singing hymns to Obama.

Ficta said...

I'm with "M" on this. I'm definitely a Trump supporter, but that was just weird. They weren't even real sentences.

tcrosse said...

We hire them to manage our national affairs. Our attitude should always be one of skepticism and critical oversight. If they do a good job, well...they've done what we hired them to do. If they've done a bad job, they warrant criticism.

That's the job of a Prime Minister. Unfortunately in our system we also give the President the symbolic role of Head of State. Trump does quite well at the former, not so well at the latter. Obama had it the other way around.

Francisco D said...

It's creepy for anyone have this kind of reverence for any president.

Yes. That was the most annoying aspect of the Obama presidency.

It started with the Nobel Prize when he was in office one month, and got worse.

Leland said...

It had no effect on me. None at all.

I gave up listening to platitudes. I don't find honor in Trump being our President anymore than I did Obama. If it isn't clear, how many Trump supporters were happy to have W over Clinton, Gore, or Kerry, but now feel very honored by W? How do you feel about the "Honorable Senator John McCain"?

I don't care what Trump has to say or others say about him. Just do your job and I'll do mine. I am grateful for the job Trump has done and, for that, I will vote for him.

Amadeus 48 said...

Yup. Propaganda.

I am amused by the wall behind him.

I loved him in Midnight Cowboy.

I know he and Angelina are on weird terms, but I would love to be a fly on the wall for Thanksgiving dinner at Grandpa Joe Buck's place.

Robert Cook said...

"Except that no Republican ever deserves credit for a good job, especially Trump."

I don't think he's doing a good job. Although, I do think he is to be commended for trying to make some sort of rapproachement with North Korea, just as Nixon's establishment of detente with China was commendable.

Amadeus 48 said...

Ahh--those who got teary-eyed at the pledge to Obama now weep in despair as Voigt gives a bit of bother back.

I want to see Megan Rapinoe get all weepy about the size of her paycheck as she stomps on an American flag. That would put things in proper perspective.

Howard said...

Actors are brilliant! What a great guy. I don't care about his politics, his daughter problems or the plethora of B movies. He was great in deliverance as the white knight contract to black Burt.

Henry said...

John Cage used to create lectures by randomly selecting words and phrases -- his own and some pulled from mass media -- then reading them in sequence.

I kind of get that vibe from Jon Voight. It's as if he wrote "Truth", "God", "Donald Trump", "Glory", "Greatest", "Let us track all of the magnificent documentations" and "This is" on multiple pieces of paper, pulled them at random, and added enough filler to make sentences.

As rhetoric, the most interesting bit is Voight's highly active injunction to "track all of the magnificent documentations" which then enters us into an Olympian "race of truths."

"We must continue this race of truths" is a really odd phrase. It is at once evocative and utterly vague. Race, of course, has multiple meanings. There is a slight pause after race that momentarily had me on edge. Where is he going with this race thing? Why, to a platitude of course.

Robert Cook said...

"'It's creepy for anyone have this kind of reverence for any president.'

"Yes. That was the most annoying aspect of the Obama presidency.

"It started with the Nobel Prize when he was in office one month, and got worse."


Absolutely. It certainly forever impeached the Nobel Peace Prize as having any sort of legitimacy, (made only worse as Obama expanded the illegal wars of his predecessor.)

The delusions of his supporters was made more apparent when they ignored or failed even to see when Obama cracked down on whistleblowers more avidly than any president before him, and when he allowed the criminal bankers responsible for the 2007/08 financial collapse not just to skate, but to pay themselves billions in bonuses with the funds we paid to (supposedly) keep their financial institutions from collapsing.

Henry said...

Amadeus 48 said...
Yup. Propaganda.
I am amused by the wall behind him.


Ha! Me too. It's like he filmed it in a half-finished basement. Guys, can we move the ping pong table? I'm filming something.

He's not wearing pajamas, at least. At least not waist up.

Howard said...

Blogger Amadeus 48 said...I want to see Megan Rapinoe get all weepy about the size of her paycheck as she stomps on an American flag. That would put things in proper perspective.

HaHa, imagine seeing it to Nancy Sinatra's "These Boots are Made for Walkin" and finishing with Helen Reddy's "I am Woman"

Robert Cook said...

"I don't think he's doing a good job. Although, I do think he is to be commended for trying to make some sort of rapproachement with North Korea...."

And to be condemned for his foolish and stupid trashing of our agreement with Iran.

Robert Cook said...

I understand. Like the other lefties you're just here to be as much an asshole as you can be."

I'm never an asshole. I bring enlightenment and sometimes jokes to the conversations here. You seem to completely misunderstand.

Bay Area Guy said...

Jon Voight look really good at age 80. I thought Pelosi was the hottest octogenarian, but now she has a male rival.

As for the substance, it's not designed for people like Althouse. It's a political ad, geared more toward middle American types.

Whether it works or not, probably it inches the needle incrementally in Trump's direction.

Henry said...

Althouse wrote: "This is totally effective to anyone with a right-wing orientation"

Based on the small sample size of the comments here it seems to remind anyone with a right-wing orientation of Obama. So maybe not so effective? I dunno.

Craig Howard said...

Yep! I remember so vividly the commie propaganda of Coke's "I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing" campaign.

A sly attempt at establishing world government.

bleh said...

I think I have a right-wing orientation, and it creeped me out a bit. I'm just not a fan of devotional stuff in politics.

Curious George said...

"Inga...Allie Oop said...
I saw the Obama pledge video. It was stupid and whoever posted it was even stupider. Not one Obama supporter I knew thought it was anything but stupid and creepy."

This is clearly a lie. Our resident dullard.

n.n said...

Reproductive rites, transgender spectrum pride parades, diversity, female chauvinism, anti-nativism, redistributive change, post-normal science (e.g. catastrophic anthropogenic global warming... everyone has a cause and propaganda.

Robert Cook said...

"Is that comment directed at me, Cookie?"

No. Why would you think so?

It is directed at Jon Voight.

Amadeus 48 said...

I still think Clint Eastwood's empty chair routine at the Republican Convention was brilliant.

Althouse, what was your cruelly neutral reaction to that? Did you perceive Obama as the man who wasn't there? I did, but Mitt Romney ghosted America himself and didn't win the election, with a little help from the weather.

People would rather have the ghost they know rather than take a chance on a new phantasm.

Rick said...

you are not neutral.

You're mistaking what her neutrality is. She subjects everyone's arguments to testing rather than accepting or rejecting based on whether they support her preferences. Neutrality isn't about her politics, she's quite open about rejecting conservatism. To paraphrase her the only thing she supports of conservatism is fiscal sanity which is somewhat amusing since until relatively recently that would have been considered a mainstream liberal position also (although not leftist).

But you're wrong about being a progressive. Progressives do not support the ideals of liberalism, they claim to only for public relations. By piercing those propaganda efforts and criticizing their failure to embrace liberalism she shows she is not one of them. Progressives recognize this also and routinely (mis)classify her as a conservative (while others just refer to her as a dumb bitch). They recognize her as different but can't place her correctly since they think they are liberals and understand she is to their right.

Robert Cook said...

"A sly attempt at establishing world government.

More like trying to appear hip so as to sell more of their sugar water to all the bourgeois hippie boys and girls.

n.n said...

I'm just not a fan of devotional stuff in politics.

That's it. No rallies. No chants. Certainly no mobs. No endless hours gleaning propaganda published by the media. Not even a sign, a symbol, or political piece in the yard, attached to a bumper, etc.

Francisco D said...

I'm never an asshole. I bring enlightenment and sometimes jokes to the conversations here. You seem to completely misunderstand.

Cookie,

Can you teach Howard, Freder, Chuck and Inga to have a sense of humor?

Although I often disagree with you, Your comments are often interesting and (sometimes unintentionally) amusing.

Bay Area Guy said...

@Amadeus,

"I still think Clint Eastwood's empty chair routine at the Republican Convention was brilliant."

He coulda done an empty suit routine for Romney!

Ba-da-bing.

Robert Cook said...

I'm never unintentionally amusing.

Stephanie Delmonico said...

After the press sang the 'Halleluja Chorus' for Obama all those years, this seems like a rather trivial response. Especially since the country is doing much better under President Trump than under Obama.

Drago said...

Howard: "HaHa, imagine seeing it to Nancy Sinatra's "These Boots are Made for Walkin" and finishing with Helen Reddy's "I am Woman"

That will work fine right up to the point where they run into a Under 15's boys soccer team.

Then we get results like 5-2 Boys over the "world beaters".

Drago said...

Robert Cook: "I'm never unintentionally amusing.

Ha!

That was amusing.

Rick said...

I bring enlightenment and sometimes jokes

You're boring scold as the self-appointed protector of the far left. You're happy to promote the most absurd left wing interpretations and propaganda but absurdly pretend the accusation we are subjected to constant left wing propaganda is ridiculous.

Stephanie Delmonico said...

I wish Kookie would be intentionally intelligent.

Amadeus 48 said...

I don't think anyone or anything could ever redeem a privileged athlete stepping on her nation's flag while complaining about the size of her paycheck. The irony of adding these female anthems to the soundtrack would make her selfish idiocy even more apparent.

No one cares how much anyone else gets paid. We all care about how much we get paid. I think that Tom Steyer should pay her $19 million per year and Alex Morgan $4 million per year, and ignore the rest of the team, and then let's see what happens. In fact, why hasn't he done that already?

Ralph L said...

I'm never unintentionally amusing.

Like a gentleman is never unintentionally rude.
But these days, that's impossible.

Bushman of the Kohlrabi said...

No one is neutral, either cruelly or otherwise.

John henry said...

We don't need no education
We don't need no thought control

Hey, teacher, leave the kids alone!

That's what the brick backdrop made me think of. PDJT is breaking us free of being just another brick in the wall.

Not much on celebrity endorsements but this one is pretty good.

MAGA, Baby!

And AbraCaDaBra while we're at it.

John Henry

Nancy sez,

"Jobs, Jobs, Jobs, Jobs,
Let's vote for jobs!

Dust Bunny Queen said...

The list of things that I just don't give a shit about is getting longer every day. This video is on that list.

I order of how important this is to me, it falls somewhere below the cost of ball point pens at WalMart.

Fernandinande said...

Twitter is "Updating our rules against hateful conduct" by blocking "dehumanizing" (Newspeak for "impolite") criticism of "[Religious Group]", where, I'd bet dollars to donuts, [Religious Group] = muslims.

AZ Bob said...

Or, go the way of the People's Republic of California. It's your choice.

James K said...

This is totally effective to anyone with a right-wing orientation

I have a right-wing orientation, and I found it somewhat incoherent, so not *totally* effective. Even so, it's far more coherent than anything that comes out of the mouths of Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, and any of the 20-odd Democrats running for president. For one thing, he's not claiming that services worth $billions and even $trillions can be "free."

Michael K said...

Based on the small sample size of the comments here it seems to remind anyone with a right-wing orientation of Obama. So maybe not so effective? I dunno.

Maybe effective in one of those huge evangelical churches. I'm not so sure they are "right wing."

Robert Cook said...

"I wish Kookie would be intentionally intelligent."

"When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are all in confederacy against him."
— Jonathan Swift

Achilles said...

Inga...Allie Oop said...
“Per that other thread where Inga has denied lefties knew about Bill's activities for years...”

Lie again. What is wrong with you Jon boy? You are becoming a parody of the previous Drago who was already oddly obsessive. Get a grip.

Yeah guys.

Inga knew he was a rapist when she voted for him.

She never denied it.

Stop lying.

grackle said...

A Trump public relations blunder. Nothing fatal, however. Most of Trump’s supporters, such as myself, will cringe for a moment and move on. I do not believe that even a religious voter would find this meaningless pseudo-pious claptrap the least appealing. But a person steeped in the decidedly irreligious academic bubble might think so.

America is a democratic republic, not a theocracy – the founders made sure of that. A POTUS needs to lead and govern from a policy-driven viewpoint, not as the second coming of Christ. And thankfully, it doesn’t fit Trump, whom I suspect is about as religious as I am, which is not at all.

Beasts of England said...

Thanks, Cookie. I didn't assume it was directed at me, which is why I asked you to clarify your somewhat ambiguous comment.

bagoh20 said...

"I'll have what she's having."

I love John Voit and the sentiment presented, but personally I did not find it very effective, but I don't scream during orgasm either.

bagoh20 said...

"This is totally effective to anyone with a right-wing orientation"

Just wrong, but that's OK. We already know you don't understand us as much as you think, but still, that's OK.

Aggie said...

Does anyone else notice that John Voight is starting to resemble Christopher Walken more and more? Separated at birth or what?

Francisco D said...

I'm never unintentionally amusing.

Someone with a different political and historical perspective (like yours truly) would disagree.

Lefties who are not angry and vindictive can be both intentionally and unintentionally amusing when talking politics.

I don't see it as a problem.

HoodlumDoodlum said...

You know a fair number of rightwingers complained when there were several instances of schoolkids literally singing the praises of Lightbringer Obama, often while at school, right? We said it was eerily similar to the kind of thing a North Korean dictator enjoys and uses as propaganda.

I don't remember too many nice centrist people agreeing back then, though. Mostly I remember nice centrist people tut tutting about dog whistle racism or some such ugliness just about any time we complained about those kinds of displays.

The weirdest ones were of the celebrities where they each said a word or phrase and were intercut together in a long montage/sequence to deliver a single statement.

Oh well. "It's different when WE do it" is still the ethos of our age.

Inga...Allie Oop said...

Oh thank you Jesus!

Stephanie Delmonico said...

So, Kookie...couldn't come up with your own response?

grackle said...

And to be condemned for his foolish and stupid trashing of our agreement with Iran.

Readers, the agreement was a socialist/globalist/terrorism apologist’s wet dream. But Trump’s sanctions are draining the Mullahs dry. The 1.7 billion that Obama gifted them has long since been spent. Large-scale terrorism is costly and it’s proving hugely expensive for the bloodthirsty assholes to nuke up, which the Mullahs were ALWAYS going to do, anyway. Hamas and Hezbollah payrolls are getting hard to meet these days. Rockets cost money to fabricate. Suicide-bomber families have to be rewarded. Insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan have to be armed and Kalishnikovs don’t grow on trees.

More foolish and stupid, please.

stlcdr said...

where's the propaganda?

It's no different from you multitude of other hollywoo (sic) personalities effing and blinding about the evil racist Trump.

HipsterVacuum said...

"I bring enlightenment and sometimes jokes to the conversations here."

The biggest joke is that Cookie thinks his one-dimensional, predictable as a clock world view is enlightening. Must be a Floridian thing.

Milwaukie guy said...

Voight sound like a very serious Christian that realizes Trump stands foursquare against the Democrat Bake That Cake regime. I don't find it creepy at all. I'm an open-minded atheist.

robother said...

From the perspective of cruel neutrality, all patriotism is just emotional BS. For this reason, a technocratic, legalistic elite is more aligned with the "no borders, no wall, no USA at all" radicals than deplorable "my country, right or wrong" conservatives. This, as much as cheap labor, explains the defacto open borders position of the American and EU deep state.

Rabel said...

"Once it's over, I wonder, what the hell was that?!"

It was an elderly Jon Voight expressing his opinion on his Twitter account. Why would you call it propaganda?

Yancey Ward said...

Voight has been great on Ray Donovan- the best part of the show, in my opinion.

dreams said...

Well, it just rhetoric, my personal experience is that liberals and the uninformed are more susceptible to rhetoric, regardless of any substance and since there are more uninformed people out there than conservatives or liberals, I don't think it will hurt conservatives.

LYNNDH said...

So I am a "right winger" because I mocked you. In today's parlance "right winger" is a NAZI. Thanks for calling me a NAZI. Well, I am an Old White Guy. You just proved my point.

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...

I did not find it creepy. I personally didn't find it very effective either, but that's because I am generally uninterested in the political opinions of entertainers, no matter what their politics happen to be.

My idea of effective propaganda: the NY Times, ABC,WaPo, NBC....

Bruce Hayden said...

You're mistaking what her neutrality is. She subjects everyone's arguments to testing rather than accepting or rejecting based on whether they support her preferences. Neutrality isn't about her politics, she's quite open about rejecting conservatism. To paraphrase her the only thing she supports of conservatism is fiscal sanity which is somewhat amusing since until relatively recently that would have been considered a mainstream liberal position also (although not leftist).

But you're wrong about being a progressive. Progressives do not support the ideals of liberalism, they claim to only for public relations. By piercing those propaganda efforts and criticizing their failure to embrace liberalism she shows she is not one of them. Progressives recognize this also and routinely (mis)classify her as a conservative (while others just refer to her as a dumb bitch). They recognize her as different but can't place her correctly since they think they are liberals and understand she is to their right.


Interesting. Much has been said recently about the growing split between liberals and progressives. Some have argued that progressives had to go underground after the disaster that was Wilson’s Presidency. How “liberal” was his racially resegregating the federal government? And he got us into a war that we probably shouldn’t have been involved in, then allowed esp the French to so beggar the Germans that WW II was all but inevitable. If Wilson hadn't gotten us into the war, the French and British were unlikely to have been able to set such onerous surrender terms.

The progressives had to go somewhere to escape oblivion, and that meant pretending, for better than a half a century, maybe most of one, to be liberals. But, of course they are the furthest thing from liberals. Liberals are their useful dupes, discarded when they become inconvenient. Conservatives at least can appreciate truly liberal values. Progressives see them as tools that they can use and exploit. One example of this is Free Speech. On the surface, everyone agrees that this liberal value is important. But then the progressives tell the liberals that they have to cut out an exception for “hate” speech, due to the imperatives of another liberal tenet, that of tolerance. The ACLU of an earlier generation showed, with their support of Nazis marching in Skokie, IL, the proper liberal response to that claim. Instead, modern liberalism seems incapable of telling progressives that suppressing speech that is critical of progressives, as justified as “hate speech”, eviscerates the core value of Free Speech.

I think, more and more, that at least some true liberals see much more commonality with conservatives, who are willing to seriously debate, and even accept, some of their liberal values, than with the ascendant progressives, who are now in the process of discarding them, as the useful dupes that they were, just as the Communists in Russia did with their fellow travelers, after gaining sufficient power.

Robert Cook said...

"Robert Cook: 'I'm never unintentionally amusing.'

"Ha!

"That was amusing."


See what I mean?

Le Stain du Poop said...

Relax, Ann. You'll be fine! :-)

I get what you are saying about the "art" -- the thing that would make the difference to me is "does Voight actually believe what he is saying?"

Seems yes, but he is an actor, so.....

Robert Cook said...

"So, Kookie...couldn't come up with your own response?"

What are you referring to?

Bay Area Guy said...

From Voight's Wiki page:

In a July 28, 2008 op-ed in The Washington Times, he wrote that he regretted his youthful anti-war activism, and claimed that the peace movement of that time was driven by "Marxist propaganda". He also claimed that the radicals in the peace movement were responsible for the communists coming to power in Vietnam and Cambodia and for failing to stop the subsequent slaughter of 2.5 million people in the Killing Fields.[19]

In the same op-ed he also criticised the Democratic Party and Barack Obama's bid to become president claiming that the Democrats had created "a propaganda campaign with subliminal messages, creating a God-like figure (Obama)" who would "demoralize this country and help create a socialist America".[19] He claimed Obama had grown up with the teachings of very angry, militant white and black people around him.[19]

Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...

an old actor having a hard time articulating his pro-Trump sentiments.
Not many will see it, those that do probably wont know what he said.
Hardly "creepy propaganda"

"This is totally effective to anyone with a right-wing orientation"
how can you know/prove this?
or did you mean to preface that with "I think this could be..."

Jim at said...

Weak sauce.

It doesn't work until he gets a bunch of grade-school kids signing praises for Trump.

Bilwick said...

Nice to see someone in Tinsel Town being pro-freedom.

Bruce Hayden said...

In a July 28, 2008 op-ed in The Washington Times, he wrote that he regretted his youthful anti-war activism, and claimed that the peace movement of that time was driven by "Marxist propaganda". He also claimed that the radicals in the peace movement were responsible for the communists coming to power in Vietnam and Cambodia and for failing to stop the subsequent slaughter of 2.5 million people in the Killing Fields.[19]

In the same op-ed he also criticised the Democratic Party and Barack Obama's bid to become president claiming that the Democrats had created "a propaganda campaign with subliminal messages, creating a God-like figure (Obama)" who would "demoralize this country and help create a socialist America".[19] He claimed Obama had grown up with the teachings of very angry, militant white and black people around him.[19]


Sounds about right to me.

wendybar said...

Robert Cook said...
"I guess we're just used to lefties doing this creepy shit."

Celebrities creep out America pledging their allegiance to Barack Obama

Celebrities creep out America with Their Obama worship

OMFG, I never saw those videos before. UGH! Talk about creepy and appalling!
7/11/19, 10:02 AM

Of course you didn't. Now you know WHY Trump was elected.

Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...

if a propagandist propagandizes in a forest, is it still propaganda?
Maybe in a theoretical sense, but in effect, no.
To many, Voigt is just 'some actor'.
Not many know or care about him, or this.
How much buzz was there among those of "right-wing orientation" about this 'moving, hard-hitting' pitch for Trump?
Doesnt propaganda have to have some 'zing' to it to go viral and influence?

Jon Voight: #WorstPropagandistEver

The Vault Dweller said...

As someone on the right, I am generally put off by invocations of God regarding our political leaders unless they are posthumous. That being said I'll still vote for Trump.

The Vault Dweller said...

Oh by the way, when I said posthumous I meant in relation to the political leaders, not God.

Robert Cook said...

"Now you know WHY Trump was elected."

Well, yes. Because the Democrats were not offering them anything they could support. Obama betrayed his supporters by failing to move away what had come before, (militarism, war, bankers ripping off working people, police murdering people, etc.).

I sure wasn't going to vote for Hillary Clinton. So I voted for...Jill Stein. (But then, I've voted 3rd party since 1996. I know either major party candidate is going to give us more of the same, and I won't lend my support to more of the same.)

And yes, Trump is giving us more of the same.

Robert Cook said...

"Sounds about right to me."

Sounds kookoo to me.

Shouting Thomas said...

And Cookie says he isn’t a commie.

You’re one of the most doctrinaire commies I’ve ever encountered.

The commie lie about police murdering people could have been issued by the Comintern.

Shouting Thomas said...

Voted for Jill Stern, a commie.

Come on, Cookie, take pride in being a commie stooge.

Inga...Allie Oop said...

“In the same op-ed he also criticised the Democratic Party and Barack Obama's bid to become president claiming that the Democrats had created "a propaganda campaign with subliminal messages, creating a God-like figure (Obama)" who would "demoralize this country and help create a socialist America".[19] He claimed Obama had grown up with the teachings of very angry, militant white and black people around him.[19]”

“Sounds about right to me.”

“Sounds kookoo to me.”

Coo coo for Coco Puffs.

I'm Full of Soup said...

Cookie:

Trump seems to have gotten the economy back to where it should be with very low unemployment and 3% GDP growth; middle class hourly wages are increasing; he's defused N Korea tensions; told penny pinching NATO partners to ante up their military spending; made it clear he wants to treat every American alike and put the interests of Americans ahead of non-Americans; has not started any new wars and is trying to get Iran in line.

So what, of those, don't you like?

Bay Area Guy said...

I sure wasn't going to vote for Hillary Clinton. So I voted for...Jill Stein.

Thank you, Cookster. That means you helped, incrementally, elect Trump.

Appreciate it. Suggest you take same 3rd party route in 2020.

Robert Cook said...

"You’re one of the most doctrinaire commies I’ve ever encountered."

How can you tell, given that I've never posted any communist doctrine? I have to assume you don't what "commies" are or believe.

Sebastian said...

"I know either major party candidate is going to give us more of the same"

So, Cook, do you now concede that you were wrong about Trump? Hardly "more of the same," is he?

Anyway, Althouse is also wrong: as already demonstrated here, Voigt's effusions make many righties cringe and don't work as "propaganda."

But as someone immune to Voigt's specific incantations, I am nonetheless pleased to have him on my side. Between the lines I hear the great truth in the race of truths: that we are in an existential battle. I agree. Trump is an imperfect leader in that battle, but again, I see him fighting on the right side.

To her credit, Althouse has reported on some skirmishes, but she has yet to see the battle for what it is. The pose of cruel neutrality, long since exposed as a sham, is the ostrich maneuver of a comfortable retiree biding her time.

Shouting Thomas said...

You just posted two comments that were 100% commie propaganda.

That’s how I know.

Don’t feel bad. I’ve met hundreds of commies like you in NYC and Woodstock who’ve deluded themselves inthe same way you have.

Shouting Thomas said...

The commie who claims not to be a commie is a common figure.

Shouting Thomas said...

Inga, who was utterly snookered by the Russia collusion hoax has once again donned her pose as the omniscient insider.

Inga...Allie Oop said...

“But as someone immune to Voigt's specific incantations, I am nonetheless pleased to have him on my side. Between the lines I hear the great truth in the race of truths: that we are in an existential battle. I agree.”

I’m pleased he’s on your side too.

Robert Cook said...

"I sure wasn't going to vote for Hillary Clinton. So I voted for...Jill Stein.

"Thank you, Cookster. That means you helped, incrementally, elect Trump."


Nah, not in the least. I voted in New York.

"Appreciate it. Suggest you take same 3rd party route in 2020."

I expect I will, given the sorry choice of candidates, and that the Democratic Party has not, essentially, changed. (I could almost vote for Warren, but then she has referred to Julian Assange as a "bad actor" who needs to be dealt with, and she has voted for increases to the military budget and has supported at least some of our ongoing military activities, so...nope, I can't give her my vote.)

Shouting Thomas said...

Inga, you really need to go away and do penance for your sin of spending three years here repeating the vicious lies of the Russia collusion hoax.

You’re a completely gullible fool and liar.

Robert Cook said...

"You just posted two comments that were 100% commie propaganda.

"That’s how I know."


Are you sure it's not the tinfoil hat you're wearing by which you receive transmissions from secret voices in the ether?

Inga...Allie Oop said...

Not one single solitary liberal/ Democrat I know in Wisconsin will be voting third party in 2020 and we matter far more than New York.

Shouting Thomas said...

Tell me who you think the police murdered, Cookie.

This should be interesting.

Inga...Allie Oop said...

“Are you sure it's not the tinfoil hat you're wearing by which you receive transmissions from secret voices in the ether?”

Nah, he receives the transmissions in his fillings.

Shouting Thomas said...

Inga,

You’re too foolish and easily conned to be out in public.

Shouting Thomas said...

And, yet, Inga, I knew from the start the the Russia collusion business was a hoax and you got gulled.

Robert Cook said...

"Tell me who you think the police murdered, Cookie.

"This should be interesting."


It's not "who (I) think," it's what the data show.

madAsHell said...

Is anyone else seeing....The media is no longer available....??

I tried to view Trump's twitter account, and all I get is "Something is technically wrong!". Am I seeing twitter history conforming to the narrative??

Leland said...

Democrat I know in Wisconsin [not] will be voting third party in 2020

Sure they won't be voting. A quarter million stayed home in 2016.

we matter far more than New York.

Apparently not to Hillary Clinton.

Shouting Thomas said...

You truly are a garden variety commie, Cook.

Your sources doesn’t says “murdered.” It says “killed.”

Two entirely different things.

But, it does make a brief reference to the commie propaganda that cops deliberately kill blacks.

That’s an article of faith among commies.

Shouting Thomas said...

So, let’s summarize Cookie...

You vote for commies.

You advance the commie propaganda line that cops deliberately kills blacks out of racism.

You’re anti-U.S. military as are all commies.

Would you like to add to the list?

I Callahan said...

So, despite her bona fides and accomplishments, she's a crank. Sad.

Why? There is enough evidence - if you’re willing to be honest with yourself - that the Dem party IS communist. Green new deal? Communist to its core. Obama’s parents were ardent communists; he hung with communists in college, his mentor was a communist. One of his cabinet heads was giving glowing reviews of Chairman Mao. Another has a collection of communist propaganda hanging on his walls.

The only difference between the American Communist Party and the Dem party is that the Communists are honest about their intentions...

wwww said...

"Not one single solitary liberal/ Democrat I know in Wisconsin will be voting third party in 2020 and we matter far more than New York."

This is accurate. We know how NY will vote. Sorry NYers.

Prediction: Wisconsin will be the swing state of the election.

Shouting Thomas said...

So, since your source says only that cops “killed” X number of people, that means we have to discriminate between those killings that were justified in the line of duty and those that were not.

Surely, you’re not contending that every time a cop kills somebody in the line of duty that he’s committed murder.

Robert Cook said...

"Would you like to add to the list?"

Umm...I’m laid back, easy-going, and love to have a good time, and I like rainy days, a fire in the fireplace, and a good book to share with someone honest, caring and kind.

Rick said...

Obama betrayed his supporters by failing to move away what had come before, (militarism, war, bankers ripping off working people, police murdering people, etc.).

It's interesting Cookie will refer to voluntary exchange as "ripping off" but claims noticing the existence of leftist propaganda is so absurd words change their meanings. This is the nature of radicalism, anything supporting the extremism is excused while everything else, including reality, is classified as crazy.

Shouting Thomas said...

@Robert

They say Stalin loved kittens.

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