Althouse: Here's an Onion headline that somebody I know to be intelligent saw on Facebook and mistook for a real news headline.

February 6, 2020

Here's an Onion headline that somebody I know to be intelligent saw on Facebook and mistook for a real news headline.

"Rush Limbaugh Admits Presidential Medal Of Freedom Less Of An Honor Knowing That Rosa Parks, Maya Angelou Also Received It."

104 comments:

narayanan said...: confirmation bias; 2/6/20, 10:55 AM
mccullough said...: Knew to be intelligent; 2/6/20, 10:56 AM
Ice Nine said...: Not very funny (ha ha funny). You should check out the Babylon Bee.; 2/6/20, 10:56 AM
MadisonMan said...: What if he knew Clinton (Bill) and Biden were awarded it? Does that make it more (or make it less) honorific?; 2/6/20, 10:57 AM
Gusty Winds said...: "Somebody I know to be intelligent"

Correction: "Somebody I know who USED TO BE intelligent before TDS kicked in."

or "Somebody I know who is a self-proclaimed intellectual, but is actually a bitter, arrogant dunce".; 2/6/20, 10:58 AM
Martin said...: That person may be "intelligent" (whatever that means in this context) but they obviously know nothing about Rush Limbaugh beyond the negative propaganda they have heard.; 2/6/20, 10:58 AM
Beasts of England said...: ‘I’m smart!! Not like everybody says - like dumb...’; 2/6/20, 11:01 AM
Mike (MJB Wolf) said...: It’s hard out here for a satirist.; 2/6/20, 11:02 AM
mccullough said...: It’s certainly less of an honor knowing Bill Cosby received it.; 2/6/20, 11:03 AM
J Melcher said...: Paul Harvey also won the same award and is a better comparison.; 2/6/20, 11:03 AM
narayanan said...: IS the degree of honor based on WHO BESTOWS IT?

e.g. Nobel Laureate Obama v Orange Man Trump

In 2010, Maya Angelou was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the U.S., by President Barack Obama

On September 9, 1996, President Bill Clinton presented Rosa Parks the Presidential Medal of Freedom Award.; 2/6/20, 11:04 AM
Drago said...: J Melcher: "Paul Harvey also won the same award and is a better comparison."

Rush is the 3rd Radio personality to be given the award.

LLR-lefty Chuck's "magnificent" obambi gave the award to 8 or 9 of his Hollywood buddies.; 2/6/20, 11:08 AM
Jaq said...: “Somebody I know who is a self-proclaimed intellectual, but is actually a bitter, arrogant dunce”.

Mitt Romney?; 2/6/20, 11:09 AM
traditionalguy said...: A white man gave an award to a white man. There you go.; 2/6/20, 11:10 AM
David-2 said...: Someone who knows nothing about Limbaugh besides what ze/zer read about in the mass media, and so could believe he'd say that?; 2/6/20, 11:11 AM
Anonymous said...: Not that intelligent. Sorry.; 2/6/20, 11:11 AM
JohnAnnArbor said...: Ann, did that person react gracefully when it was pointed out that it's satire?; 2/6/20, 11:12 AM
Michael K said...: I just signed a petition that Bo Snerdley is circulating supporting Rush. Snerdley is, of course, black and has worked for Rush 30 years. Never heard a racist comment.; 2/6/20, 11:13 AM
rhhardin said...: Doris Day got one, for her work with lepers in Hollywood; 2/6/20, 11:15 AM
Ann Althouse said...: So many people disparage Rush without ever listening to the show. The just hear occasional out of context things and have no feeling for him as a person.; 2/6/20, 11:16 AM
Gusty Winds said...: I sure hope the intelligent person is being directed to the comments section of the Althouse Blog. They can now enjoy anonymous infamy.; 2/6/20, 11:17 AM
wendybar said...: Trump Derangement Syndrome brings out the ignorance of some people.; 2/6/20, 11:17 AM
Sebastian said...: "Here's an Onion headline that somebody I know to be intelligent saw on Facebook and mistook for a real news headline."

For the sake of argument, I'll accept that you know how to gauge intelligence, and that you have gauged it correctly in this person.

Are you implying or assuming that intelligence immunizes one against TDS? That intelligent people cannot be deranged fools? That intelligence can't magnify bias and personal failings, by enabling the sufferer to wallow in certitude by giving dozens of reasons for her folly?

Anyway, intelligent people often "mistake" fake things for real things. I seem to recall a quite intelligent blogger mistaking Barry O for a "pragmatic" politician.; 2/6/20, 11:18 AM
Ann Althouse said...: I just looked at the whole list of recipients of the medal. It isn’t that exclusive.

Obama gave one to Ellen DeGeneres and one to James Taylor.; 2/6/20, 11:18 AM
Two-eyed Jack said...: People are so often mistaken about Rush. Sometimes I wish he had some sort of media platform, so that people could hear his thoughts and come to their own conclusions.; 2/6/20, 11:19 AM
Gusty Winds said...: This wouldn't be an example of prejudice would it? Can't be.; 2/6/20, 11:20 AM
JAORE said...: And the President Ronnie (paraphrase) lefties are not dumb, they just know so much that isn't true.

Example: Nan the Ripper brought out the oft debunked "good people on both sides" today in her presser.; 2/6/20, 11:23 AM
n.n said...: Diversity breeds adversity and profit.; 2/6/20, 11:23 AM
Ken B said...: JohnAnnArbor asks the right question.; 2/6/20, 11:24 AM
Mid-Life Lawyer said...: Martin said...

"That person may be "intelligent" (whatever that means in this context) but they obviously know nothing about Rush Limbaugh beyond the negative propaganda they have heard."

Ann Althouse said...

"So many people disparage Rush without ever listening to the show. The just hear occasional out of context things and have no feeling for him as a person."

Yes, this. In my experience of attending law school at the age of 48-50, I was around a lot of intelligent people, most roughly half my age. I became friends, especially Facebook friend, with many of them and in conversations I found that those who most criticized Limbaugh had never listened to his show one time. They maybe heard snippets of him taken out of context or read other peoples attacks.; 2/6/20, 11:24 AM
Sebastian said...: "So many people disparage Rush without ever listening to the show. The just hear occasional out of context things and have no feeling for him as a person."

See, this is the kind of statement and sentiment that earns Althouse cred around here, not that she needs it.

But still: "so many people" = so many progs. "No feeling for him as a person" = prog MO since 1789. Deplorability delendam est.

It's a little late to lament the follies of the left.; 2/6/20, 11:27 AM
Bay Area Guy said...: Regarding Rosa Parks, did y'all see "BarberShop" with Ice Cube? From Cedric the Entertainer:

There are three things that Black people need to tell the truth about. Number one: Rodney King should've gotten his ass beat for being drunk in a Honda a white part of Los Angeles. Number two: O.J. did it! And number three: Rosa Parks didn't do nuthin' but sit her Black ass down!; 2/6/20, 11:28 AM
stlcdr said...: intelligent or over-educated?

There's a mistaken assumption that a degree, masters or PhD equals intelligence.; 2/6/20, 11:30 AM
Kelly said...: Meh. According to AOC Limbaugh is not just a racist, but a violent racist. I don’t care what these people say and just ignore it. More importantly, Rush has always taken these kinds of hits. He’s a big boy and can take it.; 2/6/20, 11:39 AM
tim maguire said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 2/6/20, 11:41 AM
Kirk Parker said...: Aunty Trump,

Mittens is many false things, but I don't think he has ever pretended to be an intellectual. A man's gotta know his limitations, you know.; 2/6/20, 11:46 AM
tim maguire said...: Intelligent people can be suckers. We're all susceptible to confirmation bias. But the wise among us are aware of that weakness and adjust our bullshit indicators accordingly.

Your acquaintance may be intelligent, but not wise.; 2/6/20, 11:51 AM
narciso said...: maya angelou, Kwame Nkrumah's fan girl, luckily the ghanian people were not so keen on him in 1966, the inauguration invocation back in 93,; 2/6/20, 11:52 AM
Kevin said...: Deplorables exist to be deplored.

Whoever it was got that memo.; 2/6/20, 11:54 AM
cardmill said...: TDS; 2/6/20, 11:54 AM
Sebastian said...: The funny/sad thing about the Althouse anecdote is that the original Onion headline is near the mark from a liberal angle, needling Rush the way he baited liberals. But then, most progs are proud to be tone-deaf and clueless. They don't care to listen to the Other. Their contempt played to Rush's strength.; 2/6/20, 11:57 AM
Bay Area Guy said...: So far, here's my tally:

1. Rosa Parks: Yes
2. Maya Angelou: No
3. Ellen DeGeneres: No, but she's sweet. Not up to the high standard though.
4. James Taylor: Yes, for "Fire and Rain"
5. Rush Limbaugh: Yes, rebuilt talk radio in 20th Century.
6. Paul Harvey: Yes, titan of talk radio. Much more cordial than Rush.; 2/6/20, 11:57 AM
Rick said...: "Somebody I know to be intelligent"

Is there an inherent conflict between intelligence and insanity?; 2/6/20, 12:00 PM
Seeing Red said...: Made a lot of money quoting what the other side said. And pointing out the folly of that thinking.

That was probably his greatest crime, exposing them nationally.; 2/6/20, 12:00 PM
Kevin said...: I am more and more impressed with Althouse's ability to maintain cruel neutrality in a mad, mad, mad, mad world.

The mental gymnastics required to keep reading the NYT and taking Democrat politicians seriously, while simultaneously remaining free of Trump Deranagement Syndrome, are truly superhuman.

Seriously, at what point do you recognize the need to take off and nuke the current Democrat Party from orbit?

After all, it's the only way to be sure.; 2/6/20, 12:01 PM
wild chicken said...: Ever get the feeling these people have never actually heard Rush?; 2/6/20, 12:02 PM
wild chicken said...: Oh...like Ann already said...; 2/6/20, 12:06 PM
Chuck said...: I did a double-take, thinking it was real. About one second. I read the quote, and then the Althouse headline.

My measuring device was more serious than The Onion; I was (seriously) imagining what Rush would actually say on his program on the morning after an Obama SOTU where he bestowed a medal on Maya Angelou or Rosa Parks.; 2/6/20, 12:06 PM
Fernandinande said...: It's a true statement, but Limbaugh wouldn't say so in public.; 2/6/20, 12:06 PM
RNB said...: Wow. And 'The Onion' thought that was a funny and insightful joke? There are some jokes that tell you more about the person telling the joke than about the object of the joke. Generally nothing flattering.; 2/6/20, 12:07 PM
MikeR said...: "that I know to be intelligent". Maybe hi IQ, but a bad set of wrong priors. Anyone in touch with reality should know better at once.; 2/6/20, 12:07 PM
Rick said...: have no feeling for him as a person."

You don't need a feeling for him as a person. You just have to have some sense of political reality.; 2/6/20, 12:09 PM
wild chicken said...: As I said somewhere, it's not that Rush or Trump are overt racists, it's just that they don't observe the antiracist pieties of the age.

That absence is deafening.

Jesus verification hell...; 2/6/20, 12:13 PM
Jaq said...: "That's the legacy reputation he chose to build, to leave behind to remember him.”

No, that’s just mud that his enemies in the Democrat media smeared on their portrayal of him. I listened to him for thirty years, I never heard him say anything racist. I heard him effectively oppose Democrat policies, which Democrats and their operatives in the media say is racism.; 2/6/20, 12:15 PM
Known Unknown said...: "4. James Taylor: Yes, for "Fire and Rain""

Oh, jeez.

How about Fugazi for "Waiting Room"?; 2/6/20, 12:15 PM
wild chicken said...: Well *I* have a feeling for Rush! He's been my driving buddy for 30 years.

Preparing for another loss.; 2/6/20, 12:15 PM
Jaq said...: "We now why you turned it. You were laughing at the hatred.”

So you never listened, you just accepted what the media told you, and here you are, not having access to the primary source, defending not your opinion on what he actually said, but your opinion on what people who politically oppose him told you he said. Do you see a problem with that?; 2/6/20, 12:17 PM
JaimeRoberto said...: Some of the most intelligent people I know can be really stupid. Intelligence in one area does not mean intelligence in all areas, and in fact it can blind the person to the possibility that he's being stupid.; 2/6/20, 12:21 PM
Kirk Parker said...: James Taylor: Yes, for "Fire and Rain"

You have got to be kidding me! It's a fine song and all, don't get me wrong, but National Medal of Honor? Talk about the soft bigotry of low expectations!; 2/6/20, 12:23 PM
gilbar said...: There's a mistaken assumption that a degree equals intelligence.

Here's a trivia question for y'all?
Which is Harder to get, a BSci in Com Sci from Iowa State, or a CCNA from cisco?
Which takes more "intelligence"?
Which is more useful in the market place?

College degrees are SO Twentieth Century

Do y'all realize that i needed 6 hours of women's studies and/or black history to get my BSci?; 2/6/20, 12:23 PM
Kirk Parker said...: Kevin,

Why would you go to the trouble of taking off and nuking the current Democratic Party from orbit, when they seem to be doing a fine job of destroying themselves all on their own?; 2/6/20, 12:24 PM
narayanan said...: Let me pretend : I don't get the Rosa Parks thing - was the bus crowded? Did somebody else have the seat reserved?; 2/6/20, 12:26 PM
RichAndSceptical said...: Rush took on ignorance, hatred, and bigotry.; 2/6/20, 12:27 PM
Kevin said...: Why would you go to the trouble of taking off and nuking the current Democratic Party from orbit, when they seem to be doing a fine job of destroying themselves all on their own?

At a certain point in their death spiral, it's the only humane option.; 2/6/20, 12:28 PM
Jaq said...: James Taylor got it for going over to France and singing “You’ve Got a Friend” and for being one of Kerry’s Massachusetts cronies.; 2/6/20, 12:32 PM
Jaq said...: You’re welcome.; 2/6/20, 12:32 PM
Kirk Parker said...: Talk about your pathological altruism! Do you have any idea how much nukes cost, not to mention the fuel burn to get to orbit???; 2/6/20, 12:33 PM
Jaq said...: "Stop putting words in my mouth.”

Hell of a non rebuttal. If it weren’t for what you call “putting words” in people’s mouths and thoughts in their head, you would have no shtick.; 2/6/20, 12:34 PM
Chuck said...: Btw; my classmate at Michigan, David Alan Grier did a hilarious sendup of Maya Angelou on “In Living Color.” She wasn’t sacrosanct. The only requirement is that to do it, you have to be intelligent, human, literate and self-aware.; 2/6/20, 12:38 PM
rhhardin said...: It was nice that Melania put the medal on Rush. Showed affection in the matter.; 2/6/20, 12:41 PM
renowebb said...: Satire has some truth to it, i don't see it; 2/6/20, 12:43 PM
Ann Althouse said...: “ Ann, did that person react gracefully when it was pointed out that it's satire?”

Wasn’t someone I knew well enough to engage with. I chose to write this post.; 2/6/20, 12:48 PM
Char Char Binks, Esq. said...: "Btw; my classmate at Michigan, David Alan Grier did a hilarious sendup of Maya Angelou on “In Living Color.” She wasn’t sacrosanct. The only requirement is that to do it, you have to be intelligent, human, literate and self-aware."

And black. You have to be black.; 2/6/20, 1:12 PM
gahrie said...: Why would you go to the trouble of taking off and nuking the current Democratic Party from orbit, when they seem to be doing a fine job of destroying themselves all on their own?

At a certain point in their death spiral, it's the only humane option.

Why use nukes? If you're dropping them from orbit, rocks work just as well, and are cheaper and cleaner.; 2/6/20, 1:15 PM
bagoh20 said...: What exactly makes this person intelligent? I mean if you assume they are, there must be a reason for it. I would think that being able to discern what is reasonable from what may be absurdity is a basic requirement, as well as understanding that things you read are just things someone wrote with no particular power of truth in the fact that they are written down. I thought it was well known truth that only dumb people automatically believe what they read on the internet.; 2/6/20, 1:17 PM
gahrie said...: I just looked at the whole list of recipients of the medal. It isn’t that exclusive.

Obama gave one to Ellen DeGeneres and one to James Taylor.

There's worse...he gave one to Harvey Milk posthumously.; 2/6/20, 1:21 PM
bagoh20 said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 2/6/20, 1:23 PM
bagoh20 said...: "Do y'all realize that i needed 6 hours of women's studies and/or black history to get my BSci?"

You should be able to take just 3 hours of Black Women's Studies, or 1.5 hours of Gay Black Women's Studies. or 5 minutes of Black LGBTQ Studies.; 2/6/20, 1:25 PM
mccullough said...: A lot of prominent winners. Surprised Joe Louis was not awarded it, even posthumously.

Give Obama props for giving it to Stan Musial. He is too often overlooked as a contemporary of Ted Williams. Musial was a better all-around player. Williams military service was exemplary. So he deserved the medal first. But Musial deserved it. He waited awhile to enlist, but he served.

Ellen Degeneres was the first prominent TV actor to come out and incorporate it into a character on her show on the 1990s. She’s also a positive person in an industry with some nasty people.

Personally, I think Jodie Foster deserves the medal as well. She is an excellent actress who is basically an introvert. She is also loyal to her friends like Mel Gibson.

I don’t think Jesse Jackson or Gloria Steinem deserved the medals. They were not pioneers in civil rights. They were parasites who cashed in on worthwhile movements.; 2/6/20, 1:30 PM
Richard said...: I am sure that Snopes is going to fact check the Onion any minute now.; 2/6/20, 1:38 PM
Gunner said...: Jen Rubin has denounced Limbaugh's racism ever since her grift on real conservatives ended in 2016!; 2/6/20, 1:39 PM
FullMoon said...: Trump should give a medal to this woman, who inspired Parks. Parks was an activist, this woman was a fifteen year old kid. Deserves recognition and would definitely fuck up the haters

"Claudette Colvin (born September 5, 1939)[1] is a retired American nurse aide who was a pioneer of the 1950s civil rights movement. On March 2, 1955, she was arrested at the age of 15 in Montgomery, Alabama, for refusing to give up her seat to a white woman on a crowded, segregated bus. This occurred some nine months before the more widely known incident in which Rosa Parks, secretary of the local chapter of the NAACP, helped spark the 1955 Montgomery bus boycott.[2] "

Claudette Colvin - Wikipedia; 2/6/20, 2:18 PM
Amadeus 48 said...: Sounds like a blind and uninformed view of Rush. There isn’t an envious bone in his body, and there isn’t a racist thought in his head.; 2/6/20, 2:26 PM
Amadeus 48 said...: Jen Rubin fed us nonstop nonsense in support of Romney in 2016. Now it all becomes clear...; 2/6/20, 2:28 PM
Fernandinande said...: Obama gave one to Ellen DeGeneres and one to James Taylor.

Oops, after looking at that list of Grammy nominees, I realize that I had this award mixed up with a serious one, although I can't remember which one that might be; if one googles [presidential awards], "President's Education Awards Program, sponsored by the U. S. Department of Education[sic]" shows up over and over, and it's obviously just part of a scammy mutual admiration society.; 2/6/20, 3:06 PM
Fernandinande said...: [presidential awards]

Try [presidential military awards] next time!

Then you'd find
Awards and decorations of the United States government

There are 15 current Presidential awards, and "George Washington Spymaster Award" is not one of them.; 2/6/20, 3:12 PM
walter said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 2/6/20, 3:18 PM
walter said...: MILWAUKEE —

A Milwaukee Public Schools teacher has been placed on leave pending an investigation into tweets he sent after conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh announced he had cancer.

Milwaukee School of the Arts teacher Travis Sarandos is accused of tweeting "rush limbaugh absolutely should have to suffer from cancer. it's awesome that he's dying, and hopefully it is as quick as it is painful."

Sarandos' Twitter account has been reactivated.

Milwaukee Alderman Bob Donovan called for discipline for the teacher.

"It would be easy enough to dismiss ill-written, juvenile nonsense like this were it not for his role in teaching our city's young people. He is supposed to be an example of the inclusive, tolerant, and respectful spirit of the Milwaukee Public Schools. He is clearly nothing of the sort," Donovan said in a news release.
...
https://www.wisn.com/article/mps-teacher-put-on-leave-after-alleged-tweet-about-rush-limbaugh/30784288; 2/6/20, 3:23 PM
Bob Smith said...: That friend you know to be intelligent? Isn’t.; 2/6/20, 3:31 PM
Jon Ericson said...: Fire and Rain = Crazy girlfriend kills herself. OK.

Intelligent people watch news on TV. Duh.; 2/6/20, 3:38 PM
Brian McKim and/or Traci Skene said...: Earlier, someone described Ellen Degeneres as "a positive person in an industry with some nasty people."

I have secondhand (but impeccably credible) knowledge that Degeneres is a psycho bitch. Truly. Like psychotically mean, nasty, yell-at-strangers-in-public bitch. Like actually, clinically insane, pretentious, "do you know who I AM?" horrible person. In private.

Publicly positive, maybe. When there are no cameras? Stone cold psycho crazy mean a**hole.

It happens to people who ascend to a certain level in show biz-- talk show hosts (network or local), radio hosts (local or nationally syndicated), news anchors, etc.; 2/6/20, 3:55 PM
chuck said...: The Clinton virus is still working its way through the system.; 2/6/20, 3:58 PM
Maillard Reactionary said...: Regarding intelligence vs insanity, there was a thread yesterday about August Strindberg. I'd heard of him, of course, but never knew how crazy that sucker was.

Crazy and smart is a bad combination, the worst quadrant of that particular matrix.; 2/6/20, 4:22 PM
Leora said...: In Trump's America the demand for racism exceeds the supply. (as I just read on Instapundit); 2/6/20, 5:04 PM
William said...: We have to sit through all these lifetime achievement awards given to all these Hollywood and music industry assholes whose articulated opinions about Trump and just plain Republicans are far more offensive than anything Rush has ever said. Is it so hard for them to suck it up just this once? If worse comes to worse, I hope Trump calls for a state funeral and internment at Arlington next to JFK.... I think what they really take offense at is that Rush is so good at what he does. Rush's jokes are funny and his arguments are persuasive. Some of the late nite comedians tell funny jokes, but I doubt if they ever persuaded anyone to vote Democrat.; 2/6/20, 5:33 PM
Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...: So many people disparage Rush without ever listening to the show. The just hear occasional out of context things and have no feeling for him as a person.

The guy has done more to pit Americans against each other than anyone else post-civil rights. All he's ever done is to ridicule Americans working to improve civil society. The only thing he's done is given voice to the small sliver of the country who only feel good when they project contempt and bile at the many more Americans working to improve the common good.

He's not worth celebrating or even normalizing. The fact that you've consistently tagged him under "relationships" is bizarre. It's possible that indicates how lonely a person you must be.; 2/6/20, 6:43 PM
Jaq said...: "I have secondhand (but impeccably credible) knowledge that Degeneres is a psycho bitch”

Just watch her episode of Comedians in Cars. By the end, even Jerry Fucking Seinfeld was sick of her.; 2/6/20, 6:52 PM
SGT Ted said...: "All he's ever done is to ridicule Americans working to improve civil society."

He ridicules the left and other assholes like you who call everybody racists, Nazis, misogynists and homophobes for not agreeing with them. You deserve ridicule. You aren't civil, so slag off.; 2/6/20, 9:21 PM
SGT Ted said...: "So many people disparage Rush without ever listening to the show. The just hear occasional out of context things and have no feeling for him as a person."

A lot of them are just lefty assholes.; 2/6/20, 9:23 PM
Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...: Tom Browkaw has one. He's not Rosa Parks.; 2/6/20, 9:40 PM
Gretchen said...: So Rush's producer, Bo Snerdly claims he isn't racist. Snerdley is black.

On the left any criticism of Obama is racist, any criticism of Hilary is sexist. They imagine things.; 2/6/20, 10:26 PM
bagoh20 said...: Does the man who has convinced more people to voluntarily listen to him than any person on Earth for decades really need to be "normalized"? You're such a foolish little douche bag.; 2/6/20, 10:54 PM
Sam L. said...: BOO, ONION!!! That was CRAP. The Babylon Bee is funnier. Much funnier. Not snarky.; 2/7/20, 10:54 AM
Bilwick said...: That's DOCTOR Maya Angelou, racist!; 2/7/20, 2:04 PM