१३ जुलै, २०२३

"RFK Jr. meanwhile, a prospective president of the United States, watched calmly on."

I'm highlighting that amusingly elevated sentence that appears in the comic chaos of "Robert F. Kennedy Jr. press dinner explodes in war of words and farting" by Mara Siegler in the NY Post. 
[A] guest asked Kennedy... about the environment. And it seems that the mere inquiry was enough to set off apparently drunk gossip-columnist-turned-flak Doug Dechert, the host of the event, who became enraged and screamed at the top of his lungs: “The climate hoax!” 
Meanwhile, octogenarian art critic Anthony Haden-Guest, who appeared to have been sleeping happily for most of the dinner, was roused by the abrupt rumpus. Haden-Guest suddenly opened his eyes and denounced his longtime pal, Dechert, calling him a “miserable blob.” “Shut up!” implored Haden-Guest. 
Dechert continued to scream wildly about the climate change “scam” while Haden-Guest peppered him with verbal volleys from across the table, calling him variously “f*cking insane” and “insignificant.” 
RFK Jr. meanwhile, a prospective president of the United States, watched calmly on. 
Here, it seems, Dechert sensed the need for a new rhetorical tack, and let rip a loud, prolonged fart while yelling, as if to underscore his point, “I’m farting!” 
The room, which included a handful of journalists as well as RFK Jr.’s campaign manager, former Rep. Dennis Kucinich, was stunned, seemingly unsure about whether Dechert was farting at Haden-Guest personally or at the very notion of global warming....

Maybe he was farting in Haden-Guest's general direction.


ADDED: Another amusingly elevated reference to RFK Jr.: "The candidate maintained a steady composure in the face of the crisis."

Also: The NY Post writer talked to Dechert the morning after "his, er, outburst" and he apologized "for using my flatulence as a medium of public commentary in your presence" and asked to be referred to as a "gallivanting boulevardier" or a "beer-fueled sex rocket."

३६ टिप्पण्या:

Temujin म्हणाले...

Actually, based on the romping around stories from the Kennedy clan during 'Camelot' it sounds a lot like Camelot.

RFK Jr. is very interesting and there's a lot to like about him. However, judgement is not one of those things. There's something missing in his makeup. I like him, but I don't hardly trust him. Anyway....

On with the show!!

gilbar म्हणाले...

this is what passes for "news" these days?

rehajm म्हणाले...

Have fun with your shiny new political toy while he’s still here. They’re coming for him soon enough, then you’ll fall in line like good little liberals…

Inga म्हणाले...

That was pretty funny actually. Made me chuckle.

Kai Akker म्हणाले...

.... the first time as tragedy, the second as farce.

MikeR म्हणाले...

I ask this so often: why do I need to hear about this?

mezzrow म्हणाले...

Was there any attempt to light said farts? That would show a level of contempt for carbon suppression (well, methane) beyond any societal limit.

"You won't take away MY gas stove!"

Political Junkie म्हणाले...

That was funny. And we had Sam K in the other post. Cheers all around!

rhhardin म्हणाले...

"watched calmly on" is highfalutin elegance. Watched on calmly avoids splitting the prepositional verb.

They wanted first a godlike watched calmly, and then the distinct verb watched on.

paminwi म्हणाले...

Twitter folks are telling me these were MAGA people behaving poorly.
I mean UES liberals would NEVER behave this way.
As long as they give him $$$$ RFKJ will be just fine with this.

planetgeo म्हणाले...

Truly grateful for your service in offering us glimpses of life among our elites in NY, and from a safe distance. But I must say it does make me envious of their ability to flatulate precisely when needed to make an intellectual point. And at a specific target, not simply in a general direction.

wild chicken म्हणाले...

I've seen "flack" used mistakenly for "flak" but never the other way around before.

A first!

Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves म्हणाले...

I'd prefer someone who has some nutty views - than say - a Soros-Blackrock corrupt mob-run crook like the husk-puppet in office now.

Owen म्हणाले...

Fart = CH4 = a greenhouse gas far more potent than nasty old CO2. That perpetrator should be punished severely; maybe stuck in an airtight bag for a few days.

Really: you can't be too careful or too strict about the Climate Crisis. Can we assume that the meal in question was prepared in a climatically responsible (and-- my favorite new word-- "intentional") manner?

Original Mike म्हणाले...

"Maybe he was farting in Haden-Guest's general direction."

Althouse!

Ann Althouse म्हणाले...

"I've seen "flack" used mistakenly for "flak" but never the other way around before."

Oh, yeah. Good point.

Amadeus 48 म्हणाले...

A polecat* at a garden party?

*North American meaning, i.e. a skunk.

robother म्हणाले...

RFK Jr. honing skills he will need to debate Joe Biden.

Humperdink म्हणाले...

Rejahm: "Have fun with your shiny new political toy while he’s still here. They’re coming for him soon enough, then you’ll fall in line like good little liberals… "

Spot on. He will get the Bernie Sanders treatment and disappear. Too much of a loose canon. Someone will make a phone call. Cornell West, on the other hand ....

Rafe म्हणाले...

“Another amusingly elevated reference to RFK Jr.: "The candidate maintained a steady composure in the face of the crisis."

RFK, rising to meet the challenge: “It’s 3 a.m. and your children are safe and asleep, but there’s a flack in the White House and it’s farting. Who do you want answering the fart?”

- Rafe

Josephbleau म्हणाले...

“RFK Jr. meanwhile, a prospective president of the United States, watched calmly on.”

In the words of Tom Wolfe, he “maintained an even strain.”

But that depends on what even means.

Kate म्हणाले...

RFKJ didn't hold his scented handkerchief to his nose and flounce from the room. He's still a mensch.

Saint Croix म्हणाले...

Some scientist correct me if I'm wrong, but I think farting is methane gas, yes?

Those damn farting cows!

NorthOfTheOneOhOne म्हणाले...

Here, it seems, Dechert sensed the need for a new rhetorical tack, and let rip a loud, prolonged fart while yelling, as if to underscore his point, “I’m farting!”

Now this is the kind of political system America needs! Something entertaining, like the British House of Commons where they jeer and chat-call the other side during debate and put a lot of effort into sarcasm.

Tina Trent म्हणाले...

Are we supposed to be impressed that RFK Jr. Did nothing while accepting this sort of behavior from a benefactor? Why didn't he answer the question?

Because his campaign is dishonest. He's a climate fanatic accepting money and patronage from a "climate denier." He doesn't have the character to admit to his own well-documented beliefs. The donor blames himself? Why? Because he wants something from Kennedy. Both men know it.

Anyone who believes in this damaged, incoherent grifter is an idiot.

dreams म्हणाले...

If the Dems can rid themselves of Biden, maybe they can have another Camelot.

Anne in Rockwall, TX म्हणाले...

Page Six is often snarky and occasionally very funny.

MalaiseLongue म्हणाले...

@ Kai Akker: The first time as tragedy, the second as farts.

(FIFY.)

Big Mike म्हणाले...

@Saint Croix, I’m not a chemist myself, merely married to one, but it’s easy enough to research online. Methane itself is generally regarded as odorless (one article I found suggested that there are humans who actually can detect it, but this is rare). We generally detect farts because of gaseous sulphur compounds created by our gut bacteria as they break down fibrous foods.

There will be a short quiz next week,

John henry म्हणाले...

"Fart proudly!"

Benjamin Franklin

Joe Bar म्हणाले...

Sounds like we missed a great party!

Hannio म्हणाले...

"Spot on. He will get the Bernie Sanders treatment and disappear. Too much of a loose canon."

Ha! I see what you did there. I think. You were doing something there, right?

Hannio म्हणाले...

"Now this is the kind of political system America needs! Something entertaining, like the British House of Commons where they jeer and chat-call the other side during debate and put a lot of effort into sarcasm."

I suppose the chat-calling would be limited to those of Norman descent. The Anglo-Saxons would have to resort to the much less elegant cat-calling.

Saint Croix म्हणाले...

thanks Big Mike!

My Wikipedia says (still haven't paid those bastards a dime)...

Hydrogen, carbon dioxide and methane are all produced in the gut and contribute 74% of the volume of flatus in normal subjects. Methane and hydrogen are flammable, and so flatus can be ignited if it contains adequate amounts of these components. Not all humans produce flatus that contains methane.

So my brain wants to know which of those damn gases makes the sound effect? Is it one of the "big 3" or one of the "silent but deadly 26% gases?"

And to answer that question we have to veer from the chemistry department to, I don't know, music appreciation...

There is physics in every fart

(I would also suggest a visit to the theology department to prove my assertion that God has a sense of humor)

Saint Croix म्हणाले...

Maybe he was farting in Haden-Guest's general direction.

That fart joke would worked a lot better if he pulled out a can of spray deodorant and sprayed the table with it afterwards.

"I'm farting! Now I'm spraying deodorant. Because I'm polite."

That would be a twofer joke and a funnier punchline.

Mutaman म्हणाले...

"Anyone who believes in this damaged, incoherent grifter is an idiot."

Althouse and Dennis Kucinich. Nuff said.