I'm happy to see America's lefties swooning in love with freedom of speech.

Let them make many strong and loud professions of love, because I want a lot of material to throw in their face when — if? — they get back to subordinating freedom of speech below endless other more important matters.

Is it possible they'll commit to this love for freedom of speech with such intensity that they will forsake its rivals? It's unlikely, but I'll be delighted to give them credit... or even a vote. 

Now, lets check in with Roseanne Barr again:

Remember when you and your wife called Bob Iger to have me fired? https://t.co/w5BcJ1bsLC

— Roseanne Barr (@therealroseanne) September 18, 2025

Roseanne laughs.

pic.twitter.com/H8FnW46dNN

— Roseanne Barr (@therealroseanne) September 18, 2025

"It’s based on my life as a farmer in Hawaii. They save America with guns, the Bible, petty crime and alcoholism. It’s kind of like the Coen brothers thing...."

"If Hollywood doesn’t buy it, then I’m just gonna make it myself.... Does anybody in [Hollywood] like America or the people who watch TV? Because the people who watch TV would really like to see a show where working-class people win against the enemies of America.... I don’t give a fuck either way.... I’d like to get paid handsomely to bring another shit fucking network back from doom as I’ve done twice for ABC. But I just don’t see how they would keep their nose out of my business. We’ll see. If not, I’ll just go somewhere else and put it on my own website...."

Says Roseanne Barr, quoted in "Roseanne Barr Plots Comeback With New Comedy Series, About a Family Who 'Saves America With Guns, the Bible, Petty Crime and Alcoholism'" (Variety).

"It is a violent spectacle, blood-spattered, brutish and brawny."

"A fighter from California named Kevin Holland and a fighter from Poland named Michal Oleksiejczuk beat each other to a pulp inches from Mr. Trump’s face. The former president watched with interest as the American got the Pole onto the ground, secured his right arm and appeared to yank it out of its socket. ([Dana White, the chief executive of the U.F.C.] described it as an 'absolutely beautiful' moment in his post-match commentary: 'The arm clearly, at the very least, dislocated and possibly snapped,' he said.) Victorious, Holland emerged from the octagonal ring, walked over to Mr. Trump, bent down and shook hands, leaned in to hear the former president tell him something and clapped his left hand on Mr. Trump’s right shoulder...."

From "After Verdict, Trump Revels in Embrace of His Most Avid Base: Male Fans/The former president’s appearance at a U.F.C. fight in Newark on Saturday night showcased his hypermasculine appeal, and his defiance" (NYT).

This is just a little article about Trump going to the UFC fight right after the 34-felonies conviction. I had to look elsewhere for more on the broader topic of Trump's "hypermasculine appeal." A sprinkling of what my search turned up:

"I said: 'This is a terrible, toxic relationship, you and Trump. And you’ve got to break up.'"

Said Tom Arnold, "the actor and comedian best known for his role on the 1990s sitcom starring Arnold’s ex-wife, Roseanne Barr." 

Quoted in "Michael Cohen says he’s reformed. Will America buy it? Resistance hero or reprobate? As Cohen takes the stand against his former boss in Trump’s first criminal trial, it depends on whom you ask" (WaPo)(free access link, so you can sort through the cast of characters).

Arnold was quoting himself advising Michael Cohen.

Roseanne's political comedy: "Joe Biden raped me."

#believeallwomen. #meshoe #bergdorfdressingroom #loosemeat pic.twitter.com/yzebab8syO

— Roseanne Barr (@therealroseanne) April 23, 2024

Is this good satire?

"Joe Biden. He raped me right here. In the shoe department of Bergdorf Goodman... I need to sue."

I get the point: You can't trust women who say they've recovered a memory of a rape from the distant past. That's not funny as an idea. Does it become funny when a comedienne enacts it? Theoretically, it could. I don't think this did. To me, it works more as a declaration that E. Jean Carroll should not have won her case against Trump.

Does comedy need to be funny? There is some debate these days on that questioning the centrality of funniness in the performances of some artists who are categorized as comedy. For example, "Does comedy have to be funny?," by the sophomore Monika Narain, last year in the Duke student newspaper. Excerpt:

Take for example Tig Notaro’s 2012 performance at the Largo, a major club in Los Angeles... [S]he began with “Hello. Good evening, hello. I have cancer,” and spent the next 29 minutes working out her feelings onstage....

Or take Hannah Gadsby’s special Nanette, where... she unpeels the psychological layers of building a career off of self-deprecating humor, and what that not only does to a person, but the communities they represent. That if you poke fun at the aspects of your identity that make you a “loser,” then who’s really winning?...

There are numerous examples of comedians who have offered up intimate performances that grapple with the darkest parts of society and break expectations of any one definition of what comedy is “supposed” to be. To say that comedy has to be funny is like saying visual art has to be pretty, or music has to be melodic....

The top show on Netflix right now is "Baby Reindeer," a drama about a comedian. We see some of his comedy routines. In Episode 4, we see how his act begins. He's dressed clownishly, romps about manically, and stops and delivers his first line: "So my mom died today."

That's got to be a reference to the highly respected comedy novel, "The Stranger," which famously begins: "Mother died today. Or, maybe, yesterday; I can't be sure." Oh? It's not comedy? It is comedy? I can't be sure.

People who don't know — or pretend not to know — that Roseanne Barr is a comedian.

Here's the highly lovable video clip:

 

At Kari Lake’s fundraising event at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home, Roseanne Barr told young people to “drop out of college” while pushing QAnon conspiracies:

“It isn’t nothing but devil worshipping, baby blood drinking, Democrat donors.” pic.twitter.com/WP9Br1X1DQ

— PatriotTakes 🇺🇸 (@patriottakes) April 4, 2024

And here's where I found that: "Roseanne Barr Pushed QAnon Blood Drinking Conspiracy at Kari Lake's Mar-a-Lago Event/Barr also encouraged everyone to drop out of college" ("The people of Arizona will decide if they want to send someone who associates with QAnon conspiracy theories and those who against college to represent them in the senate").

That's at something called MeidasTouch, which I saw because it was featured at my favorite source of links, Memeorandum.

"Now I’m as important as everyone else with a credit card!"

Finally got my blue check! Now I’m as important as everyone else with a credit card! hopefully I can get paid to tweet now @elonmusk. I have shit to say!

— Roseanne Barr (@therealroseanne) July 18, 2023

"CMT censored this video, and that's a clear indication that it's great, so I looked it up, and it sure is!"

"Interesting how countless rap songs encourage murder sprees, drug dealing, pimping, and countless other crimes, and they're celebrated by the media, but a video by a country singer about self defense and neighbors looking out for each other is banned."

That's the top-rated comment on the Jason Aldean video "Try That in a Small Town" (YouTube).

I looked that up and watched it after noticing the NYT article "Jason Aldean Video for ‘Try That in a Small Town’ Pulled Amid Backlash/The country singer, who released the song in May, said the tune is an ode to the 'feeling of a community' he had growing up. Critics say it is offensive."

Sarcasm on top of sarcasm.

Here’s Roseanne Barr saying the Holocaust never happened but should’ve because “Jews cause all the world’s problems,” so 6M of us shd be killed! Is that a “true threat” as SCOTUS defined it today in Counterman v. Colorado? Maybe not but It comes close!https://t.co/FOWHtLpUFp

— Laurence Tribe 🇺🇦 ⚖️ (@tribelaw) June 27, 2023

Context:

To those of you who are comparing Roseanne and Madonna.

I've seen this now in several places:

What I wrote when I saw it again, just now, at Facebook:

They cancelled Roseanne Barr for a lot less.

I don’t agree with everything Scott says, but Dilbert is legit funny & insightful.

We should stop canceling comedy!

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 27, 2023

"As an advertising copywriter in her 20s and early 30s, Ms. Weldon was associated with the enduring slogans 'Unzip a banana' and 'Go to work on an egg.'"

"Another offering — 'Vodka makes you drunker quicker' — was rejected by her bosses."

From "Fay Weldon, ‘She-Devil’ Author Who Challenged Feminist Orthodoxy, Dies at 91/By turns elusive and confessional in public, she used dark satire to explore the divides between men and women" (NYT). 

I'm not sure if I ever read the novel "She-Devil"...

The book tells the story of Ruth Patchett, a tall, clumsy woman whose husband, Bobbo, embarks on an affair with Mary Fisher, a wealthy, successful novelist who lives “in a high tower, on the edge of the sea,” as the opening lines put it.

Ruth narrates: “I am fixed here and now, trapped in my body, pinned to one particular spot, hating Mary Fisher. It is all I can do. Hate obsesses and transforms me: It is my singular attribution.” 

... but I love the movie:

Without Roseanne, I pay no attention, but what's going on here?

Not gonna watch whatever #TheConners has turned into, especially without Roseanne. That creepy crocheted mask promo picture is hilariously out of place and tone deaf in 2022.

— Universal Dorks (@UniversalDorks) November 17, 2022

"The Daddy Day Care actor was accused of making inappropriate comments to crew members, including an alleged incident in which he repeated 'vagina'..."

"... to a female crew member after she initially complained about Garlin’s use of the word. Though the stand-up comic maintained that he did nothing wrong during his time on the Goldbergs set, he offered an apology to anyone he worked with who felt 'greatly uncomfortable' or 'hurt' by his behavior...."

From "Jeff Garlin Reveals Bipolar Diagnosis 9 Months After Leaving ‘The Goldbergs’ Amid Allegations of Inappropriate Behavior on Set" (Us).

"The actor shared his diagnosis one day before the season 10 premiere of The Goldbergs — where it will be revealed that his character, the Goldberg family patriarch Murray, has died."

He got the Roseanne treatment — fictional death — for the fictional crime of having a mental illness and comically aggressive self-expression. 

"Roseanne Barr. The embattled 69-year-old comedy legend... The outspoken star... the mother of five... The 'She-Devil' actress...."

I'm noticing the "second mention" silliness in "Unapologetic Roseanne Barr returns, blasts critics: ‘I’m a goddamn American’" (NY Post).

Anyway, she's in the news because there's a documentary about her — “Roseanne: Kicked Out of Hollywood.” We're told it's "on Reelz." I have maxed out on streaming services, if that's what it even is. How are we supposed to keep track? 

It used to be when something was on, it was on the TV that came through the air for free. You had to be careful to find out what time and what channel, because if you missed it, you missed it. But now what's on stays on, but the question is do you get the thing that it's on? And do you have room in your head to care?

But back to the second mention problem — the needless belief that after you've written someone's name, if you need to refer to them again,  you can't just use a pronoun or repeat the name, you have to say something like "the mother of five" or "the 'She-Devil' actress." 

The next article I clicked on at the NY Post — "Fans shade Viola Davis’ ‘cringey’ Michelle Obama portrayal in ‘The First Lady’" — did the same thing: "Michelle Obama... former President Barack Obama’s wife... the mother of two...."

The embattled speaker of the week is...

"The embattled speaker of the week is Joe Rogan, the host of the world’s most popular podcast," wrote NYT staff editor Spencer Bokat-Lindell, in "What the Joe Rogan Backlash Reveals About How We Handle Misinformation," published yesterday, which was Tuesday, the second day of the work week.

Oh, no! Embattled Speaker of the Week is a much faster game. Joe Rogan was the embattled speaker of last week. The embattled speaker of this week is Whoopi Goldberg: "In a statement on Tuesday night, Kim Godwin, president of ABC News, said that Ms. Goldberg would be suspended for 'her wrong and hurtful comments.'" 

What did Joe even do? Hard to remember in light of Whoopi's blowing off the Holocaust: "This is white people doing it to white people, so y’all going to fight amongst yourselves."

But both Joe and Whoopi were one-person-show comedians who moved into hosting lengthy, semi-serious conversation shows. They offer lateral perceptions. God help us if we lose the ability to listen and think and continue the conversation.

 

Apparently, Whoopi has some free time. She ought to go on Joe Rogan's show. These 2 human individuals are sublimely valuable. The urge to oust them is all wrong. It is self-harm. 

And bring back Roseanne.

"For $150, Brad Holiday’s customers could purchase and download a package of dating tips and tricks he called his 'Attraction Accelerator.' "

"The batch of files featured advice from Mr. Holiday, a self-styled Manhattan dating coach, about things like the best facial serums and pickup lines, and his thoughts on the viciousness of the opposite sex. But tucked between videos denigrating women and reviews of height-boosting shoes were other guides: how to defeat Communists, expose what he claimed were government pedophilia cabals, and properly wield a Glock... [Holiday, whose real name is Samuel Fisher, has a] large online footprint [that] suggests a fierce devotion to a hypermasculine ethos of chauvinism, grievance and misogyny.... Some experts said men like Mr. Fisher were particularly attracted to Mr. Trump because they see him as emblematic of a certain kind of masculinity. 'The men that are in these movements themselves try to enact that kind of masculinity, and because Trump enacts it they are drawn to him,' said Ronald F. Levant, co-author of the book 'The Tough Standard: The Hard Truths About Masculinity and Violence.' 'He models it. He gives them permission.'"

From "The Misogynistic ‘Dating Coach’ Who Was Charged in the Capitol Riot/Samuel Fisher left a long trail of videos and social media posts that reflect the views of a fringe faction of disgruntled men who became fixated on President Donald J. Trump" (NYT).

ADDED: But what is Trump's "certain kind of masculinity"? I have a tag to keep track of that: "Trump's masculinity." Things with that tag in my archive: Trump is mocked for dancing like a woman, Roseanne Barr declares Trump "The First Woman President," Trump was denounced as "the Most Unmanly President," and I opined that "there's something womanly about Trump."

I'm also seeing a post that ends "You may hate Trump, but don't use him as a weapon to attack masculinity. Masculinity doesn't deserve hatred. Find your own mix of masculinity and femininity and respect your own individuality and the individuality of others." There are kinds of masculinity, so let's be specific. 

Is Brad Holiday's pathetic hawking of dating tips the same "certain kind of masculinity" as Trump's? The NYT article doesn't give much detail about Holiday. It's almost all high-level generality like "a hypermasculine ethos of chauvinism, grievance and misogyny." If you hate Trump, his masculinity is easily tossed into the same deplorable basket, but that's sloppy work, as gender analysis goes.

"10 Theses About Cancel Culture/What we talk about when we talk about 'cancellation.'"

Well, you definitely got me with that title, Ross Douthat. Not only do you have the variation on the old Raymond Carver title — "What We Talk About When We Talk About [Blank]" (Carver's topic was "love," Murakami's was "running," etc.), you have the variation on "[Number] Theses" (Martin Luther's number was 95, and his theses were a "Disputation on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences").

Douthat notes a current disputation about the meaning of "cancel culture" and whether it exists at all and announces he'll make "10 sweeping claims" about it:

1. Cancellation, properly understood, refers to an attack on someone’s employment and reputation by a determined collective of critics, based on an opinion or an action that is alleged to be disgraceful and disqualifying....

The idea here is to narrow what counts as "cancellation." You need a "collective of critics" and it must be "determined." And their attitude must be that they find their target "disgraceful."

2. All cultures cancel; the question is for what, how widely and through what means....

The idea here is to broaden what counts as "cancellation." It's not something special that the left is doing. Conservatives do it too, Douthat says, they just do it for different "sins."

3. Cancellation isn’t exactly about free speech, but a liberal society should theoretically cancel less frequently than its rivals. The canceled individual hasn’t lost any First Amendment rights....

Freedom of speech is about much much more than what the First Amendment protects. It's important to fight for the freedom of speech that you can't enforce in courts. We need a culture of free speech, and the cancel culture threatens it. Which side are you on in this fight? I need some stronger commitment than the theory that we should "cancel less frequently" than societies that aren't free at all!

4. The internet has changed the way we cancel, and extended cancellation’s reach....

5. The internet has also made it harder to figure out whether speech is getting freer or less free....

We're sorely challenged to understand — in sped-up real time — what the hell is happening to us.

"Hear me when I say: Trump is the first woman President of the United States."

I would like to spend the rest of 2020 on whatever Rosanne is on... pic.twitter.com/0aYRtt8AUU

— Evan DeSimone (@Smorgasboredom) June 25, 2020

I get it. I have said essentially the same thing myself. On April 17, 2020, I wrote:

[A]s I've said a few times and have thought all along — there's something womanly about Trump. And I'm not saying that as an insult. He often displays machismo or seems to do the voice of a mob boss, but not all the time. He has this softer lilt that comes through some of the time....

I had to put this post up, so you've got to go down to get to tonight's café.