Patterico's Pontifications

8/10/2010

Levi Johnston Shopping Reality Show

Filed under: General — Patterico @ 8:13 am



Just when you thought it was impossible to hate this guy any more:

Johnston will run for mayor of Wasilla, Alaska . . .

“But the more I think about it and look into it, I think there’s a possibility we can make it happen,” Johnston said of his political prospects. “It’s something that I want to do.”

Better yet, it’s going to be a reality show.

Johnston, who describes himself as “half red-neck, half Hollywood,” said he hoped the show would correct what he believes are misconceptions about him in the media.

“It’s hard to figure me out,” he said. “You’ve got to follow me around. I’m very different. I lead a crazy life. But it will basically be both worlds, my life in Hollywood and back home, the real country boy that I am.”

Johnston said he knows his reputation “is love and hate right now… but we’re trying to flip that around.” This show, he added, will “send a message to America about who I really am and what I want to do with my life.”

We don’t care.

213 Responses to “Levi Johnston Shopping Reality Show”

  1. I blame Sarah Palin.

    Patterico (ed5263)

  2. And no worries, Patterico. Many commenters will say precisely that. Instead of seeing the horror of having a piece of toilet film like this being forever part of one’s family.

    But then, that was Sarah Palin’s fault, too.

    Sheesh.

    Eric Blair (d70178)

  3. I don’t see what it hurts at this point really

    happyfeet (19c1da)

  4. Right on schedule.

    Eric Blair (d70178)

  5. It would make for a nice symmetry if he were to be elected mayor of Wasilla cause his baby momma’s momma used to be mayor of that same town – I was reading about it in wikipedia but I lost the link

    happyfeet (19c1da)

  6. You know they’ll love you at Rightosphere, you have to sell your soul to Romney, but that’s no big loss

    ian cormac (ab2f02)

  7. Some parasites are hosted by other parasites.

    Amphipolis (b120ce)

  8. We all know Levi Johnston very well. When he’s blogging, he goes by the moniker happyfeet.

    John Hitchcock (9e8ad9)

  9. Good lord, happyfeet is becoming Andrew Sullivan before our eyes.

    SPQR (26be8b)

  10. I don’t hate Levi Johnston, Patterico, I just always watch to make sure I don’t get any of him on my shoes when walking across lawns and dog parks.

    SPQR (26be8b)

  11. y’all do just be h8tin his having a reality show is no different than Sarah Palin having a reality show and I suspect there’s a very good chance that Mr. Levi’s gets the better ratings especially in a demo advertisers actually want to buy

    he’s a very multi-faceted person you know he leads a crazy life

    happyfeet (19c1da)

  12. They ran the nitwit chief of police, that started the troopergate thing for mayor of Anchorage and that didn’t take, I don’t think the folks up there
    will take kindly to the weasel’s stunt, regardless
    how they feel about Sarah

    ian cormac (ab2f02)

  13. As a human being, he makes a mediocre sperm donor.

    Frank Drebbin (8096f2)

  14. I’m thinking a whole bunch of ‘new residents’ will register and vote absentee. Use that dudes address who is staking out the Palins…

    Jeff S. (b15751)

  15. The truly pathetic part is that there would be poeple who actually watch it.

    JEA (53fe4f)

  16. Johnson is another case of our addled MSM using its mindless celebrity-worship to promote another worthless amoral human for public office. A lead-filled golden calf…

    Insufficiently Sensitive (8906ed)

  17. “It’s hard to figure me out” – yeah. Sure it is. Nobody would’ve predicted that a talentless douchebag would try to squeeze a reality show out of his fifteen minutes of fame. He’s practically an enigma.

    What an asshole.

    Leviticus (30ac20)

  18. “we’re trying to flip that around now”
    so that those who hate him love him and those who love him hate him? Easy way to one half of that: start saying nice thing about Palin and anyone who loves him will immediately hate him, because that’s all anyone “loves” him for (hello Koskids)

    ms. docweasel (e9a89d)

  19. Don’t see Levi carrying a whole reality show.

    However, he would round out an ensemble show I am pitching, called “BaByDaDdy”. It would be team-based, narcissist boy-toys like Levi with K-Fed, sports figures like Tom Brady and 75% of the NBA, and maybe political with John Edwards, and J.C. Watts. This is my idea! Nobody steal it!

    TimesDisliker (67dc1a)

  20. Leviticus, I look at this whole situation, and I am sad. Whether or not a person likes the Palins personally, or thinks Sarah Palin should be in any kind of elected office, every family grapples with the concept of who children should date or marry or have children by—and some families are lucky, and some not so much.

    A parent can “do everything right,” and things will go south. Or parents can really mess up, and the children have wonderful lives. All any parent can do is try to look after their children, who usually don’t want to be looked after.

    This Levi Johnston is one reason that extraterrestrials won’t visit this planet and help us out. The Galactic Good Taste Police have put us under quarantine. Can you blame them?

    As a father, my solution to this mess would get me into a whole bunch of trouble. Fortunately Todd Palin is smarter/wiser than I am.

    Next stop for Mr. Johnston? A hip-hop duet, with Kevin Federline.

    Eric Blair (d70178)

  21. I really despise the rat, leaving out politics for a minute, to slander the grandmother of your child, when she took you into her family, when your own
    parent was in legal straights, to lie so relentlessly, The Palin’s have remarkablr forebearances, is all I can say

    ian cormac (ab2f02)

  22. You can choose your friends, but you can’t choose
    your daughter’s babydaddy.

    The first warning sign should have been Levi’s sister, Mercede:

    “Bristol’s jealous of me because Levi and I are so close. I mean, I got his name tattooed on me.”

    Icky.

    furious (71af32)

  23. Ms Docweasel, that’s what I came here to say. Very Yogi.

    It’s a free country. Compared to abandoning his baby’s mother, and then faking a marriage proposal to destroy her life twice, and also lying about her family for cash… there’s hardly much he can do now.

    At first, this whole thing kinda made the Palin family look low class, but this is obviously a political smear campaign, and only insane people don’t sympathize with the victims of it.

    Dustin (b54cdc)

  24. “It’s hard to figure me out,” says Johnston. No, it’s not. Levi is not a Rubik’s Cube, he’s a single building block with a dollar sign on all six sides.

    This human orifice went to Hollyweird to cash in on his notoriety, and ended up having to pose nude in a women’s (yeah, right) skin magazine and hang out with Kathy Griffin on My Life on the “D” List.

    Does that put Pricky Hollywood on the “Z” list? Naw, that ain’t low enough. The cyrillic alphabet has more than twenty-six characters — what’s the last one?

    ————————————–

    Holy crap. Just heard on the hourly news update that Ted Stevens is presumed dead in a plane crash.

    L.N. Smithee (321507)

  25. Todd should have taken Levi fishing, the very first time he heard about it.

    nk (db4a41)

  26. I think Chinese or Sanskrit would fully convey where he belongs

    ian cormac (ab2f02)

  27. 9. Good lord, happyfeet is becoming Andrew Sullivan before our eyes.
    Comment by SPQR — 8/10/2010 @ 8:27 am

    — happyglutes
    — milkyloads feet

    Icy Texan (8e2869)

  28. I’m a parent, too, nk, and that was my point. Can you imagine the hullabaloo if Mr. Palin gave Levi Johnston some wall to wall counseling?

    I would go with the “Uncle Buck” approach to all this, myself. But then, they can’t.

    Eric Blair (d70178)

  29. We all know Levi Johnston very well. When he’s blogging, he goes by the moniker happyfeet.

    Comment by John Hitchcock — 8/10/2010 @ 8:25 am

    I’ve had enough of you, John.

    Are you still sleeping on your daughter’s couch because you’re homeless.

    The daughter who went into the army because you could not provide her a better choice?

    With a red cobra tattoed on her belly?

    Who married her sergeant, a man twice her age, only a little younger than you?

    You know what really makes a troll? Somebody who does not contribute substantively to a discussion but only snipes at other commenters.

    nk (db4a41)

  30. On the topic, so he is running for mayor as a stunt. seriously, he is qualified to be mayor the way obama was qualified to be president.

    This this in. John Edwards has released a statement saying, and i quote, “And i thought I was a selfish, shallow, egotistical jerk…”

    L.N.

    Supposedly there might be other “important people” on the flight too, including a former head of nasa.

    Aaron Worthing (A.W.) (e7d72e)

  31. I get that it’s funny to picture Todd Palin kicking Levi’s ass, but he’s actually being an angel in these cases.

    Nothing would be worse than some reprisal sinking the Palins down to Levi’s level (at least the press would pretend that’s how far down they went). Todd built that massive fence in a day, he handles those sled competitions… no doubt he could win a fight with this kid. But they’ve managed to stomach this whole mess without letting the world see them bleed.

    And that’s a great sign for their ability to handle the stresses of high office. A sign Obama didn’t show, when he was so thin skinned he’d wave his middle finger around or whine about his waffles.

    Hardly a sufficient case, but the way they are handling nutcases is good.

    Dustin (b54cdc)

  32. his having a reality show is no different than Sarah Palin having a reality show

    — In the sense that he is a parasite on her life (and yes, fame) you are absolutely correct, happyglutes.

    In the sense that you intended, where she dwells in the low-rent dregs of reality tv — where she “belongs” — well, you’ve already jumped that shark a few too many times.

    Icy Texan (8e2869)

  33. It looks like they didn’t check the fine print, I know I’m shocked too, lol

    http://www.codepublishing.com/ak/Wasilla/Wasilla04/Wasilla0412.html#4.12.020

    ian cormac (ab2f02)

  34. A.W. – Even Levi isn’t down to John Edwards’ level yet.

    L.N. Smithee (321507)

  35. I suppose John Edwards is worse. He abandoned his wife when she is dying, after denying paternity of his other woman’s child.

    Levi Johnston obviously would happily do the same, but all he did was abandon the mother of his child, and then pull that unbelievably nasty ‘wanna marry? NOT!’ gag.

    Regardless, those who favor this kind of attack show are pure evil, and that they are this afraid of Palin is no surprise.

    Dustin (b54cdc)

  36. That was quite the grenade you threw, nk.

    JD (e587fa)

  37. Future MENSA president, Levi Johnston:
    “But the more I think about it and look into it, I think there’s a possibility we can make it happen,” Johnston said of his political prospects. “It’s something that I want to do.”
    — The “something” refers to having his own reality show, NOT to becoming the mayor of Wasilla.

    Johnston, who describes himself as “half red-neck, half Hollywood,” said he hoped the show would correct what he believes are misconceptions about him in the media.
    — The media’s conception of him IS that he’s “half red-neck, half Hollywood”. Problem cleared up; show’s over.

    “It’s hard to figure me out,” he said.
    — By which he means that it’s hard for him to figure himself out.

    “You’ve got to follow me around. I’m very different. I lead a crazy life.”
    — Paris Hilton without the looks; Lindsay Lohan without the talent.

    Johnston said he knows his reputation “is love and hate right now… but we’re trying to flip that around.”
    — Because “hate and love” sounds better. It ends with “love”, and that’s more upbeat.

    This show, he added, will “send a message to America about who I really am and what I want to do with my life.”
    — He wants to be famous for being famous. Go stand in line next to balloon boy’s dad, dude.

    Icy Texan (8e2869)

  38. That was quite the grenade you threw, nk.

    Comment by JD — 8/10/2010 @ 10:31 am

    No grenade, only stones at a glass house.

    nk (db4a41)

  39. What is the Eskimo word for ‘mook’ because Levi would be the illustration

    ian cormac (ab2f02)

  40. JD, there has been an awful lot of nastiness of late around here, and I have been part of it. That comment reminded me of the cost of those excesses.

    Clearly, I need a vacation, to quit walking down such a road.

    Eric Blair (d70178)

  41. If you will find one other instance where either happyfeet or I have attacked John Hitchcock personally and link it, I will voluntarily ban myself and never comment here again.

    nk (db4a41)

  42. Good God the internet is serious business.

    Dustin (b54cdc)

  43. Whatever, nk. That was low, intentionally hurtful. Hell, I wouldn’t even say that, to crissyhooten.

    JD (e587fa)

  44. No that was pretty much uncalled for, the first time around, and uncalled for

    ian cormac (ab2f02)

  45. Hitchcock must have gotten in nk’s face on a public sidewalk.

    Icy Texan (8e2869)

  46. Like with Jeff Goldstein, I wrote nothing I had not learned from what John Hitchcock had said.

    I shrug off insults about me, as you have seen, Icy Texan.

    I have, however, shared bread and salt with happyfeet, and he does not deserve the treatment he’s being getting by toejam-sniffing trailer trash.

    nk (db4a41)

  47. A bit of an aside, we wonder why slugs like Edwards, Kerry, Clinton, Obama, Richardson, Pelosi, rise to the top, whereas good people with common sense are driven out of the system. One can add athough not to the same degree the garbage that thrown upon Niki Haley by the older version of Levi. that rat Will Folks

    ian cormac (ab2f02)

  48. Happyfeet not only deserves to get smack talk associating him with Palin hating nutcases… I think it’s pretty obvious he’s hoping for as much as possible.

    He’s trying to goad the Palin cult to show how culty and nutty they are. For the most part (including John), Palin supporters are being pretty damn reasonable, which might be why happyfeet is being so repetitive.

    Regardless, John doesn’t deserve to be dismissed as trash because he fell for Happyfeet’s deliberate troll. That’s irrational.

    Dustin (b54cdc)

  49. I’ve had enough of you, John.

    I’ve about had enough of you, too, nk.

    Are you still sleeping on your daughter’s couch because you’re homeless.

    I sold and moved out of my great-grandmother’s house to move to TX to provide something my daughter needed: a short-term, medium-term, long-term alternate parenting plan for her son since she’s in the Army.

    The daughter who went into the army because you could not provide her a better choice?

    She went into the Army because of 9/11 and other terrorist-related activities, not because “she had no other choice” you worthless piece of trailer trash garbage.

    With a red cobra tattoed on her belly?

    She has several tattoos, I don’t know what it is on her belly, I don’t look that closely.

    Who married her sergeant, a man twice her age, only a little younger than you?

    She did not marry her sergeant, you worthless libelous piece of crap. The man is not twice her age. I am twice her age and he is decidedly younger than me. My sister married someone 12 years older than her. One of my brothers married someone 10-15 years younger than him. My daughter is in the same ballpark.

    You know what really makes a troll? Somebody who does not contribute substantively to a discussion but only snipes at other commenters.

    Such as yourself and hf of late, and EPWJ and timmah and DSLSD and SEKs etc, ad infinitum. And you, of all people, should know better than to intentionally defame someone using your libel. Like Cyrus Sinai, you are a disgrace to your profession.

    Comment by nk — 8/10/2010 @ 10:13 am

    Utterly and completely demolished. Now, libelous fool, go back home and lick your wounds.

    John Hitchcock (9e8ad9)

  50. nk, that’s about the lowest, most mean-spirited, underhanded gutter-snipping seen here in quite a while. You’ve abused this forum, and you’ve sullied yourself.

    ropelight (045b5d)

  51. I suggest that Wasilla take in the Hollywood crowd, take their money, then abandon them.

    Neo (7830e6)

  52. Any chance he was on the plane with Stevens?

    HeavenSent (ff0596)

  53. Are you busy deleting your posts and pictures at your blog and at CSPT, John?

    Fine. My promise, that if you find one prior instance of either happyfeet or me personally attacking you I will voluntarily ban myself and never comment here again, still stands.

    nk (db4a41)

  54. Why don’t you just continue to comment, but without being such a jerk about it?

    Icy Texan (8e2869)

  55. I’ll let other people find instances of hf attacking me and venomously attacking traditional Christian values and those who hold them. I can no longer see any of his comments.

    As far as deleting posts, no I am not, no I have not, no I will not. I have higher standards than are necessary to become a Chicago lawyer. For one, I view libel laws more highly than, apparently, Chicago lawyers do.

    John Hitchcock (9e8ad9)

  56. I am not a troll Mr. Dustin… I sincerely want to make room in the conversation for an honest denigration of Sarah Palin mostly as a political figure but as a person as well. It’s difficult to address a cult of personality phenomenon in wholly impersonal terms, you see.

    There’s no good reason at all for the celebrification of our little country’s politics to merrily proceed in an unquestioned and unexamined manner I don’t think and I thank nk for crediting me with a seriousness of purpose but also I hope nobody’s feelings get hurt cause that would mean we’re doing it wrong.

    happyfeet (71f55e)

  57. And I have no idea what pictures you would deem scandalous. You noted a tattoo she has. I noted that I don’t know what it is because I don’t look that closely.

    Besides, where is it said that an adult is not permitted to have a tattoo?

    John Hitchcock (9e8ad9)

  58. I agree. The fact that some of happyfeet’s opinions are so, so, so very wrong does not make him a troll.

    Icy Texan (8e2869)

  59. I am not a troll Mr. Dustin… I sincerely want to make room in the conversation for an honest denigration of Sarah Palin mostly as a political figure but as a person as well. It’s difficult to address a cult of personality phenomenon in wholly impersonal terms, you see.

    I actually like your comments, as you know.

    But you’re trolling. Many trolls, such as nk, may not be aware that they are trolling. You’re not really making room in the conversation for denigration of Palin… you’re actually making people sympathize with her when you can’t come up with anything reasonable.

    I don’t take it personally. In fact, I think you’re funny and don’t mean to bash you. But your comments mainly serve to instigate a lot of reactions and not a lot of substance. Whether intended or not.

    I believe you when you say you simply want a more effective GOP nominee in 2012. We share that desire. The ‘cult’ of personality doesn’t really seem that awful to me, but I don’t pay enough attention to it to know better. Anyway, if you weren’t trying to gin up reactions… I’m surprised.

    Of course, you ate a meal with nk, which in his warped mind, means he has to insult my daughter because she is a bad speller, now.

    And she really, really can’t spell worth a damn, so I guess I had it coming.

    Dustin (b54cdc)

  60. I mean it. I have never spoken to John except respectfully. Happyfeet addresses him cheerfully. John talks to us nastily. Over ideas and not what we said about him.

    All of you, find a way to ban me. All it takes is one prior personal attack by either me or happyfeet against John Hitchcock.

    nk (db4a41)

  61. btw, they are confirming now that ted stevens is dead.

    Aaron Worthing (A.W.) (e7d72e)

  62. But you see, Mr. Feet, when you attack the personparticularly a person you do not know—you are fertilizing the ground for what we have seen here today.

    I have done my part in facilitating this problem, and I am not proud.

    Can we not move away from personal attacks? It may seem okay to use perverse or rude language toward a person one does not know, but I doubt that Mr. Feet would care to attach such terminology to people with whom he interacts.

    Yet here we are.

    Part of it, I believe, begins with dealing with trolls who post in bad faith, trying to irritate and cause trouble. I honestly think that is how it starts. And Lord knows I have been involved with that.

    But attacking a person and his daughter is how it ends.

    It’s making me take a careful look at myself. And yes, I am a “hall monitor,” or I am “unfair,” a “hypocrite,” or whatever. I have never walked about patting myself on the back for my excellence. Far from it.

    But we have come to a bad place. Are any of us proud of it? I am not. I regret my part in providing an environment in which that attitude can grow. I speak only for myself, and other folks can and will do as they please.

    Sorry for the speech. Make fun of it if you wish, but it is how I feel, and I wanted to state my mea maxima culpa on this topic.

    Eric Blair (d70178)

  63. nk, what kind of warped mind does it take that your calculus makes sense?

    What you already did was far worse than anything I’ve seen John do. He’s gone on those riffs a lot and I don’t agree with them either, but you’re the one in the wrong. There’s no need to hunt for another example.

    Happyfeet is cheery, I grant. I laugh at his witty material. but comparing him to well known Palin bashers is obvious.

    this what I don’t like about chicago. These people who feel entitled to not only be hypocrites, but feel entitled to go miles and miles beyond the merest offense and pretend it’s justified.

    That’s why that part of the country is more dangerous than Beirut. Or anywhere in the entire hillbilly south. Nasty people.

    You’re insulting a man’s family, nk. Obviously you have created an insane ad hoc defense about it, but you really ought to just say you are sorry and chill out. And maybe stop trolling.

    Dustin (b54cdc)

  64. May he rest in peace. I guess, now, that inquiry into travesty of injustice will end too.

    nk (db4a41)

  65. Maybe Levi can make a porno with Laurence Fishburne’s daughter. Then they can cause twice the shame and damage.

    TimesDisliker (67dc1a)

  66. You know, nk, libel law doesn’t require “one prior example” in order to find against the defendant to the tune of millions of dollars. Or maybe you don’t know that. You are, after all, a Chicago lawyer just like Obama.

    John Hitchcock (9e8ad9)

  67. I just want to add that Happyfeet has been one of my favorite commenters here for a long time. I don’t mean to slur him.

    If you can’t stand him, I think the best reaction is to just let it slide. It’s not that big a deal. I can laugh at it, which is part of why I engage Happyfeet in several threads. It just isn’t worth ruining your day over.

    Dustin (b54cdc)

  68. My email is on my profile at my blog, John. Have your lawyer click http://krites.blogspot.com/ and then go to profile on the right sidebar for my email. After I’m convinced that he’s a real lawyer, I will tell him where to file and serve thee papers.

    nk (db4a41)

  69. Good gawd, nk — what did John Hitchcock say about an acquaintance that compelled you to invoke his private family business up to his daughter’s tattoo? Is that what you call a proportionate response?

    L.N. Smithee (321507)

  70. There are two ways to look at it. Some people get their careers started by being controversial. Levi may be taking that tack. There are a good number of people who succeeded that way.

    On the other hand, perhaps a reality show would do some good for Levi. He’d get to see what Wasilla thinks of him as Mayor. I’m a firm believer that most of the people are reasonable and would see him for what he is and he’d lose in a landslide. I think that would be good for him. My only problem with that theory is that the whole nation knows he has little moral character and he keeps on going. I don’t know how it will turn out, so I’m curious and will still follow the story. He may be lucky and humiliate himself.

    Jeff M (0204be)

  71. But … for the rest of you … John Hitchkock claiming that happyfeet is Levi Johnston … and then threatening me with a libel suit …??????? 😉 🙂 😉

    nk (db4a41)

  72. nk, you should just apologize. You know you said a nasty thing about John’s family. You should show a little honor.

    Your ‘sue me’ argument fails because John’s point is that you’re wrong even if you only did this once, not that he intends to win a lawsuit. You know that, though, and are attempting to shift the argument to pretend you are the victim of legal abuse.

    Like I said, have a little decency. You are not morally entitled to treat people like dirt. Your sense of entitlement about this is just weird.

    Dustino (b54cdc)

  73. Is that what you call a proportionate response?

    Comment by L.N. Smithee — 8/10/2010 @ 11:39 am

    I think so, Smithee. I have never attacked him personally before and neither has happyfeet. But he has been sniping at us relentlessly. And I wrote nothing that he had not already said on his blog and Common Sense Political Thought, no matter how much he tries to weasel.

    nk (db4a41)

  74. But … for the rest of you … John Hitchkock claiming snarkily joking that happyfeet is Levi Johnston … and then threatening me with a libel suit pointing out that my defense, that I didn’t do this before, doesn’t make sense in or out of court …??????? 😉 🙂 😉

    Comment by nk

    FTFY

    Dustin (b54cdc)

  75. Nothing I could see could justify it. Yes she must be torn down personally, like larry Flynt with that
    porn film he commissioned, with that slimy blogger who insinuated her child wasn’t hers, good god, what
    else is left, are they going to accuse her of murder(as Sharpton, speaking of worm ridden filth, suggested in
    the Jackson matter) or insurrection asJoe Klein did, re the tea parties.

    ian cormac (ab2f02)

  76. That was not my comment, Dustin.

    nk (db4a41)

  77. NK

    > John Hitchkock claiming that happyfeet is Levi Johnston

    Lighten up. I read it as a joke.

    Dustin

    Is “Dustino” like Lion-o of the Thundercats? 🙂

    Or probably more like a typo.

    Aaron Worthing (A.W.) (e7d72e)

  78. I’m hungry and we all have to go to the ramen house noodle place cause it’s trendy and honestly I’m already over the whole ramen noodle thing already plus going trendy places with co-workers what are… these ones … is a really really quixotic exercise I think.

    I wish NG would come back soon soon soon.

    I have to remember not to do the garlic press cause last time the garlic moved into my apartment and slept on the couch for 3 days.

    happyfeet (71f55e)

  79. No wonder DRJ left this place.

    nk (db4a41)

  80. Bye-bye from me, too.

    nk (db4a41)

  81. Yes, it was, nk.

    You know what you were doing. John made a great point and you’re not able to overcome it. Your ‘prove I did this before’ crap is ad hoc and just stupid.

    You did it right here, and that’s what you need to apologize for.

    He’s not threatening to sue you, and you’re pretending he is in order to avoid the truth: in a court, your defense in this thread would be laughed at.

    I don’t understand you, but for some reason, a lot of people I know from Chicago are just like this. You think you can freak out and treat someone really, really, really badly, for some error you think they made which is manifestly not nearly as terrible. In thinking you’re better, you actually show that you’re worse. The concept you need to look into is ‘honor’.

    And I don’t even like John’s reactions over the various threads. I don’t think it’s his business how people choose to cuss or be sexist or make ugly jokes. I’m actually on your side of the actual argument, but we’re not having the actual argument anymore because you’re acting like a clown.

    Dustin (b54cdc)

  82. No wonder DRJ left this place.

    Comment by nk

    Are you seriously bashing the level of discourse here, and pretending you aren’t the low point?

    All I’m asking you to do is chill out.

    Dustin (b54cdc)

  83. happy

    seriously can i ask, are you mad at john hitchcock for what he said? or did you take it as a joke? i would like to hear your perspective.

    Aaron Worthing (A.W.) (e7d72e)

  84. THUNDER THUNDER THUNDERCATS

    Dustin (b54cdc)

  85. I’ll tell you something else nk is tired of, and that’s all you Republicans walking in lock-step on this site. He said so, more than once. And before I “attacked” him “repeatedly.”

    John Hitchcock (9e8ad9)

  86. I blame you Americans. You made this idiot relevant. You, with your whorish media created this used toilet tissue paper and now you must live with him being forever in your faces.

    No-bs! (799d0a)

  87. Dustin-o

    Btw, they are making a thundercats movie. which will either be awesome. or it will suck. not sure which.

    I am leaning toward suck, but we’ll see.

    Aaron Worthing (A.W.) (e7d72e)

  88. Well, John, nk has been tired of a lot of us for a long time.

    It’s not my place to judge him, and I probably get too bent out of shape by it, but I don’t understand the degree of hostility. I hope he comes back.

    Thundercats movie? Really? Hmmm. They really are out of ideas. I’m picturing an Avatar type movie, though.

    And no-bs! is right. Society can be blamed for letting this Levi show continue onward, likely for decades. You don’t have to like Palin to see this. She’s got her policy ideas and political ambitions. We could just take that at face value, but no, that’s not sexy enough… too much money to be made being nasty.

    Dustin (b54cdc)

  89. It’s kind of peculiar set of targets, Americans who do the tough job of dealing with terrorists, Israelis who are undersiege by implacable foes, a
    kind heart, maybe somewhat naive public servant, they all get the full treatment

    Who gets the benefit of the doubt, Islamists elements which hide under a moderate screen, right
    off the back, Obama who’s actually in office and is intent on wrecking every institution left standing
    doesn’t get nearly the abuse, in the same way

    ian cormac (ab2f02)

  90. ian, you nail it.

    The ‘full treatment’ is transparently a tool in the hands of one faction. Liberalism.

    Dustin (b54cdc)

  91. Magic eightball would suggest that AW, then again with that technology they used in Avatar it might work

    ian cormac (ab2f02)

  92. Back to the original part of this thread,

    Question: Who is worse, Johnston or the agent that is trying to make a fortune off of him with this stuff?

    Answer: It doesn’t matter, both are at the bottom of the vile index.

    I think it would be great, and see the town of Wasilla stand up and show its indignation, and give an opportunity for Palin hetrs to make fools of themselves supporting Johnston just for spite.

    FWIW, I have long since lost patience with the personal attacks on Palin. Patterico could put up a post inviting comments on the 10 people you hate in the world most, and why, and it still wouldn’t draw the bile that comes up against Palin. Nobody is saying Palin is perfect or a saint, but other than EPWJ and happyfeet who would want to run for President knowing they will be raked over the coals like she was.

    Here is a primer on MSM treatment of next conservative pres candidate:

    If excellent academically- the person will be an egghead nerd who doesn’t have common sense.
    If not excellent academically- the dumbest candidate since Sarah Palin, I mean George Bush, I mean… oh bother, they’re just another dumb conservative, you know.
    Physical appearance- pretty boy party animal or “good in public in spite of his appearance” (if a man)
    Behavioral background- so socially inept he may be autistic, or the kind of person that not only did your mom tell you to stay away from, but so did your dad, big brother, little brother, and the drunk on the corner

    See, real d*** easy. Now let all of the perfect people keep throwing their verbal stones at Palin, just please go somewhere else to do it.

    MD in Philly (5a98ff)

  93. happyfeet is no troll, not by any measure of the word. Nor is nk. No way. No how.

    JD (abc2eb)

  94. right, ian, and we end up wasting 75% on threads hundreds of comments long with a few people Palin-bashing.

    MD in Philly (5a98ff)

  95. I’ve observed that nk’s commentary over the past few months has indicated that something else is going on in his life that’s caused him to behave in an increasingly irrational and hostile manner, many times with little to no provocation. I would hope that he abstains from coming back here until whatever is eating at him is either dealt with or removed – but if the only thing making him so angry are the posts on this blog, then he should use his free time on matters that would prove more fruitful. Either that, or he might blow away someone standing on his lawn, run over a person who thinks Israel’s blockade is justified, or sue anyone who he feels is disrespectful of his heritage.

    Dmac (d61c0d)

  96. No wonder DRJ left this place.

    Comment by nk
    Wait, you mean DRJ left? Why?

    No-bs! (ecace9)

  97. That’s fine JD, but if you don’t know a person on a more personal level, their words are all you have to go on, correct? So be it.

    Dmac (d61c0d)

  98. One can go back more than 50 years, and the same pattern obtains. Eisenhower directed the largest
    military force up to that point, was president of Columbia, head of NATO, but the left dwelled on his golf game, Of course they were wrong as Greenstein
    pointed out, years later. Nixon was smart, ambitious
    a little socially awkward+=, mean and evil. Ford, despite having been a football hero, Navy flier,
    Yale Law grad, just a stumbling bumpkin. As for Reagan and both Bushes you know the tale

    ian cormac (ab2f02)

  99. Agreed, Dmac. I have been fortunate enough to have met many of the people, so I readily admit that skews my perspective.

    JD (abc2eb)

  100. Another measured and productive thread. Great job, gang.

    For the record, even if he never comes back to this site to see it (which I hope is not the case): nk is one of the best commenters this site has ever had. What you see on this thread is a man reaching his breaking point when forced to deal with the degradation of a forum he’s been a part of for a long period of time.

    Is anyone going to disagree with nk’s statement that John Hitchcock has sniped at nk (and happyfeet, and various other commenters who offend him in some way) numerous times? Because I can guarantee that it’s going to be way easier to find examples of John Hitchcock sniping at nk than it is to find examples of nk sniping at John Hitchcock.

    We are getting so caught up in sorting wheat from chaff that we are forgetting to actually do what the proprietors of this blog intend for us to do: DISCUSS ISSUES. That’s nk’s problem with John Hitchcock – he spends more time sniping at other commenters than he does advancing his own views on any particular subject. And I don’t think I’m alone in thinking that that’s one of the things that caused DRJ to leave the blog. Again. Because we just can’t seem to get past all our personal bullshit and DELIBERATE like civilized people.

    Whatever happened to pride of ownership? This place is Patterico’s, yes, but it’s ours, too, and we need to own up to that and quit shitting where we eat. This place has the potential to be a paragon of civil discourse, and a shining example of the deliberative power of the Internet, if we all just make a concerted effort to strive for it.

    Leviticus (f0f166)

  101. Looks like we have our own little “reality” show going on here.

    I’m just trying to figure out who is playing the part of Snooki … happyfeet?

    SPQR (26be8b)

  102. I like this:

    And I don’t even like John’s reactions over the various threads. I don’t think it’s his business how people choose to cuss or be sexist or make ugly jokes.

    It gives me a chance to be a little narcissistic (hello, BHO). And I know I’m taking these two sentences out of the context of Dustin’s comment. But I want to focus a bit on the statement and on accusations of others outside the Conservatives-who-are-in-lockstep.

    As my own mother (bless her naive huge heart) said, “If you cannot find a word to replace a swear word, you are dumb.” While I don’t hold an absolute belief in her words, I do hold her words to be quite evident. If a person cannot carry a conversation without swearing, that person likely lacks a proper moral bearing or an adequate vocabulary, or both. If a person swears with regularity (or uses a specific set of swear words), that person’s position is automatically diminished.

    Regarding chauvinism, misogyny, and crude jokes, I remind you of a former President and General. From President US Grant’s life:

    “I have such a rich story that I want to tell you,” said an officer who one evening came into the Union camp in a rollicking mood. “There are no ladies present, are there?”

    General Grant, lifting his eyes from the paper which he was reading, and looking the officer squarely in the eye, said slowly and deliberately:

    “No, but there are gentlemen present.”

    When someone uses chauvinism, misogynism, crude jokes to attack women that someone hates (hello, hf), that person only diminishes himself and does not in any way add to his cause. I readily admit I have used chauvinism, misogynism, crude jokes in the past. And I will again, in the future. But I do so in a mocking fashion, mocking actual chauvinists, misogynists, crude people (again, hello, hf). And, for the record, my daughter has told chauvinistic jokes.

    Now, I do have views that the hypocritical (Clinton, anyone?) extremist feminists (hello, Amanda Marcotte) will find objectionable. And I have two word-pictures for that.

    One
    A baseball team has an Ace pitcher, a 10-year all-star, and a top-notch catcher, also a 10-year all-star. In baseball, it is impossible to win a game without a decent pitcher. It is also impossible to win a game without a decent catcher. The catcher will call every pitch in the game, and the pitcher will decide whether the called pitch is appropriate or not. Chances are the pitcher will accept the vast majority of pitches the catcher calls. But there are times the pitcher overrules the catcher and calls for a different pitch. Then the process starts all over again, where the catcher again calls the pitch and the pitcher again decides whether to agree.

    It is a team effort, with both players being equally important. But the players have vastly different roles as they corroborate to win the game.

    (And perverts will take the opportunity of that word-picture to debase themselves and tell crude jokes.)

    Two
    A marriage is like a compass. The leg that stays in one spot (the anchor leg) is the wife. The leg that circles the anchor leg is the husband. They each have their own responsibilities, which are different from the other. But they both lean on the other for the support they need to do their respective jobs. And they both work together to complete the overall job at hand.

    Without the one, the other could never complete the overriding task. Their jobs are equally important but their jobs are also completely different.

    Now, my job as I see it is to speak out for Truth in my aim for a Christian Conservative America. I am an attack dog and I readily admit it. It’s a major part of my psychological makeup. I throw highly-charged snarks. But my snarks mock those who I believe to be wholly dishonorable and dishonest in their attacks of others (hello, hf and nk and all trolls). My withering attacks on people most often are on dishonest people. And, yes, I do have withering attacks on people I believe demean themselves and thereby the positions they espouse.

    John Hitchcock (9e8ad9)

  103. For clarity’s sake, I appreciate Dustin’s commentary and his disagreement with me on various points. I am in no way attacking Dustin, but rather using a brief snippet of what he said in order to clarify my own position.

    John Hitchcock (9e8ad9)

  104. I learned something about this blog last night…during the Live Blog….my first post was a comment to feets…something like “why are you so nice here and so mean on the posts?”….our esteemed host “corrected” me with extreme politeness that it wasn’t the time or the place….

    He was right…

    But, some of what was written here today was not the time or the place either….

    In a way, it’s like the Mosque at Ground Zero…it may be legal, but it ain’t right….

    reff (176333)

  105. “He will give us a real inside look into who he is as a father, a skilled hunter, an avid dirt biker and his journey down the road of small-town politics … right after he gets his high school diploma,” the company said in its description of the show.

    that’s awesomely awesome it’s like a quest

    happyfeet (71f55e)

  106. Levi–and your reality show “producers”. Before you embark on this quest, you might want to think of its futility. It’s a well known rule that you can’t polish a turd. And Levi–that rule was meant for you.

    Mike Myers (3c9845)

  107. “I sincerely want to make room in the conversation for an honest denigration of Sarah Palin mostly as a political figure but as a person as well.”

    Mr. Feets – Can you give us a heads up when you get ready to do that honest denigration thingy, especially about her politics, instead of just the vapid stuff about her coochie pie and slurkiness?

    That would make the whole internet smile!

    Thanks.

    daleyrocks (940075)

  108. Not to worry. Levi should remember what happened to Cindy Sheehan once she stopped being a useful idiot for the left. Cindy who?

    Enjoy the 15 minutes Levi. They’re only interested in you because of the potential damage to Palin. Once they’ve exhausted themselves on that, good luck to ya.

    JaneS (c65d7a)

  109. Mr. daley insouciance and snark are some of the mostest honestest denigrations what you can employ ever your whole life.

    Right now the most salient aspect of her slurkness’s politics is that they are alleged to be the politics of a fitting and proper nominee of the Republican Party for the office of President of the United States of America.

    This is of course preposterous.

    This isn’t The Apprentice this is serious we need a for reals president in this little country, and soon.

    There is a certain urgency what attends.

    happyfeet (71f55e)

  110. First it’s her record;
    then it’s her money-grubbing ways;
    then it’s her family ties;
    then it’s her politics.

    Do the flip-flops hurt your feets?

    Icy Texan (95c5b1)

  111. it’s more just she’s mutifacetedly slurky I think

    happyfeet (71f55e)

  112. *multifacetedly* slurky I mean

    happyfeet (71f55e)

  113. It’s Fagan syndrome, Txan, you catch it from the mosquitos in Deadhorse, induces counterproductive misogynist chauvinist impulses sort of like tourettes, there really is no cure, but it strangles genuine conservatism in the crib

    ian cormac (ab2f02)

  114. “insouciance and snark are some of the mostest honestest denigrations what you can employ ever your whole life.”

    Mr. Feets – I would agree with you perhaps if the insouciance and snark is grounded in an iota of fact rather than dredged up fresh from the grade school imaginings of ren and stimpy type characters what should be drug tested for overdoses of inhaling model glue, but that’s just me.

    daleyrocks (940075)

  115. Ot, Daley, what is taking these folks in Chicago to either convict seems unlikely or acquit Blago, I mean besides the fact that you can’t trust Fitz as
    far ‘as you can throw him’

    ian cormac (ab2f02)

  116. ian cormac – I think the jurors are still auctioning the decision to the highest bidder. I thought Blago was out of cash, but some people must not want to see him go down if the bidding is taking this long.

    daleyrocks (940075)

  117. Have fun, daley. It’s just Gresham’s Law, in a way.

    Eric Blair (c8876d)

  118. my understanding is that it’s very very difficult to boost model glue anymore

    happyfeet (71f55e)

  119. “…Mr. daley insouciance and snark are some of the mostest honestest denigrations what you can employ ever your whole life….”

    Um. Knock yourself out, Mr. Feet. Cary Grant was insouciant. And Gore Vidal has snark to burn.

    But you seem to think it is okay to do your version of those things, whenever you like, no matter what anyone else thinks. And we have seen what your, and my, efforts have accomplished, right? Notice that I include myself. But it’s not my blog, nor yours.

    Fewer personal attacks, more policy criticism. I have been asking you about this for months, and you jump right back to the odd schtick, and the junior high school word games. Again, so long as Patterico is okay with it, so be it.

    But…. Attacking people you don’t know personally, is decidedly not honest, by definition. Not even for you. It’s lazy and not thoughtful. And petty. Further, it makes you look sexist and crude, no matter what you intend.

    But see, that is your thing: you want to fight about this, and play childish games, and see how close you can come to being really offensive. No matter what it costs. Which brings me back to the question that Patterico asked you a while back. I hope you were honest. I have my suspicions, based on how you are acting.

    But hey, you are happyfeet triumphant. Enjoy it.

    Eric Blair (c8876d)

  120. I have very few substantive policy disagreements with the pandering slurk, Mr. Blair. This is because she panders shamelessly to my sort of politics. I’m not particularly flattered by this really and certainly not to an extent that I would allow her panderings to seduce me into thinking her to be a person what has presidential qualities.

    She is a failed governor cum celebrity spokesmodel, and she cannot ever be pezdent. She should not, could not, be pezdent in the rain. Not in the dark. Not on a train. She can’t be pezdent here or there. She can’t be pezdent anywhere!

    If this she abides and with grace slips away I think on Team R might would dawn a new day and every R down in R-ville, the tall and the small,
    will be singing!

    Without any Palin at all!

    happyfeet (71f55e)

  121. And you just don’t get it. I have tried, and you persist, thinking all of this is funny. It’s not.

    Patterico’s question was relevant. But I think you have answered it, in your fashion.

    As I say, happyfeet triumphant. And the personal trumps all, not matter the cost.

    Eric Blair (c8876d)

  122. Come on. That was funny.

    JD (abc2eb)

  123. Eric Blair,

    As I discussed in an earlier thread, the following comment does not stem from any grudge or anything of the kind; as I said, I consider the hatchet buried between the two of us, and I do have respect for you, and all that; it’s just that I seem to have a fundamental disagreement with you on this issue, and I’d like to parse it a little for future benefit, if you are willing… and if not, no harm done. Either way, I don’t mean it as a jab. So, with that said:

    1. Would you say you have an opinion of happyfeet?

    2. Have you ever met happyfeet in real life?

    3. What would you say your opinion of happyfeet is based on, assuming that you have one?

    It’s not hard to see where I’m going with this; that said, I don’t mean to oversimplify the matter or pigeonhole you or anything like that. So, if you see some problem with the parallel I will inevitably be drawing here, please point it out. That said, I think it’s perfectly natural and fair for human beings to form opinions of others based on what they say, what they do, and how they carry themselves. It becomes problematic (i.e. judgmental) when we lock into a view of someone, that is, we refuse to allow our opinion of someone to shift based on their actions.

    If that is the problem you have with happyfeet’s comments about Palin, then that’s one thing, and it prompts a different discussion; but it seems as though you think it’s unfair for happyfeet to have a negative opinion of the woman at all.

    For example (and I don’t mean to reignite anything here, but it’s a pertinent example), I think it would be safe to say that Patterico has a negative opinion of Jeff Goldstein because he feels that Jeff Goldstein has conducted himself in a dishonest manner. At the end of the day, what’s the difference between Patterico having a negative opinion of Jeff Goldstein based on what he’s said or done, happyfeet having a negative opinion of Palin based on what she’s said or done, and you (possibly) having a negative opinion of happyfeet based on what he’s said or done?

    Again (and I can’t stress this enough), I’m not trying to accuse you of hypocrisy or dishonesty or anything like that; I appreciate that you are trying to restore some air of civility to this place. I just want to understand your perspective on the whole matter a little better, and hopefully convince you that happyfeet’s behavior is standard human behavior, and not merely as the product of some degraded level of discourse. Sure, he could be more diplomatic and/or less crude in his phrasing – and again, if that’s your only point, I have no disagreement with it – but it is surely his prerogative to form an opinion of the woman, and even to word that opinion in an arguably unnecessarily abrasive fashion if he so chooses… isn’t it?

    Leviticus (30ac20)

  124. You find humor in this, because this about wheee you’re dwelling, feets

    http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Oea4O7hmBUY/TGHcwOSuU4I/AAAAAAAAAQc/Ud0AAYyqBsE/s1600/KenConstant.jpg

    ian cormac (ab2f02)

  125. Leviticus – The point about having met someone is very relevant. I have had the pleasure of meeting several people from here in real life, and I readily admit it clouds my perspective.

    JD (abc2eb)

  126. She should not, could not, be pezdent in the rain. Not in the dark. Not on a train. She can’t be pezdent here or there. She can’t be pezdent anywhere!

    If this she abides and with grace slips away I think on Team R might would dawn a new day and every R down in R-ville, the tall and the small,
    will be singing!

    Without any Palin at all!

    If you cannot chuckle at that, something is seriously wrong.

    JD (abc2eb)

  127. I want to thank everyone for making me look reasonable and temperate.

    hey, maybe Gutfeld can get levi to do a celebrity open at his new gay bar… dress Levi in one of those gay tuxes, give him some of his moms meth and put him in the men’s room

    instead of naming the bar, what about the drinks?

    “No sex on the beach”
    “Blow job with whiskers”

    SteveG (f6fb69)

  128. “Leviticus – The point about having met someone is very relevant. I have had the pleasure of meeting several people from here in real life, and I readily admit it clouds my perspective.”

    – JD

    I certainly think that’s true. I’ll wait to say anything further, because I don’t want to misconstrue Eric Blair’s argument, but I agree with you.

    And I did chuckle inwardly at happyfeet’s most recent… statement of skepticism at Sarah Palin’s potential as “pezdent”. Not on a train, indeed.

    Leviticus (30ac20)

  129. L. Johnston flatters himself with the “love/hate” thing, to receive either, one has to have at least the appearance of some substance.

    I visit this site a LOT, though I don’t comment much. I come here for informed commentary, particularly on subjects I don’t know much about, i.e. law. Always appreciated the thoughtful posts, even those I didn’t understand. It’s a shame to see what’s happening here.

    jodetoad (7720fb)

  130. It’s a shame to see what’s happening here.

    Comment by jodetoad — 8/10/2010 @ 5:47 pm

    It is, and I shouldn’t pretend I’m not partly to blame.

    The ‘Imagine Palin staring at your crotch’ and ‘cooze’ style stuff comes across, to me, as aimed to garner nothing constructive, just lulz. But I should just keep my judgment to myself on that kind of thing.

    It’s one thing when EPWJ lies or nk attacks someone’s family, but I shouldn’t add to the bonfire. nk’s a great commenter when he isn’t upset. Nothing on the internet is worth getting upset about.

    It’s going to be an awfully long two years of this crap.

    Dustin (b54cdc)

  131. I blame Bush. And Palin.

    JD (abc2eb)

  132. If you cannot chuckle at that, something is seriously wrong.

    Comment by JD

    Agreed! Though I don’t think it’s a legit argument, it’s funny.

    I think “team R” could do with 1000 more Palins, and it will soon be overrun with them. These Haleys and Brewers and the like are not Paul Ryan, but they are a massive improvement. I don’t need philosopher kings. I need people with a basic sense of limiting government and corruption.

    Dustin (b54cdc)

  133. He’s not going to catch a wink, after that Dustin,

    ian cormac (ab2f02)

  134. Leviticus-

    In my opinion, hf has worked very hard to earn every bit of vitriol, cursing, obscenity, and otherwise mean-spirited and naughty comment sent in his/her/its direction. Perhaps I’m humor-challenged.

    In no way has anyone seriously said Palin is beyond approach. I don’t think anyone has ever said she is the ideal candidate.

    But some of us are very tired of personal crude attacks, of blaming her for not having perfect children, for not instituting 60/60/24/7/365 surveillance of her daughter or a chastity belt or both, for being a “quitter” as Governor, for being a pretty-faced imbecile, for being evil because she gave a good word for “Meghan’s daddy”.

    If hf wants to run for President and show just how more qualified and beyond reproach he/she/it is, then fine, put up or shut up.

    JD- if that was one of a few comments about Palin, with others being even just an itsy-witsy-bit even-handed or fair, then it might be funny. But at the moment I am not interested in seeing anything from hf.

    I think there are better things to do in the world we’re in than run-down Palin, like probably a gizzillion more.

    MD in Philly (5a98ff)

  135. see if I tell you about the tasty cereal

    happyfeet (19c1da)

  136. Leviticus-

    Having reviewed this thread, let me clarify that hf’s comments on the previous thread concerning Johnston (hence also Palin) is the basis for my commentary more than the relatively little on this one.

    Back to the main topic:
    Johnston said he knows his reputation “is love and hate right now… but we’re trying to flip that around.”
    I wonder where he gets the “love” part of his reputation. I guess he’s confusing being used with being loved, as he clearly has already confused loving and using others.

    MD in Philly (5a98ff)

  137. The punk is lower than bear scat, for all the reasons I’ve outlined before, regardless of politics, simple human decency, now as for Levi
    (see what I did there)

    ian cormac (ab2f02)

  138. Oh, there was love for Levi, MD. That young lady loved him. And while that’s stupid of her, love is a moron sometimes.

    I was stupid in high school too. A lot of people are sexually active and stupid and in love during high school.

    No doubt about it, we don’t really even know the half of how much love Bristol had for Levi. It appears it was a hell of a lot to forgive him for such evil (of course, part of that was love for their child). I’ve loved that much.

    I would bet serious cash that Levi would fail a drug test, probably for cocaine, and is unaware of the reality that he’s been loved by decent people. He probably even blames Bristol in some stupid way. Maybe she failed to realize how awesome he was, or burned his supper.

    I’d say he has a reputation for being loved more than is understandable.

    Imagine seeing your daughter go through that, contemplate your granddaughter doing through it, and maintaining composure. Todd and Sarah are better people than I am. We’ve got people losing their cool over comments on the internet… fortunately some people are above that.

    Dustin (b54cdc)

  139. I was half kidding in that last posnt, dustin, but only half, Having been part of Bristol’s family is more than he deserves

    ian cormac (ab2f02)

  140. Dustin- loved by Bristol, yes; adored by a few or more other impressionable young women, sure; being loved (as opposed to those who get a kick out of his being a thorn in the Palin’s side) by a segment of society who will watch his reality show and hope he wins mayor of Wasilla, if so, the hope for our country is vanishing.

    MD in Philly (5a98ff)

  141. [happyfeet] [moral clarity]
    [factual] [honest debating]

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etuPF1yJRzg

    John Hitchcock (9e8ad9)

  142. Actually more like this, and less funny

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQFKtI6gn9Y

    ian cormac (ab2f02)

  143. “But some of us are very tired of personal crude attacks, of blaming her for not having perfect children, for not instituting 60/60/24/7/365 surveillance of her daughter or a chastity belt or both, for being a “quitter” as Governor, for being a pretty-faced imbecile, for being evil because she gave a good word for “Meghan’s daddy”.”

    – MD in Philly

    MD: I’ll set the crude attacks aside – unfortunately, my generation has very low standards when it comes to crudeness, and I’m accordingly desensitized to it (to some degree). “Hoochie” is… quaint, for us. Kinda like “fast” – my grandma was telling me a story about her high school years the other day, and she said that any girl who smoked in high school in those days was considered “fast”. I couldn’t help but laugh. When I told her why, she laughed too.

    I’m also going to set aside the “60/60/24/7/365 surveillance of her daughter” complaint, because I don’t think hf has made the accusation – not to that degree anyway. It’s at least arguably legitimate to say that a parent bears some responsibility for the company kept by their children, and I think that’s all hf has said.

    Beyond that: is there no legitimate argument that Palin quit as Governor of Alaska? Is their no legitimate argument that she’s “a pretty-faced imbecile”, or at least a little dim, even if you and many others strenuously disagree? Is their no legitimate argument that Palin sold out by endorsing McCain (who hf despises) for a shot at the big-time?

    All of these are legitimate arguments, even you disagree with them, even if they’re wrong. So what is he supposed to do? He’s reserving his comments on Palin for Palin threads, as far as I can tell – is he supposed to just keep those comments to himself because a lot of people here disagree with his assessment of a given politician? That seems wrong. Indeed, that seems to fly in the face of what this blog is all about. Should I keep contrarian opinions to myself, as well? Or aphrael? I know we disagree with you guys often enough.

    I also know that you and most every other conservative commenter on this blog has been fully supportive of my various dissents, and that I’ve built up mutual respect with many of you because I’ve gone out of our way to be polite and engage in constructive conversation. So does this merely boil down to the style of happyfeet’s comments regarding Palin? If he were politely saying that Palin was milking her fame, or that she wasn’t qualified to be president, or whatever, would that be different? Is this about the style of the disagreement or the substance? The former is one thing, but the latter is another thing entirely.

    Leviticus (30ac20)

  144. “If you cannot chuckle at that, something is seriously wrong.”

    JD – Most entertainers update their routines from time to time, add new material or targets.

    Team R has better things to do to win elections than tear down people who are effective at making fools of Team D.

    daleyrocks (940075)

  145. ian, while I don’t generally like Monty, I did enjoy that skit and I found it spot on when describing hf. (But I still like my YouTube (since it speaks to the level of people who would most likely find hf funny).)

    John Hitchcock (9e8ad9)

  146. daley – That doesn’t make it not funny, and I know you have a sense of humor.

    Leviticus – I doubt pretty faced imbecile is an actual argument.

    JD (abc2eb)

  147. I find happyfeet funny, John. If that makes me some stupid degenerated cad, so be it.

    JD (abc2eb)

  148. Oh, and I talked to my daughter. She said nk was dead wrong. It’s a gargoyle and not a cobra.

    John Hitchcock (9e8ad9)

  149. JD, I consider you to be of a level who would be less likely to find hf funny than the level who would be most likely to find hf funny. It’s a statistical permutation thing, standard deviations and all that.

    John Hitchcock (9e8ad9)

  150. happyfeet is a friend, John. Someone I would call a close friend.

    JD (abc2eb)

  151. We understand what word he is using, and what it means, which is a cretinous lie, that comes out of one of the more vile characters around up there

    ian cormac (ab2f02)

  152. The blog is really nice. Prefer your ways and style to look stylish and cool.Thanks for sharing with all such a valuable information.

    Free Reciprocal Links Directory (b16ba8)

  153. thank you Mr. JD and back at you

    I didn’t know there were gonna be skits nobody tells me anything

    happyfeet (19c1da)

  154. Well, I consider yo mama to be a close personal friend. Sometimes.

    Dustin (b54cdc)

  155. You either have civil discourse or you don’t. This idea that nasty and vulgar attacks are OK for “trolls” just leads to anyone someone finds annoying being called a troll. If vulgar personal attacks are OK for some but not others then you have a “some animals are more equal than others” situation and it’s silly to get too righteous. I have yet to see one person persuaded by these attacks or one troll driven away. The end result is inevitably what happened here today. In my personal opinion, NK crossed a line and owes John Hitchcock an apology but frankly I think that line looks arbitrary and tenuous given the debased standard of discourse here.

    I am really very sorry to see this as this is the only site where I read the comments. I do so because of the outstanding nature of some of the commenters here, but it is getting very hard to smell the roses over the increasing stench of sewer gas. There are many sites out there where the “gang” attack the outsiders and high five each other over the clever put downs. That reeks of mob mentality and is tiresome to watch. This was and could be better. I find HF’s vulgar attacks on Palin annoying and low, but the personal attacks in response are more disturbing and disrupting. It is so hard to put the genie back in the bottle once released.

    It would sure be nice to see an occasional thread followed through on topic without degenerating into the usual mess.

    Sorry, I guess I am no one to talk, but this makes me sick.

    Machinist (497786)

  156. Leviticus-

    I have no problem with someone saying they didn’t like the fact that Palin resigned from the governorship. I think an honest opinion, however, would acknowledge what she accomplished while governor, and acknowledge the circumstances impacting her effectiveness for the people of Alaska because of needing to fight repeated unfounded ethics charges.

    Is their no legitimate argument that she’s “a pretty-faced imbecile”, or at least a little dim, even if you and many others strenuously disagree?
    There’s no legitimate argument for criticizing her because she is more attractive than the typical politician. There is no more reason to call her stupid than to call George Bush stupid, primarily emphasis on unflattering moments and disregard for accomplishments.
    Is their no legitimate argument that Palin sold out by endorsing McCain (who hf despises) for a shot at the big-time?
    I don’t think that is a legitimate charge as it is framed. She would alienate people whether she supported McCain or supported his challenger. Can you disagree that she did it? Sure, I wish she didn’t do it.

    Yes, I’ve noticed the coarsening of the culture. My boys would say things in mixed company in Jr high that I would never have done in college, in my BC days, even. But I liked JH’s story of Grant, especially since I’ve never heard him accused of being a Sunday School teacher-type. I think there is a least one gentleman as well as one lady present. So I don’t give it a pass, it’s still coarse.

    I admit the distinctions between RPWJ’s and hf’s have blurred in my mind, but an irrational belief in the ability of a parent to control a teen’s life was a main feature of the last thread. For example, this was a post I belive directed at hf:
    Sarah Palin controls every moment of Bristol Palin’s life, 24/7. This is all her fault. Anyone who has ever parented through teenage years will recognize these obvious truths.
    Twatwaffles, one and all.

    Comment by daleyrocks

    All of these are legitimate arguments, even you disagree with them, even if they’re wrong. So what is he supposed to do?
    Much of the following is not legitimate argument, it’s mean spirited insult, if not to Palin to those who are in the discussion:

    25.no for reals you have to conform to adulation of all things Sarah Palin and sympathize with her trailer trash dilemmas and root for her or you know what you’re not cool is what
    That was classic Obama, start with a straw man (that we’re pushing “adulation”) and then get hostile and ridiculous.

    18.Levi and the Palins are peas in a pod – they all just want to milk their notoriety as long and as hard as possible
    That is rational criticism?

    259.Sarah Palin is a stupid person what thinks she can fleece her fan clubbers indefinitely by playing herself off as someone what is of presidential caliber but she only succeeds in making herself and them look ridiculous.
    Another Obama strawman then get hostile

    267.Sarah Palin is a tabloid celebrity so it’s not surprising that she gets the tabloid celebrity treatment. Where are you people when it comes to decrying the shockingly invasive and degrading coverage of the demonstrably talented Miss Lohan

    271.as long as that vapid slurk is still holding to a pretense that she’s right up there with Lincoln and Reagan with the leadership qualities I imagine there’ll be no dearth of opportunity at all to point out what a ridiculous and scoffworthy notion it is to elevate a celebrity spokesmodel to the realm of the presidential
    More Obama

    423.what if you met Sarah Palin and all she did was stare at your junk the whole time
    that would be so awkward

    Intellectually honest disagreement is fine. Some emotion and harshness is to be expected, but the opinion of many, who don’t mind disagreement, is this is enough already.

    Perhaps hf is trying to hide a Palin-crush. Perhaps hf doesn’t like people who play basketball. Perhaps hf belongs to PETA and can’t stand the idea of someone who hunts.

    I’ve taken this time out of repect for you and your questions, Leviticus. Other than that, it has not been particularly rewarding to go through the threads again looking for hf’s comments.

    MD in Philly (5a98ff)

  157. Well said, Machinist. I think this site has a pool of great commenters, and I think there needs to be a concerted effort to maintain a productive discourse all around.

    On those grounds, happyfeet should probably lay off calling Palin a “hoochie”, or whatever; and on the flip side, so long as he’s polite about it, he shouldn’t be shouted down having little regard for the woman.

    Again, I wish Patterico would bring back his “No Personal Attacks” policy – it worked wonders for the quality of the dialogue , and allowed for a less interrupted exchange of ideas.

    Leviticus (30ac20)

  158. Leviticus ,

    You are one of the reasons I come here. I really don’t see much difference between calling a woman “hoochie” or “coochi” and using the “N” word to describe a black man but I am not up on the latest slurs. I don’t really think anyone using the “t***waffle” term can complain in any case. It just seems needless and degrading for the site. I used to recommend this site to people as the best political site. I rarely mention it now. If they happened to come on to a thread like this…I value what little credibility I still have.

    Machinist (497786)

  159. No offense to Patterico, this is still an outstanding site with excellent posters. The comments sections are just not what they could be.

    Machinist (497786)

  160. without disagreeing with your comments, Machinist, because you’re absolutely right, I want racists to go ahead and use the N word.

    It reduces the overt discourse, but it also identifies underlying ideas. It can be countered. The ultimate result of these threads is that many people note that women are just as good as men as leaders or just as worthy of respect.

    And before someone notes that this is obvious: apparently it isn’t.

    Dustin (b54cdc)

  161. I too long for high-toned and rarefied Sarah Palin threads of considerably more substance and gravitas where one might encounter deep considerations of her policies and where we could toy playfully with all of the attendant nuances.

    happyfeet (19c1da)

  162. And when I suggest this blog to people, I note that it has a lot of heated passionate arguments.

    I think the comments are just a dumber and lazier version of the harangue campaigns we’ve seen between this blog and other blogs/ the LA Times. People who like this blog often like a good fight.

    I wish there was a way to articulate this middle ground, worse than ‘no personal attacks’, but better than ‘your daughter’s a soldier because you’re trashy’.

    The common sense standard?

    Dustin (b54cdc)

  163. #

    I too long for high-toned and rarefied Sarah Palin threads of considerably more substance and gravitas where one might encounter deep considerations of her policies and where we could toy playfully with all of the attendant nuances.

    Comment by happyfeet — 8/10/2010 @ 10:09 pm

    I do too. You can’t get a good discussion thread about Palin without people lining up to defend her against some extreme crap, or some Mittbot (not every Romney supporter is a Mittbot, of course, just as not every Palin defender is a cultist).

    Maybe it’s just not possible, but I don’t understand why.

    Dustin (b54cdc)

  164. “I’ve taken this time out of repect for you and your questions, Leviticus. Other than that, it has not been particularly rewarding to go through the threads again looking for hf’s comments.”

    – MD in Philly

    Thank you for that, nonetheless.

    I don’t think you can assess this thread in a vacuum – and I don’t think you are, per se, but let me try to give you a better idea of how I view this progression of events.

    1. happyfeet has never been a fan of Palin. Early on, he began voicing numerous criticisms of her, essentially accusing her of whoring her fame and saying that she was not fit to be president. Which is his prerogative, I would assert.

    2. Over time, people who disagreed with happyfeet re: Palin began to say as much – which is their prerogative as well.

    3. Because happyfeet ignored them, and leveled similar attacks at women like Meg Whitman and Carly Fiorina, his critics began to ratchet up their criticism, going so far as to accuse him of sexism/chauvinism/misogyny (which I think was unfair, and which I think triggered much of the escalated argument found here. This might be the main point of contention between the two of us).

    4. In response, happyfeet ratcheted up his criticism of Palin, and broadened it to include some of her supporters (and his detractors), as evidenced in #25 and #259, which you cited above.

    Now: if hf did this specifically to push peoples’ buttons, that was unfair as well. But if it just sorta happened as a consequence of being on the defensive, then that’s… understandable, I guess. Isn’t it? I can understand how a guy who went out of his way to defend a woman against a man one day(Sherrod against Breitbart, even if you think that defense was misguided) would become resentful of those who would label him a sexist for criticizing Palin the next (and the next and the next, albeit).

    The funny thing is, I don’t even know happyfeet – I’ve never had an extended discussion with him on this blog, like I’ve had with you or nk or Stash or Patterico or DRJ or Machinist or Eric Blair or any number of other conservative commenters on this site; and I’ve never met him personally, like JD or nk or others have. I don’t find his style particularly amusing, and I don’t agree with him on most political issues – but I don’t think he’s a sexist, and I don’t think the things he’s written are nearly as offensive as they’re being portrayed to be, and… dammit, I just don’t know what the heck is going on here. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: JD uses words more offensive than “hoochie” on a near-daily basis; and I cuss fairly often myself. But everyone who’s a regular here knows that JD is a solid fellow, a good guy, and I seem to get along with everyone just fine.

    Leviticus (30ac20)

  165. I can understand how a guy who went out of his way to defend a woman against a man one day(Sherrod against Breitbart, even if you think that defense was misguided) would become resentful of those who would label him a sexist for criticizing Palin the next (and the next and the next, albeit).

    He called Sherrod an oozing c***, didn’t he? I can’t see how he would resent someone noting he’s sexist.

    I laugh off extremely offensive humor. Just saying your example of him defending Sherrod actually is one of the major reasons the rhetoric ratcheted way up. It kinda seemed like he wasn’t just smack talking those he was opposed to, but also those he was defending… much like a klansman defending a good N*****.

    I absolutely don’t intend to diss Happyfeet with this. I don’t hold even the slightest grudge about it. Happyfeet’s persona is sexist. He may not be… the internet does some silly stuff. And I welcome what I see as a bit of honesty about how he sees the ladies. That’s taking him at his word that he didn’t say these things intending to troll (which I do… happyfeet is honest).

    Just clearing up something about your point. The Sherrod business shouldn’t point to a lack of sexism.

    Dustin (b54cdc)

  166. “I too long for high-toned and rarefied Sarah Palin threads of considerably more substance and gravitas where one might encounter deep considerations of her policies and where we could toy playfully with all of the attendant nuances.”

    – happyfeet

    I say we try to have one. Maybe we could institute the “No Personal Attacks” rule for just that one thread, discuss the woman and her issues like civilized people, and reach some common ground on the matter so that we could finally put it behind us. Then you could stop calling her a hoochie and everyone else could understand the legitimate problems you have with her as a politician, and we could stop wasting threads exchanging insults over someone who no one’s particularly invested in to begin with.

    I don’t know if Patterico’s following this, given his workload, but it would be worth a shot. I’d put up a post at the Jury, if I thought it would do any good; but I don’t know how to moderate comments and all that, so I’d be an inept enforcer of any heightened civility parameters.

    Leviticus (30ac20)

  167. Leviticus-

    Thanks for your thoughts.

    What is one to do with post #160? Is that intended to be funny? Is it a sarcastic slap in the face that communicates, “Say what you want, I’m ignoring you?”

    At times I’ve thought hf has said reasonable and rational things, and I’ve taken him at face value.

    I also regret the events of this thread. I personally found nk always to be helpful. Yes, JD often uses foul language, but I can’t remember him being just a pain in the butt like some have been doing (IMO).

    I guess I’ll simply try to ignore more stuff.

    MD in Philly (5a98ff)

  168. Machinist – Just for clarification. I believe the term twatwaffle originated with Michelle Malkin and was meant to refer to dumb, lying liberals of either gender.

    daleyrocks (940075)

  169. Good night, should have been in bed long ago.

    MD in Philly (5a98ff)

  170. “He called Sherrod an oozing c***, didn’t he? I can’t see how he would resent someone noting he’s sexist.”

    – Dustin

    Is that true? I’ve looked through most of the Sherrod threads, and all I see is that hf said “I though she was an evil cooze BUT”… going on to explain that he’d missed the point of the story initially. Which doesn’t reek of sexism, only disdain for manipulators (which he thinks Palin is).

    Could you link that? I don’t mean to insinuate anything, but if hf said that about Sherrod, who he was defending, then I’d roll back what I said a little.

    Leviticus (30ac20)

  171. Happyfeet’s persona is sexist.

    That seems aggressively unfair.

    I think if people would get past the text of his opposition to Palin and see what girds his opposition to Palin, it would make more sense. As is, people get derailed by the words used, and quit paying attention to the why. And he has laid out the why many many many times.

    JD (abc2eb)

  172. I have long been of the opinion that the No Personal Attacks policy is silly, as that gives people like crissyhooten carte blanche to lie lie lie lie lie lie lie lie lie lie lie lie lie and otherwise moon the people commenting, and pointing that out, forcefully, becomes a personal attack. Just my 2 cents …

    JD (abc2eb)

  173. Also, on second glance, I think it’s a little underhanded to phrase your comment to suggest that it’s just a fact of life that happyfeet is a sexist – which I would dispute.

    Leviticus (30ac20)

  174. nk’s great, MD. I haven’t shared one of these apparently soul changing meals with him, but I’m sure he’s a heck of a guy in person, too.

    Let me also add one thing: that script for ignoring comments comes with instructions. One of them (the only one?) is that you are not to announce who you’re ignoring for effect. I think that’s a good rule.

    It’s not John’s fault that he set people off, of course, but I also think people should try hard to let people be honest (he expressed a desire for conservatives to not harm their online reputation). Instead of just defending your most defensible views, defend what you really think and admit when you are mistaken.

    That’s why I appreciate when someone is upfront about a personal bias.

    Dustin (b54cdc)

  175. Soul-changing? That is hardly the position taken by others.

    JD (abc2eb)

  176. “Also, on second glance, I think it’s a little underhanded to phrase your comment to suggest that it’s just a fact of life that happyfeet is a sexist – which I would dispute.

    Comment by Leviticus ”

    It’s just my opinion. I made clear that it’s the happyfeet persona which I do think, as a matter of fact, is sexist.

    Cooze is a cunjunction of ooze and the c word, which is what I meant. You seemed to note that his lack of sexism over Sherrod, in defending her, could make him more defensive. I don’t mean to relitigate that issue or attack Happyfeet… I just wanted to note that I think it cemented the idea that his persona on here treats women a lot differently than men.

    Not trying to be underhanded at all. Also confused as to how it’s underhanded (since I didn’t just assert this without ample justification).

    Dustin (b54cdc)

  177. Differently than men? Good Allah. He is downright civil in comparison to his words about McCain, Graham, and their ilk … There was a large chunk of time where he voluntarily did not comment about McCain during the campaign. The idea that his language is worse towards women is laughable.

    JD (abc2eb)

  178. Agree with JD about the No Personal Attacks rule. I think there could be some middle ground. Personal attacks can be legit.

    I regret using happyfeet as my example in this, since he was a big target already and it’s feeling like piling on.

    Still, my noting that his arguments are much better understood in light of my criticism, that there is a sex element, is an example of a personal attack that helps the debate along, IMO. Does this seen naive? It seems like things get out of hand too easily, so maybe I’m being naive.

    Dustin (b54cdc)

  179. MD:

    I took hf’s #161 at face value, while recognizing that it might be sarcastic. I don’t think it was meant to be.

    That said… good night. This whole thing is kinda tiresome, I agree.

    JD:

    I kinda understand where you’re coming from regarding the No Personal Attacks policy, although I think most of the regulars here already know which commenters to ignore from jump street. For my part, I think the value of an elevated discourse outweighs the value of telling trolls to soak their heads, which is something of a Pyrrhic victory to begin with (as it allows them to derail otherwise promising threads from the get-go).

    That said, I can see where you’re coming from. Also: I keep using you as an example of commenters who use coarse words in describing perceived dishonesty. I hope you don’t take that the wrong way – I don’t think ill of you for it. It’s just an accessible example that I think ought to help put things in perspective for people.

    Leviticus (30ac20)

  180. #

    Differently than men? Good Allah. He is downright civil in comparison to his words about McCain, Graham, and their ilk … There was a large chunk of time where he voluntarily did not comment about McCain during the campaign. The idea that his language is worse towards women is laughable.

    Comment by JD — 8/10/2010 @ 10:50 pm

    You’ve made a very strong point, JD. Happyfeet certainly does not reserve his vitriol towards men. Maybe I really am in error here, yet he does seem to slur women for their womanhood.

    Dustin (b54cdc)

  181. I don’t mind. I have hard edges. It is true.

    JD (abc2eb)

  182. Dustin: if you could find a derogatory word used expressly for men – the male equivalent of “cooze” or “hoochie” – I’m sure happyfeet would be happy to apply it to John McCain or Mitt Romney or Andrew Breitbart or Barack Obama or Joe Biden or any one of the countless males he’s insulted in his capacity as a commenter on this site. I can’t actually think of one off the top of my head, but I’m sure he’d be more than willing to use it – which would cut the legs out from under the argument that he’s a sexist, and relegate his critics to the less viscerally offensive accusation that he’s a person who uses marginally objectionable words.

    Leviticus (30ac20)

  183. Cooze is kinda gross, actually.

    Leviticus (30ac20)

  184. Dustin – Ask him how long he went without commenting about John McCain during the campaign. He was so disgusted with McCain from the get-go, that MayBee made him quit commenting about McCain. Suffice it to say that anything he says about Palin is partially rooted in his disdain for McCain, and pales in comparison to how he described McCain.

    JD (abc2eb)

  185. #

    Soul-changing? That is hardly the position taken by others.

    Comment by JD — 8/10/2010 @ 10:47 pm

    Oh, I was just kidding about this one. Trying to have some levity here. Same with my comments on happyfeet… I think he’s not worth losing cool over… he’s clever and I like his comments.

    However, I’m not being aggressively unfair. did he use the term cooze? Yeah. Simply as a matter of fact way of referring to a woman he was actually defending. You note that he also uses those attacks on a man who is the target of his harshest criticism.

    That’s a point for my argument, and why I’m not being unfair. Additionally, he’s using sex-based rhetoric against women.

    I sound like a ‘don’t offend me’ type, but that’s not my point. My point is that the happyfeet persona is more honest for simply noting that he sees women this way. If he doesn’t see women this way, he should adjust his communication to give a more accurate impression.

    Dustin (b54cdc)

  186. Yeah, Happyfeet does hate John Mccain more than any woman. I grant that.

    I really, really wish I had found some other example, now. He’s been bashed enough, and I actually laugh at most of the offensive stuff he says.

    Leviticus is probably right that Happyfeet would call Mccain a man-cooze.

    Dustin (b54cdc)

  187. Sorry. I disagree with you, in the strongest term possible, about the sexist thingie. And all of the others that think that, I disagree with them too. I am not just singling you out, you just happen to be here commenting.

    Better Half lurvs happyfeet, and never once has thought he is sexist. And she would call him on it in a heartbeat.

    JD (abc2eb)

  188. McCain would get off easy if he called him a man-cooze.

    JD (abc2eb)

  189. Has happyfeet said anything sexist beyond the words “hoochie”, “cooze”, and the like? Anything like “Palin could never be president because women are better at making sandwiches then they are at making decisions”?

    I doubt it. And he’s used the terms above in reference to women who he found to be dishonest – or, in the case of Palin, whoring her fame – not just women in general.

    Whatever. It’s debatable, I guess. I don’t get the impression that happyfeet is a sexist. You do. Others do. Others don’t. At the end of the day, I guess it’s his problem.

    Leviticus (30ac20)

  190. I’ll drop it, at this point.

    Leviticus (30ac20)

  191. I think we can all agree that crissyhooten is a mendoucheous twatwaffle

    😉

    JD (abc2eb)

  192. FWIW, I am going to make a concerted effort to be more magnanimous to the trolly thingies. I will fail many many many times, but I will continue to endeavor.

    JD (abc2eb)

  193. No sweat, JD, at all. You made a good point, too.

    I apologize to Happyfeet. I have a hard time seeing this as something other than an element making fun of womanhood. I also don’t really think that’s the end of the world if it happened, but that’s besides the point.

    But my case was weaker than I initially thought it was.

    Dustin (b54cdc)

  194. I really want to have one strictly moderated Palin thread, now. Like a “We’re Gonna Settle This Once and For All” kinda thing… not that that’s ever the case, but the impression’s always fun while it lasts, and common ground is usually worth the effort.

    Leviticus (30ac20)

  195. At the end of the day, I guess it’s his problem.

    Comment by Leviticus

    Well, it could be easily adjusted for, right? Let’s assume I am completely wrong on the sexism charge and leave the happyfeet characterization completely.

    Let’s say someone keeps on making a certain kind of joke about Obama. Watermelon eating type stuff. Just so happens, she always uses this vitriol, towards all races, and just likes this humor style, but the main targets lately have been a serious of blacks. Even if we don’t care about being sensitive, it’s just better communication to vary the humor, or even omit the racial references, just to communicate.

    Of course, as you said, this kind of thing can also be a stubborn reaction. People keep getting mad about racism, so she ramps up the jokes. One should decide whether that’s an acceptable feature of the communication. And if it is, I absolutely want it to remain so it can be discussed and understood.

    Dustin (b54cdc)

  196. I think a great deal of my hard edges relate directly to my quitting smoking. I am foul. But I am almost at 3 months.

    JD (abc2eb)

  197. “Well, it could be easily adjusted for, right? Let’s assume I am completely wrong on the sexism charge and leave the happyfeet characterization completely.

    Let’s say someone keeps on making a certain kind of joke about Obama. Watermelon eating type stuff. Just so happens, she always uses this vitriol, towards all races, and just likes this humor style, but the main targets lately have been a serious of blacks. Even if we don’t care about being sensitive, it’s just better communication to vary the humor, or even omit the racial references, just to communicate.”

    – Dustin

    Absolutely, which makes it hard for me to have too much sympathy for hf, despite the fact that I’ve spent the past few hours defending him – although the last part of your comment speaks to that, I think. Teh stubbornz, and whatnot.

    Leviticus (30ac20)

  198. Good luck with that, JD. I quit smoking when I got out of the Army. Awful.

    Hey, that’s actually a great reason to be a jerk on the internet. The internet barely matters (at least this stuff doesn’t matter). Why stop smacking trolls, if that provides a little relief? It’s like a video game for boring people.

    Dustin (b54cdc)

  199. “But I am almost at 3 months.”

    – JD

    Congrats. I picked up smoking from a lovely girl a couple years ago, then held onto it for a while after she dumped me, and cuz I liked to smoke when I drank. But at some point – by no deliberate effort on my part – I just sorta lost the taste for it. Got over the girl, too.

    Leviticus (30ac20)

  200. 20+ years of smoking down the drain. I am such a quitter.

    JD (abc2eb)

  201. that’s ok Mr. Dustin and thank you Leviticus person

    I have to go to bed cause I have to go to work early

    happyfeet (19c1da)

  202. Leviticus – That will not be the last bad thing a woman will drop in your lap.

    JD (abc2eb)

  203. That was prolly sexist, so I will denounce and condemn myself.

    JD (abc2eb)

  204. Thank you Happyfeet. You’re more generous than many have been.

    Dustin (b54cdc)

  205. Heh. Good night, all.

    Leviticus (30ac20)

  206. Comment by Leviticus
    happyfeet should probably lay off calling Palin a “hoochie”, or whatever
    — Yeah. Whatever. It was “slurk”, by the way.

    and on the flip side, so long as he’s polite about it, he shouldn’t be shouted down having little regard for the woman.
    — And for having little regard for women in general he gets what? A *tsk tsk tsk*?

    Icy Texan (e1cc22)

  207. 160. I too long for high-toned and rarefied Sarah Palin threads of considerably more substance and gravitas where one might encounter deep considerations of her policies and where we could toy playfully with all of the attendant nuances.
    Comment by happyfeet — 8/10/2010 @ 10:09 pm

    — For us children, knowledge yearns of Utopia, hero. A perfect paradise; you’ll feel enlightened, engaged, transcendent!

    Icy Texan (e1cc22)

  208. You know as the only verifiable member of the Palin fan club, by my my posts you know who I am, I don’t buy it of all the candidates that represent the tea party current, she’s the most genuine one, yet they dropped a mountain of crap on her during the campaign, she kept on fighting, every opportunity there was to indicate his unfitness for office, she took.

    She’s a person of genuine goodwill, so she honestlydid wish him well, at he outset, although I don’t think she thought him ‘a good man’ there
    was no way one could read what he had said and done and believe that, Then she tried to go back to work as Governor but the same network of anklebiters would not let her, she did challenge
    the stimulus early on, and earned an ethics complaint for her trouble, they said it as about
    the jacket. They and the jackwagons that run the
    local party up there, swallowed the stimulus, turned down her attorney general designee, a man
    that makes Joe Arpaio seem reserved. And her real
    awakening was at the Evansville conference, where
    she spoke as much about stimulus and missile defense as her abiding passion for innocent life.
    Oh and those same legislatures were the ones who worked with McGuinness to sabotage her pride and joy, the AGIA natural gas pipeline

    ian cormac (ab2f02)

  209. Good Morning

    I think if people would get past the text of his opposition to Palin and see what girds his opposition to Palin, it would make more sense. As is, people get derailed by the words used, and quit paying attention to the why. And he has laid out the why many many many times.
    Comment by JD

    The only thing you have to communicate with on line is words. You can’t read body language, you can’t tell tone of voice unless it is reflected in the graphics of the words.

    From my recollection, it was when people offered counter-arguments to hf, such as why it was reasonable to resign from the governorship because of the ethic probe hassles (whether one agreed with her or not) that what we got was increasingly crude ad hominum attacks. I could be wrong. I know what serious objections hf has against Palin, and when put in reasonable form all are worth discussing. And they have been discussed, by ian and others.

    MD in Philly (5a98ff)

  210. No, you’re right on the mark, now these arguments are not new, I’ve seen them employed at the now
    defunct GOP 12 and still barely breathing Rhinosphere, but they are not particularly cogent
    either, as I’ve pointed out ‘Alinsky will toll for
    them’ as well

    ian cormac (ab2f02)

  211. Yay! I just saw this thread for the first time and I couldn’t be more pleased with how it turned out!

    This is truly what I always imagined discourse on this site should look like!

    On a serious note:

    1) People really need to chill out.

    2) Let’s please not make any assumptions about why DRJ stopped blogging. That’s her business.

    3) Read number 1 again.

    4) I can’t monitor these threads as I have too much else going on. DRJ and Stashiu used to but I don’t have their help any more. You have to police yourselves. Please listen to the comments from Leviticus, whose sentiments best express my own feelings.

    5) Read number 1 again.

    Patterico (c218bd)

  212. Hello! amazing content, many thanks for discussing with us..Really helpful, pretty innovative, I am confident, the impact is quite decent.

    Vibram Five Fingers Classic (30ba90)


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