Republicans In A Tizzy Over Invesco Set
Never let it be said that Republicans and their counterparts in the conservative blogosphere (yes, Ann "I Like To Drink Wine and Blog About American Idol" Althouse, I'm looking right at you) can't attempt to manufacture a scandal out of thin air that shows just how stupid they are.
The impetus of this scandal is this article from Reuters, which breathlessly described the set for the upcoming speech by Barack Obama at Invesco Stadium as looking like an ancient Greek temple since there will be a series of columns behind from which Obama will appear and then walk onto a raised stage.
So Ann "Liberal Boobies Enrage Me" Althouse whips herself up into a righteous indignation, which is promptly echoed throughout the other sites. (I won't dignify her with a link, look it up) How dare Obama? Is he trying to suggest that he's a God or something??? The presumption! Do you see how messianic he is? His supporters are like a cult! (imagine her furious fingers typing away)
But see, here's the problem, Ann. You clearly haven't traveled. If you had actually ever gone to the seat of our federal government, Washington DC, guess what you'd see? Columns! Know why? Because most of our federal buildings were designed in an architectural style called...wait for it...Greek Revival. Which means, you know, lots of columns. Like the ones in the front and back of the White House--where Obama will reside in January, by the way. And the ones in front of the Lincoln Memorial, where exactly 45 years ago today, Martin Luther King gave a speech in which he said these words:
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
So today, Ann "I'm a law professor, but I don't know how to correctly interpret judges' rulings" Althouse, Barack Obama will take the stage, designed symbolically to be reminiscent of the city from where he will be leading this country, and the site of one of the most stirring orations in our history (is this too nuanced for your conservative brain?), and accept the nomination of the Democratic Party for the Presidency of the United States, having earned that nomination not because of the color of his skin, but because of the content of his character. It is the fulfillment of that dream Martin Luther King espoused 45 years ago. A dream that your conservative compatriots have worked endlessly to suppress.
Doesn't that make your righteous indignation over Greek temples and Greek gods seem just so pathetically ignorant? By the way, do you have any memory of the stage from which George Bush accepted his nomination? Don't look now, but there were columns! *gasp!*
UPDATE: That presumptuous John McCain! Is he trying to insinuate he's some sort of Greek God? (h/t Aimee)
When asked for comment, John McCain said: "When I was a POW they didn't give me any freaking columns. I was in a hole"
I have one correction: Dr. King made his speech forty-five years ago today. August 28, 1963.
Never thought they would take the Fear card this far. Fear of COLUMNS !!! RUN !!! I really hope they make a big deal about this. with Bush and some of his window lickers accepting nominations in front of those scary columns.
rocco46` @ 2:
Ugh, you're right. I was typing so fast I let my math skills fail me.
Everyone knows that columns have a liberal bias.
Cat fight.
Nicole,
You have been laying down some serious smack today. Love it!
(and these people are CRAZY! [whistles])
Actually, I think this is good news. If there spending there time and money on this, then they clearly adrift.
McStain, on the other hand, will ride to the stage on a Clydesdale and make his speech in front of a giant red, white and blue Budweiser label.
Idiots.
PEACE
Jay Severin Has A Small Pen1s @ 1:
I can't wait to see the ads 6 years from now when the people held in GitMo run for public office. "I was tortured by Americans, I had no home for 5-6-7-8-9-10 years thanks to George Bush...."
Dear Lord! There are grasping for straws. These Repugs are pathetic. Maybe McCain will bring up Britney and Paris again. Anything to distract the voters from the real issues to manufactured ones. Sigh!
So if Obama makes a speech in front of Greek columns, he must think he's a god? I think Ann Althouse is projecting a little bit of a forbidden crush. What if George Bush pretends to land a plane on an aircraft carrier, is he a pilot and a war hero? I really don't want to mention the codpiece, so I won't.
just like a drive in the pennsylvania country side after the manure speader has deposited the last of it's load on the fields, you can smell the repubic despiration in the air. this is some classic throw it against the wall and see what stick approach to their deflection, distraction and smear tactics.
and since the stage is to resemble a fascade in an american city, i have to ask, why do they hate american architecture so much?
The strange thing is ... you could fairly argue that neoclassical architecture, including greek revival, is primarily the domain of conservatives in the field. The current bastion of classical architecture in education - and one of the very few places where it is taught almost to the complete exclusion of other approaches to design - is the University of Notre Dame, which is hardly a hotbed of liberalism. At schools like Berkeley, on the other hand, you'd be hounded out of the studio if you tried to present a neoclassical design scheme. Certainly there are liberals who work in a classical vein, and conservatives who don't, but these are exceptions.
Isn't Greek where much of our idea of Democracy comes from?
McCain is running his campaign on despiration not perspiration.
Yeah, yeah, and if McCain shows this set in any of his ads MSNBC will say McCain put the columns in as phallic symbols because he's racist.
You guys can spin this all you want but this is a bonehead move by Obama. It looks like an out of control ego trip on the scale of Bush's "Mission Accomplished" stunt.
Obama can read the best speech of his life and his pals at CNN and MSNBC can gush all they want but tomorrow the ridiculous set is what most people are going to be talking and laughing about.
RNC.....hypocrites.... same as ever was....
Thank you so much, what a bloody awesome rebuttal of an idiotic post. There I was thinking only the crazy fundies were worried by the pillars, but looks like crazy fundies and the remaining Republicans have more and more in common every day.
I tell you, one thing the repugs are is consistent. They still don't argue the issues. It's allllll playground taunts, snide crapping in people's hats, and variations on the Screaming "He farted!" In-a-Crowded-Room-Then-Pointing gambit.
Bunch of immature idiots. And yet, the teevee will try to convince us that a good half of the country buys into their brand of crap. Piffle.
Mc Cains camp is just trying to keep it close enough to steal. Its worked twice in a row already.
johny @ 17
"but tomorrow the ridiculous set is what most people are going to be talking and laughing about."
in a repubic wet dream maybe. but i think most people will be talking about the real important issues in their every day lives.
Althouse always comes up with a new way to be entertainingly stupid. Makes me feel sad, though. My 74 year old, terrified, jingoistic father reads her crap every day. And Malkins. And Drudge.
I was looking at some of the videos that were posted of Ann Althouse. What a waste of air.
Tag @ 3:
hey, you never know, there could be big bad terrorists hiding behind those columns. Be afraid people, be very, very afraid!!
These repug bootlickers have to be the most pathetic bunch of low-lifes on the planet.
And to think these guys pass laws and set policy. What a bunch of knuckle dragging morons. Who votes for these people? I find my confidence in my fellow Americans hit rock bottom.
Like the dumbass republicans were not going to complain. Whatever Obama does is wrong according to them.
Republicans are the ones who have been wrong the last eight years. Republicans are whining cause people really don't care what they have to say anymore.
The Republicans will likely be dusting off some old plans by Albert Speer for their backdrop.
all of washington is littered with greek columns. you can't have a column without it looking greek.
THE GREEKS INVENTED THE COLUMN!!!!!!!!!!!
Johnny @ 17:
Man, I can't wait until you post the link to wherever it was that MSNBC has been playing up the "Racist Lover of All Things Phallic" angle on McCain. Hey! Maybe they will let Pat Buchanan do it once he gets done crapping all over yet another Dem speaker at the DNC, that is.
This ought to be juicy!
I'm just wondering when the MSM went completely NBA a la Bill Walton with the hyperbole...
Nothing says desperate like a bunch of whiners complaining about columns on the stage where a speech will be given. I know, I know, for five and a half years McCain was unable to complain about columns.
It'll be interesting to see the backdrop where John McCain makes his acceptance speech.
The Republicans are waiting to pounce on Obama’s speech tonight with their clever catch phase “celebrity.”
My suggestion for pushing back?
http://rejectmccain.com/?p=662
28% of our country are mentally challenged, and the big problem is they are the breeders. Idiocracy here we come.
pissed off patricia @ 32:
Please, oh please, let it be a green screen again.
pissed off patricia @ 32:
...bamboo lattice?
spencers mom @ 9:
Hey, I'm from St. Louis and love Budweiser and Clydesdales. If McSame does as you suggest, I'll vote for him!
i guess most of these righteous indignant
assholes have forgotten most of their places of
worship have columns either outside the building or
on the podium from which they spew their hate.
short empty memories - long spiked tongues.
the reichwingneocons don't like their own candidate.
I heard that arrogant SOB Obama was even going to wear shoes tonight! I mean who does he think he is Moses or somethin'
(snark)
Geeze the rethug crap is getting tiresome... I guess that Obama must be pulling ahead in the polls again or something...
Oh Look! He is!
August 28, 2008
Gallup Daily: Obama Moves Ahead, 48% to 42%
Democratic candidate gains in Monday through Wednesday interviewing
http://www.gallup.com/poll/109897/Gallup-Daily-Obama-Moves-Ahead-48-42.aspx
Imagine, the audacity of actually having columns on your stage set. What gall, what elitism.
What a fucking joke.
The GOP wishes McC*nt could fill a stadium. Hell, they'd settle for filling the basement at the local VFW hall.
Tonight will be a special moment...and it deserves a special setting. I'd say a 75,000 seat stadium is perfect.
The GOP needs to worry more about that decaying, worthless fossil they have as a nominee. Enjoy your party next week. I'm sure Chimpy and Cheney will get things off to a rousing start.
pissed off patricia @ 32:
Charging a rampart outside T'bilisi, Georgia with a musket and wearing a tri-corner hat singing Yankee Doodle and praising freedom. But no columns.
OMFG. How frgn' pathetic. I didn't know about this Ann Outhouse character. What a pathetic idiot.
Jesus, this really makes my skin crawl. I need to take a dump.
Run for your lives!!!
Matt "I am a tool" Lauer had Obama's campaign manager on this morning, and one of the first things he did was ask David Plouffe (I think) "What's with this set, is this the Temple to Obama or something?" to which Plouffe immediately but weakly replied "George Bush had a set just like it in 2004."
The right answer is to say "What a conservative tool you are Lauer" with a smile.
The more I try to engage repugnacans in conversation the more I see that they are incapable of critical thinking. They are incapable of seeing anything but the reflection on the surface of the pool, anything deeper truly baffles them.
Oh my. McCain has a cigar store indian in his house. i saw that seinfeld show and that is offensive. lets make it a scandal. lol
http://www.architecturaldigest.com/homes/features/archive/mccain_slidesh...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_w6E07kGEs
Dazzling the press with bullshit, as usual.
The GOP is absolutely brilliant at distractions and irrelevancies, and making people focus on the backdrop and the wallpaper rather than the truth right up front of them. In this case, it is quite literal. They are getting the media to mock Obama for the pretentiousness of his PODIUM. Forget about his message ... what about the stagecraft? Those columns? Doesn't Obama know that columns are EARNED?
I say we fight fire with fire, and point out how the stark, fascist-looking podium planned for the GOP convention in Minneapolis -- with its enormous flag backdrop -- looks just like the set from the opening scene from the movie "Patton."
Haw! Haw! John McCain thinks he is PATTON! Haw! Haw! What a loser! What an egomaniac!
O.t. but I just had another bright idea. There have been a lot of complaints about the MSM talking and interupting many of the best speeches. I don't have the knowledge or tools to do it but, is there anyone out there that could record the speeches and put them up so we could download them, record them on CD and distribute them to others that weren't able to hear them all. If I could do it I would.
what they're really saying is
a black man cant use columns.
Ron @ 48:
PBS airs the speeches live. That's where I watched Kerry's speech.
spencers mom @ 9:
Hhaahahahhahahahha was just picturing McSame with his little bitty legs straddling a Clydesdale. Maybe he could ride it side-saddle.
My idea again... The RNC should lower MC Cain to the stage locked in a bamboo tiger cage while rented Asian kids poke him with sharp sticks and have MC Cain yelling " Stop stop.. my Dads an Admiral.. Ill tell you whatever you want to know". All this to the background music of the Doors singing The End.
Here's some real good news. C-span is talking to a reporter inside the stadium and he says the security for the public to get in is very very high. Good! It's sad, but these days it has to be. I hope Obama wears a bullet proof vest under his coat or something. I wish I wasn't so afraid for him, but I just can't help it.
The stupid.....IT BURNS!!!
General Jack D. Ripper @ 37:
How 'bout you vote for Obama and I'll meet you down at BB's - I'll be glad to buy you a nice cold Bud product in honor of the Clydesdales.
masha @ 50:
I know, I watched it on C-span, but there are many that don't get to see any of them at all.
Heh, Interesting. During last nights The Daily Show, Jon Stewart mentioned the set to Howard Dean. Saying Barack's obvious arrogance and presumptuousness might be reinforced in the mind of Americans by such an audacious set. (I'm paraphrasing, but that was the tone if not the exact verbiage of the question.) WTF is up with that?
Nicole, you so funny!
David Gibbs, of Obama's campaign, was on Morning Joe today and when Joe began pissing about the columns, Gibbs whipped out his cell phone and showed joe et al, the pic of bush with the same sort of columns at his 2004 acceptance speech. Gibbs was laughing and having a good time and it sure as hell shut joe and his crew up.
Wow, can someone get that last link to Olbermann so he can get it on the air? Remember the Obama seal "controversy"? Bush, in his nomination, used the ACTUAL SEAL OF THE PRESIDENT. In Red State world, that's treason.
Albatross @ 44:
MOre subtle would be: Did you cover the republican convention in 2004 or have you ever been in washington? that would really be a slow knife cutting into him and would guarantee that matt would be thinking about it as he tries to go sleep tonight.
somebody said that the msm and the republicans seem to want the obama campaign to use a log cabin instead.
jimmiraybob @ 41:
That's funny!
pissed off patricia @ 32:
Don't tell anyone but, I heard he was going to do his acceptance speech from a hole.
You'd think that as a SENATOR (you know, as in Senatus Populusque Romanis), John McCain would be comfortable with classical motifs. Does John McCain think that he is entering a pagan temple each time he walks into the US Capitol? Why, oh why, does John McCain hate America?
Jay @ 57:
jon stewart is a friend of mccain's. his objectivity is compromised.
What would the repubs have chosen as their idea of a proper background for Obama's speech tonight?
Learn a trick from the Republicans:
Never name the person you are smearing if they are not well known from the start.
Silly nicknames linking to other silliness just gives her more credibility and shows you are looking at what she has to offer (very little).
Instead, refer to her as, "One particular Republican blogger out of many" when referring to anything she says.
The less we know, the less everyone knows.
jay @ 57
stewart was making fun of the republicans for this lame attempt.
Look, we don't need to get into a tizzy over their tizzies. The correct response is mockery and snark. "This is the substance-free junk you folks are talking about? Wow. You're ridiculous. It just goes to show what a weak candidate you folks are running."
I thought it was Bill Maher's old set from "politically incorrect".
Isn't she a 'column'-ist???
IMAGINE!!!! What does she thing she is?? Some kind of Dog?? er ... God ... heh ...
McCain will probably go to Independence Hall in Philly and declare the US's Independence from England somewhere during his acceptance speech.
Lilybelle @ 70:
Lilybelle, that was pretty much a snarkfest post. I don't get much more mocking than that.
ominous @ 29:
They also invented homos......sorry but I love that joke and had to post it. Peace to my gay brothers and sisters.
Columns? How Ionic. Are they made of Corinthian leather? Is this allowed? Is this a violation of "Doh!ric" order? Will Obama be on a pedestal?
Lone Rogue @ 68:
Ann Althouse is well known in the conservative blogosphere and more importantly, her post was picked up and echoed through out the blogosphere, incl. Drudge and Red State.
45 years. Lincoln memorial. The dream continues.
cheesesauce @ 76:
And they pronounced iony dead.
God spelled backwards is Dog. So if Dog is mans best friend does that make God mans worst enemy?
willie @ 69:
It seemed sincere to me. If Colbert had asked the question it would be one thing.
I know Jon likes Sen. McPOWInsanesamebush. But you gotta figure Jon is gonna vote for Obama. Right?
Gozer @ 80:
I saw a bumpersticker the other day that said "Dog is Love". I want one of those on my car.
jimmiraybob @ 79:
Thanks jimmyraybob, I'm gonna write that down in my entablature. : )
Johnny @ 17:
Columns like the ones Bush had as a backdrop at the 2004 RNC when he accepted the nomination... columns like these?
http://s305.photobucket.com/albums/nn231/chrisblask/?action=view¤t...
Here's the video of Bush with his "arrogant columns" from his "ridiculous" set with multiple views:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTHdhft42Ic
I guess you clowns have to carp about something... after all...
August 28, 2008
Gallup Daily: Obama Moves Ahead, 48% to 42%
Democratic candidate gains in Monday through Wednesday interviewing
http://www.gallup.com/poll/109897/Gallup-Daily-Obama-Moves-Ahead-48-42.aspx
Etymology: Middle French democratie, from Late Latin democratia, from Greek dēmokratia, from dēmos + -kratia -cracy
You'd think a law professor would be familiar with the greek origins of the word "democracy" (which i think translates to "rule of the people").
A cult, you say.
The only radical, outrageous and all together unwarranted political cult I know of is the one that has elevated Ronald Reagan to a Godlike status.
Remember when they were fighting to put his face on our currency?
Ugh.
Me thinks this is a case of the neo-con pot calling the liberal kettle black. Hypocrits.
cheesesauce @ 76:
You mean like the pedestal Bush was on in front of his "columned" set at the 2004 RNC convention when he accepted his parties nomination?
Like these:
Bush 2004 RNC Convention set video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTHdhft42Ic
So I suppose you jackasses will criticize Obama for copying Bush's set tomorrow when this gets out?
cheesesauce @ 82:
There was an entertaining article in the LA Times Magazine several years ago about bumper stickers. I remember that he was astonished by a Jesus Mobile that did not have one square inch of unused bumper sticker space on it. Got Jesus? At one point in the piece, the author said he was going to put a bumper sticker on his car that said "Keep Your Opinions to Yourself" or maybe it was "Keep Your Goddamn Opinions to Yourself". Anyway, I always thought that was a good one.
Jay Severin Has A Small Pen1s @ 1:
Truth to tell... we are all prisoners of war. Prisoners of a captive and self-aggrandizing press, prisoners of a faith regime which few but the dimmest witted of us subscribe to, prisoners of fear, hatred, and ignorance.
empty rafters are not a pretty background so i guess the obama campaign wanted the most "safe" set and they went with columns. unfortunately, the ignorance and pettiness of the republicans decided to manifest themselves.
Nicole Belle @ 77:
Blogosphere celebrities are no celebrities.
I wish stupidity caused physical pain.
Rasputin @ 87:
If your comments in bold are meant towards me, then it is obvious you either can't read, can't realize when someone is using snark, and lack education about Greek architecture.
If you answer yes to any of these, then you will see who the jackass is when you look in the mirror. If it wasn't meant towards me, and was directed towards the morons making this an issue, then please accept my apologies.
CMINCA @ 88:
My car has a lot of rust. Bumper stickers are cheaper than paint, and I appreciate your opinion.
the pubelicans are idiots, plain and simple.
after these last 8 years only an idiot (or one on the take or in on the fix) could support these failed bastards.
General Jack D. Ripper @ 37:
This post brought me back to the first election Bush stole. I was a house manager in a group home for persons being integrated into the community from the state mental hospital. There was a big push to register them to vote. One individual kept proclaiming that she was going to vote for Bush because he made good beer.
At the time I did wonder how many of the members of our communities associated the last name with their vices and therefore would vote for him. Unfortunately as I have noted over and over again, too many of the people in this country are on auto pilot and don't think they just react.
As Kucinich said, wake up America! We don't have time to keep hitting the snooze button. You all must wake up now and think about what your are leaving for your children and grandchildren. This is probably the very last chance we will ever have of staving off a complete dictatorship along with concentration camps to stifle those who disagree.
Turn off your reality shows and comedies and start to pay attention. Ask yourselves why the Republican party is once again going to nominate the dumbest person they can find? Could it be so those who pull the strings can hide in the background and completely control the president? McCain may have made a wonderful president years ago but now something is very wrong and he isn't capable of running his own life let alone a country. He is no more then a shell of the man he once was and the Republican party is using him. It is really pathetic. We can not afford to allow another mindless puppet to take over the oval office.
It is time to wake up and listen to what the parties are saying. It is time to take our country back from those who have hijacked our government and not vote for their puppet.
The only real choice is Barack Obama!
The repubelicons have nothing to run on except fear.
Anybody who would allow this manufactured fear to creep into their heart deserve what they get.
Republicans: absolutely, positively, terrific COMPLAINING about non-issues like a stage set. How pathetic they are.
Doing something constructive like capturing bin Laden? Absolutely, positively, terrific DOING NOTHING!
tina @ 98:
True dat. Hey Republicans what have you done for me lately? NOTHING!
cheesesauce @ 82:
I caught the closing minutes of a new reality game show. They see who has the best dog. At the close of the show they had a logo up "In Dog We Trust".
You would think, with all their repressed homosexuality the Rethuglicans would not only welcome the Greek columns but they might try to steal them for their own convention.
Then at the RNC they can all wear Toga's and use individual wide-stance bathroom stalls decorated in "POW" minimalist style with only a tube of "Larry Cherry" Lube for "decoration".
As long as the Republicans are attacking the Democrats on set decoration, the Democrats are winning. I'd like to see a nice loooooooooooooooooooong debate about this to distract the Right Wing smear machine.
They would prefer a nice landscape with big cotton fields.
That's the ticket.
What's the big deal? The backdrop looks nearly identical to the greek amphitheater barely a mile away in Denver's Civic Center park, the heart of Colorado and Denver's government. Which would make sense, you know, seeing as how the conventions in Denver and all.
Picture here: http://www.colorado.gov/dpa/doit/archives/tour/pcde3.htm
Native Texan @ 100:
Did you hear the one about the dyslexic agnostic? He keeps wondering to himself if there really is a dog.
cg @ 105:
I have that t-shirt ... honest!
Okay, but geez, the pictures I've seen of the set are pretty cheesy looking!!! I mean you KNOW these columns are like plastic or styrofoam or something!
If I were Obama I'd go out on stage and look around and say, Gee, I feel like I ought to be wearing a toga.
Okay, but geez, the pictures I've seen of the set are pretty cheesy looking!!! I mean you KNOW these columns are like plastic or styrofoam or something!
If I were Obama I'd go out on stage and look around and say, Gee, I feel like I ought to be wearing a toga.
And OMG, thank you so much for this link:
Bush at the 2004 convention:
I laughed so hard at the walking flags!!! HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHA
Temple? Temple?!? Has no one seen the Stoia that lined 1 side of the forum in ancient Athens?
All speeches of any public import were made there.
Athens was the foundation on which our government was built, Neoclassical architecture defines our capital.
To not have some reference to these things would be a radical departure from tradition & he would be attacked for having no respect for history.
Way to go petty bourgeoisie democratic party not even offering this counter frame.
P. Merew @ 104:
As a Denverite, I first saw the stage as a reflection of our great parks and government buildings. I was also going to bring up Civic Center Park, but there is also Cheesman Park, another mile east on Capitol Hill, which also has a Parthenon styled structure.
Or how about the Byron White Courthouse downtown, home of the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals.
Or the State Capitol Building to the east of Civic Center Park, or the City and County Building to the west.
Yep, you'll find Greek columns all over downtown Denver. That's because we are elitists and think we are Gods.
Greek Revival meets Geek Ribald
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the columns of their architecture.
Snerd
The NeoCon Column Carbuncle ...
Look folks, Obama is just practicin'
Snerd
p.s. I thought a ca(R)b Uncle was the term for an oil man contributing to the Mc'Cane' campaign
goopers don't want anyone to notice that Rome is burning...freaks them out and they start smashing violins.
Yeah, poor ol' Rush. I'm sure he's ready to have an aneurysm.
http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k121/nJbsd-58/Page_1-3.jpg
Has anybody else caught on to the Republican Rosanne Rossannadanna Offense. "It's always something."
When they overstep it is truly hilarious. As with the tire inflation flap. Old Newt is still trying to salvage something out of that one. There is a great parody McCain commercial attacking the Obama children.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/andy-borowitz/new-mccain-ad-attacks-oba_b_...
politicians are sol full of shite
http://www.clipjunkie.com/SNL---Marble-Columns-vid1119.html
Go obama and yes grasp those straws losers to be--the polls are totally out of touch. Landlne phones? who answers those? and some of us never respond to pollsters anyway. does that mean our votes count for less come November?
I'm willing to bet there are hundreds of examples of official government buildings in our beloved U.S.A. that have columns in front of them. Not just the ones in Washington, but statehouses, governor's mansions, city halls, etc.
Are Republicans advocating we tear down all these columns? Is this an official plank in the Republican Party platform?
Every time you think they can't do something more pathetically small-minded, they go and surprise you.
Columns.
Teh stupid... it hurts....
Someone needs to make a slideshow of every single Republican in recent memory every time they posed in front of columns. We should hammer this one home. It's got legs to show how dimwitted the Repubs nowadays really are.
I think the only thing that kept my head from exploding upon reading this was the delicious Beck's Oktoberfest I'm drinking :)
When I first heard the faux outrage of the day regarding the temple claim, I wondered if those stating it actually realized that most federal buildings are built in that style. Now that I see the actual "temple," I am perplexed as to when they started having windows installed in them. You just have to laugh at the wingnuts, they are so quick to poke fun that they don't realize that they are the butt of the joke.
Behold the Greek Temple with windows and US flags that most resembles a court house.
There's a reason you didn't link to my mom, Ann Althouse. Because if you had provided the link, people could see that she recognized the exact point you said she didn't understand! (See the "7:51" entry here.)
The Althouse post that Nicole Belle is talking about here is extremely short. Surely she must have seen the reference to Greek architecture used in federal buildings.
So apparently this website is aptly named. At least the "liars" part, as applied to Nicole Belle.
Nicole: Your mom has clearly raised you well to come to her defense. I generally don't give right wing blogs links. Period. Full stop. Is that why your mom is upset? Because she didn't have a problem with John Amato calling her a drunk as long as he gave her a link. Our readers know how to use the Google. They know how to look up an article. And they're not shy about telling me when I'm off base.
I didn't lie. Your mom asked if Obama was trying to look like a phony Greek god:
See, here's the thing. Our readers are pretty smart about the way conservatives frame issues. The question mark doesn't absolve your mom of putting out the meme of some attempt to deify Obama, which was then picked up by all those other sites, Red State, Drudge, etc. (notice I don't give them links either). Then it got on to the mainstream media news coverage. Ann should be proud of that, having Wolf Blitzer parrot her question to Obama campaign staff. The media doesn't parrot the liberal blogosphere, even when we get better traffic than you and in general, have been right more often and have facts to back up our assertions, rather than the truthiness that forms most news reporting on the right.
Isn't it funny how that works? Sorry if your mom is offended. I'm offended by the meme too.
My thoughts were initially that the Greek revival pays homage to the orgins of Democratic and reasoned thought, and early orators, such as Demosthenes, Perecles, Seneca, and yet it also brings Rome to mind, and my all time favorite Roman, Cicero. Being that we are in such times, Obama is charged with a similar function as Cicero-preserving the Republic.
This post is an embarrassment, Nicole. You owe me an apology. You say you won't "dignify" me with a link, but a link would show that my original post said "So is this stage set going to seem like a Greek temple, with Obama as some phony god — from somewhere in Europe — or is it going remind us of the federal government — with Obama looking simply presidential?" What you have written here is nonsense and an underhanded, dishonest slur. Fix it!
Nicole: I'm sorry you were offended that I caught out your Republican framing. I was offended by it too. But your son made sure you got the link you wanted. See, Ann, the question at the end of it doesn't stop it from furthering a dishonest conservative smear. Fox News does it all the time: "Barack Obama: Terrorist Sympathizer? Secret Muslim? Phony Greek God?" So spare me the underhanded, dishonest charge...when Drudge picks up your meme, we know who's being dishonest.
See, we're smarter than that here. We see through that. But hey, congrats on having a parrot in Wolf Blitzer. That's so cool.
Oh, and Ann? Our readers know how to look up a site. You're not that hard to find. They'd tell me in a New York minute if I was off base.
They're just jealous we have the majority of the Gay population on our side who can build FABULOUS sets!
That's also why you won't see any log cabins....
Ann Althouse @ 123:
I wouldn't dignify it either with a link. Nor will I dignify it by looking it up. I could care less about Ann who?
Nicole wrote: "I’m sorry you were offended that I caught out your Republican framing. I was offended by it too."
Quote my text and demonstrate why it is "Republican framing." You didn't catch me out. I caught you out. You are just plain wrong about what I wrote and you owe me an apology. I'm not grasping for a link. I'm saying you were dishonest to write about something without providing the text or a link and getting it wrong. You should be ashamed of yourself, but you're not even admitting that you got it wrong.
Your writing is incredibly childish. You just insult and call people stupid. Meanwhile, you are misreading things, which is demonstrably stupid. Shape up.
And you think your readers would correct you? Did any of them? I'm not going to read a hundred posts to find out. But you need to put a correction in the text of the post. You have embarrassed yourself, and you continue to embarrass yourself.
You say your readers will look things up, but did they? Probably not. You misrepresented me, and they probably took it on faith. I'm writing here to say that faith is undeserved. You have been dishonest. Fix it.
Nicole: Ann, I simply do not and will not take orders from you. The hubris of you to think I would. I quoted you in your son's post above for everyone to see and I explained why it's conservative framing. Twice. I was not dishonest; you were the one who asked if they were trying to make Obama look like a phony Greek God. The framing of the meme as a question does not absolve you of the meme. Now I've explained it three times.
And please, spare me the victim cries. Your feelings got hurt? Toughen up. I've put up with more bullshit from conservative bloggers without throwing a temper tantrum. I've seen your insults, Ann, on others. You're treading pretty high on the hypocrisy ladder to call my writing childish when you lose it over a blogger having the nerve to possess breasts in front of Bill Clinton.
"...a series of columns behind from which Obama will appear...."
behind from which?
Sound like W wrote that one
So where is this Greek temple? I'm watching Obama's speech and I'm not seeing a Greek temple.
Boy. I never realized that the name "Crooks and Liars" was self-referential.
Nicole: John wanted me to thank Ann Althouse for the additional traffic.
Nicole, you are showing the kind of person you are. You will not admit you are wrong. But you are. Why doesn't that bother you? Does fairness mean nothing? Do you not want to be known as someone who reads and interprets well? You are making trash out of John Amato's blog. I hope he calls you out on it. I had thought this was a good blog, but you are not an honest blogger. You should just fix it. That isn't an "order." It is a request to make something that is wrong right. Stomping your foot and insisting you are right and hurling more insults is not very impressive. You are a poor blogger but apparently that's the way you like it.
Nicole: John is aware of this exchange. I've copied him on all of it. I haven't stomped my foot; I've patiently explained to you three times why you are pushing a false meme that the conservative blogosphere has been only too happy to echo through out and has even reached its tentacles into the MSM. That's what we do here, Ann. Look for false memes in the media. By the way, I heard Brokaw echoed it too. You're reaching top echelon MSM.
If I am in fact "making trash" of Amato's blog, tell me, why have we been honored over and over and seen an increase in traffic since I've started blogging? We're in the top ten of political blogs--liberal and conservative, Ann. Could it be because we're actually a "good" blog?
By the way, "you owe me an apology" and "Fix it" are orders. You are not in any position to order me. And I do admit that I'm wrong on occasion. I just don't think I was wrong. I watched how that small little post of yours snowballed through the blogosphere. I heard Wolf Blitzer say what you wrote verbatim. You may not realize that you had this kind of influence, and I'm glad that I've brought it to your attention.
So any possible criticism of Obama that gets picked up my right wing people you don't like is a republican meme? Boy I'd hate to see the names you call Hillary!
Pbundy @ 130:
OK, I admit it. I went to her site to see what was going on over there. I was very impressed with all 11 comments.
Just a bunch of GOP haters getting their nut.
Ms Althouse is a spiteful hack. You know, your garden variety GOP blogger hack.
Nothing to see here folks, move on.
Republicans are envious of the set and what it represents in their little minds. When they see it, they see Greek gods and goddesses and long to have their mythical powers. When a Democrat (or anyone in a party other than Republican) see it, they see a stage designed with columns that just so happen to reflect Greek architecture (Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian) much like a good many buildings in DC and around this country and the world.
I went to check out Ann's blog too. Apparently she asked : Is Obama's stage going to look like a Greek temple or is it going to look like federal buildings?
So yeah, it is unfair to say she doesn't know that Obama's stage looks like federal buildings. It's also pretty clear that this stage was altered to soften the impact of these criticisms. Those panes inbetween columns were not part of the original design that I saw (those computer generated animations).
And if "You owe me an apology" is an order, then I guess I've had a long-term misunderstanding of what an order is.
A lot of people on Althouse's blog are claiming they are getting banned for making statements like this one. I'm a lifelong Democrat who thinks Althouse doesn't have a serious or even readable blog, so if this tent ain't big enough for my observations, I'm afraid this blog has a problem.
Keep in mind that extremely liberal opinions seem to run amok on Althouse's blog (at least tonight... I barely ever read there).
I should restate... Althouse's commenters are complaining that they are getting permabanned here for making a single comment supporting Althouse's view, as I just did.
Is that true?
{ You're reading you own comment aren't you? SiteMonitor}
the main issue in terms of your deceptiveness is that you included this paragraph without referencing the fact that she also alluded to the point you wanted to make (the crux of your argument):
she clearly referred to the fact that it could be a white house message as opposed to a columns message and yet you selectively paraphrased her (which for a site supposedly obsessed with the truth is absurd--considering you could have just quoted her and don't even have to give her hits by linking her to do that)..and then you ran with that selective quote in order to start a narrative of her ignorance of the fact that Obama might want to present a white house-esque background
the real hypocrisy comes now when you're trying to change the name of the game...no longer are you sticking to the argument in the original post about her supposed ignorance of what the columns might allude to but instead you've gone to the 'even if you mention both its conservative framing' argument with the ubiquitous appeal to that great scourge--fox news...
You can't even reiterate your original argument in the comments because you realize you've been exposed! Here's a website which prides itself on supposedly exposing mistruths has just selectively tried to slander a political opponent as ignorant and then realizing that argument has been demonstrably refuted have changed their argument to one which claims its still 'evil conservative framing'
Then again with commentators who grade blogs based upon comment counts and who don't even care to listen to the other side, I guess the actual intellectual threshold for your and john's posts aren't very high (though this is what I get for going to the left's equivalent of newsbusters).
The Big O,
that seems to be the crux of Ann's displeasure. The attack on Ann is that she's too stupid to know that federal buildings in DC look greek. And Ann actually said that was one of two possibilities for this stage.
So by misstating her that much, and not quoting, and not even linking when Ann was just making a joke in the first place (not linking is kinda rude... Ann linked this post, after all), I think Ann has a legit case that this blog was unfair.
I didn’t lie. Your mom asked if Obama was trying to look like a phony Greek god:
If you didn't like, then you have a reading problem. As the quote you've chosen shows, she is not asking if what he is trying to do. Rather it is asking what the result will be. To me the context is clear that what Ann was referring to was the possibility that it might be taken the wrong way either 1) unintentionally or 2) deliberately by people trying to poke fun at him. Come on, the boys from Spinal Tap didn't intend for their Stonehenge replica to be 18 inches tall either :)
When I saw the first pictures of the unfinished product I commented it looked like the Lincoln Memorial, which is a more faithful replica of Greek temple architecture than, say, the White House (which is Palladian, really) or other capital buildings. Once I saw the finished product I freely admitted that it no longer looks that way and that in fact it should be quite nice. And you know what? Ann's post held out both possibilities.
like -> lie in that first sentence above. Sorry.
You know, it's sufficient that this blog asserts something without citation, and then refuses to provide a citation when the attacked claims the attack was in error.
Saying 'I heard about it on CNN' when you have access to the internet is completely unfair, too.
This blog does seem to have a problem with Althouse. I googled and see a lot of anger (and just checking out these comments seem to show a lot of hostility). I'm sure Althouse did something to bother you beyond joking about that girl at the Bill Clinton photo-op (that was kinda funny, right?). I'm just wondering, why is Althouse getting such personal attacks? Seems like conservative women get hit a lot harder then the men to.
I'm a liberal feminist woman, and Althouse's focus on the fashion aspects of serious stuff always annoys me when I bother to read her blog, but it is odd that women are getting bashed in a way men probably aren't.
Just look at this blog's retorts: Dismissive and laughing, instead of posting a link. Cat-fightish demands that 'I don't have to take orders from you', imply this is about defeating Althouse, not being fair and honest.
This is a sad distraction from an awesome speech by Obama, but I have to stick up for Althouse because the credibility burnt in this post means credibility that won't be there for future posts about Mccain, Halliburton, etc.
With all due respect: Althouse deserves a total retraction and apology for the original post, and another apology for the unprofessional way her legitimate complaint was laughed off.
Wow!
Ann Althouse is notoriously thin skinned. No doubt about that.
It always cracks me up when her son steps into these things but I guess we all would do the same for our moms - "Hey - quit being mean to my Mom".
Was it unfair to quote a bit out of context? Maybe. Was it unfair to not include a direct link? Maybe. I guess you'll have to take that up with the International Bloggers Conduct Council.
My guess is that Ann just had one too many bottles of Shiraz.
And yes..."Fix it." is an order.
All in all a classic Althousian moment.
Blaine, perhaps Ann is thin-skinned, in fact, it's pretty likely.
but Ann is right on this one. This post is extremely off the mark. In fact, it is telling the very opposite of the truth about her. She asks (or orders) this blog to tell the truth about it, and is laughed off. You insult her for someone wanting to defend their mom (I didn't notice her son on here... but maybe I just missed that: link please).
When a conservative man demands a retraction he's given a link. When Althouse asks for one (and from what I've seen there is 0% doubt that this blog is wrong), she's called a pathetic mommy, think skinned, a drunk, etc.
You say the quote was a bit out of context. There was no quote whatsoever. This blog simply lied. There is no other way to describe it, is there? you laugh about the unfairness, blaine, but if you were lied about in front of millions of people, you would not be laughing.
Althouse is sticking up for herself the way all women have to. She can be pretty damn silly, but if this is a classic Althousian moment, then Ann Althouse is a strong woman asking to be treated fairly. It is utterly distracting from Obama's awesome speech.
I hate seeing Republicans call Obama a socialist and I hate seeing Democrats call Mccain a "Repug" or whatever, but even more childish is the idea that defending this blog, laughing at it lying, and refusing to be fair, is somehow productive.
Obama doesn't want to be defended this way. Call Althouse stupid. Vain. Missing the point. All that is legit.
But don't lie about her, and when she points out a seriously lame lie about her, admit you goofed and apologize. That's much more in line with the dignity we're trying to convey, isn't it? If not, then we're on different sides, even if we both oppose 4 more years.
I am sick and tired of all the hatred. Ann has a temperamental reputation, but she isn't a liar (or I'm sure I'd see a link here about it). This blog needs to be able to compete on those grounds.
Ah, the unbearable whining of Althouse. She set out to live-blog tonight's event and spent most of the evening whining. Ironic, since that is McCain's complaint -- too much whining. And yet the night is consumed by the whining of her biggest fan: Ann Althouse.
In classic Althouse form, she became more important than the story she claimed to be covering. And now she's lying -- yes, lying -- about people being banned over here for defending her. I came over and saw posts defending her. But who was banned? Where is the evidence, Ann? One would not think it necessary to tell a law professor that assertions are not facts.
I wish she would let me do her hair. She needs to curl her ends, and get some body and volume into that hairdo of hers.
Ann Althouse: Hosiery is your friend! A good pair of nylons can be found, cheap, at Walgreens, and you won't regret it. Your students will thank you.
Ditch the tank-tops. At your age a woman needs a bit of a sleeve. It's more flattering to the upper arm.
Joe Welch,
If you have a problem with lying, you don't have to go all the way over to althouse's blog to see it, as she has accurately reported lies right here. In fact, you insisting that Althouse has said someone was deleted is actually a lie seems to be based on nothing. You just assume she's wrong. If no one was banned, then indeed Althouse owes this blog an apology. do you admit that? Because if you do, you also have to admit that this blog owes her several.
And my posts pointing out how lame it is that this blog takes a historic moment and decides to spoil it by lying about Althouse were posted long after the other defender (if there was one) was deleted.
You know, Althouse doesn't write about this blog much, at least as far as I know, but this blog seems to be facinated with her. The commenters here seem to genuinely hate her find her not even deserving basic fairness. you, Joe Welch, seem to really want to put that girl in her place. Why? She isn't asking for anything but the truth. She didn't say Obama was trying to look like a God. She said that his stage could be meant to look like DC buildings (and this blog called her stupid for not being aware that this stage looked like DC buildings).
The anger is being directed against Althouse so long after it's been proven she's right on this stupid distracting issue. Why? What does Joe Welch get out of lying about Ann Althouse (you are saying she doesn't know anyone was deleted... but you can't possibly know that)?
She could really benefit from one of my glamour-girl makeovers. I have a mind to show up at that law school, cosmetics and curling iron in hand, and restyle her hair, and redo her makeup right in front of the class.
I just noticed that indeed Ann's son came here to defend her in post 122. My mistake.
It's absolutely devastating, and the acidy response about how this blog refuses to link conservative blogs speaks to the core of what's wrong with this blog. Why would you want to live in an echo chamber? If conservative blogs were books on your shelf, would you burn them? Why is Althouse happy to link to this blog and say,"this is what a lie looks like" and this blogger has a policy against linking to those she disagrees with?
Nicole's style of linking is like a normal blogger... linking to the facts she is asserting, such as in this very post where she notes Ann complained about that Bill Clinton fawner with the sexy shirt. You see, that's what blogs are about... you specify facts and link them. But nicole just links her own blog. It's very odd, in my opinion. This is a major and respected blog, and it should be trying to welcome discussion and convince people. Echo chambers are for idiots. I'd expect this kind of childishness on Free Republic.
Can I just ask why Althouse's son has an earring in his ear? It does nothing for him, especially if he's trying to enter the corporate world.
His fashion sense is a bit off. He always cuffs his jeans, but why not just have them hemmed ? Just take a scissors and chop 'em. It'd look better than cuffs.
Also, both Althouse sons need to grow out their hair.
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