I know our readers don't want a to read a lot about Tiger's latest sexpacades story and I'm not commenting on any of that here. I have been checking out the Sports Villagers to see how they have been handling it, and that's been pretty fascinating to watch, since golf makes so much money from Tiger. This post is a twofer and the first comment I have is that the new Nike ad really creeped me out.

How many focus groups were used by Nike on this ad for them to believe this was a good spot? Was it Ari Fleischer's idea to use his dead father's voice to try and convince people that they should have some pity and sympathy for Tiger after he crashed and burned. Using Earl Woods' voice to sell Nike products was really egregious.

Second, the holier-than-thou head of The Masters, Billy Payne, sounded like a teabagger when he blasted Tiger publicly too. A nice old white Master telling Tiger how bad he is. Jesus. This is the club that didn't allow blacks into their midst until 1990 and still doesn't allow women in. When you have a shred of ground on which to claim moral superiority, then maybe you can talk. Until then, please STFU.

George Vecsey ripped them apart.

They are worse than we knew.

The people who run the Masters are not just stubborn rich guys who don’t want female members cluttering up their precious fairways, although that is bad enough.

Members stood around Wednesday and listened to Billy Payne, the grand pooh-bah of the Masters, deliver a mean-spirited lecture about the private life of Tiger Woods. The other members in attendance did not rush up and sedate Payne, or slap duct tape over his rude mouth, or jeer him down. They let him continue. Ol’ Billy probably wasn’t saying anything the other men in the green jackets hadn’t thought.

Without being asked, Payne launched into a prepared statement at his annual pretournament news conference, saying Woods had “disappointed all of us, and more importantly, our kids and our grandkids.”

He added: “Our hero did not live up to the expectations of the role model we saw for our children.”

Remind me again why we are supposed to talk in reverent tones about the Masters. Because it stands for money and power and the exclusion of women and goodness knows what hidden messages in the public rebuking of “our hero,” who is part Thai and part African-American.

Just asking, but would Payne have been so quick to deliver his little sermon to a white golfer who was caught straying? My guess is that some kind of double standard whacked Tiger Woods on the backswing. How dare he stray after all they’ve done for him...read on

Is that the reason they call it "The Masters"? Or should it be "The Massuhs"?

Feministe: Hey, anti-tax conservatives...

Mario Piperni: On Health Care and Motives

Instaputz: Bill Bennett, Liar

Vagabond Scholar: Hot For Teachers

Balkinization: Forced to choose between Tiger Woods and Billy Payne, the chairman of Augusta National Golf Club, my loyalties are with Tiger, who is by far the lesser threat to Americans children and grandchildren than the members of Augusta National Golf Club for whom Mr. Payne so sanctimoniously speaks.

ANNALS OF JOURNALISM: Media indifference to murder...Rupert Murdoch has lost it...NPR's gender balance...Journo enablers...Pedalling mob violence... Introducing The Broder-o-Matic!...Crackerjack reporting...Cover-up News Network...WaPo hack...Deficit fascination...Unreal American stories... Dear Networks...CNN Fail...Big wheel...Who covers this?

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There's been no shortage of ugly Obama-bashing at CPAC, of course, but Gov. Tim Pawlenty yesterday hit a real low in comparing President Obama and the "big government" Democrats to Tiger Woods:

Pawlenty: Now at this very hour, or very shortly this morning, a big event is happening in the United States of America: Tigers Woods is holding his press conference. At 11 o'clock Eastern.

Now, I think we can learn a lot from that situation. Not from Tiger, but from his wife. So, she said, 'I've had enough.' She said, 'No more.' I think we should take a page out of her playbook and take a nine iron and smash the window out of big government in this country.

Now, we understand, of course, that this was just a metaphor. Nevermind that it was a ridiculously inapt one: Unlike Tiger Woods, Obama has not broken his vows; he is in fact working largely to enact the very "big government" policies on which he campaigned and for which he was duly elected. Progressives may have an argument with how well he is fulfilling those promises, but conservatives certainly do not.

But did anyone else notice that this was a particularly violent metaphor, one suggestive of people breaking out windows? It inspires images straight out of Kristallnacht.

Of course, like Glenn Beck, Pawlenty will no doubt claim that it was "just a metaphor." But as we observed in regard to Beck:

We understand metaphors and rhetoric at least as well as Beck does. The point ... [is] that this kind of rhetoric, employing violent metaphors, in fact has the effect of inspiring violent responses among its audiences.

It's grotesquely irresponsible -- which is what we have come to expect from movement conservatives anyway.

UPDATE: Yup, Rachel Maddow noticed.

Red State Update prays for Tiger Woods. That good enough for ya, Brit Hume? This video is not safe for work.

Open thread below...

No More Mister Nice Blog: And Quist differs from other Republicans how, exactly?

Angry Bear: The rich *are* different

SCOTUSblog: Wide detention power upheld

The Mahablog: I love this video

The Satirical Political Report: Buddha gets the last laugh on Brit Hume

OFF THE BEATEN PATH: Mario Piperni, plain view, Zen Comix,

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Well, we already knew that torture apologist Andrea Tantaros is a good fit at Fox News, since she is eager to transmit the right-wing talking point du jour -- no matter how scummy or stupid -- with gusto.

She did it again yesterday on The O'Reilly Factor, debating with Alan Colmes over the political fallout from the failed bombing of Flight 253 on Christmas Day. Tantaros trotted out every cheap rhetorical trick in the book -- suggesting that the right-wing attacks on Obama were a matter of "checking the baggage" of the administration and bringing up Van Jones, then comparing Obama to Tiger Woods -- in order to promote the right's favorite new talking point: Obama and the Democrats aren't serious about combating terrorism.

Fortunately, Colmes delivered a righteous smackdown of this kind of cheap smear:

Tantaros: But the point now is that we cannot discount this, we cannot use terms like 'manmade disaster' and go after -- it seems like this administration is more interested in going after Republicans, and going after the previous administration, than going after our real enemies. When you say, 'Don't blame Barack Obama' --

Colmes: That is an outrageous smear, an outrageous smear against an administration that's trying to do the right thing, that cares about this country. The implication that this administration or Democrats don't love America, don't want to protect America, don't want to protect the American people -- that's an outrageous smear against Democrats.

Tantaros: Alan, I don't blame just Barack Obama, like you said, Alan. I blame you, I blame Nancy Pelosi, and I blame the left and the liberals who are trying to weaken our country.

I really do wonder when the Fox talkers are finally going to bring up the issue of how the Bush administration responded in 2001 to a nearly identical attack. My guess is never.

Zina Saunders: Kicked to death

Pushing Rope: Florida GOP appointed officials use "pancake and waffles" code in emails to avoid Sunshine Laws? Were the pancakes served with carbon dioxide? Yum.

Wait. Is Bill Kristol getting his column ideas from Wonkette? I guess they're Not Part of the Problem.

It's been a rough year for Tiger Woods, but he's still bringing home at least one more trophy. Congrats!

And speaking of awards, Susie Bright is a Golden Dukes judge this year: "the Dukes honor excellence in public corruption, betrayals of the public trust, and generally shameless behavior." You can nominate your favorites at her comment thread here.

Mike's away this weekend. Round up by Blue Gal.

Would more people pay attention to Afghanistan if we drafted Tiger Woods? Click here for larger image.

Open Thread below...

Rocco Mediate almost pulled off a huge upset against Tiger Woods. Good for him...

Open Thread below...