Conservatives express outrage at art, public yawns October 24, 2010
Posted by Evil Bender in wingnuts.add a comment
It seems Brent Bozell just got around to noting that people are offended by art, and that’s okay as long as the artists is liberal or the art can be seen as anti-Christian. Most of his piece is the usual gibberish of the “government shouldn’t do things that offend me–now where are my wars of aggression, laws locking up pot smokers, and institutionalized homophobia” type. But he also makes some time to implicitly endorse those who destroy others’ property, as long as that property is artwork:
The artistic elites like to pretend that they’re the sophisticates, and their opponents are the uneducated brutes. But looking at weird and junky cartooning like Chagoya’s just makes you think the vandalism here wasn’t committed by the lady with the crowbar, but by the guy with the paints.
(h/t Sadly, No!)
File this one under “makes sense only for a party not interested in governance” March 27, 2010
Posted by Evil Bender in Politics, wingnuts.add a comment
Which is just to say that the conservative movement from 1964-2009 was a giant failure. By nominating Goldwater, it invited a massive progressive win that all the subsequent conservative wins were unable to undue. But the orthodox conservative tradition of ‘64 is that it was a great success that laid the groundwork for the triumphs to come.
Which is to say that it’s not just a movement incapable of thinking seriously about the interests of the country, it can’t think rigorously about its own goals. 2009-2010 has already seen the greatest flowering of progressive policy since 1965-66. No matter how well Republicans do in the 2010 midterms, the right will never fully roll back what the 111th Congress has done. And yet, as Andrews suggests, if they win seats in 2010, conservatives will consider their behavior during 2009-10 to have been very successful.
Republican political strategy for the last 45 years makes no sense at all if you believe the people currently running the Republican Party care about governance. On the other hand, if you take the view, as I do, that the current crop of Republicans don’t give a damn about governing, any more than they care about controlling the size of government or doing what’s best for the American people–if you take that view, then it’s not surprising that their strategies are so unsuccessful at advancing conservative positions.
But if what Republican leadership really cares about is amassing personal power, looting the system on behalf of the rich, and destroying confidence in government then the Republican strategy makes perfect sense. Drumming Frum out of a job for daring to criticize a particular tactic, then, makes perfect sense, since reasonable opposition in order to maximize one’s input in shaping policy isn’t really a concern for most Republican leadership.
If I was actively rooting for the destruction of the entire world January 6, 2010
Posted by Evil Bender in wingnuts.add a comment
I suppose I’d be opposed to science fiction, too. When you’re seeking the destruction of humanity and the end of life on earth, you’re not likely to find much pleasure or instruction in sci fi.
[h/t PZ]
Sarah Palin’s dangerously unhinged rhetoric on Israel November 19, 2009
Posted by Evil Bender in Sarah Palin, wingnuts.5 comments
I didn’t expect to be blogging on Sarah Palin this week. I’m disgusted by the attention she’s receiving by virtue of being a petty, vindictive, self-aggrandizing idiot . But when I saw this over at FDL, I knew I had to say something:
I believe that the Jewish settlements should be allowed to be expanded upon, because that population of Israel is, is going to grow. More and more Jewish people will be flocking to Israel in the days and weeks and months ahead. And I don’t think that the Obama administration has any right to tell Israel that the Jewish settlements cannot expand.
That is, as Blue Texan at FDL points out, incredibly stupid. But that misses the larger issue: this is a clear dog-whistle to the most extreme and crazy of Evangelicals, because the whole “flocking to Israel” thing is code for “the Rapture and Tribulation are coming soon.” Palin is sending a clear message that she thinks the world is ending soon, and Jesus Christ will save the true believers.
We’ll need to watch closely to see if she gives hints on whether she thinks Obama is the Antichrist. I’m not kidding.
Bush was Evangelical, but Palin looks to be positioning herself as something more: a radical religionist who appears to honestly believe the world is soon coming to an end. And “Country First” John McCain would have put her one heartbeat from the Presidency.
I don’t have a joke here, folks. This should be absolutely terrifying to anyone who follows the Fundies.
Certain people just shouldn’t make certain arguments November 4, 2009
Posted by Evil Bender in Morality, Religion, wingnuts.1 comment so far
I probably won’t be posting much in the future: the semester has me buried in work, and I just picked up Dragon Age: Origins.
I do have to note, though, that scumbag convicted felons/political hacks probably aren’t wise to lecture on the immorality of atheists. When your opponents need do nothing but refer to your biography to refute your thesis, you’ve made a tactical error.
Seriously, wingnuts, you’ve got to stop this October 22, 2009
Posted by Evil Bender in Humor, wingnuts.3 comments
Dear Wingnuts,
Please, please, please stop publishing lists of “Top Conservative ________.” Yes, they’re unintentionally hilarious, and yes, they’re misguided, and yes, their obsessive concern with ideological purity is creepily totalitarian. But that’s not why you should stop–if you stopped doing all those things, what would you feel countless pages at WingnutDaily and ClownHall? No, you need to stop because it’s been scientificially proven* that laughing too hard can cause one to “blow a funny fuse,” to use the technical term, and if I read one more of these lists, I won’t be able to laugh again for years.
Then I’d have no choice but to take you seriously, and frankly we both know you’re not up to that.
So please, stop publishing these lists. Do it for the laughter!
Kisses,
EB
*no it hasn’t.
Wingnut, distilled to pure form October 1, 2009
Posted by Evil Bender in wingnuts.1 comment so far
I give you Red State’s Erick Erickson, who is threatening to disband his police department rather than let police unionize.
Just toss that link to anyone who says wingnuts are about anything but helping the rich shit on everyone else.
Bob Barr ups the crazy September 9, 2009
Posted by Evil Bender in wingnuts.add a comment
We knew Bob Barr was nuts, but it seems he’s gone going for the rare triple-winger reverse. If he sticks the landing, he’ll be Palin’s VP nod.
This particularly irks me because of the many hugely important (and bipartisan) roles of the census.
In case you were wondering, by the way, here’s Barry Sotero’s latest Marxist Fascist plot in all its glory. We’ve reached so low that teaching children about a Constitutionally mandated program that benefits everyone is an evil child slave labor government spying evil school program.
I’m seriously about an inch from stocking up on dog food and garden supplies and hunkering down in Canada for a few decades.
