Up early to take Kate to school, thought I’d check in with our London desk. The new Mrs. Windsor is just emerging from Westminster Abbey. Look, she’s wearing a dress from David’s Bridal! Love the veil. Very simple, very I’m-not-a-virgin-but-let’s-pretend-just-for-today. But what’s this? It’s CNN, and NO ONE IS TALKING. This may be a miracle. Call the Pope.
It looks like everything went well, then? It seems… OK, here comes the talking. Oh, God, Piers Morgan, lord save us. The dress is Alexander McQueen, not David’s Bridal. I guess that’s not a surprise. Some woman is going on like an idiot about it. It’s a very nice dress, to be sure. I don’t get the equestrian rig. The bride and groom are riding in an open carriage, with no driver, but drawn by a pair of horses, one of which has a rider. I’ve never seen that. What do they call that? He’s posting the trot, and everyone else is sitting it. But they’re still yakking about the dress and “pageantry.” Well, this is certainly a pageant. Shut up, Piers. Let Anderson do the talking. He’s the perfect guy for this job.
I think I’m going to have to move to the web for the details …oh, here they are. They’ll be the Baron and Baroness of Carrickfergus! Let’s sing it together, shall we? The sea is wiiiiide, and I cannot cross oooo-ver… Fortunately, we have satellites now, and we can watch live from our living rooms.
That’s a very pretty dress, but I don’t see the McQueen there. I guess it’s all in the fit and details, but it’s pretty understated for a royal wedding. No Diana here, except for maybe the tiara. Kate’s not even wearing her hair up. How long did it take her to get dressed? Half an hour, tops.
OK, a closeup of the vows. That’s a designer gown. You don’t get a bodice fit like that off the rack.
Something else I learned today: Kate’s sister is named Philippa, Pippa for short. I’ve always wondered how English girls get called Pippa. Now I know.
It looks like it was a pleasant enough affair. Very 21st century. I turned on BBC America for the last half-hour of my shift last night, and it was All Diana, All the Time. Every time I think I’ve forgotten her brother’s awful funeral speech, there he is again — a gehl who was beloved by the wehld. I’ve been on Team Camilla for a while, especially today in her sombrero hat. You can tell she’s dying for a gin and tonic.
We’ve been waiting for a new generation, and I guess it’s here. Many baby princes and princesses for you, Baron and Baroness Carrickfergus.
So what’s on the bloggage tray today?
After I die, I hope someone is around to write something like this about me. A wonderful appreciation of the unsung heroes of newsrooms — the copy editors. An early spotter of talent in our own Hank Stuever, in fact.
When Viagra came on the market, lots of people knew it would be used in ways many of us never expected, but maybe not like this.
I saw a story last night on the AP wire that said Donald Trump, swiftly approaching She-Who stage in my book, made a “profanity-laced” appearance in Vegas, to a wildly adoring audience of morons. It being AP, none of the profanities were detailed. This being Gawker, they were:
On taxing Chinese goods: “Listen you mother fuckers we’re going to tax you 25 percent.”
Sorry to end on such a vulgar note, after opening with royalty, but what can I say? I am an American.
Happy weekend, all.
coozledad said on April 29, 2011 at 9:27 am
They call that “riding postilion”. They used that for artillery transport and for early stagecoaches. I don’t know what the advantage is, unless it’s being able to free a stuck carriage better.
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Jeff (the mild-mannered one) said on April 29, 2011 at 9:30 am
from “Pippa Passes”
The year’s at the spring
And day’s at the morn;
Morning’s at seven;
The hill-side’s dew-pearled
The lark’s on the wing;
The snail’s on the thorn;
God’s in his Heaven –
All’s right with the world!
Robert Browning (1812-1889)
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Bob (not Greene) said on April 29, 2011 at 9:31 am
What strikes me is that the couple gets only Baron and Baroness titles. That’s pretty low on the pecking order. I guess that’s William’s comeuppance for marrying too far below his station. No duchess or countess for her. And for their barony, they get banished to Ireland to boot!
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prospero said on April 29, 2011 at 9:47 am
Sitting the trot? Tres uncomfortable, unless you’re Catherine the Great, who thought of it as foreplay. And now we know that Pippa comes from some toddler little brother’s speech impediment. Can anybody be twee that isn’t a Brit? Bob (NG), banished to Ireland? That’s a blessing, but they really should abdicate those titles and give it back.
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Deborah said on April 29, 2011 at 9:47 am
Nancy, another great post. Your wedding commentary was the best I’ve heard or read yet.
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prospero said on April 29, 2011 at 9:53 am
This should be the first dance at the reception. And the royal birth countdown starts today. Any word from the royal OB-GYN? That’ll be another Westminster spectacular at great cost, I take it.
Wisconsin recall wars. Wow. I suppose this is just a run-of-the-mill political story, sort of thing happens every day. That’s why it’s not burning up the interwerwebs and you have to go to a politics junkie site or a Wisconsin paper to find out about this rather stunning development.
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MarkH said on April 29, 2011 at 10:12 am
Good God, Nancy, Trump went from zero-to-60 trillion beyond Palin weeks ago. Positively makes her look like Margaret Thatcher. Well, maybe not. Liddy Dole, perhaps.
Good point, BobNG. Might as well have gone all the way down to Viscount.
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Jolene said on April 29, 2011 at 10:17 am
Actually, Kate and Will acquired several titles today. To wit:
The Queen has made William the Duke of Cambridge to mark his wedding day and Kate Middleton a Duchess, Buckingham Palace announced. William also became the Earl of Strathearn and Baron Carrickfergus, which means Kate will become the Countess of Strathearn and Baroness Carrickfergus. As well as a duchess, Miss Middleton is also technically Princess William of Wales. According to protocol, she is not officially Princess Catherine as she was not born a princess in her own right. Instead she adopts her husband’s first name, in the same way as Princess Michael of Kent, who married the Queen’s cousin Prince Michael of Kent. All titles are in the gift of the Queen and it was up to the monarch to choose which one to bestow on her grandson and his new wife. But William’s thoughts will also have been taken into account by the royal matriarch in a private discussion between the Prince and his grandmother. Tradition dictates that royal men receive a title on their wedding – and often more than one.
Lots of pics at the link above. Worth checking out to see more of the architecture in the skirt of her dress.
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Julie Robinson said on April 29, 2011 at 10:24 am
Who cares about her dress–I want the Archbishop of Canterbury’s robe!
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Jeff (the mild-mannered one) said on April 29, 2011 at 10:29 am
I want his eyebrows — I have Dick Gephardt’s, instead.
(Note from yesterday to Brian S. — density in any sense of the term is my major failing. I need one of those missing copy editors Nancy sings so sweetly of.)
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Bob (not Greene) said on April 29, 2011 at 10:29 am
Jolene, OK that’s more like it. I mean, handing the dude an Irish barony when he’s second in line for the throne seemed positively punitive to me. Thanks for the full info!
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MichaelG said on April 29, 2011 at 10:32 am
A miracle, Nance? Notify the Vatican right away. They can add it to JP’s sainthood portfolio.
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alice said on April 29, 2011 at 10:32 am
Yeah Team Camilla! Nice to see her there. If I may, from the Two Fat Ladies (start your british accents): “When the King was dying, the queen brought his favorite mistress, Mrs Tuttle, to see him. Now that’s class!” “Wasn’t she Camilla’s grandmother?” “Yes.” “Runs in the family then?” “Yes.”
Did like the dress, not that giant silk cupcake Diana wore, & Kate seems to be a grownup. Wish them well.
Not to suck up to our host, but I do love the name Kate.
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Dorothy said on April 29, 2011 at 10:35 am
Tom and Lorenzo said Camilla’s hat could be useful if they run out of chip ‘n dip containers at the wedding party.
I loved her dress. Not over-the-top – it was just right. Best of all she had lily of the valley in her bouquet, which is my all-time favorite flower.
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jcburns said on April 29, 2011 at 10:43 am
Sammy’s cousin Pippa (who lives up in AA, Nancy) has Barrie as her actual birth certificate name. So there’s no accounting for taken first names. Right, Sammy?
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JMG said on April 29, 2011 at 11:01 am
Dear Ms. Nall. Does your cable system get BBC World? If so, get it. Watching a royal wedding on US cable is like watching the Super Bowl on British TV. Doesn’t fit.
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ROgirl said on April 29, 2011 at 11:11 am
If you’ve ever seen that horrendous show about godawful brides trying on hideous wedding dresses, you’ll realize that this one was ever so tasteful and appropriate for the occasion.
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del said on April 29, 2011 at 11:24 am
The Archbishop in mitre always reminds me of the wedding scene from The Princess Bride:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sbqv3MwwVd8
And here’s Earl Spencer’s funeral speech for Diana:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VUy-wBwBvw
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Eric Zorn said on April 29, 2011 at 11:35 am
`tain’t the sea that’s wide, Nance, it’s the water:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?&v=8HBVdyNOCvk
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LAMary said on April 29, 2011 at 11:47 am
I loved Tom and Lorenzo’s comment about Fergie’s daughters. They’re the new Patsy and Edina. Sweeeetie dahling.
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Sue said on April 29, 2011 at 11:54 am
Prospero, that Wisconsin article was too simplistic. Yes, lots of money has been raised by the Dems, but I believe the big bucks will go to the Republicans in the long run, both in real donations and ad dollars. The biggest money muscle the Dems have will be unions, who even with their funding power will be no match for the national, corporate-backed shadow groups who already stepped in for the Supreme Court race.
It’s going to be awful. I got a phone call from the Alberta Darling camp alleging illegal signature-gathering against her. The call came the day the signatures were scheduled to be turned in, before they had been submitted, and I got the call in spite of the fact that I’m not even in her district. I believe the Republican in the most recent recall submittal doesn’t even have a Dem opponent yet, so there is some confusion in the Dem camps as they try to organize on the fly.
The only people I know with any confidence on the outcome of these elections are hyper-partisans with selective hearing.
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Bitter Scribe said on April 29, 2011 at 11:54 am
It’s too bad she’ll have to dress in styles appropriate to a woman twice her age.
As for Trump, I must be sick or something. Whenever I see him, all I can think of is what would happen if I stuck my fingers in his combover and shook them vigorously.
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Jolene said on April 29, 2011 at 11:59 am
That Viagra story is horrible, but is it plausible? It’s my impression that it works by sustaining or supporting arousal, not by firing people up to act like animals.
The use of rape as a weapon of war, though, is entirely plausible and is apparently common in the years-long struggle in Congo that we never really hear much about.
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Sue said on April 29, 2011 at 12:00 pm
Bitter Scribe, every time I see Trump strutting around and doing that weird thing with his lips I’m reminded of old newsreel footage of Mussolini. I hardly notice that stupid combover but I’m creeped out by the choreographed “Dance of the Fascist” similarity.
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ROgirl said on April 29, 2011 at 12:04 pm
Bitter Scribe, Jon Stewart has already been having fun with the combover. Move the time bar to 6:00 to get the full effect.
http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/wed-april-27-2011/believe-it-or-believe-it—obama-releases-long-form-birth-certificate
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harrison said on April 29, 2011 at 12:06 pm
But what’s this? It’s CNN, and NO ONE IS TALKING. This may be a miracle. Call the Pope.
A miracle, Nance? Notify the Vatican right away. They can add it to JP’s sainthood portfolio.
Folks, since the wedding was in the U.K., I think you ought to give credit for the miracle of silence to Queen Elizabeth and the Archbishop of Canterbury, since she is the Head of the Church and the archbishop is like the prime minister for Anglicans around the world. And the U.K. is their balliwick.
I’ve always liked the name Phillipa, but some reason it’s not a popular one in the U.S. Kind of like Clive and other names i can’t think of now.
Also, here’s an interesting link comparing Queen Elizabeth’s garb with someone else:
http://30.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lkesr6F67i1qdqty0o1_500.jpg
And from what I understand, the reception won’t be televised. Too bad. I’d love to see any, some, or all of the royals get drunk and do the macarena or the electric slide.
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Will said on April 29, 2011 at 12:09 pm
Nancy, as a fan via Hank, I am honored by the mention, and I thank you for helping to tell the world about Barb.
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Jeff Borden said on April 29, 2011 at 12:10 pm
Two things on Donald Trump:
There’s a column in one of the newspapers today saying that Trump is simply the unmasked Id of the Republican Party, saying out loud and into microphones what many other conservatives may think but refuse to share.
And there’s a heartbreakingly passionate rant by a black poet online, where he relates breaking into tears as Trump moved from the birth certificate bullshit to the “terrible, terrible student” who must’ve used affirmative action to get into the Ivy League schools during an appearance in New Hampshire. His tears were prompted by his realization that he will never fully be accepted as an equal American because of his skin color –that no black man will– because if a brilliant, accomplished black man like Obama can achieve the presidency and yet be subjected to these kinds of gutter attacks, what chance does any other person of color have?
Trump is a buffoon. If he were half as smart as he thinks he is, he’d be twice as smart as her really is. The Sun-Times has an item today that “Celebrity Apprentice” advertisers are howling about his race-baiting and that there is real danger to his cheesy hotel empire being affected by his outrageous statements. Way to go, Captain Combover.
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prospero said on April 29, 2011 at 12:11 pm
Sue, sure the Kochs will flood Wisconsin with cash. But the sheer numbers of signatures collected on the recall petitions vs. Republicans is fairly amazing and certainly encouraging. That 2010 mandate seems a little shaky when faced with cold reality of Republican class warfare. What I really fail to understand is how this is practically a non-story, nationally. If it were the Teabags collecting 66%surplus signatures, we’d see 36pt headlines from the “liberal press”.
All about the wedding dress and other details, and the sad demise of Alexander McQueen. This is almost interesting with the personalities included, and another Philippa.
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nancy said on April 29, 2011 at 12:13 pm
Oh contraire, Zorn. “The Water is Wide” is a different song. I’m speaking, of course, of “Carrickfergus.”
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nancy said on April 29, 2011 at 12:24 pm
And “riding postillion,” eh? I wonder what sort of issues that presents when matching teams, as the ridden horse would have an additional burden. I know people who drive horses put a lot more thought into their teams, pair-by-pair, than most people would think. I tried to engage a groom for the Budweiser Clydesdales in a discussion of what goes into choosing the wheel, the swing and the lead pairs, but he was clearly unequipped to answer any questions other than how many carrots the horsies eat.
Prospero, in my riding days I could sit a trot all day. It’s all in the pace, your mount and how flexible your lumbar region is. On my non-jumping days, I would sometimes ride for half an hour, without stirrups, eyes closed as much as possible. A very Zen sport that rewards a certain emptiness of mind. Only when your mind was empty could the horse get in there.
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Jolene said on April 29, 2011 at 12:28 pm
Here’s the rant Jeff mentioned. The guy’s name is Baratunde Thurston. I’m not really familiar w/ his opus, but he’s part poet, part comedian, part pundit, and maybe some other things too.
Last night, David Letterman was explicit about calling Trump’s recent statements racist. Trump is scheduled to appear on his show on May 18, an appearance that was scheduled quite a while ago. Will be interesting to see if he shows up and what they say to each other. I did see, as Jeff mentions, that at least one Trump advertiser–Groupon–had pulled out. Hope there are more.
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nancy said on April 29, 2011 at 12:29 pm
Another English name you don’t hear over here: Alistair. The world needs more Alistairs, if you ask me.
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Sue said on April 29, 2011 at 12:34 pm
Ian.
Niles.
Giles.
Basil.
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Jolene said on April 29, 2011 at 12:43 pm
I especially liked Alistair Darling, who was Chancellor of the Exchequer under Gordon Brown.
Re Groupon, I didn’t have the story quite right. Here’s the story.
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coozledad said on April 29, 2011 at 12:47 pm
I wish I knew more about matching teams. All my mules automatically get in step, but even while they’re pulling they engage in all kinds of subterfuge. The funniest thing is even with eighty pounds of harness (collars, hames, traces, spider, breechen, blinders and bits) they can always find a way to bite the one next to them, and the bickering is constant.
Nigel
EDIT: And how could I forget Viv. As in Vivian Stanshall.
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nancy said on April 29, 2011 at 1:00 pm
OK, I’ve had a chance to look at more pictures now, and may I just say that I hope Victoria Beckham goes to hell for those fucking shoes. I mean: Elevator going DOWN, bitch.
Shoes like that are a blow struck against all womankind. And she’s PREGNANT.
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prospero said on April 29, 2011 at 1:08 pm
Maybe a guy thing on my part, Nancy.
For names, how about St. John (Sinjin) and Cholmondely (Chumley)? And I like the Scots version Alasdair, as in Alasdair Gray, author of Lanark.
Basil should be retired in honor of Rathbone. Another Basil is superfluous.
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Kirk said on April 29, 2011 at 1:14 pm
From royalty to vulgarity, Nance? A short hop. The notion of royalty is pretty damned inherently vulgar.
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Crabby said on April 29, 2011 at 1:14 pm
“Riding postillion” can be seen at Arlington National Cemetery or the funerals of US presidents (FDR, JFK, Reagan)
horse-drawn caisson
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Dexter said on April 29, 2011 at 1:30 pm
My favorite Englishman with a great name to boot is racing superstar Nigel Mansell.
I actually shelled out big bucks for a fancy tee shirt with his race car emblazoned on it(the year he did well at Indy). I bought it in a gift shoppe in the old Indianapolis Union Station festival marketplace in 1994. Ah, the good old days of festival marketplaces such as the ones in Toledo , called “Portside”, and “Water Street Pavillion” in Flint, Michigan, in 1987.
Got off track there…so I forgot about the do-ins until the wrap up at 10:30 local time. I flipped around the channels and saw a bit of each network’s and cable coverage.
I think Barbara Walters may have enjoyed herself the most.
Since I missed so much I will watch the Barbara Walters Special tonight…ABC, I assume.
Didn’t Di have a 25 foot train? Kate’s was managed easily by just one attendant. I know not fashion, but Di’s wedding dress was a lot fancier…right?
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Rana said on April 29, 2011 at 1:39 pm
Jolene – thanks for the pictures. I am very amused by the expressions on the little girls in the “first public kiss” photograph.
I have to say, it’s got to be weird kissing with that kind of attention directed toward you – it’s like that obnoxious glass-clinking that happens at some weddings, times several thousand.
Jeff – here’s a link to the video (with transcript) of Baratunde Thurston speaking about the birth certificate demand. Very emotional. http://shakespearessister.blogspot.com/2011/04/baratunde-thurston-on-indecency-of.html
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Jolene said on April 29, 2011 at 1:40 pm
One more entry re riding postillion.
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prospero said on April 29, 2011 at 1:44 pm
Vivian, sure cooz, girls names for boys, like Evelyn Waugh. Wacky Brits. Of course Bonzo Dog Doodah Band had Garner Ted Armstrong and Harold Wilson in the band, “digging General DeGaulle on the accordion, and Brainiac on banjo.
I’d imagine Ray Davies is watching the wedding coverage in a bar in NOLA with some absinthe.
Maybe Dave too, but much less likely.
Donald Chump’s difficulty with veracity. Well who’d expect a guy that wears that rug or weave or whatever the hell the drowned rat on his head is, to tell the truth about anything?
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Jolene said on April 29, 2011 at 1:51 pm
Rana, Tom and Lorenzo have a ton of pics–in categories, no less. The wedding, the dress, Pippa, the guests, and probably more.
The one re the dress presents a lot of detail that must have been obtained from the designer directly or, indirectly, via the palace. Of possible interest is that much of the handwork was done by the Royal Needlework Society, which was recently featured on the CBS Sunday Morning Show. Working there seems like it would be roughly equivalent to being a medieval monk making illuminated manuscripts, but, watching it, I was somewhat attracted by the idea.
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Dorothy said on April 29, 2011 at 2:16 pm
Jolene the detail about the construction of the dress that I found fascinating was that the seamstresses washed their hands every 30 minutes and they changed needles every 3 hours to be sure the ones they used were always sharp. I want to see what her shoes looked like but so far I haven’t seen even a hint of them under that skirt.
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Hattie said on April 29, 2011 at 2:32 pm
Do I detect snark? Why Nancy!
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LAMary said on April 29, 2011 at 2:34 pm
Basil Fawlty was pretty well known. We need more men named Vivian. Or Evelyn for that matter.
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Joe Kobiela said on April 29, 2011 at 2:41 pm
So just to get this straight, if in the future a black politician would say something along the lines of, oh I don’t know,Trump should get off the golf course or Huckabee should stop going to nascar races, or someone should get out of the yacht club, will I hear the same arguments of racism???
Pilot Joe
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LAMary said on April 29, 2011 at 2:51 pm
Joe, I cannot imagine a scenario of a black person telling a white guy to do any of those things you mention. However, white people have been keeping black people out of yacht clubs and country clubs for a long time, I don’t think racism as a motive is out of the question.
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Jolene said on April 29, 2011 at 3:01 pm
I don’t know about others, Joe, but it’s not “get off the basketball court” that is racist; that’s merely insulting, as it implies that the president isn’t hard-working, which I think he pretty obviously is.
What’s racist is insisting that he’s different, that he’s an outsider, that he’s not one of us and, especially, that he wouldn’t be capable of his accomplishments if he hadn’t had some kind of special help, which is what Trump is implying by wondering how he could possibly have been admitted to Columbia or Harvard.
Even if affirmative action played some role in the admissions process, it doesn’t account for him having been elected editor of the law review–a highly competitive process–or for graduating magna cum laude.
On his blog, Matt Yglesias commented that if affirmative action played some role in Barack Obama’s success, it was working the way it’s supposed to–providing opportunities for very talented people.
But really, there’s no reason to think this. Obama impressed people w/ his intelligence long before he got to Harvard.
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Jolene said on April 29, 2011 at 3:11 pm
Dorothy, I was fascinated by that detail too, and I didn’t find any shoe pictures either. I did find more pictures, though–the British monarchy’s Flikrstream.
The first picture lets you see the lace on the skirt more than some of the other photos. Also lots of behind-the-scenes photos–cake-making, flower arranging, choir rehearsal, security drills. I’m always fascinated by the orchestration of very complex events, so I got a kick out of some of these. Still, I’m glad there isn’t another royal wedding tomorrow.
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moe99 said on April 29, 2011 at 4:19 pm
Joe, first you try to imagine the reality of being descended from a racial group that was enslaved for over 200 years, and for which it has taken 150 years to get where we are today (which is not yet equality), then you can make that comment. So far, I haven’t seen any empathy yet.
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Sue said on April 29, 2011 at 4:28 pm
Well, even Larry Wilmore says this stuff is not about racism.
http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-april-28-2011/longformers—scared-old-people
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alex said on April 29, 2011 at 4:35 pm
Well, as I recall, Joe once insisted here that he himself is more intelligent than Barack Obama. It’s a Joe thing. You wouldn’t understand 😉
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Jeff Borden said on April 29, 2011 at 4:39 pm
The uglier form of “affirmative action” has been noted with regards to Mr. Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, an indifferent student at a private Jewish school who scored low in his boards, his SATs, etc. and who teachers found to be thoroughly mediocre.
But after young Kushner’s father donated $2.5 million to Harvard, Jared was admitted. That, my friends, is affirmative action. BTW, Kushner’s father was a crook who served significant jail time for financial crimes, so it was dirty money that got the wastrel into Harvard.
Joe, I don’t know quite how to respond to your query
I do agree that it’s an easy to throw the term racist around and there’s no question it is abused. I almost gagged when I saw a column by a NYT sports columnist comparing Barry Bonds with Jack Johnson, the black heavyweight at the turn of the century. The columnist suggested Bonds, like Johnson, was being punished because whites hate successful, powerful black men. Utter, laughable bullshit. Bonds is a cheater, just like white men such as Roger Clemens or Hispanic men such as Rafael Palmeiro, Jose Canseco, Manny Ramirez and Sammy Sosa.
But when a walking joke like Donald Trump, born with a silver spoon up his ass, suggests our first black president didn’t deserve admission to a top Ivy League school because he “heard” he was a terrible student, it is absolutely racist. He is playing to white resentment that those black guys get all the breaks. That even Barack Obama, whose story is so quintessentially American, is tarred with this kind of perfidy suggests that no person of color, regardless of their achievements, will ever be considered the equal of white Americans.
I rarely wish violence upon another, but I would love to see someone just sock Trump in the nose for his recent behavior. He’s a loathesome piece of shit. Period.
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Linda said on April 29, 2011 at 4:39 pm
Re: Guys named Vivian et al. An interesting thing to play with is the Baby Name Wizard, which tracks the popularity of names for over 100 years in America, and can be searched not only by name but gender. You can see that Vivian as a name for boys hit its peak at the dawn of the 20th century (about 600th in popularity). For girls, it was at its peak in the 1920s, fell off drastically by the 70s, and is making a comeback. It’s a fun website to trace the rise, fall–and sometimes re-rise of particular names, including those we association with a different gender than we now do.
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coozledad said on April 29, 2011 at 4:43 pm
It’s just too, too easy to make old po’ white jump. George Bush can be grinding Winstons out on Junior Samples’ butt, and say “Look over there, it’s a black’un gonna put his cigarette out on your ass!” And it results in an immediate Pavlovian sweat.
It’s taken four hundred years to perfect the idea of “the noble white dumbfuck” and it’s not going away in our lifetimes.
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Jeff Borden said on April 29, 2011 at 4:53 pm
Unfortunately, Cooz, it would appear the “noble white dumbfuck” is now the sole target demographic of the right-wing GOP.
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Kim said on April 29, 2011 at 5:01 pm
Alas, Cooz, you are right again.
We do need more southerners to name their boys “Shirley.” I made the presumption of female mistake but once, though I nearly make it every time I call on someone with that first name.
A colleague reported that someone had tweeted that Princess Bea’s fascinator was “fallopian.”
That Viagra report has the ring of truth to me – Jolene, I think if there’s already anger and the inclination to use rape as power any opportunity to put in a greater effort, as it were, would be welcomed. It’s really horrifying, and I bet if they were raping men we’d be hearing all about how bad this is.
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Joe Kobiela said on April 29, 2011 at 5:09 pm
I kinda figured those are the kind of replies I would see, but I don’t think anyone answered the question. I don’t know if I am smarter than Obama Alex, and I don’t remember saying that I was, perhaps you could find it.
Pilot Joe
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Dorothy said on April 29, 2011 at 5:34 pm
You need to go back and read the responses you got, Joe, to get the answer to your question. I think they were answered loudly and clearly and unquestionably.
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brian stouder said on April 29, 2011 at 5:34 pm
So just to get this straight, if in the future a black politician would say something along the lines of, oh I don’t know,Trump should get off the golf course or Huckabee should stop going to nascar races, or someone should get out of the yacht club, will I hear the same arguments of racism???
No, not racism, Joe.
My guess is, if any politician – including one who isn’t white, says any particular other politician – including one who is white – should “stop going to nascar races”,
then the political reaction from her opponents we will be that this is yet more evidence of an out-of-touch elitism, and not racism. (Or if they say “quit the yacht club” or “quit golfing” than this is an example of fanning the flames of class-envy or class-warfare)
But if a politician says that another one is a stupid polish person, for example; or is a woman who has too much PMS, or is a dishonest person from Wales, or a cheap person from Holland, then that person WILL be called racist, just as our national DTs was being overtly racist when he denigrated Obama’s intellect and questioned his admission to Harvard.
Fair enough?
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alex said on April 29, 2011 at 5:58 pm
Joe, before I turn my decades of professional proofreading experience onto those archives, what would you be willing to bet on it?
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mark said on April 29, 2011 at 6:17 pm
On the racist thing…
I’ll admit that a cry of “racist” rarely causes me to turn these days, as the charge is leveled so often.
I did find this portion of Jolene’s comment interesting:
What’s racist is insisting that he’s different, that he’s an outsider, that he’s not one of us and, especially, that he wouldn’t be capable of his accomplishments if he hadn’t had some kind of special help,
That seems to me to be an equally accurate representation of what the Bush people did to Kerry, with some success. Politics is “hardball” (he writes with no intention of approving of the fact, only of noting it), and healthy cynicism is appropriate in evaluating the motive of any politician’s words. I think Trump is intentionally doing exactly what Jolene describes, I just don’t know whether it is racist as opposed to political. Does anyone think that whenever a left-leaning politician makes the accusation of racism, political calculation is never a part of the slur?
What Jolene describes is what a lot of politicians try to do to their opponent. Can you make that effort against a minority candidate without being called racist? I think Alan Keyes has lost a lot of races because he was perceived as an outsider, not one of us, undeserving of perceived accomplishments. Fits the criticism of Clarence Thomas from the left, too. Come to think of it, the early response of the black political class to Obama, back when they were in Hilary’s corner, was kind of like that.
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prospero said on April 29, 2011 at 6:25 pm
Mark, is there a scintilla of difference between the birther/not one of us shit and Willie Horton? Well, If we have a brain, not close. The perpetrators may not be out and out racists, but they are milking a foul substance. Anybody says that isn’t so is a racist for trying to cover that obscene and objectionable sort of politics. When Lee Atwater faced his lord on his dying bed, he was man enough to admit they had employed racism. Doing it again? These people are scum, and there is no deathbed way around it. Seriously, Lee Atwater exposed what these divisive shitheels were doing.
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alex said on April 29, 2011 at 6:36 pm
I think Alan Keyes has lost a lot of races because he was perceived as an outsider, not one of us, undeserving of perceived accomplishments.
What perceived accomplishments, other than being the right’s clownish answer to Al Sharpton? A clown probably with greater renown among this generation than Bozo? As nutty as his rhetoric gets, practically no one is aware that he has Ivy League creds because no one would assume it from anything he has ever said. He’s a well-financed demagogue who knows he’s peddling shit.
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Bob (Not Greene) said on April 29, 2011 at 6:36 pm
Except, mark, that no one sent emails around of a Kerry White House with a watermelon patch or one with a photo of him with bone in his nose and a spear in his hand. In Kerry’s case they simply did a lot of lying. We all KNOW that racism pervades criticism of Obama, from the birther crap to the Muslim trope. If you can’t see the difference you’re doing it on purpose, because you’re clearly smarter than that.
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mark said on April 29, 2011 at 6:38 pm
Prospero-
Let’s see. I think the Willie Horton stuff was an overt appeal to racial fear/prejudice, so agreed on that. Birthers? I think they are a mixed bag, including some racists, so no clear agreement there. Milking a foul substance? Yes, I agree, though we would probably disagree on just how foul depending on the issue. “Anybody that says that isn’t so is a racist..” That’s where you lose me. People disagree for lots of reasons, some of them quite legitimate. It seems for you it is never enough to hold the correct position, it has to be so clearly correct that all who dare to disagree are declared your moral as well as intellectual inferiors.
Trump is a clown and a publicity hound. He is getting the coverage he gets because NBC/MSNBC think it will help ratings, mainly for Celebrity Apprentice, and many of the rest want to lampoon him in the hopes it will stick to all Republicans. I have enough reasons already to ignore him.
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prospero said on April 29, 2011 at 6:47 pm
No shit y’yall, This is racsism. YOU CAN’T SAY IT ISN’T.
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prospero said on April 29, 2011 at 6:48 pm
YOU CAN SAY IT ISN’T, THEN YOU ARE SOME SIRT IF NAZI
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Deborah said on April 29, 2011 at 7:07 pm
What does Trump do about his hair when the wind blows? I’ve seen men with comb-overs on a windy day end up with a long scraggly clump of hair on one side of their head, while on the other side it’s short and of course the glossy dome is completely exposed. I have never seen a photo of Trump in that condition. I can’t imagine you’d be able to use enough hairspray to keep it plastered down all the time. I realize his comb-over is in the front somehow, not side to side, but still… it’s a mystery to me.
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LAMary said on April 29, 2011 at 7:21 pm
I remember seeing a video online of the front of Trumps hair going up and down as a breeze blew past him. I think it was on loop so it just kept going up and down. I’ll see if I can find it.
here it is:
http://ca.gawker.com/5708276/donald-trumps-hair-tries-to-escape
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Joe Kobiela said on April 29, 2011 at 7:50 pm
Alex,
I don’t gamble, (and no that dosn’t make me think Iam somehow better than you), If you can find that I would love to see it because I honestly don,t remember saying it.
Pilot Joe
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Deborah said on April 29, 2011 at 8:01 pm
Thanks LAMary, he was doing that poochy thing with his lips too. That was funny.
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coozledad said on April 29, 2011 at 9:09 pm
It’s at best disingenuous to suggest that birtherism is simply hardball politics and we shouldn’t cast the faithful as racist nutcases, when the language of the movement is steeped in dogwhistles for moral cripples. It’s also fatuous to suggest that political “ideas” can be separated from morals any more than ambition or greed can be separated from people, from whence the word politics derives.
The politics of racism is inseparable from the politics of upward economic redistribution, because racism is the only hammer the Republicans have left in the toolbox that can drive their impoverished army of meth-addled skinheads to the polls.
It’s not like the flypaper of the Obama presidency didn’t drag a lot of them out to be caught publicly wriggling in the New Black Panthers case, or in the various fictive docudramas puked up by that smut peddler James O’Keefe. It’s also a fucking given that establishment Republicans will close ranks around whatever wormy little turd their donors tell them. Trump might very well get to that point, and then we’ll have to hear “sensible” conservatives say “He wasn’t our first choice, but he was the lesser of two evils.” Right Mark?
EDIT:My wife reminds me they also have the “babykiller” card to play, but I think Democrats can simply counter with the super 8 footage of Rick Santorum and his old lady schlepping an infant corpse home for their kids to play with, make the kind of goo-goo noises Republicans make at dead babies and generally turn themselves into psychic wastes on the order of their fabulously creep-ass parents. Yeesh.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A61804-2005Apr17?language=printer
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Jolene said on April 29, 2011 at 11:01 pm
Deborah, you can find some fairly entertaining images by googling “trump hair wind.” My favorite.
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harrison said on April 30, 2011 at 6:46 am
Nancy, you said:
Another English name you don’t hear over here: Alistair. The world needs more Alistairs, if you ask me.
More like Alistair Cooke, host of Masterpiece Theater, yes. (By the way, he became a U.S. citizen.)
But more like Alistair Crowley…no thanks.
Dexter: I forgot all about the name Nigel. To me, if there ever was a name that told me a guy is definitely English, it’s Nigel.
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Deborah said on April 30, 2011 at 6:48 am
Jolene, I took your advice and saw some good ones. Time had a piece on how he combs it http://www.time.com/time/interactive/0,31813,2065167,00.html#ixzz1JVyMgCgE
I copied and pasted that link while on my iPad and I’m not that adept at it yet so I hope it works.
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prospero said on April 30, 2011 at 7:29 am
I just watched a crow land on my balcony railing, break a loaf of moldy french bread in half, fly away with half, come back for the other half. They eat road-kill kitties. I don,t think I have to worry I’m poisoning tha corbies do I. I think they’re smart enough to realize Trumps pighead is covered up with road kill. I kinda admire these birds, in a macabre way. Why did Hitchcock have sparrows attack Tippi Hedren, instead of more innately ominous birds? Because if sparrows can get you, anything can.
If you think you need a comb-over, shave yo head. It’s that simple. One of my brothers has gone full-Curley Howard. I’ve been told my hairline is receding since I was about seventeen. It’s exactly where it was then. I’d prefer not to be bald. I’d prefer not to live in a country where people would consider voting for the most elaborate comb-over of all time. Asshole’s so proud of his daddy’s money he squandered and his lawyers’ finesse with bankruptcy laws to screw investors and leave Don a rich little prick. And if he makes one more basketball crack, he’s gonna sound like Earl Butz, too odious for Nixon, and I will track him down and plant a fired=up roach in the beaver dam on his head. A mind is a terrible thing to baste. No loss here. Robert DeNiro “isn’t Einstein” because he thinks you’re a mental midget with psychological problems, and you’re full of shit? Don? Seriously? Who died and made you Einstein? Mr. King of Bankruptcy? And Mr. Cosby offered to buy you a suit from his tailor? What is wrong with this ahole? He seems to make shit up pathologically. And he’s all over the map, with no logic. His idea about Iraq is apparently to occupy the Godforsaken place indefinitely. W should have just given half the cash to Sadam in the first place, the way Raygun and his daddy did.
People would vote for this asshole? Ever see They Live?
way too stupid to vote.
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prospero said on April 30, 2011 at 7:54 am
Birtherism is as direct an appeal to racist assholes as the Willie Horton ads. What Republicans have stooped to to win and outright steal presidential elections since Raygun is stunning. Name an election, I will point out how these shitheads cheated they ass off. There is nothing low enough to which they will not stoop.
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prospero said on April 30, 2011 at 8:07 am
Funding teabagging is pretty much identical to the Brits pitching Catholics and Protestants against each other. Keep the poor slobs battling and we rule their stupid ass. Wills is what? Follow Me Up to Carlow. These assholes are squatting in somebody else’s country.
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prospero said on April 30, 2011 at 1:44 pm
Where do most of the Teabaggers live?
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prospero said on April 30, 2011 at 1:48 pm
Brits want to claim Ireland because of Joyce and Dean Swift and they don’t want to own up to Martin Amis.
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prospero said on April 30, 2011 at 1:51 pm
Secret to Trump’s hair? Nutria.
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prospero said on April 30, 2011 at 2:05 pm
People would actually vote for this ghastly excuse for a human being? If he ran against Pork-faced Satan Jimmy Johnson, I’d vote for Satan. If his obvious machinations have exposed him to backlash, I welcome his step into the light. But I know Murricans are fucking dumb enough to buy this huckster’s bullshit. Andy from Mayberry already played this role. So did Glenn Beck.
When Chump starts questioning others’ intelligence, is he kidding? He’s got nothing on a fruit-f;y. And what could be said about people that take this Bozo seriously? Maroons. But seriously. We keep Iraq for petroleum? Because we won a trumped up war? How much does that cost, you fucking nitwit? This asshole is deluded, and he’s the best GOP has to offer.
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prospero said on April 30, 2011 at 4:13 pm
Nancy, in your Russian studies, you don’t mention Mikhail Bulgakov, that wrote The Master and Margherita, the best Russian novel ever put to paper. Wicked about Soviets, but so clever they couldn’t catch him. And extremely funny about the Church, too.
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