not an angry man

I'm not an angry man.  I am not an angry man.

But WHY, why do people insist on going on programs such as Meet the Press and saying things which are so upsetting, so obnoxious, so totally false and pretentious as to make me, ME, peaceful little Billy Dougherty, tempted to title this post JOE LIEBERMAN IS A DOCK TRUCKER, in all caps, just like that.  

I REALLY try to keep this a family place, and for that reason, I have gone so far as to surreptitiously replace some of the letters in that previously posited title, so as to avoid the offending of anybody who may be offended by such things.  

This being said, what, PRAY TELL, what has brought us to this tragic point, this tragic point that I (note caps) am forced to stop, in mid view, to rewind MTP a few minutes to the beginning of the show, so that I can, here, right here, right now, REFUTE the gentleman's words as he says them.  Forgive me, for I will be forced to write for the both of us, and therefore will no doubt be unable to properly express eithers' full circle of intent and intention.  

John Kerry, for all his general lumbareiscience

just sits there besmirched with an enjoyable, incredulous grin.  

So I'll start the tape back up again now, after typing this initial question, posited to Mr. Joe by Mr. Tom (Brokaw).  I will do this in spite of the fact that I would rather keep watching ESPN and go to bed.  All is paraphrased.  You should watch it yourself On Demand.

Mr. Tom: This is going to be a discussion about issues bit also about TONE.

After promising the American people a respectful campaign... do you think that the newest "Britney/Paris/Barack" commercial is respectful?

Joe: I do.  I think its cute.

Roll tape...

Man this guy is unbelievable.  

You do???    Do you think THIS is cute as well?  What about this? (Man, later in the show they discuss that last link...shucks.)

"Its a bit of humor"???  "They also compare him to Moses, and that's as good a comparison as you could ask for"????

This kind of derisive, flippant tone is exactly what I was talking about a few days ago.  These folk try to play it both ways: where everything (about Obama) is some big, hilarious joke, and everything else is DEADLY SERIOUS.

"YOUNG MAN"??? He's 46.  

"200,000 in Berlin ...bigger crowd than anywhere in America and he's had some big crowds."....

 

You have to understand that it is no longer viable to speak of Europe without acknowledging the fact that it is the EU, and Obama's only European speech was taken in by Europeans.  It's like if Obama spoke in NY, one time only on the east coast, and people from DC or Virginia came.  Italy, France, Asterdam, Switzerland, and almost every other EU country is within 4 hours of Berlin.  

That being said, this insistence on castigating Germany as this dark, third world, monolithic warmonger state...subtle as it is, is ridiculous.  The TONE says: "Why would we want to elect someone as our President who is so beloved by GERMANS!???  Blech."  In Lieberman's defense, his words here don't ring too strongly of that.  But enough, considering how strong said tone has been elsewhere.  Also, since he's Jewish, there's that whole thing.

 

"We're not deciding who the biggest celebrity is.  This is big stuff."

"Big stuff" is so offensive.  It's like you are talking to a six year old.  "This is big stuff Tommy, and you might just want to ask mommy and daddy to vote for the elderly white gentlemen with the awkward grin, instead of the racially, religiously ambiguous gentlemen with the flowery oration and comparability to famous young socialites known for flashing their vaginas.  

He's against the DRILLING OF OIL!!!???

I haven't really looked into this purported "flip-flop" of Obama's on oil this weekend.  I'm too tired to do so now.  But the idea that anyone is against the drilling of oil is silly.  What is clear today is that Republicans and the oil lobby are trying to push through this opening up of the coast (when they have yet to max out what they have been allotted) before control of said decisions is wrested from their hands.  Ask Tom Friedman what he thinks of such rhetoric.

Look at what happened on Friday.  I heard one Congressman lament that "The Democrats have been" [something like "effing with the American people"] "for nine weeks now."

Two replies: 

the Republicans had plenty of time with unimpeachable power to enact whatever they wanted. AND

If we want to address an honest and open energy policy, perhaps we could ask Vice President Cheney to reveal exactly what that policy is, and who he met with to formulate it.

"John (McCain) remains all male.  There no question about that."

You really just have to watch the show to enjoy the sweetness that is the hilarity of this statement.

....If Kerry doesn't mention Anbar Awakening, and its serving as a precursor to the "surge" (in response to the question about why Democrats can't admit "the surge is working") I'm going to kill myself.   

 Good bye world.

....wait, oh wait,....  He did it!!!!

Somebody cut this rope!.....  Somebody......somebody!!!!

Good job John Kerry.  You did alright.

BIDEN FOR VP!!!!

Also relevant: this email I wrote to Ryan Cormier a year or two ago.  It is set up as I set it up for a zine column that I believe remains unpublished.  So here goes...

(In retrospect, after cutting and pasting what is below, I realize it ain't all that relevant, but that is b/c I apparently left out the argument that all of this [discussed below] is a manifestation of the general "brain-washing" of society.  NOW we're getting relevant...)

In the Thursday 1/23 edition of Wilmington’s NewsJournal, you may have read a nice little piece about the phenomenon of girls kissing girls.  The article was not so much tackling lesbian kissing, but rather, generally, the seemingly growing incidence of girls kissing each other at parties, in parking lots, bars, Miss Teen USA dressing rooms, etc. 

Reporter Ryan Cormier called me up and asked me some questions for the article, as I am the [now: frmr. bd] manager of a bar, and hence, potentially experienced with such matters.  What follows, as my first column for this illustrious mag, is the excerpt of his article relevant to me, followed by my email to him later in the day, after further contemplating the matter.  Delightful!

“And even though the behavior tends to be more popular among college students, it can happen anywhere. Even near a Dumpster.

Bill Dougherty, manager of Dead Presidents in Wilmington, says women-on-women kissing for attention doesn't happen too often in his bar, but he recently saw it in the bar's parking lot.

And it stopped the 26-year-old in his tracks.

He says he was taking out the trash after last call when a guy from a house next to the bar called out to him to come over.

Dougherty looked over and two women who were outside with the man began to kiss.

"So they totally just start making out as I'm standing there with a bag of trash," Dougherty says.

He just looked at them and carried on with his work.

"Even if their motivation for doing it is lame, it's still cool," he says. "They know they are going to get attention for it."

He has no problem giving them that attention.

"And neither do most guys," he says. "God bless them."

 

And now, the juice!

Hey Ryan….

I was thinking about our conversation earlier.  I almost brought this “point” up while we were talking, but, knowing that you are generally looking for “usable content” I balked.  But anyway…

What are your thoughts on the recent spat of “vagina flashing” being perpetrated by the Spears-Lohan-et al crew?  I am of half a mind to give them the benefit of the doubt, and posit that their actions are inherently subversive, a kind of perverse “you want it, you got it” designed to highlight the absurdity of the celebrity culture as a whole.  Mostly though, it would seem, they are just dumb whores not wearing any underwear.  Who knows.  Maybe these girls have half a brain. 

I think, though, that the “you want it, you got it” thing definitely comes into play when it comes to two girls kissing, in that these girls, even in their drunkest, most “wild” states, know that men are stupid, and that the sight of two girls kissing is, in fact, a show stopper.  I don’t remember what I was in the middle of saying when those two girls started kissing on that wall, but I guarantee, whatever it was, I stopped saying it.  Not much you can do. 

I guess also, that all of this activity, as objectifying or objectionable as it may be, is empowering.  The two girls kissing, the girl flashing her titties or worse, they have all the power.  Ironically though, they probably have none of it too.  Therein lies the rub!

Oh well, like I said, a LOT of this is probably not too usable, though certainly pertinent!  Thanks for the call. 

bd