Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Being Satirical

Sarah Palin recently excused Rush Limbaugh for repeatedly using the word "retard" but slammed Rahm Emmanuel after it was reported that he used the word, calling for his resignation. Palin has a mentally disabled son. She either feigned outage then or is covering up for Limbaugh now. Both are unacceptable responses.

Palin defended Limbaugh by saying that he used the term satirically. "Rush Limbaugh was using satire ...," said Palin on Fox News, as if she knew the meaning of the word. "I didn't hear Rush Limbaugh calling a group of people whom he did not agree with f---ing retards."

Here is what Stephen Colbert had to say: "Sarah Palin is a f---ing retard." Like Limbaugh, maybe Colbert was using satire too.

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Lest we forget, here is what Jack Cafferty thinks and the look on Katie Couric's face says it all:



Here's what I think sans satire: Sarah Palin most certainly has mental deficiencies.

14 comments:

zorro said...

The best way to help ensure Palin does not make it to president is for people on the left to realize she is not a joke and to give Obama a break.
All the jokes about Palin, funny as they may be, will not change anything.
Much of humor is based on logic. The appeal of Palin is not logical. Logical arguments will not turn people away from her.

Judith Ellis said...

Zorro - It is not a matter of turning people away from Palin. Those who follow here are simply going to follow her, as those who follow Glenn Beck. These are not reachable. It's important, however, to be reminded of exactly who we are dealing with. Humor often reaches places where intellect does not.

JOHN O'LEARY said...

Though Palin & the Baggers need to be taken seriously, there's a very specific way that humor can work. We can ridicule their language by, for instance, using these terms sarcastically - elitists, Bolsheviks, Communist, Socialists, etc. - until these characterizations become devoid of meaning. I call myself a Bolshevik elitist everyday. (Eventually someone will ask how that's possible.)

rebecca said...

I can't take that woman. Sorry. And for her to excuse Limbaugh but slam Emmanuel is just another reason why she's a f*cking dummy. Emmanuel didn't call the person a retard. He said his idea was retarded which to me gives it a whole different connotation. Had he said the guy was a retard, then I could understand her rage. But to use her son as an example in this case when it doesn't even apply I think is disgusting.

Judith Ellis said...

Great comment, John! And, as usual, you make me smile. :-)

Judith Ellis said...

Rebecca -I'm with you. It is indeed disgusting that she uses her children, Bristol first and her youngest son second, for her ambitions. Her rage was feigned and her response to Emmanuel obviously hypocritical.

zorro said...

This isn't funny.

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/79963-poll-lukewarm-approval-for-palin-tea-partiers

Judith Ellis said...

Yeah, Zorro, considering this poll there is perhaps a white elephant in the room. After all, if President Obama can be elected anybody can, right? I think also that this movement rode in on anger, as well as racism. These things are clear. Why aren't there other people of diverse ethnic groups in the Tea Party?

zorro said...

You forget Obama probably won because of the financial crisis. McCain came out of the convention rising in the polls - and it had a lot to do with Sarah Palin.
Everything people say about Palin mirrors what was said about Reagan before he became governor of California and then President. Worse yet, the left rarely has anything good to say about Obama.
And it is not popular vote that puts a President over the top. Clinton won twice with percentages in the 40's.
Palin has been getting approval ratings in the 40's for some time now. She comes off like an idiot in my view - but she keeps getting the 40+ approval ratings. I think she is insane - she has no idea what she is talking about, but she gets ratings in the 40's. This is not funny. Millions of people respect her. And she is nuts.
No one as crazy as she is should have as large a following as she does.

Judith Ellis said...

"No one as crazy as she is should have as large a following as she does."

So, what does this say about the American people? I think that people are really angry in general about power structures.

zorro said...

Palin's initial rise happened before the economic crisis hit.
I don't see it as a power structure issue. I see it as people not willing to trust their leaders (unless they are nuts like Palin)
We need to accept the fact that it is very possible the the bailout had to happen. We need to get over it and move on. And we need to think about the motivations of the Rattigans, Maddows, Huffingtons etc.
They all benefit from the conflict. They rarely report facts. I'm not sure they understand their own motivations.
For example, none of them have had T.R. Ried on their show to discuss health care around the world.
Just yesterday, Rattigan said the United States is the only industrialized country where employers are a big part of the health insurance program. This is completely wrong.
One reason people are angry is that the media stokes the flames. They do it for ratings - in other words, they are greedy.
Last april 15th was the day Rick Santori made his famous rant on CNBC. That is thought by many to be the origin of the tea-party. At that point, nothing Obama had done could have effected the economy. The rage is anger over the economic situation along with media opportunism.

Judith Ellis said...

"The rage is anger over the economic situation along with media opportunism."

I agree with this statement. I also believe that there is an element of racism that cannot be denied. I have always said that we needed the bailout and stimulus. Regarding my the bailout and stimulus, my problem has been the execution of both. I am also with you regarding the many in the media.

Judith Ellis said...

Melissa Harris Lacewell tweeted this minutes ago as an "outburst" from her mother:

"Rachel doesn't get that Obama is a Jedi master, but Jon Stewart does"

Judith Ellis said...

"According to a new Washing Post-ABC News poll, 71% of Americans do not feel that Palin is qualified to be president. That includes a sharp drop in Republican support, where 45% believe she is qualified compared to 66% who thought she was last fall.

Overall, 37% have a favorable view while 55% have an unfavorable view of the former Alaska Governor."

I'm feeling a little better about our country now. I was concerned for its direction a little while ago. The above quote was taken from the Huffington Post. The Washington Post-ABC poll is above.