We thought to do one of those halftime recap shows. You know, sponsored by a former Dow Jones Industrial stalwart now selling around a buck ten. The circus atmosphere seems thicker than ever.
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Did we miss anything?
The Imperial City And The World
We thought to do one of those halftime recap shows. You know, sponsored by a former Dow Jones Industrial stalwart now selling around a buck ten. The circus atmosphere seems thicker than ever.
____________
Did we miss anything?
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Quincy Nieva says
Deighton has the excuse of being from Ireland – What’s Barnett’s excuse?
John says
Alex from Yorkshire and others have note the funny manliness panic that screams from “hard America” Barone and other neoocons and cons who grew up soft and went to the right schools and avoided war.
Sona says
He goes to Iraq for period last year (I believe) and comes back to write up letter that gets wide distro.”
Anon says
Tucker Carlson attacks Jon Stewart – we think the bowtie Tucker will probably regret this if Stewart decides to jump on him — At least Cramer is a legit success in business and has high intelligence – Tucker is a product of favors and favoritism and various assistance – He is not a bad writer, but he is due for another takedown.
http://www.politico.com/blogs/michaelcalderone/0309/Carlson_on_Stewart_a_partisan_demagogue.html
If Stewart really wants to make Tucker freak out and get some good mockery going against Tuck – he should re-visit Tucker’s thuggish attempt to get “Chuckles” the video store clerk fired.
Tucker and his goons tried to stamp on an ordinary guy who had the nerve to mock him and his wife.
This is a goldmine for Stewart and his staff to mine – It provides pretext to examine many aspects of Carlson
Anon says
Aldershot – Eventually we became too slow – moved to the line – got slower and relatively weaker and hung up our cletes.
Aldershot says
Fullback, eh?
Coincidentally, I watched a few minutes of a soccer match this week…playoffs, or whatever they call them…Manchester Union vs. Internationzale. What I found amazing was the fans singing continuously in unison. If ever there was an argument for channeling the war instinct into sports, that’s it.
Anon says
We do agree with Greenwald when he says this (btw, we often like Cramer – esp his writing. His TV BS obviously sucks and it’s a shame – like with Kudlow – people lose money based on his bad pics)
“But at least Cramer wants to appear to be contrite for the complicit role he played in disseminating incredibly destructive and false claims from the politically powerful. That stands in stark contrast to David Gregory, Charlie Gibson, Brian Williams, David Ignatius and most of their friends, who continue to be defiantly and pompously proud of the exact same role they play.”
Anon says
Last Cramer comment from us – we just noted Greenwald said Cramer is a Marty P creation and linked to this:
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_44/b3957001.htm
Just recently we noticed that Marty at TNR seemed to be saying some pretty inaccurate things about Buffet’s BRK derivatives – Then he sourced this to Edward Jay Epstein – someone who was often sited as someone who proved that Atta met Iraqi intelligence in Prague.
We were sort of puzzled why Peretz would want to spin Buffett’s stock negatively –
Anon says
re ‘Blue horshow loves anacot steel’ – That was a great line and a very good movie – We look forward to the update – But we think Stone is running low on fire now. People can only make a few good/great movies .
We just saw Vicky Christina Barcelona and we can tell you that people who said “Woody is back” are full of it.
Anon says
re unctious alert – Michael Gerson filling in for Brooks on the Newshour — Gerson says Freeman was frightening and dangerous conspiracy-minded person. It’s pretty clear he believes that and perhaps that means something. But when he says the real concern was about his China ties and his Saudi links, we cannot help but think it a blessing in some way that the creator of those disposable memes is/are smart enough to actually believe them. Gerson is not so bright -but he is an ideal beltway-safe evangelical. Pedantic, but ineffective on the basics.
Anon says
re unctious alert – Michael Gerson filling in for Brooks on the Newshour —
Anon says
re sports – Ultimately it’s a personal taste – We do not regularly hunt, but have enjoyed duck and quale hunting from time to time – But it does look ridiculous on the outdoor/hunting channel – Who the hell likes to watch someone drop a deer on TV? Actually, a lot of people like it. Nascar is fun when you’re at the speedway – But it looks pretty lame on TV – But others disagree. We actually thought baseball was better when it was played by human beings instead of talking pharmacy shops.
Anon says
re CNBC – we watch Bloomberg a lot more – less shouting, more news – Grounded personalities – Mayor Blooomberg is a stellar businessman and his lower frills approach will outlast cnbc.
Cramer resisted changing his ways today on his show – Though he did promise Stewart he would – He was obviously worried about being another “Tucker.”
Anon says
Tweety was absolutely obsessed with Obama’s low bowling score and his evident unfamiliarity with the rules. He read too much into this for a month or two and actually got angry when Fineman and others asserted basketball as being more athletic – a fact.
This was before Tweety had officially switched sided – recall he was pro Rudy until Rudy really failed to gain traction – Indeed Matthews, on air, was asking Murdoch to make sure to open his wallet so Judy Regan would not say anything to embarass Rudy – Odd for a so-called journalist to ask for a cover up pre-emptively. But SOP for beltway hacks.
Tweety probably does not say his rosaries or novenas – But he makes up for it with assertion of cultural tropes –
re Soccer – It maybe boring, in theory – But people, in fact, love the sport and it drives them into a total frenzy. So it is exciting – objectively.
Anonymous says
There are some problems with soccer, as generally played. The main problem is the player/ball ratio is much too high for the games to be any good. It should be down around 10/1 and no higher than 12/1. (keep games to no more than 6 on 6, including goalies). This isn’t a recommendation for professional leagues, which operate at an entirely removed level of physical precision and fluency than the average civilian/kid fresh off of 8 hours at a desk could possibly manage; it takes time to reacquaint oneself with the body. So, to keep every participant on the field actually involved, it’s best to keep that ratio down quite low.
Too many people on the field means too many people absolutely frustrated and bored. I could go on to other angles, but I’ll spare you.
…said nothing thusfar about the (“What other game, to put it bluntly, is so boring to watch?[…]”) psycho-physio needs of the spectator; I think spectator sports culture(in extreme form) is a profoundly diseased artifact of sedentary decadence–a species gone to rot in mind and body…in moderation not so much; differentiate by asking whether the subjects in question ever /play/ the field themselves.
…think the guy almost has a point with the “Any sport that limits you to using your feet[…]” line; but this is why people play /multiple/ sports. Like soccer in the early morning, and rugby in the evening. Or maybe tennis, or even baseball.
DrLeoStrauss says
The post V2 boomer diagnosis resonates. Can’t recall if Tweety mocked Obama’s low bowling score or if in contemplating his Senate run he realized he couldn’t match it.
‘Cafeteria Catholicism’ is a fact of life in North America — the same forces of distraction and dissolution break down Papist Orthodoxy as any other non-revanchist ism. The incongruence of Dewey in the citation another indication that Catholicism itself is just another buffet meme on the menu ordered at will to make the inarticulate nativist mishmash argument.
Catholics over the years have been highly successful in protecting their memes until the last 50 years or so. Even with contamination, on the whole perhaps they are also better prepared for cognitive dissonance than some other faiths – obediance to patriarchy with binary outcomes of Upstairs or Downstairs can smudge over a whole lot — from the Borgias to modern day cover ups of international, decades-long child molestation, etc.
Agree that Stewart did a good job given his primary role as entertainer. CNBC has no where to go but a ‘stab in the back’ j’accuse to preserve its overall brand rationale. ‘Paulson Lied, Equity Died!’ . . . eh. Cramer more than anyone needs that vague but righteous anger for his audience as he smashes coffee mugs and pimps his sound board.
Out of all of them, Cramer should feel he’s outgrown his own schtick. He can step off the merry go round. He’s made his stash. He can stop knowing he ran the Money Honey (soto vocce ‘When she was hot!!’) during the tech bubble in a terrific operation far more elegant than Blue horshoe loves Anacot Steel.
Let the lessers on CNBC struggle for relevance and credibility. He’s pounded enough studio sets like a clown.
Alas, it’s the ‘old wound’ — addiction.
Anon says
Stewart’s a comic so we don’t want to continue this bad pattern of treating him like a journalist – True, he asks normal questions that MSM reporters are fearful to ask for social/career reasons.
But last night with Cramer we think he did a good job of letting the faux-penitant Cramer whine and bleed, but he dropped the ball by not making Cramer say what Paulson supposedly lied about.
Cramer kept insisting Paulson lied – he did this to ingratiate himself with the Bush hating audience, but we can’t think of any lies Paulson told – Maybe Paulson lied, but it was not like Cheney lies – in your face and and easy to prove.
Then Cramer said Fuld lied and others lied – It would have been great to hear what the lies were and maybe some litigation back and forth would result.
Oh well
Anon says
Not to substitue – meant Tweety uses those things as a counter-narcotic to offset his own boomer ways.
Anon says
Just one more War on Soccer related point – Tweety’s effort to legitimize bowling as athletics was connected to this general fear of soccer’s undeniable athleticism. If bowling is a real sport and soccer is not (we don’t know if Tweety said that – but we guess he cannot deal with a soccer ball) then his fantasy Archie-type faux Phily pose will be strengthened.
Yeah, we’d guess Tweety would sign on to that First Things thing – He is a classic case of a post V2 boomer Catholic who uses various exaggerated cultural tropes to subsititute for his own modern enthrallments. Dowd, in her JFK townhouse, is also part of this pseodo Fenian cabal.
Anon says
We think it would be perfectly acceptable for Rush to claim his ratings doubled – (which he doesn’t) – normal boosterism – But we just find it egregious when Tweety does it because it’s just Tweety the self hating liberal portraying the side he claims to be on (when in fashion) in an unnecessarily unfavorable light.
Yes – and Howie Kurtz tells these tales for bogus reasons – to be the acceptable media liberal etc etc. It’s all very immature – Kurtz helps to map out the parameters of media Seriousness and Normalcy – Rush does not need that , but he does like to have a toe in the Establishment. Recall, how 41 shut down his criticism in 91 with a WH invite? The human element.
Anon says
Boy wouldn’t it be funny if Stewart or Colbert ripped Barnett? Barnett would freak – like Cramer, he wants to maintain his Dem pose while pushing a rightist approach to smashing poor lands.
Anon says
Also – one more thing about First Things – note the author heralds “pragmatism” as an old fashioned American trait – If he was true to his religious orthodoxy (Pat would never make this mistake) he would avoid that word with its anti-religious historic John Dewey-taint. Since when does an orthodox religious man uphold “pragmatism?”
Yeah, right. Larison at Amconmag rips this guy pretty good from the right.
We used to hate soccer in college too because we resented the Brazilians who dominated the intramural league effortlessly and we recalled our pre-football days playing it poorly – But , as the Good Book said, we ‘put away childish things’ and realized it was just personal.
First Things is annoying in its apeing of Commentary in its tendentious style and we recall reading one of its writers invoking Orwell, Paine, and Mencken as if they were on the same team – a la neocons invoking Kennedy’s anti-Sov words to justify attacking arabs
Anon says
The War on Soccer in First Things is bad on other levels – it is not original – the guy obviously copied Club for Growth (JP2 was hardly a Randite or even Clintonian on free markets – Benedict? Who knows?) mouthpiece Stephen Moore’s wsj piece of a while back – Also, the author is both paranoid and nationalist – and , as you note – or not in touch with the Latin Americans filling the otherwise emptying pews (who, btw, could kick his ass all over day labor pickup spot).
Unintentionally – the author reveals the bankruptcy of his supposed orthodoxy – really just politically conservatism in disguise and Gospel in exile. He is a declinist and he projecting his dispair on the “other” – he is more parochial than “Parochial” in is mindset. Plus, in addition to being pretending to be nationalist while also being loyal to to Rome, he is pretending to be tough when he is soft and he pretending to be intellectual while being Idiocracy-ish.
Anon says
Deighton has the excuse of being from Ireland – What’s Barnett’s excuse?
Dr Leo Strauss says
Barnett’s Sysadmin schtick – Aldershot you called it, bad Deighton for sure.
Howard Fineman is on Olbermann now reporting on Community matters about which he knows less than the average Len Deighton reader. (Dear Reader we reported on the recent allegations years ago here). His grey hair, serious but pliable face and steady tone allow him ‘to guarantee’ what Obama will or will not do. Mr. Establishment. His interns must, however, move him quickly into Twitter space – ‘Tweet’ or perish, Howard.’
As everyone here has noted, Howie played the Neocon/Rightist angle well – not just because of his wife’s professional activities or ideological preference for a certain strip of land along the eastern Med. Some of it’s hush money for protection from mau maus, Some of it to keep his phone calls getting turned. We couldn’t watch him anymore on CNN early 2000s because he seemed to personify ‘unctious’. Whatever Rush’s ratings actually are, anyone in print or cable would be in nirvana to have them.
The whole soccer thing is hilarious. Excellent point of Papist conspirators choosing to draw nationalist lines on soccer. Adding to the Leftist subversion,however, the invasion of America from the southern hordes brings with it that accursed ‘football’. Here the Church has a bit of schizophrenia, wanting the new bodies for the empty pews. Soccer may also serve as code for some of this intra-institutional debate con amigos.
Missed Cantor. Am sure you’re right about his facile impact. Which cuts both ways — it could portend great things for him in this town.
Anon says
We flip back and forth between Obama addressing the Business Roundtable and then Eric Cantor on Fox Business with Cavuto. – The contest is not even close – Cantor still has not figured out how to attack Obama honestly and without canned talking points – Cavuto wails plaintively about Obama hating the free market – Childish stuff.
Obama , by contrast – is dominating his mostly Republican audience by pointing out some things obvious to those not in a cpac bubble.
Cantor seems very overrated – because he stands out next to his simple colleague Pence and Boehner. But he is weak – even Newt with his insincerity and his gimmics blows him away.
Anon says
Alex from Yorkshire and others have note the funny manliness panic that screams from “hard America” Barone and other neoocons and cons who grew up soft and went to the right schools and avoided war.
It should be noted that the war on soccer on the right is connect to this (anon played football and was quite a good fullback up to a point and so carries no brief for soccer). First Things – the paleocon Catholic journal is filled with wusses that would not survive 5 seconds in a UK or Irish pub pushing their theories about soccer – Plus, it’s somewhat ironic for a journal like First Things – openly cosmopolitan and loyal to Rome – would score soccer on nationalist/USA! grounds.
“The real tragedy is that soccer is a foreign invasion, but it is not a plot to overthrow America. For those inclined toward paranoia, it would be easy to blame soccer’s success on the political left, which, after all, worked for years to bring European decadence and despair to America. The left tried to make existentialism, Marxism, post-structuralism, and deconstructionism fashionable in order to weaken the clarity, pragmatism, and drive of American culture. What the left could not accomplish through these intellectual fads, one might suspect, they are trying to accomplish through sport.”
~First Things
Anon says
Have Rush’s ratings doubled? We’ve doubted that ever since we heard Tweety say that on his horrible weekend show. Tweety said in passing – like he does with most of his stupid careless errors – and then he compared it favorably to Obama’s poll numbers (which actually have gone up). So Tweety compacted about 4 or 5 errors into two sentences.
We do not doubt Rush’s ratings have gone up, but we think this casts doubt on the double number – which Rush himself denied.
http://mediamatters.org/columns/200903090031
We think Howie Kurtz spreads this fiction as part of his liberal-media bargaining with Rush – In exchange for not getting pummelled with hate mail from the Rush/Newsmax/Wolrdnet types, he sort of boost Rush and Drudge from time to time and secures his place as someone who is viewed as a liberal enemy, but treated nicely. In exchange, Rush gets some entree into the legitimacy of the establisment – like when Russert vouched for him earlier.
Anon says
We’ve generally like Howard Fineman – he is as good as your gonna get in Tweety land – But he is totally lacking in self-awareness when it comes to his role as a mouthpiece for cv-establishment thinking – He almost makes Mort Kondracke sound like a shoot-from-the-hip contrarian, by comparison.
So we think this is basically right:
http://mediamatters.org/countyfair/200903110006
We guess he , like most at msnbc/cnbc grates at any criticism – esp when it attacks their faux-populist pose.
Seeing Tweety, Pat (at least he is well read and smart), and others pretend to be working class is so disgusting and so pre-meltdown in tone.
Aldershot says
“Franz Gayl is sci adviser to the deputy commandant. He goes to Iraq for period last year (I believe) and comes back to write up letter that gets wide distro.”
LOL…he reads like an overblown Len Deighton character.
Yes, love the art, Doc.
Anon says
Great art Doc
PS – Barnett’s banality knows no bounds
http://www.thomaspmbarnett.com/weblog/2007/09/the_operational_needs_of_the_s.html