tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post4653051182033642731..comments2023-10-16T07:13:12.123-05:00Comments on A plain blog about politics: Senior Funeral ExploiterJonathan Bernsteinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15931039630306253241noreply@blogger.comBlogger34125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-53938528503897007282014-01-10T23:50:50.801-06:002014-01-10T23:50:50.801-06:00I came here to mention that. I remember that fairl...I came here to mention that. I remember that fairly clearly, but nothing springs to mind.<br /><br />Some googling brought up two (possibly, slightly) interesting points:<br /><br />A blog post about GWB kissing his wife during John Paul II's funeral as an example of his lack of decorum. Written 2005, and perhaps not entirely convincing. <br />http://cosmicwheel.blogspot.com/2005/04/george-w-bush-master-of-decorum.html<br /><br />Another example of the genre you discuss: an OTB post about Coretta Scott King's funeral (warning: includes Malkin quotes).<br /><br />http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/coretta_scott_king_funeral_/<br /><br />I'm sure one could come up with more, if they had a stronger inclination to dig up indignation.ccmmnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-90872673064736842062013-12-15T09:41:11.838-06:002013-12-15T09:41:11.838-06:00It's a funny looking picture, certainly.It's a funny looking picture, certainly.Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-5629992728361783912013-12-14T06:26:39.872-06:002013-12-14T06:26:39.872-06:00The super majority requirement for impeachment tri...The super majority requirement for impeachment trials is specified in the Constitution.David Tomlinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-29007192698223744922013-12-13T13:52:34.061-06:002013-12-13T13:52:34.061-06:00You sure are generalizing like crazy. We New Jerse...You sure are generalizing like crazy. We New Jersey Republicans dislike the death tax because we want to leave our fortunes to our children and grandchildren. Many of us retire to Florida because, unlike New Jersey, Florida has neither an income tax nor an estate tax. It's heaven for rich geezers!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-61321542256913755052013-12-13T12:45:45.484-06:002013-12-13T12:45:45.484-06:00Vin Weber is the culprit from the Wellstone funera...Vin Weber is the culprit from the Wellstone funeral. I did extensive research at the time and Vin was quoted extensively in the St. Paul paper.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-11242148302397248192013-12-13T12:43:47.146-06:002013-12-13T12:43:47.146-06:00To the original question -- supply- or demand-driv...To the original question -- supply- or demand-driven? -- I think there's now a continuing demand for daily "memes" that people can repost on Facebook. There are apparently whole organizations devoted to serving these up, including FreedomWorks but also "Chicks on the Right" and others, including one called "Anyone But Obama." I see that my one most obnoxiously right-wing "friend" on Facebook, who is my bellweather on this kind of thing, has already reposted the latter organization's photo-meme on the alleged funeral flirt. Facebook's new role in spreading this kind of thing, and its impact (if any) on political discussion, might be a good dissertatipn topic for someone in political science.Jeffnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-32625042808100887082013-12-13T11:57:04.037-06:002013-12-13T11:57:04.037-06:00I saw a story that quoted the photog who took the ...I saw a story that quoted the photog who took the "unhappy" photo saying that it was just a snapshot like that, and not reflective of her demeanor for the whole event.<br />As someone with a rather sour demeanor (seats next to me on Southwest go untaken until the very end), I can say that pictures can mislead.Matt Jarvisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-31160160919429596332013-12-13T09:18:55.976-06:002013-12-13T09:18:55.976-06:00When a good friend of mine died here in California...When a good friend of mine died here in California, I told a funny story about him at his memorial service and people seemed to really appreciate it. Laughing and joking are appropriate at a wide variety of memorials. I'm glad we can acknowledge here that's not a problem.<br /><br />More importantly, if Obama had a behavior problem, we'd have more evidence than the nothing that is one photo of people interacting during a four-hour period. If you can find a pattern, that might be a problem, but otherwise it's a nothingburger.Brianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09301230860904555513noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-76928112647922049052013-12-13T03:53:43.789-06:002013-12-13T03:53:43.789-06:00It's the difference between observations of so...It's the difference between observations of someone who was there and the projections of someone who wasn't.<br /><br />And maybe the difference between a superficial politically motivated sensationalist idiot like Peyser and people who can see through that. <br /><br />And maybe just maybe the difference between commenters and trolls. Captain Futurehttp://dreamingup.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-42820729275228666572013-12-13T03:37:53.650-06:002013-12-13T03:37:53.650-06:00Maybe it's a "structural deficiency"...Maybe it's a "structural deficiency" built into Republican DNA? nanutehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04526158764171117978noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-80989723711480860832013-12-13T00:29:03.127-06:002013-12-13T00:29:03.127-06:00Oh, I hadn't heard that one. I guess tchotchk...Oh, I hadn't heard that one. I guess tchotchkes are okay, but t-shirts are beyond decorum.<br /><br />Do they complain about memorial bumper stickers as gauche, too?Crissahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13389565751169783614noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-37031087654844370972013-12-13T00:23:12.525-06:002013-12-13T00:23:12.525-06:00Being freezing, he was old, I wasn't sure what...Being freezing, he was old, I wasn't sure what exactly the decorum was.<br /><br />Yeah, I wouldn't mind if he froze to death, but I certainly wouldn't have let myself freeze, either.Crissahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13389565751169783614noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-58017676447323330132013-12-12T22:23:21.270-06:002013-12-12T22:23:21.270-06:00You know, that's a very interesting comment th...You know, that's a very interesting comment thread, for several reasons, not the least of which is the myriad offers to skype about doing news broadcasts. There's a whole bunch of discussion about African folks liking to have fun, and a few claims that Michelle was partying too (from that one out of 12 photos with the three where Michelle was, er, "smiling"), and lots of treatment of Michelle's hostility in the selfie as an isolated data point. Oh, and, in comment 89 Brutus asked about the elephant in the room: why do you think they switched seats?<br /><br />The thread floats around, from African folks having fun to perseveration on the selfie to offers to Skype. When it finds its way back to Brutus' question, the speculation is pretty much uniformly negative.<br /><br />Sort of a Rorschach test for the times, it seems to me. There are details, and analysis, and fortunately, there are also always folks who just want to have fun, in the event perceptions of details and analysis otherwise don't go your way.CSHnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-24310583923639593472013-12-12T21:33:54.617-06:002013-12-12T21:33:54.617-06:00From the photographer:
"Anyway, suddenly thi...From the photographer:<br /><br /><i>"Anyway, suddenly this woman pulled out her mobile phone and took a photo of herself smiling with Cameron and the US president. I captured the scene reflexively. All around me in the stadium, South Africans were dancing, singing and laughing to honour their departed leader. It was more like a carnival atmosphere, not at all morbid. The ceremony had already gone on for two hours and would last another two. The atmosphere was totally relaxed – I didn’t see anything shocking in my viewfinder, president of the US or not. We are in Africa. "</i><br /><br />http://blogs.afp.com/correspondent/?post/Selfieprefix-freenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-27552121466151671362013-12-12T20:27:23.186-06:002013-12-12T20:27:23.186-06:00Two things: first, what was the sequence of photos...Two things: first, what was the sequence of photos, and second - my wife would have smiled in exactly the same way as the First Lady. Actually, in that second photo on the TPM link - do any other photos exist where Michelle Obama's smile looks so forced and strained?CSHnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-67588983822949604022013-12-12T20:23:23.171-06:002013-12-12T20:23:23.171-06:00Actually, if its true that Peyser's column is ...Actually, if its true that Peyser's column is incorrect in its evaluation of Obama's behavior as "unseemly" (in particular the last photo, the one of Michelle Obama having inserted herself between the flirts), does it follow that the President's behavior was, in reality, "seemly"?<br /><br />Is your argument that what you saw in those photos - in particular that final one - is <i>de rigueur</i> for the funeral of a world leader? I tell ya, the times they have a-changed.CSHnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-60287995154537535572013-12-12T20:17:23.324-06:002013-12-12T20:17:23.324-06:00You're seeing one sort of photo. Check this s...You're seeing one sort of photo. Check this story at TPM with another photo taken at roughly the same time, that shows Michelle Obama smiling and chatting with the Danish PM. http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/photographer-who-actually-attended-mandela-service-undermines-columnist-s-premiseCaptain Futurehttp://dreamingup.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-22225819164939496852013-12-12T20:11:44.868-06:002013-12-12T20:11:44.868-06:00Wow. Thanks for the tip. I so needed to read about...Wow. Thanks for the tip. I so needed to read about a good bodice-ripping scandal. I shan't forget it for a long time.ModeratePolihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01721945380057992971noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-13367064424883232942013-12-12T20:08:13.013-06:002013-12-12T20:08:13.013-06:00Perhaps I'm a simpleton, but I often evaluate ...Perhaps I'm a simpleton, but I often evaluate these things with reference to my own life first. That is, I imagine myself as a participant in the scene, and I try to anticipate how those in my own milieu would react. <br /><br />So, if I had been interacting with the leggy Danish prime minister in the manner of those photos, my wife would have made Michelle Obama look positively chipper by comparison. <br /><br />Maybe y'all look at those photos and see no "there" there - perhaps yours are the spouses who hang on your every word and indulge your every move. If so, my congratulations!CSHnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-70563012984954793762013-12-12T19:51:46.296-06:002013-12-12T19:51:46.296-06:00I should add the obvious: that Gresham's law a...I should add the obvious: that Gresham's law applies.Captain Futurehttp://dreamingup.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-80635849777705516532013-12-12T19:50:43.894-06:002013-12-12T19:50:43.894-06:00It's driven by the Internet and the obsession ...It's driven by the Internet and the obsession with momentary "viral" items, and filters down to the equivalent of barbershop discussion (online probably more than off) among the likeminded. I've noticed that newspapers now--in print as well as online--are prioritizing stories on what's most popular on the Internet. The momentary provocation is also why these stories are featured at the top of progressive as well as rabid right sites. Captain Futurehttp://dreamingup.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-77293060253059624052013-12-12T19:49:23.662-06:002013-12-12T19:49:23.662-06:00Another symptom of being post policy maybe? It wou...Another symptom of being post policy maybe? It would be one thing to attack Obama on say his handling of Africa, but since there's not much there for the GOP to make hay with (nothing really) funeral stuff comes up. I'd also say it might be another legacy of Nixon who worked night and day to prove how dirty hippies ect where. Maybe there is some institutional memory of that still.longwalkdownlyndalehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13173899547449318257noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-31415974515835528112013-12-12T18:23:01.788-06:002013-12-12T18:23:01.788-06:00If you subscribe to Haidt's moral foundations ...If you subscribe to Haidt's moral foundations theory, there might be an effect on conservatives' outsized sanctity/degradation dimension. Of course this sort of assume these funeral outrages are mostly sincere.Drewnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-60483695327702022012013-12-12T16:13:04.876-06:002013-12-12T16:13:04.876-06:00I suspect it's cultural. Most of the Republica...I suspect it's cultural. Most of the Republicans I know live in the South and all of them are "values" conservatives. They're very concerned about anything having to do with death and sex. These issues are extraordinarily important to the base of the Republican Party.<br /><br />Hence, opposition to:<br />-Abortion<br />-Gay marriage<br />-Contraception/HPV Vaccine<br />-Sex Education<br />-The "Death" Tax<br /><br />And hence their embrace of capital punishment.<br /><br />Ok, I know I'm generalizing like crazy here. But I think there may be something to this. And I just think "flirting at a funeral" is just the perfect thing to feed into some conservatives' morality obsession. <br /><br />Godless, hedonistic, pot-smoking, gay-sex-having, bleeding-heart, adulterating liberals, and all that... <br />The Amazing Spider Manhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13309943624044131642noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-27321391126177623242013-12-12T16:03:05.227-06:002013-12-12T16:03:05.227-06:00Just wait, this will all be forgotten tomorrow whe...Just wait, this will all be forgotten tomorrow when the plot to kill the man who OKed the presidents birth certificate hits the news.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com