Octopus Overlords

hepcat wrote:

RunningMn9 wrote:Blech. I've never found Kathy Griffin funny. She's everything that is stereotypically terrible about female comedians.

There's a stereotype?

RunningMn9 wrote: Also, I can think of very few male comedians who are less funny than Tim Allen.

Who knew that if you turned Donald Duck upside down you get the other Donald?

Defiant wrote:

Who knew that if you turned Donald Duck upside down you get the other Donald?

RunningMn9 wrote:
If you don't see "trying way too hard" with Kathy Griffin, I don't know what to say. I would encourage you to watch old stand up footage of Ellen Degeneres. Even if you don't find her stand up to be funny (many don't), her performances come across as effortless.

Many are simply trying too hard and it comes out forced

Defiant wrote:

Who knew that if you turned Donald Duck upside down you get the other Donald?

hepcat wrote:You do know that's targeted at civilians, right? And you're also hopefully aware that militaries are usually comprised of trained soldiers?

But hey, let's pick on victims during a tragedy. That's always funny.

hepcat wrote:You do know that's targeted at civilians, right? And you're also hopefully aware that militaries are usually comprised of trained soldiers?

But hey, let's pick on victims during a tragedy. That's always funny.

Freyland wrote:Yup, that's enough idiocy. Bye, em2nought.

em2nought wrote:

Freyland wrote:Yup, that's enough idiocy. Bye, em2nought.

I'm heartbroken. Meanwhile
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ChjfFx_zLU

em2nought wrote:

Freyland wrote:Yup, that's enough idiocy. Bye, em2nought.

I'm heartbroken. Meanwhile
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ChjfFx_zLU

Rip wrote:More townhall fun.

PLW wrote:

Rip wrote:More townhall fun.

Didn't seem like a good use of anyone's time. I would have liked a continuous stream, though. There were lots of cuts that made me wonder whether there was some actual discussion in those periods. I hope so.

Moliere wrote:

Holman wrote:Seriously. Citizens should quit distracting their elected representatives with their concerns.

noxiousdog wrote:I don't get it.


edit: nm. you have to watch the clip. I'm not sure I would call it racism though.

PLW wrote:

Holman wrote:Seriously. Citizens should quit distracting their elected representatives with their concerns.

I mean.. it was just a lot of incoherent yelling. At least in the part of the video released, it was literally impossible for anyone to be heard, including the Congressperson, except for a few small exceptions.

Max Peck wrote:

noxiousdog wrote:I don't get it.


edit: nm. you have to watch the clip. I'm not sure I would call it racism though.

Sure, because every bright young American uses Sanskrit instead of the Latin alphabet.

noxiousdog wrote:

Max Peck wrote:

noxiousdog wrote:I don't get it.


edit: nm. you have to watch the clip. I'm not sure I would call it racism though.

Sure, because every bright young American uses Sanskrit instead of the Latin alphabet.

Most immigrant parents (and while I'm assuming her parents are immigrants, she has an accent) teach their children their tongue of heritage. I don't think it's racism to assume that. There's plenty of ignorance though to use "Sanskrit" instead of "Hindi."

Holman wrote:
I've seen many clips this year of representatives being asked hard questions and expected to give serious answers. People are turning out in record numbers because they want to ask those questions and get those answers.

To dismiss all that because there are periods of yelling forgets what representation means.

PLW wrote:

Holman wrote:
I've seen many clips this year of representatives being asked hard questions and expected to give serious answers. People are turning out in record numbers because they want to ask those questions and get those answers.

To dismiss all that because there are periods of yelling forgets what representation means.

Ohh, I'm with you about the value of town halls, in general, but this particular (Youtube cut of a) town hall did not look productive.

Holman wrote:

PLW wrote:

Holman wrote:
I've seen many clips this year of representatives being asked hard questions and expected to give serious answers. People are turning out in record numbers because they want to ask those questions and get those answers.

To dismiss all that because there are periods of yelling forgets what representation means.

Ohh, I'm with you about the value of town halls, in general, but this particular (Youtube cut of a) town hall did not look productive.

Right. But Rip said all town halls were a waste.

They seldom are a good use of time these days.

Max Peck wrote: Assuming she's more used to a language that is used by a tiny fraction of Indians instead the language in which she is the national spelling champion, purely because of her appearance and her name, is a textbook example of racism (and, fundamentally, ignorance). If the kid was blonde and named Ingrid, would it have been normal for the anchor to assume she was more comfortable speaking Swedish than English?

Rip wrote:Which would translate to most townhalls are a waste. I stand behind it.

I am quite comfortable saying that more than 50% of the townhalls for Congressman/Senators turn into pretty much this. Disruptive trolling by the parties opposed to them are practically becoming a national pastime. On both sides.

Holman wrote:

Rip wrote:Which would translate to most townhalls are a waste. I stand behind it.

I am quite comfortable saying that more than 50% of the townhalls for Congressman/Senators turn into pretty much this. Disruptive trolling by the parties opposed to them are practically becoming a national pastime. On both sides.

What ratio of chaotic expression (which still, of course, sends a message) to orderly Q&A would be enough to absolve representatives of their most fundamental and most important responsibility in our democracy?

The town hall meeting essentially ended before it started — a victim of an out-of-control audience.

People screamed and waved signs. They wouldn’t let the congressman on stage talk. He couldn’t get through more than a word or two of an answer without his voice being drowned. Within an hour, he had left the stage, needing a police escort to get safely to his car.

No, this was not the meeting Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, hosted at Brighton High School earlier this month. It was a meeting hosted by Rep. Tim Bishop, a Long Island Democrat, and it took place in June 2009, only a few months after he had won re-election by 16 percentage points.

He wasn’t alone. The rise of the tea party a few months before had energized many followers to confront Democratic lawmakers with noise and commotion, protesting Obamacare and bailouts.

At the time, Politico.com made this observation: “… welcome to the new town hall-style meeting, the once-staid forum that is rapidly turning into a house of horrors for members of Congress.” That now seems prescient.

It may be a truism in American politics that once one side unleashes a successful new weapon of incivility, the other side will retaliate in-kind at the first opportunity. Whether it’s the ratification of a Supreme Court justice or the use of executive orders to circumvent real discussion and compromise, politics never seems to retreat to a more civilized time. Folks upset with the nation’s direction seldom look to score points by rising in favor of civil discussion and a meaningful search for common ground.