From a Simpsons episode: "What do we want!?" "The gradual phase-out of animal testing over the next three years?" "When do we want it!?" "Over the next three years!" That still makes me laugh.
I think I just figured something out. I was reading some quotes from the "Hate Bush" gathering of show biz types in SoCal last night. One person allegedly shouted something I've heard more than a few times before. "We're going to take back our country!" Take back our country from whom? And who are "we"? The "we" in this case are the elite opinion-makers. Think Hollywood. They see that people trust George W. Bush. They notice that conservative talk radio is an enormous success and that Fox News is kicking CNN and MSNBC's collective arse. They think their losing their grip on your mind. You see, they like it when they can do as they please, tell you what you should think and basically act as your superior. They have lost control and they do not like it. Most of the people at this event last night were industry insiders and/or spouses of such. They need cool people like themselves in control of the country so that their power can be regained. Conservatives aren't cool. Conservatives have conviction. Conservatives see black and white, right and wrong, good and evil. I would not be surprised if there were people in the 1990's who had get-togethers that were "Hate Clinton" gatherings, but I saw them as average people concerned about the actions of the president. This anti-Bush movement stinks of elitism. Hell, they were blind with anti-Bush rage before he even took office. Speaking of The Simpsons, this all reminds me a bit of another episode. It was one of the Halloween shows where all the advertising icons came to life and started to kill the good people of Springfield and destroy the city. Lisa discovered the solution. It was to ignore them. What the evil marketing symbols needed was attention. I wonder if we can try that. Just ignore the Robbins and Baldwins and Moores of the world. Would they die? Part of the current media panic is just that. People are ignoring the news organizations at ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN and the like. They are throwing a fit. "Pay attention to us!" Hmm, did you hear something?
And another thing...
I'm not sure I've brought this up before, but I've noticed that the criticism and parody of politicians by the media over my lifetime has been a bit slanted. I don't know if it has always been this way or just recently, but think about the image of Republicans and Democrats as they are portrayed by pundits and comedians. Republicans are evil and/or stupid. Democrats are smart but often have some little acceptable character flaw. Let's look at some presidential examples: Nixon - evil, Ford - stupid and clumsy, Carter - smart but naive, Reagan - stupid and senile, Bush - stupid and wimpy, Clinton - smart but a bit of a cad, Bush II - stupid. And let's not forget the created image of other folks like Newt Gingrich as just this side of the devil or Dan Quayle as dumber than a stump. Comics, writers and pundits like to tell us that both sides are criticized and lampooned. Of course that's true. But the kind of jokes are insidiously different. Is it better to be stupid or a little on the mischievous side? There are Bill Clinton jokes, but they are of the sort that are a wink and a nod and a "What a naughty boy" The knock on Al Gore is that he's too smart and boring. Neither portrayal makes you question their competency. But the pokes at Republicans do. A Saturday Night Live sketch that impugns the intelligence of a Republican president does put a seed the mind of the viewer that he is not fit to run the country. Tell that joke long enough and it will be accepted if only subconsciously. Why else does the rest of the world think that G.W. is stupid? They get that image from our media. Reagan go the same treatment. The rest of the world (and the leftists in this country) were convinced that he was a reckless cowboy, a little dim on the smarts side, who was going to plunge the world into war and destroy the planet in a hail of nuclear warheads. It was widespread, not just exclusive to political comics. Try these pop songs on for size: "got to live it up live it up, Ronnie's got a new gun" ("Wild Wild West - Escape Club); "this tired old man that we elected king" ("The End of the Innocence" - Don Henley); the video for Genesis' "Land of Confusion". That's not to mention entire songs (though lesser known) devoted to the subject like John Mellencamp's "Country Gentleman" or Elvis Costello's "Peace In Our Time". But you know what? Reagan didn't blow up the world. In fact, he brought down our adversary, the evil empire of the U.S.S.R. without one missile fired. Where were the anti-Clinton songs? Oh that's right, there weren't any. Democrats never do anything wrong. They may have their faults, but they just want to help you. We already have anti-G.W. Bush songs. Mellencamp's sad little "To Washington" leaps to mind. But you know what? Reagan was loved by a vast majority of this country's population and Bush enjoys a lot of support as well. Because they are honest and have strongly held conviction shared by Middle America. The comics and musicians on the coasts misconstrue that for stupidity. Yes, Mr. and Mrs. Fly-over Country, they think you are stupid too.
And another thing...