Reason.tv: The Week in Stupid - Cable Pundits on the Giffords Shooting

Immediately following last week's tragic events in Tucson, television pundits fell over each another to assign blame. According to the professional talking heads--and despite any actual evidence--the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords could be pinned on the Tea Party, Ayn Rand, gold enthusiasts, Sarah Palin, Glenn Beck, heavy metal, marijuana, and/or the "heated rhetoric" of cable news. Reason.tv trawls the archives and compiles the dumbest responses from America's dumbest pundits.

Approximately 1.43 minutes.

Written by Michael Moynihan. Edited by Moynihan and Joshua Swain.

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Comments

[sage]

"The Week in Stupid"

This should be a regular feature. God knows there's enough material out there.

[Episiarch]

Dude, it could be a daily feature.

[rac]

Hourly?

[JW]

Isn't that the nightly MSNBC line-up from 5 PM on?

[Publius]

+1

[sunnyblack]

low hanging tea bags.

[IP]

It's a 24 hour news channel. The stupidity starts with Morning 'Slow' Joe and goes 'round the clock.

[Lorenzo]

Has no one even asked Ayn Rand where she was the morning of the shooting?

[Barry D]

Where was John Galt?

[derp]

In the kitchen with the candlestick.

[Mainer]

Who is John Galt ?

[Mainer]

Who is John Galt ?

[Mainer]

Who is John Galt ?

[Loughner, cell 382 PCJ]

She was there. Chatted with her. Nice lady.

[?]

That obviously wasn't her.

[?]

I think she's still dead.

[Brett]

Her and Elvis are working as a greater at a Walmart in Topeka, Kansas

[Bill Dalasio]

Are you really sure you'd want Rand as a greeter?

"What!!! You want to know where the Beethovan albums are?!! You collectivist monster! Individualists should only listen to Rachmaninov!"

[Fiscal Meth]

Did you get that from "The Passion of Ayn Rand"? Ayn didn't like Beethoven but Peikoff has always liked Beethoven. Something tells me she didn't have a low estimation of Peikoff.

[LarryA]

You're thinking of the author. He's talking about one of the little voices in his head.

[Brad]

Please correct headline to GiffordS from Gifford!

[Colin]

She has a capital S at the end of her name?

[kiwi dave]

The left have made very clever use of the inherent ambiguity in the term "anti-government." In reality, the term can have at least five meanings (that I can think of off the top of my head):

1. people who favour small government, along constitutional lines(i.e., minarchists/libertarians/classical liberals/small government conservatives).
2. anarchists (who favour no government).
3. assorted weirdo conspiracy theorists loosely connected to the right (gold-bugs, survivalists, black helicopter types) etc.
4. federalists (often connected to racialist "states rights" ideologies).
5. violent wackos who are wont to attack government officials.

Basically, the left and much of the media use the fact that the term anti-government applies to all five categories to try to discredit group no. 1 (i.e., us) by tarring it by association with the distateful and nasty groups 2 through 5 -- even though group 1 really has nothing in common with 2 through 5.

[Realist]

It should always be about the individual and never about government. Government sucks and always will!

[Civility Censor]

what exactly do you mean 'government sucks'? See, right there! You've been cited, Sir, for language that sounds like it could be mean-spirited toward Obama.

[Realist]

Obama? You mean that sack of shit with big ears?

[JohnD]

1+

[Civility Censor]

what exactly do you mean 'government sucks'? See, right there! You've been cited, Sir, for language that sounds like it could be mean-spirited toward Obama.

[Liberal Douchebag]

The State is wonderful. Anyone who doesn't love The State should be watched very carefully by the FBI. It's the only way we can be a free country.

[Wargames83]

Since when did liberals like the FBI. You are terrible at playing a liberal strawman.

[Matthew]

I don't chime in often, but I just wanted to whisper that Bill Maher is just a failed actor / bitter douchebag. Okay, thank you.

[Barry D]

He is not, however, a failed douchebag.

[Fist of Etiquette]

I certainly hope his "go-to rhetoric" quote on Leno toward the end was somehow taken out of context. Otherwise, wtf?

[sunnyblack]

the full context included Maher laughing at himself as he was about to tell the joke, and then continuing to laugh through his punchline at his own brilliance (lack of standards).

[sounds real good]

+2

[Mr. FIFY]

True... he's been a fairly successful douchebag.

[sounds real good]

ain't it the truth!

[James Ard]

There goes Reason again. Doesn't anyone over there realize Rush Limbaugh's comments were meant to irritate Democrats and weren't a serious laying of blame?

[-]

Few realize that Limbaugh is just an entertainer. Always has been. Not that actual pundits should be taken any more seriously. They're playing a role, doing a job, making a living by bullshitting people, who tend to get what they deserve.

[sunnyblack]

it takes 3 news cycles for anyone to get his 'media tweaks' (aka, performance art). but by then no one cares and limbaugh is simply viewed as sorrell booke without the white hat.

[Bucky]

...no one cares...
and the NFL kerfuffle was performance art too?

[Attorney]

I must not watch the video. It might cause me to turn violent.

[COINTELPRO]

Gotta love the porno music playing throughout this left-wing circle jerk. Especially considering that they assign anti-government as an exclusively right-wing ideology. Anyone with about five minutes and Wikipedia would find that small "l" libertarianism and anarchism jumps all over the spectrum. Anarcho-capitalism, Anarcho-syndicalism, Mutualism, Anarcho-Christianity, Anarcho-feminism...

[Hugh Akston]

Don't forget anarcho-fascism.

[Mr. FIFY]

But *do* leave out "libertarian socialism", as these two terms cannot coexist.

[GILMORE]

I dont recall Mandrill really ever being used as "porno music".

or Public Enemy

Sample = "Two Sisters of Mystery" by Mandrill

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgHRX02p3Kg

Sorta interesting history of the tune and its subsequent usage by hiphoppers

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tw4lg99klEg

[COINTELPRO]

Thanks. I actually didn't know that was from an actual song. I just assumed it was porno music because of the groove and the guitar sound.

[Hugh Akston]

Quick question: who actually watches these idiots for real?

[GILMORE]

Other idiots?

[Tony]

According to the professional talking heads--and despite any actual evidence--the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords could be pinned on the Tea Party, Ayn Rand, gold enthusiasts, Sarah Palin, Glenn Beck, heavy metal, marijuana, and/or the "heated rhetoric" of cable news.

And "leftists." Drudge has been panting heavily over every minuscule shred of evidence for that one, and Sarah Palin herself said it. The right is not innocent in this overreaction, and they certainly aren't victims, except insofar as they are perpetually victims.

[Fiscal Meth]

No one is weeping over the victimization of the right or the harm done to Sarah Palin or Glenn Beck. We are calling attention to and marveling at the staggering amount of mind numbing stupidity that oozes out of the majority of media outlets who are, at any given time, grasping at straws trying to prop up the unapologetically unsubstantiated claims made by the "intelectual" leaders of the braindead party to whom you're so loyal.

[Mr. FIFY]

I'll say this much in defense of Palin re: Loughner... she was accused (along with a huge pile of right-wingers) for causing Loughner to tip over the edge and start shooting - then, when it became apparent no such influence existed, some are still blaming the nonexistent influence.

Meanwhile, the left sweeps their violent followers under the rug.

More importantly, both sides are forgetting that it's up to the individual to not override their own internal violence barriers. We're back to blaming talk and music and video games and FUCKING POT USE (how many potheads go on violent rampages?) - anything but the actions of people who decide to commit violent acts on their own.

It's called personal responsibility. Blaming outside influences on your actions is a sign of weakness.

[Kant feel Pietzsche]

The concept of ridicule too suttle for ya, Tony-boy?

[nike running shoes]

is good

[Scarpe Nike Italia]

is good

[kangzhu]

This plan has no merit

[alipay]

good