Hank Williams Jr. To Return Award From Institute for Football Preparedness

Unless you're dead in the back of a baby-blue Cadillac convertible, you've probably heard that country music singer Hank Williams Jr. has been canned as "the voice of Monday Night Football," where his genuinely awful song about "being ready for some football" has graced that already-downsized American institution for what seems like a longer time than the Detroit Lions' have labored under the curse of Bobby Layne.

The crime committed by the man known as Bocephus? Likening President Barack Obama to Hitler and, perhaps less awful (but who knows), Speaker of the House John Boehner to Israeli pol Benjamin Netanyahu. Specifically, Junior went full-frontal Godwin in describing the ballyhooed "golf summit" between Obama and Boehner as "like Hitler playing golf with Benjamin Netanyahu."

When asked to clarify just what the hell he meant on the avuncular morning show Fox & Friends, Williams explained that Obama and Vice-President Joe Biden are "the enemy."

The result: ESPN has yanked the use of Williams' best-known song as a promo.

So what do you think, fair readers? Is this a case of political correctness gone amok? Or of the market disciplining a chowderhead for straying from his core competency?

Hat tip: Hot Air.

Here's the segment of Fox & Friends:

Reason.com's Bocephus mentions, all in a list.

Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

I hardly think it's fair of the market to discipline Williams while leaving Fox & Friends on the air all these years.

[Mainer]

HiYo!

[John]

It was okay when it had ED Hill. That woman had had like 8 kids and still had a smoking body. I used to watch it just to marvel at the freak of nature she was. But with the helmet haired former Miss America they have on now, it is pretty awful.

[Kristen]

To give her credit, Gretchen Carlson was one of the only Miss Americas that I can remember that had anything approaching an interesting talent - violin. None of that jazz dance/showtunes-singing bullshit.

Plus she's from MN.

But that's as far as my admiration for her goes.

[John]

She is apparently a very serious violinist. And she is not a bad looking woman. But my God will someone do something about that hair and makeup? It is just comically awful.

[Libertymike]

Are you kidding me? She couldn't carry Alex Flannagan's make-up bag. Ditto for Melissa Stark and Hanna Storm.

[John]

I didn't say she was the best looking woman. I said she was not a bad looking woman.

[Sparky]

Every woman you claim as "not bad looking" makes me question your sanity just a little bit more. You certainly have a different definition of good looking than a lot of people I know, myself included.

[John]

She doesn't have a horn in her head or weigh 400 pounds. And she was once Mss America. It is hardly going out on a limb to say she is not ugly, awful makeup and hair and all.

[Libertymike]

Fair enough.

[Mongo]

She was considered one of the top violinists in the world.

She stated that she couldn't enjoy other impresarios' playing as she heard all of the mistakes.

She gave it up to be some bubblehead on tha teevee.

[John]

that is what I hear. I don't understand why if you were talented enough and loved doing it enough to be one of the best in the world you would quit. If you are an elite violinist like Julia Fischer you have a pretty good life. You can make good money recording and then do a few concerts a year in nice places like New York or Sydney or Vienna. Maybe she didn't like the touring. But as a Miss America, I am sure she has a rich husband and would only have to tour when she felt like it.

[Mongo]

She flat-out stated that the money was much better as a talking head.

[John]

I am sure it is. But it sounds a lot more fun to be a violinist. And it is not like she was poor anyway.

My favorite former beauty queen turned talking head is CNN's former Miss Ohio Robyn Meade. She is just spectacular.

[Mongo]

Wow.
I love Google Images.

[o2]

nah, she's turned headline news into a lightweight women's show replete w pop music interludes

[John]

So. It is not like they ever have any news anyway. This is the same network that made Nancy Grace famous. At least Meade is easy on the eyes and has a please personality.

[Joe M]

Yup. Knockout.

[Nemo]

John, this may explain why:

http://www.cracked.com/article.....stras.html

[FarmerDave]

LOL, nice one. Imus calls them Fox and Fiends. Have to agree they are terrible just terrible.

[Liberty & Anarchy]

I'm ambivalent, because Hank Williams Jr. and his song are pure garbage, but it does seem to follow a broader trend of silencing controversial speech for commercial interests.

[sevo]

"...silencing controversial speech for commercial interests."
Exactly as it should be.

[Libertymike]

But it isn't. What commercial interests were imperiled by Hank Jr.'s godwinning?

[Art-P.O.G.]

Maybe sponsors pressured ESPN to remove Williams' theme to quell controversy. It would not surprise me one bit.

[John Tagliaferro]

The Bill Medley "Friday Night's A Great Night For Football" was and is superior. A quick lyrics change and a trip to the studio should have it ready by the next game.

[Abdul]

They can't starve him out
and they can't make him run
Cause he's a boy raised on shotguns

[Rob Sterling]

Sports broadcasters and journalists adopt leftist viewpoints as protective camouflage in the left-leaning media. Thus is was OK for Keith Olbermann to compare Bush to Hitler on numerous occasions because it was no threat to the careers of people associated with him. ESPN staffers can't afford to be associated with right-wingers, though, so Bocephus has to go.

Hank Williams addresses the double-standard on his blog: http://www.hankjr.com/home/196.....illiams-jr

[John]

Rosanne Barr said bankers should be beheaded along with anyone who didn't want to give their wealth to the state.

[Abdul]

To be fair, it's hard to retaliate against her statements because she doesn't have a career worth killing.

[cthorm]

Someone needs to answer for that. It's her right to a job.

[o2]

actually msnbc suspended olbermann before he quit over campaign contributions which is a free speech issue. remember the roberts court sez money = speech

[Contrarian P]

They did? I must have missed that equivalence. I assume you're referencing the Citizens United decisions? The last time I checked, the question was whether it was allowable to prohibit a corporation from broadcasting "electioneering communications" close to an election. The court (correctly) held that the government can't restrict speech (last time I checked a documentary doesn't equal money, so your equivalence is bogus) just because speech originates with a collective entity. The ban on direct contributions of money from corporations was not involved in the case and is still in force as far as I know.

In other words, you have no idea what you're talking about, but then having read many of your posts it seems as though that's a recurring theme for you. Stop getting your opinions from talking heads on television, and especially from your president's talking points, and start thinking for yourself.

[Contrarian P]

Decision. Shouldn't have been plural.

[o2]

my bad, it was buckley v valeo.

Buckley v. Valeo, 424 U.S. 1 (1976), was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States upheld a federal law which set limits on campaign contributions, but ruled that spending money to influence elections is a form of constitutionally protected free speech, and struck down portions of the law. The court also ruled candidates can give unlimited amounts of money to their own campaigns.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buckley_v._Valeo

[MJ]

If memeory serves that makes it the Burger court.

An analogy to what yo are complaining about is: You have absolute freedom to post your opinions on the internet, but your usage of a computer is limited by law.

Restricting by law the material goods necessary to effectively distribute speech is a restriction on freedom of speech.

[MJ]

No o2, the Roberts court said speech does not equal money. Releasing a documentary critical of a political candidate is not equivaklent to a cash donation to her opponent's campaign and therefore is not subject to campaign finance regulation.

[sevo]

'over campaign contributions which is a CONTRACT issue.'

FIFY, dipshit.

[o2]

i never wrote it wasnt also a contract issue sherlock. try again

[cynical]

No, it's a "MSNBC policy" issue. They pretend to be objective instead of being farther left than Fox is right, and retards pretend to be fooled by it. Giving money to Democrats ruins their little roleplay.

[John Tagliaferro]

Former Rush Limbaugh guest host Chris Matthews never heard anybody call an elected administration called a "regime" before Obama got into office.

[P Brooks]

Or of the market disciplining a chowderhead for straying from his core competency?

If, by core competency you mean, sitting alone at his kitchen table drinking whiskey at seven o'clock in the morning instead of being on Fox News...

ps- COMPETENCY IS NOT A WORD.
IT'S COMPETENCE, GODDAMMIT.

[Swordfish]

Says you.

[The Wine Commonsewer]

Yeah, and irregardless ain't a word, neither. But you'll find it in Websters.....

[Tacos mmm...]

Unless you're dead in the back of a baby-blue Cadillac convertible, you've probably heard the country music singer Hank Williams Jr...

That's more asshole than funny.

[Mainer]

Too soon ?

[michael]

Yeah. But I'm looking forward to Gillespie referencing a certain Misfits song the next time the Kennedys are in the news.

[T]

Ride, Jackie O!

[Skr]

He didn't call Obama hitler. He was using the ideological difference between hitler and Netanyahu to illustrate the ideological differences between boehner and Obama. Is it absurd? Absolutely.

Weird. hitler and boehner don't autocorrect but Netanyahu and Obama do.

[Art-P.O.G.]

Did you mean 'pinch-Hitler'?

[ClubMedSux]

THIS. I don't have any problem with people calling out HWJ for engaging in ridiculous hyperbole, but I wish people would get over the fucking knee-jerk reactions when it comes to Hitler. As others above have noted, people compared Bush to Hitler all the time. Seeing that HWJ didn't even directly compare the two, I'm not sure how this makes him a Nazi or a racist, as many in the media have implied. Sure, he's an idiot redneck, but it's not like they didn't know that back in 1991 when they hired him to do the theme song.

[Gimlet]

Do you know who else wished people would get over the fucking knee-jerk reactions when it came to Hitler?

[kilroy]

Who gives a fuck about Hank Williams Jr., Fox and Friends, ESPN or football?

Was the government or my tax dollars directly involved in some way here?

[Episiarch]

This is the relevant question. The other relevant question is why do the Colts suck so bad this year? Not that I care, I'm just curious. I already know why the Seahawks suck so bad.

[John]

Because Bill Polian is the most overrated GM in the history of sports. That team literally has no quality talent other than Payton Manning. I don't think anyone realized how good Manning actually is and what a suck ass team Polian has put around him. It is just pathetic. The Patriots won 11 games without Tom Brady. And Colts are going to be lucky to win three without Manning.

And if they luck out and get Andrew Luck, I am giving up on the NFL. No way does that franchise deserve to luck into another 12 years of great quarterback play.

[Episiarch]

This is probably the answer. No Peyton, no Colts. Oops. Maybe they should try getting Eli from the Giants. Ha.

[Pro Libertate]

During the Dungy years, they had a decent defense. They're still running the Tampa Two, just not as effectively.

[John]

Having no talent on defense will do that. Like I said, Polian is a terrible GM.

[Rick Gozinia]

The Colts most certainly did not have a decent defense, not at any time in the Manning era. They had been blessed with a Manning-led offense that often took leads and forced the opposition to become predictable, and playing into the hands of the two talented guys on the defense- Mathis & Freeney.

At least, that's what I read over at Cafe Hayek.

[Pro Libertate]

That's not true, as they did have a few decent years under Dungy.

[Joe M]

Tom Brady is ridiculously overrated, and has been riding on the talent of the rest of the team for years.

[Pro Libertate]

I think Peyton Manning is pretty clearly the greatest QB of his generation.

[Gojira]

It's hard to say. I'd think that the greatest QB of our generation would have more than one ring. The dude chokes in the playoffs a lot.

Sure, it has to do with the team also (see Marino, Dan). But since winning championships is the sole objective, it does have to be considered alongside other factors.

[Pro Libertate]

I've never bought that. 53 players, 22 starters, a coaching staff, scheduling, luck all play a role in whether a team makes it.

Dan Marino, for instance, was probably the best QB ever. He couldn't make up for no running game and little defense--nobody could. But he came close, probably closer than any other QB could come.

Of course, some great QBs are surrounded by talent. Montana was excellent, even though he had lots of weapons and usually had a decent defense.

Super Bowls are mostly about defense, not QBs. Ask Trent Dilfer or Brad Johnson.

[Gojira]

It has to be considered, because the only point to playing the game is winning championships. I don't give a fig for somebody who "tried hard" anymore than I do for someone who didn't try at all...you still fucking failed.

For example, every year, there are 31 losers, all of whom are equal in the fact that they are losers, and one winner. Pittsburgh is no better than Jacksonville...neither of them won the SB, which is the only, single objective in professional football.

Now one of those teams can say they have a lot less to work on than the other one, but if a team is content to just be "competitive", then I don't want anything to do with them. Win, or STFU.

And I told everyone at the time...after there was a championship game between NO and IND, I don't ever want to hear anything about "defense" again.

People usually come back with claiming NO had some kind of lock-down defense, but that isn't true. They had an adequate, opportunistic defense...but nobody, and I mean nobody, looks back on that year and immediately thinks, "Man, what a great defense that year! Oh, and they had some random guy at QB also". They talk about the sick offense and the points put up by Brees & Co. The NO defense that year was not some Doomsday, Steel Curtain, Purple People Eaters, Orange Crush monstrosity. It was just...enough.

/rant : D

[Au H20]

Well, over the last decade, the NFL has been pretty blatant in its, "We will always favor offense, always, fuck you defense."

I mean, from the incredibly strict roughing the passer rule, to the newly implemented "defenseless wide receiver" rule, to the "The Colts bitched about the 2004 AFC Title Game" holding rule, it's become pretty impossible for even a good defense to hold an opponent under 14.

And god, do I hate the fact that in all sports, someone decided offense was "fun" while pitching duels, defensive games, etc. are "boring".

[Gojira]

Au H20: I agree it's largely rules-driven. But the fact is, the rules have changed, and now it's just not about the D, like back in the day. Passing offenses rule the league. Sure, it's still possible to have success outside of that, but the majority of success comes from a high-scoring pass attack.

[Ted S.]

9-10 in the playoffs. That's a record worse than Favre, by the way. (As a Packer fan, I find interesting how ever since 2008 fellow Packer fans make the same excuses for Manning that they would never make for Favre any longer.)

[Ted S.]

What have the Patriots won since Belichick's videotapes were discovered?

[DB]

No, and Hank was drunk, as usual.

[Lepus]

Oh PLEASE let Ted Nugent do the next Monday Night Football Theme and make him a permanent host on Fox and Friends.

[Kristen]

That drug-warrior prick? Yeah, he'd be perfect.

[Libertymike]

He's also a suck-up to LE. If one is a suck-up to LE, one should be shown the ovens.

[Kristen]

Yeah, there's that too (which fits nicely with his drug warriorness)

[rac]

Iwon't try to defend the Nuge on his anti-drug position. Except to say that he has had it all his life. It did not come to him recently. He spent plenty of time with many drug-addled musicians. The way he tells it, he was hurt by the many deaths and other problems drugs caused several friends in the business. I disagree with him on legalization. But I have to agree with him that the use of some drugs fucks up many lives.

As an aside, I saw the Amboy Dukes, and then Ted Nugent and the Amboy Dukes about 6 times as a teenager. He has always been a very likeable nut.

[John]

Ted to his credit walks the walk. He has never done drugs to this day. At least he is not a "yeah I did a little blow but that was different" drug warrior like our current and last two Presidents.

[Libertymike]

Yeah, he walks the walk as far as being a suck-up to LE. That is one attribute for which fogiveness must come grudgingly, if ever.

[Kristen]

Dick Dale has never done a drug in his life, and watched many of his friends die from drug-related issues, but he's not on some kind of warrior bandwagon, otehr than saying he's never done a drug in his life.

Plus, Dick's a way better guitarist and all-around musician than Nuge.

[John]

I like the Nuge. But I have never had any use for his music. Dick Dale is a freaking god.

I will say this. You can reasonably disagree about the drug war. I think the Nuge is wrong. But the fact that he doesn't do drugs himself makes him at least a sincere person who holds a really wrong opinion. That is a whole lot better than 90% of the drug warriors in this country who did drugs themselves when they were young but now think it is okay to throw other people in jail for doing the same thing they did.

[Warty]

I saw Dick Dale at a tiny little shithole in Cleveland about 4 years ago. The dude was 73 and put on one of the most amazing shows I've ever seen.

[Warty]

Live

[Rfdkurn]

Last I checked, ESPN is a private organization and is free to regulate the content of its product. We, the consumers, are likewise free to vote with our feet.

[John]

They can do what they want. But that doesn't make them above criticism either.

[Kristen]

Yeah, I love when people say shit like this, as if it beinga private company sudeenly negates our right or ability to criticize.

[TD]

But it's still worth emphasizing the distinction. As you wander out onto the web today, you will be encountering a new crop of 17-year-olds to whom the distinction between "First Amendment free speech" and "ESPN's right to do whatever it wants" must be patiently explained.

It has to be explained every time there's some speech-related firing in the news.

[Libertymike]

This from a company that sacked Rush Limbaugh because he made the point that, in his OPINION, there were many sportswriters who desperately wanted Donovan McNabb to succeed because of his race.

Looking at his career, McNabb has consistently underwhelmed. Of course, he has been a very good quarterback, at times, and he has lead his team to several NFC championship games. But he is not Tom Brady or Peyton Manning or Drew Brees or Aaron Rogers or Eli Manning or Big Ben or Phillip Rivers or Kurt Warner or Steve McNair or Drew Bledsoe or Dan Marino or dan Fouts or Steve Young or Joe Montana or.....................................

How about ESPN's John saunders? On an edition of Sports Reporters during the fall of 2009, saunders stated that the NFL does not need a divisive and racist presence like Limbaugh. You may recall that Limbaugh was contemplating becoming part of a consortium to buy the St. Louis Rams.

[John]

ESPN also repeated every single internet slander against Limbaugh during its coverage of that. They made no effort to find out the truth of what if anything Limbaugh had ever said. Instead, they took a bunch of lefty blogs that were full of outright untruths and repeated it as truth.

People don't realize that sports reporters tend to be the worst mindless lefties. They know the other journalists don't take them seriously so they try to make up for it by singing at the lefty church choir louder than anyone.

[Libertymike]

Thank you for reminding me of that aspect of the affair. Now I remember listening to Rush challenging anybody to find the allegedly racist remarks. In fact, he made it a point of emphasis for several weeks during the fall of 09'.

[Mongo]

I thought Rush' opinions were incorrect, but not racist.

[John]

They reported him saying things that he never said. People have been blogging for years about how Rush had said all of these horrible things about black people with no proof it ever happened. ESPN repeated those things as if they were fact.

[Mo]

I'm pretty sure he said the "bone in your nose" comment.

[Gojira]

As a Texas Tech man and a Mike Leach fan, I don't have time to sit here and list everything that's wrong and disingenuous with ESPN's so-called "reporting".

[Warty]

Same for Ohio State fans. Fuck you, ESPN.

[EDG reppin' LBC]

More suspensions handed down today. Fuck fuckity fuck! This is a lost season, i'm afraid.

[Jeremy]

Wait...what? ESPN has bandwagonned Ohio State for decades, but ya'll have a gripe about that network? Talk about crazy.

[jdm]

McNabb is certainly underwhelming now. You'd think with all the barns here in MN, he'd be able to practice hitting the broad sides of one or two.

[Gimlet]

Ridicule McNabb if you must, but there is a very specific reason why the Vikings suck this year. They're not any good at football.

[Kristen]

Sadly, this is true. And listening to Leslie Frazier after the game made my head hurt.

[Mo]

McNabb in his prime was superior to Eli, McNair and Bledsoe. The problem was Andy Reid's shit doesn't work in the playoffs and he almost never had a decent receiver. Andy Reid going all pass happy and eschewing the run game is fantastic in September against the Arizona Cardinals of the world, but once you start playing real teams, you need to be able to control the clock and grind out some yards. Also, with the exception of the one non-crazy TO year, he's had receivers like Todd Pinkston and Fred-X as his top receivers. Which would be OK if he had a decent run game, as opposed to a short passing game with Westbrook) to cover up for those gaps.

[John]

I hate Reid's offense. McNabb was a good but not great quarterback in his prime. But man did he get old quick. He just turned into a pumpkin in about 2009. Only the Redskins would be dumb enough to give a second round draft choice for him.

[Mo]

You're right that he got old fast, but part of it is that he just doesn't give a shit enough to learn a new offense. However, McNabb was a great football player. He's top 20 all time for adjusted yards per attempt, he's 11th all time for total offensive yards and a 6 time Pro Bowler. He was fortunate in being paired with a great defense and unfortunate to have mediocre weapons (aside from Westbrook) around him. He's not in the same league as Marino, Elway or Manning, but that just means he's not in the pantheon of the all-time best at the position rather than a merely great quarterback.

[Pro Libertate]

I always respected McNabb and thought he was a solid QB. They had a sustained period of competitiveness, and just because they didn't get those Super Bowl rings don't mean that Reid or McNabb are failures. A lot of things have to go right for a team to win, and luck is a factor as well.

[Mo]

The funny thing is Rush's comment wasn't even all that interesting. Everything he said was true, at the time, about Tom Brady*. It would make a much more interesting, and less dog-whistley, if he said Tom Brady is overrated as a QB because he looks the part.

* Team won because of defense (which was better than the Eagles' D) and coaching (also superior to that of the Eagles)

[Mo]

Or heck, go with the whole, "QBs are overrated and get credit when their defense does the work."

McNabb wasn't given inordinate credit for the Eagles' success because he was black, he was given undue credit for the Eagles' success because he's a QB.

[Pro Libertate]

Agreed. And defense is usually the key to success in the post-season.

[Corey S.]

(in response to the claim that McNabb has consistently underwhelmed, and that he is not Eli):

McNabb was never the best QB in the league, but he was probably consistently top 5 during his career. He's also been extremely good at not turning the ball over, which is a skill Eli lacks. Eli has lead the league in INTs twice in his career, while McNabb has only thrown 15 once in his career. Eli's career INT % is a Favreian 3.3%, while McNabb only went over 2.5% twice in his career - his rookie year, and last year in Washington.

McNabb was a very good QB, while Eli has has never been a top 5 QB. And don't give me the "he won a SB" garbage - his D-line and that one guy's helmet won him a SB, the Giants only scored 17 points that game.

Of those QBs on that list, I'd say McNabb was better than Eli and Bledsoe, and about as good as Fouts and maybe Roethlisberger and Rivers.

Obviously, he's pretty washed up and done at this point (sorry MN), but let's not diminish how good he was at his peak. Plus, the Eagles nearly beat the Pats in 04 - how different would his legacy be if the Eagles had had a few more bounces go their way?

P.S. - Aaron Rodgers is awesome.

[Libertymike]

To the extent that you argue that sportsfans tend to overrate players based upon playoff performances, I emphatically agree.

In fact, sports, particularly professional sports, is not all about winnng the championship. To argue otherwise is to ignore life. IOW, each individual NFL player does not have the same, exact motivation and objective. Don't you think that things like love of the game, wanting to shine under the brightest lights as it relates to one's individual performance, engaging in the theater of it all, kicking some ass and showing and shocking the world that you are worthy of the cynosure of the world wide leader are also motivations and objectives quite apart from bringing home Mr. Lombardi's trophy?

As for Mo's point that Rush could have been talking about Tom Brady in 2003, that dog won't hunt. First, Brady had already won a Super Bowl ON THE FINAL DRIVE.

Second, Brady engineered a come back win in the tuck game against the Raiders. It was his first playoff game of his career.

Thus, how could you even begin to argue, with a straight face, that Rush could have been talking about Brady.

Furthermore, it just doesn't make sense to argue that the media was really invested in seeing Brady succeed whereas the evidence abounded with McNabb.

Moreover, the Eagles did not almost beat the Pats. Revisionist history? The Eagles scored a touchdown very late in the fourth quarter to reduce a 10 point Pat lead to 3.

[Corey S.]

Not revisionist history, I only remembered that it was a 3 point game and the final score confirmed that. You're probably right about the game, my bad.

[JB]

McNabb was overrated.

Fuck people whose feelings get hurt over that.

[JW]

Last I checked, ESPN is a private organization...

INSERT STANDARD LIBERTARIAN DISCLAIMER

[michael]

They'll replace him with something great. I bet they can get Hank III to do adapt Trashville to an NFL theme.

[Draco]

Analogy 101

He didn't "compare Obama to Hitler." He created an analogy in which the social relationship between a Hitler and a Bibi was compared with the social relationship between an Obama and a Boehner.

Also, why in hell do people assume that Obama was the Hitler in the analogy? (Maybe because calling our Presidents Hitlers has been a commonplace of late?)

[Pro Libertate]

If the analogy fits, you must submit.

[Art-P.O.G.]

Yeah, but it was hyperbolic to the point of being almost confusing.

[Pro Libertate]

Yeah, well, I don't go to Hank Williams, Jr. for my keenly crafted analogies, anyway.

No issues with ESPN suspending him--they probably don't want the government destroying their industry.

[Libertymike]

ESPN is the beneficiary of the nationwide local cable monopolies. It is also a beneficiary of the anti-trust exemptions COngress has given to professional sports leagues.

So, ESPN is not a purely private firm which exists outside of multi-billion dollar subsidies flowing to professional sports franchises and professional sports leagues.

[Mo]

But ESPN itself doesn't benefit. Fox Sports, Vs and other sports networks have those same government benefits, but still are getting killed in ratings. Your comment is like saying that you don't operate in the free market because you, your company and your company's suppliers all use government roads, fire departments and police protection.

[Pro Libertate]

Regardless of this issue, I hate ESPN and long have. Partially because they're the Eastern Seaboard Promotion Network, but also because they're too fucking cute and focus on gossip-mongering way too much.

[Skr]

They don't teach comprehension in schools anymore, just scanning for key words in order to jump to conclusions.

[Mongo]

His follow-through comments made it clear that he was comparing BHO to Der Fuhrer.

[Draco]

That may very well be true, but only because he stupidly answered the (other) idiots' follow up question in the affirmative. If he were smart, he'd have answered in the way I originally posted. "Why, Gretchen, I'm surprised you jumped to the conclusion that Obama was the Hitler in my analogy! But in any case, the analogy was about the relationship, and made no judgments about the individuals."

[cynical]

If he were smart, he wouldn't have said something like that in the first place.

[cynical]

Because he later came back and said that Obama and Biden were the enemy?

I mean, I guess maybe he considered Netanyahu the enemy and we all misunderstood him...

[Mike M.]

It's hard to say what's more painful: the awful Hank Williams Jr. song, or having to watch guys like Curtis Painter starting NFL games at quarterback.

[PantsFan]

Listening to John Gruden love every player?

[Libertymike]

THIS GUY...............

[Episiarch]

When you lose to Tampa Bay* after having a lead...you have problems.

* no offense ProL

[Pro Libertate]

Well, I don't think the Bucs are the perfect team by any means, but they are known for coming back at the end of games since Freeman took the helm.

I was glad to see signs of a pass rush for the second consecutive week.

[Libertymike]

I like Josh. He appears to be as cool as the other side of the pillow.

[Pro Libertate]

He's one of my mistakes. When the Bucs drafted him, I just went ballistic, as he had some pretty serious question marks, and Tampa needed defense more. Wrong! Turned out to be a great pick, and they have focused on defense ever since, anyway.

[Gojira]

One of the bartenders here in Dallas that I'm friends with is such a fan, he had a bunch of t-shirts screenprinted listing his physical states, along with such darlings as "lightning-quick feet, ninja-like reflexes", etc. etc.

The dude has a huge Bucs flag tattooed over his entire left man-boob. He is a serious TB fan.

[Pro Libertate]

That's serious.

[Joe M]

Is this a case of political correctness gone amok? Or of the market disciplining a chowderhead for straying from his core competency?

It might be both, but I also think there's a decent chance that ESPN has pissed off a lot of its viewers and will bring Williams back eventually.

[John]

I am thinking more rednecks watch Monday Night Football than neurotic Obama loving progs.

[Mongo]

I love that song. I love football and have rowdy friends.

[Art-P.O.G.]

I can think of better artists to record the theme, though.

[Pro Libertate]

AC/DC, bitches. Or maybe Sabbath. Nothing says American football like foreign bands.

[flye]

Yes, but if your rowdy friends are coming over on a regular basis (e.g. every Monday night), don't forget to apply for a land use permit.

[affenkopf]

Probably true. But I don't think they'll stop watching MNF because of this.

[Chatroom Crank]

Hank Jr is well known for spending most of his waking hours with Jack and Jim. A friend of mine is a recording engineer in NW Tenn. She related several stories about being hired to come to Hank's in home studio to record only to spend the evening doing nothing while Hank was drunk off his ass.

[John]

I have seen him twice in concert and both times he was George Jones level drunk and could hardly play. He does have some talent and is a very good entertainer. But he has let his demons and living in the shadow of his father turn him into a charactature of himself.

[Apatheist]

Don't ask me Hank
Why do you drink?
Hank why do you roll smoke?
Why must you live out the songs that you wrote?
If I'm down in a Honky-Tonk
Some ol' slicks tryin to give me corrections
I'll say leave me alone
I'm singin all night long
It's a family tradition

[John]

Ironically, his dad was not the partier people think he was. He had untreated spinal bifida and lived in terrible back pain his whole life. He then got hooked on pain meds thanks to a quack doctor. He really wasn't a degenerate drug addict. He just had a terrible doctor and a shrew of a wife.

[DB]

Hank was drunk of his ass when he appeard on Fox. Hank's always drunk off his ass. He must have recorded that song twenty years ago because he's been too drunk to record anything since.

[Aqua-Assualt Rabbit]

Charlie don't surf.
Hitler don't golf.
Stalin don't sniff glue.

[T]

Stalin always seemed like a vodka and amphetamines kind of guy.

[Bean Counter]

Seriously, who cares what a drunken washed up asshole son of a bigger asshole has to say about politics?

[Mike Laursen]

Hank Williams, the Senior was an asshole? Explain?

[EDG reppin' LBC]

Love football. Fucking hate the MNF intro music. While the networks are at it, can NBC shitcan the broad who does the Sunday Night Football music as well?

[Mongo]

The Sunday night NBC stuff is very annoying.

[affenkopf]

Also get rid of the FOX robots.

[Joe M]

Haha, is there a more pointless component of Sunday football?

[EDG reppin' LBC]

Matt Millen?

[Kristen]

Fox loves to create artifical "buzz" around useless memes on its sports broadcasts. Cleatus the robot is one. That fucking gopher on NASCAR is the worst, though. Anyone who buys t-shirts and ballcaps of that POS "Digger" deserves to DIAF.

[NeonCat]

Don't keep your feelings bottled up, Kristen, tell us how you really feel.

[Mo]

Come on, what says football more than an middle aged broad singing in front of a green screen?

At least drunken redneck is actually a major part of the football watching demo.

[Ted S.]

I prefer to listen to SNF and MNF on the radio.

[ChrisO]

The NFL broadcasts are all over-produced, in my opinion. The game pretty much sells itself and doesn't need much pre-game hype.

I hated that Hank Williams song the first time I heard it. They ought to just go back to the old MNF theme music, which became very iconic. And please, for fuck's sake, get rid of the three suck-ups they have calling the games on MNF. I have a hard time believing that Gruden was this gushy as a coach.

[I, Kahn O'Clast]

Well, the blonde did comment that Williams used the name of one of the most hated men in comparison to Obama and he agreed....

[sanderson13]

Well, Hitler was a Socialist. I'd say Boehner and Netanyahu are equally in opposition-working-together-creating-theater with Obama. What did Williams, Jr. get wrong again? 😀

I love "Are You Ready for Some Football?" even the Spanish version they play during Hispanic Pandering Month. Maybe Gillespie should loosen up his leather jacket and stick to his core competency.

[Libertymike]

Hitler, Obama, Boehner and Bibi are all socialists.

[Art-P.O.G.]

I'm trying to figure out just what the hell sanderson13 is saying, but it's not working for me.

[sanderson13]

You could ask me directly. I was joking that HWJr. didn't say anything wrong. And that I like HWJr's MNF song and Gillespie should keep his day job and leave music criticism to the side.

[Art-P.O.G.]

HWJ's MNF theme song is a philistine test. If you like it, you test positive for philistinism.

[DB]

And Hank Jr. is a drunken idiot. So I guess everything is even.

[?]

ESPN isn't "the market." It's just ESPN, whose audience (which is more like "the market") doesn't give enough of a shit about Hank Jr.'s analogies to have cost ESPN any business in reaction to them, if they even knew about them, which they didn't.

So, ESPN did a thing they didn't have to do, "market"-wise, to enforce political "discipline," for (largely) extra-"market," newsmaking, send-a-message (to whom? on whose behalf?), political reasons.

Newsmaking-sized companies' growing quasi-official (Disney's certainly not not the government) role as enforcers of political "discipline," while it can be excused as not-libertarianism-violating "market" behavior (if you want to excuse it), is a libertarianism-harming phenomenon, see, because (get this) libertarianism is not the politics any such company enforces.

Because they're ag'in' it.

So this is not good.

[MJ]

I imagine ESPN is more trying to avoid headaches from their staff than from people who watch MNF.

[Libertymike]

Headaches? what headaches?

[MJ]

I imagine a number of their talking heads are going to be in high dudgeon over Willams' poorly thought out analogy.

[Art-P.O.G.]

Sponsors and the politically connected, probably. In the case of Schultz and Sheen (below), their audiences were made almost entirely of leftists, I'm sure, but the broad commercial appeal of MNF makes it advantageous to eschew talking much about politics at all.

[ChrisO]

This was probably an overreaction, since I doubt anyone would have remembered Hank's idiotic comment for very long had he not been canned.

However, bad publicity is a very legitimate concern for broadcasters, and it's understandable why they would do this, even if the majority of their viewers couldn't give a shit.

I'm going to go further and say that ESPN was looking for a good excuse to dump Williams and his song in favor of something "fresher." He just handed them a viable excuse, is all.

[EDG reppin' LBC]

I'm going to go further and say that ESPN was looking for a good excuse to dump Williams and his song in favor of something "fresher." He just handed them a viable excuse, is all.

I suspect that as well. After 20 years, the show needs some new blood. Plus, I bet Hank's fees/royalties have substantially increased during the run. ESPN will probably find a more current (and cheaper) act to open the show.

[db]

It's likely that, some few loud dissenters notwithstanding, people will continue to watch football and forget entirely about this little dustup. I seriously don't see this harming MNF, but it will mainly serve to further cement opinions of those who take a strong stand on this.

[Zeb]

Using Hitler in an analogy will never get you anywhere.

[Episiarch]

You know who else said that?

[Colin]

Unless you are a liberal. Then it's okay.

[Libertymike]

Holding pictures of Chairman Mao will never get you anywhere either.

[Eva Braun]

Analogy? Well, ... OK, ... but just with you.

[Art-P.O.G.]

Vell done.

[Bee Tagger]

I'll look forward to all of the conservatives telling this celebrity that they don't want to hear his political opinions.

[MJ]

"Is this a case of political correctness gone amok? Or of the market disciplining a chowderhead for straying from his core competency?"

I don't think those descriptions are mutually exclusive. I think Wlliams shold not have Godwinned his analogy, and I do not think ESPN/ABC would fire an iconic symbol of their brand over something like this if it was not critical of The One.

[Fabius]

I was on Hank's side until I saw that camouflage Bama cap. That thing is far more offensive than anything he said.

[Mark]

The NFL is a majority black employee enterprise, and the employees are effectively partners in many ways. So when one of their associated spokesmen goes Godwin batshit on Obama, I'm supposed to be upset if they shitcan him? It's fucking business.

YAWN

[Libertymike]

And your point is that RACE considerations trump all? Not good business.

[Rick Gozinia]

Not necessarily mutually exclusive. Racism can be good business.

[John]

The NFL is an entertainment enterprise that makes millions from people who agreed with Williams Jr. If that upsets the employees, then I guess they should find another line of work that will pay them six and seven figure salaries.

[Libertymike]

Racism is what Mark says should drive the NFL and ESPN.

Mark's position is so typically craven.

[Eric]

Your assumption is that ESPN makes millions from people that agree that Obama = Hitler? While there are many that like to equate their least favorite people to Hitler, I don't think that Obama qualifies.
Further, I think that most Americans still respect the office of the presidency, if not the president himself. ESPN made the correct calculus: Williams < Obama/POTUS.

[MJ]

Black players are supposed to be automatically up in arms over a criticism of Obama? That's either a bogoted assumption on your part, or, if true, a bigoted response on their part.

[Mark]

There will not be a single person who turns away from the NFL over this. This is the hillbillies' Ground Zero Mosque--WGAF.

[Libertymike]

No, you are wrong. Some people treasure principles more than the NFL.

[H. Reardon]

Upon what principle are you standing if you would refuse to watch the NFL or ESPN over this?

[kawliga]

My, my. Now we get sensitive. Didn't Martin Sheen call Bush Hitler during his West Wing Days? Nary a peep then.

[Mike M.]

Look, it's this simple: Bush is Hitler, and Obama is the Obamessiah, the Black Jesus, the man who will eventually cause the oceans to stop rising and bring about world peace forever.

I know it's hilarious, but this is how most of these sickos in our media/entertainment complex truly think.

To even so much as question the anointed one, much less compare him to Hitler, is almost career suicide in most of these giant media companies.

[Anthony]

What would Charly Sheen have to say about Obama these days

[kawliga]

Furthermore, I seem to recollect the fatman, Ed the slobbering Schultz, called Bush Hitler, too.

[Art-P.O.G.]

The unironic Godwinning does reveal a profound lack of rhetorical imagination.

[Tim]

How long has Williams been working as a security guard?

[CE]

Well Hitler illegally attacked Poland, and Obama illegally attacked Libya, so it's not entirely farfetched to compare the two.

On the other hand, Obama seems less likely to round us up and send us to camps, we hope.

[Anthony]

Well you could be the enemy of the state...

[Kristen]

We're only at frame #8 of the Mises cartoon, so you just wait.

[FEMA contractor]

How did that whole "hope" thing work out for you last time?

[Anthony]

I wished Hank would endorse Gov Johnson and or Ron Paul... but I do think that Hank was not all that wrong on the issues. Joe Biden and him alike are threat to freedom and economic recovery.

[Eric]

The problem for me is balance. I could accept that Democrats = Enemy of the State, if you would also accept that Republicans are as well. Instead, on this site, and in general, Libertarians seem to focus on the left, but ignore what fucking unbelievable assholes are represented on the right. Bible-thumping, know-nothing, closeted, repressed, war-mongering, evil, fucking-douchebags. Until the Libertarian party divorces the so-con's in the R party, you'll always be the party of "I'm-With-Stupid" to a large swath of moderates who really want to like you.

[EDG reppin' LBC]

Hey Eric, please spend some time in Hit & Run archives, and read the comments sections. I think you will find that the R's and the D's are equally vilified. In general, the Republicans and Democrats seem to focus on the opposition, but ignore what fucking unbelievable assholes are represented in their own party. Bible-thumping, know-nothing, closeted, repressed, war-mongering, evil, fucking-douchebags. Until self-proclaimed moderates divorce themselves from the R and D parties, they'll always be the sucker wearing the "I'm-With-Stupid in 2012!" t-shirt. But don't despair, there is a growing swath of libertarians who really want to like them.

[ChrisO]

Eric, the problem is that at least the Republicans occasionally mouth the right words, even if we know they don't really mean them much of the time. The Democrats are pretty much a lost cause altogether. They used to be on the right side of a few liberty issues, but have largely abandoned (for example) free-speech advocacy in favor of trying to silence their opponents.

If you don't believe that going third-party is effective, then what are your choices? The party that gives lip service to downsizing the government or the party that has recently gone even more all-in on expanding it? Not a very appealing choice, I realize.

[Eric]

ChrisO. I'll give you that Paul, Johnson, and some other libertarian-leaning R's mouth the right words, but I don't buy it from the others. They know that the R's are supposed to be the party of limited government, and so they say anti-government things. But, in large, the R's are just as big of statists as the D's, just in different ways.
I guess it's a matter of preference for me. I just can't get over the fact that people like Santorum, Bachmann, and Palin are given such prominent voices. IMO - Any one of them, if given power, would make Obama look like a kitten.

[ChrisO]

I disagree. I tend to think that Palin would be slightly better than the other three from the libertarian perspective, although that's setting the bar pretty low.

You have to remember that the GOP has gladly taken votes from the social conservatives for decades without ever actually giving them a single thing. Because of that, I tend to view the GOP pandering to social cons as more benign than the Democrats' flirtation with socialism. That has resulted in actual enacted legislation.

[Mike Laursen]

Probably seems like that just because John posts a lot. He just can't resist Tony's baiting.

[jcalton]

"the avuncular morning show Fox & Friends"

Nobody find this diction weird but me?

Maybe Nick Gillespie has a family full of really shallow, good-looking, ditzy, garrulous, misinformed uncles, so it means something different to him.

[heller]

More importantly, who cares what song ESPN does or does not use and why they choose to do so? Bueller? Bueller?

[Randall Hoven]

Apparently, you don't believe his own explanation that he was showing how opposite Obama & Boehner are, rather than saying Obama = Hitler. Then, proceeding from your own mis-interpretation of someone else's mind, you call him a "chowderhead" while also denigrating his music, which is irrelevant to the issue here. I think you are the chowderhead.

[Art-P.O.G.]

The analogy was distracting. One of the biggest reasons Hitler and Netanyahu wouldn't get along is because Hitler would doubtless try to murder young Netanyahu.

The situation Williams was actually describing is more like the CEO of Pepsi and the CEO of Coca-Cola facing off on the links.

[Art-P.O.G.]

Also, it seems fair to bring Williams' music into the article, because turnabout is fair play. Williams had a political forum because of his music, so it somehow seems fair to talk about his music when his politics come up. Face, Hoven!

[Pro Libertate]

Yet that conflict is the greater one.

[?]

Besides, Hitler couldn't putt worth a crap.

[TWylite]

Hitler was ready for some football, too

[Mark]

The real world and Reasonoid commenters--never shall the twain meet.

[patrick]

well, hitler committed the initial offense, so netanyahu and the israelis go overkill on being anti-nazis and end up acting like nazis. sorta sounds like obama committing the initial offense and boehner and the republicans go overkill on being anti-democrats and end up acting like idiots.

[Tim Cavanaugh]

Forget Hitler.

This inhuman monster is playing a Gibson guitar.

And known southpaw Gillespie is trying to cover it up by using the "flip image horizontal" command to make Bocephus look like a lefty.

[BoscoH]

Imagine if he'd compared Obama to Jimmy Carter. They'd have had him stoned.

[Mr. Mark]

"Imagine if he'd compared Obama to Jimmy Carter. They'd have had him stoned."

Never known Jimmy to have a violent streak.

[Mr. Mark]

I hear he's to be replaced by the Shaw-Wow guy.

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[ibaconi]

Straying from his core competency? What was incompetent about what he said? I guess this'll just make my not watching ESPN even easier.

[Toby]

Just send Hank Jr. over to Nascar where the rednecks will love him.