Jive Turkey
ONE love, blood, life
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This article applies nicely to our little microcosm we have here
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The friendliest place on the web for anyone that follows U2.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
BVS
Blue Crack Supplier
Asking me to login
deep
Blue Crack Addict
can't say you haven't been asked, lately.
Jive Turkey
ONE love, blood, life
- Joined
- Mar 28, 2005
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- 13,645
oh, really??? weird, sorry. I can get on and don't have a membership. Hang on
Jive Turkey
ONE love, blood, life
- Joined
- Mar 28, 2005
- Messages
- 13,645
Please Stop Apologizing
By BILL MAHER
Published: March 21, 2012
THIS week, Robert De Niro made a joke about first ladies, and Newt Gingrich said it was “inexcusable and the president should apologize for him.” Of course, if something is “inexcusable,” an apology doesn’t make any difference, but then again, neither does Newt Gingrich.
Mr. De Niro was speaking at a fund-raiser with the first lady, Michelle Obama. Here’s the joke: “Callista Gingrich. Karen Santorum. Ann Romney. Now do you really think our country is ready for a white first lady?”
The first lady’s press secretary declared the joke “inappropriate,” and Mr. De Niro said his remarks were “not meant to offend.” So, as these things go, even if the terrible damage can never be undone, at least the healing can begin. And we can move on to the next time we choose sides and pretend to be outraged about nothing.
When did we get it in our heads that we have the right to never hear anything we don’t like? In the last year, we’ve been shocked and appalled by the unbelievable insensitivity of Nike shoes, the Fighting Sioux, Hank Williams Jr., Cee Lo Green, Ashton Kutcher, Tracy Morgan, Don Imus, Kirk Cameron, Gilbert Gottfried, the Super Bowl halftime show and the ESPN guys who used the wrong cliché for Jeremy Lin after everyone else used all the others. Who can keep up?
This week, President Obama’s chief political strategist, David Axelrod, described Mitt Romney’s constant advertising barrage in Illinois as a “Mittzkrieg,” and instantly the Republican Jewish Coalition was outraged and called out Mr. Axelrod’s “Holocaust and Nazi imagery” as “disturbing.” Because the message of “Mittzkrieg” was clear: Kill all the Jews. Then the coalition demanded not only that Mr. Axelrod apologize immediately but also that Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz “publicly rebuke” him. For a pun! For punning against humanity!
The right side of America is mad at President Obama because he hugged Derrick Bell, a law professor who believed we live in a racist country, 22 years ago; the left side of America is mad at Rush Limbaugh for seemingly proving him right.
If it weren’t for throwing conniption fits, we wouldn’t get any exercise at all.
I have a better idea. Let’s have an amnesty — from the left and the right — on every made-up, fake, totally insincere, playacted hurt, insult, slight and affront. Let’s make this Sunday the National Day of No Outrage. One day a year when you will not find some tiny thing someone did or said and pretend you can barely continue functioning until they apologize.
If that doesn’t work, what about this: If you see or hear something you don’t like in the media, just go on with your life. Turn the page or flip the dial or pick up your roll of quarters and leave the booth.
The answer to whenever another human being annoys you is not “make them go away forever.” We need to learn to coexist, and it’s actually pretty easy to do. For example, I find Rush Limbaugh obnoxious, but I’ve been able to coexist comfortably with him for 20 years by using this simple method: I never listen to his program. The only time I hear him is when I’m at a stoplight next to a pickup truck.
When the lady at Costco gives you a free sample of its new ham pudding and you don’t like it, you spit it into a napkin and keep shopping. You don’t declare a holy war on ham.
I don’t want to live in a country where no one ever says anything that offends anyone. That’s why we have Canada. That’s not us. If we sand down our rough edges and drain all the color, emotion and spontaneity out of our discourse, we’ll end up with political candidates who never say anything but the safest, blandest, emptiest, most unctuous focus-grouped platitudes and cant. In other words, we’ll get Mitt Romney.
By BILL MAHER
Published: March 21, 2012
THIS week, Robert De Niro made a joke about first ladies, and Newt Gingrich said it was “inexcusable and the president should apologize for him.” Of course, if something is “inexcusable,” an apology doesn’t make any difference, but then again, neither does Newt Gingrich.
Mr. De Niro was speaking at a fund-raiser with the first lady, Michelle Obama. Here’s the joke: “Callista Gingrich. Karen Santorum. Ann Romney. Now do you really think our country is ready for a white first lady?”
The first lady’s press secretary declared the joke “inappropriate,” and Mr. De Niro said his remarks were “not meant to offend.” So, as these things go, even if the terrible damage can never be undone, at least the healing can begin. And we can move on to the next time we choose sides and pretend to be outraged about nothing.
When did we get it in our heads that we have the right to never hear anything we don’t like? In the last year, we’ve been shocked and appalled by the unbelievable insensitivity of Nike shoes, the Fighting Sioux, Hank Williams Jr., Cee Lo Green, Ashton Kutcher, Tracy Morgan, Don Imus, Kirk Cameron, Gilbert Gottfried, the Super Bowl halftime show and the ESPN guys who used the wrong cliché for Jeremy Lin after everyone else used all the others. Who can keep up?
This week, President Obama’s chief political strategist, David Axelrod, described Mitt Romney’s constant advertising barrage in Illinois as a “Mittzkrieg,” and instantly the Republican Jewish Coalition was outraged and called out Mr. Axelrod’s “Holocaust and Nazi imagery” as “disturbing.” Because the message of “Mittzkrieg” was clear: Kill all the Jews. Then the coalition demanded not only that Mr. Axelrod apologize immediately but also that Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz “publicly rebuke” him. For a pun! For punning against humanity!
The right side of America is mad at President Obama because he hugged Derrick Bell, a law professor who believed we live in a racist country, 22 years ago; the left side of America is mad at Rush Limbaugh for seemingly proving him right.
If it weren’t for throwing conniption fits, we wouldn’t get any exercise at all.
I have a better idea. Let’s have an amnesty — from the left and the right — on every made-up, fake, totally insincere, playacted hurt, insult, slight and affront. Let’s make this Sunday the National Day of No Outrage. One day a year when you will not find some tiny thing someone did or said and pretend you can barely continue functioning until they apologize.
If that doesn’t work, what about this: If you see or hear something you don’t like in the media, just go on with your life. Turn the page or flip the dial or pick up your roll of quarters and leave the booth.
The answer to whenever another human being annoys you is not “make them go away forever.” We need to learn to coexist, and it’s actually pretty easy to do. For example, I find Rush Limbaugh obnoxious, but I’ve been able to coexist comfortably with him for 20 years by using this simple method: I never listen to his program. The only time I hear him is when I’m at a stoplight next to a pickup truck.
When the lady at Costco gives you a free sample of its new ham pudding and you don’t like it, you spit it into a napkin and keep shopping. You don’t declare a holy war on ham.
I don’t want to live in a country where no one ever says anything that offends anyone. That’s why we have Canada. That’s not us. If we sand down our rough edges and drain all the color, emotion and spontaneity out of our discourse, we’ll end up with political candidates who never say anything but the safest, blandest, emptiest, most unctuous focus-grouped platitudes and cant. In other words, we’ll get Mitt Romney.
Irvine511
Blue Crack Supplier
Indeed, this *is* why we have Canada.
Jive Turkey
ONE love, blood, life
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That part offended me
ryancoke71
ONE love, blood, life
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Yes, we Canadians are so timid.
BoMac
Self-righteous bullshitter
Meh, one of my friends posted this article on Facebook the other day and called that one sentence a potshot at Canada. I saw it more as perpetuating the stereotype of Canadians being nice and polite to one another, which never really bothered me. If people want to think that, who cares?
Moonlit_Angel
Blue Crack Addict
I do agree with the overall sentiment-yeah, I'd love to live in a world where people say nice things day in and day out, but that's not how the real world currently works. Some people are just going to be rude and mean and obnoxious. It's just how they are, or it's out of ignorance, or it's blunt honesty, hell, sometimes it's the result of a bad day and a crabby attitude at that moment, whatever. And context is everything, too.
People are free to be outraged if they want, and if you say something that you know will cause controversy, be prepared to deal with the reactions you will get. However, we can't keep silencing every single person who says something offensive. And we can't keep forcing people to apologize for things they say. I want to hear a sincere apology if someone says something that offends me, I don't want them to offer a half-hearted, "I'm only doing this 'cause they're making me do it" thing. If we silence people and drown them out, okay, we've made them shut up, but the offensive attitude/thought is still there, we haven't exactly solved anything or gotten into a genuine discussion about the controversial issue at hand. And if one person doesn't say it, someone else will.
People are free to be outraged if they want, and if you say something that you know will cause controversy, be prepared to deal with the reactions you will get. However, we can't keep silencing every single person who says something offensive. And we can't keep forcing people to apologize for things they say. I want to hear a sincere apology if someone says something that offends me, I don't want them to offer a half-hearted, "I'm only doing this 'cause they're making me do it" thing. If we silence people and drown them out, okay, we've made them shut up, but the offensive attitude/thought is still there, we haven't exactly solved anything or gotten into a genuine discussion about the controversial issue at hand. And if one person doesn't say it, someone else will.
deep
Blue Crack Addict
We have Canada because God said no to 'manifest destiny'.*
So much for American Exceptionalism.
* War of 1812
So much for American Exceptionalism.
* War of 1812
The Sad Punk
Blue Crack Addict
But are you outraged?
Billy Rotten
Acrobat
We Canadians do complain about our situation and yes, we do get offended. Fortunately, we have less to complain about and live in a less "offensive" country.
P.S. - America is the world's bully. It needs to put down everyone else in order to feel better about it self - "Lazy" Mexico, "Socialist" Europe (especially France and Britain), "Wimpy" Canada. I do the same as with any other bully and IGNORE them. Unfortunately, too many other children in the schoolyard are having their lunch money (oil) taken away from them and the rest of the children aren't uniting to stand up to them.
P.S. - America is the world's bully. It needs to put down everyone else in order to feel better about it self - "Lazy" Mexico, "Socialist" Europe (especially France and Britain), "Wimpy" Canada. I do the same as with any other bully and IGNORE them. Unfortunately, too many other children in the schoolyard are having their lunch money (oil) taken away from them and the rest of the children aren't uniting to stand up to them.
Irvine511
Blue Crack Supplier
I'm outraged by this post.
Jive Turkey
ONE love, blood, life
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I'm going to need an apology
CPTLCTYGOOFBALL
War Child
- Joined
- Sep 27, 2004
- Messages
- 537
I really like the United States and I really like Americans, I think they're really friendly people and the world is indebted to the United States for many things.
As a proud Canadian however, I'm happy that Canada is there for those Americans who are knuckleheads to use as the butt of jokes whenever needed........It ensures that none of them will ever move here--We only wanna import the smart ones.
The reality is though, in many ways the United States is laughed at by alot of people around the world, and many Americans are just *TOO* patriotic and *TOO* busy taking potshots at any country who isn't...well, America.... to realize it. Those Americans who called french fries "freedom fries" with a straight face are more than likely still too wrapped up in being "patriotic" to admit that the French were right--Going into Iraq WAS wrong.
Anyway, for this persons sake......
......I hope that that they aren't aware of these quotes from the 1960s when Medicare was being debated:
"Write those letters now; call your friends and them to write them. If you don't, this program I promise you, will pass just as surely as the sun will come up tomorrow, and behind it will come other federal programs that will invade every area of freedom as we have known it in this country...And if you don't do this and if I don't do it, one of these days we are going to spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children, what it once was like in America when men were free."
--Ronald Reagan from his 1961 LP(!)
"Having given our pensioners their medical care in kind, why not food baskets, why not public housing accommodations, why not vacation resorts, why not a ration of cigarettes for those who smoke and of beer for those who drink."
--Barry Goldwater 1964
George H.W. Bush was more succinct and simply described Medicare as "Socialized Medicine" in 1964. He didn't bother to put out an album though, that guy couldn't record and issue a spoken word album if his life depended on it.
Anyway if THIS person.....
.......WAS aware of those quotes, they'd have to wake up every morning, look in the mirror, point and say "Socialist!!"
I'm also not convinced that that they wouldn't accidentally set themselves on fire as they attempted to burn themself in effigy ........
I wonder if they have email....?
Anyway, I have no problem with Canada being the punch line of any joke, at any time. It allows us to know who we're dealing with!
As a proud Canadian however, I'm happy that Canada is there for those Americans who are knuckleheads to use as the butt of jokes whenever needed........It ensures that none of them will ever move here--We only wanna import the smart ones.
The reality is though, in many ways the United States is laughed at by alot of people around the world, and many Americans are just *TOO* patriotic and *TOO* busy taking potshots at any country who isn't...well, America.... to realize it. Those Americans who called french fries "freedom fries" with a straight face are more than likely still too wrapped up in being "patriotic" to admit that the French were right--Going into Iraq WAS wrong.
Anyway, for this persons sake......
......I hope that that they aren't aware of these quotes from the 1960s when Medicare was being debated:
"Write those letters now; call your friends and them to write them. If you don't, this program I promise you, will pass just as surely as the sun will come up tomorrow, and behind it will come other federal programs that will invade every area of freedom as we have known it in this country...And if you don't do this and if I don't do it, one of these days we are going to spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children, what it once was like in America when men were free."
--Ronald Reagan from his 1961 LP(!)
"Having given our pensioners their medical care in kind, why not food baskets, why not public housing accommodations, why not vacation resorts, why not a ration of cigarettes for those who smoke and of beer for those who drink."
--Barry Goldwater 1964
George H.W. Bush was more succinct and simply described Medicare as "Socialized Medicine" in 1964. He didn't bother to put out an album though, that guy couldn't record and issue a spoken word album if his life depended on it.
Anyway if THIS person.....
.......WAS aware of those quotes, they'd have to wake up every morning, look in the mirror, point and say "Socialist!!"
I'm also not convinced that that they wouldn't accidentally set themselves on fire as they attempted to burn themself in effigy ........
I wonder if they have email....?
Anyway, I have no problem with Canada being the punch line of any joke, at any time. It allows us to know who we're dealing with!
Jive Turkey
ONE love, blood, life
- Joined
- Mar 28, 2005
- Messages
- 13,645
Please don't take a huge dump in my thread
ryancoke71
ONE love, blood, life
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- Nov 1, 2009
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- 14,641
CPTLCTYGOOFBALL
War Child
- Joined
- Sep 27, 2004
- Messages
- 537
Right, let's get back to the topic at hand, which is Bill Mahers opinion piece.
I enjoyed it--Thanks for posting it!
