Both Sides Now

Suppose I was running for president and a rumor was initiated by my opponent that my wife and I were ultra orthodox Jews, who funneled money and arms to extreme right wing militant groups in Israel.

Everybody with a fog free brain knows this is not so, but there are pockets of ignorance fed by this ugliness that want to believe it, and therefore do.

Soon after the rumors start, a magazine known for its great cartoons and brilliant writing publishes a cover cartoon satirizing the ridiculous accusations. It depicts me in a prayer shawl and yarmulke with a huge nose and bulging eyes, and my wife in the traditional wig worn by orthodox Jewish women, baking bread and cleaning an Uzi at the same time.

I would understand the satiric tone of the cartoon, and I would think that in a world blessed with a sense of humor, it would be a non-issue. Sadly, we do not have the same sense of humor we used to. The world has been made uglier by men of breath-taking greed, of a soullessness so grotesque that it stops decent people in mid sentence.

George Bush does not like to be criticized, he does not tolerate dissent or disagreement with an adroit hand. If you can't stand being criticized, then you can't laugh at yourself, and you don't get irony, and we then become a society that spends a lot of time telling people "that's not funny".

Bernie Mac told a joke without a curse word in it and got heckled at an Obama rally. That's right, heckled by people with enough jack to fork over $2300 for a seat at this event. Try this out: if you don't think it's funny, keep quiet. I promise no one paid to hear your tired behind carp and complain.

Whoopi Goldberg was hushed up for three years because she told a joke that no one got. How do you penalize someone for speaking in a language you don't understand?

None of the late night shows present comedic talent at nearly the rate they used to. Why? Can you name your favorite new comic? No? That's why.

I am going to write a piece now about what I would say if I were Barack Obama regarding the New Yorker cover. It depicts the Senator and Mrs. Obama dressed like they're about to blow up Shea Stadium (saving millions on the demolition job, so thanks. folks).

I would be upset if it were me, but that would not be my main message. More to come.

Comments

[SERWA]

OBAMA and his Koran
How many people were taught not to walk when the big red hand is up?

Promise me you won't make me swear all of this is true.

¢ Obama's Catholic school in Jakarta: Nedra Pickler of the Associated Press reports that "documents showed he enrolled as a Muslim" while at a Catholic school during first through third grades. Kim Barker of The Chicago Tribune confirms that Obama was "listed as a Muslim on the registration form for the Catholic school."

¢ The public school: Paul Watson of The Los Angeles Times learned from Indonesians familiar with Obama when he lived in Jakarta that he "was registered by his family as a Muslim at both schools he attended." Haroon Siddiqui of The Toronto Star visited the Jakarta public school Obama attended and found that "Three of his teachers have said he was enrolled as a Muslim." Although Siddiqui cautions that "With the school records missing, eaten by bugs, one has to rely on people's shifting memories," he cites only one retired teacher, Tine Hahiyari, retracting her earlier certainty about Obama's being registered as a Muslim.

¢ Barack Obama's public school in Jakarta, Koran class: In his autobiography, Dreams of My Father, Obama relates how he got into trouble for making faces during Koran studies. Indeed, Obama still retains knowledge from that class: Nicholas Kristof of The New York Times reports that Obama "recalled the opening lines of the Arabic call to prayer"

[Russycle]

The problem with the cover is the complete lack of context, and the very real possibility that New Yorker editor David Remnick has an anti-Obama agenda. He ripped Gore pretty good back in 2000. More on that here:
http://www.dailyhowler.com/

[BlackJAC]

Here's the problem, Sam: people are morons and humor is extremely subjective. For example, red staters prefer EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND and Jeff Foxworthy while blue staters prefer TWO AND A HALF MEN and Chris Rock. Scott Adams did a DILBERT cartoon in which Wally put in for a mail-order bride and they sent him a pig in a dress; he was accused of calling women pigs even though he viewed it Wally merely getting ripped off by expecting a human and instead getting livestock. The technical term for this is "being too hip for the room."

[bgregs]

Sam, as I heard on Tom Hartman last night (and confirmed for myself) there is no satire here. To make it satirical would have been something like Rove painting this cover, or some ignorant looking white man looking at it on the computer, or something else!

[Sammyshow]

No,it is satire,that is how it was intended. The fact that we are debating what makes up satire is intriguing. I DO agree,however (and said his on the air today) that great satire would have been a Rush Limbaugh bloviating on the air and in a cartoon cloud over his head the Obamas dressed in the cover cartoon,thereby enhancing the idea.
Best wishes,

Sam Greenfield

[nivekabsurdo]

Dear Sam:
This is spot on. The Obama cartoon brought a smile to my face and I'm a supporter of his. Comedy clubs don't want political comics either. Its like Lenny Bruce is getting arrested again but worse. This time its corporate censorship, which is more insidious than overt government censorship. If a few giant corporations control the airwaves, the television and cable stations and these are beholden to a plutocratic few politicians where are we? Nazi Germany? At times it feels like it. We have freedom of speech but recent legal threats to bloggers and latest legislation granting immunity to communications companies on warrentless wiretapping are truly moves toward a facist America.
Yours Truly,
Nivek

[Sammyshow]

The culpability is the homogeneity of media,no slipups,no adlibs,stay on script,smooth,varnished wave free.

Thanks for the thoughts.

Sam