Category Archives: Media

O.J.'s Manual For Murder

Crime, Criminal Injustice, Media, The Zeitgeist

What a performative contradiction: cable’s point men and women have been contorting like Cirque du Soleil contortionists because of the despicable antics of HarperCollins publisher, Judith Regan, in publishing the sociopathic rants of the killer, O.J. Simpson. Yet they’re all giving this uninteresting, idiotic development time—almost as much time as they devote to the bubblehead with the double chin and chubby cheeks, Britney Spears.

From an impassioned interview Mark Fuhrman gave Hannity & Comles, it transpired that Allan Colmes is a pretty weird gnome; he believes O.J. is innocent, and has written as much in his “book.” On the program, Colmes attacked Fuhrman furiously.

I admire Fuhrman. He did his job and was slimed for it. He then bootstrapped his way back into so-called polite company. There is something utterly revolting about a liberal who, bereft of an argument, reaches for his standard stock-in-trade: accusations of racism. Colmes threw everything but the kitchen sink at a guest who’d come on to speak about this latest low in the American publishing world—a How-To instructional by a murderer—because he had investigated the case.

Fuhrman told the two talking heads, whose books Regan has published, that he would no longer be dealing with said publisher. Needless to say, the two hosts did not join Fuhrman in a show of principle.

What was also of interest was Hannity’s contaminated perspective. Conservatives have absorbed the therapeutic idiom completely. Hannity expressed the view that O.J. was consumed by guilt—could no longer contain the remorse, and was using a book as a confessional. He, Hannity, wanted closure too.

My God. I don’t know if there’s anything that disgusts me more than this meaningless, immoral mumbo-jumbo. Fuhrman, far more intelligent than his hosts, tried to explain to both about the nature of evil. There are people in this world, O.J. being one such specimen, who can kill another human being (or a couple), and then pop into KFC for some chicken, he said. Murder is nothing to them. (At this stage, Rumpelstiltskin intensified the racism accusations, because of the mention of KFC. Don’t ask me why.)

Neither one of these gents got it. The root-causes rot runs too deep in both. As for publisher Regan, she says, “What I wanted was closure, not money.” Since when is every self-appointed proxy of pain in a position to seek closure (whatever that means) for pain she has not sustained?

The only two people who have the moral authority to forgive this monster have been dead for a decade, their throats slit from ear to ear. (There’s more here. Send these on to Judith Regan so she can have “closure.”)

Updated for the Third Time: Borat’s Cultural Learnings

America, Anti-Semitism, Film, Hollywood, Media

On Saturday, I caught the matinee screening of Sacha Baron Cohen’s “Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan.” It’s well-worth seeing. The man is a great comedian.
I like the way Cohen only interviews in character, as Borat, never revealing who he is. Reviewers haven’t been hip to this tactic. Cohen’s transformation into the unattractive Borat (and equally awful Ali G and Bruno) is remarkable, considering he’s quite a dish.

This next “learning” is probably only available on Barely a Blog, but, for what it’s worth, when Borat and Azamat Bagatov (his Kazakh “producer”) talk, Borat rattles off in Hebrew. Azamat is speaking in tongues, for all I know. Cohen can speak Hebrew, but his accent is not the best.

Here’s a very funny Vanity-Fair interview with Borat Sagdiyev. In response to the question, “Who is your favorite American celebrity and why,” Borat writes:

“My favorites celebritys is dancing Negro Michael Jacksons, singing transvestite Madonna, and, of course, fearless anti-Jew warrior Mel Gibsons. We in Kazakhstan agrees with his statement that Jews started all wars and also have proof that they were responsible for Hurricane Katrina and also killed off the dinosaurs.”

Update: Those of you with a funny bone will find the following hard to believe. Around the Internet, the dour and dreary (that includes Abe Foxman) are decimating Borat for his high-wire antics, and accusing his creator, Baron Cohen:

* Of promoting anti-Semitism (“In one scene Borat insists on driving to California rather than flying, ‘in case the Jews repeat their attack of 9/11′”).
* Of libeling America as endemically anti-Semitic, even though Americans come off (as I pointed out in “Fun in Kazakhstan“) as kind, sweet, polite, and infinitely patient with “this delightful fellow,” as one of his gracious Southern hosts mischaracterizes the bumbling Borat.
* Of harboring an imperial mindset (this is by far the kookiest complaint) because he victimizes and patronizes Kazakhstan. (“In Kazakhstan we say, ‘God, man, horse, dog, then woman, then rat.'” Also according to Borat, the national sport in Kazakhstan is shooting a dog and then having a party. You can earn a living being a Gypsy catcher. Wine is made from fermented horse urine. Kazakh villages all have a Village Rapist.)

Sorry, I had to stop writing—cracked up remembering Borat’s reference to Bush as the “mighty warlord.” The guy’s a satirist—a funny, one-of-a-kind comedian. Only losers “analyze” Cohen, aka Borat, alias Ali G-cum-Bruno.

Updated Again: At last, Alvaro Vargas Llosa of The Independent Institute has a decent defense of Boart as “simply anarchic.” Here’s an excerpt:

“I have read that Borat is a left-winger in disguise. This doesn’t square with his mockery of feminists (“give me a smile, baby, why the angry face”) and of a black politician with whom he discusses homosexuality. I have also read that Borat is a right-wing fascist. It doesn’t quite square with the scene at the rodeo in where he persuades the organizers to let him sing “The Star-Spangled Banner” only to launch into an intentionally satirical tirade against Iraq (“I hope you kill every man, woman, and child in Iraq, down to the lizards”). No, Borat is simply anarchic—there is no institution, idea, cultural value or government he does not find worthy of being picked apart through humor. It’s always healthy to take a second look at the way we all live.”

Updated for the Third Time: Where did you first learn Borat was speaking Hebrew? On BAB, of course. Here’s the confirmation–in case you needed one.

Updated for the Third Time: Borat's Cultural Learnings

America, Anti-Semitism, Film, Hollywood, Media

On Saturday, I caught the matinee screening of Sacha Baron Cohen’s “Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan.” It’s well-worth seeing. The man is a great comedian.
I like the way Cohen only interviews in character, as Borat, never revealing who he is. Reviewers haven’t been hip to this tactic. Cohen’s transformation into the unattractive Borat (and equally awful Ali G and Bruno) is remarkable, considering he’s quite a dish.

This next “learning” is probably only available on Barely a Blog, but, for what it’s worth, when Borat and Azamat Bagatov (his Kazakh “producer”) talk, Borat rattles off in Hebrew. Azamat is speaking in tongues, for all I know. Cohen can speak Hebrew, but his accent is not the best.

Here’s a very funny Vanity-Fair interview with Borat Sagdiyev. In response to the question, “Who is your favorite American celebrity and why,” Borat writes:

“My favorites celebritys is dancing Negro Michael Jacksons, singing transvestite Madonna, and, of course, fearless anti-Jew warrior Mel Gibsons. We in Kazakhstan agrees with his statement that Jews started all wars and also have proof that they were responsible for Hurricane Katrina and also killed off the dinosaurs.”

Update: Those of you with a funny bone will find the following hard to believe. Around the Internet, the dour and dreary (that includes Abe Foxman) are decimating Borat for his high-wire antics, and accusing his creator, Baron Cohen:

* Of promoting anti-Semitism (“In one scene Borat insists on driving to California rather than flying, ‘in case the Jews repeat their attack of 9/11′”).
* Of libeling America as endemically anti-Semitic, even though Americans come off (as I pointed out in “Fun in Kazakhstan“) as kind, sweet, polite, and infinitely patient with “this delightful fellow,” as one of his gracious Southern hosts mischaracterizes the bumbling Borat.
* Of harboring an imperial mindset (this is by far the kookiest complaint) because he victimizes and patronizes Kazakhstan. (“In Kazakhstan we say, ‘God, man, horse, dog, then woman, then rat.'” Also according to Borat, the national sport in Kazakhstan is shooting a dog and then having a party. You can earn a living being a Gypsy catcher. Wine is made from fermented horse urine. Kazakh villages all have a Village Rapist.)

Sorry, I had to stop writing—cracked up remembering Borat’s reference to Bush as the “mighty warlord.” The guy’s a satirist—a funny, one-of-a-kind comedian. Only losers “analyze” Cohen, aka Borat, alias Ali G-cum-Bruno.

Updated Again: At last, Alvaro Vargas Llosa of The Independent Institute has a decent defense of Boart as “simply anarchic.” Here’s an excerpt:

“I have read that Borat is a left-winger in disguise. This doesn’t square with his mockery of feminists (“give me a smile, baby, why the angry face”) and of a black politician with whom he discusses homosexuality. I have also read that Borat is a right-wing fascist. It doesn’t quite square with the scene at the rodeo in where he persuades the organizers to let him sing “The Star-Spangled Banner” only to launch into an intentionally satirical tirade against Iraq (“I hope you kill every man, woman, and child in Iraq, down to the lizards”). No, Borat is simply anarchic—there is no institution, idea, cultural value or government he does not find worthy of being picked apart through humor. It’s always healthy to take a second look at the way we all live.”

Updated for the Third Time: Where did you first learn Borat was speaking Hebrew? On BAB, of course. Here’s the confirmation–in case you needed one.

Robert Bidinotto Gives Rush the Bum’s Rush

Media, The Zeitgeist

Objectivist Robert Bidinotto has an interesting analysis of the aftermath of “Limbaugh’s self-indulgent, mocking tirades against actor Michael J. Fox on the issue of federally-funded embryonic stem cell research.”

He agrees with my “It’s About Federalism, Stupid,” writing, in his signature style that:

“Not only was Limbaugh’s mockery of a sick man disgusting, it was incredibly stupid. Rather than focus the debate on the narrower question of whether such research should be government-funded, he and other conservative Republicans chose instead to mock Fox, and to hinge their case on faith-based ‘right to life’ premises that every poll shows that most voters reject. As columnist Ilana Mercer points out today in a scathing column:

Limbaugh needed only to remind Fox (and his own soon-to-be-dethroned party) of a thing called the Constitution. He needed to berate Fox not for his spasticity, but for using his celebrity to petition Congress for money not his. Limbaugh ought to have suggested Fox refrain from pickpocketing the taxpayer, and raise money for private research among his stinking rich pals. Instead—and in character—Limbaugh beat up on a cripple.

“There is an irony here,” Bidinotto continues, “one that I hope conveys a lesson for ‘conservatives.’

Rush Limbaugh’s influence was widely credited with inspiring the ‘Republican Revolution’ of 1994, leading to the GOP takeover of Congress. But at that time his message — and that of the GOP conservative candidates — had focused on limiting government intervention into our lives.

By abandoning its core principles of individualism and limited government in the decade since, the Republicans in Congress have been fired by American voters. Likewise, by focusing stupidly on the alleged ‘rights’ of embryos rather than the actual rights of living citizens — and by substituting cruel personal attacks for principled arguments — Rush Limbaugh has now helped engineer his party’s crushing defeat.”

Read the post in its entirety here.