…something that was encouraged by Satan.
November 9, 2015 1:25 PM Subscribe
Dr. Leo Spaceman (from the 30 Rock series) and Dr. Ben Carson (from the Republican presidential debate series) are both doctors. They both say outlandish things. A group of MeFites have placed Dr. Spaceman's quotes on Dr. Carson's pictures and vice versa. No verisimilitude has been lost in these exchanges. [via mefi projects]
Mostly these were by Phineas X. Jones and James Allenspach. Elly Zupko made some others (including having the genius idea to put Carson's words on Spaceman's face, which it turned out was maybe even funnier than the other way around.) I made some, too, but I think I'm the only one who is a MeFite.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 1:37 PM on November 9, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by DirtyOldTown at 1:37 PM on November 9, 2015 [2 favorites]
Would have been perfect if it were just Carson quotes on Dr. Spaceman pictures, because those are great. The reverse takes some of the punch away.
posted by mkultra at 1:38 PM on November 9, 2015 [16 favorites]
posted by mkultra at 1:38 PM on November 9, 2015 [16 favorites]
"I'm a working physician with a degree from the Ho Chi Minh city School of medicine."
Come on Ben, I know Ann Arbor's pretty liberal but I think we can all agree that's over the top.
posted by Joey Buttafoucault at 1:39 PM on November 9, 2015 [3 favorites]
Come on Ben, I know Ann Arbor's pretty liberal but I think we can all agree that's over the top.
posted by Joey Buttafoucault at 1:39 PM on November 9, 2015 [3 favorites]
Did you see that Andy Borowitz hyperbolicly quoted Carson as saying that 'President Obama’s cancellation of the Keystone Pipeline has left the United States with “virtually no place to store grain.”' That gave me a good monday morning chuckle.
posted by janey47 at 1:46 PM on November 9, 2015 [11 favorites]
posted by janey47 at 1:46 PM on November 9, 2015 [11 favorites]
If you make one of these you'd like to add, send me a MeMail link to an Imgur or something and I'll pass it along.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 1:51 PM on November 9, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by DirtyOldTown at 1:51 PM on November 9, 2015 [1 favorite]
I don't mean to point and laugh but there's something really strange about the amount of batshit insane politicians in the US.
Most of these people couldn't be dog catcher's assistants in any other western democracy, but somehow in the US they're congressmen, senators and presidential candidates.
I'm not snarking for snark's sake, I truly find this baffling. What's so exceptional about the US that these barely functioning people get elected to its highest offices?
posted by signal at 1:52 PM on November 9, 2015 [22 favorites]
Most of these people couldn't be dog catcher's assistants in any other western democracy, but somehow in the US they're congressmen, senators and presidential candidates.
I'm not snarking for snark's sake, I truly find this baffling. What's so exceptional about the US that these barely functioning people get elected to its highest offices?
posted by signal at 1:52 PM on November 9, 2015 [22 favorites]
I made some, too, but I think I'm the only one who is a MeFite.
Oh, thanks for the correction! James is an early blogger, so I assumed he was, then I guess I just did some domino-chain-assuming there. Sorry about that.
posted by ignignokt at 1:53 PM on November 9, 2015
Oh, thanks for the correction! James is an early blogger, so I assumed he was, then I guess I just did some domino-chain-assuming there. Sorry about that.
posted by ignignokt at 1:53 PM on November 9, 2015
Feel free to point and laugh, we're all doing it. Followed by sobbing.
posted by bleep at 1:54 PM on November 9, 2015 [6 favorites]
posted by bleep at 1:54 PM on November 9, 2015 [6 favorites]
What's so exceptional about the US that these barely functioning people get elected to its highest offices?
I'm going to let Douglas Adams answer that question:
"The President is very much a figurehead - he wields no real power whatsoever. He is apparently chosen by the government, but the qualities he is required to display are not those of leadership but those of finely judged outrage. For this reason the President is always a controversial choice, always an infuriating but fascinating character. His job is not to wield power but to draw attention away from it."
posted by mrjohnmuller at 1:58 PM on November 9, 2015 [22 favorites]
I'm going to let Douglas Adams answer that question:
"The President is very much a figurehead - he wields no real power whatsoever. He is apparently chosen by the government, but the qualities he is required to display are not those of leadership but those of finely judged outrage. For this reason the President is always a controversial choice, always an infuriating but fascinating character. His job is not to wield power but to draw attention away from it."
posted by mrjohnmuller at 1:58 PM on November 9, 2015 [22 favorites]
I'm not snarking for snark's sake, I truly find this baffling. What's so exceptional about the US that these barely functioning people get elected to its highest offices?
This man operated on people's brains. For years. He was also a professor at John Hopkins.
This is the great dilemma. It's not that these people are barely functioning, virtually of them have shown themselves to be intelligent in different ways. It's just in the realm of politics that specific peculiarities emerge which makes one blink multiple times as if staring into a bright light.
The real question is whether Yale wants its diploma back or if the value of a Yale diploma has dropped precipitously?
posted by Atreides at 1:59 PM on November 9, 2015 [8 favorites]
This man operated on people's brains. For years. He was also a professor at John Hopkins.
This is the great dilemma. It's not that these people are barely functioning, virtually of them have shown themselves to be intelligent in different ways. It's just in the realm of politics that specific peculiarities emerge which makes one blink multiple times as if staring into a bright light.
The real question is whether Yale wants its diploma back or if the value of a Yale diploma has dropped precipitously?
posted by Atreides at 1:59 PM on November 9, 2015 [8 favorites]
I am delighted and saddened by this.
posted by Nanukthedog at 2:05 PM on November 9, 2015
posted by Nanukthedog at 2:05 PM on November 9, 2015
Yeah, most of the worst politicians are not actually idiots. They are usually quite smart and have proven themselves, at a minimum, to be very talented at something at some point in their life, which is how they gained enough respect to get elected in the first place. The problem largely seems to be that the thing they are very talented at is not public policy and legislation, and somehow that is not seen as such a huge problem.
posted by 256 at 2:09 PM on November 9, 2015 [4 favorites]
posted by 256 at 2:09 PM on November 9, 2015 [4 favorites]
I think that anti-intellectualism is so strong in the US right now that a certain percentage of the US population is inherently distrustful of obvious outward intelligence and polish. That is, natural politicians are basically penalized for being good at speaking publicly on the issues. They are dinged as being insincere. Even more perversely, people prone to flubs, non sequiturs, and flat-out stupid statements are seen as somehow more sincere and legitimate.
It's easier for many Americans to forgive you for sounding foolish or in over your head, than to forgive you for sounding suspiciously smart. It's maddening.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 2:15 PM on November 9, 2015 [31 favorites]
It's easier for many Americans to forgive you for sounding foolish or in over your head, than to forgive you for sounding suspiciously smart. It's maddening.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 2:15 PM on November 9, 2015 [31 favorites]
"What's so exceptional about the US that these barely functioning people get elected to its highest offices?"
It would be nice if this problem was constrained only to a single country but, sadly, it appears worldwide.
posted by I-baLL at 2:18 PM on November 9, 2015 [7 favorites]
It would be nice if this problem was constrained only to a single country but, sadly, it appears worldwide.
posted by I-baLL at 2:18 PM on November 9, 2015 [7 favorites]
Yup, people of questionable intelligence and morals getting into office is international issue. I watched recently Mongolian Bling where people rap about their anger at the corruption of local politicians among other topics, and this year in Nigeria, Parliament's 'Wardrobe Allowance' sparked a national outcry and international attention.
posted by filthy light thief at 3:00 PM on November 9, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by filthy light thief at 3:00 PM on November 9, 2015 [1 favorite]
Would have been perfect if it were just Carson quotes on Dr. Spaceman pictures, because those are great. The reverse takes some of the punch away.
Yeah, I always feel a bit uncomfortable when folks put words next to a person's face that might have been said by her but weren't, and are designed to make them look bad. It's good enough to just make fun of the stuff Carson has actually said, rather than inventing or misattributing even worse stuff. What's more, it seems unnecessary: Carson was never really running for president, he was running to sell more copies of his book. And he doesn't stand any chance at all. So the kind of making fun that folks are doing is, indeed, fun. (The #bencarsonwikipedia twitter tag is just too good to not share sometimes.) But there's something on the edge of "punching down" to it.
posted by anotherpanacea at 3:07 PM on November 9, 2015 [3 favorites]
Yeah, I always feel a bit uncomfortable when folks put words next to a person's face that might have been said by her but weren't, and are designed to make them look bad. It's good enough to just make fun of the stuff Carson has actually said, rather than inventing or misattributing even worse stuff. What's more, it seems unnecessary: Carson was never really running for president, he was running to sell more copies of his book. And he doesn't stand any chance at all. So the kind of making fun that folks are doing is, indeed, fun. (The #bencarsonwikipedia twitter tag is just too good to not share sometimes.) But there's something on the edge of "punching down" to it.
posted by anotherpanacea at 3:07 PM on November 9, 2015 [3 favorites]
I'm really, really, truly, with all my withered soul, hoping that there's !NewPhysics! surrounding the thrust effect of the Cannae drive because dear sweet Christ I want an option B for if this man wins the election.
posted by Slackermagee at 3:20 PM on November 9, 2015
posted by Slackermagee at 3:20 PM on November 9, 2015
> What's so exceptional about the US that these barely functioning people get elected to its highest offices?
Ladies and gentlemen, Canada's own Vic Toews!
posted by The Card Cheat at 3:22 PM on November 9, 2015 [1 favorite]
Ladies and gentlemen, Canada's own Vic Toews!
posted by The Card Cheat at 3:22 PM on November 9, 2015 [1 favorite]
And he doesn't stand any chance at all.
I still haven't figured out how people can say this so confidently about the guy who has been maintaining a steady second place. He's got a chance. If he knew how to run a campaign he might even have a good chance. The the GOP is the party that gave you W and wanted to give you Sarah Palin. They'd be happy to put God-fearing Dr. Carson in the Oval Office.
posted by Pater Aletheias at 3:23 PM on November 9, 2015 [4 favorites]
I still haven't figured out how people can say this so confidently about the guy who has been maintaining a steady second place. He's got a chance. If he knew how to run a campaign he might even have a good chance. The the GOP is the party that gave you W and wanted to give you Sarah Palin. They'd be happy to put God-fearing Dr. Carson in the Oval Office.
posted by Pater Aletheias at 3:23 PM on November 9, 2015 [4 favorites]
Oh man, I posted one of these to Twitter the other day and it blew up (100 RTs is "blown up" for me, OK?) So thank you for making me feel both clever and annoyed by my phone, Navelgazer.
Anyway, here's my stupid contribution.
posted by maryr at 3:34 PM on November 9, 2015 [5 favorites]
Anyway, here's my stupid contribution.
posted by maryr at 3:34 PM on November 9, 2015 [5 favorites]
How about that portrait with Black Klingon Jesus
posted by exogenous at 4:21 PM on November 9, 2015 [4 favorites]
posted by exogenous at 4:21 PM on November 9, 2015 [4 favorites]
How about that portrait with Black Klingon Jesus
I don't care if the moonscape freezes/Long as I got Black Klingon Jesus...
posted by DirtyOldTown at 4:51 PM on November 9, 2015 [5 favorites]
I don't care if the moonscape freezes/Long as I got Black Klingon Jesus...
posted by DirtyOldTown at 4:51 PM on November 9, 2015 [5 favorites]
The Black Klingon Jesus picture immediately put me in mind of this treasure of the Internet. I love pictures of Jesus just chillin' with people.
posted by Biblio at 5:20 PM on November 9, 2015 [9 favorites]
posted by Biblio at 5:20 PM on November 9, 2015 [9 favorites]
Yes! I will claim creatorship status for this meme, thank you! (Although I love what's being done with it.)
posted by Navelgazer at 6:18 PM on November 9, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Navelgazer at 6:18 PM on November 9, 2015 [1 favorite]
(Actually, the timing makes it appear much more like simultaneous creation, and great minds and all that. Still, I like this.)
posted by Navelgazer at 6:27 PM on November 9, 2015
posted by Navelgazer at 6:27 PM on November 9, 2015
Twitter's been having a field day with #bencarsonwikipedia.
posted by CheeseDigestsAll at 6:40 PM on November 9, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by CheeseDigestsAll at 6:40 PM on November 9, 2015 [1 favorite]
It's good enough to just make fun of the stuff Carson has actually said, rather than inventing or misattributing even worse stuff.
Would we say "worse" though?
posted by ODiV at 7:32 PM on November 9, 2015
Would we say "worse" though?
posted by ODiV at 7:32 PM on November 9, 2015
What mkultra said. The Carson quotes on Spaceman pics are good. The reverse pics don't pass muster.
Twitter's been having a field day with #bencarsonwikipedia.
These are better (though they practically write themselves): "The Washington Monument? Really big sundial. Also, grain storage."
posted by mrgrimm at 9:10 PM on November 9, 2015
Twitter's been having a field day with #bencarsonwikipedia.
These are better (though they practically write themselves): "The Washington Monument? Really big sundial. Also, grain storage."
posted by mrgrimm at 9:10 PM on November 9, 2015
What mkultra said. The Carson quotes on Spaceman pics are good. The reverse pics don't pass muster.
I disagree. What made Dr. Spaceman so indelible was his laughable ignorance paired with completely patronizing privileged smugness (and a dash of bizarreness, to boot.) Since these traits also fit Dr. Carson to a T, those who know the Spaceman quote will get a chuckle that the reverse doesn't quite deliver in the same way.
posted by Navelgazer at 9:26 PM on November 9, 2015 [2 favorites]
I disagree. What made Dr. Spaceman so indelible was his laughable ignorance paired with completely patronizing privileged smugness (and a dash of bizarreness, to boot.) Since these traits also fit Dr. Carson to a T, those who know the Spaceman quote will get a chuckle that the reverse doesn't quite deliver in the same way.
posted by Navelgazer at 9:26 PM on November 9, 2015 [2 favorites]
The Carson quotes on Spaceman pics are good. The reverse pics don't pass muster.
I think it works better together. The Spaceman pics are funny, but they also sound like something he would say. Then I see the Carson picture and my brain automatically thinks Oh, a neurosurgeon wouldn't say something that ridiculous, and then I realize, wait, no, the really crazy quote that actually sounded like something Spaceman would say was really the thing the neurosurgeon said. I found that as I scrolled down the page it never got less shocking, and I frequently had to go back to make sure who was saying what.
The leading Republican presidential candidate is worse than Dr. Leo Spaceman is what I'm saying.
Great project.
posted by Room 641-A at 10:05 PM on November 9, 2015 [3 favorites]
I think it works better together. The Spaceman pics are funny, but they also sound like something he would say. Then I see the Carson picture and my brain automatically thinks Oh, a neurosurgeon wouldn't say something that ridiculous, and then I realize, wait, no, the really crazy quote that actually sounded like something Spaceman would say was really the thing the neurosurgeon said. I found that as I scrolled down the page it never got less shocking, and I frequently had to go back to make sure who was saying what.
The leading Republican presidential candidate is worse than Dr. Leo Spaceman is what I'm saying.
Great project.
posted by Room 641-A at 10:05 PM on November 9, 2015 [3 favorites]
I think that this should have been done as a quiz, like they used to have on the Brunching Shuttlecocks (of 'Pornstar or My Little Pony' fame) - I think I'd have been hard pressed to decide which quote is from a fictional crazy fictional character, and which is from a future POTUS-hopeful...
posted by Chunder at 12:30 AM on November 10, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Chunder at 12:30 AM on November 10, 2015 [1 favorite]
I still haven't figured out how people can say this so confidently about the guy who has been maintaining a steady second place. He's got a chance. If he knew how to run a campaign he might even have a good chance. The the GOP is the party that gave you W and wanted to give you Sarah Palin. They'd be happy to put God-fearing Dr. Carson in the Oval Office.
Nate Silver and co put the likelihood of a Carson nomination in the 4%-6% range. Thinking that W or Palin are equivalent suggests you're ignoring the crucial difference: both of those had successfully run for state-wide office and won the governorship of a state (and in W's case a large state). Same for Reagan, once upon a time. Carson is running a complete joke campaign, which is why he'll drop out.
If you want to worry, worry about Cruz, who increasingly seems likely to benefit from the fracas of all these candidates. Or worry about Rubio, who has the best chance of beating Clinton in the general election if he's nominated.
posted by anotherpanacea at 3:23 AM on November 10, 2015 [2 favorites]
Nate Silver and co put the likelihood of a Carson nomination in the 4%-6% range. Thinking that W or Palin are equivalent suggests you're ignoring the crucial difference: both of those had successfully run for state-wide office and won the governorship of a state (and in W's case a large state). Same for Reagan, once upon a time. Carson is running a complete joke campaign, which is why he'll drop out.
If you want to worry, worry about Cruz, who increasingly seems likely to benefit from the fracas of all these candidates. Or worry about Rubio, who has the best chance of beating Clinton in the general election if he's nominated.
posted by anotherpanacea at 3:23 AM on November 10, 2015 [2 favorites]
Ben Carson isn't Leo Spaceman; he's Bizarro Neil DeGrasse Tyson.
posted by kewb at 4:43 AM on November 10, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by kewb at 4:43 AM on November 10, 2015 [1 favorite]
🎶 Ben Carson the Anti-Science Guy. Ben! Ben! Ben! Ben! Ben! Ben! 🎶
posted by Room 641-A at 5:09 AM on November 10, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Room 641-A at 5:09 AM on November 10, 2015 [1 favorite]
Ben Carson Debunked: Inside His Made-Up West Point Story. He claimed time and again—as recently as last Friday–that he was offered entrance to the military academy in 1969. Here's proof that he's not telling the truth.
posted by homunculus at 5:49 PM on November 10, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by homunculus at 5:49 PM on November 10, 2015 [1 favorite]
Looks like we'll be celebrating Carson's inspired words with the copious consumption alcohol over here.
posted by homunculus at 5:55 PM on November 10, 2015
posted by homunculus at 5:55 PM on November 10, 2015
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