* Note: This post is not an endorsement of Tucker Carlson.
February 18, 2010 8:31 AM Subscribe
'You could wind up with a page only about porn, executions, and Sarah Palin every day.' A New Republic profile of no-longer-bowtied Tucker Carlson as he launches The Daily Caller, a 'right-leaning Huffington Post.'
It may be hard to remember now, staring back through the thick haze of cable-news smackdowns, but, before Carlson embarked on a TV career--and, at various points, even during that TV career--he was a great writer and reporter. His 1999 profile* of George W. Bush for Tina Brown’s short-lived Talk painted a portrait of the then-Texas governor--stubborn, profane, callow--that should have told voters everything they needed to know about why he would be such a terrible president. The piece he wrote for Esquire about traveling to Africa with Sharpton, Cornel West, and other civil rights activists was at once viciously hilarious and bracingly humane, like David Foster Wallace’s or Michael Lewis’s best reportage. At The Weekly Standard, where he worked for much of the 1990s, he was one of the rare writers less consumed with scoring political points than producing quality journalism.
(Previously, CNN cans Carlson from Crossfire) (also previously)
* Devil May Care, Carlson's notorious profile of a campaigning Bush in which Bush 'cursed like a sailor' and mocked death-row inmate Karla Faye Tucker, is unfortunately not available online, although National Review has a decent summary here and Carlson talks about it briefly here.
It may be hard to remember now, staring back through the thick haze of cable-news smackdowns, but, before Carlson embarked on a TV career--and, at various points, even during that TV career--he was a great writer and reporter. His 1999 profile* of George W. Bush for Tina Brown’s short-lived Talk painted a portrait of the then-Texas governor--stubborn, profane, callow--that should have told voters everything they needed to know about why he would be such a terrible president. The piece he wrote for Esquire about traveling to Africa with Sharpton, Cornel West, and other civil rights activists was at once viciously hilarious and bracingly humane, like David Foster Wallace’s or Michael Lewis’s best reportage. At The Weekly Standard, where he worked for much of the 1990s, he was one of the rare writers less consumed with scoring political points than producing quality journalism.
(Previously, CNN cans Carlson from Crossfire) (also previously)
* Devil May Care, Carlson's notorious profile of a campaigning Bush in which Bush 'cursed like a sailor' and mocked death-row inmate Karla Faye Tucker, is unfortunately not available online, although National Review has a decent summary here and Carlson talks about it briefly here.
My guess about why he abandoned his original career as a real reporter is he looked at his paycheck from all this 'great reportage' and then looked at the contract placed in front of him by CNN and said...'this is a no brainer'.
posted by spicynuts at 8:40 AM on February 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by spicynuts at 8:40 AM on February 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
MetaFilter: A page only about porn, executions, and... ahh, forget it.
posted by The Lurkers Support Me in Email at 8:40 AM on February 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by The Lurkers Support Me in Email at 8:40 AM on February 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
The piece he wrote for Esquire about traveling to Africa with Sharpton, Cornel West, and other civil rights activists was at once viciously hilarious and bracingly humane, like David Foster Wallace’s or Michael Lewis’s best reportage.
Yes, exactly like Wallace or Lewis. Except with 1/100th the talent (more like 1/1,000,000th if we're using Wallace as the baseline measure) and not a shred of the human empathy that keeps their work grounded.
posted by gompa at 8:41 AM on February 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
Yes, exactly like Wallace or Lewis. Except with 1/100th the talent (more like 1/1,000,000th if we're using Wallace as the baseline measure) and not a shred of the human empathy that keeps their work grounded.
posted by gompa at 8:41 AM on February 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
'right-leaning Huffington Post.'
So instead of homeopaths and vaccine denialists, they'll feature the opinions of evolution denialists? Sounds like fun.
posted by lexicakes at 8:42 AM on February 18, 2010 [8 favorites]
So instead of homeopaths and vaccine denialists, they'll feature the opinions of evolution denialists? Sounds like fun.
posted by lexicakes at 8:42 AM on February 18, 2010 [8 favorites]
I confess I don't even know what the Huffington Post is. Should I?
posted by MarshallPoe at 8:43 AM on February 18, 2010
posted by MarshallPoe at 8:43 AM on February 18, 2010
I agree with Jon Stewart and everything, but you really took that quote waaaay out of context:
Sitting in his office as he chomps on a piece of Nicorette, he confesses his biggest fear: “You could wind up with a page only about porn, executions, and Sarah Palin every day.”
posted by infinitefloatingbrains at 8:43 AM on February 18, 2010 [2 favorites]
Sitting in his office as he chomps on a piece of Nicorette, he confesses his biggest fear: “You could wind up with a page only about porn, executions, and Sarah Palin every day.”
posted by infinitefloatingbrains at 8:43 AM on February 18, 2010 [2 favorites]
I confess I don't even know what the Huffington Post is. Should I?
No.
posted by enn at 8:45 AM on February 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
No.
posted by enn at 8:45 AM on February 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
"I confess I don't even know what the Huffington Post is. Should I?"
It's something you would need a TV to understand.
posted by mr_crash_davis mark II: Jazz Odyssey at 8:45 AM on February 18, 2010 [12 favorites]
It's something you would need a TV to understand.
posted by mr_crash_davis mark II: Jazz Odyssey at 8:45 AM on February 18, 2010 [12 favorites]
A page devoted to porn executions and Sarah Palin? That is the huffingtonpost.
posted by ExitPursuedByBear at 8:47 AM on February 18, 2010 [2 favorites]
posted by ExitPursuedByBear at 8:47 AM on February 18, 2010 [2 favorites]
The place I originally saw this linked (The Morning News) called it "The profile of Tucker Carlson that will make you actually like the guy."
It didn't. As best I can tell he went from being paid a lot of money to be a huge douche to being paid slightly less, but probably still a lot of money, to be, I guess, slightly less of a douche.
posted by ghharr at 8:50 AM on February 18, 2010
It didn't. As best I can tell he went from being paid a lot of money to be a huge douche to being paid slightly less, but probably still a lot of money, to be, I guess, slightly less of a douche.
posted by ghharr at 8:50 AM on February 18, 2010
I honestly keep having this feeling that sometime in the future not when he's old or anything), Carlson will "convert" to the left. I don't know why I feel that, and I have no evidence to back this up... it's just a feeling I get.
posted by grubi at 8:52 AM on February 18, 2010
posted by grubi at 8:52 AM on February 18, 2010
I saw Tucker Carlson when he spoke at Indiana University in 2003. It was surprising. He presented as a sane, reasonable person who had views I disagreed with, but one who could speak about those views cogently. So: completely different than his public persona. I'm not certain if I respect him more for being able to articulate a principled conservative point of view when he likes, or if I respect him less for routinely going the batshit route despite the fact that he ought to know better.
posted by logicpunk at 8:55 AM on February 18, 2010 [2 favorites]
I confess I don't even know what the Huffington Post is. Should I?
It is something shrill, patronizing, and self-serving -- ignorance really is bliss -- you'll have to excuse me if I skip the newest offering -- I had my fill of whiny political vitriol...oh, about ten years ago...
posted by Alexandra Kitty at 8:56 AM on February 18, 2010
I confess I don't even know what the Huffington Post is. Should I?
posted by MarshallPoe at 10:43 AM on February 18
No. No. NO! My God, just, whatever you've been doing with your online existence, keep it up. Possibly write a book so that others may learn from you.
posted by nanojath at 8:57 AM on February 18, 2010 [11 favorites]
posted by MarshallPoe at 10:43 AM on February 18
No. No. NO! My God, just, whatever you've been doing with your online existence, keep it up. Possibly write a book so that others may learn from you.
posted by nanojath at 8:57 AM on February 18, 2010 [11 favorites]
The piece he wrote for Esquire about traveling to Africa with Sharpton, Cornel West, and other civil rights activists was at once viciously hilarious and bracingly humane, like David Foster Wallace’s or Michael Lewis’s best reportage.
To make sure I was 100% fair, I read the Esquire article by Carlson just now. And I will say this: it was not as terrible as I thought it would be. But Tucker Carlson doesn't have a millionth of the talent or empathy that Wallace did.
And so it turns out that TNR's Zengerle, the writer of that unbelieveably shitty comparison, is just another one of those Tucker Carlson / David Brooks types: the kind of shiny-faced, overscrubbed, insuffable fake-wonk finishing school journalists who don't give a shit about anyone who isn't in that queer little fraternity, sporting the thin navy pinstripe of silence.
posted by Optimus Chyme at 8:57 AM on February 18, 2010 [7 favorites]
To make sure I was 100% fair, I read the Esquire article by Carlson just now. And I will say this: it was not as terrible as I thought it would be. But Tucker Carlson doesn't have a millionth of the talent or empathy that Wallace did.
And so it turns out that TNR's Zengerle, the writer of that unbelieveably shitty comparison, is just another one of those Tucker Carlson / David Brooks types: the kind of shiny-faced, overscrubbed, insuffable fake-wonk finishing school journalists who don't give a shit about anyone who isn't in that queer little fraternity, sporting the thin navy pinstripe of silence.
posted by Optimus Chyme at 8:57 AM on February 18, 2010 [7 favorites]
Finally, a place to find out what rich, white, male conservatives think of things!
posted by DU at 8:58 AM on February 18, 2010 [20 favorites]
posted by DU at 8:58 AM on February 18, 2010 [20 favorites]
He presented as a sane, reasonable person who had views I disagreed with, but one who could speak about those views cogently.
Reminds me of the way George Will used be back before the Bush administration, when his columns in Newsweek turned into page-long justifications for horrible crimes. 'Course, he also worked for Ronald Reagan, so I suppose it shouldn't be too surprising.
posted by Pope Guilty at 8:58 AM on February 18, 2010
Reminds me of the way George Will used be back before the Bush administration, when his columns in Newsweek turned into page-long justifications for horrible crimes. 'Course, he also worked for Ronald Reagan, so I suppose it shouldn't be too surprising.
posted by Pope Guilty at 8:58 AM on February 18, 2010
I confess I don't even know what the Huffington Post is. Should I?
posted by MarshallPoe at 8:43 AM on February 18
If you're going to be a liar, MarshallPoe, try not to be so bad at it.
posted by Optimus Chyme at 8:59 AM on February 18, 2010 [71 favorites]
posted by MarshallPoe at 8:43 AM on February 18
If you're going to be a liar, MarshallPoe, try not to be so bad at it.
posted by Optimus Chyme at 8:59 AM on February 18, 2010 [71 favorites]
I honestly keep having this feeling that sometime in the future not when he's old or anything), Carlson will "convert" to the left. I don't know why I feel that, and I have no evidence to back this up... it's just a feeling I get.
I could be wrong, grubi, but I think what you've detected there is not a feeling but a sensory phenomenon. A stench, actually - the stink of a rank opportunist. Tucker would probably do anything he thought would keep his career arc aloft, and if he'd run out of rich right-wingers to finance his doggerel, I'm sure he'd be willing to shill for the left if there was a buck to be made.
Jon Stewart's Crossfire evisceration is still the definitive insight into the Tucker type. He trades in naked, insincere partisan hackery. He trades in false gravitas under a thin veneer of mediocre melodrama and high-school-theatre-club showmanship (as Stewart noted, a fucking bow tie? honestly?), hiding an empty core of greed and self-promotion.
Tucker Carlson's whole career is a fantastic case study in everything that is wrong with the American media establishment. I wish him nothing but failure.
posted by gompa at 9:03 AM on February 18, 2010 [14 favorites]
I could be wrong, grubi, but I think what you've detected there is not a feeling but a sensory phenomenon. A stench, actually - the stink of a rank opportunist. Tucker would probably do anything he thought would keep his career arc aloft, and if he'd run out of rich right-wingers to finance his doggerel, I'm sure he'd be willing to shill for the left if there was a buck to be made.
Jon Stewart's Crossfire evisceration is still the definitive insight into the Tucker type. He trades in naked, insincere partisan hackery. He trades in false gravitas under a thin veneer of mediocre melodrama and high-school-theatre-club showmanship (as Stewart noted, a fucking bow tie? honestly?), hiding an empty core of greed and self-promotion.
Tucker Carlson's whole career is a fantastic case study in everything that is wrong with the American media establishment. I wish him nothing but failure.
posted by gompa at 9:03 AM on February 18, 2010 [14 favorites]
Bow Ties are how you identity and avoid these people in the wild.
posted by The Whelk at 9:05 AM on February 18, 2010
posted by The Whelk at 9:05 AM on February 18, 2010
Radical!!! Can't wait to read stupid man's opinions about Black Pres. "Taxed Enough Already"
posted by Damn That Television at 9:06 AM on February 18, 2010 [3 favorites]
posted by Damn That Television at 9:06 AM on February 18, 2010 [3 favorites]
Damn MarshallPoe. Your petard just got hoisted up like a nuclear wedgie.
posted by Babblesort at 9:08 AM on February 18, 2010 [4 favorites]
posted by Babblesort at 9:08 AM on February 18, 2010 [4 favorites]
"I supported the Iraq War, yes. But it was handeled all wrong. We should have just started killing literally every person. I literally want America to murder babies. Use flame throewrs on women and people who are sleeping. Lol. Also Im ugly and at one point was only a moderately bad writer. Welp check out my GOP HuffPo. It will be a porn redirector Soon that will supply u with all the twinks u need. kill me" - Tucker "Shitty Writer, Human" Carlson
posted by Damn That Television at 9:09 AM on February 18, 2010 [4 favorites]
posted by Damn That Television at 9:09 AM on February 18, 2010 [4 favorites]
Bow Ties are how you identity and avoid these people in the wild.
Which is why it's so scary when they shed their natural markings. I mean really, according to their own species, conservative white males are an endangered species in the mainstream media - how are we to tell them apart so we may protect them?
posted by Think_Long at 9:11 AM on February 18, 2010
Which is why it's so scary when they shed their natural markings. I mean really, according to their own species, conservative white males are an endangered species in the mainstream media - how are we to tell them apart so we may protect them?
posted by Think_Long at 9:11 AM on February 18, 2010
Is it really so hard for Conservatives to find a decent web designer? Is it something like design = elitism, therefore conservatives, champion of Joe 6 Pack must make everything look like shit? Or are all the conservative web designers too busy making mega church websites? (which are almost always pretty nice)
I mean, HuffPo is no shining example, but at least some designer tried to get a pretty good grid and UI down, before it was shoved full of 80pt headlines screaming in red.
Sorry, now maybe I can actually read something after getting past the visual assault. A breaking news ticker? Really? I have to wait for this stupid thing to scroll and tell me the headlines in the middle of your headlines? Gah.
posted by fontophilic at 9:12 AM on February 18, 2010 [2 favorites]
I mean, HuffPo is no shining example, but at least some designer tried to get a pretty good grid and UI down, before it was shoved full of 80pt headlines screaming in red.
Sorry, now maybe I can actually read something after getting past the visual assault. A breaking news ticker? Really? I have to wait for this stupid thing to scroll and tell me the headlines in the middle of your headlines? Gah.
posted by fontophilic at 9:12 AM on February 18, 2010 [2 favorites]
conservative white males are an endangered species in the mainstream media
Confine them to zoos and begin a breeding program.
posted by The Whelk at 9:14 AM on February 18, 2010
Confine them to zoos and begin a breeding program.
posted by The Whelk at 9:14 AM on February 18, 2010
Ahahaha there's an interview with Nick Denton about climate change denial on the front page. Nick Denton, founder of the Gawker empire of literal shit words that are written by feces golems and spray'd upon the piles of dung of the internet, being interviewed by Tucker "Seriously The Most Annoying Person On Television 2000 - 2006, Also Supports Iraq Death" Carlson's unpaid intern who took a semester off from Dartmouth to move to midtown Manhattan adn make a Shit Blog about nothing. See u at the midtown bars, mystery blog trash.... i love u
posted by Damn That Television at 9:14 AM on February 18, 2010 [5 favorites]
posted by Damn That Television at 9:14 AM on February 18, 2010 [5 favorites]
at times like this, I always find myself imagining the same scenario:
getting loaded at a bar with the person in question. a few drinks in, mustering the courage to ask them The Hard Question (tm). What happened when you lost your integrity? In my vision, the question is put more delicately than that, but that's the gist of every scenario like this that I've imagined.
I don't know if Tucker Carlson was ever as noble a journalist as this guy is painting him out to have been. But he DOES seem to have been, at the least, a better journalist than he currently is.
and if I ran into him at a convention of some kind, I'd try to get a few drinks with him at the hotel bar and see if I could pose the questions. "When did intrepid reporter Tucker become bowtie sporting Crossfire Tucker?" "Did you wear a bowtie on the Liberia trip with the reverend Sharpton? Did the Nation of Islam guys think you making fun of them?" A million questions, I guess, instead of One Big One, but eventually leading around to: when did you stop asking questions and start repeating party lines?
I can't stand him as the current tv personality I'm familiar with. I can't help but wonder if there was something more honest before that personality was born.
posted by shmegegge at 9:17 AM on February 18, 2010 [3 favorites]
getting loaded at a bar with the person in question. a few drinks in, mustering the courage to ask them The Hard Question (tm). What happened when you lost your integrity? In my vision, the question is put more delicately than that, but that's the gist of every scenario like this that I've imagined.
I don't know if Tucker Carlson was ever as noble a journalist as this guy is painting him out to have been. But he DOES seem to have been, at the least, a better journalist than he currently is.
and if I ran into him at a convention of some kind, I'd try to get a few drinks with him at the hotel bar and see if I could pose the questions. "When did intrepid reporter Tucker become bowtie sporting Crossfire Tucker?" "Did you wear a bowtie on the Liberia trip with the reverend Sharpton? Did the Nation of Islam guys think you making fun of them?" A million questions, I guess, instead of One Big One, but eventually leading around to: when did you stop asking questions and start repeating party lines?
I can't stand him as the current tv personality I'm familiar with. I can't help but wonder if there was something more honest before that personality was born.
posted by shmegegge at 9:17 AM on February 18, 2010 [3 favorites]
Metafilter: shit words that are written by feces golems and spray'd upon the piles of dung of the internet
posted by shmegegge at 9:17 AM on February 18, 2010 [4 favorites]
posted by shmegegge at 9:17 AM on February 18, 2010 [4 favorites]
I just wanted to say how awesome it was when MarshallPoe got the fuck owned out of him in this thread.
posted by xmutex at 9:21 AM on February 18, 2010 [10 favorites]
posted by xmutex at 9:21 AM on February 18, 2010 [10 favorites]
What must it be like to be a snarky conservative gonzo blog journalist?? Looking at a big pile of random words and thinking "WHY CANT I MAKE THEM INTO A FUNNY THING?? WHY IS IT SO HARD???" Buying thousands of children's letter blocks and old copies of George Saunders books, then putting them into a bag and shaking them around, desperate that some of the humor will make the blocks align. "Why is there no humanity and joy in my writing" says the 28 year old neocon "journalist" who has a bumper sticker that says "KILL EM ALL LET GOD SORT EM OUT" on his H2. He then farts, dies
posted by Damn That Television at 9:21 AM on February 18, 2010 [6 favorites]
posted by Damn That Television at 9:21 AM on February 18, 2010 [6 favorites]
Uh Hank, I'm just gonna come out and say it. I do not like the feces golem.
posted by The Whelk at 9:22 AM on February 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by The Whelk at 9:22 AM on February 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
on the other hand:
posted by shmegegge at 9:22 AM on February 18, 2010 [2 favorites]
Sampson never explained precisely what was so disturbing about I Love Lucy. His main point seemed to be that it was a show "with no cultural context," which I took to mean that it had too many white people.jesus christ, dude. maybe you never were honest. apparently you stopped asking questions well before you got on tv, and decided to just impose your worldview on everything you covered. too many white people? how about that, for all its value to tv and - thanks to Ricky Ricardo - even minorities, the show is unfortunately an example of an era of american popular culture that ignored black people, publicly pretending that they don't exist and therefore could have no place in our television entertainment? no no, it's just that there are too many white people. for fuck's sake.
posted by shmegegge at 9:22 AM on February 18, 2010 [2 favorites]
Confine them to zoos and begin a breeding program.
Ahh! hence the website for 'execution', 'porn', and 'Sarah Palin' - all things that conservative white males (cwm's) religiously masturbate to for collection and eventual insemination. This is brilliant.
posted by Think_Long at 9:23 AM on February 18, 2010
Ahh! hence the website for 'execution', 'porn', and 'Sarah Palin' - all things that conservative white males (cwm's) religiously masturbate to for collection and eventual insemination. This is brilliant.
posted by Think_Long at 9:23 AM on February 18, 2010
and just to clarify: I'm not trying to say that I Love Lucy is racist and nobody should like it, or that it's a Huge Deal if it gets played on an airplane. I'm trying to say that, as a reporter, it behooved Carlson to investigate what bothered his traveling companions and maybe write about THAT, rather than simply writing "too many white people, I guess. duh huh."
posted by shmegegge at 9:24 AM on February 18, 2010 [3 favorites]
posted by shmegegge at 9:24 AM on February 18, 2010 [3 favorites]
If you're going to be a liar, MarshallPoe, try not to be so bad at it.
Major zing!
posted by ericb at 9:26 AM on February 18, 2010
Major zing!
posted by ericb at 9:26 AM on February 18, 2010
Breaking News, Opinion, Research and Entertainment...Though Not Necessarily In That Order.
posted by gottabefunky at 9:28 AM on February 18, 2010
posted by gottabefunky at 9:28 AM on February 18, 2010
Oh, and by way of personal parallel anecdote, I had the singular pleasure of sharing a stage at a college business club conference with former Bush speechwriter and Tuckeresque blowhard David Frum awhile back. The topic was the green economy. We each gave presentations, and then there was a somewhat stilted debate-type thing in the left-vs.-right style of Crossfire et al.
Frum's trying to turn himself into a sensible conservative voice on climate change. I believe he actually said that while he felt it was necessary to take action on climate change, his brand of defenders of liberty were essential to guard free societies against the socialism hidden inside the Trojan horse of leftie climate activism. I said something about how while we were at it, we should make sure they don't sneak in any lizard people to drain our precious bodily fluids.
More than anything Frum said, though, what really stuck with me was the reek of downward-spiralling desperation coming off of him. He was treading water, trying to figure out some way to get back aboard the luxury yacht. And here he was at some second-tier university, on stage with some random Canadian freelancer who was living off fifty-cent-a-word paycheques back when he was writing speeches for the president of the United States. And yes, I'd argue he was losing the debate.
Here we are, just after I shook his cold, clammy hand. (No exaggeration there.)
But yeah, that stench? Smelled just a bit like victory.
posted by gompa at 9:29 AM on February 18, 2010 [7 favorites]
Frum's trying to turn himself into a sensible conservative voice on climate change. I believe he actually said that while he felt it was necessary to take action on climate change, his brand of defenders of liberty were essential to guard free societies against the socialism hidden inside the Trojan horse of leftie climate activism. I said something about how while we were at it, we should make sure they don't sneak in any lizard people to drain our precious bodily fluids.
More than anything Frum said, though, what really stuck with me was the reek of downward-spiralling desperation coming off of him. He was treading water, trying to figure out some way to get back aboard the luxury yacht. And here he was at some second-tier university, on stage with some random Canadian freelancer who was living off fifty-cent-a-word paycheques back when he was writing speeches for the president of the United States. And yes, I'd argue he was losing the debate.
Here we are, just after I shook his cold, clammy hand. (No exaggeration there.)
But yeah, that stench? Smelled just a bit like victory.
posted by gompa at 9:29 AM on February 18, 2010 [7 favorites]
Guys, you're all missing the obvious: DamnThatTelevisions spectacular word seizure as of late. It's like a beautiful ballet.
posted by The Whelk at 9:30 AM on February 18, 2010
posted by The Whelk at 9:30 AM on February 18, 2010
When Carlson lost the bow tie, he lost his sole redeeming characteristic.
posted by brundlefly at 9:31 AM on February 18, 2010
posted by brundlefly at 9:31 AM on February 18, 2010
Is it really so hard for Conservatives to find a decent web designer?
Liberal conspiracy.
The good news first: RedState.com is about to embark on a major upgrade of our website that will make it easier, more informative, and just plain more fun for you to visit.
The bad news: our liberal “friends” – you know, the ones who believe so strongly in free speech and open debate – have done what they can to prevent us from making these improvements, so that our influence will be minimized just as we head into the 2008 presidential primary season.
Let me explain …
You see, when we started RedState in May of 2004, we used a website program called Scoop — the same program a lot of similar sites on the left used. But, as the number of visitors to our site grew, Scoop kept crashing on us.
If we’d been a liberal website, we would have been able to fix the problem quickly and relatively cheaply. The online left loves Scoop. Unfortunately, there weren’t really any conservative Scoop developers out there to help us. We kept crashing and were out of money. We had to close down or take drastic action.
posted by furiousxgeorge at 9:32 AM on February 18, 2010 [9 favorites]
Liberal conspiracy.
The good news first: RedState.com is about to embark on a major upgrade of our website that will make it easier, more informative, and just plain more fun for you to visit.
The bad news: our liberal “friends” – you know, the ones who believe so strongly in free speech and open debate – have done what they can to prevent us from making these improvements, so that our influence will be minimized just as we head into the 2008 presidential primary season.
Let me explain …
You see, when we started RedState in May of 2004, we used a website program called Scoop — the same program a lot of similar sites on the left used. But, as the number of visitors to our site grew, Scoop kept crashing on us.
If we’d been a liberal website, we would have been able to fix the problem quickly and relatively cheaply. The online left loves Scoop. Unfortunately, there weren’t really any conservative Scoop developers out there to help us. We kept crashing and were out of money. We had to close down or take drastic action.
posted by furiousxgeorge at 9:32 AM on February 18, 2010 [9 favorites]
Uh Hank, I'm just gonna come out and say it. I do not like the feces golem.
If you're going to be a liar, The Whelk, try not to be so bad at it.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 9:33 AM on February 18, 2010
If you're going to be a liar, The Whelk, try not to be so bad at it.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 9:33 AM on February 18, 2010
Metafilter: I wish him nothing but failure.
posted by rough ashlar at 9:33 AM on February 18, 2010
posted by rough ashlar at 9:33 AM on February 18, 2010
Damn MarshallPoe. Your petard just got hoisted up like a nuclear wedgie.
[pedantic] a petard (a small bomb) will hoist you, but does get hoisted itself[/pedantic]
sorry
posted by edgeways at 9:37 AM on February 18, 2010
[pedantic] a petard (a small bomb) will hoist you, but does get hoisted itself[/pedantic]
sorry
posted by edgeways at 9:37 AM on February 18, 2010
Wow, that is a fugly website.
posted by oddman at 9:41 AM on February 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by oddman at 9:41 AM on February 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
I pretty much disagree with everything Tucker Carlson stands for politically, but it's a real shame that MeFi has come to the point where even a post about someone from the other side of the political spectrum from which most of us inhabit has to be accompanied by a disclaimer (see title of post) in order to avoid community opprobrium. And then the very first comment from a MeFite is an ad hominem attack.
We can do better, and should do better than be a slightly more intellectualized, net-connected version of the Tea Partiers.
posted by modernnomad at 9:42 AM on February 18, 2010 [12 favorites]
We can do better, and should do better than be a slightly more intellectualized, net-connected version of the Tea Partiers.
posted by modernnomad at 9:42 AM on February 18, 2010 [12 favorites]
If you're going to be a liar, MarshallPoe, try not to be so bad at it.
I wasn't lying. I did, in the quoted comment, assume that the HP was some sort of on-line something, or rather some sort of on-line something trying to be journalism. That much I can could get from the introduction to both posts. I know, for example, that "Jersey Shore" is a TV show about people in New Jersey, and that it's basically prurient stupidity. But I gleaned all that from something a student of mine said, so I really wouldn't say I know what it is. And I really don't have a TV, at least one I use to watch TV. So if it is lying to say that you don't know what something is in the sense that you are aware of it but really don't know what it's about and have never looked at it, at least seriously, then I guess I'm a liar. I don't think so though, and I would like someone to tell me about the HP so, should I choose to look at it, I won't be wasting my time.
posted by MarshallPoe at 9:45 AM on February 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
I wasn't lying. I did, in the quoted comment, assume that the HP was some sort of on-line something, or rather some sort of on-line something trying to be journalism. That much I can could get from the introduction to both posts. I know, for example, that "Jersey Shore" is a TV show about people in New Jersey, and that it's basically prurient stupidity. But I gleaned all that from something a student of mine said, so I really wouldn't say I know what it is. And I really don't have a TV, at least one I use to watch TV. So if it is lying to say that you don't know what something is in the sense that you are aware of it but really don't know what it's about and have never looked at it, at least seriously, then I guess I'm a liar. I don't think so though, and I would like someone to tell me about the HP so, should I choose to look at it, I won't be wasting my time.
posted by MarshallPoe at 9:45 AM on February 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
I pretty much disagree with everything Tucker Carlson stands for politically, but it's a real shame that MeFi has come to the point where even a post about someone from the other side of the political spectrum from which most of us inhabit has to be accompanied by a disclaimer (see title of post) in order to avoid community opprobrium. And then the very first comment from a MeFite is an ad hominem attack.
I'm guessing now would not be a good time for someone to post Andrew Sullivan's take on the matter.
posted by (Arsenio) Hall and (Warren) Oates at 9:45 AM on February 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
I'm guessing now would not be a good time for someone to post Andrew Sullivan's take on the matter.
posted by (Arsenio) Hall and (Warren) Oates at 9:45 AM on February 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
Stop digging, MP.
posted by (Arsenio) Hall and (Warren) Oates at 9:46 AM on February 18, 2010 [3 favorites]
posted by (Arsenio) Hall and (Warren) Oates at 9:46 AM on February 18, 2010 [3 favorites]
and I would like someone to tell me about the HP so, should I choose to look at it, I won't be wasting my time.
This is the website called "the Huffington Post"
This is the wikipedia article titled "the Huffington Post"
Wikipedia is an online encyclopedia.
posted by Think_Long at 9:48 AM on February 18, 2010 [4 favorites]
This is the website called "the Huffington Post"
This is the wikipedia article titled "the Huffington Post"
Wikipedia is an online encyclopedia.
posted by Think_Long at 9:48 AM on February 18, 2010 [4 favorites]
'porn, executions, and Sarah Palin every day.' - Metafilter 2008!
posted by Artw at 9:49 AM on February 18, 2010
posted by Artw at 9:49 AM on February 18, 2010
I pretty much disagree with everything Tucker Carlson stands for politically, but it's a real shame that MeFi has come to the point where even a post about someone from the other side of the political spectrum from which most of us inhabit has to be accompanied by a disclaimer (see title of post) in order to avoid community opprobrium
Yeah I did that entirely becausemy last political post was framed neutrally but was about how a misstatement wound up in Obama's health care speech and was immediately greeted with angry tit-for-tat about how Bush lied how dare I make such a post why do I love evil.
posted by shakespeherian at 9:55 AM on February 18, 2010
Yeah I did that entirely becausemy last political post was framed neutrally but was about how a misstatement wound up in Obama's health care speech and was immediately greeted with angry tit-for-tat about how Bush lied how dare I make such a post why do I love evil.
posted by shakespeherian at 9:55 AM on February 18, 2010
actually, shakespeherian, I didn't want to bring it up but since you did: why DO you love evil? you never really answered that one last time, and I think it's time you stop evading the question.
posted by shmegegge at 10:12 AM on February 18, 2010
posted by shmegegge at 10:12 AM on February 18, 2010
I'd like to read that profile of Dubya. I, too, applauded when John Stewart told him he was hurting America. I'm not a particular fan of Huffington Post, and I don't think we need more partisan news sites. If he wants to use whatever writing talent he has, and be honest, and do actual reporting I'd ad least give it a try.
shakespeherian, thanks for posting, and for posting in a straightforward way. There's plenty of Tucker-hate, much of it deserved, but I'm glad you posted this.
posted by theora55 at 10:20 AM on February 18, 2010
shakespeherian, thanks for posting, and for posting in a straightforward way. There's plenty of Tucker-hate, much of it deserved, but I'm glad you posted this.
posted by theora55 at 10:20 AM on February 18, 2010
actually, shakespeherian, I didn't want to bring it up but since you did: why DO you love evil? you never really answered that one last time, and I think it's time you stop evading the question.
It's some transcendent ineffable quality in evil's eyes. I can't help myself.
posted by shakespeherian at 10:27 AM on February 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
It's some transcendent ineffable quality in evil's eyes. I can't help myself.
posted by shakespeherian at 10:27 AM on February 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
So, he HASN'T stopped hurting America yet? Is he still beating up gays in public bathrooms?
posted by briank at 10:52 AM on February 18, 2010
posted by briank at 10:52 AM on February 18, 2010
When I come to a page that is laid out primarily in red, white and blue, I know I'm not going to miss much if I hit the 'back' button.
This was no exception.
posted by ten pounds of inedita at 11:05 AM on February 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
This was no exception.
posted by ten pounds of inedita at 11:05 AM on February 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
Optimus Chyme: the thin navy pinstripe of silence.
That is one of the saddest things, I've ever read. Could you reduce the human experience to anything more claustrophobic and horrid. I think not.
There's a rung of hell that is simply that: Civilizations sweaty, 5 o'clock shadow cardiac arrest men, former attorney's, lobbyists, salesmen, government peons / bureaucrats, political pundits opportunists. Servants to the functional elites. Their patron saint Willy Loman.
And I'm sorry, but I think I'm going to have to steal it mfor something....
posted by Skygazer at 11:08 AM on February 18, 2010 [3 favorites]
That is one of the saddest things, I've ever read. Could you reduce the human experience to anything more claustrophobic and horrid. I think not.
There's a rung of hell that is simply that: Civilizations sweaty, 5 o'clock shadow cardiac arrest men, former attorney's, lobbyists, salesmen, government peons / bureaucrats, political pundits opportunists. Servants to the functional elites. Their patron saint Willy Loman.
And I'm sorry, but I think I'm going to have to steal it mfor something....
posted by Skygazer at 11:08 AM on February 18, 2010 [3 favorites]
"I wasn't lying." - -- - - - Long, long, twisted self serving barrack room lawyering excuse to prove he wasn't lying-- - - -- -- realizes the fallacy of his argument - - ---- - - "I guess I was lying."
Brilliant, thanks.
posted by Sk4n at 11:43 AM on February 18, 2010
Brilliant, thanks.
posted by Sk4n at 11:43 AM on February 18, 2010
To me, the surprise is not how phony and mannered Tucker Carlson is -- he's similar to most TV pundits -- but how amazing Jon Stewart is. Sure, he's smart and funny, but the sheer humanity and sincerity he brings to his job is breathtaking. He manages the hardest feat of all -- being a REAL PERSON on tv.
posted by msalt at 11:47 AM on February 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by msalt at 11:47 AM on February 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
Please, please don't compare Tucker Carlson to David Foster Wallace again, ok New Republic?
posted by mintcake! at 12:06 PM on February 18, 2010
posted by mintcake! at 12:06 PM on February 18, 2010
Right next to the definition of "smarmy" there's a picture of Tucker Carlson.
posted by Mental Wimp at 12:53 PM on February 18, 2010
posted by Mental Wimp at 12:53 PM on February 18, 2010
Optimus Chyme: If you're going to be a liar, MarshallPoe, try not to be so bad at it.
You commented in a thread about Huffington Post
You said you never heard of it
HOW COOL IS THAT?!
So I went to your profile
And searched your historyyyyyyyeah
posted by Kattullus at 2:30 PM on February 18, 2010 [2 favorites]
You commented in a thread about Huffington Post
You said you never heard of it
HOW COOL IS THAT?!
So I went to your profile
And searched your historyyyyyyyeah
posted by Kattullus at 2:30 PM on February 18, 2010 [2 favorites]
I wish Tucker nothing but fail. Guy's a major-league asshole and I love seeing DailyCaller wallow in its own suck.
And I'm surprised nobody's mentioned what a He-Man Tucker is when teh gayz threaten his manliness.
Fuck him and everything he (doesn't) stand for. Self-serving hack.
posted by bardic at 5:42 PM on February 18, 2010
And I'm surprised nobody's mentioned what a He-Man Tucker is when teh gayz threaten his manliness.
Fuck him and everything he (doesn't) stand for. Self-serving hack.
posted by bardic at 5:42 PM on February 18, 2010
Watching Chyme leg-drop MarshallPoe through a press table
posted by chinston at 7:11 PM on February 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by chinston at 7:11 PM on February 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
"but it's a real shame that MeFi has come to the point where even a post about someone from the other side of the political spectrum from which most of us inhabit has to be accompanied by a disclaimer (see title of post) in order to avoid community opprobrium. "
Well, it's like this. In the last ten years, hundreds of thousands of completely innocent people have been needlessly killed because of these "people from the other side of the political spectrum". Because of people like Tucker Carlson, the United States runs death camps where, again, innocent men have been tortured to death.
These same "people from the other side of the political spectrum" continue to propose even worse crimes like dropping nuclear weapons on Iran (a nuke on Tehran would certain kill millions instantly). Dropping an atom bomb onto a country that has not even threatened to attack yours is a crime against humanity.
There was a time when we could think of our opponents as people of honor, people with similar goals who differ only on the means. That hasn't been true for a long time. Our opponents have announced their goals - to despoil the air and water of our planet, to increase their endless wars, and to prevent the United States government from delivering social services. They have told us for years that they will never compromise in the slightest on these evil goals, and the decades have proven that this is utterly right.
So, yes, any human being with a shred of conscience would post a disclaimer.
posted by lupus_yonderboy at 12:35 AM on February 19, 2010 [1 favorite]
Well, it's like this. In the last ten years, hundreds of thousands of completely innocent people have been needlessly killed because of these "people from the other side of the political spectrum". Because of people like Tucker Carlson, the United States runs death camps where, again, innocent men have been tortured to death.
These same "people from the other side of the political spectrum" continue to propose even worse crimes like dropping nuclear weapons on Iran (a nuke on Tehran would certain kill millions instantly). Dropping an atom bomb onto a country that has not even threatened to attack yours is a crime against humanity.
There was a time when we could think of our opponents as people of honor, people with similar goals who differ only on the means. That hasn't been true for a long time. Our opponents have announced their goals - to despoil the air and water of our planet, to increase their endless wars, and to prevent the United States government from delivering social services. They have told us for years that they will never compromise in the slightest on these evil goals, and the decades have proven that this is utterly right.
So, yes, any human being with a shred of conscience would post a disclaimer.
posted by lupus_yonderboy at 12:35 AM on February 19, 2010 [1 favorite]
MetaFilter: A page only about porn, executions, and... ahh, forget it.
Thanks for forgetting it. This joke is making HAMBURGER look fresh.
posted by chairface at 9:23 PM on February 19, 2010
Thanks for forgetting it. This joke is making HAMBURGER look fresh.
posted by chairface at 9:23 PM on February 19, 2010
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If it leans any more than that it's likely to fall right over.
posted by ardgedee at 8:38 AM on February 18, 2010 [1 favorite]