I was reading the review of Capitalism over at Reason and at the end it had this,

One final note: Just before the film started, Moore asked the audience to turn off any recording devices because the studio did not want bootleg versions of the film getting around. Apparently this socialism stuff has its limits.

I had to laugh. Frankly I think everyone who wants to watch the movie should show Mr. Moore exactly how much they support him and download it off the internet.

This xkcd comic is indeed “More Accurate.”

via Andrew Exum

Andrew Sullivan says Olympia Snowe can do pretty much whatever she wants, “Because she has more Democratic support in her state than Republican, and the combination makes her impregnable.”

She’s 62 years old, for goodness sakes. Surely, if she were planning to have children, she’d have done so by now.

Rush Limbaugh has gotten everyone from Media Matters to The Guardian to Andrew Sullivan to Paul Krugman to Raw Story to FireDogLake up in arms because he allegedly suggested that a NYT reporter kill himself.  Except that, to anyone familiar with either Limbaugh or the conventions of American English, it’s rather obvious he was illustrating absurdity by being absurd.

Here’s the actual quote, as supplied by Media Matters:

I think these militant environmentalists, these wackos, have so much in common with the jihad guys. Let me explain this. What do the jihad guys do? The jihad guys go to families under their control and they convince these families to strap explosives on who? Not them. On their kids. Grab your 3-year-old, grab your 4-year-old, grab your 6-year-old, and we’re gonna strap explosives on there, and then we’re going to send you on a bus, or we’re going to send you to a shopping center, and we’re gonna tell you when to pull the trigger, and you’re gonna blow up, and you’re gonna blow up everybody around you, and you’re gonna head up to wherever you’re going, 73 virgins are gonna be there. The little 3- or 4-year-old doesn’t have the presence of mind, so what about you? If it’s so great up there, why don’t you go? Why don’t you strap explosives on you — and their parents don’t have the guts to tell the jihad guys, “You do it! Why do you want my kid to go blow himself up?” The jihad guys will just shoot ‘em, ’cause the jihad guys have to maintain control.

The environmentalist wackos are the same way. This guy from The New York Times, if he really thinks that humanity is destroying the planet, humanity is destroying the climate, that human beings in their natural existence are going to cause the extinction of life on Earth — Andrew Revkin. Mr. Revkin, why don’t you just go kill yourself and help the planet by dying?

Rather clearly, Limbaugh isn’t so angry about a silly blog post that he actually thinks Revkin deserves to die.  Rather, he thinks Revkin is an idiot with really screwed up priorities. Limbaugh is employing standard reductio ad absurdum logic here:

• Revkin argues that we should reduce the number of babies being born as a means of reducing CO2 emissions and thereby saving the planet.
• By that logic, “the planet” is more important than people
• Revkin should demonstrate his commitment by ending his own life.

Update (Alex Knapp): Actually, Rush Limbaugh’s big crime here isn’t “telling someone to off himself” — it’s plagarism. This is almost exactly the same joke that the late, great comedian Bill Hicks did in his act around 1991:

People pay lip service to saving the planet, but they don’t – they fail to make the big leap that if you want to save the planet, kill your fucking self. The planet will be saved without you. And what a delightful place it’ll be.

I’ll give Limbaugh credit: he’s stealing from possibly the best comedian of the 20th Century.

Andrew Sullivan illustrates his latest post with this photo:

It’s a amusing question made unintentionally more clever by omission of an apostrophe.

Scott Adams nails another one:

The actual exchanges aren’t so callous or direct, of course, but this is the essence of “exempt” employment.

Amusing parody of the University of Phoenix ads by SNL:

Bonus: Fred Armisen in whiteface.

via Inside Higher Ed

For as long as I can remember, comedians have been having fun with the fact that hot dogs come 10 to a pack whereas hot dog buns come 8 to a pack.  Via Chris Lawrence’s Google Reader, I see that one intrepid gentleman has done his best to solve this dilemma:

The woot’s at the end have me wondering whether this is a legit call or an elaborate set-up but, either way, rather amusing.

John Cole comments on Michelle Obama’s pledge to “take no prisoners” as she helps her husband fight to get the Olympics for Chicago:

You know who else hosted an Olympics?

Hitler.

Just saying…

QED.

A well-done Star Trek – Monty Python mashup:

via Glenn Reynolds

One of the major criticisms of President Obama from Republicans with respect to foreign policy is his eagerness to negotiate and find common ground with other countries, even those generally hostile to the United States such as Iran and North Korea. Republican experts insist that the governments of these nations are implacable enemies of the United States and that they have no desire to negotiate. The only language these nations understand, according to these experts, is force. As such, they recommend that the President credibly put military options on the table, such as air strikes, in order to get those countries to do what we want.

One of the major criticisms of President Obama from Democrats with respect to domestic policy is his eagerness to negotiate and find ground with Republicans, even on issues such as health care. Democratic experts insist that the Republican Party is an implacable enemy of the President’s agenda and it has no desire to negotiate. The only language that Republicans understand, according to these experts, is force. As such, they recommend that the President credibly put parliamentary processes on the table, such as reconciliation, in order to get Republicans to do what he wants.

Since negotiations to both stop Iran’s nuclear program and pass a healthcare reform bill seem to have stalled, it occurs to me that Obama should accept these criticisms. Accordingly, he should threaten Iran with the use of arcane UN procedures to force Iran to shut down its nuclear program. Simultaneously, he should inform Republicans that any attempt to filibuster health care will result in Republican National Headquarters being carpet bombed by the Air Force.

That’s how you break gridlock, baby.

Cross-posted to Heretical Ideas

“If your lawyer’s e-mail address ends in hotmail.com, gmail.com, or yahoo.com, find a new lawyer.” – Esquire Rule #1033

Pretty sure this is still in Beta:

Google Opt Out Feature Lets Users Protect Privacy By Moving To Remote Village

via Hal Hildebrand

Inspired by the Truthers and the Birthers and the Deathers and all the other conspriacy theorists in modern American politics, over at Heretical Ideas we thought that it would be fun to try our hand at our own theories, and accordingly have dubbed this Conspiracy Week. So take a break from arguing about politics and check out the real truth. So far this week we have to offer:

• A serious look at conspiracy theories and why they persist even after they’re debunked.

• The nefarious, real purpose of Obama’s health care proposals.

• The hidden forces that are secretly driving The Tea Party Movement.

But that’s not all. Conspiracy week will continue: Thursday will offer a look at the hidden connections between the absolute monarchs of Medieval Europe and famous Hawaiians such as Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, General Eric Shinseki, music star Danger Mouse, and, of course, Barack Obama.

On Friday, we’ll unveil Vladimir Putin’s evil plot to actually change the weather–with the unwitting help of American politicans.

So take a look and enjoy!

(Unless, of course, that’s what they want you to do.)

Here at OTB, I have brought up the “Is Obama the Anti-Christ?” discussion before. However, it’s not until now that I have seen definitive proof that yes, Barack Obama is the Anti-Christ. This video makes an undeniable case.

* Not actually proof.