Larry Elder is a Wanker
By John Amato Monday Feb 18, 2008 6:01pm
I was driving home from an acupuncture appointment yesterday and I flipped on LA's wingnut radio station. Larry Elder was doing one of his " The Word" segments I guess and he was criticizing Michelle Obama for finally being proud of America.
“Hope is making a comeback and, let me tell you, for the first time in my adult life, I am proud of my country. Not just because Barack is doing well, but I think people are hungry for change,” she said during a rally in downtown Milwaukee.
I wish I had the audio, but in typical wingnut fashion, Elder read off his jingoistic list of reasons why he's been proud of America for so many years. From what I can remember of his speech---and since the economy is in total shambles, ole Larry had to compare us with Greece. America is better than living in Greece, isn't it? And he talked about some time he spent in Italy a number of years ago and his big complaint was that the power would go out occasionally. How quickly we forget the comforts of America, he alluded to. I guess Elder must have forgotten all the power outages in LA when it gets a little too hot in the summer.
He brought up Bush 41's high approval rating right after the the first Gulf war. He was so proud. And then he threw in Bush 43's high approval ratings after we toppled the Taliban. Over 70%, he said. Wow, what memories....Aren't the Taliban back by the way, Larry? Was he proud of the Iraq war, or the way Bush handled Hurricane Katrina? Was he proud about the sub-prime mortgage crisis and the massive housing foreclosures? Is he proud of Larry Craig and Mark Foley? He didn't say. I'm sure he was proud of David Vitter though. I bet he gave him an in-studio standing ovation just like the Republicans did. Anyway, Elder, I was so proud of your list of denial.
Send him an email to sage@larryelder.com and tell him how proud you are of the Republicans in power. I'll try to stay off that radio station next time and find KJAZZ, but please Larry--- keep wanking away.
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Michelle said somthing stupid.
Yeah, but you're missing the point. We're all proud of America. What separates progressives from conservatives is that progressives think there is always room for improvement, and conservatives think any talk of improvement is unamerican. (That, by the way, is the conservative philosophy in a nutshell. "Everything is either perfect now, or was BETTER in the PAST.")
I think it is so great how everyone is getting all upset over language. Forget thought police, now we have word police. Who cares what Michelle said? How many days are they going to spend analyzing some of the most common phrases in our language?
I wonder what a soldier in Iraq thinks of all this stupid talk. Or a family who lost a child to lead posioning because our country has two inspectors for millions of toys. What about the horrible working conditions for humans in TYSON Plants? What about the billions in profits made by the oil companies who still have their subsidies?
What about all the really important shit going on that nobody cares about because Michelle Obama has the balls to say what she thinks regardless of the stupid fallout from stupid talking heads? What about that?
John,
MSNBC is playing a clip of Michelle Obama speaking that has been edited to make it sound worse. They just cut out a qualifying word in the middle of her speaking:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/2/19/18435/0161/770/459925
Can you find the clip of this? This is a huge story.
"Larry Elder is a Wanker"
"Brit Hume says something stupid"
is today State the Obvious Day? :-)
great piece, though!
Any word on whether he is proud of our tactics in Vietnam or the number of who are killed, maimed or deformed by "left-over" mines and agent-orange?
There are many things for which Americans should be proud but many more for which we should feel shame and be humbled.
Acupuncture?!! Oh No! Please tell me you're joking!
Dude... you just went down a notch or two in the credibility stakes.
Acupuncture slots in comfortably right between Ouija boards and Phrenology!
In the future... please apply the same razor sharp intellect to your healthcare that you do to politics.
I'm just sayin'...
Larry Elder makes good money lap dancing for rich white republican men.
Can't blame him for saying the shit that says, he's got a family to feed.
Larry, you tool, what are you doing up there on the Bush's porch?
I've been home from work only 2 hours and must have seen that clip already 5 times each on MSNBC and CNN. If I had turned on Fox, I'm sure that figure might be tripled by now. I can only imagine what Fox is doing with this clip.
How lucky for Hillary to get Ms. McCain and so many others in the MSM to carry water for her. In a way it hints at a scary point. We may not be grown up enough as a country to have a true and honest debate about our destiny. Our minds are still drawn to trivia.
poejavlo @ 7:
Funny, I feel much better today...Maybe I'll get my fortune read tomorrow...
Look at the last three posts here. Larry Elder, Britt Hume, Bill O'Idiot how come no one suspends them when they say/do stupid things?
Funny, Larry Elder is sounding a lot like Taylor Marsh.
Michelle said somthing stupid.
Like what, exactly?
[Deleted. Off topic. I'll spell it out for you one last time: Take it to an o-p-e-n t-h-r-e-a-d, p-l-e-a-s-e. Site Monitor]
He is an UNCLE TOM of the 10th degree ... Hard to tell which is worse him or that cockeyed asshole that they always put on MSNBC
Now that's one wankerish promo photo.
I sent him my email letting him know how lucky he's living in the "other" America. Well, here we go with the attack machine. Hang on guys, the ride is going to suck! Hopefully the destination will be worth it!
As Americans we have LOTS to have been VERY proud of since, oh, gee....Christopher Columbus landed and had thousands of Eerowak Indians' hands cut off because they didn't bring him enough gold. Also the way he took young Indian girls as sex slaves was wonderful. Every time I jump on the 10 Freeway in Santa Monica I feel soooo proud to see the giant sign, "THE CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS TRANSCONTINENTAL HIGHWAY".
And of course our treatment of the Native American Indians was....well, it brings a tear to my eye. It makes me VERY proud. Of course when I read Howard Zinn's book, "A People's History of the United States" it kinda pisses me off. Cause the way he tells it we did something BAD to the Indians!
Okay, the whole "slave thing"....well. That was probably not the "nicest" thing our forefathers could have done. But, hey! They needed help to create all those plantations! And it all turned out fine in the end! Well, except for the whole Civil War thing....but after all the blood dried and the bodies were buried...and everyone kissed and made-up and blacks got their 40 acres and a mule...THEN I WAS PROUD!!! RIGHT??
I tell you what has made me freakin' gush though with pride. All the covert CIA/FBI operations we've done over the years to depose democratically elected leaders of various "bad" countries. I mean, really! We were right!! The people of Chile didn't REALLY mean to elect Allende, right? And the whole Iran Shah thing....I mean. Mossadegh was a boob! The Iranian people needed THE SHAH! They just didn't realize it! And then the damn ingrates had to go and overthrow him and put in Khomeini. Idiots!! I just don't understand why they hate us so much???
Well, I suppose I should shut up while I'm ahead. Wouldn't want to "jump the shark again in a tinfoil hat".
I'm proud of the fact that in America, even wingnut moonbats like Larry Elder have the right to make fools of themselves in public.
poejavlo @ 7:
Ahem. Acupuncture has a track record of thousands of years. Do some research into recent acupuncture news -- you might be surprised to find that acupuncture is helpful in fertility, osteoarthritis, most pain syndromes...
Just because we Westerners don't understand the mechanism for acupuncture, it doesn't mean it's ineffective.
Just saying.
I am proud that we can torture people in such psychologically horrific ways that would make even Vlad the Impaler piddle his dreams...
I am proud that we have enough nuclear weapons to wipe out all multi celled organisms on earth...and ain't 'fraid to use em!
I am proud that we elect the same foul criminal mass murders into power over and over again so they can steal, rape and pillage the futures of our children...
I am proud we outspend the entire world combined on methods and ways to kill other human beings, funding not only thugs and sociopaths around the world, but instituting black ops that cause at the very least blow back which naturally shocks the supremely stupid American people.
I am proud that 18% of our citizens think the SUN revolves around the Earth...
I am proud that we are collectively pissing our species survival away just to enable a pathetically small minority .01% to own and control 90% of the worlds wealth and resources...and even prouder that the people are so castrated that they just lay back and take it.
There is so much to be proud of ... I mean to take total pride in my being for living in this country .. I don't know how I could ever stop .. but I will due to time constraints...
But thats just a tiny fraction of something to be PROUD of .. ...
And I'm Proud to be an UH'Merican... Where at least I know I'm Freee!
I love when people think there is one best country in the whole world. And how it's always the people who have barely spent any time in any other countries and have zero awareness of the laws and cultures and subcultures anywhere else. And how they manage to delude themselves into thinking that everything on their list ONLY happens here. (or, if it's negative, ONLY happens everywhere else. EVERYWHERE!!!) I'd like to see his reaction if we all wrote and told him that what we love about this country are the employment anti-discrimination laws for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered people, and the states that allow same-sex marriage, and the way that some cities cover sex changes for their employees.... not that those are exclusive to here either.
I say
there are lots of commenters here who are smarter and more knowledgeable than Larry Elder, Bill O'Reilly, Ann Coulter, and all the other easy right-wing targets.
Commenters here, IMO, should use their talents not just to criticise what it is, but to propose a better tomorrow.
Well, let's see.. I believe Michelle is 45 years old. This makes her an adult for approximately 25 years.... Lo and behold, Reagan was elected in 1980... to 1988
Then, Poppy Bush 88 to 92...
Then her opponents husband in 1992 to 2000... Then The Boy Emperor Bush...
So, what is this idiot's point? Looks to me she has good reason to have some shame toward her country for 27 or 28 years of these fine fools... One, Billary, wants to hang around another eight!
Hope not.
Interesting bio...
..opened "Laurence A. Elder and Associates," a business specializing in recruiting experienced attorneys. At the same time, he hosted a topic-oriented television show in Cleveland, first on PBS,
--> then on the local Fox affiliate.
Maybe he can discuss this.
The Children of Iraq.
Forty Percent of Cluster Bomb Casualties.
Barack Obama Voted to Ban Them.
Hillary Clinton Voted Against a Senate Amendment to Ban the Use of Cluster Bombs in Civilian Areas.
http://www.tv3.co.nz/News/NationalNews/Childrenarefortypercentofclusterb...
Larry Elder is just keeping the home fires burning... you know, like in the plantation house's fireplace.
bio...
http://www.larryelder.com/bio.html
sage@larryelder.com ???
Hmm ... he doesn't strike me as very wise.
I can never figure out black conservatives, they usually don't seem as crazy as the white ones but they tend to say just as many stupid things and always aimed at other black folk. I mean when you get an idiot like Ann Coulter trying to convince us that the Democrats were the ones opposing our civil rights (ignoring the fact that those Dixiecrats all became Republicants) that's one thing, but then you have guys like Elders and Solwell who say much the same thing in a different way, who do they think they're fooling?
I just dont understand them.
Not to take anything away from the Wanker Dude, but I really believe this is a more important issue, especially for those of us who live in Florida.
Jesus H. Christ, this bullshit is exhausting.
You know what? I haven't been proud of America in years. In fact, when I travel internationally, I tell people I'm from Canada.
And this is exactly the kind of worthless nonsense that makes me wish I really was from Canada.
Man, what a place.
watchdog @ 29:
They get the talking points from The neocon network.
Mike @ 4:
It is NOT an edited version, there are two versions. In the second version she added the word "really" before the word "proud".
Regardless of her intent, this was a political mistake on Mrs. Obama's part and will require damage control. The second version of the quote is the beginning of the repairs.
I really don't like what Michelle Obama said. I have been upset since 2000 about what is happening to our country. I have never liked Bush and told everyone in 2000 and 2004 that if Bush ran against a Pekinese I'd vote for the dog. There is much to be worried about and much to be fixed when the next president moves in.
My husband did 2 tours in Iraq and I've cried over New Orleans. I think we've lost a lot of people and treasure during Bush's "stewardship" of our country. I reject the notion of the "unitary executive" and think we are not now on the right track.
Still, despite that, I'm proud of my country. I'm not proud every single day over every single aspect of it, but I'm proud nevertheless to be American. If Michelle Obama is only now proud of our country, when, arguably, it is in her interest, then I can't get behind that. In fact, it makes me angry that everything else that might count as an accomplishment by her fellow citizens and country has not risen to the level of a potential vote for Barak Obama in Michelle's eyes.
Rico @ 10:
This country is too full of thick-skulled, shallow-thinking morons to actually hold an intelligent debate. I've been saying it here for a while. I wait for the day this country sinks under the weight of its own stupidity.
Larry Elder doesn't care about black people.
Larry Elder has been a wing nut for many years. I use to go to our channel 9 TV to see what he said about a measure in an up coming election and what ever he was for, I was against and vice versa! Thanks Larry for being my reverse barometer for so long!
This is all more, much ado about nothing, she expressed her feeling at the moment and she was right to say it, just as she said it, I was very, very proud the day, I heard my grandson play the guitar in front of his school, I was very very proud, for the first time in my life, when I heard, my daughter was serving in her church as a teacher, very proud.
This crap about, she said something stupid is crap, at any given time, I can be more proud than I've ever been in my life, I've one life to live and it keeps getting better, while there are times when its in the crapper. I was very proud the day, US troops marched into a small town in Texas and told the Blacks, two years after the civil war ended, (Juneteenth Black yearly festival, was born) that they were free, very very proud of those soldiers.
Come on Obama is about WE CAN and Hillary Bill are about MY SOLUTIONS, I wants some who wants to do something, anything... with me, not for me.
Black Republicans are like the Blind Racist skit off the Chappelle show who was a celebrated author of the KKK.
One problem.
Since he was blind he didn't know he was black.
Any black person who considers themselves a member of the GOP remind of that skit.
You would have to be blind or really hate yourself or race to side with the segregationalist.
Opps I meant Christian Conservatives.
All they did was change there name.
The Religious Right and the Conservatives feel the same way about most Americans as Bin Laden does. They want to eliminate us. Immoral, lazy, stupid.
VietVet8666 @ 23:
I do constantly...
bart @ 35:
I guess I'm just a nasty person, but I'm NOT proud of my country right now. When I was bad as a kid my Mother (evil woman that she is) used to say "I still LOVE you, but right now I don't LIKE you." That's the way I feel about the U.S.. The fact that Bush won a 2nd term. The fact that the masses haven't risen up against torture, or indefinite detention, or unprovoked war, or warrantless wiretapping, or no-bid contracts, or lies and death and everything this administration has stood for... I'm disappointed beyond belief in "my fellow Americans." Living in San Diego, surrounded by the reich-wing (letters to the editor regularly endorse torture, I kid you not) -- it's salt in the wounds.
Jeannie See @ 31:
oh man - don't you just want to scream sometimes?!
atown @ 34:
Where is the other one? This is the one where its very clear she says "really proud" and it is edited out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nu9Zei11uEc
This is bullshit.
Point taken concerning some guy that has no influence over my life that said something stupid. But how is it that some one who starts a sentence with "I was driving home from an acupuncture appointment..." is not a wanker one's self?
rduke @ 42:
I'm not proud of America, why would anyone be so? I don't think it's anything to be proud of. I have a certain nostalgia for where I grew up and live and it's culture, but that is not 'pride'
Currently everyone should be ashamed.
Nice pose in his photo.
I believe it's called the "Wiping Republican Jizz Off My Chin" pose.
Face it, for a PR girl Michelle made a sloppy comment, and she'll have to step it up if they make it to the general election. Seriously, after the way I saw my own Democrats freak out over Hillary's MLK/LBJ comment, you have no room to talk about people reacting hyper hysterical over absolutely nothing.
I imagine that the Germans were proud to be Germans during WWI and WWII and the Japanese were proud to be Japanese. We can't always be proud of what the leadership does. You would have to be a zombie and couldn't have an individual thought. If not a zombie, a republican.
Rather than call him an even more apt name...Elders is a " " he is deliberate in taking a very moving speech by Michelle Obama and picking through to find any quote which can be used out of context to mean something entirely different. For that honor he deserves not only name-calling but a boycott..don't watch or listen any more to the bastiches.
And really, check out the entire Madison speech anyway ..available on CSPAN, front page, to the left (probably).
I have no acupuncturist and it's barely warm enough here to drive, much less expect the radio to work while you do it. But I just voted for Barack Obama in the Wisconsin primary, so I feel pretty good. Michelle may have overstated but I know what she was getting at. I'm glad not not every word of mine in moments of enthusiasm or frustration are poured over quite so much. You gotta feel for anyone who wishes this kind of examination on themselves.
I think it's snowing again.
poejavlo @ 7:
That's a lie. Acupuncture is a PROVEN health care method, with PROVEN ability to reduce pain and resolve a considerable number of illnesses without significant side-effects. As the insurance industry recognizes, btw. It is MUCH cheaper to send persons to acupuncturists for pain syndromes, for instance, than to do surgery or make them drug addicts.
The way in which it works is still being debated. There is solid clinical evidence that it works.
Old Billy @ 45:
I thought I was going crazy but I noticed the word "really" fuzzed out of the replay too. Calling that "bullshit" is too tame. What's up?
bart @ 35:
Never tell another how they should feel, particularly if they are African-American, about their country. Your posts suggests that we have all experienced the same things in the same light and have been treated the same way, and quite frankly, we haven't.
Jim Crow laws existed only a generation ago, remember?
And by the way, even Neil Cavuto defended Michelle Obama; and I think someone on MSNBC made a good point - when Teresa Kerry said something and it was all over the media Laura Bush said "I'm sure she was taken out of context," you can't tell me that that isn't the definition of class.
"Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama (born January 17, 1964)" became an adult in 1982, during Reagan's first term. There has indeed been little to be proud of since, given 8 years of Reagan (and his warcrimes) and 12 years of Bush bums (and their warcrimes).
Paul in LA @ 54:
Yeah! Most insurance won't cover it though... And drug companies can't patent Chinese herbal remedies... Essentially there's no way to make money shilling acupuncture unless you are a healer with proven results and can get referrals from satisfied patients. (I work for the best acupuncturist in San Diego ;-)
Katie @ 49:
HAHAHAHAHA!!!! Thanks. I needed that.
Larry Elder.... penny proud, pound foolish... evidently.... JD
sluggirl @ 59:
I must agree. Accupuncture works. I'm all about scientific evidence and mechanism, and I don't know why it works. But its been around for a thousand years because its effective for some reason.
sluggirl @ 43:
I guess I'm just a nasty person, but I'm NOT proud of my country right now. When I was bad as a kid my Mother (evil woman that she is) used to say "I still LOVE you, but right now I don't LIKE you." That's the way I feel about the U.S.. The fact that Bush won a 2nd term. The fact that the masses haven't risen up against torture, or indefinite detention, or unprovoked war, or warrantless wiretapping, or no-bid contracts, or lies and death and everything this administration has stood for... I'm disappointed beyond belief in "my fellow Americans." Living in San Diego, surrounded by the reich-wing (letters to the editor regularly endorse torture, I kid you not) -- it's salt in the wounds.
I reside in San Diego too, and know precisely what you are talking about. I doubt there are few papers in this country that can match this rag in blind support and jingoism for the current administration.
By the way, off topic, but if you live in San Diego and want to see the cleverest, bestest, rhymingest liberal satirist singer-songwriter EVER, Roy Zimmerman is playing for Acoustic Music San Diego this Saturday, 7:30 p.m. Get info here:
http://www.acousticmusicsandiego.com/February.html
Scroll down, the info for his show is towards the bottom of the page. He's AMAZING!!!
Oops, sorry about that. How did it all come out blue and underlined?
sluggirl @ 59:
Well, we are Californians, ahead of the curve. Governor Moonbeam gave us acupuncture licencing in the 1970s, and even though the CMA has tried to shut it down, it is still going.
Moonbeam himself is now in need of a darning needle in the ass, btw.
Clay @ 57:
yeah, classy to say it after the fact, and the damage has been done,
Holly @ 50:
Yeah, I agree, if it's true that she said this at all. The clip was edited. If there were two clips, why would one need to be edited?
Old Billy @ 45:
It was very obvious they edited "really" out. Great observation. Can someone get the original. We know that the right wing will do anything to make the nominees of the democratic party look bad.
Bluestater @ 65:
When you quoted, you left the COLON in. For instance, Bluestater @ 65, the colon after that carries all the formating.
Bluestater @ 65:
Just lucky I guess. (No, you left your "a href" tag open)
X @ 46:
OK, lol...I'll bite. My left arm has been really bothering me lately. My fingers have gone numb at times. I've used AP before and it's really been helpful and very soothing. Plus the 30 minutes of quiet time is great to unwind with. My GP doctor suggested it when I went in for a physical last week.
Now back to the post...
Bart says:
"I really don’t like what Michelle Obama said."
Oh, my dear Bart:
God love ya......
It will be a loooooonnggg time until the convention in August:
http://www.denverconvention2008.com/
(Everybody have their hotels booked for the big demo????)
Michelle, Barack, Hill, Bill and Mac (heck, even Huck and Ron Paul!!!) have PLENTY of time to say/do even STUPIDER (wha??) stuff.
Just sit back and relax. If we give them all enough time they'll dig themselves MASSIVE holes to China...('cept Ron Paul).
Old Billy @ 68:
Whomever edited the clip is obviously taking a cheap shot at Michelle, I certainly don't deny that, but if Michelle is going to be a help to her husband's campaign,she's going to have to learn, that even if you're running in Germany after WWII, the candidate and his wife are ALWAYS proud of their country....might need to be improved, but they are always proud. I'm sure there will be plenty here who disagree with me, but if you want to win, you have to at least have some kind of basic patriotism.
I AM OUTRAGED. What right does Michelle Obama say that ONLY after her husband started to run for president she could be proud of this country.
Well for all you people who BELIEVE THAT PIECE OF CRAP...LET ME TELL YOU. I was proud of this country in the 1960-- AND THE GOD OBAMA WAS ALIVE THEN ---when John F Kennedy, Robert Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson fought for civil rights. The civil rights that Michelle who was never PROUD of her country enjoys. I was proud during the 60's and 70's of our men AND women, who fought the Vietnam War which was very unpopular. I was proud than hell of our country in the 90's when Bill Clinton was president and cleaned up bush's mess. I have been proud of my country ALL MY LIFE and as I said not because some smiling and smirking person thinks he can lead a bunch of cult members to become president. I AM SO DAMN MAD AT THAT STATEMENT inferring that this country is now and wasn't before then to be something to be proud of.
She has right to be proud of HER HUSBAND, IF SHE WANTS, BUT TO SAY THAT EVERYTHING IN THIS COUNTRY WAS WRONG TIL HE THE MAN WHO WALKS ON WATER DECIDED TO RUN FOR PRESIDENT. So she doesn't think that even with all the faults of this administration that this is a country to be damn proud of I AM NOT ONE DAMN BIT SORRY I LIVE IN THIS COUNTRY AND I AM PROUD AS HELL OF IT. And if the people like her are not proud of it and think they are the only ones to run it than she can leave leave leave.
After what she said I think Hillary Clinton is the only choice. We see that the disastrous policies of being a dictator are what obama has in mind.
Holly @ 74:
Holly, watch the clip. She said really proud. Her lips were moving when nothing was coming out.
Marge @ 75:
I can't believe that you people believe everthing that you see and hear in the media. Haven't you learned anything yet?
Ron @ 76:
I agree, she obviously said 'really.' Even with the 'really' it's still a sloppy comment. It leaves her wide open for a cheap shot.
Old Billy @ 45:
Your link is bs and is meant to drum up false conspiracy claims. Here are the two quotes: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGjR81pFJI4
The final word on acupuncture is here.
http://www.ncahf.org/pp/acu.html
I will be 65 this year. I can't thiink of anytime that I said I was proud of my country. I always felt proud to be an American but it is not something that I would go around saying. Too many people are trying to parse words here and making something out of nothing.
Marge @ 75: