1/19/2006

Bloggers For Analogy Quality Say "GENUG!"

Is it ironic that a carpetbagger would discuss ‘The Plantation”?

Is it ironic that right-wing windbag Ann Coulter would criticize Sen. Clinton about her remarks about "The Plantation"- Despite her own use of ‘The Plantation’in her quest to be racially caustic? Why can’t these people get enough of the Civil War Era, anyway? Isn't it gone with the wind?
Bloggers For Analogy Quality are not amused. They’re screaming ‘analogy abuse'.
“Why plantations? Why not Versailles? Why must they continue to boycott the French at the expense of meaningful snark? Versailles is a bonafide analogy, replete with self-proclaimed divinity, absolute monarchy, enlightened despotism- real fodder for some kick-ass comparison. So why is it always The Plantation?”
For one, 'plantation' is easier to spell. Second, pundits fear that public education has not prepared Americans for European references.
Critics point out that not enough attention is being paid to the selection of analogies, as the public seems largely focused on the real problems at hand. “People are too worried about reform and accountability these days, clammoring for responsive government and all that revolutionary crap... These remarks are hardly getting any air time at all! (continued)

Indeed, the public seem largely unaware of how much plantations are being used to court African-Americans. One wonders why this strategy would be ineffective? The numbers are still being crunched on the effectiveness of Nagin’s more industrious approach to race relations, likening diversity to a delicious Nestle Quik beverage.

But Coulter is determined to stay the course, asking if the cloture vote was the ONE thing the ‘Plantation’ was missing. (cloture refers to the discontinuation of debate, says Microsoft paperclip)
That’s right, Ann. Autonomy, dignity, freedom from rape? Not so much so.
According to Media Matters- Coulter:

“When host Neil Cavuto asked Coulter to comment on Clinton's January 16 remarks, she replied: "What a surprise that Hillary would be mentioning plantations on Martin Luther King Day in a black church. It's a crazy coincidence." Coulter called Clinton's comments "moronic," asking rhetorically, "Is that the one thing plantations were missing? A cloture vote?" She later asserted that Clinton's statements were "just the same old cliché. It's just Democrats once again running to the blacks whenever they're in trouble. You know, race-baiting on Martin Luther King Day. I think people are getting sick of it."

On the December 8, 2004, edition of Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor, Coulter said that because liberals "feel like they have blacks on the plantation, they can say whatever they like" about black conservatives.”

Thanks for clearing that up, Ann.

31 comments:

Eli Blake said...

Versailles is a much better analogy to our creation of a 'Republic' in Iraq.

In fact, the other day I was reading a book published in the 1920's and the topic was German War Reparations. It disussed a plan by which the Germans will pay their war debt off by 1966, and another propsal that will allow them to make payments until 1988. All stated so matter-of-factly.

It was an eerie feeling, sitting there reading that.

Anonymous said...

Did the Germans intend to use their oil to do so, Eli?

Omnipotent Poobah said...

Well, I'd just like to say that your post is like piano blowing in the wind...er, a rusty monkey..um,...

Well, you get the idea.

enigma4ever said...

Hmmm, a rusty monkey...that is just not fair to primates...

Lilly - I loved the post that combines the Irony of AnnieAintAnorexicCoutler with Hillary....the sad thing is Hillary meant that the DC area might be like working with and in the House of the Klan- but she sure as gumbo picked the Wrong Audience and the Wrong Day and the WrongWay to say it...And that Event combined with her Deafening Silence on Really Important Issues is WHY she should not even think of throwing her ego or her panties in the Ring 2008....

Personally I am not shocked- she was due for her own stained dress moment.... ( man I am just not being nice today...ce la vie)

I love your blog..I will try blogrolling you tonight...( Blogger has been giving me kittyfits the past two nights...)

Anonymous said...

Again though I say that in The Plantation, Hill AND Ann would be drinking lemonade on the porch, only Ann would request it without the lemons because she is anti-sustenance.
"Oh look, Ann. How hot they must be."
(For the purposes of Poobah's entertainment, we'll add 'making out' to the above snapshot. And a monkey)
When will they see that minorities are not pawns in their panderlympics?
I do understand how Hill meant it, and don't begrudge her the notches above coultergeist. But this staging of solidarity has little sincerity behind it.
The rate they are going, computers will be able to do politicking based on continually updated demographic polling and pre-fed soundbytes. And the world will have no need for the likes of either. PUNDIT HOLAGRAPHY! Invest now.

Anonymous said...

What is this "Civil War" that you speak of? That would be the "War of Northern Aggression," you blinkered lefty kook.

Anonymous said...

Who are these "French" people you are talking about? Aren't they the ones who live EUROPE? The people who are supporting the Terrorists?

I hear they talk funny. And that they don't take many baths. Ewww. Hey, I'm PROUD to be an American !!!

;)

Anonymous said...

They have hairy pits, too. No wonder the wingnuts boycott them. So many reasons, so few O'Reilly's...

Anonymous said...

"Coultergeist" - GREAT word !! And great blog Lilly, very funny, but subversive at the same time ...

Anonymous said...

Thanks for telling us genug means 'enough'. Whats with the blog-bonics?

Tedj said...

Lily don't be like that baby. I'm not a link em and leaven sort of guy. I'll be there baby, I just gotta keep touch on my peeps you. Don't hate the blogger hate the blog

:-)

Rex Kramer, Danger Seeker said...

"...pundits fear that public education has not prepared Americans for European references."

Oh, we pundits believe America is in fact oversaturated with Euro-references, or as we like to call them, "freedom-hating references."

Anonymous said...

DAV- You hate my blog? Should I sulk? Thats ok. I HATE my blog.Damned black and cigarette stained color text...
Peeps? Like those sucky easter things that nobody eats?
Or do you mean peeps in the sense that you have some posse of blog-goons that are going to jump my shit? I have no idea what you mean.

Tedj said...

That was my attempt at sounding cool. Obviously I have failed. I will go back to eating my corn chips watching MASH reruns. No, your blog is cool. It is I who am now

Anonymous said...

Now MASH! Thats cool! I forgive you now. You may address me again.

Neil Shakespeare said...

The Plantationization of Politics. And Versailles is NOT germaine here. Versailles is reserved for the White House.

Wadena said...

Well done, Lily.

Elegantly crafted.

How I grin when I see how it makes the Knuckledraggers whine.

;)

jen said...

great post, great blog! and great sontag quote! it was her birthday a few days ago.

Unknown said...

You know, the ironic thing is..the black community fully understands what Hillary said, and the context in which she said it. It's white Republican America that has the problem with it.

Oh, and as for Coulter... SHE'S A MAN, BABY, A MAN!

Anonymous said...

Clinton AND Coulter in the same post? It's almost too much to bear.

Unpleasant personalities aside, this is a great post. Loved the opening line.

Lily said...

Drew,
I love you but I have to differ. Its not a comprehension issue. Its about the gratuitous use of symbolism to convey an understanding of a problem when one does not aspire to commit to reform surrounding said problem. Its a transparent pandering issue, the pretense of relating to the injustice and detached elitism of the House (or gov in general)when in fact the Dems have often sold out minorities or have taken their support for granted. But of course we all hold the bar differently with respect to 'realistic responsiveness'. Its not that I don't get the comparison, I just think she might have shown more'reflective' judgement.
Perhaps I am taking a harsh view, that does not consider the limitations of Dems with respect to making REAL changes. My opinion is pretty fluid, and these comments help. Thats why we're here, right?
Ain't for the money...:)

Anonymous said...

YEs- people seem to forget that Hill was an opportunistic vote-tester who shacked up in NY- we recall that carpetbaggers were ooportunists that relocated to go exploit and profit.

Anonymous said...

I found and posted a great cartoon which says:

It's outrageous for Hillary Clinton to say the House is run like a plantation! HOGWASH!! The House is NOT run like a plantation!!

It's run like a brothel!

enigma4ever said...

A BROTHEL...OMG that 's it...too funny...why didn't figure that out sooner...and I was so worried that the WH was being run by the Klan....

But you are are right TP they don't run the place( and our country) like a crapass corporation, nope they run it like a friggin' brothel...

well, there you go...maybe they should get some advice from Heidi Fleiss....

Lily said...

Fred has a great entry that touches on some of these questions at Making Conservatives Cringe (also on blogroll, Fred has a great blog)

Frederick said...

Thanks for the linkage!

Unknown said...

Lili,

I don't know HOW I've missed your blog 'til now, but you are amazing. I laughed, I drooled, I nearly cried (because I spilt coffee on myself).

You witty thing, you. Great post.

KELSO'S NUTS said...

Like the Versailles analogy...we're obviously thinking along the same lines here. Made a more oblique post in my blog suggesting that 1789 was a MIDDLE-CLASS REVOLUTION that worked...

As for Hillary and the "P" word, it's about the only time since she's come to office that I've had any respect for her. Finally, some punching power.

Lots of stuff like this on my spot but I just cannot find a point of agreement with HC.

WAR: HC For, Me against
GUANTANAMO: HC For, Me against
DEATH PENALTY: HC For, Me against
ABORTION: HC Yes, but..., Me safe, readily available and free
WELFARE: HC "reform", Me go back to National AFDC and give it some $$$
TAXES: HC cut taxes on rich, raise taxes on upper-middle class, Me cut everybody's taxes
REGULATION: HC in favor of anything that's not meanigful, Me against anything that's not meaninful
EDUCATION: HC "No Child Left Behind", ME lots of money for public education
TRADE UNIONS: HC very uncomfortable about the whole issue, Me let's get back to 50% membership
VETERANS' ISSUES: HC whatever Bush wants, Me? Take a wild guess?

The "Plantation Speech" is a good start, but any of Evan Bayh, John Edwards, or Mark Warner will clean her clock for her in the primaries because despite all the name recognition, SHE WILL NOT GET A SINGLE MALE VOTE -- and this is real, real important here -- SHE MOVES LEFT, NOT RIGHT. AND IF NOT LEFT, SHE HAS TO MOVE IN A MORE LIBERTARIAN DIRECTION.

Anonymous said...

Aw. Shit. Ok you all get your friendship pay this week.

Kelso's Nuts (thats hilarious) drudged up some positions from the ol' liberal factory. Things we could all do well to recall.
I think that the points about Hill speak to why I am neither a dem NOR a republicon, because in my view they don't go far enough on these issues, primarily the environment. But third parties are in a bit of a..transitional phase. Generally I do vote for dems. Unless a sufficiently qualified 'other' is running. Which doesn't happen much around these parts.
I think some degree of welfare reform was in order, but way vack in the early nineties when we organized 'teach ins'/ conferences looking at the proposals- we basically organized around the idea that THEIR version was not really addresssing some of the primary criticisms of AFDC. It pandered to people's fears about the 'lazy poor' but offered many misguided remedies.
The union issue has a lot of explanations, one being the way the Reagan administration effectively reduced their powers- and the public perception of unions that the corpocrats foster. I say part of this supposed 'free market' approach should be reflective of the converse- UNRESTRICTED rights to organize and fight back, possibly even sans taylor and hatch.
Perhaps the best part of your comment: "HC in favor of anything that's not meaningful, Me against anything that's not meaninful" was part of my thinking about my earlier post on anarchy, and the idea that it there is a difference between wanting no government (anarchy)
powerless government (libertarian) and those of us who want something else entirely: government that responds to the people (not itself) that fulfills its obligations but does not overstep where it has no business... where the responsiveness to business and religion is in check, not the responsiveness to all of US-like in cases of Katrina, Sago, pollution, mercury,pharmaceuticals... blah blah blah.

KELSO'S NUTS said...

LILY: The props fest continues. My voting is very similar to yours. Voted for Nader (in NY) in 2000, Kucinish in 2004 primary, Kerry in 2004 general. Voted for Miller in primary for mayor in primary and Ferrer in general election on Working Families Line.

Two great definitions of a "libertarian": (1) A rich person who likes to get high (2) An anarchist who is afraid of his servants. I call myself a "Left-Libertarian" on the blog, but perhaps "Capitalist Anarchist" is more appropriate. Case in point: went to a comedy/magic/rock show Saturday night with old friend and business partner. He was reading Stiglitz's book "Globalization And It's Discontents." (My friend is a regular flopper of The Nuts, btw). I said that if globalization means I get to try to move and take down as much money as I can without cheating or exploiting AND I get to see Alexander Ovechkin playing in the NHL, it's a good thing. If it means that institutional cheating is permitted and locked in, accompanied by Thomas Friedman's preaching and hectoring, then I'm not for it.

As for AFDC, about the only moral hazard I noticed with the program was the propensity to create more unwanted children for the checks. Then again, a psycho-sociologist would say that the high birth rates associated with the poor are an effect of poverty, as the various impoverished cultures feel extinction looming.

Keep visiting The Nuts and I'll be here on the regular. Any chance of a link?

Anonymous said...

Well the 'why poor people have lots of kids' question is a whole other discussion really. There are many 'theories' to consider there, from the ability to 'achieve' or 'create'for people that receive recognition for very little-to theories that in some subcultures children link families together with stability where it is decidedly lacking. Much has been written about matriarchal familial structures and the differences in 'birth' perspectives. I can't claim to know, but do know that stereotypes about welfare pervade America and much is based in ignorance. Check out "The Johnny Sutra" for a lengthy thread on that! (few posts back) What I do know is that data does NOT support the idea that more children makes one financially better off, especially not long term. If you have a five year cap on welfare PLUS you have to jump through their hoops to get it (resource limits, etc) it doesn't sound very enticing to many people. When WIC and welfare end, the kid is still young- and then what?
What is problematic from what I've seen in the work world are the disability benefits for children via SSI. There are no resource limits, I know people making 300K a year that get SSI benefits and Medicaid. They have to for county programs where enrollment is a must.Totally different system. Is there a big incentive to have kids for welfare? Not really. Is there an incentive to label one's kid as disabled? Absolutely.
Yes, Kelso, I think we can have some interesting conversations. (Although I prefer Steven to Kelso-hands down!!!:))

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