Most Insane Moments from the Town Hall Protests
The protesters at America's health care town halls are scary, what with their guns, apocalyptic posturing and talk of blood. The footage continues to come in, and we continue to sift out the especially disturbing bits. You know who else held meetings in little halls? Oh, lone wacky protestors are kind of funny, aren't they? Less funny is Glenn Beck, crying on Fox News, because Barack Obama is so much like Hitler. Remember when the Republican Party called this sort of thing "vile political hate speech?" "IF YOU CAN READ THIS SIGN YOU DON'T NEED A GOVERNMENT VISION PLAN." Also, shouldn't that blonde lady with the "Obahmadinejad" sign be in a veil? No Sharia cops out in that part of the country? Chris Matthews welcomed to Hardball that protester with the 9mm strapped to his leg. The man cited the 2nd Amenment; he didn't bother explaining his sign invoking a quote about "the blood of patriots and tyrants." Well, at least people don't bring kids to these crazy, weaponized protests... ...unless absolutely necessary to maximize the effectiveness of a sign. The government provides free health care to prison inmates and members of the military, so you can, in fact, trade freedom for healthcare under the current system. The sign is funny because it's true! The lady in the hat is not one of those shy, retiring mob participants, moping around all depressed and apologetic, using her indoor voice and making sense. MORE >>
Let's Just Say It: We're Scared Someone's Going to Try to Kill Barack Obama
MSNBC just aired video of a man with a pistol strapped to his leg waiting for Barack Obama to arrive at a townhall in New Hampshire. The man is carrying a sign that says, "It Is Time to Water the Tree of Liberty." That's a reference to a Thomas Jefferson quote: "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time, with the blood of patriots and tyrants." It was a favorite slogan of Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh, who was wearing a T-shirt when he was arrested with a picture of Lincoln on the front and a tree dripping with blood on the back. Now, this guy is carrying a legal weapon, says NBC News' Ron Allen. The local chief of police has no objections. Open carriage of licensed handguns is legal in New Hampshire, and the man is standing on the private property of a nearby church (!) that has no problem with an armed man hanging around. But let's be clear: anyone watching the mounting rage over, of all things, health care — perhaps one of the most boring and complex policy subjects — has to worry that these people are going to try to kill Barack Obama. That's not an extrapolation from unhinged rhetoric, or a partisan reading of the imagined intentions of our political enemies. It's a rational reading of the anticipated behavior of a man who brandishes a gun at the location where the president is expected to imminently arrive while holding a sign that openly advocates his assassination. And the astonishing, breathtaking, maddening fact that he hasn't been violently taken to the ground by large men wearing suits and earpieces is an open encouragement to anyone else so inclined to give it a shot. There are always people who want to kill the president. Generally speaking, they are politically marginalized, insane, and/or too incompetent to come close to achieving their ends. But in the past six months, people who would be inclined to do violence to our political leaders have been affirmatively embraced by the Republican Party and its messaging operation. It's as if there had been a 24-hour cable news channel in 1981 devoted to coverage of Jodie Foster, and what it would take for someone to get her attention. Here's what you get when you have a partisan political establishment that openly trades in themes of violence, xenophobia, paranoia, illegitimacy, and revolution: And here is a town hall this morning where Sen. Arlen Specter (R... I mean D-Pa.) faced a man threatening judgment from God: Did extremists on the left adopt the same tone against Bush? Yes. And there is an element in this wingnuttery of the same sort of dispossessed rage and periodic venting that many liberals felt under the last administration. But it's different when that rage is being purposefully manipulated to (imagined) political advantage by the GOP. And it's different when there's actually a guy with a gun waiting for the president to show up. Middle video compiled by Mike Ragan; bottom video by Mike Byhoff. MORE >>
Alex von Furstenberg Wants to Tell You Who Seduced His Fiancée
Perhaps it was his over-entitled LA Lakers fandom that caused Alex von Furstenberg, heir to Barry Diller's fortune, to think that (attempted) public shaming was the best reaction to a basketball star pursuing his fiancee. That, or stupidity. Same thing. Alex VF is Diane von Furstenberg's son, and now the presumptive heir of her new husband, IAC megamogul Barry Diller. He owns a surf shop in Malibu! Now what happened was that former Indiana Pacers star Reggie Miller, who by the way can totally blow me for beating the Knicks all those times, had some sort of little text message-based fling with Alex's fiancee, Ali Kay. The New York Post says their attraction was mutual, according to a lawyer, at least: But fiancée Ali Kay sent two provocative photos of herself to the NBA announcer during a three-month phone flirtation, the former hoop star's lawyer Marty Singer insisted. "There was one of her in bed and one with a bathing suit on," he said. Pics or it didn't happen, Marty Singer. So! The average man, confronted with this situation, might 1) Break up with this girl; or 2) Keep this whole thing quiet, reasoning that the fact that one's fiancee is hot and heavy for a pro athlete is not something that reflects well on you, her ostensible man; but probably would not 3) File a restraining order against Reggie Miller, and then also hire a plane to fly over beaches in Southern California towing a banner that says "Reggie Miller Stop Pursuing Married Women." But that is the course that Alex von Furstenberg chose to pursue! Strange also since his fiancee is not a "Married" woman! (However, as the Post points out, Alex was very "married to Duty Free heiress Alexandra Miller" — no relation to Reggie — when he first started dating young Ali.) But I guess that's just how Lakers fans do it! Barry Diller, your empire is in good hands. MORE >>
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