Do we talk about Obama like we talk about dogs?
I dunno; how do we talk about dogs? What did Obama mean when he said:
Some powerful interests who had been dominating the agenda in Washington for a very long time and they’re not always happy with me. They talk about me like a dog.
I used to have a fluffy little white dog, a cockerpoo. He lived to be fifteen, and he was a real sweetheart. When I talked about him, this is the kind of thing I said: “such a good dog,” “so friendly,” and “not too barky for a small dog.” And in fact, most of the talk I’ve ever heard about dogs has been on the order of: “dogs are better than people; they give you unconditional love.” Nice stuff.
People tend to love their dogs.
But somehow I don’t think that’s the sort of talk Obama meant. Obama’s odd phrase is another off-the-cuff statement of his that reveals a certain awkwardness with the vernacular. Did he mean “treat me like a dog?” At least that’s an expression we can recognize.
His remark reminds me somewhat of Richard Nixon, who famously said to the press in 1962 after his failed run for the governorship of California, “You won’t have Richard Nixon to kick around any more”—the candidate as despised object and self-pitying victim.
It’s unlikely that Obama was trying to emulate Nixon, however. More likely Clinton, whose homey folksy metaphor “I’ll be with you till the last dog dies” and second place finish during the New Hampshire 1992 primary helped earn him the sobriquet “the comeback kid.” Obama wouldn’t mind a bit of a comeback himself right now.
But no, it’s not Clintonesque. I think the original source has actually been located, and it’s Jimi Hendrix. And if you don’t believe me, listen up at 0:27:
I think he’s got the whole dog thing wrong.
Mark Twain is said to have observed, “I’ve known many men and a few dogs and I sometimes wish it had been the reverse.” You’ll usually get a nod when you refer to that.
However, not every culture thinks of dogs the same way.
Such vernacular is aimed at an exclusive audience, and that audience is not the majority of America, the majority who opposes him and his various agendas.
This is Obama doubling down on his status as oppressed victim needing some sympathy. If this doesn’t stop his slide into being viewed as a spoiled rotten elitist snob then soon he’ll accuse somebody of calling him a lowly cockroach. Although a cockroach that gets nine vacations a year.
Obama *really, really* doesn’t want to get us thinking about what his totem animal might be. There is certainly nothing doglike about him.
When I read of his comment, I kept thinking, “Hey, you want some cheese and crackers to go with that whine?”
Seriously, I think we’re seeing the major cracks in his smooth facade; I’ve always thought he would have a horrific melt-down in public at some point, and I think we’re getting a little closer to that melt-down now.
I don’t think I speak the same English as he does….
Compare how he is talked about vs how Bush was – pfft. This man has nothing to complain about.
My dogs are courageous, loyal, and totally transparent. I would never tarnish them by comparing them to O.
When I think of the pouding Bush and Clinton got (but without the press haigographies), I recall they weathered their stroms with a quiet dignity and strength. They went about their duties without lashing out at their critics.
Obama on the otherhand, is so weak and defensive, it would be funny if it wasn’t so tragic. HE is always whining. I know that villianizing people and “rubbing resentments raw” is part of the Alinsky model, but that strategy is supposed to be used behind the scenes. With Obama, it’s front and center… For those who are look to the president of the US for LEADERSHIP, the whining comes across as weak, impotent, and pathetic.
WOOf!!!
its kabuki theater, where reality or empirical knowlege is nothing as you can say anything without limits. the useful idiots and others will endeavor to make sense of it, when none can be made, as it has no other sense than expediency/pragmatism.
its not your view thats valid, its their view from above, which sees only large groups of ants that move based on how you poke em, and set up conditions.
This reminds me irresistibly — even if irrelevantly — of my favorite Onion headline:
Nation’s Dog Owners Demand to Know
Who’s a Good Boy.
I am once again reminded of Obama’s having spent his life in cultural outliers. “Talk about me like a dog?” Who says that? Maybe Bill Ayers coins such phrases, but this is the first time I recall hearing it.
As Neo and others point out, most Americans speak rather well of their dogs. Our dogs are rather spoiled,compared to how they are treated in other parts of the world, and our talk about our dogs reflects our treatment of them.
Maybe the POTUS was thinking of the negative comments about the picture of his being dragged about by his dog Bo. Some people certainly talked about that. Talked about how the POTUS couldn’t even control a dog.
The Muslim world has a much more negative view of dogs- at least the Arab Muslim world does. Just sayin’. 🙂
Obama knows he does best as the underdog (connection to his statement not intended), not the one leading. He has to have someone else to blame and someone else to fight in order to get his agenda passed.
It isn’t any harder than that. Racism is taking a nose dive and is backfiring. Religious beliefs and pro-gun ones are also a no-go except for a very small handful of people (if he starts using Those Evil Christians again *that* is going to truly tank). Blaming Republicans is starting to wear thin to so many – the Democrats have been in charge too long now and he can’t blame them for his stimulus program, HCR, and a number of other things that *he* pushed.
So, you have the all encompassing evil known as powerful Washington insiders and try and bring up the image of “beat me like a dog”. If it had worked he gets a nice racial overtone to it also – that image also brings up feeling of “beat me like a slave”. If you put your mindset as someone who thinks they are beig mistreated it works quite well. Plus you can insert whomever you wish for those powerful people.
The problem this master orator and player of 3-D chess didn’t get was that most of us do not identify with that and just get puzzled for a moment. Plus nearly two years of being the beat down victim and we start looking at him as someone who is beat down – which isn’t good for a leader. He overemphasizes the “I’m beat down” part as he needs/wants to be the victim so he can get a free pass. Further he has spent so much time bashing Republicans he might as well keep on – no one thought he meant anything other than Republicans and it just seems evasive to say what he did too.
Assuming the elections go badly for the Democrats I *do* expect something of a meltdown as he attacks people who voted against the Dems. I do not think he has ever faced a real loss (and unlike Capt Kirk he isn’t mature/experienced enough to handle it).
Thin skinned, petulant, arrogant, mean-spirited, adolescent. I’ve never said any of those things about any dog I know.
Like a school yard bully, Obama can dish it frequently and with rancor but he can’t take it, apparently.
“Man-up, Cowboy.” That’s this morning’s message to the so-called Leader of the Free World.
I am reminded of a comment Sam Houston made about a pro-succession Texas politician “He has all the characteristics of a dog except fidelity.”
Watch for anti-Obama hecklers to show up at his rallies (in the unlikely event he has any more that are open to the public) and start barking.
If Simon, our resident Brit/immigrant from Great Britain, happens to read this thread, here are two links that illustrate how others talked about President Bush. “Dog” would have been complimentary, by comparison.
http://www.zombietime.com/zomblog/?p=621 Death Threats
http://www.zombietime.com/zomblog/?p=612 BushHitler
http://www.deathofapresident.com/ Death of a President. “Winner of the International Critics’ Prize at the Toronto Film Festival.”
Hmmm…
According to Wikipedia :
Furthermore :
Maybe Obama really means: “They talk about me like a bunch of capitalist running dogs??!!”
Yeah, he’s unraveling all right.
Whether knave or fool or a bit of both, he’s definitely NOT up to the job he was elected to do.
And more people are feeling free to say so every day, it seems (according to the polls).
Somebody needs to do a video of this man’s speeches since day one and put a continuous laugh track to it. It is not out of possibility that such ridicule could get this little narcissist to publically explode. Oh what a great day that will be.
Again, further evidence that Obama was raised as a Muslim. The constant whining and claiming victimization by the entire world….all evidence that he bangs his head on the ground daily.
However, I must admit that I associate our dear POTUS with dogs. Every opportunity that fate imposes his visage upon me, I think of the Big Brown Turd that the neighborhood mongrel leaves on our front lawn…and that America has stepped in. I can hardly wait until we can scape him off the sole of this nation.
One of the men I knew as a kid, grew up to be an Army Cardiologist. During Ike’s administration he was based at Walter Reed, and on-call for the White House
I wonder if this White House has a Psychiatrist on-call. If not they need to gear up–soon.
Talk about President Obama like my dog? The President should be so lucky.
We need to put an Elizabethan collar on this administration so they’ll stop scratching at the economy and let it heal.
A Pakistani minister wants US President Barack Obama to step up and become the “Amir-ul-Momineen”.
Ayatullah Durrani, who belongs to the ruling Pakistan People”s Party, said the upcoming Eid-ul-Fitr festival, expected to be observed on September 11, would be a “golden opportunity” for Obama to offer Eid prayers and declare himself the leader of all Muslims. (the Caliphate)
Renegado…
The Muslim world is in “dire need” of a Caliph and occupying this distinguished slot would provide Obama “exemplary titles” like “Mullah Barack Hussain Obama” or “Allama Obama”
http://news.in.msn.com/international/article.aspx?cp-documentid=4337606
Kennedy who almost got us all nuked after his Bay of Pigs fiasco has been treated like a saint.
Clinton and Nixon were a proven liars and deserved to be called a lot of names.
Don’t know who Obama thinks he is kidding though…everybody knows that the MSM has always treated the worst Liberals better than the best Conservatives.
Compared to Bush, Obama is treated like the greatest patriot since George Washington.
None of the statements regarding dogs are found in the Quran but they abound in the various collections of traditions (hadith). These traditions are a primary foundation of Islamic theology and are the basis of many Islamic laws. They render dogs as “impure” and worse. Per Muhammad’s orders most dogs were to be killed and all dogs of a specific color (black) had to be killed.
by claiming to be talked to like a dog, he claims they are calling him a dog, and the reference has a special place in Muslim Hadith…
The Hadith’s note for #2839 says, “The prophet did not order the killing of all the dogs, for some are to be retained for hunting and watching. He ordered to kill the jet black ones. They might be more mischievous among them.
“I heard Allah’s Apostle saying; “Angels (of Mercy) do not enter a house wherein there is a dog or a picture of a living creature (a human being or an animal).””
Kalb, the dog, is also in Islam one of the “unclean beasts” (hence kalb as an abusive word, specially to unbelievers), primarily because its flesh may not be eaten (al-Nawawi ..) and further because, according to the Hadith, there are several special regulation regarding it. For example dogs render food which they lick impure and render unavailable water intended for ritual purifications…) Vessels, likewise, which have been licked by dogs, require to be cleaned several times including once with sand. In a certain way they render impure the whole room in which they are; for angels do not enter a house in which there is a dog and Muhammad had first to sprinkle the place on which a young dog had lain concealed with purificatory water before Djibril would appear to him….)
So all this has specific coding to those who are being addressed, and to the ignorant, they dont “get it”.
they talk in codes to each group, who then gets it. like a famous star blinking or touching a scarf to tell a friend in the crowd they are privately thinking about them.
this is how you coordinate groups looking for signs, and not alienating others.
Dog takes on special meaning then… and to plead with others telling them that others are treating or imposing dog on them is a call to battle.
Zaidi’s attack was launched with the words “this is a farewell kiss, you dog”
remember?
its why when they talk they mention that they were treated like a dog, as this has more meaning than what it does to western ignorant (which is how americans are viewed a lot)
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I love my dogs – I do not like or love BO. So I consider this an insult to dogs everywhere. In fact I like most animals so how then do I describe it if I am saying unkind things about someone – I talk about them like an Obama.
My dogs all have papers proving that they are Americans.
I used to think Obama was a 1 trick pony.
The trick was: Talk and speechify in a reasonable down the middle manner, then vote and push as hard left as possible.
It turns out he is a two trick pony.
The second trick is to give speeches about very unpopular legislation just passed – and claim that it is down the middle reasonable legislation. The only reason its unpopular is because of right wing propaganda.
Obama was giving a speech using the second trick in Wisconsin when he let loose with the “Dog” comment.
It turns out that the second trick doesn’t work nearly as well as the first. Obama has figured that out, and doesn’t like being treated that way. Magicians are supposed to be believed. To not believe the magician (and his tricks) is to treat him like a dog.
Great post and comments, with some superb insight on display.
And as for you, “Barry,” dogs have something you not only lack, but don’t even understand: honor.
1. I thought the Cuda had the gaffe of the week locked up via ‘impotent, limp and gutless reporters’, but with an unbelievable athletic move Barry flew to the basket for a Jordanesque dunk. (To lash out is unPresidential; to whine, even more so.)
2. “You’re likable enough, Barack,” I say, scratching my cheek with my middle finger.
Artfldgr’s postings have some resonance. Who in the US says “They talk about me like a dog?”
I don’t think anyone here has yet pointed out that ebonics-speak uses “Dog” a lot, as an informal mode of address, without any pejorative or disrespect intended. “Yo, dog.” When I was a teacher and got addressed as “dog,” I replied, “I am not a dog.”
What Obama said, ignoring that it is not what one would expect from the POTUS, is definitely out of mainstream American speech. Artfldgr’s explanation is definitely something to consider.
A President of a nearby country once made a reference to a dog which he later came to regret. President José Lopez Portillo is commonly seen as being Mexico’s worst President, as he squandered the oil bonanza into foreign debt. In 1982, President José Lopez Portillo vowed to “fight like a dog” to defend the peso against any devaluations. He didn’t fight very well, as drastic devaluations followed shortly after he left office in late 1982.
José Lopez Portillo built a complex of five mansions for himself and his family in Mexico City, which soon acquired the nickname of “Dog Hill.” The mansions were seen as proof of allegations of corruption.
I read in National Review in 1983 that when former President Lopez Portillo was observed dining in a restaurant, the other patrons began barking at him. Lopez Portillo fled the restaurant.
Will people begin barking at Obama?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/2004/feb/20/guardianobituaries
I’m thinking more along the lines of, “Man-up, cupcake.” Obama wouldn’t know the front end from the back end of a horse.
Didja hear about the insomniacal, dyslexic, narcissistic president?
He lay awake all night wondering if he really was a dog.
Yeah, I’m wondering at the use of grammar in President Obama’s original statement.
They talk about me like a dog.
What does this mean?
a) “They talk about me as though I am a dog”
b) “They talk about me the way a dog would”
Those are two obvious interpretations, although only (a) is attracting attention. (In the original context, I think that (b) would have made just as much sense.) Many more are possible, depending on how improbable you want to get.
And I agree that the successor to President George W. Bush has no grounds for complaining about anything people call him. Even if name-calling against Obama were as bad as it was against Bush — which it isn’t, not by orders of magnitude — then he’d still have to endure it for eight years to equal what Bush went through.
It would be interesting to see where the limits of freedom of expression are. Would I be ejected from an Obama rally for wearing large ears? How about a large dog collar with a tag reading “Fido”?
I have no desire whatsoever to go out of my way to find an Obama rally and find out. But I do wonder.
respectfully,
Daniel in Brookline
Yeah, I’m wondering at the use of grammar in President Obama’s original statement.
Yes. And this from the silver-tongued orator, the latter-day Cicero, the left-wing successor to William F. Buckley, Jr.
Right.
Here’s a paradigm for you when you’re off the teleprompter:
Subject. Verb. Object. Repeat.
Don’t get fancy. We all know how your off-the-cuff rhetorical flourishes work out. Or, don’t work out, as the case may be.
And as for you, “Barry,” dogs have something you not only lack, but don’t even understand: honor.
HachikÅ
[known in Japanese as chÅ«ken HachikÅ]
his story is a vast commentary on not only dogs, but on japanese people and how they view the world and how that causes them to act, or not act a certain way.
upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6b/Hachiko.JPG
Occam, ‘corpse-man’, twice. With a teleprompter. You can tell when he believes what he’s sayng, he’s very comfortable saying it, and very unequivocal, like this gem “I think when you spread the wealth around, it’s good for everybody” or “under my plan of a cap-and-trade system, electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket.” Whenever Obama says something he really doesn’t believe, then he becomes a stiff, like with that recent Iraq non-victory speech.
Dogs are smarter than all democrats. A dog would know the difference between being mistakenly stepped on and having his ass kicked off the porch by voters.
Also Occam, when Obama starts dropping his g’s on gerunds, he’s quite comfortable. Sometimes it’s subtle, but the g’s are noticeably absent. For example, “I’ve been a little amused where people have been havin’ these rallies. . . . You would think they would be sayin’ ‘thank you’.” That is the ‘folksy’ Obama, not the teleprompter readin’, chin-thrustin’, Me-cehlle being proud makin’ speechifyin’ (in front of styrofoam columns).
This really isn’t a joke. It is a frightening window into the character of our current President.
Leftwing pundits talked about Bush 43 and Reagan as if they were “like a dog”. And despite many set-backs in either Presidency you’d never know it from anything they said toward their opposition.
They displayed character.
As I, and those others who voted against Obama, have always maintained he was never properly vetted for the pressures of executive office.
What his facilitators in the media mistook for coolness was in reality something quite different, arrogance. Obama could only appear cool if everything went his way. Now that things aren’t going so well his coolness has turned to vindictiveness.
Vindictiveness is a character trait incompatible with the office of the President of the United States.
Truly, one of the weirdest comments ever by a President of the United States.
He is the President. Of the USA. He has (taken) more power than almost any President ever has. If anyone in history should be above the fray of the hoi polloi, it is him.
He is unreal. No one ever even thought to talk about him like a dog, except they may have thought he is a mangy mutt. But that is what he heard and it gets to him. He gets energy off that idea.
A very weird and dangerous dude.
What’s next? We don’t know. We never knew from Day 1 who he was and we don’t know still.
Muslim cab drivers in Minneapolis had such a low opinion of dogs that they refused to allow dogs in their cars. This created a big stink in Minneapolis.
It’s a black thing as in “all men are dogs,” a complaint of black women about unreliable and unfaithful men. Perhaps Obama picked it up in Chicago. It also might relate to the treatment of fighting dogs ala Michael Vick.
Wait until the “powerful interests” start talking about him like a cat. (My two Feline Americans say: Heh.)
For some reason Teh Won’s whine reminded me of Elvis Presley’s hit, “You Ain’t Nothin’ But a Hound Dog”:
They said you was high-classed,
Well, that was just a lie.
Yeah, they said you was high-classed,
Well, that was just a lie.
Well, you ain’t never caught a rabbit
And you ain’t no friend of mine.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJsQSb9RFo0
I think Scott Johnson of Powerline sleuthed the source out here: Jimi Hendrix.
http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2010/09/027171.php
This man has no class….and is dangerous.
James Drake: Neo got the Jimi Hendrix reference way early.
Maybe they talk about him like a dog because he lies like a dog! Although neither expression really seems to bear on any attribute associated with dogs, admitedly.
Someone mentioned Obama not being properly “vetted” in a thread about Obama like a dog. There’s a joke there. ;^)
Also, “The Observer got it correct.” Obama has called himself both a mutt and a mongrel so he shouldn’t complain about people talking to him like a dog..
Obama is refering to a culture surrounding pets of 75 years ago and one i suspect black culture is slower at moving away from.
Back in the day it was unheard of to value dogs like we do today. I’m 50 and had parents that never allowed a pet in the house or would imagine spending money at a vet for one. Perhaps more of a southern thing.
There could be another topic of its own on how we Americans came in from our porches where we conversed with neighbors and instead embraced our animals in the confines of our house.
What a pitiful effete wimp he is.
SteveH… its a bit more of a southern thing, and also a country thing…
when i use country logic on city folk (me being a city folk but country folk at heart AND had spent time in hte country so its not imagination – no one imagines working that hard)…
but its funny when one of them says they are annoyed with the neighbors dog in their yard all the time… i said, so shoot em. its what they would do in Hazard kentucky. the look i get is interesting.
but its the truth… many would just shoot it, throw it in the trash, and thats the end of it. others out there would know that they should not let their animals roam.
meanwhile, go to the more urban areas, and it changes. the lady next door to my parents has about 5 cats and they are always out. i said someone should shoot her, and my parents dont get why.
i said, i live in ny city. when i wake up, i hear birds. yes, in the city, you hear birds. and all kinds… (friends have been amazed at this).
meanwhile, the sun came up when i visited, and silence. nothing. we are out in country land and there isnt a bird to be heard…
care to guess why? its a college town and there is a bunch of women and their cats and the cats cant be oppressed but have to be liberated to roam the neighborhood.
and what do they do? hunt the pretty birds…
its irresponsible to let your animals roam…
Bobby Brown, during an interview in Ebony (July, 1994), said, “The press has really destroyed my name […] They don’t know me and they talk about me like a dog. It’s lies!” (8. 48, p. 32)
You all are missing the point,he is addressing the 96% of the slightly under 12% of the population who voted for him
As for me, I’ve never called a dog a communist or an enemy of America.
Art, i had to put down a dog not too long ago with a gunshot. There is NOTHING more humane and instantaneous.
Sorry you had to, but I completely understand.
Its not something a normal person wants to do.
Such rock and a hard place things are what life is about.
“Sure, I’m aware of the fact that may a black woman on whose toe I’ve trampled, will hate my guts and talk about me like a dog … so be it!” W. Sybel Lester, … And Poke Chop Jones Nº 1 (1973), p. 67.
Hendrix = cool
Obama = not so cool
Bernie Mac: “I know they talked about me like a dog. But I ain’t give a [deleted expletive]. I love my fans.” Bernie Mac, Darrell Dawsey, I Ain’t Scared of You: Bernie Mac on How Life Is (2002), p. 88.
The earliest published use of the phrase I’ve found (in past tense, though) comes from a short story published in 1950, by Langston Hughes:
From “A Ball of Sting” by Langston Hughes, in The collected works of Langston Hughes: The early Simple stories, Volume 7 (2002), p. 149.
How long to the Bad Dog! bumperstickers, with the iconic O? Or the extended version Bad Dog! Stop chewing the constitution?
Actually, what I thought of when I read of his complaint was that it sounded Middle Eastern. Not sure why.
Probably because Muslims disparage dogs.
For my part, the fact that Mohammed didn’t like dogs, nor apparently they him, told me all I needed to know about him.
Portia Says:
September 7th, 2010 at 8:40 pm
Those are great ideas!
rickl
You never met the farmer’s dog who ran alongside my bike and chomped into my leg when I was 12 years old. 🙂
From all these sources dug up, I learned that “talk about me like a dog” was not unknown among blacks. Interesting.
Well just as an aside, of course, and meaning nothing in particular, I wouldn’t give you a nickel for Jimi Hendrix. He was a novelty guitar player whose time was gone just about when he was; as Mark Steyn once said, nothing dates faster than a futuristic vision. Anyway, I wouldn’t walk across the street to hear Hendrix play if you paid me, much less for free. I’ve always thought there was a good reason Woodstock emptied out just before he come on and played that mangled version of The Star-Spangled Banner: Even the drugs weren’t good enough to make the woozas hang around for that.
My husband, of course (along with many other fine musicians), would disagree. 🙂
Nevertheless.
Artfldgr: I was living a short while in the cracker part of Florida where there was a neighbor’s dog who barked all the time. I thought of setting out some poison, but did nothing. Some neighbor must have been thinking along the same lines, because that dog died soon after the thought came to me. I was from the North, and not privy to shoot a dog customs, but damned if I was going to listen to a dog bark all the time.
betsybounds:
Well, I have to disagree with you there. Hendrix wasn’t a novelty guitar player; he was a virtuoso. A master. Countless guitarists since then have tried to imitate him, and most have fallen short.
The video, however, is more evidence of my longstanding thesis that 1966 was the high water mark of music in the 1960s. That was before the top musicians got burned out (or killed) by drugs, and before they became self-indulgent and self-important.
Why not ask muslims what Obama means. I am sure they have a clear idea.
If my dog was responsible for causing wide-spread economic disaster, of shaming me in public by exposing his belly to the neighbor’s warmongering cats, I would seriously consider getting a new dog.
Could it be that he started to recognize that he’s in a doghouse?
Rickl,
Thanks! Well, I mean, if someone took a Hendrix poll amongst serious musicians, your opinion would no doubt prevail.
I guess it’s one of those things where, once you reach a certain high level of mastery, it becomes a matter of taste. Hendrix has never been to mine. He made a Strat do things no one else has ever been able to make one do. But my thought has always been, so what? I can’t think why anyone would want to imitate him, I find the sounds that unpleasant.
For me, it’s a little like the notion that John Cage and his prepared pianos constituted an aesthetic advance (I thought those, too, were nothing but a novelty). They didn’t, not really, but there were “oohs” and “ahhs” over them anyway.
Or maybe it’s just a simple as saying that I’ve never liked Hendrix. I’m sure there are those who would say the same of Dylan, or the Beatles, Tull, or maybe Bach. Oh well. That’s why we have a marketplace, after all.
🙂
Rickl,
I meant thanks for your comment, and wasn’t being snide.
betsybounds:
No problem. Oh, and don’t get me started on Dylan. I could go on for hours. 😉
I actually saw John Cage once. When I was in college around 1980 there was a performance of his music on campus, and he was in the audience. The musicians started off with his famous 4’33”, which consists of silence. My roommate sitting next to me started snickering uncontrollably, and I said to him, “If you think it’s funny now, wait until the end when everybody applauds.”
Obama is (thankfully) destroying the Democrat party at this time.
Unfortunately, he is also destroying any chance for a competent black to lead from the White house for a long time to come.
Those who yanked Hillary from the spotlight replacing her with Obama – thinking he was the better bet – screwed the pooch. (ouch) I wonder what pulse they had their hand on.
Rickl,
LOL! Dylan–I once heard an interview on Thistle and Shamrock, I forget who it was, but the guy had a song that said in part, “If you sing through your nose/ and fracture good prose/ then you might be just like Bob Dylan.”
Or words to that effect.
The best comeback I have heard so far has come from Fred Thompson, who said that if we are “talking about Obama (being) like a dog” perhaps it is because “Obama has treated the American people like a fireplug.”
It’s unlikely that Obama was trying to emulate Nixon but he may be suffering from the same self-pity as Glenn Beck. Obama and the Palin/Beck wings of the parties represent the worst of each side.
Speaking of music (and we were), here’s a palate cleanser. I saw it at Ace of Spades a couple of days ago.
Johnny Cash & June Carter – Jackson
nyomythus Says:
September 7th, 2010 at 11:47 pm
Um, Obama represents leftist totalitarianism, and Beck and Palin represent traditional American individualism. Sorry, but I don’t see any equivalence there. They’re as different as can be.
I thought I’d find an earlier source if I looked: the great blues singer Bessie Smith, circa 1930, recorded “He Treats Me Like a Dog”. Listen here.
E.M. Crotchet, thanks for your sleuthing.
Google Books has about 25 hits on ”talk about me like a dog.” Several are from Hendrix, including his talking about a girlfriend. The Langston Hughes source is not included in Google Books.
Gringo, try talked:
http://www.google.com/search?tbs=bks%3A1&tbo=1&q=%22talked+about+me+like+a+dog%22&btnG=Search+Books
Nyom again with the lack of clarity…
But I know what it is… Beck is mentioning God.
O
M
G
O
M
G
Rickl nailed it. They are as different as can be.
Virus vs. Prescription
Oddly, Obama followed up his dog remarks by saying: “This nation has a long-standing, hard-won heritage of individual liberty . . . FOR ME TO POOP ON!!!”
“They talk about me like a dog.” — The Precedent
The biggest problem with this sentence is that it is really poor English, which is not unusual for the Indonesian Imbecile. Columbia and Hah-vahd must be so proud … LOL.
Obama now thinks he’s Jimi Hendrix? By coincidence I picked as a free on demand movie last night: “Monterey Pop,” a movie starring more dead rock stars than you can shake a stick at. Chief among them, the late Jimi, incinerating his guitar after simulating sex with it. Is there any more powerful metaphor for what Obama is doing to the United States?
Is there any more powerful metaphor for what Obama is doing to the United States?
yes…
Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus
AKA
Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus
He was the last emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty.
In 64, most of Rome was destroyed in the Great Fire of Rome. In 68, the rebellion of Vindex in Gaul and later the acclamation of Galba in Hispania drove Nero from the throne. Facing assassination, he committed suicide on 9 June 68.
Nero’s rule is often associated with tyranny and extravagance. He is known for a number of executions, including those of his mother and stepbrother. [The Roman version of being thrown under the bus]
He is also infamously known as the emperor who “fiddled while Rome burned”, and as an early persecutor of Christians. (and wasn’t so nice to Jews either)
Over the course of his reign, Nero often made rulings that pleased the lower class. Nero was criticized as being obsessed with being popular
[One of the first populists…]
Nero began his reign in 54 by promising the Senate more autonomy. [making promises of expanding government and less interference by the people]
In this first year, he forbade others to refer to him with regard to enactments, for which he was praised by the Senate. [cant stand people not liking his policies]
Nero was known for spending his time visiting brothels and taverns during this period. [then it was brothels, today its a golf course – too many vacations regardless of what your pastime is]
Under Nero, restrictions were put on the amount of bail and fines. Also, fees for lawyers were limited.
[change how law functions, and set salaries. check]
There was a discussion in the Senate on the misconduct of the freedmen class, and a strong demand was made that patrons should have the right of revoking freedom [ration freedom, check]
Nero banned any magistrate or procurator from exhibiting public entertainment for fear that the venue was being used as a method to sway the populace [prevent future beck marches… check]
[this is tongue in cheek i hope ya’ll realize]
Additionally, there were many impeachments and removals of government officials along with arrests for extortion and corruption [check]
In imitation of the Greeks, Nero built a number of gymnasiums and theatres. Enormous gladiatorial shows were also held. Nero also established the quinquennial Neronia. The festival included games, poetry and theater. Historians indicate that there was a belief that theatre led to immorality. [public works projects. check]
Nero enacted a public relief effort as well as significant reconstruction. A number of other major construction projects occurred in Nero’s late reign. Nero had the marshes of Ostia filled with rubble from the fire. [Drain the marshes of corruption with pelosi and others… more public works. check]
The economic policy of Nero is a point of debate among scholars. According to ancient historians, Nero’s construction projects were overly extravagant and the large number of expenditures under Nero left Italy “thoroughly exhausted by contributions of money” with “the provinces ruined.” [take too much from the states for the public works projects. check]
Modern historians, though, note that the period was riddled with deflation and that it is likely that Nero’s spending came in the form of public works projects and charity intended to ease economic troubles [deflation. public works dont work. check]
This peace deal [with armenia] of 63 was a considerable victory for Nero politically. [gets political cache from ending a war. check]
In 65, Gaius Calpurnius Piso [Sarah Palin], a Roman statesman, organized a conspiracy against Nero with the help of Subrius Flavus [Glenn Beck] and Sulpicius Asper [David Koch], a tribune and a centurion of the Praetorian Guard. [check]
According to Tacitus [judge napolitano], many conspirators wished to “rescue the state” from the emperor and restore the Republic. The freedman Milichus [Pelosi] discovered the conspiracy and reported it to Nero’s secretary, Epaphroditos [rahm emanuel].
[check]
Revolt of Vindex comes next…
it includes riots by hispaniola (the spanish)
🙂
be it ever so crumbly
there’s no place like Rome
Nero, he was the emperor
and the palace was his home
and he liked to play with matches
and for a pyre yearned… (bugs bunny)
Well…… The wOn does treat the country like a dog treats a hydrant!!
The thing about liberals and music i’ve noticed is they tend to lock themselves in a genres that are approved by a concensus of admired others they figure are better suited at telling them what is cool to listen to. Whereas a conservative valuing his individuality in taste is likely to have Jimi Hendrix, Andy Williams, Hank Williams, Johnny Mathis and Pat Metheny all on the same ipod.
This is definitely clever:
http://townhall.com/columnists/BenShapiro/2010/09/08/why_we_treat_obama_like_a_dog
Off topic, but possibly of interest to Betsy:
A little-known fact about Hendrix’s rendition of The Star-Spangled Banner at Woodstock: he dedicated it to our soldiers fighting in Vietnam. (And it was not ironic–he supported the war, and our troops.)
For someone who was essentially abandoned as a child by both of his parents, Hendrix managed to keep a pretty good heart. Yes, he was self-destructive, but he was not anti-American–a considerable distinction among hippie musicians of the 60s.