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| Bozo and His |
I never understood Bozo--couldn't get into his Weltanschauung. I know it's a cliche but clowns, well, I always found them frightening, or just so bizarre that no empathy or connection on any level except fear and revulsion could occur with them. They were and are loud, vulgar, and doing nonsensical things. Bozo I held in a special level of opprobrium. My elementary schoolmates all loved him, and I felt left out because of my Bozophobia. I was obsessed with the Cold War, nuclear annihilation, mutant monsters, UFOs, and how as the only survivor in North America of a nuclear exchange I would make it to Australia. Bozo did not deal with those topics. Quite regardless of how close the earth was to the end, he would keep flapping about the stage in his oversize shoes and being too noisy for my tastes.
Well, I think the nine regular readers of this little blog must get a sense of where I am going with all this deep introspection. You know, loud, vulgar, bizarre, revulsion-inducing clown act from Chicago . . . Anyhow, I got to thinking about Bozo watching our President briefly today on TV. As I have said before, I keep the watching of such events to a minimum, and will do so only for short bursts of time, preferring to read the transcripts later.
As you all know, this was a bad day for America. About a dozen of our fellow citizens were murdered at their work in the DC Navy Yard by somebody with some sort of grievance which we have not yet learned. The DHS had to rush out a paper which stated that the event, still ongoing at the time, was not connected to terrorism. As if they would know that before an investigation. As we know, furthermore, from Benghazi and Ft. Hood, this misadministration has a VERY high bar before labeling an event terrorism, e.g., spontaneous demonstration, work-place violence.
And the President? This is a man with no dignity, and totally out of touch. He is so in love with himself, so determined to get his message out that the Republicans are to blame for the parlous state of the economy after five-plus years of Obama policies, that he could not do or say something dignified re the shooting. He couldn't have canceled his tired economic policy event in light of what was happening just a short distance from the White House? Couldn't he have come out and said something along the lines of, "Given what is happening at the Navy Yard, we will postpone this event." No. He had to go on with his 2007-2008 vintage economic campaign speech, replete with smiling, bobbing heads behind him.
Next time, he should consult Putin.
The 10th reader is up and not sleeping even though the alerts have slowed to a trickle here in the dc area.
ReplyDeleteNot just a shooting spree, but one in the backyard of the White House. The Navel Yard is just a few metro stops away. They did not cancel the Latin party (to be filmed for PBS) until very late in the day. Other events such as the baseball game were postponed early on. I assume that someone figured out it would not look good to have pictures of a party show up in forgein newspapers Tuesday morning. Thus they had to make the call and then let the Obama's know there would be no dancing on the south lawn Monday night.
As to clowns. I came a little late for Bozo but two of my older brothers loved he and Howdy. I could not take them at all even in edited reruns cut down for commercials. Never liked the circus either. It just always seemed so cold and sad and a bit macabre. Perfect for Obama who seems not to have any real sense of self or self respect and a dearth of empathy.
Hope you have a good night.
I met a man, Objangles, and he danced for me
ReplyDeleteIn 1930’s old new deal shoes
With short hair, a flashy shirt and creased pants
The old new deal soft shoe
He tap danced so high, tap danced so high, then he lightly touched down
I met him in a ward in Chicago
I was So down and out
He looked to be the Messiah of the age
As he spoke right out
He talked of hope, he talked of change
But then he laughed and just clicked heels instead
Mister Objangles
Mister Objangles
Mister Objangles
Dance!!!
That's the Nitty Gritty of it.
DeleteI fear a new push to ban AR-15s is coming.
ReplyDeleteWhy can't these guys take a golf bag of black powder rifles to do these horrific acts.
I suppose nobody will question how he managed to bring those weapons into a facility like the Navel Yard.
Or how he acquired these weapons in the first place. Bet he passed "background checks".
I read a report that Alexis got a AR-15 and Glock from Navy Yard security guards that he shot with a shotgun. Of course, that raises the question how was he able to bring a shotgun on to a secure facility like the Navy Yard. And that news story may be wrong. Often initial news stories about a major tragedy turn out to be wrong.
DeleteHappened to watch an animation with a voice-over on (I'm pretty sure, NBC's Today Show)
Delete"The gunman initially opened fire from the fourth floor atrium with a shotgun. He then used two weapons he'd acquired from security guards."
Oddly enough the animation featured only the one type of firearm - care to guess which?
Ark
CNN is reporting that the FBI is stating that a AR-15 wasn't used in the Navy Yard shootings. Just a shotgun and two pistols.
Deletehttps://twitter.com/PamelaBrownCNN/statuses/379960354841047040
That Anon would make more sense.
DeleteBeing as The Yards are a Mil-Base, I'd expect Mil-Spec at the ingress/egress points.
Still. It's pretty early in the Investigative stage.
Ark
As "assault rifle" or even an AR-15 is whatever the liberals say it is. I heard yesterday one journalist refer to a double-barrel AR-15 shotgun. Why not? It can all happen in liberal land.
DeleteThere's a trade-off between security and people needing to get to work in a timely manner, even on military installations. The background checks, issuing of passes and registration of vehicles for decals to denote that speeds up entering most Army military installations for the everyday workforce and serves as a layer of protection, or so we're told. I'm not sure what all "security measures" were in place on this naval facility, but unless there was a heightened threat level, it seems doubtful to me that this naval yard would be checking trunks of cars, etc. on a daily basis for it's workforce with passes.
Deletelibertybelle
On some ... well, all the bases I currently find myself going onto libertybelle, decals are no longer required. Of course that might well make a return ...
DeleteDip, you're correct indeed where "whatever the liberals say it is" (but I might include "the media ignoramuses where firearms are concerned) ... I watched yet another animation where just immediately prior, a photo of a tactical shotgun was shown and the animation continues to feature an AR.
My guess is, nowadays a Roy Rogers six-shooter would be "mediatized" into an AR.
Ark
Couldn't he have come out and said something along the lines of, "Given what is happening at the Naval Yard, we will postpone this event."
ReplyDelete"Team" Obama couldn't take the chance President Obama would say,
"If I had a son he'd look like Aaron Alexis."
Arkie
Good one! I shall steal that one with brazen disregard.
DeleteFair's fair I reckon.
Delete(Do use caution if you've an IT "minder" - mine spit coffee all over his electronics. And somehow it was my fault.)
Ark
I guess like some have said elsewhere, hardly anyone saw Obama during his babblefest as all tv stations were fixed on the tragedy unfolding at the Naval Yard. C-Span viewers probably saw him.
ReplyDeleteThis commentator at ZeroHedge has it right:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-09-16/washington-shooting-suspect-was-hp-contractor-upgrading-navy-marine-equipment
I am watching the briefing right now. First, are there any men in law enforcement in DC? Are there any straight women? Can any of them speaking any damned English instead of this passive voice administrative jargon bullshit? If you watch it try see how hard it is for the blonde DC Chief trying painifully to tell you there is not a second shooter or suspect. Yoda would be easier to understand and take fewer paragraphs.
I will give you a suspicion. We have a bunch of politically correct, affirmative action, Democrat liberals in charge of security. You cannot let these people run anything more complicated than a water slide.
They did not miss the opportunity to call for more gun control. Can we get DC to secede and join some other dumbass country?
You cannot let these people run anything more complicated than a water slide.
DeleteHang on a second - doesn't a waterslide have moving parts?
A second shooter their is not.
DeleteTEA Party suspect not joined.
Handguns aquired from the guards shot he did.
Grieve for the families we will.
Obama's speech irrelevent noise it is.
Son he had would be.
Sign off Yoda will now do.
Yep, your right. The News from Yoda is much more understandable; and that DC Police Chief was quite the manly thing.
My co-blogger came up with a likely list of background questions in the thoroughly modern security clearance interview:
ReplyDeletehttp://is.gd/mjgiFA
No, it doesn't begin with "are you now or have you ever been a member of the Communist Party?"
I don't understand coulrophobia. Clowns seem to me to be unthreatening and borderline funny. Why fear them? Nuclear war, OTOH -- yes, I feared that and planned after the big one to flee to the neighboring mountains and try to make my living there.
ReplyDeleteIn any case, my family got TV too late for me to watch Bozo the Clown, although I did see a little of it at a neighbor's house. It struck me as embarrassing, as does any slapstick. But I recognize there is a place for it, like the White House.
How long before we learn that this shooter was a registered Democrat?
What is not being discussed is the continued and idiotic policy, installed by Bill Clinton, of making our military installations basically "gun" free zones.
ReplyDeleteWe can arm the EPA and the IRS, but not our soldiers and sailors who are trained in the use of a fire arm? What is wrong with that picture?
So now we have another clear cut case of "work place violence". I was amazed at how quickly all information coming out of the Naval yard was shut down compared to how continuous information came out of Fort Hood. What was the Administration afraid of? That this was another "closet" Muslim shooter?
Zane
Why, don't you realize that if you allowed the Armed Forces to have weapons, they might uphold the Constitution against the political class?
DeleteSo the shooter is a Buddhist, from Texas. Ladies and Gentlemen, he is a Buddhist. As the tv keeps reminding me, he is a Buddhist. Got that? No agenda there...
ReplyDeleteThe DC police chief was dressed in some sort of Navy wannabe Halloween costume thingy, a little bit clownish in it's own way.
Dutch
I wondered at those shoulder-boards Dutch, we supposed to call her "Chief" or "Gen'rl"? I just have no clue with Civs sporting four stars.
DeleteArk
Her strange body poses and potpourri of facial expressions left me so transfixed, I barely noticed the uniform. Between her gyrations and the FBI briefer's "speech impediments", one could hardly focus on the content of the briefs. I did notice that they went out of their way to appear, oh let me not step into it more, so I'll settle for, "macho".
Deletelibertybelle
"Macho" had nothing to do with it LibertyBelle ... or so my 'off-the-record, unauthorized to speak because of an ongoing investigation' source informs me.
DeleteApparently, all the to-be-on-camera folks had been prepping for colonoscopies and'd drunk all their Go-Lightly just before the lights went on.
If that turns out to be the case, I can sympathize their "gyrations & impediments."
Ark
"Perhaps he should consult Putin?" How do you know he didn't?
ReplyDeleteOh, good one . . . but I think Putin would have given him better advice than did "his" team.
DeleteAlthough phobia is derived from the Greek word φοβos, meaning 'fear', phobia does not mean fear. It means aversion. A rabid dog has 'hydrophobia' because he can not drink water, not because he is afraid of water. And, yeah, I always wondered what was supposed to be so funny about clowns. I did not fear them, but I did detest them, as I do the current clown posse/ Cloward-Piven crowd.
ReplyDeleteIF we are ever unshackled from these traitors, what can be done to revive education in America? What could be done to take the shine off the legitimacy of the Traitor media? I never lose sight of the fact that half the population has an IQ of a hundred or less, so they are unlikely to figure anything out on their own. Could they be led by better people? Or, have the scoundrels gained a permanent control over the mechanisms of indoctrination?
Speaking as a professional swindler of the young--oops, public high school social studies teacher--I would urge a lot of conservative people to go into teaching. The curricula may be bad, but you can build rapport with kids and you can sneak in the alternative points of view, which, when well presented, can be quite convincing to them.
DeleteAlso, play the Left's own game with a class. In world history, I pointed out the issue of bias in the textbook, and offered some accounts of alternative views of history. Only instead of noting the "evil white middle class" bias, I pointed out the enlightenment liberal bias. As for eurocentricity, I pointed out that it was Europe that tied the world together in the period between 1492-1892.
Further, if they give you loopy lessons on "tolerant" Islam, sneak in survivors' accounts of the Armenian, Assyrian, and Anatolian Greek massacres; or raise the issue of the Pact of 'Umar--just for another point of view. And, when they get to China, never fail to point out what a conservative society it was, full of obligations of young to old, etc.
Well Kepha ...
DeleteI was always explained Texas was providing MY state's textbooks so ... how to explain:
http://imgur.com/svgZ0E9
"Loopy Lessons" indeed.
Arkie
If people were armed at the Washington Naval Yard, this would have ended fairly quickly. Robert Heinlein put it best that an armed society is a polite society.
ReplyDeleteWhere is George Zimmerman when you need him?
DeleteYes, the Pashtun-speaking areas of Afghanistan and Pakistan were long noted for their elaborate etiquette. You learn to be circumspect when a stray look at your neighbor's wife or daughter can get you shot.
DeleteOr, might it be better to note that the "Wild" West was in fact a lot tamer and less violent than present-day Chicago, Detroit, New York, etc.
When Obama speaks without a teleprompter programmed by his handlers, we see just how clever Charlie McCarthy would have been without Edgar Bergen.
ReplyDeleteHa! Love it. Will steal, of course.
DeleteAh yes, the Backup Bobbing Heads, a must for any leftoid press conference. We have them down here as well, dutifully nodding away behind the Lead Leftoid as he or she make their preposterous statements. The upside for us is that we've given the bum's rush to most of them and our new moderate government gets sworn in TODAY.
ReplyDeleteI am so envious, so very envious . . . I can't stand it!!!
Delete'Morning Bob. We had to wait 6 years to dispose of our useless leftoid so-called government who were, in point of fact a cabal of ex-lawyers, union hacks and former staffers for a previous generation of Labor parasites but dispose of them we did. Now we have moderate adults in administration (I much prefer the term 'moderate' over 'conservative')who have already indicated they are going to come out from behind their desks unless it is absolutely necessary. A leaner and much less intrusive government is here at last.
DeleteIt's a crying shame that the USA must wait 3 more years to make change but all things come to those who wait, it is said. Dont' you have mid-term Congress elections? Scaling back the Democrats in the House & Senate might help retard Obamayomama's silly decisions, wouldn't it?
I can't speak for anyone else but, O-bozo-ama scares the Hell out of me.
ReplyDeletePeople die all the time.
ReplyDeleteWhat is the threshold for pausing "business as usual?"
I expect the President of the United States to do his job even if hellfire is raining down.
This reminds me somewhat of the critism of George W. Bush for going on vacation "instead" of attending to his duties. The President is always on duty even if he is "away" from DC.
Similarly, the President is always working even if something terrible is happening.
On the other hand, I do think there is a threshold to disrupting business as usual. Guess I would just set it much higher.
This wasn't "business" as usual. This event at the White House was a tired old campaign speech on the economy. It could easily have been postponed.
DeleteThanks for the response.
DeleteI realize that that particular speech may have been trivial, but in that regard, so is my going to work.
Do we lock down the Boston area and tell people not to go to work because one terrorist is on the loose?
Do we stop making trivial speeches because someone somewhere is shooting some people?
Don't our troops shoot and get shot by bad guys every day?
What about murders in Chicago?
Assad gasses his citizens.
Children starve to death in Africa.
Do we pause our lives because of it?
Why does that not matter enough to stop our trivial speeches?
There is too much crap in this world to pause every time something bad happens.
Perhaps I have a poor sense of perspective, but I don't understand why this event in particular merits a pause from anyone.
--
Regards,
Captain Power (formerly the "Anonymous" that you replied to)
http://ricochet.com/Profile/captainpower
An essay by a fellow blogger states this from a different angle, better than I have.
DeleteApologies if I appear to be overly promoting an external web site.
It is one that has discussion on the right and that I have followed avidly, as I have the Diplomad (HPVE) and Diplomad 2.0 blogs.
http://ricochet.com/member-feed/Crocodile-Tears-and-Baby-Violins
The main problem which Fort Hood and the Navy Yard have revealed, more like even further revealed, is "affirmative action". If I had acted like Captain Hasan when I was in the Army I would have been tossed out on my ear, not promoted to Major. If I had been booted out with a general discharge and on top of it got arrested twice for shooting up apartments and cars, like Alexus, I can not even imagine ever getting any kind of civilian job with the Army or Navy or any agency of the government or with a government contractor. Of course, I'm not Black and I'm not Muslim so nobody would be pushed by "affirmative action"/"diversity is our greatest strength" quotas to hire me.
ReplyDeleteAs I watched and listened to Obama's speech I kept wondering if I was actually hearing him right. For just a minute I felt disconnected, as if I had suddenly lost the ability to understand the English language. I feared an aneurism.
ReplyDeleteBut now I understand. He was speaking Clown Talk and I have an innate revulsion to all things big shoed and red nosed. Makes sense. I know now why I simply do not understand anything that man does. Thank you Mr. Amselem, though my fear of clowns has soared to new heights.
Same here... I've lived my whole life without fearing clowns... until now.
ReplyDeleteShame on you Dip! :)
- Reader #1482
Mr. Amselem -
ReplyDeleteYou might enjoy the 1958 noir/sci-fi thriller "The H-Man". Missing narcotics, ghost ships, nuclear radiation, hard-edged Tokyo detectives, glowing 'H-Men' who dissolve citizens!
The thrilling conclusion occurs in the sewers beneath Tokyo.
Saw previews fifty years ago on TV, on too late. Recently obtained DVD of same from E-Bay. Our family viewed it on a weekend night, all enjoyed it.
The scene in which the glowing H-Man apparition materializes in the ghost ship wheelhouse is what stuck in memory back when LBJ was freshly sworn in, and today it thrills yet moreso.
Life's finer delights are worth a fifty year wait.
PS -
DeleteWas always suspicious of Bozo: was that red hair some kind of signal to communist saboteurs?
Instead, concentrated while yet young on the classics: Caltiki the Immortal Monster, Gog, The Unknown Terror, Beyond the Time Barrier, Wasp Woman, Attack of the Giant Leeches, and Target Earth - who can forget the shock of seeing the giant shadow of the approaching robot on the building wall?
Nelson DeMille well said it thru one of his characters: "Have spent a life ignoring things to which most people pay close attention, and paying close attention to things which most ignore."
"Caltiki" is next on the list here...
If you want bizarre nuclear weapons entertainment, you can do worse than "The Day the Fish Came Out", in which a plane carrying atomic bombs goes down on a remote Greek island.
DeleteTo prevent panic, the U.S. rescue team travels to the island dressed in hideous tourist garb, pretending to be real estate developers. Meanwhile, the two pilots bailed out and manage to lose their flight suits and spend most of the movie hiding out in their underwear.
Some film aficionados consider "The Day the Fish Came Out" to be Candice Bergen's worst film ever . . . . .
Sounds like a powerful film. Thanks for recommending it.
Deletez
I too worried about things other than clowns at an early age. I remember talking to my parents about what would happen if we went to war over the missiles in Cuba, and I was nine at the time.
ReplyDeleteWe didn't watch Bozo at my house, my brother watched Wizzo, a clown who was as incoherent as Bozo and - probably because I never liked whatever my brother liked - I despised him.
I've been comparing politicians to clowns for quite awhile but lately I've taken to looking for some other comparison but have come up empty. I've used lower than whale excrement but that is overworked. Frankly the politicians have exceeded my ability to mock them effectively. And then along came Obama. He is the epitome of a self-obsessed, uber-narcissist (actually that's not redundant, merely accurate given Obama's obscenely huge ego.) He is beyond mocking, nothing can match the horror of the actuality.
"Next time, he should consult Putin."
ReplyDeleteHe did.
I will enter a dissenting voice here by saying that I like clowns and have since I was a child. Circus clowns are talented people who put a great deal of effort into mastering difficult acts with a great deal of precision. The Cirque du Soleil performers put on masterful shows.
ReplyDeleteClowns also bring smiles to children. Comparing them to politicians is extremely insulting.
I was also worried about a nuclear conflict...particularly since I could do the math on warheads.
ReplyDeleteI suspect that future historians will (if they can get access) conclude that the only thing that kept the peace in the late 1970s was the potential dud rate. Dr. Pournelle remarked on his blog about two years ago that the U.S. projected dud rate for Soviet warheads in the mid-60s was 50%. Which implies an American dud rate around 30%.
My childhood hero was Gumby. Little did I know in my Submarine life that Gumby was the unofficial motto of the Submarine Service:
ReplyDeleteSemper Gumby
Always Flexible.
My wife and I always liked Gumby. Have several Gumby's on the display shelf.
DeleteReading this set off this now stuck-in-my-head song:
ReplyDelete" Clowns to the left of me,
Jokers to the right,
Here I am stuck in the middle..."
Stealer's Wheel has made a comeback!
ReplyDeleteWell, Mr. Amselem, I was scared of nuclear Armageddon, too. I was 8-9 at the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis. I remember being made to hide under the desk at the sound of an air-raid siren. But, forgive me please, I also liked clowns, at least as circus performers is not as politicians! Once, when I was small, I even tried to be one with the help of my mother's make-up.
ReplyDeleteBut, as someone one the Evangelical side of the spectrum, I note that nothing's as effective at getting people of all ages worried and worked up like the impending end of the world. I think one reason why we're subjected to a lot of climate change apocalypticism is because the evolutionary materialists need something to replace the possibility of Jesus' Second Advent in .....(name your date).
Nine regular readers? You know better than that.
ReplyDelete