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#1 2008-09-03 8:45 pm
- radarman
- Member
- Registered: 2005-02-28
- Posts: 2231
Pen Jillette: The last thing we need right now is a great leader
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/09/02/ … topstories
(CNN) -- Everyone I talk to seems to think the president of the United States right now is stupid.
The Bush presidency is stupid speeches, stupid high gas prices, stupid bad economy, stupid war on terrorism, stupid war on drugs, stupid hurricane fixing, stupid global warming, stupid war -- stupid, stupid, stupid.
They all seem to think we need to get a smarter guy in the White House fast, and Bush is so stupid, that task shouldn't be too hard.
Not me.
I'd like to say that I believe every president in United States history, including the stupid one we have now, is smarter than me. My alma mater is Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Greatest Show on Earth Clown College, so I'm damning with faint praise, but I'm stupider than this here stupid president.
Maybe I'm less stupider than Bush than I'm stupider than Jefferson. But I'm stupider than all the stupid in both of them put together.
I realize he probably said it for effect, but I can't imagine Pen being more stupid than Bush. Shoot, I can't imagine *anyone* being dumber than Bush... Interesting editorial.
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#2 2008-09-03 8:51 pm
- sturner
- Royal High Poobah
- Moderator
- From: Carrollton, TX USA
- Registered: 2000-01-31
- Posts: 9866
Re: Pen Jillette: The last thing we need right now is a great leader
::: whacks radarman's sarcasmeter. :::
Something not funcitoning properly here.
"There were places in the world commemorating those times when wizards hadn't been quite as clever [as to refrain from doing magic when you knew how easy it was], and on many of them the grass would never grow again." Terry Prachett
There are 3 types of people, those who can count and those who can't.
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#3 2008-09-03 9:06 pm
- Tallgeese
- Arugula-eating Elitist
- From: Fake America
- Registered: 2000-10-17
- Posts: 30576
Re: Pen Jillette: The last thing we need right now is a great leader
Who decided that a TV magician was a political authority?
QUESTION: What did Iraqi have to do with that?
BUSH: What did Iraq have to do with what?
QUESTION: The attacks upon the World Trade Center.
BUSH: Nothing
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#4 2008-09-03 9:07 pm
- sturner
- Royal High Poobah
- Moderator
- From: Carrollton, TX USA
- Registered: 2000-01-31
- Posts: 9866
Re: Pen Jillette: The last thing we need right now is a great leader
Hey it makes perfect sense to me, he was talking about Bushco.
"There were places in the world commemorating those times when wizards hadn't been quite as clever [as to refrain from doing magic when you knew how easy it was], and on many of them the grass would never grow again." Terry Prachett
There are 3 types of people, those who can count and those who can't.
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#5 2008-09-03 9:14 pm
- Farmerkev
- Official Dementor
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- Registered: 2003-01-03
- Posts: 16613
Re: Pen Jillette: The last thing we need right now is a great leader
Tallgeese wrote:
Who decided that a TV magician was a political authority?
Let me introduce you to the gang in minithink.
Minithink isn't a "to the death" cage match.
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#6 2008-09-03 9:23 pm
- Tallgeese
- Arugula-eating Elitist
- From: Fake America
- Registered: 2000-10-17
- Posts: 30576
Re: Pen Jillette: The last thing we need right now is a great leader
:sigh:
The man should stick to magic tricks.
QUESTION: What did Iraqi have to do with that?
BUSH: What did Iraq have to do with what?
QUESTION: The attacks upon the World Trade Center.
BUSH: Nothing
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#7 2008-09-03 9:59 pm
- sturner
- Royal High Poobah
- Moderator
- From: Carrollton, TX USA
- Registered: 2000-01-31
- Posts: 9866
Re: Pen Jillette: The last thing we need right now is a great leader
Politics are magic tricks.
"There were places in the world commemorating those times when wizards hadn't been quite as clever [as to refrain from doing magic when you knew how easy it was], and on many of them the grass would never grow again." Terry Prachett
There are 3 types of people, those who can count and those who can't.
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#8 2008-09-03 10:01 pm
- dvpierce
- Negusa Negest
- Moderator
- From: Minneapolis, MN
- Registered: 1999-08-30
- Posts: 16800
Re: Pen Jillette: The last thing we need right now is a great leader
Libertarians make me sad.
"Now commences the process of cutting off the head, which generally takes from an hour to an hour and a half by an expert workman with a sharp blade." -Reuben Delano, Wanderings and Adventures
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#9 2008-09-03 10:03 pm
- Tallgeese
- Arugula-eating Elitist
- From: Fake America
- Registered: 2000-10-17
- Posts: 30576
Re: Pen Jillette: The last thing we need right now is a great leader
Internet libertarians make my eyeball-rolling muscles hurt.
QUESTION: What did Iraqi have to do with that?
BUSH: What did Iraq have to do with what?
QUESTION: The attacks upon the World Trade Center.
BUSH: Nothing
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#10 2008-09-03 10:36 pm
- avkills
- demyelinated brain matter
- Registered: 2001-05-09
- Posts: 6420
Re: Pen Jillette: The last thing we need right now is a great leader
Who makes anyone qualified to be a political authority?
-mark
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#11 2008-09-04 8:22 am
- NokX
- Member of the Month
- From: Knoxville, TN
- Registered: 2000-07-17
- Posts: 6190
Re: Pen Jillette: The last thing we need right now is a great leader
stupid speeches
well, bush does give good speeches when he speaks off script. on script, he does sound very stupid.
stupid high gas prices
too much government regulation and taxation. the democrats got into congress claiming they would lower gas prices...it's only gone up. (and they still wanna tax big oil more). and obama is claiming the same thing... lower gas prices, tax the crap out of big oil. doesn't work.
stupid bad economy
too many things to list here, but in regards to foreclosures, that's mainly the fault of those who bought homes outside of their means. the government should not have bailed them, or the banks, out.
stupid war on terrorism
we definitely should have better foreign policy and we don't need to be in all of these different countries.
stupid war on drugs
agreed
stupid hurricane fixing
not the job of government. sure, send in troops to keep the peace, but it's not the job of government to make sure we have housing, transportation, etc...
stupid global warming
global warming (is) stupid
stupid war
in hindsight we shouldn't have gone in, but we're there...let's finish the job.
"Those who would give us a 'living' Constitution are actually giving us a dead Constitution, since such a thing is completely unable to protect us against the encroachments of government power." Kevin Gutzman
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#12 2008-09-04 8:28 am
- bratboy
- attorney-at-law
- Royal Wombat
- From: Austin, Texas
- Registered: 2003-01-19
- Posts: 30532
Re: Pen Jillette: The last thing we need right now is a great leader
Tallgeese wrote:
Internet libertarians make my eyeball-rolling muscles hurt.
"One thing we've learned is there's a difference between being disappointed and having madmen in authority."
--Paul Krugman
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#13 2008-09-04 9:27 am
Re: Pen Jillette: The last thing we need right now is a great leader
If it's the 'dumb' one of these guys, then it's spelled Penn.
http://www.harrahs.com/EventsDetail.do? … 0000012333
Aside from that, in my opinion he's riffing off WavyGravy and Pat Paulsen.
But, a good riff, I think.
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#14 2008-09-04 10:17 am
- user
- Your plastic pal who's fun to be with
- From: I'm not getting you down, am I
- Registered: 2001-10-15
- Posts: 14482
Re: Pen Jillette: The last thing we need right now is a great leader
The Democrats claim they're going to lower gas prices?
Aw, he's no fun, he fell right over.
Unless you become as little children, there's no way you will believe this crap.
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#15 2008-09-04 5:08 pm
Re: Pen Jillette: The last thing we need right now is a great leader
The repeated assertion that disaster rescue and recovery is not a worthy government job is so excruciatingly stupid it makes my sinus hurt. Not only stupid but verging on actual evil.
I’m not ready to make nice-I’m not ready to back down-I’m still mad as hell and
I don’t have time to go round and round and round-It’s too late to make it right
I probably wouldn’t if I could-‘Cause I’m mad as hell-Can’t bring myself to do what it is you think I should
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#16 2008-09-04 5:16 pm
Re: Pen Jillette: The last thing we need right now is a great leader
Farmerkev wrote:
Tallgeese wrote:
Who decided that a TV magician was a political authority?
Let me introduce you to the gang in minithink.
I don't know, probably the same people who decided an actor could be one of the great conservative presidents of our century or be the governator of california, or a teevee wrestler could be a governer of Minnesota or a pop singer or actor could be mayors. . . or a wide receiver could win the election for the governorship of Pennsylvania. . . . .
Actually, I liked Ventura, anyone who can get up and tell people that organized religion is basically a scam. . . . that takes some political brass cajones.
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____________________ \ <.
================= (_)/ (_)
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#17 2008-09-04 5:22 pm
- ShnickyShnack
- Commander of Insurgent Cell "Dreamboat"
- From: Amidst a superiority complex
- Registered: 2001-05-25
- Posts: 40220
Re: Pen Jillette: The last thing we need right now is a great leader
bratboy wrote:
Tallgeese wrote:
Internet libertarians make my eyeball-rolling muscles hurt.
"Those of us who have looked to the self-interest of lending institutions to protect shareholders’ equity, myself especially, are in a state of shocked disbelief." -- Alan Greenspan
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#18 2008-09-04 5:25 pm
- Colonel Panic
- You need to restart
- From: The bowels of code
- Registered: 2003-10-12
- Posts: 519
Re: Pen Jillette: The last thing we need right now is a great leader
isaly wrote:
Farmerkev wrote:
Tallgeese wrote:
Who decided that a TV magician was a political authority?
Let me introduce you to the gang in minithink.
I don't know, probably the same people who decided an actor could be one of the great conservative presidents of our century or be the governator of california, or a teevee wrestler could be a governer of Minnesota or a pop singer or actor could be mayors. . . or a wide receiver could win the election for the governorship of Pennsylvania. . . . .
Actually, I liked Ventura, anyone who can get up and tell people that organized religion is basically a scam. . . . that takes some political brass cajones.
...or a sportscaster/grown-up-jonbenet could run the country.....
Have you tried repairing permissions?
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#19 2008-09-04 5:51 pm
- jerwin
- Sophist
- Registered: 2003-01-01
- Posts: 5636
Re: Pen Jillette: The last thing we need right now is a great leader
NokX wrote:
stupid speeches
well, bush does give good speeches when he speaks off script. on script, he does sound very stupid.
Who's writing the script? Cheney?
Some subjects actually enjoy pain, and withhold information they might otherwise have divulged in order to be punished.
Central Intelligence Agency. (1983). Human Resource Exploitation Training Manual
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#20 2008-09-04 7:41 pm
Re: Pen Jillette: The last thing we need right now is a great leader
Pariah wrote:
The repeated assertion that disaster rescue and recovery is not a worthy government job is so excruciatingly stupid it makes my sinus hurt. Not only stupid but verging on actual evil.
It's a worthy job, but the government has proven itself unworthy to do it. What's stupid is thinking that if only we had the right person in the oval office it would all be okay.
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#21 2008-09-05 8:01 am
- user
- Your plastic pal who's fun to be with
- From: I'm not getting you down, am I
- Registered: 2001-10-15
- Posts: 14482
Re: Pen Jillette: The last thing we need right now is a great leader
freecat wrote:
Pariah wrote:
The repeated assertion that disaster rescue and recovery is not a worthy government job is so excruciatingly stupid it makes my sinus hurt. Not only stupid but verging on actual evil.
It's a worthy job, but the government has proven itself unworthy to do it. What's stupid is thinking that if only we had the right person in the oval office it would all be okay.
I disagree.
The government has on many occasions in the past shown that it is entirely capable of aiding in disasters. The recent problems we have had were cronyism and the placement of incompetent and inexperienced people in important positions and THAT is directly related to the wrong person being in the Oval.
Aw, he's no fun, he fell right over.
Unless you become as little children, there's no way you will believe this crap.
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#22 2008-09-07 11:16 am
- Cobalt60
- Member
- Registered: 2002-04-17
- Posts: 1293
Re: Pen Jillette: The last thing we need right now is a great leader
avkills wrote:
Who makes anyone qualified to be a political authority?
-mark
Right.
Who do you have to be, to be qualified?
When the common man votes the common man is the political authority. That's the way it's set up. That's democracy.
Only the "qualified" can vote? LOL
I'm not a doctor but I'll take a look!
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#23 2008-09-07 12:10 pm
- dvpierce
- Negusa Negest
- Moderator
- From: Minneapolis, MN
- Registered: 1999-08-30
- Posts: 16800
Re: Pen Jillette: The last thing we need right now is a great leader
jerwin wrote:
NokX wrote:
stupid speeches
well, bush does give good speeches when he speaks off script. on script, he does sound very stupid.
Who's writing the script? Cheney?
I think NokX has that backwards. When I hear radio announcers or TV journalists (people who talk for a living) recite portions of Bush's speeches, they usually sound pretty well put together. It's when Bush actually is the one talking that I feel bile welling up in my throat.
"Now commences the process of cutting off the head, which generally takes from an hour to an hour and a half by an expert workman with a sharp blade." -Reuben Delano, Wanderings and Adventures
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#24 2008-09-07 4:24 pm
Re: Pen Jillette: The last thing we need right now is a great leader
Cobalt60 wrote:
avkills wrote:
Who makes anyone qualified to be a political authority?
-markRight.
Who do you have to be, to be qualified?
When the common man votes the common man is the political authority. That's the way it's set up. That's democracy.
Only the "qualified" can vote? LOL
No, whoever can act the most like the common man is the political authority. That's the setup.
...having nothing in them of the feelings or principles of '76, now look to a single and splendid government of an aristocracy, founded on banking institutions and moneyed incorporations under the guise and cloak of their favored branches of manufactures, commerce and navigation, riding and ruling over the plundered ploughman and beggared yeomanry. -- TJ
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#25 2008-09-07 4:59 pm
Re: Pen Jillette: The last thing we need right now is a great leader
I had to check on Wiki to confirm it, but wow, he really did graduate from Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Greatest Show on Earth Clown College. That just sounded like something made up for a laugh.
I still think he's smarter than Bush, though. 
"I don't like country music, but I don't mean to denigrate those who do. And for the people who like country music, denigrate means 'put down.'"
-- Bob Newhart
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