Pajiba

Sports. Two teams. You have to pick one or the other. There is no third, fourth or fifth choice. Even in the Olympics you have to go with "your" people, whoever they may be. That's the problem. It's prejudice by affiliation.

See Pajiba? That wasn't so hard, now was it? I say let the man speak. He had a nice introduction, now lets let him get to the goodstuff.

Tonight at the Pit, Everyone Gets Laid.

We're not gonna take it!!

I'll be the skeptical guy in the back of the conservative side of the room, watching as Erik extends the olive branch over the clearly-defined duct tape divider line.

The notion that conservatives and liberals can actually get along sounds a little quixotic to me. Too many roadblocks that make one side think the other is immoral.

However, I will admit that debate with a liberal usually gets old very quickly. Most of the time, I find them too emotional and not concerned with the hard facts of the matter.

Perhaps he can lure them over the line so we can brainwash them with our fast cars, guns, barbecue, and other inordinate manliness.

Yep. Divide and conquer. Both sides have hardliners who become the standard bearers because they shout the loudest, spew the most rhetoric, and get the most press. Most of us are closer to the middle than we admit, trying to disassociate from the hardcore among us. There are plenty of liberals out there who wish they'd had a gun when that guy assaulted them, and a lot of conservatives who don't think some thirteen year old should be forced to bear her uncle's child. The problem is that anyone who tells one of these over-the-top loudmouths on their side to STFU is portrayed as a Benedict Arnold.

PCU was, at heart, a libertarian propaganda movie. Didn't you see that?
You guys really are stuck in a binary political world. :)

We're NOT Gonna Protest! We're NOT Gonna Protest!

by the way- anyone know a comfortable shoe for boating?

Welcome aboard, Erik! Anyone who can relate PCU to the bizarro world of contemporary US politics is OK in my book. (And that book is liberal blue with rainbow triangles, darwin fish and I *heart* whales stickers all over it).

My wife is a hardcore Republican who HATES Bill Clinton, so I understand what Erik is talking about. I myself have no affiliations because I think every politician is a scumbag just looking to ram their dicks just a little farther up America's asses while they point at a campfire and call it a conflagration. I switch the channel to FoxNews or CNBC and it's frustrating. Each side ignores the other. All they're waiting for is their turn to speak (sometimes not even that), and when they do it serves only to attack the whole party, i.e. "That's just like a Conservative to say . . ." and "You Liberals are all the same . . .", and it's pointless and exhausting.
I would say this is a new problem, but it's been going on since the Revolutionary War, even to the point of duels. I want change, but how do you change something internally that is morally and ethically corrupt from the bottom up? I usually vote for the person who pisses me off the least. And that REALLY pisses me off.

I never saw PCU, but I do remember having a crush on Chris Young, for whatever reason. And thinking Jeremy Piven looked skeevy, for obvious reasons.

Nicely done Erik, I'm actually pleasantly surprised. It's nice to hear someone from the right echo what I've been thinking, that blow-hards like Rush Limbaugh and Al Franken are just trying to turn ordinary Americans against each other for the benefit of their own massive egos. Kudos.

Rush is a conceited blow-hard, I'll give you that. Just one look at his website shows that he has more pictures of himself looking smug or incredulous than actual content.

The thing about Rush, though (and I don't listen to him that often): I've never heard him say something (with regard to politics or sports or the American culture) that is, without a doubt, wrong.

Or maybe I'm just ill-informed and/or biased.

brutus-

politics: "Why should Blacks be heard? They're 12% of the population. Who the hell cares?"

sports: "I think what we've had here is a little social concern in the NFL.
The media has been very desirous that a black quarterback do well.
There is a little hope invested in McNabb, and he got a lot of credit
for the performance of this team that he didn't deserve."

culture: [in reference to a black caller] "Take that bone out of your nose and call me back".

classy. very, very classy. i would call all three of those without a doubt wrong.

but wait! there's nine pages more!:
http://en.thinkexist.com/quotes/rush_limbaugh/

We-ell... okay, I guess I can stop hating you, Red-Staonian. Just don't tell my parents - they'll stop feeding me their views, and I'll starve.

"He is exaggerating the effects of the disease. He's moving all around and shaking and it's purely an act. . . . This is really shameless of Michael J. Fox. Either he didn't take his medication or he's acting."

I think maybe it's option #2, brutus.

I don't really give a rat's patootie about the politics of an Animal House rip-off. I will say this, PCU was MAYBE amusing the first time I saw it, now I can barely stand to be within a mile of a Tv that's showing it.

It hasn't held up well.

Would you accept that as a social liberal who voted for democrats in the last election and lives in a (surprising, since Michigan is pretty damn conservative most of the time) blue state, all I have to say to this is, "Well said."? I hope so, because; well said.

It's absolutely exhausting listening to my side (the commie pinko lefties) hash and rehash the wrongs of this government without any regard for the reality of the present. Yes, things went wrong with the war and the election and the system as a whole. Yes, we know this, now let's get to the next step, which is doing something about it. I agree with you Eric, this divide and conquer approach does nothing more than spin our nation's wheels in the mud. It's nice to hear from the other side and it's always nice to be reminded that we are all people, not poll points.

wow- i consider myself a liberal and i found this post refreshing. welcome erik!

and "that book is liberal blue with rainbow triangles, darwin fish and I *heart* whales stickers all over it" that just sounds so pretty!

I think its interesting to debate the difference in amorphous and vague terms like "liberal" and "conservative." They have no meaning unless they modify something. For now, they are just terms that both sides use derisively of those who don't agree with them and are used by politicians to keep people distracted. I doubt that anyone can come up with a definition of either that others will agree with and be willing to adopt.

The best analogy was mentioned before: sports. We all root for a side because of loyalty generated by where we live, our parents, or how we want to be viewed. We don't know the players personally, but we feel we do because of media coverage, so we root for them to beat the other guy, regardless of how he might win or live his personal life. We're willing to overlook personal transgressions based on the person's charisma and performance in the clutch (there's a reason some issues only get trotted out every so often). Lastly, we wear our colors and celebrate wins equally because we won and the other guy lost. But, there's another season/game coming up, and its really the same. Nothing changes.

Welcome, Mr. Nolte.

I must say, being a fan of PCU but haven't seen it in some years, I would not have seen the parallels to the current political landscape. I agree with Go Big Red in accepting you. For now. :)

I admit I am a centrist, Libertarian, whatever. I am a pacifist gun nut. I support the death penalty, but only if the bastard really deserves it and is guilty beyond reasonable doubt. I love the military, not only because my fatherand brother were Army men, but they usually have the coolest toys. But I don't agree with certain actions they have been ordered to take.

Mostly, I just don't care. I don't care if someone wants to hunt deer. I don't care if a man wants to marry a man (because, lets face it, if it was just lesbians wanting to get married, it would not be that big of a deal). I don't care anymore. The politicians have sucked all the concern out of me.

I really wish I had a point somewhere in here. Oh yeah, I think it was: The majority of Americans are pretty moderate and somewhat rational. But only the lunatic fringe get the attention. Why? Because they are lunatics, of course. Just because they may say one or two things that make some sense to you doesn't mean they are competent. The sooner people realize this, the sooner we can actually make some changes for the better.

Hi the-ian ;-)

The nine pages you referenced aren't all controversial quotes. Some of the quotes are incontrovertible, and the rest are plain opinion.

As for the quotes you listed:

I could be wrong about this, but I bet the first and the last are taken out of context, or are him mimicking someone else. Like, for example, if I took your post and quoted you as saying that Rush is "classy. very, very classy."

As far as the McNabb quote is concerned...he was absolutely correct. People want so much to have a dynastic black quarterback, because it's never happened (for whatever reason)...so they over-hyped McNabb a little bit. I don't see anything racist or wrong in stating that.

Along those lines, how the fuck does Michael Irvin still have a job after the shit he said about Tony Romo? That was much, much worse than what Rush said.

j29-

He didn't take his meds. Fox did that in front of congress a while back to have the same effect.

Rush might have been insensitive, sure...but you can't say he's wrong in that case.

That's tasteless, disgusting, and offensive. I like it.

brutus-

id like to think i have a fairly authentic angle on that issue in particular, being an eternally suffering native philadelphian eagles and sixers fan (please kill me).

3 consecutive NFC title games, 5 pro bowl selections, and holding the record for most consecutive pass attempts completed in NFL history (24 against the giants and packers of a 2 game span) is overrated? if anything, the man is underrated. and ill also point out that they got to that devastating super bowl with He Whom We Speak Naught Of in this town moping on the bench with a broken ankle.

the issue i take with mr. limbaugh, brutus, is a simple one: i was watching that broadcast live when he dropped that McNabb bomb and nobody was discussing race, rush brought it up. i agree with you, there is nothing wrong with anyone saying McNabb was slightly overrated (although the jersies hanging in my closet will not permit me to concede that point), the problem was the ensuing sentence where he specifies "the media was very desirous that a black quarterback" achieve a great deal of success.

the media didn't get to those championship games or complete those passes, Dono did. the fact that he introduced race at all reveals an underlying inherent belief that a black player is incapable of achieving that on his own and needs the support of the media to do it. and that, my friend, believing someone is incapable of something because of the color of their skin, is the very essence of racism.

similarly, you can put either of the other two quotes into any context you'd like and they both remain undeniably racist. and i missed mr. irvin's comments about tony romo, what did he say?

goddamn, isn't this a movie site? and here i am debating sports and politics...

"However, I will admit that debate with a liberal usually gets old very quickly. Most of the time, I find them too emotional and not concerned with the hard facts of the matter."

Comedy gold. Yes, I often burst into tears in the face of Bush followers' airtight logic.

"We're not gonna take it!" -- audrey

Audrey, if that was a shout-out to Dave Chappelle, I gotta give you ups. That's what I think about whenever I hear that song.

"I'm sorry, Officer. I, uh... I didn't know I couldn't do that."

Samantha -

Thanks for proving my point, at least for the time being. I need some examples to discuss, woman! :-)

"Dave...I'm gonna race him."

i know i just posted but i wanted to offer the brains behind pajiba my honest thanks for introducing both NMN and this gentleman, it has gone a long way towards cultivating an online atmosphere of serious political debate and discourse without wolf blitzter or the latest FOX NEWS ALERT subtly trying to tell you what to think.

and we all know the best serious political debates and discourses are peppered with quotes from dave chappelle.

"David...we need to talk."
"FUCK."
killing them softly will never get old.

Why Pajiba Why.

I come here daily to soak up the subtle sarcasm that comes as a result of actually siting through a movie that clearly has no business being sat through - not to have someone who voted for the Bush(s) use PCU as a metaphor to meet them in the middle.

Where was all the this talk of bipartisian politics from republicans a month and a half ago ago when a sweeping reform of Washington was still a distant memory?

Isn't there a Blog on Foxnews.com where this posting could have been?

Amusing that this article came out today.

I just got out of the last lecture of a cultural History course focusing on the subject of "American Freedom" where afterwards, my girlfriend and I had a long discussion about our generation being basically apathetic. Why should I bother with politicians when they obviously don't care about me, and their only care is getting re-elected?

because if you don't, then the terrorists win Wrighteous1.

(whoo! irony!)

"Chuck... NO!!"

"Let's just sprinkle some crack on him"

the-ian:

You're going to hate me...living in Dallas, I give all of what meager allegiance I have to the Cowboys. It must kill you; having never, ever enjoyed a Super Bowl victory.

The other comments are racist, to be sure...but he could be making fun of someone, which doesn't make HIM a racist.

"the fact that he introduced race at all reveals an underlying inherent belief that a black player is incapable of achieving that on his own and needs the support of the media to do it"

I don't think that at all. I just think it means that he thought McNabb is overrated by the media and that the reason he's overrated is that the media would like to see a black quarterback truly succeed, because it's never happened. I think we'd all like to see a dynastic black quarterback, if only to squash the stupid notion that black QBs aren't as good as white QBs.

McNabb is certainaly above average - but he's never going to be the guy that kills the stereotype. Not until he wins a Super Bowl...which won't happen until he changes to another team ;-)

Here's what Irvin said about Romo:

"He doesn't look like he's that type of an athlete, but he is. He is, man. I don't know if some brother down in that line somewhere, I don't know who saw what or where, his great-great-great-great-grandma ran over in the 'hood or something went down."

...

"If great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandma pulled one of them studs up out of the barn, 'Come on in here for a second,' you know, and they go out and work in the yard. You know, back in the day."

How is he still employed?

As a liberal living in TX (Austin, to be fair), I often hear about how much "Democrats hate freedom." It has become one of my favorite ironies.

The Republican Party (and its conservative forebears) has done far more to curtail freedom than liberals ever have. (And I am NOT going to hit you over the head with the fucking Patriot Act.)

Republicans say that they stand for individual liberties: what they mean is the freedom to send their children to elite institutions with IRS support. What about the freedom to associate (gay marraige)? What about the right to your own body (abortion)? What about the right to self-determine (Iraq)?

Freedom is making your own choices--no one is forcing conservatives into gay marraige, unwanted pregnancies, or civil war. Please reciprocate the favor and remove your ignorance, religion and prejudice from our bedrooms, uteruses, and foreign nations.

I cannot envision the left and the right coming together because the fine American patriots of the right just seem to HATE so many Americans.

I've worked in state politics for awhile here in Texas and it's been my experience that there are good people and jerks on both sides.

I think if we remember that good people have different opinions about how government should run, then we'd be in a better place.

I think it's possible to have real debates without turning it into a bunch of ad hominem ranting. I think this comments page is a pretty good example.

Erm, Doubter, I think "freedom to associate" means the freedom to form a group and meet, not engage in an institution that society gives certain social privileges and obligations because it has long been considered a social incubator for children and has not been recognized in Western history as anything other than a relationship between a man and a woman. I think if someone asked the Framers to include gay marriage in the Bill of Rights they would have denounced you as a heretic or something. But, then again, maybe Ben and Thom were lovers. I don't really know.

But, as far as the whole abortion thing, the conservative party has it all wrong - they should switch to pro-choice and couch their position as a matter of public health policy, not morality. There's a difference between sin and sanitation.

Doubter:
As a liberal living in TX (Austin, to be fair), I often hear about how much "Democrats hate freedom." It has become one of my favorite ironies.

The truly ironic thing about this statement is that the only people that ever say "Democrats hate freedom" are Democrats hoping to beat up a strawman. I have never, ever heard a conservative say it, except in jest.

Republicans say that they stand for individual liberties:

Not really. Republicans tend to be more economically libertarian, and socially conservative. So while every politician would say he/she is "for individual liberties," Republicans tend to define those individual liberties to include the right to legislate against conduct that they feel is immoral.

I'm mostly libertarian, so I'm painfully aware that both parties have issues with individual freedoms.

what they mean is the freedom to send their children to elite institutions with IRS support.

I'm not really sure what you're arguing here. First of all, I'm not aware of anyone arguing that they should be able to send their kids to elite institutions with IRS support.

Second, I'd imagine that everyone would like to send their kids to elite institutions with IRS support. However, it's just not practical, and we all know it.

Care to clarify what you're talking about?

What about the freedom to associate (gay marraige)?

What about it? First of all, there's no constitutionally recognized "freedom to associate" in a social context.

Second, a ban on gay marriage (I'm pro-gay marriage) doesn't mean gay people can't associate with each other. So it doesn't infringe on any alleged "right to associate."

Third, you realize that the Democratic party hasn't exactly been a stalwart proponent of gay marriage, don't you? John Kerry, Al Gore, and Bill Clinton opposed gay marriage. Nancy Pelosi seems unwilling to take a position on the issue:

http://mpetrelis.blogspot.com/2006/10/pelosi-on-gay-marriage-during-60.html

So I'm not really sure where you're going on this one.

What about the right to your own body (abortion)?

Again, there's no such thing as a "right to your own body," so I'm not sure what you're talking about.

Similarly, Republicans see a fetus as a full person with full rights. So they believe that abortions actually restrict the rights of the fetus to life. (Note -- I'm pro-choice.)

What about the right to self-determine (Iraq)?

Once again, there's no recognized "right to self-determine," so I don't know what you're talking about. Are you saying that the nation of Iraq should be able to determine its own course without American intervention? If so, how has removing a tyrannical dictator and instituting a democracy hurt the ability of Iraq to determine its own course?

I wonder what T.O"s opinion of Mcnabb is...

You know what's funny? I DID know I couldn't do that! Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha!!!!

snooze.

brutus...where ever do I begin. As the-ian has said, the numbers are there. Donovan McNabb is, and will never be, overrated. HE is the only reason that the Eagles succeeded on the offensive side of the ball. And tell me, what is success? Do you have to win a Super Bowl to become successful? Then tell me why Jim Kelly is a Hall of Famer. Four consecutive Super Bowl losses. Tell me that Mr. Kelly could have gotten that far without Thurman Thomas in the backfield and Levy letting Kelly run the no-huddle like he did.

And why shouldn't we include another Hall of Famer (or at least he better be) Warren Moon. 7 straight playoff appearances, showing the true potential of the run-and-shoot, nearly 49,000 yards passing and 391 touchdowns in the NFL (not including his CFL days), nine Pro Bowls, and only Marino, Farve, and Elway lead him in passes completed and yardage. To me that is pretty damn successful.

Let us also not forget about Doug Williams. I think he will break stereotype. He led the Buccaneers (yes, the puke orange and white Bucs) in '79 to the NFC Central title and a victory over the Eagles, in the Divisional playoff and lost in the NFC Championship to the Rams. In the two following years he led the Bucs to two more playoffs, but was foiled by America's Team each time. After a brief stint in the USFL, Mr. Williams found himself with the Redskins as a backup to Jay Schroeder, who was eventually benched. Doug Williams started throughout the playoffs and won both games and advanced to the Super Bowl as the first black quarterback to start a Super Bowl (SB XXII). This is where he encountered a most insulting question: "So how long have you been a black quarterback?" His first quarter was less than sensational, but in the second he truly began to shine. He passed for a record 228 yards and 4 TDs and then went on to complete the game with 340 yds and the previous 4 TDs, both records at the time.

And finally to the place of controversy we go, with Randall Cunningham. The "NFL's Ultimate Weapon". 4 time Pro Bowler and the prototypical running quarterback. He also led the 1998 Vikings on their improbable 15-1 season (in which they broke the record for points scored with 556) only to see it lost as the football gods punished Gary Anderson for some slight making him miss a 38-yd field goal, the only miss of his entire season and then allowing Dennis Green to down the ball and go for overtime. It was then lost as Morten Andersen kicked his 38-yd field goal, straight and true.

The point of all of this is that their is quite a bit of evidence that black quarterbacks have been successful. It does not take Super Bowl rings to make the man. Otherwise Dan Marino, Jim Kelly, Fran Tarkenton, and others would not be considered some of the greatest quarterbacks in history.

I agree that the media is guilty of over-hyping a black quarterback. And that black quarterback is MICHAEL MOTHERFUCKING VICK, who couldn't be more overrated. Donovan McNabb is a brilliant player who probably deserves more credit than he gets.

OK, now that that pointless tirade is out of my system... this was an absolutely fantastic piece. Well done, Erik. And coming from a pro-choice, anti-death-penalty, anti-gun, raised-by-Marxist-radicals, liberal... that's saying something.

This movie is brilliant. I love PCU almost as much as I love Boondock Saints.

Regardless of any underlying political message, I think we can all agree (as pointed out in the film)that it is not cool to wear the shirt of the band that you are about to see in concert to the concert. Republican, democrat or libertarian, let's all resolve not to be "that guy".

Bah.

Liberals suck. Conservatives suck. Until we get a third (or fourth, or fifth even) party, count me out.

PCU is one of my favourite movies of all time.

Erik, regardless of political allegences, im always happy to see someone who can look at politcal issues in a calm way with out resorting to name calling (ie John kerry is a flip flopper, or George Bush is stupid.) it seems to me that 90% of these political blogs and shows are out to rip on the opposition for cheap laughs than to make a real rational point. so i guess what im saying is dont let me down. we are all counting on you.

The Stew would like to mention the fastest growing third party in the country, Libertarians, as well as the FairTax plan. Both exxxcellent for the nation. Yes in a sexy way.

The Stew -

Wouldn't that make Libertarians "sexcellent"?

(Not a libertarian--just punny.)

-Ranylt

ScarletKnight -

Don't you realize that the fact that you can name only four moderately successful black quarterbacks in NFL history underlines that (for whatever reason) they haven't exactly excelled at that position? We're talking about a sport that is positively dominated by black athletes, so it's not like they don't get the opportunity. I don't know why there hasn't been a dynastic black QB, but none of the ones you listed qualify, except maybe Warren Moon, and even if he was he would be the only one.

McNabb has had one truly great, pro-bowl-deserving season. Without the dominating Philadelphia defenses doing the heavy lifting, he's just another Brad Johnson. In fact, Johnson's career completion percentage is higher than McNabb and Johnson won a Super Bowl.

Cunningham was MVP in 1998, started just 11 games after that, and had a career QB rating of 81.5. He completed just barely over half of his passes.

Doug Williams was 41-43-1 lifetime as a starter. Bleh.

Who else...McNair? Nope.

Back to the point of this whole debate...here is the data that, in fact, proves Rush was right, yet again:

http://johnrlott.tripod.com/RushLimbaugh.html

Read it and weep, you pansy libs ;-)

Just a question about some of the comments above...seriously, out of curiosity, what's the deal with the connection between being liberal and being emotional? Enquiring minds want to know!

You can stats, counter-stats and comparisons all you want, but you can't stop the media from covering dancing bears, comets, and Virgin Mary grilled cheese. And, it doesn't matter if the bears dance poorly, the comets can only be seen with the Hubble, or that Mary's had a bite taken from her.

em -

Just my opinion here, but it has been my experience that liberals are more concerned with feelings than statistical data.

Take the death penalty, for example, and disregard my blanket statements. I know not everyone feels this way:

1. Libs would like to rehabilitate people who commit crimes. With a serial killer on the loose, they want to know why they are behaving in such a destructive manner, and how society has fostered that behavior. "That poor man! He must have been abused as a child..."


2. Conservatives see a serial killer and want him to die within days of being found guilty. "He did what? Execute his ass."

Once you wade past all of the BULLSHIT politico rhetoric and chest thumping, his movie review is pretty close to what this movie is all about: bring young and enjoying life, and wading past all the PC wankers and cause-whores to get to the meat.

This movie should have been called "Everybody Gets Laid." I would have endorsed that.

Please, next time, pal, lay off the Oxycotin and RELAX - it's only a movie, it's only a movie...

LAST.

I may be totally off-thread here, as the last comment I could read through was Kbad's way up above; but because this article, from the very beginning, was so totally predictable, condescending and clearly straddling the fence, as dumbass conservatives always manage to do when they're trying to play both sides of the coin whilst their own agenda is so painfully conspicuous (as opposed to most liberal writers, who simply point out the obvious & let readers decide for themselves), I simply couldn't take the rhetoric any longer. And being as loyal a Pajiba fan as anyone, and as such therefore given the right to shovel my own opinion down your collective throats, here it is:
I'm sadly resigned to the fact that Bush's administration so totally fucked up our country, which (believe it or not) actually had the first balanced budget in our country's history before he came along, to squander our resources on pointless "ideals" that any true American would gladly take back now, given that we've lost 3,000 of our countrymen and untold billions of dollars on ultimately fruitless and irresponsible acts that one single dickhead who once stood up and shouted, "Let ME be the figurehead of this ill-conceived, inevitably destructive administration" that will make the rich even richer while they happen to have a higher ground to watch our country perish than the rest of us regular Americans..

Wake up, people: our generation, not the Democrats, not David Copperfield, not the collective intelligence of the geniuses of the world, can possibly correct, or repair, or "re-structure" the disastrous decisions that have dragged our country down to it's lowest point since the Depression (hell, at least we weren't hated by the rest of the world then).

The very best we can hope for, in our lifetime, is that the U.S. can make a proper and acceptable apology to the rest of the world that we actually let a complete idiot take over and convince our entire country's mindset that attacking one tiny country with a decidedly impotent ruler was actually in our (and the world's) best interests. It's nothing new - Germany befell the same fate when hypnotized by their oh-so-charismatic Hitler... the Bush administration just pushes different buttons to achieve the same goal.

FUCK that man, his daddy, Cheney & all the rest of the truly, despicably destructive characters of our time who have no vested interest in our country whatsoever, just their own short-sighted, single-minded goals. The idiots don't realize that they, too, will perish along with the rest of us in the long run.

Nixon resigns under threat of impeachment for keeping details of a botched burglary gone wrong; Clinton IS impeached, for a lousy blow job that didn't impact the security of this country in any way; and Bush responds to 2,000+ Americans dying from the hands of terrorists by sacrificing another 3,000 American lives to fight in a country that could give less than a shit about independence, sovereignty, or so-called 'freedoms' they didn't already have, and who never harbored the terrorists, or (gag) WMDs we were supposedly after in the FIRST PLACE!!

Erik can spout his light-hearted, simple 'Family Circus' naive views in any forum that will accept him, and maybe soften their perception of his chosen party - but HE knows, and so do most of the rest of us, that Bush should have been impeached before he even got a second shot at the White House. Let's all laugh at his humorous little article while pretending we don't notice our country crumbling around us.

And PLEASE, forget that shit about bridging the gap between Republicans & Democrats - either one of them could have fucked up on this go-round, but Bush & company did it in such unique ways that history will forever laugh at their idiotic ideologies - that is, if we indeed have a future history at all.

I'm sorry, folks- I'm 47 and never had the slightest bit of interest in politics - this administration FORCED me to get interested, and I'll blame these fuckers for that 'til the day I die. I'd much rather be watching another run of 'Rushmore' and just enjoying the brilliance of our film culture pre-Bush and forgetting all the rest that's happened since.

I rambled, I stumbled, I committed a litany of grammatical errors - thanks for the release, Pajiba

T-mac-

"I may be totally off-thread here, as the last comment I could read through was Kbad's way up above..."

The subject/content of the thread is clearly trumped by the affiliation of the writer.

"Erik can spout his light-hearted, simple 'Family Circus' naive views in any forum that will accept him..."

And T-mac can spout his canned, doomsday, cut-and-paste liberal rhetoric "in any forum that will accept him", as well. I'll have to admit that it is well-written, and I even agree with some of it. I'll bet you post that anywhere you get a whiff of a conservative.

T-mac has convinced me. Fuck you, Erik, for suggesting the existence of a broader common ground. Thank goodness for the T-macs on both sides, who keep the weaklings grounded in reality. Reality is that anytime, anyone from either camp attempts to extend an olive branch, that pussy will be met with Agent Orange and chainsaws.

"Wake up, people: our generation, not the Democrats, not David Copperfield, not the collective intelligence of the geniuses of the world, can possibly correct, or repair, or "re-structure" the disastrous decisions that have dragged our country down to it's lowest point since the Depression..."

Damn, and I had so much hope in Hillary. Wow. Not only did this administration undo all of the work of the wonderful Clintons, but you are pre-emptively blaming them for the failure of a possible upcoming Democratic administration. If you really believe all of this, T-mac, why do you feel the need to tell us about it...since we can't do anything to stave off the coming Armegeddon? I suppose new razorblades are my best option.

em-

Read Tmax's post if you want to know why libs are perceived as emotional. 700+ words of pedomorphic whining and not a single hint of a solution.

Tmax is precisely the lemming Erik is talking about. In his quest to criticize, he provided a perfect example of why Erik is right. I love it.

My political philosophy is woven together with threads from both sides of the debate. I essentially dislike both parties. I really like Erik's review and PCU. It makes me glum when people make broad generalizations about one another. That is not nearly as bad as people claiming "persecution" over very little or nothing. When I say that one might think first of the Nazi reference Democrats, but in reality Repblicans can be just as whiny and obnoxious as Democrats in this respect( Remember "Christian persecution", the millitia movement, and the "War on Christmas"?)

As mom would say, " If that's the worst pain you'll ever ever feel, rejoice!)

I'd be all for meeting in the middle, if I wasn't convinced that the left is correct about so many things. And the kind of meeting in the middle that's proposed here - concern for the individual, apathy and an opting-out of political engagement, and jaded cynicism - feels pretty right-wing to me. Glad to see some commenters still have fire in their guts (either way). And Brutus - I don't see how liberals analysing the social and economic factors that lead to crime and dealing with the statistics that suggest apprehension and education are far better deterrents than capital punishment are an example of people relying on emotions while right-wingers screaming 'hang the bastard' are dealing with logic, data and cold hard fact.

Brutus-

So what does it make you if you feel bad that the serial killer got molested, but still want to see him excuted?

Seriously, why can't we have both?

The most awesome thing about PCU is that someone from Wesleyan University, my alma mater, wrote it. And that is why I can at least appreciate it on so many levels...and yes it was that simplistic, there was this invariable tension between the more liberal minded "hippies" and the frat trash who had parties and called minorities out with racial slurs and all that stuff. And I'm not gonna even begin to comment on the amount of drugs on campus...whew!

Smith -

There's nothing wrong with analysis of social and economic factors, etc. The issue I have is that the left uses those factors as an excuse for criminal behavior...as if growing up poor makes someone's decisions for them.

Yes, education is better for trying to prevent criminal behavior for the future. But once you have someone who has already demonstrated an inability to exist safely in a civilized society, that person needs a shot.

Smokin -

In my opinion, there's nothing wrong with having both. The important part is that you still want to see him executed ;-)

saddest thing about this 'review' is that everyone has to be a pseudo-intellectual, whiney, wannabe political pundit, and can't appreciate the fact that this movie was made by people with a sense of humor about themselves and their lovely little ivy-league education at Wesleyan University in equally lovely Middletown, CT... it was meant to be Animal House with an IQ, and it was just plain fun to watch, especially for those of us who have slept with some of the womynists AND partied at the Pit (geaux tri-delts!) For those of you who thought this was fodder for a social or political discussion, do yourself a favor and look into buying a sense of humor on ebay before you're dead of your hypertension, depression and bleeding ulcers before the age of 30...

oh, and maybe NOW lil Eric can get laid by ugly, uptight conservative women who think he's hot because he can use too many adjectives and other really big words to describe the simplest concepts on earth. Us versus them. No need for 2500 words to say it, lil man.

Us versus them? You guys really don't want to make it into a fight. Conservatives have all the guns and all the masculinity.

You're absolutely right about all the hot liberals, too. Let's see:

http://sixmeatbuffet.com/images/theirsoursbig.jpg

If you think Ann Coulter is hot then you're a sad sad man! She is the anti-Christ in female form!

Any logic to back up your name-calling?

I know it's tough for you libs ;-)

brutus-

Any [I]logic[/I] to back up your name calling?
You're doing the same thing as the liberals, because among your conservative friends, I'm sure 'liberal' is a bad word.

What you're not getting (along with a great deal many other people who have posted in these comments) is that you're all equally circular in your logic and petty in your name calling.

I say stop identifying yourself as a member of a group and making blanket statements about the way half the country think.

I have heard more emotional, non-sensical "arguments" from conservatives, personally, but I have heard quite a few from liberals as well.
It just depends who you're listening to.

So maybe if you stop letting people make your mind up for you, you can actually be reasonable and see the point: that unless you can develop some empathy and see the other side's POV, you are inevitably going to be wrong.

Or be like me and hate everybody equally :)

you know? i have never before been inclined to post on pajiba. i frequent it from time to time, and even read the comments, but have never actually felt the need to post one myself. and now i do.

boo mothafuckin ya, you rock, boy. i have always loved this movie, but i never saw its subversive and succinctly appropriate bipartisan unity roots for what they were. i adore you for bringing this to my attention. thank you.

ps: as fabulous as david spade, and others, are... my fav char is still the TV guy

i myself happen to be a universal skeptic, a party fencer... i'm one of those blasted libertarians. and i hadn't ever seen the end party with pfunk as a metaphor for anything but "hey, how bout we just not screw with each others agenda, and drink some beer, and party!".

now i see that it has a much broader message than i had previously noticed through jeremy piven's darling fracting (contraction of frat, and acting), and i feel enlightened having it pointed out to me. now i have yet another reason to inflict this film on others.