Friday, January 15, 2010
Idiot Bowl
It is tough to compare two of the more idiotic statements made in the aftermath of the killer earthquake in Haiti.
In one corner there is Pat Robertson, stating very clearly that Haitians made a pact with the Devil in the past, and that all of the bad things that have happened to Haiti since then flow from that unholy deal.
A tip for those of you who might find themselves "under the heel of the French" -- try to fake a really thick German accent, and you will hear the French shoes retreating rapidly.
In the other corner, there is the actor Danny Glover, who is apparently saying (though I am not anywhere near sure) that the failure of the Copenhagen summit to result in a meaningful agreement leads Mother Earth to let loose her wrath (tab ahead to about 1:55):
I don't think that Glover is saying that global warming or climate change caused the earthquake. I think he was saying that islands in the Caribbean Basin face threats related to climate change, though he did not cite evidence (there has been some degradation of coral reefs around a number of Caribbean islands).
I have to give the nod here to Pat Robertson, if only because he spoke slowly and clearly such that there could be no confusion about what he was saying and what he really meant -- there is simply less room for interpretation or misinterpretation. Glover could, in theory, say wait, here's what I really meant (for example, that Copenhagen was an example of the world coming together for a noble cause, and that sets an example for the kind of response that is needed in Haiti), and there isn't enough in his original statement to contradict his clarification.
Rush Limbaugh gets an honorable mention for the statement (at about 1:03), "We've already donated to Haiti, it's called the U.S. income tax."
Cast your vote.
6 Comments:
By 
Assistant Village Idiot, at
Sat Jan 16, 01:16:00 AM:
Robertson high point of political popularity came in doing well in two caucuses (not primaries) over 20 years ago. He is even less relevant now. If he didn't provide such good quotes for lefties to jump on, I don't think he'd have much audience.
Rush is often hyperbolic but seldom crazy. What am I missing here?
I didn't know who Danny Glover was until I looked him up and found out he's a movie actor. Is he actually a factor among lefties?
By JPMcT, at
Sat Jan 16, 07:20:00 AM:
Pat Robertson can always be relied upon to create a sense of media counterbalance to the horde of absurd left-wing celebrity commentary on the events of the day.
Were it not for that, he would be irrelevant.
By 
, at
Sat Jan 16, 09:08:00 AM:
I don't always agree with Rush, but I do believe that everything Obama does is for political gain and not that he actually cares. I know, that sounds very cynical, but that's how I've become since he's president.
By , at
Sat Jan 16, 10:20:00 AM:
Rush is on to something:
Question: how many U.S. taxpayer dollars have been thrown down a rat hole in the form of contributions to UN programs and direct foreign aid targeted toward Haiti?
Another question: how much of the aid, financial or otherwise, currently flowing into Haiti will simply end up of the pockets of government and organized crime (which are, most likely, one and the same)?
By Georg Felis, at
Sun Jan 17, 02:55:00 AM:
AVI: What are you missing? Context, of course. IIRC, Rush was commenting on the government urging people to donate to Haiti relieve by sending their money to a government website. Which is more than a little weird. You can be arrested for failing to pay your taxes, which are then sent to Haiti, and now they want us to volunteer to send more money down that rusty pipe? Far better to send money by way of the Red Cross or some other NGO.
By , at
Sun Jan 17, 03:02:00 PM:
I had to vote for Pat even though Danny, as usual, made the most foolish statement.
Glover is so perfectly idiotic that he should be banned from the sport.
On this one Rush ran a very poor third.
