left biblioblography: SLEIGHT OF HAND: OF COULTER, COGNITIVE DISSONANCE, AND CACOPHONY

Thursday, June 15, 2006

SLEIGHT OF HAND: OF COULTER, COGNITIVE DISSONANCE, AND CACOPHONY

I tuned into the Tonight show, hoping to see some major fireworks (I’m not a huge fan of Leno, so this was a rarity). A few Internet pundits predicted a display to equal July 4th at any county fair.

I speak of course, of the slotting of Carlin vs. Coulter (I’m sure a few people expected a boxing ring, “In this corner, weighing in at 90 pounds,” etc, “LET’S GET READY TO RUUUUMMMMBBBBLLLEE!”).

Alas, such was not to be found.

Carlin came out and did his buzz-word monologue (I’ve heard it before, but it always cracks me up), chatted with Leno, and later out came the main event: the Right Wing’s Screaming Mimi, the Banshee of Bullshit, Coulter. I’m assuming here (actually hoping is a better word) that the shrieking and howling of the audience was from hired voices.

And everybody behaved themselves. Carlin made a comment about his moving to the ‘right’ for Coulter, but mostly he sat quietly during the host/guest interview.

An occasional shot showed old GC somewhat bunched up with tension. I’m just guessing here, but I think he may have been asked/told to behave. And let’s face facts: it’s a talk show, not the McLehrer-Laughlin hour.

In the meantime, Neo-con Coulter did the usual conservative dance – liberal mixing and matching of truth with askew point of view.

She pointed out that liberals didn’t seem to care that they’d be called ‘godless’ (hey, we’ve been called everything else under the sun, that’s a mild epithet at best), she had the (paraphrased here) only smart liberal she knew read her book (but did a gentle aside to GC: “I didn’t know I would be appearing here with you,” yeah, right, you need to fire your publicist if that’s the case, tell me this wasn’t arranged in advance) and had no problem with it, that the ‘liberals’ are using the 9/11 widows for gain (tell me your side would never use those tactics, lady? Yeah, right. We’ve seen how morally upright the Neo-cons have been over the years, go tell it on the mountain).

And Leno did address it, but in keeping with his nice guy persona (he’s so saccharine, my pancreas threatens to shut down), he asked her, “Isn’t this a little mean?”

At one point, Leno asked her about hiring bodyguards. And of course, the K-12 response was: “I hang out with a lot of conservatives. They’re a fierce bunch. They can take them.”

The most disturbing part of the whole charade: camera close-up on Coulter.

Dead eyes. I saw not a vibrant, strong female, but a puppet.

Final analysis: UNHINGED. Sociopathic.

I’m no psych major, but I know sociopathy when I see it.

She should be seeking active care, not leading people to the brink of the abyss.

And that, dear readers, is my nickel’s worth. Spend it, or pocket it: it’s up to you.

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14 comments:

Mesoforte said...

Hello, oh silversuited one,

Coulter wrote "Godless: The Church of Liberalism", right? I saw in at B&N a couple of weeks ago and read the summary.

...

It wasn't good. Her accusations seemed a tad bit overtaxed to me.

Anonymous said...

RA
I saw the end of Carlin as he was talking to Jay, and was about to go to bed when I heard that Princess Ann was coming up.
Leno handled her with such kid gloves, I thought he might be afraid she'd attack him. She was clearly disappointed that her "godless" title feature was largely going ignored. ("Ho-hum. Is that the best ya got?" I say. But of course I AM godless, so it bothers me not.)
You were dead-on about the dead eyes. I noticed that too. I kept looking at her face, her eyes, for something to find empathy with. But there's nothing there. She's driven, but she's empty.
Her laugh was like a bark, and her smile, a disproportionate mask.

Carlin looked like he was exercising quite a bit of restraint. When the camera panned out at the end of Ann's bit, and they were going to commercial, George appeared to be ready to explode from holding himself silent.

Krystalline Apostate said...

MF:
Hey, long time no see, my friend.
Her accusations seemed a tad bit overtaxed to me.
Aren't they always?

karen:
Carlin looked like he was exercising quite a bit of restraint.
The last shot of him, he was mugging at someone in the audience.
You were dead-on about the dead eyes.
Complete vacuum.
She mixed in a LOT of facts w/her POV.
'1/2 a truth mixed w/ 1/2 a lie is oftentimes the blackest lie of all'.
She's just a puppet of the media echo chamber.

Anonymous said...

Damn! I wish I would have known that Carlin and Coulter were going to be on together! I would have watched Leno for once.


Perfect observation Ra!
"Dead eyes. I saw not a vibrant, strong female, but a puppet."

She is absolutely dead inside and rotting. She gives women a bad name and she is the perfect example of how a patriarchal society turns women who want a successful careers in politics into demi men. I guess Ann just couldnt be a good little daddy's girl so now she has to act like a war driven right wing heartless man, to gain recgonition. She is absolutely pathetic and brings shame to the female population.

On a different note I LOVE George Carlin!!!

Stardust said...

I found this little limerick you might find amusing:

Ann's Master Plan
By Madeleine Begun Kane

A right-wingnut woman named Ann
Had a book tour publicity plan:
She would spew on TV
Lies and venom with glee,
And they'd let her, cause Ann ain't a man.

Krystalline Apostate said...

SNTC:
Damn! I wish I would have known that Carlin and Coulter were going to be on together! I would have watched Leno for once.
Wasn't really worth it. No sturm und drang, just a minor drizzle at best.
She is absolutely dead inside and rotting.
Couldn't agree more.
On a different note I LOVE George Carlin!!!
He's the MAN, all right.
I love that 'Touched by an Atheist' skit he did on MadTV.
He tears into religion on a regular basis.
It's unfortunate that most people have to have a few decades under their belt before they become 'curmudgeonly'. ;)

Krystalline Apostate said...

Stardust1954:
I found this little limerick you might find amusing
I did, & thanks.
How interesting it must be to be a walking logical fallacy. & a wack-a-doo as well.

Anonymous said...

That was very amusing stardust. :)

Ra

I havent seen that skit and I thought I have seen just about every episode of Mad Tv there is. I'll have to keep an eye open for that one.

I agree Carlin is the MAN! He also indorsed a really good book I read a few years ago called 'Eve's Seed' by Robert S. McElvaine. He said it put women back in their rightful place of being in charge. Dont quote me on the exact quote. Its been awhile since I read the book.

Krystalline Apostate said...

SNTC:
I havent seen that skit and I thought I have seen just about every episode of Mad Tv there is.
There's a video at God4suckers.net (a recent post, if memory serves).
He said it put women back in their rightful place of being in charge.
I think it should be a 50-50 relationship myself. Complementary. But what do I know?
Remember the Whoopi Goldberg talk show? Some years back.
Anyways, she had GC on, & I tuned in, thinking "Wow, this oughta be hysterical!" (I kinda like Whoopi, go fig).
They both had a very wonderful conversation about racism. Both are VERY bright people.
GC pointed out, that the Irish were treated worse than slaves in many ways. The fact being: slaves cost money. Irishmen were free.

Anonymous said...

RA

I agree relationships are 50/50 but women are the ones who have the babies and should be the ones making the major decisions for the future of our children and in all reality it is men who make all the decisions and our children are definately suffering for it. I'm not trying to exclude men but we have to face the reality of the biological nature that women would run the world a lot more peaceful and a hell of a lot more benificial for children then what men do and have done.

Dont get me wrong, men have a lot of great beinificail qualities, but running a country for the betterment of our childrens futures is not one of them.


Ra said:"GC pointed out, that the Irish were treated worse than slaves in many ways. The fact being: slaves cost money. Irishmen were free."

People in general have not been treated well throughout history. Its all about who has the money. I guess we could say money is god?

Krystalline Apostate said...

SNTC:
I'm not trying to exclude men but we have to face the reality of the biological nature that women would run the world a lot more peaceful and a hell of a lot more benificial for children then what men do and have done.
Hey, I've said as much in the past myself.
I guess we could say money is god?
Hey, what a great idea for a new motto for our currency!
"In moola we must."
Something like that.

Anonymous said...

Ra said:"Hey, I've said as much in the past myself."

I know you have, thats why I like you so much. ;) I figured you were thinking along the lines of everyday life together in which takes 50-50 and sometimes 60-40 and so on, it all balances out in the end when people work together and not try to dominate their partner.


Amy

Krystalline Apostate said...

HMDK:
She's what human beings become
when they get far too intoxicated by their own venom, never realizing that that is the very poison killing them.

Nicely said.
The disease:
Political talking heads pitted against each other, like WWF wrestlers, with each their own puerile slogans and a 20 second sound-byte...
All trying to whip some segment of the population into a fury...
usually against -another- part of the population... you know, just in case an easy invasion of a foreign country seems more palatable and, more importantly, profitable.

Well said my friend.
http://www.themodernword.com/eco/eco_blackshirt.html
Steps 1-5, I think.

Anonymous said...

Hairless
Elegant summation, IMO.