Monday, July 28, 2008

ENOUGH ALREADY!


Okay, now that "Vanity Fair"has decided to spoof the McCains (when will it end?) with a take off of the "New Yorker" cover, are you Obamaholics going to be just as outraged at them? That is the Constitution in the fire place (wait, I thought satire wasn't supposed to be true the republicans did trash the Constitution.) That is the frat boy's picture on the wall. That is Mr. Morton with a walker, and that is his wife with a bunch of pills... wait a minute, all of this shit they are showing has some truth to it, so is it really satire?


I never thought I would find myself agreeing with a writer from "The American Conservative", But Daniel Larison makes an interesting point:


"No doubt, there will be a hue and cry about “ageism.” The thing that seems strange to me is that every time someone tries to do a McCain parody of the now-infamous New Yorker cover, they end up denying the intention and context of the satire that they are parodying. There is essentially nothing in this image that is not an exaggeration, or just a representation, of things that are true about John McCain: he is old, his wife once had a problem with prescription drugs, he is closely aligned with George Bush and he does support policies that violate the Constitution. As a caricature, it works quite well. As a parody of an image that is supposed to be mocking absurd claims about the Obamas, it completely fails, because the point of the New Yorker image is supposed to be that everything in it is ludicrous and false and obviously so and, more to the point, it is supposed to be exaggerating the absurd claims to their most extreme form. (The problem with the original image, as I’ve said before, is that it did not exaggerate the claims, but simply repeated them.)"

Yes Vanity Fair did come up kind of lame, it's never good to be the second one out the box with something like this. But just as I wrote about the "New Yorker" cover, I think "Vanity Fair" has every right to publish this spoof of the McCains on theirs or on their web site. Of course they may have some other issues as well, with some folks crying copy cat; but that's on them.


I wonder how the repukelicans will react to this? After all, they were all over you Obamaholics to grow some and stop whining. Let's see if they take their own advise. Of course the "New Yorker" cover was clearly a lie, this one; not so much. And you know what they say: "the truth hurts."

28 comments:

  1. Anonymous9:40 PM

    I liked this one. McCain is a despicable lying piece-of-shit right-wing wackaloon asshole just like the rest of the Republican Party, and he deserves all he gets. Oh, yeah: I respect his heroic military service. But he's still a right-wing scumbag.

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  2. I have some respect for Senator McCain, but I had to giggle when some comedian asked "who wants a President with a bucket list?"

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  3. Anonymous10:10 PM

    Ready, aim, fire.....sorry Vanity Fair missed the point with this cover. Next!!

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  4. "who wants a President with a bucket list?"

    Now that's funny :)

    "Oh, yeah: I respect his heroic military service. But he's still a right-wing scumbag."

    LOL! physioprof, you are cold.

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  5. You know even though Cindy is painted with a bunch of prescription bottles she still comes off looking like Suzy homemaker while Michelle Obama was vilified and made to appear as a black militant. I really hope the republicans don’t try to equate the two because they are far from similar.

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  6. Now THIS is satire! LOL.

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  7. Anonymous10:50 PM

    Don't worry FN, they're working very hard at purging voter rolls and bleeding the country dry.

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  8. Anonymous11:36 PM

    Meh, that just came off as pretty lame. And as Field pointed out,it never helps to be the second one doing something.

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  9. The first one was designed, as all satire, to make fun of the people who actually think of Michelle and Barack that way. But they're too stupid to get it, and it went too far. More progressive minded people being smarter and with a better sense of humor, Vanity Fair's seems lame. I know this sounds circular, but think of the VF cover as satire actually working.

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  10. Ohhhhh stop the madness....IMMEDIATELY!

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  11. Anonymous2:06 AM

    The Vanity Fair cover is not satirical, nor is it a spoof. Everything depicted is true. The cover is simply a caricature of the McCains. Hopefully, people will kow the difference betw. the NYer cover and the VF cover. There's nothing hyperbolized about it. It IS hilarious.

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  12. Satire? I thought it was a family portrait. My bad...

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  13. Anonymous5:47 AM

    The Odd Couple.

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  14. "Satire? I thought it was a family portrait. My bad..."

    You guys are good:) If I ever need a comedy writer...

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  15. The New Yorker cover of the Obamas wasn't satire.

    Good satire doesn't require an explanation -- it explains itself.

    The New Yorker cover of the Obamas was designed to appeal to residents of that plantation the Clintons preside over called Manhattan. It was a gift to all disenfranchised Clintonites and PUMA members still smarting over the defeat of their queen.

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  16. "Satire? I thought it was a family portrait. My bad..."

    Damn. One thing...

    They forgot to paint in the tumor Mr Morton just had removed from his face.

    Field,
    what kind of odds do you give Mr. Morton on surviving his first term in case he is elected?

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  17. This cover is tame compared to the one depicting the Obamas. Vanity Fair's cover is more like satire: spoofing the FACTS, even if not in a tactful way. The New Yorker cover of the Obamas was NOT BASED ON FACT, since they are not Muslims nor terrorists. Like I've said before, everytime MSM says something about Barack being a Muslim, he has to vehemently deny it, and then he comes off looking like a "Muslim-hater", which he is not.

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  18. Damn, folks just dont know how to laugh anymore...

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  19. "Christopher said...
    The New Yorker cover of the Obamas wasn't satire.

    Good satire doesn't require an explanation -- it explains itself.

    The New Yorker cover of the Obamas was designed to appeal to residents of that plantation the Clintons preside over called Manhattan. It was a gift to all disenfranchised Clintonites and PUMA members still smarting over the defeat of their queen.

    7:55 AM"

    Exactly. That is exactly what I thought. New York is Clinton World and this was their parting shot at Obama.

    What I realize now is that the NY cover was based on racial stereotypes and that's why it bothered me--Muslim, black militant. I'm surprised more Muslims didn't raise hell about the cover. The whole thing was just racist. They could have done something about him being an empty suit, or inexperienced, or a rock star, but instead went with the racial/ethnic/religious stereotype. Not terribly sophisticated and not funny.

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  20. I'm sorry this is Off Topic but I think you should do a post about this field MoveOn and Colorofchange are taking this one up:


    http://firedoglake.com/2008/07/28/rape-victims-death-ruled-suicide-by-army-henry-waxman-where-are-you/

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/07/29/rape-victims-death-ruled_n_115557.html





    When that young pregnant Marine went missing a few months back, December, I believe. You couldn't turn on the news without seeing it. They searched high and low for her body. Found it in another Marine's (Cesar Laurean) back yard. They didn't stop until they found Laurean and eventually went to mexico to find her murderer. Her name was Maria Lauterbach and she was 20 years old, white and blond. This all took about a month to uncover. Her family got the justice they deserved because Laurean is facing the death penalty. However Lavena Johnson is black. Her family is poor and it took her father 2 years to even get the paperwork he requested. Only to find out his daughter suffered a painful and gorrible death that was covered up by the very people she worked with and fought beside to defend our country. This is just one of the many proofs that racism still exists. This is for all the White people sitting in denial hoping that if we just ignore the truth it would go away.But this is the kind of thing that happens when you do. And to all the house negroes who are too busy fighting against affirmitive action to see the truth...THEY DON"T GIVE A F*ck about us and we're all just expendable resources in this country...

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  21. Anonymous1:19 PM

    This is just them trying to make it right but they failed again. This is true satire with him being old and the like but what they did to Obama wasn't even in the same world.

    So to hell with the New Yorker.

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  22. You nailed it Field - this cartoon is way too accurate to be making a point because EVERYTHING in it is openly true (and some of it among McCain's strengths). I bet there are at least a few McCain supporters are somewhere high on Bud Light having misty fantasies about this very scene coming true in '09.

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  23. LaVena Johnson was a 19 year old private in the Army, serving in Iraq, when she was raped, murdered, and her body was burned--by someone from her own military base. Despite overwhelming physical evidence, the Army called her death a suicide and has closed the case.1

    For three years, LaVena's parents have been fighting for answers. At almost every turn, they've been met with closed doors or lies. They've appealed to Congress, the one body that can hold the military accountable. But, as in other cases where female soldiers have been raped and murdered and the Army has called it suicide, Congress has failed to act.

    Will you join Mr. and Mrs. Johnson in calling on Congressman Henry Waxman, Chairman of the House Government Oversight Committee, to mount a real investigation into LaVena Johnson's death and the Army's cover-up2? Will you ask your friends and family to do the same?

    http://www.colorofchange.org/lavena/?id=1981-189614

    From the beginning, LaVena's death made no sense as a suicide. She was happy and had been talking with friends and family regularly3--nothing indicated she could be suicidal. And when the Johnsons received her body, they noticed signs that she had been beaten.4 That was when they started asking questions.

    After two years of being denied answers and hearing explanations that made no sense, the Johnsons received a CD-ROM from someone on the inside. It contained pictures of the crime scene where LaVena died and an autopsy showing that she had suffered bruises, abrasions, a dislocated shoulder, broken teeth, and some type of sexual assault. Her body was partially burned; she had been doused in a flammable liquid, and someone had set her body on fire. A corrosive chemical had been poured in her genital area, perhaps to cover up evidence of rape.5

    Still the Army sticks by their story. They refuse to explain the overwhelming physical evidence that LaVena was raped and murdered and continue to claim that she killed herself.

    For many Black youth, and working class young people of every race, the military is seen as an option for securing a better future. LaVena came from a deeply supportive family, and while the military wasn't her only option, she was attracted by its promise to help her pay for a college education and the opportunity to travel around the world. She also thought that by joining she could continue her lifelong commitment to serving other people in need. She made a decision to serve in the military, with all its risks, and expected respect and dignity in return.

    LaVena's death is part of a disturbing pattern of cases where female soldiers have been raped and killed, and where the military has hidden the truth and labeled the deaths suicides.6,7 In virtually all cases, Congress has been slow to investigate or hold the military accountable in any way. Unfortunately, most families simply don't have the resources, time, and psychological strength to push back.

    We can help the Johnsons, and other families, by holding Congress accountable in the LaVena Johnson case and by demanding it investigate the pattern of cover-ups by the military.

    Please take a moment to join those calling on Congressman Waxman to investigate the cover-up of LaVena Johnson's death:

    http://www.colorofchange.org/lavena/?id=1981-189614

    Thanks and Peace,

    -- James, Gabriel, Clarissa, Andre, Kai, and the rest of the ColorOfChange.org team
    July 29th, 2008

    References:

    1. "The cover-up of a soldier's death?" LavenaJohnson.com, March 6, 2007
    http://www.lavenajohnson.com/2007/03/cover-up-of-soldiers-death.html

    2. "Is There an Army Cover Up of Rape and Murder of Women Soldiers?" CommonDreams.org, April 28, 2008
    http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/04/28/8564/

    3. Ibid.

    4. Ibid.

    5. "Suicide or Murder? Three Years After the Death of Pfc. LaVena Johnson in Iraq, Her Parents Continue Their Call for a Congressional Investigation," Democracy Now!, June 23, 2008.
    http://www.democracynow.org/2008/7/23/suicide_or_murder_three_years_after

    6. See reference 2.

    7. "2 Years After Soldier's Death, Family's Battle Is With Army," New York Times, March 21, 2006.
    http://tinyurl.com/mzcvh

    Other References:

    "Justice for Pfc. LaVena Johnson," DailyKos, June 30, 2008
    http://tinyurl.com/5bh73v

    "Rapists in the Ranks, Los Angeles Times, March 31, 2008
    http://tinyurl.com/2z2c8l

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  24. Anonymous7:09 PM

    The New Yorker cover was satire. You had to be a dolt not too get it(to "require an explanation").

    Of course, they stepped in it, because the US electorate is overwhelming dolt.

    And, it seems like both candidates' staff realize this, because they're playing right along. The tactic for both sides is to take huffy umbrage at everything: this silly picture, who went to see the wounded, who's "preacher" is more of jerk (when we all know neither candidate could care less about preachers, for christ sake.)

    Vanity Fair cover: more satire (satire of satire, meta-satire, what ever), but a little cruder. Still nothing to worry about. They were probably just drumming up sales, waiting for over the top reaction from the opinion makers for the dim-witted.

    This is getting OLD

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  25. Gods going to need a committee when he sends all these people to Hell. When your in the military your just a number and they are proving it. When your used up they throw you on the heap.

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  26. Afrodite, I am aware of that story about poor Ms. Johnson. The Afrospear folks have been all over it. I did plan to blog about it (and probably will soon), because I think it is an American tragedy.

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  27. Another New Yorker cover parody? Fuck, those things are like "A Milli" freestyles at this point.

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