January 10, 2004
From the desk of Mindles H. Dreck:Everybody who cares about Wallace Shawn's politics...
I sincerely believe that if Bush and Cheney recognized the full humanity of other people's mothers around the world, they wouldn't commit the crimes they commit....We're in an emergency situation. The United States has become an absolutely terrifying country, and I would hope that I could participate in some way in stopping the horror and the brutality.
Oh, the brutality.
Damn, I stood up for a second. Here's more 'method punditry' (i.e. what's their motivation?):
Bush and his colleagues are exhilarated and thrilled by the thought of war, by the thought of the incredible power they will have over so many other people, by the thought of the immensity of what they will do, by the scale, the massiveness of the bombing they're planning, the violence, the killing, the blood, the deaths, the horror....Why do they want this war so much? Maybe we can never fully know the answer to that question. Why do some people want to be whipped by a dominatrix? Why do some people want so desperately to have sex with children that they can't prevent themselves from raping them, even though they know that what they're doing is wrong? Why did Hitler want to kill the Jews? Why do some people collect coins? Why do some people collect stamps?
Why do some actors write hilariously incoherent and over-the-top political commentary?
We can't fully understand it. But it's clear that Bush and his group are in the grip of something. They're very far gone. Their narcissism and sense of omnipotence goes way beyond self-confidence, reaching the point that they're impervious to the disgust they provoke in others, or even oblivious to it.
Answered his own question, he did. Posted by Mindles H. Dreck at January 10, 2004 7:20 PM | TrackBack | Technorati inbound links
Wallace Shawn seems to be playing the Sicilian Vizzini again (The Princess Bride)
Recall this quote, for example--
Vizzini: I can't compete with you physically, and you're no match for my brains.
Westley: You're that smart?
Vizzini: Let me put it this way. Have you ever heard of Plato, Aristotle, Socrates?
Westley: Yes.
Vizzini: Morons.
BR,
Fritz
/f
Everybody who cares about Wallace Shawn's politics... please stand up.
And remind, please, why should we particularly care about your politics?
(I'm not a big fan of Wallace Shawn's politics, but just pointing out that the "Who does he think he is?" line of argument is awfully general in application.)
Golly (palm smacks head) I hadn't thought of that!
Who do you think you are, commenting on my blog post commenting on Wallace Shawn's article in the Nation?
Is Mr. Shawn known for anything besides foaming at the mouth? You refer to his acting, but I've never heard of him before....
And remind, please, why should we particularly care about your politics?
The fact that you are reading this blog would indicate that you care about his politics. If you don't, then all you have to do is to stop reading the blog. But seeing as how MHD has been granted full posting rights here on this blog, it seems rather churlish--not to mention stupid--to complain about him writing his opinion on the blog.
Besides, MHD didn't just argue or say "who does Wallace Shawn think he is." He pointed out that Wallace Shawn is a moron. (Not that anyone would miss it from reading the article, of course.)
Welcome back, Mindles. You were missed.
On the bright side, we're just reading his "thoughts" rather than having to listen to him impart them verbally--can you imagine having to listen to all of this brain-dead crap in that whiny little Ferengi voice of his? They should use that to extract information from prisoners at Guantanamo Bay--wouldn't leave any scars, except perhaps from the prisoners trying to claw their eardrums out.
Naw--too cruel, even for Saddam.
All this time I thought Bush = Hitler. Now it turns out that Dominatrixes = Hitler. Or is it their clients that are Hitler? I'm so confused.
You have to realize that Wallace Shawn spent his entire life immersed in the New Yorker crowd. He's never had a real job, never really lived anywhere but Manhattan, and thinks the whole world is centered around 42nd St and Fifth Avenue.
Add to that a childhood spent listening to the Round Table.
Which, I suppose, is a long way of saying "anyone who does should have their head examined."
It's worse than that, shell. Coin and stamp collectors are Hitler. Hey, I collect coins and stamps!
I AM HITLER SQUARED!
Sounds like Mr. Shawn has thrown himself right off the Cliffs Of Insanity.
McClain, I believe you have a date with Blockbuster tonight. William Goldman's "The Princess Bride" -- one of the few movies where the book's author had the privilege of directly overseeing the conversion to film.
Best...bent...fairytale...EVER.
Starring Wallace Shawn as -- well, apparently himself judging by his latest political tripe, except in the movie he has a different name and a costume.
I can't believe you would dobut the word of the Grand Nagus on such an important issue like this (on the other hand, if Wallace Shawn did stand up, how could you tell the difference?)
Why is Shawn so bent out of shape? I think it is because the President of the United States and his cabinet lied to Congress, the American people and the world in order to establish a pretext to invade another country that posed no threat to his. On top of the principle involved, there is also the issue of the lives lost on both sides, as well as the considerable resources, financial and other, which have been wasted on Bush's foolish venture. It makes me kind of angry, too.
Anony-mouse: Oh, that guy.
...the horror...
You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.
I think it means having to read his piece in The Nation.
Ay yi yi!
I might have to blog this. After I go lie down.
Orbitron,
What's that you say, there's a principle involved when a President lies? Hmm, that's a new one on me, have to think about it. I mean, a President lying, who'da thunk?
Given your premises, you say you are "kind of angry". But Shawn's not just kind of angry: "We're in an emergency situation. The United States has become an absolutely terrifying country, and I would hope that I could participate in some way in stopping the horror and the brutality." Your post suggests that you don't find Shawn's statements surprising (let alone extreme); do you see the US as an absolutely terrifying country? Are we in an emergency situation?
The only conclusion I can make is that Shawn's extreme statements indicate his premises are far more extreme than yours. Maybe your viewpoint, out there on the left wing, will let you relay (with translation) Shawm's premises to us sitting in the main cabin?
Orbitron, could you be more specific about those "lies"?
Do you mean the State of the Union address, delivered three months after the Congressional vote? The one in which Bush did not claim an "imminent threat"?
Or perhaps you mean the report that Iraq attempted to purchase uranium in Africa, a report which British intelligence still stands behind?
Or perhaps you mean just the claim that Iraq EVER had WMD, which they actually used on the Kurds even though they supposedly never existed? The claim that the UN confirmed? That France, Germany and Russia confirmed? That even Bill Clinton still confirms?
Or perhaps you mean the lies used to convince Congress to vote for regime change in Iraq to be the official policy of the United States, a vote taken in 1998?
Ken,
regime change does NOT necessarily imply invasion. I know that sounds kind of silly, but that's Congress for you.
Someone needs to warn him that both cups have iocane powder.
"regime change does NOT necessarily imply invasion. I know that sounds kind of silly, but that's Congress for you."
Right, sort of. In Iraq you could be for a non-invasion regime change after economic sanctions proved to be a complete failure at getting rid of Saddam. Or rather saying you were for a non-invasion regime change could make you look like you cared while not obliging you to do anything. But why would Congress need to do that? The UN had that position pretty well covered.
“That little homonculous.” [Woody Allen, Manhattan]
At least André Gregory would have been worse.
regime change does NOT necessarily imply invasion
If the UN would have been worth a damn instead of looking like worthless buttheads while their own members violated their sanctions and looking the other way while Saddam ignored 16 resolutions not too mention running like little girls when Saddam kicked out the inspectors then we wouldn't have had to do the job
Who or what is a Wallace Shawn?A cocktail,a haircut?If it is a person,what a big girls blouse!
ha ha you guys are so funny, esp. you pejboi.
Jim,
Laughed out loud at that one. And I was expecting it, no less. Heh.
Jumpin' juniper, Orbitron, are you still carrying on about that in spite of the context-twisting absurdity of the claims being levied?
"Hear that, highness? It's the SHRIEKING EELS! If you don't believe me, just wait! They always grow LOUDEST when they're about to feed on human flesh."
Conclusion: Check the far left wing's refigerator for unusually long, narrow, drumsticks.
Wallace Shawn (as Eric Jablow alludes) is probably best known for being straight man to Andre Gregory in a delightful little movie "My Dinner with Andre" (1981), which may have been extemporaneously written by Shawn and Gregory.
I thought of him as a harmless nebbish, a perfect foil to Gregory's exuberance.
Instapundit points out (I don't have a sub to the NYT) that Shawn says that he saw South Pacific as a kid, and thought it was terrifying.
It's OK, Wally, everything's going to be all right. Here's your blankie.
Add all this to the growing documentation of the complete self-immolation of the leftist intellectual-cultural class in the west. It's an extraordinary document. Add this to the comments (and videos) by Penn, Sarandon, and so forth. When we emerge from this period, we will need to make sure that historians don't whitewash these people, the way they did the communist apologists of the 20th century.
And for another stunning example of the cowardice + blindness of the PC left, take a look at this Mark Steyn piece in the Telegraph: http://www.opinion.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2004/01/13/do1302.xml&sSheet=/opinion/2004/01/13/ixopinion.html
Wallace Shawn's biggest claim to fame is a 1981 movie? Shouldn't this be filed under what have you done for me lately?
At least I don't feel so badly that I had absolutely no idea who Wallace Shawn was (and I was an E. Lit / Drama major back in the day 1986-90)
I don't see that many plays, and for me, musicals are rarely pleasing. I feel the actors are being put through a kind of nightmarish labor. They're like animals being forced to pull heavy carts of vegetables at incredible speeds."You keep using that word. I don't think it means what you think it means."Can't you make an exception for ''Oklahoma'' or ''South Pacific''?
I saw ''South Pacific'' as a child and thought it was terrifying....
The United States has become an absolutely terrifying country, and I would hope that I could participate in some way in stopping the horror and the brutality.
I don't see that many plays, and for me, musicals are rarely pleasing. I feel the actors are being put through a kind of nightmarish labor. They're like animals being forced to pull heavy carts of vegetables at incredible speeds."You keep using that word. I don't think it means what you think it means."Can't you make an exception for ''Oklahoma'' or ''South Pacific''?
I saw ''South Pacific'' as a child and thought it was terrifying....
The United States has become an absolutely terrifying country, and I would hope that I could participate in some way in stopping the horror and the brutality.
Jim:
You really must rent "The Princess Bride." Shawn's part is relatively brief and enjoyable. The film is hilarious. Watch it with your kids, if you have any. If you don't, rent some. It's a real treat.
One of my favorite lines is uttered by Billy Crystal: "I've seen worse."
I use it whenever another crisis erupts at work.
"regime change does NOT necessarily imply invasion."
Care to elaborate on other ideas which hadn't been tried?
Whenever I hear "where's the WMD?" or "Bush lied!" or whatever the spiel du jour is from the left, I remember that the anti-war sentiment can pretty much be summed up in three words:
"Fuck the Kurds."
fwiw, wallace shawn also did the voice of the neurotic dinosaur in the 'toy story' movies.
Whenever I hear the lefty antiwar crowd whinging, I reassure myself with this:
If Clinton had done what Bush is doing, the left would have supported it 110%. As we speak, they would be demanding that Clinton's face be chiseled onto Mount Rushmore, that Clinton receive the Medal of freedom, etc.
I don't think that word means what he thinks it means.
I gather from this post and the comments above that Mr. Shawn had some kind of position at the New Yorker, which would explain his somewhat hysterical and factually-challenged view of the Bush administration. I just hope that he remembers to take his meds.
DBL,
No, Wallace Shawn's father, William Shawn, was the editor of the New yorker for decades. He was famous for his neuroses, but his New Yorker was a wonderful magazine. Please don't knock it. Here's a review of a book on them from the National Review.
Wallace Shawn has written a number of off-Broadway plays, and he's appeared in a few films. My Dinner with André is the most famous, with The Princess Bride second. He also appeared in a few of Woody Allen's films. That's probably nothing to be proud of.
Why that makes Wallace someone to respect politically I shall never know.
DBL,
No, Wallace Shawn's father, William Shawn, was the editor of the New yorker for decades. He was famous for his neuroses, but his New Yorker was a wonderful magazine. Please don't knock it. Here's a review of a book on them from the National Review.
Wallace Shawn has written a number of off-Broadway plays, and he's appeared in a few films. My Dinner with André is the most famous, with The Princess Bride second. He also appeared in a few of Woody Allen's films. That's probably nothing to be proud of.
Why that makes Wallace someone to respect politically I shall never know.
Wallace Shawn also starred in Woody Allen's "Radio Days" (probably the least offensive of the Woodman's films) as a small, nebbishy fellow who provided the voice for hyper-masculine wartime superhero "The Masked Avenger." His theme phrase was "Beware, evildoers, wherever you are!"
"The United States has become an absolutely terrifying country..."
Wally lives across the street from me. I think I'll run over there around 1 AM and buzz his buzzer. Give him an extra scare!
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