I wasn’t sure where to post this, but figured Great Debates is as good a place as any.
There’s a post getting mega-links in the blogosphere called The Fifty Most Loathsome People of 2002 . I don’t agree with all his choices, but I appreciate the fact that he or she is relatively non-partisan- Michael Moore is on the list along with Ann Coulter, and Tom Brokaw along with Dennis Miller.
The format he uses is name, Misdeeds, Aggravating Factor, and Aesthete. For example:
PAT ROBERTSON
Misdeeds: Won’t rest until we’re all on our knees, praying to Jesus and dreaming of jobs at Wal-Mart.
Aggravating Factor: Back in 1992, said this about apartheid in South Africa: “I think ‘one man, one vote,’ just unrestricted democracy, would not be wise. There needs to be some kind of protection for the minority which the white people represent now, a minority, and they need and have a right to demand a protection of their rights.”
Aesthetic: Inquisitor-perfect hygiene.
Using this template, who would you nominate for Most Loathsome Americans and what would be their misdeeds, aggravating factor, aesthetic, etc.?
Are there any people on the original list you take objection to?
It’s hard to argue with the choices on this list. Especially:
WILLIAM REHNQUIST
Misdeeds: Most people target Scalia and Thomas as the chief knee-jerk lunatics on the Supreme Court, but Rehnquist—who as a Republican pollster in the sixties was known to try to scare away blacks at polling places—is the only one of the three who actually has a real grasp of the law, which makes him much more dangerous. Wrote a violent dissenting opinion when the Court banned executions of the mentally ill.
Aggravating Factor: In the Bush v. Gore case, wrote, "“The individual citizen has no federal constitutional right to vote for electors for the President of the United States.”
Aesthetic: The extreme evolution of the southern cop who breaks your taillight.
However, I did not see ex-Cardinal Bernard Law or Trent Lott on the list…
To my taste, John Ritter is one of the great comedians of our age. Three’s Company was a terrific vehicle for his comi, neverthelessc talents.
Scott Ritter, who knows about Saddam’s cruelty and his WMDs has re-invented himself as a Saddam apologist. The blood of Saddam’s torture victims is on Scott Ritter’s hands.
BTW thousands of murders were commited by Americans this year. IMHO any of the murderers is more vile than someone who merely said some annoying things.
Misdeeds: Countless years of manipulating the teen and pre-teen record-buying masses with poor-quality, overmarketed, immediately forgettable pop music sung by naive youngsters who see only the tiniest fraction of the income generated by their toils and then become has-beens at 19.
Aggravating factor: Has brought the same quality to television in his role as Pop Idol Svengali.
Aesthetic: Cigar-chomping business mogul meets East End wideboy.
There are a lot of people on the list that I like. (Especially me, damnit, and the picture he used was NOT of my best side!)
I personally like (or don’t HATE) Robin Williams, Dennis Miller, Michael Moore, Joe Lieberman, Sheryl Crow, Steven Spielberg (he did make Jurassic Park and god knows I love that one), Tiger Woods, and Bono. Can’t argue with the fetus of Jennifer Lopez/Ben Affleck, Eminem, or the Olsen Twins, though…
Considering that list was written by a dyed-in-the-wool Buffalonian (check out the entry for George Pataki to see what I mean), I’m surprised Mark Hamister (bought the Sabres at half-price, now trying to blackmail the city into stumping up millions in tax dollars), Joel Giambra (shadowy commissioner of Erie County, does what his rich white old boy friends tell him is best for Big Business), and Doug Flutie (no explanation necessary) didn’t make the cut.
If it’s just celebrities we have to include Jennifer Lopez for over-exposure. And Rob Lowe for pulling a Suzanne Somers.
If it’s just us regular people, then we can’t exclude the woman from my home state who fooled everyone into believing her daughter suffered from leukemia…
“I don’t agree with all his choices, but I appreciate the fact that he or she is relatively non-partisan- Michael Moore is on the list along with Ann Coulter, and Tom Brokaw along with Dennis Miller.”
LOL!!! He doesn’t have a single Leftist who is outside the world of entertainment, but Rightists from all across the spectrum are prominently listed.
Wait - finally a Leftist politico/talking head… at 39.
That perfectly summed up the irrational hatred I have of Ari Fleischer. If I happen to come across a press conference on television, I have to close my eyes and count slowly to ten to stop from tossing something large and heavy through the screen. I believe Fleischer was separated at birth from Jeff Zucker of NBC.
The analysis of Trey Anastasio is pretty fricking hilarious.
