# The American Coup Fallout thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [January 20, 2021, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-fallout-thread/931029 "2021-01-20T22:34:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 16
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2021, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-fallout-thread/931029/301 "2021-04-29T01:46:01Z")
My sense has been that Biden was serious about being progressive all along. Of all the candidates who ran in the primary, he was probably best positioned to understand the need for nuances but also the urgent need to reassure America’s middling electorate that Democracy can still work. What Biden said earlier this evening in his speech, with reference to Xi Jinping, is dead on. There’s a very real counter-revolution against the spread of global democracy, which we once thought was inevitable. China and others - others even in what have been democratic countries - are trying to offer authoritarianism as an attractive alternative to democracy’s failings. There’s all of the attention on Russia, and understandably so, but China can inflict the most damage to global democracy, not only be increasingly using its power to destabilize other countries but also by trying to offer itself up as an ‘efficient’ ‘problem solving’ system, where people can rely on government to deal with pandemics and climate change, and offer a comfortable middle class life to their citizens as long as they keep their heads down. Of course, we don’t help ourselves by scoring own goals, which we did plenty during the last 4 years. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2021, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-fallout-thread/931029/302 "2021-04-29T02:40:36Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > We must be the only two people who remember that clever show. Sara Jessica Parker was 17. Make that three. That “totally” line was Johnny Slash’s catchphrase, as I recall. ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2021, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-fallout-thread/931029/303 "2021-04-29T02:46:16Z")
> [@Hatchie](#): > > We reject all attempts at prison rape jokes. They are tiresome and wrong Actually, let’s reject **all** rape jokes, prison or not. They are **all** tiresome and wrong. ---
**Author:** ![SingleMalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/singlemalt/32/3961_2.png) [@SingleMalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SingleMalt)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2021, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-fallout-thread/931029/304 "2021-04-29T13:24:42Z")
As played by Merritt Butrick, who went on to play Captain Kirks’s son in _Wrath of Khan_ and _The Search for Spock_. So make that four. ---
**Author:** ![CaptMurdock](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/captmurdock/32/11736_2.png) [@CaptMurdock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaptMurdock)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2021, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-fallout-thread/931029/305 "2021-04-29T14:52:38Z")
Riiiiight. Could not remember the last name to save my life… ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2021, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-fallout-thread/931029/306 "2021-04-29T15:09:43Z")
> [@BippityBoppityBoo](#): > > > [@Hatchie](#): > > > > We reject all attempts at prison rape jokes. They are tiresome and wrong > > Actually, let’s reject **all** rape jokes, prison or not. They are **all** tiresome and wrong. Prison rape jokes are bad enough. Are there really non prison rape rape jokes, because I can’t imagine that level of sick unfunnyness. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2021, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-fallout-thread/931029/307 "2021-04-29T15:16:11Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > Are there really non prison rape rape jokes, because I can’t imagine that level of sick unfunnyness. Are there? Yes. Are they appropriate for this messageboard? No. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2021, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-fallout-thread/931029/308 "2021-04-29T15:32:19Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > Are there really non prison rape rape jokes, because I can’t imagine that level of sick unfunnyness. Well this guy lost the race for governor of Texas by making light of the situation by comparing bad weather to rape: “If it’s inevitable,” he said, “just relax and enjoy it.” > **[What ever happened to Clayton Williams](https://www.texasmonthly.com/articles/what-ever-happened-to-clayton-williams/)** > > Clayton Williams, relaxed and enjoying it. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2021, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-fallout-thread/931029/309 "2021-04-29T15:55:20Z")
> [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > Well this guy lost the race for governor of Texas by making light of the situation by comparing bad weather to rape: “If it’s inevitable,” he said, “just relax and enjoy it.” Tex Antoine, too, and earlier. Tex Antoine, as older NYC-area Dopers will know, was the long-time weatherman at WNBC and later WABC. > [@](#): > > On November 24, 1976, on the 6 p.m. broadcast, Antoine’s weather report immediately followed a story about the attempted rape of an eight-year-old girl.[[2]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tex_Antoine#cite_note-SSN-2)[[11]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tex_Antoine#cite_note-NYT-11) Antoine thereupon quipped: “With rape so predominant in the news lately, it is well to remember the words of [Confucius](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confucius): ‘If rape is inevitable, lie back and enjoy it’.” (The same quip would outrage women’s groups when recounted by [Indiana University](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indiana_University) coach [Bob Knight](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Knight) during an interview with [Connie Chung](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Connie_Chung) in 1988 and would help derail Texas gubernatorial candidate [Clayton Williams](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clayton_Williams)’ 1990 election bid. Also, Confucius did not really say that quote.) > > Within 25 minutes of the comment, the station received 665 calls from mostly irate women about Antoine’s insensitive comment. Despite the on-air apology, WABC wasted no time suspending Antoine. [Roger Grimsby](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Grimsby) and [Bill Beutel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Beutel) led the 11 p.m. newscast that night with the official apology from WABC-TV. After the station apology, another 450 calls were made, including a quarter in favor of not suspending Antoine after making the on-air apology.[[12]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tex_Antoine#cite_note-12) The comment was not the first occurrence of controversial remarks by Antoine. In February 1974, over 100 calls were sent in for the broadcaster using a profanity on an open microphone.[[13]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tex_Antoine#cite_note-13) A day later, network executives hinted that they would probably forgive Antoine for the controversial remark.[[14]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tex_Antoine#cite_note-14) > … > On December 2, 1976, while on a no-pay vacation in the [United States Virgin Islands](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Virgin_Islands) island of [St. Thomas](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Thomas,_U.S._Virgin_Islands), it was reported that ABC executives told Antoine that he would not lose his job.[[16]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tex_Antoine#cite_note-16) Despite this report, a week later, WABC told the press that no final decision had been made. Protests were being held in front of the ABC headquarters from the [National Organization for Women](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Organization_for_Women) (NOW), who demanded Antoine be fired.[[17]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tex_Antoine#cite_note-17) The decision was announced on December 18 to reinstate Antoine in a non-televised role. Instead of forecasting on television, he would assist Storm Field (who was hired in March 1976[[18]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tex_Antoine#cite_note-18)) with forecast production.[[19]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tex_Antoine#cite_note-19) However, his contract expired in March 1977 and was not renewed by the station.[[20]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tex_Antoine#cite_note-20) > > Antoine closed out his career in 1978 with a brief stint as weatherman for [WNEW-TV](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WNYW).[[21]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tex_Antoine#cite_note-21) > **[Tex Antoine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tex_Antoine)** > > Herbert John Antoine Jr. (April 21, 1923 – January 12, 1983), known professionally as Tex Antoine, was an American weatherman on New York City television for nearly three decades. > Antoine was born Herbert John Antoine Jr., in Evanston, Illinois, and was raised in California and Texas. His father was Herbert Jon Antoine Sr. (1894–1972), an auto supply salesman. His mother was Bertha Campbell, and by 1930 the family was living in Los Angeles. > Antoine (whose nickname "Tex" came from his growing up... ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2021, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-fallout-thread/931029/310 "2021-04-29T16:49:36Z")
Thanks for the follow up, I knew someone had said it earlier but I couldn’t pin it down. I actually thought Bibby Riggs had said it, but while he said many sexist statements this was not one of them. Ah the quotes attributed to Confucius are many. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2021, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-fallout-thread/931029/311 "2021-04-29T17:37:55Z")
> [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > Ah the quotes attributed to Confucius are many. I’ve read a few different translations of the _Analects_ of Confucius (along with other Confucian works), and I was disappointed that, as with the _Book of Proverbs_ in the Bible, it does not consist of short, pithy adages that drive home a point with a striking image or some wit. In fact, the whole “Confucius say…” line of joke “wise sayings” is a relatively recent invention, starting around 1940 (have a look at “Confucius say” on Google N-Gram and you can see a conspicuous spike there.) This website attributes the start of the trend to columnist Walter Winchell., that was picked up by lots of others as an easy segue into joke wisdom. > **[Why do many Americans still say “Confucius say”?](https://warpweftandway.com/why-americans-confucius/)** > > Confucius valued careful and serious speech. One passage in the Analects says that a person can be judged as wise or unwise on the basis of a single sentence. S The way the sayings invariably begin with the pidgin english “Confucius say” pretty much sums up the background for these sayings. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2021, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-fallout-thread/931029/312 "2021-04-29T17:46:01Z")
Here’s the Quote Investigator, by the way, on many supposed quotations of Confucius. These are not the “joke” type, but almost invariably not actually by The Great Philosopher. [https://quoteinvestigator.com/tag/confucius/](https://quoteinvestigator.com/tag/confucius/) ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2021, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-fallout-thread/931029/313 "2021-04-30T00:28:29Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Here’s the Quote Investigator, by the way, on many supposed quotations of Confucius. These are not the “joke” type, but almost invariably not actually by The Great Philosopher. … I love that site. In re people losing jobs or elections after saying something ugly: it seems to have become right-wing orthodoxy to frame this as a Terrible Thing (‘cancel culture’ in their current language). But that weatherman made his ‘if rape is inevitable, relax and enjoy it’ remark about an EIGHT-YEAR-OLD. At some point you have to transition from defenses on the basis of ‘different tastes’ to a realization that this person has, at best, appallingly-bad judgment. Having appallingly-bad judgment is not a good selling point for either broadcast-news people or for elected representatives. \ ETA: Which does return us to the American Coup Fallout topic, when it comes to people like Mo Brooks, Josh Hawley, and other encouragers of insurrection. Bad judgment: a problem. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2021, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-fallout-thread/931029/314 "2021-06-02T20:28:57Z")
When Putin and Biden have their upcoming meeting, Putin is going to complain about the way Biden is mistreating the insurrectionists. > **[Putin to press Biden on human rights of Capitol rioters, Russia says](https://nypost.com/2021/06/01/vladimir-putin-to-press-joe-biden-on-capitol-rioters-rights/)** > > Russian President Vladimir Putin is prepared to press President Biden on the “human rights” of Capitol rioters when they meet this month in Switzerland, the country’s top diplomat… ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2021, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-fallout-thread/931029/315 "2021-06-02T21:00:53Z")
Right, because they should be pulled off planes, thrown in prison, poisoned, beat up, or shot, am I remembering this correctly? ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2021, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-fallout-thread/931029/316 "2021-06-02T21:09:51Z")
Don’t forget the umbrellas… ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2021, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-fallout-thread/931029/317 "2021-06-02T21:24:39Z")
> [@susan](#): > > Right, because they should be pulled off planes, thrown in prison, poisoned, beat up, or shot, am I remembering this correctly? Two words: Alexei Navalny ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2021, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-fallout-thread/931029/318 "2021-06-03T00:16:46Z")
One can only begin to imagine how gleeful Putin is about the prospect of haranguing Biden over “human rights abuses.” Of course Putin will pretend that the criminals who invaded the Capitol were actually ‘peaceful protesters,’ etc. In other words, Putin will be, as always, totally shameless. I’m grateful Biden is President, immensely grateful. Nonetheless, I don’t have much confidence in his ability to deal with an open sociopath. Joe always thinks that if he sincerely holds out the hand of friendship, he will get great results. He really has no way of coping with Putin on an interpersonal level. And I say that even knowing that in their past encounters, Biden DID avoid naivety,\* because back then Biden, merely a VP, knew his options were limited. Now, Biden believes his press. He’s President, and he think that makes a difference. I’m concerned that he overestimates his ability to affect the sociopath. - > **[U.S. Vice President Biden says Putin has no soul: New Yorker](https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-russia-biden/u-s-vice-president-biden-says-putin-has-no-soul-new-yorker-idUSKBN0FQ1CU20140721)** > > Vladimir Putin has no soul, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden concluded after meeting with the Russian leader at the Kremlin in 2011, according to an article in the New Yorker published online on Monday. ---
**Author:** ![CaptMurdock](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/captmurdock/32/11736_2.png) [@CaptMurdock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaptMurdock)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2021, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-fallout-thread/931029/319 "2021-06-03T00:46:24Z")
Maybe he should sic Harris on Putin. _That_ would be epic… ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2021, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-fallout-thread/931029/320 "2021-06-03T01:01:07Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > He’s President, and he think that makes a difference. Not sure what your overall point is. In your ideal world, how would Biden “handle” Putin? I don’t think it matters one way or another. Putin will always do whatever suits him. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-fallout-thread/931029.md?page=15) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-fallout-thread/931029.md?page=17)