Phil Robertson Will Return to ‘Duck Dynasty’ Episodes in January

Color me surprised. Not.
Media • Views: 25,425

So at A&E, a “suspension” means he still remains in the re-runs, then returns in the new shows. What was it he was “suspended” from again?

It looks like Phil Robertson’s suspension from “Duck Dynasty” may be just for show. Entertainment Weekly learned that on Jan. 15, A&E will begin airing new episodes of the show that include scenes featuring the “Dynasty” patriarch.

“The network also hopes the media and fan furor will cool down over the holidays and that tensions over shooting future episodes can then be resolved,” Entertainment Weekly reports. “There’s no negotiation to have; we’re doing the show,” an inside source told them.

A&E suspended Robertson over anti-gay remarks he made in a GQ profile. The duck hunter-turned-TV star compared homosexuality to bestiality and also said, “It seems like, to me, a vagina — as a man — would be more desirable than a man’s anus.” Robertson responded to backlash about his comments by saying, “I would never treat anyone with disrespect just because they are different from me.”

More: Phil Robertson Will Return to ‘Duck Dynasty’ Episodes in January

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115 comments
1 Joanne  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 9:09:01am

PR only. Duck Dynasty under the Xmas tree for everyone. They all laugh all the way to the bank.

2 Joanne  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 9:10:56am

mediaite.com

Walmart sell out of all Duck Dynasty goods. Absolutely a PR success.

3 Skip Intro  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 9:15:13am

re: #2 Joanne

mediaite.com

Walmart sell out of all Duck Dynasty goods. Absolutely a PR success.

Are the wingnuts still mad, or are they celebrating their great victory?

Stupid question, I know.

4 RealityBasedSteve  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 9:51:59am

Cracker Barrel has pulled all the Phil merchandise, keeping the rest of the DD stuff. It’s already causing the predictable “I’ll NEVER eat at Cracker Barrel AGAIN!!!!” outrage.

Which is funny, because if ever there was a ‘religious right friendly’ organization it’s Cracker Barrel. For what it’s worth, I do enjoy eating there about once a month, when I have a hankering for “Country Fried Steak with White Gravy”. Price is fair, and the portions are HUGE. If I ate there more often there aren’t enough bicycle miles to keep me thin.

RBS

5 nines09  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 10:22:34am

I suggest that wise investors buy up all the DD Phil stuff they can find. It’s another Beanie Babies frenzy. Might just put your kid through collitch. ///

6 bratwurst  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 11:22:05am
7 Dave In Austin  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 11:25:16am

Best comment:::

How dare he make the shepherds associate with the sheep?

8 Dave In Austin  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 11:25:55am

Whoops… didn’t link

Here

9 FemNaziBitch  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 11:27:13am

This doesn’t bother me so much. I don’t know why.

10 b.d.  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 11:28:13am

re: #2 Joanne

mediaite.com

Walmart sell out of all Duck Dynasty goods. Absolutely a PR success.

That’s one way to sell your crap. Turn your made in China crap with pictures of ugly people on it a symbol of Freedom and the Godly America.

11 Charles Johnson  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 11:32:11am
Robertson responded to backlash about his comments by saying, “I would never treat anyone with disrespect just because they are different from me.”

Why sure. Comparing gay people to people who screw animals is just the epitome of respect.

12 Kragar  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 11:34:01am

Is it still boycott if I never watched those assholes to begin with?

13 Gus  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 11:35:34am

But, but…

14 Gus  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 11:36:23am

I can now go back to ignoring Duck Dynasty much like I did before I had to Google the show early this year.

15 FemNaziBitch  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 11:36:52am
16 Kragar  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 11:37:12am
17 FemNaziBitch  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 11:37:17am

re: #11 Charles Johnson

Why sure. Comparing gay people to people who screw animals is just the epitome of respect.

So speech hurts less?

18 Gus  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 11:37:30am

Duck Dynasty, Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus, whatever.

19 Killgore Trout  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 11:40:57am

re: #14 Gus

I can now go back to ignoring Duck Dynasty much like I did before I had to Google the show early this year.

Me too. Hopefully companies are learning that these boycotts and viral internet outrages are harmless noise. The only reason the viral outrages persist is because they sometimes work. Once companies stop firing people the mobs will find something else to do.

20 People For The Ethical Treatment Of Sarah Palin  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 11:41:53am

I never expected them to really suspend him. From the beginning, around here, his white supremacist and anti gay remarks, just made him even more likeable.

Now if he would have said, something along the lines of “Judge not , lest ye be judged” or “Live and let live” and talked about how America’s historic racial caste system bothers him, he would have lost fans.

21 Lidane  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 11:43:18am

re: #11 Charles Johnson

Why sure. Comparing gay people to people who screw animals is just the epitome of respect.

Especially when it’s done by a guy who made his fortune creating devices that help people trick ducks into thinking they’re getting laid only to end up shot dead.

Total respect.

22 wrenchwench  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 11:46:50am

re: #11 Charles Johnson

Why sure. Comparing gay people to people who screw animals is just the epitome of respect.

Governor Martinez of New Mexico isn’t that bad, but her response to the Supreme Court’s decision to make SSM legal in the state caused me to react similarly.

“My personal views on this issue are well-known, and I’m confident that most New Mexicans believe, like I do, that it should have been settled by a vote of the people,” Gov. Susana Martinez said in a statement. “Instead, the Supreme Court stepped in and rendered their decision. While there will surely be intense debate about this decision moving forward, I encourage New Mexicans to continue to respect one another in their discourse, as this is an important issue for many New Mexicans on both sides.”

I fail to see how allowing civil rights to be decided by a vote is respect for those affected.

23 Eclectic Cyborg  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 11:47:27am

This is the reality of TV production folks.

Episodes are shot far in advance, hence A&E has a slate of already recorded episodes featuring Robertson that they are pretty much obligated to air, largely due to the ratings the show brings in and the deals they have with advertisers who want those ratings.

Realistically, the first non Phil episodes couldn’t begin filming and airing for awhile at which point this outrage will have probably died out. If it somehow keeps going, then you might see more notable action.

Unfortunately, I think the existing contracts have A&E’s hands tied at the moment.

24 FemNaziBitch  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 11:47:45am

re: #22 wrenchwench

Governor Martinez of New Mexico isn’t that bad, but her response to the Supreme Court’s decision to make SSM legal in the state caused me to react similarly.

I fail to see how allowing civil rights to be decided by a vote is respect for those affected.

because it’s worked so well in the past. re-districting, grandfather clauses … . .

25 FemNaziBitch  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 11:49:28am
26 FemNaziBitch  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 11:50:13am
27 Eclectic Cyborg  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 11:51:13am

re: #25 FemNaziBitch

VERY interesting website

Interesting, thanks for sharing!

28 b_sharp  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 11:55:18am

Allowing the vote to determine civil rights is why the civil rights movement was necessary in the first place. People will vote for what they find comfortable not what is best for everybody.

29 RealityBasedSteve  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 11:56:49am

I have watched DD on a few occasions, I found it amusing, but not overly entertaining. It was obvious to me that these guys were playing out ideas and scenes that weren’t “real life”. Was / is there an element of truth and a basis in reality for the scenes, sure. I’m also confident that a lot of the bits in Seinfeld were based on things that happened to him, with great dramatic liberty.

Difference is, we KNEW Seinfeld was a fiction show, and DD is “Reality” tv. IMHO, Reality TV is like Fake Boobs. The both might fool somebody that doesn’t know what the real thing is like.

RBS

30 b_sharp  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 11:57:14am

Quote button isn’t working for me and the tweet button sends me to the front page.

Oh, and it’s cold and snowy in Canada once again. (Canadians are well known for complaining about the weather)

31 Political Atheist  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 11:57:22am

re: #23 Eclectic Cyborg

This is the reality of TV production folks.

Episodes are shot far in advance, hence A&E has a slate of already recorded episodes featuring Robertson that they are pretty much obligated to air, largely due to the ratings the show brings in and the deals they have with advertisers who want those ratings.

Realistically, the first non Phil episodes couldn’t begin filming and airing for awhile at which point this outrage will have probably died out. If it somehow keeps going, then you might see more notable action.

Unfortunately, I think the existing contracts have A&E’s hands tied at the moment.

Yes, that’s all quite correct. Plus at bottom $$ line I suspect A&E had more to lose by far than the Robinsons.

My little photog/media start up is aimed at TV production to catch little projects the big guys miss. I just say that so you see why my co conspirators and I have been making a long careful study on this market and it’s niches. Editing spec pilots & whatever is one of those things.

Anyway my conclusion is these companies are very adept at doing genuine shows. They are very good at interesting shows. The real problem is they have little idea how to do genuine and interesting shows. As they see it anyway.

32 wrenchwench  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 11:59:17am

re: #30 b_sharp

Quote button isn’t working for me and the tweet button sends me to the front page.

Oh, and it’s cold and snowy in Canada once again. (Canadians are well known for complaining about the weather)

It’s cold and snowy here, too, but I’m not complaining. It’s pretty. Nobody is out shopping, though. They figure they can wait it out.

33 Charles Johnson  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 12:00:27pm

re: #30 b_sharp

It’s Firefox again - the Javascript engine just stops working sometimes. You’ll need to quit and relaunch Firefox and if that doesn’t work, restart the computer.

Firefox used to be one of the best browsers - now it’s definitely the buggiest.

34 Political Atheist  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 12:01:28pm

re: #33 Charles Johnson


What do you like on the PC side these days?

35 RealityBasedSteve  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 12:01:47pm

re: #30 b_sharp

Quote button isn’t working for me and the tweet button sends me to the front page.

Oh, and it’s cold and snowy in Canada once again. (Canadians are well known for complaining about the weather)

Your quote button is tied up in customs with Canada Post. Expect it to clear customs after the holidays.

RBS

36 Lidane  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 12:01:50pm

re: #22 wrenchwench

I fail to see how allowing civil rights to be decided by a vote is respect for those affected.

The civil rights and dignity of other human beings are not up for a popular vote. If they were, we’d still have Jim Crow laws.

37 Charles Johnson  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 12:02:43pm

re: #34 Political Atheist

What do you like on the PC side these days?

Chrome’s the best for PC IMO.

38 wrenchwench  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 12:02:58pm

re: #32 wrenchwench

It’s cold and snowy here, too, but I’m not complaining. It’s pretty. Nobody is out shopping, though. They figure they can wait it out.

Oh, wait. I guess everybody’s at the mall. (Nearest one is over 100 miles away.)

39 Gus  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 12:04:07pm

re: #38 wrenchwench

Oh, wait. I guess everybody’s at the mall. (Nearest one is over 100 miles away.)

[Embedded content]

Mall? What is mall? Is it like the cigarettes I smoke? Pall Mall?

40 FemNaziBitch  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 12:04:24pm

bbl

41 wrenchwench  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 12:05:10pm
A county clerk and chief chief deputy county clerk have resigned following the State Supreme Court decision that said same-sex marriage was allowed under New Mexico law.

The group ProgressNow New Mexico, a progressive group that was among those pushing for the legalization of same-sex marriage, first reported the news.

The group says that Roosevelt County Clerk Donna Carpenter and her chief deputy Janet Collins resigned today [yesterday], the day after the landmark state Supreme Court decision.

[…]

Quitters.

42 Political Atheist  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 12:05:35pm

re: #37 Charles Johnson

Good to know, I just need to look into tweaking it to be less intrusive and Google pushy. Maybe it was an anomaly but last time I tried chrome it ate tons of system, owned the task list with repeated instances. Probably as the tabs accumulated as I browsed.

But I’ll give it another shot. FF has been frustrating at times of late. Heh, I’ll see how well a Google search to limit Google features is gonna go.

Oh and thanks for the tip.

43 RealityBasedSteve  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 12:06:35pm

re: #36 Lidane

The civil rights and dignity of other human beings are not up for a popular vote. If they were, we’d still have Jim Crow laws.

But… the RWNJs get upset when it’s not “THE WILL OF THE PEOPLE”!!! When it’s some “Black Robed Activest” Of course they also get upset when they don’t like the “WILL OF THE PEOPLE” because it’s a REPUBLIC Dammit!!! and not MOBZ RULE!!!!..

To allow the unrestricted rule of the majority is to eternally marginalize a minority. The art is to protect the rights and obligations of all involved fairly and equally.

RBS

44 RealityBasedSteve  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 12:10:20pm

re: #41 wrenchwench

Quitters.

A county clerk and chief chief deputy county clerk walk into a bar. Bartender asks ‘em “What do you want?”

ah…. need a punch line here folks. help me out.

RBS

45 Charles Johnson  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 12:10:23pm

re: #42 Political Atheist

That feature of opening a new task for each tab or window is actually a good thing - it isolates each tab in its own sandboxed memory space, so that if one crashes it doesn’t take down the whole browser.

46 Charles Johnson  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 12:11:17pm
47 Eclectic Cyborg  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 12:16:06pm

re: #37 Charles Johnson

Chrome’s the best for PC IMO.

Seconded AND Thirded (yes, Chrome is THAT good!)

48 Eclectic Cyborg  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 12:17:39pm

re: #44 RealityBasedSteve

A county clerk and chief chief deputy county clerk walk into a gay bar. Bartender asks ‘em “What do you want?”

ah…. need a punch line here folks. help me out.

RBS

Not quite a punchline, but…

49 wrenchwench  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 12:17:46pm

re: #44 RealityBasedSteve

A county clerk and chief chief deputy county clerk walk into a bar. Bartender asks ‘em “What do you want?”

ah…. need a punch line here folks. help me out.

RBS

I don’t have a punch line, but what they probably want is to join Texas.

50 Charles Johnson  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 12:19:07pm

re: #44 RealityBasedSteve

A county clerk and chief chief deputy county clerk walk into a bar.

The local Democratic chairman ducked.

51 Political Atheist  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 12:24:17pm

re: #45 Charles Johnson

That feature of opening a new task for each tab or window is actually a good thing - it isolates each tab in its own sandboxed memory space, so that if one crashes it doesn’t take down the whole browser.

If it keeps working like it is right now cool beans. Last time had something awry. Maybe just a messed up install. But right now I’m enjoying a pick up in speed for sure. A bit more crisp on my monitor too.

52 wrenchwench  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 12:28:13pm

Clearly I need more lights for riding at night.

Youtube Video

53 Political Atheist  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 12:28:49pm

re: #36 Lidane

The civil rights and dignity of other human beings are not up for a popular vote. If they were, we’d still have Jim Crow laws.

How? Isn’t the judicial constitutional test process a solid check on the popular vote? Like say Prop 8?

54 Backwoods_Sleuth  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 12:29:24pm

Just now saw, for the very first time, the K-Mart jingle balls commercial that has the fundies clutching their pearls whilst having the vapors.

bwahahaaaa!!!!

55 GeneJockey  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 12:31:11pm

re: #9 FemNaziBitch

[Embedded content]

This doesn’t bother me so much. I don’t know why.

I have an inkling. The woman is dead, she no longer is a person in a real sense. If you believe in a soul, hers has fled; if not, the biological and chemical substance and reactions that made her ‘her’ no longer exist.

There’s a big difference between what her body is now, and a living, breathing, THINKING woman. At this point, her body IS largely just a vessel to incubate the unborn child.

56 RealityBasedSteve  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 12:31:21pm

re: #52 wrenchwench

Clearly I need more lights for riding at night.

[Embedded content]

I LOVE riding in the country at night. I’ve got a Shimano Dynohub and a german light… I can see easily at any speed I’m going to be running at. 100x better than any battery operated lights I’ve used. I am thinking about rigging up some light wires in my rims, just for the LOLS.

RBS

57 Eclectic Cyborg  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 12:31:22pm

re: #54 Backwoods_Sleuth

Just now saw, for the very first time, the K-Mart jingle balls commercial that has the fundies clutching their pearls whilst having the vapors.

bwahahaaaa!!!!

I say we start a pool to guess how many times Bryan Fischer has watched it.

58 goddamnedfrank  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 12:35:10pm

re: #53 Political Atheist

How? Isn’t the judicial constitutional test process a solid check on the popular vote? Like say Prop 8?

It’s as solid as the current judiciary is. It’s not at all hard to imaging an bunch of entrenched judges going the other way, upholding DOMA and continuing to disallow federal benefits to gay marriages in states that approved it.

Prop 8 should never have happened. Having to vote at all on other people’s civil right’s legitimizes the questioning of those civil rights, it’s pretty much a disgusting event no matter what “checks” you imagine to be on that process. The New Mexico situation is about as ideal a fight as we’ve seen, where the legislation never mentioned gender to begin with and the powers that be just finally drove through that open door. There was a lawsuit seeking to stop the marriages, but no popular vote.

59 Political Atheist  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 12:40:52pm

re: #58 goddamnedfrank

I’m not disagreeing with the fact the judiciary can sometimes go wrong, or complaining about 8 going down. I was addressing what Lidane said, that we would still have those laws, and I think the courts would have ruled them out.

Do you disagree with that? That’s a double fail, the people and then the judiciary. That’s kinda rare.

60 moderatelyradicalliberal  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 12:44:18pm

A&E and Duck Dynasty can go fuck themselves. Gay marriage is legal in freaking Utah and will be in all 50 states in less then 10 years. We are winning this fight so they can have their little television show. The bigots can celebrate this and we can celebrate Utah and New Mexico.

We are winning and they know it.

61 goddamnedfrank  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 12:44:25pm

re: #59 Political Atheist

I’m not disagreeing with the fact the judiciary can sometimes go wrong, or complaining about 8 going down. I was addressing what Lidane said, that we would still have those laws, and I think the courts would have ruled them out.

Do you disagree with that?

You’re saying that gambling with people’s civil rights is okay, because the current judiciary seems to be going that way, it’s not okay. Neither Christie nor Martinez nor any of the other assholes calling for referendums on gay marriage would even think of making the same calls regarding interracial marriage, even if Loving v. Virginia had never happened. We never saw a referendum on the Civil Rights Acts of the 1960’s, and there’s a very good reason for that.

62 GeneJockey  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 12:47:35pm

re: #57 Eclectic Cyborg

I say we start a pool to guess how many times Bryan Fischer has watched it.

I got a dollar says it was 25 times, with a scourge, whipping himself into a frenzy.

63 RealityBasedSteve  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 12:48:57pm

re: #62 GeneJockey

I got a dollar says it was 25 times, with a scourge, whipping himself into a frenzy.

I don’t think he whips himself all the way into a frenzy, probably stops at the ‘soft peaks’ stage.

RBS

64 Political Atheist  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 12:49:26pm

re: #61 goddamnedfrank

You’re saying that gambling with people’s civil rights is okay, because the current judiciary seems to be going that way, it’s not okay. Neither Christie nor Martinez nor any of the other assholes calling for referendums on gay marriage would even think of making the same calls for interracial marriage, even if Loving v. Virginia had never happened. We never saw a referendum on the Civil Rights Acts of the 1960’s, and there’s a very good reason for that.

Please don’t put words in my mouth. I never ever said gambling with rights is okay. I don’t think that.

As a matter of our law, the courts can over rule any law the people may vote in that fails any of a number of tests. This makes a contention that Jim Crow laws would still be the law of the land tenuous.. And my comment is structural, over time. Not just the current judiciary.

65 GeneJockey  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 12:50:09pm

re: #63 RealityBasedSteve

I don’t think he whips himself all the way into a frenzy, probably stops at the ‘soft peaks’ stage.

RBS

Snorked at that one. Well done!

66 austin_blue  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 12:51:07pm

re: #61 goddamnedfrank

You’re saying that gambling with people’s civil rights is okay, because the current judiciary seems to be going that way, it’s not okay. Neither Christie nor Martinez nor any of the other assholes calling for referendums on gay marriage would even think of making the same calls for interracial marriage, even if Loving v. Virginia had never happened. We never saw a referendum on the Civil Rights Acts of the 1960’s, and there’s a very good reason for that.

Damn good point, Frank. Here in Texas, The People passed an Amendment to the State Constitution against any marriage that didn’t have one man and one woman. As I recall, the only County that voted against it was Travis (aka The People’s Republic of Austin).

It’s one thing to pass Legislation. Referendum is worse. But writing discrimination into your own Constitution is beyond the pale.

67 Political Atheist  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 12:52:32pm

re: #66 austin_blue

Again, I never said or meant gambling with rights is okay.

68 austin_blue  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 12:53:58pm

re: #67 Political Atheist

Again, I never said or meant gambling with rights is okay.

I know you didn’t. I just liked Frank’s overall argument.

69 Charles Johnson  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 12:56:45pm
70 Charles Johnson  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 12:59:10pm

Background info on that picture:

St. Augustine Movement

71 GeneJockey  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 1:00:39pm

I think you’re missing Lidane’s point. Judicial review makes it so that rights are not subject to majority vote. I believe she’s positing that if not for that judicial review, if rights WERE subject to majority vote, we would still have Jim Crow laws, and I think it’s likely she’s right.

The South has changed a lot, but that came AFTER the white white majority were forced to accept that their black fellow citizens had all the same rights. TO THIS DAY, some resist that. If not for judicial review, would they EVER have ‘given’ blacks their rights?

We are all on the same side here, I think. None of us would leave human rights up to popular vote. Lidane was just suggesting how things would be if they were.

And if everyone already got that, I apologize for my windy interjection.

72 Lidane  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 1:01:13pm

re: #53 Political Atheist

How? Isn’t the judicial constitutional test process a solid check on the popular vote? Like say Prop 8?

Prop 8 shouldn’t have happened. Same goes for any other gay marriage bill up for a popular vote. Voters don’t get to decide who is more equal than others. Voters don’t get to decide who is entitled to civil rights and who isn’t.

Is there any valid legal reason why gay people shouldn’t be allowed to get married? Is there anything compelling that would deny gay and lesbian couples from the same special privileges that straight married couples get? Look at the Windsor case— she was going to be charged over $300K in estate taxes that a straight widow wouldn’t have to pay. How is that equitable under the law? Because she’s gay? Come on.

73 Lidane  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 1:03:05pm

re: #69 Charles Johnson

And that is why civil rights aren’t up for a popular vote. Institutionalized, legalized discrimination voted on by the people is wrong. It legitimizes dehumanizing a portion of the population.

74 goddamnedfrank  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 1:03:36pm

re: #64 Political Atheist

As a matter of our law, the courts can over rule any law the people may vote in that fails any of a number of tests. This makes a contention that Jim Crow laws would still be the law of the land. And my comment is structural, over time. Not just the current judiciary.

The problem with that is that real harm would have also continued, structurally over time. And her contention is correct, voting on whether one’s neighbor holds the same civil rights as oneself has to be the lowest possible, most despicable form of democracy. For one thing in a lot of states judges and state supreme court justices are elected. The idea that they form an intrinsic check on the whims of a fickle and historically bigoted electorate is rather fanciful. At best they’re a half step ahead of the curve.

75 GeneJockey  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 1:06:08pm

re: #74 goddamnedfrank

The problem with that is that real harm would have also continued, structurally over time. And her contention is correct, voting on whether one’s neighbor holds the same civil rights as oneself has to be the lowest possible, most despicable form of democracy. For one thing in a lot of states a hell of a lot of judges, and state supreme court justices, are elected. The idea that they form an intrinsic check on the whims of the fickle and historically bigoted electorate is rather fanciful. At best they’re a half step ahead of the curve.

In other states, appointed judges are subject to recall by popular vote.

77 Political Atheist  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 1:08:36pm

re: #72 Lidane
I’m not arguing for the popular vote being able to take away rights.

If we did not have a structure like we do, a Supreme Court above a district court that can and has overturned many a poor or discriminatory law, minorities would be at more risk than they are today. It works well enough I think we would not have Jim Crow laws today. Not even if they had been propositions. That’s all I’m proposing. I’m not even saying the job is done. I pointed out a part of our system that over all works well. Not perfect, but well enough those laws would be gone.

78 Charles Johnson  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 1:10:43pm

Justine Sacco got fired, but she’ll be just fine, no need to worry about her. Daddy is a billionaire who made his fortune by profiting off the South African apartheid regime.

79 Political Atheist  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 1:17:26pm

re: #72 Lidane

Prop 8 shouldn’t have happened. Same goes for any other gay marriage bill up for a popular vote. Voters don’t get to decide who is more equal than others. Voters don’t get to decide who is entitled to civil rights and who isn’t.

Is there any valid legal reason why gay people shouldn’t be allowed to get married? Is there anything compelling that would deny gay and lesbian couples from the same special privileges that straight married couples get? Look at the Windsor case— she was going to be charged over $300K in estate taxes that a straight widow wouldn’t have to pay. How is that equitable under the law? Because she’s gay? Come on.

No there is no valid legal reason. I think where we part is I have a bit more faith in that check on voting power. I even agree it takes too long. Just not long enough for the laws you cited to still survive.

80 Charles Johnson  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 1:19:03pm

Sacco’s family background probably has something to do with her nasty comments about AIDS and Africa.

81 moderatelyradicalliberal  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 1:20:10pm

re: #78 Charles Johnson

Justine Sacco got fired, but she’ll be just fine, no need to worry about her. Daddy is a billionaire who made his fortune by profiting off the South African apartheid regime.

Well that explains a lot.

82 jaunte  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 1:24:00pm

re: #2 Joanne

mediaite.com

Walmart sell out of all Duck Dynasty goods. Absolutely a PR success.

Future archaeologists will ponder this layer of Camo-Beardo crap deposited in our landfills.

83 moderatelyradicalliberal  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 1:25:36pm

re: #70 Charles Johnson

Background info on that picture:

St. Augustine Movement

I’ve never seen this picture before. Thanks.

That guy was just evil. The acid used removes rust from steel. But Phil Roberson didn’t see it so I guess it didn’t happen.

If it weren’t for photography and television, the CRM would not have succeeded. Of that I am sure.

84 CuriousLurker  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 1:32:29pm

re: #59 Political Atheist

I’m not disagreeing with the fact the judiciary can sometimes go wrong, or complaining about 8 going down. I was addressing what Lidane said, that we would still have those laws, and I think the courts would have ruled them out.

Do you disagree with that? That’s a double fail, the people and then the judiciary. That’s kinda rare.

Not rare enough. A few famous cases that come to mind:

Dred Scott v. Sandford

” … We think they [people of African ancestry] are … not included, and were not intended to be included, under the word “citizens” in the Constitution, and can therefore claim none of the rights and privileges which that instrument provides for and secures to citizens of the United States… .” — Chief Justice Roger B. Taney, speaking for the majority

Plessy v. Ferguson

“The object of the [Fourteenth] Amendment was undoubtedly to enforce the absolute equality of the two races before the law, but in the nature of things it could not have been intended to abolish distinctions based upon color, or to enforce social, as distinguished from political, equality, or a commingling of the two races upon terms unsatisfactory to either.” —Justice Henry Billings Brown, speaking for the majority

Korematsu v. United States

“As long as my record stands in federal court, any American citizen can be held in prison or concentration camps without trial or hearing. I would like to see the government admit they were wrong and do something about it, so this will never happen again to any American citizen of any race, creed, or color.” —Fred Korematsu (1983), on his decision to again challenge his conviction 40 years later

I don’t mean this to sound snarky or in any way to imply that your heart isn’t in the right place, because I know that it is, but as a white man things are different for you. What I mean by that is that whether you’re consciously aware of it or not, this country was founded with you in mind, with protecting your rights. The rest of us—women, people of color, other ethnic minorities, etc.—not so much. We’re keenly aware of that and therefore not really inclined to trust the system.

I think that same issue is part of why you got such a bad reaction to your comment about people using terms like “redneck” and the n-word, which I read through earlier today. You simply cannot divorce the the n-word from its painful historical context and compare it to an epithet for whites that has no such baggage, even if you’re only trying to point out that they’re both derogatory because they’re not derogatory to the same degree—to use the n-word is to deny a person’s very humanity. IOW, you don’t get to redefine what that word means or how people (of color) feel about it, especially as a white man.

I hope that makes sense and doesn’t offend you or hurt your feelings as that’s not my intent.

85 wrenchwench  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 1:38:42pm

re: #70 Charles Johnson

Background info on that picture:

St. Augustine Movement

An excerpt:

[…]

Death threats against the leadership were reaching a fever pitch, especially against Dr. King. When, in the first week of June, the cottage which was scheduled to house the SCLC president went up in flames, Hayling and his team stepped up their armed patrols, a policy which King personally disapproved of. Nonetheless, Dr. King was under Hayling’s armed protection every night he spent in St. Augustine. [16] On June 10, the filibuster against the Civil Rights Act (one of the longest fillibusters in history) finally collapsed. [17]

St. Augustine was the only place in Florida where Dr. Martin Luther King was arrested, on June 11, 1964 on the steps of the Monson motel restaurant. He wrote a “Letter from the St. Augustine Jail” to his old friend, Rabbi Israel Dresner, in New Jersey, urging him to recruit rabbis to come to St. Augustine and take part in the movement. The result was the largest mass arrest of rabbis in American history on June 18, 1964 at the Monson motel.[5]

The demonstrations came to a climax when a group of black and white protesters jumped into the swimming pool at the Monson Motor Lodge. In response to the protest the manager of the motel, James Brock, who was the president of the Florida Hotel & Motel Association, was photographed pouring what he claimed to be muriatic acid into the pool to get the protesters out.[5] Photographs of this, and of a policeman jumping into the pool to arrest them, were broadcast around the world and became some of the most famous images of the entire civil rights movement.

[…].

Nope, nobody singing the blues, everybody was happy…

86 dog philosopher  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 1:40:13pm

i’m nearly done with my study of how the national socialist and stalinist states responded to unwelcome speech by public figures with public criticism and temporary suspensions from performance

87 Killgore Trout  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 1:44:26pm

re: #86 dog philosopher

memecenter.com

88 Political Atheist  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 1:44:35pm

re: #84 CuriousLurker

I appreciate what you have to say. Thanks much.

Re-Yesterday-In my view pointing out a common factor between these insults is not to be taken to mean they are common or the same in every way. Or even one more way than what I was trying to point out. Which I did not articulate yesterday well. And clearly some found the gay writer I cited offensive in his article. Which of the two things is the more surprising to me? The second. My ‘net writing skills kinda suck actually. and I try to practice them here. Sometimes that goes well, sometimes Not So Much. I’ll take my lumps.

So, if I jump quick when a meaning I did not intend is posited as above by GDF I hope it’s taken as avoiding misunderstanding. What gets read into comments is still sometimes a mystery to me.

89 Aqua Obama  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 1:48:52pm

Claims of virgin births in U.S. near 1 percent: study

The ostensibly chaste mothers were also less likely to know how to use condoms, according to the report.

what

90 dog philosopher  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 1:52:42pm

re: #89 Aqua Obama

Claims of virgin births in U.S. near 1 percent: study

The ostensibly chaste mothers were also less likely to know >how to use condoms, according to the report.

what

there is a strong desire to believe in human parthenogenesis in some circles in this country, and not just ignorant or religious ones

91 Political Atheist  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 1:57:39pm

New LGF poll on NSA policy- What say you?

92 Eclectic Cyborg  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 1:59:26pm

Finally got around to watching the original Anchorman and I must say, Will Ferrell was good but for me, Steve Carrell was just brilliant.

93 Killgore Trout  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 2:00:26pm

re: #91 Political Atheist

New LGF poll on NSA policy- What say you?

There are rumors that the NSA has been secretly fucking with the global economy or something.
This Could End the NSA: Financial Market Manipulation

94 Political Atheist  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 2:01:47pm

BBL I’m out to see if my shiny new long lens is fast enough to catch the local Annas Humming birds.

95 Political Atheist  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 2:03:15pm

re: #93 Killgore Trout

Well that’s pretty thin so far. I’ll call that one wait and see.

96 ObserverArt  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 2:11:25pm

re: #5 nines09

I suggest that wise investors buy up all the DD Phil stuff they can find. It’s another Beanie Babies frenzy. Might just put your kid through collitch. ///

Say, you wouldn’t need some more of those Beanie Babies would you? Might be good for some text books, a lab fee…

///

97 Backwoods_Sleuth  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 2:13:24pm

re: #41 wrenchwench

Quitters.

They’ve been palinized…

98 austin_blue  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 2:13:56pm

re: #93 Killgore Trout

There are rumors that the NSA has been secretly fucking with the global economy or something.
This Could End the NSA: Financial Market Manipulation

You mean like the bankers *actually* did?

Sure got rid of *them*, eh?

99 sagehen  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 2:14:26pm

re: #83 moderatelyradicalliberal

I’ve never seen this picture before. Thanks.

That guy was just evil. The acid used removes rust from steel. But Phil Roberson didn’t see it so I guess it didn’t happen.

If it weren’t for photography and television, the CRM would not have succeeded. Of that I am sure.

It’s the normal acid used for routine pool maintenance, that’s why he happened to have it around (when my chore was taking care of my family’s pool, I’d do the acid/base test every week, and usually have to add a few ounces of acid — it keeps the algae from forming).

From the picture it looks like he’s putting in several months worth, it’ll make the pool unswimmable for days if he doesn’t drain and refill it… and it’s majorly important for safety reasons that one doesn’t pour from a height. You’re supposed to put the lip of the bottle at water level, and just tip it. Splashes are very bad.

100 wrenchwench  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 2:15:09pm

re: #97 Backwoods_Sleuth

They’ve been palinized…

I bet they are moving up in the Tea Party ranks right now.

101 Mattand  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 2:26:47pm

re: #98 austin_blue

You mean like the bankers *actually* did?

Sure got rid of *them*, eh?

Now, now, they’re just asking questions.

(eyeroll)

102 Kragar  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 2:34:34pm

Seriously, WTF is this shit?

The Late, Great American WASP

The old U.S. ruling class had plenty of problems. But are we really better off with a country run by the self-involved, over-schooled products of modern meritocracy?

103 Killgore Trout  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 2:39:10pm

re: #95 Political Atheist

Well that’s pretty thin so far. I’ll call that one wait and see.

I’m pretty sure it’s complete bullshit.

104 b.d.  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 2:41:58pm

re: #93 Killgore Trout

There are rumors that the NSA has been secretly fucking with the global economy or something.
This Could End the NSA: Financial Market Manipulation

There sure are a hell of a lot of evil conspiracy theorizing going on in that diary.

105 jaunte  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 2:42:45pm

re: #102 Kragar

Doing the right thing, especially in the face of temptations to do otherwise, was the WASP test par excellence. Most of our meritocrats, by contrast, seem to be in business for themselves.

Trust, honor, character: The elements that have departed U.S. public life with the departure from prominence of WASP culture have not been taken up by the meritocrats.

Unsupported assumptions and rosy-hued fantasies of a past golden age.

106 wrenchwench  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 2:43:59pm

re: #102 Kragar

Seriously, WTF is this shit?

The Late, Great American WASP

That’s some serious shit. And there seems to have been much more where that came from.

Joseph Epstein (born January 9, 1937 in Chicago) is an essayist, short story writer, and editor, and from 1974 to 1998[1] the editor of the Phi Beta Kappa Society’s The American Scholar magazine. He was also a lecturer at Northwestern University from 1974 to 2002. He is a Contributing Editor at The Weekly Standard and a long-time contributor of essays and short stories to The New Criterion and Commentary. In 2003, he was awarded a National Humanities Medal by the National Endowment for the Humanities.[2]

In 1970, Epstein wrote an article for Harper’s Magazine called “The Struggle for Sexual Identity,” that was widely criticized for its perceived homophobia, although Harper’s editor Midge Decter defended it as an “elegant and thoughtful account”. Among other things, Epstein wrote, “if I had the power to do so, I would wish homosexuality off the face of the earth, because I consider it a curse, in a literal sense.” He ended the article with

There is much that my four sons can do in their lives that might cause me anguish, that might outrage me, that might make [me] ashamed of them and of myself as their father. But nothing they could ever do would make me sadder than if any of them were to become homosexual.[3][4]

The response of gay writers and readers to Epstein’s piece, including a “sit-in” at Harper’s by members of the Gay Activists Alliance, has been identified as a significant turning point in the gay rights movement of the early 1970s.[5][6]

During his many years as editor of The American Scholar, Epstein was known for his well-regarded essays, signed “Aristides”, which led off each issue. Epstein’s removal as editor in 1998 was controversial.[7] Epstein later said that he was fired “for being insufficiently correct politically”.[8]

[…]

107 CuriousLurker  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 2:58:37pm

re: #102 Kragar

Seriously, WTF is this shit?

The Late, Great American WASP

Wow, just read it. It doesn’t get much more condescending than that. O_o

108 Lidane  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 3:07:35pm

re: #79 Political Atheist

No there is no valid legal reason. I think where we part is I have a bit more faith in that check on voting power. I even agree it takes too long. Just not long enough for the laws you cited to still survive.

It’s not that I don’t have some small faith in the check on voting power. It’s that I consider the idea of voting on the civil rights and human dignity of other people abhorrent and immoral. Voters do not get to decide which people are more equal than others. Not when it comes to their fundamental rights.

109 austin_blue  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 3:14:49pm

re: #102 Kragar

Seriously, WTF is this shit?

The Late, Great American WASP

Harumph! Life was *so* much better when we were run by privileged, over-bred Conservatory fucks, what?

110 PhillyPretzel  Sat, Dec 21, 2013 3:19:10pm

The reason why all of this duck stuff is happening is because they fear this show. And that is why they are creating all of this hype. huffingtonpost.com

111 thecommodore  Sun, Dec 22, 2013 10:40:19am

The over/under on how many days it will be before Sean Hannity devotes an entire show to helping Phil Robertson “clear his name” (as he did with “Dog, The Bounty Hunter”) is 1, and I take the under.

112 conservative_ no_ more  Mon, Dec 23, 2013 12:47:47am

New here, so please forgive me if I don’t follow a protocol I’m not aware of yet. I decided to join this website as I’ve been reading some of the articles and commentary. Long story short, I was pretty conservative and Christian although with some moderate leanings. I started noticing some changes in several family members and a lot of friends who I always considered pretty run of the mill, rational people. I noticed some signs very disturbing so I got off all the right wing blogs I had read for so many years and dedicated myself to being as objective as I possibly could. What I discovered has horrified me, shattered everything I believed, and changed my views a 180, The trigger for me seeing a rise of racism and religious extremism that has become very tolerated and anyone who speaks out against it, shunned. When I came upon the “Christian Identity” websites, I ran to the bathroom and threw up and then cried. First went through anger and disbelief, and still have some anger but mostly disappointment. Thanks to those who read this and who want to allow me to post here and participate.

113 CuriousLurker  Mon, Dec 23, 2013 4:10:04am

re: #112 conservative_ no_ more

Welcome, hatchling.

You’d be better off introducing yourself in the most recent live thread as that’s where your comments are more likely to be noticed by the most people. Earlier in the day would be good too, if possible, as things tend to slow way down here after around 12:00pm Eastern Time.

As for the rest, I know how you feel. I’ve never been conservative, but 9/11 happened approximately 10 years after I became Muslim, so I know all about feelings of horror, anger, disbelief, and disappointment when members of a group you identify with do awful things.

Kudos to you for maintaining your sanity and not slipping into denial or trying to justify egregious behavior. Just hang on to your principles, keep your critical thinking skills sharpened, and work on being the best person you can be—that’s all any of us can do.

114 BusyMonster  Mon, Dec 23, 2013 9:16:50am

re: #112 conservative_ no_ more

Well, now that you’re good and mad, here’s an upvote for you, and thank you for paying attention.

It’s getting scary out here in the real world.

115 conservative_ no_ more  Mon, Dec 23, 2013 12:33:14pm

Thanks Curious Lurker and BusyMonster. Will go to the top article now.


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