Oh, Camille, desperately trying to stay relevant 20 years past her prime. Maybe she got tired of wishing she were Madonna's tampon?
The hilarious thing about the birthers is... what kind of outcome are they seeking? What if they were right and Obama wasn't a citizen - do they think McCain gets to be president by default?
I wish Camille Paglia would stop commenting on politics and get back to what she does best: deliriously unhinged, purple prose literary criticism in which she attempts to prove that Emily Dickinson was really a "self-ruling hermaphrodite" and latter day Marquis de Sade or that Michelangelo is a pornographer & the Pope is a collector of porn.
That stuff kept me entertained for hours when I was in college and reading it provided a good imitation of being high on primo acid for a tenth of the price.
@PilgrimSoul: Don't forget the science majors. Her theory that the transcendent arc of male urine streams as compared to the pathetic downward trickle produced by women explains greater male achievement throughout history really brought the lulz when we were covering evolutionary biology.
@la.donna.pietra: My favorite part of that phase in Camille's career was Madonna's comment that she found Camille's reams of writing about her "very amusing".
@Misiula: Yeah, "among" was the part that struck me as being mis-used. I was uncertain though because, well, it is early and I'm bleary-eyed at the moment.
@Tchotchke: I'll give her the benefit of the doubt about grammar as this is from a transcript, so she was speaking not writing. I'm sure if she were writing that she'd get it right. She may be a total nut-job but she can string a good sentence together.
I wish that she had elaborated on what she thinks are "legitimate" questions about the birth certificate though.
I do have to disagree with you on one point, Anna. Paglia hasn't been "extremely credible" for a long time, ever since she insisted that Sarah Palin had reserves of intellectual brilliance most of us just haven't appreciated.
@willwriteforfood: This was my reaction too. I don't know anyone who considers her credible but undoubtedly (unfortunately) plenty of people actually do.
Since when is Camille Paglia extremely credible? She's seriously one of the nuttiest nutters out there. And I was just thinking to myself this morning that this whole birfer nonsense had kind of died down.
i heard her spewing this mess on npr yesterday. she had me literally screaming at my radio. she spent the whole hour arguing that not only has institutional racism been eradicated, but that racist people are pretty much unicorns. so what if someone shows up to an obama speaking event with a semi and a poster of obama as a witch doctor/hitler/monkey.
Ms. Paglia must've missed yesterday's news, where pseudo-lawyer Oily Taintz was basically laughed out of a second federal courtroom for spouting her nonsense.
The only thing worse than missing yesterday's news is being it.
@AndPreciousLittleofThat: Oh God. I read that decision and it was priceless. At one point the judge says (paraphrasing) "Unlike in Alice and Wonderland, saying something is so does not actually make it so." The judge basically made fun of ORLY for 14 pages.
@zombies.like.lattés.too: During our occupation of Panama, if you were born there and one or both of your parents were US citizens, you automatically had dual citizenship. My neice was born there.
I was born in Iceland, and the same applied to me, until I turned 18...then I had to choose.
Having said that: the whole idea that there was some radical conspiracy by Obama's parents to have him be a US citizen is completely whacko.
Although, sure! They KNEW he was going to be President, and this way there was nothing in his way!!
@RStewie: But of course. Didn't you know his father was an African charlatan and that he just knew that one day his son would be president, and arranged an elaborate conspiracy and mystery surrounding his birthplace JUST SO right wing nutters today could do everything they can to make his presidency less than legitimate?
Though I don't believe that all the criticism leveled at Obama is racially motivated, this birther business should seem obviously racially motivated. The ploys and scare tactics dreamed up by the wingnuts are just disgusting.
@zombies.like.lattés.too: My hubby is an immigration attorney and just tried to explain the intricate calculations that have to go into determining citizenship for kids born outside the US to US citizen parents. It made my head hurt, and I'm an attorney too. There are regulations under the Child Citizenship Act, you have to look at the year the child was born, did a later regulation supercede an earlier reg, blah blah blah. He has doubts about McCain's citizenship, and he understands this stuff.
Well, this pretty much seals my opinion of Camille Paglia. I think she just says things every once in awhile to remind us all she's still here, 'cause otherwise we'd have moved on to more outrageous idiots, like the Arizona preacher who prayed for Obama to go to hell.
In response, I can only refer to the ruling handed down by a U.S. District Court judge yesterday in response to Mrs. Chief Birther Orly Taitz. It was 14 pages of utter legal brilliance smacking her down and all but calling her a nitwit and daring her to try again lest she end up in prison for filing yet more frivolous lawsuits.
@willwriteforfood: I read that on Wonkette, and it cheered me to no end. While I'm not a lawyer, I have a deep love for the formal, yet utterly hysterical, way judicial decisions lay the smackdown on people who are taking up the court's time and resources with ridiculous business.
@wtfox?!: I read it there too. My favorite part was the judge saying that unlike assertions made in Alice in Wonderland, saying something is so doesn't actually make it so. I snorted out loud.
Camille Paglia is still credible? I'm not a gender theorist/women's studies scholar, but I know mentioning her name makes my roommate (who is) froth at the mouth.
@DexterHaven: I get so cracked up when she posts the occasional screed on Salon.com; everyone weighs in with what a pile of steaming crap her writing is...BUT!! they continue to read!! That's what she wants, people. Just ignore the screaming monkey throwing the poop; don't give it any energy.
09/17/09
The hilarious thing about the birthers is... what kind of outcome are they seeking? What if they were right and Obama wasn't a citizen - do they think McCain gets to be president by default?
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That stuff kept me entertained for hours when I was in college and reading it provided a good imitation of being high on primo acid for a tenth of the price.
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@la.donna.pietra: My favorite part of that phase in Camille's career was Madonna's comment that she found Camille's reams of writing about her "very amusing".
09/17/09
I HAVE TO GO LIE DOWN.
I EXPECT THAT SHE WILL BE OFF THE FRONT PAGE BY THE TIME I GET BACK.
/capslock expression of my extreme distaste for the woman who tried to hijack academic feminism and, thank god, failed miserably
09/17/09
Something about that sentence seems off, grammatically-speaking. Am I wrong or does it sound odd? It's bugging me.
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I wish that she had elaborated on what she thinks are "legitimate" questions about the birth certificate though.
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It's pretty much her whole career.
09/17/09
also sexism and homophobia are totes gone too.
09/17/09
The only thing worse than missing yesterday's news is being it.
09/17/09
09/17/09
GWB appointee, to boot!
09/19/09
09/17/09
This would be a non-issue if Obama's first name were John. Or if he were caucasian.
09/17/09
I was born in Iceland, and the same applied to me, until I turned 18...then I had to choose.
Having said that: the whole idea that there was some radical conspiracy by Obama's parents to have him be a US citizen is completely whacko.
Although, sure! They KNEW he was going to be President, and this way there was nothing in his way!!
09/17/09
Though I don't believe that all the criticism leveled at Obama is racially motivated, this birther business should seem obviously racially motivated. The ploys and scare tactics dreamed up by the wingnuts are just disgusting.
09/17/09
09/17/09
It's Kenya! It's in Africa! He's from the "dark continent!"
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At least, that's what the 18-year-old homeschooled girl who did my hair tried to tell me. I couldn't stifle my laughter.
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In response, I can only refer to the ruling handed down by a U.S. District Court judge yesterday in response to Mrs. Chief Birther Orly Taitz. It was 14 pages of utter legal brilliance smacking her down and all but calling her a nitwit and daring her to try again lest she end up in prison for filing yet more frivolous lawsuits.
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