The Bubble Genius Bob & Chez Show, 8.23.12

We Debate False Equivalence Versus Fair Criticism; Todd Akin and The Radical Republican Platform; Predictions for the Republican Convention; Sheriff Joe Arpaio at the Convention; We Built This City on Rock and Roll; Ireland’s President Takes Down a Tea Party Radio Guy; Crazy Texas Judge Predicts Civil War; and much more. Brought to you by Bubble Genius.

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Quote of the Day

“I’m so relieved to know that my child’s father, the man who muffled my screams as he forcefully penetrated me over and over and left me hemorrhaging to death on the street, is not a rapist.”

-- From The Onion story, "Pregnant Woman Relieved To Find Out Her Rape Was Illegitimate"

Ire of the Storm

Today's column for the Daily Banter expands a little on something I mentioned here a couple of days ago: the potential for Hurricane Isaac to strike Tampa next week during the Republican National Convention.

Here's a quick excerpt:

"When you consider the fact that the religious right which the modern Republican party has aligned itself and is beholden to completely regularly sees the hand of God in natural occurrences, it somehow seems appropriate that a very big storm could pound the Republican National Convention next week. I don't believe any of the nonsense the hyper-Christian contingent subscribes to, but the irony is inescapable -- and somewhat delicious. The modern incarnation of Republicanism embraces Christ and denies science and man-made climate change, which makes me wonder -- should Isaac become the kind of ferocious storm that used to be an aberration but which we've seen far too many of over the past several years -- exactly where they'll be willing to place blame if they get inundated to the point where their big party is interrupted by evacuation sirens and Emergency Broadcast System signals."

Read the Rest Here

Financial Crisis

Well, Gawker has officially just put its foot deep in Mitt Romney's very wealthy ass.

Gawker Exclusive: The Bain Files: Inside Mitt Romney's Tax-Dodging Cayman Scheme/8.23.12

Equal Time

So, as promised -- or threatened -- Cesca's response to my Banter piece is now up.

I thought I made it pretty clear in my column that I wasn't drawing a one-to-one correlation between Michael Moore and Todd Akin and that, regardless, it was important to apply the same standard across the board, no matter the subject or person, when you're doling out criticism. That to me just makes sense. I also thought I made it clear that I'm not completely beholden to any one political party or slant, therefore, while I absolutely understand political reality and try to keep it in mind at all times, I don't beat myself up too harshly if I say something that's critical of liberals or the liberal mindset. Taking a shot in the direction of the left, when it's deserved, doesn't automatically mean that I'm doing something that benefits the right; thinking it does is the worst kind of crass reductionism and it tips a hand to the traditional, and insidious, liberal intelligentsia trait of paternalistically trying to protect the ignorant unwashed from jumping to the wrong conclusion. Apparently, though, Bob feels much differently about all of the above and more.

Anyway, while I know there are those expecting me to continue this little back-and-forth, I'm out. I spoke my piece and I see no need to say anything else about it. If you can't figure out the point I was making, or simply don't agree, then there's nothing else I can say to elucidate or convince you.

I will say this, though: While I went out of my way to temper my remarks, as I always do when I disagree with someone I consider a friend, Cesca, in my opinion, showed me no such courtesy. And yes, I'm a little pissed about it.

Listening Post

I've raved about Abandoned Pools pretty much since the beginning of this little experiment of mine. They're one of a handful of bands that I've said deserve to be huge but strangely aren't. Well, their new record hits iTunes, stores, etc. next Tuesday and this is the title track from it.

Here's Sublime Currency.

By the way, I'll be catching them at the Roxy here in L.A. on September 15th. If anybody local feels like showing up, I'll buy you a drink.

Keeping Us Honest

Today's admittedly late piece for the Daily Banter deals with some of the backlash I received to my comments on Michael Moore yesterday.

Here's a quick excerpt:

"The response to my little slam against Moore, Stone and Assange was swift and ferocious. Via Facebook and e-mail, I was raked over the coals pretty relentlessly for daring to specifically correlate Michael Moore to Todd Akin, the argument of my detractors being that I had set up the dreaded false-equivalence. A number of people, including my friend, podcast partner and fellow Banter-ite Bob Cesca, felt that I was being a liberal self-defeatist and that I failed to see how Moore, as a guy who’s not in a position to directly affect public policy, was a poor comparison to someone like Todd Akin, who is. Also, according to my critics, there’s the fact that Moore is an outlier who isn’t thoroughly representative of the overall opinion of the left, as Akin’s views are of the right. All of this is, of course, true — but that’s not really the point and it’s not why I felt it was important to call Moore out for his views while continuing to call out Akin for his."

Read the Rest Here

FYI: Cesca has already said that his column tomorrow will be a follow-up to mine, which means that the debate that went on for quite a while yesterday on Facebook will more than likely continue.