Oh Noes! George W. Bush Is Teh Secret Vietnamese!

by hilzoy

I mean, what other conclusion can you possibly come to after seeing this:

I've been to several foreign countries. Not once did it ever occur to me to dress up like a foreigner. I mean, who does that?

Why else was he so eager to avoid serving in the Vietnam war? So he wouldn't have to kill his comrades! Why did he like what he saw when he looked into Putin's soul? Because, as this photo reveals for the first time, they are both Vietnamese! No matter how much the wingnuts try to scrub and whitewash, some stains just won't come clean.

The Viet Cong were patient. They took the long view. They weren't content to drive us out of their country: they needed to exact a terrible revenge on us, at a time and in a manner of their own choosing. George W. Bush is the instrument of their vengeance.

Suddenly, it all makes sense.

***

UPDATE: TPM tries to track down the source of the "Obama in Muslim garb" story. Here's what they found.

PS: Note to wingnuts: there is no such thing as "Muslim garb," though there are particular costumes for certain religious orders, and descendants of the Prophet sometimes wear black or green turbans, none of which Obama is wearing in the photo that's all over the internet. Other than that, just the traditional clothing of various Muslim countries. You might as well call a tuxedo "Christian garb."

PPS: Note to conservatives: I think that there are people on this earth to whom the term "wingnut" is actually appropriate. (Likewise, I think there are honest to God moonbats.) And anyone who posts horrified posts about Obama dressed as a Kenyan or Somali tribal elder is, imho, a wingnut.

But most conservatives are not wingnuts, imho, any more than most liberals are moonbats.

Comments

[Gary Farber]

If a moonbat and a wingnut have a child, is the child a wingbat, or is the child a moonnut?

Or just completely insane?

Or totally sane, in rebellion against one's parents?

[sujal]

What's depressing to me is that all of these smears rely on overt bigotry to work (Muslim == bad!). For someone to even be concerned about this would require them to believe the Muslim == bad assumption.

So, every time one of my friends asks me whether one of these idiotic things is true, I get a little more depressed about politics in this country.

[Gary Farber]

In fairness, Laura Bush is also a Muslim.

George is just good friends.

The Dilawar documentary just won the Oscar.

[Katherine]

I've been hearing about how good "Taxi to the Dark Side" is for a year now. Unfortunately, it's in a ridiculously limited release; maybe it will actually go to theaters now? I also see that HBO bought the rights after the Discovery Channel bCked out.

[ChenZhen]

Gary-

If a moonbat and a wingnut have a child, is the child a wingbat, or is the child a moonnut?

The species, whatever you want to call it, is pure myth. In the unlikely event that such a union would occur, the result would be antimatter. lol

[Gary Farber]

"Unfortunately, it's in a ridiculously limited release; maybe it will actually go to theaters now?"

A smattering of art houses, no doubt, but these days what really matters is that it'll get a lot more DVDs rented and bought. Presumably it will be released some time later this year, although there's no announced release date at present. This should get it one sooner, I'd think.

Have you seen the trailer? It's excellent, I think.

[Snooper]

There is much more to be concerned about in regards to Obama's alleged Muslimosity. He is a socialist at best and a communist at worse. That is what we need to make known.

Good post.

[Gary Farber]

"He is a socialist at best"

I think if he were a socialist, he might for, like, nationalizing something or other.

OT, but Josh Marshall gets a nice little shout-out here.

[gwangung]

He is a socialist at best

Like most Americans, I don't think you know what a socialist is.

Pretty sure you don't know what a communist is, either.

[hilzoy]

I am the granddaughter of proud Swedish socialists, and Barack Obama is no socialist. (Said in my best Lloyd Bentsen voice.)

[Gary Farber]

"Pretty sure you don't know what a communist is, either."

Nonsense.

[...] That dog don't hunt socialist Barack. He may love this country - or not. If he actually did, he would be running on a platform of constitutional government and not touchy-feely socialist government "enslavement of the populace" ideals.

Sure. He owes everything that he is to this country. The vast majority of Americans have been asleep at the wheel and the socialists and the communists have nearly taken this country over via the mantras pf political correctness, multiculturalism and identity politics. If Barack had to answer to the constitution for all of his "hope' and "change" garbage, he would be reduced to yet another empty shell of an ingrate.

In this country, while most of us slept, creeping communist rule has taken root. The DNC has been fully infiltrated and compromised. While that was taking place, the GOP has been infiltrated and compromised and about half of the GOP politicians are themselves socialists.

[...]

Yes, he owes all that he is to this great country that allows treason, sedition and subversive activities go unabated, all in the name of Freedom of Speech. I wonder what folks would be called if they were to rise up and beat the snot out of people that break into recruitment offices, desecrate monuments and vandalize personal and government property in the name of peace?

Barack...you are no Patriot to this country. You are the worst sort of unAmerican. You claim to be a Patriot yet you, as a would-be national and world leader, wouldn't know what Patriotism means. I wonder what Barack would say about the List of 45...

Indeed.

This is great stuff. I'm completely convinced, myself, you communist cur.

[hilzoy]

Gary: who knew that when the Communists took over, they would install a czarina?

[Adam]

Um, APEC or ASEAN (forget which) does this every time they meet. They dress in the traditional garb of the host country.

[KCinDC]

Damn, it really is impossible to tell spoofs from the real thing nowadays.

[hilzoy]

Adam: yeah, I know. -- The first link is just credit for the pictures; click those that follow.

[felix culpa]

This is (if the link works) a wonderful interview of Alex Gibney, creator of “Taxi...” by David Edelstein at Bloggingheads. You will have to scan the page to find it; I’m not happy with their URL system there, still, a great site.
Putin looks less threatening in blue compared to the customary black. An’ ain’t ol’ Dubya jus’havin’ hissef a ball,

[hilzoy]

italiacto!

[Adam]

Ah, now I see.

A question to any troll: what's so threatening about Obama's Muslim heritage? I mean, do you think it'll affect his decision-making process, or something else? I'm stumped.

[Gary Farber]

"Gary: who knew that when the Communists took over, they would install a czarina?"

It just shows how far more insidious the communists are than you ever realized. Czar Nicholas and his entire family were actually communists, and were never killed, but had plastic surgery and remained leading members of the Soviet Central Committee all their lives. The double-super-secret of the USSR was that the Sekrit Title of the General Secretary of the Communist Party was "Czar," in order to honor the early communism of the Roman Empire. Which is even more secret, but another story. People have always underestimated the communist threat, just as today they believe in the hoax that Soviet and world Communism are gone!

But we need to know: "In the comments section, if you have a mind to, please list the items that you have seen become a reality. I have my list and it is truly eye-opening. Do you have a list? If not, you need to establish your list so you can Fight the Good Fight. Our very survival is at stake."

I like Snooper's occupation and, of course, favorite movies. I see a new buddy, and a potential beautiful friendship, for Bill.

[felix culpa]

The Atlas site —now that’s what I call depressing.
From the previous thread, vis-á-vis Scott Horton: As cited, I find a lot of sites depressing, but those, I’m unlikely to return to.
Prof Horton on the other hand, I may occasionally not turn to with my morning coffee, but only because I’m already too depressed to cope; but it has to be severe. He is in my estimation one of the brightest lights in my field of vision, for his authoritative analysis, his grace, and his cultural depth. Viz; on current display, his Ash Wednesday (Eliot) piece. And his analyss of Dürer (St. Jerome, the Seven Candlesticks) are just wonderful.

[hilzoy]

I just ran across Snooper again. So let me just say for the record: when I wrote this: "I've been to several foreign countries. Not once did it ever occur to me to dress up like a foreigner." -- I was paraphrasing the website I linked to.

I have, in fact, dressed up in the clothes normally worn in a number of the countries I have visited. Horror of horrors, I own a rather fetching black veil that I bought in the Dubai airport, just in case I encountered a need for it. Also, I own a keffiyeh that looks exactly like the ones Palestinians wear, though mine is, in fact, Kurdish. So if I ever run for President and pictures of me in it circulate, remember: it's Kurdish.

[Gary Farber]

Snooper's ability to uncover the commies is uncanny:

[...] Barack is running for his first term and there is more at stake here than his Muslimosity...he is a Engles/Marx socialist/communist.

This is a particularly insidious form of communist infilitration, as we're talking about Marxist After School Specials. The commies will stop at nothing.

[felix culpa]

My oh my,
Anticommunism! Boy, that takes me back.Anybody else here old enough to recall None Dare Call It Treason? That was my crowd. Before voting for Goldwater, I went with a group from my school to pass out fliers at an event where Dr. King was speaking, warning that he was in league with the communists. My best friend’s mother was a member of the John Birch society.
These days, I naively thought this was just good joke material. But no, paranoid tropes common in the 50’s are alive and well (?) in this vastly different world. Amazing.
All credit to the Web, where opponents can fling their substances from a safe distance and no one has to pay attention unless they want to. At least none of the gasbag wingnuts is demanding a return to slavery. I hope.

[felix culpa]

Thanks, Gary and Hilzoy. Love the Engles link.
In the spirit of even-handed intelligence here, Snoop can be seen as making an effort to distance himself from the truly deranged, though I can’t say I’m entirely convinced. I just hope he keeps the safety on when he’s patrolling.

[Vistagoth]

Obama is a socialist. You missed his GDP/GNP Income Tax that Blair put through? Blair, socialist. He might have had an affect beyond Kenya because Tom Tuttles from Tacoma Washington are showing up. Really, it's like Kenya.

The Islamobama is accounted for at the United Exclusionary African Church of the Obamasiah in America. Kenya, where dad and CIA brother live; it's all tribes, so none of that religous stuff is a problem.

[liberal japonicus]

How is it that someone is in humint and never once thought of dressing up like the people in the country he was it? No wonder we can't get any actionable intelligence.

[Hartmut]

Interesting to learn that the abolition of child labor (not the one women suffer giving birth) is a proof of a communist takeover. Yeah, I remember those patriotic capitalists that claimed that reducing child labor below 16 hours a day would ruin the economy. We could be colonizing Alpha Centauri by now had we listened to them (sorry, I forgot that cultivating wastelands is also part of the communist plot).
---
I am just waiting for the first one to claim that Obama is actually an antisemitic Jew.
---
Trivia: Robin Hood was (still is?) banned in at least one US state for promoting communist ideas.

[Jesurgislac]

Not so weird as it sounds: according to an American Peace Service teacher writing about his experience in 1990s China, Robin Hood is widely regarded as a Communist hero, stealing from the rich to give to the poor and fighting for the powerless against the powerful. (Geoffrey Trease wrote a lovely Robin Hood novel in 1934, Bows Against the Barons, which is left-wing/egalitarian in tone: worth reading, if you can get hold of it.)

[Slartibartfast]

I'm not sure Obama's wearing of local attire is going to generate quite so much of a stir. Maybe it's the color.

[Slartibartfast]

Probably ought to have read below the fold before posting that.

Sweetness and light just misspelled "muslin", is my guess. How can you tell what the religion of clothing is? Robin Williams might have a funny answer for that, but he might have a harder time actually making the determination.

[Slartibartfast]

I think I'm now going to slink off and get some more coffee, before I do anything else embarrassing.

[Jesurgislac]

How can you tell what the religion of clothing is?

Taoist - Clothing happens.
Buddhist - Clothing happening is an illusion.
Hindu - This clothing has happened before.
Mormon - This clothing will happen again.
Moonies - Only happy clothing really happens.
Moslem - It is the will of Allah that clothing happens.
Zen - What is the sound of clothing happening?
Hare Krishna - Clothing happens clothing happens clothing clothing happens happens.
Pagan - Clothing is part of the Goddess.
Scientology - Garments occur.
Stoic - So clothing happens; I can take it.
Calvinist - Clothing happens because you don't work hard enough.
Christian Scientist - If clothing happens, pray and it will go away. (Clothing is in your mind.)
Catholic - If clothing happens, you deserve it.
Jew - Why does this clothing always happen to us?
Protestant - Let clothing happen to someone else.
Atheist - Clothing happens for no reason.
Hedonist - There's nothing like a good clothing happening.
Agnostic - Maybe clothing happens, maybe it doesn't. Christian Dior happens.
Jehovah's Witnesses - Let us in and we'll tell you why clothing happens.
Betazed - Are you telling me you're not going to be naked at your own wedding?

[ral]

Jes, that was great.

[Dhalgren]

There are over 30 documented wingnuts. Yes, a tiny minority in the conservative universe. But they have blogs, magazines, books, radio talk shows, and appear on cable TV as pundits. They are also well financed and welfared. It is the mission of Sadly, No to expose every one of them.

[KCinDC]

I like Snooper's occupation and, of course, favorite movies.

Hmm, maybe I was wrong about the impossibility of recognizing spoofs.

[Anarch]

*genuflects towards Jes*

[russell]

To me, the interesting character in the picture is Putin.

Clearly, the trauma of the situation has regressed him to the cognitive level of very early childhood, where he believes he can make it all go away if only he closes his eyes tightly enough.

Thanks -

[John Thullen]

Hey, Jes, don't go away for those long weekends any more!

Snoopy Dog Snooper:

Well, I'm with the program pretty much, but I can never get the hang of political correctness.

My favorite bits from the 45 (without comment, because who wants to follow the Henny Youngman of anti-Commie agitprop):

"Attribute prejudices, mental blocks, and retarding of children to suppressive influence of parents"

"bringing the cultivation of waste lands, and the improvement of the soil generally in accordance with a common plan"

and

"I ... call the New United Socialist States of the North American Continent"

"Czarina of the United Socialist States of the Former United Free States of America."

Like Obama's "muslimosity", I'm concerned here with your verbositoliciosness and your reluctantbodaciousicosity to use shorterplific acronymreducacodenpendaflukaphones to elucimasturbate the cruxidpthongonicious of the growing Commie plotywordypus.

In two words, shut up!

That's O.K though because Marx had the same problem on account of his carbunclesandaunts.

"The Naked Communist". Does that mean we get a "Naked Czarina of the United Socialist States of the Former Free States of America"?

Or at least some public statuary of said N.C.U.S.S.F.F.S.A.? and I mean that with extreme acronymaducibility.

Because if we're going to have masturbatory fantasias, I'm gonna need more than reading your screeds. I haven't felt less like masturbating since I read Atlas Shrugged at the age of 13, which at least gave me a day off.

The great thing about Ayn Rand and SnoopSnopesSchtupp is that the public art they find beautiful looks exactly like the socialist realistic public art they find subversive, except that instead of a muscular guy gazing into the stiff wind of the proletarian future wielding a hammer and sickle, you've got the same iconographic mannequin gazing into the entrepreneurial future wielding a menu from Wendy's, the keys to a Bulgemobile and a laminated pledge card from the infamous muppet thug, Grover Norquist.

Reading the Dagny Taggert scenes in Atlas, with all of the ideological friction of her psychosexual rubbing up against the wet cardboard bigdickuses populating Rand's "art" used to give me nightmares that I was trapped and extremely horny in a vast warehouse of smooth-crotched mannequin Madame Bovaries who had decided Flaubert would have been better off getting a degree in accounting.

Am I done yet? No, but I'll go talk to myself now.

[chaz]

F' yous, yankees !!!

As a Vietnamese, we know there is no Dubya in Vietnam

[Bill]

We’ve discussed scorned women (she’s just getting warmed up).

Obama in man-jammies. That’s pretty dumb eighteen months before a Presidential run. Should be a fun election.

[Batocchio]

Thanks, Hilzoy.

I've long thought it was pretty interesting how "wingnut" and "moonbat" got divvied up along partisan lines.

[hairshirthedonist]

Hedonist - There's nothing like a good clothing happening.

That's why I loves me some hairshirt.

[Gromit]

Bill, if that's what your jammies look like you're probably wearing them wrong.

[Slartibartfast]

As a Vietnamese, we know there is no Dubya in Vietnam

In Germany, that "W" is pronounced the same as the English "V", which is suggestive of fascistgovernmentrepression and REVOLUTION!

Ah, I'm no damned good at this.

[chaz]

Ve have vays to make you pay !!!

"V"ietnam = me luv you long time
"W"ietnam = W = middle finger !

[Curtis]

Thank you. You have made my day with this post.

[Poicephalus]

Please no more Atlas links k

[warner]

If I had been drinking coffee when this page hit the screen I would have needed a new keyboard.

God that was funny.

[pip's squeak]

"That's O.K though because Marx had the same problem on account of his carbunclesandaunts."

Which he reckoned with by dozens

[russell]

Obama's Kenyan getup is kind of cool in a down-home, getting real, I'm one of the people kind of way.

The Bush picture, also fantastic, but in the opposite direction. They look like Klaus Nomi's backup band on a reunion tour.

But for sheer sartorial bling, there is noone on earth who can outdo Moammar Qadaffi.

Seriously, the man is a stone cold fashion animal.

Thanks -

[KCinDC]

And now Stephanie Tubbs Jones, representing the Clinton campaign, says that Obama was simply wearing the clothing of "his country" and has nothing to be ashamed of. Very subtle, congresswoman.

[Gary Farber]

The deadly threat of Muslim garb continues.

[sean]

Hilzoy: I hate to quibble with you, but I'm afraid that in many countries, there is such a thing as "Muslim garb." I live in Lebanon and have just returned from a trip to Ethiopia, both countries with mixed Christian and Muslim populations.

In both countries, for example, dishdashas and skullcaps are traditionally worn by Muslims and not Christians. Likewise, traditional Druzes (that is to say sheikhs, or those who are religious) wear a traditional outfit that includes a sort of baggy pants called a sherwal. No other religion in Lebanon wears the sherwal. Likewise, in Lebanon, only Muslim and Druze (which is an offshoot of Shi'a Islam) women traditionally wear the hijab, or headscarf. So in many countries, especially mixed ones, there most certainly is such a thing as religiously defined garb.

One cannot generalize too much, though, because in Ethiopia, for example, both Christian and Muslim women commonly wear headscarves. Similarly, the kufi, or skullcap, is traditionally worn by Muslims in Lebanon, although in many West African countries it is not exclusive to Islam.

All this to say that the question isn't as cut and dry as you or those you're taking to task would have it.

What's disconcerting to me here is that such a picture would even be possible of eliciting what seems to be a clearly xenophobic and anti-Muslim reaction in the first place.