During a week in which CBS/XM’s dimwitted duo of Opie & Anthony suggested Barack Obama would issue a presidential pardon to O.J. Simpson, it takes some doing to match such a statement for sheer hate fuckery. KTLK‘s Chris Baker and Langdon Perry have managed, however.
Audio link courtesy Media Matters. Earvin Johnson’s reply, culled from Randball :
“I am extremely disappointed in KTLK in Minneapolis. I am outraged that Chris Baker and Langdon Perry would minimize such a serious and deadly issue. Millions are dying from HIV/AIDS and the fact that they would make jokes about my status is unbelievable, Johnson said. œChris, Langdon and KTLK should use their power in a more positive light by encouraging people to get tested for this disease instead of making up such ridiculous lies.
media matters….now there’s a reliable source.
…and strangely, Baker and Perry’s station isn’t disputing the credibilty of the audio sample nor the portion quoted.
Here’s the thing Super Ger. Even though I’m a Democrat, I’m not a political bobblehead (let me know if you don’t know what that means). I absolutely hate sources that have an agenda (even when they support my candidate):
Fox News
MSNBC
MediaMatters
MattDrudge
HuffPost
Limbaugh
Bill O’Orielly
Olbermann
Sadly, (And I mean real fucking sadness), you never went to college and learned about critical thinking, but it’s cool Gerard, you were busy jacking off to the Ramones (whom I also love). Oh wait, you’re so much cooler than me that even the Ramones aren’t cool, Fuck, I totally forgot!
I’m sorry dude. I shouldn’t say bad shit about you. I feel sorry for you. I hope you figure things out and get better. It seems like you have a brain, it would be cool if you started to use it! I really do love you GC! Please don’t make me look like an idiot,
That M.M. has a P.O.V. is not something I care to debate — clearly they do. But that doesn’t address the veracity of a report KTLK isn’t trying to discredit. There’s no fake tape in this instance, and if the source in question happened to be one with a political agenda distinctly to the right of Media Matters, I still wouldn’t hesitate to link to it and let the readership decide for themselves who was credible.
I did go to college, as a matter of fact, and while I didn’t stay there very long, I don’t recall one moment spend jacking off to the Ramones. That was done prior to university.
If you’re trying to goad me into claiming the Ramones aren’t cool (despite Johnny’s Reagan/Yankees fixation) I think you’re s.o.o.l. on that front.
This is the first time I’ve heard of the comments made on the Chris Baker show. I agree that the statements they made could be perceived as hateful and inflammatory in writing. But there’s no way you can listen to the actual clip and think they were being serious. If you can’t hear the sarcasm and facetiousness, you are deluding yourself.
Same for the Opie & Anthony quip. Do you seriously think they made those statements with any seriousness? It’s a dumb comedy show, not Rush Limbaugh. I’m an avid Obama supporter, but I can tell the difference between harmless cheeky irreverence and plain hatred.
People like you love to be offended. You’ll take throwaway comments and cry foul and feign great offense. It gives you a construct for assuming a moral high ground. And from that high ground you can sit in smug contentedness, so sure of your superiority.
Obama has dealt with irreverence towards his campaign and his person with grace and dignity. He’s done it again and again. I suggest you follow his example.
Merely because a comment is meant as a joke doesn’t make it funny, Mike. I don’t doubt that Baker was kidding around, nor do I suspect Opie & Anothy really believe the only reason black people didn’t riot after the latest OJ verdict was because they didn’t want to hurt Obama’s chances.
Irreverence is in the eye and hear of the beholder. The last several days have shown that Sen. Obama’s greatest crime in the eyes of an increasingly vocal portion of the electorate is not his relative lack of experience, but that he’s a black man with the middle name of Hussein. In a climate where voters feel completely free to turn up at a McCain/Palin rally and shout “kill him” in reference to Obama, I’m having a really hard time finding the giggly irreverence in joking that he’d pardon O.J. Are O&A’s listeners stupid enough to believe such a pardon might really happen? I doubt it, but again, it’s a lazy, stupid joke. Effective satire has to have some basis in real life. Have Obama and OJ ever hung out? Was Obama a Bills fan? Do they have anything in common whatsoever….other than being prominent African Americans?
Trust me, I’m not looking to be offended, and I personally claim no moral high ground over anyone. Not even apologists for O&A.
A demo is forthcoming from my newly minted emo-crust act Cured AIDS Guy. I’ll be sure you get one.