I just heard that Richard Hoagland will be dumping a big steaming pile of conspiracy theory on Dennis Miller’s radio show on Monday. It airs at 9:00 a.m. here in Colorado so I may listen. But it’ll be tough: you can guess my opinion Hoagland (actually, it’s documented thoroughly so you need not guess) and while I used to find Miller very funny on SNL, his sojourn into far-right wing nutbaggery is painful to bear.
But I take on great torture for my beloved BABLoggees, so if I remember (and don’t blot it out of my mind) I’ll give it a shot.
Tip o’ the tin foil hat to Jim Oberg.
January 12th, 2008 at 8:14 pm
The link to Dennis Miller’s radio show doesn’t work for me. I guess I’m not “hip” or “cool” enough to listen to Dennis. I try, really I do.
I can sometimes “rock”, err, if I have to, I guess…
January 12th, 2008 at 8:21 pm
There was a typo in the URL. Grrr. It’s fixed now.
January 12th, 2008 at 8:37 pm
Dennis Miller was funny? I’m afraid the first time I saw him he was bagging those nuts, which has left a decidely non-humorous impression.
January 12th, 2008 at 8:44 pm
Um yeah, how can you pollute Dennis Miller’s radio show? That’s like being worried your shoes are dirty before walking over a landfill.
January 12th, 2008 at 9:02 pm
Scraping the bottom of the barrel, isn’t he? One would have thought that even Dennis Miller could easily find more relevant and interesting guests. He’ll be hosting Alex Jones and David Icke next, and maybe even Ron Paul…
(yeah, I know, that was a little gratuitous)
January 12th, 2008 at 9:36 pm
It seems Hoagland is at it again.
His stupidity hurts me, but then
when Phil’s on the case
he’ll have mud on his face
and slink silently back to his den.
I thought Miller was smarter than this.
I guess ratings are too good to miss.
It’s easily solved
when money’s involved.
So I guess all this crap will persist.
I hope you’re not angry with me.
I’ve been a fan for a year (or three).
I hope that you’re fine
that I dropped you a line
(and make sure you’re not jealous of PZ).
January 12th, 2008 at 10:59 pm
I wonder if it’s my name which is drawing in the ‘Christian Singles’ add on the RHS of the page.
January 12th, 2008 at 11:15 pm
Saturday night, Art Bell was on WGAC, sort of – it was an “encore” of a show originally aired in 2000. Some of you might not recognize this, but Art’s “Coast to Coast” show was the insomniac’s dream: continuous woo-woo about, in this case and for example, “Aliens in the Bible”. It seems some fellow realized that the Bible is full of references to alien visitation, and so he had to tell Art and the audience all about it.
I was tickled to hear my wife snorting at the absurdities. We are both amazed that so many people let radio and TV people tell them things made up of undefined terms, with no reasoning present – and not at all surprised that a ready and willing audience can be found in church on Sunday.
January 13th, 2008 at 12:37 am
Do you people really hate Dennis Miller, or is politics clouding your views? I see this unbridled hate for entertainers whenever ideologiy is involved.
It seems people can’t just say “I don’t find him funny”. It has to be “Argh! Nutbag! Landfill! Bottom of the barrel!” and all sorts of over the top hysteria. It’s like people can’t deal with a different point of view on a rational basis anymore.
I’m not right wing, but I sometimes find the guy pretty funny even if I don’t agree with what he’s saying at the moment.
A similar thing happens to Terry Goodkind, who writes fantasy novels with a strong libertarian (even objectivist) bent. His critics can’t just say that the books weren’t their thing, they have to endless vilify the man and make personal insults. It’s really pathetic.
January 13th, 2008 at 12:50 am
I don’t think he’s all that funny, regardless of his politics, much of which I agree with.
January 13th, 2008 at 1:06 am
— I don’t think he’s all that funny, regardless of his politics, much of which I agree with.
Well there you go.
Fair enough. But you see, you agree with his politics, and so your brain didn’t go bug**** insane. You’re an example of the other side of the coin.
Actually, his last few rants that I heard have seemed a bit forced, like his heart wasn’t in it anymore. And not as many obscure, bizarre references. I liked those.
January 13th, 2008 at 3:57 am
The mechanism for such a rejection is simple, I think – much humor builds on the absurd. When you hear a person saying something absurd in earnest, it makes it difficult to appreciate that persons humor. In effect, you begin to wonder when and if he is joking or serious, which isn’t a sound basis for good comedy.
The best humorists know this, I’m sure, which probably explain why they choose to express their pain or sense of the absurdness of the world within their comedy, never outside it. (Or should that be “without” it?
)
January 13th, 2008 at 5:23 am
He was funny but then he engineered an approach when he saw dollar signs in a different pasture. Now, it’s impossible to tell if he tempers/panders his image for the harvesting of a particularly marketable demographic or really, honestly had some sort of heart freeze. Since it smacks of the former, it’s very hard for those that knew the before to have any respect for the latter. Too hard not to call him out as a poseur, regardless of his views.
January 13th, 2008 at 5:44 am
I dislike Dennis Miller for a very simple reason. Comedy usually needs a target. Most comedians use themselves and their own culture to make fun of. The second most popular target is to make fun of those who are more powerful, in terms of money and influence.
Miller however, sides with the powerful and tries to make fun of the less powerful and it turns my stomach. It’s a reflex.
Kicking upwards is a good thing, kicking downwards is despicable. A comedian must be sensitive to the power disparities, and Miller isn’t.
January 13th, 2008 at 7:14 am
Hoadgland is definitely full of hoagslop! It is hard to believe that anyone listens to him or buys his books.
January 13th, 2008 at 8:21 am
BA, while I appreciate your willingness to take a little pain for us, I don’t think it’s really necessary to listen to Hoagland on Miller. Doesn’t this unfortunate conjunction just go to show how far the star of each has sunk?
January 13th, 2008 at 9:35 am
@Quiet Desperation:
“It seems people can’t just say “I don’t find him funny”. It has to be “Argh! Nutbag! Landfill! Bottom of the barrel!” and all sorts of over the top hysteria. It’s like people can’t deal with a different point of view on a rational basis anymore.”
Just like Al Franken!
One does not need to disagree with a particular political philosophy in order to find a particular proponent of it to be a nutball.
There is a lot of “this guy disagrees with me, so therefor he’s insaaaaaane!” in public discourse today, but there are also nutballs being nutball…y…
IOW, there are people out there that I technically agree with that I think are nutty, too.
January 13th, 2008 at 10:00 am
Side note: Has anyone else noticed that since Republicans started to lose power, they are suddenly begging for politeness in political discourse? Seems like just yesterday those of us even slightly to the left were being called “cowards, traitors,” and worse.
Oh, wait. It was just yesterday.
January 13th, 2008 at 11:04 am
Oh, come on now Phil, you really WANT to listen, don’t you?
January 13th, 2008 at 11:38 am
QD, I think what may have happened is I simply got tired of his humor; it got more and more strained, and his being a color commenter for the NFL cemented my opinion that he just isn’t that funny anymore. I’ve heard lots of comedians who espouse politics similar to my own whom I don’t find funny either.
January 13th, 2008 at 12:45 pm
On the other hand, John Stewart, who seems to be a leftie, is usually really funny. I try not to let politics ruin my appreciation of a good joke. I think it’s that Dennis Miller just feels so canned, while people like John Stewart come off as being quick witted and able to improvise.
January 13th, 2008 at 3:12 pm
— I think what may have happened is I simply got tired of his humor; it got more and more strained,
I sense he’s just gotten tired. I think he’s a pretty bright guy. He may have gone to the right for the money, or maybe he really did convert. There was a radio host here in L.A. that did something similar, and he went into great detail as to what pushed him away from his old beliefs.
Heck, people change their religions. Changing politics is pretty trivial in comparison. People change. The old “not liberal at 20 = no heart, not conservative at 40 = no brain” maxim that some of the right like to quote.
Mine is “ideology = mental illness”, but there ya go.
Still, a good discussion, I think.
January 13th, 2008 at 3:14 pm
What we need is to bring Bill Hicks back to life and let him take over The O’Reilly Factor. My god, that would be legendary television!
January 13th, 2008 at 4:11 pm
@QD:
“What we need is to bring Bill Hicks back to life and let him take over The O’Reilly Factor. My god, that would be legendary television!”
Your ideas intrigue me, sir, and I would like to subscribe to your newsletter.
January 13th, 2008 at 8:21 pm
The writers at SNL were very good. Sometimes the comedians are able to do their thing, sometimes they need (creative) help. I note that even without writers, the recent Jon Stewart and Steven Colbert shows still come off as entertaining news. These are just really creative people with an excellant sense of timing, which is really what comedic delivery is all about.
Dennis Miller was funny?
When?
GAry 7
January 13th, 2008 at 9:00 pm
Quiet Desperation said,
Mine is “ideology = mental illness”, but there ya go.
That’s a classic line.
Thanks
January 14th, 2008 at 9:13 am
Miller was funny in like 1997. I used to be a big fan, especially of his captions at the end of his HBO show. But not anymore, for the reasons already expressed here.