There has been a buzz around the liberal blogosphere about a picture of Vice President Dick Cheney fishing. No, not because he shot someone while he was out on the boat, or tortured a fish, or outted a currently working covert wriggler. No, it’s because what some folks think they see reflected in his glasses.
I first saw this on Crooks and Liars, but had no clue what they were talking about. However, it’s been posted on a lot of other places, making the situation more clear. The full picture is on the left, and here’s a blow up of his glasses:
What’s causing the stir? Some people think that they see a naked woman reflected in his glasses.
Now, I am no fan of Mr. Cheney — the word "treason" pops into my head whenever I see him — but I am really good at pareidolia, and this story is ridiculous.
First off, the reflection clearly shows his hand holding the fishing rod. Even before I knew the picture was of him fishing I could figure that out. In lower-res versions it’s hard to see what it is, but it’s still obviously not a woman.
Second, don’t you think the photographer might have noticed had there been some undressed babe lounging in the boat?
Third, how old is Cheney? 300 years? A bazillion? What would he be doing with a naked woman on his boat?
Fourth, and the clincher, is the lack of human blood dribbling from Cheney’s mouth; it’s well known that he cannot resist feasting on the organs and lifeblood of naked virgins (which I suppose answers Number 3).
Sheesh. That last one alone should make this whole thing go away.
Seriously, what people are seeing is not a true reflection in Cheney’s glasses, they’re seeing a reflection of their own prejudices there. There are many reasons to dislike our sitting Vice President — probably the exact same number of reasons to indict him. But this should be based on the facts, and not on hysteria.
At least no one says the woman is Mary. I’m sure Cheney would run for President if that happened.
April 11th, 2008 at 12:12 pm
“the lack of human blood dribbling from Cheney’s mouth; it’s well known that he cannot resist feasting on the organs and lifeblood of naked virgins”
and with this i end my part in being a BA reader
April 11th, 2008 at 12:16 pm
I’m disappointed in your political commentary. It has no place here - you would probably ban or delete a similar post by one of your readers.
And if you’ve got evidence of “treason” or anything else that would stand up in court, pony it up to your District Attorney instead of whining.
April 11th, 2008 at 12:16 pm
I think I see a noodly appendage coming in on the left one!
April 11th, 2008 at 12:19 pm
The drudge report had a picture that was not as blown up, and it did resemble a naked woman lounging on her back. With the blown up picture you have, it’s obvious that it’s his hand holding the rod.
The original is probably still on Drudge’s website.
April 11th, 2008 at 12:23 pm
Phil; it’s obviously a giant praying-mantis! Cheney is an alien agent I tell ya!
April 11th, 2008 at 12:32 pm
It’s a hand grabbing something, a thumb, and a piece of shirt.
April 11th, 2008 at 12:32 pm
Blu-Ray-Venon and Ray Works have it all wrong. It’s the science-ish parts of this blog that should be dropped. It’s the politics that is funny. The science is just tedious rehashing of over worked stuff from the web. The politics is NEWS!
Keep at it there BA. Keep telling us that only non-socialists have a political agenda, then two posts later tell us that the VP feasts on naked organs. Yeah! Go BA.
April 11th, 2008 at 12:32 pm
@ Johan: With the blown up picture you have, it’s obvious that it’s his hand holding the rod.
Well, that makes it all the worse now, doesn’t it? Holding his rod with naked women around! Disgusting!
April 11th, 2008 at 12:49 pm
Because you know, Blue Ray Ven and Ray Works, (what is it by the way with people called Ray?) you should NEVER listen to somebody who doesn’t already agree with you.
It’s a blog, guys! You well know already that the BA is quite liberal. If you don’t like a post, just wait a minute and there will be another coming, probably more to your liking.
Or does the BA’s political orientation invalidates his science?
April 11th, 2008 at 12:59 pm
“Now, I am no fan of Mr. Cheney — the word “treason” pops into my head whenever I see him —”
Why would that be? Everyone knows it was that guy at the State Department who outed Valerie Plame.
“There are many reasons to dislike our sitting Vice President — probably the exact same number of reasons to indict him. ”
So… zero?
April 11th, 2008 at 1:03 pm
C’mon now, we know that Cheney doesn’t eat virgins. He eats trees and belches out greenhouse gasses. HE’S A ROBOT, PEOPLE!!11!
April 11th, 2008 at 1:03 pm
1) It’s Phil’s blog. He can write what he wants.
2) This is a site about not only astronomy, but skepticism. Skepticism is a method that can be applied to all things, not just science However, skepticism is part and parcel of the scientific method. A favorite target of Phil’s skepticism is pareidolia, the tendency for humans to see things that aren’t really there.
3) It’s clearly Cheney’s hand holding something like a fishing rod.
4) As for the whole treason thing, I think lying to start a war and putting our armed forces in unnecessary danger counts. Not to mention abandoning our country’s humanitarian values in favor of torture.
April 11th, 2008 at 1:05 pm
Thanks, Phil. I consider it to be very important to be just as careful about quality of evidence even when the buzz is against our enemies as we are when we’re defending our allies. Despite the claims of the first few posters, I think that this post is strong evidence that you’re *not* a political hack: you’re fair and consistent. Would that more people in this country were able to look at all claims with equal skepticism, our politics would be a lot less rancorous and a lot more useful.
April 11th, 2008 at 1:05 pm
Am I the only one who sees the naked woman behind his hand which is holding the rod. Turn your head side-ways and you can see a nipple…
~Chris
April 11th, 2008 at 1:09 pm
When I first saw this a few days ago, I thought it was a naked woman. I really need my glasses.
Blu Ray and Ray Works:
I really don’t see the problem. This is a blog where the blogger posts his opinion. You can respond with yours. It’s something we like to call Free Speech. Besides, do you not recognize sarcasm and humor when you see it?
April 11th, 2008 at 1:12 pm
Is it a hand … or a CLAW?
April 11th, 2008 at 1:12 pm
Obviously it’s just part of the opening credits from the next Bond film, “Idiocy Never Ends”.
April 11th, 2008 at 1:16 pm
I thought the low-res version looked rather like a naked woman this morning seeing it on a TV (I help get my kids ready and my wife does the other half while watching the news). I thought it before they announced what the fuss was, although if you lead with “You won’t belive what may or may not be reflected in his glasses” plus a dirty mind goes a long way. I also figured if I saw the full res it’d be obvious and that there was no chance at all this was anything but a “Ha! That looks a little like..” gone wild, especially as I’m sure the releasers had the full res and probably counted the pores on his nose to make sure they didn’t need a shot with three more or less. I have now seen the full res and I made the correct assumption.
April 11th, 2008 at 1:16 pm
@Blu-Ray-Ven
Funny, I thought the comment was a bit of tongue-in-cheek sarcasm (pretty funny, too, at least IMHO). But, then again, some people just don’t seem to have a sense of humour…
April 11th, 2008 at 1:21 pm
I always figured that man was just standing around holding his rod while the country falls apart.
April 11th, 2008 at 1:26 pm
Oh, so THAT’s what people thought they saw? A naked lady in Cheney’s knuckles? Lame…
Personally, I’m more disturbed by the hat & aviators than the reflection in ‘em. Reminds me of the Captain in “Cool Hand Luke.”
April 11th, 2008 at 1:27 pm
I love how “Ray Works” phrases his objection:
I’m disappointed in your political commentary. It has no place here
Phil’s blog is no place for Phil to make “political commentary”.
I guess Ray Works isn’t a big fan of freedom of speech, but I suppose that’s to be expected of anyone that is supportive of Cheney.
April 11th, 2008 at 1:31 pm
People need to lighten up. Surely we all have friends we disagree with on politics, yet they are still friends.
Lecturing someone on what they should and should not talk about when you are a guest of their blog is tantamount to lecturing someone on what they should talk about in their own home.
April 11th, 2008 at 1:56 pm
hmmm…i wonder how it will be before the truthers use this image as some kind of proof for one of their wacky 9/11 theories.
April 11th, 2008 at 1:58 pm
OK, so there is no science to show that Cheney is evil… but Cheney IS evil!
With that aside, Phil is being a good skeptic and disproving that Cheney likes to go fishing with naked chicks. Don’t give Phil a hard time…
At least he is not responsible for sending over 4,000 US troops to their deaths (more deaths than terrorists caused on 911), causing the deaths of even more innocent Iraqis, disrupting families of hundreds of thousands of US and coalition troops, devastating a country for having WMDs that they didn’t have and doing untold damage to our economy and military capabilities; which will become more apparent in the following decades… all while giving large contracts to his buddies at Haliburton.
But let’s stay on topic. Cheney does not go fishing with naked chicks.
I would though…
April 11th, 2008 at 2:00 pm
Huh. The first thing I saw in the low-res version of the picture was a well-oiled _man_, not woman.
Am I the only one who got that first impression?
April 11th, 2008 at 2:00 pm
I can’t imagine it being a naked woman…not because of his age (we old guys need love too, Phil)), but because I suspect he gets his gratification from blowing things and people up.
April 11th, 2008 at 2:04 pm
SkepticTim, that’s what I saw the first time, a praying mantis or other insect like features. I thought we finally had proof that Cheney was an alien, but I guess we’ll have to wait a bit longer.
Also, if any political commentary/joking chased the conservative readers away, they all would have left a long time ago. Their empty threats do provide some comedy, though, so I hope they keep it up.
April 11th, 2008 at 2:06 pm
“At least no one says the woman is Mary. I’m sure Cheney would run for President if that happened”
Cheney is already president…
April 11th, 2008 at 2:08 pm
BA,thanks for debunking this bit of silliness. I think you were a bit over the top on your anti-Cheney comments, but I won’t quit reading you over it. Dis RC Cola again, on the other hand, and I may ask you to step outside…
Cello [sigh], if you’re gonna use the “L” word, you gotta propose a credible “truth”: if the public reasons for going to war were all bogus, please share your theory of what the real reason was. And spare us all the lunatic hand-waving and hyperventilating that so many anti-war critics seem to use when whining about the current adminstration, please stick to coherent reasoning.
April 11th, 2008 at 2:16 pm
Klinkton was indicted. His crooked party protected him. Didn’t he lose his license to practice? Billiary, they are carrying on their lies today.
Fortunately, it doesn’t look like they are going to get another chance to muck things up.
Back to astronomy?
April 11th, 2008 at 2:19 pm
“At least no one says the woman is Mary. I’m sure Cheney would run for President if that happened”
Cheney is already president…
Yes, but he wants to be God.
I kid, I kid.
April 11th, 2008 at 2:22 pm
actually, what this whole post demonstrates is that Phil, everyone commenting on it, including myself, and every other goof on the net seeing and talking about this, has a major flaw and problem….. they have too much free time and a lack of constructive things to occupy their time with.
i don’t even like like Bush/Cheney, what i felt kind of sad for those opposing them as kind of empty and pathetic.
Go read a friggin book or go outside and breathe some fresh air people! GET A LIFE!!!
April 11th, 2008 at 2:23 pm
DennyMo:
I’m not sure what Bush or Cheney’s exact motivation was, nor do I claim to know. But even in the lead up to the war, when it was revealed that much of the intelligence on Iraq’s WMDs was either outdated or outright forgery, they plodded ahead anyway. Downing Street Memo, anyone?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Downing_street_memo
Whatever their reasons for starting the Iraq war, evidence didn’t figure into their equations.
April 11th, 2008 at 2:24 pm
I think it’s a naked woman attached to his arm. He had one grafted onto the end of his arm.
April 11th, 2008 at 2:27 pm
When I was first looking at this picture, I swore there was a guitar in his hand. I just couldn’t figure why he would have that fishing. About when you said he was holding a fishing pole I did a double take on the picture and had a good laugh. Pareidolia at work :]
April 11th, 2008 at 2:31 pm
The reflection in the left-hand (as we look at it) lens does look a little like a naked woman, but the other image doesn’t.
Oh, come on, this has to be about the lamest reason ever. Do you really think that old men never think of sex — especially with nubile young women?
April 11th, 2008 at 2:39 pm
LOL, thanks for posting that. It saddens me that people don’t have better things to do with their time than to blame all their problems on a poor old man. The man is just trying to get some rest and relaxation. God knows the job of the vice-president is demanding enough… Was it John Adams who said that the Vice Presidency is the most useless job ever conceived? At least he isn’t using his down time to bore us to death with powerpoint slides.
April 11th, 2008 at 2:40 pm
I do see the hand now that I had a few hours without looking at it…
…But um, the first time I seen it I SERIOUSLY didn’t even read the headlines and I went “Why do they post a picture of some dude looking at boobies?” (I’m canadian, so I’m not quite interested in memorizing Cheney’s face. :P) At lower resolution… It’s a darn good pareidolia!
But now that I see the higher res… Yep, it’s a hand! Still would’ve been pretty hilarious if it truly was a naked chick, especially with that smile on his face. Haha.
April 11th, 2008 at 2:42 pm
That’s funny.
Somebody showed me this and said look at the reflection. I immediately thought “he’s fishing, so what?” Then i had it explained to me and now i see it. But i don’t think i would have spotted that on my own, it wasn’t until i knew what i was looking for that i actually saw it.
April 11th, 2008 at 2:59 pm
The reflected hand is obviously Luke Skywalker’s as he clings over the abyss in the Cloud City at the “I’m your father, Luke” scene.
Cheney is not called Darth Vader without reason…
April 11th, 2008 at 3:00 pm
To the ‘Rays’;
Defend the warmongers all you like, they’ll still be warmongers.
April 11th, 2008 at 3:01 pm
See, when i look at that picture, all i see is someone laughing like Skeletor in the old He-Man cartoons.
April 11th, 2008 at 3:08 pm
Ok, looked at the pic several times, and went to the cooks and liars link. I’m just seeing a hand holding a fishing pole. Where is the naked woman supposed to be? Is it supposed to be his hand? I’m just not seeing it. And trust me, if there were a naked woman there, I’d see her.
April 11th, 2008 at 3:12 pm
Opps, that should be “Crooks and liars” link.
April 11th, 2008 at 3:14 pm
I gotta say - I can’t see the woman - naked or otherwise. Yes, I see him holding a pole or rod.
But what I FIRST saw - without reading what was here - looked like it just stepped off the ship - the one in Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
JC
April 11th, 2008 at 3:34 pm
Solipsism and pareidolia rule. We create what we see day and night. I see Cheney being sold on ebay, so we can move swiftly on and be free.
OOOOoooMMMMMMmmmm…
April 11th, 2008 at 3:48 pm
God had a comment Cheney will god over his dead body, I kid. plus everyone knows if you have dead girl in your boat you do not allow someone to take pictures.
April 11th, 2008 at 3:51 pm
@davidlpf: wait a minute… Who said the girl was dead? You guys see dead girls? I saw a chick posing.
April 11th, 2008 at 3:55 pm
See, the problem here is that pareidolia is a term that describes seeing something recognizable when no other information about the light coming into one’s eyes is readily available.
We easily see shapes and figures in cloud formations but anyone who has done so with a friend has learned that the friend must be convinced of your perceptual interpretation.
Friend sees a bunny, I see an icon for a company selling batteries. Then I notice that a contrail and apply those batteries in my mind to make a connection that entertains my imagination. The fact that the contrail begins to oscillate.
Friend questions my snot-producing laughter.
I respond with, “you wouldn’t get it”.
Now, here we have a reflected image of a hand that many bloggers have seen as a naked woman.
Let me put that another way:
1. Hand
2. Naked Woman
3. Pareidolia
4. Bloggability
5. Snot-Producing laughter
Cheney’s Jedi training is showing. He turned a hand into a naked woman in the minds of so many who can only make feeble, repetitive attempts at duplicating such talent.
As for Phil and his blog, I’m here for the duration.
Nice work.
April 11th, 2008 at 3:56 pm
@michelle, ok you do not allow someone to pictures of you with girl posing in a boat.
April 11th, 2008 at 4:12 pm
Apparently noticing that only non-bushies have been raving about this picture means and reflecting that reality in the intro to this post makes Phil a conservative. Or at least so say the idiots.
April 11th, 2008 at 4:42 pm
That should have been:
1. Hand
2. Pareidolia
3. Naked Woman
4. Bloggability
5. Snot-Producing laughter
My bad for the other mistakes. I chose to have superchildren. They can be distracting as they pick my brain.
April 11th, 2008 at 4:43 pm
Anybody been watching Lewis Black’s “Root of All Evil” on Comedy Central? Basically, two guys debate which of two people or things is more evil, with Black as the moderator. This past week it was Paris Hilton vs. Dick Cheney. Needless to say, Cheney won, but not by as much one might think. (Excerpt)
Incidentally, here’s a question for Blue Ray and Ray Works: Have not repeatedly been told that the reason the terrorists hate us so much is because of our freedoms? Is not freedom of speech among those freedoms? And by attempting to restrict Phil’s freedom of speech, are you not siding with those who hate America?
So there you have it: Blue Ray and Ray Works are America haters and should be sent to Gitmo for a fun-filled weekend of waterboarding.
April 11th, 2008 at 4:55 pm
If Cheney had a naked women on his boat, he would have had another heart attack.
April 11th, 2008 at 5:17 pm
The people who want to leave have it wrong, it’s the relentless self-promotion, name dropping and begging for attention from more popular bloggers or media that would make you want to unsubscribe from BA. I mean, it’s just sad.
April 11th, 2008 at 5:19 pm
If you look to the left of what is clearly a hand holding a fishing rod, there are five dots that are at about the right positions to be the cups of a white bikini top and the wet elbows and forehead of a woman wringing out her hair. Of course given the context of the image, and the other objects in the image, the scale and position of said woman would be all wrong. More likely they’re just reflections off the water.
As for Cheney and Bush, I think they’re both guilty of crimes against humanity. They’ve ignored numerous treaties, including the Geneva Conventions and NAFTA. And they incited a war that has lead to a genocide and the deaths of 500,000 people. But I don’t think they’re guilty of treason. They’ve never acted in the interests of any other country except their own. For which I’m sure the rest of the world is very grateful.
April 11th, 2008 at 5:36 pm
You forgot “corrupt” and “genocide”.
April 11th, 2008 at 5:39 pm
i thought i would give sometime before i reply again
firstly,. i know its phil’s blog he can say anything,. and i understand the 1st admendment assures that right. and due to phil’s love and defence of reality i have the utmost respect for him on that.,
secondly., if i wanted left wing political comments i would go to moveon.org. but i do understand where science and politics collide (i.e., ID) and the nescassary steps needed to defende reality in out shools for which i praise phil for. but to answer lugosi, Jason, Brett, & Arnaud. brings me too
3rdly, i have no problem with phil’s political views but when he lowers himself to says the VP “the lack of human blood dribbling from Cheney’s mouth; it’s well known that he cannot resist feasting on the organs and lifeblood of naked virgins”. thats shallow, even if hes joking. but how would that be any different then if i were to spout that barack OSSAMA is a wolf in sheeps clothing
im not a huge fan of the admin we have but if i had a blog of my own i would lower my self to say the VP is a vampire reguardless IF i thought it
i come to this site for science not politics (and i know one impacts the other) and especially not for comments like this, i think we all had that grandfather that says sometimes its best to have you brain in gear before you engage your mouth
LOOK PHIL, i respect you on a number of levels, you could have made the point that you dont like the prez or the VP without saying such things, one could say you make your self out just like the very idiologs you fight. mabey a more Saganesk way of talking on politics. either way its you blog and you can say what you want
April 11th, 2008 at 5:46 pm
Here’s the good thing about non-linear media:
You get to choose what you see and/or how you see it.
Your choices are your own. There are no rules on the internet that say you must pick your preferences and stick with them.
If you encounter something that sparks your interest, by all means, pay attention for as long as you wish to do so.
Move forward and away if you’re so inclined.
That’s freedom.
Now, I’m gonna shut this thing down and have dinner with my family.
(Oh yeah, my seven-year-old saw a giant bug with a massive claw. Had to get some local metrics).
April 11th, 2008 at 5:54 pm
Jason, calling Cheney a “poor old man” is akin to calling Godzilla an endangered species.
April 11th, 2008 at 7:06 pm
When I first saw this I thought it looked like an insect or an alien. It also kind of looks like a naked woman’s body, who has a pole for a head. After looking at it for a little bit I can now see that it is his hand holding a pole and that is clearer in the left picture. His knuckles looked like breasts to me originally. I was also a little disappointed at the BA’s insults of the Vice President and especially surprised about the treason charge. However, I used to hang out on the message board (before it merged), so I am well aware of his liberal beliefs. I think he should be more skeptical about the liberal blogs he visits, but I thought some of his information in this post was enlightening about the picture.
April 11th, 2008 at 7:15 pm
Gee. Yet more material from people who cannot name their Congressmen. Is there no end to idiocy from people who can only repeat what talking heads say? Does the superior Bush-basher know the name of anyone else in government?
Probably not. If they did, they’d name those people.
April 11th, 2008 at 7:21 pm
Sorry, you are right. Poor would not be the word I would choose to describe him. But vampire or Darth Vader? Meh.
April 11th, 2008 at 7:51 pm
This debate about Cheney (and Bush) shouldn’t be about conservative vs. liberal.
The debate should be about telling the difference between right and wrong.
April 11th, 2008 at 9:06 pm
Actually, given the man’s fondness for semi-dictatorial executive power, unaccountable secrecy and frequent torture, he’s not funny at all. And my own objection to the most frequently seen media Talking Heads is that they’re not remotely critical enough of him — as they weren’t critical enough of Nixon until Watergate confirmed, beyond the ability of anyone whatsoever to deny,the horror stories that had already been circulating about his similar tendencies but been put down as the talk of Extreme Leftists. (There is still an assumption among major media figures that the mere fact that a man gets elected to a powerful position in the US must somehow eliminate the possibility that he’s a serious creep.)
Add to this that his actual disastrous incompetence in crucial areas — such as running the Iraq War — makes it more realistic to regard him as a cross between Darth Vader and Jar Jar Binks. If you can’t remove him from power or efven effectively limit his power, however — and, as Bush gleefully said right after election day 2004, his narrow reelection removed that possibility for the next four years, given the existence of both the Presidential veto and the Senate filibuster — then one has to look for the consolation of laughing at him.
April 11th, 2008 at 10:04 pm
Calling Cheney out for treason isn’t a liberal belief; it’s a conservative accusation. It’s time people understand that “anything said against a Republican=Liberal & Anything proDemocrat=Liberal” is NOT the definition of those terms. The political scale is much much larger than that and US Democrats are on the conservative side of that scale.
April 11th, 2008 at 10:20 pm
TREASON?! Care to provide. Oh gee, I don’t know. E.V.I.D.E.N.C.E.? I mean, it isn’t like he solid missile secrets to the Chinese through the Lippo group while getting BJs from an intern or anything …
April 11th, 2008 at 10:29 pm
Cheney & Bush Jr & their neo-con fellow conspirators are - in my view plus many, many others - guilty of the fiollowing :
Conspiracy to committ mass murder (in Iraq & elsewhere)
Conspiracy to incite racial / ethnic hatred
Illegal aggression and launching illegal wars (the same offences thatthe japanese warlords were hung for post WW II)
Conspiracy to committ greivous bodily harm and torture to the thoudands of prisoners of war (which they spin-label illegal combatants) - many of whoem have since been found to be innocent
False imprisonment & torture (see GItmo, Camp X-ray, ad nauseam)
Gross violations of human rights and civil liberties
War crimes for their policies in the invasionand occupation of Iraq
Aiding and abetting war crimes and illegal violations of the UN & International laws &treasties incl. the Geneva convention over their support and assistence for Israel’s illegal occupation of the Palestinean Territories -theWestBank, Gaza, East Jeruslaem & Syria’s Golan heights.
Treason against the US Consitiution for ramming through the Patriot act & other measures to prevent free speech & deny fundamental freedoms
Treason against the US for doing it so much harm by embroiiling it in the quagmire of a needless illegal war and occupation.
Multiple counts on all these charges
& all this is based on the good evidence from the whole lead up to & conduct of the war of terror & the invasions and occupations of iraq etc ..
Not only should Bush jr be impeached -but jailed and put obntrial for tehse offences with Rumsfeld, Cheney etc .. too
April 11th, 2008 at 11:09 pm
Here’s the sad thing about Cheney-mega-haters, they are no different than their counterparts in the Republican/conservative camp who went after Bill Clinton for 8 years. Those GOPs/conservatives trumped up every little thing that happened in Clinton’s run in the Oval Office and in his past doings to the point that Bill Clinton should have been put on trial and then executed for even the smallest discretion if their whims were allowed to become reality.
I don’t like Bush/Cheney . I really don’t care for or advocate any of the major things they did after 9-11. However, I think it’s ludicrous to think of them as modern-day Benedict Arnolds. They’re people. They’re fallible and can make horrible decisions. Horrible decisions and rash behavior do not make someone a traitor or a Sith Lord!!! They’re simply bad, ineffective leaders based on my judgment. Bush / Cheney had their run in Washington, and it’s nearly over come January 2009. So instead of wasting away your lfie being angry at men you’ll never meet or who will never be charged and tried with anything other than in your hopes and dreams, maybe you should start doing something useful with your existence…. Oh say, focusing on science, astronomy, yourself, your childeren or family… the things that matter and that which you can effect for the good instead of pissing away your life energy at men in Washington who made horrible, ill-advised decisions and had political beliefs 180 degrees different than yours.
April 11th, 2008 at 11:47 pm
Greg E said :
“However, I think it’s ludicrous to think of them [Cheney, Rumsfeld, Bush Jr & the other neocons] as modern-day Benedict Arnolds. They’re people. They’re fallible and can make horrible decisions. Horrible decisions and rash behavior do not make someone a traitor or a Sith Lord!!!”
Benedict Arnold was a human, apersontoo. So was Darth Sidious, Chancellor Palpatine …
Sure, I freely admit Bush, Cheney et al are human, fallible & capable of making horrible decisions.
Guess what? So was Saddam Hussein & so is Osama bin Laden.
Its NO excuse.
Horrible and rash decisions are one thing.
Lying your nationintoanillegal invasion &occupation,committing warcrimes and torturing priosoners is something else.
The United States of America has suffered severe damage toits reputation, prosperity and social fabric.
4,000 soldiers,more “coalitionof the willing soldiers” and who knows how many hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqis have been killed.
The US -and the greater Western world - has lost another war. Another Vietnam, another Gallipoli. This does change the world for the worse.
I don’t think we should shrug such massive bloodshed and harm off lightly and say “oh they’re human.” Frankly, that’s just a ridiculous, almost offensive thing to say. Youi wouldn’t let a murderer off in court with that - so why a world leader?
I think we should all be far more outraged and more angry about this than we are.
The people responsible - Cheney, Rumsfeld, Bush Jr - should be made accountable and made to face punishment for their crimes.
Saddam was executed for his crimes.
Quite frankly (& especially given his support and use of the death penalty) Cheney should be executed too - after perhaps a fairer trial than Sadddam had.
But the best thing that can possibly come out of this - perhaps the only good thing - would be real change that says NEVER AGAIN. The US needs to learn to leave other nations the frak alone!
A constituitional ban on the USA launching wars other than in very strictly defined self-defense - like the one Japan had imposed by General McArthur after WWII - is, perhaps, the only thing capable of making this nightmarish chapter in our history worthwhile.
April 11th, 2008 at 11:49 pm
Okay ..Chancellor Palpatine aka DrathSidious was fictional.
.. But a fictional person or human and based on many others in history. Lenin, Stalin & others were all humans, all people too. They loved their mothers, were fallible and made mistakes -
- and again it is NO excuse!
Nor is it with Cheney, Bush, Rumsfeld & the other neocons.
April 12th, 2008 at 12:01 am
Oh & here’s prediction for y’all :
Before Bush Jr leaves office (unless impeached or removed by force) he’ll launch yet another needless & disasterous war this time against Iran.
It’ll be used as an excuse to either postopone the 08 Presidential elections & / or more likely, argue for “no change” in ruling parties at a time of war done so that the ruling party - the party of fear and stupidity can continue in power.
So that your next president willno be ahistory making, course-changing
person of hope but rather a war-monger on the verge of aged incontinence.
You heard it here first …
It amazes and appalls me that the good Americans (esp. the Democratic party) have failed to summon the necessary backbone to impeach George Bush the second -yet.
I hope this changes before its too late, but frankly lookingat thestate of US politics is like watching a person run over the edge of a cliff to their death while you are helpless to stop them.
It really does seem that bad, I’m afraid.
April 12th, 2008 at 12:12 am
TYPO CORRECTION :
“So that your next president will NOT be a history making, course-changing person of hope but rather a war-monger on the verge of aged incontinence.”
To most of the rest of the world - esp. the rest of the Western world the lack of a lack of a real Left wing party in the USA (both Democratic & Retardican er .. Republican parties are right-wing, the Republicans being just lunatic far Wrong as opposed to the more centrist right Democratic party) is a hugely unbalanced and rather tragic situation.
Senator Joe McCarthy has a lot to answer for.
As do the witch hunting Puritans.
Incidentally, Phil’s views are not really liberal - & are certainly
nothing even remotely like Socialist - just rational.
… & only the unbalanced super far Wrong (Right) wing dominationof US society could make it seem otherwise.
Check out the political parties for :
the Nertherlands,
Ireland,
Sweden,
Denmark,
Australia,
New Zealand,
Iceland,
Greece,
Spain,
France,
Canada,
Germany
& others …
for a reasonable comparison & then tell me I’m wrong - if you can!
April 12th, 2008 at 12:15 am
Not more blippin’ typos!
Iobviously meant the Netherlands not “the Nertherlands,”
My apologies to the Dutch!
Hmm .. maybe I should’ve written Dutch or Holland instead .. Oh well.
- StevoR
April 12th, 2008 at 12:34 am
I can’t believe the internet has spent this much time on something so stupid.
April 12th, 2008 at 12:49 am
You forgot “corrupt” and “genocide”.
Corrupt, yes, but genocide? Which race or nationality has Cheney attempted to completely and systematically exterminate?
And this is from someone who would like to see them all impeached, but you’re not helping our side when you toss out idiocy like this.
Senator Joe McCarthy has a lot to answer for.
This is a skeptical blog. We don;t seek answers from the dead.
As do the witch hunting Puritans.
Sweet Smoking Jesus, you do NOT want to go there. The witch hunts in the USA (which took place before there was a USA) were pretty much Salem and some scattered other minor incidents. The Salem hunts lasted about 6 months.
*THOUSANDS* were exterminated in Europe during their witch hunt era which lasted THREE HUNDRED AND FIFTY *YEARS*. Entire villages were murdered.
would be real change that says NEVER AGAIN.
I hate to break it to you, but the Dems are going to implode and McCain will win. McCain will then proceed to gets us in a war with EVERY OTHER COUNTRY ON THE EARTH including the Duchy of Grand Fenwick and Antarctica.
Cynical? Me? Nah!
To most of the rest of the world - esp. the rest of the Western world the lack of a lack of a real Left wing party
A tiresome factoid repeated endlessly. Maybe we just know something the rest of the world doesn’t. Maybe Europe and others are unbalanced to the Left. We were founded on the ideas of the limitations of *government* and not the limitations of the individual, and that lives on today, albeit in a sadly dimished form.
Compare the US Constitution to the equivalent in the EU. The differences are pretty clear and remarkable.
Oh, look. Someone already did.
http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=3199
Now I’m sure you’ll look at “cato” and think “right wing demons” which would be wrong (they’re libertarian and heavily opposed the Iraq war, and I think some of them would like to see Bush put down) but give it a chance.
It amazes and appalls me that the good Americans (esp. the Democratic party)
Whatever.
Sadly, most of the humans in this world reduce everything complex to a monochromatic cartoon because it’s so much easier than dealing with the complexities.
Here’s two images to illustrate:
The real world:
http://flowtv.org/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/fractal.jpg
How 99% of humanity sees the world:
http://www.electrobeans.de/bilder/070712echochrome.jpg
And THAT, my friend, is the real problem in this world. As Pogo said “I have met the enemy, and he is us.”
April 12th, 2008 at 12:51 am
Senator Joe McCarthy has a lot to answer for.
This is a skeptical blog. We don’t seek answers from the dead.
As do the witch hunting Puritans.
Sweet Smoking Jesus, you do NOT want to go there. The witch hunts in the USA (which took place before there was a USA) were pretty much Salem and some scattered other minor incidents. The Salem hunts lasted about 6 months.
*THOUSANDS* were exterminated in Europe during their witch hunt era which lasted THREE HUNDRED AND FIFTY *YEARS*. Entire villages were murdered.
would be real change that says NEVER AGAIN.
I hate to break it to you, but the Dems are going to implode and McCain will win. McCain will then proceed to gets us in a war with EVERY OTHER COUNTRY ON THE EARTH including the Duchy of Grand Fenwick and Antarctica.
Cynical? Me? Nah!
To most of the rest of the world - esp. the rest of the Western world the lack of a lack of a real Left wing party
A tiresome factoid repeated endlessly. Maybe we just know something the rest of the world doesn’t. Maybe Europe and others are unbalanced to the Left. We were founded on the ideas of the limitations of *government* and not the limitations of the individual, and that lives on today, albeit in a sadly dimished form.
Compare the US Constitution to the equivalent in the EU. The differences are pretty clear and remarkable.
Oh, look. Someone already did.
http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=3199
Now I’m sure you’ll look at “cato” and think “right wing demons” which would be wrong (they’re libertarian and heavily opposed the Iraq war, and I think some of them would like to see Bush put down) but give it a chance.
It amazes and appalls me that the good Americans (esp. the Democratic party)
Whatever.
Sadly, most of the humans in this world reduce everything complex to a monochromatic cartoon because it’s so much easier than dealing with the complexities.
Here’s two images to illustrate:
The real world:
http://flowtv.org/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/fractal.jpg
How 99% of humanity sees the world:
http://www.electrobeans.de/bilder/070712echochrome.jpg
And THAT, my friend, is the real problem in this world. As Pogo said “I have met the enemy, and he is us.”
April 12th, 2008 at 12:53 am
Senator Joe McCarthy has a lot to answer for.
This is a skeptical blog. We don’t seek answers from the dead.
As do the witch hunting Puritans.
Sweet Smoking Jesus, you do NOT want to go there. The witch hunts in the USA (which took place before there was a USA) were pretty much Salem and some scattered other minor incidents. The Salem hunts lasted about 6 months.
*THOUSANDS* were exterminated in Europe during their witch hunt era which lasted THREE HUNDRED AND FIFTY *YEARS*. Entire villages were murdered.
would be real change that says NEVER AGAIN.
I hate to break it to you, but the Dems are going to implode and McCain will win. McCain will then proceed to gets us in a war with EVERY OTHER COUNTRY ON THE EARTH including the Duchy of Grand Fenwick and Antarctica.
Cynical? Me? Nah!
To most of the rest of the world - esp. the rest of the Western world the lack of a lack of a real Left wing party
A tiresome factoid repeated endlessly. Maybe we just know something the rest of the world doesn’t. Maybe Europe and others are unbalanced to the Left. We were founded on the ideas of the limitations of *government* and not the limitations of the individual, and that lives on today, albeit in a sadly dimished form.
Compare the US Constitution to the equivalent in the EU. The differences are pretty clear and remarkable.
Oh, look. Someone already did.
http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=3199
Now I’m sure you’ll look at “cato” and think “right wing demons” which would be wrong (they’re libertarian and heavily opposed the Iraq war, and I think some of them would like to see Bush put down) but give it a chance.
It amazes and appalls me that the good Americans (esp. the Democratic party)
Whatever.
Sadly, most of the humans in this world reduce everything complex to a monochromatic cartoon because it’s so much easier than dealing with the complexities.
Here’s two images to illustrate:
The real world:
http://tinyurl.com/58d84q
How 99% of humanity sees the world:
http://tinyurl.com/6jk54a
And THAT, my friend, is the real problem in this world. As Pogo said “I have met the enemy, and he is us.”
April 12th, 2008 at 12:55 am
I did NOT multipost! The site software did that! Phil, can’t you afford better blog software? I mean, really…
April 12th, 2008 at 1:20 am
# Blu-Ray-Venon 11 Apr 2008 at 12:12 pm:
>> ““the lack of human blood dribbling from Cheney’s mouth; it’s well known that he cannot resist feasting on the organs and lifeblood of naked virgins””
> “and with this i end my part in being a BA reader”
Do not let the door hit you on the way out.
April 12th, 2008 at 6:56 am
I think you’ve missed something.
You see those little light colored bits on a dark background visible over the side of the boat? That is sunlight reflecting from the surface of the water. The Greeks had a special word for that, and it is the root that is used in the name of the water nymph Galatea. Since, when nymphs mainifest themselves in mortal form it is always as a naked woman, that muat be what people are seeing–some people see her in her natural phenomenon form, others in her mortal disguise.
April 12th, 2008 at 8:46 am
I saw that photo, and my first thought was “why is the photographer taking the photo of cheny and not the naked woman?” Dr. BA - we are of the same mind!
April 12th, 2008 at 9:41 am
Wow! Whoda thought the Bad Astronomer was suffering from BDS!
Robert
April 12th, 2008 at 9:51 am
[…] BadAstronomyBlog macht man sich derzeit nicht nur Gedanken über die mysteriöse Reflexion in Vize-Präsident Cheneys Sonnenbrille. Themen sind auch eine Straßen-Umfrage unter US-Bürgern […]
April 12th, 2008 at 12:48 pm
“Fourth, and the clincher, is the lack of human blood dribbling from Cheney’s mouth; it’s well known that he cannot resist feasting on the organs and lifeblood of naked virgins (which I suppose answers Number 3).”
I must admit, I found this a little tough language, especially when my daughter asked me about it. I do have a girl interested in astronomy as a possible career. We spend evenings out on our deck checking out the night sky. And she often goes to this blog to check out what she can find (or try to find) with her telescope. When she does find a star or planet or some other feature you’ve described, she lights up!
It’s Phil’s blog, he can say anything he wants. But as an educational tool for a preteen, I must draw the parental line here. Which is a real shame, because I like to find sources on the internet that feed my daighter’s mind and inspires her toward a grand life of discovery. If I wanted her to read political comments that are truly nasty, I’d send her over to Daily Kos or Limbaugh.com. It’s really unfortunate that this site is really not youth-friendly.
April 12th, 2008 at 3:01 pm
jdp, I am sorry that you find some of the content here offensive for your daughter. However, I won’t change my writing style.
I disagree with your characterization of this post as “truly nasty”. That one line was obviously satire and over-the-top, but no worse than you’d find in a newspaper feature, and certainly much better than half the stuff I see on YouTube or on TV during prime time. Satirical humor will always offend people, but that’s what it’s for.
Comparing what I wrote to what Limbaugh says is ludicrous, too. He truly is offensive in that he lies, is a racist, and is a misogynist. His stuff is not satirical, and he does great damage to honest discourse.
And finally, I have been writing cutting political and religious commentary here for years. This is a blog, not an encyclopedia. Read this post.
While I rarely will make comments like I did in this post, I will continue to post as I do.
April 12th, 2008 at 4:30 pm
It looks like a man waiting to get off a bus, to me!
“It’s Phil’s blog, he can say anything he wants. But as an educational tool for a preteen, I must draw the parental line here. Which is a real shame, because I like to find sources on the internet that feed my daighter’s mind and inspires her toward a grand life of discovery. If I wanted her to read political comments that are truly nasty, I’d send her over to Daily Kos or Limbaugh.com. It’s really unfortunate that this site is really not youth-friendly.”
Hi jdp.
If I am honest, I am not sure that I would allow a “preteen” to even use the internet, unaided, if I was concerned that they might come across things that I didn’t want them to. I don’t personally see anything in the comment that couldn’t be explained to a child as obvious satire, but it is your right to protect your child from such things.
You also have a responsibility, though, and it is not Phil’s fault if you don’t approve of your child reading such things, and yet allow him/her to read sites that sometimes contain things that you may not approve of. Perhaps you should consider first viewing sites like this for yourself, and then saving the particular web page so that your child could view them, later.
Also, if I may protest at the idea that everything these days must be sanitized/”framed” so that it appeals to the lowest common denominator (i.e. the youngest, least educated, most sensitive, etc, etc). While I understand the need for child-friendly educational tools, I still believe that I should be able to read posts like this one without feeling guilty about it harming someone who isn’t old enough to understand.
April 12th, 2008 at 6:11 pm
This picture is obviously a fake. Where are the stars?
April 12th, 2008 at 8:01 pm
It’s Phil’s blog, he can say anything he wants. But as an educational tool for a preteen, I must draw the parental line here. Which is a real shame, because I like to find sources on the internet that feed my daighter’s mind and inspires her toward a grand life of discovery.
You’re looking for that in the Internets?
The Internet is a digital public square in Anarchy City.
Try books. Better fonts and the images don’t have to download.
April 12th, 2008 at 9:13 pm
Well, that’s pereidolia for you. At first look I thought it was a giant praying mantis and hoped it was looking for a Dick dinner.
Ah, wishful thinking,,,
GAry 7
April 13th, 2008 at 8:34 am
The bigger reflection in this affair is the captured image of the low state of political discourse imposed on us by the ruling class and their propaganda institutions.
Presentation and discussion of actual political questions is subsumed by lurid conjecture over the intimate details of the personal lives of various political figures, or by fluff pieces presenting scripted glimpses into their carefully manufactured personae. This disgusting routine is a journalistic standard today.
It’s a sideshow, folks; leave it alone. There is nothing even remotely newsworthy or politically illuminating about a man–any man–going fishing (with or without unclad companions, real or imagined).
It takes a real effort to push this kind of filth aside and stay focused on the real goods.
April 13th, 2008 at 9:26 am
On the up side, Dick and his friends have finally accomplished the unlikely,,,making oil so expensive that solar power is a cost-effective alternative to petroleum.
Way to go, Dick,,,
GAry 7
April 13th, 2008 at 11:36 am
It’s not a loss if people that actually like Cheney stop coming here.
April 13th, 2008 at 5:07 pm
Have you ever done the “cross-your-eyes”-type of 3D-image melding?
You can get a just-about 3D view of the pole and his hand.
You have to tilt your head . . .
April 13th, 2008 at 5:17 pm
Bad Astronomer: “Comparing what I wrote to what Limbaugh says is ludicrous, too. He truly is offensive in that he lies, is a racist, and is a misogynist. His stuff is not satirical, and he does great damage to honest discourse.”
False. Rush Limbaugh has plenty of satire on his show, even going so far as having a political satirist, Paul Shanklin, produce parodies for the show on a seemingly weekly basis.
It’s clear by what you’ve said that you’ve never actually listened to Rush Limbaugh or you would know he’s not a racist or a mysogynist. Even if you don’t agree with him on a single thing politically.
Were Rush Limbaugh racist, I think his call screener, Bo Snerdley, would have quit the show a long time ago. Him being a black man and all. Walter Williams, a black man, would probably not guest host Rush’s show when he isn’t there.
Were Rush Limbaugh a misogynist, I think Dawn, who does some sort of work on the show, would have also quit. You can guess from her name that she’s a woman. I believe he at least 1 other woman on his staff as well.
April 13th, 2008 at 7:28 pm
Robbie, just because someone employs black people or women doesn’t mean that they can’t be a racist or misogynist. At best Rush has made comments that can be taken to be racist or misogynistic (google it). At worst he is a racist or a misogynist.
There is a third possibility. He is neither and says it for commercial gain. Just spouts crap for controversy or pandering to the masses for ratings.
April 13th, 2008 at 7:36 pm
That’s not the argument I made and isn’t relevant. My point was that the people he employs would probably notice misogynist or racist tendencies after working with the person every day for years.
April 13th, 2008 at 7:48 pm
jdp, come on we’re talking pretty mild satire here. It is the sort of concern trolling that makes one think of the furore over “nipplegate” that seems peculiar to the US.
If you must shield your daughter from this sort of stuff monitor her internet browsing.
April 13th, 2008 at 7:57 pm
Robbie, and of course no one would ever work with a racist or misogynist? I’m sometimes surprised to the lengths some people will go to keep a job.
However there is still the third possibility I mentioned. Do you think that spouting controversy for ratings would only down to Rush and not the other people involved with the show as well? Would being black or a woman mean that you would not compromise your principles for financial gain?
Caveat, I don’t know I’m just asking the questions.
April 13th, 2008 at 8:23 pm
Sure it’s possible Rush says things to get ratings, but he doesn’t say racist or misogynistic things on the show. If he makes a joke it’s very clear that he’s doing so. If you read Rush quotes out of context then sure, they could be misconstrued.
Given the well known history of racism and misogyny in the country, I really do not think people would work for a racist or sexist if they knew about the racism and sexism, which after working for someone for years they would.
April 14th, 2008 at 12:54 am
Rush Limbaugh
Limbaugh’s real problems started when he became an insider.
In the early years of his show, he was pretty entertaining and was quite cynical about *everyone* in government. He was conservative, but he gave few if any breaks.
Somewhere during the reign of the first Bush, there was some big event over a weekend… I forget what. I tuned in to the radio show on Monday to see what the buzz was, and the whole first HOUR was a recounting by Limbaugh of his overnight stay in the White House. Feh…
I never listened again.
As for people calling him racist or misogynistic, well, that’s standard operating procedure these days in this country to shut down all discussion and debate.
Try running for office and suggest that immigration reform should, you know, include enforcing the law. Legions of people, who never knew your name before yesterday, will call you a racist.
This is the world we live in. Irrationality, myth, lies and deceit, and EVERYONE is infected in one way or another. Ten thousand (or so) years of civilization has changed nothing. Oh, the war clubs are more efficient and the glowing screens have replaced the cave paintings, but the animal core of the human psyche is still there- afraid of the unknown, lashing out at the unfamiliar and hiding from anything that threatens its comfort level.
April 14th, 2008 at 10:40 am
Huh. I hadn’t even heard the naked woman theory until you posted it—I’d seen the picture and thought it was a giant, Cheney-eating bug.
(That thought was kind of appealing, since I don’t actually like him, but in the blown-up picture it’s clearly just an arm and a fishing rod, very sad.)
April 14th, 2008 at 10:53 am
Put 4,000 wasted dead American soldiers on one side of a balance scale and put the ire over the Cheney photo on the other side. Stand back and compare.
I used the photo in a different way at my blog, and got one whole comment noting use of the term “McAncient” and nothing at all about the actual image, so I was surprised to see the comments here.
Another blog to add to the lists of links I have. One never knows what insignificance will get the wingnut right into a righteous foaming mouth lather…with out even mentioning the wink, nudge “netherlands”.