Fox News goes all knee-jerk jingoism on America's Olympians

By Michael J.W. Stickings

No red, no white, no blue: Gabby Douglas might just be a terrorist.

You can't make this shit up. And, with Fox News on the job, you don't have to:

Gabby Douglas was the topic du jour for Olympic commentators throughout last week, but over the weekend, she became a centerpiece in another manufactured controversy at Fox News, America's top outlet for manufactured controversies. Douglas' pink leotard, Fox host Alisyn Camerota lamented, was emblematic of an Olympic "trend" (one that, Fox wants you to believe, is part of a liberal-left conspiracy to rid the world of red, white, and blue) of athletes wearing colors that don't appear on the American flag.

"Some folks have noticed that the American athletes' uniforms don't carry the stars and stripes look as much as they have in past years," Camerota complained, without any evidence of who "some folks" might be. "The famous flag-styled outfits worn in year's past replaced with yellow shirts, gray track suits, pink leotards." Radio host/Tea Partier David Webb later chimed in with a sad tome about how America has "lost over time that jingoistic feeling" because "a soft anti-American feeling that Americans can't show their exceptionalism."

Right, I've been watching a lot of the Olympics and I can report that those traitorous anti-American U.S. athletes wear neither red nor white nor blue, give the finger to the flag when they're standing on the podium, and refer to their flag, when they're not burning it, as the "Stars and Fucking Stripes," all because they hate their country and would be competing for al Qaeda if only it had its own Olympic team.

It's all true!

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On a more serious note, Gabby Douglas -- and I say this as someone who can't stand gymnastics as an Olympic sport (and certainly can't stand watching it) -- is an incredible athlete. Any self-respecting American should be happy she's an American competing for their country on the world's largest stage. She, nor any other Olympian, needs to be criticized by the fucking idiots who populate Fox News.

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Also, it's telling that "jingoism" has become a mark of pride on the right. Here's Wikipedia's description:

Jingoism is extreme patriotism in the form of aggressive foreign policy. In practice, it is a country's advocation of the use of threats or actual force against other countries in order to safeguard what it perceives as its national interests. Colloquially, it refers to excessive bias in judging one's own country as superior to others – an extreme type of nationalism.

The term originated in Britain, expressing a pugnacious attitude towards Russia in the 1870s. "Jingoism" did not enter the American vernacular until near the end of the 19th century. This nationalistic belligerence was intensified by the sinking of the battleship USS Maine in Havana harbour that led to the Spanish-American War of 1898.

Pride in one's country is one thing, and it's usually fine. Patriotism is also usually fine, though it's also, on occasion, "the last refuge of the scoundrel," particularly when it's "self-professed," which is what Samuel Johnson meant.

And jingoism? It's for bullying, unthinking morons with an extremist right-wing political agenda -- yes, like the fucking idiots who populate Fox News.

So what music should we play for Romney's return?

By Carl 

Sad Trombone or Yakkity Sax? 

From the WaPo:

Even before he was wheels-up for London, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's overseas trip was drawing comparisons to then-presidential candidate Barack Obama's 2008 overseas trip.

Both were candidates looking to appear presidential and polish up their foreign-policy credentials.

But where Obama's trip was smooth sailing (save a kerfuffle about a cancelled visit with wounded troops), Romney's voyage has been laden with cringe-inducing gaffes. 

From claiming London was not ready to host an Olympics (note to Mitt: they were two up on you when you decided to "abandon" Bain for Salt Lake City) to commenting on the disparity between Israeli wealth and Palestinian poverty -- created in large part by official Israeli policy favoring investment in Jewish areas and ignoring Palestinian ones, where Mitt decided it was "cultural," which itself seems to paint Israelis as wealth-obsessed -- it seems Mitt could not open his mouth without putting his shoe in it.

Then he made sure he swallowed his socks, too, by pointing out that health care in Israel costs 8% of GDP, whereas in the U.S. it's 18%.

Errrm, Israel has nationalized healthcare, Mittens. You know, sort of like Obamacare? Perhaps you know it better as Romneycare.

About the only thing Romney could have done worse was to walk into a kosher restaurant in Jerusalem and order the lobster.

He was probably glad to get to Poland, where he could review Rafalca's performance in the Olympic equestrian events. Rafalca is probably lucky Paris didn't get the Olympics, or she'd be outsourced to a dinner plate by now.

I mean, at least Poland went smoothly.

Oh. Wait...

(Cross-posted to Simply Left Behind.)

Olympic tribute to Britain's National Heath System

By Richard K. Barry

I will admit that I watched some, though not all, of the London Olympics opening ceremonies. I completely missed the tribute to Britain's National Health Service (NHS), the country's publicly-funded system that offers care to all Britons. Pity.

As the Mail Online reported: 

[The] spectacular $42million [show], the brainchild of Oscar-winning British director Danny Boyle, included a segment where dozens of skipping nurses and children in pajamas leaping acrobatically on massive hospital beds, with a large 'NHS' displayed. 

It was a celebration of Britain's national health service, which has provided free taxpayer-funded health care to everyone in the country since its foundation after the Second World War.

The Mail also noted that some commentators, including Mark Sappenfield of The Christian Science Monitor, have suggested this was a shot at the U.S. Although Dany Boyle called the NHS an "amazing thing to celebrate," I'm not sure how that would be a shot at the U.S.

As an American who has lived in Canada for years, it never ceases to amaze me how self-absorbed some Americans can be. Yes, we have universal health care in Canada and we like it quite a bit, thank you very much, but our pride in it has nothing to do with sending a message to America. No, it's not always all about you.

(Cross-posted at Lippmann's Ghost.)

"#RomneyShambles" and The Thick of It

By Richard K. Barry
 

In reporting Mitt Romney's disastrous visit to London last week, Ezra Klein at MSNBC started using the phrase "#RomneyShambles" as "homage to the widespread hashtag" being used in England.

MSNBC subsequently received information from a British viewer, Kevin, that there was more to the phrase "#RomneyShambles" than the obvious.

He wrote:

Like much of the US Press, you noted the widespread usage of the hashtag "Romneyshambles". (Earlier today the top trending non-sponsored topic in the UK!) This is actually a little more than just the obvious meaning of "Shambles/mess involving Romney" though.

The term comes from another one which was used earlier this year to describe the terribly-designed UK government budget which then completely fell apart, caused the government to plunge 6 points in the polls, was mostly reversed on and was shredded by Left and Right alike and all major media as a total mess. That term, originating in a comedy program called 'The Thick Of It', was 'Omni-Shambles' as in, all-consuming disaster.

Omni-shambles thus gained huge popularity in the UK as "Horrible event in which everything that could possibly go wrong does so in a spectacular way."

Last month some friends recommended The Thick of It, which was first broadcast on the BBC in 2005 and so far has completed fourteen half-hour episodes and two hour-long episodes. It's won a slew of awards across the pond and is still being produced. The BBC has plans to air more episodes in the fall.

For those familiar with Yes, Minster, the comparison is obvious, though The Thick of It is quite a bit more intense. There may be nuances that are strange to an American audience as the parliamentary system of government is different than the U.S. system, but politics is still politics.

If you can get access to this incredible show, it's worth a look.

Here's a clip from The Thick of It that actually makes use of the term "Omni-Shambles."

(Cross-posted at Lippmann's Ghost.)

Let the Games begin!

By Mustang Bobby

So I hear there's some sporting event going on somewhere...

LONDON -- These 2012 Olympics have been dubbed The Twitter Games, the first in history to feel a major impact from social media as athletes share everything from their patriotic feelings to their lunch choices with legions of followers. Already, a racist 140-character joke by Greece's star triple jumper, Voula Papachristou, got her expelled from the Olympics on Wednesday, making her the first athlete in history to lose her spot for a social media posting.

On the brighter side, Oscar-winning Slumdog Millionaire director Danny Boyle, the man behind Friday's Opening Ceremonies, was able to use Twitter to keep details of the show under wraps. After some details began to leak out at the beginning of the month, Boyle put a hashtag to the situation. He created #savethesurprise, which immediately went viral. The idea was to urge anyone who knew anything about the ceremony to keep it a secret. So far, it seems to be working.

A crowd of 60,000 watched a dress rehearsal of the ceremonies Wednesday night, and #savethesurprise was shown throughout the night on the jumbo screens, reminding those in attendance that the sharing of information or photos of the event was strictly prohibited.

For those of us who don't have Twitter, we will have to settle for the carpet bombing coverage from NBC and its affiliated cable channels to get the latest tearjerker about some Olympian from a small village who carries the hope of his or her nation -- and corporate sponsor -- on their well-muscled shoulders.

Not to be too cynical about it, but four years ago during the Olympics from Beijing, I swear I heard one of the announcers say that they would try to squeeze in some actual live sporting events between the commercials and the sob stories. In 2008, I was in Ohio visiting my parents for some of the games, and thankfully their cable system carried a Canadian channel and I was actually able to see some sports without all the hype. To be sure, they did it up, too, but not in a way that made you want to get insulin treatments.

That said, good luck to all the competitors. Somewhere out there is an endorsement contract with your name on it. 

(Cross-posted at Bark Bark Woof Woof.)

Quote of the Day: Carl Lewis on Mitt Romney

By Michael J.W. Stickings

Carl Lewis won nine Olympic gold medals.
Meanwhile, Mitt Romney is a national embarrassment.

Like David Cameron and Boris Johnson, but from an American perspective, Carl Lewis, one of America's greatest ever Olympians (and athletes generally), smacked Mitt down over his stupid comments about London not being ready to host the Games:

Seriously, some Americans just shouldn't leave the country.

That's right, he said that the Republican nominee for president is such an insular ignoramus he should stay at home lest he embarrass himself and his country abroad.

Which, indeed, Mitt has done over and over again on this little foreign tour of his, making gaffe after gaffe and proving to anyone who cares to pay attention that he's nowhere near up to the job of being president, particularly where diplomacy and foreign affairs are concerned.

Mitt goes around saying President Obama apologizes to foreign audiences for America, a blatant lie. The truth is that, were he president, America would have to go around apologizing for Mitt.

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More here, including this from Harry Reid:

It's not good for us as a country, it's not good for him... to go over and insult everybody.

No, but it's Mitt's way. He's an arrogrant douchebag, and he just can't help himself.

Mitt Romney's very bad day

By Richard K. Barry 

May want to reconsider that title, Mitt.

You may have heard that Mitt Romney has gone off to England to prove what a gosh darn terrific president he would make, and how good he would be on the international stage, but things haven't actually gone that well. You may have seen a few stories. Just because I try to be a helpful person, here are a few of the things people have been writing, in addition to all that we've done here, about the presumptive GOP presidential nominee:

• The Guardian: Oh, Mitt: those Romney gaffes in full
• The Washington Post: Romney: Foreign trip not the time to detail foreign policy
• Talking Points Memo: Mitt's British Blunders: How It Played In The UK Press
• The Washington Post: Come home, Romney
• The Guardian: Mitt Romney's Olympics blunder stuns No 10 and hands gift to Obama
• Haaretz: Romney bombs in London, and can't wait to get to Jerusalem
• Think Progress: Watch How British Television Covered Romney's Visit
• The Atlantic: Romney's 'No Apologies' Diplomacy in Action as U.K. Trip Turns to Public Spat
• Mother Jones: Mitt Romney Needs to Start an Apology Tour, Pronto
• Salon: The gaffe-tastic Mr. Romney
• Daily Intel: Mitt Romney's Overseas Trip Begins With Brutal Sassing by British Prime Minister
• The Maddow Blog: A Not-Ready-For-Prime-Time Player
• The Atlantic Wire: Romney Plays Loud American Tourist in London
• Political Wire: Romney Ignores Questions from American Press

That should provide some weekend reading. Could be a pop quiz on Monday.

(Cross-posted at Lippmann's Ghost.)

Right-wing counter-spin on Romney's Olympics gaffe

By Richard K. Barry

I was wondering about this. When would some right-wing pundit suggest that maybe Mitt Romney's major gaffe in criticizing England's preparation for the Olympic games was not a gaffe at all, but a good thing?

Wonder no longer. The conservative website Hot Air says it might be time for Team Romney to offer some counter-spin, to wit:

Who wants a president who'll tell foreign nations what they want to hear? What we need is a leader with the stones to sit down, look them in the eye, and say they need to step it up on a global event for which they've spent the past seven years preparing.

Yes, red meat for the base, American arrogance at its finest, but I have to think most people will see Romney's comments for what they are: an embarrassing misstep by someone not prepared to assume the most powerful position in the world. Most people will see an amateur.

(Cross-posted at Lippmann's Ghost.)

A guy called Mitt Romney pisses off the British

By Michael J.W. Stickings

I've always considered London Mayor Boris Johnson something of a snotty Tory blowhard, but you've got to admit, he's smart and charismatic and has a way with words.

In response to Mitt Romney's completely inappropriate and unhelpful suggestion that London may not be ready for the Olympics, Johnson had this to say to 60,000 people at the torch-lighting ceremony in Hyde Park:

I hear there is a guy called Mitt Romney who wants to know whether we're ready. He wants to know whether we're ready. Are we ready? Are we ready? Yes we are! 

Yup, some guy called Mitt, some pretentious American douchebag who for some reason came over to annoy the shit out of us but who's ended up getting stuck in gaffe after gaffe.

And this after Prime Minister David Cameron had already smacked him down:

We are holding an Olympic Games in one of the busiest, most active, bustling cities anywhere in the world. Of course it's easier if you hold an Olympic Games in the middle of nowhere.

Take that, Salt Lake City! I've never been to that weird outpost in Utah, but I've been to London many times, for extended periods, and of course Cameron's right.

And who the hell is Romney anyway to be criticizing London, and Londoners, and the British? Is this what he thinks diplomacy is? Is this how he intends to persuade voters back home that he actually has a clue about foreign affairs, about how to conduct himself on the world stage?

He can't even say the right thing about something as non-partisan (and relatively uncontroversial) as the Olympics in a country that is a close friend and ally of his own. After talking up (with ridiculous hyperbole) the "special relationship" to try to score cheap political points against President Obama, in an of itself an inappropriate thing to do (not to mention hypocritical, given his claim that the president apologizes for America), all he had to say was that he wished London the best and knew it would put on a great show. He couldn't even do that.

And once more we see that the more people know of Romney the less they like him -- it's who he is, what he stands for, and what he says.

Pissing off leading British conservatives isn't exactly the best way to start your little foreign tour. But it's hardly surprising. Given what you know of the guy -- he traffics in platitudes and smears mostly, and when he actually says something meaningful it backfires -- did you really expect him to get away unscathed?

Mitt Romney's Anglo-Saxon friendship tour takes a bad turn

By Richard K. Barry

I had no idea you were this stupid. Truly.

Mitt Romney likes to say, without an ounce of proof, that President Obama routinely apologizes to other countries for America. I think we found out yesterday that, should Romney become president, he'll be the one routinely apologizing for his utter lack of diplomacy in dealing with other nations.

In an interview with NBC News that aired a couple of days ago, Romney had this to say about the London Olympics just before he began a visit to England:

The stories about the private security firm not having enough people, the supposed strike of the immigration and customs officials, that obviously is not something which is encouraging.

He also called British Olympic preparation "disconcerting."

The New York Times cited the response:

That prompted a tart rejoinder from the British prime minister, David Cameron. "We are holding an Olympic Games in one of the busiest, most active, bustling cities anywhere in the world. Of course, it's easier if you hold an Olympic Games right in the middle of nowhere," an allusion to Salt Lake City, which hosted games that Mr. Romney oversaw.

That's terrific, Mitt. Crap all over the national pride of a country just before you visit. That'll really showcase your foreign relations bona fides.

Didn't anybody vet this guy? It's okay. Just say you're sorry for being an asshole. I'm sure this won't be the first time.

(Cross-posted at Lippmann's Ghost.)