And Now For Something Completely Illegal
Turns out we’re not the only ones who got caught up in the recent Monty Python documentary. Chris Christie’s campaign for New Jersey governor lifted a clip from Flying Circus for a YouTube ad, which has brought out an anti-endorsement from Michael Palin:
“I’m surprised that a former U.S. Attorney isn’t aware of his copyright infringement when he uses our material without permission. He’s clearly made a terrible mistake. It was the endorsement of Sarah Palin he was after — not that of Michael Palin.”
Not to be out-pissed, Terry Jones weighs in as well:
“It is totally outrageous that a former US Attorney knows so little about the law that he thinks he can rip off people. On the other hand — another of Bush’s legal appointees was Alberto Gonzales and he didn’t seem to know much about the law either…”
The ad has been pulled from YouTube, although HuffPo has it. Alas, it wasn’t the Blackmail Sketch.
Chris Christie Rips Off Monty Python, Troupe Threatens Suit [HuffPo]
Why does Chris Christie hate copyright law?
Christie is for allowing people to use other’s work for free? Sounds like a dirty socialist to me. Let’s git him!
TJ: Reflecting on the NY23 election today, I realized it may be more important than most people realize. Yes, it’s a special election for a 1 year term in a district in northern BFE NY. But I remembered this essay from a while back:
http://www.ourfuture.org/blog-entry/2009083205/fascist-america-are-we-there-yet
The paper referenced in that article by Paxton had a quote that stuck in my head (referring to the third stage of fascism):
Each was invited to take office as head of government by a head of state in the legitimate exercise of his official functions, on the advice of his conservative counselors, under quite precise circumstances: a deadlock of constitutional government (produced in part by the polarization that the fascists abetted); conservative leaders who felt threatened by the loss of their capacity to keep the population under control at a moment of massive popular mobilization; an advancing Left; and conservative leaders who refused to work with that Left and who felt unable to continue to govern against the Left without further reinforcement.
[The Journal of Modern History, Vol. 70, No. 1. (Mar., 1998), p 17.]
While the congressional Democrats only qualify as a “Left” by comparison with their opponents, the thing that troubles me in the NY23 race is the clear partnership between the conservative establishment and the far-right teabaggers. Traditionally, the teabaggers would have been largely marginalized – the Republican establishment might occasionally nod in their direction by ranting against teh gheys, but ultimately ignored them and governed the country on a (reasonably) bipartisan basis. All that seems to be gone now…
Michael Palin is completely adorable. Just cute as a button.
/that is all.
Further Breaking: I’ve been without other than basic cable for two months now. Owing to a close encounter with Possibly Ari Fleischer, and a hotel stay, I am forgoing Sport for Keef and Rachel, intravenously.
Christie does not have the fucking balls to invade the UK, behead the fucking queen, disband her government and lay claim to all intellectual property of the kingdom and use it in his TV commercials. What a bag of shit. He doesn’t deserve to even dream of being a GOP candidate for hall monitor. Fuck you, Christie! You want to play that role, grow a pair, burn London, kill and rape the queen on the BBC and eat Brown’s intestines, you sackless back of shit. Then, maybe then, you can really be a GOP candidate for fucktard major of Nuvo Joisey.
@Just Nabisco: JNOVs kicking some ass. 6-1 bottom 3rd, 2 out, 2 mans on base
@Just Nabisco: Neener neener!
@al2o3cr: If the republican/conservative “establishment” (is there one anymore) wants to throw in with the fucking lunatic fringe teabaggers, just to keep a republican district that has always been republican, thats not cause for concern, thats cause for celebration. Its suicide, its just more evidence that the republicans are dead, out of it, have no credible national figure whatsoever left.
@redmanlaw: Television revenues dictate that the world series go another game or two. I truly believe this, if Bush W can steal 2 elections, you think its a coincidence that the series goes to 7 games, with that money at stake?
Christie is a fatter, sweatier, blotchier Karl Rove. He is one of those completely corrupt republicans for whom it isn’t even something as perversely noble as sincere commitment to an insane ideology, Christie is one of those fucking dweebs you knew on campaigns, its all just “we want to win for the spoils.” Fat fuck. The lowest circle of hell is reserved for corrupt prosecutors.
@Promnight: Like that X-Files episode Confessions of a Cigarette Smoking Man and the current commercial about wings or beer.
But but but Baseball is sacred!
Hey, anybody else notice how many cute Asian guys play pro baseball nowadays? I did.
Can anyone remember being so excited for an odd-year election day?? I feel like a kid on Christmas Eve. Although it could be just because I’m actually voting in a voting booth.
@Promnight: The Black Sox. But this is pay-for-play Philly. We’ll take it however we can get it.
@Tommmcatt is hunkered down in the trenches: Yes, indeed!
ADD: I have a weakness for baseball players. ::sigh::
@RomeGirl: Teh media is playing up the 3 meaningful races into a referendum on Obama. Its disgusting.
@Promnight: Their take on it is indeed reprehensible, but the NY 23 is so juicy I don’t care.
@JNOV: Every time I refresh the score the Yankees have another run. WTF.
@RomeGirl:
The Yanks just ran out of outs.
@ManchuCandidate: I know. The household just exhaled finally. We live to fight another day!
@RomeGirl: Yeah, even Jr (who has been watching anime) paused to see the final out.
It’s a cold bright dark morning in God’s country – it will be bright once the sun gets up – and here we are poised to vote! Hurley District 5, where we live, votes at the fire house now that the Methodist church has been sold, due to lack of interest, to a hippy ‘artist’ and her stoner husband. (Said church, very small, was dismantled and brought up the hill when the reservoir drowned the village back in 1918. The congregation, back in the 60s stripped the original clapboard and replaced it with aluminium. So it cannot be a historic building. Thereby proving that straights cannot be trusted to keep things nice) All the neighbors will be there, including the crazy ones. The town will doubtless remain Republican but we’re all agog to see what happens upstate. If Dede had dropped out a couple of days earlier I’d say the Democrat would have had a lock but even as it is he stands a pretty good chance. Particularly since Hoffman has now told us all that Glenn Beck is his ‘mentor’. (Is that something sexual? God, I hope not) And there are counties up there that have never been anything but Republican. So unless they win by their customary 20 points they’ve had a big loss.
The sun is indeed coming up and the sky is a picture. TTFN.
@Jamie Sommers: I couldn’t agree with you more! Besides being adorable, he is one of the funniest men on the planet.
@Benedick: I hesitate to ask, but here goes . . . What does TTFN signify?
Also, to Everybody: why has no one commented on the threadjack I wrote on Sunday’s football post, the one with only five comments, one of them mine reporting what I think is one of the funniest exchanges I ever read on any blog? Why????
@lynnlightfoot: Ta-ta For Now.
I will go look.
@lynnlightfoot: Because thinking about the Cheney family elevates my blood pressure to life-threatening levels. Nothing against you, darling.
Yo! Sup yo!
Me and the OH went to chill with my peeps at the polling station. Shout out to District Five yo. I’m like up in the grillz. We was chillin and hangin yo. Then the OH goes to vote and gets somewhat overwhelmed by the technology yo. First he didn’t pull the lever then he went and voted the straight Republican line. Woo! I voted Social Fascist.
The room next door was given over to the usual display of homemade cakes and pies.
Super!
@Benedick: Stop it. You’re scaring me.
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