News Roundup for 8/5/11

Photo courtesy of a Fox News story about Air Force One

-Headline of the Day-
"Fox Nation shocker: Obama invited black guys to his birthday party."

We've all been there. You're at some party or something and some asshole tells an outrageously offensive racist/sexist/homophobic/etc. joke. Someone at the party calls the jokester out as an asshole and said asshole responds with, "Oh, don't be so PC!"

That's why the concept of "political correctness" was invented -- to give cover to assholes. It's the bigot's version of a Jedi mind trick; "You're offended? I should be offended, because you're just being irrationally PC. Go now, and think about what you've done."

And so it is that a Fox headline characterizing President Obama's birthday party as a "Hip-Hop BBQ" is merely an example of being delightfully politically incorrect. And the accompanying photos featuring nothing but black men is merely a coincidence. No racism here, just good-natured un-PC spin -- that coincidentally casts the White House as the host of a stereotypical gangbanger blowout.

According to the story they posted (an aggregated article from Politico that Fox had given a different headline), the party started "with dinner in the Rose Garden, accompanied by 'The President's Own' United States Marine Band. The First Lady and his daughters presented POTUS with a cake, and everyone moved into the East Room for performances that included R&B singer Ledisi, and Herbie Hancock. Stevie Wonder came up at the end and sang a medley ending in 'Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours.'"

Notes Alex Pareene, "The Marine Band is my favorite hip-hop group."

So, other than the fact that the guests included Jay-Z, there was nothing actually hippity-hoppity about any of this. And I'm guessing the cake wasn't actually barbecued.

In the end, it seems Fox decided that using a bunch of black stereotypes to inaccurately describe a party was just good headline writing. And they decided that because they're obviously racist assholes.

Oops! There I go being PC again. I should be so ashamed. (Salon's War Room)


-Fun with rational thought-
Logic is the poetic cliche's natural enemy.


Click to embiggen

So watch it, bub. (SMBC)


-Bonus HotD-
"Limbaugh Says Obama's Economic 'Role Model' Is Robert Mugabe, Who 'Took The White People's Farms.'"

Damn, I almost went all PC again. What's wrong with me? (Media Matters)