Palin & Family Guy

[Peephole]

Letterman didn't go after the "abstinence only girl" Bristol, he went after the 14 year-old Willow. The moronic Letterman can't even manage to make sense of his own "jokes." When Palin called Letterman out on it, Letterman half-heartedly apologized. Too bad Palin can't just report improper comments to a moderator and have them removed to AAH. But then her skin would still be thinner than 3.2 beer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5oLozz-PhX0

Where is Letterman specifically talking about Willow Palin? He mentions no name:

"Maybe you saw it on one of the highlight reels, one awkward moment for Sarah Palin at the Yankee game. During the seventh inning, her daughter was knocked up by Alex Rodriguez."
​

"The hardest part of her visit [to New York] was keeping Eliot Spitzer away from her daughter"
​

 

[Cicero]

My mother did not carry me around under her arm like a loaf of French bread the way former Governor Palin carries her son Trig around looking for sympathy and votes. Andrea Fay Friedman

Obviously, AFF's mom carried her around like a loaf of sourdough.

 

[GreNME]

She wasn't that gracious. The Times edited her e-mail:

Considering how outraged she could have been at the stupidity of Palin's reaction, that's still more gracious than most even if it wasn't quite as gracious as I was initially led to believe by the article.

 

[Cicero]

Where is Letterman specifically talking about Willow Palin? He mentions no name:

"Maybe you saw it on one of the highlight reels, one awkward moment for Sarah Palin at the Yankee game. During the seventh inning, her daughter was knocked up by Alex Rodriguez."
​

"The hardest part of her visit [to New York] was keeping Eliot Spitzer away from her daughter"
​

Willow is the one who attended the Yankee game with Governor Palin, not Bristol. You must be the only one, aside from Letterman, who is confused about this.

"But he never expressly explained that he had inadvertently confused the two Palin daughters.

Monday he acknowledged that as the host of the program it was his responsibility to get the joke right. “I told a joke that was beyond flawed, and my intent is completely meaningless compared to the perception.”


http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.c...gizes-again-to-governor-palin-and-her-family/

 

[JFrankA]

Where is Letterman specifically talking about Willow Palin? He mentions no name:

"Maybe you saw it on one of the highlight reels, one awkward moment for Sarah Palin at the Yankee game. During the seventh inning, her daughter was knocked up by Alex Rodriguez."
​

"The hardest part of her visit [to New York] was keeping Eliot Spitzer away from her daughter"
​

If anyone could be insulted by Letterman's comments, it would be ARod. He was the butt of the joke, not Palin's daughter. In any event it's a JOKE. Sheesh.

In my family we think laughing is good. My parents raised me to have a sense of humor and to live a normal life. My mother did not carry me around under her arm like a loaf of French bread the way former Governor Palin carries her son Trig around looking for sympathy and votes.

I have a new hero.

If ever I meet Sarah Palin, I'm going to give her a dollar and tell her to buy a sense of humor. A dollar's worth of sense of humor is far more that what she owns now.

 

[MattusMaximus]

Palin needs to stay in the public eye if she wants a further political career, so naturally she'll seize every opportunity to be in the news, even over something idiotic like a joke on a cartoon. Whether she's offended or not doesn't matter, the point was to remind the public she exists.

This. If playing the victim card loudly & annoyingly keeps her in the news, she'll do it.

Which is yet another reason not to vote for her.

 

[JFrankA]

Willow is the one who attended the Yankee game with Governor Palin, not Bristol. You must be the only one, aside from Letterman, who is confused about this.

"But he never expressly explained that he had inadvertently confused the two Palin daughters.

Monday he acknowledged that as the host of the program it was his responsibility to get the joke right. “I told a joke that was beyond flawed, and my intent is completely meaningless compared to the perception.”


http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.c...gizes-again-to-governor-palin-and-her-family/

He was trying to be politically correct. That's all. The perception of the joke is on the person listening to the joke, NOT the guy telling it.

The fact that Palin got insulted by both Letterman and Family Guy tells me what kind of *** she is.

I notice she never said "Boo" when "Family Guy" had Brain in a Nazi uniform with a "McCain/Palin" pin on it......

 

[Cynic]

In my family we think laughing is good. My parents raised me to have a sense of humor and to live a normal life. My mother did not carry me around under her arm like a loaf of French bread the way former Governor Palin carries her son Trig around looking for sympathy and votes.

Friedman is obviously afraid of Palin, and that's why she's chosen to mock her.

 

[Cicero]

This. If playing the victim card loudly & annoyingly keeps her in the news, she'll do it.

Which is yet another reason not to vote for her.

Since S.P. isn't running for anything, not voting for her is your only option.

 

[JoeTheJuggler]

http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/18/family-guy-voice-actor-says-palin-does-not-have-a-sense-of-humor/
A really interesting article from the voice actor who also happens to have Down Syndrome.

I wish I'd noticed this earlier!

It definitely supports the reading I've been giving the episode all along: that people with Down syndrome are not stuck as dependent, perpetually happy, innocent babies.

Unfortunately, I think that is what Palin wants them to be.

 

[Cicero]

Well

He was trying to be politically correct. That's all. The perception of the joke is on the person listening to the joke, NOT the guy telling it.

That's absurd. By your bizarre definition of perception of jokes, when a comedian bombs it is the fault of the audience, not the performer. Letterman screwed up his attempt at a joke. Wasn't the first time for him, and it won't be the last time.

The fact that Palin got insulted by both Letterman and Family Guy tells me what kind of *** she is.

Too bad we have no way of determining how you would react to your family being grist for late night comedy.

I notice she never said "Boo" when "Family Guy" had Brain in a Nazi uniform with a "McCain/Palin" pin on it......

So now you are complaining that Palin has a sense of humor after all?

 

[Cicero]

I wish I'd noticed this earlier!

It definitely supports the reading I've been giving the episode all along: that people with Down syndrome are not stuck as dependent, perpetually happy, innocent babies.

Unfortunately, I think that is what Palin wants them to be.

S.P. is crazy for expecting a 22 month old baby to be a baby.

 

[JFrankA]

Well

That's absurd. By your bizarre definition of perception of jokes, when a comedian bombs it is the fault of the audience, not the performer. Letterman screwed up his attempt at a joke. Wasn't the first time for him, and it won't be the last time.

My mistake, I was unclear. What I mean by perception is whether someone is insulted or not. And honestly, yes, the audience IS partly the fault of a bombing comedian. Have you ever performed comedy in front of an audience? An audience definitely sets the tone of the evening.

At any rate, someone who gets offended by a harmless joke is someone looking to be offended.

Too bad we have no way of determining how you would react to your family being grist for late night comedy.

No, but I have been made fun of in school in front of a lot of people, considering I was extremely overweight during that time. I learned that when I didn't take it personally and went along with the joke, I felt better and people liked me more. So if I were to be made fun of on national television, I'd go a long with it for the laughs (and publicity). Plenty of other celebrities do, why can't Palin?

Perhaps Ms "My feelings are so hurt" should learn to do the same. She can dish it out but not take it.

So now you are complaining that Palin has a sense of humor after all?

See what I mean by perception? You didn't see what I was saying at all. It seems to me, and yes, this is MY perception, that she ignored being on a Nazi uniform simply because it would negatively impact her campaign for VP if she said anything.

Now she's TRYING to get into the spotlight by any means possible. So she's striking out at "causes" that affect her and her family only.

 

[The Central Scrutinizer]

I wish I'd noticed this earlier!

It definitely supports the reading I've been giving the episode all along: that people with Down syndrome are not stuck as dependent, perpetually happy, innocent babies.

Unfortunately, I think that is what Palin wants them to be.

Of course. She can't score political points with the teabaggers if her child is able to think independently.

 

[Skeptic Guy]

Family Guy is funny. Like any series it has its hits and misses. But the beauty is that it makes fun of everything and by doing so points out the hypocracy. Nothing is taboo. I think that those who thought that the episode was offensive to people with down syndrome, haven't seen it.

 

[Lisa Simpson]

I don't get Sarah Palin's outrage. I'm the parent of a disabled teenager and I can be pretty sensitive to insults against the disabled. But I watched the whole episode. The Ellen character was funny and self-assured. How exactly is this insulting to Sarah Palin or Trig Palin?

 

[Skeptic Guy]

So is Joe Biden. But I don't expect JREF libs to mine him for comedy gold.

Come on, NO ONE is as much a fount of humor as Ms. Palin, except for George W, but with him the pain is too recent.

Since S.P. isn't running for anything, not voting for her is your only option.

You don't really think she's not running, do you?

 

[Policenaut]

I think some people are missing the obvious. OF COURSE SHE DIDN'T SEE IT. Hardly anyone outraged by anything is a fan or regular viewer/listener/etc. to the offending media. It is always someone who is told about it afterward. See the outrage by people who hear about quotes from Beck or Olbermann. Hardly anyone who complains about them is a regular viewer of the show. It's always lefty and righty blogs that point them out (usually out of context) and then everyone gets into a pissy fit.

I think this is a simple thing that everyone is making much more complicated and stupid than necessary. Family Guy took a pot shot at Palin. If they left off the "former governor of Alaska" part, which in the grand scheme of the episode is totally unimportant, then no one would have gave a damn. It was a personal attack that anyone would probably be annoyed about if they were in the cross-hairs. I think she has the right to say whatever she wants about it. I don't care what she says but she has the forum to counterattack it so she used it. Anyway I think lil Jimmy was onto something. These people attacking her are making her more popular with her base (and potential base). They are the ones giving her more power. They are partially fueling the fire behind her popularity and they aren't really getting anything in return. Well maybe they are getting ratings so that is a likely reason.

Also I must stress that this episode was almost totally devoid of the funny. The psychic plot was pretty good but otherwise I failed to see anything funny about the down syndrome plot. Yeah she's a bitch. Great. So it shows everyone is an *******. I didn't need Family Guy to tell me that anyone, even someone in a sympathetic position, can be a rotten person.

 

[Travis]

I don't get Sarah Palin's outrage. I'm the parent of a disabled teenager and I can be pretty sensitive to insults against the disabled. But I watched the whole episode. The Ellen character was funny and self-assured. How exactly is this insulting to Sarah Palin or Trig Palin?

You're assuming those that are outraged by this actually watched it.

 

[dasmiller]

Come on, NO ONE is as much a fount of humor as Ms. Palin, except for George W, but with him the pain is too recent.

Kids today, such short memories. Have we already forgotten Dan Quayle?