Cruisin’ for a Bruisin’
Posted on November 15th, 2008
by Philip Giraldi |
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Think of twelve days cruising the Mediterranean next June, visiting Rome, Monte Carlo, and Barcelona. Think of doing it as part of an outing organized by Newsmax featuring Dick Morris and Ron Kessler as guest speakers explaining how the Republican Party can refresh its message. The Newsmax team also includes three medical doctors who apparently will attempt to resuscitate you if you pass out from all the excitement. Or possibly Newsmax is expecting a really old crowd and is prepared for anything.
Morris is, of course, the famous former Clinton crony who invented triangulation to enable the White House to change policy every five minutes. He lost favor when he reportedly went too far even for the Clintons in allowing a prostitute to eavesdrop on his phone calls with the Comeback Kid. He has redeemed himself by writing nasty books about Hillary and is now a faux conservative. Kessler is less well known, but he is a classic wannabe who thinks George Bush is one of America’s greatest presidents. He has written a series of books on how to kick terrorist butt. His books on the FBI, CIA, and the war against terror are available used on Amazon for 14 cents, $2.02, and $1.75 respectively. They would make great Christmas presents or can be used for wrapping fish.
Here’s the Newsmax ad:
“Dear Newsmax Reader:
You can finally meet Dick Morris!
As a subscriber to Newsmax.com and Newsmax Magazine, you are probably a big fan of Dick Morris, the famous political guru and Fox News analyst.
Now you can meet Dick Morris and enjoy his company on a special cruise Newsmax has organized. Dick plans on discussing how the Republican party can re-build itself during the Obama presidency.
For 12 days, you will share the Mediterranean and some great cities of the world with Dick Morris and several experts from the world of politics and health. Other guests include best-selling author Ronald Kessler and Dr. Russell Blaylock, the famous M.D. and nutritionist.
This is a once in a life-time cruise. Please read the information below about the cruise.
Remember, only a limited number of cabins are available — so reserve today!”
Filed under: Uncategorized
Very funny :). Nothing I’d like more than to sit around with these unprincipled scam-artists.
A very old joke, subject to Mad-Lib blank-fills, comes to mind, regarding First Prize in a sweepstakes of a week’s cruise with, say, Rush Limbaugh and an A-list, such as it is, of posters over at The Corner, aka The Dunceyahd in Bostonian.
Second prize - you saw it coming - is a two-week cruise with, &c…
Too bad they won’t take the lessons offered by those ports of call.
Bordeaux: Neocons in France: Sacre blue!
1) Rome: Empires not only decline and fall, they can totally disintegrate.
2) Porto Venere: note about the invincible bastion: first, the war was with Venice; second, Venice won
3) Monte Carlo: the surest way to lose money is to gamble.
4) Barcelona: Christians and Moslems can live together on mutually beneficial terms unlesss the ideologues get into power.
5) Tangiers: Americans enjoying life in a Moslem country? Allahu akbar!
6) Lisbon: Portugal lost its empire. In fact, it lost it so badly that even the Crown Prince/Regent preferred the colony (Brazil) to the mother country.
7) Bilbao: Basque country. Basques are terrorists. Neocons should be invading them as a conquering army, not visiting as tourists. (Note to conquering armies: it was the Basques who overwhelmed the Franks at Roncesvalles.)
9) London: Britain managed to lose two empires, and if it hangs on long enough it might see not just one of the former colonies (the USA) but at least one more (India) become far more important than it ever was.
How marvelous, a chance to meet Dick Morris in person. I better get the “Ship of Fools” allusion in before others think of it.
With so many of our Conservative leading lights with egg on their faces, it would be interesting to posit a cruise featuring actual, Conservatives. May I suggest it be on Taki’s yacht? Apart from Pat Buchanan, I wonder who we would pay to cruise with? I suggest Charles Murray, Jim Pinkerton, Paul Gottfried. Who else?
Since many of us have actual jobs and lives perhaps we better make it a cruise around long Island.
I feel sorry for people who would find this interesting.
http://rightklik.blogspot.com/
Ron Kessler did publish one good book in years gone by: SINS OF THE FATHER, a fairly devastating account of Joseph Kennedy’s antics. A pity he seems to have gone downhill ever since.
What’s amazing is that Newsmax.com continues to employ Dick Morris despite all his “McCain is Coming Back!,” “McCain Will Win in Stunning Upset” “McCain is Gaining in Polls” rhetoric that got in exclusive emails myself. Why conservatives want to keep a washed-up, has been of a political consultant around, one who’s behavior was no different than Eliot Spitzer’s, one who thought Jean Spirro would make a great candidate against Hilary Clinton and one who’s also CONSISTENTLY WRONG is truly amazing. It’s almost liek they’re saying to their audience “Dick Morris doesn’t know jack squat but were going to keep using him anyway.”
So how much is Newsmax ripping off people for this version of the Love Boat?
Sean’s question would seem to supply its own answer, and in precincts far removed from NewsMax. To apply rigorous empirical tests of correct prediction to talking heads paid in the first and final analysis to “dish”, as the term has it, to entertain and to juice the faithful into believing the sun will come out, if not tomorrow, then some day visible just over the horizon, is a bit like expecting to fill the afternoon therapist-and-judge slots in TV syndication with Williams James and Blackstone. The suits in content management know their audiences, which do not so much want to be proven right in the World Almanac sense, as in reassurance be made to feel right. Though when day turns night in the end after months of inflated hopes, the resulting crash of spirit may prove all the more shattering, that is all the more opportunity for those catering to what Schumpeter called “the auto-therapeutic attitude of the unsuccessful many” -
http://tinyurl.com/6gfs55
with the “many” being, in this case, technically a minority in the electoral tallies, though numbering in millions large and impassioned enough to keep the talk-radio and cable fires burning through every contract renewal. Though authors with political agendas and their fans enjoy stressing that their favored selection from the Book-of-the-Weak Club was, in fact, a “New York Times” bestseller, and thus by implication a straw in the wind proving that Real Americans ™ are on Our Side, keep in mind that if during your book’s hardcover season literally 1/20th of one percent of American adults buys a copy - Hey Presto! - you’ve got yourself a slot on the NYT lists, which is as gossamer against the titanic shellacking your party may face in the next general election.
Spellcheck: “Jeanine Pirro”, not “Jean Spirro” - as Spiro Agnew only too well…
Scott I wasn’t sure on the spelling of her first name so I thought I go with Jean to be safe.
‘Why conservatives want to keep a washed-up, has been of a political consultant around, …..one who’s also CONSISTENTLY WRONG is truly amazing. ‘
Left wing blogs have been saying the samething about just about every rigth wing pundit since 9/11. It seems the rights audience isn’t concerned with the truth so much as truthiness. Just give them what they want to hear and make it seem like they thought of it.
Cruise sold out fast. Tickets 4,400. -10,000 per person without airfares. Guess he has some fans!